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Israeli Airstrikes On Central Gaza Leave At Least 20 Dead; Zelenskyy Seeks Support, Arms At Albania Summit Of Balkan Nations; Supreme Court Agrees To Hear Trump's Immunity Claim, Setting Arguments For April; Iran Braces For Low Voter Turnout In Friday's Election; Ghana's Parliament Passes Anti-Homosexuality Bill; Navalny's Widow Concerned about Arrests at His Funeral; Transnistria Seeks Russian Help Amid Pressure from Moldova; Catastrophic Fires Burning in Texas, Oklahoma; Biden's Annual Physical; Pope Francis Visits Hospital in Rome for Diagnostic Tests. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired February 29, 2024 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Coming up here on CNN.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): It's crucial to emphasize that this is a civilian area.
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VAUSE: Homes reduced to rubble at least 20 civilians dead after airstrikes by the Israeli military on central Gaza. The same military which is now promising civilians will be protected head of a looming Israeli ground offensive on the southern city of Rafah.
Also this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: There is nothing more important to a presidency than immunity.
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VAUSE: Especially when it comes to three of Donald Trump's four trials and inane and fatuous defense, which will now be argued before the U.S. Supreme Court.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from Atlanta. This is CNN Newsroom with John Vause.
VAUSE: It is now day 145 of Israel's war with Hamas, at least 20 people have been killed by Israeli airstrikes in central Gaza, according to Palestinian health officials. The overall death toll since the war began in early October, now more than 30,000.
Witnesses say Gaza's new Nuseirat camp was hit home to almost 90,000 people before the war, many residential buildings were reduced to rubble by this latest Israeli attack, and with many believed trapped beneath the debris, there are fears the death toll will rise. CNN cannot independently verify the number of casualties. We are waiting for comment from the Israel Defense Forces, which has repeatedly said it does not target civilians.
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MOHAMAD RADI, NUSEIRAT CAMP RESIDENT (through translator): Upon stepping outside, we were confronted with this scene, it's crucial to emphasize that this is a civilian area. The victims were ordinary people including two disabled individuals, a tailor and a shoe seller.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: The chief IDF spokesperson says extra measures will be put in place ahead of any offensive on Rafah to ensure the safety of civilians. The southernmost city in Gaza is now home to about one and a half million people. Many fled there from the north and central Gaza.
Israel's War Cabinet has warned a military assault on Rafah will begin if all Israeli hostages are not released by Ramadan, which begins around March 10. The IDF says it's discussing plans with Egypt and the United States and plans to create a safer zone for civilians before any large scale military operation.
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SALMAN MUKHAIR, RAFAH RESIDENT (through translator): The agreement based on the Agreed Framework in Paris states that there must be a ceasefire because the amount of destruction is huge and the Gaza Strip, and most of the victims are civilians. We hope that there will be a ceasefire.
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VAUSE: Joining me now live from Jerusalem is Shaina Low, the communication adviser for the Norwegian Refugee Council. Thank you for coming back. It's good to see you.
SHAINA LOW, COMMUNICATION ADVISER, NORWEGIAN REFUGEE COUNCIL: You too.
VAUSE: Here's a little more on that IDF plan to protect civilians ahead of any ground offensive on refer. Note, this is again, more than a million Palestinians fled there because they were told to go there by the Israeli military in the first place. Listen to this.
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REAR ADM. DANIEL HAGARI, ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES SPOKESPERSON: Million point three, a significant amount of them will go to a safer zone, we have to create those conditions to set those conditions of food, humanitarian aid, medicine, hospitals, field hospitals. So there will be conditions for the population if we act.
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VAUSE: If the Israeli government sticks to its own deadline here for a start of the Rafah offensive, then what if 11 or 12 days to get all of that done. Is that a realistic timeline? It's even possible.
LOW: You know, I don't think it's possible. And I think what's most telling about the statement that you aired is not that they said that they would be going to a safe zone. He said it would be a safer zone. And that's what's been happening throughout all of the last four and a half months plus of Palestinians being forced to flee from place to place, not seeking safety, but seeking a safer place because there simply is no safe place inside of Gaza and there hasn't been a single safe place inside of Gaza since February 7.
It's important that the Israelis remember there are obligations under international humanitarian law as the occupying power to provide for the basic needs of the civilian population in Gaza, and that in order for an evacuation to be lawful, they need to allow for safe passage for people to get to a safe place.
They need to have be provided for in that safe place and be guaranteed of their safety and they need guarantees of their ability to return home once hostilities have ended. Since October 7 or October 13th when Israel issued its first so called evacuation order, Palestinians have not been evacuated.
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This has not been about an evacuation. It's been a forcible transfer a grave violation under international humanitarian law. And we're concerned that with this plan Rafah offensive, we will see even more forcible transfer than we've seen over the last four and a half months, and potentially mass deportation into Egypt.
VAUSE: This comes also, amid a critical shortage of food and water and other basic supplies, prices in Gaza have skyrocketed, and Israel has actually been accused of making a bad situation worse, by preventing the amount of aid which is being allowed into Gaza. Inspections of aid convoys have been slow. There's also a problem with distribution.
I want you to listen again to the chief IDF spokesperson responding to those allegations. Here he is.
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HAGARI: We're doing it every day, and assessment how to get better with international organization to make sure it's food reach the North, the South in other areas, it's hard to create those conditions because of the distribution problem. But we're working on it.
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VAUSE: Is that your experiences? Has Norwegian Refugee Council have been working closely with the IDF to make this happen? LOW: Well, the reality is that it's not about struggle -- the struggles with distribution are because of Israeli targeting of convoys, and the unreliability of a deconfliction system. There's -- humanitarians cannot operate. While there are ongoing hostilities, we cannot operate when we are not able to assure our staff and the people working with us of their safety when they're going to execute distributions.
On top of that, the Israelis multiple times targeted the Palestinian police, these are civil servants, who were there protecting aid convoys and ensuring that there was some degree of maintenance of civil order. And since the targeting of those police officers and their unwillingness to accompany aid convoys, we've seen the deterioration of conditions on the ground even further where it's become increasingly unsafe, were Israel to first of all allow for a massive scaling up of the aid going in and remove it's on our screening processes, the level of desperation in Gaza would reduce.
And on top of that, we need guarantees that when we're going from place to place, that our staff will be safe and the people seeking aid will also be safe when heading to distribution points. That hasn't been happening. And that's one of the main reasons that the situation in Gaza continues to deteriorate four and a half months in.
VAUSE: So already this week, Jordan, Egypt, the UAE, Qatar and France carried out air drops of emergency aid over Gaza, the U.S. is now considering air drops as well. It's not the best or most efficient way of delivering help but sort of goes in the category of better than nothing.
What does it say though about the current crisis in Gaza that airdrops are now one of the few options left to get help to the people who need it.
LOW: I think the first thing it symbolizes is that the deconfliction system just simply isn't working. And that aid cannot be safely distributed on ground in Gaza, which is ridiculous. This is the way that aid would be getting in, it's incredibly expensive, inefficient to be doing air drops. It's -- there's limitations in the amount of goods that can be dropped. And Israel also controls the skies.
What we know is that the Kerem Shalom crossing in southern that enters into southern Gaza has the capacity to allow hundreds of more trucks in per day than we're seeing. Our secretary general Jan Egeland was just in Gaza and he sent us a video of the convoys of trucks just parked in waiting to enter Gaza through the South that are just stuck in in the Sinai.
We know that there's aid on the other side of the border. We need to be able to get that in and we need guarantees that we can move around Gaza to access places where all people are who are in need which is everywhere in order to give aid to them.
VAUSE: Shaina Low in Jerusalem, thank you. We really appreciate your time. Well, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy traveled to Albania
seeking support for his peace plan and a summit of South Eastern European countries. Zelenskyy met with Albania's Prime Minister who he called Ukraine's unwavering friend.
One of the key items on the agenda defense cooperation. Ukraine is working to boost defense capabilities as it fights against Russia, now into the third year of a war. Ukrainian President also met with other leaders who reiterated their support Albania's Prime Minister also issued this call.
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EDI RAMA, ALBANIAN PRIME MINISTER: To let me ask everyone here to join me in calling upon the biggest and the richest members of our democratic community to recognize their role. The survival of Ukraine as a free independent and democratic state.
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And as bastion of freedom of Europe as a whole, is dependent on the support, financial and military that they first and foremost provide.
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VAUSE: With additional military aid for Ukraine still stalled in the U.S. Congress because of Republicans. Defense officials tell CNN the Pentagon is now weighing whether to access its last remaining source of funding. Even if there is no guarantee that money will be replaced by Congress.
There's about $4 billion in presidential drawdown authority funds available for Ukraine, which will allow the Pentagon to pull from its own stockpile of existing military equipment. Well, no decisions have been made. Officials are discussing whether it's possible right now, to allow for at least part of those funds to help Ukraine in the war with Russia.
Well, Russian troops on the frontline are spelling a victory because Western aid is in short supply. Moscow is trying to recover a small slice of land which Ukraine considered conquered rather during its last year's counter offensive. CNN's Nick Paton Walsh reports ammunition shortages and making it harder for Ukraine to hold off the Russian forces.
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NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Not even tree cover mean safety. They're firing to defend the tiny gains of Ukraine's counter offensive, but now, they are outgunned by Russian troops trying to surge forwards. You can hear how many shells they fire back. No, U.S. aid means Ukrainians risk losing right here right now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 401 target, infantry. High explosive round.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Roger that. Targeting.
WALSH: I feel like they're fighting really with one hand behind their back such a shortage of shelter. They get lucky by 10 times a day.
WALSH (voice-over): Back in the summer counter offensive, they would fight at a day.
WALSH: Down in the bunker, it is strange to hear men who live underground to avoid death. Be so familiar with Republican procedural dysfunctionality.
ANTON, UKRAINIAN 65TH MECHANIZED BRIDAGE: I hardly understand the Republican policy on aiding Ukraine. The biggest issue is lack of ammunition and the tiredness of soldiers. Most of my guys spent two years here.
WALSH: Do you have a message for people in Washington?
ANTON: We are very much waiting for aid. We urgently need it. More rounds equals saving more lives.
WALSH (voice-over): That drone footage shows the remains of last night's failed Russian assault. This is what was a key prize in the counter offensive. The tiny village of Robotyne, still Ukraine's, but now another front line where Russia is hitting back hard.
This thermal night imagery shows their latest bleak tactic. It's a quad bike carrying three Russians charging at the frontlines to simply see how far I can get.
KOKOS, 15th NATIONAL GUARD: It's more maneuverable than armored vehicles. It's hard to hit with artillery. So we have to use drones. We heard from prisoners of war that they are given pills before assaults. They just keep on coming and coming.
WALSH (voice-over): But while Russia seems to squander infinite resources, Ukraine must be more ingenious and crowdfund. This, a 3D printer to make tiny components for about 10 attack drones a day. Without more artillery, they say only these drones hold Russia back here.
It is a bleak and fierce fight, which is more the nearby town of Orikhiv. Russian airstrikes have left it looking like two feet rather than the symbol of Ukrainian tenacity. It is.
WALSH: Each time to come back here it's just worse and worse and you just don't even (INAUDIBLE). Imagine what people could do to survive here or what there's really worth left fighting over.
WALSH (voice-over): And on the road out these a stark warning Ukraine is preparing for bad news. Six months ago, they were trying to surge forwards with new Western armor here. Now they prepare to lose. Only one thing changed. And it was in Washington not in there.
Nick Payton Walsh, CNN, Orikhiv, Ukraine.
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VAUSE: A huge win for Donald Trump and his efforts to delay his legal trials until after November's election. Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court decided to hit arguments over his claim of presidential immunity in his election subversion case. The Supreme Court could have -- would have normally refused to hear appeal on a unanimous decision by three Circuit Court judges. But now this appeal the critics say plays right into Trump's camp, strategy of delay, delay and delay again.
However, Trump claim legal scholars are very thankful, extremely thankful for the top courts involvement posted on truth social without presidential immunity, a president will not be able to properly function or make decisions in the best interest of the United States. He goes on, presidents will always be concerned and even paralyzed by the prospect of wrongful prosecution and retaliation after they leave office.
Areva Martin is an attorney and legal affairs commentator. She is with us now live from Los Angeles. Areva, welcome to the show. Good to see you.
AREVA MARTIN, ATTORNEY AND LEGAL AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: Hi, John. Good to see you.
VAUSE: OK, so Trump's election interference or subversion trial in DC, which sent us on the January 6 insurrection of the Capitol was meant to start next week. Pretrial proceedings are on hold, they will stay on hold. Now the Supreme Court will hear arguments over immunity and that happens the week of April 22, just shy of two months from now.
So in other words, the highest court in the land just had a Donald Trump exactly what he wanted a lengthy delay in one and possibly three of his four trials. I want you to listen to Congressman Jamie Raskin. Here he is.
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REP. JAMIE RASKIN (D) MARYLAND: The people have a right to know what happened. And I think the Supreme Court which is lopsided with gerrymandered right wing appointments, is really slowing things down here.
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VAUSE: To say the least, what are the chances that the election interference trial will actually go ahead? It will start and finish before November five Election Day?
MARTIN: Well, it's not looking very good at this point, John, and I agree with Congressman Raskin. The Supreme Court seems to be acting as a partner with Donald Trump with respect to how it is handling this matter. You have to remember that in December of last year, Special Counsel Jack Smith went to the Supreme Court and asked them to take this matter up knowing that delays would happen with respect to Donald Trump. And we've seen his playbook with respect to all of these cases.
And the Supreme Court rejected that request from Special Counsel at that time, and now has announced that it will hear arguments, as you said, April 22nd, which pretty much guarantees that there will not be a decision, and until at least probably June, or sometime in the summer, as the Court is wrapping up all of its business.
And then we have the issue of whether the, you know, Department of Justice wants to move forward with the trial, given how close it will be to. So this is a win, I'll say a temporary window John, for Donald Trump.
VAUSE: Yeah, only four of the nine justices are needed for an appeal to be heard before the Supreme Court, which on Wednesday noted by making this decision. The justices were not expressing a view on the merits of the case, and would consider only the question of whether and if so to what extent does the former president enjoy presidential immunity from criminal prosecution, you know, for conduct alleged to involve official acts during his tenure in office.
What are the arguments here in favor of this appeal going ahead being heard by the Supreme Court beyond the fact that benefits Trump?
MARTIN: Well, one of the arguments is this is unprecedented case. The Supreme Court has never had to decide a case like this, the issue of whether a president or former president in this case has complete immunity from all actions taken while they are in office.
So, I can understand why the Supreme Court would want to weigh in on this case. But the question is the timing, they had an opportunity to do so at the request of Special Counsel Jack Smith, and they did not. And it appears at this point that they are purposely dragging their feet to lay in this matter and allowing Donald Trump to do exactly what he wants to do, which is to delay this matter go into trial before the American people go to the polls in November.
So it is an important issue. And this is the kind of case that we do want before our U.S. Supreme Court. But the question here, again, is timing.
VAUSE: He's a little more from Trump's posts on social media without presidential immunity, he wrote that many actions for the benefit of our country will not be taken. This is no way what the founders had in mind. Legal experts and scholars have stated that the president must have full presidential immunity, a president must be free to make proper decisions. His mind must be clear. And he must not be guided by fear of retribution.
If that's what the founders really wanted, why didn't they include it in the Constitution?
MARTIN: Well, let's be clear, John. That is not what most legal scholars, you know, suggest to be the case at all. That's Donald Trump and his lawyers who keep making that argument and we should be very clear that the DC Circuit Court of Appeals in a 57-page opinion rejected that argument wholesale and said absolutely not. [01:20:06]
Because if you buy into that theory, which again, most legal scholars do not, you're essentially saying that a president is above the law that he can engage in any kind of conduct, including criminal conduct, and there's no way to hold him accountable.
And they remember John during the impeachment hearings, Donald Trump's team at that point argued, well, don't worry about it. We don't have to impeach him here because once he's no longer the president, he can be held accountable by the justice system, by the legal system. Now he's making the completely opposite argument.
So under Donald Trump's theory, someone like him that engages in criminal conduct could never ever be held accountable. And that could not be what the Founding Fathers had in mind.
VAUSE: Good point to finish Areva, thank you so much, as always great to see you.
MARTIN: Great to see you, John.
VAUSE: We'll take a short break. When we come back, Ghana's parliament passes a stringent anti-gay bill, one of the toughest of its kind in Africa. And this could impact the LGBTQ plus community. That's coming up.
Also, European lawmakers get a piece of advice from the widow of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. She says when it comes to dealing with President Putin, a man who is not like a mob boss, sanctions and resolutions can only go so far.
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VAUSE: Voter turnout for Iran's last election in 2021 fell to a record low. And once again ahead of Friday's poll, the question isn't so much who gets elected, but rather how many will turn out to vote. Struggling economy, growing distrust of a hardline government which was responsible for a crackdown on protesters after the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody back in 2022. Just some of the reasons.
15,000 candidates are competing in the parliamentary vote. Five of the 290 seats which are reserved for certain religious minorities. All those seats are 25 up for grabs. 144 people are running for ADE seats so the Assembly of Experts.
Meantime many in Iran fear a direct confrontation with the United States. They've been waging a proxy war ever since Israel's military offensive began on Hamas. CNN's Fred Pleitgen has more now reporting in from Tehran.
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FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTENRATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): As Israel continues its military campaign against Hamas in Gaza with casualties mounting, Iran warning the Israel-Hamas war risks leading to a direct confrontation between Tehran and Washington, the Speaker of the Iranian parliament's Foreign Policy Committee tells me.
ABUFAZI AMOUEL, IRANIAN PARLIAMENTARIAN: We think that if there will be no finish for the this war, it can go in bigger scale and it's -- it can be harmful for everybody. You know for the city's one of the parties who are in support of Israel.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): The U.S. accuses Iran of arming Hamas for years, aiding the groups attack against Israel on October 7 last year, killing more than 1,000 Israelis and taking hundreds hostage and for supporting the Houthis in Yemen who are targeting international shipping in the Red Sea allegedly to force an end to the Israel-Hamas war.
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But it was attacks by Iran-backed militias against U.S. bases in the Middle East, including one killing three U.S. service members on January 28, and the U.S., U.K. military counter strike in Iraq and Syria that brought the U.S. and Iranian tension to a new level. President Biden says the U.S. is not seeking conflict. But when Americans are harmed, he promises a response.
AMOUEL: Iran has its power to defend itself. But as I know that there will be no place for the United States forces to be hide -- hidden in the -- to defending themselves, it will be no place for them to be stay in the Middle East.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): In Tehran, folks hope the calm music ahead of the Persian New Year won't give way to the drumbeat of yet more confrontation.
PLEITGEN: Of course, when you speak to people on the streets here, they'll tell you the main concerns that they have are about the economy, and also about inflation as well. But of course, there are also people who really fear that things could spiral out of control between the U.S. and Iran and possibly even lead to an armed conflict.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): Even here, confident tones. Not only the U.S. is afraid but also Israel and neighboring countries, this man says. The US does not have the courage to get close to Iran because of military concerns. But a fear of what might happen after the upcoming U.S. elections.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Next year the promise coming. Is everything going to be much worse now. Yeah.
PLEITGEN: How do you think it will be worse? You think it could be war?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I don't think the war is coming. But the economy is going to be awful. Yeah, it's going to be an awful year.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Tehran.
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VAUSE: France just one parliamentary vote away from making access to an abortion, a constitutional right.
The French Senate overwhelmingly approved the constitutional amendment Wednesday. The last hurdle comes on Monday when three-fifths of the joint house of both houses of parliament needs to approve the measure. Poll show the move is wildly popular among the French public became a priority for the government after the U.S. Supreme Court toss out the landmark Roe versus Wade abortion ruling in 2022. French President Macron says he wants to make abortion rights irreversible.
Ghana is intensifying a crackdown on the rights of the LGBTQ plus community. The country's parliament has unanimously passed a controversial anti-homosexuality bill, which not only criminalizes LGBTQ plus relationships, but could also carry a prison sentence for those who support them.
CNN's David McKenzie joins us live now from Johannesburg. What are the details in this bill? And how does it differ from the other anti-gay bills which have already been passed across Africa?
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, many of those anti-gay bills across Africa are vestiges of the colonial era. They're on the books, but sometimes not really enforced. In fact, large parts of the continent have anti-homosexuality laws from that era.
But there's been this recent spate of renewed laws in Ghana, now in Uganda, proposed in Kenya and Nigeria. And these take very specific actions that activists say will push the gay and lesbian people in those countries further into the shadows.
Already we've seen, according to activist and our own reporting, people being targeted, often put on social media harassed, beaten, and worse, because of the proposal of this bill. The proponents of the bill say that it is in line with, quote, family values in Ghana.
Now the details John, they said there will be up to three years in prison for identifying as gay longer prison sentences for trying to reach out to people to give them education about the LGBT community, and even family members and others are compelled by the law, John, to hand in those who they believe identify with the LGBTQ community. This has been debated for a long time now. We'll see if the President signs that, John.
VAUSE: So what's the likelihood that he will actually sign this into law?
MCKEZNIE: Well, the President of Ghana, Akufo-Addo, has really stayed out of this debate up till now. But there's some important things to note and here's one supporter of the bill, in fact, a sponsor of the bill, speaking about their victory in Parliament.
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SAM GEORGE, GHANA OPPOSITION LAWMAKER: There is nothing that deals with LGBTQ better than this deal that has just been passed by Parliament. We expect the President to walk his talk and be a man of his words.
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MCKENZIE: So there's building political pressure. This is of course, an election year in Ghana. This was a unanimous vote in Parliament, and there really will be a pressure under President to sign the bill.
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Now, there will also be considerable pressure from the international community, John, including the U.S., which is a massive donor of the Ghanian government, more than $160 million a year from various agencies get put into the Ghanian running of the government, health services and all aspects of that nation.
There will be behind the scenes and public pressure I'm sure on the Ghanian president not to sign this but given the politics in the country, he will face a very difficult choice, John.
VAUSE: David, thank you. David McKenzie, live in Johannesburg with the very latest. Appreciate it. Thank you.
We'll take a break.
When we come back, in just two days a wildfire in Texas is already the second largest ever in the state's history. We'll hear from some residents who've lost virtually everything.
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VAUSE: Welcome, back everyone. I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.
During an address to the European parliament, Julia Navalnaya has called on the West to get creative in how they deal with Russian leader Vladimir Putin whom she blames for the death of her husband, opposition leader Alexey Navalny.
She also fears Russian security services will target mourners at her husband's funeral, which will be held in Moscow 02:00 p.m. on Friday.
The very latest now from CNN's Matthew Chance.
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MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Before Europe's parliament, the widow of Alexey Navalny is continuing his stand urging lawmakers to treat the Kremlin as a criminal gang, to investigate its financial dealings and punish the financiers it employs.
YULIA NAVALNAYA, WIDOW OF ALEXEY NAVALNY: You cannot charge Putin these in another resolution or another set of sanctions. That is no different from the previous ones.
You cannot defeat him by thinking he's a man of principle who has morals and truth. He is not like that. And Alexey realized that a long time ago.
CHANCE: The Kremlin is yet to comment on the remarks. But tonight Russia's president is paying his last respects, but not to Alexey Navalny. This the funeral of a loyal supreme court judge who passed away last week.
Navalny's team say the burial of the late opposition leader will take place on Friday amid a struggle to find a venue. Putin is unlikely to attend.
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CHANCE: Nor are his bereaved family. Yulia Navalnaya has already been threatened with jail on pro-Kremlin media and even laying her husband to rest on Friday, she told the E.U. parliament, may provoke a crackdown.
NAVALNAYA: The funeral will take place the day after tomorrow and I'm not sure yet whether it will be peaceful or whether police will arrest those who have come to say it goodbye to my husband.
CHANCE: Already human rights groups say hundreds routes have been detained across Russia at makeshift memorials set up after Navalny's sudden death in a notorious arctic penal colony earlier this month. His body was then withheld, say Navalny's team, what is widow calls an abuse that prolonged the family's agony.
NAVALNAYA: He was starved in a tiny stone cell, cut off from the outside world and denied visits, phone calls and then even letters. And then they killed him.
Even after that, they abused his body and abused his mother.
CHANCE: The Kremlin denies allegations of wrongdoing and any responsibility for Navalny's death. Near the Kremlin meanwhile, western ambassadors have been remembering the loss of another Russian opposition leader, Navalny, not Navalny but Boris Nemtsov gunned down here back in 2015.
The Kremlin denies any involvement in this killing too. But anyone who takes on Russia's opposition mantle knows they're taking a huge risk.
Matthew Chance, CNN -- Moscow.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: A small pro-Russia autonomous region of Moldova (SIC) has issued a public call for help from Moscow. Relations between the region called Transnistria and Moldova have always been tense and worsened in recent months after Moldova imposed new custom duties on imports to and exports from Transnistria.
On Wednesday, a rare session of the Transnistria congress appealed to Russia to help protect the region in the face of increased pressure from Moldova, according to the Tass news agency, Russia's foreign ministry says protection of those living in the
region is a priority, while Moldova described the call for help as a propaganda event.
Here's more now from the president of Moldova speaking at a summit in Albania.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you fear Transnistria may be dragged into the war.
MAIA SANDI, MOLDOVAN PRESIDENT: Moldova is safe today. Ukraine needs to be support. Ukraine is keeping us today peaceful and safe.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
Joining us now is Matthew Schmidt, an expert on Russia and Ukraine. He teaches national security at the University of New Haven.
Welcome back. Good to see you.
MATTHEW SCHMIDT, UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAVEN: Thanks. Good to be here.
VAUSE: Ok. So it's best to start with Transnistria for Dummies 101. It's just 1,600 square miles. It's a small sliver of land squeezed between Moldova and Ukraine, declared independence in 1990, but it's not recognized internationally.
Notably though its home to about 500,000 mostly Russian speakers as well as 1,500 Russian soldiers.
So fast forward to Wednesday and during a meeting of the Council of Deputies, the parliament issues its call for help to Russia. So what is this call to help? And why did they do it?
SCHMIDT: This call to help John is a classic part of the Russian playbook. It's a situation where you take a (INAUDIBLE) population and you have them declare that they are afraid of something happening to them, that they are afraid of being discriminated against, in this case by Moldova, and then asking for Mother Russia to come in and help them.
It's what happened in the Donbass. It's what happened in Crimea. It's what happened in Georgia. It's an absolutely classic pattern.
VAUSE: So to your point, defending Russians and Russian speakers wherever they are, has sort of been policy, if you like, for Putin as a way of justifying a Russian military action, like the one currently underway in Ukraine.
Here's Putin, back in February 23, 2022.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): The People's Republic of Donbass asked Russia for help. In this regard, I decided to conduct a special military operation. It aims to protect people who have been bullied and subjected to genocide by the Kyiv regime for eight years.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: It would seem unlikely that a call for Russian help from officials in Transnistria would be made publicly before they get some kind of reassurance from Kremlin ahead of time that there will be help if they need it.
SCHMIDT: I think it's supposed to think of this as a trial balloon. I'm not sure that it's in Russia's interest to actually engage in operations in Transnistria and I'm not sure that Transnistrians really want it.
[01:39:46]
SCHMIDT: But they are playing a part here in establishing the idea and the threat of it out there in the context of Moldova seeking greater integration with Europe and then the general battlefield situation in Ukraine, right?
The fear about this region is that Russian quote, unquote "peacekeeping troops there could act as a hammer against the anvil of Russian troops further to the east and south in Ukraine
VAUSE: So the Institute for the Study of War about a week ago warned that Transnistria may call for or organize a referendum on Transnistria's annexation to Russia. This was at a recently announced Transnistrian Congress of Deputies which is planned for February 28, as in Wednesday.
So it turns out they did not go that far. But I guess that move is still on the table in some regards. But obviously this goes into your theory that it may be a trial balloon.
SCHMIDT: Right? So there are a lot of physical recent why it might not be good for Transnistria to become part of Russia. One is that there's a giant country in between them called Ukraine, that is not friendly to Russia and Transnistria relies on their oil and gas, right, coming in from Russia. And then, you know, they have no -- they have, they have an electrical generation plant which is their big leverage because it feeds power into Moldova proper. And if they were to break away, they don't have that market.
So they don't get money providing that electricity to Moldova. Moldova goes further west to get it from the E.U. So this is why I think this is a lot of posturing in order to create the sense of a threat, in order to sort of just create chaos. But I don't think anything is going to happen yet.
VAUSE: Ukraine's President Zelenskyy on Wednesday, not only described Vladimir Putin as Hitler act 2, but he also had this warning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: all of us, I think we have to prepare for what? just to be strong, to prepare For war or peace. It's not about it. To prepare for Putin's next steps.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: And keep in mind, most of those 1,500 Russian soldiers who are based there in Transnistria are there to guard what's been described as the largest illegal arms depot in eastern Europe -- 20,000 tons of mostly obsolete Soviet era munitions. And if for some reason there was an explosion at that military depot or the blast could be compared to a ten-kiloton nuclear bomb, which was dropped on the city of Hiroshima in 1945.
This does seem to raise the stakes essentially with regards to whatever Putin decides to do next.
SCHMIDT: Well, first of all, that description, you know, belabors the fact that those, those munitions are not all stacked on top of each other. And in order to get a 20-kiloton explosion, you've got to -- you've got to light them up all at the same time. That's almost certainly not going to happen.
And then, you know, as far as what Zelenskyy is saying is Zelenskyy, I think is engaging in some positioning here too, right. Some floating of trial balloons.
Again his interests to have Europe worry about Putin moving beyond Ukraine. I again am doubtful of that. I don't discount the possibility that that might make sense to Putin, but I don't see it making sense for Putin right now. It would only bring NATO in and increase the threat to his military power which is what gives him threat in the rest of the world -- gives him power in the rest of the world.
So if he -- if he loses to NATO coming into the war, he's worse off than if he stays where he's at right now, controlling what it controls in Ukraine.
VAUSE: Matthew Schmidt, as always, thank you, sir. Good to have you with us.
SCHMIDT: My pleasure.
VAUSE: The second largest wildfire in Texas state history is racing through the Panhandle, destroying homes and forcing residents to flee.
The Smokehouse Creek fire, has grown immensely in less than three days, remains uncontained. Several other wildfires are burning nearby and in Oklahoma. Together, scorching more than 400,000 hectares since Monday. At least one person has been killed.
And CNN's Emily Schmidt has details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
EMILY SCHMIDT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Smoke-filled skies and fast-moving flames as a massive wildfire sweeps across the Texas Panhandle.
DANNY WILLIAMS: It still seems like it's just a little bit south of Fritch.
E. SCHMIDT: Danny Williams says he watched the fire approaching the town of Fritch.
WILLIAMS: Not good. Stuff blowing up, sparks flying, our world's on fire.
E. SCHMIDT: Transforming his neighborhood of 30 years in minutes.
WILLIAMS: there was a house there. There was a house there. There was a house there. There was a house there.
E. SCHMIDT: He says as far as you can see, everything is burned. He's not exaggerating.
The Smokehouse Creek fire has scorched an area larger in size than the state of Rhode Island. It's one of at least five wildfires in the area igniting since Monday afternoon.
ADAM TURNER, TEXAS A&M FOREST SERVICE: These are massive landscapes. They're small community surrounded by tons and tons of open grassland.
E. SCHMIDT: radio traffic from firefighters in Hemphill County reveals their efforts to protect residents in homes around the town of Canadian, Texas.
[01:44:48]
E. SCHMIDT: While a government weather satellite captured these images showing hotspots from the wall of fire in north Texas.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Holy cow.
E. SCHMIDT: Calmer winds helped firefighting efforts on Wednesday, but the Texas A&M Forest Service says stronger gusts are expected to return later this week.
In the meantime, the flames are far from contained.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You feel like you're completely out of control. I mean, being evacuated and then everything's out there at the mercy, at the hand of God.
E. SCHMIDT: Leaving so much space wide-open for what's to come.
I'm Emily Schmidt reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: When we come back, Joe Biden gets physical -- his annual physical.
So what did doctors say about the 81-year-old president? (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: In the United States, the minority leader in the Senate, Republican Mitch McConnell, is planning on stepping down come November. McConnell is the longest serving party leader in the Senate in U.S. history. And his announcement brought a standing ovation from his colleagues on Wednesday.
Now comes the scramble to replace him as Republican senate leader. 81- year-old McConnell is an old-school, Reagan-style Republican, who in recent years has found himself at odds with his own party, which is now beholden to Donald Trump.
Some Senate Republicans are pushing for a more populist, hard right leader to replace McConnell. On Wednesday, he said he can read the writing on the wall.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY), SENATE MINORITY LEADER: Believe me I know the politics within my party at this particular moment in time. I have many faults. Mr. (INAUDIBLE) in politics is not one of them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: For now, three potential successors have not said whether they'll run for the leadership position.
Joe Biden continues to be fit for duty according to the doctors who examined the president on Wednesday for his annual physical. The doctor's memo goes on to say the president fully executes all of his responsibilities without any exemptions or accommodations. He notes a neurological exam found no signs of stroke, multiple sclerosis, nor Parkinson's disease. Doctors say the presidents stiffened gait has not worsened since last year, and he should continue physical therapy and an exercise regime.
Mr. Biden's age has become a topic of discussion on the campaign trail. But he appears to be brushing it off.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They think I look too young. Thank you.
No, there is nothing different than last year. Everything's great.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Pope Francis is back at the Vatican after a diagnostic test in a hospital in Rome. Two sources tell Reuters the Pope had a CT scan.
Vatican officials say the Holy Father has been fighting off a slight flu since last week.
More details now from CNN's Ben Wedeman reporting in from Rome. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Pope Francis made a previously unannounced visit Wednesday to a Rome hospital for what the Vatican described as some diagnostic tests. The visit lasted less than an hour and then he returned to the Vatican City.
[01:49:53]
WEDEMAN: The 87-year-old pontiff has been under the weather since last week. Saturday, he canceled all audiences due to what the Vatican press office called a slight flu.
He appeared the next day to deliver the traditional Angelus Prayer to the Faithful in St. Peter's Square. But this Monday, he again canceled all audiences because the Vatican said the Pope was suffering from flu-like symptoms, but not a fever.
Wednesday, he started the day meeting with Armenian bishops and then held his usual general audience where he spoke briefly to say he had a slight cold and said a colleague would read aloud his address.
According to Italian media, he spent time after the audience chatting with the faithful and then was driven in the papal Fiat to Cinquecento, to the Gemelli hospital in the nearby Tiber Island.
Concerns about the Pontiff's health have intensified in the last year. In March, he was hospitalized with a respiratory infection, and the following June underwent abdominal surgery. And in November, due to the flu and a lung inflammation, he canceled a trip to Dubai to attend the U.N. climate conference.
Nonetheless, shortly after news of Pope Francis' hospital visit was announced Wednesday, the Vatican put out a press release saying the Pontiff will meet next Saturday with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
I'm Ben Wedeman, CNN -- reporting from Rome.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: When we come back, who really created butter chicken? What exactly is butter chicken?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: An argument over the origins of butter chicken in India has now ended up in court. Two restaurants claimed their recipe as their own.
CNN's Vedika Sud has details on the battle over the rich tomatoey, creamy curry.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What is the most favorite Indian dish in the world? Butter chicken.
VEDIKA SUD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's the dish you've been waiting for.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bloody hell.
SUD: A reaction fit for one of India's most famous gastronomic exports. Succulent chicken cooked in a velvety tomato gravy with green spices and, of course, chunks of butter.
It's a simple recipe that is even featured as a challenge on "Master Chef Australia". And it's now being fought over by two families in a $240,000 court battle.
Butter chicken is now a serious bone of contention between two Indian restaurant chains locked in legal battle over who invented it.
Last month, Moti Mahal Delux run by the descendants of Kundan Lal Gujral filed a complaint spanning over 2,700 pages against competitor, Daryaganj.
You see it was the grandfather Gujral who first invented the dish in the 1920s in (INAUDIBLE) in what is now northern Pakistan. After partition, Gujral moved to India and went on to set up the first Moti Mahal with two other partners in 1947, the same year India gained its independence.
[01:54:52]
SUD: Over the years, its popularity soared, hosting famous faces. Former U.S. president John F. Kennedy alongside first lady Jackie Kennedy and Indian prime ministers Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi.
MONISH GUJRAL, CHIEF MANAGING DIRECTOR, MOTI MAHAL DELUX: It's a legacy which is the -- (INAUDIBLE) dear to my family because we inherited that kind of a legacy with my grandfather and we don't want anybody taking away our legacy just by -- just, you know, putting them, associating them with us.
SUD: Daryaganj's claims the dish was invented when the restaurant was set up with Gujral's partner Kundan Lal Jaggi, one of their late relatives.
Co-founder and CEO Ahmed (INAUDIBLE) even proclaimed it when he appeared on the Indian version of American investment reality show, "Shark Tank" last year.
We actually don't understand the validity of this whole case here. If something is a trademark as they said to us. It's a legacy which is also shared by us. How can anyone stop us to used that?
SUD: But do butter chicken fans care.
ERIC STUTZMAN, U.S. CITIZEN: I'm here for the butter chicken. I would say I know founders like who's the founder of a company is very popular nowadays. But I mean going back like Gordon Ramsay it's the flavor, it's not the pretension about the restaurant as it is. It's like the flavor of the food and is the butter chicken buttery? MADHURA SHRIKHANDA, HR PROFESSIONAL: Because every food has a story.
And every preparation takes its own time and it has own challenges and on, and definitely that taste is carried on through generations.
SUD: A court ruling is likely to take months. But regardless of the outcome, this dish is guaranteed to remain a firm favorite.
Vedika Sud, CNN, New Delhi.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Butter chicken, more butter than chicken.
Thank you for watching. I'm John Vause.
CNN NEWSROOM continues with my friend and colleague Rosemary Church after a short break.
Hope to see you right back here tomorrow.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:59:56]
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world and to everyone streaming us on CNN MAX.
I'm Rosemary Church.
