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CNN International: Sec. Blinken Visits Middle East in Effort To Stop A Wider War; Medical Providers Withdraw From Central Gaza Hospital; Four Killed In Large-Scale Russian Bombardment. Aired 8- 8:30a ET

Aired January 08, 2024 - 08:00   ET

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

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MAX FOSTER, HOST, "CNN NEWSROOM": Welcome to CNN Newsroom. I'm Max Foster in London. Just ahead, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in the Middle East again, as fears of a wider regional conflict growing. Then, a top Indian travel site suspends flight bookings to the Maldives, what we know about the diplomatic route between the two nations. And the door plug that blew off that Alaska Airlines plane mid-flight is found in a back yard in Portland. What investigators say went wrong during Friday's incident, next.

In the coming hours, the top U.S. diplomat will land in Saudi Arabia. Antony Blinken is on a five-day trip across the Middle East, trying to stop the war in Gaza from spreading. In Doha on Sunday he said Palestinian civilians who fled the violence in Gaza must be allowed to return home. Meanwhile, in central Gaza, two medical aid groups are withdrawing their personnel from a key hospital. They blame increased Israeli Military activity in the area. The head of the World Health Organization says the Al-Aqsa Hospital must remain functional.

Nic Robertson joins us now from Tel Aviv with the very latest. Lots of moving parts today. I noticed that one of them is Israel saying around 8,000 Hamas militants were killed in the campaign so far. And of course, the figures we're getting from Hamas-controlled Health Ministry give a broader figure. So, perhaps, shed some light onto that.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yeah. The broader figure from the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry is 22,835 people killed. About 70 percent of those are women and children. Now, the IDF has also said they've detained, arrested all people who have handled themselves in, people they call terrorists inside Gaza, 700 of those they now have in captivity as well. So, not just killing but taking members of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which of course, is critical for the IDF, because that's one of the ways they generate intelligence about where the possible leadership members of Hamas can be. And of course, those are the big targets in this fight.

We've heard from the Defense Minister saying that they -- he believes they're about ready to enter the next phase at least in the north of Gaza, which will use more special force operations, and less of their sort of heavier military operations that are still ongoing in the center. And that's pertinent to what we heard from the WHO Director General saying that it's important that that Al-Aqsa Hospital is allowed to remain open, those two medical NGOs pulling out their medical teams Sunday because they said artillery strikes were just getting so close on Saturday. According to the WHO, there are only five active doctors there, and they say that that is the main hospital in the center of Gaza where there is still a lot of active -- IDF activity going on there in Khan Younis, to the south as well.

So, the IDF is putting that figure of 8,000 now to the number of Hamas and other militants that they say that they've killed. It's a hard number for us to verify. We don't have the kind of access that would allow us to sort of independently verify precisely who is getting killed.

FOSTER: Antony Blinken clearly addressing this concern that actually came from some Israeli ministers, suggesting that Gaza should be cleared effectively and become Israeli. But, that's being addressed not just by Antony Blinken but also by the Israeli government.

ROBERTSON: Yeah. Isaac Herzog, Israel's President, had said absolutely that is not to remove or to force or encourage any evacuation of Palestinians from Gaza.

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And that's something that's been very much on the agenda for Secretary of State Antony Blinken. He talked about this when he was in Jordan yesterday meeting with King Abdullah there that the government -- the United States is opposed to Palestinians leave -- being forced to leave, encouraged to leave either the West Bank or Gaza. As I say, the President has made that very clear.

And what Secretary of State Antony Blinken will call for when he gets here, and he does land here later today, although his meetings begin in earnest on Tuesday, he will be pushing for the civilians who are in Gaza now not to be encouraged to leave, because there is no way for them to leave, but to be allowed to go home, to return to their homes as soon as is practicable within the confines of the fighting that's going on.

He is going to push for better humanitarian access for them, better safety and security for them, but importantly, allow them to get back to their homes, because so many of them now are in are in the south of Gaza, 90 percent of Gaza's residents, it's estimated by the UN, displaced. The Defense Minister of Israel said that this complicates military operations in the south because the density of the population is much greater in the south. So, inherently, there is a value for the IDF for their military operations to get residents back to the north. But, of course, the complications are getting humanitarian aid to them in the north, getting homes for them to live in in the north, because so much of the north of Gaza is either completely destroyed or damaged so many homes.

So, this is where Antony Blinken is going to push that focus, safety, security, humanitarian access, and allow the civilians to get back to their homes or what's left of their homes.

FOSTER: Nic Robertson, thank you for joining us from there.

Now, Ukrainians started their week under yet another large-scale Russian bombardment. The National Police say four people have been killed and 38 others injured across the country. In Kyiv, these people took refuge in a metro station during the missile strikes. In the Kharkiv region, two people were killed in strikes and civilian facilities were damaged. And officials in Zaporizhzhia say an attack there damaged several homes and blew the windows out of nine buildings, and in that weather as well.

A route between India and the Maldives escalating, a top Indian travel site is suspending flight bookings to the island nation after three officials there mocked Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In online posts, they called him a clown, terrorist and a puppet of Israel. They've been suspended by their government. India and Russia sent their largest number of visitors, actually, to the Maldives. Relations have been tense since President Mohamed Muizzu came to power in November.

CNN's Vedika Sud joins us live from New Delhi. And I think this started with some photos, didn't it, Vedika.

VEDIKA SUD, CNN REPORTER: Well, absolutely, and that's where the controversy began, though. Like you said, the tensions have been simmering for a while. It all began last week when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the islands of Lakshadweep, just off the southwestern coast of India, and he put up some images on social media. Responding to those images, the three officials you were talking about mocked Modi. Now, in complete damage control mode, on Sunday, the President of Maldives went ahead and suspended these three officials from his government indefinitely. The call for them being sacked has been really high, but for now, they've just been suspended.

And then on Sunday, the Foreign Ministry of Maldives did issue a statement. I'm going to read an excerpt from there. It says "The Government of Maldives is aware of derogatory remarks on social media platforms against foreign leaders and high-ranking individuals. These opinions are personal and do not represent the views of the Government of Maldives." Now, this response from Maldives came after the remarks set off an uproar and boycott calls to not visit Maldives by Indians here in the country. Also (Technical Difficulty).

FOSTER: Okay. We've got some issues there with Vedika, but we'll come back to her later in the day to get more on that update.

Now Alaska Airlines has canceled more than 100 flights today and warns of more to come following a terrifying ordeal involving one of its planes. On Friday, a critical part of a Boeing 737 MAX 9 blew out shortly after the jet took off from Portland, Oregon. Federal officials say the planes door plug had been discovered in someone's backyard. The Chair of the NTSB spoke to CNN earlier and said the investigation will be very thorough.

CNN's Pete Muntean joins us live from Washington. And it will have to be, won't it, because when you look at these images, it's absolutely frightening and very off-putting to passengers.

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: No doubt, Max. And these major developments have happened overnight of these violent explosive details about this terrifying event.

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The NTSB has inspected the interior and exterior of the plane in question, this Boeing 737 MAX 9, and it saw those twisted and contorted seats from that 400-mile per hour rush of air through that refrigerator-sized opening in the sides of this plane. The big development, the smoking gun here, the piece that fell off the plane has been found. And NTSB Chair Homendy rushed back to the podium late last night to say that. It was found in the backyard of a Portland school teacher named Bob. The part is known as a door plug and it fills the spot where an optional door could be installed at the Boeing factory.

Finding this is so key because it will hold some major clues here. Was this a mechanical failure? Was this a manufacturing defect by Boeing or its contractors? That is key because this airplane is only months old. It took its first flight on October 15th, flew only 150 flights for Alaska Airlines. Investigators also now say a pressurization warning light came on three times before this incident, once just the day before this incident, and that caused Alaska Airlines to restrict this plane from overwater flights, like going to Hawaii. Could this had been an early warning? It's something that investigators are probing, but it is still unclear. Here is what NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy just said on CNN this morning.

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JENNIFER HOMENDY, CHAIR, NATIONAL SAFETY TRANSPORTATION BOARD: That alert that illuminated those three times certainly is very disconcerting to our investigators, and we want to look at that. But, it may have absolutely nothing to do with what occurred in the cabin of the aircraft on that -- during that event.

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MUNTEAN: What is missing from this investigation, Max, the audio of the cockpit voice recorder. That was overwritten automatically, and Homendy calls that disappointing. There is a push to make cockpit voice recorders retain information for even longer. Still a lot of info out there, though. During the depressurization, investigators were able to find out that the cockpit door blew open and the pilots' headsets and checklists were thrown by the force of that rapid deep compression. Alaska Airlines and United Airlines are the only two U.S. airlines operating MAX 9s. They are still grounded this morning, awaiting new details on inspections from the Federal Aviation Administration. United Airlines canceled 270 flights that would have otherwise been operated by MAX 9s over this weekend, Max.

FOSTER: Pete Muntean in Washington, thank you.

The death toll rising from that New Year's Day earthquake in Japan, officials now say at least 168 people were killed. More than 300 people are still missing. Snowy weather and difficult terrain are complicating rescue operations, but we are hearing miraculous stories of survival. One woman in her 90s was pulled out alive from the rubble of a two-storey home. She was stuck there for more than five days.

CNN's Marc Stewart is tracking the story from Seoul, South Korea. He joins us now live. I mean, it is a remarkable story. But, there is so many awful ones at the same time.

MARC STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Max, with so many people missing, the size and the scope of this disaster is still very much to be written, and still it's only been one week since this earthquake hit. But, amid all of this heartbreak, there are some stories of hope, including this rescue of a 90-year-old woman. She was found in her home, as you mentioned, about five days after the quake struck. She was actually stuck under some furniture. She was in a two-storey home, and was found almost nestled between two floors, an example of just how intense the force of that quake was. But, crews were able to get to her. They took her to the hospital.

And during this rescue, there was a sense of camaraderie. In fact, when emergency workers got together and they found her, they all collectively said, almost there, as they were pulling her out. She obviously has some serious injuries to her legs, some injuries to her legs. But, one doctor told NHK, which is Japan's public broadcaster, that she was able to talk. So, that's encouraging.

But, beyond that there are some very difficult circumstances still facing Japan, and a lot of this focuses on infrastructure. First of all, roads are still in bad shape, as we've seen through many of this video. They're still cracked, and that's a problem because you cannot move trucks to and from. Another issue is electricity. That speaks for itself. Food is also a challenge to get because of the poor roads, but also grocery stores. There is one supermarket that opened up over the weekend, had a limited supply of food. In fact, a ration was made on rice. You could only get one bag of rice, which of course is a big staple in the Japanese diet. Also, water has been hard for people to get.

That is in addition to this big problem of finding people temporary housing, because so many of these homes in these earthquake areas were just flat and just pummeled by the vibration.

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So, the challenges keep mounting. Max, there was some concern about the weather. It appears that those fears of blizzard-like conditions may not come to fruition, but a Herculean task of chores ahead for people still in Japan.

FOSTER: Marc, thank you for the update.

Still to come, the race is really heating up with one week to go until Iowa votes. We will check in on the three contenders, the leading ones at least, for the Republican nomination for President.

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FOSTER: The 2024 campaign to be the next U.S. President is heating up. They are now just -- well, there is now just one week until the first votes are cast. The Iowa caucuses will take place a week from today with Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis hoping to pull the upset and derail Donald Trump's effort to be the Republican nominee. For his part, Trump is juggling, campaigning with his many legal troubles. He says he plans to attend a key hearing on Tuesday where the U.S. Court of Appeals will decide if Trump has immunity from prosecution for any crimes he committed whilst as President. And in a few hours, U.S. President Joe Biden will deliver remarks in South Carolina, making his case for reelection.

Let's bring in CNN's U.S. National Correspondent Kristen Holmes with more on this. Thank you so much for joining us. Interesting to hear the -- Haley-DeSantis almost conceding this upcoming caucus because they're saying we might not win, but we're going to have a good vote. What's -- how did you read that?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. It's been really interesting to watch this kind of fight for second place. And the two of them have gotten increasingly nasty. We've been watching these remarks, and they've gotten really vicious, attacking each other, as they try to bring each other down. Now, I have heard from several campaigns that internal polling has Haley catching up to Ron DeSantis for that second space spot, which is likely why you're seeing so much aggression between the two of them. We have to remember that Ron DeSantis put every single thing into Iowa. He has barely campaigned in any other state. He needs a strong showing in Iowa.

And there was a time where even though the polls showed Donald Trump with a big lead, both Trump advisors and DeSantis advisors believe that margin was much smaller. Now, Trump's team has gotten much more confident with those numbers. They do believe there is going to be a big turnout. But, it's all about, again, who actually shows up to caucus. So, this is going to be a make it or break it moment for Ron DeSantis, in particular. If he can't pull out second place in a state that he poured all of his resources to, that's not going to bode well for a primary season.

FOSTER: What do you expect to hear from Joe Biden when he speaks later?

HOLMES: Joe Biden has clearly turned his focus on to Donald Trump and a general election.

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They want to make this election about democracy. We saw that speech on Friday where he went after him. He talked about January 6. He said that Donald Trump himself is a threat to democracy. Now, in return, I was at the Trump event when he responded to that. He does not want to talk about democracy and he doesn't want to talk about January 6. In fact, later on Saturday, the actual anniversary of January 6, Donald Trump called for the release of the January 6 prisoners, calling them "hostages". So -- and excuse me. Sorry about that. When they break down these arguments, that's going to be Joe Biden's messaging versus Donald Trump who wants to focus on the economy and immigration.

FOSTER: Okay. Kristen, get better. Thanks for joining us, anyway.

China making the frozen months all be a (ph) fun. After the break, we'll take you to the annual Ice Festival to see the breathtaking sculptures.

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FOSTER: It is a winter landscape filled with beautiful ice sculptures, buildings and bridges. The Ice and Snow Festival is underway in northern China. And this year is breaking attendance records. CNN's Laila Harrak reports.

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LAILA HARRAK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's a winter wonderland you won't see anywhere else. The Chinese city of Harbin saw a record number of visitors over the New Year holiday weekend during its annual Ice and Snow Festival. Well, this ice city features intricate sculptures and structures, all glowing from within, all of course made entirely of ice.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (TRANSLATED): It's quite nice, and quite shocking. When I saw it for the first time, I thought they built it very well, and the ice was very transparent.

HARRAK (voice-over): Well, this year, officials say an average of about 30,000 people entered the park every day. That's nearly double pre-pandemic numbers. Well, the festivities have sold out every hotel.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (TRANSLATED): Booking was pretty difficult. For booking hotels, we spent two to three days before we found a suitable hotel. Tickets for Ice and Snow World were sold out online. So, I bought them on the second-hand website Xianyu.

HARRAK (voice-over): The state media says this year's festival covers 810,000 square meters, nearly nine million square feet, and features 250,000 cubic meters of ice. A rather fitting spectacle as temperatures over the New Year holiday dropped nearly minus 25 degrees Celsius or minus 13 degrees Fahrenheit. But, the cold hardly stopped those itching for fun after the last three years of holiday cheer were stifled by varying degrees of pandemic restrictions.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (TRANSLATED): Because this is the first winter holiday since the pandemic was lifted, and everyone can't hold back. We've been sealed for several years. So, we want to go out and relax, to release some of the stressful feelings from the pandemic.

HARRAK (voice-over): Harbin's Ice Festival will shine bright until early March.

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In the meantime, the aptly nicknamed Ice City shares its ice, art, and animals with the visitors looking for something cool to do. Laila Harrak, CNN.

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FOSTER: On the first major award show of the season, Hollywood left little doubt really about who the frontrunner for the Oscars are. Oppenheimer won again and again at the Golden Globes, including Best Drama, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Director. The film's star says all the credit should go to the writer-director Christopher Nolan.

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CILLIAN MURPHY, WINNER, BEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA: I knew the first time that I walked on Chris Nolan's set that it was different. I could tell by the level of rigor, the level of focus, the level of dedication, the complete lack of any seating options for actors that it was -- I was in the hands of the visionary director.

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FOSTER: Barbie, which had the most nominations, only took home two Golden Globes, including one in a new category that celebrates films that do well at the box office. The night's other big winner was the TV show "Succession". It took home Globes' for the Best TV Drama, Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Supporting Actor.

And finally, the sky over Florida lit up early on Monday morning as the first ever mission to land a commercial craft on the moon took off. Numerous companies are involved in the effort, including aerospace giants Boeing and Lockheed Martin. The hope is that the Peregrine lander will touchdown on the moon in late February. It's carrying science experiments from several countries, including the U.S. The U.S. space agency NASA hopes commercial missions can be cheaper and more efficient, I think government wants.

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

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