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Hope For Survivors Fading As Death Toll Passes 22,000; Russia Launches New Wave Of Missile And Drone Strike; Two Killed When Car Rams Into One Of Israel's Bus Stops; U.S. Says Chinese Spy Balloon Capable Of Monitoring Communications; Special Counsel Subpoenas Former Vice President Mike Pence; Quake Survivors Struggling To Stay Warm In Tent Cities; Syrians Mourn Loved Ones Lost In Earthquake; Exiled Uyghurs Find Relatives In China Tracked, Detained; Quarterbacks Competing In Super Bowl LVII Reflect On How Dads Got Them There. Aired 10-11a ET
Aired February 10, 2023 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[10:00:33]
CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: The Turkish president promises survivors of the devastating earthquake financial help for one
year. How will heartbroken families react? We are live in Istanbul.
Russian missiles take aim at the Ukrainian capital amongst other cities. Zaporizhzhia's energy infrastructure among the targets. We are live in Lviv
and Kyiv.
And the curious case of the suspected Chinese spy balloon. The Pentagon has released details on what they found inside.
I'm Christina MacFarlane. Hello, and welcome to CONNECT THE WORLD.
Northwest Syria is a catastrophe on top of catastrophe. Those are the words of the World Food Program chief, talking to CNN. The WFP is calling for
more access to Syria where international aid has been slow to arrive in rebel held areas. Days after Monday's earthquake hit both Syria and
neighboring Turkey. Hope for survivors is fading as the death toll soars to more than 22,000 people killed. But there are still some inspiration coming
from the ruins. Rescuers say two teenage sisters have made it out alive after being trapped in rubble for more than four days.
The Turkish president, meanwhile, was back in the disaster zone again today. He says the government will cover rent for quake survivors for one
year. This comes in the wake of criticism that Ankara was slow to respond.
Well, the World Bank is pitching in. It's putting nearly $2 billion in aid. But no matter where you look it doesn't seem to be enough.
CNN's Nick Paton Walsh reports now from the Turkish city of Antakya, which has been reduced to rubble.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR (voice-over): Eighty hours in and in Antakya any sign of hope will do. Rescuers rush in these
buildings first three floors have collapsed down but left their upper floors up right, and little Yamore (PH), aged 8, is inside possibly alive.
By the time they get her to the ambulance, though, it's clear they were too late. Her mother outside, only able to watch her everything vanishes. My
little one, she says, don't take her, don't let her get lost.
Antakya's streets are chilling patchwork of what's left standing and what's not left. In its ruins, anxious crowds of rescuers and locals thinking they
heard someone alive. Demanding silence so they can listen again.
Down here is Ahmed, the rescuers say, alert, responsive, a Syrian refugee. The building next to him barely hanging on at an angle. Their work
desperately wishing it were quicker.
Across the city, hell has landed. This man guarding his neighbor's books with his father-in-law next to the body of his mother-in-law. He gestures
behind him to where he once lived.
(On-camera): It's kind of hard to get your head around just how inhabitable a city of this size has become so fast. Literally every street you walk
down has a scene like this and the roads out, well, they're jammed full of people trying to get away to safety because the building still could
collapse. And the roads and rescuers, people even trying to get their possessions back. And those who've stayed lining every part of the green
spaces we can find with tents to try and stay warm.
(Voice-over): The trees, perhaps in just enough space away from buildings that could crumble. A new world for children, smiling, neither oblivious
nor somehow shaken too hard.
Dusk and the smoke of fire settles with the dust to choke the streets. But back where we were an hour earlier, there has been relief. Ahmed (PH) was
saved, pulled out from the hole. His family perhaps still inside.
[10:05:00]
The medics keep asking him, did you hear any signs of life from them? No, he says. They say he cannot wait for them, that he must be treated after 86
hours entombed. The weight of grief even as he is saved. His friend Jameel (PH) was pulled from the rubble.
I've been given life again, he says. I saw death before my eyes. I saw my own grave.
The same twist of fate here. There have been noises deep inside the bottom of what was once an apartment block. First, out comes one man, Suleiman
(PH), age 21. The frantic work of medics here suggesting he did not make it.
(On-camera): I think it's the impossibility of hope here that somebody could emerge after all this time alive from the wreckage that's driving
this large crowd of rescuers. Most intense work done by hand, right at the front of the rubble there.
(Voice-over): Out comes a 4-year-old boy named Al Pazlan (PH), rescuers said. Alive, seen trying even to take off his oxygen mask. His father, Toga
(PH), who follows shortly, does not seem to move. 89 hours in the rubble that both tore a world apart, but found enough mercy to spare its youngest.
Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Antakya, Turkey.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MACFARLANE: Russia is unleashing a new wave of missile and drone strikes on Ukraine, causing emergency power outages for millions of people. Ukraine
says it shot down most of the missiles. 61 of the 71 launched at Ukraine on Friday. The strikes hit the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia.
Now these images show some of the damage as well as the Kharkiv region, where Ukraine says it shot down several Iranian made drones overnight.
Meanwhile, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is back in Kyiv after meeting E.U. leaders in Brussels Thursday. He made a plea for western fighter jets for
Ukraine and Kyiv has now officially asked the Netherlands for F-16s.
CNN's senior international correspondent David McKenzie joins us now live from the capital of Kyiv.
David, I understand these talks reportedly came in waves in order to evade Ukraine's air defense systems. How much damage was caused overnight?
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly not as much damage that could have occurred, Christina. There was a wave of
attacks overnight. It appears there was a dependence on at least some part on the Iranian drones perhaps to try and then bring in the more significant
firepower, which was these missile systems and rocket attacks.
According to the Ukrainian military, there were land, sea, and air based missiles which tried to strike across the country in the east, south, and
the west of the country. It appears mostly to try and target these civilian infrastructure particularly for power generation. As you said, some 60 odd
of the 70 missiles Ukraine say were shot at the territory were taken down. That's a very high success rate for the air defense system.
Still, they have had to do planned outages in this country, as well as unplanned outages in parts of the east at least. It appears to be the
continuing efforts by the Russians to strike at the civilian (INAUDIBLE) in part to cripple the Ukrainian government but also to strike up the morale
of Ukrainians. But even today people here in the capital were in the subway system, doing their work, continuing on as normal despite the air sirens
going on repeatedly through the day so far.
This will be seen as a significant success, I think, in terms of the air defense system. But this comes as there is certainly an increase in
activity in the east of the country by the Russians, trying to potentially soften up those defenses. And a lot of talks still by Ukrainians about a
possible spring offensive by Russian forces. Christina?
MACFARLANE: Yes, and David, just following President Zelenskyy's trip to Europe, we now know there has been a direct request to the Netherlands for
the F-16 fighter jets. As I understand it, this is actually strategic because the Netherlands are in the process of phasing out those warplanes.
But does that necessarily mean that they will supply them?
MCKENZIE: Not in the short term. I think there is a lot of discussion happening behind closed doors. And you've seen the Ukrainians push
publicly, not just in that official request but multiple times in recent weeks especially with that swing of Zelenskyy through the U.K. and Europe,
pushing hard for fighter jets and other sophisticated weapons, as he has been throughout this nearly year of conflict trying to get better weapons
system into the country.
[10:10:10]
The Netherlands, for their part, who received that request, they are, you're right, decommissioning more than 20 F-16 fighter jets from their air
force. They said to our affiliate there in the Netherlands that they'll take all of these requests very seriously. They say that it is a complex
system, that means a great deal of support, maintenance and training. But this is what allies have said of many systems that have then ended up in
Ukrainian hands.
So at this stage leaving it open for possible supply. But it wouldn't be something you could just send over in the short term. Christina?
MACFARLANE: David McKenzie there live for us in Kyiv. David, thank you very much.
Now our next guests has been tweeting about his close call with missiles. Tymofiy Mylovanov, a former Ukrainian minister of Economic Development and
Trade, said this. "Multiple Russian missile attacks across Ukraine, one missile just flew over me. Not a fun experience. Ten missiles are shot down
over Kyiv, 13 over Odessa. There are some hits at least in Kyiv and the Lviv region. So far no casualties. One missile traveled through Moldova."
And Tymofiy Mylovanov joins us now live from Lviv.
Thank you for your time. We heard that the government were issuing warnings before this missile attack happened. And sadly, as we were hearing from
David McKenzie, there are report in Kyiv that didn't actually stop widespread destruction to your energy facilities in six different regions.
What is the scale of the damage to your power grid?
TYMOFIY MYLOVANOV, FORMER UKRAINIAN MINISTER OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND TRADE: Several power stations were hit, at least four. And then public
structures have come under pressure. But also, some of the missiles landed in the areas where there was nothing, just fields, so, you know, one landed
by a bus stop. Fortunately, no one was killed. And 61 out of 71 has been shut down which is a remarkable success, I'd say.
MACFARLANE: And of course, all of this highlights the need for more weaponry, more arms and more supports from your allies. We saw of course
President Zelenskyy trying to rally leaders in Europe over the past 48 hours for exactly that. How successful as he been in that mission?
MYLOVANOV: Zelenskyy manages to do things, to achieve things that no one thinks could be possible. So in that sense, I am pretty confident that
we'll get to the air force. But it's always a little bit delayed, it's always the numbers are not necessarily the ones that we need. And so in the
end we cover for it with people's lives. And I think that's just dismaying.
MACFARLANE: You heard us talking just then about the F-16 fighter jets from the Netherlands. How confident are you that you will receive more planes
and within the timeframe needed, much as we've seen with the delivery of tanks? Do you think you could get them and get them within the timeframe
needed?
MYLOVANOV: I think we will get them. I'm not so sure about the timeframe because indeed these systems are more complex and it depends on how much of
the existing infrastructure in Ukraine is available to be able to support them. I am pretty confident that the training can be done relatively
quickly. But so it's just not the planes alone. It's a lot of the systems around them, that needs to be delivered.
MACFARLANE: Tymofiy, I just want to show our viewers a tweet that you had just recently about your Defense Department. You said that Ukraine's
Defense minister promises to continue reform, to reform the ministry, despite the war's response to the recent procurements scandal. In my view,
this is a sign of health and of a cleanup of corruption. Reznikov is the best defense minister in the history of Ukraine.
So, having said that, Tymofiy, do you -- are you saying that Reznikov will be staying in his post?
MYLOVANOV: At this moment, it appears he will. I am actually of the view that he should because he is doing a great job on all of the fronts. It is
true that this area of procurement has been overlooked and he has political responsibility for that. But I think people also have to be realistic
because his primarily focus is on delivering arms.
Now I am not defending him. And in fact, I think this is a structural issue. We know that the defense procurement, non-arms procurement like food
supplies and some of the other equipment supplies, nonmilitary, has been unreformed.
[10:15:06]
And we also know that there are informants and there are infiltrators. We know there are vested interests and deep states. I know some of them
personal and they go back into 1990s, 2000s. Some of them work with Russia. Some of them are just trying to enrich themselves. So in sense we are
fighting two battles. One is on the front lines and another people who are trying to sabotage our defense efforts.
MACFARLANE: So how concerning is it then to have this sort of internal division going on? This corruption? These -- as you say, people who are
trying to sabotage your operation so close to what we expected to be the spring offensive?
MYLOVANOV: Well, I'll give you an example like personal example. I was a minister, and I fired a person who I believe was corrupt. I couldn't prove,
so they sued me and opened criminal investigation against me. Later they want their jobs back. And during the war, they actually stole some money
for procurement in a similar way. And now they are wanted on the FBI, on the Europol, some are wanted, some are actually arrested and will serve the
terms.
So there are people like that, and we have to get rid of them, too. So it is concerning, but it is great that we are doing it. It's just challenging
to do it.
MACFARLANE: All right. Tymofiy Mylovanov, thank you so much for your time. We really appreciate it. And I am sure we will talk again in the days to
come. Thank you.
And we're turning now to a deadly attack in East Jerusalem. A car rammed a bus stop, killing two people including a child, and wounding five others.
Police say they killed the driver. They're calling this a terror attack. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the suspect's home to
be sealed and demolished. This comes at a time when tensions between Israel and the Palestinians are especially high.
CNN's Hadas Gold joins us now live from Jerusalem.
Hadas, this really is a tragic incident. I believe the child was just 6 years old. What more have you've been learning about the attack?
HADAS GOLD, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Police are calling this a terror attack. They say that a driver rammed his car into a bus stop full
of people, in a neighborhood of Jerusalem called Ramot. As you noted, a 6- year-old and a 20-year-old were killed. At least five others were injured, one of them is also a very young child, who is said to be in critical
condition.
The suspect was shot on sight by an off-duty police officer, who happened to be there. Police tell me that the suspect is a man in his early 30s from
East Jerusalem. This is where most of the city's Palestinian population lives. And Benjamin Netanyahu has already called on the suspect's home to
be sealed and demolished. And we've been seeing live images from Israeli media of a very large police presence at the suspect's neighborhood in East
Jerusalem.
Now no militant group has claimed responsibility for this attack, although Hamas militant group that runs Gaza has praised the attack. Of course,
Israelis and Palestinians have been in this very deadly cycle of violence now for at least a year. But essentially since the beginning of this new
year it's been a stunningly deadly month and a half or so for both Palestinians and Israelis.
And actually this car ramming attack taking place almost exactly two weeks to the day from that attack on that synagogue that killed seven two weeks
ago. And actually these two neighborhoods are not that far apart. They're in the same area. Now the minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir is
already calling on police to put up barriers in this East Jerusalem neighborhood where the suspect is from. Calling on police to check every
single person entering and leaving, and saying that he wants to undertake a big operation he says to fight and uproot terrorism, go through terrorist
homes, and to stop terrorism before it comes to carry out attacks.
But I can tell you, Christina, if those barriers are put up in East Jerusalem and if he undertakes his operation, this will most likely only
further inflame this ongoing cycle of violence and could even potentially lead to something even worse -- Christina.
MACFARLANE: Yes. Hadas Gold there with the latest. Hadas, I know you'll be tracking developments and will keep us up to date. Thank you very much for
now.
All right. Coming up on CONNECT THE WORLD, the U.S. is revealing details into China's global spy operations. Why Beijing is blasting Washington and
accusing it of playing politics. And as the two quarterbacks get ready for Super Bowl LVII, they take a moment to reflect on the man who helped them
get there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:21:48]
MACFARLANE: Welcome back. The U.S. is revealing new details about China's spy operations. The FBI is now analyzing parts of the suspected Chinese spy
balloon that was shot down last Saturday off the U.S. East Coast. A senior U.S. official says the balloon was capable of monitoring communications. It
was part of a fleet that had flown over more than 40 countries on five continents.
Let's bring in Natasha Bertrand, who's live in Washington, D.C.
So, Natasha, we now know that balloon was capable of spying and according to U.S. government clearly made for that purpose.
NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Exactly right, Christina. So we are learning that this balloon was able to potentially collect
information like communications that were happening pretty much in the vicinity of that balloon. And what we are told is that the U.S. is not
extremely concerned about this because they did take steps to make sure that no unencrypted communications were happening within the vicinity of
the balloon and also to make sure that any kind of sensitive areas that the balloon might have been flying over were covered up.
So they believe that the balloon's ability to actually gather intelligence was quite limited even though it did have the capabilities to do so.
Another interesting detail we learned from officials briefing lawmakers yesterday is that they believe that the balloon actually stopped
transmitting information back to Beijing once the U.S. made clear that they had discovered that the balloon was over U.S. air space. So all in all U.S.
officials are fairly confident that the intelligence gathering capability of this balloon was actually pretty minimal.
But what we are also learning is that the FBI here really does not have a great sense just yet of what the payload of this balloon actually looks
like. So that's all of the electronic kind of surveillance equipment that the balloon was carrying because most of that payload is actually still
underwater. So they are kind of weaving through all of the components of the balloon that they were able to gather from the surface of the water
after of course it was shot down last Saturday.
But a lot of it remains unrecovered because it has been so difficult to kind of get all of that stuff off of the floor of the ocean. And so that is
probably going to take quite a bit longer. But for now we are learning that U.S. officials do have a fairly broad understanding of what this balloon
can do. And of, course the size of the fleet of these balloons which they say have crossed over roughly 40 countries across five continents over the
last several years -- Christina.
MACFARLANE: Yes. And now that we know these more details no doubt alarming to the U.S. government, but is there anything else they can really do at
this point other than to raise the alarm and share the intel they have with these other countries?
BERTRAND: Well, they have said that they do not believe the Chinese President Xi Jinping actually knew about this operation. And so in that
way, they are trying to suggest that perhaps this was some kind of rogue element of the Chinese military that was conducting this operation, and
that maybe it will not happen again at least not over U.S. airspace.
But at the same time, you know, the U.S. does not believe that this is necessarily an isolated incident especially when it comes to the global
program here that China clearly has begun operating. So what they are talking about now is sanctions.
[10:25:03]
They are considering additional measures to target the manufacturers of these balloons. They are also thinking about targeting the people behind
this fleet of balloons. Of course, they have said recently that they believe that the People's Liberation Army is the one -- the Chinese
military is the one that has been carrying out these operations. And so there are weighing a number of punitive measures. But until they learn more
about how this balloon is actually manufactured, and who gave the go ahead to send these balloons out on these operations, they're punitive measures
that they will take remain unclear -- Christina.
MACFARLANE: Yes. I guess we will wait to see if they can retrieve any more parts of that balloon as you say.
Natasha Bertrand there, thank you very much.
Former U.S. vice president Mike Pence could testify against his old boss Donald Trump. A source tells CNN that Pence has been subpoenaed by the
special counsel investigating Trump's role in the January 6th, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. The crowd, you'll recall, was heard
chanting "Hang Mike Pence" for his refusal to stop the certification of Joe Biden's win. Pence so far has not publicly responded to the subpoena.
But there could be a lot of twists and turns before Mike Pence actually sits down to testify. Here to look at that is the CNN senior law
correspondent Paula Reid joining me live now.
Paula, this of course marks a major escalation in this inquiry. We know that Mike Pence is potentially a key witness here because of his dealings
with President Trump that day. Is it clear what the special counsel are looking for here?
PAULA REID, CNN SENIOR LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. So the special counsel is subpoenaing a former vice president specifically for its
investigation into January 6th. The special counsel Jack Smith is also looking at how classified documents ended up at former President Trump's
home in Mar-a-Lago.
But when it comes to January 6th, Mike Pence is arguably one of the most valuable witnesses you could have. He could testify about conversations he
had with the former president, leading up to January 6th. The broad pressure campaign that he faced from people who didn't want him to certify
the election results. And what happened in the administration on the day of January 6th and the following days.
Now I don't expect that he will be willing to talk about everything. There will likely be some limits. There are some legitimate executive privilege
questions here. But he has made it a little more difficult to raise those challenges because he wrote about a lot of this in his memoir. And you
can't write about something in a book and then you go to a grand jury and try to assert privilege.
So it was very much expected that he would likely provide some testimony. The subpoena came after months of negotiations between his team and the
Justice Department. And now it will be interesting to see just how much evidence he is willing to share with investigators.
MACFARLANE: And if he were to invoke executive privilege, what would that mean for him exactly? Because, as you say, he's already written about this
in his book. I mean, would that put him in a difficult position?
REID: Yes, I think he has made it really difficult for himself. There could be specific questions, conversations that he had with the former president
that he did not discuss in the book. He could potentially successfully raise privilege over those because, again, when you're talking to the
president the United States it's not like conversations you have with other people. There are privileged claims.
Now the former president so far says he does not intend to intervene here. So far he and his attorneys have not been very successful in trying to
prevent other witnesses from talking by raising privilege. But, again, the vice president is a different case. But anything that he wrote about in his
memoir is likely to be fair game here. And the fact that he's getting a subpoena now that doesn't mean that there is an impasse or necessarily that
this is an escalation.
A lot of witnesses like to be subpoenaed because it appears last that they are voluntarily cooperating against the former president. Something that is
incredibly significantly important for those who are hoping to run for president potentially here in the U.S.
MACFARLANE: Yes. Which he potentially is. We will wait to see how the former vice president responds.
Paula Reid, thanks very much for now.
And we are live in Istanbul for more about the earthquake just after this quick break. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:31:31]
MACFARLANE: Welcome back. I'm Christina MacFarlane in London and you're watching CONNECT THE WORLD.
With the earthquake's death toll in Turkey and Syria now topping 22,000 state media reports that Syria's government has approved the delivery of
humanitarian aid into rebel-held areas. Aid groups say the region already struggling after years of civil war is in desperate need of more help. A
second U.N. convoy crossed into the area today.
Now chances are dimming of course for those trapped under collapsed buildings after Monday's devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria.
Families are shattered. We've learned that Turkish rescue officials cannot reach the loved ones of 263 children pulled alive from the rubble. More
than 160 of those children remain in hospital. Hundreds of thousands of others face a grim reality. Homeless and trying to stay warm in the bitter
cold winter.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited one tent city today as he fends off criticism over his government's response to the quake.
Salma Abdelaziz is at an aid's center in Istanbul. She joins us live.
Now, Salma, I know you've been there for a few days, witnessing the colossal collaboration that is in progress there. How much aid do you know
has been able to be shipped since you arrived?
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: If you can imagine it, they've taken two million individual donations. This is a central distribution center. It
collects these donations from all across the city. And I'm going to show you what happens when they arrived there. You have hundreds of volunteers
here and they are quickly packing these boxes. You can see kids' shoes here, boots to keep people warm. And you have all of the basics here
really, blankets, food supplies, tin goods, sanitation kits, baby diapers, anything that these families need. Many hundreds and thousands of them that
have been made homeless in this crisis.
And what you're going to notice is the speed, the urgency with which these volunteers are packing these boxes. They know that every second counts.
They know that they can make a difference tonight. That possibly one less family could sleep not cold tonight. And you see these two million
individual donations. And at the end of this hangar there's trucks ready to. They load them up straight into the trucks right here and they send
them to that affected area where people desperately need that help.
So far they've gotten over 100,085 trucks. And this is just a local effort here. This is the city of Istanbul, collecting among its own residents.
That's why people feel a real sense of community, a real sense of solidarity. Some of these volunteers had families that were affected. And
they just couldn't sit at home and do nothing. So that's what they are doing here. They understand that this is, as President Erdogan said, the
greatest crisis this country has seen in a century. A huge catastrophe. And every single person has to help out.
MACFARLANE: Salma, given reports that we are hearing, Syria's government has now approved the delivery of humanitarian aid into rebel-held areas.
What are you hearing about how much aid is actually reaching Syria? Isn't any getting through?
ABDELAZIZ: Look, it's very complicated on the ground because you have a patchwork of different authorities, essentially, in that affected area. You
have a government held area, those of course highly sanctioned by the West.
[10:35:01]
You have these rebel-held areas. Now there might be this crossline activity. But there is very little trust in opposition-controlled areas,
when it comes to the government that bombed them for over a decade.
I want to take a look at the operations that's unfolding on the ground. The hope that's quickly giving way to grief. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ABDELAZIZ (voice over): This is what funerals look like in the quake zone. Burials in mass, there are just too many bodies. Baby clothes are all that
remain of Nasser's little girl Elef (PH). She died cradled in her mother's arms. Her mom is dead, too. And this is a little note written by his
daughter Hibah (PH) also killed in the earthquake. You are my heart, it reads. And now his heart is broken. Six of his children and his wife killed
in an instant. His home lies in ruins.
We are used to airstrikes, rockets, barrel bombs, but this, an act of God? He says, I kept calling out my children's names one by one. No one
answered.
This is a rebel-held area in Syria ravaged by war. Residents here are all too familiar with death. They can endure no more. In government-controlled
areas there is relatively more assistance. As the crisis entered its fifth day, President Bashar al-Assad toured the affected area drawing criticism
for his delayed visit.
Aid is coming in from his backers, Iran and Russia, Pakistan and Algeria sending help as well. And the U.S. is authorizing aid that would otherwise
be prohibited by tough sanctions to flow through here for a period of 180 days. But help is still limited and anguish is everywhere. Public spaces
have been turned into shelters for the hundreds of thousands made homeless.
I wish we could just feel safe, that our children can feel normal, she says. No one cares about us.
A nation long neglected, struck by yet another catastrophe without any means to withstand it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ABDELAZIZ: Now I know that you are able to get an image there of what's happened on the ground. President Bashar al-Assad of Syria has made his
first comment since the earthquake. Remember this is his first visit now entering the fifth day. A lot of criticism there. In his first televised
comments, President Bashar al-Assad is blaming the West. He is accusing the West of having no humanity.
Look, the government of Syria, Damascus regime has used this moment, this crisis, as a way to say that sanctions should be lifted. Now that's
absolutely something that the West has given no indication of doing. But we do have information that the United States is giving this temporary
authorization, a small window of authorization of 180 days that allows them to expand the rules that let you pass humanitarian assistance to the
Damascus regime despite of course these very tough sanctions.
A lot of politics playing out on the ground. But politicizing aid, aid workers say, will only lead to more loss of life.
MACFARLANE: Yes. No doubt this is fraught with politics. But it's very hard to square that with the images we just saw in your package there, Salma, of
children passing away in the wreckage.
Thank you very much for now, Salma Abdelaziz there live from Istanbul.
And no matter how much aid is getting through, it's nowhere near enough. CNN's Jomana Karadsheh reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Endless lines on the road to Iskenderun and devastated cities cry for help answered by a nation in
shock, united in pain. These men tell us they drove more than eight hours carrying diapers, water and bread. Whatever they can do to help strangers
who need all they can get.
Destruction in every corner of the city. No building spared Mother Nature's wrath.
(On-camera): So even in this part of the city where buildings are still standing, you can see that there are cracks all over these buildings.
They've sustained damage. So we're going to have to walk through here really fast. We just don't know how stable these structures are right now.
(Voice-over): In seconds like shattered, livelihoods destroyed a city and its people left broken.
SERVER ONEN, ISKENDERUN RESIDENT: I'm confused. I don't know how to view, senseless.
KARADSHEH: Server has been out here searching for his friend. The only one left under the wreckage of this apartment building. No professional rescue
is here, just volunteers drawing floor plans for their search in the dirt.
ONEN: Thursday I was really hopeful but this is the fourth day, I'm getting out of hope.
KARADSHEH: Even happy endings here are overshadowed by the collective grief.
[10:40:01]
Burak flew back from his home in London to find his sister and other relatives. It's a miracle they made it out. They were buried under the
rubble for 15 hours he tells us.
BURAK RIK, FAMILY RESCUED: I'm speechless to be honest. I'm in the dream, a very bad dream. Then I'm hearing you know so many of our friends dying
here. So many relatives are dying. My feelings are all collapsed. I'm only breathing at the moment.
KARADSHEH: Around the corner we find Suheyl overseeing the search mission here for days. He's desperately been trying to get his parents out.
SUHEYL SUMBULTEPE, EARTHQUAKE SURVIVOR: Our government helps but it's not enough obviously. So we are trying to get our people by our own and we need
you. We need everyone who can come and help us.
KARADSHEH: Suheyl tells us he saw his mother's leg under the rubble.
SUMBULTEPE: I am not able to reach her. She's there, I see her but I cannot touch her. I understand my mother is that I'm trying to get my mother.
KARADSHEH: With every passing hour for many here the agonizing ends. As the gut wrenching reality sinks in.
Jomana Karadsheh, CNN, Iskenderun, Turkey.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MACFARLANE: Well, if you are looking for information on how to help earthquake survivors you can go to CNN.com/impact. You'll find a list of
dozens of vetted organizations, the descriptions of what they do and links to donate.
You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD live from London.
A massive trove of hacked documents lets exiled ethnic Uyghurs learned what happened to their families. But what they learned is often painful. Our
exclusive report is coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MACFARLANE: Now after years without contact, several exiled ethnic Uyghurs are learning what has happened to their families. They are using a new
online tool that allows the public to search through a massive trove of hacked documents. The information showing the scope of the surveillance
operators Beijing uses to monitor its Uyghur population in Xinjiang.
CNN's Ivan Watson has our exclusive report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The search for missing loved ones.
ABDUWELI AYUP, HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST: I am putting in my younger sister's ID number.
WATSON: Abduweli Ayup is a human rights activist and ethnic Uyghur from China's Xinjiang region. From exile in Norway he looks for the first time
at a Chinese police file from 2017 on his sister Sajida.
AYUP: It is (INAUDIBLE) in detail.
WATSON: He hasn't spoken to her in years.
AYUP: She got arrested September 6th, sent to education camp, stayed there about a month. And then sent her to the detention center and sentenced 11
years.
WATSON: The Chinese police file states that Sajida Ayup is a two-faced or treasonous government official. Police apparently flagged the high school
geography teacher because of ties to her brother, an outspoken critic once jailed by the Chinese government.
AYUP: The government document told me that, yes, it is related to you and it is your fault.
WATSON: Ayup got early access to this new search engine. It's linked to tens of thousands of files that were hacked from police computers in
Xinjiang.
AYUP: It's 830,000 different people are in these files. And it's clear from the files that tens of thousands of them are detained.
WATSON: Adrian Zenz, a researcher with the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, first released some of the hacked police files last year. The
Chinese government has not denied their authenticity but state media has slammed his analysis of the data calling it disinformation.
Beijing denies it committed human rights abuses while detaining up to two million ethnic Uyghurs and other minority groups in reeducation camps in
Xinjiang, a campaign of mass repression the U.S. government claims amounts to genocide.
Zenz launched the search engine hoping it will provide the Uyghur diaspora information about family members back home in Xinjiang.
ADRIAN ZENZ, VICTIMS OF COMMUNISM MEMORIAL FOUNDATION: The black hole is the most terrifying thing. and I think that's part of why the Chinese state
creates this black hole. It is the most terrifying thing that can be done. That you don't even know the fate of a loved one is even alive or dead.
WATSON: Mamatjan Juma remembers June 12th, 2006, the last time he saw his family.
MAMATJAN JUMA, EXILED UYGHUR IN U.S.: I remember that day. I was passing the airport checkpoint. And they were waving. And I saw them -- their image
is still in my mind, you know. The picture. It comes to me sometimes. That is the last time I saw my brothers.
WATSON: Juma is now a journalist with Radio Free Asia's Uyghur language service in Washington, D.C. which Beijing labels as an anti-China
propaganda organization. Unable to go home for fear of arrest and unwilling to even call his relatives for fear they could then be punished.
JUMA: Let's see. I'm going to search one of my brothers.
WATSON: So now he can only look at their police files.
(On-camera): Did the files confirm a detention of any of your loved ones?
JUMA: Yes. Detention of three of my brothers, yes. And then I found one of my brother's pictures in that file.
WATSON (voice-over): A mugshot of his younger brother, Eysajan, taken in detention.
(On-camera): How did he look?
JUMA: He looked like he lost his soul. It gives you a feeling of guilt, you know? Because of that -- they are tied to you and they're persecuted. It's
not really kind of an easy feeling to digest.
WATSON (voice-over): A photo of Juma and his brothers in happier times.
JUMA: I wish I could go back to this moment, you know? I wish I could go back to this moment.
WATSON: Today, Juma is left piecing together what happened to his family through the Chinese police files. And the level of detail, even on people
who were never accused of crimes, is chilling.
JUMA: Fingerprints, DNA samples, voice samples, profile pictures, iris scans. These are the biometric information they collected on my mother.
When you look at it, you see this perfect example of a full-blown surveillance state.
WATSON: Half a world away in Adelaide, Australia, Marhaba Yakub Salay just found a police file for her 17-year-old nephew.
MARHABA YAKUB SALAY, UYGHUR EXILED IN AUSTRALIA: That's insane. That's terrible. I didn't expect that.
WATSON: The file states that in 2017 when the boy was only 12, police labeled him category two, a highly suspicious accomplice of a public
security or terrorism case. And that is not all.
SALAY: Yes, this is my niece.
WATSON (on-camera): Your niece has a police file?
SALAY: No way.
WATSON (voice-over): The file claims that by the age of 15, Marhaba's niece traveled extensively, something her aunt denies.
SALAY: Algeria, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Dubai, Egypt, Pakistan. No way. Does that mean they are saying that she has been in these countries?
WATSON: So far, neither child has been detained. But Salay worries for their future.
[10:50:01]
Their mother, Mayila, her sister, has already been in and out of detention for years, accused of financing terrorism for wiring money to her parents
in Australia to help buy a house.
(On-camera): If you could tell them something, what would you like to tell them?
SALAY: I am so sorry what's happening to them. And I'm so sorry for what's happening to their mother, my sister. I'm sorry I can't help them. They
deserve so much better than this. They are innocent.
WATSON (voice-over): The more than 800,000 police profiles only provide a partial snapshot of the broader system of surveillance and repression in
Xinjiang. They don't alleviate the survivor's guilt shared by many relatives living abroad, desperate to learn anything about their loved ones
back in China.
Ivan Watson, CNN, Hong Kong.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC)
MACFARLANE: Superstar singer Rihanna is warming up for her big comeback. You just heard "Lift Me Up," her first song in six years. She is set to
take center stage of a Super Bowl halftime show on Sunday and says the performance is the only thing on her mind.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RIHANNA, SINGER: I've been so focused on the Super Bowl, I totally forgot that my birthday is coming up. I totally forgot about Valentine's Day. I am
just like Super Bowl, Super Bowl, Super Bowl. So a lot of preparation, a lot of moving parts, in this week, this is the week that it really is being
tested. I mean, it's literally like 300 to 400 people breaking the stage down and building it back up and getting it out in eight minutes. It's
incredible. It's almost impossible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: Rihanna added that the toughest challenge has been figuring out which of her songs will make the cut. She said trying to cram 17 years of
work into 13 minutes has been difficult.
On the field, history will be made when two brothers compete against each other for the first time during Super Bowl. Kansas City Chiefs' tight end
Travis Kelce and Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce are both vying for the Vince Lombardi trophy. Their mother is not worried at all when it comes
to figuring out which one she'll cheer for.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONNA KELCE, TRAVIS AND JASON KELCE'S MOTHER: It's going to be easy. You know, I have to stand and scream the entire game. They're both on offense
so every time somebody has the ball, I'll be clapping and every time somebody gets a touchdown, I'll be thrilled. And I will go to the postgame
hotel after the ceremony, and I'll give my son a huge hug and a kiss because there is nothing that I can say that will, you know, mean anything
at that point. He's going to be a broken, you know, person. So, you know, he'll be happy for his brother.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: Very sweet. Well, one of the biggest cliches in sport is that when a star player is seen on the sidelines, he will often turn to the
camera and wave, and say, hi, mom. It happens all the time, of course.
But for the two quarterbacks in the Super Bowl, Eagles' Jalen Hurts and Patrick Mahomes of the Chiefs, their relationship with their fathers are
truly special.
CNN's Coy Wire asked them about that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JALEN HURTS, PHILADELPHIA EAGLES QUARTERBACK: I'm not the man I am on the field off the field. The quarterback I am, the leader I am, I'm none of
that without him.
[10:55:05]
PATRICK MAHOMES, KANSAS CITY CHIEFS QUARTERBACK: My dad, he means the world to me, man. I mean, he set an example for me on how you have to go through
this business.
COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR (voice-over): Patrick Mahomes' dad had an 11- year Major League Baseball career and taught his son how to be a pro and how to persevere through adversity.
PATRICK MAHOMES: He dealt with a lot of positives. And he was in the MLB at an early age. But he also battled in the minor leagues for a long time. And
he just followed -- kept following his dream and following his dream. And he was able to make it to a World Series. And it showed me that no matter
if it's not -- you're not having success at that moment, if you continue to follow your dreams, you'll make it.
PAT MAHOMES, PATRICK MAHOMES' FATHER: I just try to make sure that he knows that, you know, I'm in his corner. I'm going to be there. And as long as he
goes out there and does the best he can, he'll never hear a gripe from me.
WIRE: Hurts' dad was his high school football coach and Jalen has been learning about leadership from him since the days he was just a ball boy
for his dads' teams.
AVERION HURTS, JALEN HURT' FATHER: It's a blessing to watch a young man that, you know, develop the passion for a sport and really, really worked
hard at every level, at every turn.
WIRE (on-camera): What does dad mean to you?
J. HURTS: I feel like I'm a direct reflection of him and a spitting image of him in so many ways. And I love him and I respect him for how tough he
was on me, how honest he was with me and the man that he raised.
WIRE (voice over): The love and support these Super Bowl star quarterbacks received from their dads is shaping them into great leaders in their own
right, not just for their teams. Mahomes is now a dad. Father of two, leading, guiding. And while Hurts isn't a dad, he's well aware of the
influence he can have on the next generation.
J. HURTS: You don't really realize the impact you're doing until you reflect on it. And I think to have these opportunities and be able to
represent so many different people, something I definitely have on my heart when I'm out there playing. You know, I definitely never forget where I
come from and most importantly I know that there are kids out there watching. There's always kids out there watching.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MACFARLANE: Well, ads for the Super Bowl are also upping their game this year, including this nod to one of the classics.
(VIDEO CLIP OF T-MOBILE SUPER BOWL AD)
MACFARLANE: That is indeed John Travolta reprising his role in Danny in the film "Grease." This time instead of singing about summer nights, he is
singing the praises of T-Mobile home internet. Not quite as catchy. The throwback is bittersweet, of course, because Travolta's "Grease" co-star
Olivia Newton John passed away last year.
All right, do stay with us. CONNECT THE WORLD continues after this quick break. Stay with CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
