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Brazil Declares Three Days Of Mourning For Pele; Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva Sworn In As Brazil's President; Bombardment, Air Raid Sirens Mark Ukraine's Start To The New Year; Pope Benedict XVI's Body To Lie In State At St Peter's Basilica. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired January 02, 2023 - 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, and welcome to our viewers. Join us from all around the world. I'm Michael Holmes. Appreciate your company. Coming up here on CNN Newsroom, saying goodbye to a football legend. Brazil prepares to bid a final farewell to Pele while his hometown braces for massive crowds.
Also, Lula da Silva is sworn in as Brazil's president. What it could mean for a country facing a climate crisis.
And Ukraine starts the new year under increasing Russian attack. See how some Ukrainians are making sure bread gets the soldiers on the front line.
ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Center, this is CNN Newsroom with Michael Holmes.
HOLMES: We begin the program in Brazil, where football fans are preparing a final farewell for their late hero, Pele. In just a few hours, a massive wake will be held in the city of Santos. Pele's coffin currently being moved to that area. When it arrives, it'll be placed in the middle of a stadium where he played most of his career. Thousands of people are expected to show up and pay their respects. It is a much needed moment of unity and a country in a time of uncertainty. Stefano Pozzebon reports from Santos in Brazil.
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STEFANO POZZEBON, JOURNALIST (voiceover): How do you mourn a legend, a person who always brought so much joy to everyone who saw him? These football fans in the Brazilian city of Santos do it their own way by laughing and cheering.
This is the old guard. Those who had the privilege of watching Pele play more than 60 years ago and now are preparing to say goodbye. Some show off their tattoos. Others hold on to old tickets as if they were relics.
In his last match, the stadium was jammed. Everyone screaming, chanting. When Pele left the pitch, it all went quiet. It was silence. And then half the people left. Because why stay if you don't see Pele?
But in a city where everyone has a story about the legend, here is someone who knew the man himself. A true lover of the game. Cosmo Damieu (ph) founded the first supporters club in the city back when Pele was playing.
POZZEBON (on camera): It's a mixed feeling of celebrating the life of the player for being sad because your friend died.
Yes. You have no idea how much I would like to say come back, King, and be with your people. This piece of land is your house.
POZZEBON (voiceover): The city of Santos has declared seven days of mourning to remember Pele. And outside the old football stadium, the tributes are endless. Inside, everything is ready. Here is where Pele's body will lie for 24 hours.
POZZEBON (on camera): Like a circle that comes to a full close. Pele's final farewell will be in the same ground where he gave so much joy to his fans. Back then hundreds of them will be cheerful in these stands that are now silent, mourning the king of football.
POZZEBON (voiceover): As the new year begins, one last peek at history. One more final whistle for the greatest of them all. Stefano Pozzebon, CNN, Santos, Brazil.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: And while Brazil mourns the loss of Pele, the country also ushered in a new president. On Sunday, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was sworn in to office in Brazilia. During his inauguration the Senate president opened the ceremony by paying respects to Pele's incredible life and legacy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RODRIGO PACHECO, BRAZILIAN SENATE PRESIDENT (through translator): I propose now that we assume a position of respect to observe a minute of silence.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: And again, that emotional moment occurred during Lluiz Inacio Lula da Silva's inauguration ceremony, sworn in as president for the third time after a 12-year hiatus from the office. In his address to the country on Sunday, expressing optimism towards a brighter future for Brazil, but acknowledging there is a lot of work to be done.
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LUIZ INACIO LULA DA SILVA, BRAZILIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Today our message to Brazil is one of hope and reconstruction, the great building of law, sovereignty and development that this nation built since 1988 has been systematically demolished in recent years. It is to rebuild this building of national rights and values that will guide all our efforts.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Mr. Da Silva's rise to power capsule a spectacular comeback from a corruption scandal that forced him to spend more than a year and a half behind bars. In 2019, the Supreme Court ruled his case a mistrial, clearing his path to run for reelection, but moving over his new political era, threats of violence from his predecessors supporters. CNN's Julia Vargas Jones with more on the transfer of power from the outgoing president, Jair Bolsonaro.
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JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN PRODUCER (on camera): Brazil had been holding its breath for the past two months, but today the country was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief. That's because outgoing President Jair Bolsonaro had said he was not going to accept the result of the elections if he lost. His supporters took to the streets, blocked highways, and marched to military headquarters, asking for a military intervention.
But instead of resisting the transfer of power, Bolsonaro himself left the country on Friday, leaving for the United States and leaving the door open for the new administration to focus on the future.
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva took office for the third time today, but stepping into a very different Brazil than he left when he left office in 2010. This is a country that has a sluggish economic performance, skyrocketing levels of inequality and poverty. And Lula speaking to his supporters that went to greet him in Brazilia today, he got very emotional speaking about hunger.
Food insecurity has always been a topic that very close to Lula's heart. And he told a story of a man he saw in 1989, his first presidential campaign, when a sign that said, help me please, I'm hungry, and how that shaped his political career.
Today, Bolsonaro's absence also contributed to that tone, to that emotional tone that even for Brazilian standards was quite high, quite emotional. Lula getting tearful many times throughout the day. Instead of being received by the outgoing president to get the customary presidential sash that we do here in Brazil, he was handed over this sash by a group of people representing Brazil's diversity. This was a very famous indigenous leader, a black woman, workers, a young black kid. All of this a nod to what the priorities of Lula's government will be for the next four years. Julia Vargas Jones, CNN, Sao Paulo.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Joining me now, Eric Farnsworth. He's vice president of the Council of the Americas and the Americas Society. Great to have your voice on this. Let's start with Brazil. Bolsonaro out, Lula is in. Among other things, he's inheriting massive economic challenges, a conservative parliament. He's already rolled back some Bolsonaro policies. How do you think the country might change under Lula? ERIC FARNSWORTH, VP, COUNCIL OF THE AMERICAS AND AMERICAS SOCIETY:
Well, thanks, Michael. It's great to be back with you. And Happy New Year to you and your viewers. It's a sea change for Brazil. There's no question about it. Lula has already gotten off to a fast start. He's talked about he wants to govern for all of Brazil, not just for those who voted for him. He wants to be an inclusive president. He wants to be somebody who clearly brings the country back together after a very divisive and very ugly presidential campaign earlier at the end of last year.
But the challenges you have pointed to are real. The wounds continue to be real. And, you know, the memory that many people have of Lula when he was president the first couple of times at the beginning of the century was when Brazil was in a different place politically, economically, the global economy was doing much better. There were resources to spread around to the impoverished and that for the things.
So Lula has raised expectations very high. The question is, will he be able to meet those? If he doesn't, how will the public respond?
HOLMES: Leads me neatly into the next question. I mean, in a matter of a few years, leftist candidates have won elections in a whole succession of Latin American countries. I mean, Argentina, Peru, Mexico, Chile, Bolivia, Colombia. I think leftists control six of the region's seven biggest economies. Why has that happened? What impact might it have on the region? Some of those leaders have seen their popularity plummet, of course.
FARNSWORTH: Yes, it's exactly right. Although we have to remember, you know, people vote for the presidents of their own countries based on their own personal circumstances and expectations, not necessarily based on what's happening next door, based on some movement, you know, across the region.
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And what we've seen is that the governments coming out of the COVID pandemic really were wounded, really were hurt. They weren't able to deliver on health care and education and financially the expectations of their citizens.
And so, you've seen a real move across the region against incumbents. What that means is that folks who have been voted in have been and from the left side of the spectrum, but they haven't necessarily been voted on because they're leftist. They're voted on because they weren't the previous president or their supporters. And that matters because what that means is that they don't come into office necessarily with a large mandate.
What they come in with is a desire from their people to manage things better. And so if they don't have that ability to really have a large people voting for them instead of against somebody else, you know, governance becomes much more complicated, particularly with resources that are constrained. HOLMES: Yes, a lot of people say it's a lot easier to campaign as a
leftist in the region than governed. You focus a lot on Venezuela and, you know, the once possible Maduro alternative, Juan Guaido. He's been pushed to the background just in the last few days, or further into the background, Nicolas Maduro looks stronger than before. What do you see as a trajectory there politically?
FARNSWORTH: I think the trajectory going into 2023 is that Nicolas Maduro is stronger than he has been in some time, thanks to the missteps of the opposition itself, which just voted to remove Juan Guaido as their leader. This takes the opposition outside of the constitution in terms of their own prospects for change. And it really opens the door to charges that the whole thing is just politics anyway, not according to the constitution.
That gives Maduro a stronger position. Of course, he's been welcomed now, re-welcomed across the region in Brazil for the inauguration of the Brazilian president, in Colombia, other places as well, where he had been ostracized.
So, his position has strengthened. And, you know, the Venezuelan people are supposed to have elections in 2024. Maduro may even move those up to 2023 this year to try to catch the opposition in disarray and try to receive another mandate.
I would argue his other one is the one he's under now is not free or fair, it's illegitimate. But, you know, if he's the only one who's running, it's hard to make that case going forward, particularly if they're international observers, et cetera. So, it's a delicate time for the opposition. They're going to have to get their act together pretty quick to be viable.
HOLMES: Yes, we're right out of time, but I wanted to squeeze this in going back to Brazil and perhaps a sidebar to this conversation, but not for the world's climate. How differently do you expect Lula to treat the Amazon rainforest as the global resource that it is?
FARNSWORTH: Yes, I think this is a key point. He put Marina Silva in as the environmental minister. She's somebody with a real record of achievements on the environment. I think that's a very positive sign. He's just opened the door again to international contributions for Amazon preservation.
Clearly, this is something that he sees as a way to improve Brazil's connections and prospects with the United States, with Europe. So it's going to be an important shift and I think a good shift.
HOLMES: Eric Farnsworth, always great to have your expertise. Appreciate the time.
FARNSWORTH: Thank you, Michael. It's good to be with you.
HOLMES: And more now on the new government's commitment to restore the environmental protections dismantled under Bolsonaro. Paula Newton reports from Sao Paulo State on how Brazilians are already fighting to reverse years of deforestation. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): To save the planet, Luis Pinto says you don't have to go to the Arctic or even the Amazon. This sky high perch will do.
What was once degraded pasture is now, after 15 years, an eco paradise. Two miles of forest restoration.
LUIS PINTO, SOS AMAZONIA: This project doesn't change a big landscape, but it shows it's possible to bring back life, to bring back water, to bring back biodivers to the center of the state of Sao Paulo.
NEWTON: Pinto walks us through the effort to revive the Atlantic forest, home to more than 145 million Brazilians. Yet about three quarters of it has already been wiped out.
This is an effort to bring some of it back and it works like an eco- lab by planting trees, the forest provides for clean air and water, bringing back eco diversity for plants and animals.
PINTO: We need a lot of technology, knowledge and research to know which species to plant and how.
NEWTON: Projects like these are now at a crossroads of climate and political history in Brazil, a country that is one of the planet's most significant stores of biodiversity. For four years, the government of President Jair Bolsonaro was accused of undoing the environmental progress of former President and now President Lula de Silva.
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Brazil's National Institute for Space Research estimates that in the Amazon alone, deforestation nearly doubled since Bolsonaro came to office in 2018. Ricardo Salles was Bolsonaro's environment minister.
NEWTON (on camera): You know, to many environmentalists, you're as good as the devil. You're a bad guy.
RICARDO SALLES, FEDERAL LAWMAKER AND FORMER ENVIRONMENT MINISTER: Yes. You know, people don't understand end that. What we did was to show that the solution for the environmental challenges in Brazil include, as a main path for the solution, the economic equation.
NEWTON (voiceover): Salles now speaks as a newly elected lawmaker in a majority conservative congress in Brazil. His policies are still clearly popular with many here.
TXAI SURUI, INDIGENOUS ACTIVIST: And I was so scared, you know?
NEWTON: Indigenous leader Txai Surui says she and her people, the Pete Surui tribe have been threatened and harassed when trying to protect Brazil's fragile environment. She accuses the Bolsonaro government of dismantling key environmental protections. SURUI (through translator): We don't need to destroy to develop. We
can do that in harmony with nature. And it's the indigenous peoples who teach.
NEWTON: It is that fundamental struggle on climate action that so threatens progress in Brazil.
PINTO: We need to understand us as a nation that is key for the planet and that decisions we'll make will be important for us, but also for others.
NEWTON: And so watch this space. Brazil's future climate action and its debate over environmental policy will be consequential far beyond its borders. Paula Newton, CNN in Sao Paulo state, Brazil.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Political violence has broken out in Bolivia's largest city, Santa Cruz, after opposition leader Luis Fernando Camacho was sentenced to four months of pretrial detention on charges of terrorism. Hundreds of protesters clashed with police on Friday, burning cars and tires and throwing rocks and firecrackers at a police building. Police responding with tear gas and arresting at least four people.
Camacho is the right wing governor of Santa Cruz. He's accused of playing a role in a coup that led to the resignation of leftist President Ivo Morales in 2019. Camacho has repeatedly denied the charges.
In Uganda, at least nine people are dead, including a ten year old boy, after a crowd crush at a New Year's event. Police say the victims suffocated in a narrow corridor as people rushed to enter a shopping mall to see the fireworks display at midnight.
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RAMADHAN APONGO, FRIEND OF VICTIM: As were going up, they told us, now you have to go back. So, some people had already reached the parking, so they forced them to come back to the main hall. So that pressure from up and the pressure from down led to a loss of breath to some colleagues of ours, which led to their deaths. I lost a friend of mine by the names of Margaret Nakatomba (ph), because I'd gone with it, with her. Yes, I found her there. She was enjoying. She was having fun. But due to loss of breath, she lost her breath and eventually she died.
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HOLMES: Authorities are investigating whether the event's organizers were negligent.
Still to come here on the program. Kyiv being bombarded by a new round of Russian air attacks in the new year. We'll have the latest on the war on Ukraine, next.
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HOLMES: Ukraine has started 2023 with the sound of air raid sirens across Kyiv. Officials say 20 drones were intercepted over the capital on New Year's Day, and the attacks have continued into Monday. The shelling damaging critical infrastructure, causing power outages and disrupting some heat supplie.
Elsewhere, a children's hospital in Kherson was struck on Sunday as Russian artillery and rockets continued to bombard that southern city. Meanwhile, a missile landed in a town near Zaporizhzhia City, killing one person and wounding three others. And the Ukrainian military claims Russia lost at least 760 soldiers on New Year's Eve, but did not specify where.
Russian units have suffered heavy losses in the past few months as they've been attempting to take the city of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region. Ukraine's president says Russia is losing the war.
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VOLOYDMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Our sense of unity, authenticity, life itself, all this contrasts dramatically with the fear that prevails in Russia. They are afraid. You can feel it. And they are right to be afraid because they are losing drones, missiles, anything else will not help them because we are together, and they are together only with fear. And they will not take away a single year from Ukraine. They will not take away our independence. We will not give them anything.
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HOLMES: Meanwhile, Kyiv's Mayor visited Ukrainian soldiers in Bakhmut on Saturday. He said he was there to show his support and ring in the new year with the troops.
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VITALI KLITSCHOKO, KYIV, UKRAINE MAYOR (through translator): The Fourth Brigade of Ukraine's National Guard Liberty Battalion, Bakhmut, the guys who protect our beloved mother Ukraine every day, protecting its territorial integrity, independence, and peace of every Ukrainian. These guys will do everything for 2023 to be a year of peace. So everyone who comes with a weapon leaves our territory legs forward.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: In the city of Bucha, Ukrainians are hopeful the new year will bring an end to the pain and suffering so many there endured in the Russian invasion. CNN's Ben Wedeman reports.
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BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): The daily bread has a special meaning in this Bucha bakery. No machines here. Yaroslav (ph) needs the dough by hand.
Outside, Andri (ph) chops firewood for the oven. At a time when waves of Russian strikes have crippled Ukraine's power grid, the old ways are proving to be handy.
Yuri used to pass his days glued to a screen at his IT job. War has brought him back to what matters most.
YURI BOYKO, BAKER: What's happened right now in Ukraine, it's affecting all the world and people becoming more conscious and more grateful for everything they have right now in their lives.
WEDEMAN: Bucha, outside Kyiv, suffered through a brutal Russian occupation and was the scene of what investigators say were war crimes. Vyachaeslava regular customer, appreciates the bread and the spirit of those who make it.
VYACHAESLAV, BUCHA RESIDENT: They're nice guys, nice small business. I remember right after liberation of Bucha, they started baking bread and even providing this bread for free to those in need.
WEDEMAN: They also provide bread and traditional pastries for those far from home and in harm's way.
WEDEMAN (on camera): Some of these loaves are destined for soldiers, a little something extra that will make their New Year's Eve that much more special.
WEDEMAN (voiceover): Simple reminders of the holiday season hang over their work. The memories of recent nightmares are still fresh and the specter of more Russian attacks loom large, celebrations will be muted.
In other parts of the world, people can count on comfort and waiting for nice fireworks, Yaroslav (ph) tells me. We're worried about fireworks from our neighbors.
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Arina's (ph) wish for the new year is simple. We hope it will better, she says. We hope the war will end.
One cannot live on bread alone. Hope is also needed. Ben Wedeman, CNN, Bucha, Ukraine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Catholic faithful around the world are mourning the death of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. The former pontiff will lie in state for three days in St. Peter's Basilica, with public viewing set to begin in just over an hour and a half from now. The Pope Emeritus, who died on Saturday at the age of 95, was the son of a German policeman rising through the church ranks to become pope in 2005.
And in 2013, he became the first pontiff in nearly 600 years to step down. Pope Francis will lead the funeral on Thursday. During services on Saturday and again Sunday, he paid tribute to his late predecessor.
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POPE FRANCIS, CATHOLIC CHURCH LEADER (through translator): In particular, this salute is to the Pope Emeritus Benedict the XVI, who yesterday morning passed away. We salute him as a faithful servant of the gospel.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: On Sunday, the Vatican released the first images of the body of the Pope Emeritus lying in the chapel of the monastery where he died. CNN senior international correspondent Fred Pleitgen has that, along with details about what to expect in the coming days.
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FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): On Sunday, for the first time, the Vatican released pictures of Pope Benedict XVI after his death. Photos show the Pope Emeritus laying still dressed in his papal robes.
Now, the Vatican also gave some more details, saying that immediately after Pope Benedict XVI passed away, that Pope Francis rushed to his side and that he was there from around 9:34 from when Pope Benedict died, until at least after 10:00 a.m. on Sunday.
Meanwhile, here at the Vatican, things are moving along. The body of Pope Benedict will be lying in state here from early Monday morning. And then on Thursday, of course, there is the funeral of Pope Benedict XVI, and it was Pope Benedict's wish for that funeral to be a smaller affair. Of course, we will recall that when Pope John Paul II died in 2005, it was a massive event with many heads of state and heads of government coming here to Rome.
Certainly, we expect that the events now will be a lot smaller. Pope Benedict also released a letter to the followers of the Catholic Church where he asked forgiveness for the people that he had wronged. He also said that despite his sins and all the problems that he may have had, that he humbly requested for God to allow him into heaven. Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Rome.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Still to come, much more on the tributes to football legend Pele, how Brazilians are remembering their hero ahead of his public wake. That's after the break.
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HOLMES: Brazil preparing for a massive public wake to honor the late football hero, Pele. His coffin was carried out of a hospital in Sao Paulo earlier, and now it's being moved to a stadium in the city of Santos. That's where the superstar played most of his career and where the wake will be held in the coming hours. Thousands of mourners expected to show up and pay their respects.
Earlier I spoke about all of this with CNN's Sports Analyst, Christine Brennan, and I asked her what Pele has meant to the people of Brazil given the scale of these tributes.
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CHRISTINE BRENNAN, CNN SPORTS ANALYST: So well deserved. Obviously not only a great soccer player but a great ambassador for the game and for his nation, for Brazil. It got to the point where he was so popular in Brazil they didn't want to lose him that they -- basically the government said they couldn't trade him or they couldn't have him play for any other team at least in his hay day before he came to New York to play for the Cosmos in 1975 and brought soccer really to the United States, a country at that point we had not really heard about soccer, didn't know of the game of soccer.
But other than that, I mean, he is Brazil's and he is a legend and, of course, larger than life. And I think, Mike, at a time, you know, at the end of the year there's always a lot of introspection as we look back, and the fact that he passed away so soon before the year's end I think is -- was a chance to even look back more and also, of course, the World Cup just a few weeks earlier, again we were thinking of soccer. Pele, we knew he was ill. So in many ways the month of December fitting tribute to the man and the legend with the World Cup being so successful on the field to play, of course, in Qatar and then, of course, at the end of the year our sense of looking back and when we look back on someone like Pele we see the incredible life that he lived and how he gave so much to so many.
HOLMES: And he was -- I mean, obviously the record on the pitch, you know, is comparable, a national team at 17, World Cup winner at the age of 17, three World Cup, 1,200 goals. I mean, that -- they -- those are not numbers that may not be eclipsed, but he was more than football particularly in Brazil and more than a player when it came to the sport. I mean, he eclipsed all of that.
BRENNAN: Well he certainly did, and you know, I think for most of the world soccer and football obviously has been a big part of everyone's lives. Here in the United States, that wasn't the case. In many ways he was like Johnny Appleseed, planting the seed for the game here in the United States. Obviously a major player on the world stage in sports.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Our thanks to Christine Brennan for her analysis there. Now there are a number of casualties in Afghanistan after an explosion outside the military airport in Kabul. The interior ministry says it's unclear how many were killed or wounded or what kind of explosives were used. No one has claimed responsibility so far.
Meanwhile, a senior U.N. official met with the Taliban's Deputy Prime Minister on Sunday to discuss the ban on Afghan women from universities and NGOs. In a tweet he said, "Banning women harms millions in the country and prevents critical health from reaching those in need."
Joining me now, Douglas London is a retired Senior CIA Operations Officer. He's also the author of "The Recruiter: Spying and the Lost Art of American Intelligence". It's always good to see you, Doug. I want to start actually by quoting from a piece you authored or co- authored for "The Hill", and I'll quote here, "Every time Washington pushed to withdraw troops from Afghanistan, it ironically created the conditions to remain or later return. That irony now informs the current paradox that the country had never seemed safer like today under the Taliban, or likewise more dangerous." Briefly explain what you mean by that.
DOUGLAS LONDON, RETIRED SR. CIA OPERATIONS OFFICER: Thanks, Michael. There's a lot of irony to it. Ambassador Javid Ahmad and I took to writing this paper where, you know, America in the last half a century has constantly been drawn into conflict in Afghanistan, but they're the conditions in which we leave Afghanistan and trying to leave or leaving tend to bring us back. The United States played a major role in helping push out the Soviets during their invasion in the 80s, only took that country (ph) in tatters with a civil war among multiple warring partners, many of whom that we have financed and supported, but we had basically turned and looked to try to get away from that.
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9/11 brought us back, but as we try to drawdown troops, we would find that when we'd try to leave different parts of the country we would leave particularly those provincial capitals extremely vulnerable, and also rivalries within the Afghan government itself would pop up where the United States was playing (ph) the facilitator and an arbitrator sometimes among divisions within its own aligned government.
HOLMES: Right. The West's biggest fear in leaving Afghanistan the most recent time was the return of the terror groups that brought it there in the first place. Assurances from the Taliban were given, promises made it wouldn't happen, and you write, and I'll quote you again, "The Taliban's return has transformed the terrorism landscape into a veritable commercial jihadist enterprise," a jihadist constellation. How likely is it that the terror groups currently on the ground there could present a substantial threat to the West again?
LONDON: That's an excellent environment for them to operate. All the Taliban really has to do to support terrorist groups is to do nothing, to be passive and let them not only keep sanctuary but to plan and plot and organize. There's any number of members of, and depending how you count them, anywhere from 10 to 24 different terrorist groups that we in the intelligence community used to consider Al-Qaeda partner organizations. Those are organizations that were very much alive with Al-Qaeda and the Haqqani Taliban network, which itself is a part of the Taliban.
Its chief, Sirtajuddin Haqqani, is the current Acting Interior Minister of Afghanistan, and they've really allowed an opportunity for these terrorist groups to take advantage from the labor force that's there, from those seeking sanctuary from countries they're fleeing and operating against from terrorist groups from Taliban fighters who are out of work to former government fighters who are out of work. So the opportunity for these groups to continue to form and organize and plot is very challenging when the United States no longer has the infrastructure for intelligence collection on the ground that came with having an official presence there for several years.
HOLMES: Yes. And you're speaking as a man with three decades of experience in the field, too. What do we know about how the different groups there might be working together to the same end? I mean, there has been a teaming up at times, ISIS-K with the Islamic movement of Uzbekistan is just one example. What are the risks of that sort of cooperation?
LONDON: There's certainly been reflections of groups that have been associated with the Taliban like the Islamic movement of Uzbekistan, the East Turkistan Islamic movement, to a split (ph) in and of itself. Some of them going to work with ISL, the Islamic State Khurasan, which is an enemy of the Taliban to which they're engaged in combat with.
So there's really a lot of opportunity if you have the wares to sell, if you would, the labor market for these groups, and people will go to the highest bidder or those organizations that would give them the greatest degree of support.
HOLMES: Right.
LONDON: That represents a real threat for the West.
HOLMES: Exactly. I'm almost out of time. I do want to squeeze this in, though. With so much focus on the Ukraine, is enough attention and concern been given to what's happening in Afghanistan?
LONDON: Well the precedent is the United States can't afford to ignore Afghanistan because as much as we might try to put it in the rearview mirror, they will bring us back. In our paper, Javid and I both proposed that there's no risk-free way of dealing with the problem, but to ignore Afghanistan and particularly the Afghans we've left behind and not supporting the legislation and the Afghan Fund Support Act is really going to be to our detriment, and I fear we'll find the conditions themselves will force us to come back if we don't do something different from the circumstance on the ground now (ph).
HOLMES: 100 percent. 100 percent. Douglas London, as always, thanks so much.
LONDON: Thanks, Michael.
HOLMES: Multiple law enforcement sources say a teenager who attacked New York police officers on Sunday had desires to join the Taliban. They say it was written in a diary along with desires to die a, quote, "martyr". The teenager is in custody after pulling out a machete in the attack on three officers near Times Square on New Year's Eve. They were treated at a hospital and have since been released according to police. Police are still trying to determine what exactly prompted the attack. It's not clear if the suspect viewed jihadist propaganda. He hasn't been charged with a crime as of now.
The family of the man arrested in the killings of four Idaho college students is speaking out. Bryan Kohberger's family releasing a statement that read in part, quote, "There are no works that can adequately express the sadness we feel, and we pray each day for them. We will continue to let the legal process unfold and as a family we will love and support our son and brother."
Kohberger is currently being held without bond in Pennsylvania. He will not fight an extradition hearing at a hearing for Tuesday according to his public defender who spoke with CNN's Jean Casarez.
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(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Now your client is highly educated, very intelligent. He has to appreciate the seriousness of what is happening right now.
JASON LABAR, MONROE CO. CHIEF PUBLIC DEFENDER: Oh, absolutely. He is very intelligent. In my -- our conversation with him, that comes off. I can tell that. And he understands where we are right now.
CASAREZ: Have you spoken to his family at all, their reaction here in Northeastern Pennsylvania?
LABAR: I have spoken to his family last night. They have my cell phone number now, so they contacted me last night. I spoke to them for approximately 15 to 20 minutes. They're also very shocked, out of character for Bryan. They're really in awe over everything that's going on.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Kohberger faces four counts of first degree murder in the stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students last November.
COVID case numbers are surging after Beijing backed away from its zero-COVID policy. Just ahead, how countries around the world are reacting as China struggles to get back to normal. Also beaches filled with rubbish with a tourism industry struggling to cope. How plastic pollution is impacting the Kenyan coastline. We'll be right back.
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[01:43:26]
HOLMES: Japan's Emperor greeting the public in his first New Year's address in three years because of the pandemic. Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako along with other family members waved to well wishes fro behind glass at the Imperial Palace. The Emperor expressing hope and happiness for the new year and also his condolences for those who have died from war and other conflicts around the world and called for dialogue and cooperation in the international community. Air travelers from China are facing a growing number of restrictions from countries around the world after Beijing scrapped its zero-COVID policy, which calls for surge or coronavirus cases. Morocco will ban all travelers from China regardless of nationality starting on Tuesday. Australia is joining countries like the U.S., Canada, U.K., France, South Korea, Japan and several others requiring travelers from China to show proof of a negative COVID test, but Beijing may be getting some help from unlikely places.
On Sunday during her New Year's remarks, Taiwan's President offering to assists Mainland China in dealing with the COVID surge. Let's bring in CNN's Paula Hancocks lives for us in Seoul, South Korea. Yes, there's two things going on at once. You've got spiraling cases at the same time as China trying to give the impression of getting back to normal. How are people coping?
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well Michael, speaking to people on the ground there and our team certainly in Beijing itself, things do appear to be having some semblance of normality.
[01:45:00]
The congestion on the streets is back. There are people back shopping, people going skiing. It is the sort of thing that you're watching is almost demographic, the fact that the younger people or those who potentially have been infected and recovered, those who don't have underlying conditions are out and about. But, of course, there is another side to this. There are many who are at risk and so would be staying home, and there are many who have been hospitalized. Now we don't have official information and numbers coming out from China. They've already said, the officials there, that they're going to stop even reporting daily numbers of COVID cases.
So what we're seeing is hospitals under strain. Certainly there have been a number of hospitalizations. We are seeing also crematoriums filling up. And even though we don't have that official data, there is a concern that it is spiraling, the sheer numbers of COVID cases within the country.
Now from an official point of view, as I say, they're not giving any official numbers. They are saying that what is happening with the COVID situation at the moment is as predicted. It is nothing to be too concerned about, but we did hear from Chinese Leader Xi Jinping over the weekend in his New Year's address, and he did acknowledge at least that it is a difficult time.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
XI JINPING, CHINESE PRESIDENT (through translator): Now the epidemic prevention and control is entering a new phase and it's still a time of struggle. Everyone is working resolutely, and the light of hope is right in front of us. Let's work harder. Persistence means victory, and unity means victory.
(END VIDEO CLIP) HANCOCKS: Now the Foreign Ministry have said that the situation is under control, but certainly there are concerns as we've seen around the world with even more countries adding to the list already put in place -- putting in place restrictions for travelers from China. Also the World Health Organization which met with high level officials from China we hear on Friday say they have a number of things that they are asking China for. They're asking for more genetic sequencing data and information on hospitalizations, deaths, and vaccinations. It's not clear if that has been forthcoming yet. Michael --
HOLMES: All right, appreciate the update. Paula Hancocks live in Seoul for us.
The impact of plastic pollution is felt around the globe. Authorities in Kenya trying to tackle the problem, but as CNN's Larry Madowo reports much of the plastic waste there is coming from beyond its shores.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LARRY MADOWO, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The ancient city of Lamu, a population part of the northern coast of Kenya, but the Indian Ocean brings more than just tourists to the Lamu Archipelago. Tons of marine litter is also washing up on these shores, mostly plastic. They pick up what they can, but more keeps coming.
This says it was manufactured in Indonesia.
DIPESH PABARI, COFOUNDER & LEADER, THE FLIPFLOPI PROJECT: Definitely I've never seen this being sold in Kenya. Fasclean, never seen this.
MADOWO: That's not a brand from here?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's not a brand that's sold here.
MADOWO: Says manufactured in China.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: China. Nestle noodles, don't recognize them over here.
MADOWO: Kenya banned single-use plastic from protected areas, including beaches, but they're still being manufactured locally and piling up all over the coastline, a major headache for the local governed.
FAHIM YASIN TWAHA, LAMU COUNTY GOVERNOR: We're more receivers of the plastics than the givers of the plastic. This plastic is dumped elsewhere and drifts to our shores. I guess we are a magnetic place. We hope we can also attract good things and not just junk.
MADOWO: B.T. (ph), who calls herself Mama Plastiki, has been collecting that junk from her community for 35 years, but there's no way to take most of it.
MAMA PLASTIKI, LAMU RESIDENT: We don't have a market for this plastic, so it has slowed us down a little. We had two people working on this, but we ran out of money, so we're stuck with it.
MADOWO: Even this bed of funded efforts to clean up plastic from around Lamu is barely scratching the surface.
The mountains of plastic waste just keeps growing here on the Kenyan coast and is threatening the oceans, the mangroves, and the tourism industry here.
Discarded plastic is sorted and crushed at this facility, breaking it down into smaller particles that can get molded into something more useful.
This is incredibly strong.
MORRIS KILONZO, PLASTIC RECYCLING EXPERT, THE FLIPFLOPI PROJECT: This is a product of sorted, crushed and washed plastics made of this (ph).
MADOWO: And it could revolutionize construction.
KILONZZO: This one going to use less we have (ph) (inaudible). We can innovate and put whatever is lying in the backyards for something useful.
[01:50:00]
MADOWO: These boats are leading a scientific expedition to study the impact of marine litter on the East African coast. It's organizers, the Flipflopi Project, say this is the first time such research has been carried out on this part of the West Indian Ocean. The scientists are measuring the presence of nano, micro, and macro plastics in the ocean.
What do you hope to learn from the samples you're collecting?
BAHATI MAYOMA, AQUATIC ECOLOGY & POLLUTION LECTURER, UNIV. OF DAR ES SALAAM: For the first time we'll be able to understand how deep can you still find plastic pollution. Most forecasting has been on the surface. Now we want to understand because actually most of the organisms, they live underneath.
MADOWO: By 2050 without intervention there will be more plastic than fish in the ocean the U.N. has warned. Some of it may build the next sailing boat like this one made entirely of flip flops, but most of it just suffocates marine life and coastal communities.
PABARI: Someone needs to pay for this. This is not something that these communities and us as local organizations can support and solve. Yes, we are contributing to it, but it's a global problem. It's no different to climate change in that respect.
MADOWO: Recycle, reuse. Residents here are doing every bit they can to tackle a global problem at the local level. Larry Madowo, CNN, Lamu, Kenya.
(END VIDEOTAPE) HOLMES: Still to come, after Ukraine's Kalush Orchestra won last year's Eurovision Song Contest, the band is now sharing how they're trying to help unite their fellow citizens as the war rages on.
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[01:53:15]
HOLMES: Ukraine's Kalush Orchestra won last year's Eurovision Song Context with the song "Stefania", which became the country's wartime anthem. The band's front man tells CNN how the tune is unifying his country. Here's Christina Macfarlane.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(MUSIC)
CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oleh, you wrote your song "Stefania" before the war in tribute to your mother, but now, of course, it's taken on a deeper meaning. What has it come to symbolize to the people of Ukraine?
OLEH PSYUK, FRONTMAN, KALUSH ORCHESTRA (through translator): For me it will always be a song about my mom and was above all dedicated to my mom. Yes, it was a song about my mom, which then passed our national selection and later won Eurovision. When the full scale war happened, this song was everywhere to hear. They call it the anthem of our war.
MACFARLANE: He says winning Eurovision was a victory for all of Ukraine.
PSYUK (through translator): It was the same in Lviv. I mean, for all of Ukraine it was a celebration, a great victory that cheered everyone up.
MACFARLANE: You have been making a lot of new music, I understand, back in Ukraine. How difficult has it been to be creative when you're living and working in a warzone?
[01:55:00]
PSYUK (through translator): At first after the start of the full scale war it was very difficult to gather ourselves and understand what to write and how to write at this time, but then we realized that we needed to write and support people in any case. So we have already somehow got accustomed to it.
MACFARLANE: As Putin tries to destroy Ukraine and its culture, Oleh says the work of every musician has taken on more meaning.
PSYUK (through translator): I think this is a valuable contribution, both ours and that of every Ukrainian performer, musician, artist. What's very important is we see our culture has really taken off, and this is good. We hope that this is just the beginning and that our culture will be even bigger and shared even more widely around the world.
MACFARLANE: Kalush's rap and folk music lit up the stages at Glastonbury and the MTV Europe Music Awards this year, and they have big plans for what's next.
If there was one artist in the world that you would like to collaborate with musically, who would it be?
PSYUK (through translator): We want to work with Eminem. I'm not joking. I'm a fan of his, and I've always wanted to do it. So if he happens to come to you, ask him to get in touch.
MACFARLANE: What message do you have from the people of Ukraine to the world as we look ahead to 2023?
PSYUK (through translator): Our message is that every person can help us not necessarily financially or whatever. One can help out with information, volunteer or in some other way. If everyone makes at least some effort, this war will end sooner because together we are strong.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Christina Macfarlane there. Now finally this hour, a polar plunge to welcome the New Year. Thousands of people in the Netherlands running into the frigid waters of the North Sea on Sunday for this annual tradition. The temperature on the beach just 11 degrees Celsius. The water 7 degrees. Nationwide it's estimated 50,000 people took part in their own plunges at more than 100 spots around the country.
Not I. Thanks for joining us. I'm Michael Holmes. Do stick around. My colleague, Rosemary Church, will be back with more CNN Newsroom after this short break. (inaudible) Australia.
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