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One World with Zain Asher

Three Wrongfully Detained Americans Finally Reunited With Families; CNN's Bill Weir Discusses The Effects Of Climate Change; CNN's Clarissa Ward Shows How Wagner's Work And Russia's Influence Might Be Changing; YouTube Suspends Russell Brand From Making Money From His YouTube Channel; World-Famous Football Star Cristiano Ronaldo In Tehran As Captain Of Saudi's Al-Nassr Squad. Aired 12-1p ET

Aired September 19, 2023 - 12:00   ET

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

[12:00:06]

LYNDA KINKADE, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: Home at last. Here's what's coming up. After 10 long years, after ten long years in an Iranian prison, three

Americans are finally being reunited with their families. Also ahead, a devastating impact scientists say climate change made the flooding in Libya

50 times more likely.

And later, never before seen the WHO's first-ever report on the global impact of high blood pressure. Their life-saving recommendations ahead.

Hello, I'm Lynda Kinkade live from CNN's World headquarters in Atlanta. Welcome to "One World."

Well, those stories in just a moment. But we begin this hour with the United Nations General Assembly which is underway right now in New York

City. President Joe Biden addressed the assembly a short time ago.

He said the U.S. seeks a more secure, more prosperous, a more equitable world for all. Mr. Biden added that no nation can meet the challenges of

today alone. He also made a forceful call for the United Nations to stand up to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine saying that Russia alone was responsible

for the war.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: If you allow Ukraine to be carved up, is the independence of any nation secure? I respectfully suggest the answer is no.

We have to stand up to this negative aggression today and to deter other would-be aggressors tomorrow. That's why the United States, together with

our allies and partners around the world will continue to stand with the brave people of Ukraine as they defend their sovereignty and territorial

integrity and their freedom.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is set to address the assembly in the coming hours. Meanwhile, some key players are skipping this

year's summit, including the leaders of Russia, the U.K., France and China. I want to bring in CNN's Richard Roth who has been covering the U.N.

General Assembly for years.

We'll get to who is missing the summit in just a moment, but I do want to start on the U.S. President's comments regarding Russia's war in Ukraine,

speaking about this illegal war of conquest, saying that if we allow this to happen to Ukraine, it could happen to any nation. Talk to us about how

those comments were received and what we can expect when the Ukrainian President speaks later.

RICHARD ROTH, CNN SENIOR U.N. CORRESPONDENT: Well, I've been trapped in this room. We haven't really been able to approach. I did ask actually,

when you kind of think about it, the President of Lithuania who was here, and he understood the need for a tough guy approach, though he doubts why

we need all of these speeches, which we've had over and will have over the next week and a half.

But otherwise, for President Biden, he said he knows the position of the United States as a leader, but this is the way he sees it. On Ukraine, as

we heard, he told the General Assembly in the audience that if you allow Russia to carve up Ukraine, the jigs up. I mean, that was why the U.N. was

established, so that country A would not attack country B. The world has changed, so that could happen and nothing is done about it.

KINKADE: And of course, the Ukrainian President is aware of the politics. In the past, he's been criticized for not sounding grateful enough for the

aid, the military weaponry that has come into Ukraine since the invasion. With that in mind, what sort of tone will he strike and what will he ask

for later?

ROTH: Well, we believe he will ask for ammunition, jet fighters. This is his one chance so far in this year and a half war to -- in person, speak to

many of these world leaders. He was the king of the streaming show in the bad old days a year and a half ago. But here he's able to travel somewhat

and he also will speak at a high-level Security Council meeting on Ukraine and that should be very interesting between Zelenskyy and what we expect to

be the Russian ambassador to the U.N., though Foreign Minister Lavrov could attend.

And of course, it's not just Russia's war on Ukraine that the U.S. president spoke about over the course of the hour or so. He spoke about

climate change and the transition to clean energy, spoke about working towards vaccines, reducing debt and artificial intelligence. But in terms

of who is there at this summit, this year the U.S. President is the only one out of the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council present.

Why are the other players not there today?

[12:05:00]

And could that lessen the impact of this event?

ROTH: I don't think you're going to see an agreement even if they were here on certain issues. So, don't think it affects things that much. Of course,

it's easier for Biden. He's just got to go from Washington to New York while the others, it's a more lengthy international flight.

The Prime Minister of the U.K. will be greeting King Charles in London in the next few days and there have been some other issues that Macron has not

-- has been giving for why he's not here. The problem is, Lynda, we've had so many summits over the -- over the last six, seven months -- G20, G77,

Arab Union, ASEAN meeting. I think people are a little tuckered out.

KINKADE: Fair enough. Richard Roth, live for us in New York covering the U.N. General Assembly. Thanks so much. Well, it was an emotional

homecoming, years in the making. Five Americans freed from Iranian detention this week have finally been reunited with their families on U.S.

soil.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: An incredible reunion. Well, their release on Monday followed years of complicated and indirect negotiations between the U.S. and Iran.

And it was part of a wider deal that included the Biden administration unfreezing $6 billion in Iranian funds and releasing six -- or five Iranian

prisoners. CNN International Diplomatic Editor Nic Robertson is covering the story for us from London. Good to have you with us, Nic.

So, the U.S. worked through Qatar, Amman, Switzerland, South Korea to get this deal done. We saw those wonderful visuals of the families being

reunited, those tears of joy. They have been offered support going forward to deal with the trauma of what they've been through. What comes next?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Most immediately, this reunion with their families, which is clearly, you know, for everyone

involved, the families who have been working tirelessly to get them released and putting pressure on governments, to them being able to sit

around the dinner tables and share family moments again, huge.

But most immediately, they will of course go and get medical checks at a medical facility, several days maybe, of those checks and treatments, as

well. Because Evin jail is brutal, it's physically brutal-- the food, awful, we've heard descriptions of just how they're treated like, you know,

plates of food shoved under a door and pretty awful food at that and even some of them have been on hunger strikes at times to draw attention to

their plate.

So, the physical ailments will be will be analyzed and dealt with but it's the psychological trauma that's going to sit with them for a long time and,

you know, we have a -- you're quite a clear example of that in Nazanin Zaghari Ratcliffe, the British Iranian national who was released from six

years captivity last year and her husband who has been talking on CNN and explaining that, you know, there are still nightmares, they go -- they get

lesser. But this sort of fitting back into normal life doesn't just happen because you're with your family, there's a huge mental trauma to unpack and

that doesn't happen quickly.

KINKADE: And Nic, in terms of diplomacy and international relations, we know the Iranian President and the U.S. President are both in New York City

today for the UNGA. Can we expect them to meet? Should they meet?

ROBERTSON: I think it's incredibly unlikely. The United States is still putting sanctions on the Iranian regime for transgressing on multiple

fronts, but in particular on the nuclear deal. And the United States, Britain, France, Germany, criticized publicly -- criticized Iran just

yesterday for blocking access for the International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors which were part of that international nuclear deal in 2015.

Iran is -- continues to be uncompliant in that regard. So, I don't think we're going to see a meeting there. But the fact that something was

negotiated here and the fact that Iran has responded to access to money leaves the way forward for perhaps other countries to do some of the

diplomatic running. I mean, we're looking at Saudi Arabia and Iran improving their diplomatic relations significantly over the last six months

with China helping broker a deal there.

[12:10:00]

There are other things in the Gulf region, in particular, about tensions that are easing and relaxing between Iran and some of its nearer neighbors.

Now, will that provide a better way forward for the United States to interact with Iran? Certainly, that's not clear at the moment. So, whatever

developments come, they're not going to come quickly.

KINKADE: All right. It's good to get your perspective. Nic Robertson for us in London. Thank you. Well, a long shot attempt by journalist Evan

Gershkovich to be released from a Russian prison has failed. Gershkovich was in a Moscow court Tuesday to appeal a decision to hold him while he

awaits trial on spying charges. The court says it did not hear his appeal and sent it back to a lower court on procedural grounds.

U.S. denies "The Wall Street Journal" reporter was working as a spy and says Russia has illegally detained him. Well, our Matthew Chance was

briefly on the courtroom with Evan Gershkovich earlier. Here's his report.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, "The Wall Street Journal" Reporter Evan Gershkovich, who's been held in Russia since

the end of March on charges of espionage, made a brief appearance in a Moscow courthouse earlier today to appeal his detention. He's the first

American journalist to be accused of spying in Russia since the end of the Cold War, allegations denied by both his newspaper and the U.S. government.

Well, we were given very brief access to Gershkovich inside the court and managed to see him and say a few words before being kicked out. Take a look

at what happened.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHANCE: Okay, we've been let into the courthouse where you can see Evan Gershkovich is in there. Hi, Matthew from CNN. Is that you holding up all

right? No questions? No. Okay, understood. Okay, well there he is standing there. You can see him looking relaxed. All the cameras being allowed in to

take a close up look at him.

The security is very tight here. What's the problem? Yes. We're leaving the hall. Go to Evan. Okay, what do you want us to do? It's okay. It's okay.

What do you want us to do? Okay. Let's go down. You want us to go away?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: Well, the decision is the latest legal setback for Gershkovich, whose pre-trial detention has been extended twice since his arrest, once in

May and again in August. An appeal against his first pre-trial detention was also denied.

Well, protests have erupted in India after Canada's Prime Minister said New Delhi could be behind the assassination of a prominent Sikh leader carried

out on Canadian soil.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: Canada and India have both expelled senior diplomats as the dispute between Ottawa and New Delhi deepens. To Canada, this Sikh leader

was a citizen. To India, he was a terrorist. CNN's Paula Newton explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In a startling accusation, Canadian officials say the killing of a prominent Canadian Sikh leader in the

province of British Columbia in June may have been an assassination carried out on the orders of the Indian government.

JUSTIN TRUDEAU, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER: Over the past number of weeks, Canadian security agencies have been actively pursuing credible allegations

of a potential link between agents of the government of India and the killing of a Canadian citizen, Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

NEWTON: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he confronted India's Prime Minister with the allegations in a face-to-face meeting just last

week as Narendra Modi hosted the G20 summit.

TRUDEAU: Canada has declared its deep concerns to the top intelligence and security officials of the Indian government. Last week at the G20, I

brought them personally and directly to Prime Minister Modi in no uncertain terms. Any involvement of a foreign government in the killing of a Canadian

citizen on Canadian soil is an unacceptable violation of our sovereignty. It is contrary to the fundamental rules by which free, open and democratic

societies conduct themselves.

NEWTON (voice-over): The killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar remains unsolved. Royal Canadian-mounted Police say Nijjar suffered multiple gunshot wounds

while sitting in a vehicle outside a Sikh temple in Surrey, British Columbia. Homicide investigators say two mass suspects, described as

heavier set males, fled on foot and then possibly in this British Columbia.

[12:15:00]

Homicide investigators say two mass suspects, described as heavier set males, fled on foot and then possibly in this 2008 silver Toyota Camry. In

the earliest days after the homicide, protesters demanded justice, saying the killing was politically motivated and chilling retribution for Nijjar's

activism and support for Sikh independence in India. At the time RCMP would not comment on a possible motive but now, Canadian officials are speaking

loud and clear about their suspicions.

MELANIE JOLY, CANADIAN FOREIGN AFFAIRS MINISTER: The allegations that a representative of a foreign government may have been involved in the

killing of a Canadian citizen here in Canada, on Canadian soil is not only troubling but it is completely unacceptable. If proven true, this would be

a grave violation of our sovereignty and of the most basic rule of how countries deal with each other.

NEWTON: That stern rebuke was followed by swift action. Canada expelled the head of India's spy agency in Canada, one of India's top diplomats in the

country. In a statement, the Indian government responded, saying the allegations are unsubstantiated and accused Canada of sheltering

terrorists.

Trudeau considers the intelligence so credible that his foreign minister says he raised the issue with both U.S. President Joe Biden and Britain's

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. The killing of Nijjar and its fallout is now a potential political powder keg in both India and Canada, home to one of the

largest Indian Diaspora anywhere in the world.

Sikh independence has long been a dangerous fault line in Indian politics. Canada now fears that conflict may have been brought to its shores with

deadly consequences. Paula Newton, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: In Libya, a stark new reality is coming into sharper focus with each passing day in the decimated city of Derna. Nearly 4000 people were

killed in catastrophic flooding there last week, and rescuers are still struggling to find bodies. Thousands more remain unaccounted for.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: Angry residents demanding accountability took to the streets Monday, accusing local officials of mismanagement and neglect. The ordeal

has left some flood victims distraught.

ABDULKARIM AWAD BEN ALI, LIBYAN RESIDENT (through translator): After this crisis, I began saying, I wish I was taken by the floods. Those who passed

away are relieved now. They may be in paradise. Those who survived are still suffering. God only knows what other things we will suffer from.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: The storm that inundated the Libyan coast is just the latest example of extreme weather happening right across the planet. And a new

report reveals it didn't have to be this bad. A team of scientists found that rainfall that caused the horrific flooding in Dona was made 50 times

more likely and 50 times worse by climate change. They also found the man- made climate crisis led to more extreme rain in other parts of the Mediterranean, as well.

Well, for more on all of this, I want to welcome our Bill Weir, who joins us now from New York. Good to see you, Bill.

BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Lynda.

KINKADE: So, it's interesting seeing the people in Derna protesting against government inaction, both in terms of preparation for this weather event

and the response to it post, but also climate change is being blamed, as well, in this new study. What did they find?

WEIR: Well, the World Weather Attribution Group, this is a dozen or more scientists around the world, several countries, and they basically compare

the conditions of today, these off-the-charts, record-shattering temperatures we're seeing, marine heat waves, to life on Earth before

fossil fuels heated us up at 1.2 degrees Celsius.

And as you mentioned there, they find that this storm, Daniel, a Mediterranean hurricane, a medicane, basically, is a one in every three to

600-year event, but much the way if you load the dice in a craps game, you're going to get the higher numbers more and more often. The loaded heat

in the Mediterranean means that Storm Daniel is 50 times more likely in the current conditions, the new earth that we live on now, and that because

warmer sky holds more moisture, the rains are 50 percent more intense there.

And so, it's deadly in places from Greece and Bulgaria and Spain that took lives there, but in a place like Libya, which has years of conflict,

crumbling infrastructure, bad construction and floodplains, no emergency warning system or response, and you have fatalities in the thousands.

[12:20:00]

It could be the deadliest -- one of the deadliest modern disasters because that perfect storm, you know, supercharged by climate, hits a place so

vulnerable at every level.

KINKADE: And as you mentioned, Bill, it wasn't just Libya that came up in this report. It was also Greece, Turkey, Bulgaria, the report finding that

the flooding, extreme rain that hit those countries was also 10 times more likely. Can you break down for us how these scientists came up with these

figures, how they came up with this data?

WEIR: Well, we have the long sort of historical record of life before climate change, where you have an average between the glacial periods

there, as well. And now, just with the 1.2 added on top of that, and regionally, there's not a lot of granular data as to what the Mediterranean

specifically was like thousands of years ago.

But if you take those averages and put them up against what we've been experiencing, and then run the models, and you see that the storms just get

more and more intense, as well. And yes, as you said, it was ten times more likely in that part of the area that hit Greece and Spain there, as well.

Spain, there, even less the more hesitant to put a scribe a number -- an attribution number on it because the data set was so small regionally

there.

But this whole experience is a wake up for the rest of the world and folks to say, are we strong enough to weather this new kind of disasters that our

grandparents didn't ever experience?

KINKADE: Yeah, and as the U.S. president said just in the last couple hours at the U.N., Libya certainly is an example of what's to come without action

on climate change. Bill Weir for us in New York, thanks so much.

WEIR: You bet.

KINKADE: Well, still to come, the power vacuum that left behind when Yevgeny Prigozhin died. A scene investigation looks into Russia's influence

in the most volatile parts of Africa. And later, Spain's national football team is a mess. A coach accused of lying and players who don't want to

play. We'll have the details when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KINKADE: Welcome back. Well, almost a month after Wagner Chief Yevgeny Prigozhin died in a plane crash, Russia has been moving to consolidate

Wagner's operations across Africa. CNN's Chief International Correspondent Clarissa Ward travelled to the Central African Republic. This is one of the

world's poorest nations and one of Wagner's first operational sites on the continent.

[12:25:00]

Clarissa shows us how Wagner's work and Russia's influence might be changing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the Central African Republic, Clarissa shows us how Wagner's work and Russia's

influence might be changing. In the Central African Republic, the message from Wagner is clear. It's business as usual.

Less than one month after their boss, Yevgeny Prigozhin, was killed in a plane crash, mass mercenaries still guard the president and cut an

intimidating figure on the streets of the Capitol. Faces covered as Wagner Protocol dictates, they are unapproachable and untouchable. These are the

first images of Wagner fighters in the country since Prigozhin's death.

That presence runs deep. The markets are full of cheap sachets of vodka and beer made by a Wagner-owned company, and the locals seem to like it. They

say they don't drink French beer, only Russian beer.

We've come back to the center of Prigozhin's empire in Africa, right as his death raises questions for the regimes he protected and the mercenaries

whose loyalty he inspired. Our last visit was in Wagner's early days here, run like the mafia, providing guns and fighters and propaganda in return

for gold, diamonds and timber, using intimidation and brutality along the way.

That car full of Russians have been following us for quite some time. We don't know why. We don't know what they want. But in this lawless, war-

scarred country, one of the poorest in the world, that ruthlessness and the security it brought is celebrated by many.

FIDELE GOUANDJIKA, SENIOR PRESIDENTIAL ADVISER, CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: Welcome to Gwandecar's Palace.

WARD: Wow. That is quite the T-shirt.

GOUANDJIKA: Yes, beautiful T-shirt.

WARD: Presidential adviser Fidele Gouandjika, says the nation is in mourning for Wagner's dead leader.

GOUANDJIKA: He was my friend. He was my friend, best friend, a friend of all Central African people.

WARD: Why exactly was Mr. Prigozhin so popular here in your mind?

GOUANDJIKA: Because our country was in war. So, Mr. Putin gave us soldiers with Prigozhin.

WARD: So, aren't you nervous now that he's dead, that things might change?

GOUANDJIKA: Mr. Putin called our president. He told him that everything will be like yesterday. Nothing will be changed, nothing.

WARD: But according to a diplomatic source here, hundreds of Wagner fighters left the Central African Republic in July after Prigozhin's failed

mutiny. Those who remain, including his top lieutenants, have agreed to work for the Russian Ministry of Defense. Fighters have already been pulled

back from frontline outposts to population centers in an effort to cut costs, the source says.

What's less clear is what becomes of Wagner's civilian presence here. This is one of the last places that Prigozhin was seen alive during his final

tour across Africa. It's called the Russian Cultural Center, only it has no connection to Russia's official cultural agency and was run until recently

by Prigozhin's closest associate here.

Photographs taken on that visit show a new face, a woman known as Nafisa Kiryanova (ph). After days of asking for permission to visit, we decide to

film covertly.

WARD: So, but you were here then when Yevgeny Prigozhin, when he was here, the photographs, there's the photographs of you with Prigozhin together.

NAFISA KIRYANOVA (ph): Oh my God, can you show me that?

UNKNOWN: Yeah. I think it was just over in that corner. There you are.

KIRYANOVA (ph): Yeah. Okay, that's good.

UNKNOWN: And this is Mr. Prigozhin, no?

KIRYANOVA (ph): Yeah.

UNKNOWN: How was he?

KIRYANOVA (ph): Normal.

WARD: Do you think he knew they were going to kill him?

KIRYANOVA (ph): Oh my gosh. What's the question there? Who knows such things?

WARD: What does it mean for your work here? Does it change anything?

KIRYANOVA (ph): Does it change anything if, I don't know, the president of the country does. Does it mean that we're on three steps to exist?

WARD: She shows us one of their daily Russian classes. As we step back outside, we see a Wagner fighter. You can just make him out retreating to

the back of the center, where, according to the investigative group, The Century, Wagner sells its gold and diamonds to VIPs and manages its timber

and alcohol operations.

[12:30:00]

WARD: Who is that?

KIRYANOVA (ph): A person?

WARD: Can we see what's there? That's weird.

KIRYANOVA (ph): Yeah, actually, so what are you going to see there?

WARD: Like most of Wagner's activities here, it's clear there is still so much that is hidden from view. We've pushed the visit far enough. It's time

to go. No matter who takes over here, Western diplomats say they don't expect much to change.

At the local Orthodox church, the Greek lettering has been painted over. Its allegiance now is to the Russian patriarchy. And even in the skies

above the empire Prigozhin built, Russia's dominance lives on. Clarissa Ward, CNN, Bongi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: Well, still to come. We'll take an in-depth look at the global issues topping the agenda at the U.N. General Assembly. Stay with us,

you're watching CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KINKADE: Hello and welcome back to One World, I'm Lynda Kinkade. Let's catch you up on the headlines this hour. Azerbaijan says its armed forces

have launched what it's calling local anti-terrorist activities in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.

[12:35:00]

Now, according to Armenian state news, at least five people were killed and 80 others injured in the predominantly Armenian-populated area.

YouTube has suspended Russell Brand from making money from his YouTube channel. The BBC says it's removing some of its online content, which

involves the comedian. It comes after multiple allegations of rape and sexual assault were levelled against Brand in an investigation published by

three British media outlets.

World-famous Football Star Cristiano Ronaldo is in Tehran for the first time as captain of Saudi's Al-Nassr squad. They are facing Iran's

Persepolis in the Asian Champions League. This is the first visit of a Saudi football team to Iran since 2016.

U.S. President Joe Biden called for the international community to stand up to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. As he spoke at the U.N. General Assembly a

short time ago. Leaders are gathering in New York to address some of the world's most pressing problems, including Russia's war in Ukraine, the

catastrophic flooding in Libya, and the role of climate change in extreme weather events.

As per tradition, Brazil's President was the first to speak and he took on the climate crisis, saying that his nation which is home to the world's

largest rainforest has resumed action to protect the Amazon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LUIZ IGNACIO "LULA" DA SILVA, BRAZILIAN PRESIDENT: The whole world has always talked about the Amazon. Now, the Amazon is speaking for itself.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: Some of the 140 heads of state and government are at the UNGA, but the no-shows are also making a statement. U.S. President Joe Biden is the

only leader of the permanent five members of the U.N. Security Council to attend. French President Emmanuel Macron is staying back to greet King

Charles and handle pressing foreign policy issues.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has also decided to skip the event. Russian President Vladimir Putin would have risked being arrested if he had

traveled. And Chinese Leader Xi Jinping never goes.

Well, time now for The Exchange and we want to take a closer look at the U.N. General Assembly and the issues foremost on the minds of many world

leaders. Joining me now is CNN Global Affairs Analyst Kimberly Dozier. She's also the Senior Managing Editor of "The Military Times". Good to have

you with us, Kim.

KIMBERLY DOZIER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Good to be here, Lynda.

KINKADE: So, I want to start with the Russian war in Ukraine, which the U.S. President seemed to speak most forcibly about towards the end of his

address to the U.N. General Assembly, calling it an illegal war of conquest, saying that if we allow Ukraine to be carved up, is the

independence of any nation secure. What did you make of his comments and his call for other people to stand up and other nations to stand up for

Ukraine on this issue?

DOZIER: Well, he is reminding the audience, which includes non-Western nations that have gotten closer to Russia in the past year, that this

action against Ukraine, allowing it to stand, means something like that could happen to any of them across Africa, Latin America, parts of Asia.

But increasingly, you're seeing this nexus of market and diplomatic power between Russia, China, North Korea, trying to reach out over the tops of

heads of Western nations and create a new network that would challenge the Western supremacy, and they're finding a lot of takers. So, Biden is trying

to fight that and remind people of the principle of territorial sovereignty, which Ukraine's dilemma right now, Russia's invasion of

Ukraine, represents.

KINKADE: And can we know that for the first time since Russia invaded Ukraine, the President of Ukraine will address the U.N. General Assembly.

In the past, he's faced some criticism for seeming to be ungrateful for some of the weaponry, some of the aid that has come into his country. What

sort of tone do you think he will strike today and what appeal will he make to the audience there?

DOZIER: I think Zelenskyy very much feels the clock is running on the international aid he's getting to prosecute this war, whereas Russia's

resolve doesn't seem to have been lessened at all. So, what he's been trying to argue all of this time is we need more of these weapons faster.

We need long-range missiles. We need more long-range and sophisticated jets and training, because every time you delay giving that to us, we literally

lose the human capital we need to fight this war. Ukraine hasn't revealed its casualty figures, but we know that they, like Russia, have lost tens of

thousands of troops, but they're much smaller than Russia.

[12:40:00]

They have much fewer troops to give. And U.S. military folks who've been training tens of thousands of troops outside of the country talk about the

fact that they're not fighting age men. A lot of these people are in their 40s. They're computer engineers. They're the kind of person that you reach

out for when you're fighting age people who are either engaged in the front lines or have already been lost.

So, there is real depression and worry inside Ukraine about sustaining this fight. Zelenskyy has also been hearing from some diplomats who tell him,

look, you've probably got about one more year's aid, and then people are really going to start pushing you towards negotiating some sort of peace

with Russia, even if it means losing territory.

KINKADE: And that one new deadline, if it does indeed exist, it makes more sense when you consider the fact that there is an election that's due to

take place late next year here in the United States and already you've got Republican presidential candidates expressing the fact that they have less

support for pouring any more money, funds, weaponry into Ukraine, into this war with Russia. So, no doubt he has to also appeal to the American

domestic audience.

DOZIER: Yes, the former president, Donald Trump, who is the leading GOP candidate, has been very anti continuing aid to Ukraine, even though

Republican stalwarts on Capitol Hill have been backing that aid. But they're looking ahead.

Zelenskyy is looking ahead to an uncertain time where the White House might not be supporting him. I think the Biden administration is very well-aware

of that. And that's why you heard the U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin today at the Ukraine Contact Group call on other European nations who are

part of this continuing aid effort for Ukraine to provide as much as they can.

Whether it's artillery or long-range missiles or some sort of missiles because U.S. officials know that their chance to give aid could be running

out, could be curtailed by a coming change at the White House.

KINKADE: Kimberly Dozier, we'll have to leave it there for now, but good to have you on the program, as always. Thanks so much. Well, still to come on

One World, for the first time the World Health Organization is laying out the devastating impact of high blood pressure. Ways to stop this silent

killer, when we return.

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[12:45:19]

KINKADE: Well, proper treatment of high blood pressure could prevent 76 million deaths around the world by the year 2050. That's according to the

World Health Organization's first ever report on the global impact of hypertension.

The study also looks at ways to combat what it calls the silent killer. CNN Medical Correspondent Meg Tirrell joins us live from New York with more on

the findings. Good to have you with us, Meg. So, just about everyone knows someone dealing with high blood pressure. What did this latest study find?

MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, we all may know somebody with high blood pressure and they may not even know that they have high

blood pressure. So, the World Health Organization is really trying to call attention to what you pointed out, they call the silent killer.

So, they define high blood pressure as a reading of 140 over 90 or higher and about one in three adults in the world have high blood pressure and it

can be deadly. It can lead to heart attacks, stroke, heart failure and kidney problems. And they call it that silent killer because only about 54

percent they estimate of people with high blood pressure have actually had a diagnosed.

They find that only one in five cases globally is actually controlled and that by treating more than 50 percent of high blood pressure cases

effectively could prevent 76 million deaths between now and 2050. So, they're really trying to call people's attention to the things that they

can do about this.

KINKADE: And so, in terms of prevention, in terms of treatment, obviously, Meg, it's not just about medication, but lifestyle factors. What's most

effective?

TIRRELL: Yeah, they both really play into this. And medications are important, particularly making them available easily and affordable. But of

course, there are also lifestyle changes that you can make. Eating a healthy diet, exercising, avoiding alcohol and tobacco, and really lowering

daily sodium intake. That has been a big focus, really, around the world.

The World Health Organization recommends no more than 2000 milligrams of sodium each day for adults. And the global average is more than double

that, 4300 milligrams a day. In the U.S., the average is 3400 milligrams per day. And even in a country that's a high-income country like the United

States, we still have ways to go to try to meet these goals. About 32 percent of people in the U.S. have hypertension. They say if you could

treat effectively 75 percent of those folks, you could avoid more than a million deaths. We are currently controlling about 48 percent of cases

here, if we got up to that goal of effectively controlling half of cases, that would be 693,000 more people who need to be treated. So, the scope of

this is large, but they say these are interventions that are possible to make and countries really need to focus on them.

KINKADE: Yeah, exactly. Good to get you on the program on that report, Meg Tirrell. Thanks very much.

TIRRELL: Thank you.

KINKADE: A safe place to play in the shadow of a natural disaster. A company in Morocco is building a playground near a camp for displaced

people who are forced to leave their homes after last week's earthquake. Parents say it's a welcome sight since many children were frightened by

that quake. The conditions they are now living in are far from the comforts of home.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FATIM ZAHRA, EARTHQUAKE VICTIM (through translator): It's not like home. We feel cold at night. We feel hot during the day. It's not comfortable here.

Life here is very hard.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: The 6.8 magnitude quake spaced thousands of people and claimed nearly 3000 lives earlier this month. Still to come, thanks but no thanks.

Spanish football players say they don't want to play for their national team but they are being forced to do so. We'll have that story when we come

back.

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[12:51:32]

KINKADE: Welcome back. The uproar surrounding Spain's women's national football team is only getting worse. Jenny Hermoso, the player who got an

unwanted kiss from the head of the Football Federation, is expressing frustration at the process of calling up players for matches this month.

She was not among the players caught up with the Federation, saying it wanted to protect her. Hermoso's response was to ask why she needed

protection and who might want to harm her.

As for the players who were caught up, most of them are not happy about it either. They don't want to play for Spain until more changes are made to

the Football Federation. We get the latest now from CNN's Don Riddell.

DON RIDDELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: What is going on at the Spanish Football Federation and how are they treating their World Champion players? It's

almost exactly a month now since they won the Women's World Cup, but there hasn't been much celebrating in that time. Instead, what's happened since

they beat England in the final has been absolutely extraordinary.

The Spanish Football Federation was plunged into a state of profound crisis by its former president, Luis Rubiales, who kissed the player, Jenny

Hermoso, during the medal ceremony. He has since resigned, and the coach Jorge Vilda has been fired. But things are not getting any better. In fact,

they might just be getting worse.

On Monday, the team's new coach, Montse Tome, named the squad to play two upcoming Nations League games against Sweden and Switzerland. And there

were some raised eyebrows because her squad included 20 players who had said that they wouldn't line up for the national team. This is what Tomei

had to say about that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MONTSE TOME, SPAIN WOMEN'S NATIONAL TEAM COACH (through translator): Yes, I have spoken to the players and I will not reveal what we have spoken about.

These are things that are part of a professional relationship and they stay between us.

RIDDELL: Well, on Monday night, the players revealed a somewhat different version of events. Many of them posted this statement to their social media

accounts, stating that they had not agreed to come back to the team. Previously, they had asked not to be played until real structural changes

had been made within the organization.

In the statement, they said, quote, "We will study the possible legal consequences to which REF, that's the Spanish Federation, has exposed us by

putting us on a list which we had asked not to be called up due to reasons which we had already explained publicly, to take the best decision for our

future and for our health. We regret once again that our Federation places us in a situation which we never would have desired."

This would be a truly remarkable situation for any team, not least the newly-crowned world champions. The Federation has publicly acknowledged the

need for reform and yet it seems the players feel as though they are being forced back into the national team. It's a reminder of the challenges so

many women face in sport and in the workplace, but these players are clearly determined to fight for a better future. Back to you.

KINKADE: Our thanks to Don Riddell and one final note on all of this. Spanish law actually requires caught-up players to play for the team or

face fines and suspension. So, despite asking not to be on the team, Spanish media says players began showing up for training today.

Shoots of green in Lahaina, Hawaii. The 150-year-old Banyan tree that was burned in the recent Maui fires is showing signs of regeneration.

[12:55:00]

Last week, the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources released a video of the historic tree showing new growth on some of its charred

branches. Laborers (ph) have taken samples from the trees roots they say there are new sprouts below the soil, so they are treating the tree with

nutrients to help nurture it back to life.

Signs of life, it's always a good sign. Thanks so much for watching this edition of One World, I'm Lynda Kinkade. I will be back same time tomorrow.

Right now, Amanpour is up next. You're watching CNN.

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