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Rockets Fired At Israel Amid Deadly IDF Airstrikes In Gaza; Ukraine Reports Gains In Bakhmut Counterattacks; Donald Trump Took Questions From Republicans And Undeclared Voters; Donald Trump Still Refusing To Acknowledge He Lost 2020 Election; Officials, Agents And Migrants Brace For End Of Title 42; Violent Protests Escalating Since Arrest of Former Pakistani PM; Japan in Talks to Open NATO Liaison Office. Aired 12-12:45a ET
Aired May 11, 2023 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome everyone. I'm Rosemary Church.
Ahead on CNN NEWSROOM, heavy cross-border fire between Israel and Palestinian militants as the latest efforts to end the violence fall short.
Ukraine surges ahead in the bloody fight for Bakhmut, and the boss of the Wagner Mercenary Group is not happy about it.
And Donald Trump makes startling new claims during a CNN town hall, including how he could quickly end Russia's war on Ukraine.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If I'm president, I will have that war settled in one day, 24 hours.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Rosemary Church.
CHURCH: And we begin in the Middle East, where Israel is again bombarding what it says are Islamic Jihad's operatives in Gaza with another airstrike early Thursday. Palestinian authorities say the strike left three people dead, including the head of the Palestinian militant group's missile unit. In all, at least two dozen people have now been killed in Israeli airstrikes since Tuesday, including several other Islamic Jihad commanders and as well as women and children.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the battle is not over yet.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): Citizens of Israel, we are still in the middle of a campaign. At this very moment, our forces are fiercely attacking the Gaza Strip and exacting a heavy price from the terrorist organizations.
I would like to reiterate, whoever harms us, whoever sends terrorists against us will pay the price.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: The U.N. Secretary-General is urging all parties to use maximum restraint, and Egypt is trying to broker a ceasefire.
But Palestinian militants are retaliating with rocket strikes on Israel. The Palestinian ambassador to the U.N. is condemning the deaths of civilians.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RIYAD MANSOUR, PALESTINIAN AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N.: We condemn those who committed these crimes, particularly killing large number of children and women, and we believe that it is the duty of the Security Council to condemn these crimes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: CNN's Hadas Gold has more on the escalating violence in the region.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HADAS GOLD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): After the tense quiet, the expected storm. Palestinian militants firing hundreds of rockets from Gaza towards Israel starting Wednesday afternoon. Reaching as far deep as Tel Aviv, sending beachgoers running for cover. Much of the barrage, though, focused on southern Israel. A seemingly delayed response by the militants to Israel killing three top Islamic Jihad commanders early Tuesday morning.
In Gaza, meanwhile, the casualties mounting. One child among those killed Wednesday. Israel carrying out additional airstrikes targeting it says dozens of rocket launchers, weapons sites and more belonging to the Iranian-backed Islamic Jihad.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warning that the campaign will continue.
NETANYAHU (through translator): We say to the terrorists and their enablers, we see you everywhere. You cannot hide. And we choose the place and the time to hit you. We and not you.
GOLD (voice over): Hamas standing alongside the Islamic Jihad, vowing unity in their response. As news of a possible Egyptian-brokered ceasefire swirled in the evening, only to be met with more rocket barrages in Israel and more airstrikes in Gaza. The possibility of quiet slipping into the night. Hadas Gold CNN, Jerusalem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: There's been a dramatic turn of events in the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut following months of brutal Russian attacks.
Ukraine released this video on Wednesday saying it shows its forces going on the offensive near the city. Russian troops have already been pushed back as much as two kilometers in some areas according to Kyiv.
[00:05:00]
Ukraine also says Wagner Mercenaries who led the Russian onslaught have been pulled back to Bakhmut from other areas. This all comes after the head of Wagner lashed out at Russia's military leaders and accused regular Russian forces of abandoning positions in Bakhmut.
CNN's Sam Kiley has more.
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SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Once again, the leader of the Wagner Group is lambasting the military structures within Russia's Ministry of Defense. This time over what he says has been a catastrophic failure of the southern flank in the battle for Bakhmut, even suggesting that his own fighters from his private military company, his mercenary fighters, could risk being encircled by Ukrainians.
Now, the Ukrainians have said that they have indeed won a significant victory on the southern flank of Bakhmut after many, many months in which they've been very slowly, it has to be admitted, but grinding backwards. They were able to recapture a significant amount of territory. Both sides agree on that.
From Prigozhin's point of view, he's saying that this occurred because a unit of the Russian armed forces, the formal part of the armed forces abandoned their positions. The military bloggers on the scene have said that this is on the Russian side, have said that this actually occurred because Wagner moved their location, left this flank unguarded and there were no Russians around to invest that area and no communications. And this is what is the most important, no communications between the armed forces of Russia and the Wagner Mercenaries.
Now, if that is persistent and a reflection of the poor communications elsewhere in the Russian armed forces, then the Ukrainians who did exploit this on the battlefield in Bakhmut are likely to exploit it over the coming weeks and months as they prosecute their much-vaunted spring and summer offensive.
Sam Kiley, CNN in Kyiv.
(END VIDEOTAPE) CHURCH: The war in Ukraine was a hot topic during the first town hall of the 2024 U.S. presidential campaign. Republican front-runner Donald Trump took center stage in the state of New Hampshire and filled the night with false and preposterous claims that many would consider outright lies like insisting the war would have never happened if he was still in charge.
Trump then suggested that he possesses some unique ability to stop the Russian invasion now past the 14-month mark.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: If I'm president, I will have that war settled in one day, 24 hours.
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: How would you settle that war in one day?
TRUMP: I'll meet with Putin. I'll meet with Zelenskyy. They both have weaknesses and they both have strengths. And within 24 hours that war will be settled. It'll be over. It'll be absolutely over.
COLLINS: Do you want Ukraine to win this war?
TRUMP: I don't think in terms of winning and losing. I think in terms of getting it settled so we stop killing all these people and breaking down this country.
COLLINS: What do you -- can I just follow up on that? You said you don't think in terms of winning and losing? Let me just follow up on that because that's a really important statement that you just made there.
TRUMP: Let me just follow up.
COLLINS: Can you say if you want Ukraine or Russia to win this war?
TRUMP: I want everybody to stop dying. They're dying. Russians and Ukraine, I wanted them to stop dying. And I'll have that done -- I'll have that done in 24 hours. I'll have it done.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Republican critic Chris Christie is among the many who are not buying it. The former New Jersey governor tweeted, despite how ridiculous that is to say, I suspect, he would try to do it by turning Ukraine over to Putin and Russia.
We should note that the crowd of Republicans and right-leaning independents was very friendly to the former U.S. president, often loudly cheering after some of his inflammatory remarks.
And many in the audience seemed to support his repeated claims at the 2020 presidential election that is undeniably lost -- that he undeniably lost, was rigged.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) COLLINS: Your poll show that you are dominating the Republican race right now, but you are also under active federal investigation for trying to overturn the 2020 election results.
Your first term ended with the deadly riot at the Capitol, and you still have not publicly acknowledged the 2020 election results. Why should Americans put you back in the White House?
TRUMP: Because we did fantastically. We got 12 million more votes than we had in, as you know, in 2016. I actually say we did far better in that election. I got the most than anybody has ever gotten as a president of the United States.
I think that when you look at that result and when you look at what happened during that election, unless you're a very stupid person, you see what happens. A lot of the people -- a lot of the people in this audience and maybe a couple that don't, but most people understand what happened. That was a rigged election, and it's a shame that we had to go through it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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CHURCH: A political action committee that supports Trump's Republican rival, Ron DeSantis, slammed the former president's performance, even though DeSantis has not yet officially declared his candidacy.
The Super PAC Never Back Down, called the town hall, "over an hour of nonsense that proved Trump is stuck in the past. How does that Make America Great Again?"
And a campaign advisor to President Joe Biden said Trump provided, "Weeks worth of damning content in one hour".
So, there is a lot to cover. I want to bring in CNN Senior Political Analyst Ron Brownstein, who's also a senior editor at the Atlantic. Thanks for joining us.
RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Hi, Rosemary. What a night.
CHURCH: Certainly it was. So, the town hall with Donald Trump covered a wide range of issues. Trump repeating his false claim of a rigged 2020 election. He also said he would pardon some of the rioters convicted of federal offenses on January 6th. Trump mocked his accuser in the civil trial that found him liable for sexual abuse and defamation. And he refused to say if he wanted Ukraine to win the war with Russia, even suggesting he could end that war.
CNN's Kaitlan Collins tackled him on all issues, fact checking his falsehoods from start to finish. How do you think Trump handled himself, though? And would he have won or lost support from undecided Republican and independent voters?
BROWNSTEIN: Republican voters and the general election are two different things, I think. And even among Republicans, he had a very sympathetic audience that came together for him that made it feel at times like a Trump rally.
And Kaitlan did a very admirable job in trying to fact check him on the fly. But he spewed, you know, his kind of usual geyser falsehoods.
And even amid all that, a kind of a sympathetic audience and a tendency to mislead and openly lie, he made a series of statements that I think any Democrat is going to look at as extremely damaging for a general election.
And especially when you consider that the 2018, 2020, and 2022 elections, all three had the same pattern with the Republicans underperforming in white-collar suburbs that used to vote Republican in part because those voters feel disconnected and alienated by the values of the Trump era GOP.
He said he would pardon most of the January 6th rioters. He said twice that he was honored that his appointments had overturned Roe v. Wade. And then he further said that the overturning of Roe v. Wade and the constitutional right to abortion gave him leverage to produce a national law that would satisfy pro-life voters.
And he also said that he would resume the practice if strongly signaled that if he's reelected, he would resume the practice of separating families, kids from their parents at the border.
And in all of those ways, not to mention demeaning E. Jean Carroll again and repeating the lies about 2020, in all of those ways, he just embodied all of the challenges he will face winning back any of those swing voters who rejected him in 2020 and rejected the party in 2018 and 2022.
CHURCH: Yes. Certainly a lot of material there for the Democrats to use as you say. So, on the civil --
BROWNSTEIN: I am honored, twice. I am honored, he said, to have over -- to have participated to overturning Roe.
Don't forget, in the states that will decide the 2024 election, Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania among them, over 60 percent of voters in the midterm said they opposed overturning Roe. They wanted abortion to be legal. He tried to avoid saying specifically how many weeks he would sign a national ban for it. But he made very clear that he would sign such a ban when he repeatedly said that his actions had given the pro-life side leverage to demand a national law that would satisfy pro-life voters.
I think that was the most significant thing that he said all night, actually, when he said he was honored to have contributed to overturning Roe.
CHURCH: Yes, very important point. And on the civil trial verdict that found Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation, the former president claimed the trial was rigged and then went on to defame further and mock E. Jean Carroll, his accuser, to cheers and applause from his very sympathetic Republican-leaning audience.
But this issue could potentially have enormous political consequences for his presidential run, couldn't it? How do you think women voters will react to not only the verdict, but his performance Wednesday night at this town hall on that very issue?
BROWNSTEIN: Again, the gulf between Republican voters and the general election voters. You know, we talk a lot about how the modern Republican coalition is bound together by anxiety about demographic change, resistance to immigration. Three-quarters of Republican voters now say bias against whites is now as big a problem as bias against minorities. 70 percent say immigrants are undermining traditional American culture.
[00:15:19]
We don't talk enough about how much of the modern Republican coalition has a view that men are being unfairly accused, has a negative view of the Me Too Movement, say that men are punished just for acting like men.
So, within the Republican coalition, he was kind of playing to the rafters. But there is, as you say, a universe beyond that.
And you know, the biggest problem, the biggest movement away from Republicans has come from both college educated white men and college educated white women in the Trump era.
And everything that has happened around that case, I think, only compounds those problems. Even before that verdict came down, we saw in a recent poll by NPR, PBS NewsHour and Marist, that three-quarters of voters under 45, three-quarters of independents, three-quarters of people of color, and four-fifths of college educated whites said they did not want a second Trump term, especially if he is convicted of a crime.
You know, that may be -- that may be the last verdict that is rendered against him between now and the first voting next January.
CHURCH: All right, Ron Brownstein, always a pleasure to get your analysis. Appreciate it.
BROWNSTEIN: Thanks for having me.
CHURCH: And if you want to watch the town hall, we will replay it in just a couple of hours at 7:00 a.m. in London, 2:00 p.m. in Hong Kong.
Well, the arrest of Imran Khan sparks nationwide protests in Pakistan. Can the government keep the former prime minister's supporters under control or will the violence grow?
Plus, less than 24 hours remain before a controversial U.S. border policy expires, asylum seekers are bracing for the end of Title 42 and what that means for their future.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) CHURCH: There is optimism around another potential ceasefire in Sudan. Reuters is reporting that peace talks between the Sudanese army and rapid support forces brokered by the U.S. and Saudi Arabia are making progress and an agreement is expected soon.
But smoke while still billowing over the country's capital Khartoum on Wednesday as the conflict continues for a third week and previous ceasefires between the warring parties have failed to end the fighting. Hundreds of people have been killed and thousands injured in the conflict so far.
A Sudanese doctors group says only 27 of the 88 main hospitals in the region are functioning and even those are at risk of closing due to shortages of medical staff and basic supplies.
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U.S. officials, federal agents and migrants seeking asylum are all bracing for the end of Title 42 within 24 hours. Hundreds of troops are set to begin a new mission along the southern border as the COVID era policy expires at 11.59 p.m. eastern time Thursday night.
The measure allowed federal authorities to swiftly expel migrants. The head of U.S. Border Patrol is downplaying a potential surge of asylum seekers. He says the bulk of the influx is already behind them.
Still, officials in cities along the border are taking action. The mayor of Laredo in Texas says the city is preparing as if, "It's a hurricane coming".
In El Paso, the mayor says they are preparing for the unknown. Federal officials acknowledge the immigration system is strained. But say the end of Title 42 does not mean a free for all along the border.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS, SECRETARY, HOMELAND SECURITY: We are clear-eyed about the challenges we are likely to face in the days and weeks ahead, which have the potential to be very difficult.
Let me be clear, the lifting of the Title 42 public health order does not mean our border is open. In fact, it is the contrary.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Officials in El Paso, Texas say nearly a thousand migrants have turned themselves into immigration authorities since Tuesday. Federal agents have been pressuring migrants to surrender before Title 42 expires.
CNN's Rosa Flores is there in El Paso where some migrants are scared and worried about what happens next.
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ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was dark when plain clothed federal agents who didn't identify themselves woke up migrants sleeping outside sacred Hard Church in El Paso to give them flyers.
The migrant who said blessings in Spanish to an agent was Beckenbauer Franco from Venezuela.
FLORES: Did it surprise you?
FLORES (voice over): The abrupt wake up turned to fear when he read the document asking migrants who skirted border authorities when they entered the U.S. to surrender for immigration processing.
FLORES: What happens if he returned you back?
BECKENBAUER FRANCO, IMMIGRANT (through translator): We don't know. If we can return to Venezuela. We don't know.
FLORES (voice-over): Fear that the next time agents won't be leaving empty handed.
FLORES: He says that there's a lot of fear.
FRANCO (through translator): The feeling that you can't eat. The feeling that they don't have a way to survive. Sorry.
FLORES (voice-over): Too emotional to speak, Franco flashes on the day he said goodbye to his 12-year-old daughter and his aging parents in Venezuela. What hurts the most, he says, is that his parents don't have money for food.
As daylight came, fear spread. Franco, an attorney who says he earned $5.00 a day in Venezuela, and his friends anxiously debated about what to do.
FLORES: You're afraid of being deported? Have you been expelled before?
FLORES (voice-over): Expelled under Title 42, the pandemic rule that didn't punish migrants for repeated attempts to cross illegally, but that rule expires Thursday.
The minutes rolled by, and so did immigration vans and trucks, a taunting image for an already scared group of migrants.
FERNANDO GARCIA, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, BORDER NETWORK FOR HUMAN RIGHTS: Well, I think this is the promise --
FLORES (voice-over): Fernando Garcia, the executive director of the Border Network for Human Rights, rushed to the scene.
GARCIA: This threat of enforcement. So, where this is coming from? Is this Biden? Is this the promise of a better policy? Is this a humane policy that he promised?
FLORES (voice-over): In small groups and one by one, migrants started turning themselves in, especially after agents returned, this time verbally asking migrants to comply. FLORES: Take a look at the line of migrants waiting to turn themselves into immigration authorities. If you take a look, it even turns the corner, many of them scared and nervous.
FLORES (voice-over): And walking up to the end of the line.
FLORES: You decided to turn yourself in?
FLORES (voice-over): Franco, with his Bible in hand, reading Psalm 121, praying he will be allowed to stay in the U.S.
Rosa Flores, CNN, El Paso.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
CHURCH: Raul Reyes is an attorney immigration analyst and CNN opinion writer, and he joins me now from New York. Appreciate you being with us.
My pleasure.
CHURCH: So, as we count down to the end of Title 42 in the coming hours, thousands of desperate migrants aligning the streets of towns on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border, in the hope that they and their families will get to live in America. But the reality may be very different.
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How will the U.S. handle and process this unprecedented number of immigrants trying to get into the country?
RAUL REYES, CNN OPINION WRITER: Well, as things stand now, it looks like this is going to be a very steep challenge for the Biden administration to tackle.
But you know, to be clear, you know the chaos -- a lot of the chaos and confusion that we are seeing at the border is not because of the migrants. The chaos and confusion is because the United States has failed to -- has failed to prepare an adequate response to the migrants.
And this has gone through multiple American administrations. We have gone through areas of family separations, talk of build the wall, mass deportations under Obama.
And through all these different policies, really nothing has stemmed the tide of migration. And that's because for so many of the Central Americans, people from around the world who are migrating, this is not a choice that they are living. Migration is a matter of survival.
And in my view, as long as the United States pursues these deterrence- based efforts, it seems like an almost impossible task to handle.
CHURCH: Yes, it certainly does. President Biden has admitted that the situation at the Southern border will be chaotic for some time because the U.S. is dealing with this unprecedented surge of migrants.
But conservatives don't want Title 42 to end. And they're using disinformation in some instances to instill fear in the hearts of Americans about immigrants taking over their jobs and their nation.
What would you say to those spreading these falsehoods about this issue?
REYES: Well, that type of disinformation is so widespread. In fact, this evening in the United States, we even saw that from the former president himself at the Trump town hall where the former president was talking about people coming across the border who spread diseases and who were in his words criminals and bringing in all kinds of things over the border.
The fact is, if any person who is talking about open borders with regards to the United States or talking about this catchphrase amnesty, they are not looking at this issue seriously.
And this is very much a pressing issue, not only for Republicans, but Democrats as well, because as Republicans have seized on this issue politically, because it resonates very much with their base, what we see on the Democratic side is really a failure to counter this type of misinformation.
I think the average American voter knows where Republicans stand on immigration. They want to shut down the border, and they don't want to let more people in.
But when it gets to the Biden administration's approach, I think people are not even sure what that is.
So far, President Biden has tried to move on immigration in sort of what he sees as a balanced attempt between a balance between border security and a more humane approach.
But so far, that really doesn't seem to be working. And we saw a polling out just this month, a Global Strategy Group about two-thirds, 68 percent of Americans want a humane immigration system and border security.
It doesn't always have to be an either or type of situations. I think for the Biden administration, they're trying to figure out that balance, but it's going to be a rough few months ahead.
CHURCH: And smuggling organizations, of course, the ones who have benefited financially from the immigration challenges, how might their role change in this, if at all, once the title 42 ends, and will there be any effort to cut these smugglers out of the equation? And how can that be done?
REYES: The Biden administration has been taking efforts to cut down on traffickers and smugglers, but the broader problem is that when you close off, when we as a nation close off legal pathways to migration, people then turn to some illegal pathways, including risking their lives with smugglers and traffickers. That has been proven time and again across different administrations.
So, I want to emphasize the point that people who are crossing the border or lining up for processing with the Border Patrol, they are exercising a lawful right under American and international law. They are not, "undocumented immigrants". They are seeking humanitarian relief.
The problem is that as the U.S. seems with the end of Title 42 and new crackdown on asylum seekers, we are in effect closing that door and potentially giving the smugglers and traffickers more opportunities to take advantage of very vulnerable people. And that is the notion that really gets lost in this very political debate. At the heart of this matter, we have men, women, children who are very vulnerable, who are fleeing devastation, they're fleeing authoritarian reliefs, and they are attempting to apply for lawful entry.
That is the right to asylum. And that is what is at risk with the end of Title 42.
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ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Raul Reyes, thank you so much for joining us. Appreciate it.
REYES: Thank you.
And still to come, violent protests escalate in Pakistan as police clash with supporters of Imran Khan. We'll have the latest on the corruption charges against the former prime minister.
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CHURCH: You are watching CNN NEWSROOM, and I'm Rosemary Church. Thanks for joining us.
Well, former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan will remain in police custody for eight days as he faces multiple corruption cases. He was indicted in one of those cases on Wednesday at a special hearing.
Unprecedented protests have escalated across the country since his arrest on Tuesday. Three other senior members of Khan's political party have also been arrested.
Police report Khan supporters setting fire to vehicles and buildings, storming into military offices, blocking roads, and engaging in clashes with officers.
Pakistan's current prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, addressed the country on Wednesday, calling violent protesters supporting Khan, quote, "terrorists."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHEHBAZ SHARIF, PAKISTANI PRIME MINISTER: The perpetrators who take the law in their hands will be dealt with an iron hand. They will be punished according to the law and constitution. (END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: During the special hearing, Khan told the court he had been beaten and tortured overnight by police, according to his attorney. He also passed along a message for his supporters.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHER AFZAL MARWAT, IMRAN KHAN'S ATTORNEY (through translator): Khan has given me a message to the people of Pakistan, he said tell the people that whether you impose martial law or (UNINTELLIGIBLE) law, you have to stand your ground for the rule of law.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CNN's Ivan Watson has more from Hong Kong.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The dramatic arrest --
WATSON (voice-over): -- of former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan on Tuesday has touched off a firestorm in Pakistan, with two competing narratives here.
The government and the military are arguing that they're carrying out rule of law, that they're arresting a politician who is resisting arrest, and he's accused of corruption charges he and his supporters deny.
And his supporters are accusing the government of abducting him, and basically ripping up rule of law in the country.
[00:35:04]
Now, Imran Khan, after being detained overnight, was brought to the police headquarters, where he appeared before a judge. We're not seeing him shown in public. The police don't seem to want to show him.
And his lawyer says that Imran Khan had bruises that he claimed he was beaten overnight, that he's being kept in a dirty room without even being provided a toothbrush.
This is what one of his supporters had to say, kept outside of a cordon far outside the police headquarters, where police periodically fired tear gas to keep demonstrators at bay.
HASSAN RASHEED, IMRAN KHAN SUPPORTER (through translator): We are standing here for the truth. If we have to give our lives, we'll even take a bullet, but won't let anything happen to Imran Khan.
WATSON: There has certainly been a second day of unrest, at least three people reported killed in the Western city of Peshawar. The armed forces being called into two provinces as well as the capital, to help restore order. The Radio Pakistan building in Peshawar was set on fire after it was
stormed. Government officials are accusing Imran Khan's PTI Party of fomenting chaos and unrest.
AHSAN IQBAL, PAKISTANI MINISTER FOR PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT: PTI leadership, who are part of the provocation, incitement and violence, which was seen today across the country, obviously, they will be held accountable, and if there are cases against them for inciting violence, police will arrest them.
WATSON (voice-over): Imran Khan has been remanded into custody for eight more days. Meanwhile, we are getting additional reports of senior members of his political party also being detained by the authorities.
Ivan Watson, CNN, Hong Kong.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Still to come, Japan's foreign minister speaks exclusively to CNN about the possibility of opening a NATO liaison office in his country. We will hear from him next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHURCH: The prime suspect in the disappearance of American student Natalee Holloway in Aruba 18 years ago is heading to the U.S. to face charges.
Peru has agreed to temporarily extradite Joran van der Sloot to Alabama, where prosecutors want to try him for extortion and wire fraud.
Van der Sloot has been serving 28 years in a Peruvian prison for murdering the young student he met in a casino there in 2010.
Holloway's parents say the extradition means they will finally get justice for Natalee.
A NATO official tells CNN there are now ongoing discussions with Japan and among the NATO allies on a possible NATO liaison office in Japan. But no decisions have been made. If it does happen, it would be the first of its kind in Asia.
Japan's foreign minister discussed these developments in an exclusive interview with CNN. Our Marc Stewart reports from Tokyo.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
[00:40:02]
MARC STEWART, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The war in Ukraine, and Russian aggression is prompting Japan to discuss opening a NATO liaison office, the first of its kind in Asia.
YOSHIMASA HAYASHI, JAPANESE FOREIGN MINISTER: The reason why we are discussing about this is that since the operation by Russia in Ukraine, the world has become more kind of unstable crisis, and I felt like something happening in East Europe is not only confined to the issue in East Europe. That affects directly, too, the situation here in the Pacific.
STEWART (voice-over): Japanese foreign minister Yoshimasa Hayashi also highlighted North Korean missile launches, and called China the greatest challenge for security.
STEWART: Is this to send a message to perhaps China, or to North Korea that there is strength in numbers? What would the intention of this be?
HAYASHI: Yes, this discussion is not intended to be sending a message to any specific countries, but as I said, you know, security embattlement we are facing is becoming more and more severe, and also complex.
STEWART (voice-over): His remarks come after Japan announced a new national security plan last year that would see the country double its defense spending, moving away from its pacifist constitution in the face of growing threats.
Even though an agreement between NATO and Japan is far from complete, NATO's potential presence in Asia is already drawing criticism from China.
A government spokesperson said, "Asia is an anchor for peace and stability, and a promising land for cooperation and development, not a wrestling ground for geopolitical competition."
Yet, Japan's foreign minister reiterates that such a move won't escalate tensions in the region.
STEWART: Do you worry that this alliance building will create more tension in the Pacific region?
HAYASHI: We are not offending anyone. We are defending ourselves from any kind of interference and concerns, and in some cases, threats.
STEWART (voice-over): As allies convene in Hiroshima for the G-7 summit next week, maintaining stability in an increasingly volatile region remains at the top of the agenda.
Marc Stewart, CNN, Tokyo.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: I'm Rosemary Church, and I'll be back at the top of the hour with more CNN NEWSROOM. But first, WORLD SPORT starts after the break.
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(WORLD SPORT)
