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Growing Fears Over Safety of Nuclear Power Plant; U.S. Federal Judge Sets Up Possible Trump Affidavit Release; Allen Weisselberg Pleads Guilty to Tax Fraud; At Least 12 Killed in Violent Storms Across Europe; Drought Compels Israel to Pump Water into Sea of Galilee; Afghans Reflect on Life Since U.S. Withdrawal; London Steps Up Polio Vaccination Campaign for Young Children. Aired 12-12:45a ET
Aired August 19, 2022 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM with John Vause.
[00:00:11]
JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: The leaders of Ukraine, Turkey and the United Nations ended an emergency meeting Thursday, warning of the dangers now facing the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which has been under Russian control since March.
The three leaders agreed on a basic framework to allow international inspectors access to the site as quickly and as safely as possible. That is, if Russia allows it.
Moscow claims it wants the inspections but has not agreed to anything so far. The nuclear facility has not been inspected since Russia seized it in the early days of the war.
After their meeting, the three leaders laid out the potential threat in the starkest of terms.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Russia has to immediately and unconditionally withdraw all forces from the territory of the Zaporizhzhia power station and stop all provocations and all shelling. It is unacceptable that Russia puts all of us at the brink of nuclear catastrophe.
RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN, TURKISH PRESIDENT (through translator): We expressed our concern about the ongoing conflict around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. We do not want to experience a new Chernobyl.
ANTONIO GUTERRES, U.N. SECRETARY-GENERAL: Military equipment and personnel should be withdrawn from the plant. Further deployment of forces or equipment to the site must be avoided. The area needs to be neutralized (ph). And we must tell it as it is. Every potential damage to Zaporizhzhia is suicide.
(END VIDEO CLIP) VAUSE: CNN has verified video showing Russian military trucks inside the plant parked near a nuclear reactor. It's not known when this video was taken.
Ukraine accuses Russia of using the site to shield its military equipment from Ukrainian attacks and to fire on nearby towns.
Now both Ukraine and Russia have raised fears of so-called false flag operations, with catastrophic consequences. Many living nearby, though, are not waiting to see what happens next. And they've been leaving in large numbers.
We get the latest now from CNN's Sam Kiley.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Russian propaganda has been fiercely trying to suggest that, on Friday at the end of this week, there could be some kind of incident in the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which could be blamed on them in some kind of false flag operation.
The Ukrainians are making similar allegations against the Russians. And this is because the international community now is deeply afraid of some kind of nuclear catastrophe unfolding in what is Europe's biggest nuclear power plant. And on the ground, the tensions are no less.
KILEY (voice-over): It's an all too routine scene, a Ukrainian home destroyed by a missile. But here, the lucky escape of a young couple is overshadowed by a potential catastrophe. The first Russian rocket hit the local soccer pitch and sent them scrambling into their basement, safe from the second.
"After what happened, we jump at every sound," Andrei (ph) says.
The Ukrainian authorities say that both rockets were fired by Russian troops from the grounds of a nuclear power station captured in March.
KILEY: The international consternation over the future of the nuclear power station is very obvious when you stand here, and you can see the six reactors of the biggest nuclear power station in the whole of Europe. The United Nations, the international community are all reacting in horror at the mere thought that this could be at the center of fighting.
KILEY (voice-over): Ukraine blames Russia for using the nuclear plant as a fire base, and insists that it's not able to shoot back, for risk of blowing up the nuclear facility.
"The Russian occupiers shoot all the time to provoke the armed forces of Ukraine and to spread panic among the people. We understand that the power plant may explode because of their actions. I just don't understand. Maybe they just don't get it," he told us.
The United States, the United Nations and Ukraine have all called for Russia to leave the nuclear plant and for it to be too militarized. These demands are growing in volume, as the bombardment of Ukrainian town, allegedly from around the six nuclear reactors, has intensified.
Andriy Tuz worked at the plant until he escaped the Russians, but then he was recaptured, he says and tortured, before being released. Now, he's in hiding in Western Europe. And he says the possibility of a disaster is very high.
ANDRIY TUZ, EX-SPOKESPERSON, ZAPORIZHZHIA NPP (through translator): I would say, 70 to 90 percent if we're talking about the most optimistic scenario. I'm very worried about it.
KILEY (voice-over): And civilians in the Russian occupied down next to the plant have been stuck in traffic jams, trying to flee a potential nuclear escalation.
Ukraine's claims that it hasn't shelled their nuclear site cannot be verified, but there's no doubt that Russia has used it as a safe location to attack Ukraine from.
[00:05:04]
Ukrainians have been conducting nuclear disaster drills in cities nearby. And both sides had said that some kind of incident is imminent and could cause massive radioactive contamination or modern. It cataclysm that could be few and far from Ukraine, even in nearby Russia.
KILEY: Now, clearly, that is the military picture, but there's also very serious technical issues, not least because Russia has announced plans that it wants to try to redirect the electrical energy being produced in that plant towards illegally-occupied Crimea. That is, Russian territory, Russian-held territory.
Now, a number of international technicians are saying, if they try that, they are at risk to the cooling system of the reactors. And that, in and of itself, could also be extremely dangerous.
Sam Kiley, CNN, Zaporizhzhia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Joining us now is Mariana Budjeryn, a research associate with the Project on Managing the Atom with the Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center. Thanks for coming back.
MARIANA BUDJERYN, RESEARCH ASSOCIATE, PROJECT ON MANAGING THE ATOM: Thanks for having me.
VAUSE: So a spokesperson for the Russian foreign ministry outlined the attacks Kyiv has been accused of carrying out. And he also added this warning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
IVAN NECHAEV, RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN (through translator): Not only Ukrainian residents may become victims of Kyiv's actions but also citizens of many other countries in Europe. It is necessary to force the Ukrainian military units to stop shelling in order to prevent a nuclear disaster.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: The supposed threat to the people of Ukraine and beyond seems to fit into a Russian strategy of escalate to de-escalate, to try and cause concern and fear, also, among Ukrainian neighbors.
So is this morning accurate? Could this -- if there is a strike on the power plant, nuclear power plant, will it affect the neighbors, you know, the neighboring countries? And will all of Europe feel the immediate consequences?
BUDJERYN: Well, John, that -- that depends. That depends on what kind of strike and what kind of intensity or level of accident would be caused by it.
I mean, just to go back for a minute to the Russian spokesman's words, which echo something Medvedev, the deputy -- the deputy secretary of the -- of the Defense Council, I think, in Russia and former -- former president of Russia, said. He also incidentally, a few days ago, mentioned something about Europe has a lot of nuclear power plants, as well, in a sort of rather ambiguous way.
So there seems to be a sort of strategy to emphasize and terrorize and threaten not only people of Ukraine but the international community and put some pressure there.
VAUSE: What do you make of these claims coming from both Ukraine and Russia of a false flag operation at the nuclear plant, planned for some time on Friday?
BUDJERYN: Well, it is very disconcerting. One hopes they're false. Ukrainian intelligence agencies, the Ukrainian security service, SBU, has warned of this false flag operation right after the Russian MOD said the very same thing, blaming the Ukrainians.
Again, it's hard to corroborate, but it's certainly difficult to understand why Ukrainians would carry out such an attack, not only on their own soil but also risking the support of international community and its Western allies, on which they rely so strongly, so significantly in carrying out their defensive efforts.
VAUSE: Turkey's president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said he feared another Chernobyl after meeting with Ukrainian president and the general secretary of the U.N. All three are demanding U.N. nuclear inspectors be allowed access, as well as a de-militarized zone around the plant. Here they are. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ZELENSKYY (through translator): We agree with secretary-general's parameters of possible IAEA mission at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in a legal way through the non-occupied territories.
GUTERRES: Common sense must prevail to avoid any actions that might endanger the physical integrity, safety, or security of the nuclear plant.
NED PRICE, U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN: We call on Russia to cease all military operations at or near Ukraine's nuclear facilities and to return full control of the ZNPP to Ukraine.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: They can make whatever demands they want, though. The bottom line is Russia controls the plant. Russia decides what happens next.
BUDJERYN: Indeed. Now, the IAEA mission, I think, is not really a mission impossible at this point. And I do hope that, with this visit of Guterres and Erdogan, that perhaps such a mission could be negotiated.
But that is not the same as instituting and enforcing a de-militarized zone. An IAEA would bring in nuclear security and safety specialists that could maybe bring technical assistance that -- that pertains to the operation of the nuclear power plant and, you know, check on -- on the people who work there and so forth.
They're not military folks. They're not -- they can't, for instance, corroborate, you know, who's firing where and from which direction. Right?
Plus, as you say, Russia controls the plant, so they could stage a Potemkin village. Right? They could -- they could remove the armor and the military equipment that they have staged there, then return it after the mission is gone.
So there's always that risk. But this is not to discount the value of the IAEA mission.
VAUSE: Mariana, thanks so much for being with us. We really appreciate your insights.
BUDJERYN: Thank you.
VAUSE: Well, Serbia and Kosovo have agreed to keep talking after E.U.- brokered negotiations failed to get traction on Thursday.
More than two decades after the Kosovo war, and tensions between these two neighboring countries are rising again, after Kosovo declared Serbian documentation like a driver's license or number plate, would no longer be recognized as valid in Kosovo.
There were hopes a rare face-to-face meeting between the Serbian president and the Kosovo prime minister would lead to a breakthrough in Brussels. The E.U. says negotiators will continue to try.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JOSEP BORRELL, E.U. HIGH REPRESENTATIVE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS: Today, meeting was not normal (ph). I don't give up. Today, there is no agreement, but we don't give up. We need to continue discussing. We need to work on this issue. Discussion (ph) will continue.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Kosovo is a former Serbian province that declared independence 14 years ago, but ethnic Serbs there do not recognize that. They're refusing to use official documentation from Kosovo, which will become mandatory the first of next month.
The former chief financial officer of the Trump Organization is going to jail for tax fraud, pleading guilty to 15 felonies. Trump's money man, Allen Weisselberg, admitted he did not pay tax on $1.7 million in income and other luxury perks, deliberately underreporting his compensation on his personal tax returns.
Weisselberg was facing up to 15 years, but after a plea deal with prosecutors, that The U.K. is stepping up a polio vaccination campaign for young children after cases emerge after decades of eradication. was reduced to 5 months. But under that deal, Weisselberg has agreed to testify, if asked, when the case against the Trump Organization goes to trial in October.
As far as we know, he has yet to roll over and give up his former boss, Donald Trump, or any Trump family members. As far as we know.
A U.S. federal judge has released several pages of documents related to the FBI's search of Trump's Florida residence, Mar-a-Lago. There's no big revelation, but there are indications the former president may be the target of the Justice Department's investigation. And the judge is indicating he might unseal parts of the actual search affidavit itself.
Here's CNN's Sara Murray.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): An extraordinary legal battle playing out in Florida --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think the country depends on information. We want to know what's in there.
MURRAY (voice-over): -- over what the public deserves to know about the search at Mar-a-Lago.
A judge setting in motion today the possible release of a heavily- redacted version of the affidavit, where the FBI laid out why they believe there is probable cause a crime was committed.
"I'm not prepared to find that the affidavit should be fully sealed," U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart said, giving the Justice Department a week to propose reductions and explain why each piece of information should be kept secret. This comes after several news outlets, including CNN, asked the judge
to unseal the affidavit that led to a search warrant resulting in FBI agents walking out of former President Donald Trump's home with boxes of classified material.
ERIC TRUMP, SON OF DONALD TRUMP: It's a fishing expedition.
MURRAY (voice-over): The Justice Department opposing the release of details in the affidavit, echoing concerns from an earlier filing, where DOJ said. "If disclosed, the affidavit would serve as a roadmap to the government's ongoing investigation, providing specific details about its direction and likely course in a manner that is highly likely to compromise future investigative steps."
The head of the Justice Department's counter-intelligence section pointing out the court already found probable cause that evidence of obstruction could be found at Mar-a-Lago and their releasing the affidavit could chill cooperation from future witnesses.
The government also raising concerns about the risks the FBI has faced in the wake of the Mar-a-Lago search.
Despite the Justice Department's preference for secrecy --
MERRICK GARLAND, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: Much of our work is by necessity conducted out of the public eye.
Federal law, long-standing department rules, and our ethical obligations prevent me from providing further details as to the basis of the search at this time.
MURRAY (voice-over): The judge still appeared inclined to make at least portions of the document available to the public.
Trump, meantime, has been eager to learn why the FBI targeted his Mar- a-Lago estate, posting in part this week, "I call for the immediate release of the completely unredacted affidavit pertaining to this horrible and shocking break-in."
This as Trump's inner circle is split on when and whether to release security camera footage of the search, video recorded, despite the FBI asking Trump's lawyers to turn the cameras off when they got there.
SEAN HANNITY, FOX NEWS HOST: You still have the surveillance tape. Is that correct? Will you -- are you allowed to share that with the country?
[00:15:04]
E. TRUMP: Absolutely, Sean, at the right time.
MURRAY (voice-over): Some close to Trump say the video could energize the GOP base and appear in a campaign-style add.
But others warned raw footage showing agents removing more than a dozen boxes could further damage the former president. MURRAY: Now after Thursday's hearing, a spokesperson for former
President Trump said the Trump team believes that the full, unredacted version of this affidavit should be made public.
Of course, that's not an argument that the Trump team has made in court, at least not yet.
Sara Murray, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Areva Martin is a CNN legal analyst, as well as a civil rights attorney. She's with us this hour from Los Angeles. Good to see you.
AREVA MARTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Hi, John.
VAUSE: So clearly, Allen Weisselberg, in his role as the Trump Organization chief financial officer, he knows a lot about the Trump family business. But, just how much? That's the question.
So we're about to hear from Weisselberg's former daughter-in-law. Jay Goldberg is a former Trump attorney and of course, Michael Cohen, former Trump bag man. Here we go.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JENNIFER WEISSELBERG, ALLEN WEISSELBERG'S FORMER DAUGHTER-IN-LAW: It's been his life. He's always -- he's always been saved by Donald.
JAY GOLDBERG, FORMER TRUMP ATTORNEY: He knows everything about Donald, next to a family member and perhaps even more than a family member. He knows everything about Donald.
MICHAEL COHEN, FORMER EVP, TRUMP ORGANIZATION: Everything went through Donald. You name it. Allen Weisselberg's kids' payments, rent, everything would have a Donald signature on it or his initial.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: In other words, he knows where all the bodies are buried. And if he's pleading guilty to it, does that mean the Trump Organization essentially is looking at a guilty verdict, as well?
MARTIN: Well, the Trump Organization, John, as you know, has been pretty adamant that these charges are bogus. They continue to say that there is no criminal liability on the part of the organization, and they say they look forward to having their day in court in October when this trial actually gets started.
But given the guilty plea that was entered into by Weisselberg, given what we have heard from those around him about what he knew of the kind of criminal activity that he was involved in, I don't see a pathway for the Trump Organization to prevail at this criminal trial.
And in fact, some of the evidence that comes out in this trial, we know Weisselberg is going to testify, may give steam to the criminal investigation to Trump and various other members of his family who were intimately involved in this organization.
VAUSE: Well, that investigation, that criminal investigation was shelved back in February. The prosecutor resigned a month later, and he wrote a letter to colleagues, which included this line.
"The team that has been investigating Mr. Trump harbors no doubt about whether he committed crimes. He did." He planned also to charge Trump with falsifying business records, which is a felony in New York state.
Weisselberg's testimony, could that revive the criminal case, if it's, you know, serious and egregious enough?
MARTIN: You know, it's interesting, John, because when those top prosecutors resigned from the New York district attorney's office, they said the reason they were resigning was because the new D.A. that was elected basically pulled the plug on their investigation.
Now, that district attorney has disputed that, and he says that this investigation has been ongoing. And as recently as today, he maintains that the criminal investigation into Donald Trump, personally, and others that were high up in his organization, that those investigations are still active.
So, disputes between these top prosecutors -- they left that office -- and the guy that was elected to head that district attorney's office.
But it would be impossible to think that there is no investigation of Donald Trump himself, when you think about what Weisselberg pled guilty to and the evidence that must be available to these prosecutors that caused Weisselberg, who at first was being adamant about, you know, not pleading guilty himself. So, there must be a mountain of evidence that would implicate Donald Trump himself.
VAUSE: Yes. And Trump is also facing a legal battle over highly- classified documents which were seized by the FBI in his Florida home. Now Trump lawyers claiming the former president had a standing order to declassify those documents.
Kash Patel is a Trump ally. He's among those spinning this latest defense. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KASH PATEL, EX-CHIEF OF STAFF TO ACTING DEFENSE SECRETARY UNDER TRUMP: President Trump on multiple occasions at the White House declassified whole sets of documents, including, I'll remind you and your audience, that around October of 2020, he issued a statement from the White House declassifying every document related to not just the Russia-gate scandal, but also the Hillary Clinton e-mail scandal. So when the president says that, that's it. He's the unilateral chief, commander in chief, and the sole authority on classification.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Eighteen Trump officials, former administration officials, I should say, would like to disagree. All of them said there was never a standing order; it never happened. Some laughed out loud, calling it nonsense.
Here's the former national security adviser, John Bolton, on that standing order.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN BOLTON, FORMER U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR: I never heard of it, never saw it in operation, never knew anything about it. The president never said anything to me during 17 months there. I just think it's a complete fiction.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: It would seem team Trump may not have a lot of arrows in their quiver right now.
[00:20:02]
MARTIN: John, just even listening to that Trump ally try to suggest that there's some standing order sounds completely idiotic. Basically, what he is saying is every classified document, every document that contains national secrets, the highest secrets possible, you know, pertaining to the U.S. national security, was somehow just declassified by Donald Trump in this -- you know, this -- this broad- reaching declassification process that no one knows anything about.
And here's the problem with the argument, too, John. If those documents, in fact, have been declassified, then the news media, the public can have access to those documents. And does the United States and someone who served as the president really want to expose, you know, national secrets, make them public, not only to members, you know, in the United States but our adversaries? That's why that argument is completely -- it's fabricated; it's idiotic; and it's nonsensical from every standpoint.
VAUSE: That's a good point to finish on. Areva, thanks for being with us. Appreciate it.
MARTIN: Thanks, John.
VAUSE: Take care.
After weeks of droughts and heat waves, parts of Western Europe are now hit by strong storms. Details from the CNN weather center after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: Thunderstorms sweeping across Western Europe have left at least a dozen people dead. Five were killed around the French island of Corsica. Ten suffered injuries, mostly falling from boats.
Authorities received nearly 125 calls for help at sea.
Elsewhere in Europe, at least five were killed in Austria, two others in Italy. About 100 people evacuated from their homes in Italy's Tuscany region, as well.
For more on this, let's go to CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam. So, you know, it just keeps going from one extreme to the other. Hey, how about that?
DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, John, you're right. You know, this wind, that is the nature of these thunderstorms across the Mediterranean. They come on quick, and they can come on very violently.
Look at this video behind me. Just incredible footage to show, that sheet of rain, how the wind is knocking over the trees. This is -- believe me, I've stood in a wind storm like this, hurricanes across North America. And this can take down a grown individual, an adult male, adult female, very easily. Extremely dangerous, and unfortunately, of course, this has led to some fatalities.
Now, we did a little bit of digging, because we wanted to know just how strong those winds were in Corsica. There was one wind measurement across the Northern sections of Corsica of 224 kilometers per hour.
And I want to put this into perspective, because we are entering into the peak hurricane season across North America, the Atlantic basin. That is equivalent to a Category 4 Atlantic hurricane.
And if we had winds of 224 kilometers per hour sustained into any portions of North America, that would potentially cause catastrophic damage. And unfortunately, that's what we saw in some locations of Corsica with this very violent wind that came through, associated with this swirl of clouds. That's actually a low-pressure system across the northern Mediterranean that became very potent.
[00:25:0]
Cut off from the general flow of the atmosphere, so it kind of stuck around this area. And unfortunately, it just really tapped into the available energy within the atmosphere.
There were warnings in place. Yesterday we talked about this, about 24 hours ago. The S affects (Ph), or the equivalent of the Storm Prediction Center in the United States but for Europe, issued their highest level of severe weather threat. A widespread severe weather threat for Corsica and central portions of Italy.
By the way, that does go through early today. Even though the severe weather threat has diminished significantly in the way.
We want to keep a close eye on these storms as this low pressure moves through. It has recorded some strong hail, or large hail I should say. In excess of five centimeters. That's about the size of a golf tee for instance.
And then there was some impressive rainfall totals with this low pressure that moved through across the northern sections of Italy. Over 150 millimeters across this area.
So you're right, John. One extreme to the next, from drought to severe weather. There it is. Climate change.
VAUSE: The new normal.
VAN DAM: That's right.
VAUSE: Derek, thank you. Derek Van Dam there with the very latest. Appreciate it.
Spain's wildfire emergency showing no signs of letting up. The military's emergency brigades have been deployed in the East, trying to save homes in the Valencia region.
Since the blaze started Monday, 13,000 hectares have been burned; hundreds forced to evacuate; and dozens have been hurt in this fire alone.
State media in Algeria reporting the death toll from wildfires has risen to at least 37. More than 180 hurt. Twenty-six hundred hectares of land have been burned in the country's mountainous region in the East. The interior minister says all means are being used to fight the flames, from the ground and from the air, including helicopters by the Algerian air force.
Two thousand years ago, Christians believed Jesus performed one of his most famous miracles, walking on water across the Sea of Galilee. In recent years, water levels have been so low that there's been no need for miracles to actually walk across what is a fresh-water lake.
Right now, though, after two winters with plentiful rain, water levels have recovered, and then some. But with climate change bringing drought and soaring temperatures, a massive Israeli project is underway to pump desalinated water back into the Sea of Galilee.
Hadas Gold explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HADAS GOLD, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Sea of Galilee in Northern Israel. This ancient place of pilgrimage has been sustaining life for thousands of years.
But recent times have seen this freshwater lake shrinking to historically low levels, forcing the government to act, by leveraging the country's expertise in water technology.
GOLD: This is part of the Ashdod water desalination plant, one of five such plants along the coast of Israel. After the sea water is pumped through the desalination process, the sweet water is held here in this 100,000 cubic meter reservoir. The water, under this tarp I'm standing on right now.
GOLD (voice-over): For decades now, Israel has taken seawater from the Mediterranean and treated it with a process called reverse osmosis, providing nearly all of the country's tap water.
From Ashdod, a pipeline pumps water from all the desalination plants North to Israel's main water filtration facility near Haifa. From there, a new 31-kilometer pipe is being laid eastward to connect via stream with the Sea of Galilee.
The end is in sight; the $264 million project is due to be completed by next year.
NOAM SHOA, ENGINEERING DESIGN MANAGER, MEKOROT: It sounded a strange proposition from the beginning. But very soon we understood the value it has to the national market itself, and also it contributes to other challenges, such as global warming, development of agriculture in the entire Sea of Galilee region. And also with our neighbors, the kingdom of Jordan here.
This is another part of the solution that will help us maintain the provision of water to the kingdom of Jordan, as per the existing treaties.
GOLD (voice-over): This 1.6-meter-wide pipe will be able to carry 120 million cubic meters of water per year. But only what's needed to replenish the lake will be released at any time.
SHOA: The uniqueness of this project is that it gives us almost infinite flexibility. If you look at the system from end to end, we can basically take the water where it is available, desalinate water at the center of Israel, and just divert it and transport to wherever it is needed.
GOLD: The desalinated water will end up here at the Sea of Galilee. Now, this lake used to pump out the vast majority of Israel's drinking water, but now the water will be flowing in the opposite direction.
GOLD (voice-over): The need to do things radically differently was driven home to authorities by the most recent, five-year-long drought which ended in 2018.
DR. GIDEON GAL, DIRECTOR, KINNERET LIMNOLOGICAL LABORATORY: They looked at what happened. A five-year drought conditions when the lake level was really low. They looked at the future climate change and what's going to happen with rainfall in this area. And also looked at, you know, the increase in population and projected increase in demand of water and realized that 30, 40 years from now there's going to be a serious problem in maintaining lake level in the lake and maintaining water quality.
[00:30:00]
GOLD (voice-over): As for concerns about what non-native water could do to the lake's ecosystem, research so far suggests it won't make much of a difference and may actually help the lake fight the effects of climate change by increasing the turnover rate of the water and cooling it down.
GAL: The risk of introducing desalinated water is a risk that is worthwhile taking. As long as, you know, it's a certain quantity. We don't talk about huge quantities of water. GOLD (voice-over): It's a scientifically uncomfortable and
unprecedented step Dr. Gal says he wishes they didn't have to take. But one the realities of climate change is forcing upon them.
Hadas Gold, CNN, the Sea of Galilee.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Coming up here on CNN NEWSROOM, while there may be plenty of fear and loathing for the Taliban in Kabul, there's a very different story to tell in rural areas. And we'll have that story in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: Welcome back, everyone. I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.
August has been a deadly month in Afghanistan, with the highest number of civilian casualties so far this year. The U.N. assistance mission says 250 people have been killed or injured in the past few weeks. That includes 21 at an explosion at a mosque in Kabul on Wednesday. The initial death toll there was 3.
The U.N. mission is calling on Taliban authorities to, quote, "take concrete steps to control all forms of terrorism in Afghanistan."
A year on, and it seems the Taliban's rise to power has left the country divided. In the cities, especially Kabul, there is fear of the Taliban's strictest Islamic laws, mixed in equal parts with a longing for the return of U.S. soldiers.
But in small towns and villages in Afghanistan's heartland, there's often little love for the Americans. As CNN's Clarissa Ward reports, many remember the days of the U.S. occupation as brutal and deadly.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): There were no tears in the Tangi Valley when U.S. forces left Afghanistan. The landscape is washed with white flags, marking the graves of Taliban fighters killed and battle.
Among them is the son of Nabi Mubarraz (ph).
WARD: This is your son?
WARD (voice-over): He tells us he was killed during a U.S.-supported Afghan special forces night raid on the family home in 2019.
Video of the aftermath shows the scale of the destruction. After a protracted gun battle, the house was leveled, killing a second son of Mubarraz's (ph), as well as his niece and her daughter.
"There was a lot of blood spilled," a voice says off-camera.
[00:35:04] The rebuilt living room is now a shrine to the dead.
WARD: What was your reaction when American forces left a year ago?
WARD (voice-over): "I said that peace has come to Afghanistan," he says. "There will be no more mothers becoming widows, like our mothers and sisters who were widowed, and our children killed."
Across this rural Taliban stronghold, American forces were seen as invaders, who brought death and destruction with their night raids and drone strikes.
Peace has brought a chance to air long-held grievances. At the local market, we're immediately surrounded.
"Every household had at least one fighter," this man tells us. "And every house had people who were killed by the Americans and their drones. And we are proud of that."
Shere Mohammed Hamas (ph) is treated like royalty here. His brother is believed to be responsible for downing a helicopter full of U.S. Special Forces.
WARD: So he's taking me to the spot where he says his brother shot down a Chinook.
WARD (voice-over): It was August 6, 2011. Hamas (ph) says his brother was hiding behind the trees and shot the Chinook down within an RPG as it prepared to land by the river. Thirty Americans were killed, the single greatest loss of American life in the entire Afghan war.
"There were a lot of celebrations, and not just here," he tells us. "It was a big party."
WARD: I'm sure you can understand that it's -- it's hard to hear that people were celebrating about the deaths of dozens of Americans?
WARD (voice-over): "This was a heroic achievement, because the people that were killed on this plane, they were the killers of Osama bin Laden," he says, "and Sheikh Osama is someone who was the crown on the head of Muslims. So definitely, the people were happy about this."
Days later, the U.S. says it responded with a strike that killed Hamas's (ph) brother. Another white flag raised in a valley where martyrs were made and views hardened.
Clarissa Ward, CNN, Tangi Valley, Afghanistan.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: A short break now, but when we come back, long after polio was thought eradicated, it's back. Traces of this terrifying and deadly disease found in city sewer systems around the world. More on where it's being found and what's being done.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) VAUSE: A bull is loose in a shop in Lima, Peru. And the bull is really mad. Look at this. That was video taken by security camera.
He was mad, notably, because he was on the way to the slaughterhouse. He managed to escape from the truck and then went on a rampage, because why not?
[00:40:07]
One person was injured and taken to hospital. The bull was eventually captured by locals. Very brave locals. They tied the bull by the legs. But it took about an hour. And until then, well, you see what happened. A lot of damage. Angry bull.
Well, video images show the Brazilian president, Jair Bolsonaro, attempting to take a cell phone from a protester who was mocking him. This all happened Thursday morning in Brasilia, after a YouTuber known for confronting Bolsonaro supporters started filming himself hurling insults at the Brazilian president.
The video then shows Mr. Bolsonaro grabbing the protester's collar, appearing to try to take away his phone.
After the altercation, the president paused to talk with the man but did not admit to doing anything wrong.
London is amid a growing list of cities where the polio virus has been detected in wastewater. Now, health officials are scrambling to get the most vulnerable vaccinated.
CNN's Salma Abdelaziz has more now on the vaccine push in the British capitol.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It is a disease once eradicated from the U.K., but after decades of zero cases, polio appears to be spreading again.
A total of 116 instances of the virus were identified in 19 sewage samples collected in London between February and July this year, officials say.
No cases of the virus have been reported in the U.K. so far, and the risk to the public is considered low, but Dr. Natalie Rout says officials have good reason for concern.
DR. NATALIE ROUT, BRITISH NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE: It's come as quite a surprise that we've seen so many cases identified in sewage, which suggests that there may be some transmission between people.
ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): In response, the U.K. announced a vaccination drive for children aged 1 to 9 in London.
ROUT: There are many children who haven't had their usual course of immunizations, which is why there's a real concern that that opens up people to potentially contracting polio.
ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): Polio was once one of the world's most feared diseases, striking children younger than 5 the hardest. The worst form of the virus can lead to permanent paralysis.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How long have you been here?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Three years.
ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): There is no cure for polio. Vaccination is the only prevention.
ABDELAZIZ: Polio was first detected in sewage samples from this facility. Afterwards, more samples were taken from other sewage facilities across London, and more polio was found.
What's concerning for officials is that these areas, these neighborhoods, have lower vaccination rates.
ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): In London, nearly 14 percent of infants under 12 months have not received a primary course of polio immunization. The shortfall is significant, says Professor David Heymann.
ABDELAZIZ: Is this an overreaction in any way by public health officials?
DAVID HEYMANN, INFECTIOUS DISEASE EXPERT: Absolutely not. This is what needs to be done in all countries, because we live in a world where people travel very much and can carry infections with them.
ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): But with vaccine hesitancy and fatigue soaring, doctors will face a challenge.
ROUT: There's a real drive for us to reach the communities where vaccination isn't really done, isn't really encouraged, and just try and myth-bust a little bit about why vaccination is important.
ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): The government aims to complete the polio vaccine drive by September 26, a major feat for an overstretched health service but, it says, a necessary response to protect the city's youngest.
Salma Abdelaziz, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Thanks for being with us. I'm John Vause. I'll have a lot more CNN NEWSROOM at the top of the hour. In the meantime, WORLD SPORT is up next.
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[00:45:30]
(WORLD SPORT)
