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U.S. Aviation Safety is in Spotlight After String of Incidents; Investigations Underway Into Second Ohio Train Derailment; CA Braces for More Snow as Conditions Worsen; Americans Kidnapped in Mexico Were Identified; China Accuses U.S. of Plotting Asia-Pacific Version of NATO. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired March 07, 2023 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States and all around the world. You are watching "CNN Newsroom" and I'm Rosemary Church.

Just ahead, moments of terror for passengers on a United Airlines flight after a man allegedly attacked a flight attendant and attempted to open an emergency exit. More on this and a string of events that link airline incidents just ahead.

In Ohio, investigators have begun looking into a second Norfolk Southern train crash. We will discuss what went wrong and what needs to happen to help make rail systems safer.

Plus, kidnapped in Mexico. CNN has learned the identities of the four Americans taken at gunpoint as the FBI asked the public for help finding them.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from CNN Center, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Rosemary Church.

CHURCH: Thanks for joining us. Well, U.S. Aviation Safety is in the spotlight after a series of near disasters. One man was arrested Monday for attempting to open an emergency door on a plane after he tried to stab a flight attendant in the neck with a broken metal spoon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(BLEEP)

CHURCH: That man, Francisco Severo Torres, was tackled by other passengers, zip-tied, according to a woman on the flight, and then immediately taken into custody once the plane landed in Boston. Tourists told law enforcement he was trying to defend himself because he believed the flight attendants were trying to kill him. It is just one incident among several, including dangerous turbulence and close calls on the ground. Our Brian Todd has our report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Passengers scream, smoke fills the cabin, aboard a Southwest Airlines flight from Havana to Fort Lauderdale. Southwest says the plane experienced bird strikes shortly after takeoff on Sunday. Smoke seen here coming out of one of the engines. The plane forced to return to Havana where passengers had to evacuate.

UNKNOWN: Some people are now on the wing. Some people jumped down the slides.

UNKNOWN: It is really hard to know how long we are going to survive trying to breathe in that.

TODD: The latest in a recent series of scares in the skies. On Friday, a private business jet traveling from New Hampshire to Northern Virginia experienced severe turbulence. A woman on board killed. The plane had to divert to Bradley International Airport in Connecticut.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Requesting medical assistance on the runway.

TODD (voice-over): That came just a couple of days after a Lufthansa jumbo jet flying from Austin, Texas to Frankfurt, Germany experienced turbulence so serious that the plane had to divert to Washington Dulles Airport and seven people were taken to hospital.

Passengers said the plane fell at least a thousand feet with one telling CNN it was -- quote -- "like unexpectedly freefalling for five seconds off the top of a rollercoaster." Experts say that in those harrowing moments, flight attendants are in serious danger.

PETER GOETZ, FORMER NTSB MANAGING DIRECTOR: The carts that they are moving can weigh an excess of 300 pounds. And you hit some clear air turbulence, that cart hits the ceiling, the roof of the aircraft. It can kill people.

TODD (voice-over): And analysts have this warning for passengers.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: When you're sitting in your seat in an airliner or any aircraft, wear that seatbelt because it is pretty unpredictable.

TODD (voice-over): In December, at least 25 people were injured, many of them take to emergency rooms, after a Hawaiian Airlines flight encountered severe turbulence. Why so many incidents of turbulence recently?

GOETZ: It's winter. That is when clear air turbulence in particular tends to rear up. But secondly, scientists are looking at whether it is the change in the jet streams that are being brought about by climate change.

TODD (voice-over): And more close calls on the ground. The wing of one United Airlines plane struck the tail of another as it was pushing back from the gate on Monday at Boston Logan Airport. This incident and more runway incursions recently, experts say, are indications of an overloaded system.

O'BRIEN: With the limitations of concrete, the limitations of the runway and taxiways, absolutely stressed to the max, it is actually a wonder if these things don't happen more often.

[03:05:00]

TODD (on camera): The black boxes from that private business jet where the woman was killed in the turbulence are headed to the NTSB's headquarters for further examination. The FBI has also joined that investigation. But neither of those agencies nor the FAA are commenting further on the incident, and neither is the private company that owns that plane.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Rail company Norfolk Southern has reopened the track affected by Saturday's derailment in Springfield, Ohio with traffic at reduced speed. Meanwhile, National Transportation Safety Board investigators visited the latest crash site. It is the second Norfolk Southern train to derail in the state in just over a month.

Officials say that there were very small amounts of hazardous materials in the derailed cars. The crash is renewing concerns about the safety of Norfolk Southern trains after the toxic derailment in East Palestine.

CNN's Jason Carroll reports from Springfield, Ohio.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Train came down, and all of a sudden right after that, it just started crashing.

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Caught on cellphone video, another Norfolk Southern freight train comes off the tracks. This time in Springfield, Ohio.

UNKNOWN: When I looked up, all kinds of debris were shooting out underneath the train. So, I started recording. You could see the train, like, get off in the gravel, and then it started collapsing and banking up.

TODD (voice-over): There were 212 cars on the 2-1/2-mile-long train. Twenty-eight derailed. No one was hurt. Four derailed tankers did contain residual amounts of chemicals. The county officials say nothing spilled on the ground.

CHARLES PATTERSON, CLARK COUNTY HEALTH COMMISSION: There are no hazardous materials that have contacted the soil, exposed to the air or contacted any of the water sources.

TODD (voice-over): Today, the National Transportation Safety Board visited the crash site as part of its investigation into this latest derailment.

JENNIFER HOMENDY, NTSB CHAIR: We will look at management practices and policies. We really dig in. So, the what of an accident investigation is usually immediately available. It's how we got here. That's what takes time.

TODD (voice-over): This is the fourth train derailment in Ohio since November and the second by Norfolk Southern in the state in just over a month.

More than three hours away in East Palestine, Ohio, the cleanup continues as contaminated water and soil are being removed, though heavy rains have caused some delays. There, a faulty wheel bearing overheated, causing a fire that was caught on camera miles before the train derailed. Subsequent toxic spill forced many from their homes and still causing health concerns.

SEN. SHERROD BROWN (D-OH): The railroads continue to enrich their executives at the expense of public safety and public health, and lay off workers and compromise on safety. So, the fact Ohio now had four derailments as of yesterday, four derailments in the last five months, East Palestine was the most serious, we We still have questions about these other derailments, too.

TODD (voice-over): Norfolk Southern says safety is of the utmost importance and today announced a six-point plan that includes installing more temperature sensors, the first near East Palestine, as the investigation continues into what caused the derailment here in Springfield.

The rail car is still on its side. Investigators will get that up and moving as soon as they can. The NTSB on the ground conducting a meeting with both county and local officials. A representative from the rail company also attending that meeting. The NTSB at this point is saying that it is just too soon to talk about a cost.

Jason Carroll, CNN, Springfield, Ohio.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: For more on this, we are joined by Mary Schiavo. She is a CNN transportation analyst and former inspector general of the U.S. Department of Transportation. Always a pleasure to have you with us.

MARY SCHIAVO, CNN TRANSPORTATION ANALYST: Thank you.

CHURCH: So, a second train has derailed in Ohio involving the same company, Norfolk Southern. What do you make of this and what went wrong here?

SCHIAVO: Whenever you have a train derailment, obviously, it is dangerous. People could be killed or injured. Of course, property damage is always great because of the size of the accident.

But from the video that you can see, it looks like a track-caused derailment. And luckily, the government does keep statistics on the number of derailments per year and what they believe has caused them.

You are surprised and people are surprised to learn that every year, there are over a thousand derailments. The average is about 1,700 per year over the last two decades. Last year, there were a thousand, and about 400 of those are caused by tract defects. Something is wrong with the track alignment. Sometimes, sabotage, not usually.

[03:10:01]

Hot weather can put the track out of alignment. So, that can be fixed with good monitoring, good inspection, good track maintenance. But what does that say about the other 500 to 600? A lot of those are traffic over the rail, cars (INAUDIBLE), intersecting of the train, (INAUDIBLE).

CHURCH: Yeah. It's such a worry. And when you look at those stats, I mean, you have to ask, how is having three to five train derailment a day acceptable? What does it say about rail safety in this country? What needs to be done to make the rail system safer, do you think?

SCHIAVO: Oh, that is a great question because already, the National Transportation Safety Board, investigators for transportation accidents in the U.S., of course, said that the big derailment in East Palestine, Ohio with the cars in a big fire, that the railroad did not violate any regulations and laws.

They had two people working the train. They were all required to have one. The cars and the makeup of the train was not long enough to take into effect some high regulation. So, we can still have huge disasters such as that and no regulations or rules have been broken.

The rules and regulations have to be strengthened. We have to have more inspections of the track. We have to really look at what are the requirements for high hazmat train, train with -- trains with lots of cars, hazmat in them.

We also have to look at the safety of the cars themselves. Because of the derailment, we know they happen, they happen a lot, thousand a year, we have to make the cars safer so they can withstand the derailment without explosion, fire, injury, loss of life, damage to property. There are some ways for that, for strengthening the tank cars, strengthening the safety valves, and really looking at the breaking system as well.

So, lots of thing are being considered. The catch is going to be if it actually becomes regulation or required, or even advised.

CHURCH: Why -- and why aren't there more and better train track inspections in the United States, particularly with statistics showing so many accidents due to train track issues? I also want to ask you about the length of these trains. Should they be as long as some of them are?

SCHIAVO: On the inspections, what is going wrong, it depends on who you ask. So, the government in connection with the railroads and the industry have allowed a lot of inspection by equipment, inspection by computer. No human is involved in doing the inspection.

And the purpose of that was, obviously, more inspections, more through inspections, cheaper inspections, because in years past, the Federal Rail Administration inspectors were criticized for not doing very robust inspections, for example, only looking sporadically at trains, looking only on one side of the train versus the other, et cetera. So, these mechanized inspection systems were thought to be better.

Why there is not more oversight or really more concern when we have thousand derailments a year? Well, some people say it is lobbying by the industry. But I also think that it is just the lack of attention to rail transit in this country.

If human beings were more on the trains -- for example, can you imagine if airlines had that kind of a crash rate? It would be incredible. (INAUDIBLE) as there should be. I think there is just not a lot of attention paid to the rails because people just take it for granted and we do not have a lot of passenger rail.

CHURCH: Yeah, that is such an important point. Mary Schiavo, thank you so much for joining us. I appreciate it.

SCHIAVO: Thank you.

CHURCH: California continues to bear the brunt of winter weather with nearly two weeks of snow that has not melted in some areas. Some counties are declaring local emergencies due to the impact of the storms. The bad news is that more snow is on the way. In the coming hours, northern parts of the state could see up to three feet of snow.

In the meantime, residents of Southern California are getting desperate as they wait for government help, trapped behind walls of snow. Tensions are starting to run high.

CNN's Camila Bernal has more now from San Bernardino County.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Residents here are still frustrated and so upset just because of how long this entire process is taking. There are people here that have been at their homes for more than 10 days without being able to leave, without access to food, a grocery store, a pharmacy.

Here behind me is the only grocery store in town. The roof collapsed because there was so much snow accumulated at the top of the grocery store that it no longer is open.

[03:15:03]

And so, people have to rely on donations. This community is coming together. As you can see here behind me, they brought firewood. And the problem is that -- I talked to other people who have told me, look, I can't even turn on my fireplace because there is so much snow. So, the ones that can, they are here trying to get anything they can to make their lives a little bit easier.

I have talked to people who are stuck higher up in the mountains, who tell me, look, I cannot even make it to the places where they're giving out these donations. And so, that frustration just accumulates day after day after day. Here's what some of these residents have told me.

UNKNOWN: It has been 13 -- this will be 14 days. And, yeah, we had a full freezer and refrigerator. They're getting down there.

UNKNOWN: I'm feeling frustrated. I feel like I'm in prison. It's scary, it's frustrating, and it's frightening. Mostly -- it just gets my anxiety going up more so that I cannot control, obviously.

BERNAL (on camera): And we've seen people coming for donations all day long. There is food here being offered, water bottles, formula, food for pets. That was one of the concerns that I kept hearing over and over again. People who say, look, I am just running out of a lot of supplies, and I don't know how many more days I can go without all of these supplies and the food.

Authorities are saying that they are making progress. They say that so far, they've been able to essentially clear about 85% of the roads in this area. The problem is there's a lot of side streets that are still blocked off because of the snow. Many of the residents telling me that that is why they can't leave their homes. They're wanting for this entire process to move a little bit faster. But as of now, authorities are saying that they have to wait.

Camila Bernal, CNN, Crestline, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: And just ahead, we have learned the identities of the four Americans assaulted and kidnapped at gunpoint in Mexico. The latest on the investigation and what their families are saying.

Plus, China's new foreign minister is warning of conflict with the United States while reaffirming ties with Russia. We are back in just a moment.

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[03:20:00]

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CHURCH: We have just now learned the names of the four Americans kidnapped in Mexico. Two families in South Carolina have identified them as Latavia McGee, Zindell Brown, and Shaeed Woodard. The fourth person right now is only identified as Eric.

One of the family members says that the group of friends had gone to Mexico to take McGee for a medical procedure. McGee's mother confirms to CNN that her daughter never arrived for that procedure.

The FBI says that the group travel to the city of Matamoros on Friday, just across the border from Brownsville, Texas. The sister of one of the missing Americans said that she last spoke with her brother on Thursday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZALAYNA GRANT, SISTER OF KIDNAPPED IN MEXICAN CITY: I told him I had a dream. Says, I'm just checking on you. That's what I told him on Thursday. And then Friday morning, I texted and I didn't get anything.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: At some point, unidentified gunmen fired on the group's white minivan, then loaded them into a truck and took them away. U.S. official suggests the incident appears to be a big misunderstanding.

More now from CNN's Josh Campbell.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Special agents from the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigations are working with authorities in Mexico to locate four Americans who are kidnapped after traveling Friday from Texas into Mexico. The FBI says that a group opened fire on these Americans, eventually taking them captive.

U.S. official familiar with the investigation tells me this appears to be a case of mistaken identity. The law enforcement believes that a group of cartel members mistook these Americans for Haitian drug smugglers.

As far as why the Americans were there, a source tells me that officials believe that they were there to obtain some type of medical procedure. Of course, it is not uncommon for Americans and Canadians to travel to Mexico for lower cost prescription drugs, for lower price medical procedures. That source told me that officials found inside the vehicle receipts, indicating that there was some type of medical procedure that was planned.

Now, I want to show you this video. I want to warn our viewers that this is graphic. A source tells that this is the aftermath of that incident where you see gunmen taking a group of people, putting them in the back of this white truck. CNN cannot independently confirm that those individuals being loaded into the vehicle are indeed the Americans. But again, a source says that this is believed to be related to that incident.

As far as where this goes next, the Mexican government says that all agencies within the federal government as well as state authorities are working with their U.S. partners in order to try to locate these Americans. The FBI has announced $50,000 reward for information leading to the location of these Americans as well as the identification of their captors.

Josh Campbell, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Turning now to Beijing where the Chinese foreign minister is accusing the United States of trying to create an Asia Pacific version of NATO to gang up on China. He says that could lead to a Ukraine- style conflict in the region. His remarks came just before a big political event.

CNN's Kristie Lu Stout is following this for us. She joins us live from Hong Kong. Good to see you, Kristie. So, what more are you learning about these escalating tensions between China and the U.S.?

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Today on the sidelines of the National People's Congress in Beijing, we did hear from China's relatively new foreign minister, Qin Gang, who was appointed in December of this last year.

Amid these rising tensions between China and the United States, he issued a pretty stern rebuke of U.S. foreign policy. He said that the balloon incident could have been completely avoided, the crisis that is.

[03:25:01]

In addition to that, he accused the United States of plotting an Asia Pacific version of NATO that would risk a repeat of a Ukraine-style crisis in the Asia Pacific region.

On top of all that, he had this warning directed squarely at the U.S. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

QIN GANG, CHINA FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): If the United States does not hit the brakes, but continues to speed down the wrong path, no amount of guardrails can prevent derailing, and there will surely be conflict and confrontation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: On the war in Ukraine, Chinese new foreign minister, Qin Gang, said that peace talks should begin as soon as possible. He also added that China did not supply any weapons to either side.

In regards to Taiwan, he said, do not underestimate China. He added that China is working towards peaceful reunification with the island.

Now, these comments come on the back of very interesting comments given by Chines Leader Xi Jinping on Monday, who directly accused the United States and its allies of containment. He made these remarks at a business meeting on Monday to an audience of Chinese entrepreneurs.

I want to show you exactly what the Chinese leader said. According to Xi Jinping, he said, the U.S.-led western countries have implemented all-around containment, envelopment, and suppression against us, which has brought unprecedented severe challenges to China's development.

This diplomatic row between China and the U.S. is deepening over the war in Ukraine, over the balloon incident, over Taiwan, and on top of all of that, over access to technology like chips and A.I.

Back to you, Rosemary.

CHURCH: All right, Kristie Lu Stout, joining us live from Hong Kong, many thanks.

Just a few hours ago, Japan's space agency aborted the launch of its new rocket moments after liftoff. Scientists sent a self-destruct signal to the H3 rocket when they determined there was no possibility of achieving the mission.

State broadcaster NHH reports the second engine had failed to ignite. The rocket was supposed to carry a government satellite into orbit and take supplies to the international space station.

Still to come, a bitter feud boiling over as the founder of a notorious Russian mercenary group takes aim at Moscow's top brass. We will explain.

[03:30:00]

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CHURCH: Ukraine is vowing to keep up the fight to defend the eastern city of Bakhmut even as Russian forces press on with their efforts to encircle it. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he has now ordered the reinforcement of positions inside the city where a fierce battle has been raging for months.

Russian forces have been making gradual gains. New video shows fighters with at the Wagner Mercenary group taking down a Ukrainian flag and planting their own flag on top of a tank monument in the eastern part of Bakhmut.

Meanwhile, the head of Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin is waging a different sort of war on Moscow's top brass. He is now openly feuding with Russian military leadership and casting himself and his mercenaries as the key to Russia's fight. CNN's Fred Pleitgen has more now from Moscow.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(GUNFIRE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Russian troops allegedly advancing in close quarters combat. Moscow's defense ministry released this video of what it says are airborne units assaulting Ukrainian positions. And Russia's defense minister is keen to show he's taking the reins of what the Kremlin still calls its special military operation.

Sergei Shoigu, chopper into the front lines his ministry says, and handing out medals to soldiers there.

Good luck, success and come home alive his sparse words to the troops. But progress remains slow for the Russian army, except in Bakhmut where the defense ministers arch nemesis, Yevgeny Prigozhin off the Wagner Private Military Company is leading the charge. Prigozhin advertising for new recruits.

YEVGENY PRIGOZHIN, WAGNER PRIVATE MILITARY COMPANY (through translation): Fellows, Bakhmut is behind me. Join the strongest private army in the world. Take the side of justice.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): Despite what the U.S. and Ukraine say, is a massive attrition rate among Wagner mercenaries, Prigozhin claims that he is the one handing Vladimir Putin victories and he warns Russia could lose the war if he doesn't get the ammo and the fighters he wants.

PRIGOZHIN (through translation): If Wagner Group retreats from Bakhmut now the whole front will collapse. Today, Wagner Group is the cement that holds it together. We're pulling in the whole Ukrainian army, grinding them up and destroying them, not letting them focus on other parts of the front lines.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): And while Prigozhin was busy this weekend trolling Ukrainian women by sending them champagne from a defunct winery near Bakhmut, he also made clear Wagner is here to stay whether the Russian defense ministry likes it or not.

PRIGOZHIN (through translation): After Wagner Group takes Bakhmut, we will continue to defend our country. And the Wagner Group does not care what some other departments want.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): While some believed the in-fighting could become a problem for Vladimir Putin, Andrei Kolesnikov of the Carnegie Endowment tells me Russia's leader is fully in command of the situation.

ANDREI KOLESNIKOV, SENIRO FELLOW, CARNEGIE ENDOWMENT: I'm sure that he is controlled totally by Kremlin.

[03:34:58]

It is allowed for him to criticize official bodies, official governors, official leadership of ministry of defense. But Putin likes this small fight of clans (ph). He simply observes the situation.

PLEITGEN (on camera): And Yevgeny Prigozhin of Wagner says he does believe that the Ukrainian forces inside the pocket are going to hold up and continue to offer stiff resistance.

Meanwhile, an adviser to Ukraine's presidency says he actually believes that the Ukrainians holding out in Bakhmut was a big success for Ukraine. He believes that it bought the Ukrainians time to replenish their own forces and train them for a possible counter offensive, but that it also strategically weakened Russia's forces us well. Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Moscow. (END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Ukraine's president is promising his country will find those responsible for killing an unarmed Ukrainian soldier. Officials in Ukraine have been lashing out against Moscow after a video emerged on social media which appears to show the execution of a POW allegedly in Russian captivity. Here is part of that video. A warning though, it contains graphic content.

(VIDEO PLAYING)

(GUNFIRE)

CHURCH: CNN's Salma Abdelaziz is following developments for us. She joins us live from London. Salma, just a horrifying video of this alleged POW execution. What has been reaction so far?

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Truly terrible incident shown there in that video material that's been shared widely by Ukrainians who see it as an illustration, Rosemary, of the ferocity, the mercilessness of Russian troops. President Zelenskyy has vowed to bring the perpetrators of this act to justice. Take a listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT OF UKRIANE (through translation): Today, a video has been released showing how the occupiers brutally killed a warrior who bravely said to their faces, glory to Ukraine. I want us all to respond to his words in unity. Glory to the hero, glory to heroes, glory to Ukraine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABDELAZIZ: Now, that phrase, "Glory to Ukraine" that you hear uttered by that prisoner of war in the video, that moment of defiance even when he is captured by Russian forces, that phrase now being repeated across Ukraine on social media and among Ukrainians who yet again see it as a way to defy Russian occupation and Russian aggression.

Now, President Zelenskyy, his administration, his men have been working alongside partners, even as this war continues to try and set up mechanisms to eventually hold responsible, hold accountable Russian troops, Russian soldiers, Russian defenders for potential war crimes on the ground.

So, there are hopes, potentially, that the family of this prisoner of war could see justice. But for Ukraine's forces, for the Kyiv government, they also see this as a sign of weakness, Rosemary, that Russian forces would turn to such brutal tactics, tactics that may very well be a violation of international law.

They see it as a sign of desperation of how far Russia is willing to go to just get one win, and that one win might come finally for President Putin after nearly eight months of losses in the city of Bakhmut. But it will come at a very great price for Russia. NATO saying that for every Ukrainian soldier killed on those front lines in Bakhmut, five Russian troops have lost their lives. Still, this could be the one and only symbolic win for President Putin in a very long time, Rosemary.

CHURCH: All right, Salma Abdelaziz joining us live from London. Many thanks.

Well, they may look menacing from a distance, but these weapons of war are technically filled with hot air. A Czech company is producing inflatable tanks and rocket launchers which can be used as decoys in battle. The company, Inflatech, says sales of its fake weapons have been soaring especially since the invasion of Ukraine began. But it won't reveal who is buying them. That is top secret.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

POVEN KUMARESAN, INFLATECH MARKETING AND SALES MANAGER: We can't tell you how many countries we sell to. We can't tell you who we're selling to. But definitely we are selling to a lot of governments around the world, yeah. Not only in Europe, but also in other countries and regions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: The synthetic silk decoys weigh between 25 and 90 kilos and can be handled by 2 to 4 people on the battlefield.

Still to come, Turkey's president now has a challenger in this year's elections. Does he have enough support to stay in power or is the country overdue for a change in leadership? We'll take a look.

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[03:40:00]

CHURCH: Turkey's opposition bloc has nominated a candidate to run against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the coming election. Seventy-five-year-old Kemal Kilicdaroglu is the leader of the Republican Peoples Party, and if he wins it will signal the end of Erdogan's 20-year grip on power.

It comes as the country grapples with the devastations of last month's earthquake. Officials are reporting 46,000 people dead and billions of dollars' worth of damages. CNN's Nada Bashir joins me now live from Istanbul. So, Nada, how big a threat might this new challenger pose to Erdogan's leadership?

[03:45:02]

BASHIR: Look, Rosemary, for many years now the opposition parties here in Istanbul and Turkey, while they haven't been able to unify around a single strong leader to carry them through to presidential elections to rival President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

But now, of course, as the country finds itself in the situation of immense crisis, the opposition party, six of them which have brought together under the banner of the Nation Alliance, have now nominated a single leader, Kemal Kilicdaroglu. He will be leading those six parties in to that presidential election, which according to President Erdogan, will take place in May of this year.

Look, this could be a significant challenge for Erdogan after more than two decades in power. He finds himself facing a significant amount of criticism, not only from the opposition parties, but across the country when it comes to the government's response to the earthquake, which killed more than 46,000 people in Turkey alone in February.

And of course, this is a country which is facing a deepening economic crisis -- inflation at around 55 percent. People across the country struggling with day-to-day expenses as a result of that financial crisis. So, there is certainly a lot of criticism being directed towards President Erdogan's government. And after more than two decades in power, there is a sense here growing in Turkey that it is time for change.

The question is, whether the opposition can be strong enough, can be unified enough to actually pose a serious challenge to Erdogan's rule. Now, we have seen discord and disunity within the opposition alliance over the last few weeks and months. Indeed, even over the weekend we saw one party pulling out and then eventually rejoining before that announcement.

But they are set to begin their campaign for the upcoming elections, and really here in Turkey there is a sense of frustration, a sense of anger towards the government. They've already pledged to rebuild the parts of Turkey impacted by the earthquake within one year. But this will be a significant challenge for the government and many are now wondering whether it is time for change here in Turkey. Rosemary?

CHURCH: All right, Nada Bashir joining us live from Istanbul. Many thanks.

Well, back here in Atlanta, 23 people are facing domestic terrorism charges after violent protests at the site of a proposed police training facility also known as Cop City. Authorities say dozens of, quote, "agitators" went to the construction site on Sunday and attacked officers with a firework, rocks, even Molotov cocktails.

Police also released this surveillance video which shows the moment protesters approached the site. The incident happened at the start of what protesters call a weeklong mass mobilization. They claim the site would propagate militarized policing and harm the environment.

Still to come, a rare glimmer of hope in the world's worst humanitarian crisis as Yemen welcomes the arrival of its first commercial container ship in years.

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[03:50:00]

CHURCH: The recent arrival of a container ship in Yemen is raising hopes in the country where a lasting peace deal remains elusive. But right now, any sign of progress is being welcomed in what the U.N. has called the world's worst humanitarian crisis. CNN's Laila Harrak has more.

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LAILA HARRAK, CNN (voice-over): A commercial cargo ship docks in Yemen's Hudaydah Port, the first time in several years. A vessel carrying more than just humanitarian essentials has been allowed to unload there. It's a sign of fragile peace brokered by the U.N. last year between Houthi rebels and the Yemeni government is still largely holding, though neither side renewed the agreement when it expired in October.

The Yemeni government says the move is meant to build trust and strengthen negotiations between the two sides who have been fighting a civil war since late 2014. Hudaydah and much of the northwest including the capital Sanaa is controlled by the Houthis who are backed by Iran. But the government controls most of the rest of the country and is supported by Saudi-led forces who enforce a naval blockade off Yemen's waters.

Under a U.N. vetting program to ensure weapons don't enter the port, only ships containing food, fuel and cooking oil have previously been allowed. The hope is the additional goods flowing into Yemen will help to ease the humanitarian and economic crisis gripping the country. The U.N. says two-thirds of the population needs help and protection, and is appealing for nearly $4.5 billion of aid, despite some of the recent gains made.

ANTONIO GUTERRES, U.N. SECRETARY-GENERAL: Civilian flights resume from Sanaa. Vital supplies arrive through the port Hudaydah, but the economy is in an almost difficulties, basic services risk to collapse, and humanitarian needs continue to soar while access is constrained and funding perennially falls short.

HARRAK (voice-over): It's a shortfall on so many levels. Food and fuel prices have surged, inflation is high. There are dual currency notes and exchange rates, all of which make it harder for Yemenis to buy anything at an affordable price. These Yemenis cut trees to earn a little money.

ABDULSALAM DABWAN, YEMENI BAKER (through translation): Citizens are forced to cut down trees in order to provide a living for their children. Trees are cut down and sold to bakeries.

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HARRAK (voice-over): UNICEF estimates that more than 2 million children have dropped out of school. An increase of nearly half a million since the war began. Some for safety reasons. Others because they are needed to help make ends meet, like this boy interviewed after school began last year.

MIDIAN ADNAN AOUD, FORMER STUDENT (through translation): I feel sad because I dropped out of school. My friends go to school and I don't. I had to drop out to help my parents and support my family.

HARRAK (voice-over): A desperate future for a country at a crossroad. A lasting peace could be the only hope for Yemen civilians, weary of fighting their own battles just to survive. Laila Harrak, CNN.

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CHURCH: And thanks for spending part of your day with me. I'm Rosemary Church. "CNN Newsroom" continues with Max Foster and Bianca Nobilo, next.

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