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CNN International: At Least Three People Killed In Shooting At Bangkok Mall; Soon: Trump Expected Back In Court For Fraud Trial; UNSC Okays "Security Mission" To Restore Order In Haiti; NATO Defense Chiefs Meet In Warsaw; In-Fighting Mires House Republicans Conference; Soon: Hunter Biden To Be Arraigned On Gun Charges; Activists Fight To Save Tokyo Park & Historic Trees. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired October 03, 2023 - 08:00   ET

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

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MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to CNN Newsroom. I'm Max Foster in London.

Just ahead, at least three people killed and four injured in a shooting at a mall in Bangkok. We'll have more on this developing story.

Then, Donald Trump's civil fraud trial enters its second day. A report on what's at stake for the business empire of the former U.S. President.

Plus, a multinational security force backed by the U.N. is on its way to tackle gang violence in Haiti. But there are plenty of concerns about the mission. We'll discuss why.

We begin with a deadly situation unfolding at a luxury mall in Thailand's capital. At least three people were killed and four others injured during a shooting in Bangkok. Police say a 14-year-old suspect is under arrest. The incident happened around 5:00 p.m. local time.

The details still coming in, but Paula Hancocks has the very latest for us from Seoul. An immensely popular place for people to go this.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's right, Max. This is really one of the most popular shopping malls in central Bangkok, the Siam Paragon mall. As you say, it is an upscale mall. And what we know at this point, and as you say, details are still coming in, is that three people have been killed, four have been injured, and this all happened around 5:00 local time in the afternoon.

There were gunshots that were heard inside the mall, according to social media posts, and we then saw hundreds of people trying to leave the mall, evacuate from different exits. Also, some images showing people trying to shelter in place as police moved in, and then they arrested a suspect. Now, the Metropolitan Police Bureau say they have arrested a 14-year- old. They arrested him with a weapon and say that they are in the process of assessing exact casualties. They had cleared the area as well and are asking people not to come to that mall or the station nearby to let them do what they need to do.

But certainly, this is a very unusual case. The fact that this suspect is 14 years old will come as somewhat of a shock. Now, gun violence in itself is not necessarily uncommon in Thailand. There have been a couple of mass shootings over recent years.

But certainly, the fact that it has happened in the center of Bangkok will unnerve many. And it is an area that is very popular. And at 5:00 in the afternoon, it would have been very busy indeed, as we can see from social media posts.

Now, the Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin has made aware of the situation. He's issued a statement as well, saying that he wants to express his deepest condolences to the families of the deceased and also thanking the police and saying that they will continue to do their work to make sure that everybody will be safe from this point.

But at this point, it is going to be a very much the focus that this is a 14-year-old in Thailand gun ownership, legal gun ownership should be for people at least 20 years old. So clearly, there will be many questions asked in the days coming. Max?

FOSTER: Paula Hancocks, back with you when you get more. Thank you.

Now in the next hour or so, we expect Donald Trump again to appear at the New York City courthouse for day two of his business fraud trial. On Monday, the former president repeatedly attacked the judge in the case and the attorney general who brought the charges. The case is expected to last for more than two months. Trump's accountant is scheduled to return to the stand today as well.

Let's go right to CNN's Kara Scannell who is in New York. You came across in an interesting way yesterday. I know one of our pieces online talks about this being as personal as it is professional for Donald Trump.

KARA SCANNELL, CNN REPORTER: Yes, Max. I mean, his business is on trial here. His reputation as a successful businessman and a billionaire is on trial here. And he railed against the attorney general outside of court yesterday, and inside he was listening very intently to the lawyers making their arguments.

Now the attorney general's office saying that he had falsely and fraudulently inflated the value of number of his properties, including Mar-a-Lago. In order to obtain better interest rates on loans and insurance, they said that he personally enriched himself in the process.

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Now, his lawyers struck back, saying that this was about politics, that the Attorney General had already made her decision on this case while she was campaigning, before she even had the role. They're saying that this wasn't fraud, there were no victims, and that the difference in the valuations that people put on different properties was just real estate.

So the state called their first witness yesterday. That was Trump's longtime former accountant, Donald Bender. He testified on the stand for about two hours. Now his testimony is going to pick up again today. And that is expected to go for quite some time.

It will get into the nitty-gritty of these financial statements that are at the heart of the case, and what the Trump Organization employees did in preparing those statements, and what the accountants did, and what they knew about the underlying valuations in this case.

So it will become, you know, a bit more specific to the finances here, but Donald Trump is expected to show up probably in about an hour or so. And he will be in court again today. The big question is, will he stay the whole day? But certainly, so much is at stake for him. The judge has already found that these statements were fraudulent.

The attorney general's office is seeking more damages and they want to prove individual culpability because it's not just Donald Trump who's on trial, but it's also his two eldest sons. Max?

FOSTER: OK, Kara in New York, back with you later. Thank you.

Now the man who served at Donald Trump's side for much of his time in the White House is offering his harshest criticism yet of the former U.S. President. In an exclusive statement to CNN, former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly has confirmed some damning stories about Trump's time in office.

Kelly specifically called Trump out for disparaging comments about members of the armed services, noting that Trump sneered at those who died or were injured in battle. Kelly described Trump as a person who has nothing but contempt for our democratic institutions, our Constitution, and the rule of law.

He concluded his statement with the words, God help us.

Now, Haiti's Prime Minister is welcoming the U.N. Security Council vote to send a multinational force to bring stability to his nation. Ariel Henry has made repeated calls for international assistance to help it fight the armed gangs that have taken over parts of the country and unleashed brutal violence.

Kenya has volunteered to lead that force, and the U.S. is working to provide $100 million for the force.

CNN's David McKenzie is tracking the story from Johannesburg for us. And many say this has been a long time coming.

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Max, it was a long time coming, in part, because the calls from Prime Minister Henri to have support to try and take on the gangs and possibly move towards some kind of election in Haiti were largely ignored for some time until Kenya earlier this year volunteered to send about a thousand police force members, whether it is paramilitary forces that are famous in Kenya or the regular police is unclear.

The vote at the Security Council was roundly accepted by most of the members abstaining was China and Russia. Now what this calls for, and if you read through the resolution, which looks kind of vague in diplomatic speak, but based on my experience, it is relatively forceful in that it allows this security multinational force to use deadly force to use what is necessary to try and stabilize the situation.

Several other Caribbean nations have also committed security forces to this operation. The situation in Haiti is untenable, violent gangs control much of Port-au-Prince, linked to the drug trade. The authorities, they have had very little success in trying to stem that violence, and people have resorted to vigilantism, which has caused the death of more than 2,000 people, both the gangs and the fight back since -- between January and mid-August.

So Max, it's extremely challenging situation. As you mentioned, the U.S. is volunteering to bankroll this international force with at least $100 million. But it's unclear when they will actually arrive in Haiti, whether other countries will volunteer their services and how exactly they will look to break the back of these gangs when often these kind of operations are not just about security and securing important key buildings.

And government institutions like Kenya has said it will do, but also intelligence gathering and trying to get the population on your side. There's also not a very rich history of multinational forces, especially the U.N. in that country post the 2010 earthquake in Haiti.

The U.N. forces there were roundly accused of human rights abuses and making the situation worse, but Kenya says it's up to the task. Max?

FOSTER: OK, David McKenzie, thank you.

NATO defense ministers are meeting in Warsaw this hour. It comes hot on the heels of Monday's E.U. foreign ministers gathering in Kyiv, where the bloc told Ukraine that its support is permanent. Questions remain, however, over how and when badly needed U.S. aid will come.

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On Monday, President Joe Biden said he fully expects Kevin McCarthy and the Republicans to approve a new aid bill, but he wouldn't say if he's received any specific assurances and he didn't give a timeline either.

Meanwhile, Russia is accusing Ukraine of firing cluster munitions. In a small Russian village near the border, the Bryansk governor says no one was injured, but several buildings were damaged.

CNN's Nada Bashir joins me now. We're really seeing different, I don't know, momentums, let's say, across the Atlantic. We're seeing in the U.S. some politicians really pulling back on Ukraine aid. But here in Europe, they're pushing forward with it and showing an even bigger commitment than they had before.

NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER: Absolutely, and it seems to be really on the heels of this decision taken by Congress on that stopgap bill for that emergency budget that the E.U. is stepping up. We heard from the E.U.'s Foreign Affairs Chief Josep Borrell speaking on Monday.

He acknowledged that the E.U. would be stepping up, expressing concern over the U.S. government's decision on this particular front. And of course, we have seen those proposals from Josep Borrell following that meeting in Kyiv, looking at boosting funding to Ukraine, a biannual package of more than $5 billion has been proposed.

So clearly, moving in somewhat different direction to the U.S. though it is important to note, of course, that President Biden has been very vocal on this, saying that Washington will not turn its back on Kyiv. But, of course, what has been a key focus for Ukraine from the outset of Russia's invasion has always been, of course, in addition to NATO membership accession to the European Union.

And what we saw yesterday was a clear show of commitment from the European Union on that front. The Foreign Affairs Council being held outside of E.U. premises, outside of E.U. borders for the first time, being held in Kyiv. We heard from the German Foreign Minister describing Ukraine as being the heartbeat of the European Union at this current point in time.

And as we heard from the Ukrainian foreign minister, we are beginning to see positive indications when it comes to the prospect of Ukraine's accession to the European Union. So in addition to that funding, in addition to the military aid that is being provided by the European Union members' states, we are beginning to see more concrete commitments in terms of accession.

Ukraine hopes that these negotiations can begin before the end of this year. But, of course, there are stringent requirements. The E.U. has already put forward at least seven recommendations in place for the Ukrainian government to fulfill, including commitments to tackle corruption, money laundering, press freedoms and minority rights in Ukraine.

This is a process that could take some time. But what Ukraine has really been pushing for since the outset of this invasion are these concrete commitments. And we are hearing this.

In fact, Josep Borrell said this quite vocally yesterday. He described Russia's aggression as an existential threat to the European continent as a whole. And that the strongest commitment that the E.U. can give to Ukraine at this point in time, in addition to that funding, in addition to the military support, is the prospect of E.U. membership.

So that will certainly continue to be a key focus. As you mentioned there, we are seeing security and defense ministers meeting in Warsaw today. That will be ahead of an official meeting of defense ministers in Brussels within the NATO framework next week, where of course Ukraine will continue to be top of the agenda. Max?

FOSTER: OK, Nada, thank you very much. And just hearing there, whilst Nada was speaking, that President Zelenskyy visiting the front lines in eastern Ukraine, according to their social media.

Now, Kevin McCarthy's position as U.S. House Speaker is under threat, and the challenge is coming from within his own party. On Monday, a far-right Republican lawmaker, Matt Gaetz, set up an historic vote to potentially oust McCarthy from his position. It comes days after McCarthy relied on Democratic votes to pass a temporary spending bill to keep the government open.

So, who exactly is Matt Gaetz, if you're wondering, and could Kevin McCarthy become the first House Speaker to be ousted from his job?

CNN Congressional Correspondent Lauren Fox joins me now from Capitol Hill. This is a name that lots of people will be hearing around the world. He seems to be one of the most powerful figures in American politics right now. So exactly who is he and where does his power come from?

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER: Yes, I mean, he has long been someone who has been in disagreement with the House Speaker. And obviously, his decision last night to move forward with what is known on Capitol Hill as a motion to vacate, that simply means an effort to try to oust the Speaker, it wasn't a surprise.

He's been threatening it for weeks, and yet, it still is going to set off a series of events starting as soon as today that could imperil the future of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Specifically, we could see a vote today, a procedural vote that could indicate whether or not McCarthy can survive this leadership test.

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Because of the House rules that were agreed to as part of getting into the Speakership, McCarthy allowed one single member to bring this motion to vacate at any time. And what that means is that Matt Gaetz or anyone else in the Republican conference who has a problem with McCarthy could rise to power very quickly, right?

So the key is going to be whether or not Democrats are going to help keep McCarthy in power. That's because we now know of five conservatives who say that they will move to vote to oust the Speaker. That means that the only hope that McCarthy has is to get a handful of Democrats to vote with his Republican coalition that wants to keep him in power.

And right now, that's a huge and tall order for a lot of Democratic members who say they don't have trust in the Speaker, especially after what happened on Saturday when he quickly changed his mind, brought that short-term spending bill to the floor.

And while it was a measure Democrats supported, the way in which it all happened really left a bad taste in many Democrats mouths. So that gives you a sense of what is at stake today and also how important Democrats could be in this process.

FOSTER: OK, Lauren Fox, thank you for explaining all that to us.

Now, still to come, Hunter Biden will appear in federal court in Delaware today, becoming the first child of a sitting president to fight criminal charges in court. More on the hearing coming up.

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FOSTER: In a little less than two hours, Joe Biden's son Hunter will appear in a Delaware courtroom to be arraigned on three criminal charges. The charges stem from Biden's purchase of a handgun in 2018. He's admitted he was struggling with drug addiction at the time. It'll mark the first time the Justice Department has charged the child of a sitting president with a crime.

Today's arraignment comes after a plea deal that Hunter Biden's attorney struck with the government fell apart earlier this year, and the appointment of a special counsel.

Our Senior Justice Correspondent Evan Perez is at the courthouse right now. So what do we expect to see happen today, Evan, and what are you looking out for?

EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're expecting that Hunter Biden is going to arrive here, and he's going to plead not guilty to these three counts, these three charges that he's facing. It all relate to him purchasing a firearm back in 2018.

He only own the gun for about 11 days. But during that time, he has written a book. He has talked about that he was struggling with drug addiction and was using drugs, which is a federal crime. It's a felony here in the United States.

And so, just two months ago, he was here after his lawyers had reached an agreement with prosecutors under which, you know, for 24 months if he just stayed off of drugs, if he didn't buy any firearms, he could have this charge go away. This entire investigation could have been gone.

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But that deal fell apart spectacularly right here in front of a federal judge who simply asked a few questions about exactly what the deal covered. So now we expect that Hunter Biden is going to arrive here in the federal court in the next hour or so. He is going to stand before a judge, plead not guilty and then he's going to be processed.

The first time that the child, the son of a sitting president is going to be charged with a federal crime here at the federal court in Wilmington, Delaware. Now this is not the end of his legal problems. We expect that the special counsel could bring tax charges against Hunter Biden.

He's been under investigation for almost five years, and prosecutors have said that they are looking to bring charges related to his taxes. It could happen in Los Angeles, it could happen in Washington, D.C. Again, that's coming in the next couple of weeks.

Back to you.

FOSTER: OK. Evan, thank you. Back with you as that story develops over the course of the day.

Now, still to come, petitioners fight for a say in Tokyo's urban development. Why they're pushing the government to reconsider a project at a rare green space in the heart of the city?

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FOSTER: Activists in Japan have collected hundreds of thousands of signatures to try to stop a project to redevelop an historic park and sports facilities in the middle of Tokyo. Some of the park's trees are nearly a century old, part of a rare green space in one of the world's largest urban areas.

CNN's Will Ripley reports.

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WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A fight for the future of a much-loved Tokyo park. Protesters urging officials respect history, stop the Jingu Gaien district urban redevelopment project.

HIROSHI ONO, PROTESTOR AND TOKYO RESIDENT (through translator): The Jingu Gaien is ours and our kids' cultural inheritance. It's not fair to push through a redevelopment plan without properly consulting citizens.

RIPLEY (voice-over): Protesters fear heritage gingko trees will be endangered by a new stadium, hundreds of others axed, making way for tall buildings of concrete and steel.

This, they say, is not just a fight over one part. It's a fight for the future of Japan's green spaces, the right to have a say. Built with public donations in 1926, the Jingu Gaien is seen as a people's park, home to a famous rugby venue. A historic baseball stadium where Babe Ruth once played. Its centerpiece, an avenue of 100-year-old gingko trees.

MIU SAKAMOTO, MUSICIAN: It's like a sanctuary to those living here.

RIPLEY (voice-over): That peace already broken. Small-scale construction underway on a billion-dollar redevelopment plan approved by the Tokyo government, led by real-estate firm Mitsui Fudosan.

Developers say they will update aging sports facilities, promote more open green space, protect the avenue of gingko trees. Tokyo says it wants to create a world-class sports hub, like the billion-dollar Tokyo 2020 Olympic Stadium.

[08:25:12] Roughly 1,500 trees were cut down to make way for that controversial Olympics project. Many campaigners don't trust the developer's promise to keep the gingko avenue safe.

MIKIKO ISHIKAWA, DIRECTOR, ICOMOS JAPAN (through translator): Imagine if developers said they'd build three skyscrapers in New York's Central Park and a stadium next to the American elms of East 92nd Street. No New Yorker would accept that.

RIPLEY (voice-over): More than 200,000 people have signed a petition calling for a review of the plan. Just this month, the International Council on Monuments and Sights issued a heritage alert, warning of irreversible destruction of cultural heritage.

About 3,000 trees at risk, it says. Responding to the anger, the Tokyo government again requested developers submit a concrete plan before cutting down any trees. The plan to ensure the survival of as many trees as possible. Many fear the older gingkoes may not make it.

In an email to CNN, Mitsui Fudosan said it will preserve the environment and work with arborist to ensure the care of each tree. Pressure is mounting on Tokyo as more people rise up.

Just before he died, famed musician Ryuichi Sakamoto wrote a letter to Tokyo's governor, urging people to speak out for the earth. A fight his daughter now carries on.

SAKAMOTO: I think it's -- it's a last letter from him. Saying that keep on thinking, and keep on raising your voice.

RIPLEY (voice-over): As calls to reconsider Jingu Gaien's future grow louder. For now, these heritage gingko trees stand tall, silent guardians of the ecosystem facing an uncertain future.

Will Ripley, CNN, Tokyo.

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FOSTER: Well, thank you for joining me here on CNN Newsroom. I'm Max Foster in London.

World Sport with Patrick Snell is up next.

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