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Trump: "Second Amendment People" Could Stop Clinton; Philippine President Insults U.S. Ambassador; Simone Biles Leads Women's Gymnastics to Gold; 150 Police Involved In Anti-Terror Raids; Reports Accuses Baltimore Police of Racial Bias;150 Flights Canceled As Delta Tries To Get Back To Normal; Brazil's Senate Okays Impeachment Trial for Rousseff; Eleven Babies Die In Baghdad Hospital Fire; City Of Gods Favela Celebrates Hometown Medalist. Aired 10-11a ET
Aired August 10, 2016 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:00:00]
ISA SOARES, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and a very warm welcome to the international desk, I'm Isa Soares.
We start with the latest firestorm over comments by Donald Trump. The Republican presidential candidate sparked outrage on Tuesday when he
suggested supporters of the U.S. Second Amendment which allows gun ownership could stop Hillary Clinton. Did Trump go too far this time or is
this what he calls another example of the media twisting his words?
CNN's Jason Carroll has his story.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JASON CARROLL, CNN REPORTER: Donald Trump on the defensive again.
DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESDIENTIAL NOMINEE: There can be no other interpretation.
Miami, give me a break.
CARROL: Blaming media bias for the firestorm over this quip at his campaign rally.
TRUMP: Hillary wants to abolish -- essentially abolish the Second Amendment.
By the way, if she gets to pick -- if she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do folks. Although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is, I
don't know.
CARROLL: Trump doing damage control claiming he was calling on the political powers of Second Amendment voters to make their voices heard not
advocating violence toward his rival.
TRUMP: This is a political movement. This is a strong powerful movement, the Second Amendment. You know, Hillary wants to take your guns away, she
wants to leave you unprotected in your home.
CARROLL: Clinton's campaign quickly denouncing Trump saying he is dangerous and a presidential candidate should not suggest violence in any
way. Others Democrats echoing the same sharp rebuke. Senator Chris Murphy calling it an assassination threat, Elizabeth Warren slamming him as a
pathetic coward who can't handle losing to a girl, and Gabby Gifford's, who survived being shoot in the head says Americans must draw a bright red line
between political speech and suggestions of violence. Republicans blasting Trump as well.
GENERAL MICHAEL HAYDEN, FORMER OF NI AND DCA: That's actually a very arresting comment. If someone else had said that outside the hall, he'd be
in the back of a police wagon now with the secret service questioning him.
CARROLL: Trump blaming the desperate media for trying to distract from what he calls Clinton's anti-Second Amendment stance, even though Clinton
has never called for abolishing gun rights. The NRA and running mate Mike Pence coming to Trump's defense.
MIKE PENCE, (R) VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Donald Trump is urging people around this country to act in a manner consistent with their convictions,
and of course of this election. And, people who cherish the Second Amendment have a very clear choice in this election.
CARROLL: Trump has taken heat for violent rhetoric on the stump before.
TRUMP: I'd like to punch him in the face. Knock the crap out of him.
CARROLL: Speaker of the House Paul Ryan once again issuing a tepid defense of Trump.
REP. PAUL RYAN, (R-WIS) HOUSE SPEAKER: It sounds like just a joke going bad. I hope he clears it up very quickly. You should never joke about
something like that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: And that was Jason Carroll reporting. I want to bring in David Swerdlick the associate editor of "the Washington Post." And David have
you heard that piece there Jason Carroll, Trump's off the cuff style has got him into trouble before. In your opinion, do you think he crossed the
line this time?
DAVID SWERDLICK, ASSOCIATE EDITOR, WASHINGTON POST: Well, I think he at least walked right up until the line. And even if you take the excuses
that the Trump campaign has offered at face value, it still doesn't really fully explain away what happened yesterday.
You know, Trump's comment, even if you take it as a joke, clearly this is a topic that you don't joke about. Even if you take it as a misunderstanding
of what he really wanted to say, this is a topic on which you have to be very precise with your language.
And although Trump supporters -- I've heard several on CNN's air among other places in the last 24 hours, you know, explaining it away by saying
essentially that, look he's not a politician. He doesn't speak like a regular politician that is not an adequate excuse.
He's been campaigning for president for a year now. He's been in the public eye for 30 or 40 years. When you talk about guns, when you talk
about the Second Amendment, when you're running for president, precision is required.
SOARES: Absolutely. Like one commentator said it today, not only responsible for your words, but you're also responsible for how people
perceive and read those words.
But David, I was looking at the article in "The Washington Post," it has the headline for Trump's controversial words a pattern, outrage, headlines
and then denial. He'd never apologize or even clarifies them. How can he get away with this? That's what the international audience has been asking
all along.
SWERDLICK: Right. So first all, you mentioned that General Michael Hayden, one of the top members of our national security establishment had
said that you have to be responsible for both your words and how people hear those words.
[10:05:06] I think that's absolutely right. To your point, look, Trump has this pattern of not apologizing in part as my "Washington Post" colleagues
have reported on because that has been his style and his approach all throughout his career, even when he was in the private sector.
We've done some reporting on his mentor, a man named Roy Cohn, a lawyer who was a lawyer also during the McCarthy era, who had sort of mentored and
counseled Trump that in order to succeed in dealing with the media that even if you make a misstep, the best thing is to move forward and not
apologize.
Trump, I think, has had a few instances where it may have made political sense not to apologize from speaking or for saying something inflammatory,
but we're sort about this point now where because he's generating controversy on a weekly if not daily basis with sometimes inflammatory
statements, I do think this is starting to hurt him in the polls and I do think it's starting to set a pattern and a narrative that he is someone who
speaks off the cuff, sometimes not carefully, sometimes, you know, with an edge and then doesn't demonstrate that he can acknowledge that he may have
offended people or that he may have spoken out of turn and I do think that is sort of set in stone now as we head into the last 30 -- excuse me, 90
days of the campaign.
SOARES: Of course, and this goes very much, I think to the heart of the criticism of Trump that we've had from Hillary Clinton. Indeed, from those
50 Republicans who wrote that letter yesterday saying he's not disciplined. He's too reckless.
If you can look at this with a crystal ball, if you've got one David, do you think that he's aware that he's self-inflicting this damage or is his
view on these comments completely entirely different?
SWERDLICK: Well, it's hard to read Trump's mind. I will say though, that because speaking off the cuff, shooting from the hip if you will, worked so
well for him during the Republican primary season. I would imagine that it's hard for him to abandon that same style now that we're heading into
the general election.
You know, he gave a very measured speech on economic policy on Monday that many Republicans applauded, but it did not generate the same kind of heat
that some of his one-off comments generate.
And I wonder, although I can't say with certainty if he feels like he's got to generate the kind of comments that will land him in the news, on T.V.,
in the headlines on a daily if not, you know, hourly basis.
You know, Donald Trump is not a career politician, but I think, as I said a moment ago, he's been campaigning for president long enough that he should
be able to take a step back and realize that the poll numbers are trending in a certain way. At least in recent weeks in part because of some of the
comments he's made.
SOARES: David Swerdlick, fantastic to get you on air. A very interesting discussion, thank you very much. Do come back soon.
SWERDLICK: Thank you.
SOARES: Now, in the Philippines, new and inflammatory comments from the president are raising hackles at home as well as abroad. In a speech
Rodrigo Duterte was talking about U.S ambassador to his country and he called him a homosexual and used profanity to describe him.
That, of course, we won't repeat here. U.S. diplomat are raising the issue with the Filipino counterparts in Washington.
Also in televised comments President Duterte made a fire response to the nation's chief justice who had criticized him for publicly accusing
government officials of being complicit in the drug trade.
The President said this, go ahead and try to stop me. Would you rather that I declared martial law? Mr. Duterte anti-crime campaign has been
sweeping and heavily criticized. Police are accused of committing hundreds of extra judicial killings since his election back in May.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
This music always makes me want to stand, but not that I can anyway. But, we are entering day five of the Olympic Games and team USA is dominating
with women's gymnastics sweeping up wins and Michael Phelps taking home yet more gold.
But don't forget Hungary's top female swimmer with three gold medals to her name so far. Amanda Davies is covering the game through and joins us from
Rio de Janeiro. Amanda, what a phenomenal night for team USA both in the gymnastics and swimming, a truly golden night, wasn't it?
AMANDA DAVIES, CNN SPORTS REPORTER: It really was Isa. And just to let you know, having seen Usain Bolt Samba, I'm definitely not going to try it
because you can't beat him.
But yes, in terms of the pool not many can beat Michael Phelps at the moment, not just one gold but two added to his haul last night. And this
was the one he really wanted to win, the 200 meters fly. This is the event that he's dominated throughout his career.
Swam as a 15-year-old at the Olympics but was beaten in four years ago in London by South Africa's Chad le Clos. He said he went into the pool on a
mission, and it was mission completed when he took gold number 20 of his career.
[10:10:12] He then followed that up only 70 Minutes later with gold number 21 helping team USA to victory in the relay. It really was a very, very
special night.
And one that proved the hunger is still most definitely there or back you should say after that retirement for him four years ago.
Katie Ledecky shone again in the event that she was expecting to be a little bit weaker on, the 200 freestyle, the weakest of her events. But
she did admit it was a really tough night which gives the rest of us hope that she might be a little bit human after all but still certainly very
impressive.
And then as you said Katinka Hosszu of Hungary, somebody who if Ledecky and Phelps weren't dominating for such an extent you would expect to be getting
a whole lot more headlines. She got her third individual gold of this game, something that no woman has done at an Olympics, an individual event
since 2000.
Isa, I was lucky enough last night having been at the pool over the weekend, experience the gymnastics firsthand. It was a truly special
occasion. So much attention had been on this USA female all-around team, the team that they're calling the best ever in gymnastic's terms. They
didn't disappoint.
The arena was absolutely silent as 19-year-old Simone Biles stepped up for the final floor routine which saw the USA clinch gold. It was incredible.
I absolutely failed miserably to take a photo. The tumbles were so fast and so fantastic and so high. You just couldn't really get an eye on it.
It was so fantastic, but yeah, absolutely rightly being called the best USA team ever.
SOARES: I thought you were going to say, "I failed totally in trying to copy their routine," for a moment there. I would have been flabbergasted.
Amanda, we know that about 20 medals or so are up for grabs today. What should we be looking out for today?
DAVIES: It was meant to be 20. But that's now being cut to 18 because the rowing event, sadly, today have been canceled because of the weather. You
can probably see it's a bit more gray, gloomy, wet and windy than it has been in the past.
One gold has already been won, a great story. Kristin Armstrong, her 43rd birthday tomorrow. She's taken a third straight or third victory in the
Olympic women's time trial on the road. But a lot of focus this afternoon will once again on this evening be on the pool.
Phelps and Ledecky back in action. There's also going to be the revival of that rivalry between 19-year-old American Lilly King and Russia's Yulia
Efimova. King, of course, calling out Efimova about her past and having failed a drug test. They got back to action in the 200 meters
breaststroke.
SOARES: Yeah, and it wouldn't be the Olympics without a bit of rivalry, would it, Amanda. Thank you very much, Amanda Davies there for us in Rio
de Janeiro.
Still ahead right here at the International Desk, after a suspected ISIS operative was arrested in Germany, coordinated police raids are being
carried out in multiple cities. We'll have a report from Fred Pleitgen in Berlin.
Plus, drones are part of life now, as you know. But a part of prison life, it's happening here in Britain. We'll explain after this short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:15:49] SOARES: Welcome back to the International Desk.
A large anti-terror operation has been under way in western Germany. Police raided homes and businesses on three people suspected of recruiting
fighters for ISIS. Two people we've been told have been arrested.
Our Senior International Correspondent Frederik Pleitgen joins now from Berlin with the latest.
And Fred, I understand the raids are still ongoing. Of course, the situation is very fluid. What are you learning from authorities at this
hour?
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, you're absolutely right, Isa. The situation certainly is one that is very fluid
and does also extend over a large area in Western Germany as well as in Central Germany as well.
The latest that we're getting from the police and other authorities here in this country is they say that these raids started in the early morning
hours in at least five cities. The four of them the State of North Rhine- Westphalia, in the west of Germany, among them a Dortmund, Dusseldorf, Duisburg and a place called Tonisvorst which is a much smaller town.
And these raids apparently targeting three individuals, their home addresses as well as their business addresses also, and these three
individuals are accused by Germany's general prosecutor of having recruited both supporters as well as members for ISIS here in Germany. And at least
one of them is also accused of having provided both logistical as well as financial support for that organization as well.
Now, in these specific raids that happened this morning, no arrests were made in those. However, there were two other arrests that were made both
yesterday -- both today, I should say and on Friday in a separate case of someone who apparently is also a member of ISIS, who the German authorities
believe may have been plotting terror attacks here in Germany. They are still looking into that.
But certainly all of this, of course, comes with a situation where there's great concern about the security situation here in this country after
you've had several attacks that took place here in the southern part of the country over the past couple of weeks.
And Germany's interior minister, came out earlier today and gave a press statement saying that said that the raids that happened today were part of
a new strategy. And he said, "There is an understanding between the federal and the state governments that they will -- that we will act early
and be tough and energetic in our searches in order to protect our population from threats."
Of course, a lot of that also in reaction to some of the security incidents that have happened here in this country over the past weeks and, of course,
the grave concern with the fact that Germany took in about 1.1 million refugees last year from countries like Syria and Afghanistan. And with
that, of course, the security concerns that large parts of the German population have at this point, Isa.
SOARES: Fred Pleitgen for us there Berlin. Fred, as soon as you have more on those raids do come back to us.
I want to move to France because the country has been waging its own fight against terrorism. But authorities have not been able to keep Jihadist
organizations from recruiting within the country.
CNN Nima Elbagir, has been reporting in the story and she joins me now.
And Nima, you and I covered the Paris attacks. We were also in Nice. And the questions that we keep being asked is, why France? What makes France
such a recruiting hub, I should say, for this Jihadist? What have you found?
NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And absolutely, why does it keep happening? How does it keep happening in a first world G-7
country with all the resources that France has?
Well, we have learned these figures that CNN has obtained that in spite of the heightened policing, in spite of the French president saying that his
country is effectively at war those numbers keep going up, and as we understand that that is down to the propagandizing of one man.
Take a look at this, Isa.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELBAGIR: A tent in Syria. Home to what French authorities are calling one of the most successful Jihadi recruitment campaigns.
Overseen, they say, by Omar Diaby AKA Omar Omsen, dubbed by his followers the Super Jihadist.
When Fouad El Bathy 15-year-old sister Nora went missing two years ago he documented his search for her using hidden cameras. A search that took him
across Turkey's border with Syria where he learned Omar Omsen personally recruited her.
FOUAD EL BATHY, BROTHER OF JIHADI RECRUIT (through translator): We couldn't stop hugging each other. She kissed me here, here, here. She
even kissed me on the mouth by mistake. I told her, "Let's go home."
[10:20:12] But she said she couldn't.
ELBAGIR: Fouad said he found his sister in a villa where Omsen and his French Jihadi brigade were based, an entire fighting force from Omsen's
hometown of Nice. This rare footage obtained by French documentary maker showcases Omsen's messianic fervor.
It's this charisma that authorities tell us has made him so successful. Responsible for an estimated 80 percent of the French-speaking Jihadis
flanking to Iraq and Syria. Fouad said he witnessed Omsen's effect firsthand.
BATHY (through translator): When Omar was speaking all the guys were looking at him like he was god. He made me think of a guru, they were
venerating him.
ELBAGIR: And promenades in the southeastern of France feel a world away from Syria and Iraq. But Omsen's childhood home of Nice has proved
particularly fertile recruiting ground. His neighbor Aman describing it as an epidemic.
BOUBEKEUR BEKRI, IMAM IN NICE FRANCE (through translator): They're transformed in a few weeks. It's like a bomb goes off.
ELBAGIR: You have described the way that extremism is taking hold in this community as a virus.
BEKRI (through translator): When a virus infects a lot of people, it's a pandemic and you can't use regular pills to cure it. You need bigger
resources.
ELBAGIR: Through intelligence sources CNN obtained the latest ministry of entire figures for French national involved in Jihad. Between May and July
the biggest rose to 67 people 2,147. This at the height if what authorities call an all encompassing security response by the French State.
CNN reached out to the French government for comment but receive no response. Even as Fouad and others like him bravely speak out.
Authorities say Omsen and his propaganda team continue to lure in French in citizens at home and abroad.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
And many of those even within France's government have been very vocal with us about their frustrations that, in spite of everything that's happened
they are not as yet able to deliver a solution to the French people.
SOARES: Listening to your piece we heard that Imam, they're saying we need more than just a pill to fix this epidemic, he called it, or pandemic.
What can France do?
ELBAGIR: I mean, that is absolutely the root of the issue, is that there doesn't seem to be any agreement inside France about what should be done.
So you have deradicalization programs that open and seemingly overnight closed. You have the justice minister spearheading a campaign to combat
deradicalization of prison which is a huge funneling point of Jihadi recruits. That then is now in disarray over this proposal, which just shut
down by the French parliament to strip dual nationals suspected involvement in terror of their French citizenship.
So you have this jostling for what is exactly the right solution while the root addressing of these causes isn't actually given the proper amount of
funding, the deregulation programs. Meanwhile, you have the elections next year and you have a political discourse that is moving ever further right,
and the Islamophobia only further feeds that sense of alienation that people like Omar Omsen prey on.
SOARES: Nima Elbagir there with an incredible report there, thanks very much Nima.
Now, a blistering report accuses the Baltimore Maryland Police Department of unfairly targeting African-Americans in ways that that violate the U.S.
constitution. Statistics show a disproportionate number of stop, searches as well as arrest. U.S. Justice Department blames what it calls zero
tolerance enforcement practices.
The report does not reference Freddie Gray whose death you may remember in police custody, sparked to outrage and protests but of course no
convictions.
Well here in Britain, there's an inquiry into the death of a woman killed in a crush during a police chase. At that time police were also
investigating a low-flying drone near a prison.
Samuel Burke joins me from outside, Wandsworth prison in South London. And, Samuel, what have you learned about this incident? Any nefarious
reasons for these drones being used?
SAMUEL BURKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Isa, this incident all started Tuesday night in the dark skies right over me at this prison, the largest in the
U.K. In fact, police were here a few minutes later, and then they saw a car leave the scene and they pursued that car. It crashed.
The female in her 20s pronounced dead at the scene. A male driver is still in the hospital in critical condition. But just a few months ago, there
was also a drone spotted at this very prison. And this whole situation underscores the serious situation that prisons face with drones.
Look at this incredible footage, Isa. Here in Wandsworth prison in May, you see a drone entering the prison grounds, a bag being carried by that
drone approaches the cell.
[10:25:06] A male prisoner reaches through with a stick trying to bring the contraband into his prison cell. Authorities later say that that bag
contained drugs and a smartphone. So what this all shows, it's not just airports and airliners that are facing problems with drones, prisons as
well. They need new laws and they need more investment to try and prevent contraband from ...
SOARES: I believe we have lost -- are you still with us? No? I think we've lost Samuel. We'll try and reconnect and of course will come back to
him as soon as we have it.
Now, Delta passengers are still feeling the effects today of the catastrophic computer failure three days ago that grounded the airline's
entire fleet. Right now 155 flights have been canceled as Delta works through the backup of stranded passengers, as well as crews, the airline
says it hopes to have all the operations back to normal later on Wednesday. Delta CEO has publicly apologized for the delays and inconvenience saying
this isn't who we are.
Now, there's a damning new report about the treatment of people at Australia's off-shore detention center for asylum seekers. Documents
leaked to the Guardian Newspaper highlight more than 2,000 cases of abuse at the center on the Pacific Island of Nauru. CNN can not there
authenticity but the nature of the allegations matched those made recently human rights watch and Amnesty International. A guardian journalist in
Sydney told us children are bearing the brunt of the city, let's take and listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL FARRELL, REPORTER, GUARDIAN AUSTRALIA: One of the things that is really striking about these reports, is that even though children only make
up 10 percent of the population on Nauru. They make up 50 percent of the reports of serious incidents contained in these reports. I mean, that's
massively disproportionate. And it shows that there are very serious incidents of sexual assaults, of self-harm and abuse happening to these
children in Australia's care.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: The Australian government says many of the reports reflect unconfirmed allegations and one of the companies that provides detention
services on Nauru told CNN that it's dealt appropriately with all the allegations. No response yet from the second provider.
Still ahead right here on the show, deadly wildfires in Portugal burned everything in their path and leave anxious tourist stranded on the island
of Madeira. We have the latest after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:30:19] SOARES: A very warm welcome back to the International Desk. I'm Isa Soares. Let me bring you up to date with the main news headlines
we're following through this hour.
Donald Trump is fending off criticism after saying backers of the U.S. Second Amendment, which allows gun ownership, could stop Hillary Clinton.
Clinton's campaign called the comment dangerous and an attempt to suggest violence. Trump said he meant it as a call for gun rights advocates to
vote against Clinton in the presidential election.
German police have been carrying out anti-terror raids in multiple cities. Authorities say this latest action focuses on three people suspected of
recruiting fighters for ISIS. One suspect is also believed to have provided money and logistical support to the terror group. Two other
suspects have been arrested in separate cases.
Brazil's suspended president Dilma Rousseff will face an impeachment trial right after the Olympics. The Senate approved the trial on Wednesday. Ms.
Rousseff is accused of illegal budget and accounting moves aimed at covering up economic problems. She denies breaking the law.
Now, in a city that's been seen really so much tragedy this really does stand out. Almost a dozen babies died in Baghdad. Not victims of attacks,
but of a fire that many say could have been prevented.
CNN's Arwa Damon is following the story for us from Istanbul. And she joins us now. And Arwa, this is beyond horrific. Tell us what you are
hearing from authorities there.
ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's impossible to imagine what this is like for the parents that are suffering so much at
this stage. Now, what we understand from a security source at the hospital where this all unfolded, is that the fire broke out at around 2:00 in the
morning due to some sort of electrical short-circuit to an air conditioning unit that was located not just in the maternity ward but in particular in
the room that was the housing these babies that had been born prematurely and were in incubators.
That initial fire then combining with the oxygen that was being provided to the incubators caused it to rage even stronger. And by the time
firefighters got there, Isa. It was simply too late. And there are a lot of issues here that are really causing a lot of anger alongside this
sorrow. This hospital, like the vast majority of medical facilities in Iraq, doesn't have emergency exits. There's no early warning system.
There's no evacuation plan.
So when the firefighters actually got on scene and they were stationed fairly close by, they weren't able to quickly reach the location where the
blaze was because of the pandemonium and chaos caused by all of those who were trying to escape. A lot of these deaths we were told were actually
caused by suffocation. These babies died due to suffocation and of course, some also because of the blaze in of itself. Parents outside of the
hospital, their grief impossible to put into words.
One father was still looking for his twins that had just been born, and he wasn't sure if they were dead or alive. There were some babies that had
been rescued, moved to another location, but he didn't really know how to even begin tracking them down. Never mind telling his wife who had
delivered by cesarean what had actually taken place. That he hadn't yet been able to locate their newly born twins. Iraqis, as I was saying,
enraged by all of this.
On Twitter many of them really criticizing the government saying that it was a cause of negligence, incompetence and corruption. And this, Isa, is
because for way too long years now the government has been promising to refurbish hospitals, has been promising to build up countries
infrastructure, but the vast number of Iraqis will accuse their leadership of whittling away all of the country's money due to corruption and to line
their own pockets.
SOARES: And enraged also because I'm guessing, Arwa. It's not the first time we've heard of incidents of this nature because of shoddy maintenance
and poor wiring. Can this tragedy be a catalyst for change?
DAMON: One can really only hope, Isa. But, this is Iraq at the end of the day, and it's sadly, tragically, a nation that's has seen numerous tragedy
that one would have hoped would have been catalysts for change and frankly, that has not materialized. These types of short circuits are fairly
frequent in Iraq. And as I was saying, there is no warning system, there is no way to escape.
And especially coming after that devastating bombing that happened in early July, if you'll remember, in the neighborhood of Karrada, an attack that
ISIS claimed responsibility for, when they sent a suicide truck bomb to detonate outside of a very crowded mall.
[10:35:18] At a time when it was packed with people. Yes, that blast caused a lot of the casualties, but of the around 300 people who died in
that attack, most of them died because of the blaze. The mall caught fire. Shops selling perfumes, lotions and other flammables caught fire. And
people could not escape. There was no emergency exit. And that is why Iraqis are so angry saying that it's the poor people, the population that
continues to suffer because of this very antiquated infrastructure while the government enjoys its lifestyle in the safety of the green zone.
SOARES: Arwa Damon there with that report, shocking report. Thanks very much, Arwa.
Now, an army of firefighters has fanned out across Portugal backing more than 100 deadly wildfires. Hot as well as dry conditions threaten to turn
even small blazes into really explosive infernos. Some of the worst has been on the popular island of Madeira where many tourists have been
stranded at the airport.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
Apocalyptic scenes in Madeira as wildfires tear through the Portuguese Island for a third day. A deadly blaze that also left hundreds injured.
Firefighters continue to do what they can, but the damage is beginning to stack up. With one five-star hotel and dozens of houses destroyed by the
flames. So far more than a thousand people have been evacuated as a precaution.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): It lasted all night, all night, since yesterday. It started at 3:00 in Alegria. We've been keeping guard
day and night.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We've been enduring this wind for three days now constantly without stopping. Until the wind stops, we will
be on alert.
SOARES: Madeira has been hit by unusually hot as well as dry weather and temperatures have hovered close to 40 degrees celsius during here in the
day and about 30 degrees at night. That and the unpredictable wind and the mountainous terrain have made the firemen's task nearly impossible. The
fire disrupted flights at the airport leaving the island isolated for several hours.
This was the scene at the Funchal Airport where tourists waited for as much as 28 hours before they could even board a flight. The central government
in Lisbon is sending teams as well as equipment to provide support. Hopefully together they can finally put an end to the wildfire that has
devastated this tiny island.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
And the president of Portugal is flying to Madeira today to help coordinate the emergency response. More than 3,000 firefighters have been pressed
into service against the flames, a task made even more difficult by the mountainous terrain of Madeira as well as those gusting winds. We'll keep
on top of that situation for you.
Coming up right here in International Desk, mystery has transfixed audience of the Rio Olympic. We'll tell you what official say the cause of a diving
pool turning bright green overnight.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:40:31] SOARES: When you hear the samba, you know we're taking you back to Rio, because Olympic officials are wrapping up their investigation
really of a mystery. Olympic divers were surprised on Tuesday by the color of this. That's right that pool it. It flipped from blue to green
seemingly overnight. Well now officials say they know the cause. They say its algae, apparently grew quickly, they say in a hot environment,
environment with very little air movement. Officials say it's perfectly safe to swim in, but they promised it will be back to blue for events in
just a few hours time.
And we're following an also medalist who's had become the pride and joy of Brazil. Rafaela Silva won gold on Tuesday in sport of judo. She's the
first win for her country at these games and she came from a pretty humble start. Our Shasta Darlington takes us away to where she grew up.
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SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're in the city of God, Cidade de Deus the greedy favela on the out scripts of Rio that inspired the film
about slum violence. It's also where judo athlete Rafaela Silva got her start. The first man we meet knew her when she was a girl.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking foreign language).
DARLINGTON: She was a fighter, he says, a warrior like you just saw.
They celebrated when their hometown hero battled her way to Brazil's first gold medal.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking foreign language).
DARLINGTON: There are people who are embarrassed to say they're from city of god, but now we have her, he says. We find Silva's father and extended
family out on the curb after watching her emotional victory in person. Even if it had been a bonze medal I'd be celebrating, says her father, but
it was gold.
This is the house where Rafaela was born. She lived here until she was eight. Now her aunt lives here with four children and she comes back to
visit all the time.
Her cousins now planning a giant barbecue. With every phase we just got more nervous, he says, it was like we were on the mat with her.
The local hero also celebrated by the kids at the gym down the road where she's been training for years.
They say they all watched her win and want to be just like her.
With her bad girl face, she's intimidating, she says. She's the girl from the Favela. Now Brazil's golden girl.
Shasta Darlington, CNN, Rio de Janeiro.
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SOARES: A truly rags to riches story. Well done to Rafaela and that does it for us here at the International Desk, I'm Isa Soares.
"WORLD SPORTS" with Amanda Davies is in Rio is coming up next. Tuesday right here with CNN the world's news leader.
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