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Five American Prisoners in Iran Returns Home; Ukrainian President to Attend the U.N. General Assembly in Person; Libyan Residents Demands Accountability After the Devastating Floods in Derna. CNN Investigates Wagner Leader's Last Visits in the Central African Republic before His Failed Mutiny. Israeli Prime Minister Talks to SpaceX Founder on his Anti-Semitism remarks; Comedian Russel Brand faces Investigation on Alleged Sexual Assaults to Five Women. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired September 19, 2023 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

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MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and a warm welcome to our viewers joining us in the United States and all around the world. I'm Max Foster, in London.

Just ahead on CNN NEWSROOM, a long-awaited return. Five Americans who spent years behind bars in Iran are expected to arrive in the U.S. soon, but the deal the U.S. struck to get them home is already drawing controversy.

Ukraine cleans house as Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrives in the U.S. to seek more support from allies. Kyiv announces the dismissal of several high-ranking defense officials.

Plus, anguish and anger in Libya. More than a week after devastating flooding that killed thousands, residents are demanding accountability from officials.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from London. This is CNN NEWSROOM with Max Foster.

FOSTER: Well, it is 3 a.m. in the Washington, D.C. area, where five Americans are about to take their first steps on U.S. soil in years. They've all been held prisoner in Iran. The U.S. government designating them as wrongfully detained, but they were released by Tehran on Monday as part of a deal mediated by Qatar.

The Americans made a brief stopover in Doha before leaving for the U.S. Only three have been identified publicly, including Siamak Namazi, who's been held in Iran since 2015. Morad Tahbaz and Emad Shargi were both arrested on espionage charges in 2018. The two other freed Americans haven't been named.

But the deal also includes the release of five Iranians held in the U.S. and unfreezing of $6 billion in Iranian funds. The U.S. says Tehran can use the money only for humanitarian purposes. The Biden administration is coming under criticism from Republicans who say the deal only encourages hostage taking.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS CHRISTIE, U.S. REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Americans are now more of a target for Iran than they were before, because they took five this time, maybe they'll take ten next time, and then they'll be looking for 12 billion or $15 billion. This never ends. It's a slippery slope that you slide down. As a leader, you have to say no to that type of thing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: CNN's international diplomatic editor has been looking at all of this. I mean, diplomacy is often a compromise. Did the Biden administration get this one right?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: We've been told that this is not something that was done in order to allow the United States to renegotiate or negotiate again the international nuclear deal, the JCPOA of 2015.

We're told that's not the case, but we do know that these negotiations got going in the beginning because it was about trying to resurrect that deal that President Trump pulled out of and spiked tensions with Iran.

So on the one hand, this was an effort to push forward a larger piece of diplomacy, and it came down to this deal. Now, the United States has been very reticent in the past about dealing with and paying to get people back. It has done it. This has been, this has happened before. Jason Rezaian was one of those $400 million the Iranians got their hands on, which was their money that they paid for weapons, but the same sort of point in case.

And if you take that example, Jason Rezaian and four others several years ago, 400 million, this time five, six billion, yes, it is absolutely correct to say that if you give hostage takers money for hostages. They will think that they can do it again and that they were up the odds. But there have been plenty of cases where the United States hasn't done that. Look at ISIS with those captive NGOs and journalists in Syria.

The United States didn't pay for their release and some of them died. The French hostages held there were released and the understanding is that their payments were made. And France typically does pay in these cases.

So it is a poison chalice, but it does appear that in this case, despite what the administration is saying, there is an effort to sort of to try to improve or reset the relation in a certain way, even though more sanctions have gone on yesterday even.

FOSTER: Some people say it's a fudge. Maybe it wasn't a ransom payment, but they wouldn't have received the payment without releasing the hostages. Some politicians in America calling it appeasement. I mean, how would you describe it?

[03:05:01]

ROBERTSON: Well, I think the political situation in the United States is incredibly fraught at the moment. We're into a political season, a presidential election next year. The divisions between the two sides, Democrats and Republicans, are massive. And there's a huge effort by some Republicans to score points against President Biden.

So I think it was almost inevitable that you were going to hear this sort of language. And that's why the White House has been so careful to lay this out and say, this was Iranian money. This was money that they'd given to South Korea to buy oil. It had been after that had happened. It was frozen due to sanctions. So this is their money that they're getting access to, which has been the case for the last couple of hostage releases that Iran has used the same tactic for.

But yes, in such a scenario, it's absolutely exposing President Biden to criticism for this.

FOSTER: Breaking his own sanctions, you could argue.

ROBERTSON: I think the White House wouldn't argue that, obviously, that this is a justifiable scenario where there is control and oversight on the way that the money is going to be spent. They've been very careful to say, United States sanctions do not stop food and humanitarian goods getting to populations. This is not about punishing the population that way. This is about the government and the controls are on that money to make sure that it can only be used for humanitarian goods. The test of that is going to be seen precisely what happens.

FOSTER: Thank you so much, Nic.

Well, the presidents of Iran and the U.S. set to attend the United Nations General Assembly kicking off in New York in just a few hours' time. Both leaders are among those delivering remarks today. U.S. President Joe Biden is also set to hold a bilateral meeting with the UN Secretary General.

World leaders will be discussing a host of issues, from climate change to the war in Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will be attending the annual meeting in person for the first time. The leaders of Russia and China won't be there, but Russia's foreign minister says the two countries will continue well coordinated work at the UNGA.

The Ukrainian president is set to address the General Assembly in those coming hours, and he'll be seeking more support for his country amid the ongoing war with Russia. On Monday, Mr. Zelenskyy visited Ukrainian soldiers undergoing treatment and rehabilitation in New York. He also honored some soldiers with awards.

As Ukrainian President Zelenskyy visits, visit does kick off in the U.S., Ukrainian military officials say they're still gaining ground back on the battlefield, breaking through Russian defenses in some areas in the east. CNN's Fred Pleitgen reports. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ground combat in a place reduced to a wasteland by months of relentless fighting.

Ukrainian forces released this video saying it shows their troops advancing near Bakhmut on the Eastern Front.

They're coming, cover me, the soldier says, as machine gun fire rings out and later mortars rain down.

The Ukrainians say their gains here are small but important. Firing heavy weapons at the Russians, including rocket barrages from combat helicopters, Kyiv trying to show they have the upper hand, a presidential adviser tells me.

Let's not forget that we are talking about the army that everyone was afraid of only yesterday, he says. Today, we're talking about a Ukrainian offensive in different directions.

The Russians eager to show they are holding on. Russian state media releasing this video of Putin's soldiers in the ruins of Bakhmut claiming they'll hold off Ukrainian assaults.

We can see them in the forest line. They're trenches. We're working on those targets, he says. We shell them with our mortars.

As Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy embarks on his visit to the U.S., both for the U.N. General Assembly, but also to meet with President Biden and members of Congress, the Ukrainians are urging the U.S. to keep up its support, saying, aside from the longer-range ATACMS tactical missiles to hit Russian supply lines, they urgently need a lot more artillery ammo, as their forces are heavily outgunned even as they try to advance.

Speaking to "60 Minutes," Zelenskyy highlighting the sacrifices Ukraine is making.

We're defending the values of the whole world, he says, and the Ukrainian people are paying the highest price. We are truly fighting for our freedom. We are dying.

A tough and slow grind on the ground as Kyiv's military tries to inch forward, vowing they won't stop until they've ousted the Russians from all of Ukraine's territory.

Fred Pleitgen CNN, Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Ukraine's government has just dismissed all but one of its defense or deputy defense ministers. The shakeup comes after several military corruption scandals. One of those dismissed is Hannah Malia, who had become a familiar face for hard updates on the progress of the counteroffensive. [03:10:02]

None of the officials who were fired were directly accused of corruption themselves, though. But it comes just weeks after Ukrainian President Zelenskyy fired defense minister Oleksii Reznikov, who had been unable to root out all that graft. He was replaced by Rustam Umarov, who says the ministry is rebooting while the work of defending Ukraine continues as usual.

CNN investigative producer Katie Polglase joins me now. It does happen, all of this, at the same time as the UNGA Zelenskyy on the international stage. Do you think there's a link in terms of the messaging?

KATIE POLGLASE, CNN INVESTIGATIVE PRODUCER: I think the timing is very interesting. And while Zelenskyy has been projecting that some of the reasons the counteroffensive may not be making the progress at the pace some would like. It's because of weapons and a lack of aid and the fact that they need more aid, more weaponry.

Clearly, we are also seeing a lot of political reshuffling back home in Ukraine. And that may speak to a tacit acknowledgement, almost, that perhaps there is something in the Ukrainian leadership that they have not quite got right in this counteroffensive, given they are reshuffling all of the people that you mentioned, everyone but one of the deputy defense ministers has been dismissed. That's quite a lot of the ministry to be reshuffling and to be taking this ministry in its future direction. And again, as we're seeing Zelenskyy arriving in New York now projecting to the world confidence Ukraine making progress in the counteroffensive. They're listing these villages recently that they've recaptured from the Russians. All of this is a projection that they have been making a lot of positive progress. And yet clearly the leadership is clearly under some questioning.

And it's interesting that while we're talking about all this weaponry we've seen in the last day, Germany announcing EUR400 million worth of aid going into Ukraine and also for weaponry not those long-range terrorist missiles that they wanted. Likewise, we still don't have word on whether the U.S. will be giving the missiles Fred mentioned earlier those attack homes that they desperately want.

Clearly, Zelenskyy's message mantra here is we need certain weaponry and that weaponry will help make us make more progress in this counteroffensive particularly as we head into these winter months, but clearly back home the leadership is under some question. And it's worth noting as well that as we head into these winter months, it's not just that the weather gets colder and this weaponry is needed and the direction of this military is important.

It's also that Russia may be going to target again the energy infrastructure. And that is the primary concern. We saw this last winter. If they target that, that is going to have a huge impact on civilian and civilian life in Ukraine this winter as well.

FOSTER: Okay. Katie, thank you so much. We'll be watching that visit to New York.

Diplomatic relations between India and Canada are plummeting. With both countries expelling one another's senior diplomats, that's after the Canadian Prime Minister suggested the Indian government was involved in the murder of a prominent Sikh leader and Canadian citizen living in British Columbia. India fired back, calling the allegations absurd and unsubstantiated, and it accused Canada of providing shelter to terrorists and extremists.

CNN's Vedika Sud is covering this live from New Delhi. I mean, they are huge allegations. Is there any basis to them whatsoever?

VEDIKA SUD, CNN REPORTER: Oh absolutely, huge and rare Max. I mean have you ever heard a Prime Minister go on the floor of the House and talk about another country which is a key partner to Canada and the same for India and talk about the possible link between Indian agents and the assassination of a prominent religious leader in the country. Well it's happened here. I just want to quote from what Justin Trudeau said in Parliament.

He said over the past number of weeks Canadian security agencies have been actively pursuing credible allegations of a potential link between agents of the government of India and the killing of a Canadian citizen, Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

Now let me just very quickly break down why this is rare and extraordinary in so many ways. Like I said, it's the Prime Minister going on the floor of the House and making this comment against a key partner. And over and above, you then have the Foreign Minister of Canada coming out and actually naming the diplomat, the Indian diplomat in Canada, who they've expelled.

Again, unstated protocol really not to go out publicly and name the official, but they've done that. And in a tit-for-tat, you know, expulsion, the Indians here, the Indian government here has expelled a Canadian officer now, the name of course has not been revealed at this point.

So it can easily be said at this point that the diplomatic row has escalated between the two countries and could further deteriorate over the coming days. Of course, we'll see. how this plays out internationally with other key allies of Canada and India, reacting to this concerns have been expressed by the White House according to Reuters and by the Australian Prime Minister at this point.

But this is going to escalate and you have the Indian government that has weighed in with an official statement countering what the Canadian Prime Minister had to say and except from what the Indian Ministry of External Affairs has put out this morning local time here in New Delhi. I'm going to read from that.

[03:15:04]

Such unsubstantiated allegations seek to shift the focus from Khalistani terrorists and extremists who have been provided shelter in Canada and continue to threaten India's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Now, this is something that India has repeatedly been relaying to Canada through its embassy here in New Delhi and to the Prime Minister's office in Canada that they're extremely concerned over the Khalistani movements that have been taking place.

Canada has a huge Indian diaspora. It goes into tens of thousands, really. So there is a huge vote bank there for Justin Trudeau as well to look into. And that could be one of the reasons why no real action has really been taken on the ground in Canada against this movement.

But when they talk about this particular prominent citizen from Canada who was gunned down in June this year, he's been defined or mentioned in the House of Parliament as a prominent Sikh leader. But for India, he's been declared a terrorist back in 2020 and an absconder.

So therein lies the difference in the approach from the two governments over this leader who was assassinated a couple of months back. Max.

FOSTER: OK, Vedika in New Delhi. Thank you so much for your insight on that.

Now, still to come, protests in Derna, Libya. Local residents are demanding officials be held accountable for lack of planning after floods destroyed the city.

Plus, the Biden administration is coming under criticism for its arrangement to bring home American prisoners from Iran, but it's not the first deal of its kind.

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[03:20:00]

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FOSTER: Incredible scenes as protesters packed the streets of the Libyan city of Derna on Monday. Hundreds of residents demanded accountability from officials. They partially blamed for the scope of the damage from the recent deadly flooding. Residents blamed government officials for not giving enough warning to residents to evacuate in time. Critics are also highlighting the fact that experts knew that as early as last year, the city was vulnerable to floods and the dams' required maintenance.

Reuters reports Libya's acting Prime Minister in eastern Libya dismissed all members of Derna's municipal council and is called for an investigation. Meanwhile, volunteers are working to dig large mass graves to handle the thousands of bodies found since last week. Derna's hospitals and morgues were overwhelmed in the days following the floods, with more than 2,500 people buried. Close to 4,000 people have been reported dead, according to the World Health Organization, and thousands more are still missing. One of the three cemeteries dedicated to burying flood victims took in

more than 1,000 bodies just last week. They had to drastically increase the size of the graves due to the decomposed and bloated state of some bodies.

Now the European Union has released EUR5.2 million in humanitarian aid for those affected by the flooding in Libya. In a statement on Monday, the E.U. said the funds will be channeled through partners already active in the country to lend more assistance with shelter, food, water, hygiene and more. Eight member states have contributed aid to Libya so far. The E.U. says they've allocated nearly EUR6 million in aid in the wake of that disaster.

CNN's Larry Madowo joins me now from Nairobi with more on this. It's interesting to see this reaction and some local officials apparently taking responsibility for at least the extent of the deaths.

LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: People are outraged in Derna, Max, after this devastating flooding, which they felt if the warnings were heeded, if the infrastructure was maintained, maybe not that many people would have died. 3,958 is the number of the dead, according to the World Health Organization. More than 9,000 are missing. And we might never know exactly how many people were killed here.

The protests we saw in Derna, outside the Grand Mosque, people want a speedy investigation into the disaster and legal action taken against officials. They feel irresponsible for this disaster and for the aftermath, for the response to it. I want you to listen to one of the people who was out there at the mosque.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MOHAMMED BEN HAMAD, LIBYAN PROTESTER (through translator): First of all, we pray that all the martyrs will rest in peace, and I hope this is the end of our catastrophes. We just ask that if there will be any rebuilding efforts, that no Libyan company be ever involved. This is because everyone in Derna, from the head of the municipality to all the officials, are corrupt. Derna should either be left as it is or a foreign company should be involved. The souls of the martyrs will not be in vain.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MADOWO: The protesters also want compensation for affected residents and a UN office there. There's obviously no confidence. They don't have confidence in the elected public officials and that is why this anger they see, Max.

FOSTER: Okay, Larry, in Nairobi, thank you for bringing us that update.

Five Americans freed by Iran on their way home then a look at the history a deal making between the longtime foes just ahead.

Plus an autoworker strike averted for now in Canada the union members in the U.S. are threatening to expand their walkout. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:25:00]

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FOSTER: We are expecting the plane carrying the five Americans to freedom to land anytime soon in the Washington D.C. area. It could happen anytime now really. The former Iranian prisoners were released on Monday after a deal between the U.S. and Iran. They first stopped in Doha, Qatar, on their way back to the U.S., which negotiated all of this.

The Biden administration says they were wrongfully detained. 51-year- old Siamak Namazi was arrested on a business trip to Tehran eight years ago. Morad Tahbaz and Emad Shargi were both detained in 2018 and charged with espionage. The two other Americans haven't been publicly identified.

The White House is defending the deal, but led to the release of those five Americans. But in fact, presidents of both parties have struck deals to bring Americans home over the years. CNN's Brian Todd has a look at that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Donald Trump pounced on President Biden for the deal that brings five American detainees' home from Iran. Trump posting on Truth Social that, quote, "once you pay, you always pay, and many more hostages will be taken, calling Biden dumb as a rock for making the deal." But many of America's biggest hostage deals of the past have also been the most controversial, and they've been done by Democratic and Republican presidents.

KIMBERLY DOZIER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Whichever administration does a hostage swap, gets Americans back home. It's a win. So you can expect the other side to attack the deal. The fact of the matter is, if you want to get Americans back, you're going to have to give something.

TODD (voice-over): As president, Trump himself engineered releases in 2018, bringing three Americans home from North Korea, which seemed to some observers like a quid pro quo for a summit with dictator Kim Jong-un.

One of the most controversial deals was the release of U.S. Army Sergeant Bo Bergdahl, brokered by the Obama administration in 2014. Bergdahl had been held in Afghanistan for about five years after vanishing from his post and was considered by some to be a deserter. Trump later criticized that deal in an interview with Wolf Blitzer.

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: We're tired of the Sergeant Bergdahl deals where we get a traitor and they get five of their killers that they've wanted for years.

TODD (voice-over): In exchange for Bergdahl, the Obama administration did trade five Taliban figures who'd been held at Guantanamo Bay.

DANIELLE GILBERT, EXPERT ON HOSTAGE POLICY, NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY: Those officials then went on to become the chief negotiators for the Taliban in negotiating the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.

TODD (voice-over): These deals go back several decades. In the 1980s, Ronald Reagan's administration became enmeshed in its biggest scandal, which began when it secretly traded arms to Iran in order to free American hostages held in Lebanon by the terrorist group Hezbollah.

RONALD REAGAN, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: What began as a strategic opening to Iran deteriorated in its implementation into trading arms for hostages.

TODD (voice-over): And the 52 American hostages seized from the U.S. embassy in Tehran were released after more than a year on the last day of the Carter presidency, under a deal that unfroze almost $8 billion in Iranian assets.

A more recent, but no less controversial deal was the trade last year involving American basketball star Brittany Greiner, who was arrested in Russia on drug charges. The man who the Biden administration traded for her, Victor Boot, nicknamed the merchant of death, a notorious Russian arms dealer who conspired to kill Americans.

GILBERT: There was a lot of concern that releasing someone like that was completely disproportionate to release someone like that in exchange for an American basketball player on a trumped-up drug charge.

TODD (ON-CAMERA): A senior Biden administration official acknowledged that these are some of the most difficult decisions a president makes, but the official said they thought this deal stands up. The official said, quote, "when you look at the full contours of the deal compared with the alternative. The alternative is these Americans never come home."

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: The U.S. Marine Corps has ordered a temporary pause in flight operations after three crashes over the past six weeks. The pause is set to last two days whilst the crashes are investigated. They do not appear to be connected though. The most recent incident involved an F- 35 jet like this one. It crashed on Sunday near Charleston, South Carolina. The pilot ejected safely; the wreckage has been located and is now being examined.

Canadian auto workers are extending negotiations with Ford delaying a possible strike. 5,000 union members have been threatening to walk off the job at three plants. Meanwhile, in the U.S., the union and the big three automakers have no plans to sit down at the table today. That's according to a source with knowledge of the efforts to end the five- day targeted strike. Even more workers could join the picket lines if there's no progress by noon on Friday. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY TOTTY, PRESIDENT, UAW LOCAL 14: We're structurally broken from the bankruptcy deal that we're still working under. These temporary employees that go years on end without being turned into permanent employees, that means, you know, working many years without contributing to your 401k. That's not getting the big profit-sharing checks that Mary Barron and the rest of the CEOs say that every employee gets, but we don't. You know, there's a lot of things when you look at even our pensions. We haven't had an increase in our pension in 20 years, and we're just falling behind.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Union demands include a 40 percent pay rise over the four-year contract, a four-day work week, and the restoration of cost of living increases as well.

Now, after a month-long hiatus, negotiations are set to resume this week between the Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. The Writers Guild, which is on strike, sent a message to members on Monday, confirming the meeting. Both sides met last month, but nothing of substance came out of those talks. But writers are asking for better wages, residuals and regulation of artificial intelligence amongst other things.

[03:34:57]

A comedian Bill Maher says he'll delay the return of his talk show now that both sides are resuming talks, but it's a reversal of an announcement that he made last week when he said the show would return despite the strike.

That's been almost a month since Wagner Chief Yevgeny Prigozhin was killed on a plane crash. So CNN journeyed into one of Wagner's primary and most remote centers of operation, the Central African Republic, to see how the militia and Russia's influence may be changing. Up next.

Plus, an actor who made his name performing raunchy stand-up comedy shows is now facing sexual assault allegations. Details on the controversy surrounding Russell Brand.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:40:00]

FOSTER: Almost a month after Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin died in a still unexplained plane crash, Russia has been moving to consolidate Wagner's operations across Africa.

CNN's chief international correspondent Clarissa Ward traveled to the Central African Republic, one of the world's poorest nations and one of Wagner's first operational sites on the continent, to see how Wagner's work and Russia's influence might be changing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the Central African Republic, the message from Wagner is clear. It's business as usual.

Less than one month after their boss, Yevgeny Prigozhin, was killed in a plane crash, mass mercenaries still guard the president and cut an intimidating figure on the streets of the capital.

Faces covered as Wagner Protocol dictates, they are unapproachable and untouchable. These are the first images of Wagner fighters in the country since Prigozhin's death.

(on-camera): So there's clearly still very much a presence here in Bangui.

(voice-over): That presence runs deep. The markets are full of cheap sachets of vodka and beer made by a Wagner-owned company, and the locals seem to like it.

(on-camera): They say they don't drink French beer, only Russian beer.

(voice-over): We've come back to the center of Prigozhin's empire in Africa, right as his death raises questions for the regimes he protected and the mercenaries whose loyalty he inspired.

Our last visit was in Wagner's early days here, run like the mafia, providing guns and fighters and propaganda in return for gold, diamonds and timber, using intimidation and brutality along the way.

(on-camera): That car full of Russians been following us for quite some time. We don't know why. We don't know what they want.

(voice-over): But in this lawless, war-scarred country, one of the poorest in the world, that ruthlessness and the security it brought is celebrated by many.

FIDELE GOUANDIJKA, SR. PRESIDENTIAL ADVISER, CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: Welcome to Guanciale Palace.

WARD (on-camera): Wow. That is quite the T-shirt.

GOUANDIJKA: Yes, beautiful T-shirt.

WARD (voice-over): Presidential adviser Fidele Gouandjika says the nation is in mourning for Wagner's dead leader.

GOUANDIJKA: He was my friend. He was my friend, best friend, a friend of all Central African people.

WARD (on-camera): Why exactly was Mr. Prigozhin so popular here in your mind?

GOUANDIJKA: Because our country was in war. So Mr. Putin gave us soldiers with Prigozhin.

WARD (on-camera): So aren't you nervous now that he's dead, that things might change?

GOUANDIJKA: Mr. Putin called our president. He told him that everything will be like yesterday. Nothing will be changed, nothing.

WARD (voice-over): But according to a diplomatic source here, hundreds of Wagner fighters left the Central African Republic in July after Prigozhin's failed mutiny. Those who remain, including his top lieutenants, have agreed to work for the Russian Ministry of Defense. Fighters have already been pulled back from frontline outposts to population centers in an effort to cut costs, the source says.

What's less clear is what becomes of Wagner's civilian presence here. This is one of the last places that Prigozhin was seen alive during his final tour across Africa.

It's called the Russian Cultural Center, only it has no connection to Russia's official cultural agency and was run until recently by Prigozhin's closest associate here.

Photographs taken on that visit show a new face, a woman known as Nafisa Kiryanova.

After days of asking for permission to visit, we decide to film covertly.

(on-camera): So you were here then when Yevgeny Prigozhin, when he was here, in the photographs. There's the photographs of you with Prigozhin together.

NAFISA KIRYANOVA, PRIGOZHIN'S CLOSEST ASSOCIATE: Oh my god, can you show me that?

UNKNOWN: Yeah. I think it was just over in that corner.

KIRYANOVA: Yeah.

UNKNOWN: There you are.

KIRYANOVA: Okay, that's good.

UNKNOWN: And this is Mr. Prigozhin, no?

KIRYANOVA: Yeah.

UNKNOWN: How was he?

KIRYANOVA: Normal.

WARD (on-camera): Do you think he knew they were going to kill him?

KIRYANOVA: My gosh, what a big fish in there. Who knows such things.

WARD (on-camera): What does it mean for your work here? Does it change anything?

KIRYANOVA: Does it change anything if, I don't know if the president of your country dies. Does it mean that the country steps to exist?

[03:45:05]

WARD (voice-over): She shows us one of their daily Russian classes. As we step back outside, we see a Wagner fighter.

(on-camera: Hi. How are you?

(voice-over): You can just make him out retreating to the back of the center, where according to the investigative group The Century, Wagner sells its gold and diamonds to VIPs and manages its timber and alcohol operations.

(on-camera): Who is that?

KIRYANOVA: A personnel.

WARD (on-camera): A person? Can we see what's there? That's weird.

KIRYANOVA: Yeah, actually so well what are you going to see there?

WARD (voice-over): Like most of Wagner's activities here it's clear there is still so much that is hidden from view. We've pushed the visit far enough it's time to go.

No matter who takes over here, Western diplomats say they don't expect much to change. At the local Orthodox church, the Greek lettering has been painted over. Its allegiance now is to the Russian patriarchy.

And even in the skies above the empire Prigozhin built, Russia's dominance lives on.

Clarissa Ward, CNN, Bangui.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: We'll be back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:50:00]

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FOSTER: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has kicked off a week-long visit to the U.S. in California where he sat down with Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk. They discussed a wide range of subjects including A.I., but Mr. Netanyahu also used the opportunity to challenge Musk about anti-Semitism on his social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: I hope you find within the confines of the First Amendment, the ability to stop not only anti- Semitism or roll it back as best you can, but any collective hatred of a people that, you know, anti-Semitism represents. And I know you're committed to that. I hope you succeed in it. It's not an easy task, but I encourage you and urge you to find the balance. It's a tough one.

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FOSTER: Musk said he couldn't stop all anti-Semitic speech before it's posted, but he's against anti-Semitism and quote, "anything that promotes hate and conflict."

London's Metropolitan Police say they are investigating an allegation of sexual assault in 2003 after a joint investigation into the comedian and actor Russell Brand by three media -- British media outlets was published on Saturday. But they're not naming the British comedian in the probe and Brand has denied all allegations so far.

Clare Sebastian has the latest.

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CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Russell Brand won't be performing on stage for a while. His multi-city comedy tour now postponed. The outspoken comedian and actor seen here leaving his last show Saturday night, just as U.K. broadcaster Channel 4 aired a joint investigation with the "Times" and "Sunday Times" newspapers, detailing allegations of multiple sexual assaults, including one rape.

One of the women who came forward, referred to as Alice, not her real name, says she was just 16 at the time.

ALICE, RUSSEL BRAND'S SECUAL ASSAULT VICTIM: Russell engaged in the behaviors of a groomer looking back in it. I didn't even know what that was then or what that looked like.

SEBASTIAN (voice-over): CNN cannot independently verify these allegations.

RUSSEL BRAND, ACTOR AND COMEDIAN: Hello there you 6.5 million awakening wonders --

SEBASTIAN (voice-over): And Brand has vigorously denied them in a video posted on his popular YouTube channel before the documentary aired.

BRAND: As I've written about extensively in my books, I was very promiscuous. Now during that time of promiscuity the relationships I had were absolutely always consensual.

SEBASTIAN (voice-over): While Brand now has millions of loyal followers on social media, portraying himself as a voice against the mainstream media, the list of accusations against him center on his time as part of the mainstream media, his career reaching new heights during the period the allegations relate to, his own promiscuity becoming an integral part of his comedic persona.

BRAND: I swear you. I pledge with Lord God. As our witness, I will consummate our love in this studio.

SEBASTIAN (voice-over): He made his name on Channel 4's "Big Brother's Big Mouth" airing in the U.K. in the mid-2000s. The broadcaster said it was appalled and was determined to understand what happened.

The BBC, who parted with Brand in 2008 over offensive voicemail messages, said it was also urgently looking into the issues raised.

And the literary agent Tavistock Wood, who had been listed as Brand's representative, told CNN they believed they had been horribly misled by him and had severed all ties.

As for potential criminal investigations, there are as yet no indications these are underway either in London or in Los Angeles, where two of the alleged assaults took place. The Metropolitan Police says it did receive a report on Sunday of an alleged sexual assault in London in 2003 without directly naming Brand. The Met has urged anyone who believes they've been the victim of a sexual assault, no matter how long ago, to come forward.

Clare Sebastian, CNN, London.

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[03:54:53]

FOSTER: Amidst the wildfire devastation in the Hawaiian town of Lahaina, there are still vibrant signs of life. This 150-year-old banyan tree is bringing hope to many residents there. Despite being burned in last month's fires, they say the historic tree is sprouting new green leaves and new roots as well. They're now adding extra layers of compost to the soil to give the tree more nutrients hoping that it'll help it recover.

A non-paying visitor caused a scare at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida on Monday. Some rides at the Magic Kingdom were shut down after a black bear was spotted in Mickey Mouse's neighborhood. But the bear was eventually captured in a wooden area -- wooded area, rather, and is being relocated to a nearby national forest. No injuries were reported and the rides have reopened.

That wraps up this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Max Foster, in London. Stay with us. I'll be back with more news in just a moment.

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