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Ukrainian President Zelenskyy Makes A Direct Plea For More Security Aid; COP28 Talks In Dubai Face International Backlash; Washington Talks On Ukraine Aid Closely Monitored By Russian State Media; Bibi Netanyahu Criticized for Funding Hamas; Vladimir Putin Denies Disappearance of Alexey Navalny; China Strengthen Ties with Vietnam; Kim Jong-un Use Money from Crypto and Hacking; Alex Jones Back on X. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired December 12, 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]
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ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world and everyone streaming us on CNN Max. I'm Rosemary Church. Just ahead -- a dream come true for Vladimir Putin, at least according to Volodymyr Zelenskyy. We will have the latest on the Ukrainian President's pleas for aid from Washington.
Israeli forces claim they have surrounded the last Hamas strongholds in northern Gaza as they continue to expand their operations farther south. And one of Vladimir Putin's harshest critics appears to have gone missing in Russia's vast prison system.
VOICE-OVER: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN Newsroom with Rosemary Church.
CHURCH: Good to have you with us. Well, the Ukrainian President is making a direct plea for more security aid to join his third visit to Washington since the Russian invasion. That's after a Senate vote last week that included billions of dollars in assistance failed to pass.
In the hours ahead, Volodymyr Zelenskyy will try to persuade senators and the new U.S. House Speaker. But it appears likely that Congress will go into recess at week's end without having approved any additional aid. Republicans have been trying to link the funding to domestic immigration controls that Democrats oppose, resulting in a deadlock.
President Zelenskyy will also head to the White House, Tuesday, to meet with the U.S. President, whose administration warns that Russia is closely watching what happens in Congress. The Ukrainian President says if the impasse is not resolved, the big winner will be Vladimir Putin.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: If there's anyone inspired by unresolved issues on Capitol Hill is just Putin and his sick clique. They see the dreams come true when they see the delays or some scandals. And they see freedom to fall when the support of freedom fighters go down. And people like Putin shouldn't even hope to conquer freedom.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: I want to bring in CNN's Clare Sebastian live from London now. Good morning to you, Clare. So, Russian state television is commending U.S. Republicans for standing firm against additional funding for Ukraine and no doubt President Putin feels the same way. So, how likely is it that Ukraine's President Zelenskyy can use this to convince conservatives they need to support his war-torn nation?
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, it's an up-pick. It's going to be an uphill climb, Rosemary. I think there's no other way to look at it for Zelenskyy, partly because this isn't just about Ukraine aid, right? This is a domestic partisan dispute in Congress over tying Ukraine to border control reform. So, he is unlikely to move the needle on that. It doesn't seem like he has yet.
For example, Senator James Lankford, who's the key Republican negotiator when it comes to immigration, has essentially on Monday saying that he's ruled out postponing immigration reform so they can get Ukraine aid done before members of Congress leave for the holidays. So, he has a big day today.
It's true what Zelenskyy says and what Biden has said, that Russia is closely watching this. It is all across state media. Russian officials have been talking about this. Obviously, they always watch very closely what's happening in Washington, particularly now that we're getting into an election season.
But we're seeing coverage that's quite selective. For example, this morning, a lot of outlets are quoting Senator J.D. Vance talking about how Ukraine is going to have to move to negotiations, possibly even giving up territory. And then on Russian state TV, there are a lot of influential commentators and talk shows and they have been more overt in their enthusiasm. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUSSIAN COMMENTATORS (through translator): What's happening in the U.S. is beneficial for us. Ukraine is losing. Russia is winning. This is it. Their funding and weapons came to an end. As of now, well done, Republicans. They're standing firm. That's good for us. Even Mitch McConnell, well done, Gramps.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SEBASTIAN: So, that makes it pretty clear the way many Russian commentators feel about this. As I said, Zelenskyy has a big day coming up today. He has the meeting at the White House with President Biden. He had a precursor to that on Monday, we understand, meeting with Jake Sullivan, the White House National Security Advisor.
[03:05:00]
He will also crucially be up on Capitol Hill. There's an all senators meeting that he's been invited to. And he will, perhaps most importantly, be meeting with Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson, who is really the person who holds the most power when to unlocking aid for Ukraine. So, he will be wanting to make his case to build these relationships, to try to not leave empty-handed which would, of course, affect Ukrainian morale.
And meanwhile, we have to note President Putin on Monday, who just announced that he's running for a fifth term in office in elections in March, inaugurating two nuclear submarines in an event you can see there. I think the timing is certainly interesting to watch projecting power and control, I think. Rosemary.
CHURCH: Our thanks to Clare Sebastian for that live report from London. Well, last hour, our CNN political and national security analyst, David Sanger, weighed in on the impasse in Congress. And I asked him how likely is it that President Zelenskyy can change Republicans' focus from border security to the war in Ukraine. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID SANGER, CNN POLITICAL AND NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: It seems unlikely that Zelenskyy is capable of moving votes here because those who are against him are against him on issues around the border more than on the American involvement in Ukraine, although there is an isolationist group within or seemingly isolationist group within the Republican Party that basically says this is no longer America's fight.
CHURCH: Let's look at those numbers. I want to bring up this graphic we have on the Supplemental National Security package and we can see the $61.4 billion tagged for Ukraine right now compared to $13.6 billion allotted to border security, an additional $14.3 billion tagged for Israel and $7.4 billion for Taiwan and the Indo-Pacific.
So, is there room for some negotiation perhaps on the amount being allocated to Ukraine as opposed to border security which, of course, as we pointed out is the main stumbling block here for conservatives?
SANGER: The stumbling block really isn't about the amount of money that's being spent, although there are some Republicans who think the right number for our contributions to Ukraine would be zero. It really has to do with restoring the Trump era policies at the border.
In the Ukraine case, the argument that President Biden has been making, and the argument that Zelenskyy will repeat, is, if you cut this off now, you are handing a great victory to Vladimir Putin. And you are creating a precedent in which the Chinese would learn to, fundamentally, that the United States tires of these conflicts quickly and would not defend Taiwan even with the vigor that it defended Ukraine.
(END VIDEOTAPE) CHURCH: Mr. Zelenskyy's visit to Washington comes as Russia hammers the Kherson region of Ukraine. A Ukrainian military leader says Russia launched nearly 600 shells in 24 hours. Local authorities say at least one person was killed and several others wounded. CNN's Nick Paton Walsh has this report.
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NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR (voice-over): Out of Kherson City, past the bridge the Russians invaded and left on, you reach a new phase of hope and anxiety in this war. Down on the edge of the Dnipro River, on whose isolated right bank lone groups of Ukrainians are making rare advances into Russian occupied land. But it's tiny tools, hand-rigged donated drones and small gains. The U.S. is stalling on the big money Ukraine needs to make the breakthrough the West wants. And you can feel the anger at that here. It is relentless work.
I think it will be very difficult without American help, he says. Our supplies are also ending, so we need theirs. We've had days so busy, we launched 15 to 20 and I got 10 minutes rest between flights, the pilot says. I never imagined this would be my war. It's the PlayStation generation headsets directing cheap single-use drones on a one-way flight into Russian lines.
PATON WALSH: It's just saying that the weather's cleared up, the fog was just settled over the river and the Russians are very aware of this threat and you can see them now trying to find a target.
PATON WALSH (voice-over): This keeps the Russians off the roads by day and helps Ukraine take ground. Now, they maneuver towards a Russian checkpoint, killing here somehow remote, yet also intimate.
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Another prize target emerges, their Russian equivalent drone unit hiding in a red roofed house worth sending two drones at. The first, as it closes in, taken out by jamming. The second picks it up.
At night, another unit elsewhere near the city takes over. Thermal imaging help them find Russians hiding in the woods across the river near Krenki, a village where Ukraine has a valuable foothold. This unit, too, were hunted and used a cheap device to spot the frequency used by a Russian drone passing above. This operator dons a new cloak as he launches a drone off the roof. See how it reduces his heat signature, probably invisible to the Russians above.
The night in battered Kherson City is no respite for civilians. Sirens, yes, but also a series of Shahid Russian attack drones.
UNKNOWN: Lights off, lights off.
PATON WALSH (voice-over): They close on us. The motor wind lower as it passes over our heads. Anti-aircraft guns pierce the blackout. There really is little life to be enjoyed here. And what's left to Russia is that the news, there are rare food handouts. They're fast gone.
The shelling is relentless. A woman injured here the night before, her neighbor knocked off her feet.
UNKNOWN (through translator): I don't drink, but yesterday I drank a bottle of wine. We all have our guardian angels. We women here are resilient.
PATON WALSH (voice-over): Kherson, liberated last year, is still in the grip of the war. And unless they push the Russians back, a dark and bloody normal awaits.
PATON WALSH: In the summer we saw kids out here playing and it's not just the bitter winter that's forced them indoors, it's the fear of artillery strikes at any time with a protective wall now built around the children's playground. The sense really of a city getting ready for a bit more of life underground, some of it in bomb shelters.
PATON WALSH (voice-over): Especially here, at the maternity hospital, still open for tiny miracles. And readying this basement to be their new ward. Built by the Soviets for a nuclear war, it's now a shelter, because the floors above have been hit again and again.
But there are sparks of life here, even if this is the view Yevgenia had when she gave birth just seven hours earlier.
YEVGENIA (through translator): It's not scary. We've got used to the shelling. I've been here since the start of the war and occupation. We'll only leave if the heating goes off.
PATON WALSH (voice-over): Kira conceived in spring when an end to the war was imaginable, but born into a city lost to Russia's slow grind to nothing. Nick Paton-Walsh, CNN, Kherson, Ukraine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: As the U.N. General Assembly gears up to resume its emergency session on Gaza in the hours ahead, Israel's defense minister claims soldiers are now surrounding the last two Hamas strongholds in northern Gaza, and he's calling on fighters to surrender.
That comes as a senior Gaza health official tells CNN, Israel's military has a deep presence in the Jabalia camp where heavy fighting is being reported. On Monday, large explosions could be seen in northern Gaza as Israel's Yoav Gallant claimed the final Hamas battalions there, including in the Jabalia area, are on the verge of dismantling.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
YOAV GALLANT, ISRAELI DEFENSE MINISTER: We are nearing a breaking point in northern Gaza Strip and Gaza City, and we will continue this operation in other places, as well.
(END VIDEO CLIP) CHURCH: Elliott Gotkine is following developments and joins me now live from London. Good morning to you, Elliott. So, what more are you learning about the fighting in northern Gaza and Israel's military presence in the Jabalia camp area?
ELLIOTT GOTKINE, JOURNALIST: Rosemary, over the past few days, of course, we've been focusing on the expansion of Israel's ground operations to Khan Younis, the second biggest city in the Gaza Strip in the southern part of the enclave. But of course, the job, as far as Israel is concerned, is not yet done in the northern part of the Strip. And as you've been just saying, the Israeli defense minister says that Israeli forces have now encircled Jabalia and Shugaiya. These are two areas that Israel deems to be strongholds of Hamas.
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They say they were encircling it, that Hamas fighters are surrendering, adding that Hamas battalions are on the verge of dismantling, in the words of the defense minister, and saying that the number of those who surrender that come out of these places, he says, shows us what is happening. Adding that some of these fighters when they surrender, are reporting that they are running out of food and out of weapons, as well.
And earlier this morning, the IDF saying that among its raids in the northern part of the Gaza Strip, it raided one Hamas compound where it found around 250 shells, rockets, and rocket-propelled grenades, also adding that it destroyed a weapons manufacturing facility, as well, and also destroyed a rocket launch post which had been firing at the southern city of Sderot.
But you don't just need to take the IDF's word for it because as we've heard from the Director General of the Hamas-run Health Ministry telling CNN that Israeli forces are deep inside Jabalia for one and that there are tanks seen in the northern part of the refugee camp, adding that "I'm about 700 meters away from the clashes," he told CNN, and he can hear the screams from where he is.
So, Israel trying to finish the job from its perspective in the northern part of the Strip, and of course all the while that fighting intensifying in the southern part as well as Israel continues its war against Hamas following its terrorist attacks of October the 7th. Rosemary.
CHURCH: Elliott Gotkine joining us live from London. Many thanks for that report. Egyptian officials say 61 trucks loaded with humanitarian aid crossed the border into Gaza on Monday. Three of those trucks carried much needed fuel, two others contained gas for cooking. But it's the smallest number of aid trucks to enter Gaza in a week.
Meantime Israeli officials say security checks will be conducted on aid going into Gaza from today at two checkpoints in Israel. The simultaneous checks aim to double the volume of aid being delivered into the enclave, although aid will finally be sent into Gaza only from the Rafah crossing. Next, deep divisions in Dubai, outrage and disappointment at the COP28
Summit over a proposed deal on climate action. We will have a live report for you to find out why. And the White House says it's deeply concerned about the disappearance of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. That's to come here on CNN.
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CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Disappointment and division at the COP28 talks in Dubai where a new draft agreement on tackling the climate crisis is facing international backlash. The U.S., E.U. and many coastal countries slammed the draft deal reached on Monday which dropped calls for a phase out of fossil fuels.
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And the deadline the summit's president had set to finalize an agreement, 11 A.M. local time today, has passed now. Environmental groups are also expressing their outrage. The summit was due to end today but now is going into overtime with hopes the deal can be revised.
David McKenzie joins us now with more on this. So, David, what is the latest on this move at COP28 to drop those costs for a phase out of fossil fuels in the draft agreement? And will pressure from climate change activists see that corrected and revised?
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I don't think it's just climate change activists. It's also many countries that are feeling the brunt of the climate crisis.
Right now, there's an ongoing press conference by the director general of COP28. He is saying up until this point that the parties had deeply held beliefs about where this should go and that this draft text was an opportunity for them to, quote, put red lines in the sand, as it were, as to where these negotiations need to go.
I have to say, though, the red lines would have been pretty obvious even before this text was released because many countries have said without concrete action on phasing out or phasing down fossil fuels, they believe that this COP28 will be a failure and not in fact do enough to limit warming that we had seen countries agreed to in the Paris agreement.
The Director-General also saying that this will lead to honest practical conversations in the coming hours. We'll see how this text changes, but many countries and activists are deeply disappointed, including those countries that could be inundated by the climate crisis.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOEOLESULUSULU CEDRIC SHUSTER, SAMOAN MINISTER FOR RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT: If we do not have strong mitigation outcomes at this COP, then we will be -- this will be the COP where 1.5 would have died. We will not sign our death certificate. We cannot sign on to text that does not have strong commitments on phasing out fossil fuels.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCKENZIE: Well, it isn't unusual for these negotiations, Rosemary, to stretch on beyond the formal eating -- ending of these meetings. So, that isn't a huge surprise. But I do feel the pressure is mounting on these delegates and these countries to come up with something stronger that we are seeing today. And certainly the stakes are incredibly high. Rosemary.
CHURCH: All right, David McKenzie, many thanks. Joining me now is Paasha Mahdavi. He is an associate professor of political science at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Appreciate you being with us.
PAASHA MAHDAVI, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF POLITICAL SCIENCE, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SANTA BARBARA: Well thank you for having me on.
CHURCH: So, with the COP28 Summit coming to an end today, climate advocates warn it will achieve little now that a new draft of the core agreement removed a call to phase out fossil fuels. How significant is that?
MAHDAVI: It is very significant. You know, the latest draft of the core agreement has dropped a call to phase out fossil fuels, as you just mentioned, and instead replaced it with very vague language that calls for countries that perhaps could reduce their consumption and production of fossil fuels in a just and orderly and equitable manner. And these terms allow far too much ambiguity when what we really need right now is a very clear phase out of fossil fuels.
CHURCH: And when oil companies say they support lower carbon energy. What are they actually saying, and what does that language reveal exactly?
MAHDAVI: Exactly. That's a very common phrase that you'll hear from the oil and gas industry. Companies like Chevron and Saudi Aramco, for example, use that term, lower carbon energy. It's not really to refer to the very small handful of projects that are indeed renewable, but it's mostly about producing oil and gas with fewer emissions by capping methane leaks and in some cases, capturing carbon dioxide and storing it underground.
And you know, so very much this sounds good in theory but the catch is that it very much rests on a double bait and switch, if you will. Reducing fog emissions from fossil fuel operations really relies on a lot of unproven technologies, things that we just haven't seen very much success at scale.
But even if we perfectly cleaned up the supply side -- things of producing fossil fuels for example, that's only one tenth of the emissions problem. The 80 to 90 percent of carbon emissions from fossil fuels comes from consumption. So, cleaning up operations, what they call about lower carbon energy, that is great. [03:25:00]
It should have happened decades ago, but it's a facade for avoiding the elephant in the room, which is to reduce emissions from consumption. And really the best way to do that -- alternatives to fossil fuels through electrification.
CHURCH: So, how achievable or even viable are the goals set out in the COP28 agreements and are they too vague as you mentioned, and diluted to actually achieve anything?
MAHDAVI: Well, that's the real trouble. You know, people had these thoughts going into this COP, given that it is in an oil producing country. It is presided by the head of a national oil company. So, there was very little in the sense of, you know, reality on the ambitions for the agreement.
And what you have instead, as you say, is a lot of vagueness. So, there is not very much hope that there will be a clear phase out of fossil fuels, given some of the language which has been accepted in the latest agreement.
Now, again, it is a draft but what we see so far really calls on very little movement at a time when we really need to be moving quickly.
CHURCH: And as you point out this year's climate conference was held in the oil and gas rich nation of United Arab Emirates with much controversy surrounding the comments made by the Summit President Sultan Al-Jaber when he stated last month that there was no science behind the facing out of fossil fuels. He says he was misrepresented.
But we also saw a massive increase in representation of the oil industry at the summit, with a significant increase this year in the registration of oil companies. What does all of this signal to you this year and, of course, going forward with this?
MAHDAVI: Well, this is a real big problem with this year's COP in particular. You know, this has been a trend that we've been seeing in the past with attendance by members of the industry who are calling for effectively no phase out of fossil fuels. You did see a lot of pressure from the companies as well as fossil reliant governments like Saudi Arabia, like the UAE, to make sure that the ultimate agreement avoids language that targets fossil fuel production, and rather that it targets emissions. So, it's the same story that we were just talking about. And, in fact, it looks as though they have succeeded, removing that language from the latest draft of the agreement.
And so, in effect, all of these terms, all of these things that we have talked about, these are effectively code for the continued production of oil, gas and coal at a time when the world must stop burning fossil fuels if we are to limit warming to acceptable levels.
CHURCH: Paasha Mahdavi, thank you for joining us. Appreciate it.
MAHDAVI: Thank you for having me. CHURCH: And still to come, Qatar has been sending millions of dollars
in aid to Gaza since 2018 with Israel's blessing. Details of the controversial deal coming up next. Plus, the Harvard Corporation is set to decide the fate of its president after her widely criticized testimony last week on anti-Semitism on campus. We'll have details for you on the other side of the break. Stay with us.
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CHURCH: Welcome back everyone.
In the hours ahead, the U.N. General Assembly is set to resume its emergency session on Gaza just days after the U.S. vetoed a Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire.
Now this comes as concerns grow over the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza in the phase of intensifying battles between Israel and Hamas. The head of the U.N Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian refugees says staff in Gaza feel abandoned after the failure of the U.N. ceasefire resolution last week.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PHILIPPE LAZZARINI, COMMISSIONER-GENERAL, UNRWA: It's beyond disappointment. They feel abandoned by the international community. They still cannot understand why after, you know, 17,000 people having been killed, after the almost entire population having been displaced, that we still cannot agree on ceasefire.
So deep frustration, deep disappointment, outrage also by a number of staff regarding the absenteeism of Israel.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Meantime, general strikes in support of Gaza took place in parts of Jerusalem, the West Bank, Lebanon, and Jordan. The streets remained empty as shops, schools, banks, and public transport all closed on Monday.
Well, the U.S. says it's concerned and wants answers after reports that Israel used U.S.-supplied white phosphorus munitions in an attack earlier this year. The munitions reportedly injured civilians in southern Lebanon.
A White House spokesperson stressed that white phosphorus must be used within the laws of armed conflict, such as creating a smoke screen to conceal troop movements. CNN cannot confirm whether Israel used those munitions improperly. But the IDF says it only uses legal weapons.
The Iranian foreign minister says the only thing Iran has in common with Israel is that neither believes in the two-state solution. And he's calling for a referendum on the future of Israel and the Palestinian territories. It's also warning that continued violence in Gaza would cause the war to spread across the Middle East at any moment.
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HOSSEIN AMIR-ABDOLLAHIAN, IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: Only one that we have in common between us and the occupying regime of Israel is that neither of us believe in the two-state solution because Israel does not believe in the two-state solution.
As I said, there needs to be one government, one ruling system in the Palestinian territories.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: As the Israel-Hamas war rages on, CNN found after a series of interviews with key Israeli players that Qatar sent millions of dollars to Gaza for years with Israel's backing. Although Qatar is now coming under fire for sending the aid money to Gaza, it's vowing not to stop the payments.
But CNN also discovered that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu allowed this cash flow to Hamas despite concerns raised from within his own government.
Nima Elbagir has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN INTERNATIONAL INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Israel's mourning continues even as the clamor around Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu grows. Questioning whether his policies helped prop up Hamas.
In a series of interviews with key Israeli players, CNN and the Israeli investigative platform Shomrim were told how Netanyahu allowed Qatari cash donations to Hamas for years without supervision, despite concerns from within his own government.
AMOS GILAD, FORMER SENIOR ISRAELI DEFENSE & INTELLIGENCE OFFICIAL: Thiry million dollar per --
ELBAGIR: Month.
GILAD: -- per month.
ELBAGIR: OK.
GILAD: Three hundred sixty million dollars. It's about a billion check. Simple mathematics.
It's a lot of money.
GILAD: Lot of money. Dollar in Gaza is like a $20 in U.S. First it was like a relief, it was like oxygen. Can you live without oxygen? No. So it'[s dramatic, historic mistake. ELBAGIR: Former Israeli Minister and former Defense Minister Naftali Bennett says he was among those repeatedly raising concerns to Netanyahu.
[03:35:00]
When Bennett became prime minister in 2021, he put a stop to the suitcases of cash to Hamas, moving the transfer of financial support to Hamas from cash to a U.N. mechanism.
NAFTALI BENNETT, FORMER ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: I stopped the cash suitcases because I believe that's a horrendous mistake to allow Hamas to have all these suitcases full of cash that goes directly to re- arming themselves against Israelis. Why would we feed them cash to kill us?
ELBAGIR: The cash deliveries were supposed to help among other humanitarian needs, pay Gaza's civil servants. And pictures in 2018 showed workers lining up to receive hundred-dollar bills.
Israel approved the deal in a security cabinet meeting in August 2018, during a previous Netanyahu tenure as prime minister. An Israeli official defended Netanyahu's decision, telling CNN successive Israeli governments enabled money to go to Gaza, not in order to strengthen Hamas, but to prevent a humanitarian crisis. That's true, but no one else approved it in cash.
Former Prime Minister Bennett says that Netanyahu underestimated Hamas.
BENNETT: I think the approach towards Hamas was one of a sort of a nuisance type terror organization that can shoot rockets, can cause a bit of havoc here and there, but not much more than that.
ELBAGIR: So, underestimated.
BENNETT: Absolutely. And in that sense, we've learned the lesson. We have to believe our enemies.
ELBAGIR: This lesson has become a turning point for Israel. One even long-time Netanyahu allies like Zwicker Hauser acknowledge.
ZVIKA HAUSER, FORMER CHAIR, KNESSET DEFENSE AND FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE: That was a strategic lesson for the Israeli society that you can talk a lot about peace. You can try to do a lot of things. You can come to the White House, to the and get some Nobel Prizes. But in some point, enough is enough. And if you ask me what symbolize October 7? October 7 mostly symbolized the Israeli society, no more take risks.
ELBAGIR: Risk that such as this. Hitting the toll of human suffering and international calls to slow the pummeling of Gaza. Before Israel is satisfied, Hamas has been destroyed, whatever the cost.
Nima Elbagir, CNN, Tel-Aviv.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: The Harvard Corporation, one of the governing bodies running the university, is expected to announce a decision on the fate of President Claudine Gay in the coming hours. That is according to a source.
Now this comes amid a growing chorus of support for Gay from Harvard's community, including the executive committee of Harvard's Alumni Association and a petition signed by more than 800 black alumni, plus another signed by hundreds of faculty members.
Gay has faced calls for her removal for failing to effectively denounce threats of violence against Jewish students. She apologized after coming under fire for a contentious congressional testimony last week.
Well, lawyers for Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny say he is missing from prison. What we're hearing from his team, that's coming up next on CNN.
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CHURCH: Welcome back everyone.
One of Vladimir Putin's most outspoken critics, opposition leader Alexey Navalny, is apparently missing from prison. Supporters say it's been almost a week since they last heard from Navalny, who at last report was being held in a penal colony east of Moscow. But now prison officials say he's not there.
CNN's Brian Todd explains the mystery.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: One of Vladimir Putin's worst enemies, a thorn in the side of the Russian strongman for more than a decade, now missing from Russian penal colonies. A spokesperson for Alexey Navalny posting on X, quote, "we still don't know where Alexei is."
KIRA YARMYSH, ALEXEY NAVALY'S SPOKESPERSON: Right now, he's completely alone and he is literally in the hands of people who once tried to kill him. So we don't know what they will do again.
TODD: He had been scheduled for transfer from one penal colony to an even harsher one.
SARAH MENDELSON, FORMER U.S. HUMAN RIGHTS OFFICIAL AT U.N.: If he's been transferred, that period of transferring is extremely dangerous because he doesn't have access to lawyers, people don't know where he is. Those people transferring essentially can do what they want with him.
TODD: Just days ago, Putin announced he would run for president in March, amid a crackdown on dissent. Navalny's organization has vowed to campaign against Putin, even putting up a few short-lived billboards. Could there be a link to his disappearance?
MENDELSON: This is the period when he wants to make sure there's absolutely no possibility of any kind of interference internally.
TODD: The most prominent and visible challenger to Putin's rule in Russia, Navalny has tried before to run against Putin for the presidency. In 2017, he was attacked with an antiseptic green dye that he said damaged his vision in one eye. He was poisoned in 2020 with a Soviet-era nerve agent that almost killed him.
After doctors in Europe saved his life, he prank-called the Russian agents who he believed tried to kill him by putting poison on his clothes.
ALEXEI NAVALNY, RUSSIAN OPPOSITION LEADER (through translator): Well, imagine underpants and in what place. The insides, the groin.
TODD: Putin has denied his security services were involved.
VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): If they had wanted to, they probably would have finished the job.
TODD: Navalny returned to Russia despite the risks.
NAVALNY: I have to go back because I don't want these groups of killers exist in Russia. I don't want Putin be ruling over Russia.
TODD: He was promptly arrested, convicted, and sentenced to 11 and a half years, but he continues to criticize Putin from jail.
NAVALNY (through translator): In order to extend his own personal power, Putin is tormenting a neighboring country, killing people there.
TODD: Navalny's legal team has raised concerns about his health, saying that last week he was dizzy in his cell and had to be given an IV. And his daughter last summer told CNN he's had health problems in jail and lost weight.
DARIA NAVALNAYA, ALEXEY NAVALNY'S DAUGHTER: I'm of course incredibly worried. They are not providing any support, any medical help for him in prison.
TODD: In August, Alexey Navalny was sentenced to another 19 years for allegedly supporting extremism, and his legal team says he faces another 14 accusations that could result in up to 35 more years in jail.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Poland's populous Law and Justice Party is no longer in power after eight years of authoritarian rule. It lost a confidence vote on Monday, paving the way for centrist opposition leader Donald Tusk to take power. He already served two terms as Poland's prime minister from 2007 and is expected to do so again with an official vote later this week.
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DONALD TUSK, POLISH OPPOSITION LEADER (through translator): This is really something extraordinary, that from tomorrow we will be able to repair the harm so that everyone in Poland, everyone without exceptions, all Polish citizens, will really feel at home.
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E.U. chief Ursula von der Leyen congratulated Tusk saying, quote, "your experience and strong commitment to our European values will be precious in forging a stronger Europe for the benefit of the Polish people.
[03:44:55]
Chinese President Xi Jinping is praising his country's relationship with Vietnam amid a two-day visit to the country. In an article written for a Vietnamese newspaper, the president says the two nations are seeking to build a community with a shared future.
CNN's Marc Stewart has more from Beijing.
So, Marc, what's expected to come out of President Xi Jinping's visit, his state visit to Vietnam? And of course, what's the significance of the timing of this?
MARC STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Rosemary. I think this visit is really twofold in purpose. One, to deal with opportunity, particularly economic opportunity, and then two, to deal with a lingering obstacle, that being the South China Sea.
Let's first talk about the opportunity. Vietnam is China's number one trading partner in the Asian region. It has a lot at stake and has had a successful relationship. China certainly would like to build upon that.
In fact, in that newspaper article which you mentioned, in that interview, Xi Jinping talked about strengthening the ties between these two nations, leaning into China's Belt and Road Initiative, which is heavily infrastructure-focused, but also focusing on things like green energy and critical minerals.
The entire world is really focusing on Vietnam, especially from an economic standpoint. The United States, for example, has expanded its manufacturing reach to Vietnam. A lot of American companies felt frustration during the pandemic when dealing with mainland China because of all of those supply chain snarls and snags, Vietnam has been seen as an alternative. So as the United States expresses interest, so does its neighbor of China.
And then on the obstacle front, the South China Sea, as we have talked about many times, China proclaims sovereignty, proclaims reign over the South China Sea, not only the waterways, but also some of the sandbar, some of the individual islands. That has been a point of contention not only with Vietnam but with other nations such as the Philippines as we have seen in recent weeks.
This is a chance for Xi Jinping to sit down with Vietnam's prime minister, Vietnam's president, to try to perhaps come to some kind of understanding about how to handle these waters. It's something that Xi Jinping has told a local newspaper in Vietnam that he certainly would like to work out.
This is Xi Jinping's third visit to Vietnam since 2017, Rosemary, it was earlier this year, it was back in September that we saw President Joe Biden there as both the United States and Vietnam raise their relationship to a new level as well.
CHURCH: All right, our thanks to Marc Stewart for that report from Beijing. I appreciate it.
Well, despite being isolated, sanctioned, blacklisted, and shunned by much of the world, North Korea's Kim Jong-un has managed to build up a considerable arsenal of weapons, and experts believe it's largely funded through a complex international web of hackers and cryptocurrency criminals.
CNN's Will Ripley has our report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Every North Korean missile test, every satellite launch, every nuclear test likely costs Kim Jong-un's cash star of country millions of dollars. Where does that money come from? How does Kim's regime evade heavy sanctions, advancing its nuclear and ballistic missile programs at breakneck speed?
ANNE NEUBERGER, DEPUTY U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR: We certainly believe that North Korean hacking of cryptocurrency around infrastructure around the world is a major source of revenue for the regime.
RIPLEY: A staggering more than $3 billion in stolen crypto over the past five years, U.S. lawmakers say, a record $1.7 billion last year alone.
SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA): So where does that money go? Straight into North Korea's illegal nuclear program.
RIPLEY: An underground pipeline of illicit wealth, fueling Kim's nuclear ambitions. Pumping payments into Pyongyang from places like Russia, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Vietnam.
WARREN: Does that pose a threat to our national security?
UNKNOWN: It does, Senator.
RIPLEY: The U.S. believes North Korea has a global shadow army, secret operatives posing as I.T. professionals, government officials, freelance blockchain developers, even hiring Westerners to hide their connection to Pyongyang. Spanish police arrested Alejandro Cao de Benos earlier this month,
known as a special delegate for North Korea. The U.S. accuses him of helping North Korean officials use tech for money laundering. He posted a message on X, formerly known as Twitter, saying, there is no extradition. The U.S. accusation besides being false does not exist in Spain.
Blacklisted by the U.S. as modern-day digital pirates, North Korean operatives are linked to ransomware attacks, targeting online gaming, gambling, and banking industries. Even American hospitals, North Korea exploiting online vulnerabilities, using stolen money to mass-produce missiles, funding the Kim family's lavish lifestyle. Palaces, planes, yachts, and this armored Mercedes limousine carried on Kim's private train to that September summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
[03:50:00]
The latest breach from North Korea's notorious Andariel hacking group targeting South Korean defense firms and others. A year-long investigation by South Korean police and the FBI exposing grave vulnerabilities in Seoul's cybersecurity defenses. Around 250 sensitive files, 1.2 terabytes of classified data stolen. A crime concealed through rented servers.
A secretive trail of digital deception leading straight to the North Korean capital. Breaching borders. Defying digital defenses. Threatening global stability.
Will Ripley, CNN, Taipei.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Still ahead, we will look at the impact of Elon Musk reinstating the account of right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones on X. Back with that and more in just a moment.
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CHURCH: Welcome back everyone. Elon Musk is putting the National Football League in an uncomfortable position. The rise in hate and extremism on X along with Musk's recent decisions to reinstate the accounts of controversial figures is shining a spotlight on the NFL's mega partnership with the platform formerly known as Twitter.
And it comes just as the two sides are in talks to renew their $100 million deal. No comment so far from the NFL on the future of their partnership, but the league has previously said it has voiced concerns about hate on X to Musk and the platform directly.
Well, right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones is the latest controversial figure to have his X account restored, and now the platform is actively promoting his account and encouraging users to follow him, raising concerns. Jones will again have a major platform to air potentially deceptive views.
CNN's Donie O'Sullivan has more. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN REPORTER: Elon Musk not only allowing the infamous conspiracy theorist Alex Jones back on X, which is formerly Twitter of course, but actively seemingly promoting Jones' account. Musk on Sunday evening took part in a Twitter live audio stream that included Jones and other prominent conspiracy theorists where they essentially celebrated Jones coming back onto the platform.
Also, our CNN colleague Clare Duffy reporting on Monday that people who are using X, even if they don't follow Jones, they are seeing Twitter's algorithm suggesting that they follow Jones's account. So the service is seemingly promoting this conspiracy theorist.
Now look, this all comes here in the U.S., particularly ahead of an election year as we go into 2024, where of course there are going to be -- there is going to be mis and disinformation abound about the vote, about the results and everything else.
So really setting the stage, I think, for a very messy year of misinformation here in the U.S.
Back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: The Golden Globe Awards have released the list of nominees for next month's ceremony. The awards show has added a new category celebrating films that topped the box office but might otherwise not be nominated during awards season. It's giving franchises like Mission Impossible and John Wick a new opportunity for recognition.
[03:55:01]
A notable addition is Taylor Swift's The Errors Tour film which has earned nearly $250 million worldwide according to tracking website Box Office Mojo. And among the Golden Globe nominees this year is a claimed Japanese filmmaker Hayaho Miyazaki whose latest film "The Boy and the Heron" has just topped the North America box office.
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UNKNOWN: It's this way, Mahito.
UNKNOWN: A lot of strange things happen in this place.
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CHURCH: It is the first original anime film ever to do so. The movie earned $12.8 million in the U.S. and Canada over the weekend. The biggest ever opening in North America for Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli, which he founded. It's also the first fully foreign production to reach the top of the U.S. chart this year.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DANIELLA LEVINE CAVA, MAYOR, MIAMI-DADE COUNTY: Therefore, I, Daniella Levine Cava, Mayor of Miami-Dade County, hereby grant a full mayoral pardon for Taylor and Travis.
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CHURCH: Two pigs in Miami will be spared from becoming Christmas dinner. A Latin restaurant there held its sixth annual pig pardon on Monday. The owners got the idea from watching the annual White House turkey pardon. They named this year's lucky pigs Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce after the celebrity super couple.
Roasted pig is a traditional Latin holiday meal and the Miami-Dade area is steeped in Latin American culture. So, good luck to those pigs.
Monarch butterflies have been flapping their way to a warmer winter. Every year the butterflies travel thousands of miles south during the fall from the U.S. and Canada. They're now settling in Mexico to hibernate until the springtime. Some tourists eagerly await their arrival.
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UNKNOWN: It's indescribable. It is so beautiful and it just touches your soul. I don't know, you just want to stand there and you say it's the only place on earth and there this miracle.
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CHURCH: According to scientists, the monarch population started to decline a few decades ago, but the numbers have stabilized in the past decade. Sanctuaries like one in western Mexico are making efforts to protect them.
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DIANA LOPEZ, TOUR GUIDE: Right now, it's fluctuating, but if you compare it with previous decades, it has diminished. So, we really need to be aware of what is happening and getting to know the population of monarchs will help us to protect it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: And thank you so much for your company this hour. I'm Rosemary Church. Have yourselves a wonderful day. CNN Newsroom continues next with Max Foster and Bianca Nobilo.
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