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At Least 51 Civilians Killed In Russian Missile Strike On Village In Eastern Ukraine; Putin Says Successful Test Carried Out Of New Nuclear-Powered Strategic Missile; Venezuela Issues Arrest Warrant For Opposition Leader Guaido; Senior U.S. Officials Meet With Mexican Counterparts; Trump Allegedly Discussed U.S. Nuclear Subs With Foreign National; Five Israeli Soldiers Wounded Thursday in West Bank City of Tulkarm; Religious Jews Spitting at Christian Pilgrims; Secret Schools for Afghan Girls; Brave Girls and Teachers Defying the Taliban; Interview with Former Deputy Speaker of Afghan Parliament Fawzia Koofi; European Parliament Condemns "Ethnic Cleansing"; Vital U.S. Military Aid to Ukraine in Limbo; Fears About Bed Bugs Still Going Strong in France. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired October 06, 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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[01:00:14]
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome everyone. Coming to you live from Studio 4 at the CNN Center in Atlanta. I'm Michael Holmes. Appreciate your company.
Coming up on CNN Newsroom, one of the deadliest attacks to date in Ukraine. Russia strikes a small village now reduced to rubble, with no obvious military target nearby.
We'll take you inside a secret classroom in Afghanistan, where girls are determined to learn despite the risks. And later, no love in the city of love for some pesky bugs.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from CNN Center. This is CNN Newsroom with Michael Holmes.
HOLMES: And we begin with one of Russia's most horrific strikes since it began its invasion of Ukraine. Kyiv says a Russian missile slammed into a grocery store and cafe in the northeastern village of Hroza on Thursday, killing 51 people.
It happened while residents were holding a wake for a fallen Ukrainian soldier. Ukrainian prosecutors say there were absolutely no military targets in the area at the time, and all of the victims are civilians. The U.N. humanitarian coordinator in Ukraine is now accusing Moscow of another war crime. President Zelenskyy had this to say about the attack.
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VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Russian terrorists launched an attack that can't even be called animal act because it would be an insult to animals. The deliberate rocket attack on a village in the Kharkiv region, on an ordinary grocery store and cafe. The Russian military could not have been unaware of where they were hitting, and it was not a blind strike. People gathered there for memorial dinner, Christian memorial dinner. Who could launch a missile at them. Who only absolute evil.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Mr. Zelenskyy also said the strike showed that Ukraine clearly needs more Western air defenses. He said that Spain has pledged six Hawker missile systems to Ukraine, while Germany is working on providing another Patriot missile battery. But as Nic Robertson reports for us now, Mr. Zelenskyy is worried about future U.S. support.
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NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR (voiceover): Rushing to recover survivors, emergency workers scramble through rubble in one of the deadliest Russian strikes since the war began.
Children among the victims. An eight-year-old boy killed, many attending a funeral when the precision guided a scandal missile hit a cafe and store. As his country reeled from the devastating blow, President Zelenskyy had this stark warning about what U.S. political divisions mean for his country.
ZELENSKYY: The situation with the United States is dangerous. Yes, it's tough period for United States, and of course, it's tough period for Ukraine.
ROBERTSON: The Ukrainian president in Spain meeting E.U. leaders to stiffen their support all the while worrying about an apparently wavering U.S. commitment.
ZELENSKYY: Difficult election period for the United States. Different voices. Some of the voices are very strange about this also we will speak about this.
ROBERTSON: In n Crimea though, Ukraine's fortunes improving a big focus of recent attacks targeting Russian naval shipping and headquarters paying off.
New satellite imagery showing Russia has reacted, pulling some of its prized Black Sea naval fleet out of Ukraine's missile range.
Once a red line for Putin, he now appears on the back foot effectively ceding partial use of ports he considers essential for Russia's defense in territory Zelenskyy vows to retake. But Zelenskyy's concern momentum could be transitory without U.S. support.
ZELENSKYY (through translator): I believe that today it is impossible to protect people, especially during the winter, except by air defense, to protect people who died absolutely tragically because of this inhuman terrorist attack. ROBERTSON: The brutal attack Thursday yet another object lesson in the
ugly crushing seesaw of war, likely without adequate air defenses, not the last. Nic Robertson, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[01:05:10]
HOLMES: Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced the successful test, meanwhile, of a new generation of nuclear-powered cruise missile. It is part of a program unveiled in 2018 to develop intercontinental and hyper sonic missiles. What you're seeing there is file video of a current Russian cruise missile.
Now, the latest version is known by NATO as the SCC-X-9 Skyfall. Its nuclear propulsion allows for near unlimited range, and the low flying stealth projectile could be capable of outmaneuvering missile defense systems. Here's President Putin speaking Thursday in Sochi.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): I want to assure everyone that at the moment, the response from Russia to a nuclear strike on its territory is absolutely unacceptable for any potential aggressor. Because from the moment the enemy missile launch is detected, no matter where it comes from any point in the world's oceans, or from any territory in a retaliatory counterstrike, so many hundreds of our missiles will appear in the air that not a single enemy will have a chance of survival in several directions at once.
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HOLMES: All right, for a big picture view of all of these developments, I'm joined by Malcolm Davis, a senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute. He's speaking with me from Canberra. Always good to see you, Malcolm.
Ukraine, let's start with this attack. More than 50 people killed by a Russian attack on this cafe and market. One of the deadliest strikes of the war, but also, apparently, using a precision missile with no military targets around it. Do you see more of these attacks on civilians in the months ahead as a Russian tactic? And what's the purpose of them?
MALCOLM DAVIS, SENIOR ANALYST, AUSTRALIAN STRATEGIC POLICY INSTITUTE: Well, thanks, Michael. It's good to be here. Look, I think that this is the way that the Russians fight. They deliberately target civilians. They deliberately try to inflict civilian deaths. These are war crimes, there's no doubt about it. And we should expect more of these sorts of attacks going into the winter.
What the Russians are trying to do is break the will of the Ukrainians to resist, but in actual fact, it's backfiring, and it's just encouraging the Ukrainians to be more fierce in their resistance. But certainly this attack should send the signal to countries around the world that we cannot afford to allow Russia to win this war. So we have to stick with Ukraine as much as we can.
HOLMES: And as we're just reporting there, Vladimir Putin announcing that Russia has successfully carried out this test of a new generation nuclear-powered cruise missile. He's also, by the way, talking about revoking the Nuclear Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, even though there is no nuclear threat from outside. What do you make of those developments that bluster?
DAVIS: I think, and I worry that he's basically laying the groundwork for Russia to do a nuclear test at some point. He's talking about withdrawing from the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, that would basically then free him up to do a nuclear weapons test, probably in a place called Novaya Zemla (ph) up in far north of Siberia. That would open up the floodgates for other countries such as North Korea, Pakistan, India, potentially even China, to do a nuclear weapons test and would really place strong pressure on the U.S. and its allies to respond somehow.
So, it does represent a real threat to norms of nonproliferation and nuclear disarmament that Western countries have pursued vigorously. And the Russians are clearly now threatening nuclear intimidation with this test of this nuclear powered cruise missile and the implicit suggestion they might do a nuclear test.
HOLMES: Meanwhile, we've seen the reports of the Black Sea fleet being dispersed from Crimea. What does that suggest to you about both Ukrainian capabilities, but also Russian nervousness about what have been a lot of successful Ukrainian attacks on its ships?
DAVIS: Well, it highlights the fact that Ukraine now has the ability to strike at Russia's Black Sea fleet in its traditional locations, where it had ports and so forth, such as Sevastopol. But I think that we should be careful about overplaying the significance of this. The Russians have redeployed their remaining naval forces further away from Ukraine to make it more difficult for the Ukrainians to strike those ships.
But in the meantime, those ships have the long range weapon systems that can be used to fire missiles against Ukraine from in that greater distance.
[01:10:02]
What it implies is the Russians have lost a degree of sea control in the Black Sea. They've had to surrender that. But they still have the ability to do damage against Ukraine and kill a lot of Ukrainians.
HOLMES: Now, let's see, you mentioned Western support. There is a clear group of Republicans who seem hell bent on cutting or more eliminating more help for Ukraine at what is a pretty crucial moment in the war, particularly a lot of ammunition shortages and so on. President Zelenskyy describing all of this as a dangerous situation. How damaging is the debate in the U.S. on the far right of the Republican Party? How damaging is that? DAVIS: It's incredibly damaging for U.S. reputation, for the US's
ability to maintain leadership of the Western alliance in the face of threats from Russia. Basically, it sends a signal to Moscow that U.S. resolve is crumbling. There's two factors here. There's, firstly, the political dimension, which you're talking about with the MAGA Republicans in Congress who seem determined to undermine Western support for Ukraine, and clearly they want Putin to win the war. Why, I have no idea.
The second challenge is the material challenge, which is that we're running out of munitions to send Ukraine. There was an important comment by a leading European politician that basically said, we're seeing the bottom of the barrel in terms of munitions.
So there needs to be a greater effort on the part of defense industries to increase production of those munitions. But also, President Biden really does need to get the US political scene in order very quickly. Otherwise the damage could be huge for American credibility, and it could undermine the West's ability to sustain the support for Ukraine in the longer.
HOLMES: Yes, always great analysis. Malcolm Davis. Thanks so much. Good to see you.
DAVIS: Thank you.
HOLMES: Well, the Russian President Putin has suggested that the plane crash that killed the Wagner chief, Yevgeny Prigozhin was caused by hand grenades that blew up inside the aircraft. Prigozhin, who led that failed uprising against the Kremlin's military leaders, was among ten people killed on that plane, which crashed northwest of Moscow in August.
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PUTIN (through translator): The chairman of the Investigative Committee just reported a few days ago that the fragments of the hand grenades were found in the bodies of the victims. There was no external influence on the plane. It is an established fact, the result of expertise performed by the Russian Investigative Committee.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: President Putin also thought investigators should have performed drug or alcohol tests on the victims. He said that cash and cocaine had previously been found in Wagner's office in St. Petersburg. The Kremlin has denied involvement in the plane crash.
Syria, meanwhile, is blaming, quote, terrorists for a drone attack on a military college in Homs that killed at least 80 people and reportedly wounded hundreds more. A warning the video of the scene is graphic.
Soldiers and their families had gathered Thursday for a graduation ceremony. Ambulances rushing victims to quickly overwhelmed hospitals. Syrian officials say at least six children are among the dead. The Syrian armed forces called the attack, quote, unprecedented, and vowed to respond with full force and determination.
The government in Damascus has declared three days of national mourning. Also in Syria, airstrikes by Turkey's military have killed at least eleven people. Turkey says it was targeting Kurdish militants, the PKK destroying an oil well, bunkers, shelters and storage facilities. The attack follows a deadly bombing claimed by the PKK in Ankara on Sunday.
Venezuelan authorities have issued an arrest warrant against former opposition leader and former National Assembly President Juan Guaido. The country's Attorney General accused Guaido of numerous crimes, including treason. For more on this, journalist David Shortell joins me now from Mexico City.
David, what's behind the warrant? And why now? What's the timing of it?
DAVIS SHORTELL, JOURNALIST: Yes. Hey Michael. Several charges being levied against Juan Guaido, the former opposition leader in Venezuela tonight. These are charges of treason, as you mentioned. Charges that he unlawfully extracted money from the government when he was the interim leader there from 2019 to 2022.
Now let's keep in mind, this is the authoritarian government of Nicholas Maduro. The Venezuelan president levying these charges. This is a government with a very a partial justice system in a government with a long history of jailing political opponents.
[01:15:04]
But I'll take you through a bit of what the attorney general did outline in that announcement earlier. He is accusing Guaido and that interim government of tapping into the resources of the country's state run oil company and using that money to help pay for some of the government's projects and some of its legal bills.
You'll remember Guaido, back in 2019, was recognized by the United States and abroad international coalition as the legitimate leader of Venezuela in the years since, he did run that interim government until late last year when the opposition actually dissolved the government.
Now Guaido is living in exile in Miami. He's actually teaching some college courses there. And in a live stream earlier tonight, he denounced and denied these crimes against these charges against him, I should say, and he questioned the timing of them. They come just a few weeks outside of primary elections set to be held by the opposition in Venezuela. Take a listen to a bit more of what Guaido said about Nicholas Maduro in that live stream.
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JUAN GUAIDO, VENEZUELAN OPPOSITION LEADER (through translator): So no, Maduro, I did not allow you to kidnap me. I will not allow you to take away my voice. And I will continue to denounce you wherever possible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SHORTELL: And, Michael, I spoke with some analysts earlier tonight who told me these charges are purely symbolic. There's virtually no chance that the Biden administration will move on this arrest warrant and detain Guaido in the United States. CNN has reached out to the U.S. Justice Department for comment. Michael.
HOLMES: All right, David, appreciate the update. David Shortell there for us. Now the U.S. President adding to his predecessor Donald Trump's border wall, which is something Joe Biden said he would not do. He even says he doesn't believe border walls work.
But the White House has been under pressure to do something about the migrant surge. And President Biden defended the decision on Thursday, saying he tried to divert the border wall funding elsewhere, but he couldn't.
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JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: Border wall, the money was appropriated for the border wall. I tried to get them to reappropriate to redirect that money. They didn't. They wouldn't. And in the meantime, there's nothing under the law other than they have to use the money for what it was appropriate. I can't stop that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you believe the border wall works?
BIDEN: No.
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HOLMES: Now, the border wall was on the agenda when senior U. S. Officials met with their Mexican counterparts in Mexico City on Thursday. CNN's Alex Marquardt reports on that.
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ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (on camera): The high level meetings in Mexico City on Thursday highlighted both the unique nature of the U.S.-Mexico relationship and the monumental challenges that both countries are now facing when it comes to the surge of migration, the fentanyl crisis and gun trafficking from the U.S. to Mexico.
The U.S. secretaries of State and Homeland Security, as well as the U.S. Attorney General and the White House's senior advisor on Homeland Security were among the senior U.S. officials who met with the Mexican president as well as their Mexican counterparts.
At a press conference after a day long series of meetings, the officials emphasized how critical the ongoing conversations to try to solve these crises are and the various steps that the two countries are taking, including the U.S. Sanctioning of Mexican cartel members for fentanyl trafficking.
One point of contention was the news on Thursday that the Biden administration had authorized the building of new barriers along the border with Mexico.
Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas insisted there is no change in the Biden administration's stance against border walls but instead blamed Congress forcing the administration to spend money that had already been appropriated. Take a listen.
ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS, U.S. SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY: From day one the policy of this administration has been that there will be no more wall construction. That remains our policy and we have never wavered from it.
The action that we took, we had no choice. It was mandated by law. We requested that congress rescind the direction. It did not do so. We of course must follow the law. Our policy remains as it was since day one. We are opposed to the construction of the wall.
MARQUARDT: Mayorkas and the secretary of state, Anthony Blinken also defended the announcement made on Thursday that the administration would restart deporting Venezuelans directly back to Venezuela in an attempt to curb the record influx of crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border. Blinken said it is a key piece of the effort to stabilize migration flows, expand regular pathways and humanely manage the borders. Alex Marquardt, CNN, Washington.
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HOLMES: As officials meet to find solutions to the migrant crisis on the ground, the situation is getting more dire. Migrants who've been transported to democratic controlled cities are facing desperate conditions and, officials in those northern cities say their resources are stretched to breaking point. CNN's Whitney Wild reports from Chicago.
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WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): This is the end of a six-week long journey from Venezuela for Carla Garcia and her five year old niece Angeli.
CARLA GARCIA (ph), VENEZUELAN IMMIGRANT (through translator): So tired we don't have a decent place to sleep.
WILD: They sleep in a corner of a Southside Chicago police station, while dozens more migrants line the sidewalks. More than 3,000 migrants live at city police stations and airports.
BRANDON JOHNSON, CHICAGO MAYOR: Happened over the course since I've been in office, we have been flooded with buses, with individuals who are in very desperate circumstances.
WILD: Mayor Brandon Johnson expects the number of migrants who have descended on Chicago to reach 20,000 in coming days. Migrants started arriving in August 2022, when Texas Governor Greg Abbot added Chicago to a list of sanctuary cities where he planned to send buses, saying relief is needed for overcrowded southern border towns.
JOHNSON: This is very much tied to the politics of the Republican Party that has made it very clear they want to destabilize cities like Chicago.
WILD: Tension is flaring between Illinois leaders and the White House for more help. The pressure to manage this crisis will only grow. Next summer The Democratic National Convention comes town. Officials believe that will prompt even more buses.
J.B. PRITZKER, ILLINOIS GOVERNOR: There are other things the federal government can do other than sending us money that they haven't yet done. And I do believe, and I have spoken with the White House since even over the weekend and the letter to make sure that they heard us.
WILD: Johnson's administration is working rapidly to house migrants, opening one shelter per week. But closing some public facilities to make room for migrant housing has angered some residents.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our rights are being infringed upon because instead of having the ability to say yes or no.
WILD: The city has inked a nearly $30 million deal for military grade tents. A temporary solution while the city races to move migrants off the street before Chicago's brutal winter sets in.
JOHNSON: I'm very much committed to making sure that we get people off of the floors of police districts and police stations and out of our airports because it is not humane. These are awful conditions.
WILD: Back at the police station, Carla isn't sure leaving Venezuela was worth the sacrifice.
GARCIA (ph): We don't know yet because we're here. All this uncertainty and just sleeping here. If you're thinking about coming here, think twice because this is very hard.
WILD: The Department of Homeland Security sent people here to Chicago to assess the situation. Meanwhile, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson says he plans to go to the southern border. He said he understands what southern states are dealing with, but he wants to go himself to assess the situation. Whitney Wild, CNN, Chicago.
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HOLMES: Still to come on the program, a potential meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and China's Xi Jinping is in the works. We'll tell you where and when it could take place. Also, new reports claim Donald Trump shared sensitive nuclear secrets with a member of his Mar-a-Lago country club. How the former president is responding.
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HOLMES: Plans are underway to arrange a potential meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and china's Xi Jinping at November's APEC summit in San Francisco. That's according to officials familiar with the matter.
It would be the second time the two leaders met face to face. Joining me now is CNN's Marc Stewart in Beijing. Good to see you, Marc. It's far from a done deal, but there have been some steps taking place to make it happen, right?
MARC STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Indeed, Michael. And as you know from our many conversations on China, the relationships between China and the United States is a very fragile one. So that is why there is such caution being expressed about this potential meeting.
However, if we look back at the calendar over the last few months, there have been some moments, there have been some meetings that could serve as an open door, paving the way for a much anticipated meeting between President Biden and President Xi.
I mean, just looking back, I was thinking in June we saw Secretary of State Anthony Blinken here in Beijing meeting with Xi Jinping and among the takeaways was a need to get this relationship back on track. One of the phrases that we heard was the need to stabilize the relationship.
And then if we look back to just less than a month ago, we saw China's Foreign Minister, Wang Yi meeting in Malta with National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, where again, they had some very formative conversations that could lead up to this meeting.
This is also in addition to visits from secretary of labor Janet Yellen, as well as commerce secretary Gina Raimondo. Look, there is no question there are some very serious divisions between the United States and China On the political front, on the military front, of course, on the business and economic front.
These discussions that we are seeing now are helping to create a starting dialogue, a starting point for a discussion between these two presidents if it were to occur. So both sides kind of know an appropriate place to begin the conversation.
I should also point out, Michael, that in the next few days we will be seeing more high profile Americans coming here to China and to Beijing. We are anticipating a bipartisan delegation, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer as well as several other lawmakers Republicans on both sides of the aisle to continue this discussion with Beijing.
In fact, we heard from Senator Bill Cassidy, who is a Republican from Louisiana who says, Michael, indeed they will be meeting with President Xi Jinping while they are here. Again, we will have to see. There have been many times over the last few months where there have been anticipated meetings, but they just have not. Michael.
HOLMES: Yes. Yes. You'll be keeping an eye on it. Marc Stewart in Beijing. Appreciate it. Good to see you. Stunning new reports from ABC News and The New York Times about Donald Trump and America's military and nuclear secrets. Both outlets citing sources who say the former president allegedly discussed details about U.S. nuclear submarines with a member of his Mar-a-Lago club. This was months after leaving the White House.
And Australian billionaire Anthony Pratt then shared the information with dozens of other people, including foreign officials and journalists. CNN has confirmed that federal investigators have interviewed Pratt. Anderson Cooper spoke with CNN military analyst Lieutenant General Mark Hertling about the potential damage from such disclosures.
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LT. GEN. MARK HERTLING (RET.) CNN MILITARY ANALYST: All classified information is provided to those only with a need to know. And every president needs to know a lot of stuff to help them in decision making. But that need to know also comes to a requirement not to disclose.
If he was truly talking about capabilities, as Maggie said about the sea-based part of our nuclear triad, I would suspect, and I don't know this for sure, that they are at the higher levels of security clearances either top secret or code word when you're talking about the nuclear force, that puts the country and as the secretary said, it puts service members in harm's way when he's giving up capabilities.
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And one other thing I'd add to that, if this alleged incident did occur and it seems that it did, this is just one incident that's being reported. How many other times at Mar-a-Lago or at one of his golf courses did he lean into somebody and put other secrets in -- our citizens in danger because he's given up other secrets? That's the thing that concerns me the most.
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MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: A Trump spokesperson slammed the new reports telling CNN the claims "lack proper context and relevant information."
A quick break here on the program. When we come back, underground schools in Afghanistan. We'll meet some of the brave girls and teachers defying the Taliban. And I'll ask a former Afghan lawmaker about the impact of essentially erasing girls and women from public life. We will be right back.
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HOLMES: Welcome back. You're watching "CNN Newsroom" with me, Michael Holmes.
The Israeli military says five of its soldiers were wounded by a grenade on Thursday during an incursion in City of Tulkarm, in the occupied allied West Bank. Three soldiers were said to have serious injuries and were taken to a hospital. Hamas claiming responsibility afterwards, saying it had "ambushed the soldiers."
In a separate incident in the same city, Hamas said that two of its fighters were killed in a gun battle with Israeli soldiers.
Now, the ongoing holy season in Jerusalem is an important draw for tourists, especially Christian pilgrims from around the world. But now all religious Jews are welcoming pilgrims of other faiths, and ugly incidences have been on the rise. CNN Hadas Gold with that report.
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HADAS GOLD, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): In the old City of Jerusalem, the three Abrahamic religions are literally right on top of each other. Tensions between the groups are nothing new. But an upsurge of a religious Jews spitting towards Christians or churches has led to widespread condemnations and now arrest.
Earlier this week, a video went viral of a group of Christian pilgrims along the Via Dolorosa carrying a giant wooden cross being spat on by religious Jews. The orthodox men and boys were on their way to pray at the western wall for the Sukkot holiday.
Brother Matteo Murari of the Church of the Flagellation, where the video was recorded, said spitting at Christian churches or clergy is not new.
BROTHER MATTEO MURARI, CATHOLIC PRIEST: But recently more. And also, they started to spit also when they see groups of pilgrims, especially when they see the cross.
GOLD (voiceover): Condemnation have poured in from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calling acts such desecration and unacceptable and a broad swatch of politicians and rabbis.
[01:35:00]
Brother Matteo says it's a small group of extremists who spit at them, believing a church to be an impure placed. In the past, he said, the police didn't do much. But this week something changed, Israeli police made five arrests, including one for assault.
Surveillance video shows undercover officers lying in wait as groups of orthodox men walked by arresting them as they spat.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We will not tolerate expressions of hatred towards anyone, regardless of their faith.
GOLD (voiceover): It's not just a moral issue for the Israeli government. Christian tourism is a major economic boost for the country. And Evangelical Christians are an important source of political support for Israel abroad, especially in the United States. But despite the indignities, Brother Matteo says he still prays and has love for everyone.
MURARI: It's beautiful to live in Jerusalem despite all these kinds of phenomena. And there's wonderful people who believe in love, and no matter if they are Christians, Muslims or Jews.
GOLD (voiceover): A powerful message for a city so often on edge.
Hadas Gold, CNN, Jerusalem.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Well, it has been more than two years now since the Taliban began effectively outlawing female education in Afghanistan. Girls are not allowed to go to school from sixth grade onwards and are barred from universities.
But a clandestine network of brave women has set up secret classrooms across the country in direct defiance of that ban. CNN's Salma Abdelaziz was given rare access to one of the hidden classrooms and spoke to the teacher and students about the extraordinary risks they take to continue their education.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): You are witnessing a courageous act of rebellion. Young girls gathered to learn in a secret classroom. To the Taliban, they are criminals defying a ban on female education, but these students say they're determined to continue their schooling no matter the cost. Two of them told us why.
I've told myself that even if the Taliban arrest me, I will stand up and tell them I don't want to be kept at home, she says, I just want to learn, and that is not a crime.
CNN was granted access to this underground classroom on the condition we conceal the identity of the students and staff and keep the location hidden. But allowing our cameras in comes at extraordinary risks.
Around 30 students huddled into this little room to learn everything from science to math to tailoring and drawing. Mariam (ph), not her real name, is their teacher.
Here is with us every second we're inside the school, she says, but there's a power stronger than fear, our hope for the future.
This is one of nine secret schools that educate more than 400 girls across eight Afghan provinces. It is operated by a clandestine network called SRAK. Families find the program through word of mouth and demand is growing.
It was founded by this woman, Parasto Hakim. She says because of her activism, she was recently forced to flee Afghanistan.
But in the summer of 2021, as Kabul fell to the Taliban, she tells us she anticipated the ban on female education and got to work.
PARASTO HAKIM, FOUNDER OF SRAK SCHOOLS' NETWORK: So, we were watching some documentaries. I was looking at Afghan woman setting up NGOs and like hide in underground places. ABDELAZIZ (voiceover): Inspired in part by Christiane Amanpour's 1996 CNN documentary, Battle for Afghanistan, Hakim began to follow the example of women set nearly 25 years ago.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I love my work. It's my right to work, and I need to work.
HAKIM: Afghanistan is fully shattered. It is in darkness.
ABDELAZIZ (voiceover): The Taliban is forcing women into this darkness, effectively erasing them from much of public life. The U.N. says the group's draconian rules may amount to gender apartheid and crimes against humanity.
But this little classroom in the shadows provides a ray of hope.
The school is like a light for me, she says. It is like a road for me that I can see happiness and sunrise at the end of it.
It is also a life line. Rates of child marriage, underage labor and reported suicides have increased since the ban on female education, according to the U.N. And countless girls confined to their homes are suffering from anxiety and depression. Fatima (ph) was among them.
It felt just like being a prisoner, she says. Like a prisoner who is only allowed to eat and drink but not allowed to do anything else. With the support of her family, she discovered the school and found her passion. She wants to be a famous fashion designer.
[01:40:00]
I want my future to be a bright one, she says. I don't want to be behind a mask forever. I want to be able to show my real face.
Brave women and girls dreaming of a future without the Taliban and boldly preparing to step out into the light again.
Salma Abdelaziz, CNN, London.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: All right. I want to bring in Fawzia Koofi, who is the former deputy speaker of the Afghan Parliament. Thanks for making the time.
We just saw Salma's piece there on these underground schools for girls. The U.N. says more than four out of five young girls and young women in Afghanistan who should be studying are currently out of school. What's the impact of that?
FAWZIA KOOFI, FORMER DEPUTY SPEAKER OF AFGHAN PARLIAMENT: Yes, it's since more than almost two years that girls are not allowed to go to school. Almost one year that girls are not allowed to attend university. Two years that women cannot go to public work or any kind of job in public. And a generation to come is deprived of their basic fundamental rights. And it's like history repeating itself, because 25 years ago, as your report said, I -- you know, we had to, like, struggle with minimum and establish home based school when Taliban were in power. But over the last 20 years, the society has changed. Afghanistan has transformed. And we were hoping that we will not -- that history will not repeat itself in that brutal way. But unfortunately, it did.
HOLMES: Yes.
KOOFI: And now, we are experiencing the same scenario that women are being -- and girls are being used as a tool, as a means of power. We don't know how many more years this will continue. It's not only a matter of women's rights to education, but the impact will be on economy, on security. In long-term, also, it will change the social fabric of the society.
HOLMES: Yes, yes. Because obviously a big emotional and other impact on the women and girls, but it hurts the country, which makes it doubly shortsighted. There was also a recent un report showing how Afghan women are suffering alarming and increasing levels of depression, suicidal thoughts and so on.
What do you hear from women in the country about the emotional toll that Taliban policies are having on women?
KOOFI: Well, how do you feel when you spend two years basically under a house arrest? It's like an open prison for women. We also -- I also support women education across Afghanistan. And in my conversation with the students and teachers, they are extremely emotional, and that indicates how their mental health is affected with these bans.
It's not only -- as you say, it's not only about economy, about security, about future of the country, which will be hugely impacted and hugely affected because no country in the world is depriving their female gender, their women from their basic rights to the extent that's happening in Afghanistan. It is a gender apartheid.
But also, the impact on mental health, because obviously, when you are being controlled, when every move you make is being controlled for your gender that has a huge impact on your mental health. And the figures on tenancy to commit suicide attack does not get out because, obviously, for many families, still they try to keep it secret. There is no access to data. There is no access to information. Families do not want to talk about this.
However, based on the social connections and information we have, it has huge impact on women's mental health to the level that they actually either, you know, want to commit suicide or they have committed suicide --
HOLMES: Yes.
KOOFI: -- which is going to be a huge loss. And sadly, everybody who is engaged, the whole International Community, see this as a normal, it is becoming normal now.
HOLMES: Yes.
KOOFI: And that's why the world is like engaging with Taliban as nothing is happening in Afghanistan.
HOLMES: Then, that's the problem, isn't it? That this just becomes normalized. The U.N. undersecretary general and the women's executive director, Sima Bahous, she described what's happening as a systemic and planned assault on women's rights that is, as she put it, foundational to Taliban's vision of state and society. She wants -- and you mentioned this term, she wants gender apartheid codified in international law.
What can the world do to try to effect change for Afghanistan's women and girls, and is enough being done?
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KOOFI: Well, I believe Taliban must be hold accountable for their words that they were giving during the negotiation with them, including to myself, but also to the International Community on the basis of which they were, you know, granted agreement, the Doha Agreement, which led to them return to power.
And therefore, I believe the International Community still can hold the Taliban accountable for their deeds. The international accountability mechanisms must be in -- you know, in place and activated in this case. It is gender apartheid and I think we have, you know, written to the U.N. recently, a letter, but also throughout our activism, we have asked that this term of gender apartheid, because it is systematic and it's continuously, and it's against one particular group of human beings, which is, in this case, women.
So, this is amounting to crimes against humanity. Therefore, I think the international institution should be used effectively. In the meantime, I think all the pressure should go to a political dialogue to changing the political ecosystem.
As much as we know Taliban are launching their war against women, we still want to continue to talk to them on the principles of, you know, how do we bring a government of people for the people, not a government of Taliban by Taliban for Taliban.
HOLMES: Right. Right. Eloquently put. And the work you do and others is so important. Fawzia Koofe, we've got to leave it there, unfortunately, but thank you so much for putting that message out there. It's so important.
KOOFI: Thank you.
HOLMES: All right. And we'll be right back.
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HOLMES: The European parliament on Thursday condemned what it called the ethnic cleansing of ethnic Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh and suggested that sanctions be imposed against Azerbaijan. Nearly all of the 120, 000 people who had lived in Nagorno-Karabakh are now believed to have fled to neighboring Armenia, their cultural homeland after Azerbaijani forces seized control last month.
On Thursday, the Armenian prime minister met with the leaders of France, Germany and the European Council to discuss the refugee crisis. Afterwards, the French president, Emmanuel Macron, describing the challenges ahead.
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EMMANUEL MACRON, FRENCH PRESIDENT (through translator): Above all, we will continue to stand by international law and respect for it and therefore, by the Armenian people who are currently under pressure and occupation in several border areas, as the mission sent by the European Union clearly showed. Because around 150 square kilometers of Armenian territory are currently occupied by Azerbaijan. So, we have to be demanding. We can't have two standards.
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HOLMES: European Council president, Charles Michel, said he hopes to get the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan together in Brussels by the end of the month for talks.
A potential U.S. Government shutdown looms on the horizon just about 40 days from now. Millions of dollars in vital U.S. military aid to Ukraine is in limbo at a crucial moment in the war. And the U.S. House of Representatives is suddenly paralyzed because a small group of far- right Republicans joined Democrats to vote out House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. A new leader is not expected to be picked until next week and nothing can happen until then.
In an exclusive interview, CNN's Christiane Amanpour asked former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for her take on the ongoing dysfunction within the Republican Party. Here's some of that exchange.
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CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: So, should the Democrats have saved him, so to speak? Should they have voted to keep him in?
HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON, FORMER U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: You know, that was a very tough call for the Democratic caucus. But the problem was for them, as I understand it, he was totally untrustworthy by any measure. He, immediately after they did help him, keep the government open, as you know, began to blame them for all kinds of, you know, extraneous matters. And at some point, a leader who has lost all credibility in dealing with the opposition, where you want to have an open line of communication, you want to be able to trust his word is going to, you know, ask for their help and not get it. AMANPOUR: It said that the main contenders for his position are Jim Jordan, who you knew very well. from Benghazi --
CLINTON: Well, I don't know him well. I watched and, you know, stared at him at 11 hours when he made stuff up about me. So, I don't know him, but I've seen him in action.
AMANPOUR: So, what will it mean if he gets the speakership?
CLINTON: Well, he is one of the principal ring leaders of the circus that's been created in the Republican Party for the last several years. I have no inside knowledge about what the Republicans will do, who they will end up voting for. But when do they put the country first? They do for the represent a majority of even the Republican Party, when you look at the extremists in the house. They certainly don't represent a majority of the country.
And you know, somebody has to stand up and say, enough. You know, we could have disagreements, I'm all for that. I was in the Senate eight years. I worked with a lot of Republicans and, you know, oppose them when I didn't agree.
But at some point, there needs to be a backlash against the control that this small group of extremists have. And I don't know who will lead that, but let's hope whoever becomes the new speaker will.
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HOLMES: And you can watch Christiane's full interview with Hillary Clinton, it airs next Monday, right here on CNN at 1:00 p.m. in New York, 6:00 in the evening in London right here on CNN.
Still to come, fears about bed bugs still going strong in France. Officials are set to meet to discuss the problem, while transportation authorities say, don't panic.
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HOLMES: In France, an inter-ministerial meeting is set to take place in the coming hours to discuss the country's ongoing bedbug problem. French officials say there's no need to panic and stress that there has been no surge in the number of insects found on public transportation. CNN's Melissa Bell is in Paris with our report.
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MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): This is what it takes to get rid of bedbugs. The fight is on in Paris to tackle the scourge after reported sightings went viral, making the creepy crawlies the talk of the internet. Frenzy or real issue, officials are urging calm.
CLEMENT BEAUNE, FRENCH TRANSPORT MINISTER: No invasion. The phenomenon does exist, but I say we should not hide or say that there is nothing to do. We are doing more transparent and better action, but we should have no panic as well because every case which is signals to our public transport operators are checked. BELL (voiceover): Officials and transport operators say that recent reports of sightings in public transport are unconfirmed. And yet, the French government is holding meetings, and pest control services say they've seen a rise in the numbers in private homes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I have friends who've had them at theirs. So, I know it can be a real ordeal to get rid of them.
BELL (voiceover): According to France's public health body, 11 percent of French households have been infested in the past five years, but the overall rise is insignificant year to year. Part of the problem, the ache factor involved.
JOHANNA FITE, ANSES (through translator): I fear there's an emerging phenomenon, but we've been seeing an increase in infestations for about 20 years now. It's happened gradually because there's no miracle product to combat bedbugs. But today, in these last few weeks, there's clearly been a media phenomenon of psychosis created around bedbugs.
BELL (voiceover): And the media interest says as much about Paris as it does about the bugs themselves. With fashion week on as well as the Rugby World Cup and soon the 2024 Summer Olympics, the issue is also one of image. Bedbugs are, after all, about as universal as it gets. But France now knows that it needs answers urgently.
OLIVIER VERAN, FRENCH GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN (through translator): We need to give the French people an answer. Is there or isn't there a clear upsurge in bedbugs? Since when and where?
BELL (voiceover): Bedbugs are hard enough to see, let alone count, making the spotlight now shone all the more difficult to bear.
Melissa Bell, CNN, Paris.
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HOLMES: And on that itchy note, thanks for spending part of your day with me. I'm Michael Holmes. You can follow me on X and Instagram, @holmesCNN. My friend and colleague, Kim Brunhuber, is up next.
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