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More than 100 Killed in Gaza as People Getting Access for Food; Low Voter Turnout Expected in Iran's Legislative Elections. Ghana's Anti-Gay Bill Could Lead to Serious Consequences Should the President Signs into Law; Putin Uses his State of the Nation Speech to Warn Western Allies; World Athletics Head speaks to CNN's Amanda Davies on the Possible Ban of Athletes from Israel and Palestine; Odysseus Sent a Final Photo Before its Transmission Shut Down from the Moon. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired March 01, 2024 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to all of you watching us around the world, I'm Kim Brunhuber, this is "CNN Newsroom."

The funeral for Putin critic Alexei Navalny is set to begin in Moscow soon, as some of his family members and supporters fear a crackdown on mourners.

More than 100 people killed in a single incident in Gaza, while many were trying to get access to food. How the tragedy might complicate ceasefire talks.

And dueling visits to the U.S.-Mexico border by President Joe Biden and his predecessor Donald Trump, as immigration issues dominate the race for the White House.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from Atlanta, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Kim Brunhuber.

BRUNHUBER: Supporters of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny are set to give him their final goodbyes in the coming hours. Police are already out in force near the church in Moscow where his funeral service is scheduled. The Church of the Icon of Mother of God is located not far from the cemetery where Navalny will be later laid to rest.

Navalny's camp is not sure what will happen when the proceedings get underway. His widow is concerned people who show up could end up behind bars, just like hundreds of others at makeshift memorials for him in recent days. Navalny's aides say someone has been working behind the scenes to sabotage the services.

For more, Sebastian Shukla joins us from Berlin. So, Seb, what are we expecting in the hours ahead? SEBASTIAN SHUKLA, CNN PRODUCER: Well, Kim, it's been 14 days exactly

since Alexei Navalny died in his Arctic penal colony in the Yamal- Nenets region, right in Russia's far north. And since that moment, problems have surrounded the family and his team about even getting their hands on Alexei Navalny's body to even get to the point of being able to bury him.

We will remember that his mother, Lyudmila Navalnaya, went to the city of Salahard, where Navalny's body was in the morgue after he died. And she came across various difficulties trying to get the body back into her possession.

She said that she wasn't able to see the body, that the authorities were blackmailing her with pressure on how the body would be able to be transported and even what a ceremonial funeral may look like.

Since that moment, though, she was able to get the body back into her possession. And the Navalny's team began the process of starting the funeral procession and what the process might look like. We know today that he will be, the ceremony will start at around 6 a.m. Eastern time, 2 p.m. Moscow time. And it will happen at that church, which you mentioned, and then will be followed by a procession of around 30 minutes to the Berezovsky cemetery in the region, an area where Alexei Navalny used to live.

But the big issue surrounding this, an unknown question, and we were just seeing those live pictures from the church itself, is the security presence on the ground and what that may look like in terms of numbers of people and mourners coming to pay their last respects to Alexei Navalny.

His team have made it known in recent days that they would like people to come out, whether they knew Alexei or they met Alexei personally, or they just know of Navalny from his video messages and his investigations exposing the corruption at the heart of the Kremlin to come and pay their final respects.

But, Kim, before the funeral takes place, we have already seen in the days after Alexei Navalny died, detentions and arrests for people just coming to lay a flower at a memorial. This wasn't even a place that was a representative of Alexei Navalny. So the situation where he may finally be laid to rest could well see some detentions and arrests and -- and potentially a real flashpoint, Kim.

BRUNHUBER: All right. We'll be watching. Sebastian Shukla in Berlin, thanks so much.

We're joined by Nigel Gould-Davies. He's a senior fellow for Russia and Eurasia at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. Thanks so much for joining us here again. So we're hearing of a heavy police presence, warnings of pro-government agents, agent provocateurs, I guess. What are you expecting to see unfold in the hours ahead?

[03:04:57] NIGEL GOULD-DAVIES, SR. FELLOW, INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR STRATEGIC STUDIES: Yes, well, as your correspondent was saying just a moment ago, this has in effect been a macabre game of cat-and-mouse ever since Navalny died or was killed a couple of weeks ago. And the authorities in various ways have made it as difficult and as threatening as possible for anyone to express public sympathy for Navalny.

So I think we can expect a very strong police presence, intimidation of those who wish to attend. There are reports that potentially only Navalny's relatives might be allowed to attend. We know there have been several hundred arrests in many cities across Russia of those who demonstrated against Navalny's death.

So the authorities sort of realize that they cannot entirely deny Navalny a funeral, but they are going to make it as difficult and as threatening as possible for anyone who actually wishes to attend it or express support for it.

BRUNHUBER: Yeah, you know, in March of 2015, we saw thousands of people lining the streets to mourn the assassinated opposition politician Boris Nemtsov. We're unlikely to see that this time, right? I mean, the circumstances seem -- seem quite different.

GOULD-DAVIES: Indeed, that's a very good point of reference, I think. And it is a measure of how much Russia has changed even then that these funeral arrangements are being handled in a totally different way.

As you say, Nemtsov's funeral was a substantial public occasion. There was an open coffin and a very long line of supporters. It took many hours for them to file past.

Lots of prominent opposition figures were able to attend and to give speeches. Bizarrely, you might think in retrospect today, Putin even sent a representative to that funeral. So the fact that the Kremlin is at its most grudging, reluctant and repressive in respect of today's arrangements suggests how much more nervous, vindictive and frankly repressive it's become.

BRUNHUBER: Now, yesterday, members of the European Parliament passed a resolution calling for the E.U. and European countries to actively support independent Russian civil society and democratic opposition. You know, in the context of all of this, of what we're seeing here, is that just symbolic or could that actually help at all, do you think?

GOULD-DAVIES: Symbols matter. There is a limit, of course, to what the European Parliament can do in practice in supporting Russia's opposition. Although there are various forms of resources and other means of support that European and other countries can offer to help keep this flame alive in exceptionally dark times.

But it is important, even these words are important. It's important for Russians who take a different view from the authorities about so much that's going on at the moment. It's important, I think, for them to understand that there is another way of thinking about everything that's going on in Russia, that they have sympathy and support from others.

Again, these are dark times. We've been here before. In Soviet times, we know that the dissident movement took real comfort from the fact that there were supporters abroad that were able and willing in various ways to offer the sympathy and in the limited but real ways that they could to help that. So, no, these things do matter. It's important that they be backed up by concrete measures of support there.

BRUNHUBER: All right, we'll have to leave it there. I really appreciate your analysis, Nigel Gould-Davies. Thanks so much.

GOULD-DAVIES: Thank you.

BRUNHUBER: New details are emerging about how more than 100 people were killed in the early hours of Thursday in Gaza. Now, we just have to warn you, video from the scene is graphic.

You'll see an IDF drone captured images of an aid convoy in Gaza City being swarmed by hundreds of people. Now, according to witnesses, Israeli forces opened fire. The health ministry in Gaza reports at least one person was killed. Of 112 people were killed, close to 800 injured. The Israeli military has its version of events, saying its tanks fired warning shots to disperse the crowd.

[03:10:05]

And Israeli soldiers only shot at people who approached them in a threatening manner. A senior Hamas official says hostage and ceasefire talks are now in doubt. Here's U.S. President Joe Biden.

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JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: We're checking that out right now. There's two competing version of what happened. I don't have an answer yet.

REPORTER: Are you worried that that will complicate negotiations?

BIDEN: I know it will.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: The Israeli government calls the incident a tragedy and says it is under review. CNN's Paula Hancocks has more. And again, we just want to warn you, the video is graphic.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Bodies piled on the back of donkey carts. Dignity and death does not exist here. A day that started with hope of aid finally reaching this neighborhood of Gaza City ended in carnage.

Details of what happened and when they happened are contested. Eyewitnesses say Israeli tanks escorting humanitarian aid trucks opened fire. One journalist tells CNN some were shot, but most of the casualties were from the following panic, a stampede and aid trucks running over desperate residents as they fled.

This woman says our children are dying of hunger. They went to get a bag of flour to feed the children. Some were run over. Others were shot.

The Israeli military, however, says there were two incidents. The first, where residents rushed the trucks and a deadly stampede ensued. The second, when the Israeli military fired on a group of Palestinians who they claim posed a threat and did not move away from their military position, came afterwards.

LT. COL. PETER LERNER (RES.), ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES SPOKESPERSON: We are operating in order to maintain operational activity in combat, our combat on one hand and maintain the ongoing flow of humanitarian goods, humanitarian supplies on the other.

HANCOCKS (voice-over): What cannot be disputed is the sheer desperation of people here. Aid rarely reaches northern Gaza. Fighting is never far away.

This man says of the body he is cradling, he just went to get a bit of bread. A bag of flour for his family, displaced at a school in Jabalia camp.

U.N. agencies warn of famine, saying this is the worst level of child malnutrition anywhere in the world. Gaza's health ministry claims at least half a dozen children have died in recent days of dehydration and malnutrition. UNICEF says it could only get worse.

JAMES ELDER, UNICEF SPOKESPERSON: We're seeing a very dangerous form of malnutrition in the north, around 15 percent in children, three times what it is in Rafa in the south. Again, clear evidence that when we're able, when we are allowed to get in life-saving aid, it's making a difference.

HANCOCKS (voice-over): Countries now resorting to airdrops to get aid into Gaza, an imprecise and imperfect way to save lives.

Paula Hancocks, CNN, Abu Dhabi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: All right, I want to bring in journalist Elliott Gotkine, live this hour in London. And so, Elliot, is the picture becoming any clearer? What's the latest?

ELLIOTT GOTKINE, JOURNALIST: Not a lot, Kim, to be perfectly honest. The facts and many of those were outlined in that package we just saw in that report. The facts, as far as we know them, are that this aid convoy carrying Egyptian aid, about 30 trucks in this convoy heading towards Gaza City, to the western part of Gaza City, where aid is desperately needed and where it's been struggling to get through to that crowds of people surrounded these trucks to desperately try to get hold of flour or any other goods that they were carrying.

And that there was a stampede and that in that stampede, people were crushed. Trucks tried to get away in the panic. Some of them ran over some of the Palestinians and some of them rammed into other trucks, which led to further casualties.

Now, we heard from eyewitnesses and local officials in the Hamas-run enclave saying that it was Israeli fire that prompted this stampede. This is something that Israel is denying. It says that the stampede happened and it fired warning shots to try to disperse the crowd. Furthermore, the Palestinians that it killed, around about 10 or so that it killed with live fire, were because of a potential threat that it perceived when that group of people approached one of their tanks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LERNER: The reality is one that our forces face a 360 degree threat when they're operating on the ground. Terrorists, they don't wear uniforms. Hamas terrorists, they wear sandals, sneakers and sweatpants. And they come up to our vehicles and they try and place explosive devices on them. So anybody approaching those vehicles, those tanks or the on-personnel carriers that are operating in the Gaza Strip is a perceived threat.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[03:15:02]

GOTKINE: What is clear is, of course, that this incident is another tragedy in this war between Israel and Hamas, that according to the Hamas-run health ministry, more than 100 people were killed. Many hundreds more were injured. And this is just another product of the desperation and the desperate need for humanitarian aid.

And I suppose will also add to the pressure on both sides to come to some kind of arrangement, some kind of truce. A ceasefire that would see Israeli hostages freed in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails and a surge in aid going into the enclave. But of course, there is now the very real danger.

And President Biden himself articulated this when asked a very real danger that the hostage talks that have been going on and that the president was hopeful might even result in a truce as early as Monday may now be derailed as a result of this incident. Kim.

BRUNHUBER: All right. Thanks so much, Elliott Gotkine in London. I appreciate that.

Now, for more on the desperate need for humanitarian aid, I want to bring in James Elder, who's the global spokesperson for UNICEF, and he joins me now live from Geneva, Switzerland.

Thank you so much for being here with us. So, listen, we heard earlier this week here on CNN from the head of the Norwegian Refugee Council that the chaos around the aid lines is becoming worse and worse because there's so little aid coming in. What we saw was this type of tragedy inevitable, do you think?

ELDER: No, absolutely not. You must ask, why are people so desperate? And we can answer why they are so desperate, because there has been

such a lack of humanitarian aid allowed to reach those people because they've been under fire for 120 days because thousands and thousands of children have been killed.

And now, as we've been warning Kim for a long time, the threat of disease and malnutrition is just as prevalent as the threat from the skies. So, no, there is one force that has a responsibility to ensure food and medicines can be safely distributed. This was not inevitable at all. This is a product in keeping with all the horrors we are seeing befalling children and families in Gaza.

BRUNHUBER: What can be done to prevent something like this? I'm thinking more logistics aside from the military side, obviously, increasing the amount of aid would help. But, but I'm thinking, you know, allowing for more access points, for instance, more -- more routes for the aid trucks. What would what would help here?

ELDER: Look, you're absolutely spot on. There are two or three more routes that would allow much quicker access to the most desperate populations -- populations, some in the north, for example, that UNICEF has not been able to reach this year. Imagine their level of desperation. So different access points. You're absolutely spot on.

Nonetheless, as the occupying force, there is still a legal responsibility to ensure safety whichever way it comes through. But much more aid. We have been crying out for that. We are getting in a fraction of the food, the medicines or the water that people need and utilize those different points, meaning you would get aid to those people much more quickly.

Wouldn't have to drive up all the way through Gaza past hundreds of thousands of equally desperate people. So those two things are not difficult. They all would under an umbrella of a ceasefire. We would be able to flood the Gaza Strip. And I think that's an important thing to remember.

Even if we had a ceasefire right now, we still have a humanitarian crisis based on the disease, the deprivation, the lack of food. We have all those things and we still have a bombardment.

BRUNHUBER: So let's talk about that humanitarian crisis itself. The U.N. has warned that more than half a million people in Gaza are a step away from famine, the worst case of malnutrition for children in the world, they say. And now four children more have died this week as a result of dehydration and malnutrition in Gaza, a total of 10 so far, 10 too many. And that likely number is going to climb.

I mean, talk to me about the desperation you've seen. So many hungry children, not enough to eat, sometimes eating things they shouldn't, trying to fill their hungry bellies and can end up poisoning themselves. You know, talk to me about the tragic lengths that children will go to when they're when they're starving.

ELDER: And the lengths, I think, they're pitted to go to. I recall very well speaking to a father in Gaza in December. Imagine the desperation. Now, in December, he had two children. Somehow he'd been able to get them to a hospital. They were very sick, having had diarrhea and they were starting to waste.

And this is December. And he had a medical background so he could get access. And he just said, when this war is over, I just want to do one thing. And I asked him, he said, I just want to cry. That was the level of desperation. Now, I'm in regular contact almost every day with families, with some young people in Gaza.

They are more likely now breaking down. The children, as you say, are now having to go into harm's way. Going from A to B is very dangerous in Gaza.

[03:20:06]

Trying to get water, trying to find food anywhere. A young woman said to me yesterday that she stopped fearing death. Now it's surviving death that is her fear in terms of the malnutrition rates or in terms of getting an injury and not being able to get anesthetics in hospital.

It's a level of desperation. I don't think we've seen if we look at the level of the space and it's a level of desperation that could be fixed so easy easily if humanitarian law was abided by, if aid was able to get in safely, if aid workers could do their job in some degree of safety. Remembering 130 plus have been killed.

And of course, a ceasefire, get hostages home, end that torment and allow aid workers to do what we do. And then you start to see a chance of survival. Without that, Kim, we are going to see a lot of children die in the coming days.

BRUNHUBER: Yeah, tragically. Listen, you talked about the aid going in. We've talked about it going in on trucks, but there has been a dropped in by air. The U.S. is now contemplating doing that as well. Aid drops. How effective is that, do you think?

ELDER: I think the level of desperation is such that any aid would be would be useful. It is not nearly as efficient as getting trucks in and doing an organized distribution of aid by -- by distance. And again, there should be no reason why this can't be done. There has been operations in Gaza Strip for four or five months. There should be areas where control is so clear. We should be able to do our job. But the aid deliveries I was on in the north, you went to hospitals, you went to communities.

It was an orderly distribution. Now, the desperation of people, the idea that families can be shot as they are, as they are traumatized and trying to get food that can be avoided. At the same time, yes. OK, if it's going to come from the air, it comes from the air. But we mustn't take away the legal and moral responsibility to be able to deliver aid in -- in a sane, sensible and safe manner.

BRUNHUBER: We'll have to leave it there, but I appreciate that. UNICEF spokesperson James Elder in Geneva. Thanks so much. All right. Still ahead, voters in Iran are heading to the polls in the

first parliamentary election since mass protests over the death of Massa Amini in police custody. We'll have a live report from Tehran, next.

Plus swift reaction coming from the U.S. and the U.N. to Ghana's parliament passing a strict anti-gay bill. We'll have a report in just a few moments. Please stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRUNHUBER: Voting is underway in Iran's legislative elections. Voters will be choosing the next parliament with some 15,000 candidates competing for its 290 seats.

[03:25:04]

Despite the government's efforts, turnout is expected to be at record lows as the government has disqualified opponents and cracked down on any dissent. Iran's supreme leader voted a short time ago and CNN's Fred Pleitgen was there. Have a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The supreme leader is traditionally the first person to cast his ballot in Iranian elections, and he has been urging the population here to come out and vote to ensure that there's high participation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: And Fred joins me now live from Tehran. So, Fred, eyes are on the turnout here. What are you expecting?

PLEITGEN: Yeah, they certainly very much are on the turnout. I'm actually right here at the main Friday prayer section in Tehran. Obviously, a lot of people go to Friday prayers to then actually go to vote afterwards.

And certainly one of the things the supreme leader said before this election took place is that he wants everybody who is eligible to vote to actually go and vote. That's something that he said once again today after he cast his ballots. He took a short moment to speak to the press that was there.

A lot of people that we've been speaking to on the streets, Kim, there's very little enthusiasm that we're seeing for a lot of the politicians that are up on the ballot. There's some people that we've been speaking to who say that they do not plan to vote. There's others who are saying that they do believe that these elections are still very important for the country and that they will go out and vote.

I think one of the things that we've seen in the latest polls that were released, official polls here before this election, is that they believe around 43 percent of people might go cast their ballots. And as you've already mentioned, that is pretty low participation in these elections. One of the things that we have to keep in mind, though, is that usually the parliamentary elections here in this country get lower voter turnout than the presidential election. So that's certainly something that's not unheard of.

At the same time, they do expect that participation is going to be fairly low. And one of the things that we've seen, we speak to people as a lot of people believe that politicians need to do more to listen to the folks here. A lot of people have been complaining about their economic situation. Obviously, some of that has been induced by the very heavy sanctions that the U.S. and allies have put on Iran.

But a lot of people also believe that some of the problems that they have here are homegrown and they do want their politicians to take those on. Now, the big question is, do they believe that the people who are up for election for this parliament and you just mentioned that it's over 15,000 who are eligible to run for the 290 seats.

Do they believe that those politicians are the ones who are going to be able to make that happen? It certainly does not appear to us as though there's a great deal of enthusiasm for this election. However, there are also people that we've been speaking to who say, look, they believe that it's their duty to go vote, that it's still important to go vote here in this region.

Of course, the governing authorities here in this country also believe that high voter turnout is something that legitimizes the political system here in this country as well. Kim?

BRUNHUBER: Interesting. All right. So great to have you reporting there from Tehran. Fred Pleitgen, thanks so much.

A spokesperson for the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights is urging Ghana's president not to sign the anti-gay bill approved by the country's parliament into law.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAVINA SHAMDASANI, OFFICER OF THE U.N. HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS: We call for the bill not to become law. We urge the Ghanaian government to take steps to ensure that everyone can live free from violence, stigma and discrimination, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Consensual same sex conduct should never be criminalized.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: The U.S. State Department issued a statement saying, in part, the United States is deeply troubled by the Ghanaian parliament's passage of legislation. The bill seeks to criminalize any person who simply identifies as LGBTQI-plus, as well as any friend, family or member of the community who does not report them. Limiting the rights of one group in a society undermines the rights of all.

Now, there's huge political pressure in Ghana for the president to sign the bill. But if the measure becomes law, the U.S. and other countries could cut-off aid. CNN's David McKenzie has more on what's at stake.

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DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ghanaian artist Angel Maxine fought a homophobic bill with what she knew best.

Now is Ghana's most famous trans singer. She says she lives in fear, gets death threats from the public.

MAXINE ANGEL OPOKU, GHANAIAN ARTIST: I am scared, I'm really scared.

MCKENZIE (voice-over): Ghana's parliament has unanimously passed a draconian anti-LGBT bill.

It calls for jail time for Ghanaians identifying as gay or trans, criminalizes those who support them, requires citizens to turn them in.

OPOKU: (inaudible) I feel so bad. I feel bad because we have worked so hard to speak up against it.

[03:30:00]

MCKENZIE (voice-over): Since 2021, the so-called family values bill has been pushed by a coalition of politicians and faith leaders in Ghana with support from U.S. conservative groups. It's just one of several homophobic bills emerging in Africa.

CNN has tracked a severe spike in the abuse of LGBTQ-Africans often put on social media, an epidemic of hate inspired by the laws.

SAM GEORGE, GHANA OPPOSITION LEADER: There is nothing that deals with LGBTQ better than this bill that has just been passed by parliament. We expect the president to walk his talk and be a man of his words.

MCKENZIE (voice-over): After the unanimous vote, President Nana Akufo- Addo, a former human rights lawyer, will be under enormous political pressure to sign the bill. But his government is a significant recipient of U.S. and European foreign aid.

And Ghana has been on a push to draw foreign tourists to its shores with flashy advertising like this.

It's been a hugely successful campaign, especially with Americans. But it could all be under threat.

And Maxine says she's almost out of hope for their future. Otherwise,

MAXINE ANGEL OPOKU: I won't allow my identity to be criminalized. And I'll still speak against it.

MCKENZIE: But you can be sent to prison?

OPOKU: If I will be sent to prison. That little time that we have right now, we have to speak against it. MCKENZIE (voice-over): Otherwise, Maxine and many others will be silenced.

David McKenzie, CNN, Johannesburg.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: In Bangladesh, dozens are dead and at least 22 are in critical condition after a fire that started in a restaurant raced through a multi-story building in the capital Dhaka on Thursday night.

The Bangladesh Fire Service director says the blaze could have originated from a gas leak or stove and describes the building as dangerous, with gas cylinders on every floor, even on the staircases. Fires are common in the densely populated capital, which has experienced a boom in new construction, often without proper safety measures.

Former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney has died at the age of 84, according to a social media post from his daughter. She said Mulroney died, quote, "peacefully surrounded by family".

Mulroney was Canada's 18th prime minister and served from 1984 to 1993. As leader of the Progressive Conservative Party, he negotiated the North American Free Trade Agreement with the U.S. and Mexico.

Current Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said, quote, "he exemplified Canadian values standing up against apartheid in South Africa. After leaving office, Mr. Mulroney never stopped working for Canadians, and he always sought to make this country an even better place to call home".

We're just hours away from a funeral service for Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. We'll have an update on the plans for his farewell ceremonies and concerns about what police could do, that's ahead.

Plus, the intersection of sports and politics. How international conflicts weigh on global sports. We'll have an interview with the head of World Athletics. That's next. Please stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:35:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRUNHUBER: Welcome back to all of you watching us around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is "CNN Newsroom".

I want to go back to one of our top stories. So these are live pictures from Moscow where the funeral service for Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is set to begin just hours from now. And as you can see, Russian police are already in place near that church where the funeral service will take place over his burial at a nearby cemetery.

Navalny's camp isn't sure how things will play out. His widow's concerned people who show up could end up behind bars. While his aides say someone has been working behind the scenes to hinder his farewell events.

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin drew a chilling line for the West in his annual State of the Nation speech. He warned Western countries that they risk a nuclear conflict if they ever send troops to Ukraine. CNN's Brian Todd has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Russian president using his annual State of the Nation address to disparage the United States.

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): They just want to show their citizens and everyone else that they still rule the world.

TODD (voice-over): And threaten the U.S. and NATO.

PUTIN (through translator): All of this is very dangerous, as it could trigger the use of nuclear weapons and therefore the destruction of civilization. Don't they understand that? They must ultimately understand that we also have weapons that can hit targets in their territory.

TODD (voice-over): Remarks seemingly in response to an idea floated this week by French President Emmanuel Macron, who said the possibility of sending Western troops to Ukraine can't be ruled out.

KEITH DARDEN, PROFESSOR, AMERICAN UNIVERSITY: Macron, in many ways, gave Putin a gift. For Putin, the idea that Western boots might be on the ground rather than just Western weapons and support is exactly the kind of framing that he needs for his domestic audience about this war.

TODD (voice-over): Referring to Macron's comments, Putin made an apparent reference to previous attempted invasions of Russia by Adolf Hitler and Napoleon, warning this time it would be worse.

PUTIN (through translator): We remember the fate of those who once sent their contingents to the territory of our country. But now the consequences for possible interventionists will be much more tragic.

TODD (voice-over): Putin has repeatedly made veiled threats to use nuclear weapons since the Ukraine war started.

SAMUEL CHARAP, AUTHOR, "EVERYONE LOSES: THE UKRAINE CRISIS": I think the rhetoric has been about sending a deterrent message to the U.S. and its NATO allies.

TODD (voice-over): This year's speech from Putin takes on more significance because in about two weeks, Russia will hold its presidential election. The former KGB colonel is assured of victory, but the Kremlin has still mounted a major publicity campaign ahead of the vote. Putin's speech was shown in movie theaters, put up on billboards.

CHARAP: I think reframing this war as one between Russia and NATO is going to play well. The Russian public still has difficulty adjusting to the idea that Ukrainians are their enemies.

TODD (voice-over): One of Putin's worst enemies, meanwhile, is about to be laid to rest. The funeral of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who mysteriously died recently in an Arctic Russian gulag, is scheduled for Friday in Moscow. Navalny's widow is concerned that Putin's security forces will crack down on mourners.

DARDEN: He very much does not want Navalny's legacy to be continued as a martyr, as a public figure. He wants to send the signal that no opposition will be tolerated.

TODD: Responding to Putin's threat to use nuclear weapons, a State Department spokesperson said that's no way for the leader of a nuclear-armed state to speak. But he also said the U.S. sees no sign that Russia is preparing to use a nuclear weapon.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Russia's war on Ukraine is intensifying both on the ground and in the skies. Ukraine's air force says it destroyed three Russian Su-34 fighter jets around Avdiivka and Mariupol in the past few hours. That brings the total to 15 Russian warplanes shot down this year.

Meanwhile, a police unit known as the White Angel says they're dealing with a surge in civilians asking to be evacuated from Avdiivka since Russian forces seized control on February 17. Ukraine's top general says, quote, miscalculations in the Avdiivka and Zaporizhzia regions hampered their defense. But he says he's taken steps to remedy the situation.

[03:39:57]

The European Parliament is urging countries to actively support Russia's democratic opposition in this month's election. E.U. lawmakers passed a non-binding resolution on Thursday expressing their solidarity with ordinary Russians, saying the people of Russia shouldn't be confused with the, quote, "warmongering, autocratic and kleptocratic Kremlin regime".

In response, the Russian envoy to the E.U. told European lawmakers to stop telling Russians how to vote. Russia's presidential election takes place from the 15th through the 17th of March.

It's been a couple of years since World Athletics, the governing body of track and running events, banned Russian and Belarusian athletes from competition due to the war in Ukraine. Now some are asking whether a similar ban should be in place over the war in Gaza. CNN's Amanda Davis spoke with World Athletics President Sebastian Coe.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AMANDA DAVIES, CNN WORLD SPORT: Was the political situation in the Middle East and what it means for the athletes raised at the council meeting?

SEBASTIAN COE, PRESIDENT, WORLD ATHLETICS: No, it wasn't. But I am in constant contact with both the track and field federation in Israel, its president, the track and field federation in Palestine.

And really, it's probably one of the more uplifting moments of the year and of this awful situation that when I do sit and talk to those federation presidents, we're not talking about politics.

DAVIES: But should you, in this situation, be talking about politics? We had just last week a group of French lawmakers calling for a ban of Israel and sanctions in an athletic sporting sense, as we have seen with Russia.

COE: Look, we're not the United Nations. We're not a political body. We're an international federation for sport. My responsibility is to make sure our sport remains global, that where we possibly can, it is always possible, but where we possibly can, we remain politically neutral.

But then we do take stands. We've taken a stand over Russia, Belarus. So what our focus on this current situation is primarily to make sure that where possible, we're keeping the sport active, particularly where infrastructure has been badly damaged or completely destroyed.

DAVIES: But when you have President Zelenskyy saying over two years, 31,000 soldiers have died in Ukraine, and then you have figures released from Gaza from the Ministry of Health saying in four months, 30,000 people have been killed. You say you're unable to be neutral about Russia. How can you be neutral in this situation?

COE: Well, Russia is a slightly different situation because, of course, they were suspended in 2015. The issue --

DAVIES: But they were suspended for doping.

COE: They were suspended for doping.

DAVIES: And that is now being carried on to the conflict.

COE: And the council decided that because of the integrity of competition, it was impossible to have Ukraine athletes being able to train properly because many of them were actually fighting on the front, and most of them were not able to compete or train in their own country. It was a very different situation.

DAVIES: Is it not similar for athletes in Palestine?

COE: You do have to deal with what is in front of you. You do have to deal with what is in front of you. And at this moment, it's for other organizations to make some judgments.

DAVIES: Is it an issue of numbers? There are more Ukrainian athletes than we're talking about. There was only one Palestinian athlete at the World Championships in Budapest.

COE: It really isn't. And look, I'm not a great one for, well, what about type arguments. We recognize that whenever you make a judgment politically, you are setting a precedent. In the Russian situation, we did try to normalize the situation. We did hope that things would move quickly, and particularly on doping. It was a seven-year journey. So none of these things we make knee-jerk reactions about.

DAVIES: I know you've said with the situation with the Russian and Belarusian athletes, it will be revisited at the right time. What, for you, will be that right time?

COE: The issue around the integrity of competition hasn't altered. In fact, if anything, it's got worse. So we're not closing the door. We never do that.

DAVIES: How disappointing has it been for you the IOC's stance and not taking a harder line?

COE: Do you know, I've never predicated what we've chosen to do in our sport against, or benchmarked it against other international federations. The position we've taken, we believe, is in the best interest of our sport. I'm not criticizing other federations any more than I would accept them, any more than they are really criticizing us for the position we've taken.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[03:45:02]

BRUNHUBER: All right, coming up. Biden and Trump face off while visiting parts of the same southern border state on the same day, one seeking compromise, the other going on the attack.

And U.S. lawmakers pass a stopgap measure averting a partial government shutdown for a few days. Well, that story and much more after the break, stay with us.

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BRUNHUBER: Two very different messages on immigration echoed from the US-Mexico border Thursday, just hundreds of kilometers apart from the two likely finalists in the race for the White House. The U.S. president, knowing the migrant crisis could hurt him in the general election, offered to work together with his rival. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: Here's what I would say to Mr. Trump. Instead of playing politics with this issue, instead of telling members of Congress to block this legislation, join me or I'll join you in telling the Congress to pass this bipartisan border security bill. We can do it together.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: President Biden also implored Republicans to, quote, "show a little spine, but a truce seems unlikely".

Donald Trump has been urging party members to oppose any border compromise so he can keep campaigning on the issue and deny the U.S. president a victory. While touring Eagle Pass with the Texas governor, Trump ramped up the scare tactics. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: These are the people that are coming into our country and they're coming from jails and they're coming from prisons and they're coming from mental institutions and they're coming from insane asylums and they're terrorists. They're being led into our country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Now, the only thing they seem to agree on, that the situation along the border with Mexico needs to change. CNN's Rosa Flores reports on their visits.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Eagle Pass resident Enriqueta Diaz couldn't be more pleased with the dueling border appearances from both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump.

ENRIQUETA DIAZ, EAGLE PASS RESIDENT: Yes.

FLORES: That's your reaction?

DIAZ: Yes.

FLORES (voice-over): She says she's voting for Trump this election and hopes the former president's visit to her hometown sends a much needed message.

TRUMP: Texas is very secure.

FLORES (voice-over): Eagle Pass is where Texas Governor Greg Abbott deployed the controversial border buoys and took over a public park by putting up razor wire, guarding it with armed Texas National Guard soldiers and kicking out border patrol. It's the park Trump toured and where he was briefed by Texas authorities.

TRUMP: The United States is being overrun by the Biden migrant crime. It's a new form of vicious violation to our country. It's migrant crime.

FLORES (voice-over): Some Eagle Pass residents gathered in protest asking that Trump leave their town. JESSIE FUENTES, EAGLE PASS BORDER COALITION: The hate that you're

going to spew today, you're not welcome in this community.

FLORES (voice-over): Several hundred miles downriver, President Joe Biden in Brownsville today.

Biden meeting with border patrol agents, law enforcement and local leaders as he pushes for a bipartisan immigration deal.

[03:50:05]

BIDEN: It's time to step up, provide them with significantly more personnel and capability. We also need more immigration judges.

FLORES (voice-over): The last time a Biden visited the Brownsville area, it was election season 2019. At the time, Jill Biden visited a migrant camp across the border in Matamoros, Mexico, as her husband promised humane border policies.

Some in Brownsville took to the streets today to remind him of those promises. Biden's job on the border could get exponentially more complicated.

The plaintiffs in a federal lawsuit are asking a judge to rule that migrant children and their families who have just crossed the border into Southern California and are waiting in makeshift camps to be transported for immigration processing are actually in federal custody.

Attorney Neha Desai says the conditions are deplorable. Some migrant children have waited outside for days in the cold with no food.

NEHA DESAI, ATTORNEY: Children have had no choice but to take refuge in overflowing porta potties, to sleep in tarps littered with trash, all to just avoid the freezing rain.

FLORES (voice-over): CNN reached out to U.S. Customs and Border Protection for comment.

Back in Eagle Pass, Diaz, the hardcore Trump supporter.

FLORES: Tell me how you really feel about it.

FLORES (voice-over): Says that like Trump, Biden is also politicking on the border.

DIAZ: I don't like his policies, but I respect them. It's an honor to have the president of the United States visit your community. I don't care what party you are.

FLORES: The irony of it all is that neither President Biden nor former President Trump actually visited the busiest part of the border, where the most migrant apprehensions are happening right now. That's actually in another state, in the state of Arizona.

Now, you got a glimpse of this in our story. But this border battle between the state of Texas and the federal government has really changed this community where I am here in Eagle Pass. And I don't mean just physically. Yes, a lot of razor wire has gone up. There's razor wire around the public park and around the golf course. I mean the people of this community. It's dividing them along lines that were invisible before.

Rosa Flores, CNN, Eagle Pass, Texas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Both houses of the U.S. Congress passed a stopgap spending measure late Thursday that averts a partial government shutdown for now. U.S. President Joe Biden called the passage of the bill good news, but warned that it's only a short-term fix. It extends government funding on a short-term basis and sets two new deadlines to pass a series of full-year appropriation bills. Next Friday, March 8th and March 22nd, three weeks from now.

Saudi Arabia has traded sand dunes for ski slopes. Straight ahead, the unlikely event that has some jumping for joy. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRUNHUBER: There's a rare sight in Saudi Arabia, snow. But this time it didn't fall from the sky. Have a look here. It's all part of the country's first ever skiing competition. Snowblast KSA hosted world- renowned skiers and snowboarders at the three-day event, bringing a winter wonderland to Riyadh with more than 500 tons of manufactured snow and bringing athletes to the region who opt for snow over sand dunes.

[03:55:01]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LUKE WINKELMANN, AMERICAN SNOWBOARDER: Snowboarding can happen anywhere if you make it happen, you know. So as you see here in Saudi Arabia, they made it happen in a warm place. So it's interesting, but it'll work out. It'll be good.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: The country is set to host the 2029 Asian Winter Games and is reportedly eyeing a Winter Olympics bid, meaning Snowblast KSA could be just the tip of the iceberg for Saudi snow sports.

Nepal says all climbers trying to scale Mount Everest this year must rent and use tracking chips on their journey. Nepal's director of tourism says climbers will pay anywhere from $10 to $15 for the chips, which will be sewn into their jackets and removed upon the climber's return and it's hoped that will cut down on search and rescue time in the event of an accident. Last year, Nepal gave out a record 478 climbing permits. 12 climbers were confirmed to have died on the mountain, while another five remain missing.

All right, we're going to show you a parting shot from the first American spacecraft to touch down on the moon in more than half a century. Now this image from a week ago was the last one fed back by Odysseus, nicknamed Odi. The private company behind the mission, Intuitive Machines, called it a fitting farewell transmission.

As expected, Odysseus lost power when the sunlight disappeared from the southern pole of the moon and the lander's solar panels could no longer receive energy. Now it's not clear whether Odi's equipment can survive the deep cold temperatures that will last for a few weeks, but the company remains hopeful. It posted, Good night, Odi. We hope to hear from you.

That's not the kind of trimming down stockholders of the Weight Watchers company would want to see. Share prices plunged 25 percent on Thursday after Oprah Winfrey announced she's leaving its board of directors after nearly a decade.

Now no reason was given, and Weight Watchers said that Winfrey's decision was, quote, "not the result of any disagreement or company's policies". Oprah has lost weight noticeably recently, crediting an undisclosed weight loss drug, and Weight Watchers stock has slid lately as competition for some such drugs as Ozempic and Wegovy has forced the company to offer a plan to help members get prescription medicines.

All right, thanks so much for joining me. I'm Kim Brunhuber, in Atlanta. "CNN Newsroom" with Bianca Nobilo is next.

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