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Israel, Hamas Agree To Extend Truce By Two Days; Doctors Estimate Up To 900 Children Had Amputation In Gaza; Vermont 1 Of 3 Palestinian Students Host Released From Hospital; Elon Musk Visits Israel Amid Allegations Of Antisemitism; Ukraine: Fierce Fighting Continues in Embattled Avdiivka; Marking the Third Year of Environmental Education Initiative. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired November 28, 2023 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREKA)
[01:00:24]
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm John Vause. Ahead here on CNN Newsroom. Let's make a deal. Israel agrees to a day long pauses in fighting but only if Hamas releases 10 hostages each day in return.
Palestinians fried under the deal speak out about years they've spent in Israeli prisons, many held without charge denied a chance to defend themselves in a court of law.
Plus, CNN celebrates called Earth Day will take you to Asia to see how schoolchildren are answering their call to protect the Earth.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from Atlanta. This is CNN Newsroom with John Vause.
VAUSE: Great to have you with us. Hamas and Israel have agreed to extend the four-day long truce under the same terms for another two days. 20 more hostages being held in Gaza to be released during that time, and Palestinians to be freed from Israeli prisons.
On Monday, 11 Israelis with dual citizenship, nine children and two women were released by Hamas all take into a medical center in Tel Aviv and then reunited with families. They're all taken hostage from the same kibbutz in southern Israel on October 7 by Hamas militants. For families of those Israelis who are now set free, the past seven weeks have been a roller coaster of emotion.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
IDO DAN, RELATIVE OF WOMAN WHOSE WHICLDREN WERE FREED: This is a momentous day in our lives. were filled with excitement. But we have not yet fully processed what has happened. I'm finding that it's difficult to go from a state of endless anxiety about their fate, to a state of relief and joy. I believe it will take time.
(END VIDEO CLIP) VAUSE: Also Monday, 33 additional Palestinian prisoners were released from Israeli prisons as part of that agreement. Last hour I spoke with Tal Heinrich, Spokesperson for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. I asked her about the conditions of the truce extension.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TAL HEINRICH, SPOKESPERSON FOR ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER BENJAMIN NETANYAHU: Israel received another list of hostages 10 hostages that potentially hopefully, we will see released tomorrow by Hamas, but there are no guarantees here. As you know, we're dealing with a world terrorist organization, the terrorist organization that perpetrated the atrocities of the October 7 massacre.
We on our end are making the preparations and we also live -- have a list of potential Palestinian prisoners that we have agreed to release as part of the outline. And you stated correctly as CNN reported that we said that for every extra 10 hostages that Hamas would release, we would agree to another extra day of humanitarian pause in the fighting. We want to see more hostages coming out of the Gaza Strip. We want to see all of the hostages returning to their homes.
Keep in mind that the hostages the 11 that returned today, and the one is a total of 50 overall that were released over the course of the past four days returned to a very, very difficult reality. Some of them have fathers, husbands were still being held captive in the Gaza Strip or brothers, and some of them lost loved ones.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Tal Heinrich there. Thanks to her spokesperson for the Israeli prime minister. The release of these hostages may be a moment of celebration, but there is still no end to a nightmare which began 52 days ago.
On Saturday, a 13-year-old hostage was among the few who were released. Her mother was not and is still being held by Hamas somewhere in Gaza despite demands for Israeli officials. It's moved the IDF says violated the terms of this temporary truce. Her uncle Yair Rotem spoke to CNN's Wolf Blitzer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: So let us walk through when you reconnect with your niece, Hila. How did that feel?
YAIR ROTEM, UNCLE OF FREED HOSTAGE, HILA ROTEM SHOSHANI: It feels great. First of all, to just see her when my own eyes to see that she's not hurt. She's to see that she communicates that she's not hurt in any way. She can smile. She talks to me she hugged me, so I feel it's the same kid. She's a little bit distant now she's a little bit cold. She talks about things that happened like it's in third person like it happened to someone else. She say she saw horrible things but you say it with a straight face. It's like she's describing a scene from a movie that she's She watched somewhere.
BLITZER: How were you informed that your niece has now been freed?
[01:05:00]
ROTEM: Yes, they just told us the names the night before that, so when my niece is going to be released. And we knew that my sister is not on the list.
BLITZER: And this was so sad for her knowing that her mother is still being held hostage. You've talked to her about this?
ROTEM: Yes, I talked to her about this. She doesn't cry. But she tells me everything in a really cold way. She tells me her mother is here and they came and they took us and they didn't give us a lot of time to prepare, but I had time to give her a hug. And I and my sister her mother was crying when the girls, the children left. And yes, that's how it ended. And Raya is still there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Dozens of Palestinians have also been reunited with their families part of this Israel-Hamas deal. On Monday, the Israeli Prison Services 33 Palestinians were released, but as CNN's Nima Elbagir reports the euphoria was short lived, with many recounting in justices they endured whilst in Israeli custody.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The moment a mother finally sees her daughter for the first time, after eight years in Israeli prison, the relief, the anguish, the utter joy. Malek Salman was part of the first wave of hostage prisoner exchange between Israel and Hamas.
MALEK SALMAN, PRISONER RELEASED BY ISRAEL (through translator): It was painful because I was leaving the sisters I made inside prison. And I feel like my freedom was paid for with the blood of the 14,000 Gazans killed.
ELBAGIR (voice-over): Malek then-16 was charged with an attempted stabbing of Israelis. Israeli authorities say no one was injured, and yet she was convicted of attempted murder and sentenced to 10 years. When her family appealed, it came down to nine.
Malek served almost eight of those years, spending the remainder of her teenage years behind bars. Her family maintains her innocence. Fatina, Malek's mother had dreamed of this day for years to embrace her daughter, to share that joy with her community. She says this was denied.
FATINA SALMAN, MOTHER OF RELEASED PRISINOR (through translator): The Israeli authorities were with us from 2:00 pm. They surrounded the house and ripped down the decorations of any display of celebration. They stole the joy of my daughter's release.
ELBAGIR (voice-over): To be released doesn't mean you are fully free. Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who is himself found guilty in 2007 before he was a minister of incitement to racism against Arabs and supporting a terror organization.
Ben-Gvir instructed Israeli forces to use an iron fist, preventing Palestinians from celebrating the release of their loved ones, saying the prisoners were terrorists.
ITAMAR BEN-GVIR, ISRAELI NATIONAL SECURITY MINISTER (through translator): Expressions of joy or support for terrorism, celebrations of victory give strength to those same human scum, those Nazis. The policy here is very, very, very clear not to allow these expressions of joy and resolutely strive to make contact and stop any support for these Nazis.
ELBAGIR (voice-over): Another night, another scene of Israeli forces removing well wishes and journalists at the home of a released Palestinian prisoner, taking a heavy handed approach, as ordered by their national security minister.
In Bethlehem, in the occupied West Bank, they were able to defy Ben- Gvir, celebrating the release of Fatma Shahin and others from the city. Fatma left her home walking and returned almost seven months later with life changing injuries, shot by Israeli soldiers and accused of attempted murder.
FATIMA SHANIN, RELEASED PRISONER (through translator): They accused me of carrying out a stabbing. It's not true. They opened fire on me. I was hitting the spine with two bullets. Two vertebrae were damaged. They replaced them with titanium. I cannot feel my legs or stand up. They also removed five centimeters from my liver and one kidney.
ELBAGIR (voice-over): For months, Fatma's family say they were denied access, even as her detention stretched on.
SHANIN: It was forbidden for my relatives to visit me or even the lawyers. I was not allowed to make any calls.
ELBAGIR: Israel says Fatma attempted murder. And yet, she was only detained, not charged. She didn't go to trial. She wasn't given any opportunity to defend herself. And this is a story we keep hearing again and again from release prisoners that they aren't given due process. And yet, this crime exists alongside their names.
ELBAGIR (voice-over): The Israeli Prison Service responded to these allegations saying national security prisoners who were released from the Israeli prison during the past two days was serving time for serious crimes such as attempted murder, assault and throwing it explosives.
[01:10:00]
All prisoners in IPS custody are held according to the law. That's not true. CNN broke down the numbers in a list of 300 Palestinian prisoners identified by Israel as eligible for release. 80 percent are listed as just detained, which means they have not been formally sentenced.
Israel operates to systems of law in the occupied territories, Palestinians under the military, Israelis under civil law, creating a low bar for the arrest of increasing numbers of Palestinians. And as Israeli hardliners like Ben-Gvir and others in this far right government seek to characterize every Palestinian as a terrorist. That number is rising every day. Nima Elbagir, CNN, Jerusalem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Among the thousands of Palestinians in Gaza who have been wounded or hundreds of children who have lost arms or legs. Dr. Ghassan Abu-Sittah is a world renowned plastic surgeon who spent weeks treating patients in Gaza and he says the time she was forced to operate on children and others without anesthesia and basic medical supplies.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. GHASSAN ABU-SITTAH, BRITISH-PALESTINIAN SURGION: My estimate is that there are now between 700 and 900 children with amputations of limbs in some of whom multiple limbs have been amputated.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Dr. Abu-Sittah, who is British-Palestinian is now back in London, and has rejected Israeli claims that Hamas has a command center beneath Gaza's biggest hospital. He describes Al-Shifa as a typical barely functioning third world governmental hospital.
We'll take a break here when we come back three college students taking a post-Thanksgiving day walk in Vermont were all shot. They all happen to be wearing traditional Palestinian scars more on that in a moment.
Also, Elon Musk mending fences and making promises in Israel. His visit comes after endorsing an antisemitic tweet and a major blowback from advertisers on X.
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[01:15:54]
VAUSE: Welcome back 15 minutes past the hour. The truce between Israel and Hamas has now into its fifth day extended by at least another 48 hours. That should mean the release of more hostages. Hamas freed two women and nine children on Monday. They were flown by helicopter to a hospital in Tel Aviv. All 11 Israelis have dual citizenship. Three are French, two are Germans, six Argentines.
Israel has released another 33 Palestinians who are held in Israeli prisons. All of those freed so far by the Israelis are women and children. No men over 18 have been released. Many were detained but never charged.
And two American women remain captive in Gaza. And a senior Biden administration official says the White House does not believe Hamas has intentionally held back their release. More details now from CNN's MJ Lee at the White House. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MJ LEE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: A big disappointment for the White House that no American hostages were released on Monday, the White House had said that three American citizens were believed to be among the initial 50 women and children hostages to be released by Hamas during a four-day truce period.
Abigail Adan was one of them. She of course, was released on Sunday, and then two additional American women. But day four of the truce coming and going without those two women being released. Now, we can't say anything at this point about the condition of those women, their whereabouts or if and when they may end up being released.
But this is a part of the big reason why the White House has been pushing for this truce to be extended beyond those initial four days, the longer the truce obviously means that more hostages can hopefully get out.
And what we are told is that senior White House officials on Monday made a whole bunch of phone calls to the Qatari Prime Minister to work on getting this truce extended, CIA Director Bill Burns, we are told was also intimately involved and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan was keeping the president apprised the entire time.
So, we are about to learn, probably in the next 48 hours or so whether these two American women will end up being released as a part of the next group of 20 or so women and children hostages to be released over the course of two days. And then after that the question of course for this White House very much turns to the seven other unaccounted for Americans. We know that they are men according to the White House, but we again don't know anything about their condition as well. MJ Lee CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Vermont investigators still have no motive in the shooting of three Palestinian college students but hate crime charges are possible. All three were taken to hospital, one has since been released according to one source. The alleged shooter has pleaded not guilty to attempted murder. And it's being held without bail. Details now from CNN's Jason Carroll.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICH PRICE, HISHAM AWARTANI'S UNCLE: I believe the family's fear that this was motivated by hate. These young men were targeted because they were Arabs.
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): One of the victim's uncle sharing a family's fears about what they say could have been a motive for Saturday shooting in Vermont.
RADI TAMIMI, KINNAN ADBELHAMID'S UNCLE: Hard to imagine in this time and with everything that's happening that it was just a random act. CARROLL (voice-over): The three victims Hisham Awartani, Tahseen Ali
Ahmad, and Kinnan Abdalhamid are Palestinian. All are 20-year-old college students in the U.S. lifelong friends visiting one man's family in Burlington on holiday break.
The three were out for a walk Saturday night shortly before 6:30, two were wearing Palestinian scarves when they say a man suddenly stepped off a porch, walk toward them and open fire.
CHIEF JON MURAD, BURLINGTON, VERMONT POLICE DEPARTMENT: They were walking down the street, essentially minding their own business and they were speaking in a mixture of English and Arabic.
[01:20:07]
CARROLL (voice-over): Awartani has the most serious injuries with a bullet lodged in his spine. Ali Ahmad was shot in the chest while Abdalhamid was hidden his glute. Shortly after the shooting, police swept the apartment building where the victim saw the man step off the porch. But it was only after a second canvass late Sunday that they found the man they were looking for.
The ATF agents were greeted by a man who stepped out of the hall -- out of the door towards them with his palms up at waist height and stated something to the effect of I've been waiting for you.
JASON EATON, VERMONT SHOOTING SUSPECT: My name is Jason Eaton.
CARROLL (voice-over): 48-year-old Jason Eaton was arraigned Monday on three counts of attempted second degree murder.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. Eaton enters a not guilty plea to all three counts.
CARROLL (voice-over): Police found a semi-automatic 380 pistol in Eaton's apartment and say it was purchased legally. The same brand of ammunition recovered at the scene was also found in the apartment according to a police affidavit.
In an interview with The Daily Beast, the 48-year-old mother described him as kind and loving and a very religious person, but also says he previously struggled with depression.
SARAH GEORGE, CHITTENDEN COUNTY STATE'S ATTORNEY: We do not yet have evidence to support a hate crime enhancement. I do want to be clear that there is no question this was a hateful act.
MERRICK GARLAND, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: That investigation including whether this is a hate crime is ongoing.
CARROLL (voice-over): Two of the victims are U.S. citizens and one is a legal U.S. resident. They all went to school in the West Bank. Their families say they thought it would be safer to continue their education in the US.
TAMIMI: We feel somehow betrayed in that decision here. And you know, we're just trying to come to terms with everything.
CARROLL: Jason Carroll, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Time for short break, when we come back. Elon Musk free speech advocate and endorser of conspiracy theories and owner of X gets a personal tour of sites targeted by Hamas by the Israeli prime minister. We'll explain why in a moment.
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[01:26:13]
VAUSE: Welcome back, everyone. I'm John Vause, you're watching CNN Newsroom. Elon Musk was in Israel on Monday amid a controversy over antisemitism on his social media platform X. He was given a personal tour by the Israeli prime minister of a kibbutz Hamas attacked October 7.
Musk is trying to quiet the outrage he sparked earlier this month by endorsing an antisemitic post on X. Musk later promise Israeli President he'll do whatever is necessary to stop hate on X.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELON MUSK, OWNER OF SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM "X": Essentially, these people have been fed propaganda since they were children.
ISAAC HERZOG, ISRAELI PRESIDENT: Exactly.
MUSK: And the -- it's remarkable what humans are capable of if they're fed falsehoods from when they are children. They will think that the murder of innocent people is a good thing. That is how much propaganda can affect people's minds.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Brian Levin is the founding director for the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism. He's also professor emeritus at California State University, San Bernardino, Brian, it's been a while thanks for being with us.
BRIAN LEVIN, FOUNDING DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF HATE AND EXTREMISM: Thank you so much for having me. And by the way, viewers, John has done a lot of extensive work over the years in the Holy Land. So he's not just sitting in the chair. He's reported in some of the hotspots, including in the Middle East,
VAUSE: You give me great humility. So thank you very much. Convalescing right now. But thanks, Brian, it's always good to have you with us.
I want to highlight part of what Musk said during that sit down with the Israeli President. This is in the context of the brutality of the attacks by Hamas Jihadist on civilians, men, women and children. He said, it's remarkable what humans are capable of. Here's the part, if they're fed falsehoods. Falsehoods like the tweet he endorsed that accuse Jewish communities are pushing hatred against whites that they claim to want people to stop using against them.
So here's the question wouldn't even be in Israel, if the backlash for endorsing that antisemitic remark potentially could cost as much as $75 million in loss advertising revenue by the end of the year, as dozens of major brands pause their marketing campaigns. That's when the York Times. So will you be there or not?
LEVIN: You know, politics makes strange bedfellows, doesn't it? And you know, I think it's noteworthy that both are running enterprises that have faced significant issues under their leadership. Netanyahu is what he's down to about 12 percent popularity. Musk has seen Disney, Coca Cola, IBM, you name it fall from the advertising ranks.
So you know, these are two individuals who are falling from their prior leadership posts, and how convenient but the fact of the matter is, is there has been a significant amount of extremist content on X, formerly Twitter and as I've been pointing out, before commission meetings, personally out here in California, hate commission meetings, speaking for myself on just -- the terrible decline of his platform that has not only cost him tens of billions of dollars, but has become a comfortable site for disinformation, misinformation and extremists.
That being said, they do have some community notes. But let me tell you something. X is among the worst of the major platforms with respect to this kind of bigotry that is frequently found on this platform.
VAUSE: So with that in mind, I earlier this year there was one report which came out so Twitter has not removed recent posts from verified subscribers which violate the platform's hateful conduct policy.
[01:30:09]
And the company has either disregarded or overlooked posts from verified users who pay their $8 a month.
So if Musk was really serious, this is all pre-October 7th, but if he's really serious about reining hate speech in with X, formerly known as Twitter, you know, it could be a good place to start?
LEVIN: Not only is a good place to start. Let's look at some of the things that he's done. He's threatening research groups and advocacy groups, including groups like the ADL and others for either threats of lawsuits or lawsuits. You know, the fact that he wants to do like you know, a whole Hanukkah selection along with the My Pillow guy or Netanyahu does not change the fact that his site has become a bit of a hellscape.
Let's me just tell you one other thing, ok. Out here in California, I supported and others legislation that say we want one thing. What are your terms or service if you are a big platform? And what have you done to enforce these terms of service?
Guess who is suing the state of California over that?
So, you know, this comes up a little light for me. And what I would like to see is greater actions with regard to extremism and bigotry on his Web site, which, again, advertises (INAUDIBLE). If you don't believe me, just follow the money, as they say.
VAUSE: Yes. Brian, as they say, actions speak louder than words.
It's good to have you with us as always. Thank you for your research. Thank you for all that you do, Brian. Good to see you.
LEVIN: Likewise, John. thank you.
VAUSE: Take care.
With that we'll take a short break.
When we come back, CNN spoke to one Ukrainian soldier who took this footage while fighting Russian forces on the eastern front. Why he says it is so important to show what is happening right there.
[01:31:58]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: Welcome back. 35 minutes past the hour.
Nearly 300 children have been forced to evacuate the Kharkiv region in eastern Ukraine, according to police. Earlier this month, local officials ordered families with children to leave some communities. They were under heavy Russian attack.
Also in the east of Ukraine, Russian forces are still trying to surround the town of Avdiivka amid an ongoing fierce battle.
CNN's Anna Coren spoke to a soldier who recorded an intense firefight from the trenches.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In the predawn light, a cacophony of military firepower fills the air. Incoming explosions, outgoing fire as one of Ukraine's assault infantry units of the 47th Mechanized Brigade tries to take back trenches in Avdiivka captured by Russian forces.
"We need drones, we need drones," says Company Commander Oleh Sentsov filming on his GoPro. "The bastards are sitting in the tree line, shooting at us," he explains.
In a rare interview, the former filmmaker imprisoned by the Russians in 2014 for five years, tells me about last month's mission in what has become one of the hottest spots on the eastern front.
OLEH SENTSOV, COMPANY COMMANDER, 47TH MECHANIZED BRIGADE: My goal was for people to watch this and know what this war is really like because it is very important to record it so that people know now and know later what a cruel and terrible war it is.
COREN: One of his troops has been hit. They remove his body armor to reveal the bullet hole. As they apply a (INAUDIBLE) the team has even bigger problems.
"Duck, the tank is coming," yelled one of them. And then, the war from the sky begins.
"Drone, drone FPV," cries a soldier.
"I see it," another shouts back.
Minutes later, another soldier is hit. This time, shrapnel to the legs.
While talking on the radio, reporting on his injured troops, Oleh also gets hit but doesn't realize for a few moments.
"There's a small hole, I see the blood, you're bleeding," says the female (INAUDIBLE).
Quickly patched up, Oleh remains focused and composed until suddenly they hear the rumble of tanks. Oleh's unit tries to bring themselves in the earth as one drives by. The female paramedic cries, "We are surrounded, the tanks are shooting on us."
Approximately 40 tons of terror so close, the earth is shaking. Drone footage taken by the Ukrainian military shows four Russian tanks firing on the tree-line. Positioned in those trees are three Ukrainian assault groups in trenches, spread out over a kilometer.
Oleh's unit is in the middle. They were the only ones to be spared.
SENTSOV: We failed to hold our position and had to retreat. We had injuries, but survived. But the other two groups were almost completely destroyed.
COREN: This is the first time Oleh has failed a mission as commander in the almost two years that he has been fighting. The 47-year-old tells me he wants the world to know the truth on the front line.
A war, this father of four, is returning to this week.
Anna Coren, CNN -- Kyiv.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Yes, that war in Ukraine is still going.
We'll take a short break. When we come back, we'll mark CNN's third annual "Call to Earth" day.
Back in a moment.
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VAUSE: Welcome back -- boys and girls, moms and dads. Yes.
Today is CNN's third annual "Call to Earth" Day to raise awareness of environmental issues and to try and promote conservation education across the globe.
This year's theme is our shared home, focusing on urban areas as well as wilderness environments around the world.
We have Steven Jiang, our Beijing bureau chief, where else but in Beijing. We have Paula Hancocks in Seoul. We have Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong.
This hour, we'll start with Kristie. Kristie Lu Stout -- over to you.
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, John. Here in Hong Kong we're at the Harrow International School, where Year 5 students are marking "Call to Earth" Day, a day of action to protect the planet. The theme this year, Our Shared Home.
They've been reading a fiction book called (INAUDIBLE) which is about the theme of Our Shared Home and creating these presentations, these group presentations and posters about the importance of preserving natural habitats. This one about the consequences of pollution.
[01:44:47]
STOUT: This group here creating an overall summary of all the presentations and posters. The interconnectedness of all living things. The power of individual action. And right over here, the resilience of nature.
In addition to creating these posters, the students here have also have been writing poetry about our shared home. Victoria is just going to share a stanza of what she wrote. Victoria, please share.
VICTORIA, STUDENT: As I skate like a breath in the winter, green grass (INAUDIBLE) creature walked by. All was silent. A perfect silence.
Dandelions smiled up at the (INAUDIBLE) canvas of twinkling stars.
STOUT: That's a beautiful line from your post. Thank you so much for sharing that with us.
About half hour away from the school is Shing Mun Country Park, a beautiful place where there is that silence of nature especially at night time when all of the critter come out. It is a stunning a surprising showcase of Hong Kong's biodiversity. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STOUT: Every night Hong Kong's iconic skyline stars in its own show. A spectacle of lasers and steel in one of the most densely populated places on earth. Less than 20 kilometers away, another curtain opens to reveal a
natural world often forgotten in the dark. We're in Shing Mun Country Park. In the daytime this is an area very popular for hikers. But at night time, that's when the creatures come out.
What are you hoping that we will find tonight?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm hoping to find a couple of snakes and any other aquatic creatures.
STOUT: Leading are nocturnal safari, Hong Kong British educator and photographer Lawrence Hylton. In the darkness of night, Hylton has captured images of birds like this quizzical collared scops owl, insects like the Atlas moth and snakes like this white-lipped pit viper.
LAWRENCE HYLTON, BRITISH EDUCATOR AND PHOTOGRAPHER: My favorite? Snakes and spiders. However, I try and go for anything that I can get my camera up against.
STOUT: Hylton says he photographs the animals as he encounters them with minimal impact to them or the environment.
HYLTON: It will come out. It's ok.
STOUT: So we are on a way to the stream.
HYLTON: Yes, we are.
STOUT: And looking for snakes along the way.
Wandering past water buffalo at rest, we encounter (INAUDIBLE) newts at play.
Oh yes, right there.
A huntsman spider shows off its mysterious beauty as a monkey watches from above. It takes patience and a passion for every creature, big and small.
HYLTON: Watch your step.
STOUT: Trekking in the dark is not easy. You have to watch your feet. And always keep your eyes open.
HYLTON: We have relatively pristine stream ways, which is quite rare for Hong Kong. Also, as far away enough from civilization that wildlife can live without too much disturbance.
STOUT: Hong Kong is home to an astonishing array of wildlife with many creatures emerging only at night. Some 40 percent of the territory is protected parkland. But here and around the world, poaching and urbanization are destroying safe havens.
BOSCO CHAN, WWF-HK DIRECTOR OF CONSERVATION: We have lost, on average, almost 70 percent of our wildlife populations since the 1970s. And that, by itself, tells you we are not doing too well protecting the planet globally.
STOUT: At the end of this century, it's estimated up to 33 million hectares of natural habitat will be lost as a result of urban development. That is more than the size of the U.S. state of New Mexico.
Lawrence says his mission is to promote conservation through photography.
HYLTON: We have lots of trackers who visit this area and fear snake and fear the unknown. Makes people do silly things. And hopefully, someday in the future, everyone can just enjoy nature.
STOUT: Nearing midnight, we spot a rare Futsing wolf snake -- nonvenomous, nocturnal and extremely rare in Hong Kong. Bearing witness to the richness of nature in the backyard of a global metropolis.
Bye-bye.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
STOUT: Havens for wildlife that can be found in our urban backyard are beautiful and they deserve to be protected.
And the students here in Hong Kong, they are doing just that. By raising awareness, learning education, even engaging in beach and trail cleanups. From Hong Kong, all the students here in Harrow, Hong Kong would like to wish you a happy --
STUDENTS: Call to Earth Day.
Now, let's go straight to my friend and colleague, Steven Jiang at the British School in Beijing -- Steven.
[01:49:50]
STEVEN JIANG, CNN BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF: Thanks, Kristie. I am here in the leading international school. They have a very diverse student population, being 10, 11 old students coming from some 15 different countries.
For most of them, there seems to be one thing in common. That is they are city kids. But already they're learning even in sprawling metropolises like Beijing, it has more density straits, farms, rivers, mountains. A lot of biodiversity, right Daniel. This is -- what is this?
DANIEL, STUDENT: This is a map of Beijing now. And we have been making imagination for drawing. Some wildlife corridor such as bridges and tunnels for connecting the edge of Beijing, which is the mountains to the center of the Beijing making it more biodiverse and for the animals to travel more safely.
JIANG: That looks really great. You know, these kids, it's really not much of a debate when it comes to climate challenges because for many of them, they have already experienced the negative impact of climate change like flooding in a historically dry city like Beijing. And I think they're trying to show it here, right, Flora (ph). What is this?
FLORA, STUDENT; This is our work that we've been making in Humanities and this is 3-D models of a settlement in a coastal region.
As you can see the city (INAUDIBLE) flooding since they have not developed any flood defenses.
JIANG: Right. I think you're trying to flood it as we are live on air. But you know, these kids are not just focusing on the present, but the future using the latest technologies, trying to really find potential solutions, right, Sunny.
SUNNY, STUDENT: Yes.
JIANG: What is this?
SUNNY: We wrote reports about what we think the city in the future would be like. Also we used A.I. technology to help devise the city in the future. This includes rooftop farms and green walls.
JIANG: Very reassuring. Now all of these projects and activities are reassuring because despite the alarming trends, some of them illustrated, these kids are not only very much aware of the problem, they are immersing themselves in the process of trying to potentially resolving these problems and taking their future into their own hands.
So on that very encouraging note, let's go to what looks like a very cold Seoul where my colleague Paula Hancocks is, Paula.
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thank you, Steven. It's very cold. It's two degrees Centigrade.
Now, we are in the midst of a city that is home to almost 10 million people. You've got 3 million cars here. So any nature and wildlife and insect have to be invited in. They have to be encouraged to want to be in the midst of this city.
And this is exactly what they're doing here, at White Seoul (ph). What they're planning is they're going to have a pollinator-friendly space here in the spring, of course. It's far too cold for it now. They're going to have a bee hotel and also beehives. They're plenty to have five hives, which will be something like 100,000 bees buzzing around in this area.
That will all happen in spring. Trying to counter the decline that we have seen in pollinators here. So every small project makes a difference.
Now, on the larger project, on the larger scale, we've seen Seoul City has really been trying to transform some of its more rundown and polluted areas into a little spot of green.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HANCOCKS: A peaceful rumble through nature alongside a bubbling stream, appreciating the sights and sounds of the countryside.
It's hard to imagine you are in the heart of Seoul, home to almost 10 million people and 3 million cars. This is Cheonggyecheon Stream, proof that nature can exist alongside urban development so long as you give it a helping hand.
Professor Shin Jong-ho oversaw the planning and design to bring the original river back to its former glory. When Seoul became the capital more than 600 years ago, the Cheonggyecheon was named literally meeting, Valley of Clean Water. By the mid-50s after the Korean War, as refugees fled in from the countryside, settlements sprung up around the water, it turned into an open sewer.
By 1976, a 10-Lane road and a 4-lane elevated highway had been built over the stream, all evidence of the original waterway hidden by the early 2000s. The area was severely polluted and the highway itself was deteriorating.
A $384 million dollar project to restore the stream and bring a green flavor to a rundown neighborhood took shape.
It is an extremely ambitious project.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, it was really ambitious. Yes.
HANCOCKS: Work started in July 2003, demolishing a six-kilometer-long highway by October 2005, Cheonggyecheon Stream resembled what it does today, the northern half for people, a tranquil lunch spot, the southern half for wildlife and nature.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's actually a created space, actually. But we saw with time it becomes natural.
[01:54:47]
HANCOCKS: Seoul City pumps between 40,000 and 120,000 tons of water into the stream from the Han River every day, a distance of 15 kilometers supplemented with groundwater infiltration from subway tunnels.
At the end of the stream, the water eventually re-enters the Han River, flowing full circle.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it is pretty good we can enjoy a streams like this in a big city like Seoul.
HANCOCKS; Not everyone likes the changes. Small business owners like Oh Jang-kyon (ph) says the redevelopment hurt sales.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When the elevated freeway was there, the shops were busy with a lot of traffic. But now that it is gone, business is not as good as before.
HANCOCKS: He believes he has a couple of years left in his shop before his landlord sells this prime real estate to a bigger company. He focuses more now on online sales, accepting business has changed. Elsewhere, Seoul residents enjoy the injection of nature into their
city. Now, a must-see stop on the tourist trail.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HANCOCKS: And it really is a wonderful spot, John, in the midst of a very busy city. Back to you.
VAUSE: Great report there from Paula Hancocks in Seoul. Our thanks to Steven Jiang at the British School of Beijing, Katie Vause's old school, and a big shout out to Victoria there Kristie Lou Stout at the Harrow International School. She is the star of this hour. Thanks, guys. Thank, you all.
And thank you for watching. I'm John Vause.
CNN NEWSROOM continues with my friend and colleague Rosemary Church after a short break.
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