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FTX Founder Arrested in Bahamas, Faces Charges in U.S.; U.S. Expected to Announce Nuclear Fusion Breakthrough; Second Protest- Related Execution Carried Out; U.S. has Student Gone Missing While Studying in France. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired December 13, 2022 - 01:00   ET

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

[01:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JOHN VAUSE, CNN HOST: Hello, I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN Newsroom live from Studio 7 at CNN's World Headquarters here in Atlanta. Coming up the guru of crypto arrested and facing a laundry list of charges and yet another blow to the credibility of crypto currency.

The executions have begun in Iraq already two anti-government protesters put to death fears many more yet to come. And the Holy Grail of nuclear science scientists in the U.S. - as a major breakthrough in nuclear fusion, raising hopes of a carbon free never ending supply of energy.

ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Center. This is CNN Newsroom with John Vause.

VAUSE: In the coming hours the Founder and Former CEO of the Cryptocurrency Exchange FTX is expected to appear in the Bahamas court after his arrest there at the request of U.S. law enforcement. All details are expected later Tuesday with a federal prosecutor in New York opens a sealed indictment.

Separately, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced charges against Sam Bankman-Fried will be filed on Tuesday. FTX filed for bankruptcy just over a month ago with many surprised now at the speed. U.S. authorities brought charges against Bankman-Fried, who now faces extradition back to the U.S. from the Bahamas, where he was living and was the base of operations for the company he founded.

CNN's Ivan Watson joins us live from Hong Kong where FTX was based for the time. You know, what seems really extraordinary here is that for the last month or so Bankman-Fried has been on sort of a media tour certainly wasn't keeping a low profile.

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: No, and when he spoke to a conference hosted by "The New York Times", at the beginning of the month, he said that he was acting against the advice of his lawyers speaking out so frequently.

But the situation right now is that he seems to be wanted for prosecution by a number of different jurisdictions. So you have the police in the Bahamas, they have arrested him saying that they anticipate that they will likely have to extradite him to the U.S. promptly upon a request from the U.S.

We have authorities in the Bahamas saying that his arrest there is linked to potential financial crimes, and that the Prime Minister himself has said that the country's authorities will continue investigating in parallel to what the U.S. is doing?

Then you have the Southern District of New York putting out this statement confirming the arrest of Bankman-Fried on Monday based on a sealed indictment filed by the Southern District of New York and saying that they're going to go on to say more shortly after that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission published their own tweet linked to the SDNY saying that they're commending the arrest and they're authorizing separate charges related to Bankman-Fried's violations of security laws to be filed publicly tomorrow in the Southern District of New York.

Now this was all as Bankman-Fried was on the eve of he was expected to testify in front of Congress and the Chair of the House Financial Services Committee. She in his statement expressed surprise at his arrest and disappointment because she says that creditors and customers who have lost money would they deserve to hear from this individual.

Now CNN has reached out to FTX to get some comment, haven't heard anything. But of course, in one of his many public appearances, Bankman-Fried has suggested that he has not committed any crimes, though we're expecting him to be charged soon. Take a listen to what more he's had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAM BANKMAN-FRIED, FTX FOUNDER: I mean, look, I've had a bad month. This has not been anything different that's not what matters here. Like, what matters here is the millions of customers? What matters here is all the stakeholders and FTX who got hurt and trying to do everything I can to help them out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON: The person who will be testifying who is not behind bars is the new CEO of FTX. That is John I'm looking for his name here, John Ray the third who helped restructure and recover assets from Enron after that collapse and scandal.

And in his testimony, which has already been submitted to Congress. He is absolutely scathing about this company saying "Never in my career have I seen such an utter failure of corporate controls at every level of an organization.

[01:05:00]

WATSON: FTX group's collapse appears to stem from the absolute concentration of control in the hands of a very small group of grossly inexperienced and unsophisticated individuals. And he states that there was commingling of assets between FTX this Crypto Exchange, and another company that was founded and owned by a Bankman-Fried, and that is Alameda, the crypto hedge fund. And that could be where he gets in so much trouble in the days and weeks ahead, John.

VAUSE: Ivan Watson live for us there in Hong Kong. Appreciate it. Thank you. With us out from Washington is Professor Eswar Prasad, a Senior fellow at Brookings, but he holds the New Century Chair in International Economics. Thank you for being with us.

ESWAR PRASAD, SENIOR FELLOW, BROOKINGS INSTITUTE: My pleasure.

VAUSE: So when many Cryptocurrency traders hit troubled times earlier this year, Bankman-Fried was there as a white knight. In June, for example, extended $250 million in credit to Blockfy (ph) at the time tweeting, we take our duty seriously to protect the digital asset ecosystem, and its customers.

Now that the man who's seen as the guru of crypto has been arrested, what does that mean for an industry which has been struggling? What does it do for confidence in Cryptocurrencies?

PRASAD: Now, he will certainly see as a linchpin of the crypto industry because while you might say that the value of crypto assets, including crypto currencies like Bitcoin might rise and fall, certainly something like FTX which is the exchange that Sam Bankman- Fried set up and managed, certainly that would be at least a safe place to keep financial assets crypto assets, and also trade them in a safe manner.

So it turns out that even that was built on very fragile foundations. And what we found is that many investors who invested their money to this exchange got taken in by the razzle-dazzle of the new technology did not realize it was built on very shaky foundations, and basically did not do the due diligence that you'd expect any investor to undertake.

VAUSE: Well, with that in mind SBF as he's known was going to testify Tuesday on Capitol Hill, he won't be. But the man who took his place as CEO at FTX will. And according to prepared statements, his opening remark, John Ray will tell the House Financial Services Committee, never in my career have I seen such an utter failure of corporate controls at every level of an organization from the lack of financial statements to complete failure of any internal controls or governance, what so ever.

So you touched on this. Is Cryptocurrency looking more and more like a Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme, ultimately brought down by the same old financial wrongdoings?

PRASAD: I think that is a combination of greed, hubris, and sheer incompetence at play here. Certainly the notion that a crypto currency like Bitcoin, or many of the other decentralized Cryptocurrencies that have no intrinsic value would somehow maintain value just because they are built on a very cool technology and admittedly very cool technology and are scarce relative to fiat currencies like the dollar, which can be printed essentially, in infinite quantities by central bank like the Fed.

So that proposition certainly seems to have been put to the test. And it has failed the test. It was thought that perhaps the scarcity of crypto assets would make them relatively good inflation hedges that too, has not borne out very well.

So I think the reality we are seeing is that the financial foundations of this entire edifice were really very weak to begin with. Again, this is not to say that the technology that has been bequeathed to us by Bitcoin and other Cryptocurrencies is not going to have legs, but not in this particular form, where essentially, it was providing a tool for financial engineering and fraud, rather than any real fundamental financial innovation.

VAUSE: So what is the future here, then? What does it look like? If you say that the technology is good, it just wasn't used in the correct way. So how does the technology get used from this point on?

PRASAD: To a large extent, that's going to depend on what regulators will do? Because at one level, regulators have to make sure that this new technology can be harnessed in a way that we get many of the benefits in terms of giving people who are unbanked or under-banked, relatively easy access to financial products and services that they need, including basic banking products, and also easy access to digital payments, while making sure that the financial risks can be contained, which is going to require much more transparency, much more corporate governance and playing by the rules, which is the entire industry was trying to get around.

VAUSE: Professor, thank you so much for being with us. Appreciate your insights, Professor, Eswar Prasad there in Washington. Thank you, sir.

PRASAD: Thank you for having me.

VAUSE: Now to a major breakthrough that one day it could end the need for carbon polluting fossil fuels. The U.S. Energy Department said to announce that scientists in California have successfully produced a nuclear fusion reaction, which produce more energy than it consumed. Same process that powers the sun it's different from fission, which splits atoms and is the existing technology for nuclear reactors. Fusing atoms together does not produce any radioactive waste but here's the catch.

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VAUSE: The energy produced by fusion lasts only a few seconds, the process is expensive all that means much more needs to be done to make the process commercially viable. Well, details now from CNN's Rene Marsh.

RENE MARSH, CNN ANCHOR & GOVERNMENT REGULATION CORRESPONDENT: Well, scientists at a Department of Energy Lab in California have figured out how to successfully produce a nuclear fusion reaction with a net energy gain. That means they've succeeded in taking two hydrogen atoms and using 192 powerful lasers to force those atoms to fuse together unleashing the same kind of energy that powers the sun and stars. Until now, that has been incredibly difficult to replicate here on Earth. The key is, though, that they've been able to release more energy from the reaction than they use in the fusion process itself. And that's critically important for anything to be a viable source; it needs to have a higher energy output than the energy input used to generate the power.

So this is a huge moment, mostly because the discovery could eventually unlock and unlimited cheap, clean power source for the world. Now this discovery has also proved this as a viable energy source, and no longer a hypothetical scenario.

But as major as this is in the quest to pivot away from dirty energy sources like fossil fuels, we're still a far way off from powering our homes by way of nuclear fusion. It's estimated it could take two even three decades before this energy source is widely used Renee Marsh, CNN, Washington.

VAUSE: From Moscow the latest reports from the frontlines from the war in Ukraine paint a very grim picture. A senior U.S. military official says Russian supplies of new ammunition are, "Rapidly dwindling". Russian troops are now using 40 year old artillery, which is why Russia is looking to Iran and North Korea to resupply depleted weapons stockpiles.

And notably for the first time in a decade there'll be no traditional end of year hours' long news conference by the Russian President Vladimir Putin. No word from the Kremlin on dates for his traditional address to lawmakers as well as that marathon question and answer session with a few lucky residents.

The XL ban of the Ukrainian City of Melitopol says Russian forces are panicking and redeploying. After Ukrainian strikes over the weekend now there are conflicting estimates of casualties, but Melitopol has been under Russian occupation since the early days of the war. It's a major logistics hub for Russia's military.

Ukrainian President is asking the G7 group of nations for more weapons financing as well as energy assistance Monday. Volodymyr Zelenskyy also sat down for an interview with a Former Late Night Talk Show Host David Letterman who traveled to Kyiv.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINAN PRESIDENT: Is that--

DAVID LETTERMAN, LATE NIGHT TALK SHOW HOST: Yes I can hear the siren. What should we do?

ZELENSKYY: Nothing.

LETTERMAN: What was that? What was the siren indicating?

ZELENSKYY: Unfortunately, I have to state that it means that war has become a habit.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Ukraine's dwindling supply of electricity is being felt most of the country is already overwhelmed hospitals. Now we have also that around the City of Bakhmut hospitals with little heat a bit rolling power blackouts are facing a surge in the number of wounded civilians many suffering horrific wounds. We'll hear now from CNN's Sam Kiley.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Getting the ingredients for lunch to - best friend, his arm and his livelihood. Hit by a missile in Bakhmut he thinks his life was saved by his leather jacket, which held him together when he was hit, searching for cabbage and beans.

I didn't know what hit me. I don't understand. But the force was incredible he says because the arm just flew off. I was conscious. But I was praying. I tell you, I pray to survive. He was a builder. And he was right handed, but not anymore.

He was rescued by soldiers from Bakhmut which has been the scene of the most intense fighting along an 800 mile front and rushed to hospital here. The first thing I asked was if I could have my arm sewn back on he said.

I saw that it was completely torn off and was just hanging in the sleeve. And my stomach was burning. There are times he wishes he hadn't survived. Now I'm half man, half zombie, half human to be exact.

The fight in Bakhmut is merciless, and it's been relentless. Weeks of intense artillery joules torn the city apart and ripped into the dwindling number of civilians still there. The local Ukrainian authorities have implored civilians to leave the region for months. The consequences of staying on are often catastrophic, and end up here in the nearby Konstantinovka Hospital.

KILEY (on camera): So this is how the Ukrainians are managing to get around the destruction of their power grid.

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KILEY (on camera): This is a Ukrainian series of boilers installed in this hospital. It can only heat though the intensive care ward, the maternity ward and the operating theatres. Everybody else just has to wrap up warm.

KILEY (on camera): Is that because you don't have power?

KILEY (voice over): Lucia Marron Frontier (ph) has rushed medics to replace those who have fled.

LUCIA MARRON, MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES: --issue with electricity supplies or sometimes there is not light or no water. So that's been challenging. KILEY (voice over): But still, the injured come from Bakhmut. This woman in her 30s has been riddled with shrapnel. Her leg is shattered. But as they examine her more closely, her internal organs have been badly damaged. These two surgeons will be in this operating theater for many hours to come.

The doctor says she's a resident of Bakhmut. She came under artillery fire has suffered a shrapnel wound to the abdomen with damage to several organs.

KILEY (on camera): Is she going to live?

KILEY (voice over): We hope so.

KILEY (on camera): Are you seeing a lot of these sorts of injuries?

KILEY (voice over): Yes. Every day every day, and with the fighting in Eastern Ukraine expected to intensify every day will be a bad day. Sam Kiley, CNN in Konstantinovka.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Well, the body of prominent sports journalists Grant Wahl has been returned to the U.S. days after his sudden death at the World Cup in Qatar. Wahl's Manager tells CNN autopsies being completed, says his family is expected to make a statement in the day.

Earlier the U.S. State Department said had seen no indication of foul play regarding Wahl's death that died on Friday after collapsing at a match between Argentina and the Netherlands. Just 49 years old. Still ahead here on CNN, now a second anti-government protester has been executed in Iran after a trial, which many have criticized as being far from fair and impartial.

Also the family or American students study in France says he has not been heard from for weeks now they feel the worst details on a disappearance coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: Well, the message to protesters from the mullahs in Tehran was clear with the execution of another anti-government demonstrator, which has been widely condemned especially by the U.S. with the State Department saying those responsible for the human rights abuses will be held accountable.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NED PRICE, U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESPERSON: These harsh sentences and now the first public execution at least, are meant to intimidate Iran's people. They're meant to suppress dissent. And they simply just underscore how much Iran's leadership actually fears its own people?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Meantime, an Iranian news agency has released CCTV video which has shown during the protesters trial, CNN has blurred the video but the original video does not clearly the identity of the victims.

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VAUSE: Salma Abdelaziz has details.

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: An intimidating and public execution in Iran in the early hours of Monday morning. Iran's authorities hanged Majidreza Rahnavard in the City of Mashhad. According to government news agencies, he was convicted of waging war against God.

The accusation against him is that he killed stabbed to death two members of Iran's security forces and wounded several others. But the devil is in the details here. The allegation is that this incident took place on November 17th, meaning Rahnavard went from being an accused man to being a hanged man in under a month.

That's why activists and rights groups are saying he is victim to a sham trial and that really the only purpose behind his execution is to intimidate is to scare other protesters and provide Iran with yet another tool of repression.

And there's concern there could be more executions coming. Rahnavard is the second protester killed since the start of this popular uprising in September. And Amnesty International says Iran is pursuing the death penalty in 17 other cases.

VAUSE: Joining us now from Washington is Karim Sadjadpour, a Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Thanks for coming back. It's good to see you.

KARIM SADJADPOUR, SENIOR FELLOW, CARNEGIE ENDOWMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL PEACE: Thank you, John.

VAUSE: Let's start with where this could actually be heading. In your Op-Ed in New York Times on Monday, you write the lesson that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei takes from the Iran revolution, as well as the collapse of the Soviet Empire and the Arab Spring is to never compromise under pressure and never compromise on principles.

Whenever Mr. Khamenei was faced - has faced a fork in the road between reform and repression. He has always doubled down on repression. So to put it bluntly, how many will be left hanging by a crane in their hometown? How far is this regime willing to go? Is the brutality of the government response now relative to the threat and feels from the protesters?

SADJADPOUR: It's an important question, John. And I think Ayatollah Khamenei who has been ruling since 1989, has entered kind of the classic titters dilemma, which is that if he doesn't offer any prospects or change to Iran's young society, these protests will likely continue projects compromise and offers prospects for change, that's actually not going to alleviate the pressure against him that's actually going to project vulnerability and even embolden protesters.

So his hope is that he can repress and kill his way out of these - out of this now three month uprising in Iran. And a big question mark is going to be how do protesters react when they see now two 23-year-old young men have been executed? Does that actually deter them from continuing to protests? Or does that pour gasoline on these protests and enrage them even more?

VAUSE: Because until now, the intelligence assessments have been that essentially, this time will be just like almost every other time that we've seen these protests in Iran, it will not make it - will not bring about a change in the regime. But that can quickly change, especially now we throw in this element of hanging and executions.

SADJADPOUR: Absolutely, John, and you know, we're dealing with so many uncertain - we're dealing with so many uncertainties, but one thing I can say with real certainty is that I am certain that there is no government, no intelligence agency, no political scientists, no algorithm that can predict correctly predict the timing and the outcome of these kinds of national uprisings.

No one knows how this is going to end, in part because the individuals themselves who are involved in these protests themselves don't know how they're going to act when they're put in these very difficult circumstances on here I mean, both protesters themselves and senior regime officials.

VAUSE: The UK based Iran international reports that on Friday, a prayer leader in Tehran criticized the government, saying it has been losing its standing in the society. It advised government officials to behave based on ethical standards that may seem tame but for an Islamic regime facing a secular uprising. How significant is that? And are there any obvious cracks or divisions right now among the ruling elite?

SADJADPOUR: It's an important question because when it comes to the collapse of the authoritarian regimes, there are usually two key ingredients. You obviously need popular pressure. But perhaps even more importantly, you need divisions at the top internal fissures as you were alluding to.

And you certainly have a lot of popular pressure inside Iran. We haven't yet really seen clear signs of internal divides. The statement that you cited is one data point. You know, last week we saw actually the sister of the Supreme Leader come out and denounce some previously his niece have done so.

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SADJADPOUR: But there is a synergy between the sustainability of popular protests, the courage of protesters, and the corrosion of the regime. And basically, as we start as we, if we - if we see this movement, the protest movement in Iran sustain it, I think that's when you may start to see fissures emerge among the regime elites.

VAUSE: As for what the United States should do, I want you to listen to the Former Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton speaking on CNN, here she is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: I would not be negotiating with Iran on anything right now, including the nuclear agreement. I think that, frankly, horses out of the barn, and I don't think we should look like we're seeking an agreement at a time when the people of Iran are standing up to their oppressors.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: If you want to say that, essentially, there's the no agreement is attainable at this point anyway, when it comes to the nuclear deal. So is she right?

SADJADPOUR: I agree with her. Because if we were to try to revive this nuclear deal with Iran right now, we would essentially be having to lift sanctions, major sanctions against Iran, which would give them a multibillion dollar windfall at a time when they're using their resources to kill innocent people.

And Iran, not to mention provide drones to Vladimir Putin and Russia, which is using against Ukrainian civilians. So by trying to revive the nuclear deal, at the moment, we will essentially be powering a regime in Tehran whose identity is premised on hostility towards the United States.

So I think the Biden Administration appreciates the fact that these nuclear talks are essentially need to be put on ice and frankly, having spoken to folks in the administration right now. I can't say that any of them are highly confident that this is a deal, which is revivable.

VAUSE: Karim thanks so much for being with us. Really appreciate it.

SADJADPOUR: Thank you, John.

CAUSE: The disappearance of an American college student in France is now under investigation. The parents of Cleveland Jr., say they have not heard from their son for more than two weeks and fear something terrible has happened. Here is CNN's Jason Carroll.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): This may be the last known image of Kenny DeLand Jr.; It shows him just as he entered a sporting goods store in the South of France, wearing a red jacket and gray knit cap that was December 3rd.

CAROL LAWS, MOTHER OF THE U.S. STUDENT MISSING IN FRANCE: I just hope that he reaches out to us.

CARROLL (voice over): DeLand, a 22-year-old senior at St. John Fisher University in Rochester, New York is part of a study abroad program in France at the university Grenoble Alpes. DeLand's family says they had been communicating frequently, but then the messages stopped.

KENNETH DELAND SR., FATHER OF U.S. STUDENT MISSING IN FRANCE: We were just exchanging how he was doing and you know, he's been traveling, he's been having a great time we just shake our heads. We don't understand why he's not reaching out to us.

CARROLL (voice over): His family launched a website seeking answers and detailing his last known whereabouts. November 27th his parents last heard from him on WhatsApp. That's when they say their son boarded a train headed for France.

Two days later, November 29th the Public Prosecutor's Office in Grenoble, the City where DeLand was studying French, opened an investigation after his fellow students reported him missing. November 30th, the last known activity from his phone then, December 3rd, DeLand made an $8.40 cent purchase at that sporting goods store located just about 80 miles from Grenoble. His mother saying nothing seemed wrong during their conversations.

LAWS: It was like any normal conversation that we've had. He's telling me about the time that he's having in Europe and he was looking forward to coming home for Christmas and starting to put the plans in place for that.

CARROLL (voice over): The French Prosecutor's Office telling CNN, DeLand told several people he was underprepared for overseas study and was having difficulty making friends. St. John Fisher University says it's working closely with the American Institute of Foreign Study on the investigation. AIFMS saying in a statement, we are working with local law enforcement that had begun a search we are hoping for his swift and safe return. Back in his hometown, a prayer service held at the Clifton Springs United Methodist Church.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'd like to see you come home and preferably before Christmas for your family sake and for yours too. Just be safe.

CARROLL (voice over): His community and family praying that he will soon be found safe and sound.

DELAND SR.: We're waiting. We're worried. We don't know what you know where he is?

[01:29:54]

CARROLL (voice over): Deland's parents expressing frustration over the flow of information due to the fact that because Deland, their son is an adult, French privacy laws do limit the amount of information that can actually now be released to his parents. The State Department however, working very closely with French authorities.

Jason Carroll, CNN -- New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Just ahead here on CNN, an accused terrorist makes a first appearance in a U.S. court 34 years after the bombing of Pan Am flight at Lockerbie, Scotland.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) VAUSE: This was the funeral for Jana Zakarneh, a 16-year old Palestine girl the Israeli military has acknowledged she was shot dead by Israeli troops during a raid in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin.

The Israeli prime minister Yair Lapid has offered his condolences and says her death was unintentional. But the girl's family believes her death was not an accident.

CNN's Hadas Gold reports from Jerusalem.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HADAS GOLD, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Israeli forces acknowledging on Monday that it was likely their forces who they say unintentionally killed a 16-year-old Palestinian girl during an Israeli military raid in Jenin in the occupied West Bank.

Now what happened is on Sunday evening, the Israeli military carried out an arrest raid in Jenin. This has become a common occurrence this past year, especially as the Israeli military says it's targeting militant strongholds in the West Bank.

Now, the 16 year old, her name was Jana Zakarneh. Her family says that after the raid began and it began here in heavy gunfire, Jana decided to go up to the roof to see what was happening. They say that then 20 minutes after the Israeli soldiers left the area, they found her on the roof and they say that she was shot four times.

Now, the Israeli military said that after a review, they believe that it was one of their security forces who they say unintentionally shot and killed Jana. They say that during the military raid their forces came under fire they say also from rooftops and that their soldiers said that they were shooting back at what they thought were armed gunmen from roofs around where Jana was standing.

The Israeli defense minister Benny Gantz, commenting on the incident. Take a listen.

BENNY GANTZ, ISRAELI DEFENSE MINISTER (through translator): First I express my sorrow for her death as for any death of someone who is not involved in terrorism if that was indeed the case.

This activity was about arrests of suspects and shooting attacks and an involvement in terrorist organizations with the aim of murdering Israelis.

[01:34:57]

GANTZ: During the incident, massive fire was fired at the forces and explosives and Molotov cocktails were thrown. In response, the forces returned fire at the sources of the shooting out of self-defense.

GOLD: Now Jana's family is rejecting the assertion that it was unintentional and the Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh has called on the United Nations to investigate the incident and to put Israel he said on the blacklist. This has been an exceptionally deadly year for Palestinians

especially, and also Israelis so far this year set a record number for the number of deaths across Israel and the occupied territories.

Now, the Israeli military says most of the 166 Palestinians killed in the West Bank were either militants or engaging violently with their soldiers. But human rights organizations and the United Nations say that bystanders have been caught up as well as we are seeing with Jana, with the 16-year-old's death.

Israeli authorities say at least 31 people have been killed in attacks targeting Israelis across the West Bank and Israel. These are numbers that in some cases and types of attacks and violent clashes that have not been seen some people say since the early 2000s.

And there is a lot of worry among the international community, especially as a new Israeli government is expected to take power any day now. It will be in some estimates the most right-wing government in Israeli's history. And the international community is especially concerned about certain ministers who will be appointed, some of them who just a few years ago would've been considered the far right wing fringe of Israeli politics, now will be in positions of power including in some cases controlling Israeli police.

So there's a lot of concern that the situation that is always -- already been so violent and so tenuous will potentially only worse.

Hadas Gold, CNN -- Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: A suspect in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing has made his first appearance in a U.S. court. Prosecutors say Libyan man, Abu Agila Mohammad Mas'ud Kheir al-Marimi made the bomb which was used in the deadliest terrorist attack ever in the U.K. 270 people died during Pan Am flight 103 cam down over Scotland.

CNN's Nic Robertson has more now reporting from London.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Finally facing justice in a U.S. court and the possibility of life in jail. Former Libyan intelligence agent Abu Agila Mohammad Mas'ud Kheir al-Marimi walked slowly, almost limped to the defense table.

Almost 34 years since he allegedly set the timer on a Lockerbie bomb that would kill 270 people. He is being charged on three criminal counts including destruction of an aircraft causing death. He was read his rights but did not enter a plea. How he got to Washington, unclear.

KENNY MACASKILL, BRITISH ALBA PARTY MP: They didn't like the U.S.A. and handing over one of their citizens to the U.S.A. would be viewed as treachery. So the surprises they got him but not that he's involved. ROBERTSON: A triumph for justice and the victims families.

VICTORIA CUMMOCK, HUSBAND KILLED IN PAN AM FLIGHT 103: Today's arraignment of Mas'ud in a Washington court house is a significant step, first step, to address this three decades long miscarriage of justice.

ROBERTSON: The majority of passengers on board the ill-fated Pan Am 103 were mostly Americans, 35 of them, students at Syracuse University, returning home for Christmas.

It took years of painstaking detective work, reconstructing the shattered Boeing 747 jetliner. Eventually discovering tiny bomb fragments in clothing leading back to Malta, and ultimately to two other Libyan intelligence agents. One of them, Abdelbaset Al-Megrahi was convicted, spent 8 years in a Scottish jail, released in 2009, suffering from cancer.

When I met him two years later, he was still protesting his innocence. He died the following year taking his secret to the grave. The FBI's breakthrough came nearly half a decade later. Discovering Mas'ud testimony given years earlier while in custody in Libya on unrelated issues.

A mere 40 year veteran of Libya's intelligence service. He admitted to working with al-Megrahi, said they were praised by Libyan dictator Moammar Gaddafi by according to an FBI affidavit. The case appearing to place him at the very time and location the bomb began its deadly journey, being strong.

JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: The boarding pass that shows he went Malta, his fingerprint on it, the fact that he left right after the bomb was placed, the fact that he was the intelligence services main technical expert on bomb making.

[01:39:58]

ROBERTSON: A test now, will testimony gathered by Libyan law enforcement a decade ago be admissible in the U.S. court?

AARNER ANWAR, LAWYER: UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's the Americans and the Scottish authorities announcing Mas'ud is the suits the bomber. Well, the whole cases (INAUDIBLE) Hope he's going to get on that. Then the question arises for Mr. Mas'ud on how was his confession extracted?

ROBERTSON: Technically, Mas'ud could face the death penalty. But the government says it's not pursuing it because it wasn't constitutionally available at the time of the attack.

The next hearing set for December 27th by which time Mas'ud may have picked a lawyer.

Nic Robertson, CNN -- London.

(END VIDEOTAPE) VAUSE: Still ahead here on CNN NEWSROOM, a cold snap in the U.K. is disrupting flights just ahead of the holidays. We'll have a weather report with the very latest when we come back. It's cold.

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VAUSE: A blanket of snow is covering London just as home heating costs continue to rise. Temperatures dropped to nearly minus 16 degrees Celsius, that marked Monday's coldest day of the year so far. Schools are closed, flights delayed, and in some parts motorists were asked to stay home, too cold. Don't go out.

Meteorologist Britley Ritz at the CNN Weather Center. Just not (ph) a bad deal, stay home, it's too cold.

BRITLEY RITZ, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, It's a little chilly for many out there in the U.K. And the U.S., yes, some of us are getting cold too as that whole system starts to move through there -- snow, ice, all of the above.

This is Richmond Lake in the U.K. Ice covered but not thick enough to walk on. Thankfully these folks are hanging off the shoreline. But still a few slick spots out there on the sidewalks, of course. Hopefully you can make the most of it.

This kid is having a fun time sledding down some of that snow. Snowfall totals over the past 24 hours. Andrewsfield is at nine centimeters, anywhere between two and about ten centimeters picked up.

Northern Scotland, still under a yellow warning where we have that low risk of dealing with slick roadways. Again, a few icy spots, just slowdown, give yourself more time from point a to point b.

Doing the same thing, Wednesday through Thursday for Scotland and down into parts of the central parts of the U.K. and on the coastline.

We picked up in the Slavic Republic, by the way, on Sunday, over 30 centimeters of snowfall still holding on to that opportunity by the way with each system that keeps rolling on by.

We need the snow, we need the rain as we progress over the next few days to help with the drought situation. Heavy rain moving through parts of the Iberian Peninsula dealing with flooding as well as severe weather.

VAUSE: Britley Ritz, thank you very much for that. We appreciate the update. Stay warm.

Well, among the devastation caused by Hurricane Ian earlier this year was hundreds of thousands of bee colonies. About a quarter of all the colonies in Florida were wiped out.

[01:44:57]

VAUSE: Many of the bees which survived the storm are now starving to death because of lack of foliage. CNN's chief climate correspondent Bill Weir has our report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You've got to get a handful of bees.

BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: Really?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

WEIR: Ok.

I'm not usually in the habit of accepting a handful of stinging insects, but Keith Councell has a 40-year professional relationship with honeybees.

And you rarely wear a veil or gloves or anything?

KEITH COUNCELL, BEE EXPERT: Don't really need to.

WEIR: And these days, they need all the love they can get. Hurricane Ian arrived at the worst possible time for this business. Just as beekeepers from around the country were set up to catch the autumn bloom of the Brazilian pepper tree.

The storm drowned and crashed hundreds of thousands of hives. Killing countless millions of bees.

COUNSEL: We're going to have to come back. There is nothing left.

WEIR: You can actually see a water line where it came up to here.

And because Ian blew away so much vegetation, those that survived are starving.

JEREMY HAM, FLORIDA BEEKEPER: Some of these bills have gotten three shots of feed and that's a gallon, you're talking about 36 pounds of feed already. And you can still go back after they sucked the bee down and it looks like they never were fed at all.

WEIR: They're just starving.

HAM: They're just starving. Yes, it's nonstop.

So it's just an added costa and you're just trying to do the best. You have to make that tough decision of really is it worth the money, the financial cost, to try to save it? Or do you just have to walk away and take your medicine?

WEIR: This is all bee food. This will be used for liquid bee food, yes.

At a Mann Lake bee and Ag Supply, they're mixing sugar water as fast as they can. And while some bee farmers file for federal relief the Greater Good Charity has given away a quarter ton of pollen substitute. CASEY PAHOLSKI, GREATER GOOD CHARITY: Where we have donated meals to

food pantries for humans, we've donated animal supplies to animal shelters. And now we're donating this bee pollen substitute to the farmer's here.

WEIR: Can't forget the bottom of the food chain, right?

Can't forget what helped get all the other food to the table as well.

But even if their bees recover, the whole business depends on the health of the almond crop in California now shrinking under mega drought.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If the drought takes out the almond crop in California, that -- the whole bee keeping industry is going to be in trouble. And there's no feral bees, there's no -- wild bees can't survive on their own.

WEIR: He explains that pesticides, development and invasives pests have made it impossible for bees to survive without deliberate human care.

ANDREW WAGNER, MANN LAKE BEE AND AG SUPPLY: And if all the beekeepers released all of their bees, every beekeeper in the country, if they just released all their bees into the wild, we estimate there would be about 2 to 3 years before bees would just collapse.

Bees are the most important farmer, they're the most forgotten as well. And that's why we just need the entire public to really continue to get involved in bees and a little to beehives makes a big impact.

COUNCELL: They went totally underwater. Somehow made it.

WEIR: In the meantime, all Keith can do is pick up the pieces and focus on the survivors. Like the hive he found drowned inside a water meter box near Fort Myers Beach.

COUNCELL: It's a different feeling when you have bees walking all over. You

WEIR: It really is. It really is.

COUNCELL: And -- (INAUDIBLE). They're doing their thing.

WEIR: Maybe they can sense we are rooting for them, you know? We appreciate them.

COUNCELL: That's part of the thing. You have to treat them with respect. And when you get down to it, the bees are the pillars to all agriculture. They're the pillars to our whole civilization.

WEIR: Bill weir, CNN -- Arcadia, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: When we come back, something completely different. Prince Harry claims that one or more parties (INAUDIBLE) to protect his brother. This is on a new Netflix docuseries and a preview of the next three episodes and the last episode.

Also a boy band to boot camp, the oldest member of BTS begins national military service as they all will over the next five years. As this the beginning of one of the world's most popular K-pop groups?

[01:49:10]

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VAUSE: Well, they might be saving the best for last. And right now the best they have might be a claim by Meghan who says she was fed to the wolves when, along with Harry, she decided to step back from royal duties. But they may be saving even more serious allegations for the finale of the Netflix docuseries.

CNN's Max Foster has a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: Another week and another installment or set of installments of the new Harry and Meghan docuseries on Netflix. And this one promises a bombshell.

PRINCE HARRY, DUKE OF SUSSEX: To see this institutional gaslighting.

MEGHAN MARKLE, DUCHESS OF SUSSEX: I wasn't being thrown to the wolves, I was being fed to the wolves.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They were actively recruiting people to disseminate disinformation.

PRINCE HARRY: They're happy to lie to protect my brother. They were never willing to tell the truth to protect us.

FOSTER: It's not clear what the specifics are here. What is the lie the palace is accused of that's protected William and worked against Harry and Meghan. That's the detail that everyone including the palace will be waiting on when the series drops, the final three parts on Thursday.

Max Foster, CNN -- London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Just a few hours from now the World Cup semifinals are set to begin with Argentina facing Croatia, the most recent runner-up. (INAUDIBLE) are looking to advance to the finals for the second straight time where they'll play for their first title ever.

Argentina is searching for a third trophy, the first with superstar Lionel Messi at the helm. The winner will face either France or Morocco who will play in the semifinal game Wednesday.

This is the fifth tournament Messi has played in and at 35 years old it's also likely his last.

CNN's Don Riddell explains what the championship would mean for the superstar as well as his country.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DON RIDDELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: The World Cup is arguably one of the hardest trophies to win in the sport. The chance only comes around once every four years and the legendary Lionel Messi is running out of time.

After such an extraordinary career, some think it's Messi's destiny to win it here in Qatar, in his 5th and presumably final World Cup tournament. He was born the year after Argentina's most recent World Cup triumph in 1986 when Diego Maradona carried the Albiceleste to victory.

This is the first World Cup since Maradona's death, so it would certainly be a poetic time to do it. If it is truly meant to be for Argentina, then the road has been far from straightforward. A shocking defeat in their opening game against Saudi Arabia was followed by a rousing win against Mexico, and a routine victory over Poland.

Their round of 16 knockout win against Australia was closer than it should've been and they almost blew it in a tempestuous quarterfinal against the Netherlands, which required a penalty shootout.

The stakes couldn't be higher, and the emotions are starting to show, getting this far has come at a price. Ahead of Tuesday's game against Croatia, two defenders are suspended.

But Argentina's fans still believe that this is going to be their year and they have never lost a World Cup semifinal. But as Argentina put in one of their final training sessions before the semifinal, they must know that Croatia will be a tough nut to crack.

Argentina lost to them in the group stage 4 years ago, and the 2018 finalists also seem to have destiny on their side. They've won two penalty shootouts to get this far. The plucky underdogs from Europe never seen quite seem to know when they're beaten.

Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Their haircuts gone now that Jin the oldest member of BTS is in boot camp for 18 months of national service.

Let's take a look at the new look. Regulation army buzz cut. The South Korean group's record label has asked fans, the dedicated fans not to visit the military base where Jin has reported for duty. This comes months after BTS announced they would take a break and pursue solo projects and other opportunities.

[01:54:57]

VAUSE: Live now to South Korea, CNN's Paula Hancocks standing by at the boot camp base where Jin is undergoing basic training, I guess.

Here's the question. BTS really was the BTS for a few years now because they all have to go through national service. So, you know, will the fans stay loyal?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They have very loyal fans, John. As I'm sure you know, they're known as the army and they're not going to forget about the individuals or the group itself. The management company saying they believe that they will be reconvening in 2025.

Now at about a quarter to 2:00 this afternoon, here, just south of the DMZ, we did see a convoy of six black vehicles coming into the military base. We believe that Jin was inside, it's been confirmed by the military that he is now starting that five weeks of basic training.

Now, this is required of all able-bodied men here in South Korea. They're expected to carry out 18 to 21 months of training. It's mandatory and it's supposed to happen before the age of 28.

Jin was allowed to defer it a couple of years, a law passing saying that if you excelled at popular culture and art, you can defer it until you're 30 and BTS certainly ticked that box.

So we did see some fans here, a few came along. One lady, Mandy, had flown all the way from Hong Kong. She said a couple of days ago just so that she could show her support for Jin.

We also spoke to someone who had been through this training camp last year and he said that it is a pretty brutal camp. The fact that it is so far north as you can see, it's snowing at the moment, I can confirm. It is bitterly cold and it is only December.

So this is a particularly hardcore boot camp that Jin has joined at this point. But certainly the fans are not going to forget him. He is just the first of the group to go through this system.

Now, there was some debate even in parliament as to whether or not BTS should be exempted from carrying out this military service because of the incredible soft power that they represent and provide for Korea.

There are some professional athletes if they won an Olympic Medal, for example, an Asian Games gold, they are exempted and they do some kind of alternative community activity.

The same for classical musicians. It's not the same for K-Pop artists at this point much to the disappointment of the BTS fans, the army. And so that is why we are seeing Jin starting his five weeks training camp today but he will then be going on to do 18 months of military service. Of course, there are six more members of the group that will be doing the same, John.

VAUSE: Paula Hancocks in the snow, the cold, the wind, outside a boot camp there in the northern part of South Korea. Thank you so much. We appreciate the live report.

Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause.

Please stay with us. The news continues with my friend and colleague Rosemary Church. See you right back here tomorrow.

[01:57:57]

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