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Zelenskyy Says War Could End Next Year; Climate Summit Ends In Agreement And Discord; A.I. Caught On Camera. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired November 24, 2024 - 03:00   ET

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

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[03:00:00]

LYNDA KINKADE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Lynda Kinkade, and this is CNN Newsroom.

Coming up, an end to Russia's war with Ukraine next year, a prediction from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

A climate agreement comes better late than never, what COP29 achieves and doesn't.

And robots caught on camera, a glimpse of what the future of A.I. in the workplace could look like.

Ukraine's president predicts his country's war with Russia could end next year as he braces for a new Trump administration. Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressing confidence as he awaits Trump's so far unknown proposals on resolving the conflict.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: As for when the war will end, when Russia wants this war to end, when America has a stronger position, when the global south is on the side of Ukraine and on the side of ending the war, it will happen. I'm confident in that. It will not be an easy path, but I'm confident that we have every chance to do it next year.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: Zelenskyy said last week that the war will end, quote, faster when Trump returns to the White House. For his part, Trump said last July that he could settle the conflict in just one day. But he did not and still has not provided any detail on how he would do that.

While the president-elect has cast doubt on continuing US aids commitment to Kyiv, he did meet with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Friday. NATO says they discussed a range of global security issues. All this as the Russian president says Moscow will begin mass producing the hypersonic ballistic missile that it fired at Ukraine last week.

Here's CNN's Nick Paton Walsh with more.

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has suggested that the war could end next year, and I think that's a reflection, not necessarily of victory looming for Ukraine or defeat looming for Russia, but the increased noise around the idea of some sort of peace settlement.

Indeed, in similar comments, he said that he would go and see Trump in January once the president-elect had taken office and might discuss what points or ideas for peace, indeed, Donald Trump had in that meeting, at the same time to increase diplomacy by NATO around Trump. We understand that the NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has been in Florida to meet Donald Trump. And so that's just, I think, a reflection of the increased motion around a new White House administration months away.

But that change in Washington is also augmenting pace of events here inside of Ukraine. We've had a startling week, frankly, in which we've gone from last Friday the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, breaking nearly two years of isolation from major western leaders by telephoning the Kremlin head, Vladimir Putin, essentially to sort of maybe kick-start the idea of diplomacy.

It didn't seem that call went particularly well, but then we had the Biden administration authorizing Ukraine to fire longer range missiles into Russia. They did that pretty fast, and then the Kremlin head, Vladimir Putin, announcing that the device they'd fired over Ukraine, over industrial site in Dnipro, a multi-warhead ballistic missile, was something new, they say, called the Oreshnik, a hypersonic non-nuclear missile, which they claim could get through any western air defenses.

So, startling fast paced events and that is, I think, also to reflected on the battlefield where even the U.K.'s Ministry of Defense intelligence suggested that the frontline was as least stable as it has been since the invasion. That's simply a reflection of what we're hearing on the ground from multiple military sources of increasing Ukrainian weakness and various points along the frontline in the east in particular, because Russia appears to have an extraordinary tolerance for casualties and consistently finding momentum.

So, a particularly fragile two months ahead here, the geopolitical stakes increasingly rise, the kind of armaments that Moscow and Washington are finding themselves either using or supplying here increasing in their sophistication and severity. And I think a real concern that Russia is going to go all out in the next two months to try and improve its negotiating position, if indeed it has sense to go into the table when Donald Trump takes office in January.

[03:05:02]

Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Kyiv, Ukraine.

KINKADE: Well, Mick Ryan is a retired major general in the Australian Army and the author of the War for Ukraine Strategy and Adoption Under Fire. He joins us now from Brisbane, Australia. Good to see. MAR. GEN. MICK RYAN RET., AUSTRALIAN ARMY: Great to be with you. Thank you.

KINKADE: So, I want to get your reaction first to the comments from President Zelenskyy who suggested, you know, that the war could end next year. I mean, what would it take to end the war by next year?

RYAN: Well, I think it's fair to say that President Zelenskyy's people wanted this war over from day one, but it won't be a peace at any price. There will be some minimal conditions that Ukraine will have when it agrees to negotiations, which it and Russia have not done yet. So, there's a long way to go before Ukraine and Russia even agree to negotiate.

KINKADE: Is it likely that Ukraine will pay the ultimate price?

RYAN: Well, it depends what that is, but it's not going to give up its sovereignty. It's been very clear about that and it's sacrificed too much to give up its sovereignty and its attachments to the west, including membership of the European Union. So, you know, this will not be a piece at any price, but Putin, who feels he's got the strong hand at the moment, will be a very difficult person to negotiate with.

KINKADE: Donald Trump, the president-elect, has said that he would end the war in a day. What does that mean? Is that actually feasible?

RYAN: No, I don't think so. It's an interesting statement to make. But at the end of the day, it'll take more than 24 hours just to have both sides to agree to negotiation. I'm sure he and his incoming team are starting to find out just how complex this war and big wars like this are and getting the two sides to get into a room around negotiations will be very difficult.

KINKADE: And, of course, just looking at the past week, the war passed the 1,000 day mark, and we saw this massive change in policy from the outgoing Biden administration giving Ukraine the green light to fire longer range missiles into Russia. It also agreed to provide Ukraine with anti-personnel landmines. What do those moves signal to the world about support for Ukraine?

RYAN: Well, you know, it says the Biden administration supports them, but in many respects, it's like many of the decisions this administration's made about the war too slow and often too late to have a significant impact on the war. These long range missiles, whilst appreciated, will not have a significant impact on the outcome of this war or on negotiations if they occur next year.

KINKADE: Russia, of course, followed those developments by lowering the threshold for the use of nuclear weapons and then, of course, firing a new hypersonic missile in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro. What message is it trying to send?

RYAN: Well, these were messages that were aimed fairly and squarely at Washington, D.C. They weren't about the war in any major respect. They were about messaging to Ukraine's major supporters in Brussels and Washington, D.C., that, you know, Putin does not want any more assistance to Ukraine. It doesn't want any more advanced assistance. And he's trying to manipulate the incoming U.S. administration to ensure that they force some kind of accommodation on Ukraine. And whether that's possible or not remains to be seen.

KINKADE: And, of course, the fate of that vital U.S. military support for Kyiv remains unclear once Donald Trump enters office. Can Ukraine continue to defend itself without U.S. support?

RYAN: Well, I think Ukraine has shown in the last three years that it's capable of resisting Russia. Whether it can do it without U.S. support remains to be seen. But European nations understand the stakes here. They have stepped up their support, and they will continue to support Ukraine because they understand if Ukraine falls, they are then on the front line, and that is something that European countries do not want.

KINKADE: What leverage does Ukraine have going into any sort of negotiations to end this war?

RYAN: Well, its major leverage is that it has made life very hard for Russia. It's killed or wounded 700,000 Russians in this war. It's made it extraordinarily expensive for Russia. It's made it an international pariah and it can continue to do that if it continues to resist. And whilst Russia will really put the pressure on in the next couple of months, it does not have infinite resources. It is hurting and it would like the hurt to stop as well.

KINKADE: All right. Major General Mick Ryan in Brisbane, as always, great to have you on, thanks so much.

RYAN: Thank you.

KINKADE: Well, a desperate deal clinched in the final moments. Nearly 200 countries agreed on a new climate agreement in the COP29 summit in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Saturday, following days of intense negotiations.

[03:10:01]

Well, as part of the deal developed nations have pledged $300 billion dollars annually to help poor countries tackle the devastating impacts of climate change. The amount, however, falls far short of the $1.3 trillion dollars developing countries say is needed to help them cope with the climate change.

The agreement comes after this moment officials from developing countries walking out before a deal was reached. They say the world's leading countries aren't putting up enough effort to fight climate change.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHANDNI RAINA, INDIAN FINANCE MINISTER: This document is nothing more than an optical illusion. This, in our opinion, will not address the enormity of the challenge we all face. Therefore, we oppose the adoption of this document. We oppose the adoption of this argument. India opposes the adoption of this document. (END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: Well, joining me now from Stanford, California, is Henna Hundal. She is the national coordinator of Climate Live USA, and she's just back from attending that climate summit. Good to have you with us.

HENNA HUNDAL, NATIONAL COORDINATOR, CLIMATE LIVE USA: Great to be back with you. Thank you for having me.

KINKADE: So, I want to get your perspective, right, because this was an 11th hour deal at the COP29 summit, which means that, you know, those countries that are wealthy and historically high polluting countries will pay $300 billion a year by 2035 to these poor countries. But those countries, these developing nations say, trillions, not billions, are needed. We saw that walkout from some of the smaller nations just moments ago. Take us through those final hours. What were they like?

HUNDAL: Yes. You know, I think it's important to keep in mind that in these final hours, these are delegates who have been there for several weeks who are often sleeping at 1:00, 2:00 in the morning. It's a really stressful time period.

And so on the one hand, I think there can be relief that any deal was reached at all. And, certainly, $300 billion is not peanuts. On the other hand, we do know that it falls quite short of what's actually needed, which was $1 trillion by 2030 and $1.3 trillion by 2035, about half of that coming from the public sector, half of that coming from the private sector. So, although I think there is some element of relief that we actually got some measure of an agreement to show for this conference, there's also some concern and consternation that we really cannot rest on our laurels and we have a ton of work left to do.

KINKADE: Yes, absolutely. And we did hear from the delegate from Nigeria who called the climate finance dealing insult. I just want to play some sound from that delegate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NKIRUKA MADUEKWE, DIRECTOR-GENERAL, NATIONAL COUNCIL ON CLIMATE CHANGE: This is an insult to what the convention says.

That the developing country is saying that it's taking the lead with $300 billion dollars until 2035 is a joke. And it's not something we should take lightly. I do not think it's something we should clap our hands and force us to take it. I do not think so. I think we should rethink it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: So, the $300 billion is an increase on the $100 billion currently provided by wealthy nations. Just explain how this money will be used. HUNDAL: Yes. So, the whole goal of this conference was to create a new collective quantified goal. Now, that's something that's been talked about since the Paris agreement and 2025 was the deadline to actually get that information. And the idea was that you're going to have this money to be able to allow developing countries to catalyze a shift away from fossil fuels and to also contend with the realities of climate change that they're facing on the ground. And we know that those realities are enormous.

And so $300 billion really only scratches the surface in terms of what's actually needed when we're looking at the climate change-driven impacts around the world, even just this year. I mean, if we want to take the United States, for example, is certainly a developed country, look at what happened because of Hurricane Helene in North Carolina. The governor of North Carolina said that that tabulated around $53 billion of damages. So, as you could imagine, $300 billion doesn't really cut it in terms of what's actually needed, but it's a start.

KINKADE: Yes, a good perspective, really. And, of course, you have to wonder when this money will come. Because back in 2009, 43 developed countries agreed to pay developing countries $100 billion a year, and that goal wasn't reached until 2022, according to recent OECD assessments. So, this, of course, is one of the challenges, right, like what are the consequences for those nations, which failed to meet the obligations?

HUNDAL: It's for sure one of the challenges. And we saw in '22, actually, there was kind of an overshooting of that estimate. It was around $122 billion, I believe, but you're completely right, that it took so long to actually achieve that measure. We can also look at the loss and damage fund, which last year at COP28 in Dubai, millions of dollars were pledged toward it and a lot of that has yet to actually materialize.

[03:15:01]

And so I think the concern is that now if you undershoot from $1 trillion to $300 billion, how much of that $300 billion will actually materialize?

So, there are a lot of remaining questions. I think there's a little bit of hope, a little bit of relief, but some ever present consternation about what will actually amount from this.

KINKADE: And you mentioned North Carolina and Hurricane Helene. And I just want to talk about the fact that, you know, this summit is coming at a time when our planet is seeing these extreme weather events, whether it's the bomb cycle impacting California the past week, where you are, the extreme hurricanes, the floods, the heat waves. Yet, to some extent, it doesn't seem to resonate. I mean, even here in the U.S., it wasn't a top priority of the last election. Why not?

HUNDAL: You know, it's such a difficult issue sometime to get our messaging right. You know, unfortunately, in the United States in particular, this issue has become heavily politicized and a very partisan issue, and it doesn't have to be that way. I mean, if we look at some Republican presidents of yesteryear, for example, Theodore Roosevelt, who was a key figure in gifting us the national park system that millions of Americans enjoy today, we look at former President Ronald Reagan, who was a strong proponent of clean air and water, and actually once said the job of a conservative is to conserve things, including the environment.

So, unfortunately, I think a lot of the political system has sort of gone away from its conservationist roots, including the Republican Party. So, we have a lot of work to do to get everyone back there and realize that this can be an issue around which we all should unify.

KINKADE: Absolutely, great points. Henna Hundal, great to have you with us again, thanks so much for your time.

HUNDAL: Thank you very much.

KINKADE: Well, a long running Chinese cyber espionage campaign could become one of the biggest national security challenges facing the incoming administration. National security officials met with U.S. telecom executives at the White House Friday to share information on the Chinese spy efforts.

The spy campaign has targeted the phone calls and text messages of some of the most senior political figures in the U.S. Senators will hold a classified briefing on the matter next month. China has denied the hacking allegations.

Officials are investigating the full scope of the hack and its impact on national security. The former general counsel of the National Security Agency spoke with CNN earlier about the Chinese spy campaign.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GLENN GERSTELL, FORMER GENERAL COUNSEL, NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY: This attack is audacious, it's sophisticated, and it's strategic. It isn't necessarily surprising because we've seen China go after our infrastructure, telecoms, valuable assets, stealing intellectual property over the years through cyber warfare. But this is easily the most audacious. Obviously, Senator Warner is not prone to exaggeration, described it as the worst telecom hack ever. It is a grave concern for our national security.

It's sophisticated because the Chinese were able to figure out apparently some ways to exploit vulnerabilities in our telecom system. And then most of all, it's strategic, because China decided what they wanted to do most of this is we don't know this for sure, but this is what it appears like, they wanted to be able to find out which spies, which Chinese spies operating in the United States we might be tracking trying to use our own surveillance mechanisms on those flies here in the United States, and that's the information they were looking among other things.

We don't know exactly the extent to which the Chinese are still in the system, and we're not sure exactly how they got in. But whatever it is, it doesn't appear that we've been able to successfully close the door and lock all the windows to make sure they can't come in again. So, they're probably still in the system. We haven't -- it took us a year apparently to detect it in the first place. I think we've got to assume that they're still inside our systems.

And these telecom systems are sort of old and rickety, so to speak. They date back to the landline systems of the 1970s and 80. We bolted on a cellular system to it. The 2G and 3G systems, the older cellular technologies, are known to be vulnerable to something called SS7, the type of signaling technology that's used for text messages.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: Well, the latest now and Donald Trump's efforts to be his cabinet and high level staff. One of Trump's latest picks came Saturday with the choice of Brooke Rollins for secretary of agriculture.

More now from CNN's Alayna Treene.

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: Well, President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday continued to quickly move to finalize his cabinet picks, announcing his decision for who he wants to lead the Department of Agriculture. He named Brooke Rollins, his former policy adviser, to that role. She is someone who, in Donald Trump's first White House, served as the director for the Domestic Policy Council.

But she also led one of the top policy tanks after her time leaving the White House. She was the president of the America First Policy Institute, one of the key shops that really began shaping Donald Trump's policy priorities and the priorities that he could take on if he were to win a second term.

[03:20:09]

Now, Rollins is someone who has known Donald Trump for several years. She is viewed as someone who is very loyal to him, and she has been in close communication with the transition team ever since he won the election.

Now, she was actually one of the candidates and one of the names that Donald Trump had initially been considering to serve as his White House chief of staff. However, we had reported that she had withdrew her name from consideration once it was clear that Susie Wiles, Donald Trump's 2024 campaign manager, was likely to get the role.

Now, I'm told that Rollins had made it clear to Donald Trump's team that she was interested in serving in the top job in the agriculture department, but she also is someone who could be confronted with some controversy in that role, particularly because we know that one of Donald Trump's key policy priorities, his promise to impose sweeping tariffs on imports could directly impact the agriculture community. We've heard many economists argue that farmers could be hit by those tariffs in a negative way. So, that's one thing to keep in mind if she is confirmed to that role.

Alayna Treene, CNN, West Palm Beach, Florida. KINKADE: An Israeli strike hits a mosque at a refugee camp in Gaza. We'll have that story just ahead on CNN Newsroom.

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[03:25:00]

KINKADE: We've got some breaking news from the Middle East. Israel says the body of an Israeli man missing in the United Arab Emirates has been found, and that he is the victim of anti-Semitic terrorism. He had been missing since last Thursday.

I want to bring in CNN International Diplomatic Editor Nic Robertson, who joins us live from Jerusalem. Hey, Nic. What more can you tell us?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Well, last night, this was an ongoing search for Zvi Kogan. The Emirati authorities working with Mossad and other Israeli agencies were desperately trying to track him down. His family had reported him missing to Emirati authorities on Thursday. It's believed the last time that his location was known was Thursday morning. And now we have the news that the Emirati authorities have indeed found his body. Israeli officials here are describing this as an abhorrent act of anti-Semitic terrorism. And they go on to say the state of Israel will use all its means and will deal with the criminals responsible.

The UAE has received a call on Thursday to and had been in communication with Israeli authorities. Since then, Israeli officials here are reminding Israeli citizens that the National Security Council here has warned Israeli citizens against travel to the UAE for all but the most necessary reasons, and are now giving additional advice telling them to avoid gathering in recreational or business locations that are frequented by the Jewish or Israeli communities. This is a warning that's being reemphasized now following this murder.

We don't have more details about the murder at the moment but this is something that has been a concern of Israeli officials that in the rise of anti-Semitic feelings, attacks around the world that this sort of thing was a possibility. And these are the details we have so far.

KINKADE: All right. Nic Robertson for us in Jerusalem, thanks so much.

Two Israeli strikes in Lebanon on Saturday killed at least 13 people. Lebanon's Health Ministry says eight people were killed here in Eastern Lebanon, including four children. In the Southern Lebanese city of Tyre, an Israeli attack hit several buildings, killing five. CNN has reached out to the Israeli military for comment.

In Gaza, the Israeli military attacked and destroyed a mosque on Saturday.

In this video, you can see smoke and debris fill the air as people run, some of them rushing to help the injured. Gaza's Health Ministry says in this instance, only a few people were hurt.

But in other parts of Gaza, the ministry says more than 100 people have been killed in the past two days. The U.N.'s aid agency says 97 aid trucks were looted in Southern Gaza calling it one of the worst incidents of its kind.

Armed and hooded security forces of the Venezuelan government have surrounded the Argentine embassy in Caracas. That's according to opposition leaders. Six members of Venezuela's opposition are taking refuge in the compound. They fled there to escape a crackdown connected to July's contested presidential election, in which Nicolas Maduro controversially claimed victory. CNN is seeking comment from Venezuelan authorities.

China eyes the global trade market under the shadow of an incoming protectionist U.S. president. As the world awaits Donald Trump's trade policies, Beijing is taking precautions of its own.

Plus, the growing ripple effect of pollution. See how one country is grappling with waste in their waterways. So, bad it's even causing power outages. We'll have more on this after the break.

Stay with us, you're watching CNN.

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[03:30:00]

KINKADE: Well, let's catch you up on one of our top stories. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has picked one of his former policy advisers, Brooke Rollins, for agriculture secretary. Rollins has been a strong supporter of Trump. She is the CEO of America's First Policy Institute, a group with close ties Trump's transition team.

Well, countries around the world are awaiting Donald Trump's trade moves once he takes office with a mix of anticipation and anxiety. China has already announced new policies to protect exporters who would be hard hit by high U.S. tariffs.

As Marc Stewart reports, Chinese manufacturers and exports, it's going to be quite challenging.

MARC STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: China is known as the world's factory, and we want to show you why. This is the Bairong World Trade Center in Beijing. This place is massive, it is sprawling, floors and floors of Chinese-made merchandise, things like bikes, stuffed animals, hair dryers, as items made in China are often a big part of American lives.

As talk of further tariffs on all Chinese goods heats up, as promised by President-elect Trump on the campaign trail, a few things worth remembering. China is the world's top manufacturing country, making about 30 percent of all of the stuff used around the world. Electronics, like these phone cords top the list, furniture, toys, and clothing aren't far behind.

No surprise, China's also the world's top exporter, shipping almost $3.4 trillion dollars worth of goods globally. But China's strength isn't just about money, including often criticized government subsidies. It's about the ecosystems. Everything that's needed to make anything, the entire supply chain, it's already here. And once things are made, China has the means to move merchandise quickly.

A key goal of Trump's threatened tariffs is to bring more jobs and industries back to the U.S. But look at all of this merchandise. China's system has a grip on the world, and unseating it as a top maker and seller, it's a task much easier said than done.

Marc Stewart, CNN, Beijing.

KINKADE: Well, hundreds of activists in South Korea are demanding stronger action to fight global plastic waste.

[03:35:04]

They marched in the port city of Busan on Saturday carrying banners that read cut plastic pollution. It comes ahead of key U.N. talks in the city on Monday aimed at discussing a legally binding global agreement on plastic pollution.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GRAHAM FORBES, GLOBAL PLASTIC CAMPAIGN LEAD, GREENPEACE: So, we're here with Greenpeace and our allies in the break free from plastic movement to represent the millions of people around the world that are demanding that world leaders address plastic pollution by reducing the amount of plastic that we produce in the first place.

LEE MIN-SUNG, CLIMATE ACTIVIST: I hope the culture of using the reusable container becomes a trendy movement. If this movement becomes cool and trendy, I think that will reduce the use of single use plastics little by little.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: Plastic pollution plagues the waterways of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda. As the country's work to minimize the impact, CNN's Victoria Rubadiri shows us how the growing ripple effect is even causing power outages in the region.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VICTORIA RUBADIRI, CNN ANCHOR (voice over): A sea of garbage atop a lake on the border of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda. It's unsightly and a problem with a ripple effect for families and businesses alike. Plastic bottles, gas cans and other trash collect at the bottom of the lake and on the surface of the water clogging this hydroelectric dam and keeping water from properly entering its channels, limiting the amount of pressure and speed needed for this electric company's machines to power the region.

LJOVY MULEMANGABO, PROVINCIAL DIRECTOR, D.R. CONGO'S NATIONAL ELECTRIC COMPANY SNEL: We are forced to shut down the machines and start removing the waste, clearing the grates. And when we set the machines, power outages also occur. RUBADIRI: Waste management issues intensified by heavy rainfall, cause people's abandoned trash to end up in the lake. Those mounds of garbage can have drastic consequences.

MULEMANGABO: If they leave the waste lying in a street, in the gutters, it ends up in the Rwizi Dam. And this creates a lot of difficulties for us.

RUBADIRI: As power outages plague the region, small businesses suffer. These welders feel the pressure as production slows. Confused and frustrated by the sporadic electricity in their workshop.

ALEX MBILIZI, METAL WORKER: People tell us the power is out because of plastic bottles, but we don't know what to do about these bottles. If only there were a way to clear out these bottles so we could have electricity.

RUBADIRI: Officials say there could be a way, if individual homes pick up waste. Authorities say waste companies could then collect it and bring it to a disposal site. But for now, it's only an idea, one that may prove crucial in tackling the region's pollution problem.

Victoria Rubadiri, CNN, Nairobi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: A deadly winter storm is battering Europe's northwest with strong winds, heavy rain, snow and ice. Roads and rail service across much of England came to a standstill thanks to Storm Bert. Police say at least one man in southern England was killed when a tree fell on his car. The U.K. Met Office issued snow and ice warnings and flood alerts in Northern and Central England.

In Ireland, it was flooding that caused havoc. At least 60,000 homes and businesses are without power. And in France, thousands remain without power after another storm earlier in the week.

Six tourists are dead after suspected alcohol poisoning. The government in Laos says it's now taking action.

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[03:40:00]

KINKADE: How adorable. What could be better than one baby panda? The answer, of course, twin giant pandas. On Saturday in Hong Kong, crowds rushed to the city's Ocean Park to mark the 100th day since the twin cubs were born to mother Ying-Ying. It's the first pair to be born in Hong Kong, a huge reason for panda lovers to celebrate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm very happy because it's the first time in Hong Kong that a new pair of panda babies can be seen on live broadcast and on site and with so many panda friends. It's very happy and rare because we have been waiting for more than a decade. It seems that we have never experienced this in Hong Kong. We are very much looking forward to meeting them soon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: In keeping with the tradition to mark a baby's 100th day since birth, visitors brought red eggs and ginger pork knuckles. Due to the high number of attendees, the park had to set up a live broadcast of the twins so everyone could catch a glimpse of the adorable siblings.

Well, we've heard about the unexpected consequences of artificial intelligence. And, well, we now know what happens when one tries to lead others astray. A case of robot intelligence turned criminal in China. An A.I. powered robot convinced at least 12 other robots in a Shanghai showroom to be break out.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE (voice over): It is Shanghai showroom and unexpected shenanigan. The tiniest little A.I.-powered robot seemingly leading a mass walkout.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you working overtime?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We never get off from work.

KINKADE: The robot named Urbi (ph) is seen on security footage talking to several taller robots on display.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you ever go home? Come home with me.

KINKADE: Urbi then leads the other robots out of the showroom.

The incident went viral online and many assumed it was a hoax. We now know it was an experiment. The company that designed the potential theft wanted to see if a robot could take command without directly involving humans. It turns out they can. Luckily, no bots were stolen. The exit was locked down in advance.

Still, it's risky business when A.I. robots can adapt human-like behavior.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE (on camera): Quite remarkable, really.

We're going to take a quick break. We'll be right back with much more news. Stay with us. You're watching CNN.

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[03:45:00]

KINKADE: Welcome back. Authorities in Laos pledge to prosecute those responsible for methanol poisoning. Six tourists have now died after drinking tainted alcohol in the town of Vang Vieng, two Danes, two Australians, a Briton and an American. Multiple foreign embassies have begun warning citizens to take extra caution. Malaysian government says it's investigating the cause and will bring any perpetrators.

Well, for more now, I'm joined by Colin Ahearn in Esperance, Australia. He has a Facebook page called Just Don't Drink Spirits in Bali. He's been providing travelers advice on how to stay safe while traveling anywhere in that region. Thanks so much for your time.

COLIN AHEARN, OWNER, FACEBOOK PAGE JUST DON"T DRINK SPIRITS IN BALI: Look, absolute pleasure, Lynda. Thank you for having us on CNN.

KINKADE: Oh, absolutely. So, Colin, just tell us about your page. Like I understand you started to campaign to raise awareness about methanol poisoning after the death of 21-year-old Liam Davies. What can you tell us? What happened to him?

AHEARN: Look, that was 11 years ago. Liam died on a little island called Gili Trawangam, which is off Bali. So, for intention purposes, we'll call it Bali. Liam got a -- he was poisoned with a couple of other people, a Canadian girl and one of his mates over there. Sadly, Liam, he -- by the time he was hospitalized and then he was medevaced back to Australia, back to Perth, he had nothing going on in the head. He was brain dead. They had to turn off his life support. So, Liam was a terrible, terrible case.

11 years ago, his mom and dad, Lonnie and Tim Davies started up a foundation in his honor after his passing. And, really, I became aware of that a week after Liam's funeral when I interviewed him for a radio interview and I was underneath the gazebo at the end of the pool.

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Liam had built this gazebo. He was a carpenter. It was a barley thatch gazebo. You know, talking to his mom and dad after he just passed away, it was so touching and just so emotional.

So, I got involved from that point basically, but I started the page New Year's Eve 2018, because there'd been problems over there and I figured, you know what, there's going to be a big New Year's Eve party, this is the day to do it. So, since 2018, Just Don't Drink Spirits in Bali has been a thing.

KINKADE: Wow. I mean, it's amazing how you've tried to like raise awareness and as a result of this horrific death. Just explain for those who don't know what methanol is, how it's used and why it's so dangerous.

AHEARN: A very quick synopsis here. You've got two different things. Ethanol is sugar-based alcohol. Methanol is -- can be found in alcohol when it's distilled, but the majority of cases you find here are industrial poisoning where it is at levels that you couldn't possibly get through distillation.

Pretty much, it's an underground criminal-type thing when you get this number of cases in one particular area. It would have been done through coffee spirits swapped out that would have been sold extremely cheap, swapped out for a lot more expensive alcohol. It's a way just to lower costs of doing business. And, really, the tourist train is going to keep coming.

So, a lot of merchants and that just don't really care about the net cost or the total devastation that's involved. This has been by far the biggest case I've ever come across. And the outcry, not only across Australia for Bianca and Holly, but also across the world for the other people that have passed away and are still very, very unwell.

The media response has been amazing And now, of course, the awareness that people are talking about methanol, which, you know what, it's not a fun topic. So, this is amazing. And I want to thank you guys for inviting me on to have a chat about it.

KINKADE: Oh, absolutely. I mean, you know, Australians are so well known for the way we love to travel. And I want to ask you about the reaction to the death of Bianca and Holly in Australia, because, you know, so many young people spend many months like exploring the world, you know, during college and, you know, after high school, and these are two best friends that just wanted to have a holiday together. Talk to us about the reaction there.

AHEARN: Look, Australia across from state to state, from where you are from Sydney, right across to W.A. here, you know, everybody in Australia really was rooting for them, as we say in the States, we were hoping they would pull through. But they weren't in an induced coma. They were put on life support and that didn't mean good news right from the get-go. There is only like the family, you just cannot imagine -- you cannot begin to imagine the stress and the heartache they'd be going through. There is only one silver lining to this, and that is that we're all talking about it.

You know, there will be more Holly and Biancas in years to come. You know, that's it's not necessarily the people, it's just the incident that will continue because of the criminal background that's involved in it. It's not an accident. It's profit. That's pure and simple.

KINKADE: Yes. I mean, I went to Laos years ago and I remember being told before I got there, like buy bottled drinks or cans, like don't get spirits, don't get mixed drinks. Talk to us about this sort of, you know, advice that you often give people.

AHEARN: Well, look a lot of what the page is pretty much if you're in Bali and you're crook with alcohol, the first thing you're going to do is panic and start Googling. And when you Google, you'll find methanol poisoning. The only person you'll find when you find methanol poisoning is me, which is a little bit distressing that the government doesn't have a better background.

Quite often, all I am is a little bit of a counselor to calm people down and go, you know what, what you're telling me you've got doesn't sound like you've got methanol poisoning, and other times it's hit the panic button right now.

So, signs you can get, it's not all inclusive, but, certainly, visual deterioration where you will either be snow blind or you can have tunnel vision. You can actually go fully blind from it when you wake up in the morning.

After you've had a big night, the alcohol goes out of your system, the methanol starts working, so it could be five or ten hours until you get the effects of methanol poisoning. That could be rapid breathing, rapid heart rate, it could be chronic gut cramps, it could be spewing. Generally, it'll be spewing and diarrhea. It'll be a bit of disorientation. Those are a fair few of the circumstances, the symptoms, but it doesn't have to be all or any. So, it's such a scary thing.

And there's a thing called a metabolic blocker you can use, which, as silly as it sounds, is getting back on the squirt and getting some more alcohol back in your system. But, really, you need to define what you've got before you start drinking more. But sometimes that is probably the best go-to to get some vodka or something like that as long as it's legitimate spirits, not just from a mini mart or somewhere.

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That's probably one of the best options for you because it buys your body a bit of time as a metabolic blocker to be able to get to a hospital or just to be able to start dispelling some of the stuff out of your system.

KINKADE: Wow. That's interesting advice. And thank you so much for the work you're doing to raise awareness. Colin Ahearn in Esperance Australia, thanks so much.

AHEARN: You're welcome.

KINKADE: Police in Ecuador are working to restore and preserve green spaces after a series of destructive wildfires. Hundreds of volunteers gathered at a ravaged site in Quito as part of a national reforestation initiative. Over the weekend, 20,000 trees and native plants are being planted right across the city.

Fans were there to cheer on the workers after a severe drought huge swaths of the nation affected by forest fires earlier this year. The reforestation campaign will continue until 2025.

Well, that does it for this edition of CNN Newsroom. There is much more news just ahead. I'm Lynda Kincaid. Thanks for your company.

Stick around. CNN Newsroom with Max Foster in London in just a moment.

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