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Powerful Earthquake Strikes Turkey And Syria, Hundreds Dead; Trial Begins for HK's Pro-Democracy Leaders; Pope Francis Back in Rope after Visit to South Sudan, DRC. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired February 06, 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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[01:00:25]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN Breaking News.

LAILA HARRAK, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Laila Harrak at CNN Center. We continue tracking breaking news out of the Middle East this hour, where a major earthquake has killed dozens of people in Syria and Turkey.

Syrian state media report at least 111 people have died in Syria and more than 500 are injured. An unknown number could be trapped under rebel.

The White Helmets Rescue Group, also known as the Civil Defense, has declared the northwestern part of Syria a disaster area. Multiple buildings have collapsed in both countries.

At least 76 people reported dead in Turkey and more than 400 are injured. The Governor of Istanbul says nearly 1,000 search and rescue volunteers are heading to the impacted region. In Turkey's, a disaster and emergency management agency is calling for international support.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Geological Survey says the epicenter of the 7.8 magnitude quake was in Turkey's Gaziantep Province. An aftershock with a magnitude of 6.7 struck northwest of the initial quake about eleven minutes later.

Multiple aftershocks have been reported. I want to turn now to CNN's Scott McLean. He is following developments for you from London. What more can you tell us? Scott?

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Laila. Yes, so if you can just imagine this took place local time, about 20 minutes after 4:00 in the morning. Virtually everyone would have been sleeping at the time. Of course, Turkey, especially this part of Turkey being one of the most geologically active places in the world, is used to some level of tremors. They're used to small earthquakes every couple of months or so, but they're not used to anything like this.

So perhaps at first people thought, OK, this is normal. Very quickly they realized this is anything but normal. This was a 7.8 magnitude earthquake, which is tied for the strongest earthquake on record in Turkey. They've been keeping detailed records for about the last 100 years or so. Just to give you a sense of things, the previous time they had a 7.8 in Turkey, that was back in 1939, and 30,000 people were killed.

And the damage that we're getting reports of right now is seemingly random. You'll have some places where a building has been collapsed, other places where a building looks like it could easily be, you know, the aftermath of a missile strike in Ukraine. And then you have other buildings which don't look that damaged at all. And so it really just depends.

And I just want to show you a piece of video from the area around the epicenter, which was obviously in southeastern Turkey in the triangle area of Gaziantep, Osmaniye and Kahramanmaras. This piece of video is from Kahramanmaras. And I just want to show you -- if we could pot up the sound as well. Just so you can hear.

So, Laila, I mean, it just seems random. You look one side of the street, things have one level of damage. Some buildings look like they're in decent shape, still standing. Then just right next to them, you have buildings which look like they've been just toppled over like a toy or something like that.

And you can imagine, again, this happened at night. People would have been inside of those buildings. Those look like we don't know for certain, but these look like residential apartment buildings. And so you can imagine how many people, even just inside one of those buildings are now trapped and having to be rescued.

And look at the weather as well. This is not a tropical area. This is a place where the last time I checked, the temperatures were very close to freezing. And so people not only got this rude awakening, they would have rushed outside and realized I can't stay outside for very long without a winter coat, without boots, without some warm clothing, because that can become just as dangerous.

[01:05:07]

So people are having to make these choices of potentially going back inside of these buildings amidst these earthquakes, these aftershocks, and there have been dozens and dozens of them.

So, you get the sense of just how much help Turkey is going to need and how even on the best of days and anyone's emergency response system would struggle to deal with something like this. You know, Turkey is no stranger to strong earthquakes. In fact, they've had seven with a magnitude seven or stronger in the last 25 years.

But this one, as I mentioned, is the strongest. In fact, it is the strongest earthquake to hit anywhere in the world in a year and a half. The last time there was a stronger one, it was an 8.1, but it was in the South Atlantic and there was no damage reported.

So this is really on a whole another level. It is not surprising that Turkey is asking for international assistance because they will need it.

HARRAK: Scott, that video that you just played, I mean, buildings leveled, I mean, it really looked like a war zone. What struck me was there was somebody yelling out somebody's name in the background.

MCLEAN: Yes, certainly there's going to be a lot of people doing that kind of a thing, Laila, trying to figure out if there is anyone perhaps trapped under the rubble. And, you know, we've been obviously paying attention to Ukraine for the last year and a half. I was just there last month and you've seen plenty of scenes there where you have the aftermath of a missile strike.

But remember, this is one concentrate, relatively concentrated area where all of the rescue workers can go and try to pull anyone out from the rubble, and not only are you trying to get to people in what's a chaotic scene, but you also have to be quiet to try to hear if there may be anyone trapped. So trying to get all of the other people on the site, trying to get all of the cars to stop honking or to turn off the engines, to try to see if there's anyone who may be trapped inside. I mean, these are the kind of things that people are up against.

In fact, the natural instinct for a lot of people in this case is obviously if you have a car, to get inside of it and to drive into a less densely populated areas, but at least in the early hours, we had local officials saying, please be calm, please don't move your cars, because in some areas they're actually experiencing traffic jams, which means that emergency workers can't get into those areas.

So I think what really struck me about that video is you don't see a whole lot of flashing lights, you don't see tons and tons of ambulances and emergency workers because remember, this is an area where it's not one building that's down. You have a lot of buildings that may have collapsed. You have a lot of buildings that's going to be damaged. And so it's very difficult for first responders to figure out where exactly to put their resources.

HARRAK: Scott McLean reporting. Thank you very much, Scott, thank you. Let's go now to meteorologist at Karen Maginnis. for more on this. This is one of the most powerful quakes to hit the region.

KAREN MAGINNIS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It certainly is, Laila. We haven't seen anything this strong in about 100 years. That's not to say some have come close, but each notch that you go up, 7.4 is exponentially stronger than a 7.5, which is exponentially higher if you're going to 7.6. Now we're at 7.8.

This is a major earthquake across this region, a region where earthquakes are fairly common, but not at 7.8 magnitude. When this occurred during the early morning hours, it was around 4:15 early in the morning across this region, not sparsely populated like you might imagine. This is in the southeastern or south central Turkey.

And you can imagine how a magnitude earthquake of this size, 7.8, would really rock you out of your bed. Buildings potentially would crumble. We've heard about that. The infrastructure is very vulnerable. We could expect roads and bridges and all types of things that would be crumbled or compromised in some way.

Also, we could see gas leaks, the electricity would go out. People would become very frightened by a situation like this. After this 7.8 magnitude earthquake, there was an aftershock, which sounds like you're diminishing the earthquake, but in fact, it was a 6.7 magnitude earthquake just eleven minutes after this major earthquake hits. So it becomes increasingly unnerving to fill these aftershocks, which will occur for the next number of weeks, in fact, for months, we'll fill the aftershocks.

Now, presumably this is the major, this is the central quake that we're talking about.

[01:10:00]

All these areas where you're seeing these yellow dots, this is where some aftershocks have been reported. When I last checked about 10 minutes ago, there had been 16 aftershocks. Most of those were 4.0 to 5 point something. So they were below that 6.0 magnitude. But we had that one that was about 11 minutes after the major quake.

And this comes very unnerving, especially for areas that are typically experiencing, well here we go. All right, now we're seeing the satellite imagery. Now the weather has deteriorated. We heard about the civilians that were displaced and have been displaced across Syria and how the temperatures there have become increasingly colder, below normal temperatures.

And now we're looking at this storm system moving in cold rain or snow. There are hundreds of thousands of people at the epicenter of this earthquake. But you spread out from here, Aleppo. Aleppo is only about 170 kilometers to the south southeast of the epicenter of this earthquake.

They felt this also in Israel. Tel Aviv is about 400 to the south, 500 kilometers to the south. We're looking at other areas with major populations that definitely would feel this. But as you can imagine, the devastation that occurs right around this epicenter would be very significant. Major damage.

Now, why are we seeing this here? This is an area where seismic activity is very common. Now, you may not ordinarily on a day to day basis feel it, but you are aware that this is a very seismic situation across this region where we've got a number of tectonic plates.

Now, this is a slip zone. Some are referring to it as the Anatolian Transform Fault, which is a fancy way of saying a lot of these slip zones are kind of coming together, which probably contributed to this seismic earthquake that occurred here that is so powerful. We don't typically see earthquakes of this magnitude, maybe on the order of a dozen or so, if that, per year. This was also a shallow earthquake.

And Laila, when you see an earthquake that is this shallow, you know that there is going to be significant damage, major damage, the high numbers of fatalities expected across this region, and that's what we're seeing. These numbers go from dozens of fatalities to hundreds of fatalities. And potentially we could see thousands of fatalities.

And in fact, that's what we're anticipating across this region as we see these numbers not just in Turkey, but also into Syria and some of the other surrounding areas that also felt. This will also see damage to buildings and hospitals and apartments and areas where you have friends or neighbors and you're trying to get in contact with them.

But now you don't have the infrastructure to do that. You're trying to get food, you're trying to get shelter. And this is a time when you desperately need it.

Well, what we're looking at, the estimated number of fatalities there. You see that red shaded area and we are still seeing the aftershocks. You can see how this is kind of illuminated right now, a 1,000, 10,000.

There was an earthquake in 1999 in northwestern Turkey. It wasn't even a 7.8 magnitude earthquake, it was 7.6. There were more than 17,000 fatalities from that particular earthquake. Now it may not be as populated in area, but this was very shallow and a very powerful earthquake, a major earthquake across this region that not just jolted Turkey, but also Syria and into Israel, into Jordan and into Iraq and into Iran, maybe peripherally more towards the north.

We'll still have to investigate that. We've got lots of reporters on the scene and Laila, we'll stay on top of this and we have a meteorologist in the weather department and he'll be here throughout the evening hours and he's very knowledgeable about the after effects of major earthquakes like this, so he'll be filling us in as well.

HARRAK: Karen Mcginnis, thank you so very much. Greatly appreciate you and your team. Kaan Saner is the Director of International Policy and Relations at the Turkish Red Crescent and I hope that he is able to join me now by phone from Ankara. But I'm told we're still establishing that line.

In the meantime, let's go to Hadas Gold, who is available, I understand. Hadas, the earthquake was felt across the region, including in Israel, the Palestinian territories and Jordan. Tell us what authorities are telling people there where you are.

[01:15:09]

HADAS GOLD, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Yes, well, I mean, just from my own family, my husband saying that he felt the earthquake in the 3:00 a.m. hour people in Tel Aviv, in Iman (ph), Hebron, across the West Bank, they all felt this tremor in the early hours.

And at least from Israeli authorities they say that there was something like nearly 4,000 reports into them about this earthquake. So far no injuries have been reported. We also are not hearing of any major injuries or damages across the Palestinian territories, just that people have reported that they were able to feel these tremors lent everything was shaking, but not to the point quite of major damage. I should remind you that just like in Turkey, only a few hundred kilometers away, this region has been anticipating a major earthquake. They say an earthquake should happen here about every hundred years or so and it's about the time for that major earthquake to happen.

In fact, Israel recently just in the last year put out a new early warning system about earthquakes and is reminding people but what to do in the situation of an earthquake or even aftershocks affecting this region. They tell people right now on the radio to and on TV to go outside if you can, and if not go into a sheltered room. In Israel there are often bomb shelters in apartments and in buildings and they call on people to go into those sheltered areas.

But just in the last couple of minutes or so we did receive word from Israeli officials, from the Minister of Defense and from the Foreign Affairs ministers that Israel is going to be sending aid rescue, search and rescue teams to Turkey to help. It's only about a couple hours flight from here directly to where the earthquake took place. Israel also did this in the aftermath of that major 1999 earthquake and Israel is pretty well versed in search and rescue teams. They were at for example, the condo collapse in Florida in the last couple of years.

And the Defense Minister says that security forces are ready to offer whatever assistance is required and that they are immediately preparing to take off to go to Turkey and to assist in any way they can. So we expect it will be members of the Israeli military, another search and rescue who will be heading out that way to try and help in whatever search and rescue they can.

I also wouldn't be surprised if we also start seeing at some point, for example victims and others being airlifted to Israel for medical assistance in any way. Right now we're just starting to see the gear start and motion of the Israeli government and other governments around the world starting to try and organize this assistance that likely Turkey will so desperately need.

HARRAK: Hadas Gold reporting. Thank you so very much, Hadas. And we'll be right back.

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HARRAK: We're following major breaking news right now. One of the strongest earthquakes to hit Turkey in more than 100 years has killed almost 200 people in both Turkey and Syria.

[01:20:00]

Dozens of buildings across the region have collapsed after the 7.8 magnitude quake struck early Monday. Turkey has deployed more than a thousand search and rescue personnel and is calling for international assistance.

The White House says it has been in touch with Turkish officials where the quake was centered in Turkey's southern Gaziantep Province. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, several strong aftershocks have followed and our meteorologists say more are likely in the hours and days to come.

Earlier, I spoke about the earthquake with the Turkish journalist Asli Aydintasbas, a Visiting Fellow at the Brookings Institution, and she spoke about the impact this disaster could have on Turkey.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

ASLI AYDINTASBAS, VISITING FELLOW, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: I was also in Turkey when the last major earthquake took place, which was 1999 of the same magnitude, and that led to the death of 30,000 people.

Now this one also seems to have a similar magnitude and unfortunately all expectations are that this too will be very costly in terms of human life. We don't have a full picture yet, but it is the case that people have felt the earthquake from the Black Sea all the way to Damascus. And that tells you that a very condensely populated, ancient part of the world is hit by earthquake once again.

Turkey is historically at the crossroads of various fault lines and there has been an expectation for a big earthquake for a number of years, for at least two decades. But that was thought to be the expectation was that would happen take place in Istanbul. This is certainly the other fault line and is going to be equally, I think, devastating.

HARRAK: Can you tell us about the area where the epicenter of the earthquake has been?

AYDINTASBAS: So we're talking about the area where Turkish borders are adjacent to Syria, Turkish-Syrian border, where you have a number of cities, small size or medium sized cities, but you also have refugees, you also have an ethnic mix of Turks of Sunni background, Alawi background, or Turkish citizens of Kurdish background and Syrian refugees.

So, actually some of these areas are also rather poor, some are more richer urban areas like parts of Gaziantep, but other parts that we're talking about that seem to have been devastated or relatively lower income areas.

And as always, this is a natural disaster. But part of the tragedy comes from human error in terms of building construction and actually buildings where contractors do not really go with Turkey's building codes. Because the truth is, after a devastating earthquake in 1999, Turkey had really changed its building laws and regulations and forcing contractors and architects to build earthquake proof residential buildings, particularly in residential areas.

And this was a big focus during Turkey's accession process with the EU. These things, you know, when there isn't enough focus, they tend to taper off. There hasn't been as much concentration on quality of materials and enforcing building codes over the last five, six years. Turkey is no longer really dead set on its EU track.

And you also have a country that has a severe economic downturn, which means people are, you know, willing to be a bit less than perfect in construction business. So I think that is a huge part of the problem, because you can see in your footage, in some of the footage that is coming out, building one building standing still, and the next one is entirely gone, and that can only be, you know, a human error, which is why this is so sad.

But this part of the country is not the richest part of Turkey. It's a mix. It's also a part of the country while, you know, that's definitely a warmer climate, the northern parts of Istanbul has been experiencing a cold front. You have snow in many parts of southern Turkey and southeastern Turkey.

[01:25:06]

People have to leave their buildings right now. They can't go in. And you know, when you are -- I don't know if you've ever been in an earthquake, but when you do, you run out of the building. You stay out, but you always want to go back in to get your phone or get your wallet or something, or maybe some water, or you left in a hurry and you're in your slippers, or you need a coat, et cetera. There are announcements being made urging people, not to go in to pick up, because you constantly have remnants, smaller tremors continuing, and they can be very deadly as well.

When I say small, it's still been in the magnitude of six something over the past hour. So that is a pretty dire situation, even for the standards, even by standards of a country that is somewhat used to earthquakes.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

HARRAK: Just ahead, more on our breaking news this hour. A major earthquake kills dozens of people in Turkey and in Syria. Stay with us.

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HARRAK: Welcome back to our viewers all around the world. I'm Laila Harrak, and you're watching CNN Newsroom. Returning to our breaking news, a major earthquake has rocked Turkey and rattled countries across the region. Syrian State media report at least 237 people have been killed in Syria and 76 are confirmed dead in Turkey, according to authorities there.

The quake caused buildings to collapse, and now work is underway to reach people trapped under the rubble. The U.S. Geological Survey says the epicenter of the 7.8 magnitude quake was in Turkey's Gaziantep province. It struck before daybreak when most residents were likely asleep.

I want to take you now to Scott McLean, who is tracking developments for you for some time now, joins us from London.

Scott, we understand now that almost 200 people were killed by this powerful quake in Turkey and in Syria. I understand we have more news about what exactly happened in Syria. MCLEAN: Laila, I think we should take these numbers with a grain of

salt because they are almost certain to rise and to rise substantially considering what we know from history.

[01:30:00]

The last time there was this magnitude of an earthquake 7.8, was 1939 and in that case there were tens of thousands of people killed.

There was also one that was 7.4 in northwestern Turkey back in 1999 and in that case there were 17,000 people killed. Half a million people made homeless. Obviously that is a better comparison as it is more recent.

And I think in this case you have the building quality in a lot of places that is really being tested, because what is remarkable is what we are seeing across this really wide swath of south central Turkey is that you will have one building that is perfectly ok, or at least seems, ok and then the next one has completely collapsed.

And I want to show you one piece of video which is from a city called Karaman Marash where someone is filming video as they drive down the street. Watch.

(VIDEO CLIP OF EARTHQUAKE IN TURKEY)

MCLEAN: There, you can hear it. It sounds like somebody's name is being called out. There you can see some buildings on the street in the distance there look like they are completely intact, and then you have others that are -- well while it is actually hard to tell that there was a building there because they have been absolutely flattened.

They look like they have just been knocked over and so you can imagine the challenge of actually attempting to find anyone who might be alive in this kind of a situation.

And remember, these look like residential buildings so this happened around 20 after 4:00 in the morning, where virtually the entire city would've been asleep. And so it is difficult to imagine a lot of people surviving in this case.

It is also difficult to imagine a lot of people would've been outside of their homes. And look at the weather as well. It does not look like it is warm and so you had people running outside the buildings that are still intact, likely in their pajamas to try to get to some safety and then quickly realizing that the temperatures are very cold.

In fact in Malatya, another city which is nearby the area, which has also been impacted by the earthquake with buildings damaged, some of them and leveled. You actually have rescue efforts that are ongoing there and it is snowing.

So just one more thing to add to the absolute misery that we are seeing there in Turkey and also the northwestern part of Syria, a place where, frankly, the infrastructure and the services had been decimated after years and years of war and things are extremely difficult in that area in the best of times.

Now you add on top of this, one of the most devastating earthquakes in decades and decades, maybe longer than that. And this is a real recipe for disaster and you can understand why the Turkish authorities are asking for help from outside of the country.

They're also asking people not to get in their cars and move them and drive them because they are seeing traffic jams in some areas where emergency services are not able to get into those areas.

We are also hearing officials asking for people across Turkey to donate blood which gives you a sense of just how much need there is going to be inside of these hospitals.

I've also just viewed video from Gaziantep, where our freelance colleague (INAUDIBLE) is there taking video of some of the damage. And we don't have it up for you just yet, but I can tell you from seeing this video one of the buildings that he was at looks like it has been flattened like a pancake and all of the floors sort of collapsing on to one another.

So in cases like that, Laila, it is sort of difficult to imagine how on earth you would expect to find anyone alive underneath the rubble. But obviously we are hoping and praying.

HARRAK: Devastating is scenes that you described and that we have also been showing. As you mentioned, the country is actively seeking international assistance.

We already heard from Hadas Gold that the Israeli authorities are considering, have considered to send teams to help with rescue efforts. Do we know if any other countries have responded, answered that call?

MCLEAN: Yes. So I know that American authorities in the White House have said that they are assessing their options as to what they can send. I don't have any specifics on what other countries are willing to send, or if they're willing to send at this stage of the game.

But surely you're going to see a lot of aid. Surely you're going to see a lot of rescue workers getting into Turkey because, not only is the situation there right now clearly a crisis, but you're also going to have these aftershocks that could go on for several days making perhaps buildings that haven't quite come down all the more fraught there.

[01:34:45]

MCLEAN: Just quickly, as well, remember that Turkey is a country that is dealing with an economic crisis, quite a bad one. We had inflations -- some countries at 10 percent. They have seen theirs at 60, 70, 80 percent over the last year or so.

And so, this is just one more thing to add to Turkey's long list of difficulties, Laila.

HARRAK: And this specific area of course, also economically depressed and dealing with a lot of things?

MCLEAN: Yes. I mean it's very near the border with Syria. So over the last years of war, you have seen a heck of a lot of people take refuge in that part of the country.

And so I think your last guest or your last expert mentioned that you have sort of a mixed bag of things. For many people this is an area where you might go on vacation.

It's a beautiful part of the country. You will also have wealthy, more affluent people. You will also have a segment of the population that is predominantly Syrian refugees that are maybe struggling to get by.

And so these are the people that are, perhaps, at the most risk of being vulnerable, especially if they do not have a home to go back to.

So they've already been pushed out of their homes once and now they are seeing themselves potentially pushed out of their homes again.

HARRAK: A very dire situation there that you're reporting on this. Scott McLean there, thank you for your continued coverage. Thank you.

And joining me now on the phone is Alper Kucuk (ph). He's the director general for international affairs and migration at the Turkish Red Crescent.

Sir, thank you so much for joining us. Let me first ask you, how are your teams of the Red Crescent coping right now? Are they able to access impacted areas?

ALPER KUCUK, DIRECTOR GENERAL-INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS AND MIGRATION, TURKISH RED CRESCENT (via telephone): Thank you. Yes. Most of our teams are on the ground, on the spot responding to the needs in the region. And we launched a (INAUDIBLE) and other regions are also deployed to support our local teams who have been themselves affected but are responding with local volunteers and (INAUDIBLE).

So what we do is we are playing out all our responsibilities under the National Emergency Response Plan which is nutrition, meaning emergency food, (INAUDIBLE). All the (INAUDIBLE) granted and teams are deployed to provide emergency food in the populations.

We are also coordinating across other NGOs and other institutions the food provision service. We have (INAUDIBLE) but also we are supporting in a part of the population (INAUDIBLE).

So we have different roles in different sectors. I think the main responsibility on food provisions. Turkey's Red Crescent Teams are deployed, are on the ground, responding to the need.

HARRAK: And sir, what are your teams telling you about the situation on the ground?

KUCUK: Initial reports indicating major destruction in over ten provinces. There's varying numbers of casualties and collapsed buildings. Provinces in south and southeast regions (INAUDIBLE) they are getting from our teams -- they indicate significant damage.

So the teams are increasing -- we are increasing the number of our teams on the ground. I am also on my way from the capital. Most of our senior management (INAUDIBLE) there on the ground. so there are volunteers, and branches across the country are mobilized to the region, primarily to support the most affected 10 provinces, but also in other provinces assessing the needs before our end.

HARRAK: And are your teams able to access all areas, or are their towns in the Gaziantep area that are inaccessible?

KUCUK: There are reported minor road blockages that we will see. Also -- the region is under heavy measure -- conditions we base and heavy snow in most of the region.

But in terms of earthquake impact, we have seen a couple of road blockages to find out (INAUDIBLE) make it to the impacted area.

So there are -- there's no significant action (ph) problems that we have received yet. Most of our teams could reach their final destination that they have been assigned.

[01:39:46]

HARRAK: And of course, many are feared to be trapped under buildings that have been leveled. How -- I mean in terms of the number of people, it is a very densely populated area. Can you speak to that? I mean how are your teams preparing to help all those that are still trapped under collapsed buildings?

KUCUK: Yes, it is important in difficult times of the aftermath of the emergency.

Our teams have not only playing their role and their main responsibility going beyond the call of duty and all the volunteers are assisting the search and rescue teams that are mobilized across the region. So we are making our calls to the (INAUDIBLE) unfortunately actions of supporting populations in the emergency.

So teams are reporting significant damage, as I said, but teams are on the ground assisting. The population (INAUDIBLE) continue to be more and more volunteers will be coming (INAUDIBLE).

HARRAK: Now sadly, Turkey is no stranger to earthquakes, very big ones. How does this one compare to some of the most recent earthquakes that you have experienced?

Alper, are you still there? I believe that we have lost Alper Kucuk but we thank him for filling us in on the major challenges that his teams at the Red Crescent are facing, trying to help all those impacted in the region that was hit by this massive earthquake, this 7.8 earthquake. Alper Kucuk, speaking to us.

We're going to take a very short break. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HARRAK: More on the breaking news we are following out of Turkey and Syria this hour.

A deadly magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck southern Turkey just hours ago sending strong aftershocks through Syria as well. Rescue crews are still searching for survivors as more than 230 deaths have been reported by Syrian state television and at least 76 by officials in Turkey. Hundreds more injured in the aftermath with aftershocks likely to continue in the coming hours, and even days.

We'll continue to bring you the latest on this story as it develops.

Pro democracy leaders are standing trial in Hong Kong right now after being charged under the region's controversial national security law more than two years ago.

[01:44:57]

HARRAK: The trial is linked to the arrest of 47 people in early 2021 charged with participating in an unofficial election the previous year. It is expected to last up to three months.

The national security law was imposed by Beijing in 2020 amid months of pro-democracy protests challenging China's influence in Hong Kong.

CNN's Kristie Lu Stout joins me now from Hong Kong with the very latest. This is, Kristie, Hong Kong's largest national security case I understand. It concerns the Hong Kong 47. Who are they and what crime did they commit?

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Laila, the Hong Kong 47 is a group of 47 pro-democracy activists here in the territory who have been charged with the conspiracy to commit subversion, a very serious crime here under the national security law which is punishable by up to life in prison and their trial begins today.

This is the city's largest ever national security trial since Beijing imposed sweeping legislation in the wake of the anti government Hong Kong protests.

And among the 47 you have highly recognizable figures like Joshua Wong, the pro democracy activist, also Benny Tai (ph) the law professor, Claudia Mo, a former elected official opposition lawmaker here in Hong Kong.

They earlier had pled guilty and among the 16 or so whop are pleading for the innocence is a former journalist, her name Gwyneth Ho. Again, what are they accused of? They're accused of participating and organizing an unofficial primary vote in July of 2020.

Previously, a similar event took place without incident in 2018, but when this vote took place, the Beijing liaison office said it contravenes the law. And as we look at the videos of that primary vote that took place in 2020 -- want to bring up the statement to remind you what China's top representative said about that vote, about this exercise at the time. They said this, quote, "With the support of external forces, opposition groups and leaders have deliberately devised plans to hold the so-called primary election, which is a serious provocation to the current electoral system and caused serious damage to the fairness and justice of the legislative council elections," unquote.

Earlier today there was a small group of protesters who are gathering outside the courtroom. One individual was holding up a banner that said crackdown is shameless.

Critics all over the world have said that the national security law here in Hong Kong is being used to stifle and to crush dissent and opposition.

This statement was released last year by Human Rights Watch. And we will bring it up for you. This is from a senior China researcher, who said this, quote, "Hong Kong's biggest national security case is wrapped in legal language but it is just part of the Chinese government's relentless efforts to smother Hong Kong's democracy movements. The very real threat of life in prison for peaceful activism shows Beijing's utter contempt for both democratic political processes and the rule of law,"

Now this is a landmark trial. It is expected to last at least 90 days. But the implications of this case are likely to linger for months, decades to come. Back to you.

HARRAK: Kristie, the trial I understand comes at a time when Hong Kong is actively seeking to rebuild its image and to (INAUDIBLE) resume with free plane flights. What are the implications of this case for the future of the city? I mean the optics aren't really great.

STOUT: Yes. That's right. I mean just last Thursday there was a big press conference and the Hong Kong government announced plans to give away half a million free flights, free tickets to come to Hong Kong, a big splashing publicity purchase underway to get people, to get visitors from both Mainland China and all over the world to come back to the territory after years of isolation caused by COVID-19, by the zero COVID policy, and also by the 2019 Hong Kong protests.

A number of travelers have stayed away but with this case now underway, and the international limelight on it, it draws attention again to the national security law.

Critics say that this law has been used to suppress the local press, to suppress activism, opposition -- and also to stifle a civil society. A vibrant civil society here in the territory, but supporters, as well as the government, they continue to deny those claims.

Supporters of the national security law say it they ended the chaos of 2019 to restore order and stability to Hong Kong.

Back to you Laila.

HARRAK: Kristie Lu Stout reporting from Hong Kong. Thank you so much Kristie.

STOUT: Thank you.

HARRAK: We are now learning Ukraine could be readying to replace its defense minister in a reshuffle with just weeks to go until the country marks one year since Russia's invasion. That is according to a senior official who says the move to replace Oleksii Reznikov (ph) is, quote, absolutely logical for wartime.

The Defense Minister has been under pressure for several weeks related to corruption scandals inside his department. Reznikov was asked about the reports that he could be replaced, and here is part of his reaction.

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OLEKSII REZNIKOV, UKRAINIAN DEFENSE MINISTER (through translator): The decision of who is to be minister or not is made by one person, the supreme commander in chief, President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

I am not ashamed of anything. My conscious is absolutely clear. I have nothing to accept. I am a winner and I will remain so.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRAK: Well, according to the lawmaker Reznikov is expected to be replaced by the current head of defense intelligence.

In the meantime, the fighting rages across parts of eastern Ukraine in the city of Kharkiv. Officials say that at least four people were injured and Russian missile strikes. One of the missiles hit a five star university building on Sunday.

The other missiles struck a residential building. A top official says that according to preliminary data it appears the missiles were fired from Russian's Belgorod region.

To the south of Kharkiv, the battle continues in Bakhmut. Ukraine's defense minister says the embattled city is still a stronghold, while the head of rushers Wagner mercenary group says that Ukrainian defenders are fighting to the last. There is no sign that are retreating.

Well, amid the fierce fighting about 20 people in the city gathered in the basement of a church on Sunday to pray for peace, with the room lit by candles.

Ukraine's defense minister says his country's troops will begin their training on Leopard tanks Monday. Several NATO allies have donated the German tanks to Ukraine. Oleksii Reznikov also warned of a widely expected Russian offensive which may start soon and said his country still needs long range missiles -- weapons, rather -- which he emphasized would not be used on targets in Russian territory.

We are going to take a short break. We'll be right back.

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HARRAK: Let's get you up now on the breaking news. We're following one of the strongest earthquakes to hit Turkey in more than a century. It left hundreds dead in both Turkey and Syria; more than 1,000 people are injured.

Turkey has deployed rescue teams and is calling for international assistance. The White House says it has been in touch with Turkish officials.

The 7.8 magnitude quake was centered in Turkey's southern Gaziantep Province, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. At least 18 aftershocks with a magnitude over 4 have been recorded since the initial quake.

Iran is set to pardon thousands of prisoners as part of an annual amnesty just days before the anniversary of the 1979 revolution.

State media reports that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei has approved a proposal to commute the sentences but there are notable exceptions. It will likely exclude many arrested during recent protests and it will not apply to those facing espionage charges or links with foreign agencies.

The country was rocked by anti-government protests last year sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini, which resulted in the arrests of tens of thousands of people. An Iranian human rights organization has dismissed the pardons as propaganda.

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HARRAK: Pope Francis is back in Rome after a rapturous reception in South Sudan. Before his departure the Pope called for an end to ethnic hatred just as he had done earlier during his stop in the Democratic Republic of Congo. He also made noteworthy comments while flying back to Rome.

CNN Vatican correspondent Delia Gallagher has that and more on the pontiff's visit to Africa.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DELIA GALLAGHER, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Pope Francis returned to Rome on Sunday evening after an historic six-day trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan, where he was greeted by enthusiastic crowds and gave a message of peace, called for an end to violence and particularly in South Sudan called for a re-commitment to the peace process. South Sudan has been in a civil war since 2013.

In a first, Pope Francis gave a joint press conference on the return flight with two other Christian leaders who had joined him in South Sudan from the church of England, the Archbishop Justin Welby and from the Church of Scotland, the Reverend Ian Greenshield (ph).

Responding to generous questions on the flight, all three leaders condemned the criminalization of same sex sexual activity.

POPE FRANCES, CATHOLIC CHURCH (through translator): People with homosexual tendences are children of God. God loves them. God is walking with them. But to condemn someone like this is a sin, to criminalize someone for homosexual tendencies is an injustice.

GALLAGHER: According to human rights watch, of 69 countries that criminalize same-sex relations, 33 are in Africa.

And Francie also spoke about the sale of weapons which he says provokes violence, calling it the greatest plague in the world today.

And finally asked about any future trips the Pope said that discussions are underway for a September trip to Mongolia, although that is not yet confirmed, and he hopes also to visit India in 2024.

Delia Gallagher, CNN -- Rome.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRAK: Sunday night's Grammy Awards debuted a new award for best song for social change. U.S. First Lady Jill Biden was on hand to announce the awards first winner. And it is none other than the Iranian musician (INAUDIBLE) -- his song, was inspired by Iran's anti government protest following the death of Mahsa Amini after being detained by the country's morality police.

Well, in the nights' sort of landing moments., singer Beyonce took home best dance for electronic album for Renaissance, making her the most decorated grammy winner ever with 32 trophies.

An actress Viola Davis also made history joining a small group of performers with an EGOT -- that is an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Awards. How's is that?

That wraps up this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Laila Harrak.

Rosemary Church, picks up our breaking news coverage in just a moment. Thank you for your company.

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