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U.S. Report Cites War Crimes Allegations In Gaza Conflict; Nearly 300 Bodies Found In Mass Grave At Gaza Hospital; Israeli Military Intelligence Chief Quits Over 7 October Attack; U.K. Passes Bill To Send Asylum Seekers To Rwanda; U.S. Aid For Ukraine Won't Change Military Situation; Trump Trial In "Hush Money" Case Gets Underway With Opening Statements And First Witness; Hush Money Criminal Case: Opening Remarks and First Witness; Pro-Palestinian Protests Sweep Across U.S. Universities; Modi Accused of Delivering Islamophobic Remarks at Rally; Modi's Party Accused of Targeting Political Opposition; Flash Floods, Torrential Rains Batter Middle East and Asia; Robot Dog Prepares for Future Moon Missions. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired April 23, 2024 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm John Vause. Ahead here on CNN Newsroom.
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JOHN KIRBY, U.S. SECRETAR OF STATE: Do we have a double standard? The answer is no.
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VAUSE: More than 30,000 Did Palestinians Gaza reduced to a wasteland ongoing allegations of war crimes from the UN. And the Biden administration finds Israel has not breached international law.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was assaulted in the middle of campus. This is an actual crisis and an imminent threat.
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VAUSE: As student protests against Israel's war in Gaza sweep across college campuses in the US. So two reports of antisemitism and Islamophobia.
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DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: What's going on right here should never be happening. It's a very, very sad day in America.
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VAUSE: Your legal problems with Donald Trump the continued violations of a gag order. The judge considering contempt charges when court resumed Tuesday.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from Atlanta. This is CNN Newsroom with John Vause.
VAUSE: United States says listed Israel among countries with significant human rights issues, citing cases of systemic torture, inhumane treatment of Palestinian detainees, as well as the forced disappearance of thousands of Palestinians from Gaza.
The 103-page assessment was part of the State Department's annual report on human rights around the world, released Monday by Secretary State Antony Blinken. The report also covers cases of killings, abductions, sexual violence by Hamas and other groups during the October 7 attack on Israel.
Blinken points out the report does not represent the U.S. government's conclusions, but relies on a wide variety of sources, including government officials, abuse victims, international organizations, as well as the media. And he says the U.S. applies the same standard for all.
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BLINKEN: Do we have a double standard? The answer is no. As this report makes clear, in general, as we're looking at human rights and the condition of human rights around the world, we apply the same standard to everyone. And that doesn't change whether the country in question is an adversary or competitor, a friend or an ally. And that's usually important.
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VAUSE: Well, details now from CNN's Kylie Atwood report again from the State Department.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: The State Department rolled out its annual Human Rights Report on Monday, citing sharp concerns about the Israel-Hamas war citing allegations of war crimes committed on both sides. I want to read you a portion of this report saying that, quote, human rights groups reported extensive and in many cases unprecedented conflict related abuses, and alleged the commission of war crimes by Israel, Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and other Palestinian militant groups.
Now, the report does not actually make that determination itself. But they asked the secretary of state if the State Department plans on making its own determination as to if those bodies all committed war crimes. He said there is that work underway. It's important not to rush that work, but the State Department will be making its own determination. And the other thing that the report raises is concerned about the
treatment the cruel and inhumane treatment, according to reports of Palestinians, who were jailed after October 7, and it cites the Red Cross report saying that there were about 4,000 Palestinians who had disappeared by the end of last year estimating the about half of them were detained by the Israeli military.
And the Red Cross says that they have received proof of life in only a handful of those cases. Again, that is not a State Department assessment in its own right. But it is citing the Red Cross for these vast concerns of human rights abuses that have been committed throughout the Israel for mass for Kylie Atwood, CNN, the State Department.
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VAUSE: An independent review of UNRWA, the U.N. Relief and Works Agency in Gaza, they found that Israel has not provided evidence to support accusations of widespread infiltration of the aid organization by workers with ties to militant groups like Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
The review was commissioned by the U.N. led by a former French foreign minister after Israel alleged 12 UNRWA workers took part in the October 7 Hamas attack, that allegation was not addressed in this review.
Among the other findings, though the agency needs to do more to strengthen neutrality sites, persistent issues, including staff expressing political views and facilities being misused for Palestinian political will for military purposes.
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CATHERINE COLONNA, FORMER FRENCH FOREIGN MINISTER: Arise in place a very significant number of mechanisms and procedures to ensure compliance with a humanitarian principle of neutrality. Actually, it probably have a more developed system than other U.N. organizations or agencies, which is a necessity considering the very difficult environment complex and difficult situation in which they operate.
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VAUSE: Israel has dismissed the review site with a statement from the foreign ministry saying in part, Hamas has infiltrated UNRWA so deeply that it is no longer possible to determine where UNRWA ends and where Hamas begins. He goes on this is not what a genuine and thorough review looks like.
In Gaza though, it seems even the dead are denied the chance to rest in peace with yet another mass grave with hundreds of bodies uncovered at a hospital in Khan Younis. A warning now CNN's Nada Bashir report has some graphic and disturbing images.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER (voice-over): For the last 10 days, this mother has returned to Gaza's Nasser Hospital, searching desperately for the body of her 24-year-old daughter called Kulfa (ph). She had been buried at this makeshift gravesite in January.
Now, her body is missing. The Israelis turn the hospital upside down, she says. They dug up all the dead bodies and move them around. These other shrouded corpses of those retrieved from a newly discovered mass grave in Khan Younis.
Nearly 300 bodies have so far been recovered, according to Gaza civil defense, but the search is still ongoing. This is a crime against humanity, Dr. Almaraya (ph) says. How could the Israeli occupation forces dig up these graves and mishandled the bodies of our martyrs. In some cases, they even opened and removed the bodies from their bags, even though their names been marked on them.
Many of the bodies recovered here were buried by relatives or medics on hospitals grounds in January as a temporary measure. Israel's relentless bombardment of the southern city making it too difficult to carry out a traditional burial.
Following the IDF's withdrawal in Khan Younis, families returned in the hope of finally laying their loved ones to rest, only to find that their bodies had been exhumed by the Israeli military, according to Civil Defense officials, and discarded in this nearby mass grave.
I still haven't found my son and his body, this father says. We'd buried him over there, but we can't find him anymore. We just want to give him a dignified burial. According to Gaza Civil Defense chief somebody's have been discovered with their hands tied together. An indication he says that these may be the victims of alleged failed executions.
Though CNN is unable to verify such claims and cannot confirm the causes of death among the bodies being unearth.
CNN has reached out to the Israeli military for comment without response, but this would not be the first time graves have been disturbed by the Israeli military. The IDF previously acknowledging that its forces have exhumed graves in Gaza in order to carry out DNA tests to identify potential hostages.
This man points to the palm tree beside which his brother Allah (ph) had been buried. Two weeks on and his body has still not been found.
Under international humanitarian law, graves must in times of war, be respected, properly maintained and marked, so they may always be found. But in Gaza, the Palestinian people have been robbed of their dignity, even in death. Nada Bashir, CNN, London.
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VAUSE: After more than six months since October 7 comes the first high profile resignation for intelligence failures in Israel, which led to the surprise of mass attack, the head of military intelligence Major General Aharon Haliva, taking full responsibility for what has been described as a colossal failure.
The IDF says Haliva will continue on in the job until a successor is appointed. 10 days after the October 7 attack. Haliva admitted to an intelligence failure, which led to the murder of 1,200 Israelis, the kidnapping of 250 others. His resignation is expected to be the first of many from within the military, as well as the government.
Bob Baer spent 21 years working around the world as a CIA operative. He is with us this hour from Telluride in Colorado. It's good to see Bob. It's been a while.
ROBERT BAER, FORMER CIA OFFICER: Thanks, John.
VAUSE: So the head of military intelligence offered to resign 10 days after the October 7 attacks, now more than six months on, here's part of General Haliva's resignation letter, the Intelligence Directorate under mu command did not live up to the task we were entrusted with.
[01:10:03]
I carry that black day with me ever since day after day, night after night, I will carry the horrible pain of the war with me forever.
So now there are two opinions about his resignation, the first being that with the war in Gaza, increasing attacks on the northern border from Hezbollah, and with Iran, upping the ante significantly, to resign now is irresponsible. Others believe it's long overdue, and it's the right thing to do. How do you see it?
BAER: Well, it wasn't a gigantic intelligence failure barrier. This was the Titanic of intelligence failures. And he did miss Hamas preparing for this. Military intelligence thought it was just aspirational on the part of Hamas all their preparations, they ignored it. But more than that, military intelligence has not been able to get inside Hamas, the leadership. And that's what the Israelis do. And they do it very well, better than anybody in the world. But they didn't get in. They didn't know what the planning and intentions of Hamas leadership was. So it was a complete failure. He was going to lose his job in any case.
But John, let's not forget, this was a strategic failure because that border was badly protected. There was not a quick reaction force. They had put the Israeli the combat units in the West Bank protecting settlers, rather than watching Hamas.
So it was a failure all around. And if there's a lot of people that are going to pay the price for this, they're going to lose their jobs justifiably. And as should Bibi Netanyahu, because He was the captain on bridge.
VAUSE: As well the timing, though, do you think he should have stayed on for a bit longer to see it out? Or should he go right now as he has done?
BAER: I think he should go right now. There needs to be some reckoning in Israel to telling the truth. And by the way, the Israelis do very well at telling each other the truth. And now's the time the military failed, it continues to fail, because they don't know where the Hamas leadership is.
I mean, if they knew what the leadership, the military commanders responsible for seven October, they would send commandos and get them. So what they've had to do, because the intelligence is so bad, is knocked down one building after another, which has become a humanitarian disaster, like we haven't seen in, in a very long time.
VAUSE: Yes, well, in terms of intelligence failures, you know, they really don't come much bigger than this. I don't remember the reporting in New York Times last November, the headline read, Israel new Hamas attack plan more than a year ago. And while the intelligence chief has now fallen on his sword, there's no indication the prime minister will anytime soon. Here's Netanyahu Speaking to CNN late last year, listen to this.
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BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: This whole question will be addressed after the war, just as people would ask. Well, that people ask Franklin Roosevelt, after Pearl Harbor, that question that people ask George Bush after the surprise attack of the February 11. Look, it's a question that needs to be asked.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: It does get to a very obvious question here. Is Netanyahu dragging out this wall? He's looking for other confrontations to avoid a day of reckoning?
BAER: Exactly. He has to, you know, once the war stops, I would say his political career is over. I mean, he has failed as the commander in chief, failed completely. He's stirred up a lot of this. He didn't pay attention to Hamas all these years for decades. All sorts of things. He hasn't done well with Lebanon and Hezbollah. He's failed all Israel is under a greater threat today than it's been. I don't know, I could even go back to 1948 to its to its founding.
VAUSE: Yes, it does seem that there has been one crisis after one after the next after the next. And right now the fighting in Gaza is still defined as a war even though it seems to be that, you know, the combat tempo has certainly decreased. It's likely to be it's fine that way for some time to come.
And here's the issue. Earlier this month, Israel's wide net reported that senior commanders who want to take responsibility for the intelligence failure, and resign are not doing so as long as the status has not changed. According IDF sources, at least four officers at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, including commanders of combat units have informed their associates that they decided to retire from the military due to the blunders and failures of October 7, but are waiting for the war to end.
So given the scale of this intelligence failure, there is an expectation of a flood of resignations and dismissals as well. So clearing the decks can be a good thing. But wiping away the entire decks altogether, seems to create a whole lot of new problems. Is that what Israel could be facing you?
BAER: Well, I think they should. Look in World War II, the United States got rid of Kimmel and Short, the admirals in Pearl Harbor. It Kasserine Pass that we would defeat the American military was badly defeated. We got rid of those commanders and then we by, you know, by the end of the war, the middle of the war we came up with people who actually knew how to lead and fight. Israel's in the opposite.
Like I said, John, has got to come to a reckoning. It is failed up until now. It's failed with the Palestinian problem.
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It's isolated. Even the United States is starting to wonder what's going on because we're going to sanction possibly an IDF unit which is was unthinkable before this war.
VAUSE: Yeah. Bob, thanks so much for being with us. Bob Baer there in Telluride, former CIA operative. Good to be with us, Bob. Thank you.
BAER: Thank you.
VAUSE: Well, the U.K. Parliament has passed a controversial plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda. It's been two years since the idea was pitched as a way to deter illegal and dangerous boats carrying migrants to the UK.
The bill was ruled unlawful by Britain's Supreme Court last year, citing safety concerns of migrants and Rwanda is poor human rights record. But the British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is determined for this plan to work.
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RISHI SUNAK, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: The first flight will leave in 10 to 12 weeks and the success of this determine doesn't rest on one flight alone. It rests on the relentless continual process of successfully and permanently removing people to Rwanda, with a regular rhythm of multiple flights every month over the summer and beyond until the votes are stopped.
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VAUSE: Britain heads to the polls later this year and illegal immigration will likely be one of the major issues during the campaign. Critics say the bill has cost the British government too much opponents the Labour Party have vowed to scrap the policy if they take office.
Lead up in Russia is offensive on Ukraine civilian infrastructure. In Kharkiv a TV tower was brought down by a Russian missile strike. Ukrainian officials say no one was hurt. Workers at the tower were in a bomb shelter at the time of the attack. Kharkiv has seen a significant increase in Russian strikes since the start of the year, which is why Ukraine has made air defense a top priority with the promise of more U.S. aid.
A bipartisan congressional delegation from the United States visited Kyiv Monday, what was described as a sign of U.S. support. But that support will be truly on display in the U.S. Senate this week, and a vote on our foreign aid package which includes $61 billion for Ukraine.
The Congress members paid their respects to fallen soldiers laying flowers at the memorial in Kyiv. They also met with Ukrainian president who's praising the United States for its military support and financial support as well.
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VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Should they represent it for priorities? They are key, protection of the sky for chest modern artillery, long range capability, and ensuring that American support packages arrive as soon as possible.
And today's results is that all the dots have been dotted agreements on the attack items for Ukraine stop. Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you, Congress. Thank you, America.
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VAUSE: As far as Russia is concerned, though, the military package aid package won't change anything on the battlefield. But in CNN's Fred Pleitgen reports Ukrainians see this renewed us support as at least one reason for hope.
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FRED PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Russian troops advancing in a heavy firefight in eastern Ukraine. This video from Russian military TV claiming to show Ukrainian soldiers having to surrender. Ukraine's howitzers often unable to support their frontline units severely lacking 155 millimeter artillery shells. But now they hope that will change.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We will defend ourselves and counter attack.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): Kremlin controlled media seething after the House passed the Ukraine aid bill while praising Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene for trying to derail it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, who New York Post already dressed in a huge chunk ahead with a star officially putting her in the ranks of Kremlin agents called Speaker Johnson a Democrat elected by Ukraine.
Greene also said that Johnson betrayed not only Republicans, but the whole of the USA. Nonetheless, the U.S. military aid will be bigger this year compared to the past two years. And of course, there was nothing good in that. PLEITGEN: Russia's Foreign Minister going even further threatening nuclear confrontation.
SERGEY LAVROV, RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): Westerners teetering dangerously on the brink of a direct military clash between nuclear powers fraught with catastrophic consequences, particularly that it's the troika of Western nuclear states that are among key sponsors of the criminal Kyiv regime.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): Ukraine is in desperate need of lots of artillery ammo Kyiv says badly outgunned by Vladimir Putin's forces, but also air defense missiles with Russia drastically escalating its missile and drone campaign against Ukraine cities and power plants.
Ukraine's president saying he's grateful for the aid but the weapons need to come fast.
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ZELENKSYY (through translator): Is the time between political decisions and inflicting real defeats on the enemy at the front between the approval of the aid package and providing the strength tp our guys, this should be reduced to a minimum.
PLEITGEN (through translator): And the Ukrainians hope U.S. aid will arrive quickly and change the tune on the battlefield, allowing key U.S. forces to stop further Russian advances. Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Kyiv.
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VAUSE: As far as white collar crime is concerned, falsifying business records seems fairly vanilla, not low when it comes to Donald Trump's trial. In a new court, his attorneys take on a former porn star and its tabloid publisher takes the stand. And Trump faces contempt, possible contempt for violating a gag order. Details the hush money payment to a porn star trial in a moment.
Also, tensions escalate across universities in the United States. Pro- Palestinian protests show no signs of slowing down. I'm saying some campuses are reacting. That's next.
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VAUSE: Opening statements are the first witness testimony Monday, the first criminal trial of a former U.S. president. Donald Trump's hush money payments to a porn star trial gave the jury a glimpse into the high stakes world of alleged cover ups, payoffs and a practice known as catch and kill.
During opening remarks, Trump's defense lawyer said there's nothing wrong with trying to influence that election. It's called democracy. Prosecutors hit back to what Trump had done was in fact a criminal conspiracy. More now from CNN's Kara Scannell. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TRUMP: I think I'm doing very well.
KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Prosecutors open their case thing it all boils down to a conspiracy and cover up that Trump orchestrated a scheme to corrupt the 2016 presidential election and covered it up by lying in his business records. Assistant district attorney Matthew Colangelo saying it was election fraud pure and simple.
Trump attorney Todd Blanche argue the former president is innocent. Blanche also claim there is nothing wrong with trying to influence an election.
In his remarks, Colangelo, a lead prosecutor on the case said the alleged crimes began at an August 2015 meeting between Trump, Michael Cohen and ex National Enquirer publisher David Pecker. The first witness to testify in the trial on Monday.
Colangelo said the three form that conspiracy at that meeting to influence the presidential election by concealing negative information about Mr. Trump in order to help him get elected. The prosecution said Pecker agreed to help by damaging information on Trump to make it go away. A move known as catch and kill.
At the center of the case, a $130,000 payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels just weeks before Election Day in 2016. The prosecution said a sexual infidelity especially with a porn star on the heels of the Access Hollywood tape would have been devastating to his campaign/
[01:25:06]
So at Trump's direction, Cohen negotiated the deal to buy Daniels' story to prevent it from becoming public before the election. Trump has denied having an affair with Daniels. Prosecutor said Trump did not want to write the check himself. So Cohen put up the money. Colangelo argue Trump, Cohen and former Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg agreed Cohen would be paid back and monthly installments through fake invoices to the Trump Organization.
In a nod to Cohen's pass credibility issues, prosecutor said key witnesses like Cohen have made mistakes in the past and encouraged the jury to keep an open mind and carefully evaluate all of the evidence that corroborates Michael Cohen's testimony.
Then it was Trump's attorneys turn. Blanche said the DA's office should never have brought this case. He said the prosecution story is not true and the jury will find plenty of reasonable doubt. He pivoted to paint Trump as a husband and father saying he's a person just like you and just like me. Trump's team suggested the payments Trump made to Cohen were not a payback for funds paid to Stormy Daniels, but instead payments to his personal attorney. Trump defended himself against these charges after court on Monday.
TRUMP: He puts in an invoice or whatever a bill and they pay him to go into legal expense. I got indicted for that.
SCANNELL: Blanche shifted blame to Cohen saying the reality is Mr. Trump is not on the hook is not criminally responsible for something Mr. Cohen may have done years after the fact. Blanche said the prosecution's outline of a suppose catch and kill deal with Pecker was not a scheme but completely irrelevant and not illegal.
In the afternoon as Pecker briefly took the stand, he did not look at Trump, but Trump look directly at him as he testified. Kara Scannell, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Joining us this hour is attorney and legal affairs commentator Areva Martin, thank you for being with us. It's good to see you.
AREVA MARTIN, ATTORNEY AND LEGAL AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: Hey John.
VAUSE: So among the key witnesses we've heard will be Trump's former lawyer, Michael Cohen. He wrote the checks to Stormy Daniels. Here's the defendant talking about his former bag man, just after the opening statements were made. Listen to this.
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TRUMP: What are they going to look at all the lies in the last line in the last trial, so he got caught lying in the last trial. So he got caught lying, pure lying.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Here's the question. Donald Trump is under a gag order not to attack a number of people, including witnesses like Michael Cohen and others. Now, the prosecutors have asked for a hearing with the judge in the coming hours to consider contempt charges. And the judge is willing to hear those arguments.
What's the likely action that the judge will take, given the fact that Trump has violated this gag order repeatedly?
MARTIN: Yes, John, unfortunately, Donald Trump is not being treated like any other criminal defendant will be treated, because any other criminal defendant that was under a gag order and instructed not to intimidate witnesses, jurors, and definitely not the judge or attempt to intimidate the judge and his family members would be not only held in contempt, but would be put in jail for 30 days. That's not likely to happen to Donald Trump.
If the judge does find that Donald Trump violating this gag order, the likely punishment for him is going to be some kind of monetary fine. We've seen monetary fines lodged against the Trump against Donald Trump in some of the other trials that he's participated in.
But he does not seem to respond the way again, other criminal defendants would because he knows that he enjoys privileges that in so many ways make him different from every other criminal defendant that we've seen in this country.
VAUSE: Yes. OK. So after day one, the defendant had a lot to say about almost everything. Here he is on the charges he's facing.
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TRUMP: That jury was picked so fast. 95 percent Democrats. The areas are mostly all Democrats. You think of it as a just a purely Democrat area. It's a very unfair situation that I can tell you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: That was about the jury actually not the charges. But in that soundbite, how did he know the Democrats because the jury when they are being questioned at the beginning -- where they're being screened, if you like, before being seated?
No one was asked what legal affiliation they were or what party they were part of, if they were, in fact part of a political party. So that assumption is just blatantly wrong.
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MARTIN: John, He doesn't know that and it doesn't matter that he doesn't know it because Donald Trump doesn't deal in facts. He deals in lies. He tells whatever lies necessary to support the narrative that he's spinning at any given time.
And when the judicial system is working in the way that again, it would work as it relates to every other defendant, he attacks the judicial system. When he's in court and he wins an order that's in his favor then he praises the system.
So we really have to dismiss pretty much every statement that Donald Trump makes because we know that the only statements he makes are self-serving statements that are designed to support whatever theory he is spinning at any given moment.
And we know that those theories change so frequently it's almost impossible to keep up with them.
VAUSE: Well, here's another Donald Trump theory on the charges that he's facing. And just how small or trivial they really are.
Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: If a lawyer is fixing a bill or an invoice and you paid the bill and in the book, it's a little line that's a very strong line. I don't know if you could even (INAUDIBLE) into words. It's not like you could tell a life story. They marked it down to a legal expense. This is what I got indicted on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: No, he got indicted on the fact that it wasn't a legal expense. It was hush money, right.
MARTIN: Absolutely, John.
And he failed to tell the important part of this story, which is that he and -- he and Michael Cohen and David Pecker, the then-president of the National Enquirer, had a meeting. And the meeting was designed to hatch this plan, whereby David Pecker would kill those stories that were negative towards Donald Trump, i.e., any story that Stormy Daniels would tell about her affair with him and then would only support those stories that were favorable and run stories that were hit pieces against his opponents.
So with Donald Trump again, he only focuses on that part of a story that benefits him. He's not telling the complete story. The complete story here is that he engaged in criminal conduct.
And Michael Cohen is going to testify that these payments were not for any service that Michael Cohen provided.
VAUSE: Areva, thank you for being with us. Areva Martin there with some good insights and some good legal checks on what's going on on Day 1 on Donald Trump's trial. Thanks so much.
Well, accusations of hate speech and islamophobia. When we come back, hear the remarks that India's prime minister made at a weekend rally, which have angered so many. And what impact could they have on the ongoing election process there across India?
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VAUSE: Welcome back everyone. I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.
Dozens of protesters gathered outside the home of Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the first night of Passover Monday. They're demanding the government make a deal for the release of the remaining hostages held in Gaza. More than 130 hostages still remain in Hamas custody, some are believed to have died.
Meantime, pro-Palestinian protests are sweeping across universities in the United States amid the Passover holiday.
[01:34:47]
VAUSE: This was the scene at New York University a short time ago. Police say they moved in after protestors refused to disperse. Numerous students and faculty members have been arrested. The protests have spread to other college campuses as well.
Columbia University, the epicenter of the protests, says all classes at its main campus will be hybrid until the end of the semester in an attempt to diffuse the tensions which are there.
CNN's Shimon Prokupecz has this report
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ALL: Say it loud and say it clear. Liberation is near.
SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: We're on the steps of Columbia University. There's a Jewish group here that's actually giving out free matzah as they get ready for Passover.
And just across from them is the encampment, which has stirred so much emotion here on the campus with some of the Jewish students feeling unsafe.
SOPHIE ARNSTEIN, STUDENT: I consider myself a very brave person, but I won't deny that I've been physically intimidated and harassed.
BEN SOLOMON, STUDENT: I've felt like this is not a welcoming environment. I think it's a very difficult time for a lot of Jewish students.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Never forget the 7th of October.
PROKUPECZ: Over the weekend, the protests turned rowdy. Disturbing videos show some protesters harassing Jewish students.
Amid all this, a rabbi linked to the university urged Jewish students to stay home, saying recent events at the university have quote "made it clear that Columbia University's public safety and the NYPD cannot guarantee Jewish students' safety".
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Palestine is almost free.
CROWD: Palestine is almost free.
PROKUPECZ: This is the center of Columbia University, what they're calling the Gaza solidarity encampment and an occupation here at the school as they want certain demands to be met by the school in terms of their support of Israel.
Why is it important for you to be out here, sleeping out here?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, just to show solidarity with the students that have already been arrested and obviously the people in Gaza.
PROKUPECZ: This is the tarp area. This is where many of the medical supplies, the food, there's coffee here. There's other goodies, just essential needs that many of the people may need who have been out here for several days.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So I'm Jewish. A lot of the focus has been on like, you know, supporting Jewish students who have been facing anti- Semitism. But there has not been a lot of focus on, you know, Palestinian students who have been, you know, feeling anti-Islamic sentiments.
PROKUPECZ: How do your parents feel about?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good. They're proud of me. And I'm proud of them for that. PROKUPECZ: Last week, over 100 protesters, including some students, were removed from campus by New York police at the behest of the university and arrested on suspicion of criminal trespass. The move stirred more tension on campus.
And by Monday morning, Columbia's President, Minouche Shafik, declared that all classes would be virtual for the day, and that a reset was needed.
"I am deeply saddened by what is happening on our campus," she wrote in a statement. "These tensions have been exploited and amplified by individuals who are not affiliated with Columbia who have come to campus to pursue their own agendas."
PROKUPECZ: Many of the students here are saying, who are graduating, are saying they're not sure what graduation is going to look like this year. And those who are part of the encampment are saying that they intend to be here for graduation, that they're not leaving.
Additional pro-Palestinian protests are taking place at universities across the country, including Yale, NYU, and MIT.
On Monday, university police charged approximately 45 people for refusing to leave the scene of an on-campus protests at Yale University in New Haven.
Shimon Prokupecz, CNN -- New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: We have this just into CNN.
Malaysia's navy, according to Reuters News Agency, has reported ten people had been killed after two helicopters collided midair. It all happened at a naval base in the western part of the country during rehearsal for a Royal Malaysian Navy parade. We'll have more details as it becomes available here on CNN.
In the meantime, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, facing allegations of making Islamophobic remarks at a campaign rally. Modi was addressing supporters in the western state of Rajasthan Sunday.
India is voting right now in a weeks-long election process for the world's biggest democracy, which Modi's ruling party is widely expected to win.
During his speech though, he appeared to refer to the Muslim community as infiltrators.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NARENDRA MODI, INDIAN PRIME MINISTER (through translator): When the Congress was in power, they said Muslims have first right over the nation's wealth. This means they will collect peoples wealth and distribute it to whom -- to those who have more children, to the infiltrators. Do you think your hard-earned money should be given to infiltrators.
Would you accept this? This is what the congress manifesto is saying.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[01:39:47]
VAUSE: Opposition members have label those comments as hate speech. They've long accused Modi and his party of using divisive rhetoric to boost their brand of Hindu nationalism. Prominent Muslims are also speaking out.
Among them, journalist Rana Ayyub, who wrote this on X. Quote, "This is not a dog-whistle, this is a targeted, direct, brazen hate speech against a community."
Prime Minister Modi was first elected ten years ago, a third consecutive term is widely expected.
CNN's Will Ripley traveled to a massive rally in Uttar Pradesh and spoke with some of his supporters.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We are underneath the giant tent with thousands of people a few hours outside Delhi in Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state.
I have no idea how many people are here. Easily thousands, if not tens of thousands and they are all here to see the man who is standing on that podium right now, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
I'm not exactly sure what compels people to come out to events like this, other than just the pure excitement and spectacle of it and what people are saying is that they came out here to show their support. To show their support for a politician that they believe listens to them and delivers on his promises to them.
How many -- how many times have you come to one of these.
Your fifth time? Why do you keep coming back.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My prime minister perfect leader in all of our world.
RIPLEY: Do you know the crowds going to be very big here?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
RIPLEY: Why do so many people want to come?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They are excited for seeing Narendra Modi. Actually the main reason is that he is a very nice leader.
RIPLEY: You can tell anybody who's wearing orange, saffron is the official color of the BJP and some of these are grassroots organizers who've been really instrumental in Prime Minister Modi's success.
The largest democratic exercise in the world and this is what it looks like at one of the hundreds of rallies that Modi has held since becoming prime minister ten years ago.
That maybe why it seems that the BJP and Prime Minister Modi is an unstoppable behemoth in this election which is going to go on for six weeks here in India in seven different phases including here in India's most populous state of Uttar Pradesh.
Will Ripley, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: India's prime minister, may be well in sight for a third term in office, but opposition groups now accusing him and his BJ party of trying to silence his critics.
CNN's Anna Coren has details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A late night convoy of vehicles through the streets of India's capital last month set of shock and anger as Delhi's chief minister in the backseat had just been arrested on charges of corruption.
Arvind Kejriwal is the fourth and most senior leader of the Aam Aadmi Party to be arrested for corruption.
While India's largest opposition party, the Indian National Congress, recently had funds frozen.
Both parties claimed these actions are politically motivated. As Modi and his ruling BJP eyeing a third term in office, try to eliminate all opposition.
In a rare show of unity, opposition parties came together for a rally against what they believe is an undeniable threat to the nation.
RAHUL GANDHI, INDIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS PARTY: There's no democracy in India today. The idea that India is the world's largest democracy is a lie. It's a complete lie.
COREN: Earlier this month AAP education minister Atishi claims she was threatened with arrest unless she joined the BJP.
Atishi do you think that you will be arrested?
ATISHI MARLENA SINGH, AAP EDUCATION MINISTER: I think it's entirely possible.
COREN: The Oxford-educated minister now effectively running the AAP says Modi and the BJP have weaponized government agencies such as the Enforcement Directorate and Tax Department to go after their critics. SINGH: So today, these federal agencies are being used to destroy the
opposition. And I think this raises very serious questions about free and fair elections and a level playing field in the country.
COREN: Claims the BJP denies.
JAIVEER SHERGILL, BHARATIYA JANATA PARTY: Does Prime Minister Narendra Modi condone anybody crossing the red line of political decency? Does Prime Minister Narendra Modi tolerate anybody tearing the basic fabric of a constitution?
No. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is very strict.
COREN: Polls suggest Modi and his BJP-led coalition will win the general election but his Hindu nationalist policies and clamp down on civil rights and freedoms have these voters enraged.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our democracy is being murdered. India is becoming a dictatorship.
[01:44:50]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are here to fight the lies and the false propaganda this government has used to feed the public.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Brand (ph) Modi is about the global faith and the Indian economy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The opposition is completely in debt.
COREN: Pro government media dominates the airways which means voices like Ravish Kumar (ph), arguably one of India's most prominent journalists are being silenced.
Having received death threats for his coverage, he resigned after a business tycoon considered close to Modi bought the company he worked for.
Kumar now broadcasts on YouTube, where he's still allowed at the moment to voice his dissent.
RAVISH KUMAR, INDIAN JOURNALIST: If a country as big as India has accepted that it can achieve glory without the media, and if it has accepted that any claim doesn't need to be verified or debated, good luck to them.
COREN: While international leaders embrace Modi and the unrivaled potential of his powerhouse economy, critics say the world needs to wise up to what is really happening.
Anna Coren, CNN -- Hong Kong.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Still to come here on CNN, extreme weather across Asia and the Middle East with torrential rains and flash flooding. More details in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: Unprecedented flooding in Dubai last week was so widespread, it could be seen from space. Images taken by a NASA satellite shows the area at the beginning of the month and then after the clouds part, the torrential rain was done, you can see what's been left behind.
Dark pools of standing water were created by the U.A.E. largest deluge of record. Dubai received an entire year's worth of rain in just 12 hours. Other areas further east, recorded nearly two years' worth of rain in just one day.
As the planet heats, extreme weather like the flooding in Dubai is expected to happen more often and with increasing intensity.
CNN's Ivan Watson has details on recent severe weather across Asia and the Middle East and the destruction left behind.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Sweeping floods are threatening towns and cities from the Pacific Ocean to the Middle East.
In Guangdong, southeast China, tens of millions of people are in the path of torrential rain and rushing floodwaters. Here, the annual flood season has come early and ferociously. The rain is swelling rivers, reservoirs and waterways.
On Saturday, a CCTV camera catches the moment, a surge so powerful it destroys this bridge. Thousands of people have been evacuated, over one million were without power over the weekend.
Thousands of miles west in Iran, children cling onto fallen trees desperately waiting for help as devastating floods sweep through the country's southeast. With rivers overflowing, Iranians are warned to watch out for crocodiles forced out of their natural habitats.
[01:49:52]
WATSON: Torrential rains and flash floods battered neighboring Afghanistan and Pakistan. This past week, leaving more than 100 dead and injuring over 100 more, authorities say. others have been left stranded by the rising waters.
In Afghanistan, families look at what's left of their homes, assessing the extent of the damage.
DOST NABI, GULDAG VILLAGE RESIDENT: there was a flood last night at 3:00 and there were three goats in this room that were lost. People are taking out their animals and belongings from under the mud and people suffered huge losses. All of the walls of the houses have been destroyed and need to be rebuilt.
WATSON: Afghans already suffering from poverty and the lack of food will now try to salvage flood damaged farmland. Hundreds of livestock have been killed.
ADAM KAN, FARMER: A week ago the floods came here and destroyed these houses as well as 60 to 70 acres of land. And then again, this time the flood came and destroyed everything here. These fields are planted with vegetables, but the flood destroyed everything.
WATSON: Authorities are responding but not fast enough, say some residents of flooded towns. Angry, this man in Iran says, we do not have drinkable water or roads.
And in Pakistan, this man says he's disappointed with the government. "They failed to help the local people here during this disaster," he says. They haven't sent any help nor restored the roads or the electricity.
More rain is forecast across Asia where millions will brace for the threat of even more damage.
Ivan Watson, CNN -- Hong Kong.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Earth Day here in the United States was also payday for renewable energy with President Joe Biden announcing $7 billion in grants for solar power.
Biden talked (ph) up his climate and clean energy accomplishments during his first term, and he railed against climate change deniers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Desoute the overwhelming devastation in red and blue states are still those who deny climate is in crisis. They want to take us backwards. Sideline (ph) our workers, let China and others meet the race for clean energy.
I'm determined, absolutely determined that we move forward. We move forward.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: The Environmental Protection Agency says the grants will help nearly 1 million low-income homes gain access to solar power, saving them a collective $350 million every year.
When we come back the next explorer to set foot on the moon, could have four legs. What scientists are hoping to learn from this robot dog. Fido goes to the moon in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: Well, with the Australian prime minister in one corner, Elon Musk in the other Anthony Albanese calling Musk an arrogant, out-of- touch billionaire. Why? Because he refused to remove all posts with video from a church stabbing on his social media platform X.
The church's livestream showed a 16-year-old stabbing a bishop during a sermon in Sydney last week.
Australian authorities want the disturbing content taken down. Musk is pushing back on Free Speech grounds and X only blocked the content for users inside Australia.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTHONY ALBANESE, AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER: Well, this guy is showing his arrogance. He's a billionaire over there in the United States who thinks he's above Australian law?
This isn't about censorship, it's about common sense and common decency. And Elon Musk should show some.
[01:54:49]
VAUSE: Musk though posted this on X. "I'd like to take a moment to thank the prime minister for informing the public that this platform is the only truthful one."
They say you can't teach an old dog new tricks, but U.S. scientists and NASA believe they can teach a robot dog how to walk on the moon.
CNN's Isabel Rosales explains what they're hoping to learn.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A four-legged, moon-walking robot dog could be on the horizon. And it could help us learn more about other planets.
Whether it's sand, snow, or rocks, this little machine is learning to navigate the ground. It's a NASA-funded project called Lassie, which stands for Legged Autonomous Surface Science in Analog Environments.
Oregon's Mount Hood is where scientists or testing the robot dog otherwise known as Spirit.
CHRISTINA WILSON, COGNITIVE SCIENTIST, OREGON STATE: We're using that dog to actually measure properties of the surface here on Mount Hood. Scientists are interested in that data because it tells us things about how that planetary surface formed and how it moves, and how it might move in the future.
ROSALES: Just as humans can detect changes and surfaces as they walk, Spirit can do the same.
FEIFEI QIAN, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, USC: Ideally, you are doing a very novel thing to turn each leg of the robot into a (INAUDIBLE) sensor so that when the robot is wandering around, every step, we want the robot to be gathering information about the environment.
ROSALES: As Spirit learns to adapt to challenges it also gives scientists data to improve future robot designs.
WILSON: Moving forward, two missions that are going to occur on our moon, we're going to have huge humans and robots really for the first time on planetary missions working side-by-side.
ROSALES: Isabel Rosales, CNN -- Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM.
I'm John Vause.
The news continues here on CNN with my friend and colleague, Anna Coren in Hong Kong after a short break.
See you back here tomorrow.
[01:56:45]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COREN: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world? I'm Anna Coren, live from Hong Kong.
Ahead on CNN NEWSROOM.
