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Senior U.S. Diplomats Meets Junta Officers In Niger; Ukraine Says It Foiled Plot To Assassinate Volodymyr Zelenskyy; Leaders From Eight Nations Meeting For Amazon Summit In Brazil; Tropical Storm Khanun Heads Towards Korean Peninsula; Up to 500 Asylum Seekers to Be Housed on Barge in U.K.; Photos Show Kim Jong-un Touring Weapons Factories; Zoom Making Staff Return to Office Twice a Week. Aired 12- 12:45a ET
Aired August 08, 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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LAILA HARRAK, CNN ANCHOR: Hello everyone. I'm Laila Harrak. Ahead on CNN NEWSROOM, new efforts at diplomacy to resolve the coup in Niger. While the military junta sends reinforcements to the Capitol after ignoring a deadline to seek power.
Attempted assassination, Ukraine detains a woman in an alleged plot to kill President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
And protecting the Amazon, leaders from eight countries will meet in Brazil for a two day Summit, as the Brazilian President tries to undo the destructive legacy of his predecessor.
ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Laila Harrak.
HARRAK: A senior U.S. official has met with the military junta in Niger to push for a diplomatic resolution to the country's coup, while the Acting Deputy Secretary of State says they had a frank conversation, but made no progress in restoring constitutional order.
All those talks happened on the same day the Niger coup leaders met with other officials from Mali and Burkina Faso's own juntas. Mali reaffirmed its support for Niger and condemned the regional bloc ECOWAS which has weighed military intervention in the country to restore the ousted government. The Niger junta who just says it has deployed additional troops in the capital to prepare for such a scenario but a former ECOWAS chairperson believes there won't be any need for violence.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELLEN JOHNSON SIRLEAF, FORMER CHAIRPERSON, ECOWAS: I really believe that it may seem now that we are headed toward a major crisis, we are headed toward major violence, you know, and conflicts. I believe that the ECOWAS authorities will find a way out of that. (END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRAK: Meantime, the current leaders of ECOWAS have rescheduled another meeting on Thursday to discuss the situation. CNN's Larry Madowo reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LARRY MADOWO, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: There appears to be a showdown looming between Niger's military junta and the Economic Community of West African States ECOWAS over the future for the country. When they meet at this extraordinary summit on Thursday, ECOWAS leaders have to decide whether they go ahead with a threat of a military intervention, or they will explore other diplomatic or political solutions.
In this Niger, the military junta has been talking in apocalyptic terms about an impending attack from a foreign power, closing the airspace, bringing military units to the capital in the army and also trying to show that they have public support. Listen to some of these supporters of the military junta.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): If ECOWAS forces decided to attack our country, before reaching the presidential palace, they will have to walk over our bodies, spill our blood, and we'll do it with pride.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): It's France that's behind this ECOWAS force that wants to attack us.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I think that everywhere in the world, they see that the people were mobilized, they're going to have to crush us all to reach the presidential palace.
MADOWO (voice over): Because of the huge anti-France sentiment in the country, there are many people who feel that even this threat of military intervention by ECOWAS is really France pulling the strings there.
MADOWO: As government pointed out that pro-democracy voices, people who support President Bazoum appear to have disappeared almost completely from the national discourse in Niger, partly because the military has tightly controlled the narrative there.
The U.S. State Department says it's been in direct contact with the military junta there and told them to step aside, even though they've shown no signs of listening to any of the international voices so far.
Larry Madowo, CNN, Nairobi.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRAK: J. Peter Pham is a former U.S. Special Envoy for the Sahel region and a Distinguished Fellow at the Atlantic Council. And he joins me now from Washington. So good to have you with us. Victoria Nuland, the U.S.'s acting Deputy Secretary of State held what
she described as very frank and difficult talks with one of the military leaders. What does her visit to Niger signal to you? The first trip by U.S. official to the country since the coup.
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J. PETER PHAM, DISTINGUISHED FELLOW, THE ATLANTIC COUNCIL: Yes, I think it's a very important step, I salute Acting Deputy Secretary Nuland for making that journey at the end of a very long and tiresome journey that took her to not only the Middle East, but also Central Africa.
And I think it's important that the channels of communication remain open, this is a country that the United States has invested in very heavily over the course of three administrations, both Democrat and Republican, and where the investment has been paying off up until the coup.
So, there's a lot there not just investment in terms of money, but also in terms of lives. Remember the service of the Special Operations Forces, personnel who were killed in Northern Niger just a few years ago.
So, I think it's an important step to have dialogue, especially to de- escalate some of the bellicose line which has been traded back and forth between Niger and some of its neighbors.
HARRAK: Still, Peter, it's very extraordinary, I would say, very striking in terms of, you know, what you just outlined, the U.S. and also other Western nations have poured hundreds of millions of dollars into aid for Niger both military and nonmilitary. Yet, nobody saw this coming. How should Washington react from your point of view?
PHAM: Well, certainly we have to be unambiguous, we have to stand by our principles, as well as what U.S. law requires, which is acknowledge that a coup took place. And there are consequences to coups, and we do not condone them.
Otherwise, on the other hand, we also have to deal with some frank realities. This has been up to now, one of the success stories, and I would argue it's still a success story, because the units of special operations forces that were trained by the United States and equipped and also trained by France and some of our other allies, those units weren't involved in the coup, the coup was a minority group of elite presidential guards who felt marginalized. Their commander was facing possible dismissal. There were some investigations of corruption.
So, they moved to, if you will, protect their own selfish interests and put at risk not only the security gains which have occurred, but also the development gains over the course of the last few years in Niger.
HARRAK: Now, the coup leader's justification for seizing power by force and ousting the President Bazoum is what they say is the deterioration of the security situation in Niger and general mismanagement of the economy by the Bazoum administration.
Give us a sense in terms of how much support does President Bazoum enjoy? What kind of mandate did he have before this coup? Is he seen as a competent leader?
PHAM: Well, President Bazoum took office just shy of two years ago, after -- in the first peaceful democratic transfer power Niger has had in its 60 years of independence, after winning 55 percent of the vote in an election which 70 percent of Nigerian voters took part. So, there's no denying his democratic credentials.
And as far as security and tax he improved, the first half of this year saw the lowest level of violence in the Niger since 2018.
So, it's been five years since the levels have been brought down to this low and that's largely through the special operations forces trained by the U.S. and France and other allies that are operating at the periphery in small teams.
It's also to not just the military action, but dialogue that Bazoum administration has carried out with some of the extremists, one people who have joined them for a paycheck, not necessarily for belief in or in their extremist ideology, and bringing them back. We've seen for the first time IDPs internally displaced persons being resettled. So, there's been a lot of gain.
HARRAK: Now an emergency summit will be held in Abuja, Nigeria on Thursday to see if they can get out of this stalemate. Could the U.S. play a mediating role?
PHAM: Well, I think the Acting Deputy Secretary Nuland threw in during her visit to Miami today, the offer that the U.S. might possibly use good offices to help facilitate because unhelpfully, the rhetoric on both sides really in the West Africa has been elevated. Nigeria leading ECOWAS, the regional bloc, threatened military options were on the table.
Well, in diplomacy, a cardinal rule is never make a threat unless you're prepared to carry it out. And quite frankly, they weren't prepared.
In fact, there's even evidence that there's not even a political consensus within Nigeria, much less across the entire bloc, as the Nigerian Senate rather strongly objected to Nigeria taking this role.
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On the other hand, some of the coup states in the region, Burkina Faso, Mali, in particular have been very bellicose in supporting the coup in Niger, have enough problems of their own.
So, the notion that Burkina Faso which were the junta controls barely a third of national territory could come to anyone's rescue is quite frankly reasonable.
HARRAK: J. Peter Pham, a former U.S. Special Envoy for the Sahel region and Distinguished Fellow at the Atlantic Council. Sir, thank you for sharing your insights with us.
PHAM: Thank you for having me.
HARRAK: And we're following developments in Ukraine where at least seven people have been killed after Russian missiles hit residential areas in the Donetsk region. It happened on Monday in the eastern city of Pokrovsk. At least 57 others have been injured.
Ukraine's Minister of Internal Affairs said earlier that police officers, rescuers and even a child were among those hurt. One local official says the rubble has now been cleared.
Ukrainian security service says a woman is now in custody in connection to a plot to assassinate President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The alleged informants for Russia has not been named but officials say she's from the southern Ukrainian region of Mykolaiv. CNN's Fred Pleitgen has more on that and the fighting that grinds on in Ukraine.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Nearly half a million munitions, that's how much the Ukrainian say the Russian army fired at them in only a week's time on the Eastern front.
Still, Moscow reporting only modest gains.
Over the past three days the advance of Russian troops in this direction amounted to 11 kilometers along the front and more than three kilometers into the depth of the enemy's defense, the army spokesman says.
But the Ukrainian say in most areas they are the ones advancing and Kyiv is hitting Putin's military behind the front lines as well.
After Ukrainian see drones hit both a Russian tanker and a warship in the past days, now an air attack damaging a vital bridge connecting occupied Crimea to Ukraine's mainland.
A local Moscow installed official trying to downplay the significance.
These are sneaky punches, he says, really sneaky. They can't be forgiven. They are just snarls from a wounded animal.
Strikes like these often made possible by Western supplied air launched cruise missiles. Glory to Ukraine President Zelenskyy wrote on a French model during a visit to his air force this weekend.
But now, Ukraine's intelligence services it foiled a Russian plot to assassinate Zelenskyy using an informant trying to Scout out his whereabouts.
The Ukrainian say questioning revealed the person was involved in other attempted plots as well. The Ukrainian say their troops had been making some gains on the southern front, putting pressure on entrenched Russian forces there. Russian President Vladimir Putin meeting with the boss of one of Russia's top arms makers urging him to speed up manufacturing of modern weapons.
Manufacturers promised me that they would increase the amount of production, he says, they deliver on that promise, but it needs to be increased even more.
This Russian drone footage shows the aftermath of some of the fighting in Ukraine South, very little territory won or lost, but nearly every building completely destroyed.
Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Berlin.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRAK: The U.S. State Department said it was productive that China attended a meeting aimed at restoring peace in Ukraine. The meeting hosted by Saudi Arabia over the weekend and with delegations from a number of countries agreeing to continue consultations and dialogue. Here is part of the State Department's reaction to China's attendance.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MATTHEW MILLER, U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESPERSON: We have long said that it would be productive for China to play a role in ending the war in Ukraine. If it was willing to play a role that respected Ukraine's territorial integrity and Ukraine's sovereignty. We believe it's helpful for countries to attend and hear directly from Ukraine.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRAK: Well, the State Department spokesperson went on to say U.S. officials met with China's Special Envoy at the meeting to deliver that same message as well.
Still ahead, leaders from eight countries are gathering in Brazil to discuss ways to protect the Amazon rainforest. But can they overcome their differences and reach a consensus? I'll ask a climate expert.
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Plus, a tropical storm headed toward a major Scouting event in South Korea making for some not so happy campers. How officials are responding to the extreme weather, just ahead.
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HARRAK: In the coming hours, leaders from eight Amazon countries will be meeting in Brazil for a two day summit to discuss ways to protect the critical rainforest from deforestation and other threats.
Colombia says it supports a plan to protect 80 percent of the Amazon by 2025. But that might be a tall order.
CNN's Rafael Romo has more on the challenges the world's largest rainforest faces.
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RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): They move slowly through the jungle. Their weapons are caught and loaded. These environmental agents are searching for signs of illegal logging. It doesn't take long before they find what they're looking for.
Illegal logging has been a challenge in Brazil for decades, but experts say it grew worse over the last four years when former President Jair Bolsonaro was in power.
The commander in charge of the unit conducting this raid says the previous government only cared about solving emergency situations, but lacks strategic planning to really combat the first station.
His team later makes an arrest.
In his first speech after taking office on January 1st, current President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said one of his government's goals is to reach zero deforestation in the Amazon, adding that Brazil doesn't need to get rid of its trees to remain an agricultural powerhouse.
ROMO: And now, Lula is about to spearhead what he hopes will be an international effort to save the Amazon with the cooperation of all the countries that host the world's largest rainforest, although almost 60 percent of the Amazon is in Brazil. It also extends through Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela.
ROMO (voice over): Last month, President Lula met with Gustavo Petro, his Colombian counterpart at Leticia, a city in southern Colombia on the Amazon River and just across the Brazilian border.
Last week, the Brazilian government said preliminary data from the country Space Research Agency show deforestation in the Amazon has fallen by 66 percent since July of last year, to its lowest point in six years.
And this week, the Brazilian president is hosting heads of state of Amazon countries at a summit to be held in the Brazilian city of Belem at the mouth of the Amazon River.
Lula said he's going to try to convince the other heads of state to work together in a cohesive way to fight organized crime to take care of the Amazon and the people who live in it.
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According to the Brazilian government, the meeting intends to start a new stage in cooperation among the countries that host the biome through the adoption of a shared policy for the sustainable development of the region.
Efforts to save the Amazon are nothing new. The Brazilian government has raided illegal mining and logging operations over the decades, but the results have been disappointing.
A study by Purdue University showed that deforestation drove the massive Amazon rainforest fires of 2019, which destroyed thousands of square miles of Amazon rainforest, roughly the size of New Jersey.
And according to an analysis by the Council on Foreign Relations published last year, it's estimated that between 17 and 20 percent of the Amazon has been destroyed over the past 50 years. And some scientists believe that the tipping point for die back is between 20 and 25 percent deforestation.
Rafael Romo, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRAK: Natalie Unterstell is president of the think tank Talanoa dedicated to climate change policy. And she joins me now from Rio de Janeiro.
So lovely to have you with us again, Natalie, the Amazon summit will address rainforest conservation in terms of deliverables, what sort of action do you expect to come out of this? Any binding commitments that we can look forward to?
NATALIE UNTERSTELL, PRESIDENT, TALANOA: This is a -- this is the first time in 45 years that the eight South American nations that are members of the so called Amazon Cooperation Treaty, are gathering and they are expected to deliver a firm commitment to really save the rainforest from reaching the tipping point. That means not reaching, not surpassing 25 percent of forest loss in the coming decades.
What we know already is that the forest is showing signs of losing its capacity to regulate the rainfall in the region and the global climate due to deforestation. So, that's why the leaders are expected to commit to halt and reverse this process as soon as possible.
Brazil is proposing zero deforestation by 2030. And trying to get other countries on board.
HARRAK: Nat, can you outline for us what the challenges are, the complexities that are involved in protecting such a vast area, like the Amazon?
UNTERSTELL: Well, first, as you mentioned, it's a vast area, and there are severe security issues. So currently, what we are seeing is that the borders -- through the borders, there's lot of gold and timber and other forest reaches that are crossing with that control and without real scrutiny from governments. And that's why it's not up to one country or two to really, you know, reverse this process, they have to come together, they have to coordinate particularly on those security issues to avoid this criminal activities that are leading deforestation that are driving this whole process that can even lead to ecological collapse of the region.
So, this is one of the main challenges they have and that is a shared one, right? The other one is that it's sort of easier to really stop deforestation
when you fix the security issues. But then you have to build economic alternatives, right, because people have to leave, they need the alternatives to do so.
So, this is also part of the conversation here. So, building a new economy that can be forest based or what we call her here, the bio economy that can sustain the people and can sustain the rainforests too.
HARRAK: So, a multi-pronged approach. What role does Brazil play when it comes to reducing rainforest deforestation?
UNTERSTELL: Well, first most of the rainforest is located in Brazil. And it's actually 60 percent of Brazil's territory. So, it's a big mass of land and resources, right?
And secondly, because the borders are so vast with the other countries, if Brazil doesn't control, it doesn't really do its homework, the other nations are vulnerable too, so it's really a heavy weight and in terms of political will, we have seen now a super change in relation to the previous government. We have a new government in power President Lula is taking a completely different approach from its predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro.
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So, he is really committed to climate and forests agenda, politically. And that means for instance, calling this -- calling other seven nations to come together to Belem, the heart of the rainforest, to discuss these critical issues, and also to call the international community to share the costs of protecting the rainforest.
So, Brazil under Lula now wants to be a leader, a leader of the rainforest nations. And that's why he is in Belem right now and trying to convince his peers to come together to tackle deforestation as soon as possible.
HARRAK: Natalie Unterstell, president of the think tank at Talanoa. Thank you as always for joining us.
UNTERSTELL: Thank you.
HARRAK: Scouts in South Korea are being evacuated from the side of the World Scout Jamboree as Tropical Storm Khanun is set to hit the country this week. Officials say 37,000 participants are being moved to Seoul as part of an emergency plan. But it's not the first problem to plague the camping event. Thousands of Scouts from the U.S., Britain and Singapore left over the weekend due to concerns over the heat. More than 1,000 people visited the camps hospital on Sunday alone. All parents overseas also say they've heard complaints about food shortages and lack of beds. The U.K. Scouts' CEO says he wants to make sure this never happens again.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MATT HYDE, CEO, U.K. SCOUTS: I would just encourage that there is a proper independent learning review. So we all capture lessons whether that applies to future jamborees or any other events that anyone frankly is organizing because we cannot be put in this situation again. It's not fair on anyone.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRAK: And CNN Meteorologist Chad Myers is following the storm and other developments from the CNN Weather Center.
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CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Watching a couple of things out here in the Pacific, still Khanun and now Tropical Depression number seven, show you where that goes in just a second. Let's focus on this 95 kilometer per hour tropical storm. No real organization with it, yet some dry air still wrapping in but when I show you the visible, you may see some development, at least trying to get some of these areas wrapping in around to the north of Okinawa, so maybe some of that drier air is moving away, and eventually 110 kilometers per hour as it approaches parts of South Korea.
It has to run over parts of Kyushu. Again though, we'll see the rainfall again with this storm before it finally works its way on up into the Korean peninsula.
Some of the rain here across Seoul and point South could be quite heavy. We don't need any more rainfall, certainly don't need the wind. And then here you go, there's Tropical Depression number seven, at this point in time on this computer model is no longer a Tropical Depression obviously, it will have grown into something significantly stronger at that point in time.
We'll still see the rainfall here in Seoul parts, especially on the east coast here. Some of the spots could pick up 250 millimeters of rain simply because of the way the wind is going.
So, here goes TD number seven. But notice in five days, 120 hours from now, on up to 140 kilometers per hour. We're going to have to watch that as our next system comes in from the east.
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HARRAK: Our thanks to Chad Myers.
Still ahead, a look at what health experts are saying about the British government's plans to house migrants on a barge.
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HARRAK: You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Laila Harrak.
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The controversy over how to deal with the influx of asylum seekers in the U.K. is growing more complicated. On Monday, health experts warned of a possible risk of infection aboard a barge that's being used to house migrants.
ITN's Carl Dinnen has more from Portland, in Southwest England.
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CARL DINNEN, ITN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Asylum seekers bussed through Portland, were welcomed by a small group of campaigners on their way to Bibby Stockholm.
Although some of the buses only seem to have brought a handful of people on board, the campaigners have prepared welcome packs.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We've got a map of Portland, because obviously they'll be new to the area. And they -- it will help them find their way around. We've got notebooks and note -- pens so they can write things down for English lessons.
DINNEN (voice-over): But not everyone here thinks this kind of welcome is appropriate.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Take these bags to the community fridge, or Portland Food Bank.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: People do support the community --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Take them down there.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Helped set up the community fridge. We also want --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're not there. You're not there on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We also want to support the refugees. Why not? Don't you want to support them?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not over -- not over the people of Portland.
DINNEN (voice-over): These are not the first migrants to stay on the Bibby Stockholm. It has previously housed migrants in the Netherlands and, indeed, construction workers in Scotland. But the mayor of Portland says the 500 people being put on it here is too many.
MAYOR CARRALYN PARKES, PORTLAND, ENGLAND: When it was used as accommodation for workers, it was 220. Now, they're talking about more than double that. It beggars belief. Human beings belong in communities. That's where human beings should be treated and taken care of, not on a barge.
DINNEN (voice-over): But 500 is just a drop in the ocean of 137,000 outstanding asylum decisions. Nearly 60,000 people are awaiting them in temporary accommodation, like hotels.
And the pressure is all upwards, with 15,000 migrants already having crossed the channel in small boats this year. And the Home Office said 20 people had refused to come here. That's more than have actually boarded the barge.
CHERYL AVERY, U.K. HOME OFFICE DIRECTOR FOR ASYLUM ACCOMMODATION: So, we successfully onboarded the first cohort today. And there are 15 people on board. We have had a few challenges. But this is part of an ongoing, structured process to bring a cohort of up to 500 people on board.
DINNEN (voice-over): The first residents of the Bibby Stockholm can expect to stay here for three to nine months. What happens to those not granted asylum after that depends on whether the government can get its Rwanda plan through the courts.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRAK: Images released by a North Korean state media show Kim Jong-un touring the country's arms factories, and even firing a weapon. It comes as Moscow is pushing for closer ties to Pyongyang.
CNN's Brian Todd is covering the story for us.
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BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From North Korea's volatile dictator, more flexing of military muscle. Sporting a white tunic and the hat of a revolutionary, Kim Jong-un test-fires mounted machine guns, part of what North Korean state media says was a tour of munitions factories in recent days. One of which it says was a large- caliber artillery complex.
Kim's propaganda arm says the supreme leader presented, quote, "directions and guidance" for the production of ammunition and strategic cruise missiles.
DEAN CHENG, U.S. INSTITUTE OF PEACE: Kim Jong-un, unlike his father, Kim Jong-il, or his grandfather, Kim Il-Sung, has had far less time to develop a cult of personality. So, he really is, in a sense, creating that cult of personality in office. So he has to therefore live up to the images of the strong, virile leader.
[00:35:05]
TODD (voice-over): This comes as U.S. officials say they're increasingly concerned that Kim's regime may sell weapons to Russia for use in Ukraine.
JOHN KIRBY, NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL SPOKESMAN: Our information indicates that Russia is seeking to increase military cooperation with the DPRK, such as through DPRK sale of artillery munitions, again, to Russia.
TODD (voice-over): John Kirby says this recent visit by Russian defense minister Sergei Shoigu to North Korea was made expressly to convince Kim to sell weapons to Russia. CHENG: Because North Korea was heavily supplied with Russian munitions
throughout the Cold War, they have the right caliber. So 122 millimeter artillery shells, 130 millimeter artillery shells. They have a modern tanks, again, courtesy of Russia, which means that they have 125 millimeter tank shells.
TODD (voice-over): Another bargaining chip in the hands of the North Korean strongman: U.S. Army private Travis King, who bolted across the border into North Korea last month.
U.S. defense officials tell CNN the Biden administration is debating whether to designate King as a prisoner of war. POW status could give King better protection under the Geneva Convention.
King's family recently told CNN they don't know any more than the public does about his condition or where he's being held inside North Korea.
JAQUEDA GATES, TRAVIS KING'S SISTER: He's not the type to just disappear. So that's why I feel like this story is deeper than that.
TODD (voice-over): Officials say so far, the North Koreans have not provided any detail on King's whereabouts or his condition. Analysts say the North Koreans almost certainly have interrogated him.
GREG SCARLATOIU, COMMITTEE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS IN NORTH KOREA: Perhaps he doesn't know much. But, you know, they will ask questions about everything: chain of command and control, names, training process, access to bases, any memories that he might have of his military life and his pre-military civilian life.
TODD: Greg Scarlatoiu says it's also possible that the North Koreans may eventually use Travis King in propaganda, featuring him in anti- American movies or videos.
King's family, meanwhile, says they're working with top negotiator Bill Richardson's nonprofit organization to try to bring him home.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRAK: And still to come, the irony of Zoom, the company that's enabled so many people to work from home, now wants its own workers back in the office.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(BUS HORN BEEPING)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SCREAMING)
(CAR WHEELS SQUEALING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRAK: That's one of the most famous car-chase scenes in movie history. It's from "The French Connection," directed by William Friedkin, who died on Monday at the age of 87.
Friedkin also directed one of the most enduring horror movies of all time, "The Exorcist."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAX VON SYDOW, ACTOR: The sign of the holy cross, of our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Damien.
JASON MILLER, ACTOR: Amen.
VON SYDOW: Defender of --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRAK: -- and former Paramount Pictures CEO Sherry Lansing.
Friedkin won the 1972 Academy Award for Best Director for "The French Connection."
And famed movie director William Friedkin died at the age of 87.
Now, Zoom became a household name during the pandemic. The video communications company has helped enable the work-from-home revolution. Now, though, even Zoom is requiring its workers to start returning to the office.
But as you'd expect, not everyone is ready to ditch their couch for a commute, as CNN's Tom Foreman reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, the irony here! The company that taught us all how we could work from home and see each other, Zoom, is now saying it wants its workers in the office at least two days out of every week.
And they're not alone in doing that. Several others are doing the same thing. Google, Salesforce, Amazon, and the U.S. government are all saying we like the idea of people being there, face to face. We like the synergy. We like the productivity that comes out of it. They're convinced that's better.
Now, a lot of workers are not so convinced, especially younger workers and those who are more highly-educated. They are saying, Look, we don't like commuting. Forty-eight percent say that's one of the reasons they don't want to come into the office. It costs gas. It costs time. It costs money.
They don't like paying extra childcare. When they're home, they can take care of that. Fourteen percent think that. Thirteen percent say they are better able to focus.
What is the difference here in what they want? Generally, employers want 1.6 days at home per week. That's weird. We don't take 0.6 days. So basically, they're saying two days at home a week is enough.
Workers want a little more than that, so basically three days at home per week.
The workers have a really strong hand to play here right now, because so many employers are still trying to find enough people. And interestingly, working from home, one study found, workers equate that to an 8 percent higher salary, if they had the freedom to work from home a lot.
So, you can see for employers, yes, they want people back. But it's an uphill climb.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRAK: All right. Thanks to Tom Foreman.
I'm Laila Harrak. WORLD SPORT starts after the break. I'll be back at the top of the hour with more CNN NEWSROOM.
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