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Slovakian Prime Minister Hospitalized After a Failed Assassination Attempt; Putin Meets Xi in Beijing for a State Visit; Biden, Trump Agrees to Hold Two Head-to-Head Presidential Debates; Almost 200 Protesters Arrested in Anti-Government Demonstrations in New Caledonia; CNN Investigates the UCLA Pro-Palestinian Protests and its Far-Right Agitators. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired May 16, 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]
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ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers, joining us from all around the world and to everyone streaming us on CNN Max. I'm Rosemary Church.
Just ahead. An assassination attempt sends shockwaves around the world. It's the most serious attack on a European leader in years. We will have the latest on Slovakia's Prime Minister.
With hundreds of thousands of Palestinians displaced from Rafah, Israel and Hamas are each laying out their visions for leadership in a post-war Gaza. Plus --
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Donald Trump says a lot of things. We'll see if he actually shows up.
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CHURCH: A historically early showdown in a heated presidential race, Joe Biden and Donald Trump agree to debate.
UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from Atlanta, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Rosemary Church.
CHURCH: I appreciate you joining us. Slovakia's Prime Minister remains hospitalized at this hour after an assassination attempt which appears to have failed.
The Slovak Deputy Prime Minister says Robert Fico is expected to survive but stressed he was heavily injured in the shooting with bullets going through his stomach and joints.
The gunman fired five shots at him on Wednesday after he held a government meeting and news conference in the central town of Handlova. The suspect was arrested at the scene and no one else was hurt. Fico is considered an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin who called the attack a monstrous crime. Other leaders worldwide have also condemned the shooting.
CNN's Clare Sebastian is tracking developments for us. She joins us live from London. Good morning to you Clare. So what more are you learning about the Prime Minister's condition and how this all unfolded?
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah Rosemary, we've just got some new information. The Defense Minister and Deputy Prime Minister speaking outside the hospital where Robert Fico is being treated. He said that the Prime Minister's condition has been stabilized overnight. More steps are being taken to better his health but the situation he reiterated is still really serious.
So I think that's perhaps to be expected given what we know about his injuries. Another Deputy Prime Minister speaking on Wednesday evening said that he had been shot through the stomach and in his joints in his words. We know that there were five shots that were fired overall so a very serious medical situation for him even though he is now as you say expected to survive the surgery that happened yesterday apparently went well.
In terms, of how this unfolded you can see the scene in these pictures there was broad daylight it was in the town of Handlova which is a couple of hours drive to the east of the Slovakian capital Bratislava. He was at an off-site government meeting.
He was meeting and greeting regular people outside that when suddenly these shots rang out and you can see that his security detail rushed over and then bundled him into their car. He was taken to hospital and eventually airlifted to another nearby hospital with a trauma center.
The suspect we don't have many details on that as of yet. The police haven't officially named anyone but there was a person arrested at the scene immediately and then we did get striking comments coming pretty soon after that from the Defense Minister and the Interior Minister saying that this was a political assault clearly politically motivated they say and calling for people to only listen to official information and remain calm. Rosemary.
CHURCH: And Clare what's been the international and domestic reaction to this attempted assassination?
SEBASTIAN: So internationally obviously a lot of expressions of shock and horror. President Biden coming out calling this a horrific act of violence. The NATO Secretary General of course Slovakia is a member of NATO saying that he was shocked and appalled. We heard as well from President Zelenskyy of Ukraine. Now of course he has been at odds with Robert Fico who has said that it's Ukrainian Nazis that provoked Russia into invading Ukraine in the first place but he came out and condemned this as well and said that every effort should be made to ensure that violence does not become the norm in any country, form or sphere.
As you noted reaction as well from President Putin sending a telegram to the President of Slovakia despite being in the middle of preparations for his trip to China calling this a monstrous crime. Praising as well Robert Fico as a courageous and strong-willed man. But as I said the concern now within Slovakia we're hearing expressions of blame from some government officials talking about the media fanning this, the opposition.
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The President who is now the outgoing President came out and also called for calm. I think the hope here is that this will unite people rather than further exacerbate the polarizations in the country. Take a listen to her.
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ZUZANA CAPUTOVA, SLOVAKIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Something serious has happened that we don't even realize yet. A physical attack on the Prime Minister is primarily an attack on a person but it is also an attack on democracy. Any violence is unacceptable. The hateful rhetoric we witness in society leads to hateful acts. Please let's stop it. The police arrested the perpetrator and will surely bring more information when possible.
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SEBASTIAN: So again you can hear there are real concerns that this could spark more hateful rhetoric and could cause more divisions as well as I think potentially a worry about disinformation. That's why we hear a lot of calls to focus only on official information.
CHURCH: Clare Sebastian, joining us live from London. Many thanks.
I want to bring in Juraj Majcin now from Brussels who's a policy analyst for the European Policy Centre. Appreciate you being with us.
JURAJ MAJCIN, POLICY ANALYST, EUROPEAN POLICY CENTER: Thank you for having me.
CHURCH: So Slovakia's Prime Minister has been hospitalized after being shot multiple times in this assassination attempt that appears to have failed. What led up to this extreme level of political violence in the country and what's at the center of the heightened political polarization in the nation?
MAJCIN: So I think it's important to as you say to set this in a certain context and it's true that what happened yesterday is shocking and unprecedented. It never happened in the history of our country and of course it's a result of polarization of Slovak society where on the one hand you have supporters of the governing coalition led by Prime Minister Fico and very radical supporters of that coalition that support their illiberal ways but on the other hand you have also supporters of frustrated supporters of the opposition that are even more frustrated after the presidential election and was won by the coalition candidate.
So it's a highly polarized society right now and on top of that you have politicians stirring up emotions, stirring up hate. Yesterday even though the president and a number of politicians of
course called for calm and for appeasing the tensions, the problem is that a number of coalition leaders accused media journalists and the opposition of causing this. So we already see attempts at different disinformation outlets to put the blame on the side of the opposition and media. So I would definitely say what led to this is a polarization and really the great divide between the two camps.
CHURCH: So you mentioned the coalition blaming the opposition and mainstream media for what happened. What might they do in response to the assassination attempt in terms of cracking down on the media and anyone deemed a threat to the government?
MAJCIN: Yeah that's the question because of course the backlash might come and what one of the leaders of the coalition parties said was now the war started and we will take our gloves off if I could put it like that.
So even though the opposition called for a joint press conference they refused that and they then pursued with their own statement and this attack is in the series of threats of address to journalists.
Two years ago we had a terrorist attack against a queer club in Bratislava, also politically motivated. In 2018 we had two journalists murdered. So the tensions are really increasing and I don't see politicians at least from the government sides to appease that.
CHURCH: So what is the situation in the country in terms of disinformation and is that at the root of the political polarization in Slovakia?
MAJCIN: Well definitely. I mean Slovakia if you look at different polls is one of the greatest victims of especially Russia's disinformation and for many reasons and if you look at the different opinion polls this information combined with the hatred stirred by different political leaders leads to decreasing tolerance of minorities.
There is also a decrease in trust of mainstream media and our population is really vulnerable to that and we can't rule out and we already see that it happening that attack against Prime Minister Fico will be also used for political purposes and also to spread different conspiracy theories.
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CHURCH: So how concerned are you about the current situation in the country and what may happen in response to this assassination attempt even as the government pleads against further violence?
MAJCIN: Of course there are immediate steps and the immediate steps of course increasing protection of high-level officials of government buildings. So this is the more technical side but currently just to give you an example there is a law debated in Slovak parliament that wants to transform the public broadcaster to basically a state television and they promise to continue in that. Also there is a law in the parliament proposed on labeling different NGO that receive money from abroad as agents with foreign support, organizations with foreign support.
So I think it will increase appetite to move further and to use this attack as a sign, as a reason, as an excuse to crack down on liberties and free media and journalists.
CHURCH: Juraj Majcin, many thanks for joining us, I appreciate it.
MAJCIN: Thank you.
CHURCH: Russian President Vladimir Putin is in Beijing for a two-day state visit. He was greeted by Chinese leader Xi Jinping just a short time ago and the two have already entered their first talks. They're hoping to show the world that China and Russia are very close and are only growing closer.
Kristie Lu Stout joins me now live from Hong Kong. Good to see you again Kristie. So Putin's return to China has put their No Limits Alliance back in focus. What's he seeking and what's China willing to deliver?
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He wants to showcase that No Limits Alliance and so far that's what is being showcased out of Beijing, that red carpet welcome for Vladimir Putin, this strong display of unity between China and Russia. And we are waiting to see just how much support Xi Jinping is willing to give Russia, especially as the war in Ukraine rages on. Now Putin is back in China for the state visit earlier today in Beijing.
Putin and Xi, they held talks on regional issues, on the war in Ukraine, on the Middle East. And as you see there in video that took place around the last hour or so, there was a signing ceremony where the two leaders signed joint documents.
And pretty soon there's going to be a state reception and also a gala concert to mark 75 years of the relationship between these two powers. Now when they met earlier today at the Great Hall of the People, Xi Jinping hailed the relationship. And this is the comments that he issued earlier, according to state media.
He said this, quote, "the China-Russia relationship today is hard earned and the two sides need to cherish and nurture it." Xi went on to say that China is willing to jointly achieve the development and rejuvenation of our respective countries.
Now these two are close friends. And Xi Jinping, he added that he personally met with Vladimir Putin more than 40 times so far. Putin, he also hailed the relationship. He gave this interview to state run media Xinhua saying that the relationship had reached the highest level ever. And yes, relations have been strong, so strong, especially as the U.S. and its allies impose sanctions against them, especially Russia after invading Ukraine, bringing them, these two countries even closer together.
And that manifests in the trade relationship. I'm going to show you this bar chart. Trade between Russia and China has surged. In fact, last year it reached an all-time high of around $240 billion.
Russia buying up Chinese products like vehicles, like vehicle parts, like chips, like machinery, China buying up cheap Russian fuel. And China has come under increasing pressure over this trade relationship, especially from the West, where Western powers are asking China to make sure its exports are not dual use, that they're not supporting Russia's war against Ukraine.
We recently heard from America's top diplomat. He warned Chinese officials that the U.S. and other countries would act if Beijing doesn't move to curb this flow. Back to you.
CHURCH: All right. Our thanks to Kristie Lu Stout joining us live from Hong Kong.
Ukraine's president says the country's defense forces have partially stabilized the situation in the Kharkiv region against an ongoing Russian offensive.
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This was the scene in Ukraine's northeast on Wednesday as troops fired at Russian positions outside Kharkiv.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has canceled all of his upcoming international travels to deal with this Russian offensive. Heavy fighting has gripped areas near the border since Friday when Russia launched a surprise cross-border assault. Mr. Zelenskyy says the fighting is ongoing and won't lead to defensive gaps elsewhere.
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VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): In the Kharkiv region, the areas near the border, our defensive actions are continuing. The occupier is being destroyed by all means. Artillery, drones and our infantry are working quite accurately.
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CHURCH: Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken wrapped up his visit to Kyiv on Wednesday. He announced the U.S. will provide an additional $2 billion in military financing for Ukraine and says weapons are being rushed to the battlefield. CNN's Nick Paton-Walsh has more now from Kharkiv in Ukraine.
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NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: It really is perhaps some of the darkest days for the Ukrainian military since the early moments of the invasion over two years ago. Now we have seen sustained five days of Russian military operations and advances north of where I'm standing here in the second city of Kharkiv. Behind me, startlingly blacked out as we occasionally hear blasts in
the night. The city itself, it seems, intermittently targeted too by a missile in the last hours as well. But it's to the border towns to its north where Russia appears to be seeing progress.
Ukraine's military saying they had indeed chosen more favorable positions in the key town of Vovchansk. That's probably a euphemism for a tactical withdrawal up there. A local police chief saying they can now hear gunfire, street battles inside that town. Essentially a sign the Russian military has moved in.
A local we saw evacuated this afternoon said that she'd been in her basement as the town burned around her for the past days. But Russian troops were indeed in the street next to hers. So key progress clearly there. The Russian Ministry of Defense say that extends to nearly a double digits worth of villages in that area. But ultimately they seem to be wanting to push further down to get their military artillery guns in range of this huge population center.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy canceling his forthcoming travel abroad. Remember part of his job is going to allies asking for better weaponry, faster. He also used his speech this day to reassure Ukrainians that the intense Russian activity they're having to try and counter to the north isn't going to necessarily leave them weaker in other areas of the front line. Well we have also seen significant losses by Ukraine and Russia moving forwards in the past weeks.
It's been difficult for them in the east too and there are also suggestions that in the south there may be some elements of Russian progress too. All of this coming as Moscow ceases really to make the best use militarily of a window now before U.S. military aid begins to arrive in the hands of Ukrainian soldiers. It's been the absence of that munition, of that equipment that has enabled them to get to this position and lose territory to Russia already.
And so an acutely dark moment for Kyiv certainly and one which Russia has matched with extraordinary levels of firepower and manpower across the front lines making good it seems on Ukraine's moment of weakness here.
Nick Paton-Walsh, CNN, Kharkiv, Ukraine.
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CHURCH: Still to come, Rafah is beginning to look like a ghost town as tens of thousands of Palestinians flee the fighting. Details of Israel's intensifying military operations in the city just ahead.
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DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Why would you answer that question?
JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Because the question is, the question is,
TRUMP: -- radical left,--
BIDEN: Will you shut up man?
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CHURCH: A contentious presidential debate four years ago between Joe Biden and Donald Trump. Now they have just agreed to two rematches. Debate details coming up.
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CHURCH: Wall Street surged to record highs on Wednesday after a new report showed inflation may be cooling off. The Dow closed near the key 40,000 level. The Nasdaq set a new record. The S&P finished above 5,300 for the first time. The latest Consumer Price Index showed prices rose at a slower pace in April than in the two previous months. Investors believe the cooler inflation along with weak retail sales last month could lead the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates this year.
U.S. President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump don't agree on much, but on Wednesday they suddenly agreed to set the presidential debate schedule ahead of the crucial election in November. They will face each other without an audience in six weeks on June 27th on CNN from our studios right here in Atlanta. The second debate will be on the ABC network on September 10th. President Biden issued this debate challenge in a video.
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BIDEN: Donald Trump lost two debates to me in 2020. Since then he hasn't shown up for debate. Now he's acting like he wants to debate me again. Well make my day pal. I'll even do it twice. So let's pick the dates Donald. I hear you're free on Wednesdays.
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CHURCH: Trump replied on social media saying he's quote "ready and willing to debate Crooked Joe at the two proposed times in June and September" and adding he would quote "strongly recommend more than two debates and for excitement purposes, a very large venue".
Well meantime at Trump's hush money trial in New York his former fixer Michael Cohen is set to resume his cross-examination later today. CNN's Kara Scannell explains the Trump team's strategy.
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KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They just want to undercut his credibility and one thing that they're going to look at are some of the past statements he's made under oath and that is because he's under oath now. So they want to say to the jury he has lied before under oath you shouldn't believe him now and they got into a little bit of it with his past admission that he is pleaded guilty before Congress but at the civil fraud trial Michael Cohen under cross- examination by Trump's lawyers said that he had lied to a federal judgment he pled guilty to tax fraud and he has said publicly that repeatedly.
So that is an area they're going to focus on because they want to suggest to the jury that they can't believe the story. So much of this could come down to whether the jury believes Michael Cohen and so the name of the game tomorrow is really to try to show that he's a liar who can't be trusted.
They're also going to focus on the conversations that Cohen says he had with Donald Trump because he's the only one that was involved in those conversations and the only witness to testify that Trump knew and approved this repayment scheme involving you know calling it a retainer no other witness has testified to that.
So it's kind of a two-fold thing they want to say that he shouldn't be believed and to just raise questions about any of these recollections that he's had of conversations with Donald Trump.
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CHURCH: A rare public sign of division over Israel's military campaign in Gaza. Coming up, why Israel's defense minister is challenging Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about post-war plans for the enclave.
And later.
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CNN investigates counter protesters who showed up to pro-Palestinian rallies on U.S. college campuses. Why their violent clashes made some students fear for their lives.
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CHURCH: Welcome back to "CNN Newsroom". I'm Rosemary Church. Want to check today's top stories for you.
U.S. President Joe Biden and his political opponent former President Donald Trump have agreed to debate each other well ahead of the November elections. The first presidential debate is set for June 27th in our CNN studios here in Atlanta. The second debate will be in September on the ABC network.
Slovakia's Prime Minister is now in stable but serious condition after surviving an assassination attempt. That is according to the country's Deputy Prime Minister who spoke to reporters outside the hospital just a short time ago. Robert Fico was shot five times on Wednesday. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping are
reaffirming their partnership and sending strong signals to the West. Mr. Putin is in Beijing for a state visit. Mr. Xi has praised the Chinese-Russian relationship saying it has stood the test of a changing international landscape.
David Sanger is a CNN political and national security analyst and White House and national security correspondent at the "New York Times". He's also the author of "New Cold Wars: China's Rise, Russia's Invasion, and America's Struggle to Defend the West". He joins me now from Washington. Good to have you with us.
DAVID SANGER, WHITE HOUSE AND NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT, "NEW YORK TIMES" AND CNN POLITICAL AND NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Great to be back with you, Rosemary.
CHURCH: So, Russia's President Vladimir Putin has arrived in China for a two-day state visit marking the first trip of his new term. What does this new and strengthening relationship between Russia and China signal to you along with its wider links to Iran and North Korea as wars rage on and of course economies shift?
SANGER: Well, it's a fascinating relationship, Rosemary. I think in many ways the most interesting and perhaps most consequential geopolitical relationship that we're going to be confronting in the next few years.
Most Americans first heard about it just before the Olympics in Beijing. You'll remember that's when Vladimir Putin showed up, visited Xi Jinping. It was the first time both of them were sort of out of COVID isolation and they announced the partnership without limits.
We now know it had lots of limits. We know that President Putin told President Xi that while he was going to do this little incursion into Ukraine, it would only take a few weeks and everything would be over quickly. Xi's got to be a little suspicious of that.
President Putin himself doesn't like being the inferior member of these two. I mean, remember when the old Soviet Union met the Chinese in the 50s and 60s and 70s, there was no question that the Soviets were the bigger power.
And going forward, their interests don't completely align, but they do have one major interest together and that is trying to isolate the United States.
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CHURCH: And David, many critics in the West suggest that this alliance between Putin and Xi is an aberration and shallow compared to Russia's historic links to Europe and the U.S. What do you say to that?
SANGER: Well, first of all, I wouldn't call it an alliance. It's a partnership. It's more than a partnership of convenience. I don't blame people for having a hard time trying to understand it because inside the Biden administration, I learned as I was working on new Cold Wars, there's a division of opinion about how seriously to go take this.
But certainly everybody takes it more seriously than they did before. And that's because the trade between Russia and China has soared as the oil and gas that would have been sold to Europe is going to China. And as the Chinese supply more dual use parts to Russia to help get around American sanctions, the Chinese have not supplied arms so far for the Ukraine war. They've technically stayed neutral. They have supplied a lot of the parts that the Russians need to produce their own arms.
CHURCH: So what are the main benefits of this new China-Russia relationship and which side gets the better deal? What's in it for each of them?
SANGER: Well, for the Chinese, what's in it for them is they want to be builders, not disruptors, but they like the fact that Vladimir Putin is so disruptive that he keeps the United States tied up on the other side of the world.
You know, we're spending a lot of time thinking about the Middle East and about the Ukraine war, particularly in the past week or so as the Russians have stepped up their attacks around Kharkiv and so forth.
That's attention that isn't being spent on the pivot to Asia, moving American forces, moving American strategy into the region. I think President Biden has done a lot more to execute that pivot than his predecessors have. But imagine how much time both the Mideast conflict and the Ukraine conflict are taking out of Washington's national security strategies.
CHURCH: David Sanger, many thanks for joining us. I Appreciate it.
SANGER: Great to be with you.
CHURCH: Israel is ramping up military operations in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, despite U.S. warnings to hold off to avoid mass civilian casualties. Satellite images show thousands of tents housing displaced Palestinians in Rafah disappeared after the Israeli military ordered people to evacuate the city last week. According to the U.N., about 600,000 Palestinians, a quarter of Gaza's population, have fled.
But tents have popped up in al-Mawassi near Khan Younis, which Israel is calling an expanded humanitarian zone. Aid agencies say the area is sandy and lacks basic essentials, including food, shelter, water and health care facilities.
Meanwhile, Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Galant is voicing his frustration at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's failure to address the issue of a post-war plan for Gaza. Galant opposes Israeli rule there and says Palestinian entities must take control of the enclave and establish a governing alternative to Hamas. But Netanyahu insists it's essential to eliminate Hamas first.
While Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh says Hamas is, quote, "here to stay and rejects any suggestion the group could be excluded from post-war decisions on Gaza". CNN's Paula Hancocks is following all the developments for us. She
joins us live from Abu Dhabi. Good to see you, Paula. So Israel is clearly divided on a post-war plan for Gaza. How will this likely get resolved?
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rosemary, we have heard from the Defense Minister Yoav Galant before saying that he doesn't support Benjamin Netanyahu's idea of having a military presence, having security control over Gaza after the war has ended. But this is really the most direct he has been when it comes to this, saying that there has to be some plans for the day after. There have to be some Palestinian entities who will take over the governance of Gaza. Now, the Israeli prime minister has responded to that, although Galant said Palestinian entities, Netanyahu, saw that as Hamas and the Palestinian Authority and said that those two possibilities were simply not acceptable.
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BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): Until it's clear that Hamas does not control Gaza militarily, nobody will be prepared to take upon himself the civil management of Gaza out of fear for their lives. Therefore, all the talk about the day after, while Hamas remains intact, will remain mere words devoid of content.
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HANCOCKS: Now, this has once again highlighted the division within Israeli politics. At this point, you have Benny Gantz, a member of the war cabinet and an incredible opposition potential for prime minister in the next elections. He has endorsed what Galant has said, that then on the right hand side of the coalition, the more right wing entities have said that Galant should be fired for what he said. So you can see just how much the disagreement is for that day after the war ends.
And it also highlights once again the questions about the long term strategy for Israel when it comes to Gaza. The fact, for example, that the Israeli military is now having to go back to areas of northern Gaza, of central Gaza, that they said that they had cleared of Hamas because there is a power vacuum there, because Hamas has now moved back into those areas, according to the Israelis, and they are then reassembling, regrouping and taking control again.
We also heard it from the U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, saying that there does have to be a solution, given the fact that this anarchy will lead to a vacuum, which will then be filled by chaos.
We've heard military experts as well in Israel say that they believe this will have to happen time and time again, having to go back to areas that had been cleared of Hamas, if there is not a political solution as well. Rosemary?
CHURCH: And Paula, what's the latest on Israel's preparations for an invasion of Rafah and of course the evacuation of civilians there? HANCOCKS: Well, the U.N. says at this point that hundreds of
thousands, potentially up to 600,000 have moved out of Rafah already, and they are moving to an area along the coast.
It's just about five miles away, but of course many don't have any access to transport, fuel is scarce, and it is an area that is along the coast, it's along the beach. It is not, according to many humanitarian aid groups, suitable for human habitation, and yet this is where many of them are having to go. We know also some Palestinians are moving back to Khan Younis as well. This is an area that was really devastated by the previous Israeli military action there, and much of the city lies in ruins. We're also hearing from Egypt saying that potentially they could downgrade relations with Israel if they still decide to go into Rafah, which would be a very significant diplomatic move. Rosemary?
CHURCH: All right, our thanks to Paula Hancocks joining us live from Abu Dhabi.
In the meantime, Palestinian evacuees in Doha, who have escaped the horrors of the conflict, are trying to find some semblance of normality. CNN's Jomana Karadsheh spoke to some of them.
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JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Far from a place of death and destruction, Gaza's children try to be children again.
But everywhere you look here, you see the real cost of a war Israel says is against Hamas. What the U.N. has called a war on children.
So many injured little ones, so many who've lost limbs. Mahmoud can no longer ride a bike.
The nine-year-old lost both his arms in an Israeli strike. He's one of hundreds of children evacuated by Qatar for medical treatment.
Mahmoud is finding ways of living a childhood shattered. He shows off how he's learned to use his feet to play video games.
I want to fulfill my dreams. I want to be a journalist and a pilot, he says.
The once independent child now needs his mother to feed him, dress him and take him to the toilet.
I ask what makes him so resilient. Because I'm from Gaza, because I'm Palestinian, he says, nothing can stop me.
Those children here, like Mahmoud, don't want to talk about their injuries. They've found sanctuary in this unlikely place.
A compound Qatar built for World Cup fans, now turned into housing for nearly 2,000 Gaza evacuees, most of them women and children.
It's a safe space to deal with the trauma of war and offers us a first-hand glimpse into the suffering which Israel has forced us to cover from afar by preventing international journalists from freely accessing the enclave.
[03:40:03]
In this room, women gather for a session of Palestinian embroidery. It's therapy, a distraction, but how could anyone forget what they've been through and all they've lost?
Alma quietly sits watching her grandmother embroidery, her wounded mothers in hospital, her injured father still in Gaza.
UNKNOWN (through translator): I didn't expect Alma to survive. She had a fractured skull, an amputated leg, shrapnel in her back and a broken arm.
KARADSHEH (through translator): Like many children, Alma has lost more than her leg. The blast that maimed her took her eight-month-old sister Sham, who died in her arms, and her six-year-old brother Ahmed.
I am sad about my brother and sister. Alma, choking back tears, can't say any more.
Everyone in this room is missing loved ones, those gone and those they've had to leave behind. Weighed down by grief and guilt, they tell us they deprived themselves of food and sleep.
I've been sleeping on a couch. How can I sleep on a bed when my sons are sleeping in a tent and on sand? How can I eat when my children are hungry?
Soheir's three children and husband are in Rafah. Like others, she desperately wants to get them out.
She shows us pictures of what used to be home, where she was injured, where she lost her mother, six-year-old niece and two of her sons, all killed in a strike, she says, while they were sleeping.
She gleams with pride talking about her boys. Sixteen-year-old Sharif was top of his class. Mahmoud had just gotten a scholarship to study medicine abroad.
Israel left no dreams. I now find myself thinking I wish I had let my sons take up arms instead of dying like this.
Soheir says she raised her boys to never carry weapons, to serve their people through their education.
SOHEIR ISSA, SONS KILLED IN GAZA (through translator): I want to tell them you destroyed the people, the mothers. You created more hatred. I used to feel for them with the hostages. As a mother who's lost her children, if I could avenge my son's death, I would do it myself.
KARADSHEH (through translator): Memories and photos, all she has left of them. ISSA (through translator): When I go to sleep at night, I put my arms
like this. I imagine I'm hugging Mahmoud and Sharif, hugging my mother.
KARADSHEH (through translator): Pain in this place is palpable. Those who've made it out may have escaped the war, but there's no escaping the everlasting scars it leaves behind.
Jomana Karadsheh, CNN, Doha.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Still to come, another day of unrest in New Caledonia, with dozens arrested amid deadly anti-government protests in the French territory. How the French government is cracking down on the violence.
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[03:45:00]
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CHURCH: Firefighters are battling more than 100 wildfires across Canada. First responders in the province of Manitoba are struggling to put out one of the country's largest wildfires, which is burning out of control. In Alberta, thousands of people were caught in a traffic jam on Tuesday. They were trying to escape another huge out-of-control fire near the city of Fort McMurray. However, officials say weaker winds and cooler temperatures will improve conditions for firefighters, at least temporarily. But some 6,600 people have been ordered to get out.
Tensions are high in the French territory of New Caledonia, where nearly 200 people have been arrested amid anti-government protests. Riots have left some businesses torched and stores looted. The violence broke out on Monday after the French government proposed changes to New Caledonia's constitution. Pro-independence groups feel France is attempting to consolidate power over the Pacific island chain.
France has declared a state of emergency in the territory, sending an additional 500 police officers to assist the nearly 2,000 police and military officers already stationed there. CNN's Ivan Watson has more.
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IVAN WATSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): An island paradise in turmoil. In the South Pacific, the French territory of New Caledonia, erupting in violence for the third straight day Wednesday.
Pro-independence protesters clash with security forces, leaving shops, cars, homes burned.
Mostly young demonstrators are protesting against a vote held over 10,000 miles away. In Paris on Tuesday, France's National Assembly passed changes to voting laws in New Caledonia. The aim of the legislation, to open up voter lists to French residents who've been in New Caledonia for 10 years.
Local independence activists believe new voters want the Pacific archipelago to stay with France, which has ruled the islands since the 19th century.
DENISE FISHER, FORMER AUSTRALIAN CONSUL-GENERAL IN NOUMEA, NEW CALEDONIA: The current people are objecting to that, not just because it's being decided in Paris without them, but also they feel that they want it to be part of a negotiation, a whole negotiation, which would include another self-determination vote.
WATSON (voice-over): The French government wants more talks with the independence leaders before the voting rules are formally changed.
GABRIEL ATTAL, FRENCH PRIME MINISTER (through translator): Our priority is to find a global political agreement, the broadest possible political agreement with the separatists and the non- separatists, which will allow us to move forward and write the future of New Caledonia.
WATSON (voice-over): Leaders of the independence movement are calling for an end to the violence, which has turned deadly.
For the first time, deaths reported by the president's office as gunfire erupted between rioters and security forces.
FISHER: The last two days we've seen violence of a scale we haven't seen for 30 years in New Caledonia. It is kind of marking the end of 30 years of peace in New Caledonia.
WATSON (voice-over): New Caledonia has had the chance to vote for independence. Three recent referendums all resulted in the decision to remain with France. That's done little to defuse tension between some residents of New Caledonia and the government in Paris.
Ivan Watson, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Still to come, outside agitators were present at a pro- Palestinian rally at UCLA just weeks ago. That CNN investigation report is next.
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[03:50:00]
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CHURCH: Here in the United States, graduates of Columbia University celebrated at smaller commencement events after the school canceled its usual ceremony on Wednesday. Leaders made that difficult decision amid continued pro-Palestinian protests on campuses nationwide, with some even setting up encampments on university property.
Some of those protests turned into violent clashes with the arrival of counter-protesters, such as this one on the campus of UCLA a little more than two weeks ago. CNN's Kyung Lah met with counter-protesters who were present that night, but not everyone wanted to talk about what the cameras caught.
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KYUNG LAH, CNN SR. U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is the worst violence of any of the ongoing college protests.
UCLA, where counter-protesters used sticks and boards against a pro- Palestine encampment.
It was more than three hours of unrestrained violence the night of April 30th that led to injuries and bloody scenes, as campus security and law enforcement allowed it to continue.
CATHERINE HAMILTON, NEWS EDITOR, UCLA DAILY BRUIN: They were there spraying, they were there pulling barriers, and they were there to very clearly do some serious harm to the students who were on campus.
LAH: When you look at the counter-protesters, how many of them were UCLA students?
HAMILTON: I would say basically none of them.
LAH (voice-over): Who are the most aggressive offenders? A CNN investigation of hundreds of videos from multiple sources shows many of them are outsiders, not UCLA students. Among the people who showed up that night, far-right agitators with no apparent connection to the Middle East war, others driven by pro-Israel beliefs.
Among them, this man. He strikes a pro-Palestine protester with a long white pole and is part of a mob that pummels the man as he falls to the ground.
He's seen in multiple videos wearing this white mask, striking the barriers, throwing objects into the encampment.
Without his mask, we see who he is. 18-year-old Idan Onn of Beverly Hills, a senior at a local high school.
LAH: Come inside to the kitchen. How do I get inside?
LAH (voice-over): I spoke with his mother.
LAH: Hi there, are you Sharon? Hi. Hi, let me introduce us.
LAH (voice-over): She did not want to be on camera, but quickly identified her son from this picture at UCLA that night. She described in detail how her son found the mask and pole on the ground and said he was defending himself in this fight. On her Facebook page, Idan Onn's mother posted and circled a screen grab of her son from a local TV station. She wrote in Hebrew, Idan went to bully the Palestinian students in
the tents at UCLA. Idan's mother and father proudly support Israel and defended their son's actions at UCLA, saying he is heading to Israel to join the IDF. After our interview, she texted to say Idan denies being at UCLA.
Older men were also at the front of the violence.
Tom Bibion recorded pulling bike racks, plywood, kicking protesters, throwing cones at the students in the encampment, water bottles at protesters, and yelling expletives.
We went to ask Bibion why he'd gone to the campus that night.
LAH: Hi, you're Mr. Bibion.
TOM BIBION, ALLEGED FAR-RIGHT AGITATOR: Yeah, can you turn that off? You don't have permission to record me.
LAH (voice-over): Bibion was wearing the same jacket he had on in the video from UCLA. He's a Los Angeles resident, age 42, seen at a 2022 pro-Trump protest outside the Los Angeles FBI office. He did not want to explain why he's on video doing this.
BIBION: You're being a little rude, and I'm going to call the police if you don't leave.
LAH: Sure. Okay.
LAH (voice-over): We identified not just Tom Bibion, but other older men who have no apparent affiliation with UCLA.
LAH: I mean, you've seen them at how many other events?
[03:55:00]
ANGIE GIVANT, PUBLIC SCHOOL MOM: Lots of different events, school board meetings, city council meetings.
LAH (voice-over): Angie Givant is a Los Angeles area public school mom who's been tracking right-wing protesters in her area. The group who she'd seen protesting gay rights in public schools were drawn to UCLA that night.
UNKNOWN: The revolution ain't happening tonight. Man down, man down.
LAH (voice-over): Though they were clearly at UCLA that night, there's no evidence these men participated in the violence.
NAREK PALYAN, ALLEGED FAR-RIGHT AGITATOR: Here comes the Jew song, man. Cover your ears.
LAH (voice-over): The man who was live streaming, Narek Palyan, appears to be a persistent agitator who posts anti-Jewish tropes on his social media accounts.
But at UCLA, he stood with the pro-Israel crowd.
LAH: Hi, I'm Kyung Lah from CNN.
LAH (voice-over): Palyan claimed to us that he has a child at UCLA, though a student didn't accompany him that night, and that he had good intentions.
PALYAN: I was definitely keeping the peace, okay, at least trying to.
LAH: You weren't there to make it worse?
PALYAN: No, of course I wasn't there to make it worse.
HAMILTON: I hate to say it, but I was expecting us to start working on an obituary the next day because I thought something that serious would happen to the students in the encampment.
LAH: Do you feel like they won?
HAMILTON: Based on the way they were cheering when the police arrived Tuesday night, I think they might feel that they won.
LAH: We reached out numerous times to the UCLA Police Department with specific questions. We did not get a response about the response that evening or the follow-up investigation. We also reached out to CHP and LAPD, and both of those agencies referred back to the UCLA Police Department, saying it is the lead agency.
Kyung Lah, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: I want to thank you for spending part of your day with me. I'm Rosemary Church. "CNN Newsroom" continues next with Max Foster.
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