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CNN International: Rockets Fired From Gaza After Second Day Of Israeli Strikes; Former Pakistani PM Imran Khan Indicted On Corruption Charge; Trump Vows To Appeal Sexual Abuse & Defamation Verdict; Foreign Minister: Japan In Talks To Open NATO Liaison Office; Ukraine: "Huge Losses" Inflicted On Russian Forces Near Bakhmut; AFP Journalist Arman Soldin Killed In Eastern Ukraine; New Proposal Says Women Should Start Screening At Age 40. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired May 10, 2023 - 08:00   ET

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

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MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: More than 60 rockets have been fired from Gaza towards Israel in the last few hours, according to Israel's Defense Forces. It comes after Israel carried out strikes against what it says are Islamic Jihad targets in Gaza for a second straight day on Wednesday.

The Ministry of Health in Gaza says one person was killed in today's strike. The attackers, you can see in this video shared by the IDF, allegedly struck Islamic Jihad operatives as they traveled to a rocket launch site.

Journalist Elliott Gotkine joins me live from Jerusalem. What's the latest, Elliott?

ELLIOTT GOTKINE, JOURNALIST: Max, the latest is that sirens continue to sound as far north as Tel Aviv. And also in the last few seconds, I'm receiving notes from the Israeli Defense Forces saying that sirens were sounding in Bat Yam, Holon and Rishon LeZion. These are kind of satellite towns of Tel Aviv as well.

So the sirens keep sounding and the airstrikes keep continuing as well. Israel says that it is only targeting potential attackers and attacks emanating from the Gaza Strip towards Israel. And Daniel Hagari, the IDF's chief spokesman, pains to emphasize that they are only targeting Palestinian Islamic Jihad. They're not targeting Hamas because they say Hamas, the militant group that, of course, runs and rules the Gaza Strip, isn't involved, according to the IDF, but Hamas says otherwise.

Now, for now, Israel remains solely focused on the militants of Islamic Jihad and on rocket launchers, weapons manufacturing sites, storage facilities, and the like. We've had reports, as you said, of another death today. We don't have more details on that just now. And that follows 16, 17 other fatalities in the Gaza Strip, including those Palestinian Islamic Jihad commanders and others that Israel says were planning to launch antitank missiles at Israel, which is what happened yesterday. And, of course, those airstrikes themselves by Israel were in response, they say, to more than 100 rockets being fired by Islamic Jihad towards Israel a week earlier. So there's no sense we were waiting. We had this eerie sense of calm, you know, for about 24 hours or so after Israel carried out those airstrikes. But certainly the response from Islamic Jihad that it promised has begun.

I don't think anyone's under any illusions that we're just at the beginning of this conflict between Israel and the militants of Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip. And as I say, they are sirens sounding in Tel Aviv and other towns, some 70 kilometers north of the Gaza Strip.

For now, no casualties in Israel. A house was hit in Siddharth just surrounding the Gaza Strip. But most of those rockets coming from the militants of the Gaza Strip towards Israel have been taken out by Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system. Max?

FOSTER: OK. Elliott in Jerusalem, thank you for the update.

Now to Pakistan, where former Prime Minister Imran Khan has just been indicted on a corruption charge at a special court hearing in Islamabad. This comes a day after Khan's dramatic arrest by paramilitary troops in a separate corruption case, a move that has sparked protests nationwide. Khan denies all charges, calling them biased and political.

CNN's Ivan Watson following all of this for us. Ivan, just take us through these different cases and the reactions.

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Right, well, basically, that very public arrest of Imran Khan by paramilitary rangers on Tuesday touched off a firestorm around the country with protests all around the country. Imran Khan himself has not been seen in public.

He has told his attorneys that he was moved from the headquarters of the National Accountability Bureau, that anticorruption watchdog which issued the arrest warrant for him, under which he was arrested on Tuesday to the police headquarters. And that's where he appeared before a judge in this special court hearing, where he was indicted on corruption charges for allegedly taking the equivalent of 190 million pounds to purchase land and to build a university, charges that he denies.

And that he, again, he was indicted in front of a judge in this police headquarters that the attorneys for the National Accountability Bureau have requested a 14-day remand for him. The police are on record saying that they're trying to keep Imran Khan out of the public. And he did record a video statement before that dramatic arrest on Tuesday, where he urged his supporters to go out and struggle for their rights.

So what we have seen is violent protests in different cities across the country throughout the afternoon and evening on Tuesday and continuing into Wednesday, with at least three people reported killed. In the western city of Peshawar, the supporters of Imran Khan storming the Radio Pakistan building there, setting fire to it. According to the general director there, that building was seen on fire.

[08:05:14]

We've heard from the police there at least 150 people arrested there. There was tear gas fired about a kilometer away from the police headquarters in Islamabad where Imran Khan had been brought in. Protesters had been gathered there.

An attorney for Imran Khan says he was told by Khan at that special hearing that he had been beaten while in custody overnight, that he was being kept in a dirty room with no bedding. He was not given a toothbrush, and he had bruises on his head. All claims and allegations that CNN cannot independently confirm.

Khan's party has accused the government of his abduction on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the government is accusing his party of chaos and vandalism and torching places around the country. For example, the residence of the senior military officer in the eastern city of Lahore, which was stormed on Tuesday and set fire too.

So we have two completely different narratives underway in what has been a long simmering political feud over the course of the past year, where Imran Khan has accused the government and its allies in the military of trying to stop him from running for office again, whereas, they're accusing him of trying to avoid justice and resisting arrest. Max?

FOSTER: OK, Ivan, thank you.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump is vowing to appeal the $5 million judgment against him. On Tuesday, a Manhattan federal jury found him liable for sexually abusing E. Jean Carroll in a department store dressing room in 1996. The jury also found Mr. Trump defamed Carroll when he denied her allegations. Carroll calls the verdict a victory for her and all victims of abuse.

In social media posts on Tuesday, Mr. Trump called the verdict a disgrace and a political witch hunt. His lawyer tried to put a positive spin on the decision.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE TACOPINA, TRUMP ATTORNEY: Strange verdict. This was a rape claim. It was a rape case all along. And the jury rejected that, but made other findings. So we'll obviously be appealing those other findings. But they rejected her rape claim, and she'd always claimed this was a rape case. So it's a little perplexing, but, you know, we move forward.

He was found not liable for the rape. And that's it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Well, in just a few minutes, you'll hear E. Jean Carroll's reaction to the verdict. She'll be speaking to CNN, and we'll bring you that interview live. And we'll hear from Donald Trump later today as well.

Please tune in to CNN's town hall with the 2024 Republican presidential candidate. It'll be moderated by CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins. It all starts at 08:00 p.m. Eastern in New Hampshire. That is Thursday 08:00 a.m. in Hong Kong.

Now, Japan's foreign minister says his country is in talks to open the NATO Liaison Office, the first of its kind in all of Asia. In an exclusive interview with CNN's Marc Stewart, Yoshimasa Hayashi says Japan was forced to reconsider regional security following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Hayashi also raised concerns about China and North Korea.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

YOSHIMASA HAYASHI, JAPANESE FOREIGN MINISTER: North Korea is intensifying the activities of missiles. Maybe the further provocation, such as another nuclear test might be possible. And also China is a greatest challenge for us. So that's why including all those things, our security environment becoming so severe and complex.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Marc Stewart joins me now live from Tokyo. Some interesting points there, and they really do play into the geopolitics of the region.

MARC STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Indeed, Max. And look, let's make it clear, Japan is not looking to become a member of NATO, but it does have a relationship, a long standing relationship, and it's looking to build on that relationship. So perhaps opening an office, a NATO office in Japan seems to be a logical, organic next move.

You certainly mentioned the threats facing Japan, North Korea, China. But Japan has also recognized that the global landscape is changing and that things are very fragile right now. And it is actually the war in Ukraine that really has been gripping Japan's attention and really perhaps serving as a prompting moment to take its relationship with NATO to this next level by hosting NATO as an office -- having an office space here in Japan to have discussions.

[08:10:00]

Take a listen to more of our conversation, specifically about the Ukraine point with Japan's foreign minister from earlier today right here in Tokyo.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HAYASHI: The reason why we are discussing about this is that since the aggression by Russia at Ukraine, the world become more kind of unstable places. And I felt like something happened in East Europe. Is not only confined to the issue in East Europe and that affects directly to the situation here in the Pacific.

(END VIDEO CLIP) STEWART: So certainly, there is this feeling of vulnerability that Japan feels and therefore want to again strengthen its bond with NATO. Right now, NATO is keeping pretty much a low key approach. We don't have any kind of timetable or specific as to when this would take place.

But this Indo-Pacific security is also going to be talked about at the upcoming G7 Summit in Hiroshima here in Japan starting next week. Max, the foreign minister did tell me that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been invited to attend and at this point, it looks like he will make an appearance, albeit virtually, but we'll make his presence known at that summit. It's something I'm sure we'll be talking about in the days and weeks ahead, Max.

FOSTER: Yes, for sure. Marc Stewart in Tokyo, thank you.

Now to Ukraine, where the military says it has inflicted huge losses on Russian forces near Bakhmut, the embattled eastern city that has been seeing fierce fighting for months now. Meanwhile, Kremlin-backed officials in the Zaporizhzhia region are evacuating civilians living in occupied towns. That includes the area around the nuclear power station.

Ukrainian workers at the plant are not being allowed to leave, though, their family members are being evacuated. CNN's Nick Paton Walsh is in Zaporizhzhia and joins me now live. What are we hearing about Bakhmut then and the situation there?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR: Yes, it is extraordinary themes, reversal against Russia here, a significant part of the front line apparently given up by conventional Russian troops who are seen on some footage put out by Ukrainian officials fleeing the area. Now, this was first brought to light indeed by Russia itself.

Russia's mercenary head Yevgeny Prigozhin talking about how he'd lost 500 of his fighters holding and taking this particular area. But it was the conventional Russian military that appeared to have fled that was then confirmed by Ukrainian military figures as well, who claimed, and, you know, it's always hard to put too much stock into casualty numbers in this conflict, but claimed that 200 had been killed and 200 had been injured as Russia gave those positions up.

But remember, this is a stark change in the narrative here. A few weeks ago, Russian forces were talking about the possibility they might be able to encircle the remaining Ukrainian holdout forces in the city, cutting off some of the last roads. Then we had this extraordinary public spat, Yevgeny Prigozhin demanding more artillery shells, pointing the finger squarely at the Russian Defense Ministry for not providing adequate resources for him.

He threatened to leave today. Yesterday he said he hadn't, in fact, even received those artillery shells. And now today he's suggesting that the Russian conventional military has abandoned some positions that his men had fought and lost for. So a startling display of public disunity, frankly, from the Russians here. He's consistent in his criticism, vocal, frankly, almost in a way unheard of in Putin's Russia against the top brass of the Russian military. And Ukraine clearly seeking to capitalize upon this. It isn't clear if this marks the beginning of a broader Russian route around that city of Bakhmut. Ukrainian officials are saying it's not actually artillery shells that Russia appears to be short of there. They're saying the barrage continues as it always has done, but in fact, Wagner are running out of people on the ground.

So certainly a testing moment around Bakhmut. It's been the singular objective of Russia, both Wagner and its conventional military, over all the winter. They said they'd take it by yesterday. They just simply haven't managed to achieve this one comparatively simple task, despite throwing thousands of men at a city which is strategically not that significant for Russia's broader goals here.

So remarkable, frankly, that we're hearing this disunity and this reverse from Russia here and its fortunes on the front line. Max?

FOSTER: OK, Nick Paton Walsh in Zaporizhzhia. Thank you.

Now, it seems for some Ukrainians, the war has become almost background noise to their daily lives. And whilst every day brings the very real risk of being killed, after 14 months of conflict, it seems many are almost numb to it all.

CNN's Nic Robertson reports now from eastern Ukraine.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR (voice-over): A few miles from Ukraine's eastern front, life is, well, sort of normal, although it's not. Outside of war, who needs this much camo kit?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Speaking Foreign Language).

ROBERTSON (on-camera): Thank you very much. Thank you.

Look, she gave me a nice woolly hat to keep me warm.

[08:15:06]

(voice-over): People are friendly, not frozen in fear, even though they feel it. We don't know what's happening 30 minutes from now, she says, let alone an hour. No worries shown in the town park either, workers trim the grass as artillery shell tear up not so distant fields.

Showing fear, it seems, is an abandoned indulgence. Air raid warnings passe now.

(on-camera): The sirens have become such a background part of people's lives here, living through the war. They don't even respond, take notice, flinch even. War is just ever present, pervaded through people's lives. (voice-over): Outside of town, even closer to the front, this elderly couple nonchalantly (ph) tell us their home was shelled last month. He even jokes. It's boring when there's no shooting. Both, though, hopeful Ukraine's coming counteroffensive will end their suffering.

We believe Ukraine will go in there and beat them well, his wife says. Further on pensioner, Zinovi (ph) is more worried about his weeds than the war.

We don't understand anything about the counteroffensive, he says. We just hope for our Ukraine, for our defense. Where and when the counteroffensive may begin is one of the war's best kept secrets so far. The mystery is exactly what Ukraine wants. Keep Russia guessing, stretch their supply lines, SAP troop morale. Ukraine's victory rides on surprise.

(on-camera): Driving around near the front lines here, you can hear some shelling in the distance, and you can see plenty of soldiers around. But what you don't get a sense of is any big buildup for a counteroffensive.

(voice-over): Farmers here are counting on their troops success sowing crops in fields they want to harvest in fall.

Mikaela Hopes (ph) the counteroffensive will secure his land but says he knows some of the soldiers around here, knows how hard the fight will be, knows it will be a bloody battle.

Nic Robinson, CNN, Eastern Ukraine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: A French journalist working for the AFP news agency has been killed whilst covering the war in Ukraine. Arman Soldin was hit by rocket fire near the embattled city of Bakhmut on Tuesday. AFP says he was with four colleagues at the time of the attack and no one else was injured.

French President Emmanuel Macron paid tribute to Soldin, saying the nation shared the pain of his family and his colleagues.

In El Paso, Texas, migrants are being urged to turn themselves into immigration authorities ahead of the looming expiration of Title 42. That's the COVID era policy which empowered border agents to bypass standard procedures and swiftly expel migrants. But Title 42 will be allowed to expire Thursday, which means normal legal procedures will be in effect.

Authorities encountered nearly 10,000 migrants along the southern border on Monday, continuing an upward trend in border arrests in recent weeks. The federal government estimates more than 150,000 migrants are waiting in shelters and on the streets of northern Mexico.

Independent advisers with the Food and Drug Administration are expected to vote today on whether they'll recommend that the FDA make a birth control pill available over the counter for the first time ever in the United States.

That pill, named Opill only uses the hormone progestin. The FDA's independent experts heard from the company that manufactures the medication on Tuesday as it made its case for why the pill should be more available, more easily available. But scientists have expressed concern about the pill's effectiveness in women who are overweight or obese. The vote by the panel is non-binding, and a final decision by the FDA is expected this summer.

A new draft recommendation says women should start getting regular mammograms after the age of 40 instead of 50. The U.S. Preventative Services Task Force says breast cancer is treatable when caught early, and screening would reduce their risk of dying from the disease.

CNN's Jacqueline Howard has more.

JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: For women at average risk, the task force sees more benefits than risks for them to start screening at age 40. And this draft update is available for public comment from now through June 5. And we already know that based on current incidence rates, it's estimated that 12.9 percent of women born in the United States today will develop breast cancer at some time during their lives.

[08:20:03]

And it's important to catch these cancers early. That gives a better chance of survival. Now, meanwhile, this update does not change recommendations for women at high risk of getting breast cancer. Those women should continue to keep in contact with their doctors for what's best for them.

But for all women, some topics to discuss with their doctors include your family history of cancer, whether you have dense breasts, when to ask for a breast exam and when to start screening and how often. Back to you.

FOSTER: We're going to take a quick break now. Then, Poppy and Phil will speak to E. Jean Carroll about her victory in the civil case she brought against former President Donald Trump. Stay with us for that.

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