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Doctor Describes Conditions Of Children Released From Gaza; Israel Has List Of Hostages Expected To Be Freed Wednesday; Doctors Without Borders: Two Palestinians Die After Hospital Blocked By Israeli Forces In Jenin; Palestinian Man Returns Home Where His Grandchildren Were Killed In An Airstrike; Father Describes How 9- Year-Old Emily Hand Survived Captivity. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired November 29, 2023 - 02:00   ET

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

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[02:00:30]

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello, and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world and to everyone streaming us on CNN Max. I'm Rosemary Church.

Just ahead, the truce between Israel and Hamas, now in its sixth and possibly final day, with more hostages set to be released in the hours ahead.

But the question hanging over at all, will they be the last or will the deal be extended?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

THOMAS HAND, FATHER OF EMILY HAND: All of a sudden, the door opened up and she just ran.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: A CNN exclusive. We will hear from a father finally reunited with his young daughter, weeks after she was taken hostage by Hamas.

And a powerful winter storm hammers southern Ukraine. The bitter cold yet another battle for a nation nearing two years of war.

ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN NEWSROOM WITH ROSEMARIE CHURCH.

CHURCH: Thanks for joining us. And we begin in Gaza, where the temporary truce between Israel and Hamas is now in what could be its final day, after a two-day extension.

Sources say Israel has the list of hostages expected to be released in the hours ahead, and families are being notified. The pause in fighting is set to expire in less than 24 hours. But a source says talks in Doha with officials representing Israel, the U.S. Qatar, and Egypt were in consensus about working towards extending the current pause in Gaza. Earlier, a Hamas members said the group is striving to extend the truce by using all the cards it has in negotiations. On the fifth day of the truce, 12 hostages were released by Hamas. That includes 10 Israelis, all adult women except one 17-year-old girl. Video shows the handover of those hostages at the Rafah crossing.

Large crowds can be seen lining the street, cheering as the hostages are paraded by her master to Red Cross vehicles. Two Thai nationals were also freed on Tuesday. Thailand's foreign minister is expressing his hope they would return home as soon as possible.

But for those freed from captivity, the return to normal life will take time. One doctor explains what she has been seeing among the children released so far.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. EFRAT BRON-HARLEV, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, SCHNEIDER CHILDREN'S MEDICAL CENTER, ISRAEL: They came from a different places in Gaza and in different times, and of course, different ages. But in general, I can say that they all came very skinny, very pale, lost maybe 10 to 15 percent of their weight, at sometimes. And not only them, but their mothers as well, the ones that came with them.

Other than that, they have some minor wounds. But they will overcome all that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: CNN Scott McLean is following developments and joins us now from Istanbul. Good to see you, Scott. So, what's expected in the coming hours, as we head into what could be the final day of this truce deal if it's not extended?

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right. And the Israelis have made very clear that they are ramping up, that they are preparing for phase two of this war, whenever this truce goes away, and the war continues. And that is their expectation.

Hamas said yesterday that when it comes to the fighting, they are committed to this truce only as long as their enemy is. The question is how long can both sides actually hold off from fighting, because yesterday, we did see an exchange of fire inside of Gaza.

The Israeli say that there were two explosions near two separate Israeli troop locations, and also that Hamas fired on its troops, and that Israeli soldiers returned fire. There were no serious injuries on the Israeli side.

But Hamas described this differently. It said that this was a field skirmish, that its fighters and its words dealt with and it also accused Israel of being in clear violation of the truce that's been agreed on.

As you mentioned, Rosemary, there are talks on going to try to extend this Beyond today, beyond the expiration date. The expectation is that if everything goes well today that Hamas will produce another list of hostages to be released tomorrow.

10 hostages in exchange for 30 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails and one more day of the pause.

[02:05:05]

But there are only enough women and children hostages to extend this for two more days, we understand. And so, beyond that, we would be talking about men civilians, and Israeli soldiers, some of whom are female. And the -- and Hamas has made clear that it expects a higher price for those types of hostages.

Now, Hamas says that there are no talks on going to get soldiers released from Hamas captivity. And it says that it's open to two types of deal. One, a partial deal to get all of the civilians released, and one deal that it calls a comprehensive deal, which would include all Israeli soldiers, but for that, it is demanding that Israel empty the jails of all Palestinian prisoners, something that doesn't seem all that likely.

Obviously, Hamas is pushing as well, though, for this truce to become a permanent ceasefire. So, Israel does have some leverage here, and that it's made clear that it's going to war, something that Hamas does not want.

Last night on CNN, a member of the Israeli Knesset and a former Israeli ambassador to the U.N., Danny Danon, spoke to Kaitlan Collins, and he says, that, look, the government has signed off on this deal continuing until Monday. Beyond that, the Cabinet would have to meet again, to approve either a new deal or an extension of some version of this current deal.

He was also asked how long Israel is willing to hold off from its continuation of war. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANNY DANON, MEMBER, ISRAELI KNESSET: I speak a lot with the military. And they tell me it's not easy for us. It puts the lives of soldiers in threat. But if we can bring more hostages back, we are willing to pay that price. So, if we need to wait another few days, another week, we will do it. And after that, the military will go south, and we'll continue with the work.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCLEAN: Now, Rosemary, complicating all of this is that according to a diplomatic source familiar, there are more than 40 hostages who are not actually held by Hamas. And according to Israel, that includes the Bibas family, which has in it a 10-month-old baby, and a 4-year-old boy.

And the way that Danon described this, he said that this transfer of hostages inside Gaza, he described it as trading and selling something that Israel has not seen before. CHURCH: And Scott, while all eyes are focused on Gaza, there is been trouble in the West Bank with clashes reported, and an IDF raid. What is going on there?

MCLEAN: Yes, this is a part of a much bigger problem since Friday. The Palestinian say that there have been 260 Palestinians detained in the West Bank and since the war began. Now, the MSF or Doctors Without Borders, says that there have been dozens of people in the Jenin refugee camp alone who had been treated for gunshot wounds.

And essentially, Israel would say that it is simply carrying out counterterrorism operations there to prevent terror attacks or in response to terror attacks on its soldiers, or on -- or on Israel.

In particular, yesterday, according to Doctors Without Borders, MSF, Israeli troops blocked the entrance to a hospital at the Jenin refugee camp that prevented ambulances from actually leaving the hospital to go and collect injured people. And as a result, two people actually died of their injuries.

There was also a video. I think you're seeing here of Israeli troops firing tear gas inside the camp, as well. But look, Danny Danon, that member of Israeli Knesset, and that former ambassador to the U.N. says that these types of raids are going to continue regardless of what else is happening inside Israel and Gaza. Rosemary?

CHURCH: All right. Scott McLean in Istanbul many thanks for that live report.

The World Health Organization is warning that more people in Gaza could die from diseases and acute health conditions than from Israeli airstrikes if the medical infrastructure is not restored.

The agency says hundreds of thousands of people in the besieged territory are suffering from chronic conditions such as diabetes and cancer, but do not have access to the medications and treatment they need.

Meantime, the Palestine Red Crescent Society says that around 208 trucks have crossed into Gaza since Friday. But a U.N. official warns that the aid going in at the moment is just a drop in the ocean of humanitarian needs.

The agency also delivered urgent aid to the enclave Tuesday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

THOMAS WHITE, DIRECTOR, UNRWA AFFAIRS: We've come up through the Israeli occupied zone north of (INAUDIBLE) Gaza. And through Gaza City to reach Jabalia.

[02:10:02]

We've got six trucks of aid for the people in Jabalia. We're also going to go and look at some of the water wells and get fuel through water wells, and also get some medical supplies to the Jabalia health clinic.

We have got some very brave onerous staff members here, who've stayed In Jabalia, working for their community, keeping their health clinic open, and servicing shelters.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: As senior U.S. officials says the U.S. airlifted more than 54,000 pounds of medical items and food to Egypt to be brought into Gaza.

While the pause in fighting between Israel and Hamas has also given many families a chance to return home to retrieve their belongings. And in some cases, the bodies of their relatives. CNN's Jomana Karadsheh follows a grieving Palestinian grandfather, who returned to his destroyed home in Gaza, where his grandchildren were killed in an airstrike while they slept.

But a warning, this story contains disturbing video.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Khaled and Reem were inseparable. Her grandfather was her whole world. Her favorite game, pulling his beard and he would pull her piggy tails.

I'll let go she says if you let go.

Khaled just can't let go of his little Reem.

Now, searching for memories amid the rubble of his home.

This was reinstalled, he says.

The family was asleep when an airstrike nearby brought down their house in southern Gaza last week. Khaled woke up screaming for his children and grandchildren struggling to walk in the dark and through the wreckage to find them.

I couldn't find anyone. They were buried underneath all this rubble, he says. My daughter, Mesa (PH) was here, her children, Reem and Tarek were here in her arms. Mesa and her sister barely survived. After a few days in intensive care, they are now recovering at a relative's house.

I felt something heavy on top of me. I started screaming, Mesa says. I heard Reem screaming next to me. I told her, there is something heavy on top of me. I can't reach you. I said my final prayers, and next, I woke up in the hospital.

Mesa woke up to the news. Her 3- and 5-year-old children were gone. Their lifeless bodies found together under the rubble.

They slept next to each other that night. They slept early, she says. I told them to stay up a little longer, but they said they wanted to sleep. At the hospital. I was just numb, she says. I hugged them. I wanted to get as many hugs as I could. No matter how much I hugged them, I didn't get enough.

Their final days lived in a war they were too young to understand. Why they no longer could dress up, go out and play, or get their favorite treats. With their father abroad working, they lived with their grandfather. Reem was so attached to him and he spoiled her.

They kept asking for fruit, but there is no fruit because of the war, he says. I could only find them these tangerines.

Khaled holds the tangerine he gave Reem, the one she didn't get to eat, and pinned close to his heart her tiny earring.

He breaks down as he remembers their final evening, how his grandchildren begged him to take them out to play. But he couldn't. Airstrikes were everywhere.

Khaled says he's not a fighter. They had nothing to do with the war. But like so many in Gaza, his family paid the price.

Khaled held Reem in his arms for one last time. He hugged her motionless body, opened her eyes and kissed her goodbye.

I was asking her to kiss me like she used to, but she didn't, he says. I used to kiss her on her cheeks, on her nose, and she would giggle. I kissed her, but she wouldn't wake up, he recalls.

I held Tarek. I fixed his hair the way he liked it. I was wishing, hoping they were only sleeping, he says. But they weren't sleeping. They're gone.

Gone a month before her fourth birthday, the birthday Reem shared with her grandfather. She was the soul of my soul, Khaled says.

Jomana Karadsheh, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[02:15:01]

CHURCH: Joining me now is Ricardo Pires, spokesperson for UNICEF. I want to thank you for talking with us. And, of course, it just heartbreaking, tragic scenes here that are playing out over and over and over again, across Gaza. I want to talk to you about this, because after seven weeks of fighting, how has this temporary pause in fighting changed the way your organization carries out its humanitarian aid efforts in Gaza?

RICARDO PIRES, SPOKESPERSON, UNICEF: Thanks for having me, Rosemary.

Indeed, the heartbreaking -- sadly, not the first, and probably not the last, we'll see until there is a more permanent agreement to this conflict, which should always be a political one, not a military one. For us, for UNICEF, this temporary pause we've had, has been a game changer in terms of getting more supplies to areas that have been heavily impacted by conflict for the last seven weeks, namely, the north of Gaza. So, we're getting or we're joining convoys with other U.N. agencies that are reaching really impacted, shattered areas in the north of Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of children are still in need of supplies, they're in needs of water, they're in need of food, that they're in need of medical supplies, and hospitals are in need of medical equipment, and fuel to operate, and desalination plants need to continue operating at a better speed to make sure that we don't have a water crisis.

Next, we're hearing stories of children being extremely thirsty, often dehydrated. And on top of these tragic stories that we just seen, there is the longer-term impact that this conflict could cause.

CHURCH: Yes, and of course, your organization calls attention to the suffering of children in these sorts of situations. How has this temporary truce helped the young and vulnerable in Gaza, as well, of course as their desperate parents?

PIRES: Well, there's a sense of safety a little bit more, Rosemary, that this is what we hear from colleagues on the ground, because, you know, we can move around, we can do our logistics, we can do assessments and psychosocial support, whereas before, with the fear of bombardments and gunshots, this was very difficult to do and not safe to do we -- let's remember, we lost 100 -- over 100 U.N. workers since the beginning of this crisis, which is a record number for any crisis, as far as the U.N. has kept record.

So, you know, right now, there is a sense of safety and hope that this pause will continue for as many days as it takes, hopefully. And this is what we're asking for, for a permanent time. So, this war on children can over, can finish, can be over, and the killing of children can also -- and then, we don't see sad things like we just see.

CHURCH: Indeed. And, of course, this temporary truce has given a lot of residents of Gaza, and of course, aid workers as well an opportunity to assess the situation on the ground. How would you describe that to the rest of the world?

PIRES: It's very, very grim. What we're hearing and seeing, colleagues on the ground are very shocked and affected by the scale and the depth of this crisis in terms of children's lives and well-being.

I was just spoke -- speaking to a colleague who's actually in Gaza right now -- a UNICEF colleague, and he was (INAUDIBLE) really heartbroken. The story of little girls and boys in hospitals, who've either lost an arm or a leg, and are amputees, and will have to live with that for the rest of their lives.

And on top of that -- on top of that, many don't know that they have lost a parent, a father or a mother, or even a sibling or a dear family member. So, on top of dealing with the trauma of not having their bodies intact anymore, they will still have to receive the news that their parents are gone.

And these stories are they -- and there are many, many -- basically, every corner you turn, someone lost a loved one. So, it's a very grim scenario.

CHURCH: Yes. So much tragedy. Ricardo Pires, thank you so much for talking with us. We appreciate it.

PIRES: Thank you.

CHURCH: And still to come the father of a 9-year-old former hostage who originally thought his daughter was dead, describes what she went through in Hamas captivity, and what life is like for her now that she is free.

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[02:22:03]

CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Well, the father of 9-year-old Emily Hand is sharing some of what his daughter went through during her time in Hamas captivity. She was reunited with her dad on Saturday after he initially thought she had been killed.

CNN's Clarissa Ward has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

THOMAS HAND, FATHER OF FREED HOSTAGE EMILY HAND: They should be here in a couple of minutes like, oh, I can't believe it. And all of a sudden, the door opened up and she just ran. It was beautiful, just like I -- just like I imagined it, you know, running together. And I squeezed -- I probably squeezed too hard.

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): It was a moment Thomas Hand thought would never come, told his 9-year-old daughter Emily had been killed in the October 7th attacks, then that she was believed to be held hostage in Gaza.

Finally, reunited with her family after 50 days in captivity, free but visibly haunted by her ordeal.

HAND: So, when she stepped back a little, I could see her face was chiseled like mine. Well, before she left it was, you know, chubby, curly, young kid face. The other and the most shocking, disturbing part of meeting her was she was just whispering. I couldn't hear her.

I had to put my ear on her lips like this close and say, what did you say? (INAUDIBLE) I thought you were kidnapped. And --

WARD: She said, I thought you were kidnapped?

HAND: She thought I was in captivity.

WARD: And what has she told you about what she's gone through? HAND: I thought she was in the tunnels, but she wasn't in the tunnels. They were actually fleeing from house to house. Some like it's being referred to as (INAUDIBLE). She says the koofsa, the box. So, you have to say, like, how long were you in the box? The koofsa. She said a year.

And apart from the whispering, that was like, a punch in the gut.

WARD: There is that one photograph right after your reunion, and you're holding her. And there is this sort of seriousness to her facial expression.

HAND: Yes. She is -- she is almost staring, isn't she? A little bit of a disconnect with everything going on around her.

[02:25:02]

WARD: Has she cried?

HAND: Oh, yes. Yes. Last night, she cried until her face was red and blotchy, and she couldn't stop. She -- like she didn't want any comfort.

I think -- I guess, she's forgotten how to be comforted. I just had to wait until she come out of it by herself. And she knows how to do that. She is a very determined little girl, very strong. I knew that her spirit would get her through it.

WARD (voice over): There have been glimpses of the old Emily, her first request, to listen to Beyonce and play with the family dog. But many moments of pain like when Thomas was forced to break the news to her that his ex-wife, Narkis, had been killed.

WARD (on camera): Does Emily understand what happened on October 7th?

HAND: Yes. Yes, yes. Unfortunately, she does. And I had to tell her, you know, your second mom is dead, killed, shot.

When we got back to the hospital, I asked the psychiatrist, you know, what do I do? What should I do? He said you've just got to tell her straight. It's the best way.

OK. But, yes, that was -- that was very hard because we told her. And, you know, her little eyes glazed up, and she just went, took a sharp intake of breath. Terrible thing to tell a child, but then they recommend that you have to close the book.

It sounds cruel, but you have to stop their hope. So, you've got to stop that. It has to be final. Narkis is dead.

WARD: And so, what is the next step now? How long do you stay here? How do you start a new life?

HAND: The future is obviously, get Emily back to health, and we will do that along the way. But the next thing is -- along the way is that we have to get all the children, obviously, all the women, all the men, all the hostages have to come back. They have to be brought back.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: And while some families have seen their relatives return, many others are still stuck in limbo, waiting and hoping for news their loved ones will be released.

10-month-old Kfir Bibas is the youngest Israeli hostage. He and his 4- year-old brother Ariel and their parents were kidnapped on October 7th. But Israel says they are not being held by Hamas.

CNN's Kaitlan Collins spoke with a family cousin.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EYLON KESHET, COUSIN OF HOSTAGES: 53 days they are going through this nightmare. And they -- it doesn't make any sense. It doesn't make any sense that anyone can let this keep going. That's a baby and 4 years old will be prisoned with their mother. They shouldn't be kept like this. It's inhumane, so scary. It really is.

Just we can get -- we can let it go on. Just think about it. If this was your child, would you want them to be in terrorist hands in captivity? Even not seeing them for 53 days is just -- is so hard. Like, are these enemies of Hamas? Are the enemies of anyone? Should these children be used as bargaining chips? No, they shouldn't. This is the simple answer. They shouldn't be used as bargaining chips for any political or religious or whatever reason. There is no justification for using things like this. So, we just -- we just want -- we just want them back, really.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Family members say they are worried 10-month-old could fear may not be getting baby formula. They also say they believe his father is being held separately from his family.

Well, still to come, deadly winter weather is moving across Ukraine. How the storms are impacting the war-torn nation. We're back with that and more in just a moment.

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[02:32:20]

CHURCH: Right now, we expect to hear from NATO's Secretary General along with Ukraine's Foreign Minister. They are gathering in Brussels with foreign ministers from other NATO member countries. Among them is that new British Foreign Secretary, David Cameron. He is there to emphasize Britain's unwavering support for Ukraine according to the British Foreign Office. And this comes after a senior U.S State Department official said it is not expected that Russia's president is looking to make meaningful peace with Ukraine until he finds out who wins the U.S Presidential election next year.

Ukraine is bracing for a second round of powerful winter weather. At least ten people died and thousands lost power in heavy snowstorms that swept through the country earlier this week. CNN's Anna Coren reports from Kyiv.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNA COREN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Heavy snow and ferocious wins, as a severe winter storm sweeps across Ukraine, putting a nation at war under additional strain. Days of extreme weather here has left at least ten people dead, more than 20 injured, and hundreds of villages and towns without power according to Ukraine's Interior Ministry. The southern region of Odessa taking the hardest impact.

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE (through translator): Unfortunately, as of now, there are some deaths. The highest number is in the Odessa region, five people. My condolences to their families and friends.

COREN (voice-over): The storm was caused by a low pressure system over eastern Europe over the weekend. On Sunday, wind speeds of up to 65 miles per hour were reported. 1,500 responders were taking part in operations across the country, according to officials, and power engineers were working to restore the electricity supply to households.

The severe weather also hit Russian-occupied Crimea, where a state of emergency was called for parts of the peninsula. 93,000 there were left without electricity and the water supply for 245 villages was disrupted, according to Russia's local head of the peninsula.

For residents of Ukraine's capital, their thoughts were with those now fighting a war in even harsher conditions.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I start crying when I think about the soldiers. It is hard to imagine what it feels like there. These are very heavy thoughts.

COREN (voice-over): A harsh winter getting only harsher still. More heavy snow and rain is expected to hit Ukraine this week, bringing further danger and possible devastation.

Anna Coren, CNN, Kyiv.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[02:35:00]

CHURCH: The forecast doesn't promise relief for Ukraine, another round of powerful winter weather is heading across eastern Europe. CNN Meteorologist Chad Myers has the forecast.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Winter really hitting Ukraine, western Russia, and for that matter, all of northern Europe right now, very, very hard. Temperature is well below where we should be this time of year, and a storm system did run through Ukraine on Sunday. That's where all the damage and deaths came from, but another system exiting Ukraine at this point in time, moving into western Russia. But even though it's moving away, the coldest air of the season is blowing in behind it. Winds are gusting to 50 kilometers per hour, 30 miles per hour, blowing the snow, making recovery of these vehicles nearly impossible. All of the drifting snow that we're seeing here.

There will be some more snow but most parts, somewhere between 10 centimeters and 20 centimeters, less than a foot of snow, just about everywhere across the region. There are a series of storms that are still coming in. The jet stream is dipping down to the south and allowing that very cold arctic air to drop into the area and continue to make very cold weather in the morning hours, but not getting above even freezing in the afternoon. Temperatures staying below 0-degree Celsius, 32-degree Fahrenheit all day long for most of the days here, with some of the wind chill factors approaching 20 to 30 below. And at 40 below, Celsius and Fahrenheit are the same, so very, very cold wind chills still blowing around the storm.

It warms up briefly on Thursday, but then cools back down with another shot of cold air by the weekend. No real relief from this very cold air where Kyiv never really gets above freezing in the afternoon, and well below freezing at night.

CHURCH: A court in Moscow has extended the pre-trial detention of "Wall Street Journal" reporter Evan Gershkovich by two months until January 30th. He has been detained for nearly eight months for an espionage charge which he and "The Wall Street Journal" deny. It's calling for his release along with the U.S Embassy in Moscow which said it was deeply concerned by the court's decision. Gershkovich has been designated as wrongfully detained by the U.S State Department.

Paul Whelan, another American held in Russia, says he was assaulted in a labor camp in Mordovia on Tuesday. Whelan issued a statement saying a 50-year-old Turkish prisoner with anti-American leanings punched him in the face. The U.S State Department expressed concern about the incident and called for Whelan's immediate release. He has been imprisoned in Russia for five years, also on espionage charges, which he denies. The U.S also considers Whelan to be wrongfully detained.

Breaking news from the Japanese Coast Guard. A U.S military Osprey aircraft with eight crew members onboard have crashed off the coast of Yakushima Island. A patrol boat and aircraft are on the way to the site. A spokesperson says there's no additional information at the moment. The Osprey is a unique tilt-rotor aircrafts that combines elements of a helicopter and a fixed wing plane. It's capable of vertical takeoff and landing. An Osprey crash in Australia back in August killed three U.S. Marines.

And we will be right back.

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[02:40:45]

CHURCH: In India, a joyful ending Tuesday to a 17-day ordeal. 41 workers trapped inside a collapsed tunnel for more than two weeks were successfully rescued. Rescue teams drilled an escape route through the debris of rock and concrete for days to reach them. They drilled the last few meters by hand. Officials say all 41 workers seem to be healthy. The men had been trapped since November 12th, after a part of the tunnel that they were helping to construct gave way, blocking the only exit.

Well, a centuries-old spat between Greece and the U.K. is heating up once again. The dispute is over these, the Parthenon Marbles. The iconic statues were taken from the Acropolis in Athens by Britain in the 19th century and Greece has been saying for years that it wants them back. On Tuesday, the Greek Prime Minister accused his counterpart, Rishi Sunak, of canceling a meeting where Mr. Mitsotakis was expected to bring up the sculptures. But Sunak's Office said the Greek leader had broken assurances by using his trip to the U.K. to campaign for their return.

Well, if you are planning to travel to Paris next year for the Olympics, be prepared to pay a higher fare in the Metro. Authorities say the cost of a single Metro ride will go up from EUR2 to a little more than EUR4 but that won't apply to residents who hold monthly or annual passes. The President of the Paris Regional Council called it fair pricing. The increases will last from July 20 to September 8.

And thanks so much for joining us this hour. I am Rosemary Church. "World Sport" is coming up next. Then I will be back in 15 minutes with more "CNN Newsroom." Do stick around.

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(WORLD SPORT)

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