Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

CNN International: U.S. To Lead Coalition To Prevent Houthi Attacks In Red Sea; Growing Anger Over Alleged Israeli Sniper Attack On Gaza Church; More Than 120 Killed As Earthquake Hits Northwest China; Volcano Erupting On Reykjanes Peninsula In Iceland; Australian Govt. To Provide Financial Help For Flood Victims; Several Major Shipping Firms Suspend Red Sea Transit; CNN On The Front Line As Ukraine Awaits Critical Aid; "X" Faces New E.U. Probe Over Content Moderation; NASA Transmits Cat Video 19M Miles To Earth Via Laser. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired December 19, 2023 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:10]

MAX FOSTER, CNN HOST: Hello and welcome to CNN Newsroom. I'm Max Foster in London. Just ahead, there are serious concerns over the impact of the Israel-Hamas war on the global supply chain. We'll discuss how the recent Houthi attacks on the Red Sea could affect prices and inflation beyond the Middle East.

Then we'll be live in China, where rescue workers are battling subzero temperatures to find survivors of what has been called the deadliest earthquake in a decade. Then some extraordinary pictures from Iceland. A volcano has erupted following weeks of underground activity.

Growing anger and condemnation today over an alleged Israeli sniper attack on a church compound in Gaza. A catholic group in Jerusalem shared photos of damage done to the Holy Family parish church, where it says two women were killed over the weekend by an Israeli sniper. The Israel Defense Forces appeared to deny the claim. Hundreds of people are said to be sheltering inside that church.

Meanwhile, the U.S. is taking steps to stop Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea. On a visit to Bahrain, the U.S. defense secretary announced an international coalition that will begin patrols of the Red Sea. Houthi attacks have forced some of the world's largest shipping companies to divert their vessels around Africa rather than take the much shorter route through the Suez Canal.

In the past hour, Austin arrived in Qatar, where he'll hold bilateral meetings with the prime minister and the foreign minister. Let's go to CNN's Will Ripley who's tracking both these stories for us. First of all, just take us through this sniper attack as we're told it is and the Israeli response to that.

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is just the latest example, Max, of people who are sheltering in the only small handful of places in Gaza that they are supposed to believe are safe, churches, and they're not safe is what the people in Gaza are saying. They're saying that the IDF has been firing indiscriminately at civilians.

And it's not just Gazans that are dying, of course, they're the vast majority of the nearly 20,000 people have now been killed. This church shooting over the weekend, the latest example of that. But also there were three Israeli hostages who were apparently shirtless, according to the Israel Defense Forces, waving a white cloth.

They had actually written an SOS message in Hebrew on a white sheet with leftover food, and they were waving that white cloth. And they, all three of them, were shot and killed by Israeli forces before they realized that, in fact, these were Israeli hostages, that they were shooting and killing.

But it does really raise a lot of questions about the forces that are on the ground and these face to face interactions with civilians and the United States and now, you know, the defense secretary, the second official in recent days to publicly pressure Israel to do more to protect Palestinian civilians, even as Israel insists that their mission to take out Hamas is not complete and that they need to make sure that that is their primary objective.

But with growing international criticism, Max, about these civilian deaths, the mounting civilian death toll in Gaza, Israel is being forced to take a very hard look at their strategy in Gaza and try to find a way to accomplish their objectives without taking so many civilian lives.

FOSTER: Will, as well, take us through what's happening in the Red Sea, because this is a response, isn't it, to what's happened in Gaza, but it's having wide international repercussions.

RIPLEY: Yes. I mean, we know, and Israel certainly knows very well that their neighbor, Iran, is backing the Houthi rebels in Yemen, along with Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon. But at the moment, it's the Houthi rebels that are creating major disruption in the Red Sea, firing and attacking commercial cargo ships that are now being forced to reroute, adding a tremendous amount of time and expense to a journey that normally would be much shorter going through the Suez Canal.

Instead, now they're having to go around the entire southern tip of Africa, which is creating major problems in terms of global supply chains. So the U.S. now announcing a coalition to try to patrol the Red Sea and stop these attacks.

[08:05:04]

Just yet another complication in this region that threatens to take this tense situation here with Israel and Gaza and spill over into a far wider regional conflict. Certainly, something that the United States and its allies are trying to avoid right now desperately, Max.

FOSTER: OK, Will, thank you so much. We'll have a bit more of this later on with Anna.

Now to China, though, where rescuers are racing to find survivors in subzero temperatures after a catastrophic earthquake hit the northwestern part of the country. According to the state media, at least 126 people have been killed. Nearly 600 have been injured. The U.S. Geological Survey says the 5.9 magnitude quakes struck Gansu province just late Monday night, reducing homes and buildings to rubble. The quake is China's deadliest in nearly a decade.

Marc Stewart joins us from Beijing. Pretty horrific pictures coming out of there, Mark.

MARC STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Very difficult to see, Max. And unfortunately, these rescue teams are just dealing with so many different hurdles. First of all, as you mentioned, this quake hit late Monday night just before midnight. A lot of people were asleep and of course it was dark outside. So that naturally makes this a tough rescue.

And then, as we know, it's already Tuesday evening here. So another night of darkness in some areas that have been without electricity, although efforts are certainly underway to try to restore that. In addition, we are dealing with some very cold temperatures across China and in many places, including where this earthquake hit, the temperatures are subfreezing.

That is certainly a challenge to survivors, but also to the rescue workers themselves who have to be out in these very cold elements. And then another big challenge is altitude. This is a high altitude location. And so that within itself makes a difficult job, even that more stressful, even that more tedious.

But all day long, we have seen some very intrepid efforts by rescue workers going building to building, using shovels to simply dig through debris, hoping to find survivors. And the people who have survived are certainly very lucky, despite the fact that the death toll has been rising. So there is that to contend with.

A lot of people are doing what they can to survive. At one point overnight, we saw people creating fires, fire pits almost in park like areas to simply stay warm because of these very cold temperatures. A big issue as we look ahead in the days and even hours ahead are going to be the fact that there are so many damaged homes.

According to CCTV, which is the China state broadcaster, more than 100,000 homes -- is one data point that we have seen. More than 100,000 homes have been damaged. So that is going to be a very lofty task. President Xi Jinping is, of course, urging for a quick and immediate response.

We have seen a financial boost to this area, a $28 million financial boost to help with rescue efforts. But, Max, that in many ways is moot, because, as we have seen, the things that you just can't simply put a value of money on, such as weather, such as darkness, such as high altitude, those are still going to be very difficult and formidable challenges in the not so distant future.

FOSTER: OK, Marc Stewart, thank you for that update. Now, after weeks of anticipation, a volcano in southwest Iceland has finally erupted, putting on a spectacular show. A crack almost 4 kilometers long has opened up along the earth's surface, releasing fountains of lava into the air. Residents of nearby Grindavik were told to leave the area last month. The government says the eruption doesn't pose a threat to life, but it is releasing a considerable amount of toxic gases.

Melissa Bell is following the developments for us from Paris. What are the other repercussions of this then, Melissa?

MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, for the time being, a lot of closures as authorities try and prevent people heading anywhere near the volcano there, which is only about 3 kilometers from Grindavik, that fishing town that you mentioned.

Some 4,000 people have been evacuated, and they're really trying to keep people who might want to come and have a look or take photographs away from it. Of course, these images that are so spectacular, Max, that have been gripping the world since they started to emerge. It began last night at 10:00 p.m., widely expected as you say.

There had been those many thousands of earthquakes in the region, and they'd been warning that this was likely to come. But I think this was a more violent and quicker explosion than anyone expected from when that crack first emerged and then continued to grow overnight.

What we do understand is happening now, though, is that the violence of the eruption appears to be diminishing the flow of the lava which it had been feared might threaten the town of Grindavik itself appears to be heading north and east, and therefore not in the direction of the town, which is good news for its residents, who will be hoping to get back to their homes.

[08:10:12]

The trouble, as you say, are the toxic fumes. Icelandic authorities are having regular meetings. They're keeping a close eye on what happens next to measure any further activity or any change in what's happening in and around the volcano. But it is those toxic fumes that authorities are warning people to try and steer clear of.

And, of course, everyone watching this will remember back in 2020 the huge disruption caused to global travel. Some 2 million people affected when an Icelandic volcano had erupted. At the time, 100,000 flights canceled. We've just heard as well from Icelandic authorities at the airport that there are no flight disruptions for now.

But clearly, as we watch those extremely impressive images, a lot of concern about what might happen next. And authorities say they're keeping a very close eye on that, Max.

FOSTER: Absolutely. OK, Melissa, thank you.

The Australian government will be providing financial help to the victims of flash floods that hit Queensland over the weekend. Crews rescued hundreds of people in the wake of what have been tropical cyclone Jasper. Now the government says it'll pay the equivalent of $672 to adults and $268 to children.

This drone video gives you an idea of how widespread that flooding was. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says more troops are on their way to assist with rescue efforts there.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy set to give a news conference in less than two hours from now as concerns over crucial western aid continue to grow. On Monday, the White House warned that unless Congress approves more funding, U. S. financial assistance for Kyiv will run out at the end of the month.

Republican lawmakers are linking any further aid to strict new border restrictions. The U.S. Defense Department calls the funding vital to Ukraine's continued fight for freedom against Russia.

And later in the show, we'll have a report from CNN's Nick Paton Walsh, who's traveled to Ukraine's frontline for a first-hand account on how desperately Ukraine needs that military aid from the U.S.

Still to come, one of the world's busiest maritime trade routes, plagued by militant attacks, forcing shipping companies to hit the pause button. What it could mean for the global economy?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: Let's dig a bit deeper then into the economic impact of the attacks in the Red Sea, which is considered one of the world's most important maritime trade routes. Several major shipping firms, including Evergreen, have said they'll suspend transit in the Red Sea over fears of continued strikes by Houthi rebels.

Oil giant BP announced on Monday it would do the same, a move that caused oil and gas prices to surge. Other companies Maersk plan to divert their ships around Africa instead far longer route that adds both time and cost to the journeys.

[08:15:07]

CNN's Anna Stewart is following developments joins us now. It's the oil that's particularly worrying, isn't it, Anna, because that will increase prices of oil, which increases prices of everything?

ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER: Exactly. I think the transportation of petrochemicals is one of the things we'll see really soaring as a result of everything that's going on with the Suez Canal and the Red Sea transit. This is really a critical shortcut, if you will, connecting Europe to Asia.

And if we bring that muff up again of Africa and the west coast of Africa around the Cape of Good Hope, this is essentially the alternative route for some ships. And Maersk have said this morning that this is the route they will have to take to transit. And that route, as you can see from the example of a ship going from Rotterdam to Singapore, will take more than a week longer to reach its destination. So a lot more fuel is burnt for the ship.

But also what you're looking at there is a very late arrival of a ship which impacts the next transit of the next shipment and so on. So quite quickly you can see containers stacking up at ports. You can also see how that would impact global supply chain. So key here, Max, is how long will this go on for? Can this route be secured so ships can pass through it again?

FOSTER: Will this cause some sort of reaction in the wider world because it really does hit home, doesn't it? It breaks out of that immediate region and starts affecting everyone.

STEWART: We saw this actually with the Ever Given, which was that ship two years ago -- sorry, a ship two years ago that got stuck in the Suez Canal only for around a week. And it was estimated at the time that the cost of that would be $6 billion to $10 billion a week while it was stuck due to the lack of transit of goods.

That is a result of all of those ships being stuck. Trade coming to a standstill and the issue of supply chains. Imagine a car factory in Germany. It needs a part, but it's stuck at a port somewhere in Asia and it can't get there. That can shut down a whole factory line.

So really, the impact of this in terms of inflation and the cost of goods, the cost of fuel will very much depend on how long we are talking about this transit route being unsafe for commercial ships and for oil tankers in particular.

FOSTER: In terms of other products, what should we be concerned about because a lot of transit coming from Asia into Europe, too, through that route?

STEWART: Well, when we look at global supply chains generally, and you've got to remember that it doesn't really matter what the product is necessarily on each container or each ship. It really depends where it fits within an overall supply chain. Semiconductors were a big issue over the pandemic.

Again, it remains to be seen whether this will continue. I was speaking to a shipping expert, though, this morning, and there is a big concern here that at this stage, with the Houthi militants shooting anti-ship ballistic missiles, which was really beyond the capabilities many of the shipping experts thought Houthi militants would have, the concern here is that is going to be very hard to secure.

It's not like piracy, which is something shipping -- the shipping community is very aware of. They have, you know, armed security on board a ship. They have citadels to protect the crew. This is a risk that they can't really mitigate very easily without, of course, huge defense capabilities from around the world. So the prices of goods is all going to depend on what happens in all these talks in the coming days.

FOSTER: OK, Anna, thank you. We'll be watching. Coming up, harsh conditions and low morale. Another long, cold winter settling in along Ukraine's frigid front lines. And now troops may face a deadly new threat.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:20:31]

FOSTER: Nearly two years after Russia's invasion, the fight to regain territory continues along Ukraine's front lines. But six months into Kyiv's counteroffensive, no significant progress has been made. Troop morale is low, and a critical U.S. lifeline appears to be hanging by a threat.

CNN's Nick Paton Walsh reports. But we warn you, some of the video is disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This was where the billions were meant to spell a breakthrough, but where the counteroffensive was supposed to have kicked Russia to the sea this summer. Now it is mud, death, deadlock and the remnants of American help vanishing.

PATON: It's a notably different mood here. Dark, frankly. In the summer, they were buoyed, feeling like they had the world at their back moving forwards. Now, it's slow, dangerous and a real sense of, well, despair, to be honest.

PATON WALSH (voice-over): 40 Russian drones swarmed one Ukrainian trench here in a day. Down here in this tiny basement, the rule is do not get seen. The other side are not so lucky. Two Russians spotted moving a load. They guide in a mortar strike. There are just so many Russians now.

Usually more meat means more mints, the commander says. But sometimes their machine struggles to handle it. And sometimes they have success. Batteries die fast in the cold, and Russian jamming seems to damage them, too.

This is Orikhiv, whose streets reek of crushed lives and how much horror Moscow is willing to bring to be seen to win.

PATON WALSH: Within a matter of months since we were here in the summer, how much more damage has been done?

PATON WALSH (voice-over): If you stop thinking about Ukraine, be sure Putin hasn't. At command, they watch a wasteland. Treelines now bare. The dead, the injured. It's unclear if Russia treats them differently. Another Ukrainian drone aims for a foxhole. What they've struggled with are the waves of Russian assaults.

Dozens of Russian prisoners, well trained and equipped, backed up by armor, who they say are given a mix of drugs. They show us this graphic video of a wounded Russian, his legs severed, seemingly high enough to smile through his fatal injuries.

[20:25:05]

Still, they claim they have held hard one ground, but at a huge cost.

Yes, as we say in the army, he says, the counteroffensive was smooth on paper, but we forgot about the ditches. Colossal changes are taking place. They started making their own attack drones and outnumber ours. But they use them badly like a kid's toy.

IHOR, UKRAINIAN SOLDIER (through translator): Excuse me. What's happening?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Heavy injuries.

IHOR (through translator): From what?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Dexter, Dexter, I'm Bremya, do you copy?

PATON WALSH (voice-over): They say a drone has hit a trench and blown up a gas heater.

IHOR (through translator): Begin the evacuation, begin the evacuation. Evacuate with a small vehicle. Did you move already?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We didn't.

IHOR (through translator): Why not? Why not?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): No transport, no transport.

PATON WALSH (voice-over): The silence, the wait for news, agony.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Already dead.

IHOR (through translator): Copy, is he dead?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Yes.

IHOR (through translator): It's over, evacuate him, no rush. We can't help him already.

PATON WALSH: Does it feel like the casualties are getting worse?

Every casualty makes a difference, he says. It affects everyone's morale. It's very painful for me.

Sergei, aged 48, was one of four Ukrainians to die in that area that day and about 50 that week. They haven't had to really talk about losing in this war. But this is what it looks like. It's not just drones. This Russian video seems to show a new threat, gas, caustic, flammable. The Ukrainians have had nine incidents on this front, killing one.

Here are two survivors. UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): At first, I saw smoke. We ran out from the trench and the gas suddenly caught fire. The trench was in flames. This gas burns, blinds you. You can't breathe. Shoots down your throat immediately. We didn't even have a second.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): You inhale it twice, then you fail to breathe.

[08:25:17]

PATON WALSH (voice-over): Medical reports confirm their poisoning. And Ukrainian official told CNN a form of CS gas was being used.

PATON WALSH: And there was injuries inside your mouth, where?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): On my cheeks, everywhere inside the mouth. My face is swollen and covered in red marks.

PATON WALSH (voice-over): It is an ugly, savage world. Even on a TV screen where there seems little Moscow won't do, but too much the west won't.

Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Orikhiv, Ukraine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: The European Union now formally investigating X, formerly known as Twitter, over disinformation and transparency. On Monday, an E.U. commissioner posted the allegations on X itself. The E.U. warned X earlier about disinformation and illegal content linked to the Israel-Hamas war.

The review targets everything from X's handling of that content to the paid verification system unveiled under owner Elon Musk. It also, well, it's also looking at whether the community notes fact checking system is effective of fighting misinformation. X says it'll cooperate with the probe.

NASA continues to push the boundaries of technology, this time transmitting a video from deep space, nearly 19 million mile back to Earth using a laser. And the star of that video? Well, meet Taters, the cat. The ultra-high definition video shows the cat chasing the dot from a laser pointer. Not super exciting, but the promise of this technology certainly is.

The distance between the spacecraft which beamed that video and the observatory in California that received it is about 80 times the distance between Earth and the Moon. And that laser transmission reached Earth in less than two minutes. NASA believes this technology could help push the limits of space exploration with the ability to quickly send data, pictures and videos.

Thanks for joining me here on Earth on CNN Newsroom, I'm Max Foster in London. World Sport with Amanda is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [08:30:00]