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North Korea Launches What is Believed to be an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile; Kyiv Hospitals are Without Water; Ukrainian Team Investigates Cases of Sexual Assault in Ukraine; U.K Faces Global Inflation. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired November 03, 2022 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[03:00:00]
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ANNA COREN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm anna Coren live from Hong Kong.
Just ahead on "CNN Newsroom." More launches by North Korea, one of them believed to be an intercontinental ballistic missile. What message is Pyongyang trying to send?
Plus, this week, some of the largest hospitals in Ukraine had no running water. It is just one of the many consequences of Russian airstrikes there. We are live from Kyiv in just a few months.
And later, Benjamin Netanyahu appears set to return to power again in Israel. We'll bring you the very latest election results.
We begin with the U.S. and South Korea extending joint military exercises. The announcement coming on the heels of North Korea's suspected intercontinental ballistic missile tests.
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COREN: That triggered emergency alerts in parts of Japan Thursday morning, and people in some areas were urged to take shelter. A South Korean government source tells us the missile is believed to have failed amid flight before crashing into the waters east of North Korea. Pyongyang also tested two short-range missiles on Thursday. The latest launches come a day after North Korea fired up an unprecedented barrage of 23 short-range missiles.
Blake Essig is keeping an eye on developments from Tokyo. He joins us now. Blake, you have to assume this announcement of these exercises continuing between the United States and North Korea -- South Korea, I should say, will only further aggravate North Korea. What more can you tell us?
BLAKE ESSIG, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, absolutely, Anna. I think with the extension of these exercises between South Korea and the United States, it opens up the door for possible further provocations from North Korea, possibly this nuclear weapons test, the seventh ever once it's -- if it's conducted by North Korea in the country's history, that many experts believe is imminent.
As you mentioned, it is believed that this test today, this failed ICBM test, happened mid-flight with government sources saying that it likely happened after successfully separating at the second stage of flight before falling into the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan, meaning that the ICBM possibly failed in the third and final phase when the ICBM reenters the atmosphere and strikes its target.
Now, that government source says that the ICBM test, it was likely the Hwasong-17. It's North Korea's most advanced weapon to date. That was last tested this past March. As a result of today's test, warning sirens were heard and residents were told to evacuate inside buildings or underground, not only on one island in South Korea but also three Japanese prefectures.
Originally, Japan's prime minister sent -- excuse me, Japan's prime minister's office sent out a tweet saying that the missile had passed into the Pacific Ocean. As it turns out, that was not the case. The missile did not pass over Japan, perhaps that's because it failed mid- flight, which would explain why Japanese officials say it suddenly dropped off their radar while they were tracking it.
Now, in response to today's weapons test, the United States, Japan and South Korea have all come out and condemned the launch with the U.S. releasing this statement, saying, the United States condemns the DPRK's intercontinental ballistic missile launch.
This launch is a clear violation of multiple United Nations security Council resolutions and demonstrates the threats the DPRK's unlawful weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs pose to its neighbors. the region, international peace and security, and global non-politicization regime.
Today's test marks the 30th time this year that the North Korea has launched missiles. That's the most missile test conducted in a single year in the country's history. North Korea shows no signs of slowing down in a statement before Wednesday's flurry of missile launches.
Pyongyang once again warned that if the U.S. and South Korea attempt to use armed forces against the North, that they would carry out a strategic mission without delay and that the U.S. and South Korea would pay the most horrible price in history.
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ESSIG: Earlier this week, North Korea's foreign ministry warned of more powerful follow-up measures if the United States doesn't stop its war exercises around the Korean Peninsula.
As we talked about earlier, U.S.'s most recent military exercise, Vigilant Storm, is ongoing. The exercises started on Monday it was announced just a few hours ago that it will continue with no end date, reported as a result of North Korea's heightened provocation. This large-scale drill between the United States and South Korea was previously scheduled and involves hundreds of aircraft and thousands of service members from each country, with the U.S. recently releasing video of one of its fighter squadrons performing night operations.
For now, this back and forth tit-for-tat between enemies continues to further escalate tensions not only on the Korean Peninsula but really across this region. And Anna, as we said before, it could potentially get even worse with many experts in governments believing that North Korea's seventh nuclear test is eminent. Anna?
COREN: It does not bode well. Blake Essig, keeping an eye on all things in Korea, many thanks.
While Russia has rejoined a vital grain export deal. This, of course, just days after suspending its participation. Moscow had initially pulled back from the agreement last week, claiming that the decision came after Ukrainian drone attacks in Crimea.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked his Turkish counterpart for his help in preserving the deal. It guarantees a safe passage for ships carrying grain export from Ukraine. Still, Russia's president says his country reserves the right to pull out if Ukraine uses the corridor for military purposes.
Well, meantime, in Kyiv, authorities plan to push forward with emergency shutdowns on power supplies just days after power was fully restored following Russian strikes. This comes after a significant spike in electricity consumption in the Ukrainian capital.
Well, let's go now live to Kyiv where CNN's Salma Abdelaziz is standing by. Salma, I want to get to those power outages because I know that you visited a hospital, but first, we are learning about the shelling in Zaporizhzhia and a nuclear plant being hit. The power grid has been disconnected. What more can you tell us?
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. So, this is the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. It has absolutely been a flash point in this conflict. It is Russian-occupied. We are getting information this hour that it is yet again been disconnected from Ukraine's power grid due to Russian shelling. As of 11:04 p.m. from the statement that we have, it was in full block out mode. It does have generators, so those have kicked on in.
It's not the first time that the nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhia has been disconnected from Ukraine's power grid but, of course, always causing a great deal of concern. But for weeks now, we have seen Ukraine's critical infrastructure sustain just constant Russian missile bombardment. What it is left is this extremely fragile system that has caused officials to have to put in rolling blackouts to conserve energy.
But really, this weekend, we saw for the first time the unprecedented havoc wreaked on Ukraine's critical infrastructure. Water was cut off. So, imagine being in the hospital, and all of a sudden, there is no running water. That's exactly what's happened in Kyiv on Monday. We went to one hospital to find out what they did, those doctors and nurses. Take a look.
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ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): Dialysis patients like this need running water for their treatment. So, when Russia targeted Kyiv's infrastructure Monday, lives hung in the balance.
VITALIY VLASYUK, VICE GOVERNOR, KYIV REGION: One patient here needs at least four hours and almost 300 liters of water.
ABDELAZIS (on camera): Three hundred liters of water --
VLASYUK: for one patient here, of running water. For one day, we had no water at all. It's a danger to their health.
ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): For the first-time since the start of the conflict, four of the capital's biggest hospitals were left without running water for most of the day. The Kyiv Regional Clinical Center was among the facilities impacted. Doctors and nurses here scrambled to transfer the most urgent cases.
VLASYUK: So, we must be prepared to face even the most difficult challenges.
ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): For weeks, Moscow has pounded Ukraine's critical infrastructure. But medical facilities had so far have been spared, relying on backup generators during blackouts. This week's strikes were so severe, Kyiv's water pumps stopped working, leaving some 1,500 hospital patients across the city in limbo.
(On camera): This is one of the hospital sterilization rooms. It is here that staff come to clean surgical equipment.
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ABDELAZIZ: But once the water was cut off, they could no longer do that. That means all non-emergency operations had to be canceled.
(Voice-over): Hospitals require an enormous amount of water. This one, its officials say, uses some 15 tons per day. The medical director here says it created a huge challenge for her staff.
UNKNOWN (through translator): We are ready for emergency situations every day. We can handle power cuts. But the lack of water was absolutely catastrophic for us.
ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): She tells me, we had to act quickly.
(On camera): Do you worry that the water system could be cut off again by Russian missiles?
UNKNOWN: We worry every day.
(LAUGHTER)
ABDELAZIZ (on camera): You worry every day? UNKNOWN: Every day and every morning.
ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): For now, the city's water services are restored. But it's a matter of if, not when, Moscow will strike Kyiv's lifelines again.
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ABDELAZIZ: Now, as you heard there, Anna, water services have been restored in the city and those patients who were transferred to other hospitals, those who were affected, were able to receive the treatment.
But you begin to understand what havoc these attacks on critical infrastructure wreak across the country. It is not just, of course, about the power grid. In this case, in particular, the infrastructure was hit so hard that the water pumps could no longer pump water across Kyiv.
And the reality here, Anna, this will happen again. Moscow sees these as legitimate targets and the critical infrastructure of this country is so precarious, so damaged, so week that officials say they are running out of the equipment to repair some of these infrastructures, that they have to put these blackouts to try to conserve energy.
And again, the people who are suffering when this happens, dialysis patients in hospitals. One doctor saying they were absolutely in shock when this happened. They didn't know what to do. Sorry -- they were absolutely in shock when this happened. They had to act quickly. But they are making preparation if it is to happen again. Anna?
COREN: Yeah, these people are already suffering. Salma Abdelaziz, thank you for that report. We really appreciate it.
In southern Ukrainian towns once occupied by Russian forces, the damage and devastation left behind by war is unmistakable. Ukrainian investigators are now looking for cases of a hidden crime, sexual assault by Russian troops. CNN's chief international correspondent Clarissa Ward has this report.
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CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Day after day, they go house to house, a team of investigators dispatched from the capital. These men are tasked with looking for cases of sexual violence.
No one was assaulted in this village, these women tell them, but every home has suffered.
When Russian forces were pushed out of this area earlier this month, they left a trail of misery behind them. Down the road, an elderly woman inconsolable, asks for help.
I don't know where to sleep now. There are no windows or doors, she tells the policeman. Seventy-one-year-old (INAUDIBLE) son was injured fighting on the frontlines. She is alone and afraid.
(On camera): Okay. She wants us to invite us in to see how she is living.
(Voice-over): This is what remains of her home. Only her precious icons are untouched.
Oh, my God. Oh, God's mother, she says. Please keep my son alive and let me see him again.
In town after town throughout the Kherson region, this is what victory looks like, and it is grim. Almost every house has been destroyed by heavy fighting, and the people scarred by months of Russian occupation.
In the next village, the investigators talked to 56 -year-old Tatiana (ph). We have agreed not to name the village or show her face to protect her identity. She takes us to her brother's house where she says she was raped by a Russian soldier on August 26th.
UNKNOWN (through translator): He pinned me against the wardrobe and groped me. He ripped my clothes off, and I was caught in his grip. It was very hard and painful for me. I was crying, begging him to stop, but with no success.
WARD (on camera): And did he say anything when it was over?
UNKNOWN (through translator): Do not tell anyone anything or it will be worse. That's everything he told me. And then he left. It's very hard for me.
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WARD (on camera): Did you tell your husband what had happened?
UNKNOWN (through translator): I did not tell my husband right away, but I told my cousin, and my husband overheard. He said, you should have told the truth, but you kept silent. He was very ashamed. Very.
(CRYING)
WARD (on camera): The shame is on him.
UNKNOWN (through translator): He's probably not ashamed, if he is still alive. I wish that he and all his kin were dead.
WARD (voice-over): It's coming to the end of a long and emotional day. The men visit the last village on their list. Tomorrow, they will head back to Kyiv to submit their findings. They've recorded six allegations of rape in their two weeks here.
(On camera): It must be a hard job.
(Voice-over): It is psychologically difficult. You understand every victim is so distressed, (INAUDIBLE) says, but this is important work.
Most cases, they say, go unreported. Like so many of the horrors that took place under Russian occupation here, they remain hidden in the dark.
Clarissa Ward, CNN, Kherson region, Ukraine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COREN: CNN has repeatedly reached out to the Russian military for comment. They had previously denied committing war crimes in Ukraine.
Still to come, how pensioners in the U.K. are dealing with rising cost of living as inflation hits record highs.
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COREN: Well, it has gotten more expensive to borrow money in the United States and likely soon in the United Kingdom. The Bank of England is expected to raise interest rates later today after yet another aggressive hike by the U.S. Federal Reserve.
U.S. Fed Chair Jerome Powell announced yesterday that interest rates would rise by three quarters of a percentage point. The Feds move puts the U.S. benchmark lending rate at up to 4%. Powell indicated the Fed may slow the frequency of interest rate hikes, but suggested more big increases may be coming in an effort to cool off white hot inflation.
Well, U.S. markets didn't like the idea of higher rates, with the Dow shedding more than 500 points. It closed business Wednesday.
CNN's Brian Todd has more on how the rate hikes could affect consumer spending.
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BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Battling urgency to put the brakes on inflation, the Federal Reserve hikes interest rates for the sixth time this year, another three quarters of a percentage point.
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TODD (voice-over): The Fed chairman saying this is necessary given how much Americans are hurting from inflation.
JEROME POWELL, CHAIR, UNITED STATES FEDERAL RESERVE: It erodes purchasing power, especially for those least able to meet the higher cost of essentials like food, housing, and transportation.
TODD (on camera): How much more of this can American consumers take?
MICHELLE SINGLETARY, AUTHOR: It's very tough on their psyche, because you hear about these rate hikes, and they know that credit card is going to cost more, that auto loan is going to cost more, that mortgage is going to cost more.
TODD (voice-over): Thirty-year mortgage rates are now averaging just over 7%, levels not seen in almost 20 years, and they are stifling the housing market. Home sales in America dropping for months. One realtor telling us buyers and sellers have to adjust.
MARK RUTSTEIN, REALTOR, THE RUTSTEIN GROUP OF COMPASS: Sellers need to reduce their prices because homes are going to sit on the markets. It's affordability. It is what buyers are willing to pay for your property. Buyers are going to have to go ahead and sacrifice the number of bedrooms or bathrooms or where they want to live.
TODD (voice-over): For home buyers like Sean and Julianna (ph) Fitzgerald in Indianapolis looking to buy their first home, rising mortgage rates mean they need to lower their price range.
SEAN FITZGERALD, HOME BUYER: Our budget changed about $20,000, less than what we initially thought we could buy.
TODD (voice-over): Will these rapid-fire interest rate hikes pushed the U.S. into recession? Experts say that's a risk but --
CATHERINE RAMPELL, CNN ECONOMICS AND POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, OPINION COLUMNIST FOR THE WASHINGTON POST: What the Fed wants to do is to raise rates just enough so that they can cool demand but not so much that they tip us into recession, and it's really hard to calibrate exactly. They are hoping that it's just enough medicine that it doesn't kill the patient.
TODD (voice-over): But a possible silver lining could be that the Fed hinted that the next rate hikes could be less high or could be spaced further apart in time. In the meantime, analysts say, if you are thinking about that holiday trip or buying a car --
SINGLETARY: I think you need to pause. Maybe not take that trip for the holiday. Maybe don't get the most expensive car. Get a used car.
TODD (on camera): I asked analyst Michelle Singletary of the advice for the average consumer is to wait to make a big purchase like a car or an appliance, or how long should you wait? She said if you think you can hold out, wait a few months to as long as a year for prices to cool off.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
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COREN: I'm joined now by CNN economics and political commentator Catherine Rampell. She is also an opinion columnist at "The Washington Post." Catherine, great to have you with us. The Fed raised rates 75 basis points. This was largely expected and yet the stock market fell two and a half percent. Why the reaction and what was it in in Jerome Powell's comments that spoofed the market?
RAMPELL: Well, yes, as you point out, everyone was expecting a 75 basis- point hike today. That was largely baked in. What markets were looking for, some clue as to what the Federal Reserve will do in the months ahead. Will it continue raising rates as aggressively as it has been in the last few months, and will it let up, at some point, relatively soon because there are signs that the economy is weakening both domestically and globally?
When you raise interest rates, when you tighten financial conditions, if the economy is already fragile, then that could toss the economy into a recession.
COREN: So, Catherine, how long before inflation is likely to return to the Fed's target of 2%?
RAMPELL: That's a brilliant question, and if only anyone knew the answer to it. The Fed obviously had been hoping that we would have already reached that normal level of inflation long ago. Of course, that hasn't happened. Instead, month after month, those inflation numbers have come in much hotter than projected, much hotter than the Fed is comfortable with.
And if you look at the Fed's forecast, you know, they periodically release these forecasts that are somewhat optimistic but suggests that year in advance or even few months in advance, we will see inflation come down. Every time they have to release a new one and pushing out that date much further for when inflation will come down to close it further along the target.
I think that most market participants believe we will continue to have elevated inflation through next year but lower than it is today. So, maybe not quite at the 2% target rate, but maybe somewhere in the 3 to 4% range.
But it has been so hard to make any predictions, whether you are the Fed or an economist or a market watcher of any kind, just because there have been so many different shocks, so many different supply shocks in addition to obviously that huge disruption that we got early on from the pandemic itself.
COREN: As you mentioned, there are signs that the U.S. economy is slowing. Many predict a recession is coming both in the United States and globally. Someone would say that it's already here. Would the Fed pause rate hikes to avoid recession?
RAMPELL: Well, that's the message that they were trying to convey today, which was they are paying attention to the fact that the economy is slowing.
[03:24:58]
RAMPELL: I think they left open the question of what conditions would cause them to outright pause rate hikes, how much will the economy have to weaken, how much would you have to see unemployment go up, for example.
They left all of that a little bit vague in part because, again, it's very risky to make these kinds of commitments because they end up boxing themselves in, and then then they get surprised by some other weird concoction of economic indicators that they are not anticipating.
I think that their hope is that they can navigate the so-called soft landing. That is, they can get inflation down by raising interest rates just enough to cool demand without tipping us into recession.
COHEN: Finally, Catherine, the Bank of England is meeting Thursday. They are in an even more challenging position than the Fed. What are you expecting?
RAMPELL: Well, the expectation right now is that the Bank of England will raise rates by the steepest amount in something like three decades. And they need to -- they needed to do something to deal with inflation because inflation is even higher there than it is here in the United States.
But it is really especially challenging for the U.K. to figure out what to do in terms of monetary policy among other policy decisions because it looks quite likely that Britain is already in a recession.
So, when we're talking about the risks of the Fed raising rates, for example, you know, leading to a recession, that is still hypothetical. In the U.K., it looks like it's probably already happening. So, the Central Bank is doing its best to get inflation down. It's going to cause pain because probably they are already in a downturn.
And besides that, you know, a lot of the causes of inflation are things related to the war in Ukraine, the energy shock. Rate hikes are now (INAUDIBLE) for dealing with supply shocks. So, they are really in a tricky position.
But if they don't raise rates, if it looks like, you know, they are not credibly committed to getting inflation down to what extent they can, that's obviously bad for the path of prices going forward and could potentially threaten further the value of the pounds. So, they are in a tricky position, but I think most people are expecting that tomorrow, there will be a great rate hike.
COREN: There are some tough months ahead. Catherine Rampell, as always, great to get your insight. Thanks for joining us.
RAMPELL: Thank you.
COREN: Rising food and energy prices have been the largest contributor to inflation hitting a record high in the U.K. CNN's Scott McLean spoke with pensioners in London who are struggling to cope.
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SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At this senior center in South London, the hot topic isn't about what's on the menu, but it is about --
UNKNOWN: Food! Food is the bigger thing.
UNKNOWN: I would say food.
UNKNOWN: Food, when you go to the shops.
MCLEAN (voice-over): It's precisely why Kenneth Bedford (ph) is here. With the price of groceries, he can get a hot meal and a coffee here that are less than it costs to make at home.
KENNETH BEDFORD, PENSIONER: You pick and choose a lot more. Before, you just buy all in the basket.
MCLEAN (on camera): You didn't really think a lot about money a year ago?
BEDFORD: No.
MCLEAN (voice-over): Bedford, who lives off a state pension, spent part of his career working for the circus. Now, he walks a tightrope to balance his monthly budget.
BEDFORD: Today, I still got 200. Not too much money. I've been really careful.
MCLEAN (voice-over): Annual inflation in the U.K. hist more than 10% in September with food inflation hitting almost 15%. Now, former Prime Minister Liz Truss announced state subsidies to help with soaring energy costs this winter. But even with that, 70-year-old Susan Tume says that she can't afford to heat her whole house on her state pension of just over $700 per month.
SUSAN TUME, PENSIONER: I've got a little electric fan heater. If we're in one room, that that's where we'll have the heating on instead of of doing the whole house.
MCLEAN (on camera): How does that make you feel?
TUME: You've just got to get on with it, don't you?
MCLEAN (voice-over): Across the river in Westminster, newly chosen Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is trying to patch a massive hole in public finances. He will soon have to decide if the state can afford to raise state pensions in line with inflation.
Meanwhile, across the table at the senior center, 67-year-old Wendy Garwood is pondering what her own budget will allow.
WENDY GARWOOD, PENSIONER: You know, at one time, you could afford to buy a pair of new shoes. Now, you got to think about it. I just think that somebody at the top needs to come down and see the grassroots level of what's going on, you know.
MCLEAN (on camera): They don't understand how real people live?
GARWOOD: No!
MCLEAN (voice-over): Back in the kitchen, the center's manager, Katrina Jinadu, is asking about dessert. But lately, she is also getting a lot of questions about the basics.
KATRINA JINADU, MANAGER, AGE UK CENTER: They're asking about food banks. They're asking us if they can pay for their food later. Everything keeps spiraling around them but their income is not spiraling in line with it.
[03:30:00]
JINADU: So, it is sad. We heard people traveling up and down the bus because a bus is free as opposed to staying at home because keeping on the heat in that home was too expensive. So, it's better to get your free bus pass to go traveling around London. Not that I'm doing anything, but I'm traveling on the bus because it's warmer than staying in my house. How can we get here in 2022?
MCLEAN: Scott McLean, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COREN: Well, still to come, the U.N. special rapid tour on Iran announces and alarming number of arrests since the start of anti- government protest. What it means for the future of the movement, is next.
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COREN: Welcome back. You are watching "CNN Newsroom." I'm Anna Coren live from Hong Kong. Official results from the general election in Israel could come later today. In the latest projections show the country's longest-serving prime minister making a major comeback. Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud Party and its far-right allies appear to have expanded their lead to 65 seats in the 120-seat parliament or Knesset. They only need 61 for a majority. CNN's Hadas Gold has the latest.
HADAS GOLD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Benjamin Netanyahu is poised for a big come back with as many as 65 seats in the Israeli parliament, far more than the 61 seats he would've needed to have a ruling majority and become prime minister. Far better than the opinion polls showed which in the leading days leading up to the Israeli election, showed him at just around 60 to 61 seats at best for him and his allies. Their result was much better than really anybody expected at 65.
But one of the biggest stories from election day this week in Israel is the rise of the far-right. Part of Netanyahu's allies for his next coalition will be made up of a far-right wing bloc of parties called Religious Zionism and Jewish power. This party could gain as many as 14 seats in the next Israeli parliament. That would make them the third largest party in parliament just behind Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud Party and the current caretaker prime minister, Yair Lapid's Yesh Atid Party.
Now, this group of parties, they are made up of people who were once considered the far-right fringe extreme of Israeli politics, one of the leaders was in the past convicted for inciting racism and supporting terrorism. Another one of their leaders once from the Israeli Parliament told other Arab-Israeli members of Israeli Parliament that they don't belong there and that they should have been kicked out in 1948 when Israel was created.
[03:35:01]
But now, these types of people will have potentially quite a bit of power in the next government because of their numbers in the parliament. The question will become, what sort of ministerial positions might they get? They made public demands for things like public security or even minister of defense, but Benjamin Netanyahu when he's been asked about this, he said that he will become the prime minister, that he will have the largest party, and they will set the policy and make the decisions.
But there also is a big question about how Israel's allies around the world, especially the United States and newer allies like those from the Abraham Accords, the United Arab Emirates, how -- what their relationship will be like with the Israeli government if these new right-wing politicians have positions of power. Hadas Gold, CNN, Jerusalem.
COREN: Well, Brazil's outgoing president, Jair Bolsonaro, is calling on protesters to stop blocking traffic on major roadways across the country. His supporters have been in the streets since Sunday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAIR BOLSONARO, OUTGOING BRAZILIAN PRESIDENT (through translation): I know you're upset, you're sad. You expected something else. So, did I. I'm just as upset, as sad as you, but we have to keep our head in place. The protests, the demonstrations are very welcome, they are part of the democratic gain and over the years, much of this has been done by Brazil. I'm with you and I'm sure you're with me. Their request is highways. Let's clear them for the good of our nation and so that we can continue fighting for democracy and freedom.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COREN: Well, CNN's Paula Newton has more now from Sao Paulo.
PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Supporters of President Jair Bolsonaro were out on the streets for a third day and in some cases, they were violent yet again. Now, federal officials are ordering military police to use force when they need to clear these demonstrations. That's why you continue to see in sporadic events, you will see tear gas being used, you will see water cannons.
Having said that, protesters by and large that we've seen have been moved to the side. They have not actually been moved off their protest sites. And for that reason, these protests keep popping up. Having said that, all of this is motivated by the fact that Bolsonaro gave really what was a terse and vague statement. He didn't concede that he had lost the election. All he said was that he would follow the law and follow this process of really transfer of power.
Protesters that we have spoken to say that gives them the green light to stay out on the street for as long as it takes and they are still waiting for him to decide whether or not he will accept those results. Now, having said that, that makes an already tense transfer of power much more contentious here in Brazil at a time when it does not need it.
President-elect Lula da Silva continuing to take meetings and do calls with international leaders and now working towards Brazil's environmental policy as that environmental conference comes up in Egypt. Through all of this, investors are keeping a wary eye on Brazil. They do want this economy to try and restart itself, especially when it comes to the issues, an entrenched issues of poverty and inequality. Paula Newton, CNN, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
COREN: The U.N. special rapporteur on Iran says that as many as 14,000 people had been arrested by Iranian security forces since anti- government protests erupted. CNN cannot independently verify the amount of arrests. The nationwide protest is now in their seventh week following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in the custody of the country's morality police.
CNN's Jomana Karedsheh joins us now live from Istanbul. And Jomana, 14,000 protesters behind bars. That is an extraordinary number. What is going to happen to all of these people?
JOMANAH KAREDSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's a really extraordinary number, Anna, and again, these are estimates. The numbers could be much higher than that. It was the same thing when it comes to that rising death toll of more than 200 people who are believed to have been killed so far since the protests began.
When it comes to those who are behind bars, Anna, we've heard from the United Nations saying that more than a thousand have been indicted in Tehran. Similar number in other provinces. We're talking about more than 2,000 people so far. Many of them facing the very serious charges of war against God and corruption on Earth. These are charges that carry the death penalty in Iran.
And human rights defenders are very concerned about these, what they described, as these sham trials in revolutionary courts. Now, you know, and one other concerning part of these when it comes to these trials, is according to state media, one of the judges who is presiding over one of the revolutionary courts in Tehran is a notorious judge, Abolqasem Salavati.
[03:40:01]
This is a man who has been nicknamed in the past, the Judge of Death. That is because of the harsh sentences that he has delivered to scores of political prisoners, human rights activists, and peaceful protesters. He was sanctioned by the U.S. in the past including in 2019 after the protests that took place that year.
And according to U.S. statement at the time, Anna, they say that this judge and others at these revolutionary courts, they don't give protesters access to lawyers, to the defendants. And they intimidate these defendants and they act as judge and prosecutor. So, I can tell you, there is a lot of concern right now for what is going to happen to these protesters who are facing the death penalty in many of those cases.
Clearly, the government here that is struggling to contain these protesters, we have entered the seventh week of these demonstrators, it is trying everything to try and deter people from taking to the streets and many fear that these trials and harsh sentences is going to be its latest attempt by trying to make an example of those who are behind bars and on trial right now, Anna.
COREN: It's just unfathomable to think that these people will be sentenced to death, and yet the protests continue. Extraordinary. Jomana Karadsheh, great to have you across this story. Thank you so much.
One of India's most sacred rivers is also one of the most polluted on the planet. But now a massive upcycling project is bringing hope of cleaning up the Ganges. That story is coming up next.
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COREN: Well, whether it's from overfishing, pollution, or climate change, the world's oceans and water habitats are under threat by human action. But across the globe, inspiring men and women are fighting to prevent and even reverse the damage that could change our waterways forever.
Today, CNN is hosting Call to Earth Day, focusing on those efforts. Well, Vedika Sud is at the Versova Beach in Mumbai standing by. Vedika, what is happening where you are right now?
VIDEKA SUD, CNN REPORTER: Well, it's late afternoon here Anna, and it's really hot. But that isn't stopping these people, the volunteers that you see behind me from working. What they're doing at Versova Beach is a beach cleanup. They do this for two hours every week and they've been doing this for the last seven years.
[03:44:59]
Afroz Shah is a lawyer by profession, but this has been his passion project for the last seven years. I want to show you two images. Two images of what the Versova Beach looked like in the year 2015. Cluttered, dirty, full of plastic. Cut to today, and if you can see behind me, this is what the beach looks like.
Significantly clean, one of the cleanest beaches that Mumbai now has, all thanks to the efforts of that one man and his team of volunteers. When I asked him what the challenges are that he faces currently, he said it's open defecation and changing human behavior which I think is a global issue.
Now, about 1,300 kilometers away from Mumbai in the state of Uttar Pradesh, there is a city called Kanpur. There is another individual there, Ankit Agarwal. He's the founder of a social enterprise that's actually been using temple flower waste. You know in India, a lot of people use of flowers to offer to the gods here, to the Hindu gods.
He's been using millions of tons of those temple flower waste and he's been upcycling them and producing eco-friendly products. Here is that story for you.
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SUD (voice-over): Dusk in Varanasi, the sacred city located on the banks of India's holiest river, the Ganges. Every evening here, an aged old Hindu ritual. Pilgrims seeking salvation and blessings from the river goddess, Ganga. With a dip in the water and flowers, millions get released in the river each year, a daily offering that's now choking this vital waterway, and not just with rotting stems and petals, but toxins from the chemicals they are often covered with.
ANKIT AGARWAL, FOUNDER, PHOOL.CO: Every year, we Indians put in about 8 million tons of waste flowers, flowers that are loaded with pesticides, flowers that rot, flowers that create havoc in the fragile ecosystem of the water body causing irreversible damage.
SUD (voice-over): That damage affects the water source for some 400 million Indians. Making matters worse, temples dump even more floral waste into the river, sometimes in large quantities. But Ankit Agarwal says he has a solution. Collecting those old flowers from the temples before they are discarded. He's from Kanpur, some 300 kilometers to the northwest, one of the most polluted stretches of the river.
AGARWAL: So, in my hometown Kanpur, we collect roughly 2.8 to 3.5 tons of flowers every single day, and on festive days, it goes up to 7 tons.
SUD (voice-over): That waste is then taken to his factory where it's cleaned, dried, and pulverized into a thick dough-like paste mixed with water.
(On camera): What are they doing out here?
AGARWAL: So, over her they are rolling the incense, which is completely carbon free.
SUD (voice-over): The resulting product can then be sold.
(On camera): It all starts with floral waste being converted into ecofriendly products such as this -- incense cones, and it doesn't stop here.
(Voice-over): Agarwal's company called Phool or flower, also makes an ecofriendly alternative to leather. They call it fleather, and the byproduct is much more sustainable that a traditional tannery, he says.
AGARWAL: This material is exactly like animal leather in terms of the tensile strength elasticity.
SUD (voice-over): Agarwal started Phool backed by mostly Indian investors in 2017. Upcycling is very profitable, he says. But the 31- year-old's real goal is to keep this clean.
AGARWAL: The ultimate dream would be that one day, anyone can take a glass and drink the water of River Ganges across the country. SUD (voice-over): Doing that now is not advisable. The Ganges is one
of the most polluted waterways in the world, clogged with human, animal, and industrial waste. The river along the Mekong contributes about 200,000 tons of plastic into our oceans each year, according to the U.N. But Agarwal says history proves that change is possible.
AGARWAL: At a certain point in time, the River Thames was dirtier than what the River Ganges is during the world wars, and the British were able to clean it, same with the Parisian rivers. Why can't we do it in India?
SUD (voice-over): Especially for the country's most sacred body of water.
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[03:49:55]
(On camera): While Ankit Agarwal has been using the products, the temple floral waste to turn that into ecofriendly products, out here, Afroz Shah's team have been using marine debris to make these, tiles that are used on foot paths and platforms. Back to you.
COREN: A fascinating story. Well done to you and the team, Vedika, for bringing that to our audience. Many thanks to all of you.
Well, it's not just the world's oceans that are under threat, it's the animals living within them. In Australia, the Grey Nurse shark is critically endangered after years of overfishing. But one young woman is among those trying to help.
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SHALISE LEESFIELD, OCEAN AND SHARK CONSERVATIONIST: I know there is a huge stigma around how, you know, scary they can look, but I promise you, they are the sweetest animals ever. They are so docile and they are curious. And they are like the Labradors of the sea. Unfortunately, the Grey Nurse sharks, the east coast population at Fish Rock are critically endangered.
So, bringing as much awareness to these Grey Nurse sharks as possible is just my mission. My name is Shalise Leesfield. I'm 16 years old and I'm an ocean and shark conservationists.
Fish Rock is actually home to one of the largest ocean caverns in the southern hemisphere, which is the 125-meter-long cave that runs straight through the rock. And diving there is just such an adrenaline rush.
I love to call Fish Rock a beacon of hope for these sharks because it's their home, it's where they aggregate, it's where they feed and they raise their young pups. It's just such a crucial place for them, and to not have protection for such like an important habitat for them is just devastating.
UNKNOWN: We're going to pass all the sharks in the dark of the cave. And then you can either direct them where they want to go.
LEESFIELD: Unfortunately, from about the 50's to the 70's, they did have that reputation of being man-eaters and very scary animals. So, if you kill them, you made the coastline safer and you are a hero. So, of course that cut their numbers right down and earned them that critically endangered title.
Their numbers still haven't caught back up. They take, when they reach six to eight years old, that's when they reach sexual maternity and that's when they can rebreed and build their numbers back up. But unfortunately, they are very slow breeders because they only have 1 to 2 pups or baby sharks every 2 years.
Oh, incredible. Yeah, insane. It's just bustling with (inaudible) a real aquarium. They are right there.
The way that Fish Rock is at the moment, it isn't ideal. So, of course, there is always room for more protection. We're thinking maybe 1,500-meter zone around the island where it's just no fishing and just for the sharks. Being really young, it most definitely was a challenge, but it's just the mentality of not caring about how old you are and where you come from. Just using your voice to speak up for just what you love for me, which was the ocean.
As the younger generations, we are the ones that will be inheriting the earth and the ocean as well. So just not caring about, you know, who you are and where you come from and your age and not letting that restrict you, just using your voice to speak up for what you love and what you're going to be inheriting, just makes it all worth it when you, you know, see that snagger tooth grin of the Grey Nurse shark.
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COREN: What an amazing young woman. Well, you can follow our Global Day of Action online by going to CNN.com/CallToEarthDay. You'll see what other people are doing to answer the call and what you can do to help. We'll be right back.
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[03:55:00]
COREN: The remnants of Hurricane Lisa are bringing heavy rain to southern Mexico and other parts of Central America. That's after making landfall in Belize as a Category 1 storm. CNN's Derek Van Dam is tracking it. And Derek, how is the storm at the moment?
DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well right, now it's moving inland away from the coastline of Belize, but as it made landfall late Wednesday evening, it was packing quite a powerful punch, 140 kilometers per hour winds and enough to drive in a considerable amount of the ocean on to the shoreline.
In fact, Belize City there, you saw some of the inundated roadways and city streets, that is from the storm surge that occurred with what was Hurricane Lisa. Now, been downgraded to a tropical storm, still a formidable storm though, 85-kilometer per hour sustained winds as it continues to cross central Belize and into much of the Yucatan Peninsula.
This area getting drenched with heavy rainfall, so really going forward, it's not the wind that's a major threat, it's more the rain that will lead to localized flash flooding. So, we're going to monitor that very closely as it exits into it the more warm waters of the Bay of Campeche, you'd think this thing is going to have a chance to re- develop into potential another hurricane.
But that is unlikely. There is just too much wind in the upper levels of the atmosphere that's going to help erode the storm. That's why we have the main threat here just being more of a rainmaker. You can see the current warnings in place. And interesting note, I'll end on this, Anna, we had two simultaneous November hurricanes. It's the first time we've had that since 2001. And that has only occurred three times since modern record keeping began. Kind of interesting.
COREN: Yeah. Interesting. And no doubt climate change has a hand in that.
VAN DAM: That's correct.
COREN: Derek Van Dam, good to see you, as always.
And thank so much for your company. I'm Anna Coren from Hong Kong. "CNN Newsroom" with Max Foster and Bianca Nobilo is in London. That's coming up next.
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