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Russia Launches Another Major Missile Attack On Ukraine; White House: Russia Won't Dictate The Us Security Assistance To Ukraine; Judge Temporarily Blocks Biden from Ending Remain in Mexico Policy; U.S. Preparing For Surge Of Migrants Next Week; China Needs More Health Care Workers As Cases Surge; Peru Ex-President Castillo Ordered Detained 18 Months; Biden Voices Support for African Union Joining G20; Firms and Charities Providing Essential Services in South Africa; Storm System Slams South with Deadly Tornadoes; New Episodes Reveal Bitter Split from Royal Family; Sights, Sounds and Flavors of Doha's Souq Waqif. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired December 16, 2022 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone, I'm Michael Holmes. Appreciate your company. Coming up here on CNN Newsroom, Putin's next assault. Ukraine warns Russia could launch its next offensive soon with the capital Kyiv a potential target.
A setback for the Biden administration's immigration policy days before the U.S. expects a surge of migrants along its border with Mexico.
And China battles and explosion in COVID cases just as the country eases its controversial COVID policy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from CNN Center. This is CNN Newsroom with Michael Holmes.
HOLMES: Now almost 10 months into the Russian invasion, Ukrainian forces appear to be fighting back in a major way. Russian backed officials in the partially occupied Donetsk region report the biggest attack there in eight years.
Let's look at that, this video posted on social media is from the Luhansk region also occupied by Russia and local Telegram channels suggested ammunition depot might have been hit. Neither Russia nor Ukrainian officials have commented on that.
Now to the north, the Kharkiv, reports that Russian forces attacked critical infrastructure once more. Authority say Russian rockets hit a warehouse with no connection to the military, and two people were killed in the recently liberated city of Kherson.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): During another Russian shelling of Kherson today, a shell hit the Red Cross aid station, a woman paramedic, a volunteer was killed. My condolences to her family. Only since the beginning of this day, Russia has already shelled Kherson more than 16 times in just one day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Meanwhile, the U.S. is planning to expand training for Ukraine's military. The Pentagon says it will train about 500 Ukrainians a month in Germany that will be starting in January. Russia threatening to target Patriot missile batteries which the U.S. is reportedly planning to send to Ukraine.
The Pentagon press secretary says that Russia will not dictate what kind of security assistance the U.S. provides. And CNN's Brian Todd reports for us now. The Patriot systems come with a huge price tag and some serious limitations.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): It rocketed to fame during the first Gulf War touted as a miracle defense and it's a significant step up from the air defenses Ukraine is using now. The Patriot missile is America's top of the line interceptor with a longer range, higher altitude and more advanced tracking.
MARK CANCIAN, CENTER FOR STRATEGIC AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: Much, much larger missile designed to take out at very long ranges, aircraft cruise missiles, ballistic missiles,
TODD: Ukraine's infrastructure and power grid have been pummeled by Russian missiles, sometimes as many as 100. Launch per day according to Ukrainian officials.
COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), FORMER U.S. AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE OFFICER: Once the Ukrainians get this capability to counter these offensive weapons, it's going to make a really big difference in how this war is prosecuted.
TODD: One deployment of a patriot battery would only cover an area the size of a city and would not be intended to counter unsophisticated weapons like drones. Still --
LEIGHTON: If they're pretty certain that they're going to target a critical piece of infrastructure, then the Patriot battery would be the weapon of last resort in a case like that.
TODD: But there are other challenges.
MARK MILLEY, U.S. CHAIRMAN OF THE JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF: Patriot is extraordinarily expensive takes a long time to train on it.
TODD: Deploying one battery with up to eight launchers plus radar guidance could cost $400 million, plus 250 million for the first set of 60 missiles and 4 million per missile after that, according to analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
CANCIAN: Not worth shooting a $4 million missile defense against the $50,000 drone.
TODD: There's also the time it takes to train and the manpower as many as 90 personnel training that can take months. Another consideration Russia's response, the Kremlin has warned that a patriot deployment in Ukraine would escalate the conflict and increase the risk of Americans being drawn in but the U.S. says its personnel would only be training Ukrainian troops on how to operate the Patriots, training that will take place in Germany and analysts say the Russian are likely dialing up the pressure over the Patriot deployment because they're nervous about it.
[01:05:05]
LEIGHTON: The Russians are definitely worried about the Patriot system. Their offensive weapons are really dependent on us not having a defensive capability to counter them.
TODD (on camera): The experts we spoke to warned of other potential vulnerabilities and drawbacks with the Patriot system, they say that although these batteries are capable of defending themselves, they could be taken out by the Russians, which the Russians are certain to try to do. And they say the missiles themselves could fall into the hands of the Russians, who could then try to reverse engineer them. Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
HOLMES: Joining me now from Washington is Lieutenant General Mark Hertling. He is the CNN military analyst and former commanding general of the U.S. Army, Europe and the Seventh Army. It's always good to see you, sir.
Ukraine's defense chiefs, including the President told the economists there could be a major Russian offensive, even another attempt to take Kyiv and it could start as early as the next few months. Given how the battlefield looks right now, though, do you think that's feasible?
LT. GEN. MARK HERTLING (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: You know, Michael, feasible is a tough word to describe. I think it's a possibility. I'm not sure it's feasible. And the reason I say that is because the Belarusian forces if there is another attack from the north, aren't that capable, and the new forces that Russia is putting together, I don't think we'll be ready anytime soon.
But here's the point of all of that. You know, warfare is made up of constant shifting between offensive defense, forces are either attacking or defending. And when you're talking about the Ukrainian front lines, they are attacking in some places, with small unit attacks, and they're defending in other places like the Donbas. And there's this back and forth, during each phase of the war, we've seen both the Russians and Ukrainian shift in these areas.
Well, what we now have, if you take a look at the front lines is you have a pretty static defense in the East. And in the southeast, you have the Ukrainians trying to take even more ground than they've already taken. And the Russians are defending harshly to try and prevent that.
But here's the question. The lines have gotten smaller. They've gotten more compacted and it's more intense. So if Russia is able to threaten another offensive operation from the north, it's going to appeal Ukrainian forces away from the frontlines that they currently have. And Ukraine does not want to do that.
Both sides of this fight are trying to build up their capabilities. Russia is doing it through trying to mobilize forces and train them. Ukraine is trying to do it by getting combined arms teams together to conduct large scale counter offenses. So it's really a rush to that who gets there first. And who has the logistics and the capability to continue the offensive and determine what comes next.
HOLMES: To the point of capability. And you touched on this. The head of Ukraine's Armed Forces general Valery Zaluzhny, he said this, he said, quote, The Russians are preparing some 200,000 fresh troops. Now, of course, there was a big mobilization earlier in the year. But the question would be what of the quality of those troops, how well trained how well equipped, especially given the deficiencies we've seen in those areas?
HERTLING: Yes, well, you know, General Zaluzhny, who I happen to admire greatly, you know, he understands. There's a lot of people on the internet saying, hey, Ukraine needs to continue to push, continue to push, continue to go on the offensive. Any good general knows that military actions require tempo. And sometimes tempo is fast. And sometimes it's slow.
General Zaluzhny is really trying to figure out using patience and the build-up of a force and where he should go next. And what can he do next are all important, and he's not going to -- knowing his leadership capability, he's not going to take any irrational action. He's going to measure all those things before he starts another offensive.
HOLMES: Yes, I wanted to ask you this, too. When some in the west and some in the Kremlin, for that matter, speak of a negotiated settlement of the company to a diplomatic solution, it is crystal clear from these interviews in The Economist that nothing short of , not just 2014, but post-independence borders will be acceptable to Zelenskyy, he made that clear. What does that suggest about Ukraine's in Zelenskyy posture.
HERTLING: But you know, there's there -- I was talking to a Ukrainian the other day and he said a popular refrain right now among most Ukrainians is that they'd rather live without power and heating than live with Russia. (INAUDIBLE) has been more determined after all of these attacks against the civilian population even in the early stages of winter. They are not willing to cede one inch of ground to the Russian forces who have taken over their sovereign territory.
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HOLMES: Yes. HERTLING: So you're going to continue to see that kind of fight going on. And truthfully it's going to be harsher and harsher as the winter goes on.
HOLMES: Lieutenant General Mark Hertling, always great to get your analysis. Thank you so much.
HERTLING: Thank you, Michael. I really appreciate it.
HOLMES: Now, a U.S. federal judge in Texas has put a hold on the Biden administration's plan to end the so called Remain in Mexico program. The controversial Trump-era policy allows the U.S. to send certain non-Mexican citizens who entered the U.S. back to Mexico. Previously, those migrants were either detained or released into the U.S. while their immigration proceedings played out.
Now, the Biden administration is preparing for a surge in border crossings as it plans to end another Trump-era policy known as Title 42 next week. Now it lets federal agents return migrants to their home countries based on public health concerns. And a number of U.S. cities are still trying to figure out how to support asylum seekers who do make it across the border. CNN's Omar Jimenez reports from New York.
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OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): From Venezuela to Colombia, Central America, Mexico and then by bus from Texas eventually to New York City in July, Dain Rojas (ph) says she was frightened nearly every step of the month long journey lesson.
The first fear is the jungle she says, navigating threats of possible violence, disease and more alongside her husband and son. In the middle of it all, the three of them found out she was carrying a fourth. She was pregnant. By the time she had gotten to New York, the harsh conditions of her travel had taken a toll.
I got sick because I came with a urinary infection from the trip over she says. I was hospitalized because of the baby the beginnings of a potential abortion. But in November, her daughter was born symbolizing the future she came here for in the first place.
Her journey mirrors the more than 30,000 asylum seekers that have landed in New York City since the spring. Some on their own volition, some sent on a bus from Texas to make a political point. As of this week, more than 20,000 migrants remain in the city's care. And it's part of why Mayor Eric Adams declared a state of emergency in October, estimating the city will spend roughly a billion dollars on the influx of migrants.
ERIC ADAMS, NEW YORK MAYOR: We need help. This is some serious money that we're spending because we're doing the right thing.
JIMENEZ: Mayor Adams says he plans to ask for more money from FEMA ahead of the expected lifting of Title 42. But as the weather gets colder, the reality for care and the incoming migrants is changing. ILZE THIELMANN, DIRECTOR, TEAM TLC-NYC: We see people arriving in T- shirts and still sometimes even in flip flops. And they don't have proper winter clothes. We see people little kids with no babies showing up wrapped in a blanket with a diaper on and no winter clothes. So that is a huge challenge.
JIMENEZ: Robert Gonzalez works with the New York based group Valenzuelan Alliance for Community Support, working to help connect migrants with resources like social service, mental health and more. He knows while the journey here is difficult, an equally difficult one lies ahead.
ROBERT GONZALEZ, VALENZUELAN ALLIANCE FOR COMMUNITY SUPPORT: To find a job, to learn the language, to be ability to know to understand and to integrate to a new system and a new culture. They want to be able to grow up, you know, like other people coming to the United States looking for that.
JIMENEZ: Rojas's (ph) husband is now working but since they got here in July, a baby later, they've been in shelters still in one now trying to endure. I asked her what she wants for her future here.
We're waiting for the year to end to put in citizenship papers to become legal, she says, to get work. We're taking English courses. We're in this process to try and bring our family. The kids that stayed to build a future here. Omar Jimenez, CNN, New York.
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HOLMES: British nurses walked off the job on Thursday with as many as 100,000 members of the UK's largest nurses union participating in the historic strike. They want higher wages but they also say the country's health care system is in crisis after years of declining standards. CNN's Isa Soares talk to nurses on the picket line in London.
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ISA SOARES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): It's not often you see scenes like this outside London, nurses really walking out of hospitals, St. Thomas's hospital here and onto the picket lines and they are protesting very much what you're hearing overworked and underpaid more than 100, 000 members at the Royal College of Nursing taking to the streets.
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Let's find out why they decided to do this. Let's talk to some others. Can I ask you a very quick question. Can I ask you a very quick question. This is CNN. How hard decision was for you to come out here today?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're actually been derogated some of my day off (INAUDIBLE) support the striking.
SOARES: Why? Why is it so important? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE). It's been 12 years (INAUDIBLE) and not enough and we're short staffed to be exhausted.
SOARES: I want to get some more. Thank you very much. Can I speak to you ladies? Anyone? Anyone who wants to talk you here? Clearly you want to get your message across. Can I ask you? What are conditions like? I know so many of you have taken the streets? What are conditions like?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Unsafe. It's just so unsafe, it's tiring, coming to work day in and day out, and there's no staff, there's no one to help. You're providing a bare minimum of care and it's just not enough and it's not fair to patients.
SOARES: Just explain to our viewers really around the world, you know, what conditions that we live? This is historic strike.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, so, I mean, we've -- the NHS has been in crisis for many years, it's been steadily growing. COVID dealt us a body blow but -- and now our services actually I say, in complete collapse. You know, people are waiting two or three hours for an ambulance. There's queues and patients outside A&E. We have awards are criminally understaffed day in and day out. And we can't provide proper care for patients. So it's really driven us to take this drastic action.
SOARES: So this is not just about pay. This is a much bigger course here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, under UK law, we were only allowed to strike over pay. But we are fighting for investment in our health service in better working conditions, in recognition for our profession and all their hard work and sacrifices we make.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
HOLMES: CNN's Isa Soares there reporting for us from London. Now British and EU regulators are taking a cue from Washington in their effort to tame the highest inflation in decades. They each raised interest rates by half a percentage point on Thursday, a day after the U.S. Federal Reserve did the same thing.
Inflation on both sides of the English Channel is still in the 10 percent range, even though it did tick down last month. There is a concern more interest rate hikes will push economies into a recession which is already looming in Britain. But regulators say they don't have much of a choice.
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CHRISTINE LAGARDE, PRESIDENT, EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK: We decided to raise interest rates today and expect to raise them significantly further because inflation remains far too high, and is projected to stay above our target for too long.
ANDREW BAILEY, GOVERNOR, BANK OF ENGLAND: Now, we think we've seen possibly this week, you know the first glimmer that with the figures that were released this week that it's not only beginning to come down but it was a little bit below where we thought it would be. And that's obviously very good news, but there's a long way to go.
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HOLMES: Now across the Atlantic, U.S. markets took a nosedive on Thursday after a negative forecast from the Federal Reserve, it predicted the U.S. economy will barely grow next year.
Quick break here on the program, when we come back, the rapid rise in COVID cases in China has put the nation's healthcare system to the test. Coming up, what officials say the nation needs as it tries to stamp out this latest surge.
Also, a painful moment for the families who lost loved ones in a Halloween tragedy in South Korea. Some of them had it to the site of the incident for the first time since it happened. We'll be right back.
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HOLMES: Welcome back. Experts say North Korea may have made a major step in the development of its ballistic missile technology. State media says Leader Kim Jong-un attended a test of a new solid fuel rocket engine on Thursday. The test was reported as a success, which Western experts said could be significant. That's because Pyongyang has so far been using only liquid fueled engines. Missions propelled with solid fuel are easier to launch and give opponents less time to react.
But experts say North Korea would be still a number of steps away from deploying those engines in its ballistic missiles.
Victims' families are about to commemorate their loved ones who died in a horrific tragedy during Halloween celebrations in South Korea. In about three hours from now, they will hold a memorial service in Seoul to honor the 158 people crushed to death in late October.
For some of them it'll be the first time at the site of the tragedy since it happened. As Paula Hancocks now reports the families are still dealing with grief and pain and still looking for answers.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): A painful look at the last hours of their daughter's life. Oh Il-seok and Kim Eun-mi look through photos on her phone trying to piece together how Ji-min became one of the 158 victims of souls Halloween crowd crush.
KIM EUN-MI, MOTHER OF ITAEWON CRUSH VICTIM (through translator): I can't look at the photos they make me cry.
HANCOCKS: The 25-year-old was photographed at 9:35 p.m. inside a bar than outside in the increasingly crowded back streets of Itaewon, 9:59 p.m. her father says she messaged friends to say she was going home 10:07 p.m. the last photo Ji-min took with her friend. Her friend who survived says a few minutes later, the slow moving crowd suddenly moved faster, sucking them into the alleyway.
Her parents and older brother made frantic phone calls to hospitals and police. One o'clock the following afternoon they were asked to come and identify their daughter's body at a hospital morgue.
OH IL-SEOK, FATHER OF ITAEWON CRUSH VICTIM (through translator): The image of her keeps coming to me so I can't sleep at night.
EUN-MI (through translator): It snowed yesterday and got cold she mean is buried outside. It makes me more sad.
HANCOCKS: Grief is becoming clouded with unanswered questions and anger.
IL-SEOK (through translator): I hope the truth will be revealed soon. We don't know how my daughter died or how her body ended up there.
HANCOCKS: A special investigation is ongoing. Call log show the first emergency calls for crowd control came in about four hours before the tragedy. So far, two police officers have been dismissed and arrested accused of destroying evidence. The chief of police in the area has been suspended. One police officer who wants to conceal his identity for fear of retribution for speaking out, says he arrived to see a pile of people in the narrow alley.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We couldn't pull people out from the bottom there was too much pressure I assume they had already died. People in the second and third layers were fading crying out for help, but we couldn't pull them out.
HANCOCKS: He says it was already too late when he arrived and safety planning should have been made in advance.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The problem with this now is that the people who should really be responsible are not taking responsibility. The direction of the investigation is not looking up, only down. There may have been mistakes trying to save just one more life. But if you blame us who would want to do this job.
HANCOCKS: Political infighting and finger pointing has no place in the home where Ji-min grew up. Her parents read every birthday card pour over every photo, struggling to cope with a life changing tragedy that should never have happened. Paula Hancocks, CNN, Seoul.
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HOLMES: China is trying to find more doctors and nurses to handle its unprecedented surge of COVID cases. On Thursday, it's National Health Commission said it is looking to find feasible ways to increase the number of available health workers at its facilities. It's even proposing that personnel from big hospitals go to work in local clinics. It does not look like China is going to turn to other countries though for help dealing with the strain on its healthcare system. Thursday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said China can land on its feet with its whole nations system.
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Now Professor Ben Cowling with the University of Hong Kong, School of Public Health joins me now with more on this. I was interesting. You tweeted a couple of days ago that infections in China are likely doubling every day. How concerned are you about the level of COVID spread in China as these restrictions ease somewhat? And how much faster might that spread become?
BEN COWLING, PROF., CHAIR OF EPIDEMIOLOGY, UHK SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH: Well, I'm very concerned because the measures have gone almost everything to nothing, from all to nothing in a very short space of time. And we know these latest Omicron sub variants can spread very, very fast. So what seems like it might not be a big problem at the moment. You now, in week's time, the situation could be very different.
HOLMES: Yes, you also ended a fascinating Twitter thread by posing the question and I just want to quote from it, you said is China jumping from B, a zero-COVID, to E recovery returned to normal without going through C and D first? What are the potential implications of that?
COWLING: But what I was trying to say in that Twitter thread was that for most countries, they may attempt containment for some period of time to stop epidemics from even occurring, but then they very quickly switch to mitigation to flattening the curve, and then eventually could relax their measures when the epidemic was over, or multiple epidemics were over.
In China, they've gone from containment just a few weeks ago, to almost nothing now, without mitigating the current wave. And I think if they were able to slow down the spread of infections right now, it would make a big difference to what's about to happen across the country.
HOLMES: Yes, it's a fascinating thread. And now all along a major concern has been low vaccination rates for the elderly, who are of course most vulnerable. There was a CNN calculation suggesting that even now, only 42 percent of those aged 80 and above in China have received a third dose of vaccine. How concerning is that as these rates of infection rise?
COWLING: Well, that's a real concern. We've shown in Hong Kong and the World Health Organization also have said very clearly that for inactivated vaccines, older people should get at least three doses to be considered fully vaccinated. And more than a third dose would be then a booster.
And as you said, only 40 percent of over 80 years have had three doses. So that's a lot of older people who weren't maybe not quite as well protected as they could be. And I'm really worried about the level of severe COVID in that age group in the next maybe three or four weeks. HOLMES: Again, I wanted to get your thoughts. I mean, given what you have seen unfold in China and how it's being handled, but what would your advice be to authorities there?
COWLING: I would strongly advise putting a lot more effort into mitigation measures, mask mandates, providing rapid tests for free and encouraging their use as often as possible. School closures, socially distant measures, not for a long time, but at least for the next month to slow down the current spread of infections and reduce the height of the peak, because in just two or three weeks time, I think hospitals are going to be getting very, very busy. And that's going to be a very serious issue. It seems like not under pressure now. But the virus is spreading very, very fast.
HOLMES: Yes. Ben Cowling with the University of Hong Kong. Professor, thanks for your expertise. Appreciate you taking the time.
Now, a week of political unrest in Peru has now reached some of the country's most popular tourist spots, and left many international visitors stranded with no way out. We'll have the details when we come back.
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MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: You are watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Michael Holmes. Welcome back.
Peru's Supreme Court has ordered former President Pedro Castillo to remain behind bars for the next 18 months over concerns he might try to flee the country.
Violent protests by Castillo supporters have erupted ever since he was arrested last week. A state of emergency has been declared but the unrest continues to spread.
CNN's Rafael Romo with the latest.
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RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: As it has been the case for more than a week in Peru, police once again clashed with protesters.
This violent protest in Cuzco mirrors what has happened across the South American country, including in Lima, the capital.
Defense Minister Alberto Otarola declared a state of emergency Wednesday that will be in effect for 30 days. He said the national police and armed forces are responding to acts of vandalism, violence and seizure of roads.
Peru's national police has said earlier that highways in at least four regions across the country had been blocked by protesters demanding the immediate return to power of former President Pedro Castillo. President Pedro Castillo As you may remember, Castillo was impeached and arrested on December 7th after he announced plans to dissolve Congress and install an emergency government. He was apparently trying to get ahead of a congressional vote on his impeachment.
Castillo's accused of conspiracy and rebellion. He denies those allegations.
Dina Boluarte, who was Castillo's vice president and succeeded him after his impeachment, said Wednesday that it is technically possible to call for new elections by the end of next year, even though Peruvians are not scheduled to go to the polls until 2026.
The national police were deployed to Lima's international airport which, according to a spokeswoman, is operating normally. However, some regional airports remain closed. This means that many international tourists are stuck without a connecting flight to the capital and must stay in Peru for now.
Train service between Machu Picchu and Cuzco was disrupted due to deadly protests, leaving dozens of tourists stranded at the Inca Citadel.
A political crisis has gripped Peru for years. Boluarte, who took over after the ousting of Pedro Castillo, is Peru's sixth president in less than five years.
Rafael Romo, CNN -- Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday said he supports the African Union joining the G20, saying, quote, "Africa belongs at every table where global challenges are being discussed."
Now, that declaration came on the final day of the U.S. Africa summit in Washington, with the administration pledging billions in new investment. But after years of neglect by the U.S., some African leaders remain skeptical of America's resolve.
Here is what the president said on Thursday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The United States is all in on Africa and all in with Africa. African voices, African leadership, African innovation -- all are critical to addressing the most pressing global challenges. And realizing the vision we all share, a world that is free, a world that is open, prosperous and secure.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[01:34:48]
HOLMES: Mr. Biden said the U.S. was prepared to invest some $55 billion in African nations over the next three years. And on Thursday, offered more than $2 billion in emergency food aid.
Now corruption and mismanagement have plagued many African nations for decades and funneling billions in new investments to the region won't be easy.
In South Africa, where the president has been embroiled in scandal, many important public services are now being handled not by the government but mainly by charities or private companies.
CNN's David McKenzie with that report.
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DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A cash and consort (ph) team evading a sophisticated criminal attack.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're coming after us.
MCKENZIE: You likely saw this viral video from South Africa. Attacks like this happen here all the time.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, mostly what we do is, we do the live vehicle tracking and monitoring.
MCKENZIE: Some of the best protected vehicles and cash depots are tracked real time at Fidelity's (ph) nerve center in Johannesburg.
Are you a step behind or a step ahead right now?
WAHL BARTMANN, FIDELITY SECURITY SERVICES: We try and be one jump ahead of crime. But we know that they are very creative and they are well organized. So we are looking at the training. We're are looking at technology.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've got a hijacking. One of our clients is hijacked in (INAUDIBLE) from the East (INAUDIBLE) --
MCKENZIE: The expansion (ph) unit has come here to the east of Johannesburg. This location was the last spot that a signal came out of a vehicle that they think was hijacked.
The search ends without a win.
Is it frustrating when you see this has been thrown out?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lot.
MCKENZIE: Why?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They get away with too much.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because the bad guys won.
MCKENZIE: Active private security officers here outnumber the police roughly 5 to 1.
Shouldn't the government be doing this?
BARTMANN: Well, that's why the industry is so big. Because I don't think government is getting to all of it.
MCKENZIE: All of this goes beyond security. On the streets of Joburg, private companies have to sponsor the pothole patrol. When a fire gutted one of Africa's most important public hospitals, well known charity Gift of the Givers stepped in.
South Africans frequently joke that its founder should run the country.
The fire service -- safety, security, construction, water -- all of this is being handled by private individuals or charities. What does that tell you?
IMTIAZ SOOLIMAN, FOUNDER, GIFT OF THE GIVERS: The message is very strong and clear. The country has lost faith in the government. That is the reality. And at the same time, the country has lost a lot of hope.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Every time when I look at my kids, especially in this moment, and I see that I can provide them with most of the things which they need, especially when it comes now to Christmas time --
MCKENZIE: Hope is in short supply for Vincent (INAUDIBLE) who lost his construction job during COVID and says his wife left him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have to survive all of these tests -- it's not like I can say it's easy.
MCKENZIE: In (INAUDIBLE) informal settlement, the surge water runs through the streets. The electricity is more off than on. Vincent tried to set up citizen patrols but they ran out of funds. He says the police come late, if they come at all.
The government says it is working to improve services and (INAUDIBLE) depend on its social grant program. But rampant corruption and mismanagement hamper these efforts.
SOOLIMAN: At the end of the day, it is our country. And I said very clearly, the country does not belong to the government. It belongs to the people of South Africa.
So we can either sit and mourn and cry, knowing nothing can be done or work with ourselves, we can do something, fix this wherever we can.
MCKENZIE: The cruel reality in the world's most unequal society, the rich can afford to secure their lives. The poor are on their own.
David McKenzie, CNN -- Johannesburg.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: The European parliament is launching what it describes as wide-ranging reforms following the corruption scandal linked to Qatar that has been jolting the legislature.
President Roberta Metsola said a powerful message must be sent to external actors, quote, "who try to undermine us". Reforms include strengthening whistleblower protections and reviewing the code of conduct.
Belgian police arrested four people last week in connection with the ongoing investigation into bribes from Qatar to members of the European parliament and staff.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTA METSOLA, PRESIDENT, EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: These criminal proceedings involving the parliament are damaging. They are damaging for democracy, for Europe and for everything that we stand for and trust. Trust that has taken years to build but only moments to destroy will need to be rebuilt. And this work starts now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[01:39:52]
HOLMES: One of those arrested during the raid is Greek MEP Eva Kaili who has been stripped of her role in parliament. She is charged with corruption and money laundering. Kaili and the Qatari government deny any wrongdoing.
Coming up here on the program, after a devastating path to the southern U.S. a massive storm system pounding the northern states with miserable weather. We will have the latest forecast coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Malaysian state media reporting at least 11 people have been killed following a landslide at a campsite near Kuala Lumpur on early Friday. About two dozen people still missing apparently. Authorities say hundreds of rescue workers are taking part in search and rescue operations.
Now, more than 50 tornadoes were reported over two days as a massive storm system moved across the southern U.S. leaving destruction and misery in its wake. And now as the Christmas holidays approach, many in the hard-hit state of Louisiana are having to cope with a disaster they never expected especially at this time of year.
CNN's Derek Van Dam with this story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's about a mile and a half stretch that is completely just inundated with destruction. This is not the place where we normally have tornadoes.
DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: We're only used to like, what -- hurricanes, never a tornado?
SIGMA LAWRENCE, GRETNA, LOUISIANA RESIDENT: Never a tornado.
VAN DAM: But it was a tornado that did this damage in Gretna, Louisiana cutting a large swath across the city.
LAWRENCE: : All you could hear like a freight train -- you hear things just standing (ph) up, glasses cracking everywhere. It was just horrible.
VAN DAM: The home where Sigma Lawrence lived, had just been repaired after Hurricane Ida.
LAWRENCE: Then this happened. It was the most devastating thing in my life. I've never experienced nothing like this before. And it happened so fast and it just tore up everything in the neighborhood.
VAN DAM: Hers, just one of many communities battered by an outbreak of more than 50 reported tornadoes in the last 48 hours across the Deep South, leaving deep scars in Louisiana. Roofs ripped off, homes flattened, trees splintered, power poles ripped from the ground.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Several million dollars of damage that we're dealing with
VAN DAM: The outbreak blamed for at least three deaths.
JOHN BEL EDWARDS, GOVERNOR, LOUISIANA: Quite frankly, I am amazed that we did not have more loss of life in Louisiana than we have. And I'm very thankful for it.
VAN DAM: The damage from the storm system spanning seven states from Texas to Florida. As it marches eastward, bringing heavy rain and possible tornadoes to the Sunshine State, concern now growing up the Eastern Seaboard, as a developing nor'easter could bring over a foot of snow to New England and heavy rain to New York, Boston and other cities.
KATHY HOCHUL, GOVERNOR OF NEW YORK: We'll be ready for this. New Yorkers are ready as we always are but (INAUDIBLE), bring it on. Mother Nature keep at it.
VAN DAM: Strong winds and blizzard conditions are already an issue in the upper Midwest.
CORRINA KOUCHEL, DULUTH, MINNESOTA RESIDENT: Just stay ahead of the snow because I think we are supposed to be getting a lot more of it. So Two steps forward, one step back. It's still coming down.
[01:45:00]
VAN DAM: While back down south, residents left to pick up the pieces after this wicked start to winter.
Earlier on Thursday the National Weather Service surveyed the damage from the tornado directly behind me and they preliminarily found this to be an EF-2 tornado. That's winds of up to 135 miles per hour or over 200 kilometers per hour. Now with two tornadoes striking the same area within the course of a year, people here are left wondering, is this their new normal?
Derek Van Dam, CNN -- Jefferson Parish, Louisiana.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: And that storm system isn't quite done. The northern part of the U.S. could take a serious pounding from winter weather over the next few days.
For more, let's bring in meteorologist Britley Ritz. Good to see you, Britley. What are you seeing out there.
BRITLEY RITZ, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. That area of low pressure sits over the mid-Atlantic, Michael. And we're watching the snow come down throughout the overnight hours and continuing into tomorrow all across the New England region.
You will see areas highlighted in blue -- that's a good indicator of the heavier snowfall and likely whiteout conditions as the winds begin to pick up and the rainfall focusing on the coastline.
Now, we have had numerous reports of freezing rain from the mid- Atlantic on up into upstate New York. A couple stand out, where we have crippling amounts. This is Cedar Hill, Maryland. You have flashing dots, we picked up three tenths of an inch and roughly about seven and a half millimeters of freezing rain. So that's enough to cause power outages.
Lake effect snow warnings on Lake Ontario as well as Erie, where we are expected to pick up almost 18 inches, if not slightly more over the next 24 hours. Plus, winter storm warnings still in effect for parts of the northern -- parts of Appalachia, where we could pick up almost two feet of snow here within the next 24 to 48 hours. That snow continues to fall over the next day. Saturday into Sunday, it starts to taper back a bit, but still dealing with some lake effect snow.
Not enough to cause too many issues. But snow is already on the ground, it will cause issues in itself. So you'll see areas highlighted in darker pink and purple indicating roughly 60 to 100 centimeters through Saturday.
Now it's not done across parts of the upper Midwest. Still picking up several inches and several centimeters of snowfall, which is why we are dealing with whiteout conditions there, Michael.
HOLMES: All right. Britley -- good to see you. thanks for that. Britley Ritz there.
Now the latest episodes in the "Harry and Meghan" docuseries reveal the drama over their royal exit, amid allegations of Prince William dancing.
The major takeaways are coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Twitter has abruptly banned the accounts of several high- profile journalists including CNN's own Donie O'Sullivan and others from the "New York Times", the "Washington Post" and so on.
However, it's unclear whether the reporters' accounts are permanently banned as they were told, or temporarily suspended. These journalists have all covered Twitter's new owner, Elon Musk, aggressively, and this appears to be his thin-skinned attempt to wield unilateral authority over the platform.
The move is serious questions about Musk's supposed commitment to free speech on Twitter, which has been called a digital town square.
[01:49:53]
HOLMES: Musk has accused the journalists of doxxing (ph) or publicly sharing his personal information. He wrote, quote, "They posted my exact real-time location, basically assassination coordinates, in obvious direct violation of Twitters terms of service.
But CNN's Donie O'Sullivan and others -- they never did that. It didn't happen. Donie did a report about a separate social media platform that allows an account to post the location of Musk's private jet, which is public information.
Well, there are explosive allegations of raw drama in the final episodes of the Harry and Meghan documentary series. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex discuss deeply personal details about what Meghan says she endured, as well as some screaming within the royal family.
CNN's Anna Stewart with the story --
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MEGHAN MARKLE, DUCHESS OF SUSSEX: I was pregnant. I really was not sleeping --
ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In the final episode of their tell- all docu series, the Sussexes recall how Meghan suffered a miscarriage.
MARKLE: The first morning that we woke up in our new home is when I miscarried.
STEWART: This tragic moment in the couple's story came in July 2020, having left Canada for California. British tabloid, the mail on Sunday, published a private letter Meghan had sent to her father.
PRINCE HARRY, DUKE OF SUSSEX: I don't really mind the stress but cold, the lack of sleep, and the timing of the pregnancy, how many weeks in she was -- I can say, from what I saw, that miscarriage was created by what they were trying to do to her.
STEWART: Royal ladies typically bear the brunt of negative tabloid attention. Harry's mother Diana understood this all too well. More than familiar with intrusive press attention, the Sussexes point
the finger at the palace press team.
PRINCE HARRY: It was clear to the media that the palace wasn't going to protect her. Once that happens, the floodgates open.
STEWART: Keenly aware of the parallels with his mother, Harry has made clear that he does not want history to repeat itself.
The most vitriolic attention spewed from social media, which the couple say was then amplified by mainstream media.
MARKLE: You are making people want to kill me. It's not just a tabloid. It is not just some story. You are making me scared.
STEWART: The impact on the Meghan's mental health was a key reason behind their departure from the U.K. Their plans to step back from royal duties led to a deep rift in the family and crisis talks at Sandringham.
PRINCE HARRY: Part of it was this wedge created between myself and my brother.
STEWART: The two brothers, Prince William and Prince Harry, met with then-Prince Charles and the late queen.
HARRY: It was terrifying to have my brother scream and shout at me and my father say things that simply were not true. And my grandmother, you know, quietly sit there and sort of take it all in.
STEWART: In six hours of documentary storytelling, the Sussexes have told their side of the story.
PRINCE HARRY: Because there was no other option at this point. I said, we need to get out of here.
STEWART: The royal family are not commenting. The tabloid press, no doubt, will have plenty to say.
Anna Stewart, CNN -- London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: The football world anxiously waiting to see which will team will win it all come Sunday. But for now, Argentina and France are spending the next few days preparing before the world cup final while many fans enjoy the sights and sounds of Doha.
Our Don Riddell takes us inside a souq.
DON RIDDELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: Souq Waqif has been one of our favorite places during this World Cup tournament. It really has felt like a global village, with fans from all 32 teams and many other countries lingering here, hanging out, enjoying each other's company, often late into the night. We are not seeing so many fans here tonight with 3 days go until the
final. Perhaps it's the calm before the storm. But there's still a great vibe, a great energy, a good atmosphere and hopefully , we can find some fans of Argentina and France to see what they think about the big game.
So when we flew out here four weeks ago, of course, we are very much looking forward to the tournament. And I was wondering if I was going to miss the alcohol, the chance to have a beer every now and again. And the truth is, I really haven't.
So, I'm going to introduce you to our new vice. We love these, often very, very late into the night. They're absolutely delicious.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I feel like I'm taking off with wings, 100 percent. Every day the team is really, really good. It's like it together. I think they're the best team we have, '78, '86 no.
[01:55:00]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm sure that Messi will win, inch'allah. And I support Messi from all my heart and I support Argentina and inch'allah we win.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's going to be tough but it's going to be good. And Argentina is going to win. No doubt about it.
RIDDELL: Very spicy.
So during our time here in Qatar, we have really, really enjoyed the food, so much wonderful food from right across the region. We've had Iranian, we've had Turkish, we've had Kuwaiti, we've had Lebanese, very big fan of Lebanese food.
No French -- no French food. I'm not sure there are any French fans here tonight. So let's keep looking.
I'm so pleased we found some French fans here because there's not many of you in Qatar at the moment. How are you feeling about Sunday?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are happy to go to the final on Sunday, so I hope the coach will be good, the player will (INAUDIBLE). It will be closer again (INAUDIBLE) good players -- they have two, three good players. I think they're name is like Messi -- I think it's something like that.
So maybe we are going to win. You know, our coach is good, he's clever and he has the (INAUDIBLE), he's lucky. So, we cross the finger and it will be ok.
RIDDELL: Are you feeling confident?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. You know, as I said, we have very good players. (INAUDIBLE) coach. So we are confident but we can't say we are like 100 percent confident because it's still Argentina.
So we are very happy to play against Argentina. It's going to be a good match, wonderful football. We can't say 100 percent.
RIDDELL: So Argentina and France have successfully navigated their way to the World Cup final. And if you ever get lost in the food -- because I did, actually, early on this evening, this is your north star. It's the gold plum (ph). It was built to commemorate Qatar's unlikely victory at the 2019 Asian Cup.
And it's an appropriate way to end here because, of course, it's going to be a very golden weekend. The World Cup trophy is on the line. The Golden Boot is on the line. And whoever wins on Sunday might find that there's a statue of Lionel Messi or Kylian Mbappe in gold here one day in the future.
Don Riddell, CNN -- Qatar.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: A n ice little story to end the hour on.
I'm Michael Holmes, appreciate your company. I will be back with more CNN NEWSROOM in just a moment.
[01:57:32]
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