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Russia Gets Full Control of Avdiivka; Germany and U.K. Mourn Death of Alexei Navalny; Russia's Surging Anti-Terrorism Laws; Nikki Haley Condemns Trump's Comments on NATO, Trump Compares Himself to Navalny; House Takes a Recess, Leaving Aid Bill to Ukraine Uncertain; Israel Sets Ramadan as Deadline for Hostage Release; ICJ Begins Hearing on Israel's Occupation of Palestine; Israel Condemns Brazil's President for Comparing Gaza War to the Holocaust; Shanghai Market Reopens, Tourism Reportedly Surged; U.S. Strikes Underwater Houthi Vessel For First Time; Top Winners Of The 77th British Academy Film Awards. Aired 2-3a ET
Aired February 19, 2024 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:00:00]
ANNA COREN, CNN HOST: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us in the United States and around the world and streaming on CNN Max. I'm Anna Coren live from Hong Kong.
Just ahead, a Russian flag rises over the fallen Ukrainian town of Avdiivka, a stark reminder of the challenges Kyiv's troops will be facing if U.S. aid dries up.
But in Washington, the increasingly urgent calls to unlock additional aid for Ukraine are falling on absent ears.
And Israel sets a deadline for the release of hostages before it expands military operations in Rafah.
We begin in a town in eastern Ukraine. Russian flags are now flying over Avdiivka after Kyiv withdrew its soldiers after several months of intense battles. Ukraine is now waiting anxiously for U.S. artillery as a key aid bill remains stuck in the U.S. Congress. But U.S. House Republicans are on a two-week vacation instead of pushing along that bill.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says U.S. President Joe Biden reiterated America's support for Ukraine during a phone conversation. But Mr. Zelensky says that aid is critical to stop the Russian president's plans.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE (through translation): The conversation with President Biden, very important points, including about Avdiivka and the need for continued, principled, and sufficient support for Ukraine. And each conversation clearly confirmed the key point. Ukraine alone can stop Putin and create conditions for him to be punished for all the evil he has done.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COREN: Well, meantime, Putin critic Alexei Navalny's sudden death in an Arctic prison is further highlighting the dangers posed by Russia. U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is demanding House lawmakers pass the bipartisan national security bill, saying Navalny's death is ringing an urgent alarm bell. And Vladimir Putin, quote, "is watching."
Navalny's supporters are calling on the government to immediately release his body. A Russian human rights group says nearly 30,000 people have signed a petition demanding that authorities do just that. Officials say Navalny died Friday after losing consciousness. The exact location of his body still remains unclear.
Meanwhile, people around the world are expressing their outrage over the activist's unexplained death. Hundreds of demonstrators gathered in the centre of Berlin to pay tribute to Navalny. They blamed Vladimir Putin for his death.
And in London, a temporary shrine outside the Russian embassy has been growing by the hour. Supporters have left hundreds of bouquets and condolence messages for Navalny and his family. In a moment, we'll look at how both stories are faring, aid for Ukraine and the death of Navalny, how they've become such hot topics in Washington and on the campaign trail. But let's first head to CNN's Clare Sebastian live in London.
Clare, as we're looking at those images coming out of Russia, such an act of defiance, you know, hundreds of these people detained, dozens jailed because they are laying flowers, holding vigils, paying their respects to Navalny. They are aware of the consequences. Give us an update, please, on the public opposition within Russia and when Navalny's body will be returned to his family.
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Anna, this is what we've seen as sort of a flash of bravery from those who support Navalny coming out trying to lay flowers. And, of course, the crackdown has been intense, some would say disproportionate to what people are actually doing. They're simply trying to pay their respects.
OVD-Info, which is a group, an independent group that tracks human rights abuses, says that there have now been 387 arrests in connection with these actions around Navalny's death, about a third of which have now been released, they have said. But, look, in a country of 140 million people, we have to put this in context, 387 arrests, even if that's just a proportion of those who have turned out, this is not a large number.
[02:05:02]
This is a country where people are being fed a constant diet of propaganda. They are not being fed information really about the death of Navalny on Russian state TV. Many people believe the propaganda. Others who perhaps don't believe it are far too scared in the climate of repression that we're seeing in Russia to come out and speak up.
If you compare these scenes to what we saw just around nine years ago after the death of Boris Nemtsov, that other opposition leader who was killed really in sight of the Kremlin on that bridge, there were rallies, there were marches, thousands of people turned out. This is very different. So, that is the context here. But it is still a flash of bravery.
As for the body, well, it's been three days now. We know that Navalny's mother and his lawyer flew out to that remote polar region on Saturday. They've been given a lot of conflicting information. And of course, Navalny's team is accusing the Russian authorities of hiding the body. No news as of yet as to when it's been released. The investigative committee in that region says that another investigation still has to be carried out. So, they are still waiting, Anna.
COREN: And Clare, there are fears of further repression from the Russian government and a broader crackdown ahead of those supposed elections next month. Elections that will almost certainly give Putin a fifth term in power. Tell us about this latest Amnesty International report that speaks to those concerns.
SEBASTIAN: Yeah, this is exactly what we're talking about. This is why we see the big difference in the level of reaction to Navalny's death. People are simply too scared. The Russian state has this ever- expanding toolkit, essentially, of laws that they can use to crack down on any semblance of dissent. Free media are practically non- existent now in Russia.
Amnesty International is talking about what it calls the abuse of vague anti-terrorism and anti-extremism legislation. It says that convictions for terrorism-related crimes are up 50-fold in the last 10 years. There's been an even bigger uptick since the beginning of the full-scale war on Ukraine. And it's not just those existing laws that are in place. There have been new offenses put in place since that invasion, the wartime censorship laws that have really changed the landscape within Russia, that have allowed the Russian authorities to crack down not just on opposition figures, but on regular people, regular internet users. Take a look at life under those laws.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEBASTIAN (voice-over): The woman being led away, not a known opposition activist, but a 67-year-old Moscow pediatrician. Her lawyer stands helplessly by.
Moments earlier, in video provided to CNN, Nadezhda Buyanova (ph) surveys the graphic aftermath of a visit by federal investigators to her apartment. I asked them to be more careful, she says.
Hers is one of a steady streams of lives turned upside down by Russia's wartime censorship laws. Her alleged crime, spreading knowingly false information about the Russian army, one of several new offenses created in the early turbulent days of Russia's full-scale war on Ukraine.
Now, along with discrediting the army, they form a key pillar of the Kremlin's effort to stamp out all dissent and independent media.
DARYA KOROLENKO, OVD-INFO ANALYST: They will imprison old people, they will imprison people who have disabilities, they will imprison people with children, women with children. They just want everyone to be silent.
SEBASTIAN (voice-over): Almost two years in, thousands of civil cases have been brought under these laws and more than 400 criminal cases, according to human rights group OVD-Info, some resulting in long prison sentences.
The crackdown is getting ever more fierce. Russia's parliament just passed legislation allowing the state to confiscate certain assets of those convicted.
(On camera): Why do they feel the need to sort of expand the scope of these laws as time goes on?
KONSTANTIN EGGERT, RUSSIAN JOURNALIST IN EXILE: I think the regime works as an engine. They have to generate these displays of loyalty every day. And they know that the only way to do it is actually to strengthen repression, to continue clamping down harder and harder.
SEBASTIAN (voice-over): The laws have turned social media into a minefield. Pensioner Evgenia Mayboroda (ph) jailed in January for five and a half years for two pro-Ukrainian reposts. Maxim Lipkhan (ph), 18 years old, when arrested last year for planning an anti-war protest, currently being held in a psychiatric facility pending trial, a detention reminiscent of Soviet practices.
EGGERT: Social media is very, very thickly and intensely monitored by the FSB, Russia's secret police. And crash, boom, bang, these people find themselves in trouble.
[02:09:58]
SEBASTIAN (voice-over): For Nadezhda Buyanova (ph), the trouble started during an ordinary day at work. She was effectively denounced by the mother of a patient. Purportedly this woman, who claims Buyanova (ph) told her a family member who had recently been killed in Ukraine, was a, quote, "legitimate target." Buyanova (ph) denies this.
KOROLENKO: I think that the climate is fed by the mainstream media that everyone wants to destroy Russia, destroy your home.
SEBASTIAN (voice-over): A climate of fear, Russia's most powerful weapon to control its people increasingly feeling the strain of war.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SEBASTIAN (on camera): So, it's important to note that we're not talking thousands of convictions here, it's several hundred over the course of the last couple of years, but just enough to keep up this steady stream, to keep up that level of fear on which this entire system is now built and which many believe will get worse now that we've seen the death of Alexei Navalny. And I just want to bring you one update on that.
We've had a tweet this morning from his spokesperson, Kyra Yarmush (ph). She said that his mother and his lawyers turned up at the morgue, they've already been there before early this morning, and they were not allowed to go in. One of the lawyers, apparently, she says, was literally pushed out. And when they asked the staff if Alexei Navalny's body was there, they did not answer. So, still a lot of questions around that, Anna.
COREN: Clare Sebastian in London, we appreciate your reporting. Thank you.
Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley is accusing Donald Trump of grievously downplaying the dangers posed by Russian President Vladimir Putin. On Sunday, Haley once again slammed Trump's comments on NATO, saying inviting Putin to, quote, "do whatever the hell they want" to NATO allies is bone-chilling. And she's calling on him to answer whether he thinks Putin is responsible for the death of Alexei Navalny. Haley says Trump needs to remember a critical lesson that Putin is not a friend to the United States.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NIKKI HALEY, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's actually pretty amazing that he, not only after making those comments, that he would encourage Putin to invade NATO, but the fact that he won't acknowledge anything with Navalny, either he sides with Putin and thinks it's cool that Putin killed one of his political opponents or he just doesn't think it's that big of a deal. Either one of those is concerning. Either one of those is a problem.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COREN: Meantime, Trump hasn't responded to Haley's comments, but he is comparing himself to Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. He posted an opinion piece on his social media platform Sunday that's titled "Biden: Trump is to Putin: Navalny." In the post, Trump claims without evidence that there are, quote, "some parallels" between how the Biden administration is targeting him and how President Putin went after Navalny. It's the first time Trump has publicly weighed in on Navalny's death.
Well, joining me now is Thomas Gift, director of the Center on U.S. Politics at University College London. Thomas, great to have you with us. I mean, Trump comparing himself to Navalny. I'm not sure how his mate Vladimir Putin would feel about that.
THOMAS GIFT, DIRECTOR, CENTER ON U.S. POLITICS, UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON: No, it's a completely absurd analogy, Anna, but it's something that you would expect from Donald Trump. I mean, Trump's playbook with the court cases is fairly predictable at this point, complain that it's election interference, blame it on a left-wing conspiracy, show no contrition, then declare that an attack on him is an attack on all Americans.
Every single piece of evidence that we've seen so far is that embracing that martyrdom complex works for Trump, so he's going to keep on exploiting it. I think for any other politician, a case like the one that we just saw would crash and burn their political career. For Trump, it's just business as usual.
And, you know, for Republican voters, every guilty verdict just reinforces this narrative that they've come to adopt. It doesn't matter, you know, if Trump's lying. They just think that the sort of facts are rigged, and so they're going to support him.
COREN: I mean, it shouldn't surprise us that Trump has made Navalny's death about himself. But are you expecting him to say anything substantial about the death of Russia's most prominent opposition leader? And as Nikki Haley said, really denouncing Putin for what has happened?
GIFT: Well, I don't expect language like that from Trump because we haven't heard it from him before. I mean, if anything, Donald Trump has been cozying up to dictators, including Putin, for years. He's expressed his admiration for Putin. He's talked about how much of a genius he is, how savvy he is for all of his political maneuverings in Eastern Europe.
And so, I think Donald Trump both respects, on a fundamental level, Putin, which is quite remarkable and concerning, but also, he just doesn't want to disturb this very delicate relationship that he seems to have with Russia's leader.
[02:14:58]
And I think Nikki Haley is absolutely correct that, you know, Americans can't afford to have a president where that's the mentality.
COREN: Thomas, the White House has produced an advertisement about Trump's recent comments that said that, you know, Russia can do the hell that it wants with NATO countries that don't pay their bills. Let's first have a listen to that ad.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNKNOWN: Trump wants to walk away from NATO. He's even given Putin and Russia the green light to attack America's allies.
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want.
UNKNOWN: No president has ever said anything like it. It's shameful. It's weak. It's dangerous. It's un-American.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COREN: Do you believe that will resonate with an American audience or, more importantly, Trump's supporters?
GIFT: No, I don't. That's the long and short of it. And I think that's the case because Donald Trump's supporters are prostrate before him and they just listen to anything that Donald Trump says. And if you look at public opinion polls toward Russia, basically they track the kind of language that Trump uses. So, he has this incredible power over the base.
You know, and more so, I think there are just a lot of voters that don't take Trump seriously. I mean, language like this is just completely unhinged. Sort of unbelievable that we can have a major nominee of one of the two parties using rhetoric like we've seen and basically no one bats an eye. But I don't think that it's going to damage Donald Trump. I think his supporters are just going to follow him. It's more of the same.
COREN: As we know, the House is holding up a $60 billion aid package to Ukraine. It's gone on a two-week break without passing this critical assistance. Do you believe that Navalny's death will do anything to change the minds of GOP sceptics or Trump supporters in the House?
GIFT: Yeah, again, probably not. And that's simply a function of the fact that Republicans in Congress are looking at the public opinion polls. Public opinion polls increasingly are showing greater skepticism among Americans generally, but Republicans specifically towards supporting Ukraine.
And so, I think that there's going to be a lot of reluctance to get this deal done. We might see some type of compromise, a relatively low-level budget, much less than Democrats in particular are hoping. But I don't think that the Navalny case really budgets the issue too much.
COREN: Thomas, just quickly, Nikki Haley keeping up attacks on Trump. Do you feel like she's making any inroads?
GIFT: No, I don't. Haley is going to run into the MAGA wall in South Carolina, and I think it's hard to see her campaign continuing after a defeat in her home state. You know, FiveThirtyEight now has Trump with about a 30 plus percentage point lead over Haley in South Carolina. Those numbers haven't really budged now for weeks.
So, it doesn't look like Haley is in for a last-minute surge. And it's not really clear to me what Haley is getting out of staying in the race. It's not even like this is the culmination of some larger principled stand against Trump.
She's really taken the gloves off recently against Trump, but she's not Chris Christie where kind of being the anti-Trump candidate was her entire platform all along. So, I think basically this is the end of the road for Haley. She's going to have to get out. The fundraising dollars are going to dry up and she's just going to come to the recognition that Donald Trump's going to be the nominee.
COREN: Thomas Gift in London, we appreciate your insights. Thanks so much for joining us.
Up next, Israel issues a warning about when it could launch a potential ground offensive in Gaza's southernmost city, Rafah. The details in a live report ahead. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:20:00]
COREN: Israeli war cabinet minister Benny Gantz says forces will expand military operations in the southern Gaza city of Rafah if Hamas does not return the remaining hostages by Ramadan. The holy Muslim month is expected to fall on the second week of march. Well, his words come after Israel's prime minister said the release of hostages can be achieved through tough negotiations and strong military action.
Meantime, video obtained by CNN shows people digging through rubble in central Gaza, where a spokesperson for the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital says at least 18 people were killed in an Israeli airstrike on Sunday. Palestinian health officials say many of those killed and wounded were children. CNN cannot independently verify the number of the casualties.
Well, to the south in Khan Younis, the WHO and the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry say Israeli forces have put the Nasser medical complex, quote, "completely out of service." A ministry spokesperson says only about two dozen medical staff remain but aren't able to handle critical cases. CNN has reached out to the Israeli military for comment.
In the coming hours, the International Court of Justice will hold hearings on the legal consequences of Israel's policies and practices in Palestinian territories. While it comes as the war rages on in Gaza, the case arrives more than a year after the U.N. General Assembly voted to ask the court for a non-binding opinion on the long running dispute. Palestinian representatives are expected to speak first at Monday's hearing.
Well, Israel is reacting to what it says are shameful and serious remarks by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, and in response says it's summoning the Brazilian ambassador to the country. During a speech on Sunday, Lula called what is happening in Gaza a genocide and then likened Israel's actions there to the Holocaust.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LUIZ INACIO LULA DA SILVA, PRESIDENT OF BRAZIL (through translation): What is happening in the Gaza Strip with the Palestinian people has no parallel in other historical moments. In fact, it did exist when Hitler decided to kill the Jews.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CNN's Scott McLean is following developments and joins us now from Istanbul.
[02:25:02]
Scott, we will get to the reaction to Lula da Silva's comments, but first, we seem to have a timeline on the Rafah invasion. Benny Gantz, former defense minister and now war cabinet member, has said that hostages need to be released by Ramadan, the 10th of March, or Israel would strike. What more are you learning?
SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, so this seems to be a reversal of the position that we had heard from the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a little over a week ago when he said that he wanted this pending operation in Rafah to be wrapped up by Ramadan, again, begins March 10th, so a little less than three weeks from now.
Now you have a member of his war cabinet, Benny Gantz, essentially making March 10th the deadline for Hamas to hand over hostages or the Israelis will move in and he said this, "to those saying the price is too high, I say this very clearly. Hamas has a choice. They can surrender, release the hostages and the citizens of Gaza will be able to celebrate the holy month of Ramadan."
Now, he promised that it would be done in a coordinated way with the Americans and the Egyptians, making sure that civilians were out of the way. This comes after the prime minister said that there's plenty of room for people to move north. But even Israel's allies are critical of this plan. And even the White House says that it is highly skeptical of whether it's even remotely possible for Israel to do this, given all the humanitarian challenges on the ground and the act of war that is happening.
And case in point, you had airstrikes in Rafah on Saturday, killing six people in one incident, seven in another, according to a hospital director, and then the incident that you mentioned, Anna, killing 18 people in Deir al-Balah. And that is precisely where many people are fleeing to.
And in that case, witnesses in the area, neighbors say that some of those who were killed had actually fled north from Rafah, hoping to find safety. But obviously they didn't find it there. And that is why there is so much flak from Israel right now for this plan to invade Rafah, a place where well over a million people are hoping to find shelter.
COREN: Scott, Brazil's president, as we know, has made incendiary comments comparing the action of Israel to that of the Nazis. There's obviously been a very strong reaction from within Israel. Tell us more.
MCLEAN: Yeah. So, the Brazilian ambassador to Israel has been summoned for the comments that Israel is calling shameful and serious. And the prime minister said that those comments crossed a red line. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, PRIME MINISTER OF ISRAEL: By comparing Israel's war in Gaza against Hamas, a genocidal terrorist organization, to the Holocaust, President Silva has disgraced the memory of six million Jews murdered by the Nazis and he's demonized the Jewish state like the most virulent anti-Semite. He should be ashamed of himself.
(END VIDEO CLIP) MCLEAN: Now, Netanyahu also said that those comments had trivialized the comments, harmed Jews and harmed Israel's rights to defend itself. And Lula da Silva, though, is not the first world leader to make these types of comparisons. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in December that there was no difference between Hitler and Netanyahu and that obviously sparked a similarly sharp rebuke from the Israelis, Anna.
COREN: Scott McLean in Istanbul. We appreciate the reporting. Thank you. Well, coming up, China travel revenue surges and the Shanghai stock market wraps up its first day of trading since the Lunar New Year holiday. We'll go live to Beijing for the details.
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[02:32:41]
COREN: Welcome back.
Well, the Shanghai Stock Exchange just wrapped up its first day of trading since reopening from the lunar New Year holiday. Investors saw modest gains despite new government figures that showed Chinese travelers ramped up holiday spending compared to last year.
Let's get right to CNN's Marc Stewart joining us live from Beijing.
And, Marc, holiday travel at lunar New Year always a huge boost to the Chinese economy. Can these numbers be trusted?
MARC STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's a good question, because as we have seen with this data, Ana, it certainly could be manipulated, or at least presented in a way to present a desired narrative. And the narrative that Beijing is certainly trying to paint is one of robust economic growth over this holiday travel period, saying that travel was up, spending was up by nearly 50 percent.
But there's a big caveat to all of this. This year, the holiday was eight days. Last year, it was seven days. We did some number crunching, some looking at the data a little bit further and it reveals that spending was still below pre-pandemic levels.
Now, let's not to say that people weren't spending money. Movie theaters were busy. I saw a lot of people at restaurants, a lot of people shopping. It just may not have been at these higher levels that the government is trying to portray.
In fact, if you look at some of the key measures of the Chinese economy, the price of pork, for example, its still, is very weak. And the housing in sector over this two-week period saw even more declines, meaning that yes, people were traveling, yes, people were celebrating the holiday, but mentally and emotionally, Ana, the Chinese consumer is still being very modest. It's still being very cautious as to how it spends money.
COREN: Well, China's stock market was taking big losses in the lead up to the holiday. Is the situation still dire? STEWART: Big losses. In fact, I remember hearing from one analysts, Anna, before the holiday, describing the stock market as a disaster. As we saw, we saw some gains today, the Shanghai composite was up by about one-and-a-half percent, Shenzhen's composite index also saw some gains. Perhaps traders are just happy to have money moving once again after this holiday.
Perhaps they are viewing this data from the government positively. But long-term, if you talk to analysts, there's still a lot of concern about the housing market. The one thing that they would really like to see as some kind of plan of attack by Beijing, perhaps some kind of infrastructure investment that could perhaps set things for a better course for the future, not just the boost, the gains that we saw today.
COREN: Marc Stewart, joining us from Beijing, good to see you. Thank you.
Stay with CNN. We'll be right back after the break.
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[02:38:31]
COREN: In Milan, Italy, prisoners making musical instruments from migrant boats abandoned in scrap yards. They're also bringing migrants issues to the forefront while honing their woodworking skills and making instruments for musicians.
Barbie Latza Nadeau has this report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARBIE LATZA NADEAU, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): How does one take this and turn it into this?
Inmates at Milan's opera prison are putting their woodworking skills to use, taking scraps from abandon migrant boats, and turning them into beautiful classical instruments.
The boats carrying migrants from around the world, departing from North Africa, seeking refuge across it's a Mediterranean Sea, one of the world's deadliest migration routes. Once they landed in Italy's Lampedusa Island, many of the boats are left to sit in a scrap yard. An Italian foundation called House of the Spirits and the arts found a way to recycle the votes, while also teaching local prisoners a new trade.
Some prisoners say these projects aren't just another task but it brings new meaning to everyday life.
NICOLAE, DETAINEE (through translator): I feel like another Nico compared to who I was yesterday. I feel reborn. In short, I feel rediscovered. I found myself.
NADEAU: As he searches through what's left of the boats to find wood, it's a stark realization for people like Andrea, who's serving a life sentence. He sees the work as a form of redemption.
[02:40:03]
ANDREA, DETAINEE (through translator): We received the boat with everything still inside, except the people. Many times we realized that our personal problems are miseries, can be much more solvable and however difficult and many other problems.
NADEAU: While the prisoners were to bring new life with their skills, they're also bringing the migrant issue to the forefront.
In 2023, more than 150,000 migrants crossed the Mediterranean Sea into Italy, according to the U.N.
ARNOLDO MOSCA MONDADORI, PRESIDENT, "CASA DELLO SPIRITO E DELLE ARTI": The world but from boats that is taken and disposed of as special waste. The migrants who had every moment are fleeing from every country from poverty and war and are treated like weights and the inmates who were here and who are often treated as people who do not have a second.
NADEAU: Once done with their hard work, Andrea and Nicolae have a chance to watch their violins of the sea come to life in a concert at La Scala Theater, watching the debut of orchestra of the sea from the royal box the reminded of their own journey and the difference they can make despite hardships.
ANDREA: You are not in prison for no reasons. It's a journey we take together.
NADEAU: Barbie Latza Nadeau, CNN, Rome.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COREN: Well, thanks so much for your company. I'm Anna Coren, live from Hong Kong.
For our international viewers, "WORLD SPORT" is next. For our viewers in the United States and Canada, I'll be back with more CNN NEWSROOM after this short break.
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[02:45:42]
COREN: Welcome back to our viewers in North America. I'm Anna Coren in Hong Kong.
A Minnesota town is in mourning after two police officers and a firefighter were killed after they responded to a domestic incident on Sunday.
CNN's Camila Bernal has more on this tragic story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) CAMILA BERNAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A heartbreaking day for the community in Burnsville, where they now say they are grieving the loss of three heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice. I want to start by naming those victims. Officer Paul Elmstrand, 27 years old, and Officer Matthew Ruge, also just 27 years old, and the paramedic firefighter, Adam Finseth, 40 years old.
Officials say that these three men were killed after they received a call at about 1:50 in the morning on Sunday. This was a domestic dispute and they say that when they received the call, they knew that this was a man who was armed. This was a man who barricaded himself in the home with his family. Seven children were in that home, ages two to 15.
Those officers negotiated with that suspect for quite some time, according to authorities, but at some point, gunfire broke out. Officials saying that they know at least one officer died inside of the home, but it's unclear exactly what happened. They say they're still trying to piece all of this together, but they do say that that suspect had several guns.
They also said but he had a large amount of ammunition and he injured another officer as well. That officer has non-life-threatening injuries, so he is expected to recover. Nonetheless, this community is in mourning and really honoring and remembering these three men.
I want you to listen to the chief of police who was very emotional when speaking about what they're going through. Here's what she said.
CHIEF TANYA SCHWARTZ, BURNSVILLE POLICE DEPARTMENT: We are all hurting. Our officers, our fire department our families, all of our staff, our community, we're heartbroken, we are heartbroken. We are going to need time to be together please. Our families need time to grieve. They need time to be together. We need you to pray for them.
BERNAL: And this investigation is still ongoing, but officials saying that the suspect was reported dead at around 8:00 in the morning. They say the family, the seven children were able to exit the house later on in the morning. They say there is no longer a threat to that family or to the community.
Camila Bernal, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COREN: The U.S. says it struck an unmanned underwater vessel deployed by Houthi rebels for the first time on Saturday, amid ongoing attacks by the group on international shipping in the Red Sea.
CNN's Katie Bo Lillis has the latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KATIE BO LILLIS, CNN REPORTER: The U.S. military carrying out five strikes against targets in Houthi controlled areas of Yemen, including three anti-ship cruise missiles, one underwater drone, and one drone boat. The military saying in a statement that this is the first time since the Houthi started launching attacks on commercial shipping month lets ago that the U.S. has seen the group use an underwater drone, but they declined to provide further details.
And so for now, we don't know how the U.S. was able to identify that target. How many of these underwater drones the Houthis might have, and precisely what risks such a system might pose to commercial and military ships in the region.
The U.S. military said in a statement that the targets, quote, presented an imminent threat to us navy ships and merchant vessels in the region. And adding that, quote, these actions will protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure for U.S. Navy and merchant vessels.
This is just the latest round of U.S. strikes against the Houthis on Iran backed rebel group in Yemen. That since the fall has conducted dozens of attacks against commercial and military ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden and what it says is solidarity with the Palestinian cause in Gaza.
[02:50:01]
These latest strikes follow two other strikes on Houthi targets in the Red Sea just on Friday, including another drone boat and another anti- ship cruise missile that the military said posed an imminent threat.
These Houthi attacks have had a major impact on global shipping, forcing some major shipping companies to suspend transit through the vital Suez Canal and routing some ships the long way around the southern tip of Africa, dramatically escalating commercial costs.
The question is, are these U.S. strikes doing anything to deter further Houthi strikes? And so far that question remains at best unanswered. The Houthis have said that they will continue their attacks as long as the Israeli war in Gaza continues. The pace of attacks does not appear to be slowing and because U.S. intelligence doesn't have perfect visibility inside Houthi controlled Yemen, it's not clear to the United States how much military capacity the Houthis still retain, and how long they might be able but to keep this up.
Katie Bo Lillis, CNN, Washington.
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COREN: Another atmospheric river has formed along the U.S. West Coast and residents are facing more potential flooding this week. Well, the U.S.'s heavy rain has already impacted communities from California to southern Oregon.
CNN meteorologist Karen Maginnis has more on the severe weather risk.
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KAREN MAGINNIS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: A variety of weather threats over the next 24 to 72 hours across the West Coast and California's especially weather weary considering the atmospheric rivers have really impacted the West Coast over last couple of months.
All right. Here's that deep Pacific moisture taking aim at the state and so the variety of weather threats primarily were expecting heavy rainfall, a lot of these areas that have already seen significant rainfall totals like San Francisco about 11 inches of rain so far this year, there could be an additional two, three, four inches of rainfall expected there, but it isn't just the rainfall. It's also the wind and the snow.
And with the long weekend, lot of people probably trying to get to some of the ski resorts. That's going to be problematic, too, because and some of those rich tops were looking at snowfall in feet and wind 75, 80, maybe 90 mile per hour winds. So be careful if you're traveling up in that direction, it's going to be rather treacherous, also treacherous on the roads down into southern California where the threat, once again prevails.
We could see the potential for heavy rainfall, could see downed trees, downed power lines mud flows, debris flows, there's a lot that could happen here over the next couple of days. What -- because this atmospheric river is moving so slowly, so the threat is multiplied over each day.
All right, here we go. There you can see it where you see the pink, that's the front range, that is the Sierra Nevada. There's Santa Barbara. And the computer models, it really suggested that this area is going to see a tremendous amount of rainfall and already has this year two to four inches certainly likely, but extending all the way down towards Los Angeles and also into Orange County.
So, we'll be here in the CNN weather center to keep giving you updates regarding this latest atmospheric river. So keep it right here on CNN.
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COREN: Karen Maginnis, thank you.
"Oppenheimer" was the big winner at the 77th British Academy Film Awards or BAFTAs as they're known in London, on Sunday. The biopic about the man who helped usher in the nuclear age got 13 nominations and won seven awards.
CNN's Max Foster has the details.
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MAX FOSTER, CNN LONDON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): London, rolling out the red carpet.
Welcome to the BAFTAs, the biggest night of the year for the British movie industry.
PHOEBE DYNEVOR, NOMINEE, EE RISING STAR: So much talent comes out of England. So, to be here, it's exciting.
UNIDENTIFEID FEMALE: I'm having the best time. UNIDENTIFEID FEMALE: Kind of a mental but also just in the best way.
FOSTER: The British Academy Film Awards are where cinema royalty meets UK royalty. But some glamour was missing this year as the princess of Wales continues to recover from surgery, Prince William attended alone, signaling that Kate is at least well enough for him to return to public duties.
The night, a celebration of British culture, seeing Sophie Ellis- Bextor performed her 2001 single "Murder on the Dance Floor" currently experiencing a social media explosion, after its appearance in "Saltburn".
SOPHIE ELLIS-BEXTOR, SINGER AND SONGWRITER: Other songs have had the resurgence like many decades after they're released. Never in a million years thought I would be able to experience that.
FOSTER: The ceremony also paid tribute to those impacted by the war in Ukraine. As "20 Days in Mariupol" took home the prize for best documentary.
MSTYSLAV CHERNOV, DIRECTOR, "20 DAYS IN MARIUPOL": Thank you for empowering our voice.
[02:55:02]
Let's just keep fighting.
FOSTER: But alongside the impassioned political statement, the ceremony found some lighter moments.
HUGH GRANT, ACTOR, "WONKA": Oompa Loompa doom-pity-dong, most of these films were frankly too long.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a national emergency --
FOSTER: Despite taking some heat for his three-hour runtime, "Oppenheimer" cleaned up, bringing home seven BAFTAs in total.
CILLIA MURPHY, ACTOR: I want to thank my fellow nominees and my Oppen-homies. That was a -- that was a rhyme.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The BAFTA goes to --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: "Poor Thing".
FOSTER: An imaginative feminist take on Frankenstein, ,"Poor Things" also took home five awards, including leading actress.
EMMA STONE, ACTOR, "POOR THINGS": Thank you for the line. I must go punch that baby.
FOSTER: And in a BAFTAs first, the award for the best film, not in the English language, which are British film, "The Zone of Interests".
CLAIRE FOY, ACTOR, "ALL OF US STRANGERS": I think the celebrate smaller films I think is really amazing, I think is really important that younger filmmakers are appreciated, and that it's diverse and filmmakers.
FOSTER: So what does this tell us about who might win at the Oscars? Well, not very much, it seems, because only two of the winners of best movie here are the BAFTAs have gone on to win at the Oscars as well. That's over the last ten years. So it's all sorts play for (ph).
Max Foster, CNN, London.
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COREN: Well, Sunday marked exactly one year since former President Jimmy Carter entered hospice care. The 99 year-old was last seen in public in November following the death of Rosalynn Carter. His wife of 77 years.
Carter's grandson, Jason, gave an update about his grandfather's health.
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JASON CARTER, GRANDSON OF FORMER PRESIDENT JIMMY CARTER: After a year in hospice on a daily basis, we have no expectations for his body, but we know that his spirit is as strong as ever.
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COREN: Good to hear.
Well, thanks so much for your company. I'm Anna Coren. I'll be back with more CNN NEWSROOM after the short break. Stay with us.
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