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Coordinated Sabotage Targets Train Lines in France; Netanyahu Visits with U.S. Leadership; Wildfires Devastate Canada, U.S. West Coast; Olympians Gather for Opening Ceremony. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired July 26, 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]

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Prime Minister Netanyahu who is wading straight into the drama that is American politics this week.

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE U.S. (D) AND U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: As I just told Prime Minister Netanyahu, it is time to get this deal done.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Unfortunately there's a lot of PTSD in this county because of the Camp Fire and Bear Fire and other deadly and destructive wildland fires that we've experienced.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And to those in Alberta and around the world who have experienced the magic of Jasper, the magic is not lost and it never will be.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Sport is empowerment. Sport is solidarity. Sport is peace.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We all just want to promote positivity through our game and through our sport and through our competing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: Live from London, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Max Foster and Christina Macfarlane.

MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, a warm welcome to our viewers joining us from around the world. I'm Max Foster, Christina off today. It is Friday, July the 25th, 9 a.m. here in London, 10 a.m. in Paris, with the countdown to the Olympic opening ceremony is on. The world's top athletes are gearing up for an international competition like no other, of course.

But we begin with developing news out of the area around Paris, really. France's state railway company says there were several coordinated malicious attacks, including arson that targeted high- speed train lines overnight.

They say the sabotage has disrupted travel and damaged several facilities. 800,000 travelers would be affected. Officials say the massive attack was aimed at paralyzing the high-speed line network and the train lines will be disrupted through the weekend now.

Of course, all this coming as the Olympic torch relay nears the end of its long journey across France and just hours before the start of tonight's opening ceremony.

CNN's Amanda Davies joins us now from Paris. It's, you know, where you are, a very tight security operation, but it's pretty clear there are several ways to cause disruption, and this is an example of that.

AMANDA DAVIES, CNN WORLD SPORT: Yes, Max, absolutely. I mean, you have to say there is no coincidence that these attacks have taken place overnight ahead of one of the most heralded Olympic opening ceremonies in history. This has really been that flagpole moment for this Olympic Games, an opening ceremony like never before with 300,000 fans and spectators invited to enjoy the occasion five or six times more, really, than you would ever see involved at an opening ceremony held in the traditional way in a stadium.

This is very much news that has been emerging. All the build-up to this Games has been dominated by talk of security concerns, the threat of terror attacks, and we have been talking in the last couple of days. It's been very difficult not to experience firsthand the tightness of the security cordon.

Just if I look down on the ground, the balcony beneath me, I can see about 30 policemen with guns just in a 200-meter stretch of this road. But what we are hearing is that whilst we're in the lockdown here, around the banks of the River Seine and some of Paris' most iconic landmarks, these attacks have taken place on three of the state-run railway lines owned by the SNCF overnight. As you said, we're hearing between 250,000 and 800,000 people will be affected.

They're asking people if they don't need to travel, please do not travel. We're seeing pictures on social media of people, thousands of people, really, gathering at stations, their trains have been cancelled, their plans have been impacted. But it's not just the domestic network.

We have had news from Eurostar, of course, the high-speed line that connects Great Britain here with Paris, saying their trains have been cancelled and affected. The organizers of Paris 2024 have long been saying that tickets, the greatest number of tickets, aside from France, have been sold from Britain. Many fans travelling here, meant to be travelling here this morning, but the Paris to Lille section of the track has been affected.

[04:05:00]

Trains being diverted. It's very much an emerging breaking news situation we're continuing to follow, but we understand a news conference is set to be held in about half an hour's time by the SNCF to find out a little bit more.

FOSTER: We've also just heard whilst you were speaking, Amanda, that the Olympic Committee press conference due to be held on Friday regarding the opening ceremony has been cancelled. I mean, there's other worries as well, isn't there? Not least the weather.

DAVIES: Yes, I mean, the good news for the organizers, compared to this time last hour when I was stood out here on this balcony, it has dried up a little bit. But yes, this is not the skyline that the organizers were hoping for with this unprecedented opening ceremony taking place along a six-kilometer stretch of the river Seine. There's going to be 100 boats, dancers on the bridges with the teams all parading down the river on open-top boats past some of the most iconic Paris landmarks.

So, of course, there's so much secrecy, as there is always around these moments, about what we should be expecting. There's huge rumors that Lady Gaga and Celine Dion are going to be taking part. We haven't been able to confirm those. I haven't seen either of them here in Paris, but they are rumored to be here. They've had a few photos with fans.

But the sports ministry have said the party will go on. We will just have to sing in the rain. The question is who will be doing the singing. We just don't know. We'll wait and see.

FOSTER: I think you should be doing it, Amanda. I know you'll be busy reporting around all of the events today. Thank you for joining us. I hope it goes smoothly.

Now, with a big day now here, the mayor of Paris is reflecting on why her city applied to host the Games in the first place. Anne Hidalgo says it was an act of defiance against a series of horrific terrorist attacks in 2015 which left 130 people dead, almost 500 wounded. She told CNN's Melissa Bell the city needed to show that terrorists won't win.

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ANNE HIDALGO, PARIS MAYOR (through translator): In a very strange way, it was because there had been attacks in Paris in 2015 that I really decided to engage Paris in the Olympic and Paralympic Games. We had just been attacked in January. We were attacked again in November 2015 because terrorists hate our freedom, our ways of living, women's freedom, freedom in general.

They hate democracy. They attacked us. From there, we had a reaction from the Parisian and French population which was exceptional and an incredible capacity to say, you will not prevent us from living as we want to live.

That was the reaction of the population of Paris, of the people of Paris, and I said to myself, we have to put a moment, an event, something that gives us air, that allows us to be together and to show this creativity, this resilience, this taste for freedom and democracy.

MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: On the question of the swimmability of the Seine, this was one of the big gambles of the game. You achieved it. How are you feeling, first of all? HIDALGO: I'm feeling good, very good, and very happy because I love the water, I love the sea, I love the rivers, but it's more than that. It's cleaning the Seine. Cleaning the Seine is cleaning our life. Cleaning the Seine is for our generation and the next generation to live with nature.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Israel's foreign minister warning the French government of a potential terror threat during the games. He says intelligence suggests Iranian operatives and other terrorist groups are planning to target the Israeli delegation and Israeli tourists. We're told the warnings are based on intel from Israel's National Security Council.

It says several related arrests have already been made, including two in April and in May. And the heightened security, the International Olympic Committee's president has been reminding everyone of and says that the Olympics are about peace.

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THOMAS BACH, INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE PRESIDENT (through translator): The Olympic Games are about sport. And they're about more than sport. Sport is health. Sport is inclusion. Sport is respect. Sport is empowerment. Sport is solidarity. Sport is peace.

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FOSTER: Programming note for our viewers on CNN International and CNN Max. At least tune into our special one-hour program "AIMING FOR GOLD" this Friday, 7 in the evening Paris time, 1 p.m. Eastern in New York. Join CNN's Amanda Davis, Melissa Bell and Coy Wire to share the excitement of the opening ceremony.

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Now, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to travel to Mar-a-Lago today to meet with Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee. This comes as Mr. Netanyahu is facing growing pressure to secure a deal for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages.

Benjamin Netanyahu met with U.S. President Joe Biden at the White House on Thursday, the president's first meeting with a world leader since announcing he would drop out of the presidential race. The White House says President Biden stressed the need to finalize the deal as soon as possible.

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris echoed that message when she met separately with Mr. Netanyahu. Now the presented Democratic nominee to replace Biden, Harris expressed support for Israel while saying she won't be silent about the suffering in Gaza.

While Mr. Netanyahu's visit to the U.S. Capitol has stirred up protest this week, demonstrations on Thursday remained relatively calm in contrast to the protests on Wednesday, which included scenes of, frankly, anti-Semitism.

CNN's Salma Abdelaziz is here with more. I want to go to the meeting with Kamala Harris because, you know, you were saying yesterday, you know, what you're looking out for is any difference between her view on the Middle East and Biden's view on the Middle East because she's been really hidden behind what he thinks and has been signed up to it. I think we've got a really strong sense of that yesterday, didn't we?

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I think we did. And put the words to one side. I want you to listen to the tone that she is speaking with.

I'm going to play you a soundbite. Just take a listen.

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KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE U.S. (D) AND U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Let's get the deal done so we can get a ceasefire to end the war. Let's bring the hostages home. And let's provide much-needed relief to the Palestinian people.

And ultimately, I remain committed to a path forward that can lead to a two-state solution. And I know right now it is hard to conceive of that prospect, but a two-state solution is the only path that ensures Israel remains a secure Jewish and democratic state and one that ensures Palestinians can finally realize the freedom, security and prosperity that they rightly deserve.

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ABDELAZIZ: She had this sharpness about the way she spoke. She was very deliberate in using her words. She mentioned her concerns when it comes to the humanitarian crisis, when it comes to that horrifying death toll, thousands killed in Gaza during this conflict.

It might not yet be a departure in policy, but it is a departure in approach, if you will, at least from what we're seeing --

FOSTER: In tone, yes, as you say.

ABDELAZIZ: -- in tone. You had this lifelong friendship with President Biden. You know, yesterday, Netanyahu sat next to him and called him, you know, my friend, who also is a Zionist like me, he heard something very different from Kamala. And just take a look at the picture here, right. Kamala stepping up to speak on her own without Biden, without Netanyahu.

There is a serious message in that. And that might be you're about to approach a tougher administration. And you have to remember this isn't just coming from Kamala herself. There is division within the Democratic Party. Dozens of Democratic lawmakers did not attend Netanyahu's speech. There is a sense that maybe when people go to the polls in November, that might be a key issue.

What are they doing about the Israel-Gaza conflict? And Kamala is very aware of that. FOSTER: And the reaction?

ABDELAZIZ: Difficult to say, because guess what? He's going to meet with Trump today. So yet another meeting.

I think if Netanyahu was expecting to find a softer stance with Donald Trump, that's probably not going to happen. Donald Trump saying to Fox News just a couple of days ago, he needs to get this done in reference to the conflict. Israel has a PR problem, that's what Trump said.

So you're not going to see a much softer tone in Mar-a-Lago, probably. And then he also has problems back home. Hostages families saying he's dragging his feet on this ceasefire.

Why is he even there? Why is this taking so long? There is a deal on the table. It's been there for months. U.S. negotiators say they are nearing the finish line. And a lot of eyes are on Prime Minister Netanyahu, who is being accused of prolonging the conflict to hold on to political power.

FOSTER: Salma, thank you so much. Fascinating. Speak to you after that Trump meeting as well.

Vice President Kamala Harris saying she's ready to debate Donald Trump at any time. But the former president is saying not so fast. Trump says he won't go face-to-face against Harris until the Democratic Party formally chooses her as its nominee to replace Joe Biden because Democrats, quote, could still change their minds.

Harris has locked in enough endorsements to win the party's nomination. However, they're not binding. Still, she is the odds-on favorite to take Biden's place at the top of the ticket.

Democratic delegates are expected to vote virtually to confirm her as the party's nominee by August 7th.

Now, arson is suspected in a fire that's raging out of control in California. That story, when we come back.

[04:15:00]

Plus, typhoon Gaemi makes its way across southern China, bringing even more rain to a region already devastated by months of deadly downpours and flooding. The details just ahead.

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANIELLE SMITH, ALBERTA, CANADA PREMIER: And to those in Alberta and around the world who have experienced the magic of Jasper. The magic is not lost and it never will be. Alberta's government will provide the support needed to families and community to recover and to rebuild stronger than ever so that future generations can continue to experience this one-of-a-kind community and to feel the magic of being able to come home. (END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Danielle Smith, Premier of Alberta, Canada, really expressing her thoughts on what you're seeing here. She estimated that wildfires have damaged or destroyed up to half of the buildings in the town of Jasper. Parts of Jasper National Park are burning and 25,000 residents and visitors have fled the area.

The two fires devastating Canada's largest national park have reduced areas within it to ash. It's hoped cooler, wet weather now moving in will slow the flames.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has approved federal assistance for the area as firefighters from Mexico have arrived to help combat the fire.

[04:20:03]

California's so-called Park Fire continues to grow rapidly and has burned more than 145,000 acres or 580 square kilometers with only 3 percent of the fire there contained.

42-year-old Ronnie Dean Stout II has been arrested of suspicion of starting the fire by pushing a burning car into a ditch. High winds and extreme temperatures have fueled the rapidly growing fire.

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DAN COLLINS, CAL FIRE: Unfortunately, there's a lot of PTSD in this county because of the Camp Fire and Bear Fire and other deadly and destructive wildland fires that we've experienced. So our citizens in Butte County are very resilient and we have a lot of empathy towards them.

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FOSTER: Well, the largest active wildfire in the US states has scorched more than 270,000 acres or 1,000 square kilometers. Oregon's Durkee Fire has grown rapidly and is 20 percent contained. High temperatures, dry vegetation and erratic winds have caused the lightning-induced fire to spread widely and quickly. More than 500 firefighters and resources from 22 states are battling that fire.

Bolivia is declaring an emergency in the city of Santa Cruz as parts of the country struggle with growing wildfires and drought. Authorities say 25 fires have been reported across Santa Cruz with more than 300,000 hectares destroyed so far. The emergency decree will allow the government to move resources through the National Finance Ministry to help affected areas.

Now, Typhoon Gaemi is continuing its path through southeastern China. It could bring up to 400 millimeters or 15 inches of rain to already soaked provinces.

In a summer marked by natural disasters, the world's largest greenhouse gas emitter is forced to come face-to-face with the deepening challenges posed by climate change. For more on this, I'm joined now by Marc Stewart who's in Beijing -- Marc.

MARC STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, Max, I should point out that this flood concern, this flood issue is something that we've been following long before this typhoon-turned-tropical storm started to emerge here in Southeast Asia. And even though it has lost some of its power, the flood threat here in China still very much remains.

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STEWART (voice-over): Tropical storm Gaemi blasts China with another round of heavy rain, the latest blow in a summer of flooding.

A frantic rescue in central China, an emergency worker clings on to this woman as she's hoisted into a boat. She points to her grandparents still trapped in the fast-moving flood water.

Further south, another scene of desperation as elderly people are carried to safety after a deadly flash flood hits their village.

In another province, this is what's left of a water-ravaged bridge submerging at least 25 cars, claiming more than a dozen lives. Scenes of devastation like this water-covered home, as government scientists warn China is sensitive to climate change.

Recent disasters have cost the world's second-largest economy more than $10 billion in economic losses in the first half of the year. Over 32 million people have been impacted, according to government data.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): According to the flood forecast for the critical period of July and August, floods may occur in all seven major river basins.

STEWART (voice-over): As muddy water rages across the landscape, China, a country working on a green energy future, faces the immediate challenge of extreme weather.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STEWART (on camera): And observers point out China is making progress when it comes to things such as flood warnings and infrastructure development, but they also feel, Max, a lot more work needs to be done.

FOSTER: Marc, in Beijing, thank you so much for that.

Now, security tightening in Paris after what's being called coordinated sabotage caused massive disruption to the train lines in France just hours before the start of the Summer Olympic Games.

Plus, we sit down with the CEO overseeing an ambitious program to expand and connect air passengers across Africa. Stay with us.

[04:25:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) FOSTER: Back to our top story this hour. Now, just hours before the historic opening ceremony of the Summer Olympics, police in Paris are beefing up security after what authorities are calling malicious acts that targeted French train lines overnight. France's state railway company says there were several coordinated acts of sabotage that disrupted travel and damaged several facilities.

Officials say about 800,000 people will be affected by the disruption and they're urging travelers not to go to the train stations. And with rain also hitting the city, the Olympic Committee just cancelled a news conference about the opening ceremonies.

Juliette Kayyem, CNN's senior national security analyst, is on the phone for us from Paris.

I mean, first of all, on these rail attacks, inevitably being linked to the Olympics, this is going to disrupt it enormously. And it does show, doesn't it, that despite the security within Paris, disruption is very easy from outside the perimeter.

JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST (via phone): That's exactly right. I'm here right now, just arrived, was walking around Paris in terms of just never seen, honestly, never seen a security footprint like this in a major city. But then just right outside, of course, the city, you have a multi-pronged targeted attack with arson.

I apologize for the background noise. And utilizing arson, it's a bit unclear the motivation. We've been monitoring a variety of people who have protests against the Olympics generally. There's always that. There's been threats of strikes against Olympic events.

[04:00:03]

There's been some stuff related to the Israeli-Hamas war. We just don't know what this is right now.

We just don't know what this is right now, but we do know that the disruption is significant. And the interesting thing is the police in Paris are now being deployed to outside areas, which then means, of course, that the Olympic opening events just a few hours from now will be impacted as well.

And that explains, I think, why the Olympic Committee cancelled the press conference. They're trying to figure this out.

FOSTER: Yes, I just wondered what you thought that might mean for the opening ceremony, because you've also got this rain issue, which was always going to be a threat.

KAYYEM: Yes. Yes, it's a little bit drizzling now and about 45 percent likelihood of rain. I think they had anticipated that could be a possibility.

They have really no legitimate plan B. At one stage, there was talk of moving it from the Seine for security reasons over to a Colosseum. That would be almost impossible to do at this stage. I was just on the Seine walking around, and music was playing, and it looked like people were testing systems. So I think they're all systems go with the opening ceremonies. But you are going to have two problems.

One is, of course, lots of people can't get into the city who may have tickets. And then the priority for the Olympic Committee has got to get athletes moving. Athletes often stay outside of Olympic villages, basically for comfort levels.

And so each national team will be getting an inventory of where their athletes are to make sure that they can experience what's essentially an event for them.

FOSTER: OK, thank you so much for joining us. And more updates as we get the impact of those attacks.