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CNN International: Biden Calls for Stronger Voting Protections in Selma Visit; Afghans Facing Deadly Winter, Blockades to International Aid; One Month Since Powerful Quake in Turkey and Syria, More Than 51,000 Dead; Chris Rock Addresses Oscars Slap in New Comedy Special. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired March 06, 2023 - 04:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[04:30:00]

BIANCA NOBILO, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Bianca Nobilo.

MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Max Foster. If you're just joining us, let me bring you up to date with the top stories this hour.

The NTSB is heading back to Ohio to survey a second train derailment. The EPA and the rail company Norfolk Southern says no toxic chemicals were released into the air, soil or water in this incident which happened in Springfield.

The state of California could see up to 38 inches of snow and some cities could see mor that three feet of fresh powder over the next 24 hours. It's creating bigger problems for residents trapped in their homes with few supplies for the freezing weather.

NOBILO: U.S. President Joe Biden is warning that a fundamental aspect of democracy is under threat. On Sunday he used a momentous anniversary to renew a call that we first heard on the campaign trail. That as CNN Arlette Saenz reports a Republican-led House may make that goal difficult to reach.

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ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Biden used the anniversary of Bloody Sunday, a historic moment in civil rights history to renew his call for voting rights legislation. The president traveled here Sunday to commemorate the 58th anniversary of Bloody Sunday in Selma, Alabama. Talking about that moment where those 600 people marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in advancement of voting rights but were severely beaten by many white police officers.

Now the president said that this is a moment in history that must not be erased and that people must learn both the good and the bad of American history. And the president once again pushed for voting rights legislation. Something that he promised during his 2020 presidential campaign but has yet to come to fruition since he has been in the White House, take a listen to what he had to say. JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Selma is a reckoning. A

right to vote. A right to vote, to have your vote counted is the threshold of democracy and liberty. With it anything is possible. Without it, without that right, nothing is possible. And this fundamental right remains under assault. Conservative Supreme Court has gutted the voting rights act over the years.

SAENZ: So far, two key pieces of legislation have floundered up on Capitol Hill. Democrats were unable to get something across the finish line as they controlled both chambers of the capital. And now with House Republicans in control on the House side, it makes that work that much more difficult.

There are many activists who have become frustrated with the White House and with members on Capitol Hill for their inability to get new voting rights protections enshrined into law. So the president once again, making his case that voting rights need to be advanced in this country.

While he gave that speech, he also marched across that bridge, that 600 activists marched across just 58 years ago, a poignant moment, reminder of the history of Selma, Alabama, in the civil rights movement.

The president, while he was here, also talked about the tornado that ripped through this community back in January and said that there still is more work to be done for this community to recover. But his main focus here was trying to shine a spotlight on voting rights at a moment where legislation is stalled up in Congress.

Arlette Saenz, CNN, Selma, Alabama.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Now it's been a month since a deadly earthquake rocked parts of Turkey and Syria. The recovery has been slow but it's ongoing. Officials say the disaster has killed more than 51,000 people in both countries.

NOBILO: More than 5,700 buildings were destroyed in Turkey alone with police carrying out dozens of arrested over alleged shoddy construction. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has promised new homes for those who have been displaced.

[04:35:00]

He's up for re-election this year and in the coming hours the opposition is expected to reveal his challenger in that race.

FOSTER: CNN's Nada Bashir joins us from Istanbul with more. And this earthquake and the efforts to recover from it becoming a defining issue now in the election.

NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER: It absolutely is, Max, Bianca, and this will be an issue for challenge for the Turkish government over the coming months, and indeed the comes years. But this is certainly a key topic of focus as that election looms.

And there has been significant backlash against the government, not the least from opposition politicians who have criticized the government for what they've describe as a response that simply wasn't rapid enough. They criticized the government for its slow response to the earthquake and, of course also, the humanitarian response following them. Of course there are now more than 1.9 million people currently in temporary accommodations. Some of them have been evacuated to other cities. Some living with family members, some in accommodations such as universities and dormitories.

But there are hundreds of thousands of people currently living in tent cities. Families, sometimes multiple generations in one tent. And we visited a number of these camps in the Hatay Province -- which was among the hardest hit regions by the earthquake. And we saw them -- some of these camps have very robust operations in place. Others are more ad hoc, they have limited access to clean water, sanitation, medical services on the ground. This is a huge challenge for the Turkish government.

And then of course, there's the question of the rebuild effort. Now with the elections looming, President Erdogan has been clear his government's priority is to rebuild those areas affected within one year. But when you look at the scale of devastation across southeast Turkey, it is difficult to imagine that this could be done within a year.

And there has been criticism on that front as well. The Turkish Union of Engineers and Architects itself has criticized the government for attempting to rebuild these areas in too hastily. You see evacuation work underway in parts of Gaziantep. And other areas we've seen plans already underway for new apartments to be built for those displaced by the earthquakes.

But of course, this is a country that is still seeing aftershock. This is a huge dilemma for a country that could still see further earthquakes. And this message that we're hearing from many is that there need be to be further geological investigation. And while this may be for temporary accommodations, while the permanent accommodation may be needed this will be a huge chance for the government as they continue to face that backlash.

FOSTER: Absolutely massive job. Nada Bashir, live in Istanbul, thank you very much.

NOBILO: In Pakistan, former Prime Minister Imran Khan's speeches are being banned on satellite TV channels. Regulators said on Sunday that Khan's speeches are spreading hate speeches against state institutions.

FOSTER: This, the same day that authorities tried and failed to arrest Khan in Lahore. An arrest warrant says he should be taken into custody after not showing up for court.

NOBILO: A Pakistani human rights commission has denounced the satellite TV ban on Khan's speeches. And a spokesperson for Khan's party says that dozens of court cases against the former Prime Minister are a mockery of justice.

FOSTER: As millions of Afghans endure a brutal and deadly winter, humanitarian groups are urging the Taliban government to do more to help. We'll bring you some of the heartbreaking stories of loss, just ahead.

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NOBILO: After fleeing violence in Myanmar, thousands of people are now homeless again after a fire ripped through a Rohingya refugee camp in Bangladesh. The fire gutted around 2,000 huts in Cox's Bazar on Sunday. Refugee volunteers trained in firefighting eventually gained control of the flames.

FOSTER: We haven't heard reports of any deaths but around 12,000 people have been displaced. Authorities and humanitarian groups are working to provide food and shelter to those who have been impacted.

It's been a deadly winter in Afghanistan, the coldest in more than a decade -- according to the UN refugee agency. That a country's humanitarian problems won't disappear when spring arrives in just a few weeks from now.

NOBILO: Extreme poverty and hunger have only been made worse by the Taliban policies limiting the assistance aid that agencies can provide. CNN's Anna Coren reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Fresh snow blankets the hilltops of Ghor province in central Afghanistan, creating the illusion of a winter wonderland. But for those who live here, there is no wonder, let alone glimmer of hope. Simply stay ago live is a daily struggle.

For this family, their young son lost in that battle. Now they huddle around his hillside grave, offering prays to 6-year-old Wahid (ph) who just days ago froze to death.

I miss my brother, that's is why I came to visit him at the graveyard, she says.

Abul Zahir (ph) moved his family to the Township of Feroz Koh in Ghor looking for work as a laborer. Taliban controlled Afghanistan, he wasn't unable to make ends meet.

I had nothing to burn to keep the house warm, he explains. I checked on the children during the night and their bodies were numb. I realized my son had died at first light. This is a photo of him last year, he says. And this is his dead body.

An unprecedentedly brutal winter has claimed countless Afghan lives this year but so, too, has extreme poverty. This has been exacerbated by the repercussions of the Taliban government's dystopian gender policies and the response by the international community. Almost a year ago, the Taliban banned female secondary students from attending school. That has morphed in a nationwide ban on all female education.

But it was the Taliban's decision in December, banning women from working for nongovernmental organizations that forced humanitarian aid groups to abruptly halt or suspend operations.

JAN EGELAND, SECRETARY-GENERAL, NORWEGIAN REFUGEE COUNCIL: There is 28 million Afghans in desperate need at the moment. 28 million, and we're not even reaching a fraction of those.

COREN (voice-over): The Norwegian Refugee Council says they normally help 700,000 Afghans each year, but their operation has been drastically pared back.

It's Secretary General recently traveled to Kabul pleading with the Taliban to allow female aid workers to return to work.

EGELAND: It's at its worst hour. It's never been as bad as it is now.

COREN (voice-over): The 35-year-old Safira (ph) wipes away her tears as she grieves for her husband who perished from the cold also in Ghor province. Father and breadwinner for their eight children, the youngest just two. Now she's wondering how to keep her family alive.

I have no education, she says, my children need food, what should I do.

[04:45:00]

Three of her children are girls including 12-year-old Malacca (ph) who knows all too well what happens to poor young Afghan girls who reach puberty.

I am worried that if we don't have food, my brothers will be forced to sell or marry me under pressure, she says. I don't want to get married. I'm a kid. I don't want a husband.

U.S. charity Too Young to Wed said it's been able to provide emergency aid for the family and many others. The founder Stephanie Sinclair says the avalanche of need is overwhelming and they're unable to help everyone.

STEPHANIE SINCLAIR, FOUNDER, TOO YOUNG TO WED: To me, it's unconscionable that the international community is not paying more attention to what's happening to women and girls in Afghanistan. It is simply inexcusable that we're not doing everything in our power to try to change the course of what's happening there. We have to do better.

COREN (voice-over): and with the U.N. predicting two-thirds of the population will require humanitarian aid this year, Afghan children like Malacca can only hope the world is listening.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COREN (on camera): Bianca and Max, the U.N. special rapporteur to Afghanistan Richard Bennett issued his report over the weekend taking aim at the Taliban's erasure of women and girls from society. Remember, they can't go to school. They don't go to university. They can't be part of the workforce. The women I speak to say they feel invisible.

Now, this is a huge issue for the international community. And one of the rain reasons that international sanctions against the Taliban government and the freezing of billions of dollars in Afghan reserves.

This U.N. report said discriminatory denial of women and girls fundamental human rights may amount to gender persecution, a crime against humanity.

Well, the Taliban has yet to respond to these U.N. reports. Max and Bianca, back to you.

NOBILO: Anna Coren, thank you.

FOSTER: The train station manager involved in Greece's deadly train collision is now in police custody. It comes after his court appearance in Larissa on Sunday.

NOBILO: A 59-year-old is charged for his alleged role in last week's head-on crash between a passenger train and freight train that's left at least 57 people dead. Officials believe one of the train drivers received instructions to ignore a red light which then led to the crash.

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STEFANOS PANTZARTZIDIS, LAWYER FOR TRAIN STATION MASTER (through translator): The accused said everything. He told the truth. He was devastated. He said exactly what happened without fear that his words would make him bear more responsibility. If from what he said there is evidence that constitutes criminal offenses against him, it is something that justice will decide.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBILO: Visitors have been lighting candles in memory of the victims at the courthouse where the case is being heard.

After nearly two decades of talks, almost 200 countries have agreed to a treaty aimed at helping protect the world's oceans. It was a historic win for environmentalists on Saturday that could bring 30 percent of the oceans under protection by the end of the decade.

FOSTER: The treaty aims to limit fishing, and certain borders consolidate shipping lanes and require environmental checks on deep sea mining. It also includes an agreement to share marine genetic resource which was a sticking point in negotiations since they have potentially -- they have potentially lucrative pharmaceutical uses as well.

Now still to come, comedian Chris Rock finally hits back at Will Smith, suggesting that slap at last year's Academy Awards in a new stand-up special.

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FOSTER: Welcome back. Actor and comedian Chris Rock finally addressing the infamous slap at last year's Academy Awards in his new Netflix special.

NOBILO: It's been almost a year since actor Will Smith slapped Rock across the face after he made jokes about Smith's wife actress Jada Pinkett Smith. CNN's Chloe Melas reports.

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CHLOE MELAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER: Chris Rock took the stage for his Netflix standup special, and he gave everybody what they came to see. He finally addressed the Oscars slap, when Will Smith took to the stage at last year's Oscars and slapped him across the face. Take a listen to a little bit of what Chris Rock had to say.

CHRIS ROCK, COMEDIAN: You all know what happened to me, getting smacked by "Suge" Smith. It still hurts. I got "Summertime" ringing in my ears.

I love Will Smith. My whole life I loved this (EXPLETIVE DELETED). My whole life I root for this (EXPLETIVE DELETED). OK. And now, I watched "Emancipation" just to see him get whupped.

MELAS (voice-over): This is only part of what Chris Rock said. He made the jokes at nearly the end of this two-hour special that was livestreamed, and it was live on Netflix. There were a lot of comedians and friends of his in attendance. Some who opened for him. Some were just in the audience. But the crowd erupted into laughter.

And you know, CNN has reached out to Will Smith's camp for comment. In the special, he says that he's not going to be sitting down with Oprah or anything like that anytime soon.

MELAS: So, for now, this is Chris Rock addressing the slap. And I can only imagine that it will still be fodder for jokes of Chris Rock to come.

But overall, people are really, really happy with the special. And he's getting a lot of praise for it. Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Now fresh off reports that they been asked to leave their official U.K. residence at Frogmore Cottage in Windsor, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been invited to the coronation of King Charles in May. This according to a spokesperson for Prince Harry. But whether they'll attend with his wife Meghan is still up in the air. Charles and his wife Camilla will be crowned on May the 6th amid days of celebration and fanfare planned across the U.K. Prince Harry has remained silent about whether his family will attend, especially while on a tour for his recent book. Buckingham Palace says they won't be commenting on the matter. As I understand they've all been sent save the date email. So, that's why they probably not responding straightaway, so it's not the actual invite.

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NOBILO: And in those interviews that Prince Perry did when "Spare" was being released, he said that a lot would need to happen between him and his family in order for him to go to the coronation. Did we learn anything more about what that might be from this interview that he did with the trauma psychologist?

FOSTER: I don't think so because he didn't talk much about that. It was all about is trauma and how he felt different from the rest of his family in the same way as Diana did. But I think he said he wanted to have a meeting, I think, effectively, with William and Charles to settle things and that's what he's referring to. But now that the house has been taken away, I think that's probably added to tensions, hasn't it.

NOBILO: Yes, and potentially could be a very big distraction. Because I think it's fair to say that since the release of "Spare," the Netflix documentary, this interview that he's just given where he talks about the trauma of his childhood relations have never been worse, have never been so publicly negative as they are right now.

FOSTER: And they continue to be public, another interview, in case you missed the Netflix series and book.

NOBILO: I didn't, I watched and read both.

FOSTER: OK, Liverpool fans basking in the glow of a stunning win.

NOBILO: An beating rivals Manchester United 7-nil on Sunday. You were very excited about this earlier.

FOSTER: Well, yes, just an extraordinary result.

NOBILO: It was the latest -- the largest margin, rather, a victory in history of the rivalry between them and it lifted Liverpool to fifth place in the English Premier League. Putting the team in line to finish fourth on the season. Man U, this was their biggest defeat since 1931. It came one week after the team ended a six-year trophy drive by winning after winning the Carabao Cup.

FOSTER: Yes, and Man United doing well until then.

In the NBA after missing 11 games with a knee injury, Steph Curry got a disappointing welcome back to the court as the Golden State Warriors lost on the road to the L.A. Lakers on Sunday.

NOBILO: Curry himself made an impressive return scoring 27 points in in just 32 minutes. But he missed an open three-point attempt with Golden State down by four with a minute left to go. The loss ended a five-game winning streak for the Warriors.

FOSTER: Thanks for joining us here on CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Max Foster.

NOBILO: I'm Bianca Nobilo. "EARLY START" is up next right here on CNN.

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