Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Biden Vows to Fight on; Biden Reassures Donors at NY, NJ Fundraisers; Newspapers Calls on Biden to Drop Out of the Race; French Voters Heads to the Polls; Crucial Election in France; Hurricane Beryl Races Towards the Caribbean; Gaza Ceasefire Talks; Rescued Israeli Hostages Talks in a Rally in Tel Aviv; Seven Killed in Missile Attack Near Zaporizhzhia; Ukrainian Women Clearing Russian Mines; Voters React to Biden's Debate Performance; Iranian Heads to Polls Again in Coming Days; The Rising Suicide Rates of Afghan Girls; Oppressed to Death: Life Under Taliban Rule; Panda Diplomacy is Back. Aired 4-5a ET

Aired June 30, 2024 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to all of you watching us here in the United States, Canada, and all around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is "CNN Newsroom."

U.S. President Joe Biden meets with donors, insisting he can lead Democrats to victory in November. But now, another media outlet says it's time for him to step aside following Thursday's presidential debate.

French voters head to the polls for the first round of parliamentary elections, one that couldn't see the far-right form the next government.

Plus, the season's first hurricane races towards the Caribbean, and it's only growing stronger. What lays on Beryl and where it's expected to hit.

ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta, this is "CNN Newsroom with Kim Brunhuber."

BRUNHUBER: After spending time at Camp David to prepare for the debate, Joe Biden is now at the presidential retreat to spend time with his family, following his poor performance. But there's no getting away from the calls for him to end his campaign, and those calls just got louder.

Sources tell CNN that the family gathering isn't aimed at making a decision on that. Still, we're told the topic of just how badly the debate went is expected to come up. These are the people who, more than anyone, hold significant influence over such decisions. Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris spent part of Saturday trying to reassure donors that he is still the best candidate for the Democratic Party. At a fundraiser Saturday, Biden told those gathered that he'll fight harder. Now, he'll need to.

The largest newspaper here in the battleground State of Georgia is the latest to call for Biden to drop out of the race. The Atlanta Journal- Constitution's editorial board writing, if he displays the courage and dignity that have defined his political career, he might follow in the footsteps of the nation's first president and welcome his retirement secure in the knowledge that he again served his country with honor.

Hours later, former Atlanta mayor and senior adviser with the Biden campaign, Keisha Lance Bottoms, slammed the AJC in a tweet saying "please stick to covering the news instead of trying to make it and let the voters decide. While the AJC joins the New York Times, the New Yorker magazine, and the Chicago Tribune in calling for the president to end his campaign, CNN's Arlette Saenz has more on the president's latest efforts to put the debate behind him.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Biden sought to reassure anxious donors after his debate performance, telling a group at a New Jersey fundraiser that he's ready to fight harder in this campaign.

The president spent Saturday with the first lady, attending three fundraisers in the Hamptons and New Jersey. At each of those events, he acknowledged his poor debate performance, but tried to assure donors that his candidacy remains on track.

It comes as Biden's advisers have fielded phone calls from anxious Democrats and donors concerned about the state of the race and what it could mean to keep Biden at the top of the Democratic ticket after that debate performance. Sources tell CNN that Democrats are conducting polling and research over the weekend and early into next week to try to gauge the exact Impact that debate will have on this re-election bid. They said they're not just looking at Biden's re- election bid, but also how House and Senate Democrats who are in competitive races could be affected as well.

Now, the Biden campaign so far has doubled down on the fact that President Biden is remaining in the 2024 race. They say that he intends to debate Donald Trump in September. And a memo from the Biden campaign's chair, Jen O'Malley Dillon, said that they believe that this will be a very close race, but do believe that their team will put in the work to help Joe Biden beat Donald Trump in November.

Now, President Biden is going to spend Saturday at Camp David with the first lady and other members of their family, all at a time when many questions are swirling about what could come next for Biden in this campaign.

Arlette Signs, CNN, traveling with the president in New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: A number of voters at a rally in Washington, D.C. on Saturday said they're disappointed in President Biden's performance, but some of them say that's not their top concern in this year's election. They turned out for this event put together by the Poor People's Campaign there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KEVIN PETERSON, PASTOR AND UNDECIDED VOTER: He looked fatigued and he looked as if he wasn't capable of the job in terms of the debate that night. And my hope is that he'll recover and we'll have a very vigorous debating season and campaign seasons where he will be able to articulate more clearly and with a level of vigor.

[04:05:00]

LAURA FITZGIBBON, PASTOR AND BIDEN VOTER: I think that, at this point, both of our candidates are of a similar age and I'm less worried about that and more worried about what they say they're going to do.

HENRY ROBINSON, UNDECIDED VOTER: You should not be sending your 80- year-old in the office. Nope, you're out of touch. Things evolve. People evolve. Times change. You need to change too, but they don't want to because they're stuck in their old ways.

BILL THOMPSON, BIDEN VOTER: The reason why it doesn't concern me is because of his integrity, where his heart is and where his integrity lies is with the American people, and it's not with Donald Trump. He's for himself. He's for the billionaire class, and all he wants is more wealth.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: And joining us now from Lancaster, England is Richard Johnson. He's a lecturer in US politics at Queen Mary University of London. Thanks so much for being here with us. So, we just heard some measured views there, but it's impossible to ignore the growing sense of panic among Democrats. Strategists are racing around conducting new polls. The president's meeting with his family this weekend. Do we do -- you expect him to make any big announcement that perhaps he will step aside?

RICHARD JOHNSON, LECTURER IN U.S. POLITICS, QUEEN MARY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON: I mean, the timetable I've been hearing is he's got a week to prove himself. And I mean, the important date to keep in mind is the convention beginning on the 19th of August, and, you know, at the moment, Joe Biden is not the Democratic nominee. That will be a choice made by the convention. The convention consists of about 4,000 delegates.

Now, Joe Biden has -- 99 percent of those delegates have pledged to Joe Biden. The rules of the Democratic Party say that those delegates should vote in good conscience for the candidate that they are pledged to vote for but they don't actually have to vote for Biden. That was a rule that was changed in the 1980s after Ted Kennedy's challenge of Jimmy Carter, it's called the robot rule by critics who said you just have to robotically vote for who you were pledged to vote for. So, there is some room for Biden's own delegates to vote against him. But I think it's unlikely that they would vote against him. And so, the question really then is a much more closer question, a much more proximate question, which is would Joe Biden himself pull back and in effect, open up the process for a replacement?

BRUNHUBER: Exactly right. And if he were to, I mean, you know, looking at some of the editorials that were in, one of the many blows was that "New York Times" editorial. And in it, they wrote, there are democratic leaders better equipped to present clear, compelling, and energetic alternatives to a second Trump presidency. But is that true? I mean, one of the problems is the lack of a clear successor. Normally, it would be the vice president, but as has been pointed out many times, her numbers are actually worse than the president's.

JOHNSON: That I think is exactly the problem, and that has been the problem all along. You know, I think Joe Biden -- there was a chance that Joe Biden might have been voluntarily a one term president. He ran for president in 2020 saying that he'd be a bridge to the future. When he selected Kamala Harris four years ago as his vice-presidential nominee, many people thought that, in effect, he was going to prepare her to be his successor.

But from the start of his presidency, doubts emerged about her ability to connect with the electorate, perceptions of her competence and so on, some fair, some not so fair. And I think Joe Biden, in effect, decided, at some point, during his presidency that Kamala Harris would not be a strong candidate against Donald Trump. And that's -- that -- in that determination, really, I think, meant that he had to run for re-election because Biden couldn't say, I'm not going to run for re- election, but I also don't have confidence in my vice president to succeed me as the nominee, and that is, I think, still his problem right now is, I think, the probably the biggest barrier to him pulling back is his lack of confidence in Kamala Harris.

BRUNHUBER: But then if, you know, there's a groundswell for somebody else, let's say if they were to, you know, I guess, leapfrog her metaphorically there, would there be a danger of alienating certain groups of voters and the party essentially tearing itself apart?

JOHNSON: Exactly. So, then the problem becomes, OK, well, in theory, Biden could say actually, I want us to have a fully open convention. I release my delegates. I want them to listen to the speeches. Perhaps we'll have some CNN debates in the next few weeks between potential candidates, and my delegates can listen to those debates.

[04:10:00]

The problem with that is that Kamala Harris will have a strong following within the party, maybe not enough to win the nomination and her supporters will feel to a certain extent, rightly aggrieved that the person who selected her to be the next in line for the presidency right now doesn't feel comfortable saying that I think she should be the next president in January of next year, and then the risk for the Democrats becomes depressed turnout in November. And this is an all-hands-on deck election. The Democrats need everyone, all of their supporters to turn out. They don't have the luxury of key constituencies staying home or having a lethargic turnout in November. And that, I think, is the risk of a messy nomination contest.

BRUNHUBER: Listen, I listed all of the left leaning media that are calling for President Biden to stand down after that debate. But we haven't seen the same mobilization by the right-wing, you know, basically calling for Donald Trump to stand down after he was convicted. I mean, the double standard seems particularly acute here.

JOHNSON: There certainly is a double standard and you can look at -- we can maybe go back to say 2016, actually, when the Access Hollywood tape came out and Trump spoke in appalling ways about treating women. There were calls at that time for Trump to stand down. I think if you look back at the media commentary around that time, people effectively thought Trump would be toast in the election. Trump's inner circle told him to just to plow on, to ignore it. The fundamentals of the election were what mattered more. And in that sense, they were vindicated.

I think the Republicans took a certain lesson from that, and I wonder if the Biden inner circle will take a similar lesson. Obviously, it's a very different set of circumstances, but the Biden campaign might basically say, look, what really matters is the fundamentals of the election. The economy, the fact that you have been the president, people know you can be president because you are the president at the moment.

And I think there is a chance that Biden does pull through. I'm not saying it's the right decision for November, but I think that there will be strong voices who might even look at the Trump example and say, you can weather this storm and still win.

BRUNHUBER: It'll be a fascinating a window of decision as you spoke of there as we see what happens. Richard Johnson, thank you so much for your analysis. Really appreciate it.

JOHNSON: Thank you.

BRUNHUBER: Well, French voters are going to the polls in the first round of high stakes snap parliamentary elections. President Emmanuel Macron's party is facing challenges from both the country's far-right and left-wing coalition. Macron called the vote after his centrist alliance was defeated by the far-right in European Parliament elections earlier this month. A second round of votes will be held on July 7th.

CNN's Saskya Vandoorne has been following developments and has more from Paris.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SASKYA VANDOORNE, CNN SENIOR PRODUCER (voice-over): He's known for bold moves. But nobody saw this bombshell coming. EMMANUEL MACRON, FRENCH PRESIDENT (through translator): Tonight, I am dissolving the national assembly.

VANDOORNE (voice-over): French president Emmanuel Macron's surprise call for snap elections after his party's defeat the hands of the French far-right in the E.U. elections caught everyone off guard, even his prime minister.

KEVIN ARCENEAUX, PROFESSOR, SCIENCES PO: If his bet pays off, he'll go down as a brilliant statistician who, you know, when everybody else thought that he was doing something ridiculous, he had really done something that was amazing for his party.

If not, I think he will go down in history as somebody who essentially exploded the traditional party system in France.

VANDOORNE (voice-over): So why did Macron do it? With his centrist coalition lacking the majority and already struggling to get laws through parliament, observers say a no confidence vote loomed. Voting happens over two rounds with the French electorate heading to the ballot boxes to send 577 MPs to the national assembly.

Macron's announcement sent parties and politicians scrambling to form coalitions. His biggest threat, France's far-right national rally. Seen as Russia friendly and skeptical of the E.U., the party is led by Marine Le Pen's acolyte, 28-year-old, Jordan Bardella.

He's a strong contender for France's next prime minister, a role that the president appoints from the party that wins a majority. Other challenges include the new Popular Front, a new coalition of socialists, Communists, Greens and the far left who want to officially recognize the state of Palestine.

And this man, current prime minister, Gabriel Attal, who's only been in the job five months, now back on the campaign trail for Ensemble, peddling a message of economic stability.

[04:15:00]

Whoever France's new prime minister is, they will stand shoulder to shoulder with Macron on the world stage in less than a month's time as Paris hosts the Olympic Games.

This political uncertainty has spilled onto the streets. A quarter of 1 million people marched throughout France in recent weeks to oppose the national rally.

VANDOORNE: Emmanuel Macron's political gamble in dissolving the parliament hurts his legacy in serious jeopardy.

His last years in office could be plagued by political uncertainty or worse. He could be remembered as the French president who paved the way to the far-right.

Saskya Vandoorne, CNN, Paris.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Several Caribbean islands including Barbados and Granada are bracing for impact as Beryl, the first hurricane of this season's Atlantic season, is expected to churn across the Windward Islands later tonight or Monday. It's now located north of French Guiana. Our meteorologist Allison Chinchar explains why this storm is so serious.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: That's right. Beryl is now the first tropical system to reach hurricane strength for the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, and it's actually expected to intensify even more up to major hurricane status over the next day or so.

Now, one of the things to note, though, is the average first second name storm usually doesn't occur until July 17th, and the average date of the first hurricane isn't usually until August 11th. So, Beryl is really kind of in very rare territory here, and one of the main reasons for that is how warm the sea surface temperatures are. On average, the location of Beryl is running about three to five degrees above average, and that may not seem like that much, but it's just enough to really allow storms like this to flourish in these very warm conditions.

Also, two to note, it's very aware of where it developed. This far east of the Windward Islands early in to the season, say, for example, June is not very common. So, it's just that it's strengthened very quickly, but also the location in which it formed make this a very uncommon storm.

Now, it's expected to make its way towards the Windward Islands over the next 12 to 24 hours. And by late Sunday or even early Monday, this storm is forecast to get to major hurricane strength as it makes its way into the Caribbean Sea. We already have watches and warnings in place for the Windward Islands, but several other locations may end up seeing some additional watches and warnings take place as the storm continues to track westward in the coming days.

BRUNHUBER: The U.S. tries to revive the ceasefire proposal for Gaza after it hit a stumbling block. Still ahead, a new diplomatic move by Washington to try to get Israel and Hamas on the same page. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:20:00]

BRUNHUBER: The U.S. is trying to give the stalled ceasefire proposal for Gaza shot in the arm. A senior U.S. official says Washington has proposed new language to try to bridge the gaps between Israel and Hamas. According to the news website Axios, the new wording focuses on the first phrase of the agreement where the two sides would negotiate further implementation down the line. Now, what's happening is Israel presses ahead with its offensive in a Gaza City neighborhood where a number of wounded are reportedly trapped by fighting and has a rescued Israeli hostage addresses a rally in Tel Aviv talking about her ordeal publicly for the first time. Let's head over to London where we're joined by Elliott Gotkine. So, Elliott any reason for optimism about this U.S. effort to bring the two sides together?

ELLIOTT GOTKINE, JOURNALIST: I'm not sure there is, Kim, I'm afraid. Look, we're almost a month to the day since President Biden, to great fanfare, announced this ceasefire plan, which he said Israel had signed off on and which Israel subsequently confirmed that it had indeed signed off on. The response from Hamas has been at best lukewarm.

In fact, on Saturday, a spokesman for the militant group said that the proposals still fall short of its demands, which are for a complete cessation of hostilities and the full withdrawal of Israeli forces. Israel, for its part, even though it says it's fine with the wording of this proposal that President Biden announced about a month ago says that the agreement doesn't prevent it from fulfilling its two -- two of its main war objectives, which are to destroy Hamas' military and governance capabilities.

And so, when you do have the two sides effectively insisting on things which are diametrically opposed to one another, Israel wanting to effectively destroy Hamas, Hamas effectively wanting to ensure its survival, then it's very hard to see how and where a breakthrough is going to come from.

And so, we have this situation where almost nine months on these 120 hostages remain captive in Gaza, around a third of them believed to be dead. You've still got the war ongoing and the death toll rising in the Gaza Strip as well. And you also have these continued protests in Tel Aviv and across the country, demanding that the Israeli government do everything that it possibly can to bring those hostages home. But unfortunately, there's no sign of any breakthrough just yet. Kim.

BRUNHUBER: And, Elliot, there was a terror attack at an Israeli embassy in Serbia. What more are we learning about that?

GOTKINE: So, yes, this happened on Saturday morning around 11:00 a.m. local time. Now, according to N1, which is a CNN affiliate in the country, a 25-year-old man, a convert to Islam, according to Serbian authorities, approached the Israeli embassy in the Serbian capital Belgrade took out a crossbow and fired a bolt at the security officer who was guarding the building. The security officer, despite having this crossbow bolt in his neck, managed to get to his gun, fired several shots, and killed the perpetrator.

The Serbian authorities say that a number of arrests of people in the vicinity were made as a precaution. No employees of the Israeli Embassy were harmed.

Now, you can imagine that Israeli embassies and Jewish institutions, at the best of times, have got quite a lot of security around them. That's been ramped up since the Hamas-led terrorist attacks of October the 7th. And clearly. that security came into its own on Saturday morning.

[04:25:00]

Israel's foreign minister posting on X expressing his gratitude to the Serbian government and the authorities for the swift action for protecting the Israeli embassy and wishing the security officer who's being treated in hospital a speedy recovery. Kim.

BRUNHUBER: All right. Appreciate those updates. Elliott Gotkine, thanks so much.

Ukraine says a Russian missile attack on a town near Zaporizhzhia on Saturday killed at least seven people, including three children. More than 30 other people were wounded. Officials say the town was targeted in the middle of the day when people were out enjoying the weekend. After the attack, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy repeated calls to allies for more weapons and air defenses. He says any delay means the loss of more human lives.

Since Russia's invasion began, up to 2 million landmines are believed to be scattered in Ukraine, and women are playing a big role in getting rid of them. Official data shows that women now make up 30 percent of mine clearance teams in Ukraine. CNN's Clare Sebastian reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Poppies tend to thrive on battle scarred fields. Here, though, the battle isn't over. These women are on the front line against a hidden enemy, mines. It was once an illegal job for women in Ukraine, one of a number of professions considered too dangerous. But since 2018, women have been allowed to pursue jobs like demining, and Russia's full-scale invasion brought another surge in interest. A former math teacher, and a former manicurist, and hairdresser, all changing their lives to help their country.

MYKOLA MURAI, FARMER (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): There was a garden before the flood. We had to go in and cultivate the land there were mines on all sides. From the bank to the black strip, you see? The plowed fields in the garden, everything was covered in mines.

SEBASTIAN (voice-over): The HALO Trust works around the world clearing mines, making safer environments for people who live and work in the area. The Ukraine staff is made up of more than 1,200 members, almost 30 percent are women. The organization estimates that up to 2 million landmines may have been laid since Russia's full-scale invasion.

According to the latest reports, the HALO Trust released more than 3 million square meters of land for safe use since 2022. This also opened key agricultural areas important for food security.

VALERIA PONOMAREVA, HEAD OF MANUAL DEMINING TEAM, HALO TRUST (through translator): Because we help, we demine land. We have demined enough land in Mykola that has been transferred to local use for farming.

SEBASTIAN (voice-over): It's not an easy task, one that calls for patience, efficiency, and the ability to work in harsh weather conditions. One team member says being able to help makes her feel like a superhero, especially amid such devastation. They hope to set an example, as some Ukrainians go off to fight, they stay to clean up the dangers left behind.

Clare Sebastian, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Americans are reacting to President Joe Biden's disappointing performance at the presidential debate. Hear from some voters in the swing state of Pennsylvania. That's next here on "CNN Newsroom." Please stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:30:00]

BRUNHUBER: Welcome back to all of you watching us here in the United States, Canada, and around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This "CNN Newsroom."

Days after his disastrous debate, U.S. President Joe Biden is now at Camp David with family for a long-planned gathering. Now, those family members could help the president decide his next steps, whether he stays in the 2024 race or drops out.

Biden is trying to put his debate performance behind him, having spent part of Saturday telling donors he will fight harder amid new calls for him to exit the presidential race. The Atlanta Journal- Constitution is the latest editorial board urging Biden to give up the Democratic nomination.

Meanwhile, voters in Biden's hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania, are reacting to the president's debate night performance. CNN's Danny Freeman has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At Zummo's Cafe, in Scranton, Pennsylvania, the coffee flowed, Friday morning. And so did the post-debate emotions.

MIKE MANZANO, PENNSYLVANIA DEMOCRATIC VOTER: It was painful to watch.

LEXIE DEWOLFE, PENNSYLVANIA DEMOCRATIC VOTER: I feel like the candidates were two kids, duking it out in preschool.

ROBIN BERNDT (PH), ZUMMO'S CAFE OWNER: I feel disoriented. That's the word that I've been trying to come up with.

FREEMAN (voice-over): Robin Berndt (ph) is the owner of the cafe, just blocks away, from where President Biden grew up.

BERNDT (PH): We love Biden. We're Scrantonians.

FREEMAN: Yes.

BERNDT (PH): And we want him to be successful. And we want to feel that connection, like we have felt, over the last four years.

FREEMAN (voice-over): An Independent, she voted for Biden in 2020. But is now left hoping Biden gets a second chance, to prove he can do the job.

BERNDT (PH): I just don't think that that was really well- represented, last night. So, I'd like to -- him to have an opportunity, to give it another go.

DONNA DEVITA, PENNSYLVANIA DEMOCRATIC VOTER: Well, he stumbled. I don't think it was his best night, really. And you have to be truthful about that.

FREEMAN (voice-over): Lifelong Democrat, Donna DeVita, was disappointed by Biden's performance, but still said she wouldn't vote for former President Trump.

DEVITA: That debate did not spark any concerns in Joe Biden, or President Biden, and his ability to spend the next four years, leading our country.

FREEMAN (voice-over): But Lexie Dewolfe disagrees.

DEWOLFE: I don't know what four more years would look like, for somebody who's already at that point.

FREEMAN (voice-over): Dewolfe voted for Biden in 2020. But now fears he doesn't have what it takes for the job.

FREEMAN: Did you have concerns about Biden's capacity, in your words, before last night?

DEWOLFE: Yes, yes. But I think last night was worse.

FREEMAN (voice-over): Here, in typically blue Lackawanna County, Biden won by fewer than 10,000 votes in 2020. The margins here crucial, as Biden won Pennsylvania by about 80,000 votes.

ROBIN MEDEIROS, PENNSYLVANIA REPUBLICAN VOTER: I was thrilled I couldn't have been happier.

FREEMAN (voice-over): Republican activist, and avid Trump supporter, Robin Medeiros, loved the debate, and thinks Trump's performance will galvanize the former President's base.

MEDEIROS: It certainly will help. Biden was in such deplorable condition that it certainly will help.

FREEMAN (voice-over): Mike Manzano turned off the debate early.

MANZANO: I think President Trump performed like President Trump. There's a lot of, let's say, inaccuracies, on details, and a lot of broad statements. FREEMAN (voice-over): But the registered Democrat, who voted third- party in 2020, said Biden did not win him over either.

FREEMAN: Did the debate alleviate any concerns that you might have had about his age?

MANZANO: No. No, they even more confirmed my concerns than alleviated any concerns.

FREEMAN (voice-over): Danny Freeman, CNN, Scranton, Pennsylvania.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[04:35:00]

BRUNHUBER: Iranians will head to the polls again in the coming days after Friday's presidential election failed to produce a winner. Moderate lawmaker Masoud Pezeshkian and ultra conservative former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili will face each other in a runoff. Fred Pleitgen tells us what's next.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Iran's presidential election is headed for a runoff after no candidate managed to get more than 50 percent of the vote. However, it was a pretty good showing by the moderate camp and their main candidate, Masoud Pezeshkian.

Beforehand, the moderate camp had actually said that they believed they needed very high voter turnout in order for him to even have a chance to make it to the runoff stage. Well, the voter turnout was actually very low. It was only about 40 percent and yet, passage Pezeshkian managed to get by far the most votes. He got around 10.4 million votes, almost a million more than the second place, Candidate Saeed Jalili.

Now, Pazeshkian is someone who wants better relations, he says, with countries here in the region, but also better relations with the west as well. And the supreme leader of this country, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, he had warned voters not to trust candidates that want better relations with the U.S. too much. He never maimed Pazeshkian, however, there were some who believed that he meant Pazeshkian with that.

Saeed Jalili, for his part, came in second in the first round of voting. He's someone who says that he wants policies in line with what Ebrahim Raisi, the president who, of course, crashed a little over a month ago and was killed would have done. That means tough line towards the United States and also a tough line towards Israel as well. The next round of voting set to take place this coming Friday.

Frederik Pleitgen, CNN, Tehran.

(END VIDEOTAPE) BRUNHUBER: Almost three years after the Taliban regained power in Afghanistan, career and education prospects for young women are dimmer than ever. When we come back, a look at the alarming trend of teenage girls trying to end their lives rather than live under the Taliban.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:40:00]

BRUNHUBER: Since seizing control of Afghanistan almost three years ago, the Taliban has rolled back women's rights almost entirely. Eight months ago, CNN's Anna Coren reported from Afghanistan about one of the heartbreaking impacts of this misogyny, the surging rate of suicide among women. Well, now we have an update on what led one young Afghan girl to such despair and her second chance at life.

Now, we just want to warn you this report concerning suicide may be upsetting to some viewers.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNA COREN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Huddled on the floor over school books, 16-year-old Arzo meticulously copies the English sentences. Her neat cursive writing, a display of devotion to furthering her education.

Learning new words makes me happy, she explains.

But this scene was unthinkable just eight months ago when we first met Arzo in the same room on the outskirts of Karachi in Pakistan.

Don't worry. You'll be fine, says her brother, kissing her hand. We are with you always.

Arzo was bedridden, her skeletal frame wasting away. Every breath she took and movement she made causing unbearable pain.

Arzo is from neighboring Afghanistan and it's there in her home in July of last year, she tried to kill herself.

COREN: Can you talk to us about --

COREN (voice-over): This the first time the teenager whose identity is hidden due to security concerns is able to speak to us about what led her to that point.

On that day, I felt like everything was over. I glanced at pictures of my classmates and felt a deep sense of longing. I was overwhelmed by hopelessness. And that's why I drank battery acid convinced it would end my life.

Arzo, seen here in pink in happier times, is one of countless Afghan girls who have attempted suicide, an alarming trend spreading across the country since the Taliban returned to power almost three years ago. A ban on secondary education for girls, one of the most damaging of dozens of edicts enforced by the Taliban contributing to what human rights activists describe as the most serious women's rights crisis in the world. A call backed up by U.N. officials.

RICHARD BENNETT, U.N. SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON HUMAN RIGHTS IN AFGHANISTAN: The Taliban's institutionalized system of gender oppression established and enforced through its violations of women and girls' fundamental rights. It's widespread and systematic and amounting to crimes against humanity.

COREN (voice-over): But despite this powerful language, the U.N. has appeased the Taliban for this weekend's U.N. conference on Afghanistan in Doha, agreeing to its demands that women's rights are off the official agenda, guaranteeing its attendance for the very first time. Nor will Afghan women be represented in Taliban meetings.

HEATHER BARR, HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH: This shocking and shameful behavior. And this really represents a huge win for the Taliban, honestly, in terms of how much power they're able to exercise, how much the international community is allowing their conduct, their abuses to be normalized. And this really devastating for Afghan women.

COREN (voice-over): Especially for girls like Arzo. After her suicide attempt, she was vomiting blood and couldn't swallow. Her siblings smuggled her into Pakistan for treatment at a local hospital where Arzo's condition only worsened.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: The rising number of girls turning to suicide out of their despair.

COREN (voice-over): When our story aired in December, a highly respected institution in Pakistan that wishes to remain anonymous contacted CNN, offering Arzo proper medical care that would ultimately save her life.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Her weight was that of a probably a four-year-old. She was 20 to 22 kilograms at the time that we saw her. There's no doubt in my mind that she had only a few months left to live really.

COREN (voice-over): By consuming battery acid Arzo suffered what's called an esophageal stricture, a narrowing of the esophagus, stopping food from passing to her stomach. Over several procedures, doctors inflated a tiny balloon inside her esophagus to gradually widen the passage, allowing her to eat.

In January this year, she ate her first meal of rice and milk.

It was delicious. I felt strong at that moment and so happy. I told myself I could get through these hard days since then.

And since then, she has doubled her weight. Yet Arzo's battles are far from over.

[04:45:00]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can see the area where she was pretty badly- scarred.

COREN (voice-over): Her doctor says she requires ongoing medical care and is now at risk of developing esophageal cancer.

But the immediate threat facing Arzo and her siblings is deportation. As Pakistan prepares to expel the next wave of undocumented Afghan migrants approximately one-fifth of the nearly 3 million Afghans living in Pakistan were deported by the end of last year. Homes in refugee camps have been marked by authorities for the next round. And Arzo is visibly upset at the prospect.

COREN: Would you try to kill yourself again if you were forced to return to Afghanistan?

COREN (voice-over): If I go back to Afghanistan, I would end up doing the same thing again because I can't attend school or see my friends. I cannot live there.

For the pediatric surgeon who operated on Arzo, he says they were lucky to get to her in time.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We don't want to be at the resuscitating end. The goal is to be at the prevention part and to kind of not allow it to happen.

COREN (voice-over): But sadly, there is no way to stop what is happening in Afghanistan under Taliban rule as an entire generation of girls, just like Arzo, are unable to see any light on the horizon.

Anna Coren, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:50:00]

BRUNHUBER: Two young pandas have just arrived in the U.S. to make their home at the San Diego Zoo. They're the first new pandas loaned to the United States in more than 20 years. CNN's Paula Newton looks at what this means for China U.S. relations and for the pandas themselves.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Meet two of China's newest ambassadors to the U.S. Not official titles, of course, but that's not what it takes to impress these visitors at the San Diego Zoo.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're like cute.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I like their spots.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're really cute and fluffy.

NEWTON (voice-over): Two giant pandas, three-year-old female Xin Bao and four-year-old male Yun Chuan are settling in at the zoo after leaving their habitat in China last week. It's the first time China has loaned new pandas to the U.S. in more than two decades.

The zoo says the pandas are being closely monitored after their journey and won't be seen in public for several weeks. The pandas reportedly already know a few commands in English and are being treated to some of their favorite snacks like fresh bamboo, fruit, and a special cornbread. And a new enclosure, tailor made to remind them.

MEGAN OWEN, SAN DIEGO ZOO WILDLIFE ALLIANCE: Our renovated giant panda habitat is inspired by the habitat of giant pandas in their native range. So, there's a lot of vertical structures and hillside and many, many things that harken back to the mountains of Sichuan.

NEWTON (voice-over): China's giant panda partnership with the U.S. began in 1972. And it was a success. The animals became star attractions at zoos across the country, and several cubs were born. But in recent years, most of the pandas and their cubs have returned to China under the terms of the loan agreements. The last two pandas at the San Diego Zoo left in 2019.

Three pandas at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. returned to China last year, leaving Atlanta, the only zoo at the time in the U.S. to still have pandas, and those are scheduled to leave too. The number of the furry envoys of friendship dwindled as relations between Washington and Beijing became less friendly. But last year, after a face-to-face meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden, Chinese President Xi Jinping suggested new pandas could be on their way. Their preservation, something both countries can agree on.

MAO NING, CHINESE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS (through translator): The cooperation has made positive contributions to improving giant panda conservation research and enhancing people to people friendship.

NEWTON (voice-over): The National Zoo says it, too, will get a new pair of pandas from China later this year. That's good for the global panda population, which is classified as vulnerable, according to the World Wildlife Fund, and good for a generation of children in the U.S. Waiting for Yun Chuan and Xin Bao to make their debut. The joy of seeing the beloved creatures up close and in person. The very best part of panda diplomacy.

MELINA AMAGUIN, ZOO VISITOR: She's never seen pandas before, but how do you feel about pandas coming?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Happy.

AMAGUIN: Happy.

NEWTON (voice-over): Paula Newton, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Reigning European champions Italy are bitterly disappointed after a 2-nil loss to Switzerland who knocked them out of the Euro 2024 championships. It's the first time in 20 years that Italy has failed to get at least to the quarterfinal stage. Switzerland will now play either England or Slovakia on July 6th.

And tournament hosts Germany progressed to the quarterfinals with a 2- nil win over Denmark in Dortmund after a delay for lightning and heavy rain. Denmark fought hard but had a goal disallowed and conceded a penalty before Jamal Musiala scored Germany's second goal to seal the win.

India survived a spirited fight by South Africa to win the T20 Cricket World Cup. Our Patrick Snell has all the action.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PATRICK SNELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: While India's cricket is celebrating a famous and thrilling win at the men's T20 World Cup final on Saturday in Barbados, breaking South African hearts in the process to the iconic Kensington Oval we go where India had superstar batter Virat Kohli to thank for really stepping up to the plate when his country needed it most.

Up to this day, Kohli had struggled for runs, but this was Kohli back to his brilliant best and outstanding innings that saw him pile on the runs to help get his team to 176 for seven from their 20 overs. Kohli's contribution, a magnificent 76 of just 59 bulls.

South Africa's response fueled by Heinrich Klaasen who clobbered it majestically to bring up his half century from 27 deliveries. And the proteas, I have to say, looked in really great shape, but when he fell for 52, this match beginning to change course.

[04:55:00]

South African needing 16 off the last over, but then a moment of magic of its first ball, David Miller is brilliantly caught by Suryakumar Yadav right out on the boundary. Just look at this brilliant juggling. It catches the ball before it crosses for a six, throws it back into play as he himself goes over the other side of the boundary and then somehow gets himself back onto the field of play to hold on to it. South Africa and Iran, in the end, falling seven runs short. Heartbreak for them as they were playing in their first ever world cup final, but they can be proud of their efforts.

India, though, win a classic by seven runs as they seal their first T20 triumph since 2007. They're now also the first team in the history of this competition to go through a tournament unbeaten.

Let's hear now from their star man, Virat Kohli.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VIRAT KOHLI, INDIA BATTER: It was now or never kind of a situation. I knew this my last T20 game playing for India. It's the last World Cup that I was going to play. So, I wanted to make the most of it. And this was our aim. We wanted to win an ICC tournament. We wanted to lift the cup. And as I said, it was the occasion that helped me to put my head down and just respect the situation rather than trying to force things out there and just really play the game that my team wanted me to play.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SNELL: And the skipper as well, Rohit Sharma, also announcing his retirement from T20 International Cricket. A historic win for India. And with that, it's right back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: All right. That wraps this hour of "CNN Newsroom." I'm Kim Brunhuber. I'll be back with more news in just a moment. Please stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:00:00]