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NATO Secretary General Makes Unannounced Visit To Kyiv; Moscow Tries To Dispel Rumors About Chechen Leader's Health; Nearly Half Of Ethnic Armenians Flee; Student Gunman Kills Three In Rotterdam University Shooting; Government Shutdown Looming As Congress Seems Unlikely To Pass Spending Bill; U.S. Issues Stark Warning About China's Information Efforts; U.S.: China Manipulating Global Information Environment; Israel Supreme Court Concludes Hearing on Judicial Law; Swiss Glaciers Shrinking Rapidly; Cuban Scientists Work to Preserve Coral Reefs and Economy; Evergrande Says Chairman Suspected of "Crimes"; 200-Year-Old Tree Chopped Down, 16-year-old Arrested; Chat GPT Unveils New Voice and Chat Features. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired September 29, 2023 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome, everyone. I'm Michael Holmes. Appreciate your company. Coming up on CNN Newsroom. NATO's chief says Ukrainians are fighting for their families, their future and their freedom as he promises more military aid for their counter offensive against Russia.
Several people killed in a shooting spree in the Netherlands that country not usually associated with gun violence.
And police in Britain arrested a teenager saying he deliberately cut down a famous 200 year old tree at the famed Hadrian Wall.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from CNN Center. This is CNN Newsroom with Michael Holmes.
HOLMES: And we begin with words of support for Ukraine's grinding counter-offensive from NATO's top leader, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg met President Zelenskyy during an unannounced visit to Kyiv on Thursday. The NATO leader says work is underway to provide Ukraine with two and a half billion dollars worth of new ammunition. He also praised Ukraine's advances on the ground despite a slow pace.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JENS STOLTENBERG, NATO SECRETARY GENERAL: Today your forces are moving forward. They face fierce fighting, but they are gradually gaining ground. Every meter that Ukrainian forces your gains is a meter that Russia uses.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Meanwhile, Russian artillery pummeled the city of Kherson on Thursday, killing at least three people. That's according to Ukraine.
Now for more analysis, I'm joined by Mick Ryan, retired Army Major General in the Australian Army. He's also former commander of the Australian Defense College, and he is speaking with me from Kyiv. And I know you're glad to be back there. I don't want to talk to you about that in a moment.
But what did you make of Jens Stoltenberg saying Ukrainian advances are and I think he's word was gradual, is gradual or incremental enough in a war of attrition.
MAJ. GEN. MICK RYAN (RET.), AUSTRALIAN ARMY : Goo day, Michael. It's good to be with you. Well, it has to be. I mean, the Ukrainians have made progress. It hasn't been the progress that many hoped for at the beginning of the offensive.
But at the end of the day, the Russians have constructed very deep and comprehensive obstacles and Ukrainians despite all the odds have still managed to chew their way through them. So they have made progress. But there's more to come yet.
HOLMES: You tweeted that part of your reason for going back to Ukraine was to explore, quote, The strategic elements of what I describe as the Ukrainian way of war, explain what it is, and what you found.
RYAN: Well, I think this Ukrainian way of war that we've seen evolve over the last 18 months is a mix of old Soviet equipment and ideas, newer NATO ideas, as well as Ukraine's experience in this war, not since 2022, but since 2014, as well as elements of its culture and its history.
So, what we're seeing is a really unique way of fighting wars, not just battles, but how the entire nation leverages its advantages to defend itself.
HOLMES: When you look at the broad battlefield, obviously, Russia has its advantages, particularly in terms of troop numbers, whatever their capabilities might be, but in terms of command and control, logistics and so on how the war is waged, who has the advantage of the moment?
RYAN: Well, I think it's fair to say the Ukrainians have the strategic initiative, that they are advancing in the south also making progress and Bakhmut, their strategic strike program in Crimea and Russia is paying off at the moment with both military results as well as political results. And they've improved their air defense capability.
So certainly the Ukrainians have the initiative at the moment. They want to keep that going into winter.
HOLMES: Ukrainians, you know, you touched on this. They are through the so called sort of beacon line that formidable Russian defense at the southern front. How significant are those advances, particularly when it comes to the aim of cutting off Russian supply lines or getting to the Sea of Azov?
RYAN: Well, I think we should describe it as good progress, but the job's not done yet. They've chewed their way through a couple of the lines but they really need to be able to hold open that breach and then flow through a whole lot of forces that can exploit it they yet to do that.
[01:05:04]
But I'm sure like many people around the world will be hopeful that they're able to do that in the short to medium term.
HOLMES: What does Ukraine then need to achieve? Do you think militarily before the return of winter and it is a brutal winter? One thing you Ukrainian generals said on Friday that window won't, I think he said heavily influenced the counter events? What are your thoughts?
RYAN: Well, the Ukrainians will need continued support with equipment, both provision of new equipment to replace battle losses, as well as the maintenance of damaged equipment. We've seen just how high quality NATO kit is compared to the Russian equivalents, and it's saved a lot of Ukrainian lives.
Ammunition is clearly a high priority for battlefield commanders and the Ukrainian government, but so is stocking up on air defense missiles, not just to protect forces on the battlefield, but for Ukraine cities over the winter.
HOLMES: You and I have spoken I don't know how many times since the war began I was in Ukraine at the time. But for you being back there now. What are your impressions of where Ukraine stands? Not just militarily, but in terms of determination among ordinary Ukrainian who I know you've been speaking with?
RYAN: Yes, I mean, it's a it's a fairly resilient society. I mean, the unity of the society is crucial to how Ukraine is waging this defense against its brutal neighbor. And I'm sure there are many people who are deeply saddened at the loss of the relatives. But overall, this is a society that understands that it has no choice but to defend itself. So there's quite resilience and determination.
HOLMES: It's good to have you back there on the ground, mate. The general Mick Ryan in Kyiv, really appreciate it. Good to see my friend.
RYAN: Thanks, Michael.
HOLMES: Now the Kremlin is trying to dispel rumors that one of its major allies in the war is seriously ill. The Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov is facing a string of accusations of human rights abuses both inside and outside Chechnya is troops fighting in Ukraine. Of course, as Matthew Chance now reports, Moscow released a new video on Thursday suggesting he's doing just fine.
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MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): Behind the daily strikes and information war is raging, fueling speculation about key Russian figures, forcing the Kremlin to dispel the rumors like those swirling around hardline Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov now shown on state TV meeting President Putin after rumors, he is gravely ill.
Rumors spread by Ukrainian intelligence and that Kadyrov has denied on social media. I strongly advise all those who can't tell the difference between truth and lies on the internet to go for a walk in the fresh air and put their thoughts in order, he wrote.
Recent weeks Russia has been busy denying Ukrainian claims that a strike on its Black Sea Fleet headquarters in Sevastopol killed dozens of Russian naval officers, including the overall commander, but Admiral Viktor Sokolov soon appeared in an undated video call with Russian defense officials. His stiff appearance, though, only fueled speculation about his condition.
Finally, the admiral is shown handing out medals to the Russian Navy soccer team answering questions apparently on the attack. Although CNN can't verify when the event took place.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Could you please tell us in a few words would happen to reassure Sevastopol residents?
ADM. VIKTOR SOKOLOV, RUSSIAN NAVY (through translator): Nothing happened to us. Life goes on. The Black Sea Fleet is carrying out the tasks assigned to it by the command.
CHANCE: But prominent Russians do have a tendency to occasionally drop from view. General Sergei Surovikin, the senior Russian commander linked with Wagner disappeared after recording a statement calling for the mercenary group to abandon its rebellion back in June.
Months later in September this image was circulated purporting to show Surovikin and his wife out and about in Moscow, in a bid to dispel rumors of his arrest.
And even Russia's defense minister shortly after the full scale invasion of Ukraine last year, vanished from view for over a week. Eventually popping back up on a video conference call with Putin a sign perhaps he was back in favor. Matthew Chance, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: A 98-year-old Ukrainian veteran in Canada is now under investigation by Polish authorities for possible war crimes during World War II. Last Friday as Ukraine's leader visited Canada's Parliament a standing ovation was held for Yaroslav Hunka but it became a huge embarrassment when it came out that Hunka had served in the Nazi SS.
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Polish officials now say they intend to look for matches of Hunka's name from witness testimonies to a massacre of Polish civilians in 1944. If evidence shows Hunka was involved, Poland says it will seek his extradition. To Armenia now where the government says more than 76,000 people have now arrived from the Nagorno-Karabakh region and is now under the control of neighboring Azerbaijan. The figure means nearly two-thirds of the enclaves ethnic Armenian population has fled choosing to leave behind their ancestral homeland out of fear of persecution. Armenia's Prime Minister gave us a stark assessment of the situation on Thursday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NIKOL PASHINYAN, ARMENIAN PRIME MINISTER (through translator): Analysis of the situation shows that in the coming days there will be no Armenians left in Nagorno-Karabakh. This is an act of ethnic cleansing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Amnesty International is calling on Azerbaijan to allow safe passage for those heading to Armenia and to guarantee the right of return. But for many refugees, there is little hope of ever going home again. The self-declared republic of Nagorno-Karabakh will cease to exist soon after its president signed a decree on Thursday, dissolving state institutions. Armenian ambassador at large spoke to CNN about the situation.
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EDMON MARUKYAN, ARMENIAN AMBASSADOR-AT-LARGE: Very well planned, organized and executed ethnic cleansing against peaceful people of Nagorno-Karabakh. At this moment, already 78,000 people crossed the border. And of course, it's a big humanitarian crisis for Armenia as well because small country with small resources. It's a very big crisis.
And we expect more and more and after this invasion, after Azerbaijani military attack on September 19. Armenian people, people of Nagorno- Karabakh, they cannot imagine how they are going to live in their ancestral homeland. Because of these attacks, because of these violations, mass violations and no one guaranteed the rights and securities under any mechanism.
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HOLMES: Now this two-week old infant is among the tens of thousands of ethnic Armenians who have fled Nagorno-Karabakh since last week. His mother says they spent some of his first days of life in a basement shelter, while Azerbaijan launched its lightning offensive on the separatist enclave. She described the struggle of raising her children during the crisis.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): They have seen three wars in 2016, 2020, and this one. Everyone has borne the brunt and experienced the cruelty of each of these wars.
We have no hope of going back. It is impossible to live side by side with Azerbaijanis peace with them is a fiction.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Azerbaijan's president says the rights of ethnic Armenians will be guaranteed but Armenia's Prime Minister and international groups have repeatedly warned of the risks of ethnic cleansing. Authorities have arrested a 32-year-old student for a shooting rampage in the Netherlands. They say it was a targeted attack that killed three people, including a 14-year-old girl. Scott McLean with the latest.
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SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): All of this happened in the same Riverside part of Rotterdam not far from the city center in two separate locations. Police say that the first shooting was mid- afternoon in a residential part of Rotterdam in what looks to be a low rise apartment building.
Based on video footage that we have from the scene you can see emergency crews tending to one person on the pavement outside and then smoke billowing from that actual building. According to police, a 32- year-old suspect went inside and shot dead a 39-year-old woman and then seriously injured her 14-year-old daughter.
And we have now since learned in a further update from police that that 14-year-old girl has also died. That suspect police say then went and set fire to that building. There was then a second shooting by the same suspect in a location about a mile a kilometer and a half or so away at the Erasmus University Medical Center. Police say that the suspect went inside of a classroom inside of that university hospital and shot dead a 46-year-old male teacher he then set fire to part of that facility as well.
This is this very same medical school where he himself was a student. Now according to CNN affiliate RTL, the suspect did have a prior criminal record.
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In 2021, he was convicted for animal abuse. Now initially, police reported that the suspect was possibly riding a motorcycle wearing combat clothing carrying a handgun. Police ended up finding him underneath -- hiding underneath of a helipad on that university hospital campus and while police say that this crime was targeted, these crimes were targeted. The motive, though, is still far from clear. Scott McLean, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: There are growing calls for accountability in Iraq after that wedding hall fire that killed at least 100 people and injured 150 others. Funerals have begun for the victims. Now the country's interior minister says 14 people have been arrested including the hall's owner and three people who allegedly lit fireworks indoors. Authorities say the clear lack of safety and security measures turn the happy occasion into a nightmare.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EM NOUR, RELATIVE OF VICTIM (through translator): It is not OK for one person to get burned, let alone tens of thousands. The Iraqi blood is spilt easily.
HANAA KHADER, RELATIVE OF VICTIM (through translator): I lost five family members my nephew and his mother, my brother and his wife and my sister in law, and there are another four family members who were admitted to Erbil hospitals suffering from their wounds.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: And we're going to show you video of the moment the fire began a warning of course that might be disturbing to some viewers. What you see is a packed venue and as the loved ones celebrate a young couples married you see those fireworks we mentioned shoot up during a dance and perhaps unsurprisingly, set the ceiling on fire.
People then start running for their lives. The father of the groom says a newlywed survives so many of their guests did not.
Officials in northeast Uzbekistan say at least one person is dead and more than 160 hurt after a huge explosion of rafted at a warehouse in the capital city of Tashkent.
You see what happens there windows are falling out the loud sound of the blast. According to the health ministry a teenager died at the scene of the blast. Two dozen others were sent to hospitals. Emergency officials say the situation is under control or authorities investigating what caused all of that.
A stark warning from the U.S. about China's efforts to control and manipulate online spaces we'll have that story and get perspective from a security expert. Also Taiwan (INAUDIBLE) a new submarine meant to deter a potential Chinese invasion. We'll have reaction from Beijing after the break
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HOLMES: We are now less than 48 hours away from the U.S. government shutdown with little sign of progress from the politicians. The House approved several spending bills late on Thursday, none of which would avert a shutdown. Republican hardliners want drastic cuts the spending but more money for border security. And House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is refusing to say whether he will try to do a deal with Democrats If his stopgap spending bill fails on Friday.
The government runs out of funding officially at midnight on Saturday, millions of federal employees and active duty troops won't get paid until the shutdown is over. And massive disruption to air travel is possible as tens of thousands of air traffic controllers will be forced to work without pay. And while Congress is mired in dysfunction, there are warnings about
the broader economic impact of a government shutdown. Brian Todd looks at how it will affect millions of Americans.
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BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): This Wisconsin food pantry is bracing for a surge of needy families if the federal government shuts down this weekend.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A lot of people might come through and be like this is my first time here. How does this work.
TODD: Two reasons for more hardship federal workers won't get paychecks and families who rely on food assistance could lose it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They don't get those benefits. Tthey might come here every week, instead of only once a month.
TODD: First to feel the pinch almost all of the country's more than 3.5 million federal workers going without pay.
EVERETT KELLEY, AMERICAN FEDERATION OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES: They live from paycheck to paycheck when they don't get a paycheck. It can be devastating metaphorical disaster.
TODD: Over a million our active duty military.
SABRINA SINGH, DEPUTY PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: Service members have rent to pay mortgages, child care, so those bills are going to mount up. It's an incredibly stressful time.
TODD: Some workers will still have to work without pay those deemed essential. For example, soldiers Border Patrol and air traffic controllers.
PETE BUTTIGIEG, U.S. TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: It certainly doesn't help with that safety critical job for them to come to work with the stress of not getting paid.
TODD: Among the many services at risk food and water safety inspections, services at National Parks, disaster funding for places like Hawaii and Florida, passport processing. We can expect airport delays with many unpaid TSA screeners likely to be absent, and thousands of preschool kids could be shut out of the Headstart program.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're talking about kids that are living in extreme poverty, not having this system up and running would really, really impact the kids and the communities that need it the most.
TODD: Other impacts immigration court cases put off and no new government aid to help states cope with migrants.
KATHY HOCHUL, NEW YORK GOVERNOR: New federal funds will not be available to help states like New York deal with the asylum seekers crisis.
TODD: Social Security and Medicare payments will continue uninterrupted. But service --
KELLEY: Person come and want to apply for a new claim that won't happen. A person have an issue with their benefits, you know, they have no one to call no, one to talk to.
TODD: The broader economy would take a hit, experts say because things like permitting for construction projects and loan approvals for farms and small businesses could be paused.
CATHERINE RAMPELL, CNN ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: A government shutdown is just yet another drag on the economy because it ends up disrupting lots of supply chains and lots of services that people and businesses rely on to keep other parts of the economy running.
TODD (on camera): What should the average American do to prepare for a possible government shutdown? Analyst Catherine Rampell advises check to see what benefits you're receiving from the federal government, whether it's food stamps or your child's preschool, find out if those benefits will be disrupted. And she says contact your representative in Congress and urge them to work as hard as possible to reach a funding deal. Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
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HOLMES: Now as the clock ticks down in Congress, U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday made one of his most direct condemnations yet of the hardline Republicans who have stalled the funding and the former president who is egging them on. Mr. Biden didn't mince words as he warned that Trump and his MAGA Republicans are bent on destroying American democracy. CNN Kayla Tausche has more from the White House.
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KAYLA TAUSCHE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): President Biden with a stark warning for American voters.
JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: Something dangerous happening in America now. There's an extremist movement does not share the basic police in our democracy. The MAGA movement.
TAUSCHE: The president issuing a blistering critique of the far right wing of the House GOP.
BIDEN: Extremists in Congress more determined to shut down the government to burn the place down.
TAUSCHE: End making a not so subtle reference to his top 2024 rivals Trump and DeSantis.
BIDEN: Consider these as actual quotes from MAGA and the MAGA movement quote, I am your retribution slitting throats of civil servants.
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TAUSCHE: The impassioned speech from battleground Arizona, the state whose 2020 election results Trump tried to overturn.
BIDEN: The defeated former president expressed when he was in office information applies only to him. And this is a dangerous notion. This President is above the law, no limits. Trump says the Constitution gave him quote, the right to do whatever he wants his president, end of quote.
TAUSCHE: It's familiar rebuke from Biden spurred to run for president while watching the Charlottesville riots cautioning on political violence from Capitol Hill to Independence Hall ahead of the midterms.
BIDEN: Equality and democracy are under assault.
TAUSCHE: This address just one day after the Republican debate. Where 24 hopefuls fought for airtime on the debate stage at the Reagan Library. Biden unveiling a library for his late friend and longtime Senator John McCain says not all Republicans are extreme.
BIDEN: For John, it was country first, honor, duty, decency, freedom, liberty, democracy. And now history has brought us to a new time of testing.
TAUSCHE: And that another era of cooperation is within reach.
BIDEN: When we put partisanship aside and put country first. I say we must, and we will. We will.
TAUSCHE (on camera): Meanwhile, lawmakers in Washington appear farther apart than ever, with Republicans embarking on impeaching the president with hearings that just begun and barreling toward a government shutdown that could begin this weekend. Kayla Tausche, CNN, the White House.
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HOLMES: A new U.S. report details China's efforts to spread disinformation and propaganda online and it contains a striking warning that Beijing is effectively promoting what they call digital authoritarianism, both at home and around the world. CNN chief national security correspondent Alex Marquardt with more.
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ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (on camera): The U.S. State Department on Thursday issued a new sweeping warning about the Chinese government's efforts to control information to disseminate propaganda and disinformation that promotes what they call digital authoritarianism, both in China and all around the world.
The report accuses President Xi Jinping of significantly expanding the PRC's efforts to shape the global information environment. It does allege that China spends billions of dollars every year on foreign information manipulation and says that President Xi has quote, pressed PRC state media to tailor precise communication methods to influence foreign audiences globally.
Now, the head of that center that published the report the GEC the coordinators name is Jamie Rubin, and he said on Thursday, he issued a warning that this type of manipulation of information is what he called the dark side of globalization. Take a listen.
JAMIE RUBIN, SEPCIAL ENVOY AND COORDINATOR, GLOBAL ENGAGEMENT CENTER: If we don't change course, steady, often imperceptible changes will occur, that poison the information space that is crucial for our societies to function.
We don't want to see an Orwellian mix of fact and fiction in our world and to just that will destroy the secure world of rules and rights that the United States and much of the world relies upon.
MARQUARDT: The report also gives a number of dramatic examples of the PRC's efforts to disseminate Beijing's narrative and to crack down on conversations about issues like Taiwan, China's human rights record and the South China Sea.
It alleges that China uses influencers to push its message and that the Chinese company which owns the huge social media app, TikTok, that company quote maintained a regularly updated internal list which identifies people who are likely blocked for reasons such as advocating for the independence of Chinese Uyghurs.
China's embassy here in Washington, DC responded to that State Department report telling CNN in part, that the report serves to heighten ideological confrontation to spread disinformation and to smear China's domestic and foreign policies. Alex Marquardt, CNN, Washington.
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HOLMES: Now last hour I spoke with Jamie Metzl, a senior fellow with the Atlantic Council. He was also part of national security staff during the Clinton administration, and we discussed the U.S. State Department report I asked him how serious he thinks the threat is.
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JAMIE METZL, SENIOR FELLOW, ATLANTIC COUNCIL: Chinese propagandists like Russian propagandists are poisoning the free flow of information in our open societies. We've already seen the threat that poses to American democracy. We've seen misinformation around the issues of the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic.
And what they're basically trying to do is to poison the well of global accountable information and to create an environment where there is no fact, where there is no real accountability.
And if we don't want to live in that Orwellian world, as Jamie Reuben rightly pointed out, we have to call this by its name, we have to be honest about what's happening. And we have to develop response mechanisms that do what needs to be done countering misinformation and harmful propaganda without undermining our own open societies.
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: It's interesting where this report suggests that the messaging is focused. They say there's particular focus on Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Why there and how effective has it been?
METZL: I believe the Chinese government believes that it's an open terrain. Already, there are seeds of distrust, certainly of the post- colonial societies don't have a lot of trust in the former colonizing countries.
And I believe that China thinks that they can create opportunities to get people around the world to distrust the United States, to become relativists, to see China in a positive light in part because they don't have all of the information.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Atlantic Council senior fellow Jamie Metzl there speaking with me last hour.
Taiwan has unveiled its first domestically built submarine. President Tsai Ing-Wen was on hand for the ceremony, calling it a significant milestone in boosting the islands military defense.
Taiwan's military leaders hope the sub will help deter a potential invasion by China, which of course, claims the island as its territory. China's defense ministry dismissed the submarine and the notion of keeping its ships out of the Pacific Ocean as quote, "idiotic nonsense".
Scientists say because of climate change the beautiful Swiss glaciers are shrinking rapidly. Find out how much ice is being lost when we come back.
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HOLMES: Israel's supreme court has an important decision to make in the next few months. It is set to rule on a challenge to a new law making it harder to declare a prime minister unfit for office.
CNN's Hadas Gold reports from Jerusalem.
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HADAS GOLD, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: The case being heard in the Israeli supreme court on Thursday could have the most far-reaching personal implications for the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his ability to serve as leader of this government.
That's because the arguments were being heard for and against a law that was passed in March and makes it much more difficult to remove a sitting prime minister from office. Under this new law the only way a Prime Minister can be declared unfit
to serve is for physical or mental reasons and it would need to pass both a super majority in the Israeli cabinet as well as the Israeli Parliament.
Now, Benjamin Netanyahu faces an ongoing corruption trial, charges of which he denies. But there were some concerns from his allies that the attorney general was going to declare Netanyahu unfit for office and potentially try to remove him from office because of the situation in his ongoing corruption trial.
But as this law has now passed, you can only declare a prime minister unfit for office for physical or mental reasons. And with these very high hurdles of votes that need to be passed.
Now the petitioners who brought this case to the supreme court, they argue that this law was passed in a misuse of constituent authority. That this law was passed solely to benefit Benjamin Netanyahu.
And what was interesting is that the lawyers representing the Israeli government and the Israeli parliament essentially admitted to as much. They said, sure this law will benefit Benjamin Netanyahu, but that they're arguing that the supreme court cannot and should not strike it down, because if they do, they are arguing that this is the supreme court essentially taking electoral decisions into their own hands and casting aside the millions of people who voted for Benjamin Netanyahu.
Now, those arguing against this law, including the attorney general, lawyers for the attorney general, said that a law cannot be used as a kind of private resource, arguing that it cannot be used to remove personal problems from the field of morality and criminal law.
And they're arguing that at minimum, if the supreme court will not annul this law, that they will at least delay its implementation until the next session of the Israeli parliament. We are expecting a decision on this specific case could come as soon as the coming weeks.
Hadas Gold, CNN -- Jerusalem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Heavy rain storms continue to pummel Greece, where officials say some parts of the country got several months' worth of rain in less than 24 hours.
This is the second severe storm to hit the region this month. The mayor of one port said -- he says, "80 percent of the city lost power Wednesday night because of the storm. The heavy rainfall flooding homes, businesses, and roads, and leaving cars stranded.
Here's what one resident had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
YANNIS GAVANOUDIS, RESIDENT OF VOLOS, GREECE (through translator): We saw the river was overflowing. We had been battling the situation with the water for 20 days.
They do not come to help us. They open one small drain, and then leave the rest. And the bridges have been built really low. It doesn't make sense.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: More rain is forecast for the next few days. Fortunately, they're not expected to be as severe in terms of downpour, but you can see how heavy it is.
More than 16,000 children are displaced in Libya after this month's catastrophic flooding. UNICEF says the children lack basic essentials like safe water, clothes and schools. So far, the aid organization has delivered medical supplies, hygiene kits and water purification tablets to help.
Earlier this month torrential rain and the collapse of two dams flooded the city of Derna. The World Health Organization says about 4,000 people died. Thousands more remain missing, presumed dead.
Switzerland's glaciers are shrinking at an alarming rate. In just two years, the glaciers suffered their worst melting rate on record, losing 10 percent of their ice volume according to the Swiss Glacier Monitoring Network.
In fact, Swiss glaciers have lost as much ice over the past two years as was last in the 30 years between 1960 and 1990. Scientists say a combination of low snowfall and extremely warm temperatures caused the melting.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MATTHIAS HUSS, SWISS GLACIER MONITORING NETWORK: This year was very problematic for glaciers because there was really little snow and winter, almost record low snow depths and the summer was very warm. The combination of these two factors is the worst that can happen to glaciers.
And then of course, there is climate change that makes such extreme events as we have seen and in the last three years much more likely.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: And the problem is not restricted to Switzerland. Recent research found that even if ambitious global climate targets are met, up to half of the world's glaciers could disappear entirely by the end of the century.
[01:39:51]
HOLMES: Human-created climate change has also damaged coral reefs off the coast of Cuba. Now, scientists believe they found a way to not only preserve the vulnerable environment, but also improve the island's economy.
CNN's Patrick Oppmann explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Porpoises swim off the coast of Cuba. The waters here may seem pristine, but like seemingly everywhere else, this Caribbean Island nation is grappling with the threats from a rapidly changing climate.
Now in the first research expedition of its kind, 24 Cuban scientists and crew circumnavigated the entire island to carry out what they say is the most comprehensive study ever done on climate change and the impact it's had on Cuba.
Researchers dive from coral reef to coral reef and say what they have found is even more dire than they expected.
"We've seen a bleaching of corals, which is something that is worrying and that is massive", she says. "The majority of coral is bleached, and this is because of the high temperatures."
The scientists say it's not too late to reverse the damage, but that we have to dramatically reduce human-caused pollutions that's heating oceans to record levels, killing off coral reefs and filling the seas with microplastics.
With this study, the scientists say they will be able to measure much more accurately how much harm has been inflicted on Cuba's unique natural environments.
"We are going to have a baseline," she says. "We hope to identify the spots along the coast where the pollution is and how concentrated it is."
For two months, the scientists carried out dozens of dives, taking hundreds of samples from the bottom of the ocean.
Scientists are barely out of their wetsuits before running tests in their ocean (ph) laboratory. They hope what they learn can change how resources on this island are used.
Scientists say they're making the case to government officials here, but the country needs to transition from commercial fishing, have a greater focus on marine tourism.
As they say, a shark can only be caught and eaten one time, whereas that same shark can be enjoyed by tourists on a dive excursion again and again. Something that's not only better for the country's environment, but also its economy.
The change will not come easy. But for Cubans who depend on mangroves to protect them from hurricanes and beaches to attract tourists. Experts say there is no other choice.
"It's not a luxury, it's a necessity," he says. Even with so many difficulties, we can't stop (INAUDIBLE) about -- they protect the beaches, they protect us from extreme weather. They give us sand (INAUDIBLE).
The scientists traveled more than 1,800 nautical miles to better understand the incredible natural world of Cuba's shores, that is increasingly at risk.
Patrick Oppmann, CNN -- Cienfuegos, Cuba.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: New worries for one of the biggest real estate developers in China. We'll go live to Beijing and Marc Stewart with details on the allegations against Evergrande's chairman. That's after the break.
[01:43:00]
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HOLMES: More trouble for the embattled Chinese real estate developer Evergrande. The company says its chairman is suspected of crimes.
CNN's Marc Stewart is live this hour in Beijing for us with details.
Bring us up to date, this is obviously just the latest issue for China's real estate industry. Bring us up to date.
MARC STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Michael.
As you know, the real estate and property sector has been a big part of the Chinese economy. A big part of its economic engine. But after the pandemic, people became a little bit concerned. They didn't spend as much money as they had in the past.
Young people had a hard time finding a job. They still do. Basically, money was not changing hands as had been hoped. And the property and real estate market is now in a bit of a slump.
So now there is this call for accountability. One company as you mentioned in particular, Evergrande has been the focus of a criminal probe. One of its top executives we have learned in the last few hours, Hui Ka Yan (ph) is now the focus of an investigation.
Evergrande is right now trying to get its books in order, its finances in place and tried to move forward. But there are certainly no guarantees.
It is not alone. A number of real estate firms here in China have a very uncertain future and there is concerns about what it will mean for the rest of the economy.
Take a listen to one observer about how he views the future.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDREW COLLIER, MANAGING DIRECTOR, ORIENT CAPITAL RESEARCH: The economy is going to have to reset itself at a lower level, that is the key issue. And what we don't know is how low a level that's going to be and how much of a political mess, in terms of anger towards the central government that is going to cause.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEWART: So it's very difficult to write this next chapter in this property saga but what is very clear is that this is very personal for Chinese families. Hardworking families who have spent a lot of money on new homes, new apartments but can't move in, in many cases these projects have been halted in their tracks.
So now they have this predicament. Where do we live? Do we continue to pay our mortgages? It is a real crisis here in China, Michael. And this latest example with Evergrande is just another example of this hardship.
HOLMES: Yes. Absolutely. Appreciate the update. Marc. Thank you, Marc Stewart there in Beijing.
Joining me now Rana Foroohar, CNN global economic analyst and global business columnist and associate editor for "The Financial Times". Always good to see you, Rana.
Firstly and just for context, for those who don't know how big, how significant is Evergrande in the Chinese economy.
RANA FOROOHAR, CNN GLOBAL ECONOMIC ANALYST: Well it's huge. I mean Evergrande, actually at the time of its first troubles in 2020 had the most debt of any global property developer. So you know, if you think about the subprime crisis that started in 2008, in some ways the debt of this foreign company dwarfs any debt that, you know, came in that previous crisis.
Now, of course, the context in China is always different, right? Because the authorities can decide or not decide as the case may be to swoop in and fix things. But there is no question that this is a mammoth indebted property maker of a kind that I don't think we have seen before.
HOLMES: And what do you make of the company and the chairman being investigated for suspected, quote, "illegal crimes"? What is your read on that?
FOROOHAR: Well there are two things going on here. One is the economic issue, which is China has long depended on a really hot property market to drive growth. And infrastructure, in general, has driven growth in China.
There's been worries leading up to the debt crisis that there were bridges to nowhere being built. That there were entire cities, you know, I have seen some of them in China myself but where you see luxury apartments that are empty. And that there is not enough demand to build these because China is a country that is still trying to really move beyond that middle market position, and it has a lot of work to go.
So the meltdown in property reflects this underlying structural problem for China. But then there is the politics of this as well which is very interesting.
You can go way back, you know, ten years to the purging of Bo Xilai who was the Qincheng (ph) regional governor. You could talk about some of the disappearances of big CEOs that have fallen on to the wrong side of the party.
This corruption campaign, on the part of Xi Jinping which is, you know, in part perhaps valid and a way of cleaning up some of the problems in the system can also skew towards the menacing (ph).
[01:49:49]
FOROOHAR: You know, people are sent to jail, you're not quite sure why. And the rule of law in China is not (INAUDIBLE) in other places. So I think there is this question mark about what's happening in China.
HOLMES: How much does Evergrande's predicament -- you touched on it a little bit -- how much does it undermine Beijing's effort to get the broader economy back on a more solid footing? And what are the risks of spillover into the country's banking system?
FOROOHAR: Yes. So two thoughts there.
One, it is definitely made savers even more inclined to put money under the mattress. You know, Chinese always save a lot. And a lot of people got into property, in fact, because they viewed it as more secure than shares.
I think that there's a real sense now that people want to hang on to their money. They're not spending. There's concerns about disinflation.
And then on the foreign side, it just makes people that might be inclined to still put FDRI (ph) into China a little worried. Because, you know, it's really unclear. Already, you are seeing ripple effects into the commodities market, the European stock markets.
So it is not just a problem for China, this is potentially a global problem as well.
HOLMES: What then, are the odds, and you just touched on this too. The odds of China's political leadership stepping in in a too big to fail sense? Bail out the company. I mean what are the options there for the government?
FOROOHAR: Very interesting. You know, at first and I actually wrote about this in "The Financial Times", the Chinese authorities took a very hard line. They said, no, we're not going to do another Lehman Brothers. We're not going to bail out the too big to fail institutions.
And it was as though they were setting a different standard, a different precedent for how Beijing was going to deal with the financial crisis versus the west.
Now you're seeing more recently, some back pedaling on that as this has become clear how devastating this is.
The truth of the matter is Beijing is working with a new playbook. They haven't been here before. And this is sort of the price of admission to being a richer, more developed, more financialized economy that you're starting to see the same kinds of housing knockdown that you've seen in richer countries in the past.
HOLMES: Yes. Yes, indeed.
Always good to get your analysis Rana Foroohar. Thank you so much. Appreciate it.
FOROOHAR: Thanks for having me.
HOLMES: A more than 200-year-old tree in an historic location was deliberately chopped down. This happened in England. Coming up, who authorities say is responsible for destroying what was a landmark which was made famous on the big screen.
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HOLMES: A sycamore tree that stood for more than 200 years in northern England has been destroyed. Have a look at what is left of the landmark, which was located on the Ancient Roman-built Hadrian's Wall.
The tree was cut down in what authorities are calling, an act of vandalism. They say a 16-year-old is under arrest. Look at that.
A national park official says, it is a blow because so many memories are linked to that tree.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TONY GATES, CHAIRMAN, NORTHUMBERLAND NATIONAL PARK AUTHORITY: Yes well, from a personal point of view I feel a real sense of loss. I feel that because of -- because of what this meant to me and I know what it meant to the staff within the Northumberland National Park, our volunteers.
This would've meant a lot to people. People would have been proposed to here. They would've held significant family occasions here. Some people well may have scattered the ashes of loved ones here.
[01:54:53]
GATES: And for someone to feel that they can -- could do this to such a (INAUDIBLE), I just find really hard to comprehend. And I feel a real sense of loss today.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Called the Sycamore Gap, it was one of the most photographed trees in England, and even played a role in the film Kevin Costner film, Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves" back in 1991.
Now the background you use on your video call might have an impact on how trustworthy and capable you seem to others or at least that's what a small study in the U.K. found. Researchers took database photograph and super imposed them on various backgrounds to simulate a video call. And then they asked a cohort of 167 participants to answer questions about the images. Results show that people with a plant or bookcase in the background were seen as more trustworthy and confident.
Novelty backgrounds or views of a living area produce the opposite effect. What if you have a bookshelf in your living room?
The race to control the future of artificial intelligence is heating up and ChatGPT is unveiling some big changes to try to stay ahead of the competition.
CNN's Anna Stewart with that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It has been a big week for ChatGPT announcements. First it grew eyes and ears with new voice features announced, so soon you'll be able to chat to ChatGPT, much like Apple's Siri or Amazon's Alexa.
Plus, an ability for the GPT bot to respond to images.
Now on Thursday the company announced that ChatGPT will also be more up to date. Until now the A.I. bot has used information that it's gleaned from the Internet but only up to September, 2021. It has been blissfully unaware of anything that's happened since.
But now Open A.I. say subscribers of the ChatGPT Plus and Enterprise models will have an option to browse the Internet using Microsoft's Bing search engine. And eventually this will be expanded to all users.
In the announcement on X, Open A.I. said they've learned some lessons from a previous effort saying that the original launch for browsing in in May, we received useful feedback. Updates include following robots.txt and identifying user agents so sites can control how ChatGPT interacts with them.
It's an attempt to appease concerns about copyright. ChatGPT can only create from the vast troves of information it consumes. And of course, it is going to be consuming a lot more now.
Some Websites already use code to prevent A.I. bots from scraping their information including news outlets like "The New York Times", ESPN and CNN.
Anna Stewart, CNN -- London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Thanks for watching. I'm Michael Holmes.
CNN NEWSROOM continues with my friend and colleague Kim Brunhuber, next. [01:57:51]
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