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Blinken To Visit Israel And West Bank Amid Outbreak In Violence; Iran Says Drone Attack Targeted A Defense Factory In City Of Isfahan; At Least Three People Killed In Russian Shelling Of Kherson; More Heavy Rainfall Expected Across Northern New Zealand; Tyre Nichols Remembered At Vigils Across The US.; Israel To Take Punitive Measures after Jerusalem Attacks; U.S. and Russian Diplomats Meet with African Leaders; Haiti PM Faces Protests by Police Amid Escalating Gang Violence; Vanity License Plates Selling for Millions; Djokovic Wins 10th Men's Single Title, 22nd Grand Slam. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired January 30, 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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LAILA HARRAK, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to all of our viewers watching from around the world. I'm Laila Harrak. Head on scene in Newsroom, Blinken's balancing act. The U.S. secretary of State set to visit Israeli and Palestinian officials amid rising tensions and deadly violence.
And scenes of devastation in New Zealand. Days of torrential rain causing flash floods and landslides in Auckland. And more wet weather is on the way. Plus, Haiti in turmoil, a string of crises gripping the nation, but it's unclear when or if health will arrive.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from CNN Center, this is CNN Newsroom with Laila Harrak.
HARRAK: In the coming hours, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Israel, where he's expected to urge calm amid a wave of violence. Israeli authorities say they're taking strict measures to address the unrest, including sealing off the family home of a Palestinian gunman who killed seven people near a synagogue in Jerusalem on Friday.
That attack came one day after Israeli forces launched a deadly raid on the Janine refugee camp in the West Bank. Among the other steps Israeli officials are planning is revoking certain benefits from families of people they consider terrorists. They also seek to expand gun licenses for Israeli citizens, making it easier for them to carry guns and to quote, strengthen settlements and reinforce security units.
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BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): We are not seeking escalation, but we are prepared for any possibility. Our answer to terrorism is an iron fist and a powerful, swift and precise response.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRAK: Critics say the measures are collective punishment and give so called Jewish extremists a green light to commit crimes. On Sunday, a Palestinian official said dozens of Israeli settlers attacked properties in the West Bank. Shops were damaged, cars were burned, and at least one house caught fire. CNN's Hadas Gold has more.
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HADAS GOLD, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announcing a series of actions in the wake of two shootings in Jerusalem by Palestinians, what Israeli officials call terrorist attacks that left seven dead and five injured. Among those actions are increasing the deployment of the security forces across the country, but especially around Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank.
They've also vowed to demolish the homes of the two attackers. This is a common tactic by Israeli officials that they see as a way to deter future attackers. They also want to expedite and expand the number of gun permits for Israeli civilians. They also want to revoke the national insurance benefits for the families of those who Israel have accused of terrorism.
And most controversially, they also want to push forward draft legislation that would possibly revoke the Israeli identity cards and residency of those same families who Israel accuses of supporting terrorism or having terrorists in the family.
NETANYAHU (through translator): Our response will be strong, swift and precise. Whoever tries to harm us, we will harm them and everyone who assists them. We have already carried out widespread arrests of those who support, assist and incite terrorism. We are deploying forces, we are reinforcing units, and we are doing this in various sectors.
GOLD: Now, the Palestinian authority has condemned those steps as collective punishment, saying that they will pour oil on the fire in preparation for detonating the entire arena in conflict. Palestinians reporting dozens of cars and shops in the occupied West Bank burned and damaged by groups of Israeli settlers, seemingly acts of retribution for the deadly attacks.
Meanwhile, diplomatic efforts are underway. The CIA chief William Burns meeting with the Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah on Sunday ahead of U.S. secretary of State Antony Blinken's arrival on Monday to the region.
He'll first meet with Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, before heading to the West Bank to meet with Palestinian officials. While this was pre-planned well ahead of the latest round of violence, it now comes with a much greater sense of urgency. Hadas Gold, CNN, Jerusalem.
(END VIDEOTAPE) HARRAK: Well, before heading to Israel, the U.S. Secretary of State will hold talks in Egypt with the country's president Abdel Fattah El- Sisi next hour. The U.S. state Department says they will discuss democracy across the region, but Blinken is also under pressure to bring up human rights concerns in Egypt.
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And saying in the region, Iran is condemning Saturday's drone attack on a military plant, calling it a cowardly act.
While that explosion, reportedly caused by small drones, rocked one of the military centers in the central city of Isfahan. Tehran hasn't said who was behind the attack, but Iran's foreign minister says it was carried out to incite insecurity in the country. He added the attack would not impact Iran's efforts toward peaceful nuclear achievements.
State media say there were no casualties, but the explosion left some damage.
We're following developments out of Ukraine, where the mayor of Kharkiv says at least one person is dead after a missile struck a residential building. Three other people were injured in the strike. Officials say the building was partially destroyed and the residents have now been evacuated to the south in Kherson.
The city council says at least three people are dead and six injured following Russian shelling.
According to local officials, the shelling hit a hospital, school playground and warehouses, and damaged buildings in the region. All this as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the situation on the front lines of the war is very tough and is calling for more help from his western allies.
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VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Russia hopes to drag out the war and exhaust our forces. We have to make time our weapon. We have to accelerate developments. We have to speed up the supply and launch of new, necessary military options for Ukraine.
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HARRAK: Well, Mr. Zelenskyy went on to say Bakhmut is among the cities in the Donetsk region now under constant attack from Russia. CNN's Fred Pleitgen is following developments and has more now from Kramatorsk in eastern.
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FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Ukraine as the winter weather continues hearing Ukraine's east, the front line in the east of the country certainly is heating up. We witnessed a big artillery battle near the town of Kreminna, which is actually held by the Russians, but which the Ukrainians have been wanting to take back. It's a strategic location, and the Ukrainians say that for a long time they were able to make advances there. But now those advances have been stopped, and the Russians are starting a counter offensive because they've beefed up their forces in that area after, of course, Russia late last year mobilized hundreds of thousands of people for the war in Ukraine.
Very similar situation in the town of Bakhmut, where the Russians have been making gains over the past couple of weeks, really over the past couple of months. Now it really seems those gains are getting accelerated. They usually come thanks to the troops of the Wagner private military Company, a mercenary outfit that are making gains despite suffering massive losses.
The Ukrainians are saying that by and large, they can beat back some of those offenses, but they do also acknowledge that they are losing some ground.
Further south, in the town of Vuhledar, the Ukrainians also say that the Russians have massively beefed up their forces there and are hitting those towns with some seriously heavy firepower. There was one assault the Ukrainians say that they caught on camera of Russian forces trying to assault Vuhledar and being beaten back very badly by Ukrainian artillery, with some of the Russian troops fleeing and one even having to crawl away from the battlefield there.
All this as the Ukrainian leadership say they really need longer range missiles from the United States. They say that the Russians have moved a lot of their supply and logistics further away from the front line, and the Ukrainians simply need longer distance weapons to hit those supply lines front.
Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Kramatorsk, Ukraine.
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HARRAK: Some surprising comments now from Turkey's president on Sweden's bid to join NATO amid tensions between the two countries. Sweden, along with Finland, both applied to join the military alliance after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine sparked fears across the region.
While Turkey has recently urged Sweden to take a stronger stance against what it sees as terrorists, mainly Kurdish militants and opponents of his government. Now, Recep Tayyip Erdogan has this message when it comes to supporting the NATO bids.
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RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN, TURKISH PRESIDENT (through translator): If there is a need be, we can give a different message about Finland. When we give this different message regarding Finland, Sweden will be shocked. But if only Finland does not do the same mistake.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRAK: Turkey has also lashed out at Sweden over recent protests in Stockholm, including one where a right wing politician burned a copy of the Quran.
Parts of northern New Zealand, including Auckland, getting hit with more heavy rainfall over the past several hours, that's on top of the severe rainstorms and extensive flooding that have battered the region since Friday, leaving at least four people dead.
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Officials don't expect the storm to be as intense, but the impact will still be widespread because the ground is already so saturated. We're learning the Education Ministry has closed all schools in Auckland until February 7 due to the flooding, and the Auckland airport recorded 245 millimeters of rain Friday, surpassing the previous record of about 162 millimeters by more than 50 percent. High alert warnings for more heavy rainfall have been issued for Auckland, and forecasters expect another round of heavy rain on Tuesday. Here's CNN's meteorologist Derek Van Dam with more.
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DEREK VAN DAM, CNN WEATHER ANCHOR (on camera): Well, if you're familiar with Auckland, New Zealand, you probably recognize this pinnacle in outdoor sports stadium. This is Eden Park, the largest of its kind in New Zealand. Look at the flooding within the pitch below. Incredible amounts of rain have fallen over the past few days, but especially last Friday when we saw historic rainfall in downtown Auckland.
Let's contextualize this event because it was impressive. It was historic. On average, during the month of January, Auckland receives about 71 millimeters of rain, just in a 24 hours period. On Friday the 27th, they received nearly 260 millimeters of rain.
I spoke to some of the meteorologists there at the New Zealand MetService, and they said they use the word torrential when they receive 40 millimeters rain in a 1 hour period. Some observation sites in Auckland saw over 80 millimeters of rain in just 1 hour. That will cause rapid rises in rivers.
It will cause significant flash flooding like it did, and the potential to isolate communities does exist. And unfortunately, with more rain in this forecast, the MetService has now issued their highest alert level. That is a red alert, meaning you need to take action, especially north of Auckland. That's where we anticipate the heaviest amounts of rain within the next 48 hours. Significant flooding, impassable roadways, and with these rapid rises within rivers and impassable roads, we could see some isolated communities because of the heavy rain.
They have an equivalent of a landslide here in North America, what they call a slip, and that is potentially a significant problem considering this is mountainous terrain. So, some of the roads that navigate through this region could see that landslide or mudslide make those roads completely impassable, again, isolating communities.
Lots of moisture being pumped in from the tropics to the north. There's a low pressure system that's going to meander just off the west coast of the North Island. And this is going to bring another 100 to 200 millimeters of rain over the next three days in and around Auckland. Prepare yourself for the potential of more flooding. Back to you.
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HARRAK: Well, joining me now to discuss the New Zealand flooding and climate change is Kevin Trenberth, a distinguished scholar at the National Center for Atmospheric Research and affiliate faculty at the University of Auckland. Sir, welcome to CNN. Extraordinary flooding events. Should New Zealand brace itself for more of these to come?
KEVIN TRENBERTH, DISTINGUISHED SCHOLAR, U.S. NATIONAL CENTER FOR ATMOSPHERIC RESEARCH: Evidently so. We've had a lot of rain for the past four months. It's just been a pattern, which is, I think, partly caused by the so-called La Nina event, the very cold sea temperatures along the equatorial region. But the sea temperatures in our region and the ocean temperatures are at record high levels. And that's what's helping to fuel all of these rainfall events that are coming into New Zealand one after the other.
HARRAK: What toll have these floods taken?
TRENBERTH: In Auckland I believe there are four dead, but there are scores of houses that have been condemned and, you know, some have actually drifted away off of their foundations. And you know, for those of you who don't know Auckland, a lot of it, in the area where I am, somewhat north of Auckland, it's quite hilly, and so a lot of the water does run off quite naturally.
But Of course, there are some places where it accumulates, and in this case, of course, it accumulates so much more, and that has been quite devastating. And also the process of running off itself causes erosion, and we've seen some examples of that right where I am, actually.
HARRAK: It possible to scientifically establish climate change contributed directly, for instance, to this particular extreme weather event? And how would you go about demonstrating the cause and effect in this individual case?
TRENBERTH: Well, in the first place, we acknowledge that the main ingredients that are affecting the weather are indeed the oceans.
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The oceans take up over 90 percent of the excess heat that is being generated through the changes in the composition of the atmosphere, the build-up of the increases in concentrations of carbon dioxide.
And so what can be done is to run climate models with and without those increases in ocean temperatures, and then we can see what the differences are. And this kind of results that we would expect to see, I think in this case are probably of the order of 20, maybe 30 percent increases because of climate change. But the pattern of the weather events is determined largely by other factors, especially by this La Nina event, which means it's generally rainy in the Tasman Sea area, which affects both Australia and New Zealand, as opposed to the droughts that Australia sees in El Nino events.
HARRAK: What does this mean in terms of, you know, an increasingly warming climate? I mean, how can, for instance, New Zealand adapt? If you happen to be a city planner in Auckland, what should your priority be? What should your response be?
TRENBERTH: Well, certainly all of the aspects of where you build and not building in floodplains and paying considerable attention to drainage. In general what this means is that we have times when we've got far too much water, such as this year, but you need to save that water for the times when you don't have enough.
And, you know, a year ago, we were actually in drought conditions for a period of time, and that's more generally the case. And, you know, another example is what's happened in California recently. And it's very much related in a way. The very cold conditions along the equator are reflected about the equator. So it's very warm in the North Pacific and it's very warm in the South Pacific, and that -- those warm ocean temperatures in the North Pacific have fed the rains that went into California. And so suddenly they too were subject to deluges and flooding. And at the same time, they're in the midst of what has been a catastrophic drought.
And so, very much the case, the need is to save the water from when you've got too much, for the times you don't have enough. Managing water is one of the key things.
HARRAK: Managing water. Kevin Trenberth, thank you, sir, for talking to us.
TRENBERTH: You're most welcome.
HARRAK: Sunday saw another day of protests across the U.S. over the deaths of Tyre Nichols, and now calls are growing for political action on criminal justice reform. That story after the break.
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HARRAK: Two days after the release of videos that documented the brutal beating death of Tyre Nichols, attention is now turning to efforts to keep it from happening again. Demonstrations and vigils honoring Nichols and calling for justice were held once again in cities across the U.S. on Sunday.
Meantime, Nichols parents have been invited to attend President Joe Biden's State of the Union address next week by the Congressional Black Caucus. The caucus also asked to meet with the president to discuss police reform and in a statement, called on colleagues to, quote, jump start negotiations now and work with us to address the public health epidemic of police violence that disproportionately affects many of our communities. The group adds the brutal beating of Tyre Nichols was murder and is a grim reminder that we still have a long way to go in solving systemic police violence.
The Senate majority Whip says he and other Democrats agree.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DICK DURBIN, U.S. SENATE DEMOCRAT: Senator Booker, chairman of the crime subcommittee, has been working on this for years. I think he and Senator Scott should sit down again quickly to see if we can revive that effort. But that in and of itself is not enough. We need a national conversation about policing in a responsible, constitutional, and humane way.
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HARRAK: Congressional action is exactly what is needed, according to the president of the Tennessee chapter of the NAACP. She made the plea during a news conference in Memphis Sunday night. CNN Isabel Rosales has more.
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ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): What we heard from the NAACP in Tennessee the president applauding the Memphis police chief for firing those officers involved in the beating of Tyre Nichols and for doing so within 20 days, not waiting months to a year to do that.
Also, she applauded the DA for charging those officers involved. And finally, demonstrators who took to the streets peacefully around the U.S. that president saying, quote, we've shown the world how you do it. Here's what else she had to say.
GLORIA SWEET-LOVE, PRESIDENT, TENNESSEE NAACP: We come to call to action for Congress by failing to craft and pass bills to stop police brutality. You're writing another black man's obituary. The blood of black America is on your hand, so stand up and do something.
ROSALES: Family attorney and civil rights attorney Ben Crump saying that the work is far from over, that reform needs to happen on a national scale.
BEN CRUMP, ATTORNEY FOR TYRE NICHOLS' FAMILY: Well, in our community, we say this is the blueprint going forward. Whether the officers are black or white, we expect to see swift action and swift justice, even if it's a white police officer that abuse us.
ROSALES: And Back in Memphis, the official GoFundMe for Tyre Nichols mother and father for the family has crossed over the million dollar mark since those videos were released on Friday. Those donations will go toward helping out his parents, specifically with their mental health services and for taking time off of work.
Also written within that GoFundMe is that they hope to use the money to build a memorial skate park. We know that Tyree was so in love with skating and sunsets. Isabel Rosales, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRAK: The man arrested for allegedly attacking the husband of the then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says he should have come better prepared on the night of the attack. It's one of many things David DePape said when he called a San Francisco reporter over the weekend from jail. He allowed their call to be recorded, which came the same day that a California court released video of the attack. Here's part of the call.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
DAVID DEPAPE, PAUL PELOSI ATTACKER: Freedom of Liberty isn't dying. It's being killed systematically and deliberately. The people killing it have names and addresses, so I got their names and addresses so I could pay them a little visit. I want to apologize to everyone. I messed up. What I did was really bad. I'm so sorry I didn't get more of them. It's my own fault. No one else is complaining. I should have gotten better prepared.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
HARRAK: DePape is facing many state and federal charges for allegedly attacking Paul Pelosi in October and has pleaded not guilty.
In South Africa, power cuts are disrupting the lives of millions of people, especially chicken farmer, while thousands of birds have lately died as rolling blackouts for up to 12 hours a day have paralyzed major cities and businesses. CNN's David McKenzie has more.
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DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): Tens of thousands of dead birds suffocated when the power failed and surges blew the backup systems. It's the awful impact of a country in crisis.
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MCKENZIE (on camera): So when you saw thousands of chickens die like this, what was it like for you?
HERMAN DU PREEZ, OWNER, FRANGIPANI FARMS: Glass of cold water in your face. It was so, so bad. I never thought it would happen to me.
MCKENZIE (voiceover): Herman Du Preez has struggled for months with up to 10 hours of rolling blackouts a day. He can't hide his anger at the government.
DU PREEZ: I'm not asking them to do me a favor. Really, I don't. I will do my job. I will produce food. I'll wake up early, work on Sundays to produce food for South Africa. I like what I'm doing. Just do your job. You have one thing to do. Just do it. Just give us power. Please. MCKENZIE: But power is in short supply. The farm that Du Preez and his
father built from scratch now runs at a loss during the worst blackouts. He says diesel costs could sink them.
MCKENZIE (on camera): The President himself has admitted that corruption, sabotage, a lack of skills has caused this issue. Why should this government then be trusted to fix it?
VINCETN MAGWENYA, PRESIDENTIAL SPOKESPERSON: Well, David, as this problem predates President Ramaphosa's time in government.
MCKENZIE (voiceover): Even the President now acknowledges that decades of mismanagement and breathtaking corruption, crippled state owned power, utility ESCOM, a lack of maintenance, a deep skills deficit and regulatory red tape have all helped cause this crisis.
MCKENZIE (on camera): I'm going to repeat the same question, which is why should South Africans trust the government that caused this problem to fix this problem?
MAGWENYA: We accept those mistakes. I've said it, and the President has said it numerous times, that there were massive, regrettable policy mistakes that led us to where we are now. However, now we're focusing on the solution and the opportunities that are being presented by this crisis.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Forward to energy security.
MCKENZIE (voiceover): Not everyone is buying it. The official opposition is calling for mass action.
MCKENZIE (on camera): You can sense the growing frustration in South Africa already. This crisis isn't just inconvenient for people. It can kill the dreams of a better future.
MCKENZIE (voiceover): A better future is what Thando Makhubu and his family strive for.
MCKENZIE (on camera): Are you proud of your son?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I am. But we used to fight a lot.
MCKENZIE (voiceover): Thando turned a small government COVID grant into the Soweto Creamery. It's a huge hit here, thanks to the whole Makhubu family. But when the power goes out, their profits evaporate.
MAKHUBU: So now turn on the generator.
MCKENZIE: Their plans to expand put on hold. What do you want the government to do?
MAKHUBU: I want the government to be brutally honest with us. If they are able to fix it, please fix it. If they can't, they must let us know. And it makes us feel that we are not really in a democracy because it's meant to be for the people, by the people, but it's not as if for them, by them, you know. MCKENZIE: At the very least, Thando and all South Africans just desperately want the lights to be turned back on. David McKenzie CNN, Soweto, South Africa.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRAK: Still to come, the U.S. Secretary of State is expected to urge calm when he visits Israel and the West Bank this week. Details of the deadly violence in the region, next. Plus, Haitian police are protesting their own government as gang violence intensifies. My interview with the Caribbean correspondent for the Miami Herald, coming up.
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LAILA HARRAK, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to all of our viewers all around the world. I'm Laila Harrak and this is CNN NEWSROOM.
More now on our top story this hour. In the coming hours, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Israel where he's expected to urge calm amid deadly violence in the region. On Sunday, mourners attended the funeral of a man who was one of seven people killed on Friday in a shooting near a Jerusalem synagogue.
It was the first of two weekend attacks which prompted Israel to announce new security measures. While Israeli officials insist the moves will fight terrorism, critics say they amount to collective punishment since they could target people who are related to attackers.
CNN's Nic Robertson has details now from the West Bank.
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NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: In recent days, bloodshed and killings of both Israelis and Palestinians spiking, tensions between the two rising.
NOUR ODEH, PALESTINIAN ACTIVIST: What we see right now in terms of confrontation, of escalation will look like kids play compared with what could happen next.
REUVEN HAZAN, PROF. OF POLITICAL SCIENCE, HEBREW UNIVERSITY: We don't know if this is the beginning of a cycle. And in this part of the world, cycles begin and end without you knowing it.
ROBERTSON: A familiar cycle and a problem for U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arriving during his Mideast trip this week.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right coalition, have already responded to the Palestinian violence. Having the home of a Palestinian gunman who murdered seven Israeli ends Friday sealed. Also with collective punishment threatening to revoke residency rights of attackers' families and strengthening settlements, itself, already a condition of Netanyahu's far-right political partners.
Blinken's message to Netanyahu will also face a strong Israeli opposition to many of his coalition policies will be to de-escalate tensions with the Palestinians.
HAZAN: Whatever he gets as a promise from Netanyahu, I don't know if Netanyahu will be able to deliver domestically.
ROBERTSON: Why not?
HAZAN: Because his government isn't interested in it. They're not interested in calming things down. They were elected on a platform of we will have an iron fist, a strong response to violence, to terrorism.
ROBERTSON: By the time Secretary Blinken gets here to the West Bank he'll have had several meetings with Israeli leaders. His likely message for Palestinian officials will be restart security cooperation with Israel, suspended during the recent spike in violence.
After years of feeling neglected by the White House, hopes here of de- escalation are at a low ebb. The Palestinian Authority losing control of the streets.
ODEH: This security coordination is both humiliating and ineffective. You can't -- you know, the PA right now is losing -- not just losing control but losing faith.
ROBERTSON: If you have the issue with containment only going to produce a backlash then that plays into the hands of Netanyahu's government.
ODEH: Absolutely. I think the message will be help. It's going to be an SOS. The ship is sinking.
ROBERTSON: Expectations on all sides, low. The need for help, high.
Nic Robertson, CNN -- Ramallah, the West Bank.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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HARRAK: The U.S. ambassador to the U.N. has been traveling across the African continent as part of the Biden administration's push to strengthen relations with the region while Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has been doing the same as both countries try to court the support of African countries.
While in Nairobi, the Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield spoke with CNN's Larry Madowo.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LINDA THOMAS GREENFIELD, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS: We want to work with African countries to address the challenges that we all face. We want African leadership on some of those challenges, particularly those that have taken place on the continent and we want to see how we can work together to address climate change, to address security, to address food insecurity, which so many countries are dealing with right now because of the war in Ukraine.
LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Russian foreign minister has also been in Africa on a charm offensive. Is this to counter what the Russians are trying to do here in Africa?
GREENFIELD: I would argue the opposite. They're probably trying to counter what we are doing. We have been on this continent since the beginning, we are the largest contributor to humanitarian assistance across this continent.
MADOWO: African nations have -- may have chosen to abstain whenever there is a vote to condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine at the U.N. Do you understand why many African nations choose to sit on the fence in this conflict?
GREENFIELD: I've heard their explanations for why they want to do it, they have said to me they want to be neutral. My message is to those who have made the decision to abstain is that we have a responsibility in the U.N. system to protect the U.N. Charter and Russia's brutal attack on Ukraine goes against that.
MADOWO: Russia at an African summit has been (INAUDIBLE) by this July. Should African leaders be there standing next to President Putin?
FREENFIELD: Well, you will have to ask African leaders whether they should be there and I hope if African leaders go, they will be strong in their condemnation of what Russia is doing in Ukraine.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRAK: And Larry Madowo will have more on his conversation with Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield in the hours ahead on "ONE WORLD WITH ZAIN ASHER".
Haiti's prime Minister Ariel Henry is calling for unity in the fight against what he calls the ongoing insecurity in the country. This as conditions in the capital, Port-au-Prince, continue to deteriorate.
Gangs control much of the territory and police have begun protesting the government after their colleagues were killed.
CNN's Patrick Oppmann has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN correspondent: In a city largely run by gangs, where lawlessness is a part of daily life, this was an unusual day IN Port-au-Prince. Protesters blocked roads and stormed the city's main airport venting their fury in the country's prime minister Ariel Henry.
Faces shielded by scarves and helmets, the protesters included members of the Haitian police force who say that they are outraged by the recent death of several officers by gangs.
The protesters say the police need help, with better weapons and helicopters to fight off the gangs and more support from the government.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: we are the future of the country. Without security our country does not exist and cannot achieve development. We are on the streets to fight against acts of banditry.
OPPMANN: The United Nations estimates about 60 percent of Port-au- Prince is controlled by gangs. And the toll on police officers has been high. One human rights organization says at least 78 police officers have been killed, an average of four a month, since Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry came to power a year and a half ago.
Henry says he is aware there must be change but appealed for people to act calmly.
ARIEL HENRY, HAITIAN PRIME MINISTER (through translator): In this difficult moment, we have to move forward. I call upon all of you to not mistake your enemies. We have to fight the ongoing insecurity. We have to unite to fight it together.
OPPMANN: The wave of killings triggering a lawsuit by the Haitian police union against the prime minister and other top officials accusing them of failing to help police officers in danger.
The prime minister's special advisor has denied accusations by the police union that the government is responsible for the death because its arming gangs.
And if the murders, rapes and kidnappings that come with gang rule weren't enough, the U.N. says gangs have blocked access to food and water in some communities increasing the suffering of people affected by earthquakes, cholera and rampant food insecurity.
More than three months ago, the Haitian government asked the international community for a strike force to help combat the gang. But so far no nation has stepped up.
HELEN LA LIME, U.N. SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR HAITI: They need help.
OPPMANN: The U.N. appealing again last week for countries to do more.
[01:39:55]
LA LIME: We are still not doing enough to be able to win this fight at this stage. We will not win the fight without significant levels of additional support. The police simply need that.
OPPMANN: So far the U.S. and Canada have pledged to provide aid and equipment to Haiti. But with the police force outgunned and overwhelmed by gangs, the U.N. says Haiti needs much more than that.
Patrick Oppmann, CNN -- Havana.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRAK: Joining me now from Miami, Jacqueline Charles is the Caribbean correspondent for the Miami Herald. Thank you for joining us. Haiti continues unfortunately to be in a desperate state of turmoil. What can you tell us about these most recent incidents that seem to further inflame tensions?
JACQUELINE CHARLES, CARIBBEAN CORRESPONDENT, MIAMI HERALD: Indeed. I mean just this month, January, we have seen the assassination of 14 police officers and that has just triggered discontent and protest within the national police and also among former police officers.
I happened to be in Haiti on Thursday when the prime minister returned from an international conference. We were there at the airport but outside what was going on was police were protesting, also individuals in plain clothes claiming to be police officers.
We saw in the capitol in particular that they basically tried to ransack the premises of the airport looking for him. He was never physically in harm's way. He was actually meeting with officials from the Biden administration about policing, in fact was flown in on the same flight with him.
But we also saw that the residence where he stayed was is also targeted as well as his offices.
HARRAK: The security situation is worsening, it's deepening actually. How would you characterize Prime Minister Henry's position right now? Do Haitian support him. Does Washington back him?
CHARLES: You know, I saw a lot of reports on Thursday that the prime minister was under the protection of the U.S. embassy, that he has been extracted.
No. He was fine, he was at the airport, there were pre-arranged meetings that was actually part of an embed with the head of (INAUDIBLE) -- who went to Haiti to talk about policing.
Yes, Prime Minister Henry has his critics in Haiti, the international community has been calling on him to put together some sort of broader agreement, some political agreement. The political situation is very volatile, it's very fragile. Haiti today does not have one elected official in that country.
The president, as you know was assassinated on July 7th 2021. No one has officially been charged in Haiti, you know, with that crime and at the same time you have a country where the social and economic situation is deteriorating.
I understand that in terms of inflation, 47 percent. You know, hunger is deepening, everywhere you go there is a crisis.
And now today, to add on to it is just this challenge within the police force. You are asking guys who are ill-equipped, who have low morale to go out there and battle gangs that are better armed than they are and it is a very challenging environment for them to be working in.
And so when they see their comrades falling like this, if we just take the last two weeks, you had incident, there were four cops that were killed, and then you had seven police officers who died in an ambush while they were at a police station and before that were actually at a clinic, they were being treated for wounds when they were killed by gangs.
There are three successive attacks on the same day between 7:30 and about noon, so this is the environment and it's a very difficult environment, much less with people who have to rely on the country's own security force.
HARRAK: In a few words, Jacqueline, you know, without security, is life even possible in Haiti?
CHARLES; Life is very difficult in Haiti, there really are not any neighborhoods that are safe anymore. The few neighborhoods that are relatively safe, if you can call them that, if you take for a place like, you know, (INAUDIBLE) you are seeing gangs encroaching.
Just last night another gang leader basically bulldozed a sub police station, not far from the U.S. embassy. The incident that took place just a week ago, where the police officers were killed, that happened in a rural section of the country.
So you know, a week ago I was in Haiti enjoying a jazz festival walking freely in (INAUDIBLE) the largest city. Tonight there are protesters tired to the (INAUDIBLE).
This is a country that is very volatile, people are very much concerned that there was panic on Thursday as these protest groups, you know, access the international airport and the ground.
And yet you don't see any takers (ph) in the international community, people are concerned but you don't see anyone raising their hands and say hey, we're going to take the lead to go in and to give the Haitian national police some assistance in combatting this.
[01:45:00]
HARRAK: Jacqueline Charles, thank you so much for your time.
CHARLES: Thank you.
HARRAK: Vanity license plates are selling for big bucks in Hong Kong, with some drivers spending millions for just a few letters on a custom tag. We will check out why they are such a hot item. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRAK: Some people say your car says a lot about you and in some countries, vanity license plates can say even more. Those custom tags have gotten so popular in Hong Kong they are being auctioned like fine art and the price tag can be staggering. Let's take you to Hong Kong, CNN's Kristie Lu Stout is standing by. Kristie at the latest auction on Sunday, how much did these plates go for?
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, Laila, honestly we were expecting a lot more action. You have this government auction here in Hong Kong on Sunday and Elon Musk sold for just over $1,400 or $11,000 Hong Kong. But that was just one of a number of personalized vehicle license plates that went under the hammer on Sunday at this regular auction organized by the Hong Kong Transport Department.
And it can be a very hot market. People here have paid anywhere from $640 U.S., which is the starting bid price to over $3 million U.S. for a coveted plate.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STOUT: Stepping into his convertible Rolls Royce for a leisurely drive next to his chauffeur, Hong Kong tycoon Cecil Chao has the front seat to a life of luxury -- a palatial home, pricey artworks, and a penchant for vanity car plates.
CECIL CHAO, HONG KONG TYCOON: I have Cecil and Chao.
STOUT: Here is his Rolls Royce with Cecil and another Rolls with the number 4.
Why the number 4? Isn't that unlucky?
CHAO: I was born in China in Shanghai. In Chinese, number 4 is happiness.
STOUT: Since 2006 over 40,000 personalized vehicle registration marks have been sold at auction by the Hong Kong Transport Department. Car owners can create marks of up to eight characters including spaces with prices starting around $640 U.S.
It is a hot market. Owners have spent millions for a coveted plate. In 2021 one person spent more than $3 million U.S. for a plate with a single letter, W.
The phenomenon has sparked social media accounts where hunters share their finds online on Twitter using the handle and hashtag HK Number Plates.
[01:49:54]
STOUT: Spotted in the wild, a yellow Lamborghini with "Sin". A black BMW with "Darkside", and a white Porsche with "CNN".
There is also this. The rap is part of the Hong Kong Vanities Project, an online platform that collects photos of personalized plates and invites users to string them together into poetry, like TGIF By Tony. TGIF, Timeout, Live to Love, City Life.
Hong Kong Vanities' creator Michele Salati says he has gathered about 2,500 images for his platform.
MICHELE SALATI, CREATOR, HK VANITIES: These vanity plates are used by the owners to highlight their status, wealth, humor, desires many things, superstition, or even their favorite food.
To me, each plate is like a line of poetry, you know, like racing through the streets of the city, kind of poetry in motion.
STOUT: A creative outlet for some, and for this wealthy property developer.
CHAO: My philosophy of life is that you come to this world for only one aim, to be happy.
STOUT: Happiness came at a good price for Chao. In 2007 he bought Cecil for just over $2,500.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
STOUT: As for the new owner of the Elon Musk registration mark and the make of the car, unknown, but vanity plate hunters here in the city hope to soon see it on the streets of Hong Kong in addition to the other sightings that we have seen. The yellow Porsche's "Bananas", the white Prius with "Macho" and a red Tesla with Ginger.
And as for CNN, the CNN name plate, that sold a couple of years ago in 2015 for 32,000 Hong Kong dollars, or just over $4,000 U.S. A Transportation Department spokesperson tells CNN that all revenues go straight to the Hong Kong government treasury.
Back to you.
HARRAK: Kristie, if you had cash to burn, what would your vanity plate say?
STOUT: Well, for the record I am not the owner of the CNN vehicle license plate I've had a number of people on Twitter asked me if this was mine. It is not. There is one but it is already been taken. It is the name of my pet poodle, Bobo, My Bobo. I wish I was able to bring up the paddle high for that one, it's already been taken.
HARRAK: All right. We'll grant it to you, anyway. Thank you so much, Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. Appreciate you.
We'll be right back with more news after a short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRAK: Tennis great Novak Djokovic is back on top of the world rankings. It comes after the Serbian claimed his tenth Australian Open title and a record tying 22nd Grand Slam.
Eurosport's Laura (INAUDIBLE) and Barbara Schett have more on Sunday's final match.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) BARBARA SCHETT, EUROSPORT TENNIS EXPERT: Let's first talk about the match itself. How do you rate his performance? I mean he was, the last three matches, it was an unbelievable tennis. Was it the same level as we have seen before?
LAURA ROBSON, EUROSPORT TENNIS EXPERT: I did not think it was even the same level, and that's the scary part that he can be as somebody as good as (INAUDIBLE) -- and not play his best tennis. Emotionally he was so on it tonight. He was so focused, so intense and just that relief at the end was all of that bubbling up to the surface.
And it must feel so good to get all of that emotion out and just walk away with a trophy. You could not ask for any thing better if your Novak Djokovic.
SCHETT: But Stefanos Tsitsipas (ph) he did have a chance, in In the second set he had a set point then it was a tie breaker as well so it was in the third set.
[01:55:00]
SCHETT: What do you think he should have done a little bit differently in this match? What were you missing?
ROBSON: It is a lot of should've, would've, could've, you know. It's such small things that he could've done differently. I think we all think that on that set point he could've gone for a bit more, but then it is so hard to, in that moment isn't it -- putting himself under pressure to deliver an unbelievable shot.
And I felt maybe he got a little passive in the beginning of the third as well when he broke serve early on and then got broken back straightaway, and so I think mentally after that you could just see that he was a little anxious at times on the big points. I think he could've used the crowd bit more, and there was a moment where he held (INAUDIBLE) for three up in the second, and that was the first time we saw him really get involved with the Greek fans in the stadium.
So maybe could've done it a little differently, but it is almost impossible against Novak Djokovic.
SCHETT: Stefanos Tsitsipas, he can still leave the Australian Open with his head up high, he played some tremendous tennis here in that Australian summer and it did not work out against Novak Djokovic. But he is one of the greatest, if not the greatest of all-time.
Now he won his 22nd Grand Slam title --
(CROSSTALK)
SCHETT: And he said that this one means the most to him, this title. Why do you think so? because of what happened last year that he could not enter? What is your opinion?
ROBSON: I think it is because of that. You know, all of that drama last year and then come back and have all the pressure on his shoulders, trying to get back to number one in the world. All of the kind of controversy as well over the last 12 months and it is a lot to deal with.
It must finally nice for him to just focus on the tennis and just that reaction at the end, you know, you could just tell how much it meant to him. So I'm not surprised that he says that it means the most.
SCHETT: It certainly, was an unbelievable match and the reactions, the emotions, there were so many Novak Djokovic fans, just a few minutes ago behind us, which is superb.
How many more Grand Slam titles do you think Novak is going to win? I mean he's 35 years of age. He's not the youngest but on the court he seems like 25.
ROBSON: I think he was moving better than Tsitsipas -- who is 11 years younger than him. It just seems unreal. He is been fairly lucky, I'd says with injuries over the years, no huge ones that he's had to deal with obviously there is the hamstring, this movement but the movement in that final was phenomenal.
So that clearly was not bothering him too much. It's hard to put a number on it because you can stop. Who can stop him?
SCHETT: Yes. Who can stop him, will Stefanos win one at some stage?
ROBSON: I think so.
SCHETT: I think so, too.
SCHETT: All right. Back to you in the studio.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRAK: Thank you so much for spending part of your day with us. I'm Laila Harrak.
Do keep it here. My colleague Rosemary Church will be back with more news in just a moment.
And I'll see you tomorrow.
[01:57:40]
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