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CNN International: At Least 9 People Dead In House Fire In France; Red Cross: 42 People Dead In Shipwreck Off Lampedusa; Russia: 45 Injured In Blast At Industrial Plant Near Moscow; Israeli Finance Minister Freezes Funds Earmarked For Arab Towns; 3 Dead After Being Served A Family Lunch; Khartoum Morgues At " Breaking Point" Amid Civil War; New Translation Screen Tested At Tokyo Train Station. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired August 09, 2023 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:01:26]

BIANCA NOBILO, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to CNN Newsroom. I'm Bianca Nobilo in London.

Developing right now, a tragic morning in eastern France as nine people have died after a fire engulfed a vacation home. The blaze broke out early Wednesday morning in a town near the German border. 17 people were evacuated from the cottage, which officials say was completely destroyed. Two people are still missing and presumed dead. The vacation home had been hosting people with disabilities and their companions for the summer.

Jim Bittermann joins us now from Paris with more on this tragic event. Jim, to hear that the cottage is completely destroyed, obviously, this was a very severe event. Do we understand what led up to it or the cause of this fire?

JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Not really, not at this stage, Bianca. But, in fact, this is describe it as a cottage. In fact, it was a renovated barn that is a really rural area town of about 7,000 people. But this was even outside the town and basically it was a place where these handicapped people were going to be given a bit of a summer break for a few weeks.

As you mentioned, 17 had already gotten out of the barn when it was engulfed in flames by the time the fire brigades arrived. And there were 11 other people that were unaccounted for for a while. Nine have now been accounted for. They are dead and the other two are presumed dead and somewhere in the ashes.

So a really tragic fire. They've set up a crisis cell for welcoming the families and to comforting them with some psychological help. The Prime Minister is on her way over there and should be arriving any moment now, and the President sent his condolences. So a real tragedy for the country this morning, Bianca.

NOBILO: Have we learnt any more about the families and those affected, Jim, or heard from them or neighbors who witnessed what happened? BITTERMANN: Well, the witnesses said this broke out about 6:30 this morning. They saw flames and called the fire department. It took about 15 minutes for the fire brigades to get to this area. It's on a farm out in the middle of the countryside. So it was ways away from the closest town.

And as a consequence, at this stage, it's not clear exactly how the fire started, but that's being investigated. And the prosecutor in that region has been motivated to go ahead and start an investigation into the exact cause of this fire. It's certainly something that will be investigated.

These people were, in fact, lightly handicapped, mentally handicapped, and so it could be that they didn't have enough means to figure out exactly how to get out of the burning building. But it apparently went up very, very quickly, according to the witnesses that were on the scene. Bianca?

NOBILO: Just horrendous event. Jim Bittermann, thank you so much. And we'll keep checking in with you throughout the day as we get more updates on that.

Now to another tragedy at sea this time, the Red Cross reports that at least 41 people have died in a migrant shipwreck near the Italian island of Lampedusa. The Red Cross spoke to some of the survivors who say the boat left Tunisia several days ago. The Italian government says more than 93,000 people have arrived in Italy by boat this year.

Senior International Correspondent Ben Wedeman joins us now from Rome. Ben, unfortunately, this is such a tragic refrain that we keep hearing in the news of very similar events happening. Do we know from the survivors or from the authorities what might have caused the shipwreck?

[08:05:00]

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we understand from the Red Cross who actually spoke with the four survivors from this boat that it set forth from Sfax in Tunisia, and that just a few hours after leaving port, it got hit by a very large wave and capsized.

Now, the survivors say that in total, there were 45, they believe 45 people on board the boat at the time. So we don't know if perhaps others are still at sea, but certainly I think we can say with certainty that 41 people are probably missing, at least as a result of the incident.

Now, these four survivors, we understand three men and a woman, actually were some of the few on board who had life jackets. They were able to survive at sea for -- it appears, at least, a day or two because they found a capsized boat and held onto that until that boat, another ship, came by and picked them up, handed them over to the Italian Red Cross, who took them to Lampedusa and handed them over to the Red Cross. But as you said, this is becoming such a common occurrence in the Mediterranean. And what we've seen is, according to the Italian authorities, and we're just talking about Italy here, almost 94,000 migrants and refugees have reached Italy this year as of today, compared to on this day.

Last year, the number was half that, and in the year before, it was a third the number who have arrived in Italy. So the numbers are increasing, and they're coming from places like Sub-Saharan Africa, from the Middle East, places like Egypt, which until recently was not a source of migrants, and as far away as Pakistan and Bangladesh. Bianca?

NOBILO: Staggering statistics and also just a devastating human cost. Ben Wedeman, thank you very much for joining us.

Now to Russia, where we're getting dramatic new images of an explosion at an industrial plant northeast of Moscow. Russian state media reports at least 45 people were injured and two of them were hospitalized. Russian media saying that it appears the blast was not caused by drones, they say, but came from a Pyrotechnics warehouse at the site and was a result of a violation of technological processes.

Ukraine's president says that he talks strategy and next steps in a meeting with Ukraine's top military commanders. It comes after he acknowledged in a video message Tuesday that the counter offensive has been difficult and is happening probably slower than some had hoped. Kyiv is still claiming what it calls partial success on the southern front line.

Meanwhile, in Russia, Moscow's mayor says that two combat drones were shot down over the city's suburbs overnight. CNN International Diplomatic Editor Nic Robertson is here to discuss this.

Nic, Moscow acknowledging that two combat drones were shot down overnight. Then there's this huge, unexplained explosion quite close to Moscow, but they say it wasn't drone related. Do we suspect that we're getting the full truth from the Russian authorities?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: The Russians have opened an investigation. They've opened it very quickly. They've been very quick to scotch any rumors that this could be a drone. Those two drones that were shot down overnight appeared to be flying towards Domodedovo Airport, the international airport.

So we know that the Russians would very likely have good defensive measures around those vital infrastructures. The Ukrainians have tried to target around the airports before and have been unsuccessful. This new explosion, it raises a lot of questions. It does appear to be the largest unexplained explosion near to Moscow since the war began.

It was initially said by one state media that it was an explosion in a boiler room. And then the narrative seemed to settle on a Pyrotechnics factory, a fireworks factory that was being sublet from another factory unit. But when you look at that explosion, and there's a lot of video, there are blast damage at a nearby school, a ring camera, a woman walking half a mile away is literally rocked on her feet by the force explosion, a massive explosion, it doesn't look like a Pyrotechnics explosion.

We've seen those before. You have fireworks whizzing out of the explosion. This looks like one singular massive blast. Why was it caused? What was it caused? But the Russians say they're investigating, but they've been very quick on a day when there are already two drone strikes to say it wasn't a drone strike.

And I think what's interesting about this facility is, until this morning, everyone understood that this factory complex made optical -- electronic optical components for a military manufacturer. The optical components potentially for drones that Russia used to get sourced from outside sources like France that it can no longer access, it would make -- if those accounts are accurate -- it would make it a potentially very, very, very high value target for the Ukrainians in a war that is dominated by drones.

[08:10:18]

The Russians are investigating. They're very quick to investigate and put out a counter narrative at the moment.

NOBILO: Nic, thank you so much. I wish we had more time because, of course, as you were explaining to me the wider context of this too, is Ukraine trying to expose chinks in the armor of Moscow, that everything isn't in fact OK, that the war isn't going to plan, and to provide any distraction that will enable them to make progress on the front lines. Thank you.

A controversial decision by Israel's far-right finance minister is coming under harsh criticism. Bezalel Smotrich is freezing about $53 million earmarked for Arab municipalities and educational programs in East Jerusalem. He said the money could end up in the hands of criminal organizations. Knesset members Mansour Abbas, the head of the United Arab List, slammed the decision, calling Smotrich a, quote, "racist minister".

Journalist Elliott Gotkine joins us now from Jerusalem. Elliot, is there any evidence at all to support what the finance minister has alleged, that this money could end up in the hands of criminals and terrorists?

ELLIOTT GOTKINE, JOURNALIST: Bianca, I mean, I guess it's quite speculative as to where the precise endpoint of the funds were likely to go. What I can say, of course, is that there are two main things here that Smotrich is referring to. First of all, there is a five-year program that was designed to help residents of East Jerusalem.

And as part of that five-year program, there was a program to help to boost the Hebrew of residents of East Jerusalem, to enable them to study at Hebrew University. So that part of a broader five-year plan which is worth hundreds of millions of shekels, that is one of the bits that Smotrich has frozen.

The other part was, I suppose, best described as a kind of leveling up strategy that is quite well established in Israel in order to help poorer municipalities bring them up to closer to the level of income of wealthier ones. And after doing all the sums, they worked out that Arab municipalities still had a long way to go to close the gap.

So more funds were assigned to them. Those funds are also being frozen. Those are worth, as you say, just over $50 million per year. And that is also what Smotrich says he has frozen. Now, it's not a done deal just yet. The government could still overturn this. It could be challenged in courts and the like.

And as you say, Smotrich has outlined a number of reasons why these funds are being frozen. One is, he says it's not fair that poorer Arab municipalities are getting more money, and money isn't going to poorer Jewish ones. He's saying also that, for example, that the money could end up in the hands of criminals or terrorist organizations.

And I suppose it's also to play to his base in a way. I mean, he's not saying that, but clearly that is one of the understandings that this will play well with his base. And, as you say, Mansour Abbas, the leader of the Islamist Ra'am Party, who was in the last government, has said that Smotrich is doing this because he is, quote, a racist minister. Bianca?

NOBILO: Elliott Gotkine for us, thank you.

An Australian family's meal is now the center of a homicide investigation. The meal is suspected to have contained death cap mushrooms. Now, three people are dead and a fourth is critically ill. CNN's Anna Coren has the details.

ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Police in Victoria, Australia, are investigating the poisoning deaths of three elderly people after they were served a meal believed to contain extremely poisonous death cap mushrooms. Police are trying to determine if the deaths were homicide.

At the end of last month, two elderly couples went for lunch at the home of 48-year-old Erin Patterson in the small township of Leongatha. She is the former daughter-in-law of one of the couples. Police say she is separated from her husband, who has now lost both his parents from the poisoning.

Police say that evening, the guests began showing signs of food poisoning and were admitted to hospital. Days later, 70-year-old Gail Patterson and her sister, 66-year-old Heather Wilkinson, died. A day later, Gail's 70-year-old husband passed away. The fourth guest, Heather's 68-year-old husband, a reverend in the local community, remains in a critical condition.

Police say that Erin Patterson is a suspect because she cooked the meal and is the only adult at lunch who didn't fall ill. She has not been charged in the deaths. Her two children were also at lunch, but did not get sick because they were served different meals.

Let's take a listen to what Victoria Police Homicide Detective Inspector Dean Thomas had to say.

[08:15:00]

DEAN THOMAS, VICTORIA POLICE HOMICIDE SQUAD: But we have to keep an open mind in relation to this, that it could be very innocent, but again, we just don't know. But it's really interesting, you know, four people turn up, and three of them have passed away with another one critical. So we just need to work through this.

COREN: In addressing local media outside her home on Monday, a tearful Patterson denied any wrongdoing, saying she was devastated and that she loved them. While the cause of death has yet to be confirmed, police say the symptoms suffered are consistent with poisoning by death cap mushrooms.

Toxins in death cap mushroom found in the wild cannot be destroyed by boiling, cooking, freezing or drying. Eating a small portion can lead to death.

Ana Coren, CNN, Hong Kong.

NOBILO: And I looked it up. You can recognize death cap mushrooms from their slightly yellow tinge and faintly honey smell, if anyone was interested.

Now, a bad situation was made worse for some scouts in South Korea. A bus carrying them from the World Scout Jamboree collided with another bus, injuring eight people. Three scouts suffered minor bruises, while five passengers on the bus were also injured. The scouts were being evacuated from the campsite ahead of an approaching tropical storm. The jamboree had already faced criticism due to the poor organization and high levels of illness.

Rain and wind from tropical storm Khanun has hit southern parts of Japan and South Korea. You can see the waves here crashing on Jeju Island in South Korea. Strong winds have already hit the island, causing flights leaving the island to be delayed, and it's expected to hit Seoul on Thursday evening.

Still to come for you, the scars of war are evident in the streets of Sudan's capital. We'll have the latest on the devastating conflict.

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NOBILO: Morgues in Sudan's capital Khartoum are at breaking point. That's according to Save the Children. It says thousands of dead bodies have simply been left in the streets. The humanitarian organization says a horrifying combination of rising numbers of corpses, severe water shortages, nonfunctioning hygiene and sanitation services, and lack of water treatment options are also prompting fears of a cholera outbreak in the city.

The Sudanese army and the paramilitary group RSF have been battling for control of Khartoum for nearly four months now. So to discuss, let's bring in our Larry Madowo for the very latest. Larry, what is the state of the infrastructure and public services available for people in Sudan at the moment? LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Bianca, this conflict has been raging for about 115 days, and the health and sanitation infrastructure has all but collapsed. That is why you hear these aid organizations warning about a possible cholera outbreak. I want to read a section of this for you from this Save the Children warning that says a horrifying combination of rising numbers of corpses, severe water shortages, non-functioning hygiene and sanitation services, a lack of water treatment options are also prompting fears of a cholera outbreak.

[08:20:15]

So that is only the latest in a wide range of problems that the city of Khartoum especially has been facing. People tell me they don't have electricity or they've had a long shortage of fuel for our time. This is just compounding to all the other problems they have. When you've been at war for about four months and any basic tenet of a functioning society has all but disappeared.

NOBILO: Larry, what is the latest on the conflict and any attempts to resolve it?

MADOWO: We're still hearing, even today, reported fighting, heavy fighting in Omdurman in the north of Khartoum. This is still at the core of it, a battle for control between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, this powerful paramilitary group that grew out of the Janjaweed militia.

And so this conflict has kind of fallen out of the world attention, with Niger taking a lot of that attention. But it's nowhere near complete. So far, more than 4.2 million people have been displaced from their homes. 70 percent of them are just in Khartoum alone. So that means that one in 10 people in Sudan have had to leave their homes.

Nearly 1 million have crossed over into neighboring countries like Egypt and Chad and South Sudan trying to get away from this conflict. That is not going anywhere away anytime soon. There have been lots of mediation efforts. There were efforts by Saudi Arabia and the U.S. to hold talks in Jeddah to try and bring these warring factions together.

It had mixed results. They agreed on some ceasefires that didn't last long. There's another attempt on August 25. The African Union and IGAD, the Intergovernmental Authority, have brought these parties to another round of talks in Addis Ababa in Ethiopia. People are not holding their breaths because so far, none has really borne any long term peace.

NOBILO: Larry Madowo, thank you so much.

Still ahead, a busy train station in Japan is using AI to make sure you understand where you have to go and how to get there. Details ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) NOBILO: As AI becomes a bigger part of our lives, researchers are developing new uses for it. A train station in Tokyo is testing a program that uses artificial intelligence to instantly translate for tourists. Our Marc Stewart reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARC STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At Tokyo's busy Seibu- Shinjuku Station, it's a steady surge of trains, travelers, and at times, the need for translation.

FATIMA HORTCHER, PASSENGER: I was actually really nervous coming because I heard people here don't speak English.

STEWART (voice-over): Now, a potential solution in this nondescript window using voice translation technology.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, I want to go to Matsumoto Station.

STEWART (voice-over): Users simply ask a question in their native language. It appears on the screen and then immediately translated into Japanese for the staff to read. The response is then translated back to the user's original language.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.

STEWART (voice-over): The system is now on a test run. We asked travelers including Fatima Hortcher to try it out.

(on-camera): And you thought the translation was pretty spot on?

HORTCHER: Spot on. Spot on. It's exactly what I said was on the screen.

[08:25:03]

STEWART (on-camera): How many languages can this system translate?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Speaking Foreign Language)

STEWART (on-camera): It supports 12 languages.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (through translator): We're told the number of foreign visitors to Japan is growing. The screen was introduced so staff and customers can communicate smoothly, face to face.

STEWART (on-camera): There are certainly apps for your phone which can translate, but this system is simultaneous and it's face to face.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The fact that it was at the same time, the fact that it really understood what I was saying.

STEWART (voice-over): While the system isn't always perfect, this technology is quickly improving.

HITOMI YAKATA, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, TOKYO UNIVERSITY (through translator): Research in the field of natural language processing and artificial intelligence is progressing very rapidly. So these systems are getting better and better, and I hope that they will be used not only in stations, but also in other places in the future.

STEWART (voice-over): The manufacturer of the board hopes that could include airports, sporting events, and hospitals.

Part of an effort to make sure everyone is understood, no matter what language they speak.

Marc Stewart, CNN, Tokyo.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NOBILO: And lastly for you, beachgoers in New York have reported numerous shark sightings this week. Three possible sharks were spotted in Long Island on Tuesday, and another was confirmed in Queens. The sightings came one day after a 65-year-old woman was bitten on the leg by a shark at New York's Rockaway Beach. Officials say it's the first shark attack at that location in 70 years.

The woman was taken to hospital and thankfully, is now in stable condition. Several beaches were closed to swimmers due to these incidents.

Thanks for joining me here on CNN Newsroom. I'm Bianca Nobilo in London. World Sport with Patrick Snell is up to you next.

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