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Ukrainians Turn To Odesa To Soothe Their Trauma; Bracing For Potential Major Hurricane; Spain Kiss Scandal; Hovland Claims $18M Prize After Dominant Win. Aired 12-1a ET
Aired August 29, 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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JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Ahead here on CNN. No way out. The head of Spanish football is now under criminal investigation for possible sexual aggression, as global outrage escalates over that unwanted kiss at the World Cup.
Ukraine's liberation of a small Russian occupied village in the south is a significant breakthrough for their slow-moving counteroffensive. And the Taliban's war on women hits new lows, with a ban on women leaving Afghanistan to study abroad.
UNKNOWN: Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM with John Vause.
VAUSE: Good to have you with us. We begin with the disgraced head of the Royal Spanish Football Federation, Luis Rubiales, now the focus of a criminal investigation with prosecutors looking into possible charges of sexual assault.
At a six-hour long emergency meeting, Monday, of the regional bodies, which make up the federation, ended with a request for his immediate resignation. All this over his behavior at the Women's World Cup, including that kiss with the star player during the trophy ceremony. Luis Rubiales has insisted the kiss was spontaneous and mutual.
But Jenni Hermoso, at no point did she say she gave consent. She called the move sexist. Regional soccer chiefs have issued a statement condemning his behavior as unacceptable and seriously damaging the image of Spanish football. Rubiales has already been suspended by FIFA for 90 days.
Hundreds of protesters gathered in Madrid Monday, demanding Rubiales step down. They chanted, it's not a kiss, it is aggression. But Rubiales, with the unanimous backing of the Football Federation, is vowing to fight on. Meanwhile, there are concerns the lingering controversy will hurt Spain's bid to co-host the 2030 world cup. We have more now from Atika Shubert, reporting from Valencia.
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ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Euphoric celebration for a historic Women's World cup quickly turned into a moment of reckoning, when Luis Rubiales, president of the Spanish Football Federation, planted a forceful kiss on player Jennifer Hermoso during the medal ceremony in Sydney.
The kiss she later said she had not consented to. Facing domestic and international criticism, Rubiales was pressured to resign, but he defiantly refused He doubled down, saying the kiss was consensual, to the applause of men in the room.
LUIS RUBIALES, PRESIDENT OF THE SPANISH FOOTBALL FEDERATION (through translator): You think I have to resign? Well, I'm going to tell you something. I will not resign.
SHUBERT (voice-over): Hermoso issued her own lengthy response, which said the kiss was not consensual at all. I felt vulnerable and a victim of an impulse-driven, sexist, out of place act without any consent on my part, she wrote.
Since then, FIFA, the world's governing football body, provisionally suspended Rubiales for 90 days, and the Spanish government has submitted a complaint to its sports tribunal, a step towards suspending him. What was first a national embarrassment now threatens international repercussions, but could well become a turning point for women athletes in Spain.
TANIA VERGE MESTRE, MINISTER OF EQUALITY AND FEMINISMS: Clearly his attitude has been a demonstration of what female players have to endure in professional sports. But not only, also in their daily lives. We have all been subject to these different forms of harassment in our work place, these forced kisses, the grabbing, the touching, the demeaning. So, this is why women from all fields are sending their support.
SHUBERT (voice-over): Hermoso and her teammates said they will not play for the national team until Rubiales is removed in a statement signed by nearly 50 athletes. Spanish football clubs unfurled their supporting games over the weekend. We are with you, banners read, we are all Jenni. Spain's women players are proving that they are winning hearts and minds both on and off the pitch. Atika Shubert for CNN, in Valencia, Spain.
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VAUSE: CNN sports analyst and sports columnist for the USA Today, Christine Brennan, is now with us. It's good to see you, it's been a while.
CHRISTINE BRENNAN, CNN SPORTS ANALYST: It has, John. Great to talk to you. Thanks.
VAUSE: So, yet again, we're talking about FIFA and football and scandals, and among the latest twist here in this is a request from leading officials within the Royal Spanish Football Federation for Rubiales to step down, to resign. Listen to this, here they are. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOSE JUAN ARENCUBIA, HEAD OF REGIONAL SOCCER FEDERATION OF CANARY ISLANDS (through translator): When you are a president, you are responsible for a lot. And you need to assume your responsibilities. And sometimes, you need to step aside. We cannot let this happen in our society, that is advancing more and more as far as women inequality issues, and that's above everything else.
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VAUSE: It seemed to take a while for them to get that point, but now is there some awareness at least on a national level within the sport, of the gravity of the situation of what's happened? Is it sort of better late than never?
BRENNAN: Well, it is better late than never, and it does seem like a lifetime ago but it's really only been eight, almost nine days. So, I don't want to cut them too much slack. But I do think in this case, that they're getting to the right place.
And the fact that the federation is saying this, that these regional directors have had enough with Rubiales, I think that speaks volumes. Because he's been their president, they're trying to win the Men's World Cup in 2030.
Football in Spain, men's, women's, is absolutely huge, off the charts. So, for them to lose confidence and say that he must resign is just another step in what is inevitable. He will be gone.
VAUSE: One of the reasons this has got into the point where it is at right now was his initial reactions, his, Rubiales, justifying his actions and digging that hole just so much deeper on Friday. Listen to this.
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RUBIALES (through translator): It was spontaneous, mutual, euphoric, and with consent, which is the key. This is the key to all the criticism, of all the campaigns which have been mounted in this country, that it was without consent. No, it was with consent.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: It's an argument only a mother can really sympathize with, and the fact that she believes her son is the victim of some kind of witch-hunt, she's now locked herself in a church on a hunger strike. But this seems like it all could have been avoided, all of this trouble, the mother's hunger strike, all the angst, all of the bad publicity, if he just apologized at the get-go.
BRENNAN: The fact that he actually did it, and because it was on camera, John, for all the world to see at the end of the World Cup, I don't know if an apology would've saved him because it was so egregious, and it was a forced kissed, it was an unwanted kiss. Another name for it is sexual assault. And so, I'm not sure he
could've apologized his way out of it no matter what. But you're absolutely right, if he had immediately been contrite and said I am so sorry and Jenni Hermoso, she was able to say okay, that was terrible, but I accept your apology, which I don't know if she would've or not. That's her call.
I think he was probably in deep, deep trouble the moment he did it, and he should've thought of that. But of course, why would he think of that? Because apparently, you know, he's done other things that have allegedly been bad, with the unfortunate scene right before with the Queen's daughter right there, as he's celebrating.
But the problem is that he didn't do any of that, and he just made it worse and worse, because he thought he could get away with it. And in 2023, you just can't get away with that, which is wonderful news for people like Hermoso and all the women out there who have been fighting these battles for generations.
VAUSE: At the best-case, he maybe could've stepped away with some dignity, and maybe try to save his reputation and some kind of, you know, backbone in all of this. But for those who don't really understand why this is not a big deal even at this point, here was the spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General. Listen to this.
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STEPHANE DUJARRIC, SPOKESPERSON, U.N. SECRETARY-GENERAL: How difficult is it not to kiss somebody on the lips, right? I mean, there is a critical issue of sexism that remains in sports. And we hope that the Spanish authorities and the Spanish government deal with this in a manner that respects the rights of all female athletes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: As you mentioned, this could also be called sexual assault, and there's a criminal investigation now underway. And all of this, as Annabel Crabb wrote for ABC Australia brilliantly put it this way, it's overshadowed.
The women of the World Cup who displayed nothing but merit, extraordinary feats of skill, flawless sportsmanship, good behavior on and off the pitch, they generated millions of new eyeballs for the beautiful game. And it comes back to the same problem time and time again, it seems. It comes back to FIFA.
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Which is this anachronistic, sort of old boys club. It's out of touch, racist, sexist, homophobic, whatever you want to call it, it just seems so out of touch for the time we live in right now.
BRENNAN: At least FIFA has done the right thing here now, John, by suspending Rubiales for those three months. That was certainly the right thing to do. But one wonders how many officials in countries around the world leaders, like Rubiales, are going, oh my gosh the world has just changed over the last eight or nine days.
The lack of respect for women in the game, the lack of funding, the lack of any kind of support, when you think of so many nations that care so much about their men's football and their men's soccer teams, and just could not care less about their women's team. Now we're seeing more start to care. But the funding is nothing like the men's.
And if they had -- if these nations had cared about women's football, when say the United States, Sweden, Norway, a few others, China, has started to care about women's football, obviously China is in a different category as a communist nation, but as those nations back in the 90s started to fund it, think of not only how empowering it is for girls and women, but also to have new fans and to sell more jerseys and to have more people playing the game.
That's a business decision, even if you don't want to go with the altruistic way. And these are the mistakes that these men, and it is basically all men, have made now for 30 years. And so, all of this is encapsulated with that awful kiss, that awful sexual assault. And here we are talking about it.
It is sad that the Spanish women, John, cannot just enjoy the wonderful fruits of victory and dance through the streets. But it's also so instructive, and frankly, so wonderful, as terrible as it is, it's also so great that we're having these conversations and that this reckoning is now occurring in the game of soccer.
VAUSE: It's always darkest before dawn, and maybe that is this moment. Christine, good to see you.
BRENNAN: Great to see you, John, thank you.
VAUSE: Seven weeks into their major counter offensive and Ukraine appears to have broken through the first line of Russian defenses in the Zaporizhzhya region in the south. Officials say the small village of Robotyne has been liberated, bringing Ukrainian forces and artillery another step closer to a strategic Russian transport hub further south.
But retaking the village took weeks of fierce fighting. One Ukrainian soldier says they faced elaborate fortifications. The Russians had heavily mined the area and established anti-tank defenses. Russian soldiers use guided aerial smart bombs to target Ukrainian forces. Still, Ukraine's defense minister says it is a significant win.
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OLEKSII REZNIKOV, UKRAINIAN DEFENCE MINISTER (through translator): We are moving forward in our counteroffensive. There are certain changes which are not as quick as everyone wanted. It's not like in a movie, you go today and finish tomorrow. But we are moving without stopping in accordance with the plan.
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VAUSE: To Russia now, where there are outpourings of grief for Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner Mercenary Group, who died in a plane crash nearly a week ago. This comes as the Kremlin tries to tamp down the Wagner's influence within the country and on foreign battlefields, and that includes Ukraine. CNN's Matthew Chance gives us this view from inside Russia.
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MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Don't expect to see these scenes on Russian state television. When it comes to the Wagner leader who challenged the Kremlin then died in a plane crash, there's a virtual media blackout on public grief. And Wagner supporters like Dimitri in Moscow, are simply not being heard.
DIMITRI, MOSCOW (through Chance): Yevgeny Prigozhin's death, he says, just confirms that there are fewer and fewer of us who really think about our country, our history and our goals. Prigozhin really showed everyone how it should be done, he adds.
MARIA, MOSCOW (through chance): Wagner did a great job, says Maria, and they are heroes of our country. Of course, everyone makes mistakes, she explains.
CHANCE: But in Russia, some mistakes can be fatal. The Kremlin has slammed as absolute lies, allegations Prigozhin was killed for leading this abortive military uprising in June. But the fact his plane plunged to the ground two months after to the day, has fueled suspicions. And many doubt the official investigation would ever reveal state involvement. Already, there were concerns about how quickly and carelessly evidence has been dragged from the crash scene.
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And when CNN visited Monday morning, it had already been flattened and cleared, just a small memorial to mark the spot. But the memory of the Wagner leader may not be so easily erased.
UNKNOWN (through Chance): All of us are angry at what happened, says this former military officer, now running for political office in the Russian far east. We all considered Prigozhin our primary commander in the special military operation, he told the crowds of mourners.
CHANCE (voice-over): The Kremlin may not like it but even in death, Russia's mercenary leader continues to strike a chord. Matthew Chance, CNN, Moscow.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Naval drills by the United States, Japan, and South Korea are again the focus of an angry North Korean leader. Kim Jong-Un has accused, what he calls, the gang bosses of creating unstable waters with the danger of a nuclear war. And he's vowed to radically modernize North Korea's navy.
The Allied Special Operations are practicing infiltration on the enemy's coastline from the sea. Pyongyang has denounced the drills as a rehearsal for war. Day 2 of the U.S. Commerce Secretary's trip to Beijing is underway in earnest, and already has deliverables in hand.
Gina Raimondo has said she has an agreement to exchange information on export controls, which will reduce misunderstandings with the U.S. national security policies. Let's go live to Beijing. Steven Jiang, our bureau chief, is there. He joins us now. So, Steven, cut through the diplomat speak. What are they talking about?
STEVEN JIANG, CNN BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF: Well, that meeting itself, in terms of this new platform for the U.S. to explain its export control policy to the Chinese officials is very much pointing to the contradictory nature of Gina Raimondo's mission because on one hand, obviously, she's here to stabilize this economic relationship, to promote U.S. business interests.
But on the other hand, of course, her agency, the commerce department, is the one that's been imposing a growing number of export controls targeting China in advanced computing and semiconductors. And all of that, of course, greatly angering the beijing leadership with China's leader, Xi Jinping himself, increasingly talking about self reliance in key technologies to free china from the american chokehold.
Because as he puts it, the U.S. is out to contain China's rise. So, Gina Raimondo, of course, has been trying to say that's not the case. The export controls out of national security concerns account for only 1 percent of America's export to China, so there's still a lot of room for growth, for cooperation.
But that kind of argument may not be convincing to the Chinese counterparts, who don't see much difference between derisking, as American officials have been putting it, and decoupling. So that is really where this meeting comes in.
But of course, the key here is now the two sides have agreed to strengthen their communication, to talk more. In addition to that platform, they also agreed to establish a working group to relay involving not only officials, but also the private sector to address and try to resolve trade and economic issues.
But just back to the point about day two of the meetings, she is obviously trying to build upon some of these positive momentum. On Tuesday morning, she met with a Chinese culture and tourism minister, obviously trying to promote outbound travel from China to the U.S., and that used to be quite a booming industry before the pandemic.
But now of course, with rising geopolitical tension and a dearth of nonstop flights, the number of Chinese tourists in the U.S., and by extension, their tourist dollars, only a fraction of pre-covid levels. So, Gina Raimondo, obviously, trying to change all that, John.
VAUSE: Steven, thank you. Steven Jiang, our Beijing bureau chief, as always, we appreciate you being with us, thank you, sir. Still ahead, a record number of migrants are arriving daily in Italy, and now the government there is cracking down on the charities trying to help them. Also ahead, new bans from the Taliban on Afghan women. The (inaudible) Islamic fundamentalist now extending their control of women beyond their borders. We'll explain in a moment. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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VAUSE: Two boats carrying migrants have capsized Monday off the Greek coast. Most onboard were rescued. Four of the five people who died were children. Greece is one of the EU's main entry points for those fleeing poverty and conflict in the Middle East, Africa and Asia. According to the UN refugee agency, more than 15,000 migrants have arrived in Greece this year. That doesn't compare to Italy, which is facing a similar but much worse situation, with hundreds, or tens of thousands, rather, migrants arriving there so far this year. Our CNN Barbie Nadeau has details reporting in from Rome.
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BARBIE LATZA NADEAU, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's the height of the mediterranean summer, and this tiny island is overwhelmed with the arrival of thousands of migrants and refugees. More than 4000 people arrived on the Italian island of Lampedusa in hundreds of small boats over the weekend. Among them, pregnant women, babies, and unaccompanied minors. It's the highest number of arrivals in a weekend this island has ever seen. More than 113,000 people have arrived in Italy by boat this year. That's more than the total number that arrived in all of 2022. There may be more migrant and refugee boats at sea, but there are fewer ngos to rescue them. At the moment, the Italian government has sequestered three NGO ships for allegedly breaking a law set by Italy's right wing government under prime minister Giorgia Meloni that mandates how many rescues a charity ship can carry out. Each of the sequestered ships will be docked for 20 days, and be fined up to 10,000 Euro.
56 organizations have signed a petition against the government, accusing them of obstructing civilian search and rescue and warning that it will lead to more deaths. But the Italian government says without the rest of Europe helping, they cannot manage the influx.
ADOLFO URSO, ITALIAN MINISTER OF ENTERPRISE (through translator): Italy can't be left alone facing this extraordinary phenomenon. Italy is the gateway to europe. Europe must intervene with us.
NADEAU (voice-over): Maloney will lead crisis talks this week after the government reconvenes. On the agenda, ways to help people migrate illegally and ways to deport them faster. In the meantime, the boats keep coming and coming and coming. Barbie Latza Nadeau, CNN, Rome.
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VAUSE: Afghanistan's Islamic fundamentalist rulers have made life even more miserable for women. The Taliban ministry of vice and virtue has now banned women and girls from visiting a popular national park. The minister said sightseeing is not a must for women. Before the Taliban took over, it was the country's first park to have female rangers. And that's not all, the Taliban also stopped 10 girls from flying to Dubai to accept scholarships from a UAE billionaire. The Taliban refused to allow the girls to leave the country and
refused to allow them aboard the plane, and took them off one by one. Joining us now is human rights activist Pashtana Durrani, she's also the founder and executive director of L.E.A.R.N. Afghanistan, a nonprofit group which educates thousands of afghan, boys, girls, and women. And it's a pleasure to have you with us. Thank you.
PASHTANA DURRANI, FOUNDER AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, LEARN AFGHANISTAN: Thank you.
VAUSE: So, the UN special rapporteur for Afghanistan tweeted a rhetorical question, can someone please explain why this restriction on women visiting Band-e-Amir is necessary to comply with Sharia and Afghan culture?
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Well, officially, the ban, it seems, is in response to female visitors not wearing a hijab or not covering their faces. The minister for virtue and vice telling local religious leaders over the weekend women must be forbidden from visiting band-e-amir until a new regulation is established. Sightseeing is not necessary but hijab is mandatory. You know, this has nothing to do with Islam. These edicts and bans have never really had anything to do with Islam. They really, you know, when they took away women's rights to education, to employment, the next step it seems now is, what, taking away their right to enjoyment? Anything that makes them feel human?
DURRANI: So, in Afghanistan, I think the one thing that we tend to forget is, especially when the Taliban are saying, oh we will come up with new solutions for these things, it's funny how they can come up with new bans every two weeks and they can ban women in every way possible from coloring their hair in salons to taking a walk in the park to learning a word or a letter in a school or from earning a penny. But somehow, they are taking more than two years just to find solutions to the same bans that they're doing.
At the same time, you have to look at the fact that when they see Sharia, this means all the other Muslim countries in the Middle East, the Asian countries in South and Central Asia, they're not Muslim enough? That's the reason they don't ban women from going to all those places? Or are you a different category Muslim? And if you are, where does that explain it? Like, what is it that you are following actually? So, for me, I personally think the Taliban are at war with the women of Afghanistan.
They have always been. In the past few decades, they have used the same schools to burn the schools down, to bomb the schools, to attack any women who work in NGOs and any other sector, towards women who are political leaders. So, I don't think the Taliban are in the business of finding solutions or helping the country. I think they are installed puppets who only want to wage war on the women of Afghanistan.
VAUSE: And even for women who do follow these draconian edicts, wearing a black hijab, they're wearing head scarves, they're traveling with a male companion. And yet, what happened at Kabul airport over the last couple of days is that officials prevented them, about 60 women all up, from leaving the country, because they're all traveling to Dubai on a scholarship to receive an education. Here's more now from one of the trip's sponsors on what happened. Listen to this.
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UNKNOWN: They refuse them to board the plane. And already, we had paid for their aircraft. We organized everything for them here, accommodation, medication, transportation, security.
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VAUSE: And you kind of touched on this, the thing about the Taliban, just when it seems like they've gone as low and despicable and misogynistic as possible, they find new appalling ways to go even lower and to treat women. So, how does this actually end?
DURRANI: See, one thing we have to understand is that I lived in Canberra (?). I needed an escort to drive me around or take me to places. That's not something new. I have worn hijab all my life, and I wore burqa whenever I was home. It's just funny for me how the Taliban say you need to have proper hijab.
We have been doing this for quite some time. We already have been using that part of life all together. But what makes me question the whole thing is how they are okay with women not even leaving the country, but at the same time, they don't seem to be wanting for them to have anything to do except the fact that they use women as reproductive machines.
But also, here's the thing, their own daughters are studying in Pakistan and in Qatar. They're going to good colleges and good schools and they're learning everything. So, for me, I think the one thing that is so hurtful but not shocking at all is the fact that for them, their daughters are important, but for the daughters of Afghanistan are important.
VAUSE: For a growing number of Afghan women, it seems like it ends in suicide. The Guardian reports that despair is settling in, female suicides are on the rise in the Taliban's Afghanistan. You know, there are of course no official numbers.
So, the Guardians story relies on private conversations with health care workers. And the data they managed to collect shows that Afghanistan is one of the few countries were more women than men are dying by suicide. That must be incredibly disparaging for you, the despair that settles in for you, just looking at that from a distance. So you feel those numbers are only going to get worse as the Taliban continues to have free reign to terrorize half the population?
DURRANI: I think it's not only half the population, it's the entire population that has been held hostage. It's just the 50 percent of the population is seeing the severe consequences of the hostage. I mean, imagine what else would you do. I have 280 students, all of them need psychological help. [00:30:00]
The only thing we celebrate is if we could find someone who can speak in our native languages and can talk to them, can counsel them. So to me, I personally think these spaces have been so restrictive, have been erased from the public spaces. And where do they turn to? Who do they turn to? Where is the justice? Who do we seek to ask for justice?
So definitely, if you become hopeless, you're definitely going to turn to that. And there are people who are suffering, not only just because there's this restriction, but also there's lack of opportunities, that lack of economic growth, lack of any learning spaces, and even lack of equality at the moment.
VAUSE: It's a bully situation, it's getting worse. And women they feel helpless, and so many people watching feel helpless to do something. But I guess if we keep talking about it, then maybe something might happen. But, Pashtana, so good to speak with you. Thank you so much for being with us.
DURRANI: Thank you for having me.
VAUSE: Still ahead here on CNN, they call it the pool of the Black Sea. Odesa, Ukraine providing a welcome getaway from the Russian invasion.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In the middle of war, you don't -- you don't feel strange?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, it's feels like a little bit strange but you need some direction.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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VAUSE: Welcome back, I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN Newsroom.
The Ukrainian city of Odesa on the Black Sea has been hit hard in the past few weeks. Russian missiles have targeted that vital port over two thirds Ukraine's imports and exports before the war. And before the invasion back in February last year, the city was a thriving holiday destination. Well, the conflict drags on this summer Ukrainian so once again heading to the beaches of Odesa. And CNN's Christiane Amanpour explains why.
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CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR (voice-over): In the waning days of a second summer at war, under the blazing Black Sea sun, you find, well, people at the beach. It's actually the first time some of this Odesa coastline has been open for business since the Russian invasion.
And while Olga (ph) has brought her family for a change of scenery, there is no getting away from it.
Here can you forget the war for a little bit?
OLGA (through translation): Sirens at night don't let you forget. No, we don't forget. At least I don't, but I hope my kids and parents get distracted a little bit.
AMANPOUR (voice-over): Still those who can make the most of it. Life goes on even in wartime. And here at the Kaleton Beach Club, it's somehow comforting to watch parents slap protective gear onto their infants as if sunburn is the worst that can happen. But of course it's not.
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AMANPOUR: So is it -- is that -- does that mean orthopedics or -- or anything?
AMANPOUR (voice-over): 15 minutes away in the center of town is a modern private recovery and rehabilitation unit, one of 10 set up around the country by a Ukrainian philanthropist. Here in a full body sling, 41-year-old Vitali (ph) tells us that he volunteered for the front as a deminer, until he was blown up by an anti-personnel mine eight months ago in Kherson.
The first wave hit my face because I was bending down, he says, and shrapnel entered my eye, another bit hit my finger, and three of my toes were blown off.
On the rehab bed next to him, 43-year-old Roslan's (ph) injury is less dramatic, spine and back problems from suddenly having to haul heavy gear around.
AMANPOUR: Do you need to get into better shape?
If I was 20, he tells me, it would be different, but I'm 43 and so it's difficult. But he wants to go back to the front like Vitali (ph) does just as soon as they're patched up. Still motivated, still sure of victory. Then the talk suddenly turns.
AMANPOUR: Vitali (ph)?
VITALI (ph): Yes?
AMANPOUR: What do you think you need?
AMANPOUR (voice-over): Immobilized and prone these crystal clear, we need more weapons and jets to close the sky from the Russian missiles, he says. When a soldier is fighting there and his family is here unprotected, what do you think goes through our minds?
Andre (ph) tells me his psychological trauma is worse than the shrapnel to his hand. Because he, like all of them, want to be back at the front with their comrades to fight for their country and their family. I have a mother, a father, a wife and a cat, he tells me, back at the seaside. Sergey (ph), a 59-year-old conscript based in Kherson defends his beach time break.
AMANPOUR: In the middle of war, you don't -- you don't feel strange?
SERGEY (ph), UKRAINIAN CONSCRIPT: Yes. It's feels like a little bit strange, but we need some direction.
AMANPOUR (voice-over): He'll be back on the arms after his 15th day furlough, then says their counter offensive is going according to plan. Christiane Amanpour, CNN, Odesa, Ukraine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: When we come back, bracing for major impact residents along Florida's Gulf Coast preparing for the expected landfall of what is forecast to be a powerful category 3 hurricane. The very latest on this stuff when we come back.
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VAUSE: Millions in Florida keeping a close watch on the track of Idalia, a dangerous tropical storm forecast to rapidly intensify before making landfall as a category 3 hurricane. Storm surge and hurricane warnings are in effect on Florida's Gulf Coast. At least 10 counties have issued evacuation orders.
To the south, in Western Cuba, residents evacuated coastal towns as Idalia moved in on Monday, bringing strong winds and heavy rain. Floodwaters rushed into homes and at least one fishing village. Right now, the storm is turning off the western side of Cuba, heading north, expected to gain strength in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
Florida's governor urged residents to prepare now for the possibility of dangerous conditions.
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RON DESANTIS, FLORIDA GOVERNOR: This is going to be a major impact and Floridian should expect that this storm will be a major Cat 3 plus hurricane, so please prepare accordingly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: CNN meteorologist Karen MAGINNIS is following all of this for us. He joins us now live with the very latest. Karen, it's good to see you.
KAREN MAGINNIS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good to see you as well, John. And yes, we're focusing on what's happening along the Yucatan Peninsula and between western sections of Cuba. This is gradually gaining some strength. But you wouldn't know that because over the last few advisories, it looks like Idalia has stayed pretty much the same with 110 kilometer per hour winds, or about 70 miles an hour.
It's moving towards the north. It's picked up some speed. But I'll show you something that looks very interesting to me. And that is this northern quadrant of this particular system. It looks a little more symmetrical, not so much to the south. It's a little more disorganized. But I think once it pushes past this Yucatan Strait, we're going to see it really start to form until what we normally think of as a typical looking hurricane.
So it moves out into the open waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Water temperatures here are about 30 to 35 degrees. These are the spaghetti models and they're telling us we're in pretty good agreement as to where we think this is going to make landfall.
Now landfall is just one spot. We know that long before landfall occurs, which is when the eye moves across the shore, that we start to feel the effects of this. So up and down this West Coast, we have storm surge warnings, we've got hurricane watches, it's going to be a mess. And if you're viewing us along some of these beautiful coastal areas of western Florida, also northern Florida and into South Carolina, and into coastal Georgia, you could see tremendous rainfall, down trees, down power lines. But for Tampa, it's going to be the storm surge and further north.
Now some of that storm surge -- storm surge is the deadliest most component to hurricanes but we'll keep you updated. Another update coming up in the next hour and a half. John?
VAUSE: And, Karen, we appreciate you being with us. Thank you,. Karen MAGINNIS there with the very latest.
I'm John Vause and I'll be back at the top of the hour with more CNN Newsroom but first please stay with us. World Sport starts after the break. I'll be back, that's 17 minutes. See you there.
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DON RIDDELL, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Hello there and welcome to World Sport. I'm Don Riddell at CNN Center.
It has now been eight day since the Spanish women's football team won the World Cup in Australia. But their success on the field has quickly been overshadowed by a storm of controversy, often the consequences of which could have far reaching implications.
It's a scandal that began when Luis Rubiales, the president of the Spanish Football Federation, grabbed the team striker Jenni Hermoso and kissed her on the lips. She says that she didn't consent to that kiss, adding there in that moment she felt vulnerable as the victim of an impulse driven sexist.
On Monday, the Spanish Football Federation which has defended their president and threatened her most so with legal action met to discuss the situation. The Spanish government's higher Sports Council also met acknowledging that the scandal was harming Spain's joint bid to host the 2030 Men's World Cup tournament.
The prosecutor's office in Spain is considering a crime of sexual aggression against Rubialis, and the case has even been discussed at the United Nations in New York.
And as if this all wasn't enough, the mother of the 46-year-old Rubiales is hold up in a church on hunger strike. Let's head to the capital Madrid with a Spanish-based journalist. Atika Shubert is covering these fast moving events.
Atika, it is hard to keep up with this story but what struck you as the most significant developments today?
SHUBERT: Well, I think the big thing first is that meeting by the Federation. This was a meeting of the regional heads for football in Spain. And it's clearly -- it was clearly a crisis meeting. It's clear that the Federation itself is divided by those who are supporting Rubiales and others who are saying it's time for him to go.
They issued a statement urging him to resign. They do not, however, have the power to actually sack him. So for now, he maintains his position there.
I think this was an important step to show that the -- that not everyone in the Federation is supporting them and that the pressure is building on him to go. And in addition to that, we saw hundreds of people come out in the streets of Madrid. In this square that I'm at now, there are protesters out, a huge rally, basically saying it's time for an Rubiales to go and in support of Jenni Hermoso.
We saw a number of banners that said we are with you Jenni. And that said say, (inaudible), it is over for Rubiales. Take a listen to what some woman told me in the crowd
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are all very angry at these because all women have suffered some kind of abuse. We like -- like the moment we saw the images, we automatically thought about our bosses, our professors, our teachers in the schools.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He apologized but he was kind of forced to do so, so everybody knew that it was not something that came from his heart. So maybe we know that he apologized but don't really -- I'm not really sure that he knows what he apologized for.
SHUBERT: So it didn't feel like a sincere apology.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What he did -- he doesn't understand what's wrong with his (inaudible).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SHUBERT: So a lot of developments today but not a peep from Luis Rubiales himself. We haven't heard anything from him despite all of this pressure building. Still no sign that he will resign, Don. RIDDELL: It is hard to see how Rubiales can stay in office given that the entire squad has quit in protest, as has the coaching staff with the exception of the head coach, Jorge Vilda. And Hermoso is finding support from all over the world, right? What have you seen in terms of that solidarity from other players and teams?
SHUBERT: Yes. We've seen a wave of support not just on the streets of Madrid from ordinary people, but from other footballers as well. There was a match between AC Milan and Atletico Madrid, and there were banners there in support of Jenni Hermoso. We've also seen US women footballers come out and expressing their support as well. So this is clearly gone beyond the borders of Spain.
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And we're seeing this tremendous wave of support for Jenni Hermoso, and pretty much condemnation for what's happened here in terms of Luis Rubiales. And that he continues to cling on to his position as head of the Spanish Football Federation. And it's not clear what it's going to take to actually get him out.
RIDDELL: How significant are the concerns that this whole scandal could scupper Spain's bid to co-host the World Cup in 2030, along with Portugal and Morocco? Is that a big concern for footballs powerbrokers and even those in government in Spain right now?
SHUBERT: I do think it is a big concern, because it really was Rubiales who was spearheading those efforts to try and clinch the World Cup here. He was up until this point considered quite successful in his job at the Federation. Spanish football profited greatly while he was in that position. And, of course, you have this World Cup victory as well despite all of this.
So there's a lot to be said for what he has gained in this job, what he has brought to the job. The problem is now whether or not there will be detrimental effects from this. There's been some discussion today about a request by some of his supporters from the Federation to UEFA, saying that Spain should be suspended from UEFA because of government interference. That would mean if that were to happen, that Spain would not be able to play in European Championships.
At this moment, UEFA has not responded to that. They're clearly waiting for more direction from within Spain first, but it is starting to have international repercussions, Don.
RIDDELL: This story really does have a bit of everything, doesn't it? We thought that Rubiales was gonna step down last Friday, presumably he would have but for some very powerful supporters. Arguably though, no one loves him more than his mum. What can you tell us about her protest?
SHUBERT: That's right. I mean, while we've seen people rally in the streets, his family have rallied at a church in his hometown of Montreal in Southern Spain. And there, his mother has said she is on hunger strike until her son gets justice. And a number of his extended family, his cousins, for example, have come out and spoken to the press and say they believe that Rubiales is the victim here, and that it is Jenni Hermoso, who is lying in her statements, that is to quote the cousin, and that she needs to somehow absolve him of this situation by telling what they think is the truth.
So, if Rubiales clearly has support from a number of people, but perhaps nowhere more than his own family, whether or not that's going to have an impact on how this goes forward, Don, we'll just have to see.
RIDDELL: It is just an extraordinary situation, and it seems as though it's going to run and run. Atika, thanks for bringing us up to date. Good to see you again.
Well, if ever a young man was named to grow up and win things, then surely the golfer Viktor Hovland is that man. All he knows these days are victories and he spoke to me after landing the biggest one of his career, the FedEx Cup, that's next.
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RIDDELL: OK. To the Viktor go the spoils, at least that's what they say. And for Viktor Hovland, it's true. The Norwegian golfer has just wrapped up a remarkable season on the PGA Tour with back to back wins.
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Hovland won the BMW in Chicago last week, and then he won the Tour Championship in Atlanta on Sunday, which also means that he won the lucrative FedEx Cup and the $18 million prize. His dominant five shot win at Eastlake was his sixth PGA Tour title, and his third of the year, meaning that he's won almost $35 million this season alone.
I've watched his remarkable performance on Sunday, and I caught up with him afterwards.
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RIDDELL: Viktor, many, many congratulations. You've had an incredible season, and the last few weeks have been off the charts. Back to back wins and more than $21 million in the bank. How does it feel to be Viktor Hovland right now?
VIKTOR HOVLAND, 2023 FEDEX CUP CHAMPION: Yes. I mean, it's been, you know, I was still kind of already on cloud nine after last week, after 61 and shooting 28 on the back 9 to win. Just to have a really good chance going into this week. And then obviously, playing, I would say, even better this week. And it's just been -- it's been absolutely surreal. And I don't think it's sunk in quite yet.
RIDDELL: You're still so young, which means it's not that long ago that you were riding the school bus dreaming of just playing on the PGA Tour. What do you think young Viktor would make of what you've achieved?
HOVLAND: I don't think I would have believed that. It's -- yes. I mean, it's super satisfying, it's super special, but it makes me just cherish those days a lot more, you know, when it's almost like, it's a weird analogy, but it's almost like a video game. I feel like my video game or my character has gotten pretty advanced. And sometimes you want to start the video game all over to see if you can do it all again. But, yeah, I mean, it's been an incredible journey.
RIDDELL: You smile a lot, but you're very good at containing your emotions. So, what does get you emotional?
HOVLAND: Ah, great question. I don't know, not -- obviously, I'm very happy for myself that I was able to do this. But um, you know, I think when you see meaning outside of yourself, the people around you see, see when you can help other people and share happiness and pleasure. I think that that's the stuff that gets me more emotional.
You know, I'm just a normal guy. I want to play some golf with my buddies. It just never crosses my mind that other people will -- would want to stop what they're doing just to watch me play golf. You know, they just -- it just kind of doesn't compute to me. But it is really cool to see just the support that a lot of people from back home have for me, and watch golf. Because Norwegians are very patriotic, and whenever we do something, well, they tend to watch and cheer. So that's awesome.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RIDDELL: What a player and what an accomplishment. And I bet the European team are really, really glad that he's going to be on their side in the Ryder Cup next month. That's all we got time for on this edition of World Sport, thanks for your company. We'll see you again soon.
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