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Qatar Slams Leaked Remarks Allegedly from Israeli PM; Ukraine Struggles to Hold Avdiivka Amid Russian Onslaught; Ecuadorian Forces Carry out Security Operations Against Gangs; Hamas-Run Health Ministry: 20 Killed in Aid Queue Attack; China's Censors Ignoring Rising Antisemitism Online; One-on-One with U.S. Chemist Who Suggests Adding Salt to Tea. Aired 12-12:45a ET

Aired January 26, 2024 - 00:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Coming up here on CNN: desperate for food and under fire in Gaza. Palestinian officials say an Israeli attack killed at least 20 people lining up for flour and other supplies.

[00:01:13]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID CULVER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: More than a dozen officers storm what could be mistaken for an abandoned barn, but their intel suggests otherwise.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Security forces in Ecuador on the offensive in a war with criminal gangs. And CNN's David Culver is there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I had no idea what I was going to wake up to.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: And the American scientist at the center of a controversy in a teacup. All because she recommended a pinch of salt in a cuppa.

ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN NEWSROOM with John Vause.

VAUSE: We begin this hour once again in Gaza, where food is in critical short supply and waiting in line for humanitarian assistance has been fatal for at least 20 Palestinians.

According to the Hamas-controlled health ministry, they were killed by Israeli fire on Thursday, lining up for bags of flour and other supplies in Gaza City.

A warning: the images you're about to see are graphic. Up to 150 others were injured, many in a critical condition right now. CNN has asked the IDF for comment on any military operations in the area.

In the same neighborhood Wednesday, gunfire could be heard as several hundred people were seen fleeing an aid distribution center, as well. The latest attack on civilians in Gaza comes on the eve of a major ruling in the genocide case against Israel, currently before the International Court of Justice in the Netherlands.

The case was brought by South Africa, accusing Israel of committing genocide against the Palestinians and failing to prevent and punish genocide. The court is not expected to make a final ruling but could order temporary measures against Israel and its military offensive in Gaza.

The Israelis say the accusations are false and grossly distorted.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EYLON LEVY, ISRAELI GOVERNMENT SPOKESPERSON: We know that the ICJ is scheduled to rule on his provisional measures tomorrow. We suggest let's wait and see what the ICJ has to say.

We have expected, of course, to throw out the completely absurd and ridiculous charges pressed by South Africa.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: A final ruling by the court could take years, and regardless of the decision, the court has no way to enforce its findings.

For months now, Qatar has played the role of negotiator between Israel and the U.S. on one side, and Hamas on the other, notably brokering a deal for the release of nearly 100 Israeli hostages back in November, which is why a leaked recording allegedly said to be the Israeli prime minister, criticizing Qatar, has come as surprising to most and shocking to others.

The voice, attributed to Netanyahu, tells hostage families that Qatar could do more to pressure Hamas to free their loved ones.

CNN's Nic Robertson has more on the fallout from Netanyahu's alleged comments, which CNN cannot independently verify.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR (voice-over): During a testy meeting with hostage families Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appears to have strained his one regional relationship with Qatar. That matters most to those very families.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): You don't hear me thanking Qatar because Qatar is essentially no different from the U.N. or the Red Cross and in some ways, even more problematic. They have leverage because they're financing them. ROBERTSON (voice-over): These comments, caught off-mic, triggered a

rapid and barbed diplomatic put-down from Qatari officials, who helped negotiate the release of almost a hundred Israeli hostages in November, saying in a tweet, "We're appalled by the alleged remarks attributed to the Israeli prime minister, if validated, are irresponsible and destructive to the efforts to save innocent lives but are not surprising."

Just days earlier, Qatar had been talking up relations with Israel and the potential for Hamas to release more hostages.

MAJED AL-ANSARI, QATAR FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESPERSON: We are engaging in serious discussions with both sides. We have presented ideas to both sides. We are getting a constant stream of replies from both sides.

[00:05:10]

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Qatar's frustration now seems personal with Netanyahu. Qatar concluding their criticism with a view increasingly suspected by some Israelis.

Netanyahu wants to keep the war going, saying in a tweet, "The Israeli prime minister would only be obstructing and undermining the mediation process for reasons that appear to serve his political career."

Hostage families, who were in the meeting with the prime minister, released a terse statement, appearing to blame Netanyahu for the leak, although he denies it: "The fact that the censorship was given permission to publish this audio recording is serious and indicates a loss of judgment."

This leaked audio also suggests he may be trying to draw the White House into confrontation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I was very angry recently, and I didn't hide it from the Americans that they renewed the contract on the military base they have with Qatar.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): President Biden hasn't openly spoken to the tensions, but this week, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, criticizing Israel for taking Gazan territory to create a security buffer.

ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We've been very clear about maintaining, in effect, the territorial integrity.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Nic Robertson, CNN, Tel Aviv, Israel.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Live now to Qatar's capital of Doha and Mehran Kamrava, professor of government at Georgetown University in Qatar.

Thanks for coming back. So good to see you.

MEHRAN KAMRAVA, PROFESSOR OF GOVERNMENT, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: Thank you. Good to be here.

VAUSE: So from the Israeli perspective, being compared to the United Nations or the Red Cross is not considered to be favorable. So with that in mind, here's the U.S. view of the role Qatar's been playing in recent months.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VEDANT PATEL, U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESPERSON: They have played an irreplaceable role in the ongoing efforts to release hostages, as well as they continue to play a critical role in work that's ongoing to ensure that humanitarian aid flows into Gaza.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: So with a deal which was made between Hamas and Israel brokered in Doha back in November for the release of hostages, would that have happened without Qatar's involvement?

KAMRAVA: Obviously not. Qatar has taken a lot of reputational risks on by being involved so heavily and so intimately in the negotiations to get the hostages, Israeli hostages released.

Public opinion in the Arab world is firmly on the side of the Palestinians, and for Qatar to be so deeply involved is a risky venture. And this is the last thing they need from Netanyahu right now.

VAUSE: So what's in it for Qatar to play this role?

KAMRAVA: Well, what the Qataris want is to make sure that the world knows they are indispensable to global diplomacy. Some time ago, Qatar made mediation a central pillar of its foreign policy. And it's actually been able to deliver on that pillar.

VAUSE: So that gets to the question of why. Why would the Israeli prime minister be so critical of Doha at this particular point?

Qatar's foreign ministry noted Thursday that, for months, Qatar has been engaged in regular dialogue with the negotiating parties, including Israeli institutions attempting to establish a framework for a new hostage agreement. And the immediate entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza.

Went on to suggest that Netanyahu said what he allegedly said to undermine those hostage negotiations to keep the war going. So how would the Israeli prime minister benefit from that? What does he have to lose if the fighting comes to an end?

KAMRAVA: Well, there are two primary reasons why Netanyahu said that. First is his own domestic political jockeying, shifting the blame to Qatar as much as possible for the state of things, for the fact that the hostages have not been released.

The fact that he learned Qatar before hostage families is itself quite revealing. Second is the fact that, as you mentioned in the opening, the ICJ's ruling is about to come out.

And whether or not the ICJ is going to legally declare that Israel is committing genocide, in the eyes of millions of people around the world, Israel is committing genocide. And so Netanyahu wants to once again deflect attention and blame onto a third party.

VAUSE: Some U.S. Republicans, though, have accused Qatar of being too close to Hamas. Gershon Baskin (ph), the Israeli who negotiated with Hamas for the release of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit about a decade ago, has at a minimum, questioned Doha's role as an honest broker; suggested Egypt should take that role.

So Netanyahu is not alone in being critical of Qatar. So is that valid at some point?

KAMRAVA: You know, that's what the Republicans and the right in Israel believe. But I think it would be important for us to remember the alternative. If Qatar that houses the biggest U.S. base abroad was not talking to Hamas, who would be talking to Hamas?

[00:10:17]

If Hamas political leaders were not here in Doha, they would most likely be in some place like Tehran or Damascus, where the Americans and even the Israelis couldn't keep eyes and ears on them.

So I think Qatar's relationship with Hamas is at the behest and really to the advantage of both the United States and Israel.

VAUSE: Professor Mehran Kamrava there in Doha. So thank you for your time. We appreciate it.

KAMRAVA: Thank you very much.

VAUSE: Well, for the first time, nitrogen gas has been used to execute an inmate on death row in the United States.

Kenneth Smith was pronounced dead about four hours ago in the state of Alabama. He was convicted for his role in a 1988 murder for hire and had already survived a botched attempt at lethal injection.

Only two other U.S. states, Oklahoma and Mississippi, allow death by nitrogen hypoxia. And there have been questions over whether it constitutes cruelty.

A reporter who read notes from witnesses to the execution described what they saw.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

IVANA HRYNKIW, AI.COM REPORTER: He appeared conscious for several minutes into the execution. For about two minutes following that, Kenneth Smith shook and writhed for about two minutes on a gurney. That was followed by several minutes of deep breaths on the gurney. Following that, his breadth slowed until it was no longer perceptible for immediate witnesses. (END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Lawyers for Smith had made a number of appeals to the highest courts, but they did not intervene in this death penalty. The family of the woman he killed say his debt has been paid, and they're relieved this chapter has now closed.

According to the Kremlin, parts of a Ukrainian anti-aircraft missile have been recovered from the crash site of Russian transport plane. Once again, Moscow has accused Ukraine of shooting it down, killing all on board, including nine Russians and 65 Ukrainian POWs, en route, according to Moscow, to a prisoner exchange.

According to Ukrainian intelligence, only five bodies have been recovered so far, which accounts for the Russian flight crew. Ukrainian officials believe the plane was transporting missiles, not POWs.

Images from the scene do not appear to show mass casualties.

In the battle for the Ukrainian town of Avdiivka, Russian tactics have been described as a meat assault (ph), sending wave after wave of soldiers to attack Ukrainian positions, regardless of losses.

Here's CNN's Fred Pleitgen. And a warning: some of the images you're about to see in his report are graphic.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): A U.S. provided Bradley infantry fighting vehicle, almost single-handedly stopping a Russian assault near Avdiivka in Southeastern Ukraine, pelting the Russians with tracer rounds from its powerful 25-millimeter gun.

Vladimir Putin's troops pinned down, unable to advance. This is just one element of Ukraine's efforts to hold Avdiivka, run from underground command centers in secret locations.

The Ukrainians have given us access to their command bunker for this part of the front line. From here, they organize part of the defense of Avdiivka.

It's rarely calm here, they say, the Russians assaulting nearly all the time. A Russian tank with a small group of troops shows up. The Ukrainians track their movements.

And these two soldiers, probably from an already decimated unit, cowering in a trench, aware the Ukrainians have spotted them. They hit the Russians with a kamikaze drone, but they survive for now.

The commander tells me Russian losses here are staggering.

"They use a lot of equipment. We destroy a lot of equipment," he says. "A lot of infantry assaults. They expand people. They step over each other, don't provide assistance. It's true. There's a lot of infantry equipment and meat assaults."

From the many drones monitoring the battlefield, we see the bodies of dead Russian soldiers, frozen amidst their destroyed vehicles.

The command post also directs artillery and rocket strikes and even counter assaults with ground forces to clear trenches and stop the seemingly endless waves of Russian infantry attacks.

"Fortunately, they have a lot of losses," he says. "Yet, they do not stop. But Avdiivka will be ours. They will not succeed."

But Ukraine's American-provided guns could go mostly silent soon if Congress doesn't end its impasse and pass additional military aid, President Biden says.

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think the vast majority of members of Congress support aid for Ukraine. The question is whether or not a small minority are going to hold it up, which would be a disaster.

[00:15:02]

PLEITGEN (voice-over): And that could have major effects for the Ukrainian troops fighting here.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, in Eastern Ukraine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: When we come back here on CNN, Ecuador's war on criminal gangs. Security forces on the offensive. And the government asking the U.S. for help to restore law and order. Back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: Closing arguments are scheduled in the coming hours in the defamation case against Donald Trump, brought by writer E. Jean Carroll. The trial will determine damages.

The former president took the stand for about three minutes on Thursday and was admonished several times by the judge during that very brief testimony.

Carroll won a civil verdict last year in her claim Trump sexually assaulted her in the 1990s and then defamed her when she first accused him publicly.

She's seeking $10 million in damages.

Meantime, a source tells CNN some senior Republicans are furious amid Donald Trump's efforts to undercut a congressional compromise on U.S. border security. Trump has been lobbying against a potential agreement, in part because he wants to campaign on the issue.

It's left some GOP leaders seething. Senator Mitt Romney slammed the former president for putting politics ahead of a deal. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MITT ROMNEY (R-UT): I think the border is a very important issue for Donald Trump. And the fact that he would communicate to Republican senators and congresspeople that he doesn't want us to solve the border problem, because he wants to blame Biden for it is -- is really appalling.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Border security and demonizing immigration have been cornerstones of Trump's 2024 presidential bid. He's used language from Hitler and Mussolini, and white nationalists and white supremacists, saying immigrants are, quote, "poisoning the blood," unquote, of the country.

The Biden administration plans to ramp up assistance to Ecuador as the country wages a nationwide war on criminal gangs, underscoring the growing concerns at the White House over the increasing level of violence in Ecuador and how that could lead to more people fleeing South America for the U.S.

CNN's David Culver took a ride along with Ecuador's security forces as they carried out rate against these drug gangs. And a warning: his report contains images some viewers may find disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CULVER: We're the fourth in a convoy of that looks to be about four pickup trucks, all of them unmarked. No lights, no sirens. All the officers in plain clothes.

CULVER (voice-over): We're with Ecuador's national police force, as they're dispatched to a house with suspected ties to terror groups. They won't tell us where exactly we're headed. And they ask us to blur their faces.

CULVER: Shows you the level of concern and that fear exist here right now.

CULVER (voice-over): So we'll keep it vague. We're just outside Guayaquil, Ecuador's largest city, and headed into one of the most violent areas, Duran (ph).

[00:20:02]

More than a dozen officers storm what could be mistaken for an abandoned barn, but their intel suggests otherwise. They cuff two men and search the high grass and weeds.

On each corner, security cameras strategically positioned. Officers hack them down.

CULVER: As they leave here, we notice even he's carrying some evidence. It looks like a gun and several rounds in that baggy. CULVER (voice-over): This is just one of thousands of raids across

Ecuador, carried out over the past two weeks. Ecuador's military now deployed to neighborhoods. We went with them.

CULVER: Over here, we see two guys who have been detained for now.

CULVER (voice-over): Officials arresting more than 3,000 people so far.

Ecuador's latest surge in violence, sparked by this suspected prison escape of notorious gang leader Jose Adolfo Macias Villamar, known as Fito, reported missing from this massive prison compound on January 7.

CULVER: If you look over here, this is where officials tell us Fito was being held, possibly is still being held. They really don't know.

CULVER (voice-over): A top military commander telling me the prison system is rife with mismanagement and heavy gang influence. So much so that Fito could still be hiding inside.

Fito's disappearance led President Daniel Noboa to declare a state of emergency, vowing to neutralize terror groups.

A day after Noboa's declaration, on January 9, 13 armed men took over a television news studio in Guayaquil. They put guns to the heads of employees, forcing them to the ground, and held up what looked to be sticks of dynamite.

Folks watched it all unfold on live TV, among them, Camille Gamarra and her husband, Diego Gallardo. Feeling the unease, Diego decided to pick up their ten year-old son, but minutes before reaching his school, someone opened fire on the streets. Diego stopped messaging Camille, who was frantically trying to call him.

A police colonel eventually answered and told Camille Diego had been shot.

Chaos rocked Ecuador that day, especially in Guayaquil, were barricades went up and streets shut down. This young girl, still in her school uniform, also hit by a stray bullet.

The hospital later saying she survived, thanks to a security guard who drove her to the emergency room.

A family friend was able to get Camille's son to safety, but Diego died before Camille could get to him.

CAMILLE GAMARRA, HUSBAND KILLED: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

GRAPHIC: I couldn't do a thing left sitting here. I couldn't do a thing.

CULVER (voice-over): Across town, national police and armed forces stormed the television studio, capturing the gunman before they could kill any of the hostages.

CULVER: And this is the studio where the terror group entered and 13 of them.

CULVER (voice-over): We saw firsthand the damage left behind.

CULVER: This is the studio door, and you can see -- you can count here, one, two, three, four, five, six -- about a half dozen bullet holes.

CULVER (voice-over): The day after our visit, in a brazen strike against the government, suspected gang members assassinated the prosecutor investigating that studio takeover.

CULVER: You can see he's pulling this car over right now.

CULVER (voice-over): Police and military now stepping up their efforts, setting up random checkpoints. Every possible hiding place searched.

CULVER: I just saw one of the soldiers signaling to the other. Look at his arm, look at his arm.

CULVER (voice-over): They check tattoos for any gang affiliations and even scroll through people's phones. They also board commuter buses to get intel.

CULVER: He's asking do they have anything they need to tell them they were informed about. He says, "We're doing this operation for you all."

CULVER (voice-over): Residents here struggle with what's happened to their country over the past few years. They tell me gangs are growing bolder and holding people and their businesses hostage, demanding protection money, known as by vacunas.

CULVER: What happens if you don't pay the vacuna, if you don't pay the extortion?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They get a contract killer and kill you. They put an explosive outside your store.

CULVER (voice-over): The military tries to weed out those responsible, raiding homes like this one, holding the suspects at gunpoint as neighbors, including kids, watch.

It's a lot to take in.

CULVER: She says, the fact that there are police here, it's comforting. She accepts that, and that there's military now patrolling the streets.

What she doesn't like is that it goes into people's homes, and it's now pouring out onto the street.

CULVER (voice-over): But this is war. At least that's how the government here sees it, and they're asking the U.S. for support, desperate for tactical equipment, ammo, and intel.

[00:25:06]

CULVER: Why should the U.S. help? Because people will look at this from the U.S., and they'll say, Well, that's Ecuador's problem.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I mean, if you don't help us, but all you will see more people trying to cross the borders, because these people is in the middle of gunfights on their neighborhoods. What would you do?

CULVER: You're not going to stay there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They don't want to stay there.

CULVER (voice-over): Back on the front lines after executing their raid, we're reminded of the fear instilled by these gangs, even among law enforcement.

This officer putting on a ski mask in 90-degree heat and thick humidity before stepping into frame.

And yet beneath those tactical layers, a soft spot. This soldier's not been home in a week, telling us the reason he's fighting is for his little girl. She wrote him a letter in English.

CULVER: "I want you to know that everyone misses you here at home, and we want you to return safe and sound. And I ask you to help the country to be a better place. You're No. 1."

David Culver, CNN, Guayaquil, Ecuador.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: When it comes to Internet censorship, no country comes close to China. So how could a surge in antisemitism be sweeping across social media in China? More on that in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: Welcome back, everyone. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause.

The Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza reports at least 20 people were killed. Dozens more injured by an Israeli attack on people lining up for humanitarian assistance.

CNN has reached out to the Israeli Defense Forces for comment. A warning now: this report from CNN's Ben Wedeman contains graphic images.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Once again, the wounded are sprawled on the floor of Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, victims of what a civil defense official says was Israeli tank and machine gunfire on a crowd of people waiting to receive desperately needed humanitarian aid. "People were going to get food and flour, because they have nothing to

eat," he says. "Then suddenly, tanks appeared and started firing shells at people."

Mohammed El-Ifi (ph) was injured in the hand and leg. "They shelled us four times," he says.

Wednesday at the same spot, the Kuwait Circle in Gaza City, the Southern outskirts, there were scenes of panic when, according to eyewitnesses, Israeli forces opened fire during the distribution of aid.

CNN has reached out to the Israeli military for comment but has not yet received a response.

To the South, thousands are streaming out of Khan Yunis, where intense fighting has been raging for days, leaving however they can, traumatized by what they've seen and what they've lost.

"This is the third time we've moved," she says. All they have left in the world piled onto a shopping cart.

This is his far as you can get safely from Khan Yunis, between a sea of tents and the sea. Some supplies are available.

[00:30:07]

Close to 90 percent of the people of Gaza are now displaced, many now living like this.

Winter rains have turned parts of this makeshift camp into a muddy pond.

"I'm looking for our things," he says.

What they have found is anger at the men who pose as their leaders. "Look, Ismail Haniyeh. Let him see us," shouts this man, referring to Hamas's political leader, living in Qatar.

The war has raged now for more than 110 days.

"For three-and-a-half months, we've been on the run," says Ehad Abu Massaid. "Let us go back to our homes. We're sick of this life. Death would be better."

According to the forecast, another winter storm is coming.

Ben Wedeman, CNN, reporting from Beirut.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Antisemitism, as well as attacks on Arabs and Muslims in the U.S. and Europe surged in the days and weeks after Hamas launched a deadly surprise attack on Israel.

Those reports are in countries with freedom of speech, and being a bigoted fool is not a crime. So then explain what has happened in China, where antisemitism is surging across China's Internet, despite heavy censorship.

More now from CNN's Will Ripley.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As the Israel-Hamas war rages, a battleground of opinions on China's tightly controlled social media a surge of online hate, very anti-Israel, and in many cases antisemitic, the Israeli embassy.

Matt Trusch is a Jewish-American businessman living in China, with thousands of followers on social media.

MATT TRUSCH, JEWISH-AMERICAN BUSINESSMAN IN CHINA: For centuries, China has been the biggest friend of the Jews and until recently, that's now all changed.

RIPLEY (voice-over): CNN uncovered a hornets' nest of hateful content, surging after October 7. Criticizing Israel's military response in Gaza to the Hamas terror attacks.

Some remain untouched by China's usually heavy-handed online censors for a person like me, a westerner to post on Chinas TikTok highly censored TikTok. I have to be very, very careful.

And yet these Chinese bloggers, these hate bloggers seemed to have free rein.

Some online users combining the Israeli flag and Nazi symbols. Posted by netizens, the German embassy in China says the images are, quote, "degrading to human dignity" and calls the posters "ignorant idiots, or shameless.

Some people buying Israeli flags on Taobao, China's online shopping platform, just to step on them and post the pictures online.

Even the Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum, a longtime symbol of Chinese Jewish history, facing a flood of social media comments demanding its demolition.

Adding fuel to the online firestorms, some state media outlets accusing Israel of committee in war crimes. Beijing has not condemned Hamas, but has called for Israel to stop its quote, "collective punishment in Gaza."

Experts even suggesting China may be using anti-Jewish hate as a weapon against Washington, Israel's biggest backer.

YAQIU WANG, RESEARCH DIRECTOR FOR CHINA, HONG KONG AND TAIWAN FERE; It helps facilitate the Chinas government's foreign policy agenda, which ultimately is to see that U.S. as the enemy trying to undermine China.

She says recent statements by Chinas foreign minister Mr. Wang-yi suggests an ulterior motive. WANG YI, CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): I What we have

always firmly defended the legitimate rights and interests of Arab and Muslim countries.

RIPLEY: A deliberate diplomatic strategy influencing how Chinese citizens perceive the Israel-Hamas conflict.

RIPLEY: One thing we know about Chinese social media platforms: they are very tightly controlled content even deemed is marginally sensitive to the Chinese communist party often gets censored. So here this relative lack of censorship around this antisemitic hate filled content, it does raise the question of whether this is at least being tacitly supported by the Chinese government.

And of course, that is raising a whole lot of concern amongst the Jewish community inside China that this is a new reality they have to confront.

Will Ripley, CNN, Taipei.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[00:37:00]

VAUSE: Two steps forward and one step back, it seems, in efforts to save the critically endangered Northern White Rhino from extinction.

The nonprofit group says it successfully impregnated a Southern white rhino using IVF. Sadly, the surrogate mother died of infection just 70 days into the term.

Now, the pregnancy was the result of an international effort. Sperm and egg cells collected from Southern White Rhinos at zoos in Austria and Boston.

Scientists now hope to use the same technique to create an embryo from frozen egg cells of a Northern White Rhino to implant in another surrogate.

Over the past 48 hours, one inconsequential news story has been eagerly and widely reported around the world.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Two countries on the opposite sides of the Atlantic, America and Britain, they find themselves on the opposing ends of an historic debate, too. A storm in a teacup, quite literally.

Because this debate is over tea, and it is causing quite the stir.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: It's been a cliche-fest-palooza, filled with faux outrage over an American claiming to know how to make a good cup of tea.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think the fact is, she's an American in a cup of tea.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Which by definition means she's not an expert.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: The advice came in a recently released book on the chemistry of tea, complete with tips like "add a pinch of salt to reduce bitterness." Cue the outrage.

After all, when it comes to tea, Britain and the United States have had a long, difficult relationship, starting with the Boston Tea Party.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: On December 16, 1773, up to 100 American patriots, members of the Sons of Liberty, dumped 342 chests of black tea off British boats into the Boston Harbor. This was the greatest act of defiance of the British crown, to date.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Well, recently, there was this scene in the pilot episode of "Ted Lasso."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well?

JASON SUDEIKIS, ACTOR/COMEDIAN: You know, I always figured that tea was just going to taste like hot brown water. And you know what? I was right? Yes, it's horrible. No, thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: So joining us now from Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, is Professor Michelle Franci, author of "Steeped: The Chemistry of Tea."

Thank you for being with us.

MICHELLE FRANCI, AUTHOR, "STEEPED": Thank you so much for having me.

VAUSE: OK. So the reaction to your book and your recommendations has been particularly stunning, especially the bit about add a pinch of salt. It's extraordinary.

Stuff like this has been posted on social media: "What will America recommend today, we wonder? Onions in a bowl of cereal? Mustard on Jaffa Cakes?"

Before the book was actually released, did you have any idea what you would be in for? And have you no idea how weird the Brits are when it comes to making a cup of tea? FRANCI: Well, I do know a little bit that the Brits are weird when it

comes to a cup of tea. My oldest son lives in London, and I've written for British publications for a long time.

[00:40:01]

And I don't drink coffee, I only drink tea, so I'm pretty particular about it, too.

But I will tell you, I had no idea what I was going to wake up to on Wednesday morning.

VAUSE: And just for the record, explain why adding salt. You know, why do you do that? What it does? And why do people care so much?

FRANCI: I thought -- I think people care, because they have their way and their traditional, you know, attempts to make tea. But this actually dates back to the Eighth Century and a Chinese manuscript, which suggests adding a little bit of salt to the water before you make tea.

And it turns out that chemists now know that the sodium ions in the salt block bitter receptors and reduce our perception of bitterness. So if you let your tea steep a little too long, or if you'd like it a little longer to get more antioxidants, it can be bitter. And you can tone that down a bit by using the hack of a little bit of salt.

VAUSE: Well, the U.S. embassy in London seemed to keep the outrage alive by including this line in a press release: "The U.S. embassy will continue to make tea in the proper way -- by microwaving it."

And yes, Americans really do that like this. Have a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hey guys, so I got a lot of questions after my last video, and everyone wanted to see me make hot tea or British tea. So today we are going to make tea.

So fill our mug with water. Put it in the microwave. Set it for a minute.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: That does seem truly egregious. Explain why a cup of tea made with microwaved boiling water doesn't taste as good as a cup of tea with water boiled in a kettle.

FRANCI: So it boils so fast in the microwave, you don't get rid of all of the oxygen. And that leads to the formation of something called tea scum. So if you do it in the microwave, you sometimes see a white film at the top.

And that is formed from the ions in the tea and in the water. And it captures some of the flavor compounds and antioxidants so that the tea does not taste as good. I'm with the Brits on this. Don't use the microwave.

VAUSE: Absolute -- I had no idea why it tasted different with the kettle, but now I do.

I'm just wondering, are you working on anything other -- any new books right now? Maybe advice to Italians on how to make the best pasta? Or a bit of Vegemite for Australians?

FRANCI: No, I think I'm going to stay out of those -- those tough topics. And instead, I'm writing a book on the bones of the universe, how atoms and molecules hold it all together.

VAUSE: We'll see what controversy comes from that. Michelle Franci, thanks so much for being with us.

FRANCI: Thank you so much for having me.

VAUSE: Thank you for watching. I'm John Vause. WORLD SPORT starts after the break. Michael Holmes at the top of the hour. In the meantime, have a great weekend. See you next week.

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