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Deadly Crush at Houston Music Festival; Iraqi Prime Minister Survives Assassination Attempt; Sierra Leone Fuel Tanker Blast Kills at least 98; Thousands Swarm Glasgow Streets to Demand Climate Action; Broken E.U. Asylum System Forces Refugees into Deadly Journey; Afghan Girls for Sale; Taliban Takeover in Afghanistan; Nicaragua Elections; Europe COVID-19 Cases and Hospitalizations Rise; Remembering Marilia Mendonca. Aired 12-1a ET
Aired November 07, 2021 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us all around the world. I'm Michael Holmes, appreciate your company.
Coming up here on CNN NEWSROOM, unhurt and appealing for calm, Iraq's prime minister survives an assassination attempt.
A deadly human crush at a music festival in Texas. Harrowing stories and new details as investigators look into exactly what went so terribly wrong.
Also, protesters around the world saying, enough is enough, demanding action, not words, to fight climate change.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Michael Holmes.
HOLMES: We are tracking developments in Iraq for you, where the prime minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi has survived an assassination attempt in Baghdad's green zone.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES (voice-over): Gunfire could be heard in the capital hours ago; the military says a drone rigged with explosives was used to attack the prime minister's home. Sources say it happened shortly after he went to see security forces in a standoff with protesters.
Images on Iraqi TV showing the damage left by the attack. Some of the prime minister's guards were hurt in the botched hit but he is said to be unharmed. It is not clear yet who is responsible but the prime minister had this to say to his would-be killers.
MUSTAFA AL-KADHIMI, IRAQI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): The cowardly missiles and drones do not build our countries nor our future and we are looking to build our homeland by respecting its state and its institutions and establishing a better future for all Iraqis.
I invite everyone to a calm and constructive dialogue for the sake of Iraq and the future of Iraq. Long live Iraq, long live Iraq.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
Colin Clarke is the director of policy and research at the Soufan Group. He joins me now to discuss Iraq.
An unusual and brazen attack.
What do you make of what happened and who might be behind it?
COLIN CLARKE, SOUFAN GROUP: Yes, I mean really, I think this caught a lot of folks off-guard given the nature of the attack, the target, prime minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi was targeted with a drone rigged with explosives in Baghdad.
The likely culprit, I think all fingers are pointing at one of several Iran-backed militias, either Kataib Hezbollah or as soon Asa'ib al- Haq, AAH. So there are a number of groups that could be the culprit but we are still waiting for more information.
HOLMES: It puts the Iraqi government in a difficult position in a way, it's got to respond to an attack on the prime minister in his home. But at the same time a response would need to be quite calibrated in terms of the risk of escalation.
CLARKE: Exactly, it puts the government in a very difficult position. As you mentioned, they can't let this go down without responding at all but overreaching could really trigger a set of events that would be disastrous.
And you know, civilians will be the ones caught in the crossfire of any kind of escalation.
HOLMES: Going back to what your point of who might have been behind it, these groups aligned with Iran lost badly in the recent parliamentary elections. Their supporters have been staging protests around the green zone. There have been deaths and injuries.
How much division has been caused by the election and the results do you think?
CLARKE: A lot but really this is a case of being sore losers. Iran does not like to lose and they now look at Iraq in some ways as a vassal state. But Iraq, for all of its problems, is a democracy. It's a democracy that is a work in progress.
But Iran can't simply can't just interfere in Iraq's sovereignty every time it doesn't like the results of an election and we are seeing the result of. That now
HOLMES: Great point. For some time as you know there has been widespread frustration overall with Iraq's political elite. The turnout of the recent election was the lowest since the fall of Saddam.
And a lot of Iraqis seem to have lost faith overall in the political process as well as being angry at Iran's influence in Iraq.
How do you read the overall state of security in the country?
CLARKE: Look, this is a disaster because one of the things that several people haven't been mentioning.
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CLARKE: Unfortunately is that it's going to occupy bandwidth, resources, attention -- and that could potentially be a boon for the Islamic State. Let's not forget, ISIS is still active in Iraq. And with the government and the Iranian-backed Shia militias fighting each other, this will give some breathing room for ISIS to take advantage.
HOLMES: What do you make of the use of drones in an attack like this?
CLARKE: Well, it's not the first attempted assassination of a head of state using a drone rigged with explosives.
Back in August, 2018, there was an attempt against Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and I can guarantee you it won't be the last. The barrier for entry for individuals and small groups to get drones and use them with skill has been lowered considerably.
We are entering a new normal, when we are likely to see incidents like this playing out time again unfortunately over the next several years.
HOLMES: Terrific analysis, Colin Clarke, thank you so. Much
CLARKE: Thank you.
HOLMES: More countries are telling their nonessential staff to leave Ethiopia amid fears a rebel advance could bring all-out war to the capital. Canada and Belgium have joined the U.S. in telling some of their diplomats to get out.
As embassies empty, there are communications blackouts. Images have emerged of pro government rallies as officials try to downplay the crisis. But a state of emergency has been declared and an alliance of opposition groups and rebels say they are ready to fight to bring down the prime minister.
The central government's military is also calling on veterans to rejoin the armed forces. CNN's David McKenzie with the latest on the crisis from Johannesburg.
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DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In a deepening crisis in Ethiopia, there appears to be a disconnect between the government's words and their actions.
They are saying that some of the reporting on this crisis has been alarmist; yet, over the last week, there has been a state of emergency instituted, which allows for conscription of adults. The prime minister is calling for people to take arms against at least two rebel groups that have been threatening the capital.
And now the military is calling on veterans to rejoin the forces and fight. The question was put to the attorney general, why these measures have been taken.
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GEDION TIMOTHEWOS, ETHIOPIAN ATTORNEY GENERAL: The government is still taking some precautionary measures. We have credible intelligence indicating that the TPLF might try to orchestrate some sort of havoc within that city, not only in Addis but other parts of the country as well. So taking into account this kind of reformation.
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MCKENZIE: The TPLF, of course, is the group that the government's been locked in combat with for over a year now. They have moved, according to both sides, out of the Tigray region, much closer to Addis Ababa.
But it is unclear exactly where they are and where the fighting is right now because of a communications blackout and a lack of information coming from either side.
Now in the next few days, there might be an indication if there was any progress made by the U.S. special envoy to the Horn of Africa, who is engaged in talks in the capital. The international community has roundly condemned the fighting, calling for an immediate cease-fire.
But this conflict has had many surprises and people are fearful that it could mean a deepening crisis and possibly full-scale war -- David McKenzie, CNN, Johannesburg.
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HOLMES: At least 98 people are dead after a fuel tanker exploded in Sierra Leone. It happened in Freetown, when 2 trucks collided, causing the tanker to leak fuel. From there, things only got worse.
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HOLMES (voice-over): Charred vehicles and bodies litter a street as fires rage and chaos ensues in an eastern suburb of Sierra Leone's capital, Freetown. Local authorities say late Friday night, a truck collided with a fuel tanker as the tanker was about to enter a filling station.
Sierra Leone's national disaster management agency says some residents rushed to collect the spilled fuel and store it nearby. But the tanker exploded, causing a massive fire.
Smoke, cries and the sounds of car horns filled the air. The flames from the explosion tore through the neighborhood, burning people and vehicles on the street. Firefighters at the scene fought to douse the flames, scores of people already reported dead, dozens more injured and in critical condition.
JUSU JAKA YAWMAH, RESCUER (from captions): And there were some bodies that we couldn't retrieve because if you watch the video --
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JUSU JAKA YAWMAH, RESCUER (from captions): -- if you get to the scene, there are rubbles around, there are burnt cars and there are some bodies underneath.
HOLMES (voice-over): Drone footage shows smoke still billowing from the scene hours after the blast. The West Africans country's president Julius Maada Bio tweeting that he was deeply disturbed by the fires and loss of life and promised government support for the affected families.
The vice president also spoke to the crowd at the site of the blast, calling it a national disaster.
MOHAMED JULDEH JAILOH, VICE PRESIDENT, SIERRA LEONE: This is a national disaster, on behalf of the president, the government and the entire people of Sierra Leone, we sympathize. The government, they are on top of the situation.
HOLMES (voice-over): Fuel tanker accidents in the past have taken many lives in sub-Saharan African countries, people rushing to collect some leaked fuel and it turns deadly.
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HOLMES: Well we are learning tragic new details about the deadly concert crush in Houston, Texas, on Friday night. Eight people were killed, scores of others injured when the massive crowd rushed the stage at the Astroworld music festival. All of those killed were under 30 years old.
One witness saying, "all hell broke loose," when rapper Travis Scott took to the stage. Another concertgoer describing the crowd surge as a death trap as people fought for their lives.
Police say the cause of the surge is still not clear but that is one of many unanswered questions surrounding this tragedy. CNN's Rosa Flores has the latest.
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ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The investigation into the Astroworld Festival that turned deadly just escalated to include the Narcotics and Homicide Divisions here in the city of Houston. Here is why.
According to a security officer who was on scene at the time, he says that he was pricked in the neck; he was treated with Narcan and he was revived. This is according to the police chief here. The chief also says that other individuals were also treated with
Narcan. He's not releasing more information on that but does say that now the investigation now includes the Narcotics and Homicide Divisions. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHIEF TROY FINNER, HOUSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT: One of the narratives was that some individual was injecting other people with drugs. We do have a report of a security officer, according to the medical staff, that was out and treated him last night.
That he was reaching over to restrain or grab a citizen and he felt a prick in his neck. When he was examined -- he went unconscious -- they administered Narcan. He was revived.
And the medical staff did notice a prick that was similar to a prick that you would get if somebody was trying to inject.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FLORES: We are also learning the ages of the individuals who died. Eight people died between the ages of 14 and 27. We don't know the age of one individual. The number of people who were transported to the hospital has also increase from 23 to 25.
And now we are learning that five children were transported to the hospital. Now this is all very, very troubling. Based on talking to some of the concertgoers, they tell me that, depending on how tall you were, that's how easy or difficult it was for you to breathe at the height of the situation.
Now according to authorities, at about 9:15 the night of the concert, that's when the crowd started compressing toward the stage. By 9:38 they say it turned into a mass casualty event. About 10:10 is when the concert ended.
So based on the accounts from these concertgoers that I talked to, they described very intense moments, where people were trying to just breathe. One individual said that it felt like a mob and that his survival instincts kicked in. All he wanted to do was take a breath and take a drink of water.
That's how intense it was for some of those individuals that were in the crowd, that were close to the stage. Now authorities say that all of this is under investigation. They are trying to figure out exactly what happened, why so many individuals were compressing toward the stage.
Now of course, based on what the Houston police chief has said, the account from a security officer, who says that his neck was pricked, he was treated with Narcan and then he revived, this investigation has escalated to include the Narcotics and Homicide Divisions -- Rosa Flores, CNN, Houston.
(END VIDEOTAPE) HOLMES: Still to come here on the program, from Seoul to Sydney, people gathered in cities around the globe to demand less talk and more action from world leaders on the climate crisis.
Plus, CNN takes a closer look at Europe's migrant crisis, as asylum seekers are reportedly pushed back to the sea once they reach the Greek border. We'll have more on that when we come back.
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HOLMES: Activists took to the streets in cities around the world, on Saturday, urging more urgent action on the climate crisis. It comes as world leaders are set to begin a second week of climate talks at COP26 in Glasgow.
This was the scene in Seoul, South Korea, as protesters marched alongside a large red ball, symbolizing a burning Earth.
In Australia, activists carried a giant smoldering koala puppet. They say it illustrates what will happen to that animal if more isn't done to tackle climate change.
And, this was the scene in London; thousands of people calling for less talk, more action, on climate.
Now in Glasgow, tens of thousands of people, gathering at the site of the COP26 summit. Organizers say more than 100,000 people, marching through, sometimes, heavy rain, to make their voices heard. CNN's Phil Black, was there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This wide range of people and groups, coming from across Scotland, the U.K. and much further, too.
They're marching through the Glasgow weather to demand climate action that is just, delivers for people from all countries regardless of how rich they are and is sufficiently radical to result in the sort of change that science says is necessary to get a handle on climate change.
What do you think of the progress of the conference so far?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is a good start. But much more needs to be done. Every country in the world needs to be getting involved. Every country needs to be held to it (ph) but especially the West, because we have done so much damage in the last 100 years, I suppose, yes.
BLACK: You look like a really diverse group.
Where have you all come from?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All over the U.K., from cities, urban areas, rural areas, like, yes, we're all together as a movement of farmers, land workers, activists, teachers, researchers, yes.
BLACK: As farmers, you're used to this sort of weather, I guess.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, everyone is pretty hardy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
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BLACK: Who are you guys?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're the greenwash busters.
BLACK: Tell the nice people who are watching what greenwash is.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Greenwash is telling people you're doing one thing and saving the planet and actually destroying it. It's just for marketing purposes. It's all over Glasgow. COP26 is full of greenwash.
BLACK: Hi, can you hear me?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
BLACK: Why are you this today?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm dressed to make people aware that the Earth is getting too hot.
BLACK: The Earth is getting too hot?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. And we need to stick to 1.5 degrees.
BLACK: And we need to stick to 1.5 degrees.
And you are dressed as an avocado, because...?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, in case of -- with temperatures so great, increasing.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And we can actually grow avocados here.
BLACK: We don't want avocados in the U.K., that's what you're saying?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To be grown here.
BLACK: To be grown, yes.
(CROSSTALK) BLACK: To be eaten here, absolutely.
Yes, they're wonderful but not to be grown here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They went from making commitments, to making pledges, to now just doing the whole conference via press announcement.
BLACK: Does this event give you hope?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. Yes, there is loads of people here. There is loads of people here all wanting to work together, to make a better world. Of course it gives me hope.
BLACK: The mood on this wet, awful day, is surprisingly warm and even joyous at this times. But the issue is really serious and increasingly urgent. COP26 now has one week of negotiations left, to deliver a result that meets the hopes and expectations of all these people -- Phil Black, CNN, Glasgow, Scotland.
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HOLMES: In Paris, an effort to turn the city green is fueling rising tensions among residents. CNN's Jim Bittermann explains.
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JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SR. INTL. CORRESPONDENT: Out on the graceful avenues and boulevards of Paris, a battle has been looming; 1.5 centuries after Baron Haussmann plowed through large parts of the city, to straighten out and broaden the narrow, twisted streets, the mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, a kind of anti-Haussmann, has slowly been reducing the size of thoroughfares for years, part of her environmental plan to clean up air pollution and make the city friendlier for bicycles and other two-wheeled vehicles like electric scooters.
The upshot is a growing battle between the Parisians, who love to wield transportation --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it could be a good idea and not have cars in the town centers.
BITTERMANN (voice-over): -- and the motorists, who are wed to four wheels.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): It's a bit of a war of the bikes and scooters, against cars.
BITTERMANN (voice-over): High-speed lanes, along the Seine, which ones whisked suburbanites to and from Paris each day, have been shut down to make room for joggers, cyclists and picnic tables, all part of the Paris administration's dream of ridding Paris, as much as possible, of cars.
DAVID BELLIARD, DEPUTY MAYOR, PARIS: So we want to transform public space. And today, public spaces are occupied by cars and car drivers. We have half of the public space in Paris which is dedicated to cars.
BITTERMANN: But it's not just the repurposing of the public space; just as bad, say motorists, is the reduction of the speed limit on most streets in town to 30 kilometers. That is just over 18 miles an hour.
BITTERMANN (voice-over): The constant flashes of speed radar cameras bear witness to how many motorists just can't bring themselves to go that slow. Drivers say the reduced speed limits are just another way to strangle the cars out of the city.
The head of a motorists' association claims commuters have no alternatives to using their cars because public transportation is overcrowded and, often, unreliable.
PIERRE CHASSERAY, PRESIDENT, 40 MILLION MOTORISTS ASSOCIATION: For those who live around Paris, already, it is unfair. They need their car and they can't go to work. It's something incredible.
BITTERMANN (voice-over): Some of Paris' district mayors, like Florence Berthout in the Latin Quarter have no problem with projects to make Paris a greener city. But, she believes, the mayor is taking on the motorists in a very public way, just to attract Green Party votes in her run for president next spring.
As well, she accuses Hidalgo of not only pitting suburbanites against Parisians but creating another battle around among (ph) Parisians themselves with pedestrians, scooters, bicycles and cars, all fighting for the same space.
And, she says, bicyclists and scooter riders often don't respect the laws, abandon their rented vehicles everywhere and, just generally, behave badly.
FLORENCE BERTHOUT, MAYOR, 5TH ARRONDISSEMENT (through translator): They must be punished. And they must be punished regardless of the mode of travel. There is no reason to be more lenient with users of two wheels, scooters, who cause dozens of minor or serious accidents, every day.
BITTERMANN (voice-over): So while Paris has taken major action to rid the streets of automobiles and make the city more bicycle friendly, going green is not proving to be politically very simple -- Jim Bittermann, CNN, Paris.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: UNICEF, the United Nations Children Fund, has released its most recent report on the migration crisis plaguing the E.U. Now many migrants take the Turkey to Greece route to reach Europe, although, the overall number of refugees arriving in Greece has declined from last year.
Now 3rd quarter numbers were 60 percent higher, than in the same period in 2020. Now Greece is home, at the moment, to 120,000 migrants and refugees, most of them, from Afghanistan, Syria and Pakistan. Now Europe's broken asylum system is forcing many desperate refugees to make a dangerous, sometimes deadly, journey at sea.
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HOLMES: And now, some are at the center of growing tensions, between Turkey and Greece. The Greek foreign minister promising to investigate allegations that its coast guard is illegally pushing back migrants at the border. CNN's Arwa Damon reports. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A dinghy is floating helplessly in the distant darkness.
(INAUDIBLE) It's right there. It looks like it's getting completely hammered by the waves.
DAMON (voice-over): The Turkish Coast Guard speeds out. This is nothing new for the Turks, more like a routine whose intensity has varied over the years, with the various waves of refugees and migrants trying to reach European soil.
DAMON: It looks like there are children on board.
DAMON (voice-over): As we approach we can see the waves battering and rolling over the sides of the flimsy boat.
DAMON: Can you see that?
They're bailing water out of the back.
DAMON (voice-over): The Turks were notified by the Greeks by a fax of the dinghy's location. This is what happens on a regulate basis. For more than a year now, the Greek Coast Guard has been pushing back that try to reach its shores.
Greece continues to vehemently deny this, blaming criminal gangs and human traffickers for trying to enter Europe. But the practice has been extensively reported on by media and rights groups and recently led to a call for an investigation by a senior E.U. official.
DAMON: There are about 12 people who are just smushed into that dinghy, including that small child. I mean, how terrifying (INAUDIBLE) for them.
DAMON (voice-over): And how desperate they must have been to even try this, especially now, when the chances of success are so much less than they were before.
Much of it is spurred by a rise in anti-refugee sentiment. Greece doesn't want them and, ultimately, neither does the rest of Europe.
Pushing people back out to sea would be a violation of international law. Even if these people had a legitimate case for asylum, it most likely will not be heard.
The family with the baby who is just five months old is Somali. Mohammed (ph) says the Greeks beat them and knocked him into the water. We requested a response from Greece on this specific incident, provided the coordinates from the fax they had sent to the Turks but received no reply.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (from captions): Its take over the boat. In the sea.
DAMON (voice-over): He worked construction in Somalia, was a football player and district team manager. He says the terror group Al-Shabaab accused him of working with the government.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (from captions): OK, I kill you. I had to leave Somali.
DAMON (voice-over): Turkey is rescuing them out of the water but President Erdogan says Turkey will no longer be the dumping ground for migrants and refugees.
Come legally, the West says. But the system is slow, broken.
And how are you to apply from a country where death threats are at your door?
Nawid Habibi (ph) was a military pilot in Afghanistan. The sea route was too expensive, too risky for his small children. And he was lucky, perhaps, in that he had evidence to prove his legal case. Around a year ago, his friend, also a helicopter pilot, was shot by the Taliban in a targeted assassination.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He did not survive.
DAMON (voice-over): Nawid (ph) was also getting direct threats, which just became a lot more terrifying. The family fled. He has all his documents, evidence of his work with coalition forces. He also has a note, stamped by the Taliban.
DAMON: What does this say?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It says that Afghanistan, Islamic Republic of Emirate and Balkh, Balkh was in Mazar-i-Sharif, the judgment commission, he was judged but killed him (ph).
So when we get you, we will definitely kill you. You or a member of your family.
DAMON (voice-over): It is only now, now that the Taliban controls his entire country, that he has hope for asylum in the U.S. America broadened its eligibility requirements after Afghanistan was catapulted into the global spotlight.
It should not be this way. Whether it's America or Europe, the Western world is failing those in need. Forgotten conflicts, neglected populations from Somalia, to Yemen to Congo, Syria, Afghanistan, people will continue to be driven by the sliver of hope for something better. And they deserve better than this -- Arwa Damon, CNN, Turkey.
(END VIDEOTAPE) HOLMES: The situation in Afghanistan is becoming more dire by the day. So hopeless, for some families, they've resorted to selling their young daughters to survive. CNN's exclusive report, when we come back.
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HOLMES: And welcome back to our viewers all around the world. I'm Michael Holmes, you're watching CNN NEWSROOM. And now to a distressing story out of Afghanistan.
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HOLMES: Showing the harsh reality of the humanitarian crisis plaguing the country. Some families becoming so desperate they are selling their young daughters as child brides in order to survive. Our Anna Coren with this exclusive report.
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ANNA COREN, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: This is a really difficult story to watch but we think it is important that the world knows what is happening in Afghanistan right now. In our exclusive report, CNN witnesses the tragic fate facing these helpless little girls.
It's important to note that the parents gave us full access and permission to speak to the children and show their faces because they say they cannot change the practice themselves.
COREN (voice-over): In this arid, desolate landscape, not a scrap of vegetation in sight, lies a makeshift camp for some of Afghanistan's internally displaced.
Among its residents, 9-year-old Parwana; her bright pink dress, squeals of laughter and childhood games, a ruse to the horrors unfolding in this inhospitable environment.
Parwana's family moved to this camp in Badghis Province four years ago after her father lost his job. Humanitarian aid and menial work earning $3 a day providing the basic staples to survive. But since the Taliban takeover 2.5 months ago, any money or assistance has dried up.
And with eight mouths to feed, Parwana's father is now doing the unthinkable.
"I have no work, no money, no food. I have to sell my daughter," he says. "I have no other choice."
Parwana, who dreams of going to school and becoming a teacher, applies makeup; a favorite pastime for little girls but Parwana knows she is preparing for what awaits her.
"My father has sold me because we don't have bread, rice and flour. He has sold me to an old man."
The white bearded man, who claims he's 55 years old, comes to collect her. He's bought Parwana for 200,000 Afghanis, just over $2,000 U.S. To cover it up, Parwana whimpers as her mother holds her.
"This is your bride. Please take care of her," says Parwana's father.
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COREN (voice-over): "Of course I will take care of her," replies the man.
His large hands grab her small frame. Parwana tries to pull away. As he carries her only bag of belongings, she again resists, digging her heels into the dirt. But it's futile. The fate of this small, helpless child has been sealed.
Child marriage is nothing new in poor rural parts of Afghanistan. But human rights activists are reporting an increase in cases because of the economic and humanitarian crisis engulfing the country.
HEATHER BARR, HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH: These are devastating decisions that no parent should ever have to make. And it really speaks to what an extraordinary breakdown is happening in Afghanistan right now.
COREN (voice-over): For months, the U.N. has been warning of a catastrophe as Afghanistan, a war-ravaged dependent country, descends into a brutal winter.
Billions of dollars in central bank assets were frozen after the Taliban swept to power in August. Banks are running out of money. Wages haven't been paid for months, while food prices soar.
According to the U.N., more than half the population doesn't know where their next meal is coming from. And more than 3 million children under the age of 5 face acute malnutrition in the coming months.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People of Afghanistan need a lifeline.
COREN: And while $1 billion has been pledged by U.N. donors to help the Afghan people, less than half those funds have been received as the international community holds off recognizing the Taliban government.
ISABELLE MOUSSARD CARLSEN, HEAD OF OFFICE, UNOCHA: People of Afghanistan will be dying of hunger in the next couple of months. And not just a few. This is just making people more and more vulnerable. We cannot accept that.
COREN (voice-over): Sentiment shared by the Taliban.
MAWLAWI ABDUL HAI MOBASHER, TALIBAN OFFICIAL FOR REFUGEES (through translator): We are asking aid agencies to come back to Afghanistan and help these poor people; otherwise, the crisis will worsen.
COREN (voice-over): For this family in neighboring Ghor Province, they are trying to sell two daughters, 9-year-old Leeton (ph) and 4- year-old Zaiton for $1,000 U.S. each.
"Do you know why they're selling you?" the journalist asked Zaiton.
"Because we are a poor family and don't have any food to eat," she says.
"Are you scared?" he asked.
"Yes, I am."
Another family in Ghor Province borrowed money from their 70-year-old neighbor. Now he's demanding it back but they have nothing to give, except their 10-year-old daughter, Magul.
"My daughter doesn't want to go and she's crying all the time. I am so ashamed," he says.
Terrified, she threatens to take her life.
"If they push me to marry the old man, I will kill myself. I don't want to leave my parents."
Days later, she discovers the sale has been finalized, another Afghan child sold into a life of misery.
COREN: It is just gut-wrenching knowing what these young girls will be subjected to. And just an update on 10-year-old Magul, the last girl in our story, who threatened to take her life. She will be handed over to the 70-year-old man who bought her in the coming days.
Now if the lack of aid is not urgently addressed, the U.N. projects that, by the middle of next year, 97 percent of Afghans will be living below the poverty line, meaning there will be even more girls who will end up like Magul and Parwana.
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HOLMES: Harrowing story.
Now of course, financial concerns are not the only worry for the Afghan people. They are also becoming increasingly anxious about security. I want to show you Taliban fighters here.
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HOLMES (voice-over): There they are, searching vehicles at checkpoints in Kabul, to help ease fears about ISIS-K's ramped-up actions in the area.
The terror group claimed responsibility for an attack targeting Afghanistan's largest military hospital on Tuesday, killing at least 20 people, wounding 30 others. In recent weeks, Shiite mosques have also been the target of attacks by ISIS-K, which has become the biggest threat to the Taliban's takeover of the country.
(END VIDEO CLIP) HOLMES: Colin Clarke is the director of policy and research at the Soufan Group. He joins me now.
Let's talk about this. The Taliban was the insurgency until they took power but of course now they are in the position of playing a counterinsurgency role in fighting off ISIS-K.
How does that complicate security in the country, particularly Taliban capability?
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CLARKE: Yes, you are exactly right. So the Taliban have switched of 20 years of insurgents to now being counterinsurgents. And it's clear, with the Islamic State Khorasan or ISIS-K as the insurgents, that the Taliban doesn't know how to provide security to the population.
So with every spectacular attack in Afghanistan against mosques during Friday prayers, ISIS-K is trying to show the Afghan population that the Taliban either can't or won't protect them from this onslaught. So that's going to erode their political legitimacy quite a bit.
HOLMES: How then do you see the role of ISIS-K and its capabilities going forward?
What are their aims in Afghanistan and what can they do?
CLARKE: I don't see ISIS-K as ever overtaking the Taliban. The Taliban are simply superior, quantitatively and qualitatively. But ISIS-K can play the role of spoiler. They can really make the Taliban's life quite miserable, they can destabilize the country.
I think in the long run, ISIS-K would love to carve out a toehold and establish some kind of territory along the Af-Pak border, maybe in Nangarhar and then grow from, there and they'll likely try to attract foreign fighters from the region.
How concerned then should the West be about a potential resurgence of a group that could eventually pose an international threat once again?
Some people estimate that capability could be 12 months or less.
CLARKE: Yes, so I think we underestimate ISIS and its branches, affiliates and franchise groups at our own peril. There's a lot of conversation in the counterterrorism community right now about the threat that ISIS-K could pose to the West.
I think the intent is certainly there; the capability is probably in progress. So 12 months from now we could likely be having a totally different conversation about ISIS-K having the capability of launching an attack in Europe or somewhere else outside of South Asia.
HOLMES: Can you see a scenario where the Taliban and the U.S. actually end up joining forces to fight ISIS in Afghanistan, sharing intelligence, coordinating attacks? CLARKE: I don't know about sharing intelligence, that might be a
bridge too far. I think right now it's a common enemy. And once that common enemy is weakened, they'll go back to being at loggerheads.
But it just shows you what a terrible position the United States is in if it has to rely on the Taliban for counterterrorism assistance or look throughout the region to countries like Russia for help in convincing central Asian states to allow the U.S. to develop a base there for over-the-horizon counterterrorism strategy.
HOLMES: ISIS, of course, Sunni and it's targeting pretty deliberately Shias in Afghanistan.
What is the risk of greater sectarian conflict and for the potential for that tension to perhaps even spread outside Afghanistan's borders?
CLARKE: There's a huge risk because, as you mentioned, ISIS-K, part of their playbook is to attack sectarian targets, including Shia Hazara. And we've seen that on numerous occasions, some really deadly attacks.
That could drag in the Iranians. And the Iranians have cultivated a foreign fighter militia, known as the Liwa Fatemiyoun Brigade, which is composed of Shia Hazara, who are literally chomping at the bit to go back into Afghanistan and defend their community and defend their shrines.
And so if that does happen, it's just a recipe for a broader civil war.
HOLMES: Colin Clarke, thank you so much for the analysis.
CLARKE: Thank you.
HOLMES: Nicaragua is getting ready to vote for its next president but many already calling the election a sham and illegitimate after a campaign of political terror by the incumbent. Details after the break.
Also, the staggering toll that could come in the months ahead as Europe reels under a new surge of COVID-19 cases. We'll be right back.
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HOLMES: About eight hours from now, polls will open for the presidential election in Nicaragua, the country ready to cast their votes. But experts say the winner has already been decided. The current president, Daniel Ortega, has made sure he will win a fifth term. CNN Matt Rivers explains.
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MATT RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This was the scene in Nicaragua just 3.5 years ago as protesters filled the streets. They waved flags and demanded change within long-time president Daniel Ortega's administration and his policies.
When change did not come quickly, there was a least a thought among many that presidential elections in 2021 could put the country on a freer, more democratic course. That would not be the case.
Starting in June and leading up to this weekend's elections, Ortega has embarked on a campaign of political terror. The 75-year old has utterly crushed his opposition, using a vague national security law as justification. He has overseen the imprisonment of dozens of perceived enemies, everyone from would-be opposition candidates for the presidency to journalists, to human rights activists.
People like Ana Margarita Vijil, a longtime crusader for a freer Nicaragua, arrested back in June. Her mother told us afterwards she calls an arbitrary arrests, she didn't know where her daughter was for nearly three months, though she recently saw her in prison.
"She told me the conditions are horrible. She says she can't speak to anyone ever. She can't even look the guards in the eyes. She's lost a lot of weight and says it's so cold, she shivers inside her cell."
Human rights groups say the treatment of Vijil is part of a coordinated government campaign to rid the country of any credible opposition, paving the way for Ortega to win elections, now widely seen as entirely illegitimate.
In a joint document, 10 prominent international human rights groups denounced the elections as a sham, saying in part, quote, "It is clear that conditions do not exist in Nicaragua for holding elections that guarantee the exercise of rights."
She says these elections are not elections. There's going to be some voting, sure. But these aren't elections.
Ortega's crackdown has paralyzed the country with fear, according to roughly a dozen people that spoke to CNN from inside Nicaragua. Gone are the days of protest, where now, even waving the country's flag is illegal. To speak out against the regime is to get thrown into prison.
So some are calling for a more quiet form of revolt: simply don't vote in an election already decided.
"We are calling on people to not go to the ballot box," she says, "so we can show that we are not participating in this sham process. It's a form of protest."
Maria is OK with us showing her face, just avoiding her last name. She knows there might be consequences. Her friend asked to remain anonymous though he was clear, despite all that has happened in his country, the fight for democracy goes on. "As long as we are a little free," he says, "we can raise our voice,
connect with people all over democracy. If we can do that, democracy will continue. You can't kill the idea of democracy."
Matt Rivers, CNN.
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HOLMES: Things are looking pretty bleak ahead of winter in Europe, as the latest surge of the COVID pandemic is in full force. Russia, the latest country to see a record number of new cases in recent days, reporting more than 41,000 new infections on Saturday.
The government blames that on low vaccination rates. Russia now extending its cash prize lottery that's meant to encourage people to get their shots.
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HOLMES: At least five other European countries have reported record numbers of cases over the past week. One of them is Greece, where new restrictions for the unvaccinated went into effect Saturday.
They are now required to show a negative test before they can go to banks, shops or access social services. As for the rest of the continent, the World Health Organization has a dire warning for the coming months. Nada Bashir reports.
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NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The World Health Organization is really sounding the alarm now, warning that Europe is once again at the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, with cases, deaths and hospitalizations expected to rise over the coming weeks.
But what is perhaps most concerning from the WHO's warning is the projection that some half a million people could lose their lives to coronavirus between now and the beginning of February here in Europe and across central Asia.
So some real concerning warnings from the WHO and this comes off the back of a troubling trend being observed in Europe, a surge in the number of cases being reported and hospital admissions.
Now Russia on Saturday has reported record-breaking figures, more than 41,000 new cases in just 24 hours. That is the highest number of daily cases they've reported since the beginning of the pandemic.
And Germany on Friday reporting more than 37,000 new cases in 24 hours, another record-breaking figure there. And this follows other record-breaking numbers in Slovakia, Greece and Croatia, for example.
But there has generally been a surge in the number of cases being reported across the continent. And there are real concerns now that the health care sectors across Europe could fall under increased pressure over the winter months, particularly with the spread of the highly transmissible Delta variant.
Health care professionals have been warning against what is being described as the twindemic, that is governments struggling to deal and tackle with the coronavirus pandemic while dealing with the seasonal flu, which has long put a major strain on health care sectors across the continent.
Now the WHO has highlighted two key areas of concern. The first is the variable uptake of coronavirus vaccines across Europe, an uneven uptake of coronavirus vaccines. While there has been some relative success in some states in encouraging people to go out and get the jab, other parts of Europe, including Eastern Europe and parts of the Balkans have really struggled against vaccine hesitancy.
While the WHO has also highlighted on national policies, they are calling on European leaders to consider their own measures and perhaps consider reintroducing those tougher measures that we had seen during the pandemic, including the mandatory wearing of face masks and social distancing.
Now there have been some positive developments. Most recently Pfizer announcing the early trial results for its experimental antiviral coronavirus pill, which it says could reduce hospitalization and death in high-risk coronavirus patients.
Although they have stressed that vaccines are still the key to tackling the spread of the virus. So while there are some positive signs, it is still clear that there are major concerns of the rising number of cases being reported. And as we near the winter months, not a lot of time to tackle the spread of the virus -- Nada Bashir, CNN, London.
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HOLMES: A U.S. federal appeals court has temporarily blocked the Biden administration's vaccine mandate for many private businesses. At least 27 states, all with Republican governors, are now suing the administration to stop the new workplace rules from going into effect early next year.
Under the plan, companies with 100 employees or more must require their workers to be fully vaccinated by January 4 or submit to weekly testing. Heavy fines would be imposed for violations.
And when we come back, thousands of fans remembering the life of a beloved Brazilian singer. Saying goodbye to Marilia Mendonca. That's coming up.
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(MUSIC PLAYING) HOLMES: We are remembering the life of Brazilian singer Marilia
Mendonca, the young artist along with 4 people tragically died in a plane crash Friday on the way to a concert. Stefano Pozzebon tells us more about the singer's life.
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STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was through songs like this the singer Marilia Mendonca captured the hearts of millions of country music fans in Brazil.
Just 26 years old with a deep, soulful voice, she was one of Brazil's most beloved singers, performing songs of love and betrayal, becoming a national star just five years ago with a hit about infidelity.
But the singer's life was tragically cut short Friday when her private plane crashed, killing her and four others on board as they traveled to a concert some 500 kilometers north of Rio de Janeiro.
A local utility company says the plane hit a cable on an electric tower before crashing. Thousands of fans have gathered in her hometown, where a wake was held on Saturday, coming from different parts of Brazil to honor her memory.
Brazil's president Jair Bolsonaro expressed his condolences, saying she was one of the greatest artists of her generation.
Brazilian footballer Neymar tweeted he refused to believe that she was gone.
Mendonca was widely popular in Brazil, transforming a traditional genre of music in the country into an international pop sensation.
During the early days of pandemic in 2020, she performed a quarantine concert from her home, which set a live streaming worldwide record on YouTube with 3.3 million peak concurrent viewers.
A Latin Grammy winner in 2019, she had more than 38 million followers on Instagram. In one of her last posts on social media, she gave a glimpse of what life was like on the road and one last look at the rising star and a voice silenced too soon -- Stefano Pozzebon, CNN, Bogota.
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HOLMES: Thanks for spending part of your day with me, I'm Michael Holmes, you can follow me on Twitter and Instagram @HolmesCNN. "Call to Earth" starts after this short break.
