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Bola Ahmed Tinubu Elected Nigeria's President As Opposition Calls For New Polls; At Least 32 Dead, 85 Injured As Trains Collide In Greece; Fighting Around Bakhmut Extremely Tense; Belarus President And Firm Russia Ally Lukashenko To Visit China; Supreme Court Considers Fate Of Biden's Student Loan Relief Plan. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired March 01, 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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JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Good to have you with us for another hour coming up here on CNN Newsroom. He's known as the godfather of Lagos. But now it will be Mr. President. Nigeria's new leader after winning an election which critics say was rigged.
Pounded into molecules. Russian artillery and airstrikes have intensified on Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, raising fears there may be nothing left to the city, when and if the fighting ever stops.
Plus, there's much more to China cyber security threats and spy balloons and TikTok, a new report reveals when it comes to hacking and cyber espionage, no country comes close to China.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from CNN sensor, this is CNN Newsroom with John Vause.
VAUSE: While the vote may have been rigged, and there's growing outrage from opposition parties. Nigeria has a new president with the country's Independent Electoral Commission declared Bola Ahmed Tinubu winner of a very controversial vote.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAHMCOD YAKUBU, CHAIRMAN, INDEPENDENT NATIONAL ELECTORAL COMMISSION: Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the APC having satisfied the requirements of the law is hereby declared the winner and is returned elected. Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Tinubu supporters celebrated at Party headquarters in Abuja. Nigeria's Electoral Commission says he received almost 8.8 million votes, almost 2 million more than his main opposition rival. Tinubu is 70 years old and a member of Nigeria's ruling all progressives Congress Party.
CNN's Stephanie Busari live this hour for us from Lagos once again. What we heard before the election, the polls are showing that this would actually be a fairly close race. And as widely as disputed results may be it seems Tinubu had a pretty comfortable win.
STEPHANIE BUSARI, CNN SENIOR EDITOR, AFRICA: Yes, Tinubu supporters, this does not come as a surprise. He's known as a master strategist who has spent many years building key structures across the country in key battleground states. And those states delivered massively for him, particularly in the north. Elections in Nigeria, a one in rural areas, many of Peter Obi's supporters the main, the opposition candidates, who many were saying was a third force candidate, many of them urban middle class voters.
And whilst there were sizable a number, they were just not enough to come up against the other parts of the country with the rural voters who were always going to support the ruling party. And Tinubu has called for appeal, as appeal to the opposition candidates who are rejecting this mandate and who are saying that the results were rigged, and actually called for the Electoral Commission chairman to stand out.
In his acceptance speech, Tinubu said, this is a serious mandate. I hereby accepted. I'll be your servant, and not to be your leader to work with you to make Nigeria a great country. I take this opportunity to appeal to my fellow contestants, let us team up together. It's the only nation we have. It is one country and we must build together. Let's work together to put broken pieces together.
Now, the opposition party candidates have not released a statement this morning yet, but I spoke earlier to one of the spokesman who says they will be holding a joint press conference later today to react to this when. So Peter Obi and Atiku Abubakar will be holding a joint press conference later.
We don't know what they're going to say but most likely along the same lines that we've heard previously.
Now, Tinubu faces an uphill task. This country is deeply riven by religious lines, ethnic lines and now a generational line. Many young voters will be waking up disappointed this morning that their candidate Peter Obi did not win. He was seen as a reformist candidate against Bola Tinubu, who is very much part of the establishment. A veteran politician here very respected, but very much part of the establishment in a country that many young people are leaving in droves and saying it's not working for them. John.
VAUSE: Stephanie, thank you. Stephanie Busari there with the very latest from Nigeria on that presidential election. Thank you.
Well, two trains have collided in Northern Greece killing at least 32 people with dozens more badly hurt. More than 50 people have been taken to hospital. Rescue operations have been ongoing. This is the scene there right now. At just after 8:00 in the morning Near Larissa in Greece.
[01:05:02]
At one point flames can be seen coming from some of the derailed carriages that are thick plumes of smoke. These rescue operations have been ongoing since around midnight local time. Authorities fear the number of dead will almost certainly rise. Around 350 people were on board a passenger train when it collided with a freight train not far from the city of Larissa. This little about 250 miles north of Athens.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STERGIOS MINENIS, PASSENGER (through translator): It was panic for 10, 15 seconds. It was chaos, tumbling over fires, cables hanging, broken windows, people screaming people trapped. It was two meters high from where we jumped to leave and brief that was broken iron debris. But what could we do?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Officials say 200 passengers or almost 200 passengers that are en route to the train's final destination, the city of Thessaloniki. For now though there is no word on the cause of the deadliest train accident in Greece indicates.
Despite Russian forces intensifying their assault on Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, Ukraine's fighters continuing to hold their defensive lines despite being outnumbered and under near constant assault. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his daily message that the biggest challenge the most difficult situation across the long front lines is in Bakhmut.
One of the President's advisors tell CNN, Ukraine's military will weigh all options, including a strategic pullback if needed. Ukraine says the city is not surrounded but one commander says Russian constant shelling and bombardment are breaking the city quote, into molecules. Several 1,000 civilians still believe he caught it the fighting mostly cut off from any kind of humanitarian assistance. Ukrainian soldiers say the situation there is hellish and much worse than officially reported. But they vowed to defend the city until the end, no matter what.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (thorough translator): February 28, Bakhmut, city is on fire. The enemy pushes on. Ukraine will live. Putin is a kid.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Russian authorities say Ukrainian drone has crashed in the Moscow region. The provincial governor says he believes the target was probably a civilian infrastructure facility, which was not damaged. It's one of at least two alleged drone incidents reported Tuesday. Russia's Ministry of Defense also accused Ukraine of attempting a drone attack in southwestern Russia. Video posted on social media showed a fire and oil depot on Russia's Black Sea coast.
It's unclear if that facility was the intended target. But Ukraine has previously targeted oil depots in on Russian soil. CNN though unable to independently verify those claims.
And a rare admission Russian President Vladimir Putin has acknowledged losses among the ranks of Russian intelligence officers operating on the ground in Ukraine. In his speech to members of Russia's intelligence agency, the FSB on Tuesday, he called on the agency's leadership to support the families of the fallen agents. He also signed a new law suspending Moscow's participation in New Strategic Arms Reduction treaty with the United States.
Russia's Foreign Ministry though says that suspension could someday be reversed, but it also made another threat to the west implying Russia might just use nuclear weapons if threaten.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): In the event of a threat to the territorial integrity of our country and to defend Russia and our people, we will certainly make use of all weapons systems available to us. This is not a bluff.
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VAUSE: More now on Russia's push towards about Bakhmut and Vladimir Putin is FSB speech, CNN's Fred Pleitgen Reporting in from Moscow.
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FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (through translator): Russian warplanes bombing Bakhmut. This video posted on state media trying to show the advances that Kremlin's forces are making.
On the ground mercenaries of the Wagner private military company are leading the assault the Ukrainian say. These Wagner foot soldiers saying they're close to Bakhmut city limits.
We're approaching Yavagnoy (ph), he says and Yavagnoy (ph) is the entrance into town. This district our platoon has taken without a single loss.
Ukraine says the situation is tough for their troops and Bakhmmut, but that they are clinging on. While Wagner Yevgeny Prigozhin is recruiting even more people in an ad with a top Russian propagandist. Sign up for PMC Wagner, he says, you'll learn a man's work and we'll be in good shape for the upcoming World War III.
While Prigozhin claims he's gearing up for World War III, he's also involved in a social media standoff with the son in law of Russia's defense minister Sergei Shoigu. After his son in law Alexey Stolyarov allegedly liked an anti-war bloggers comment on social media which Stolyarov later denying doing, Prigozhin taking aim. We need to catch Stolyarov and bring him to me, he says. I will train him for six weeks since I am a Z-redneck myself, I will help him improve by sending him to combat operations.
As the fighting in Ukraine rages on, Russia's president now acknowledges that operatives for the intelligence service the FSB are both on the front lines and allegedly behind Ukrainian lines.
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PUTIN (through translator): Unfortunately, there are losses in our ranks, the leadership of the FSB must do everything to provide additional support to the families of our fallen comrades.
PLEITGEN: With FSB boss Alexander Bortnikov on the stage, Putin also said Russian intelligence needs to up its game now.
PUTIN (through translator): we need to beef up our counter intelligence in general, because Western special services have traditionally been very active in relation to Russia. And now they have put in additional personnel, technical and other resources against us. We need to respond accordingly.
PLEITGEN: The Russian leader yet again casting this conflict as an existential battle for Russia against those allegedly plotting to destroy it. Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Moscow.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: To Mark Hertling now senior military analyst and former Commanding General of the United States Army Europe. Good to see you, general.
LT. GEN. MARK HERTLING (RET.), CNN Senior Military Analyst: Good to see you, John. Good to be with you.
VAUSE: Thank you. Now more than a year into the war now. And the question, which is sort of increasingly being asked now is how does this end? I want you to listen to the NATO Secretary General.
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JENS STOLTENBERG, NATO SECRETARY GENERAL: No one can tell exactly when this war ends. But when it ends, we need to ensure that history doesn't repeat itself, that the President Putin cannot continue to attack the neighbors. And therefore we need to strengthen the military capabilities of Ukraine, but also look for frameworks that can ensure that President Putin, Russia doesn't invade Ukraine yet another time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: What he's talking about is essentially what a senior U.S. defense official means when he says the war must end with strategic failure for Russia. Specifically, what does that look like? They'd say, an overwhelming crushing victory which allowed Ukraine to dictate terms.
HERTLING: But when you take a look at the strategic objectives of Mr. Putin from the very beginning of this war, John, he -- which he has not changed, by the way, it consists of overwhelming the Ukrainian government and replacing them subjugating the Ukrainian army, subjugating the civilian population of Ukraine, trying to further divide NATO. There's several other sub-strategic objectives, but those were the big ones. So what you're talking about, and I think what the Secretary General is mentioning, is that any imperialistic country like Russia, who is attempting to gains the sovereignty or the sovereign terrain of another country should be stopped from doing that. And it's not only requirement of the nation that's been invaded to prevent that. But it's also in this case, the security alliance with NATO.
VAUSE: There's also now this question of can Ukraine, you know, win the war but lose the peace, with overstretching in their demands for an enter the war?
HERTLING: Yes, and that's been the debate that's occurred recently. But I think what we're talking about if you shift, the sides shift the direction to the Ukrainian side, their strategic objectives have always been regain the sovereign territory of Ukraine.
There's much debate about whether that's just the Donbas or does it also include the Crimea autonomous region. And I would suggest it's both because both of those areas were considered part of sovereign Ukraine back in 2014, when Russia illegally invaded the country for the first time.
VAUSE: But now though it seems that Russian firepower is focused on the city of Bakhmut in the east, which has been under the constant Russian attack. The Russians have made some small advances into the city, but the Ukraine say hundreds of Russian soldiers are dying every day. So those gains are coming in incredibly high price. It's been being brutally cold blooded here about just a cost benefit analysis. It's hard to see the value in it for the Russians.
HERTLING: It is -- it's hard to see value in it for either side, John, because both sides are unfortunately losing a lot of men in this fight. I've been watching the Bakhmut fight for several months now. It's an interesting battle. Ukraine is certainly draining more of the Russian troops than the Russians are draining of Ukrainian troops. It's almost a little bit like Mariupol was at the beginning of the war.
Russia is paying a significantly high cost to gain this very small piece of ground as a city that at the beginning of the war had about 70,000 people. Interesting today, John, Colonel General Oleksi Syrskyi, who is the commander of Ukraine's Land Forces in the Eastern Operation Command was ordered more troops, more Ukrainian troops to Bakhmut, so it isn't going to let up.
VAUSE: Well, the Ukrainian President referenced the situation in Bakhmut as one of the reasons why Ukraine needs F-16 fighter jets. But the undersecretary for defense told the U.S. Congress that jets are not a priority for Ukraine right now. And besides that, here's the timeline for delivery. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COLIN KAHL, U.S. UNDERSECRETARY OF DEFENSE FOR POLICY: We've looked at this I'm very carefully about what it would take to get Ukraine F-16.
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So if we were to do new production, it would take three to six years to get them F-16. We could look at older block, F-16, that could potentially deliver on a faster timeline, let's call it 18 to 24 months, maybe you can even shave a few months off of that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Five to six years for new F-16. That's OK. But it seems that unsustainable, but two years to handover planes, which are already going, why so long?
HERTLING: You know, you have to say, what do you want these airplanes to do? Just be up in the sky and doing things? Or do you want them to have combat air patrols overlooking the ground, you want to have them close air support, intermingling with troops on the ground where you have to have people calling in the fire, you have to have electronic warfare capability to suppress Russian air defense equipment, you have overwhelming overhead command and control like an AWACS plane to direct them where to go.
So there's a whole lot more to giving a new generation of fourth generation fighter to the Ukrainians and just say, give them the airplanes and let them have at it. There's a whole lot more that goes on. And I think common cause address, I think it was the Congress was saying basically, it takes a while to train the pilots. But it also trains requires a long time to train the trainer's the equipment, the support mechanism, and all else that goes along with it.
So I'm convinced that I think we're making the right deal. If we could get more MiG-29s to Ukraine very quickly from some of the former Soviet Bloc countries, that would be great. But F-16 is, as was pointed out is a much longer haul.
VAUSE: Good point to end on. General Hertling, thank you so much, sir.
HERTLING: Pleasure. Thanks, John.
VAUSE: Finland has broken ground on a new barrier on his 800 mile long border with Russia. For now the new construction will cover about 160 miles and will focus mainly on border crossings and other high risk areas.
One of Vladimir Putin his few European allies was given the red carpet treatment on arrival in Beijing. Alexander Lukashenko from Belarus will hold talks with Chinese leaders of the coming days, and that includes a meeting with Xi Jinping. He says it comes amid growing concerns that China is considering sending lethal aid to Moscow. U.S. State Department please this visit to China by the Belarusian leader, it's just another sign of Beijing's growing relationship with Moscow.
Live now to Hong Kong, CNN's Kristie Lu Stout has more on this. So you know why the red carpet treatment of Lukashenko not exactly a major ally of China?
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, but a major ally of Vladimir Putin. And so we have the state visit underway. Remember Belarus last year allowed its territory to be used by Russia as a launching pad for the Ukraine invasion. We've been monitoring Belarus state media and the last hour we've been seeing pictures and video of Alexander Lukashenko in Beijing meeting with Chinese officials. Apparently he hasn't met with Xi Jinping yet. But that meeting is expected.
And they're also expect to discuss a variety of issues, including trade, economic issues, investment, humanitarian cooperation, and something that Belarus state media described as acute international challenges. And this meeting will wrap up tomorrow on March the second.
And it comes during a time of deepening tension between China and the United States with Washington DC, accusing Beijing of considering supporting Russia with lethal aid with lethal weapons. And China continues to push back on that allegation counter accusing Washington DC of pouring lethal weapons into Ukraine.
And then we have this interesting article that came out interesting -- interestingly enough today from the Global Times a state run tabloid in which it said is expecting these two leaders and they talked to discuss the situation in Ukraine and also cited an analyst saying the following. The analysts Cui Hongjian talking about China, quote, always opposes tying the Ukraine crisis to all bilateral relations. It is ridiculous to stipulate that China should not develop bilateral relations with Russia, with Ukraine and Belarus, because of the Ukraine crisis, unquote.
Look, China is still claiming that it's a neutral party to the Ukraine crisis. It could be some sort of an international peacemaker during this this time of challenge, and despite its no limits alliance with Russia, despite the fact that continues to not even call the invasion an invasion. It assumes that it is playing this peacemaker role.
There's a -- Friday it release that position paper calling for 12 points, including the immediate end of all hostilities. The end of unilateral sanctions, resumption of peace talks with China, quote, continuing to play a critical role there.
But that was a paper in a position that was widely criticized by Western leaders who have said, Look, China, you've already established your position. You're on side with Russia, and with the optics of this visit coming out and when we see the vision of Xi Jinping next to Lukashenko that will certainly harden those views that -- of where China's alliances truly are. Back to you.
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VAUSE: Yes, they've tried to play this neutral game for a while and just doesn't seem to have worked. I guess it's -- they've declared the hand and away. Kristie, thank you. Kristie Lu Stout live for us in Hong Kong.
LU STOUT: Thank you.
VAUSE: The U.S. President's plan for student debt relief who's going before the U.S. Supreme Court will take away from Tuesday's arguments that's coming up.
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VAUSE: The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday on two challenges to President Joe Biden's student loan debt relief plan. Demonstrators gathered in Washington to back the plan, which could potentially forgive federal debt up to $10,000 for those making less than $125,000 a year. Here's how the U.S. Solicitor General argue the federal government's case.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
ELIZABETH PRELOGAR, SOLICITOR GENERAL: Without this critical relief for debtors, we are going to have a wave of default across the country with all of the negative consequences that has for borrowers. I think it is precisely the type of context where the executive should be able to implement those emergency powers.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
VAUSE: But the conservative justices are skeptical over the program, which the Congressional Budget Office estimates would carry a $400 billion price tag.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
NEIL GORSUCH, ASSOCIATE JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES: What I think they argue that is missing is cost to other persons in terms of fairness, for example, people who've paid their loans, people who don't have -- planned their lives around not seeking loans and people who are not eligible for loans in the first place. And that a half a trillion dollars is being diverted to one group of favored persons over others.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
VAUSE: Right now there is a pause on payment requirements until the Supreme Court reaches a decision later this year. Rene Marsh has more the story now report again from Washington.
(BEGINV VIDEOTAPE)
RENE MARSH, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): student loan borrowers and advocates rallied outside the nation's highest court as justices heard oral arguments on the legality of President Biden's student loan debt relief program.
GLEN LOPEZ, MORGAN STATE UNIVERSITY FRESHMAN: We kind of broke out really got it on me like that. And honestly, the movement for this really supports people that are in the same financial situation as me.
MARSH: Some traveled hundreds of miles to be at the court for a case that could change the trajectory of their lives.
SABRINA CALLAGHAN (ph), NEW YORK STUDENT: On board my flight headed to DC for the people's rally for students debt cancellation. MARSH: 25-year-old Sabrina Callaghan (ph) traveled from New York to rally outside the court.
CALLAGHAN (ph): My family would be eligible for up to $50,000 of student loan cancellation. So as a whole family, that's huge.
MARSH: Callaghan's (ph) graduated from college in 2019. She has nearly $30,000 in student loan debt. With payments currently paused she can now contribute to household cost for the home she shares with her parents. Massachusetts Democratic Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley's personal student loan story has guided her support for tackling the problem.
REP. AYANNA PRESSLEY (D-MS): I ultimately defaulted on those zones and I did pay off those loans, but it took me 20 plus years to do so.
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MARSH: Federal data shows the student debt crisis is multigenerational, spanning from recent grads to grandparents. Data shows 2.6 million borrowers over the age of 62. 72-year-old Vietnam vets Cecil Hamilton is one of them.
CECIL HAMILTON, STUDENT LOAN BORROWER: I never got the amount paid off.
MARSH: In 1977, Hamilton says he took out a loan for an associate's degree for $5,250. Nearly five decades later, he still owes roughly the same amount.
HAMILTON: I thought I would have a good job and a home and all the things that people like to have and then enter retirement on a good note, but instead I'm back in the hole again.
MARSH (on camera): Well, Hamilton, the vet that you saw in the piece there says that despite the government garnishing 15 percent of his social security, disability payments for the loan that he defaulted on interest and fees made it virtually impossible for him to put a dent in the principal.
Another thing that he said that really stuck out to me is that he hopes that he won't die in debt, and he hopes to qualify for credit to buy a home something he's wanted to do for more than 40 years. And that really speaks to the long lasting financial impact that the Supreme Court decision could have on borrowers. Rene Marsh, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak traveled to Northern Ireland Tuesday promoting a new trade deal with the EU, which aims to resolve post Brexit questions over trade, customs and a border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. It's a political gamble for Sunak, who's been in office as prime minister for just four months, but he put a positive spin on Northern Ireland's problems.
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RISHI SUNAK, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: Northern Ireland is in the unbelievably special position, unique position in the entire world European continent in having privileged access, not just to the UK home market, which is enormous, fifth biggest in the world, but also the European Union single market. Nobody else has that. No one.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Still to come, details of a sudden you report now China may be gathering vital information on Americans. The concerns over cybersecurity at the US.
Also, an arduous a deadly task in Ukraine. If using the mines and booby traps left behind by Russian forces, coming up. CNN follows a Ukrainian T risking their lives to make the country safe once again.
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VAUSE: Welcome back. I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.
The Russian president has publicly called out his intelligence services to lift their game when it comes to gathering information on western nations. Speaking at a Federal Security Service meeting on Tuesday, Vladimir Putin said the West is throwing more resources to finding out Russia's military secrets so Russia needs to do the same.
Putin also made a rare acknowledgment of losses of Russian intelligence agents operating in Ukraine.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
Vladimir Putin, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Unfortunately there are losses in our ranks the leadership of the FSB must do everything to provide additional support to the families of our fallen comrades.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: In areas that the Ukrainians have liberated from the Russian occupiers, there remains much dangerous work to be done.
CNN's Alex Marquardt takes us near the front lines where so many isolated mines littered the ground it could take decades to clear them.
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ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: The hulking armored mine clearer lurches into an open field. Over 40 tons, its huge exhaust tracks struggling across the muddy ground.
Following close behind the mine clearance team called sappers (ph) they advance deliberately on the hunt for deadly explosives. This is delicate work.
This was a Russian position, Russian trenches and now these guys are working through here carefully, methodically looking for mines, for booby traps and even Ukrainian ordnance that was fired at the Russians who were here.
Last September a Ukrainian counter offensive pushed the Russians out of these trenches.
Now, Col. Maksim Melmek's team has been charged with clearing any explosives. "They have left many traps behind and many of our brothers, our sappers have died," Melmek says.
Russia doesn't obey international conventions. They put mines on top of mines but, leave booby traps and use band mines. Russian and Ukrainian mines are scattered throughout the eastern front making Ukraine one of the biggest minefields in the world.
Rockets and other explosives can often failed to detonate when they land as well all of it posing immense danger to civilians. The sappers, as Ukraine's DSNS emergency service like Edward Harasemenko (ph) who's a father of a 10-year-old daughter are keenly aware of the dangers.
"It is dangerous for everybody," he says. "I wouldn't say we take more risk than others, everybody is taking risks now."
Harasemenko was demining before the war started. seeing what Russia has done to his country infuriates him.
"they are just animals," he says. "There is no other way to describe them."
He finds and carries an unexploded rocket propelled grenade to the side. Working day after day all across this country, deminers know how much they still have left to do.
After the war the soldiers get to go home but your work will continue for years. "We will keep working for decades," Colonel Melmek says. "This will go on for decades."
Alex Marquardt, CNN -- in eastern Ukraine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: U.S. officials are speaking publicly and more often about China's support for Russia which they say has been ongoing now since the war began. Many senior officials have talked about their concerns that China's assistance will soon extend to providing lethal aid.
13 Chinese companies have already been (INAUDIBLE) to helping Moscow including one which the U.S. says was supplying parts to the Iranian drone program. And Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned that there will be consequences to helping Russia.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATES: We will not hesitate for example to target Chinese companies or individuals that violate our sanctions or otherwise engage in supporting the Russian war effort.
China can't have it both ways when it comes to -- when it comes to the Russian aggression in Ukraine.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Meantime a congressional hearing on threats posed by the Chinese government wrapped up just a few hours ago. It featured first- person testimony from a Chinese human rights activist, several high- profile witnesses including former deputy national security adviser Matthew Pottinger and former Donald Trump national security adviser H.R. McMaster who had this to say about Beijing's suspected espionage tactics.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
H.R. MCMASTER, FORMER TRUMP NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: I think the message is that we are intending to continue a broad range of surveillance activities. The balloon I think is in many ways, you know, a metaphor for the massive effort at espionage.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: And a new report says that suspected Chinese spy balloon is a small part of Beijing's overall espionage activity.
CrowdStrike's global threat report says cyber espionage groups linked to China are gathering more data by hacking into computers in the U.S. and other countries.
[01:34:54]
VAUSE: It targeted at least 39 global industry sectors and 20 graphic regions. The report comes as a U.S. House Committee prepares to vote on a bill that would make it easier to ban the app TikTok from the U.S. amid cybersecurity concerns.
Eric Noonan is the CEO of CyberSheath Services International. He's also an expert on cybersecurity. Thank you for being with us.
ERIC NOONAN, CEO, CYBERSHEATH: Thank you, John.
VAUSE: So there is a couple of lines which really stand out in this new report from CrowdStrike. The first thing is how dominant China is when it comes to hacking.
That report in 2022, China was observed targeting nearly all 39 global industry sectors and 20 geographic regions which CrowdStrike tracks. So you know China's spy balloon, that made a lot of headlines but cyber hacking seems to be where the real action actually is.
And China's hackers, according to this report anyway, are getting a lot better each passing year. NOONAN: You know, John, I think that report is largely confirmation of
what many of us in the industry have understood for decades now. And I think you are exactly right that the spy balloon was interesting but the cybersecurity threat from China is far more pervasive, far more persistent and in the long term I think potentially far more lethal. That it's the bigger threat for sure.
VAUSE: And there is another line in this report from CrowdStrike which is that overall all cybercrimes last year were faster and more complex operations the average e-crime break out time is now 84 minutes but this is the thing.
71 percent of attacks CrowdStrike intelligence detected were malware free which means in other words or hackers gain access to the network using legitimate credentials and passwords. This seems to be the ongoing weak spot in every network out there. It's our own stupidity, our own gullibility.
NOONAN: Well it is John. I mean it is a great point the fact that using valid credentials that are recognized by the network and the device that you are accessing and are supposed to work and are supposed to grant access and that -- you know, it ties back to the China point.
So China globally is harvesting incredible amounts, untold amounts of these credentials and this kind of data and they are using that against us and largely our defenses across the globe here in the United States but really everywhere are not attuned to these kind of attacks yet in a way to stop that.
So China is actually in many cases using valid credentials to quote unquote break into these networks. So these attacks go largely and often undetected. And China is a very persistent adversary.
So using these kinds of credentials without using any kind of malware or something that traditional defense would detect is incredibly effective.
VAUSE: Last I remember FBI Director Christopher Wray told lawmakers that China's vast hacking program is the world's largest and they've stolen more Americans' personal and business data than every other nation combined.
So what we are talking about here is essentially a combination of governor hacker and what has often been referred to as a bunch of useful idiots, freelancers who hack and serve on behalf of the government.
So where does TikTok though fit into this picture because they're not hacking but there is concern about cybersecurity and what they could reveal to the Chinese government.
NOONAN: Right. I mean it is just another element of the pervasive and persistent threat that is China and so it is just kind of tool in their tool belt, another weapon in their arsenal to harvest data, to harvest what kind of information our children are interacting with, the kinds of videos they like, the kind of content they like, their location data. And if you fast forward and kind of play that out overtime eventually they will connect the dots on who these people are interacting with TikTok, these people who will go on to have careers over a very long period of time. They'll be in incorporations, they'll be in government additions and China will have all this potentially compromising data that they will find a way to use against those who were interacting with the TikTok platform. So it is an incredibly ingenious way of further harvesting greater intelligence for ill will.
VAUSE: Users (ph) are getting this, the impression that you're saying, that's what TikTok was essentially made to do?
NOONAN: That is what it feels like and I certainly wouldn't take any other approach than to take a defensive and aggressive approach because we've seen what China has. You know, we had many years ago, when President Obama was in office, there was a little a bit of an agreement of a no-hack agreement but that largely fell by the wayside.
So I don't -- I think it's -- I don't even know if it's a case of trust but verify. I think we should very much be on the defensive and recognize them for the adversary they are in the case of TikTok that we very much view it that way.
VAUSE: But even when there are guarantees that that data will be protected Yahoo sold out just a few years ago, handing over all their information on dissidents in China to Beijing.
[01:39:53]
NOONAN: That is right. And I think the guarantees are at the end of the day, and that is part of again to China's advantage is that so many companies around the globe have a significant economic interest within China whether they're doing business there or they have the ability to sell data to China or export goods that are manufactured in China.
There are so many commercial interests in China that it is very difficult for these commercial entities to push back and kind of wave the flag of their particular nation and think national security first. And so I think at the end of the day that's is another advantage that working in China's favors their incredible economic power.
VAUSE: Eric, it's been good to speak with you. Thank you so much.
NOONAN: Thank you, John.
VAUSE: Still to come, the humanitarian group selling tanks and Turkey's quake disaster zone where tens of thousands are left homeless. More details on that in a moment.
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VAUSE: A senior Pentagon official told U.S. lawmakers Iran could produce a bomb's worth of fissile material in about 12 days. Iran's continued enriching to near weapons grade levels in violation of the nuclear agreement reached in the Obama administration but which the U.S. pulled out of during the Trump administration.
COLIN KAHL, U.S. UNDERSECRETARY OF DEFENSE FOR POLICY: Iran's nuclear progress since we left the JCPOA has been remarkable. Back in 2018 when the previous administration decided to leave the JCPOA, it would have taken Iran about 12 months to produce one fissile -- one bomb's worth of fissile material. Now it will take about 12 days.
And so I think there is still the view that if you could resolve this issue diplomatically and put constraints back on their nuclear program it is better than the other options.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Iran's foreign minister sat down with CNN's Christiane Amanpour for an exclusive interview covering a range of topics including the alleged sexual abuse of anti government protesters in the custody of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: When you say the Islamic Republic of Iran respects human rights, one female protester says that she was detained inside a Revolutionary Guard facility for more than a month and raped by three different men.
She went to a cleric, a mullah, afterwards because she was having suicide thoughts. She was so upset. CNN spoke with that cleric.
Is that acceptable? Is it acceptable for a woman? Whatever she has done to be arrested and raped? And there are many, many, many reports of sexual abuse in this situation against women and men.
HOSSEIN AMIR ABDOLLAHIAN, IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: Firstly, in the peaceful demonstrations in the fall, no one was arrested.
AMANPOUR: So you are just denying that.
[01:44:50]
ABDOLLAHIAN: However in those protests that have become violent, some individuals some of whom had entered around from the outside and were using firearms and killing the police were arrested.
You do know that the Supreme Leader actually issued an amnesty and all those who were imprisoned were released with the exception of those who had killed someone or were being sued.
Regarding the Iranian women that you mentioned I cannot confirm it. There has been so many such baseless claims made on social media and in media.
AMANPOUR: Ok. These are not baseless and they weren't on the Internet. CNN spoke to a cleric, a religious person inside your country and got this story.
ABDOLLAHIAN: We have seen some of CNN's reports that are targeted and false.
AMANPOUR: That is not true. We report the facts and we report the truth and that is why you are sitting here with me, Mr. Foreign minister.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Tune in for CNN's Christiane Amanpour's exclusive interview with the Iranian foreign minister covering topics including the crackdown on protesters, supplying Russia with drones and Iran's nuclear enrichment as well, holding his feet to the fire. That's Wednesday 7:00 p.m. in Geneva, 6:00 p.m. in London. See it only here on CNN.
The death toll from last month massive earthquake in Turkey and Syria has now risen to more than 51,000. Tens of thousands have also been left homeless but despite that the Turkish Red Crescent has been selling tents to another charity within the quake zone, a major charitable organization selling shelter in a disaster zone. The head of the organization says he was unaware that tents were being sold.
The World Health Organization's regional director for Europe tells CNN all of Turkey has been affected by the quake in some way and that mental health should not be ignored.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. HANS KLUGE, WHO REGIONAL DIRECTOR FOR EUROPE: Mental health wise what we see is secondary trauma so either people are directly affected in the provinces and the other provinces people watch television. What the people are telling me they're speaking to those who were really rescued from under the rubble is that they lost faith in the ground beneath them and since the 6th of February there have been more than 8,000 still aftershocks so people are afraid to sleep.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: The loss of life in Turkey and Syria has been staggering but this quake has also wiped out history. Ancient sites destroyed and (INAUDIBLE) reduced to rubble, and in many places rebuilding is now daunting if not impossible task.
Here's CNN's Jomana Karadsheh.
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JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fewer the souls that roam the streets of what's left of Antakya, ancient Antioch where empires once stood, now a decimated ghost town.
The scale of the destruction here is just immense. Damaged and destroyed buildings everywhere you look. You've got mountains of debris that stretch for miles and miles.
Gone are the streets of the vibrant old city once lined with boutique hotels, restaurants and antique shops. "One morning I woke up, my home, my friends, my city, everything I lived is gone," he says.
Mother Nature's unforgiving force has wiped out history, heritage sites spanning centuries in cultures now lying in ruins. Like the seventh century (INAUDIBLE) mosque, one of Anatolia's first.
And this 14th century church once the seat of the Greek Orthodox patriarch reduced to rubble.
It is not the first time earthquakes have damaged the church but never has the future of its people been so uncertain. "It is from Antioch where Christianity spread to the world," Father Dmitri Durhim (ph) tells us. He is now mourning 40 of his dwindling 1,000-member congregation.
"We were trying to return to this land, our history in the books will remain," he tells us. "But right now our history is gone, the city is gone. I have two sons. There is no future left in the city now for our children."
Antakya was one of the few Turkish cities where Muslims, Christians and Jews still live side by side. That maybe no more. It's synagogue was badly damaged and the 500-year-old Torah Scrolls rescued but a beloved Jewish leader and his wife did not make it. Shawar and Toona Cenudioglu were among the last Jews of Antakya.
ELA CENUDIOGLU, NIECE OF JEWISH COMMUNITY LEADER WHO DIED IN EARTHQUAKE: We worked hard to keep up the Jewish values and the community together he was the leader of the Jewish community there, the community of 15 people.
The other uncle, they all moved to Israel and this uncle, he really loved Antakya. He was very connected to his roots.
KARADSHEH: Istanbul is home and the grieving Cenudioglu family sip a cup of Antioch coffee a taste of the home they left years ago.
[01:49:50]
CENUDIOGLU: My past is gone. Hopefully this will be rebuilt and it will recover lifetime, but there was the certain flair to it, the community, the feeling of diversification, and everyone living peacefully together.
And I always believed it's (INAUDIBLE) like Turkey -- to be honest I'm worried that it will fade away.
KARADSHEH: As the sun sets on Antakya, no one knows when and how Antioch and its people will ever rise again.
Jomana Karadsheh, CNN -- Antakya Turkey.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: The next story is amazing. It is kind of hard to believe so follow along.
This happened in Peru, amazing discovery inside a food delivery bag. A pre-Hispanic mummy maybe up to 800 years old, found by police over the weekend in a delivery bag, with three men just drinking in a deserted park.
Turns out they probably weren't supposed to be with the mummy. At least one of the man has been detained. He's under investigation. He told media that he nicknamed the remains Wanika (ph) keeps him home, sleeps with him, even describing them as spiritual girlfriend.
The remains however, are actually believed to be those of an adult male. The mummy has been classified as a national cultural asset currently in the custody of the ministry of culture. Like I said hard to believe.
Well, he knew his anchors were peddling lies about the U.S. presidential election but he did nothing to stop it. How much will Rupert Murdoch's acquiescence will end up costing Fox News?
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VAUSE: Vanessa Bryant, the widow of NBA star Kobe Bryant has reached a nearly $30 million dollar settlement with Los Angeles County over graphic photos taken at the helicopter crash scene where her husband, daughter Gianna, and seven others died in 2020.
The settlement comes after a federal jury last year found the L.A. County Sheriffs and Fire Department liable for sharing the images.
It was only under oath and the threat of perjury that Fox Corporation chairman Rupert Murdoch had to admit that many of his most famous hosts endorsed the election lies of former U.S. president Donald Trump. In a recently published deposition, Murdoch also admitted keeping conspiracy theorists on air because they were lucrative for Fox News.
But spreading a false narrative about the 2020 election being stolen might just turn into a costly miscalculation for the right-wing network.
CNN's Paula Reid explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LAURA INGRAHAM, FOX NEWS HOST: Is the fix already in?
PAULA REID, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Explosive new court documents reveal Fox chairman Rupert Murdoch knew his top hosts were pushing election lies. But he admits that's driven by money and ratings, he did nothing to stop it.
TUCKER CARLSON, FOX NEWS HOST: The outcome of our presidential election was seized from the hands of voters. REID: A Monday court filing in the Dominion Voting Systems' $1.6
billion lawsuit against the right wing talk channel includes portions of a deposition of Murdoch where he was grilled about Fox's efforts to push election lies.
CARLSON: Mike, thanks so much for coming on.
REID: Murdoch admitted it was wrong for Tucker Carlson to host My Pillow CEO and conspiracy theorist Mike Lindell after the election making false claims like this.
MIKE LINDELL, MY PILLOW CEO: I've been all in trying to find the machine fraud and we found him. We have all the evidence.
REID: But when asked why Murdoch let it continue to happen he said it is not red or blue, it is green. And Lindell pays us a lot of money. Paying tens of millions of dollars for ads like this seen frequently on Fox News.
LINDELL: I want you to get the best night's sleep of your life.
[01:54:55]
REID: Fox officials also concerned about losing viewers to competition like Newsmax. Lachlan Murdoch, Rupert's son and executive chairman of Fox testified the ratings drop would keep me awake at night.
And when former House Speaker and Fox Corp board member Paul Ryan warned Rupert Murdoch about the damage being done, telling viewers the election was stolen, the Fox chair responded saying, primetime host Sean Hannity had been privately disgusted by Trump for weeks but was scared to lose viewers.
The lawsuit also revealed the fallout when Fox was the first to call Arizona for Biden on election night.
BRET BAIER, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: The Fox News Decision Desk is calling Arizona for Joe Biden. That is a big debt for the Biden campaign.
REID: The court documents showing a scramble behind the scenes to put profits first as viewers rebelled against Fox for calling the contest in Biden's favor, staff did too.
Tucker Carlson texting his producer, "We are playing with fire for real. An alternative like Newsmax could be devastating for us."
Later after Fox News reporter Jacqui Heinrichs fact checked a Trump tweet about votes being destroyed, Carlson text, "Please get her fired. Seriously, what the F. It is measurably hurting the company. The stock price is down."
In a statement Fox News said Dominion's lawsuit has always been more about what will generate headlines than what can withstand legal and factual scrutiny.
The big question now is will this go to trial? Both sides are asking a judge for summary judgment so that is the ruling by the court that would preempt the need for a trial. It is possible it could also see a settlement but as of right now the trial is scheduled for April in Delaware and if it does go to trial it will absolutely be one to watch.
Paula Reid, CNN -- Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Finally this hour an ad for EasyJet, well actually the flight of a lifetime for passengers on board one plane. On Monday the pilot flew in a circle to give all passengers on board that flight a few of the northern lights. They were traveling from Reykjavik, Iceland to Manchester in England.
One passenger told CNN the flight crew turned off the lights as well on board so they can enjoy the view. EasyJet said they were pleased the crew went quote, "above and beyond", I think they were, for the passengers enjoyment. Good for them.
Thank you for watching. I'm John Vause.
CNN NEWSROOM continues with Rosemary Church, my friend and colleague, after a short break.
See you tomorrow.
[01:57:20]
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