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Trump Faces New Charges on the Mar-a-Lago Documents Case; Israeli PM speaks to CNN on the ongoing protests vs. Judicial Overhaul Bill; Army Backs Coup in Niger despite Global Condemnation; U.N. Chief: "The era of global boiling has arrived"; Soaring temperatures stoke wild fires in Europe; July set to be the planet's hottest month on record; Sharks and ocean heat - sharks now travelling to new colder areas; Bacteria turns Romanian lake pink; U.S. and Taliban officials to hold talks in Doha, Qatar; Afghans living in limbo - still waiting for visas promised by U.S.; Astronomers find water vapor in distant star system. Aired 2-2:45a ET

Aired July 28, 2023 - 02:00   ET

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

[02:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR: And a very warm welcome to our viewers all around the world. I'm Paula Newton. Ahead right here on "CNN Newsroom."

Former U.S. President Donald Trump now facing more charges in connection with classified documents found at his Mar-a-Lago resort. Details of that and the latest person targeted in that investigation.

Speaking to CNN, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responds to the protests gripping his country over controversial judicial reforms.

And a coup in Niger. We look at the latest developments and how this could fan the flames in a region that's already seen more than its share of insurrections.

And we begin with Donald Trump's legal troubles. A special counsel still hasn't indicted the former president for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election, but he did file a slate of new charges against Trump in the classified documents indictments.

CNN's Paula Reid now with the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA REID, CNN SR. LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: New charges and a new co-defendant for former President Trump in the criminal case alleging that he mishandled classified documents down at his Mar-a-Lago estate. Now, prosecutors have charged him with an additional count of willful retention of national defense information as well as two additional counts of obstruction, alleging that the former president and two of his employees attempted to destroy surveillance footage from Mar-a- Lago from the summer of 2022. That surveillance footage is really at the heart of this investigation.

It's key evidence for prosecutors as they try to put together where exactly classified materials were moved on the Mar-a-Lago property after the former president left office.

But we also know that witnesses have been asked if anyone tried to prevent them from getting all of that surveillance footage or if anyone tried to tamper with it or destroy it.

Now, according to the superseding indictment, two Trump employees wanted to destroy this surveillance footage because, quote, "the boss wanted it gone."

Now, the new charges were filed only against former President Trump and his co-defendant Walt Nauta, but they also added a new co- defendant, Carlos de Oliveira. He is a maintenance worker at Mar-a- Lago, and he has been seen on surveillance footage with Walt Nauta moving boxes that contain classified information, including one incident where they moved boxes out of a storage closet right before one of Trump's lawyers went to search that closet for classified documents.

Now, Carlos is represented by a lawyer who is paid for by a Trump- linked political action committee. His lawyer tonight had no comment, but they're both expected to appear in court next week.

Paula Reid, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: Now, Trump is denying all of the charges against him in a statement a Trump spokesperson called the latest ones quote, "nothing more than a continued desperate and flailing attempt by the Biden crime family and the Department of Justice to harass President Trump and those around him."

Now to Israel where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is making no apologies for pushing a right-wing agenda that has infuriated thousands of Israelis over the past several months and put a serious dent in his own popularity. Now passions were high in Tel Aviv Thursday, one day after a new law took effect that radically curbs the Supreme Court's authority.

In an interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer, the Israeli leader defended the new law as A minor correction and not the downfall of Israeli democracy.

Now a large portion of the Prime Minister's interview is just ahead for you, but first CNN's Fred Pleitgen has the latest now from Tel Aviv.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FRED PLEITGEN, CNN CR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Israelis are once again taking to the streets and as you can see they are out in force and they certainly are being very loud. Now one of the things that people have been telling us is that they believe that there is an extreme sense of urgency, certainly after that vote that happened in the Knesset, but also after the Supreme Court decided against an immediate injunction against the reasonableness act. They also tell us that despite some of the things that Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister, has been saying, they believe that there is a serious threat to democracy here in this country.

[02:04:57]

UNKNOWN: The government, the coalition, the new laws breaks the constitutional framework of Israel and concentrates the power in a single entity. The next step will be that there will be no more fair elections. We have to stop them because they're ruining our democracy.

PLEITGEN: Now one of the really remarkable things about the protests today is that normally these protests happen on the weekend. They happen on Saturdays. But now it's a Thursday and people are still coming out by the thousands. And that's because they say they've had a really tough week with that vote that happened in the Knesset. And they believe that by and by the government is trying to push the judicial overhaul through.

Now I was able to speak to one of the people who's very active here in this movement, a former member of the Knesset. And here's what she has to say.

STAV SHAFFIR, FORMER KNESSET MEMBER: It's our home. And Israel was based there, in all this dream to be a home for Jewish people, impeach who democratic home for all of the citizens, Jews, and Arabs. And that dream is now under threat from our own government. So people are not going to go home, they are not going to shut up. They're going to fight.

PLEITGEN: So as you can see here, on the streets in Tel Aviv, a big sense of urgency and the folks here are saying they are going to keep coming out until they see results.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Tel Aviv.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: So Israel's prime minister won't say whether he'll respect a possible Supreme Court ruling striking down that law. Mr. Netanyahu spoke earlier with our Wolf Witzer. Here's part of their conversation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR, THE SITUATION ROOM: I want you to listen to what the former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert had to say during an interview here on CNN. Listen to this.

EHUD OLMERT, FORMER ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: If one wants to help Israel, then the president of the United States has to say publicly, explicitly, officially, that America is reassessing its relations with the state of Israel on all matters, on economic matters, on foreign aid, on everything. BLITZER: That's pretty incredible when you think about a former

Israeli Prime Minister, and I've covered Israel for many years, saying something like that. What's your reaction to what Prime Minister Olmert said?

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: Well, it may explain why Prime Minister Olmert was booted out by the electorate, why he had 6 percent support. That's why, because you're quite right. A Prime Minister of Israel does not say that. He doesn't call on other nations to -- and especially our great friend, the United States to turn his back to Israel.

Israel is a democratic country. It has an internal debate. You have an internal debate in the United States right now about the powers of the Supreme Court, about whether it's abusing its power, whether you should curtail it. I'm not going to enter into that debate. Does that make the American democracy not a democracy? Does that make that debate unworthy? Does that make that issue a symbol of the fact that you're moving to some dictatorship? Of course not.

So this is, you know, this is a bitter -- a bitter politician who failed and was rejected by the voters, coming back and saying, oh, well, I'm going to get mine back. Sorry, that's not the right way to act. You're quite right. It is an amazing spectacle, and I think it just tells you who these people are.

BLITZER: And let me get your reaction to what's going on here in the United States on one specific issue. How are you watching, Mr. Prime Minister, the former president, Donald Trump's ongoing legal troubles here in the U.S.?

NETANYAHU: You know, we have enough in our politics. I'm not going to enter yours.

BLITZER: So no comment from you on that.

NETANYAHU: I told you that I have declined commentary on American internal politics as long as I can remember, and I don't intend to change that now.

BLITZER: Looking ahead to September, when Israel's Supreme Court will hear appeals to this new law, if the court does strike this down, will you abide by that ruling?

NETANYAHU: Well, look, we'll go into unchartered territory, and I really would like to believe that they won't do that. And the reason is that, first of all, we're all subject to the rule of law. The prime minister is subject to the rule of law. The Knesset, our parliament, is subject to the rule of law. The judges are subject to the law. Everybody is subject to the law.

Now, the closest thing we have to constitution, our basic laws. That's what we're dealing with. And what you're talking about is a situation, a potential situation, where in American terms the United States Supreme Court would take a constitutional amendment and say that it's unconstitutional. That's the kind of spiral that you're talking about, and I hope we don't get to that.

BLITZER: We have a lot to discuss, and we're going to continue this conversation, but let me get your thoughts on what happened on Sunday. You had surgery, Mr. Prime Minister, to implant a pacemaker to address a transient heart block, a condition doctors have known about for years. First of all, how are you feeling?

NETANYAHU: Well, I feel fine. Yeah, I can tell you that. And more eager to advance things, to advance the cause of security, stability and peace than ever before. One of my aides said, well, you're now, having done the Abraham Accords, you're now the peacemaker with the pacemaker.

[02:10:06]

Well, if that induces me to accelerate the pace of pursuing the broad peace in the Middle East, all for the better. But thank you for your question and for your concern.

BLITZER: Mr. Prime Minister, on your visit to the White House, we'll ask the administration about your conversation with President Biden, and we look forward to hearing details of that meeting. Thanks again for joining us.

NETANYAHU: Thank you, Wolf.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: Now to chaotic scenes in Niger as the country's military gives its support to the ongoing coup. And it appears they're not alone. Pro-military protesters set fires around the party headquarters of the ousted president on Thursday.

The military has suspended all activities of political parties and is warning against foreign intervention. And it says it supports the coup in hopes of preventing bloodshed and, in its words, maintaining people's well-being. Here's what one protester had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN (through translator): We are protesting to show our support to the military, who've just put an end, I would say, to the rule of the Seventh Republic. Yesterday, we saw the march of those supporting the president. But I am sorry. Today the real Niger has come out on the streets. I am ready to support the military even if I have to risk my life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: More details now from CNN's Larry Madowo.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Events escalating fast in Niger and especially in the capital, Niami, where on Thursday pro-military protesters hit the streets. They set the party headquarters of the ousted President Mohamed Bazoum on fire, set some cars on fire. And we even saw a Russian flag in the crowd. We heard some people shout, La Russie, Russia. It's too early to tell. But that's an interesting point, because after the coup in neighboring Burkina Faso, we also saw a Russian flag in the streets there.

The Wagner group affiliated with Russia is active in parts of the region, in Mali especially the Central African Republic. But the location of President Mohamed Bazoum is not clear. He was being detained by the presidential guard in the presidential palace. The U.N. secretary general says he's spoken to him. The head of the African Union has spoken to him. And there's calls for him to be released, but so far he's not been seen in public. Here's the U.N. secretary general talking about the situation in Niger.

ANTONIO GUTERRES, UNITED NATIONS SECRETARY-GENERAL: You have military regimes in Mali, in Burkina Faso, now eventually in Niger, a fragile transition in Chad, and an horrible situation in Sudan. So we are witnessing that the whole belt south of the Sahara is becoming an extremely problematic area with terrible consequences for their populations and with terrible consequences for peace and stability in the African continent and further afield.

MADOWO: Niger has been critical for the international community's wider Sahel strategy as the region, especially Mali and Burkina Faso, fight a jihadist insurgency there. The U.S. has about 1,000 troops stationed there for their counterterrorism operations, according to U.S. officials.

And France has about 2,500 troops stationed in Niger and in Chad. These new military men in charge of the country say they want no foreign interference. And in fact, the military said that any foreign military intervention will risk having disastrous and uncontrolled consequences.

So a big question about what happens in the days and weeks ahead and if there is still a chance to return Niger back to a democratic path.

Larry Madowo, CNN, Nairobi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: Comfort Ero is the president and CEO of the International Crisis Group and joins us now from Belgium. Very good to have you on this. As you just listened to Larry there, things remain very chaotic, little clarity really on what's going to happen next. Now, the coup leaders themselves claim that they're trying to reestablish security for the country. What do you make of what unfolded there and why?

COMFORT ERO, PRESIDENT AND CEO, INTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP: Thank you very much for having me. I mean, yes, the coup tends to use that sort of byline about wanting to reestablish security into the country, always using the issue about a lack of governance as a justification.

But I think we need to look very closely at what was going on in Niger, a country that had democratic elections, not recently, but admittedly, Paula, a country that had faced two recent coup attempt. So when President Bazoum came into power in 2021 and also last year, 2022, there were a coup attempt as well.

So there's a very fragile tension between him and his military and his efforts to stabilize the country in the midst of grand international support that you are hearing the SG and your anchor mentioning in both their segments as well.

[02:15:06]

NEWTON: If we take a wider look here, though, and I mean, I'm not sure that contagion is the right word, but clearly malevolent forces within West and Central Africa are realizing that military dictatorship with perhaps the veneer, right, the veneer of freedom, and in certain cases backed up by mercenaries like the Wagner Group, that this can and has been a winning strategy in Africa. I mean, how to reverse that?

ERO: That's a good point. I mean, we've seen -- In a sense, you could call it a domino effect from the two coups that we saw recently in Mali and then in Burkina, Guinea, Conakry on the coastline of West Africa and now Niger, which was supposed to be seen as some kind of center of gravity, center of stability, even though it was still very fragile.

I mean, I think we've also seen a situation, Paula, where regardless of the significant amount of international intervention, and in a sense an increase of securitizing the region, an increase of hyper- militarization in the region, that you can't get away some fundamental facts, which is that you've got to do the hard graft of governance, you've got to do the hard graft of rebuilding institutions.

There is no magic formula, no amount of international intervention, no amount of national focus on securitizing your country is going to get you out of the crisis that you're facing. And that's very much the story of Mali, of Burkina, of Chad, of Niger that you mentioned also, but also across into other parts of the Horn of Africa, into Sudan as well. We've also seen a wave of instability as well.

So no matter how you spin this, the fundamental fact of bad governance remains at the heart of this and question marks about the frustrations of ordinary people, and a sense in which the military itself looks across at its neighbors and decides that it has a chance where the center is fragile and where democratic leaders themselves are not providing the immediate answers to their populations, to the livelihood desires of their citizens as they look. left and right into the neighborhood.

NEWTON: Yeah, absolutely. And the bottom line here is in many of these countries, there are resources, precious resources, that then these insurgents get to seize and obviously control.

I hear what you're saying, and it is in fact quite sobering, especially with someone with your expertise. So then I ask you, if you're the United States and France or the U.N., we heard the Secretary General speaking there. What can you do, I mean, we've had a half a dozen coups in the region in just the last few years.

There is this insurgency there. They have been trying to fight to the jihadist insurgency there for several years. It's Niger, as inadequate as it may have been, as a safe haven for these forces to operate in. They have been operating there. So what do you see that Western allies can do going forward?

ERO: One of the key messages for me is don't abandon the region. At a time of great instability and uncertainty. Don't leave it behind. There has to be a way, as difficult a message that is, to engage with these various military leaders in their countries.

As I said, the formula cannot be securitization or militarization of what essentially our governance crisis is. That you have to get back to the basic fundamentals. At the heart of these crises is, which is building institutions, ensuring inclusive governance, and also ensuring that you are focused on improving the ordinary lives of people. You can't eat democracy, but you certainly can improve the stability of these countries.

NEWTON: I'm so glad you brought up that point, because at the heart of everything that we see here politically are people who are striving every day to get the next meal on the table. and have health care and education for their children. Comfort Ero, we have to leave it there for now, but really appreciate your insights.

ERO: Thank you very much. Have a nice day.

NEWTON: Now, Ukraine tries to keep the counter-offensive rolling after picking up steam. Its leaders now say mission accomplished in a village that's been fought over for weeks. That's ahead.

Plus, a mercenary leader appears at a major summit in Russia despite starting an armed mutiny just last month.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:20:00]

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NEWTON: So Russia says it has prevented a Ukrainian drone strike near its capital. The statement says a single drone was shot down in the Moscow region overnight without causing any damage or casualties. CNN cannot independently confirm that report.

Meantime, the Ukrainian offensive is maintaining momentum. After kicking into higher gear apparently in recent days, new video shows Ukrainian troops rolling into a village in the Donetsk region on Thursday after fighting for it for weeks.

And for the first time, a Ukrainian military vehicle was recorded along Russian anti-tank obstacles known as Dragon's Teeth. You see it there. The footage from southern Ukraine shows the vehicle getting stuck in a ditch. But it suggests Ukrainian troops have pushed Russian forces behind that line of defense that you see there. Now, meantime, Kyiv also says it's continuing its slow-moving advance south of Bakhmut. But Ukraine says Russia is still fighting tooth and nail across much of that front line, including with artillery and airstrikes.

Meantime, Russian President Vladimir Putin is preparing for day two of a summit with African leaders in St. Petersburg. Mr. Putin is promising free Russian grain to six countries after Moscow pulled out of the Black Sea deal with Ukraine. Now, he says Russia is still a reliable supplier of food to Africa, and he accused Western governments of hypocrisy for putting sanctions on Russian exports. Now, wheat prices have shot up over the past few weeks after Russia withdrew from the Black Sea deal and repeated attacks on Ukraine's ports in the Odessa region.

Now a mercenary leader who recently led a mutiny in Russia has appeared on the sidelines of that summit we were just discussing. And as Nic Robertson now reports, he's openly doing business despite the mounting challenge to Mr. Putin's rule in more than two decades.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR (voice-over): In public, in Russia, Wagner affiliated accounts saying mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin openly greeting a delegate to President Putin's Africa conference.

The last time Prigozhin was seen in Russia was his mutiny to overthrow Putin's defense chiefs. He sent tanks and troops towards Moscow, a direct challenge to Putin's authority.

Putin accused his longtime henchmen of betrayal, vowing severe and inevitable punishment.

Prigozhin backed down, reportedly cut a deal, was last seen in Russia a month ago, seemingly headed for exile in Belarus. Yet here he is in public in Russia, apparently on the periphery of Putin's biggest international conference since he invaded Ukraine, hosting dozens of African nations.

Until his failed mutiny and apparent banishment to Belarus, Prigozhin wasn't just vital in the war in Ukraine. He was Putin's biggest off- books overseas enforcer, cutting deals with Kremlin-friendly African leaders.

[02:25:07]

This week, in a voice note sent to an African broadcaster, Afrique Media, Prigozhin reportedly said Wagner is still in business in Africa. His only caveat, Wagner mustn't damage Russia's interests.

(on-camera): What other punishments have been forced on Prigozhin are far from clear. The British MoD say that it's short of cash selling Russian and international assets to pay as fighters. The CIA director Bill Booth says that Prigozhin shows no intent on retiring and far from a hard exile in Belarus, is able to move freely in and out of Russia.

(voice-over): Prigozhin's first post-mutiny appearance on camera seems to have come in Belarus last week. Now, he seems to be back in Russia on Putin's doorstep. Hard to believe it could have happened without his old friend, the Russian president's. Say so.

Nic Robertson, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: When we come back, fire crews across parts of Europe struggle to put out the latest round of wildfires as scientists warn the planet is now hotter than it's ever been. We'll have those details right here on "CNN Newsroom."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NEWTON: So as we've been telling you for weeks now, temperatures have been soaring in so many places right across that northern hemisphere. It has been so hot. Climate scientists say this month is now set to be the hottest in human history. Remember, they're putting that fact out there and the month isn't even over yet. U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres says the time has come for world leaders to actually lead on the issue of the climate crisis. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GUTERRES: Climate change is here, it is terrifying, and it is just the beginning. The era of global warming has ended, the era of global boiling has arrived.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[02:30:00]

NEWTON (on camera): Now EU scientists say, human caused climate change is the main driver of the recent heatwaves with the global air temperatures rising in proportion to the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

Now crews in Greece meantime are still working to put out wildfires in the hard to reach mountains around Rhodes, and they aren't the only ones dealing with the dangerous effects of the planet's growing climate crises. CNN's Jomana Karadsheh has more now.

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Many of these fires we've seen raging over the past ten days or so in Southern Europe and North Africa, for the most part, they seem to be under control right now. This of course is relative. There are new fires in different countries that keep cropping up.

In Greece, the focus has really shifted to fires on the mainland. Small fires in Central Greece and near Athens, and the concern is the strong winds that are fanning the flames. So authorities there are continuing to monitor these and trying to put out these fires.

On the Greek island of Rhodes, that's been one of the hardest hit by these ferocious fires, they are still battling the flames. But the situation appears to have really improved, but the damage, death and destruction left by these fires is just heartbreaking. One of Greece's top experts is telling us today that this is the most

destruction from forest fires in the month of July Greece has seen since 2010. In Rhodes, they estimate that 10% of land there has been destroyed. Absolutely devastating. And the worry of course that this is far from over. There are still weeks to go, weeks ahead of what is on track to be the hottest summer ever recorded. And we've heard the warnings that these prolonged and extreme and intense heatwaves that create conditions for these wildfires to spread, this is the new normal.

Following the release today of this report by the EU's climate change service and the world meteorological organization, announcing that July is set to be the hottest month ever recorded, and almost certainly they say the warmest in human history.

We heard from the U.N. Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, these really strong words and stark warning saying, that the era of global boiling has arrived. Climate change is here. I is terrifying and this is just beginning, he says. But he says it is still possible to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees, and to avoid the very worst of climate change. But that can only happen with dramatic, immediate climate actions. Jomana Karadsheh, CNN, London.

NEWTON: Now in the meantime, new research shows that rising ocean temperatures are actually changing the behavior of sharks. Now, many are now being seen in what were once considered colder regions. Warmer temperatures also making their digestion less efficient apparently, which means that they eat more, and that can have an impact on the entire food chain.

Sharks, we'll remind you are among the most endangered marine animals on the planet. Almost 40% of the world shark species are threatened with extinction, mainly due to overfishing.

So, Romanians were surprised earlier this week to find a lake near the coast of the Black Sea had actually changed color. Take a look at this. Areas around the shore have turned a light shade of pink. According to Romanian biologists, the color is normal and produced by bacteria that thrive in warm and salty water.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ADRIAN BILBA, BIOLOGIST: The bacteria end up being the only ones to proliferate, to use a primitive photosynthesis pigment, which has a pinkish color and these bacteria also color flamingos' feathers.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: Now while the lake is thankfully safe to bathe in, the bacteria is accompanied by strong smell of sulfur.

Now there were promised -- they were promised U.S. visas. They now have yet to arrive and frustrated Afghans are wondering if they'll ever make it out.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [02:35:00]

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NEWTON: In the coming days, U.S. and Taliban officials are planning to hold talks in Doha, Qatar. The spokesperson for Afghanistan's Foreign Affairs Ministry said the Taliban's priorities, "Are getting the U.S. to end sanctions and blacklists and unfreeze Afghanistan's bank reserves"

Now, the U.S. froze billions of dollars of Afghan assets After the Taliban take over, and has so far refused to release the money saying there's no trusted institution to guarantee the funds will actually benefit the Afghan people. The U.S. is sending it special representative for Afghanistan to the meeting, as well as a special envoy for Afghan women, girls and human rights.

Now, a reminder, it has been nearly two years since the U.S. backed Afghan government crumbled and the Taliban instead took over, and since then many Afghans who had been promised a better life in the United States have been living in limbo, and some of them even been sent back to Afghanistan. CNNs, Nick Paton Walsh has that story.

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN's BRITISH JOURNALIST (voiceover): It was the end of America's longest war, the worst of days. As Kabul fell to the Taliban and its airport became the last chance for salvation. The United States pledged those who helped it, would have a new life in America.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Those who helped us are not going to be left behind.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALSH: But nearly two years later, not only are some Afghans who have been officially told they should get visas to America still waiting in neighboring Pakistan. Some have waited so long, CNN can reveal they've been deported back to Afghanistan. Sent back by Pakistani police to the Taliban they fled.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNKNOWN SPEAKER: They stopped and told us -- so we give you 24 hours deadline. We should not see you in Pakistan land.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALSH: CNN spoke to two Afghans who are now back in hiding in Kabul, had paperwork confirming they were being processed for U.S. so called Afghan P2 visas.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNKOWN SPEAKER: This is very, very dangerous and it is very tough. You know that how many people have been killed. Have been tortured. Have been disappeared. They will punish me. They will put me in jail. Maybe they will kill me. I'm sure they will. Still we believe that USA will help us. We believe -- we didn't lose our hope still.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALSH: Another said, he hadn't even told close family of his return to Kabul or deportation

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNKNOWN SPEAKER: They did not hand us over to the Afghan border forces. They just released us on the border and told us to go back to Afghanistan. Also, they did not give us any deportation document. It was me my four kids and my wife who got deported together.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALSH: For some, desperation means it is already too late. This is where one of two Afghan men waiting for U.S. visas took their own lives in the past two months, throwing himself from the sixth floor here according to activists. Hundreds of Afghans have been deported from Pakistan in recent months say human rights groups. No distinction apparently made for those with the promise of a U.S. visa.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNKNOWN SPEAKER: USA complete the visa.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALSH: Last week Afghans in Pakistan waiting for U.S. visas staged a protest. CNN spoke to several who complained of police harassment and fear greatly deportation to Afghanistan. One described how the Taliban had beaten him senseless in Kabul before he fled, but that he now fears the Pakistani police's harassment.

[02:40:00]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNKNOWN SPEAKER: They were asking for visa. There were a lot of policemen. They came into the house without clear information and they took me out of home and they were just putting me in the van. My kids, they were very harassed. They were crying and they were asking for help.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALSH: He described how he once saved his American colleagues during a protest and had letters denoting his service.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNKOWN SPEAKER: Of course I am disappointed, because the way that I served the American in Afghanistan, and you know I was expecting them to welcome me there sooner. It seems like I have no future at all.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALSH: The U.S. State Department told CNN the Biden administration "continues to demonstrate its commitment to the brave Afghans who worked with the U.S.," but added there "processing capacity in Pakistan remains limited, but they are actively working to expand it." And they urged Afghanistan's neighbors to quote "keep their borders open and uphold their obligations when it comes to asylum seekers." Pakistan's foreign ministry declined to comment.

Another family were also harassed by Pakistani police, the father briefly jailed.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNKOWN SPEAKER: It's a very bad situation for me and for my family. I think it's a bad dream.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALSH: His wife broke down.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNKNOWN SPEAKER: Save us from Pakistan. I can't come back to Afghanistan. Come back to Afghanistan is a big risk. And here we are dying every moment. Staying in Pakistan is a gradual death.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALSH: Nick Paton Walsh, CNN London.

NEWTON (on camera): Scientists say there are signs a nearby star system may someday be able to support life. Now astronomers found evidence of water vapor swirling close to a star 370 light years away. The water was found in a planet forming disk. Now the rocky planets of our solar system were formed in a similar way billions of years ago.

The discovery was made using that web telescope and experts say it would have been impossible to make this kind of discovery before web.

I'm Paula Newton. World Sport is next, but I'll be back with more CNN newsroom in about 15 minutes. Thanks.

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[02:45:00]

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