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Connect the World

Police: One Dead in Terror Attack in Central Park; Taiwan Condemns China after Former Ally Nauru Serves Ties; China Expresses "Strong Dissatisfaction" to Continues Congratulating Taiwan on its Presidential Ballot; Tonight: Iowans will Caucus to Pick GOP Presidential Candidate; World Economic Forum's Annual Gathering Kicks Off; Osaka Loses First Round Match at Australian Open. Aired 9-9:45a ET

Aired January 15, 2024 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ELENI GIOKOS, CNN HOST, CONNECT THE WORLD: Today, we begin with a significant and chilling milestone. 100 days of a brutal and bloody war

between Israel and Hamas. It has taken an emotional toll on people near and far from the Israelis, whose family members have been taken hostage by

Hamas to the civilians of Gaza who have endured relentless Israeli airstrikes to those impacted by the conflict beyond the borders of Gaza and

Israel.

Now we've seen rockets being exchanged between Israel and militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon. Since the start of the war, tens of thousands have

been displaced on that border with dozens killed including militants, but also civilians, aid workers as well as journalists.

And the U.S. and U.K. launching strikes on Houthi fighters in Yemen in an effort to force them to hold them months' long attacks in the Red Sea. That

the group says is in response to Israel's offensive in Gaza. The stakes in the Middle East could not be higher and of course the residents of Gaza who

have suffered from extreme hardships each passing day causing a conflict that shows no signs of ending any time soon.

Now, here is one stark example. Ayman Jamal and his family fled from the north of Gaza to Deir al Balah in the center. This is the inside of the

makeshift rickety tent with no ground sheets and gaps on top. Jamal's family is enduring bitter cold as well as rain and he tells CNN, the rain

does seem to follow us wherever we went.

Children are huddled around small fires struggling to keep warm. One of them says all of us are sick and no one cares. And this is the cool reality

facing the vast majority of Gaza's 2 million residents. Israelis also marking the 100th day milestone with rallies to free the hostages more than

130 people taken from Israel on October 7th are still unaccounted for.

Hamas has released video of these three hostages while in captivity. CNN can't verify when or where the video was taken and we are not showing it

because it is not clear if it was made while they were under duress. Meantime, we are hearing of a pair of deadly attacks in Central Israel.

Police say one person was killed and 12 wounded in two car-ramming. Authorities are calling them suspected terror attacks and say two people

from the West Bank are in custody and we'll have more on the story as it develops.

CNN's Jeremy Diamond is in Tel Aviv, joining us now. Jeremy, great to have you with us, few stories that we follow in here firstly, the deadly attack

that we've seen in Israel, take us through what we know right now.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, this is perhaps one of the most significant attacks that we have seen in Israel since the

beginning of this war. 17 people we can now report have been injured in this attack, one person was killed. A 70 year old woman was taken to

hospital with injuries and she later died of her injuries.

What is also significant about this attack beyond the number of casualties is the fact that this appears to have been carried out by two suspects

using two different vehicles ramming into pedestrians in the City of Ra'anana which is just north of where we are here in Tel Aviv. These two

suspects according to police officials are from Hebron in the occupied West Bank.

They entered Israel illegally according to police and they are both now in police custody. Oftentimes when you see these types of attacks of the

suspects are often shot and killed by police. But in this case both of them appear to have been apprehended according to police officials. One of those

suspects the police said was apprehended quite quickly.

And the second suspect was apprehended a few minutes later so again just a very significant attack that has now taken place in Israel with two

suspects now in police custody, 17 people injured one person who was injured taken to hospital later died of her injuries.

GIOKOS: Yeah, will we see these images right now from Israel. Look, this is a story that's developing. I'm sure we'll get more information as it comes

through. Important to note this is also a milestone over 100 days 101 days since the war began. And we've also seen this hostage video that has been

released. We're not showing it on CNN.

[09:05:00]

We are seeing some of the still images of these hostages. This is the first time we've seen these hostages. Give me a sense of what we've learned from

this video Jeremy and importantly also the herring message at the end, the announcement that they face will be known?

DIAMOND: Yeah. Well, what's really remarkable here and unique about that hostage video is the fact that Hamas for the first time now appears to be

kind of teasing out a next step in this video by showing the videos of three of these hostages, including significantly Noa Argamani who's

kidnapping by Hamas on October 7th, or kidnapping on October 7th was captured on video is one of the kind of defining images as she was kind of

reaching towards her boyfriend who was also being taken captive.

She was also believed to perhaps have been taken hostage not by Hamas militants but perhaps by civilians from Gaza who came into Israel on that

same day. And so to see her alive in this video, although we don't know when it was filmed is certainly having a significant psychological impact

on the Israeli public.

But then you add to that the fact that Hamas at the end of this video says you will learn of their fate tomorrow and then they released another video

today showing different options for how -- what may have potentially happened to them really makes it seem like some kind of a sick reality show

that Hamas is playing here with the Israeli public a continuation of the kind of psychological warfare that we have seen Hamas engage in.

And so now the country, the public and most significantly perhaps the relatives of these three hostages are waiting on pins and needles to see

what exactly Hamas will announce later today.

GIOKOS: Yeah, exactly, very traumatic indeed. And we've also seen people take to the streets as well. Looking at this 100 days of frankly trauma not

only for Israelis but also for many people inside of Gaza, Palestinians displaced the death toll continues to rise. The overall picture here is a

difficult one, Jeremy.

DIAMOND: No doubt about it. And there does not seem to be an end in sight as of now to the suffering that we are seeing on both sides.

When you look at the Israeli Prime Minister's comments over the weekend as we approach that 100 day mark he made very clear that nothing will stop us

he said from continuing to prosecute this war in Gaza even as international pressure is mounting even as the death toll is ticking closer to 24,000

people killed inside of Gaza about 70 percent of whom are believed to be women and children according to the Hamas controlled Palestinian Ministry

of Health.

The Israeli Prime Minister saying that he believes that this war will take many more months and at the same time, of course, efforts underway to try

and secure the release of these hostages more than 100 of whom are believed to still be held captive by Hamas.

You know this week there will be another milestone as Kfir Bibas the youngest hostage in Hamas custody is set to turn one year old. It will be

his first birthday this week. Hamas has claimed that he was killed in an Israeli airstrike.

The Israeli military has yet to confirm or deny that. But certainly another very sad milestone about to come up as the families of so many of these

hostages including that Bibas family continue to hold on to hope that their loved ones are alive and well and that perhaps one day, they will see

freedom, Eleni.

GIOKOS: Jeremy Diamond for us there. Thank you so much. Well, Hezbollah's Chief is vowing to continue confrontations with Israeli forces saying only

a ceasefire in Gaza would open the possibility of an end to the crossfire on the Lebanon-Israel border. Israel says two people were killed in

Northern Israel on Sunday when several anti-tank missiles were fired over the border from Lebanon.

The Israeli military says its warplanes struck Hezbollah positions in Lebanon. In response, Hezbollah's Leader Hassan Nasrallah also lambasted

U.S. and U.K. strikes in Yemen this week. Nasrallah said the strikes which are attempting to protect international shipping on key commercial route

would turn the Red Sea into a battlefield.

Meantime, the U.S. military says a shut down and anti-ship cruise missile Sunday which was via towards a U.S. Naval destroyer from a Houthi

controlled area of Yemen. Oren Liebermann is live for us from the Pentagon. Oren you know first and foremost importantly to focus on the stability in

the region and then seeing what is paying out in the Red Seas?

Seeing the confrontation coming through from the Houthis and of course the U.S. as well as its allies where do we stand right now because both sides

have vowed retaliation and importantly the U.S. says that they will strike again, if and when needed?

[09:10:00]

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, we certainly don't expect the Red Sea to calm down, at least not right now. Both the Pentagon

and the White House have made clear that they expect a larger and wider Houthi retaliation against a series of strikes that were carried out late

Thursday night and then one more of the following day essentially on Friday night.

And we have seen some response here you point out that the USS Laboon, a U.S. warship operating in the Red Sea, shut down a missile fire by the

Houthis. There was another anti-ship ballistic missile that was launched late last week into the Gulf of Aden, so south of Yemen.

But the expectation is that this isn't the end of it. And certainly this isn't the end of the Houthis capability to keep on attacking commercial

vessels in the Red Sea in the Gulf of Aden through a waterway that's absolutely critical to international shipping.

So the U.S. and other countries that participated with the U.S. not only in the strike but that work with the U.S. as part of operation prosperity

guardian are very much expecting there will be some sort of further larger retaliation coming from the Houthis.

And then at that point we have to see how this plays out. The whole purpose of this was to try to make sure that shipping companies felt comfortable

once again going through the Red Sea and felt safe and secure.

If so we haven't seen an indication of any of the world's largest shipping companies announcing that they will once again start using the Red Sea. But

that would obviously be the key indication that the U.S. and this effort are moving in that direction. For now it's a question of how this plays out

between the U.S. military and the Houthis.

The U.K. has indicated and they took part in the original strike that they don't have any plans for additional strikes at this point. At the same

time, the Houthis have said any U.S. and U.K. assets are legitimate targets. So if the goal was to calm down the area, we certainly haven't

gotten there yet as we wait to see what the Houthis next move is? The U.S. has clearly indicated and signaled that it's preparing for a further Houthi

attack.

GIOKOS: Yeah, and clearly this you know the scenario shows clear escalation. We've also been seeing that Europe is quite divided in terms of

this U.S. led coalition to strike back. Could you give me a sense of how united the coalition is and all its partners in terms of fighting back in

the Red Sea?

LIEBERMANN: So let's look at two different groups. And that'll give us a sense of this. The first is operation prosperity guardian.

GIOKOS: Yeah.

LIEBERMANN: This is a group of more than 20 countries that's designed to defend and that's the key word here the shipping lanes that have come under

attack from the Houthi. That's a large, fairly large group of countries. Meanwhile, the list of countries that took part in the strike is much, much

smaller.

And that clearly an offensive action that was the U.S. and the U.K. doing the actual striking, backed up by Australia, Bahrain, the Netherlands, as

well as Canada. So you see a much smaller group there. The question is how to get quicker to a state that first enables a more calm Middle East and

second allows shipping to go through the Red Sea?

So you see that disagreement playing out here. The U.S. however signaling look, we're not done here if the Houthis keep firing on international

shipping lanes which so far they have certainly seemed willing to do.

I'll also point out that the last intercepted missile on Sunday. So just yesterday was fired at the USS Laboon, a U.S. warship operating in the Red

Sea so the Houthis following up on their promise to target American ships.

GIOKOS: All right. Oren Liebermann, thank you so much. And we also were following the fallout in Turkey from two Israeli football players who

showed support for the hostages taken by Hamas from Israel. The top tier club Antalyaspor says it's working to terminate the contract of Sagiv

Jehezkel.

And he was detained and released by police after showing his bandaged hand with a message supporting Israeli hostages. That happened on the pitch

Sunday. Meantime, the Basaksehir Football Club says it has launched an investigation into player Eden Karzev for his post on his social media

accounts.

Well, up next on "Connect the World", Taiwan loses a diplomatic-ally to China's saying days after its presidential election. And we'll go live in

Beijing for the very latest. And Iowans are preparing to make the choices for Republican presidential candidates and we'll discuss how the Iowa

caucuses could shape the 2024 U.S. presidential election and the major impact the weather could have on that process? We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:15:00]

GIOKOS: Welcome back. And China is expressing what it's calling strong dissatisfaction and resolute opposition to countries congratulating Taiwan

on its presidential election. Now earlier Beijing said anyone in the international community who violates the One China Principle is interfering

in China's Internal Affairs.

Over the weekend Taiwan's ruling party secured a historic third consecutive presidential term. Meanwhile, the Pacific island nation of Nauru says it's

severing diplomatic ties with Taiwan. CNN's Will Ripley has more from Taipei.

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: One of the things that the self-governing democracy of Taiwan has long accused the Communist

Leaders in Beijing of doing is trying to isolate them diplomatically on the global stage. And here we are just a matter of days after the Democratic

Progressive Party that the Chinese Communist Party openly loads won a historic third consecutive presidential term.

President Elect Lai Ching-te, Vice President Elect, Tsai Ing-wen both vilified by the Communist Party in Beijing hated by them certainly no

immediate dialogue possible between these two new Taiwanese Leaders and the old guard over in the mainland that definitely didn't want to see them win.

Well, now you have an example Taiwan says of that diplomatic isolation playing out in real time because the small Pacific island nation of Nauru

announced that it is switching diplomatic ties from Taipei to Beijing. Now, during the last eight years of President Tsai Ing-wen's administration a

total of 10 of these small countries have switched their diplomatic alliances.

Now, Taiwan only has a dozen remaining formal diplomatic allies left mostly in the Pacific Ocean and Latin America. The reason that these countries

switch ties often has a lot to do with economics. Taipei says China can make a bigger offer financially and these countries decided it's in their

best interest to switch formal recognition.

But what that does is that it leaves Taiwan with fewer and fewer formal diplomatic allies in places like the United Nations, even as they continue

to invest in very warm and fruitful friendships with like-minded democracies around the world, including the United States which sent a

delegation here to Taipei to congratulate the Democratic Progressive Party leadership.

That delegation included the Former National Security Adviser and the Former Deputy Secretary of State here in an unofficial capacity but

nonetheless sending a very strong signal to Taiwan, that even though it doesn't have a whole lot of formal diplomatic allies left at the behest of

China around the world, they certainly do have a lot of friends. Will Ripley CNN, Taipei.

GIOKOS: We'll, let's get more now with CNN's Marc Stewart, who is in Beijing for us. These elections definitely not going the way that China

would have hoped. What is their next step clearly making it a sending a very strong messages to the international community that anyone that

supports the new president, could be ostracized by China? Give me a sense of what Beijing could do next.

[09:20:00]

MARC STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Indeed, Eleni. And China in many senses is in a bit of a tricky position. It has to balance rhetoric with reality.

Right now it is dealing with a long list of problems, a long list of issues in addition to this Taiwan question. Right now Beijing is dealing with high

youth unemployment, some economic troubles.

It's dealing with a leadership shake up, if you will, are among the advisors around President Xi Jinping. It's also enjoying a high moment with

the United States as we saw after the APEC Summit these two nations began dialogue once again after a very frosty few months.

So China has to be careful not to damage that relationship and also deal with the problems it has at home. So perhaps something big and bold may not

necessarily be in the near agenda. But Beijing does have an extensive toolbox as Will was talking about. It has the ability to woo supporters

from Taiwan as we saw today with Nauru to China's side.

It has a whole military fleet that we have seen conduct drills over the waters near Taiwan. And then there are economic tools that it could use to

disrupt some of the economic, the trade relationships that we have seen. So Beijing has to play it careful. So for the future strong statements strong

condemnation that may be its method of choice.

A key metric or a key point of time that a lot of analysts have told us to look out for Eleni is in the spring this is when the President Elect will

be inaugurated. It will be a new administration, a new calendar almost and if China wants to do something perhaps that's the time or perhaps let

things settle in before it takes a much larger step. So these are some of the issues that China is currently balancing, Eleni.

GIOKOS: Yeah. Marc Stewart, great to see you. Thank you so much for breaking that down for us. Well China of course will be high on the agenda

for the 2024 U.S. presidential race. And now the first contest of the race begins the Iowa caucuses. But the headline as Iowans prepare to vote is not

about the candidates or even the issues. It's all about the cold.

Wind chill temperatures could be as low as negative 37 degrees celsius, making those the coldest caucus on record and raising big questions about

turnouts. CNN's Eva McKend is in Iowa's Capitol City Des Moines. Great to have you with us, fascinating stuff, I'm seeing some of the images of the

cold and must be absolutely freezing.

I see that you are in you know in relative warmth right now. But things are also perhaps heating up when it comes to what we're going to be seeing at

this caucus. We've got Donald Trump leading with quite a big number. The question is can Nikki Haley bridge that gap? What are we expecting to see

tonight?

EVA MCKEND, CNN U.S. NATIONAL POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Nikki Haley telling her supporters to layer up that Iowans has the opportunity to set

the tone for the country. Governor DeSantis expressing confidence going into tonight in the extensive ground game operation that they have built

here.

And Former President Donald Trump telling his supporters doesn't take anything for granted. You know after so many months of campaigning millions

of dollars spent in Ads what this caucus could come down to, is how Iowa wins navigate this bitter cold?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MCKEND (voice-over): The 2024 presidential race is heating up as temperatures are dropping in Iowa.

NIKKI HALEY, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Get excited.

MCKEND (voice-over): Iowans are battling snow and below zero temperatures as they head out to caucus in the first voting event to determine the

Republican nominee for President.

DONALD TRUMP, 45TH U.S. PRESIDENT: So braving the weather and go out and save America.

MCKEND (voice-over): Iowa's GOP Chairman predicting a robust voter turnout despite frigid temperatures, the remaining candidates holding their final

campaign events in the Hawkeye State over the weekend.

GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL): We have the ability here in Iowa. You have the ability to change the trajectory of American politics.

MCKEND (voice-over): And making their final pitches to caucus goers.

VIVEK RAMASWAMY, 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: By the way, in this late phase we have seen a tidal wave in the last 48 hours. I think we're going

to win the Iowa caucuses.

HALEY: You can be the start of the solution that we have. I promise you our best days are yet to come.

MCKEND (voice-over): Former President Trump who holds a commanding polling lead heading into the caucus spent the weekend campaigning in Iowa.

[09:25:00]

TRUMP: You can't sit home. If you're sick as a dog you say -- even if you vote and then pass away, it's worth it.

MCKEND (voice-over): During his rally he targeted Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Hayley who's in a distant fight for second place.

TRUMP: But she's not right to be president. I know it very well. The wrong thought process. The wrong policy and honestly she's not tough enough.

HALEY: No one ever questions my toughness. He's saying this because now he knows he's in trouble. Now he knows this is becoming a two person race. So

I know that what that he knows the truth, it doesn't bother me at all.

MCKEND (voice-over): Trump also picked up important endorsements on the eve of the caucus, including North Dakota Governor and Former Presidential

Candidate Doug Burgum and Florida Senator Marco Rubio.

HALEY: I don't line up a bunch of endorsements to do that. I want to win the people's vote, because at the end of the day they're the ones that I'm

going to be serving.

MCKEND (voice-over): Florida Governor Ron DeSantis also faced criticism from Trump at his final campaign stop in Iowa he tried to distinguish

himself from the front runner.

DESANTIS: He's running a campaign about putting himself and his issues first. That's what he cares about. You can be the most worthless Republican

in America. But if you kiss the ring, he'll say you're wonderful. You deserve a nominee that's going to put you first not himself first.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCKEND (on camera): And the Iowans that I speak to despite these subzero degree temperatures. They tell me that they feel motivated to come out and

caucus tonight. One person I spoke to says that they've been caucusing since the 80s.

And no blizzard, no cold weather it will stop them that they take the fact that Iowa goes first so seriously and viewed as a real privilege that they

get to hear from all these presidential candidates, sometimes multiple times within one year, Eleni.

GIOKOS: That's major commitment, I must say. Great to see you, Eva McKend speak to you later. All right and CNN will have special coverage of the

2024 Iowa caucuses that starts later Monday at 4 pm Eastern Time. That's 9 pm in London. And right here on CNN.

Another major topic and the presidential race is migration. CNN has exclusively learned that the White House is demanding Texas give U.S.

Border Patrol agents' immediate access to the area along the southern border. Now that's where three migrants a woman and two children drowned

this weekend trying to cross the Rio Grande.

The deaths come just days after the state seize control of Shelby Public Park in Eagle Pass, fencing it off and blocking federal agents from it.

CNN's Rosa Flores joins me now live from Eagle Pass in Texas, very tragic story that's playing out here. Give me a sense of what played out here?

What do we know about the deaths? And importantly, was it the inability to access the people passing through?

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know Eleni, that's the tragic part of this. There's a lot of finger pointing right now. And as you know when

governments fail it's usually regular people that get stuck in the middle. In this case it's migrants. Let me set the scene for you. We have video of

Shelby Park.

And I want us to roll this video because this gives you a sense of the situation on the ground. You see gates and fencing and members of the Texas

National Guard guarding those areas of the park and determining who goes into the park and who doesn't go into the park.

And I got to say that this is an escalation in the feud between Texas Governor Greg Abbott and the Biden Administration over border security.

They don't agree on tactics and Texas so many times as taken matters into its own hands.

We've covered many of these legal fuses that are ongoing. The border buoys, the concertina wire, which are just downriver from where I'm at. There's

SB4 that's the immigration law that we've been covering too, that the state of Texas passed.

So there's been a lot of back and forth. But as you mentioned now it is turned tragic. Now there are deaths that these governments are finger

pointing on. A migrant mother and her two children drowned over the weekend. Now DHS says that border patrol tried to get access to the area

when the distress call came out of Mexico and that Texas military department did not give them access.

Well, the Texas military department says that that's not true that that's not accurate. The Biden Administration has gone to the U.S. Supreme Court

asking them to intervene so that border patrol can regain access not to that to that park that I just show you but to the area that you see behind

me.

You'll see Concertina Wire. This is an area used by federal agents during migrant searches to manage the migrant search. You don't see anybody here

right now because there is no migrant surge currently. The numbers have plummeted significantly.

So the Biden Administration asking the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene so they can get regain access to the miles of the border Texas responding to

the High Court saying that it is working to give a border patrol access to a boat ramp within the park.

[09:30:00]

And now we're also learning as you just mentioned Eleni that DHS has sent a cease-and-desist letter to the State of Texas. And I want to read you a

portion of the letter because this is very telling. Not only is the federal government asking the state to give them access to federal jurisdiction,

this is normally where they apprehend migrants.

They want access to their own federal land. And I want to read a part of this to you it says quote, some of the barriers placed by Texas and the

armed soldiers deployed by Texas are on federal land. Specifically Texas National Guard is blocking entrances through federally owned and maintained

border barriers with armed soldiers.

Now that gives you a sense of the escalation of this. The State of Texas taking over controlling federal land and now the Biden Administration

giving the State of Texas a deadline of Wednesday in the cease-and-desist letter asking them to remove the barriers and to give border patrol access,

Eleni.

GIOKOS: All right. Rosa Flores, thank you so much for that update. All right, we're going to very short break more "Connect the World" right after

this, stay with CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GIOKOS: Welcome back. I'm Eleni Giokos in Abu Dhabi, and you're watching "Connect the World". Will 2024 be a year of permit (ph) crisis? That's what

the World Economic Forum is asking, as many of the world's richest and most powerful people descend on Davos for the Forum's annual gathering.

The world is facing big challenges, two major wars and the climate emergency loom large and then there's exploding public debt. CNN is finding

that governments own more than $88 trillion combined that is almost equivalent to the world's annual economic output.

Well, geopolitics is a major theme in Davos this year and you probably won't be surprised to learn that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is

part of that lineup. The State Department says he's keen to emphasize the need to achieve a lasting peace in the Middle East.

[09:35:00]

With that in mind, the Founder of the World Economic Forum, Klaus Schwab tells my colleague Richard Quest, that this week's gathering is a good

place to confront the world's toughest challenges. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KLAUS SCHWAB, CHAIRPERSON OF WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM: It's time where you want to meet or you want to figure out what's really going on. And Davos of

course bringing together our 50 heads of states, 300 ministers, 1500 business leaders, all the other Representatives of Civil Society those

young people and so on it creates a kind of pot which is boiling and you may get some better knowledge about what's going on.

RICHARD QUEST, CNN ANCHOR: What's the biggest risk that we face?

SCHWAB: I think the biggest risk we face is that we lose hope and is that we lose trust. Trust into our institutions and particularly trust in our

capability to shape a better future. We have become too much pessimist. Look, human kind was driven. So what's a paradigm is a narrative to take

care for the next generations to take care of our neighbors and we have lost this capability to a certain extent.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GIOKOS: Well, let's get you up to speed on some other stories that are on our radar right now. Two journalists held in Iran for their coverage of the

death of Mahsa Amini have been temporarily released on bail that is according to state run media. Niloofar Hamedi and Elahe Mohammadi are

waiting for a verdict on their appeal and have been banned from leaving the country.

Amini's death in 2022, while in the custody of Iran's morality police sparked nationwide protests over the country's treatment of women. Ukraine

says it destroyed two Russian aircraft over the Sea of Azov, which is between the two countries. A Kremlin Spokesman said he had no information

about the claim.

But the Ukrainian Air Force said its mission and the region was successful. Detectives investigating a plot to disrupt the London Stock Exchange have

arrested six people police say Palestine action group activists allegedly intended to attempt a lock on the building in an effort to prevent it from

opening for trading earlier today.

Ahead in sports, 15 months away from the game and six months after giving birth. Former tennis number one Naomi Osaka returns to competitive play at

the Australian Open. We'll bring you the details right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:40:00]

GIOKOS: Welcome back. Now the flow of lava in Southwest Iceland has decreased and that's according to the country's national broadcaster. This

update comes as people have been rushing to get out of the fishing town of Grindavik, where molten lava has reached their community. A volcanic crack

opened just north of the town caused by the second eruption this area has seen in weeks. Lava has been burning houses and the town is under

evacuation orders.

Now a spokesperson for Iceland's Civil Protection Agency says the lava presents quote, no danger to human life still 10 percent of Grindavik's

population has already evacuated and many people who left after last month's eruption have not returned. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JON GAUTI DAGBJARTSSON, EVACUATED GRINDAVIK RESIDENT: This is big. This is serious is basically as bad as can possibly get although it might get even

worse. Who knows? So I mean I'm born in this town. I actually live in the house that I'm born in. And it's kind of -- it's a tough thought to think

that this town might be over. And I would have to start all over somewhere else.

SIGURBJORN DADI DAGBJARTSSON, EVACUATED GRINDAVIK RESIDENT: Unbelievable. I thought that I would never live to witness this.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's been quiet for 800 years.

DAGBJARTSSON: 800 years.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GIOKOS: It's been quiet for 800 years, interesting story there from Iceland. Well. in Qatar a moment of silence for the lives lost in the

Israel-Hamas war before a match between the Iranian and Palestinian football teams. The Palestine coach thanked everyone in the stadium for the

show of solidarity.

Despite some vocal fan support Iran dominated the Asian Cup Group C opening match winning 4-1, Palestine are still seeking their first win at the Asian

Cup. And in tennis a long awaited comeback for former world number one Naomi Osaka. She was back on court at Australian Open six months after

giving birth as well as a 15 month break from the game.

Unfortunately, it wasn't quite the result that she was hoping for. We got Amanda Davies with us. Six months after a baby that is incredibly brave and

commendable.

AMANDA DAVIES, CNN WORLD SPORT: Yeah, one of six mums actually, in the women's draw this time around. Naomi Osaka, a two time Former Australian

Open Champion, drawn against Caroline Garcia in her opening match, this was one of those encounters which for fans were one to relish.

But for both of these players really not what they would have wanted because to 16 -- Caroline Garcia, Naomi Osaka wanting a long run in this

competition. And it just proved a step too far too early, really, in her comeback, her first Grand Slam match since the U.S. Open in 2022. But we've

got more on that and another busy day, the first Monday of the Australian Open coming up by in just a couple of minutes.

GIOKOS: Fantastic. We'll see right after the break, Amanda. I'll be back at the top of the hour with more "Connect the World". We'll see you soon.

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[09:45:00]

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