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Ukraine Without Power as Russia Attacks with Barrage of Missiles and Drones; Georgia Suspends Application for European Union; Israel-Hezbollah Truce Seems Holding; President Biden Denounce Trump's Planned Tariffs; Global Summit in Busan to Address Plastic Waste. Australia Bans Social Media For Kids Under 16; Prepping For Christmas At London's Santa School. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired November 29, 2024 - 02:00   ET

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

[02:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN HOST: Welcome to all of you watching us around the world, I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is "CNN Newsroom." Millions of people are in the dark in Ukraine after Russia attacks its energy infrastructure in apparent retaliation for using long-range American missiles.

A tenuous ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah appears to be holding for a third day despite accusations of breaches from both sides.

And with the world's plastic pollution crisis in focus, it's just about everywhere, so why isn't there a consensus about how to solve it?

Ukraine is trying to get back on its feet after seeing scenes like these across the country Thursday morning. Ukraine says Russian missiles and drones rained down on its energy system the night before, including on this facility near Odessa.

The strikes wounded at least five people and left more than a million homes in the dark. Moscow claims it targeted only military and defense industry facilities, but Ukraine's president is painting a very different picture. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE (through translation): Over 90 missiles and nearly 100 strike drones were launched. The targets were energy infrastructure and ordinary civilian objects. Many were shot down, and our electronic warfare systems performed well, but, unfortunately, there were also hits. Some of the strikes involved Kalibr missiles with cluster warheads, a particularly dangerous type of Russian weaponry used against civilians.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: In Kyiv, the air raid alert lasted for nine hours, forcing people to take shelter in metro stations. U.S. President Joe Biden condemned the attack as horrific. Ukraine says that was the 11th time this year that its energy system took major hits, which doesn't bode well as winter begins.

But Russian president, Vladimir Putin, says there's a reason why Moscow launched that attack, and he's making it clear there could be more to come, including the powerful new weapon. Fred Pleitgen has more. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): In the early morning hours, Russia launching yet more massive aerial strikes against Ukraine. The sheer size of the attack, more than 90 missiles and about 100 drones, laid out clearly by the Russian president himself.

VLADIMIR PUTIN, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE (through translation): On our part, these strikes took place in response to the continuous strikes on Russian territory by American attack-missiles, Putin said. As I have said many times, there will always be a response from our side.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): The Russians irate as the Ukrainians continue to use U.S.-supplied ATAKM surface-to-surface missiles to hit targets deep inside Russia after getting the go-ahead from the Biden administration. Top Russian politicians now accusing the U.S. president of playing with fire.

(On camera): How big do you see the danger of an escalation right now?

KONSTANTIN KOSACHEV, DEPUTY SPEAKER, RUSSIAN FEDERATION COUNCIL: I believe we are right now in the most dangerous stage for the simple reason we have a lame duck in the United States of America, with all my respect to Mr. Biden.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): And the Kremlin threatening further use of their massive, experimental, multiple warhead ballistic missile Oreshnik, which they fired on the Ukrainian city Dnipro last week.

PUTIN (through translation): Everything that is in the epicenter of the explosion will be decimated, Putin said, turned into elementary particles, essentially into dust.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): The missile hits even well-protected objects located at great depth. This as Moscow is trying to maintain support at home for what it still calls its special military operation in Ukraine. The defense ministry publishing the slickly produced video urging Russians to join the army.

(Through Translation): We are with our warriors until victory. This is our land, the narration says.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): The Kremlin has said Vladimir Putin is willing to talk to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump both about ending the Ukraine war and improving U.S.-Russia relations, but they want Washington to make the first move. The spokeswoman for Russia's foreign ministry tells me.

MARIA ZAKHAROVA, SPOKESPERSON, RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY: We are open to normal relationship, which are based on mutual respect and international law. If the country, I don't know, United States or other countries would like to -- on this base, on this base, to improve, to promote, to develop, to reconstruct, rebuild relationship with us, we can do this.

[02:05:06]

PLEITGEN (voice-over): Scores of Ukrainians spent Thursday morning sheltering from Moscow's latest missile blitz. And despite Kyiv saying they were able to shoot down many drones and rockets, more than a million people had to deal with blackouts after the raids. Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Moscow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Protesters took to the streets in the Republic of Georgia after its government put on hold it bid to join the European Union. Thousands of demonstrators clashed with police in the capital of Tbilisi on Thursday. Earlier in the day, the ruling party suspended its accession talks with the E.U. for four years.

The decision came hours after the European Parliament condemned last month's parliamentary election as neither free nor fair. Georgia's ruling party claimed victory even though the opposition said that Moscow pulled the strings to rig the vote. The Georgian president, who rejected the election result, is siding with protesters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SALOME ZOURABICHVILI, PRESIDENT OF GEORGIA (through translation): Today, this non-existent, illegitimate authority has declared not peace but war to its own people, to its past and future, to our future.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: The E.U. had already suspended the accession talks, saying Georgia is backsliding on democracy.

The ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon is now in its third day and appears to be holding, by and large, despite new accusations against both parties. The people of Lebanon, meanwhile, are desperate for a return to normalcy. Thousands displaced by the 13 months of fighting have started to return to their homes and businesses, many of them destroyed, amid Israeli warnings that some areas aren't safe yet.

Israel's military claims it killed more than 2,500 Hezbollah operatives since late September when the military ramped up its offensive in Lebanon. CNN's Jeremy Diamond has details on the alleged violations of the ceasefire, reporting from Tel Aviv.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, the second day of this tenuous ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah was marked by claims of violations on both sides of this agreement. Nonetheless, despite that, this ceasefire is indeed still holding up, at least for now.

Now, here's what both sides are claiming. The Lebanese military, for its part, says that Israel violated this agreement through the, quote, "targeting of Lebanese territory with various weapons." The Israeli military actually admits that it did open fire on Lebanese territory, but it says that it did so in order to enforce this ceasefire, claiming that Hezbollah was violating the terms of this agreement.

The Israeli military says it carried out two airstrikes in southern Lebanon. In one case, they say they identified, quote, "terrorist activity" at a Hezbollah rocket storage facility. In the second case, they say they struck, quote, "two terrorists" that they say were arriving at a known terrorist infrastructure site that had been used to fire on Israel.

In another incident, they say they opened fire on people they described as suspects who were arriving in areas of southern Lebanon. Now, the Israeli prime minister is actually touting these actions by the Israeli military in a new interview with Israel's Channel 14.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, PRIME MINISTER OF ISRAEL (through translation): We enforced it already on the first day. You saw, yesterday we killed five Hezbollah operatives. We captured four. Today we strike more. There is no trickery with us. We enforce it forcefully. But, if necessary, I have given directive to the IDF. If this framework, this ceasefire, is violated, it will lead to an intense war.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DIAMOND: And you hear the threat of a, quote, "intense war" there with Hezbollah by the Israeli prime minister. One thing that's so tricky with this new ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah is first the fact that the Israeli military is gradually going to withdraw from this territory.

That means for up to 60 days, Israeli troops could actually still be inside southern Lebanon. In addition to that, you actually have a party to this ceasefire agreement, Israel in this case, saying that it is going to unilaterally enforce this deal and strike at Hezbollah whenever it feels like it needs to for its self-defense purposes. And that, of course, could ultimately lead to questions about whether or not Israel is violating the ceasefire by carrying out those actions.

Israeli officials say that they have an understanding with U.S. officials about the actions that they can and cannot take in southern Lebanon. But of course, all of this is potentially a complicating additional layer on top of this agreement. The other question is whether or not this agreement between Israel and Hezbollah, the ceasefire in the north, could ultimately lead to a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

[02:09:54]

The Israeli minister also saying that he believes that is increasingly possible now, at least a deal that would free the hostages, because he believes that Hamas is feeling increasingly isolated by this deal. U.S. officials are of the same view. And President Biden said last week that he is now going to push for a ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza. Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Tel Aviv.

BRUNHUBER: So as we heard there, the Israeli prime minister is sounding more optimistic about a ceasefire in Gaza, but he insists on achieving one of his major goals. Here's what he told Israel's Channel 14.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NETANYAHU (through translation): I'm ready for a ceasefire at any moment, but ending the war, I'm not ready for that because we also need to achieve the elimination of Hamas.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Meanwhile, Israel's attacks continue. Gaza's Health Ministry says Israeli bombs killed at least 20 people on Thursday. Several homes in Nuseirat were hit, sending dozens of victims to Al- Awda Hospital with injuries. The hospital director claims Israeli forces are blocking delivery of medical supplies, food and fuel to the hospital. CNN has reached out to the IDF for comment.

For the first time in more than four years, Syrian rebels launched a surprise offensive in the government-controlled city of Aleppo on Thursday. A Turkish security source tells CNN various rebel factions launched what they called a limited operation against the Bashar al- Assad regime. It came after government forces and allied militias struck a rebel-held city and killed more than 30 civilians. CNN can't independently verify that claim.

Now, analysts say the rebels were exploiting weaknesses in Iran's proxy Hezbollah to advance in Syria. It's the most significant hostility between Syrian rebels and the Assad regime since they agreed to a ceasefire mediated by Russia and Turkey in March of 2020.

All right, just ahead, Joe Biden's last Thanksgiving in office and his warning about Donald Trump's planned tariffs.

Plus, the world is overloaded with plastic pollution. Two hundred countries are coming together to try to do something about it. One of those stories and more when we come back. Please stay with us.

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BRUNHUBER: Irish voters are heading to the polls today with the three main parties locked in a tight race. These are live pictures from Dublin. Voters are electing 174 members of Parliament. Ireland's Prime Minister Simon Harris and his party were riding high in the polls until last week. A clip went viral of Harris walking away from a visibly upset care

worker who tried to ask him questions on the campaign trail. Top figures within his party quickly became concerned that undecided voters would doubt his sincerity as a leader, according to a journalist with the "Irish Times." For the first time since Donald Trump won re-election, the current U.S. president has issued a warning about his policy plans.

[02:15:01]

Joe Biden says that Trump's threat to impose steep tariffs on America's neighbors would be a mistake. CNN's Arlette Saenz has the story.

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Joe Biden weighed in on President-elect Trump's tariff threats for the first time, saying he hopes he will rethink some of the tariffs he wants to impose on Canada and Mexico, warning that it could jeopardize U.S. relations with some of the country's closest allies.

President Biden was speaking to reporters as he visited a firehouse here in Nantucket, Massachusetts, really offering his first criticism of President-elect Donald Trump and his policy proposals since the November 5th election. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I hope he rethinks it. I don't think it's a counterproductive thing to do. You know, look, one of the things you've heard me say before, that we -- we have an unusual situation in America. We're surrounded by the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean and two allies, Mexico and Canada. The last thing we need to do is begin to screw up those relationships.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAENZ: These comments from President Biden are significant and really serve as a reminder that he has very different views from President- elect Donald Trump about how to approach issues like the economy, trade and also relations with U.S. allies. The president and Democrats during the campaign had warned that some of Trump's tariff threats would have inflationary impacts back at home, could potentially raise prices on goods across the board for Americans.

But President Biden made these comments as he's spending the Thanksgiving holiday here in Nantucket, Massachusetts. This is a bit of a family tradition for the Biden clan as they have been traveling to this island for decades now to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday. But it is a poignant one as President Biden is preparing to leave office in January.

He placed a round of calls to troops who were serving overseas this Thanksgiving holiday away from their families, calling into bases across the world, including in Guam, Bahrain and also Saudi Arabia, trying to thank those U.S. service members for their time. President Biden told reporters that he is most thankful this holiday

season for a peaceful transfer of power for diplomatic efforts and also a hope that they could try to achieve more progress when it comes to the conflicts in the Middle East as Biden is trying to work towards a hostage and ceasefire deal in Gaza. Arlette Saenz, CNN, traveling with the president in Nantucket, Massachusetts.

BRUNHUBER: Well, one of the big fears is that Trump's tariffs could lead to a global trade war. And the European Central Bank president says that's in no one's interest. Christine Lagarde says one way to avoid that is having Europe buy more American products. In her first interview since the U.S. election, she told the Financial Times that the EU needs, quote, "not to retaliate, but negotiate."

Lagarde went on to say, quote, "We could offer to buy certain things from the United States and signal that we are prepared to sit at the table and see how we can work together. I think this is a better scenario than a pure retaliation strategy, which can lead to a tit for tat process where no one is really a winner." Earlier this year, Lagarde said Trump's reelection would pose a threat to Europe.

The Global Plastic Summit is taking place in Busan, South Korea right now, with some 200 countries taking part. The goal, to come up with a landmark treaty to curb plastic pollution. The process caps two years of talks that have been stalled by deep divisions about what the treaty should look like. Panama's representative outlined some of the challenges and the importance of what the summit's trying to achieve.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUAN CARLOS MONERRY GOMEZ, SPECIAL REP. FOR CLIMATE CHANGE, PANAMA: We are here because microplastics have been found in the placentas of healthy women, both on fetal and maternal sites. Think about that for a minute. We are literally raising a generation that starts its life polluted before taking its first breath. If that doesn't alarm us, what will?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: So the scale of the challenge is enormous. There are about 460 million tons of plastic produced annually, about half of which is designed for single use. And by 2050, there could be more plastic in the ocean than there are fish. All right, for more now, we go now to Graham Forbes in Seoul. He's the global plastics lead for Greenpeace and their head of delegation to the Global Plastics Treaty Negotiations. Thank you so much for being here with us.

So these are the fifth round of talks. Not a lot has come out of the previous rounds. The aim for environmentalists would be caps on plastic production. So where do we stand right now?

GRAHAM FORBES, GLOBAL PLASTICS CAMPAIGN LEAD, GREENPEACE: Yeah, so after four and a half rounds of negotiations essentially going in circles, we've just released, sort of the chair has just released his first draft of what the treaty could look like. And, you know, this really is a once in a generation opportunity to protect human health, biodiversity and the climate from the scourge of plastic production and plastic pollution.

[02:20:04]

And so what we're going to be looking for is ensuring that ambitious countries step up and deliver a treaty that reduces the amount of plastic that we produce.

BRUNHUBER: What does that draft look like? Do we know?

FORBES: Yeah, so we just received it minutes ago, so the team is going through it with our allies really to understand what's in it. But one thing I can tell you is that it includes a global target, a process to get to a global target to reduce plastic production. And this is the critical and single most important element of the entire agreement.

BRUNHUBER: Yeah, I mean, targets are one thing. It's another for the countries to actually agree to implement all this. How confident are you that in concrete terms things will actually get done?

FORBES: Well, I mean, it's going to be up to ambitious countries in the E.U. and the High Ambition Coalition to really put their money where their mouth is and hold the line for a strong plastics treaty that gets the job done. Everyone knows, scientists, civil society is completely united on the reality that to end plastic pollution, you have to stop making so much plastic.

BRUNHUBER: You talked about the High Ambition Coalition. The U.S. was in line with some of those goals from that coalition in terms of backing that plastic production cap. The U.S. produces more plastic waste than any other country. So that was the Biden administration. But now with Donald Trump's election, you know, all that could change.

FORBES: Yeah, well, you know, we're here in Busan and plastic pollution affects every single person, no matter which side of the political spectrum you're on. And the reality is we have to deal with this problem. Plastics are accelerating climate change, threatening human health and poisoning our ecosystems around the world.

And so regardless of who's president, it's going to be up to world leaders, including the U.S., to show leadership and stand up for the type of agreement that actually addresses the issue and protects people on the planet.

BRUNHUBER: In terms of roadblocks, I was reading, according to the Center for International Environmental Law, there are more plastic industry lobbyists than representatives from the various countries. So similar to what we've seen with climate change talks that ended recently, there's so much financial pressure against getting any meaningful action. What are you seeing?

FORBES: Well, I mean, that is the dynamic, you know, and these negotiations are really flooded with fossil fuel lobbyists representing companies that are looking backwards. And so that's the pressure that negotiators are going to be under and they're going to have to make a choice. Are they going to stand up for their citizens, public health and the public interest, or are they going to kind of cower to short term interests of what are industries that are just fundamentally going to need to transition if we're going to have a livable planet?

BRUNHUBER: So I had said earlier, you know, we're potentially facing a world with more plastic in the ocean than fish. I mean, that's just, you know, truly frightening. In terms of the scale of what the world is facing here, maybe to convince people that might be skeptical otherwise. You know, forget about the environmental damage. The effect to human health, what is that if we are sort of overwhelmed by plastics?

FORBES: Yeah, well, I mean, I'm glad you opened this segment with the intervention from the delegate from Panama, because I think he said it very well. We are poisoning our people before they are even born. Plastics is found in our brains, in our bloods, in every aspect of our organs. And it's really -- we're seeing increases in strokes and cancers and these types of really destructive diseases. And so we have a huge opportunity here. And that's really what I think we want to remind people.

We have not been trying to address this problem. And with this opportunity to come up with international rules to deal with what is an international problem is something that doesn't come along often. And so we want negotiators and member states to really feel that pressure and feel what's at stake and show the courage to do the right thing, because their legacy really depends on it. And we want them to stand up and push back on short term interests for a handful of companies and CEOs.

BRUNHUBER: All right. Well, the talks continue for till December 1st. So we'll see what is agreed by the end. Graham Forbes, I really appreciate having you on. Thank you so much.

FORBES: Thank you.

BRUNHUBER: Israel and Hezbollah accuse each other of violating the ceasefire in Lebanon, but that truce now in its third day appears to be making an impact across the region. We'll have that and more coming up. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:25:00]

BRUNHUBER: Welcome back to all of you watching us around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is "CNN Newsroom." It's coming up to half past nine in the morning in Lebanon right now on the third day of a pivotal truce between Israel and Hezbollah. It appears to be largely holding, despite accusations of violations from both parties.

Now, the truce brings to an end more than 13 months of fighting which devastated southern Lebanon and northern Israel. The U.N. says the conflict has displaced more than 1.3 million people. CNN's Tamara Qiblawi is in Beirut and describes the mood in Lebanon following the ceasefire. TAMARA QIBLAWI, CNN SENIOR WRITER: It's been a few days since the truce between Lebanon and Israel has gone into effect. The mood here is jubilant, but it is cautious. We heard bursts of celebratory gunfire and we saw people bundling their mattresses into cars and rushing to return to their cities and villages.

The relief here is palpable. For one thing, people here don't greet each other by saying hello anymore. They say alhamdulillah al salameh, which means I'm glad you're safe. It's a poignant acknowledgement of what this community has gone through, a pat on the back, if you will, for having survived yet another terrible episode in this country's crisis-ridden history.

But the truce here is tenuous. We remain at the very beginning of a 60-day period when both sides are expected to carry out their commitments. Lebanon, on the one hand, must ramp up the presence of its troops in the country's south to ensure that the area is free of Hezbollah's arms. On the other hand, Israel must completely withdraw their forces from Lebanese territory. But this will be phased, and in the meantime, it will be dangerous.

But so far, officials see no reason to worry. And they see no serious threat to the ceasefire, at least not yet. But it is a bumpy road ahead. And meanwhile, all people really want is a return to normal life. Tamara Qiblawi, CNN, Beirut.

BRUNHUBER: All right, I want to go live now to Oxford, England, and H.A. Hellyer, Senior Associate Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute for Defense and Security Studies. Good to see you again. Thank you so much for being here with us. So we heard there the truce described as tenuous. Do you see it lasting?

H.A. HELLYER, SENIOR ASSOCIATE FELLOW, THE ROYAL UNITED SERVICES INSTITUTE FOR DEFENSE AND SECURITY STUDIES: Thank you, as ever, Kim, for having me on your show. I think the calculations around the ceasefire, at least within Israel mean that, you know, it's quite positive in the short to medium term. We've seen the ceasefire be violated by the Israelis several times since it came into force.

You see these messages, you see these indicate the Israelis that they are ready to go back to, you know, all-out war on Lebanon if they don't feel what's happening in the south is, frankly, to their liking.

[02:30:15]

So the question I think, is going to be whether or not that calculus holds. Again, I think it does because of the fact that you have the Trump administration coming in, in less than 60 days, a Trump administration that does not want to have to deal with another in the region. So I think that that's, you know, weighing very heavily in that regard.

I think you have the Lebanese, of course, wanting a ceasefire. So that's not the issue. The issue will really be an internal Israeli issue because there are very powerful voices within, within Israel. I'm sorry that are keen to return to war, to actually expand the war on Lebanon.

But at the moment, the calculus from the Israeli leadership, from Benjamin Netanyahu is, you know, we've gotten what we can get from Lebanon. Let's move into this phase and let's try to get as much as we can. And I think that there's a good chance of that holding.

KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: All right. So then, do you see the ceasefire having any effect on the war in Gaza? I mean, this leaves Hamas further isolated. Are we any closer to a cease fire there do you think?

HELLYER: No, I don't think there's the slightest bit of impact on any ceasefire negotiations in Gaza, because there haven't been ceasefire negotiations in Gaza since at the very least, November last year.

What we've had since are hostage negotiations, but not ceasefire negotiations. These were all about the hostages. They weren't about ceasefires. The Israelis were not true. The ceasefire in Gaza, the Israelis are not interested in leaving Gaza.

When it comes to Lebanon, there's no real desire to hold the south of Lebanon, to occupy the south of Lebanon for any significant period of time, to settle the south of Lebanon. That's completely different when it comes to Gaza. When it comes to Gaza, I don't think the IDF is leaving any time soon.

On the contrary, I find it more likely that the Israelis are going to expand their infrastructure on the ground. You see that in the Netzarim corridor. That seems to be expanding all the time.

When it comes to the north of the country, north of the Gaza Strip, it's completely cleared of Palestinians. They've been forcibly moved down south, and I think that you're likely to see settlement of Israeli outposts in the north at some point over the next year.

So, no, I don't think that there's any impact on a ceasefire within Gaza, because there won't be one.

I think that, you know, people are talking about ceasefire negotiations the day after. I think we will have to be honest, this is the day after, and there shan't be ceasefire negotiations.

BRUNHUBER: Yeah. On the regional impacts of the ceasefire, of course, the war has been spilling over regionally. So I want to turn to Syria. Israel has stepped up its airstrikes inside Syria against Iran backed groups. This week we saw Prime Minister Netanyahu warned Syria that it was, quote, playing with fire if it failed to restrain Hezbollah. So now were seeing rebel forces launching a major offensive, capturing territory from President Bashar al Assad's Iran-backed forces for the first time in years.

The timing of this, why do you think this is happening now?

HELLYER: Well, I think that the Syrian rebel forces recognize, frankly, quite correctly, that Assad's regime is under tremendous pressure, that the so-called axis of resistance is weaker than what many gave it credit for, that the Iranians have not proven to be, at least in the short term, a backer that can actually come and save their clients in the event of, you know, a huge catastrophe.

So, we wait to see, of course, this is early days. The rebels have moved. They've taken a significant proportion of territory. And as you say the first time in many years, but, of course, this is still early days. We don't know what's going to be not simply from the Iranians but also from, quote/unquote other axis elements within the region that might come to Assad's support.

But again, the rebels have their own support base as well. So there's a -- there's a lot of reconfigurations, I think, going on and the outcome of them are quite unclear.

BRUNHUBER: Yeah, early days, as you say.

Always appreciate getting your analysis. H.A. Hellyer, thank you so much.

[02:35:03]

HELLYER: Thank you.

BRUNHUBER: In a world first, the Australian parliament sends a tough message to tech firms. No social media for kids under 16. We'll have that story, coming up.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRUNHUBER: Baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani is chasing hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of baseball cards from his former interpreter. Ippei Mizuhara is accused of fraudulently buying about $325,000 worth of cards using Ohtani's money.

In June, Mizuhara pleaded guilty to bank and tax fraud for stealing nearly $17 million from the L.A. Dodgers slugger, sentencing takes place in January. He's facing more than 30 years in prison and millions in restitution costs, along with potential deportation to Japan. Mizuhara was Ohtani's friend and confidant and was alongside the Japanese sensation for many of his career highlights.

In what's regarded as a world's first law, Australia has approved a social media ban for children under 16. An intense debate over the proposal gripped the nation for months, but now a trial run is set to start in January.

With more on the ban and public reaction to it, CNN's Hanako Montgomery reports from Tokyo.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The way kids use social media is a growing concern for millions of parents worldwide and Australia, says it now has a solution. A new law requires tech companies to take reasonable steps to block access to social media for users under 16, or face fines of up to 32 million USD.

The ban targets popular platforms among kids including Snapchat, TikTok and Instagram, with the possibility of more being added to the list. This is the world's toughest regulation to date, aimed at protecting children from the harms of social media and the law follows a series of tragic cases where young people took their own lives because, according to their parents, they were bullied online.

At a press conference earlier on Friday, Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese emphasized the need to act.

ANTHONY ALBANESE, AUSTRALIA PRIME MINISTER: Look, the consequences I've met with parents who've lost and buried their child it's devastating. We can't as a government hear those messages from parents and say it's too hard.

MONTGOMERY: Now there's significant public support for the new law. A YouGov survey released earlier this week showed that 77 percent of Australians support the ban. But the country's parliament has been criticized for rushing the legislation. The bill was introduced, debated and passed within a week to meet the final parliamentary sitting of the year. Tech companies, including Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, urged the government to wait for more data before pushing the law through.

[02:40:01]

Also, there's the question of how this ban will be enforced. Critics say there are no guarantees it'd work and are also concerned about potential privacy risks. Even Albanese admitted that the rollout might not be perfect. But still, he said it's better than nothing if it's to protect children.

Hanako Montgomery CNN, Tokyo.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Well, it's Thanksgiving weekend here in the United States. And Americans celebrating Thanksgiving means Christmas is just around the corner.

So Santas are ironing their suits and combing their beards, preparing for a jolly holiday season by going to Santa's school.

Anna Stewart shows us what it's like.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One, two, three.

SANTAS: Ho, ho, ho.

ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Some people prepare for the holidays with Christmas lights and decorations, but these santas have a more detailed preparation ahead.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Welcome to the 2024 Fiji Mermaid (ph) santas training.

STEWART: As you can imagine, being Father Christmas is a big feat.

But at santas school in London, they start their training months in advance. These jolly fellows are given the tools needed to be the most authentic Santa Claus.

JAMES LOVELL, CHIEF TRAINER OF SANTAS: This year, there are a lot of not very nice things going on in the world, and I think people are looking for Father Christmas to bring them a little bit of joy. People just need more jollity this year. They need more magic in their lives. That's what Santa brings.

STEWART: James Lovell has been a chief Santa trainer for over 25 years, and says his bookings this year are up a merry 20 percent.

From learning all the reindeers names -- to the history of Christmas and even how to interact with your elves these santas students are taking notes, making sure kids and adults have the best Christmas experience.

Lovell even has a surprising rule, don't ask kids what they want for Christmas.

LOVELL: You shouldn't actually ask them what they want for Christmas because most children have written you a letter. And if you're asking them what they want for Christmas, you're basically saying you haven't read their letter, which is rude. You read the letter and you know.

STEWART: And you can't be an authentic Santa without the perfect, ho, ho, ho!

SANTA: You can go ho, ho, ho! And some people can go, ho, ho, ho! But it's when you go, ho, ho, ho, that you find that it sounds a bit more authentic. Because that's what people hear on Christmas eve when they're looking up at the sky.

STEWART: Anna Stewart, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Still feels too early.

All right, that wraps this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Kim Brunhuber. I'll be back in 15 minutes with more news.

"WORLD SPORT" is next.

(WORLD SPORT)