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U.N. Shelter In Gaza's Khan Younis Is Struck, Killing At Least 9; Russia Accuses Kyiv Of Downing Plane Carrying Ukrainian Prisoners Of War; FAA Approves A Path For Boeing 737 Max 9s To Return To Service; France Debates Plan To Enshrine Abortion As Constitutional Right; 20-Year-Old Palestinian Describes Life Inside Gaza; Erdogan and Raisi Meet in Ankara Amid Middle East Tensions; Man Sentenced to Death for Mass Killing at Animation Studio; An Evening with Hong Kong's Wildlife. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired January 25, 2024 - 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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JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Coming up here on CNN.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The strikes are hitting protected installations.
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VAUSE: But Israel denies a U.N. building was hit by tank fire. Still, the massive military offensive in southern Gaza is ramping up and civilians again caught in the crossfire.
The mystery deepens over who or what was on board a Russian transport plane that Moscow says was brought down just miles from the Ukrainian border. And the terrifying moment at 16,000 feet when a door plug on Alaska Airlines Flight blew out. Now almost a month later Boeing 737 Max 9 may soon be back in business.
ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta. This is CNN Newsroom with John Vause.
VAUSE: We begin this hour in the Middle East as Israel intensifies its military offensive on Hamas militants in Gaza second biggest city Khan Younis. U.S. officials say one of their buildings being used as a shelter has been hit by 10 rounds, killing at least nine people.
Thick black smoke was in billowing from the building and training center turned refuge for almost 1,000 displaced Palestinians. Israel says it currently ruled out the incident was the result of an aerial or artillery strike by Israeli forces. And as suggested the building may have been hit by Hamas.
The US says Israel needs to take special care to avoid civilian deaths.
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JOHN KIRBY, COORDINATOR FOR STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS, U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL: It's a tough problem set that the Israeli Defense Forces are facing they have every right to go after Hamas terrorists wherever they are. But they also have an added burden, a special burden to be mindful of civilian infrastructure, particularly hospitals and residential complexes like that where we don't want to see them become scenes of battle.
So, nobody wants to see fighting in a hospital. So it does add an extra burden on the Israelis to be more careful, more deliberate. At the same time, it doesn't wipe away their responsibility to try to go after these leaders.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Also in Khan Younis, Palestinian health officials report to hospitals two the surrounding areas are still besieged by Israeli forces, and those who tried to flee have come under fire from Israeli tanks and drones. More details down from CNN Senior International Correspondent Ben Wedeman.
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BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With what little they can carry they try to flee Khan Younis to safer ground. That ground doesn't exist in Gaza.
Israeli forces intensifying their offensive against Hamas ordered civilians to leave the western side of the city were three of the last few functioning hospitals in Gaza are located and where thousands of people have taken shelter.
Another 800 were sheltering in a U.N. vocational training center hit according to the U.N. by two Israeli tank rounds.
THOMAS WHITE, DIRECTOR, UNRWA AFFAIRS: The reality is that these strikes are hitting protected installations protected facilities. They're hitting facilities that are housing, sheltering civilians or, you know, where you have medical personnel tending to people who are wounded and injured and sick.
WEDEMAN (voice-over): This man managed to escape Khan Younis under shelling. He asked his children have you eaten today? No, they respond.
Hovering over the agony of this war is this specter of famine (INAUDIBLE) Michael Fakhri, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food.
WEDEMAN: How would you describe the food situation in Gaza at the moment?
MICHAEL FAKHRI, U.N. SPECIAL RAPPORTOUR ON THE RIGHT TO FOOD: Every single person in Gaza is hungry. So that means 2.2 million people are going hungry. A quarter of the population are starving. They're struggling to find food and drinkable water and famine is imminent.
WEDEMAN (voice-over): Since October, Gaza has become a land of nomads moving from place to place desperate as the war moves further south. For more than 100 days I've been in the street, says Umhamed (ph), we don't know where to go. They say it's safe in one place and then it's dangerous with shelling and shooting. We go to another place and it's the same thing.
Hundreds of thousands have fled to and more fleeing every day to Rafah on the Egyptian border now crammed with more than a million displaced. There are a few spots left in the sand. The only place after that is the sea. Ben Wedeman, CNN reporting from Beirut.
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VAUSE: Join me now Yaakov Katz, senior columnist at the Jerusalem Post and Senior Fellow at the Jewish People Policy Institute. Good to see you again.
YAAKOV KATZ, SENIOR COLUMNIST, JERUSALEM POST: Thank you, John.
VAUSE: OK, so the U.N. continues to insist Israeli tank fire hit that building can't do this, and say this is not the first time. Listen to this.
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JAMES MCGOLDRICK, U.N. HUMANITARIAN COORDINATOR FOR THE PALESTINIAN TERRIROTY: There have been a number of incidents over the last month or so which makes us wonder whether the deconfliction system itself is actually working to an optimal level. And this is yet another incident whereby a building which has been used for humanitarian purposes been seen to be damaged or struck.
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VAUSE: Israel says the building was not hit by Israeli fire, at least at this stage. But overall, as the death toll continues to climb, once again, the Israeli military wrapping up this operation in southern Gaza.
So what happened to low intensity, more targeted combat operations, we've seen a return to the early days of the ground offensive here, with you know, these sensitive sites being hit by hospitals, U.N. buildings, and you know, a great number of civilians being trapped in the crossfire.
KATZ: You know, this is a live war zone and wars are very difficult and complicated. But Israel has so far said specifically about this one incident, this U.N. compound that it wasn't its air, or artillery forces that already ruled that out, it's checking in investigating whether to see if it was maybe someone in the ground forces as you raised that possibility of tank fire. So Israel is looking into that, but it also hasn't ruled out the
possibility of Hamas rocket what we saw a number of times and according to Israeli estimates, about almost a quarter of the rockets, if not more than are fired by Hamas and Islamic Jihad actually land prematurely inside the Gaza Strip. So that's always a possibility.
We saw that happen with, for example, the hospital strike that Hamas blamed on Israel very early on in this war, and was actually a rocket that had been fired by Hamas. And that was verified by the U.S. and other intelligence agencies.
So, we don't know Israel's looking into it. But again, this is a complicated warzone that is still ongoing and is going to see difficult situations.
VAUSE: It is ongoing, and complicated situation. So with that in mind, here's the Israeli Prime Minister speaking in Parliament or the Knesset, on Wednesday.
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BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): There is not nor will there be any compromise on what affects the safeguarding of our existence and future for generations.
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VAUSE: So narrowing that down more specifically, that seems to include creating a buffer zone around Gaza, which is what putting on Israeli soldiers were essentially doing when they were demolishing buildings, and they were killed on Monday, you know, buffer zone which Netanyahu and others believe is crucial to Israeli security, right?
KATZ: The buffer zone is essential, because what we had up until October 7, were literally Palestinian homes inside Gaza, that were up against adjacent the border fence. And from there, they were able within minutes to cross into the Israeli towns and carry out the massacre that barbaric monstrous massacre of October 7, in which over 1,200 Israelis were murdered inside their homes and communities.
So to prevent that from happening, Israel is saying we have to create this buffer zone that pushes back any prospect of that happening. So Israel would have early intelligence would be able to see if something like that is being launched once again above ground and be able to have enough time to scramble its forces and prevent that from happening.
You know, obviously, this is going to be very controversial, because anything that sees a -- the raising of homes or the pushing back of civilian population is going to raise the ire of a lot of people around the world in the international community.
But this is meant to be able to provide security for Israel. Let's remember, Israel was the one that was attacked on October 7. They are the ones who need to be able to continue to provide security for their citizens. VAUSE: And with that in mind, I think you know what's coming next, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken laying down a marker on what is and isn't acceptable. He's speaking Tuesday. Here he is.
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ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We've been very clear our opposition to the forced displacement of people about maintaining in effect the territorial integrity. We've been clear, we remain clear about not encroaching on the territory.
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VAUSE: Gaza covers about 365 square kilometers at its widest point 12 kilometers wide. So there's not a lot of buffer and buffer zone, which is why Arab neighbors and allies and as well as the U.S. are opposed to this idea when it comes to taking land away from Gaza itself.
You know, why not create? Is it wiggle room here for the Israeli government? Because you constantly say this is a war with a master with the Palestinian people of Gaza. So why the Palestinian people of Gaza? Why should they continue to suffer for what Hamas has done? Can there be negotiation over any of this?
KATZ: John, Israel is facing bad options, right? I think we all recognize that. One option for example which I think no one wants is for Israel to remain inside Gaza to reoccupy Gaza, Israel pulled out in 2005 tonight to have to go back.
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Do we want Israel to stay in there? Israel doesn't want. I think no one in the international community and of course, the Palestinians of Gaza don't want Israel to be there. Is there a possibility of some multinational force to come in? I wish but when I look around and I look at the borders, I don't see Egyptians lining up. I don't see Saudis lining up. I don't see Americans lining up, no one wants to come and take over the Gaza Strip.
Israel has to be able to provide for the security of its citizens. So in absence of reoccupying, Gaza, and having Israeli soldiers inside that border zone, this is the next best option that is meant to provide security for Israelis and at the same time not have to see a permanent presence inside the Gaza Strip, is I think no one wants on the international nm the domestic stage.
This is not simple and the bad options and because of the barbaric attack of October 7th, Israel doesn't have good options here. It has to do the best that it can.
VAUSE: Kaakov, as always, thank you for being with us. Really appreciate your time. Kaakov Katz there in Jerusalem. Take care.
At this hour there remain more questions and answers about a deadly plane crash in Russia just miles from the border with Ukraine. We know the military transport plane came down in the Belgorod region. We cannot confirm Kremlin claims at all on board 65 Ukrainian POWs, six crew members and three Russian officers were killed.
We cannot confirm Kremlin claims that the plane was transporting POWs to a prisoner exchange. Video posted on social media shows the four- engine Ilyushin 76 plunging towards the ground followed by a huge fireball rotting behind a number of buildings. Two Russian officials say the pilot changed course to avoid a nearby village.
Russian state media released images from the crash site showing debris scattered across the snowy field. There's been no confirmation from Ukraine's military that it shut down the plane and Ukraine cannot confirm who was or was not on board.
But did say any Russian military aircraft approaching Belgorod is considered a legitimate target and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy is now calling for an international investigation.
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VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): It is obvious that the Russians are playing with the lives of Ukrainian prisoners with the feelings of their relatives and the emotions of our society. It is necessary to establish clear facts as much as possible given that the plane crash happened on Russian territory that is beyond our control.
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VAUSE: More details down from CNN's Matthew Chance.
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MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is the moment the Russian military transporter plunged from the skies and eye witnessed gasps has a huge orange fireball billows from the ground.
Russia says the aircraft was shot down. And while Ukraine hasn't confirmed it. This Russian border region is an active war zone.
I was clearing the snow when suddenly there was a loud bang, says this Russian eyewitness on local TV. There was an explosion in the sky, he says, and I got scared.
Across the frozen crash site near the Russian city of Belgorod, twisted metal debris strewn across a wide area along with human remains. Ukraine says the plane had a cargo of missiles heading to the frontlines, but Russia insists the aircraft was carrying 65 captive Ukrainian soldiers en route to a prisoner exchange. CNN can't independently verify either claim.
I feel pity for everyone that says this Russian woman who saw the plane go down. My own grandson is fighting in our special military operation, she says and all of those on board probably have people waiting for them too.
In recent weeks, Ukraine has been stepping up attacks across the Russian frontier. Hitting an oil terminal near St. Petersburg with a drone strike last week. And earlier taking out strategic Russian long range radar detection aircraft flying near the border.
In the Russian controlled city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, local officials say at least 25 people were killed last weekend in a Ukrainian bombardment.
Meanwhile, on Russian state television commentators have condemned the latest shoot down saying it was Ukrainians killing their own.
This was yet another premeditated criminal act, which does not surprise us, says former Russian general. It's now routine behavior he says by the Kyiv regime.
But Kyiv says if Ukrainian prisoners of war were on board ahead of an extreme as Moscow claims, they were not informed and that Russia may have deliberately put their lives in danger. Matthew Chance, CNN London.
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VAUSE: Last hour I spoke with Mark Hertling, CNN military analyst and a former commanding general of U.S. Army, Europe and the Seventh Army. I asked him his thoughts on the two conflicting accounts.
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LT. GEN. MARK HERTLING (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: John, I think there's a whole lot more to this, you know, the initial reports from both sides had been muddled and muted. There's confusion about this entire incident. All indications to me and of course, I'm applying a little bias to this, but indications are that the Russians have used this plane for other purposes.
And in fact, it was tracked the 24 hours before going into Iran, picking up some type of equipment passing over Egypt, in the Red Sea, and even into Syria before it came into the Belgorod airspace.
In addition to that, I am unfamiliar, I don't think Russia has any -- has done any prisoner exchange using aircraft. They like to put the Ukrainians on a bus, ship them from wherever they are, make it as uncomfortable as possible as they're sending them back to Ukraine. So actually taking a transport plane and not filling it completely out.
By the way, there were 63 allegedly prisoners or 65, I guess, and seven crew members on this aircraft will hold over 200 passengers, 270 I think is the load and having been on an aisle 76 they're not going to waste that kind of aircraft on just that limited number of personnel.
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VAUSE: Our thanks to retired Lieutenant General Mark Hertling. A Boeing 737 Max 9 may soon be back in the air possibly by this weekend for two U.S. airlines. Aviation regulators cleared the plane to return to service Wednesday, but only after passing certain inspections.
The planes were grounded after a door plug blew off mid-flight on Alaska Airlines plane earlier this month. This is new video from that incident at 16,000 feet. Boeing CEO met with U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday, insisting his company is not cutting corners on safety.
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DAVE CALHOUN, BOEING CEO: When we fly safe planes, we don't see their planes in the air that we don't have 100 percent confidence in.
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VAUSE: Despite that reassurance, the U.S. Senate announced a new investigation into Boeing safety record. Regulators will not approve any expansion of Boeing 737 Max production until the company's quality control issues are resolved.
With a short break, when we come back, the right to abortion could soon be enshrined in France's constitution. That would be a world first.
Also, and much more on the Israel-Hamas war we'll hear from a 20-year- old Palestinian woman what is like losing her friends, her home, her youth as the war in Gaza enters day 110.
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VAUSE: According to North Koreans state media, Pyongyang has tested a new strategic cruise missile and that the launch is part of a constant process of updating weapons systems.
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The South Korean military says it will find several cruise missiles into the sea west to the Korean peninsula. Unclear if they have nuclear strike capabilities however, cruise missile tests are not a violation of U.N. Security Council sanctions.
France is now debating whether to make abortion permanent right. On Wednesday, French lawmakers discussed a bill that would enshrine a woman's right to an abortion in France's constitution.
The measure is backed by President Emmanuel Macron, who recently promised that women's freedom to have an abortion will be irreversible. CNN's Melissa Bell is in Paris with more on this debate.
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MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR PARIS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A heartfelt cry on the streets of France. Just days before the U.S. Supreme Court reversed Roe vs. Wade in the summer of 2022, a ruling that was to impact women in the United States that reverberate around the globe.
SARA DUROCHER, PLANNING FAMILIAL (through translator): With what happened in the U.S. there was a strong reaction in France by politicians. Several laws were proposed and the prime minister came to see us here at family planning to tell us how worried he was about the right to abortion.
BELL (voice-over): A right as hard won in France as it was elsewhere. The procedure only legalized in 1975 after a battle led by the lawmaker, and then Health Minister Simone Veil a woman speaking to a parliament of men/
SIMONE VEIL, FRANCE FORMER HEALTH MINISTER (through translator): This is an injustice that must be solved.
BELL: Now, France is looking to go further making abortion a constitutional right.
EMMANUEL MACRON, FRENCH PRESIDENT (through translator): This will enshrine the freedom of women to choose abortion and to be a solemn guarantee that nothing will ever limit or abolish this right because it will have become irreversible.
BELL (voice-over): Among those supporting the move, the singer Barbara Pravi, her own experience of abortion at 17 so traumatic, that she wrote a song about it.
BARBARA PRAVI, SINGER, SONGWRITER: I felt very alone because the woman who took me was -- wasn't very good actually. She was very judgmental. Like she was like, how old are you? Why are you here? You're not ashamed?
BELL: What difference do you think it'll make to have it inscribed in a constitution?
PRAVI: Having the right to do abortion cannot be like a condition of politics. You know. It has to be something we have and no discussion.
BELL (voice-over): Recent polls suggest that over 80 percent of the French population supports safeguarding abortion rights. But France too, has its anti-abortion movement with both sides taking to the streets over the weekend.
UNIDENIFIED FEMALE: I'm really against it. And for the doctors practicing it for the ladies leaving it for the babies dying and even for the fathers.
BELL (voice-over): But for those in favor of the change, it's about putting an end to the argument once and for all.
PRAVI: If you put something in the Constitution, it automatically change people's mind. It could take maybe years like five, six, seven, maybe 10 years, but I know that my children will never think about the question about abortion.
BELL (voice-over): Barbara says she was able to put her loneliness and shame into song, but believes that France is constitutional change might help women in the future to feel neither. Melissa Bell, CNN, Paris.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: French farmers who have been using their farm vehicles to block key roadways are promising to continue their protests as they demand concrete responses from the government.
The roadblocks that started in one southern region last week have already spread to all four corners of France. The unions are protesting against cheap inputs of government and government regulation. One farmer expressed his frustration with the situation.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We like our job, we like going to the stables, but frankly when they see what we earn in the evening, we are tired. We are at the end of our limit, and we no longer want to be. We honestly don't want to anymore.
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VAUSE: A union representative tells CNN he's been talking with his counterparts in other European countries about the issues affecting farmers across the continent.
Day two of a train drivers strike in Germany which is expected to wreak havoc on travel plans and supply chains across the country. The drivers are demanding better pay and a shorter working week from this state owned rail operator which says the protests will cause delays and cancellations across the board from commuter services to freight transport.
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But some passengers have mixed feelings about the workers action.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I think it is important that employees stand up for their rights but on the other side for me personally no, this is a pain.
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VAUSE: This six-day long strike is the longest in the rail operators history.
Workers across Argentina also on strike protesting the new president's economic reforms. Javier Milei is a self-described anarcho (ph) capitalist who has made it his top priority to tame Argentina's skyrocketing inflation. Ivan Sarmenti has our report.
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IVAN PEREZ SARMENTI, CNN EN ESPANOL CORRESPONDENT: This Wednesday after 45 days in office, President Javier Milei had to face his first national wide general strike to protest against these economic reforms. Never before in four years of democracy and massive strike has been
called so soon into the term of a new Argentine government, and it represents a significant test from Milei. This major demonstration was set by the largest labor union group in the General Confederation of Labor CGT, along with other social organizations, and took place here in front of the National Congress building where a large crowd was gathered.
They protest against Milei's two major reforms, his omnibus bill that's been discussed this week by Congress, and the second and most controversial, a mega decree that has deregulated the economy.
In say this huge degree was also established and labor reform, putting worker protections and extending trial periods for employees, but it was suspended by Justice three weeks ago.
The strike officially started at midday with banks and other services stopped working. Hospitals are only attending emergencies, and many flights have been canceled. However, public transportation was operating during the strike to let the demonstrators arrived here, but it's said to stop in the evening.
The government, meanwhile, has rejected the strike and say it will deduct the day's wage from public sector employees who miss work to take part of it. President Milei has only been in office for six weeks.
Since then, he announced a 50 percent currency devaluation and gas prices, for example, has doubled. Already very high inflation has soared and now Argentina has the highest inflation rate in the world.
Milei has repeatedly said it is -- there is no alternative to his proposed shock therapy and to fix decades of economic problems. It first requires more pain. Ivan Sarmentim CNN, Buenos Aires.
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VAUSE: Still to come, details from Tokyo about the guilty verdict and death sentence for the suspect one of the country's worst mass killings in decades.
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VAUSE: The Israeli military denies being behind a deadly strike on a U.N. facility in southern Gaza. But according to U.N. officials, the buildings in Khan Yunis were housing 800 people and were hit by Israeli tank fire.
The incident comes as the Israeli military intensifies operations in and around Khan Yunis, claiming Hamas militants are located in a number of hospitals. The U.N. says the largest functioning hospital in the city will soon be forced to close.
It's now day 110 of Israel's war with Hamas and for 20-year-old, Nowara Diab, this war already has taken the lives of her two best friends, who she says were killed by Israeli airstrikes.
The war has taken her home, her family. They were forced to flee northern Gaza and since then she says they've moved too many times to count.
Diab is now in Rafah in southern Gaza, and describes disguise a life changed forever and a future which looks anything but certain.
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NOWARA DIAB, DISPLACED PALESTINIAN: As I walk on the streets in Gaza death, destruction and chaos is all around me. I often think about how my life could have been and how I would still have a home and how my two best friends Maimana and Abraham would still be alive.
My heart aches every single day for Maimana and Abraham who were killed in their homes by the Israeli airstrikes.
Maimana was a beautiful soul and so creative. I'd always brag about how great she was. We'd talked for hours on end, talking about anything and everything or just being silly.
Is it me or are we best friends?
Every moment with her was full of love and laughter. Her talent for painting was extraordinary. This painting of a yellow flower will always hold a special place in my heart.
Little did I know, it would be her last gift to me. It broke my heart having to leave it behind. Just like I had to leave her.
Abraham was the most kind and funny person I'd ever met. Not to mention also the smartest.
This kingdom needs a king.
We get to know each other when working on a play about King Odysseus at a theater project in Gaza. He played the role of a king.
And would just make everyone laugh and was rarely seen without his camera capturing the good times.
But with both of them gone I don't think that there will be any good moment. I needed (ph) so much right now and I need them more than ever. But I know that they are now in a better place. I just know.
Now life in Rafah is hard. I wake up trying to survive another day, thankful my family and I are alive.
For two weeks we stayed at a tent in Khan Yunis shared by seven people. Water is the hardest thing to ever find here. Rarely bottles are given to us like this on a truck. But with so little, we were forced to drink salty water for a while.
So if we don't die from airstrikes we're going to die from dehydration and starving. When this war is over, there's another one waiting for us. The agony in our hearts going back home and seeing everything crumbled into pieces, gone just like the tens of thousands of Palestinian men, women and children killed in this war.
I hope that my story has meant something to you. And you can think of us as human beings, not just numbers because this is me giving you a sneak peek into hell.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: The Israel Defense Forces say they do not target civilians and their war is with Hamas, not the people of Gaza.
So when it comes to instability and terrorism in the Middle East, few countries can match Iran as sponsors, which is why when the leader of Iran, while meeting the Turkish president in Ankara agrees to avoid any actions that might jeopardize the stability of the region it seems a little hard to believe.
CNN's Scott McLean has more now out reporting in from Istanbul.
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SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Iranian president's long-awaited visit to Turkey comes at a time when the region is in desperate need of dialogue.
Ebrahim Raisi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met in Ankara and agreed to strengthen economic ties, but it seems it is tougher to find consensus on what to do about the volatile situation in the region.
Both men are united in their very tough criticism of Israel but while Turkey has aimed to prevent conflict from spreading across the Middle East, Iran's proxies in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria and Yemen have used the war in Gaza as a chance to strike at Israeli and American targets in the area, even commercial shipping lanes.
President Erdogan said the pair agreed on the need to end the war in Gaza and find a lasting peace and agreed to avoid steps that further threaten the stability of the region, though what that looks like in practice is far from clear.
The meeting comes at a time when Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei has called on Muslim countries to cut off political and economic ties with Israel, something that Turkey has given no indication that it's prepared to do.
After the meeting with Erdogan, Raisi himself said that the primary issue of the Islamic world is the Palestinian issue and Muslim countries need to do more.
Scott McLean, CNN -- Istanbul.
(END VIDEOTAPE) VAUSE: The last obstacle to Sweden's NATO membership may soon be removed. On Wednesday, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban told NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg that his government supports Sweden joining the military alliance. He says he will urge lawmakers to vote for it. Orban and his party have stalled the ratifications bill in parliament for more than a year, saying there was no real threat to Sweden security and accusing Sweden of unfairly criticizing Hungary for so- called anti-democratic moves.
It is also one of the NATO countries with the closest ties to Russia. Prime Minister Orban's about face comes today after lawmakers in Turkey, the other NATO holdout, voted to approve Sweden's ascension bill.
Authorities in China say a building fire that killed at least 39 people Wednesday was caused by improper renovation of a cold storage unit. That's according to Chinese state media and video from the scene in the city of Xinyu in the country's southeast shows plumes of smoke billowing out of the building.
Some inside jumped to safety. Workers were refurbishing the basement area when fire broke out and spread quickly to other floors. The workers were reported using fire illegally in some manner, but officials did not explain how. Authorities are holding 12 people in connection to the fire.
A Japanese court has sentenced Shinji Aoba over to death after he was found guilty of the country's worst mass killing in nearly two decades. He set fire to a renowned animation studio in Kyoto in 2019 killing 36 people and hurting dozens more. The judge determined he was neither insane nor mentally incompetent at the time.
CNN's Hanako Montgomery is live in Tokyo with details. So exactly what was the ruling by the judge and when does this all happen? When does the death penalty actually get implemented here?
HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes John, it's good to see you. So you know, the real point of contention throughout this trial was whether or not Shinji Aoba was mentally competent enough to be held criminally-responsible for his actions. Aoba and his defense argued that he wasn't, that he was suffering from a psychological disorder that meant he couldn't tell what was right from what was wrong.
You know, Aoba himself admitted after committing the arson attack on Kyoto Animation that he believed the animation studio plagiarized his ideas.
But the prosecution on the other hand, of course, argued differently. They've been seeking the death penalty since the beginning of this trial in September of last year. They argue that even if he was delusional about Kyoto Animations stealing his ideas, that he should still be held criminally-responsible for killing those 36 people, like you said John, and injuring 32 others.
Now, the judge, as we saw this morning, has sided with the prosecution and has sentenced Aoba to death. In its reasoning, the judge said, and I quote, "The loss of 36 people is too serious and tragic. In an instant, they were engulfed in flames and smoke. And before they had time to escape, they fell on top of each other or had difficulty breathing due to intense heat.
So really just illustrating the tragic last moments for many of the victims inside John.
VAUSE: So remind us all about this, this arson attack which killed so many people because this wasn't just on any animation studio. This was a world-renowned animation studio. It had a big impact around the world.
MONTGOMERY: Yes John. As you and I both know anime is beloved across the world, not just in Japan, but just internationally. And Kyoto Animation was part of that. Since its founding in 1981, they've made a number of notable works.
[01:39:49]
MONTGOMERY: So when this incident happened, when this killing happened, nearly five years ago, it was really a tragic moment for a lot of anime fans across the world to hear that their anime creators were killed in a deadly attack, it was just a very tragic moment.
And as we know, many of the people inside were young people. So that just really compounded to how horrible the accident was for both the people inside, their families and fans across the world, John.
VAUSE: Hanako thank you. Hanako Montgomery there in Tokyo with the very latest. Thank you.
We'll take a short break. When we come back, take a late-night urban safari on the outskirts of Hong Kong where an astonishing array of creatures emerge at night.
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VAUSE: The bustling metropolis of Hong Kong is home to a surprising diverse array of wildlife. Many of its creatures you'll only see once the sun goes down.
Today on "Call to Earth", CNN's Kristie Lu Stout takes us on a nighttime safari with a wildlife photographer whose mission is to connect people with nature and promote conservation through his photography.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: 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 nighttime, that's when the creatures come out.
What are you hoping that we'll find tonight?
LAWRENCE HYLTON, EDUCATOR AND PHOTOGRAPHER: I'm hoping to find a couple of snakes and any other aquatic creatures.
Leading our 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.
HYLTON: My favorite are 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 warty newts at play.
Oh yes, right there, two of them.
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.
[01:44:53]
HYLTON: We have relatively pristine stream ways, which is quite rare for Hong Kong. Also it's far away enough from civilization that wildlife can live without too much disturbance from us.
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 of snakes and fear of 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.
Kristie Lu Stout, CNN -- Hong Kong.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Let us know what you're doing to answer the call with the # calltoearth.
We'll be right back.
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VAUSE: For 16 years as host of "The Daily Show", Jon Stewart combined humor, insight, and at times, outright anger to speak truth to power. And now for almost a decade he's back as host at least on a Monday night but he comes just in time for the 2024 U.S. presidential election.
CNN's Brian Todd has details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JON STEWART, COMEDIAN: We'll be right back.
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Late night viewers brace yourselves for the return of Jon Stewart, just in time for this year's presidential race.
The 61-year-old comedian returns to his former program, "The Daily Show" on Comedy Central, at least every Monday. He'll executive produce the show and work with the rotating lineup of hosts for the rest of the week.
After nearly nine years away, viewers will once again experience Stewart's left-leaning brand of cutting humor about politics, corporate America, and the news media. ERIK WEMPLE, WASHINGTON POST MEDIA CRITIC: But I think his impact will be pretty big as far as one particular entity goes. He's always been able to jump on the absurd and really pound it and pound it.
TODD: For 16 years as host of "The Daily Show", Stewart reached an audience beyond just political junkies.
WEMPLE: Everybody watched, everybody tuned in, and a lot of people, especially young people, learn their news from "The Daily Show". He was an enormous force in American society.
TODD: Increasingly, Stewart wore his politics on his sleeve, gravitating toward interviews with figures like Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.
STEWART: They've told you nothing.
SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA): It's -- it's not bad exactly.
[01:49:49]
TODD: Stewart left the show in 2015 at the height of Donald Trump's rollicking first presidential campaign.
STEWART: What (EXPLETIVE DELETED) is wrong with him? It is hard to get mad at Donald Trump for saying stupid things. In the same way, you don't get mad at a monkey when he throws poop at you at the zoo.
TODD: Stewart turned to other projects, supporting 9/11 first responders, a movie project, and a short-lived show on Apple's streaming service, while the show he once helmed lost much of its viewership and its voice.
WEMPLE: In terms of a ratings vehicle, which is how a lot of television execs keep score, it dropped a lot.
TODD: Now, many Democrats are gleeful over the prospect of Stewart's potential broadsides aimed at the presumptive Republican nominee.
MARIA CARDONA, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Donald Trump is going to give Jon Stewart so much golden material that the Joe Biden campaign won't be able to put a value on it.
STEWART: Well, Joe Biden.
TODD: But Biden could be a big target as well.
WEMPLE: People should remember that Stewart wasn't afraid to criticize both sides in his monologues, in his routines.
TODD: Media and political analysts say Donald Trump and his campaign will very likely do their own deep dive on Jon Stewart, try to dig up some dirt on him and some punch lines of their own to hit back at the comedian, ramping up the sheer entertainment of this campaign to new levels.
Brian Todd, CNN -- Washington
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Joining us now is Sara Fischer, CNN media analyst and Axios senior media reporter.
Thanks for being with us. It's good to see you.
SARA FISCHER, CNN MEDIA ANALYST: Great to see you. Thanks for having me.
VAUSE: Ok. So now Jon Stewart teased his return to "The Daily Show" with this tweet posted on X. "Friends after much reflection, I've decided to enter the transfer portal for my last year of eligibility, excited for the future."
Then he (INAUDIBLE) said for anyone not familiar with college football at the United States, the transfer portal is a database which helps college athletes transfer between schools. Stewart's kind of obsessed with college football.
But besides all that, you know, I guess the question here is he could have returned to "The Daily Show" at any time of his own choosing. So any idea why he decided now was the right moment to make a comeback?
FISCHER: I mean, I think first of all, it's because his Apple TV show was canceled. So he now has some availability, that happened in 2022.
The second thing is that Jon Stewart thrives in election years. He loves to do political commentary. He loves to shake things up with candidates.
I think that's why this is a really exciting opportunity for him. Remember this isn't just any normal election. This is the potential reelection of Donald Trump. And I think dan Stewart, who has been super vocal about his feelings about that might see this as an exciting opportunity to make an impact.
VAUSE: Well, I want you to listen to CNN's Oliver Darcy on why Jon Stewart is a lot more than just a late-night comedian. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OLIVER DARCY, CNN SENIOR MEDIA REPORTER: Stewart is who is known for those really stinging, sharp monologues that are exposing hypocrisy among politicians. He's really someone who is able to cut through the political noise using humor like no one else.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: As you said, he wasn't around for the 2016 election campaign, but he was at "The Daily Show" helm when Trump announced he was running for president. Here's that moment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEWART: I'm just really happy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: I miss him so much. Any thoughts on the impact that Jon Stewart might have on this year's presidential election.
FISCHER: Yes, I mean, he's going to bring some levity to it. You know, for the past few months. This has been such a chaotic primary with debates being canceled and Donald Trump not engaging in a way that most candidates normally would that I think a lot of people have tuned out.
We've pulled data that shows that people are not clicking political articles as much. They're not watching as much news. And so I think what he could do is bring people back into the fold, get them excited about the election, thinking about the election and talking about the election.
And that would be a huge deal. Especially given the fact that quite frankly, we have so little late-night hosts and late-night comedy that's thriving in the linear TV era. This might bring people back in a way that's important ahead of an election.
VAUSE: Yes, it's a good point to make about the ratings because over the past eight years, "The Daily Show" has been bleeding viewers. When Jon Stewart left in 2015, he was bringing in an average of 2.2 million viewers at night according to Nielsen. By the time his replacement Trevor Noah signed off at the end of 2022, that number had shrunk to 600,000. That is part of an overall decline of viewers, which is a trend in cable television right now.
But clearly there (INAUDIBLE) is that Jon Stewart will bring some kind of boost in the ratings and not just to the Mondays that he'll be fronting the show. I guess, Monday through Thursday as well because he's the EP of all those days.
[01:54:49]
FISCHER: Exactly right. I do think that Comedy Central is hoping they're going to get a little bit of a ratings boost from his return. Also, Jon Stewart is one of those people who really started (ph) a lot of the major comedians that you see today, whether it was Steve Colbert, whether it was Samantha Bee or Trevor Noah. And so I also think that they think he'll help with talent development, which boost the ratings for all the other shows that the Comedy Central talent is working across.
But the one thing to remember, yes, cable news viewership is going down as people cut the cord.
But what's different now versus when Jon Stewart had his show in 2015 and before that is we have TikTok we have viral video. And so I think that there's an opportunity for his zingers and his one-liners that Oliver was talking about to go hyper-viral this year more than ever before. VAUSE: And I guess the last question here. Is there any concern I guess have we heard of any concern within "The Daily Show" because Jon Stewart did have quite the reputation of being at times very difficult to work with.
FISCHER: I have not heard those concerns quite yet. I mean, they just announced it today, but I think that they don't have a lot of wiggle room to be concerned. Right now they need to focus on keeping the show on the air, getting ratings up, getting viewership and engagement up.
And despite any sort of challenges in working with Jon Stewart, they have to be extremely excited and grateful because he is going to bring energy that is much needed back to this show.
VAUSE: Yes.
I for one, am looking forward to it along with a lot of other people, I imagine.
Sara, thank you for being with us. Really appreciate it.
FISCHER: Thanks for having me.
VAUSE: Ozzy Osbourne will end his days on the road saying goodbye to fans with two final concerts.
(MUSIC)
VAUSE: According to his wife Sharon, one concert will take place in Birmingham, England -- the city where he grew up. The 75-year-old has had health issues in recent years and after a fall in 2019 has undergone a number of surgeries. Sharon says his voice is absolutely perfect and he's ready to give fans a legendary sendoff.
Thank you for watching. I'm John Vause.
Please stay with us. CNN NEWSROOM continues with my friend and colleague Rosemary Church after a very short break.
See you back here tomorrow.
[01:57:02]
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