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Demanding a Hostage Deal; Morocco Earthquake Anniversary; America's Choice 2024. Aired 3-3:30a ET

Aired September 08, 2024 - 03:00   ET

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

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[03:00:00]

ANNA COREN, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to CNN Newsroom. I'm Anna Coren live from Hong Kong.

Ahead on the show, Hundreds of thousands rally across Israel demanding their government reach a hostage deal.

Morocco's rural communities are still recovering from an earthquake one year on, the latest on the efforts to rebuild. And Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are on the campaign trail with just two days to go until their first debate.

After 11 months of fighting, Israel's war with Hamas shows no sign of ending. And in Tel Aviv, there have been new protests one week after the bodies of six hostages were recovered in Gaza. Anti-government protesters are demanding an immediate ceasefire and hostage release agreement. They line the streets of Tel Aviv on Saturday night saying it's time to bring the hostages home.

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OSNAT GOSH, PROTESTER: We have to shout loud that we have to bring them alive now. We cannot wait any longer. It's been enough 11 months exactly today that the people are dying in the tunnel. We cannot let it happen.

HILA MORE ZEHAVI, PROTESTER: Unfortunately, our government is not thinking about the people, the citizens, about our lives or about our future. They only think, and I'm sorry for the word, but they only think about their ass, about the chair they're sitting on, about politics.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COREN: Four more protesters were out in Jerusalem. They also expressed frustration that the Israeli government is not doing more to get the hostages released.

Now, Matthew Chance was in the middle of the massive Tel Aviv protest and filed this report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: You can hear the chants of the crowd in Hebrew, they're saying all of them now, talking about the Israelis who are still being held captive inside Gaza. The people here want an immediate deal to bring those hostages back home. And they blame the government of Netanyahu, Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, for failing to secure the agreement.

There's a sign over here, look, blaming specifically Netanyahu for the deaths that we've seen, the six hostages who were executed by Hamas last week, and all the others as well, abandoned by Netanyahu. They're all shouting, now, now. People don't care at this point here what the price of that deal is, whether it's territorial evacuations by the military inside Gaza, whether it's the release of hundreds of convicted Palestinian prisoners, some of them convicted on terrorism charges and held in Israeli jails, these are the things that are the sticking blocks for a deal at the moment, according to all the people negotiating it.

But there are a growing number of Israelis now that are angry that more is not being done by the Israeli government to get those hostages out of Gaza as soon as possible.

Matthew Chance, CNN, Tel Aviv.

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COREN: CIA Director Bill Burns says a ceasefire and hostage release agreement is about 90 percent complete. He joined MI-6 Chief Richard Moore in London for a rare public foreign policy discussion. Well, Burns said the Israel-Hamas talks are like any other negotiations he's been involved in where the last 10 percent of the process is the most difficult stage.

Well the family of an American woman who was shot and killed while protesting in the West Bank blames Israel for her death.

Two witnesses say Aysenur Eygi was shot in the head by Israeli forces responding to a protest on Friday. The governor of Nablus tells CNN that an autopsy confirms that she was killed by an Israeli sniper's bullet. CNN cannot independently verify the autopsy reports.

The Israeli military has admitted to firing at the demonstrators. The U.S. says it's requested an investigation into the shooting, but Eygi's family said it wants an independent investigation.

Ukraine says it fended off another massive drone attack, taking down nearly 60 Russian drones.

[03:05:00]

The attack targeted several locations across the country, including the capital of Kyiv. Debris from one of the drones was found outside Ukraine's parliament building. It comes as Russia claims to have taken more settlements in Ukraine's Donetsk region in the east. But the frontline is still seeing some of the heaviest fighting. CNN has obtained exclusive drone video that appears to show Ukrainian soldiers being executed after they surrendered. It's one of several incidents being investigated by the United Nations.

CNN's Nick Paton Walsh has the details. And a warning, some of the video in his report is disturbing.

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NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice over): A scene all Ukraine's imperiled eastern front, smoke billowing, a position overrun, Ukrainian troops staggering out, appearing to surrender to advancing Russians. A brief close up on Ukrainian drone video, seen here for the first time, shows them on their knees.

The drone operators ask each other for a better view. And then, seconds later, it is too late. The three fall to the ground. Dust nearby, suggesting gunfire, executed in cold blood, a Ukrainian official familiar with the incident said, despite hoping to be taken prisoner by the Russians.

It is from near the besieged city of Pokrovsk in late August, the source said, the hottest spot on the front now, where Russia is persistently advancing and follows a horrific pattern. Prosecutors say they're investigating a total of 28 cases in which 62 Ukrainian soldiers were killed after surrender on the battlefield.

ANDRIY KOSTIN, PROSECUTOR GENERAL OF UKRAINE: If prisoners of war surrender, if they show that they surrender, if they are without weapons in their hands, then summary execution.

WALSH: It has worsened in the past ten months. CNN obtaining from Ukrainian intelligence officials a detailed list of 15 incidents most backed up by drone video or audio intercepts.

Now, United Nations investigators have scrutinized many of these killings and a U.N. investigative source said to me, quote, there are many, there is a pattern, and the killings are war crimes individually, they said in their opinion, and together could amount to crimes against humanity.

And near Roportina (ph), the site of some of the fiercest fighting this year in Zaporizhzhia, another Ukrainian drone filmed in May, these images that are upsetting to watch. Ukrainian soldiers emerge one by one from the dugout. Ukraine's defense intelligence said they intercepted the Russian commander's order to execute, or zero them, and gave us this transcript. Take them (BLEEP) down, (BLEEP) zero them, take them, zero them, the officer says. Got it, plus, comes the reply. Once you zero them, report back, he adds. Once they're all out, face down, the Russians fire.

Ukrainians we spoke to left asking why. To just terrify them, or is it simply sport for the Russians?

PETRO YATSENKO, UKRAINIAN COORDINATION CENTER FOR THE TREATMENT OF POWS: The main reason is to make Russian soldiers believe they it's very dangerous to surrender to Ukrainian forces because Ukrainian soldiers will kill them like Russians killing Ukrainian prisoners of war. This forced them not to surrender, but go forward to their death.

A horror not always publicized or fully accounted for yet being felt steadily by Ukrainians as they struggle to hold the eastern line.

Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, London.

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COREN: Police in the U.S. State of Kentucky are searching for a gunman who they say opened fire on a busy interstate highway. Five people were shot and wounded near Interstate 75 in Laurel County, about 130 kilometers south of Lexington on Saturday. Officials say all five victims are in stable condition. Police closed a section of the highway and urged residents in the area to stay inside with their doors locked. The roadway has since reopened.

In the U.S. State of Georgia, where two students and two teachers were shot and killed on Wednesday, the mother of the accused gunman at Apalachee High School called a school counselor with a warning before the shooting, that is according to the woman's sister. The call was reportedly prompted by an alarming text message from her son in which he said, I'm sorry, mom. Marcee Gray then told the school of an extreme emergency involving her 14-year-old son, Colt. She has now apologized for the, quote, absolutely horrific shooting. The son has been charged with four counts of felony murder.

The small community of Winder, Georgia, is still trying to process the tragedy.

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Venezuela's opposition leader, who ran against President Nicolas Maduro in July's contested election, has left the country to seek asylum in Spain. Well, that's according to Venezuela's vice president. The government allowed him to leave, quote, for the sake of the tranquility and political peace of the country.

Many experts say Edmundo Gonzalez had won the country's presidential election in July, beating longtime leader Nicolas Maduro. Mr. Maduro's refusal to acknowledge the results sparked months of protests and unrest. Now the greatest challenge to his power is out of the country.

Well, thousands of families in rural Morocco are feeling the effects of a deadly earthquake that struck one year ago. Coming up, how one organization is working to provide shelter and safety.

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COREN: Welcome back. Well, today marks a year since a devastating earthquake struck Morocco. It was the most powerful quake ever recorded in the country, killing nearly 3,000 people. One year on, many communities are struggling to recover. Well, according to the organization, Islamic Relief, some half a million people were displaced by the earthquake. Some families are still living in makeshift shelters and tents and faces second frigid winter without permanent homes. Islamic Relief says it has begun building 300 new houses to provide safety and security for vulnerable families.

Walid Ben Hamida is the head of program operation in Morocco for Islamic Relief. He joins me now from Medenine in Tunisia. Walid, thank you for joining us.

Sadly, this natural disaster is a distant memory for most people, but I guess those who survive living this now every day, their desperate needs have not disappeared. Please describe to us, you know, the situation on the ground and the suffering that you have witnessed firsthand.

WALID BEN HAMIDA, HEAD OF PROGRAM OPERATION IN MOROCCO, ISLAMIC RELIEF: Thanks for having me and it's a pleasure being here today. Islamic Relief has been on the ground in Morocco since the second day of the earthquake. We started off by providing the emergency support, emergency kits, hygiene kits, blankets mattresses, and food packs.

And now the focus has shifted a bit more to the longer term recovery support. We'll be providing construction of 300 houses, health caravans that are still going to the distant villages that were affected by the earthquake, and even we will be doing livelihood projects to those affected communities that have lost their jobs because of the earthquake.

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The need is still there. As you mentioned, there are a lot of people that are still living in tense and there are a lot of people that are still needing basic necessities, like food, like shelter, like hygiene kits. And we are working through with our local NGO partners and local government to provide those who still need support and we will be providing to those as much as we can.

COREN: Walid, I mean, is there a enough humanitarian aid getting to the people and what communities I guess are falling through the cracks?

HAMIDA: The need, as I mentioned, is still there. Even a lot of international NGOs are still on the ground working, providing support. And Islamic Relief is a member of a cluster of international NGOs and local NGOs. We are coordinating together to support those who are still in need and even the government is providing us with the list of beneficiaries or list of people that are still affected and they are still needing support by the international NGOs and local NGOs.

COREN: We know that Islamic Relief is helping to build 300 homes, but half a million people were displaced. Tell us about the challenges that you're experiencing for reconstruction of homes.

HAMIDA: To be honest, even the even the government has its fund for the reconstruction and it's around $2 or $3 billion. And the local -- the international NGOs and local NGOs are supporting the government or trying to build homes for those who were not targeted by the funds provided by the government and the coordination is smooth enough to be to be able to rebuild to those who were affected.

But sometimes it's a bit challenging, even for us, especially for the distant regions where there is still -- I mean, access is not that great to those areas. And we are working with the local NGOs and the international NGOs to support those who are distant and even as much as we could, you know.

COREN: It's always those remote communities that are hardest hit. Walid Ben Hamida, we thank you for the work that you and your organization are doing and I appreciate you joining us.

HAMIDA: Thanks for the opportunity. Thank you very much.

In Bangladesh, many are still picking up the pieces after a mass uprising that ousted the country's former prime minister, Sheikh Hasina. It came after she ordered a brutal crackdown by police, leaving some protesters with deep scars. Now, some victims are coming forward.

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COREN (voice over): The fresh faces of the future against that of the past. Shoes hanging in the face of Bangladesh's ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the ultimate insult and show of defiance in a country where people on the streets achieved the unthinkable.

What began as a student-led protest against government quotas in early July morphed into a mass uprising after Hasina, who'd been in power for more than 15 years, ordered police to open fire on the crowds.

Over the following weeks, hundreds of people were killed while thousands were arrested.

NUSRAT TABASSUM, PROTEST COORDINATOR: They came to my house. They broke three doors. They took me with them, and, oh my God, the physical torture, that was miserable.

COREN: Nusrat Tabassum, a 23-year-old political science student, says she was beaten for hours on end. Her face repeatedly hit, some of her teeth now loose, her right eardrum burst.

TABASSUM: Without hearing aid, I can't listen in my right ear.

COREN: After five days in custody, Nusrat was paraded in front of the cameras. The only female in the group of prominent student leaders forced to make an apology.

For fellow student Iftekhar Alam, his detainment was even more sinister. Snatched from his home before dawn, he was blindfolded, handcuffed, and believes he was taken to a notorious military intelligence facility in Dhaka, where, over the years, hundreds of Bangladeshi considered anti-state have been disappeared. [03:20:05]

IFTEKHAR ALAM, STUDENT PROTESTER: I was like there is no escaping from this and my life will end here and no one will know.

COREN: The law student says, for hours, he was beaten with a metal rod, breaking bones in his feet. A burning cigarette was then pushed into his fingers and toes as part of what they called their little game.

ALAM: When I close my eyes, I remember that I went to that horrible day.

COREN: Once released, he discovered Hasina had resigned and fled to India.

ALAM: The people of Bangladesh, it is the people's country.

COREN: The capital, now awash with colorful murals, has a very clear message. There is no going back.

As the U.N. investigates the hundreds of protested deaths, the people have entrusted Interim Chief Nobel Prize Winner Muhammad Yunus to bring about desperately needed reform.

The fall of the government has unleashed a spirit that has electrified every level of society. It has given a voice to everyone, from students to doctors, even rickshaw drivers, as they take to the streets to make their demands.

But change doesn't happen overnight, especially in a country of 170 million people where the iron fist ruled and corruption and cronyism reigned.

TABASSUM: My country is sick, but our people will stand together. I believe there will be sunshine in the future.

COREN: A future this generation will continue to fight for.

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COREN (on camera): Let's hope they get the future they deserve.

With days to go before their first debate, Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are out on the campaign trail. Their efforts to pick up support in some very tight battleground states. That's next on CNN.

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COREN: Donald Trump spent Saturday campaigning in the battleground state of Wisconsin. He gave a lengthy speech at a rally talking about the economy and calling for a chance to change the 25th Amendment. It's a line that was clearly aimed at Vice President Kamala Harris.

Alayna Treene has more. ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: Well, Donald Trump spoke for nearly two hours on Saturday in Mosinee, Wisconsin. And this is a key battleground state. There's a reason that Donald Trump has been coming to Wisconsin so often. That's because Donald Trump's campaign views it as being a key part of their pathway to achieving 270 electoral votes come November.

Now, look, they actually recognize it's perhaps even more important now that Kamala Harris is at the top of the Democratic ticket. Prior to Joe Biden ending his campaign, Trump's senior advisers had told me they were very confident about their chances here. But now, recent polling, including CNN's own polling released last week, shows that Harris has actually made up a lot of ground in this state. She is currently pulling a little bit better than Donald Trump here, although it was incredibly close. You're going to be seeing a lot more of him in Wisconsin in the next two months. But a big focus of Donald Trump's speech on Saturday was about the economy.

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Now, we know that this is the most important issue for most voters across the country, but it's also an issue where Donald Trump is polling better than the vice president. And so, you're going to hear a lot more about that as well on Tuesday when he faces off with Harris on the debate stage.

And one other thing I think is very notable to point out is that he made some news on Saturday. He said for the first time that he would look into modifying the 25th Amendment if elected. Take a listen to what he said.

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DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT, 2024 PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: And finally I will support modifying the 25th Amendment to make clear that if a vice president lies or engages in a conspiracy to cover up the incapacity of the president of the United States, if you do that with a cover up of the president of the United States, it's grounds for impeachment immediately and removal from office.

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TREENE: So as you heard him say, there is grounds for impeachment and removal from office. This is clearly in line with Donald Trump's language about Kamala Harris trying to cover up for Joe Biden. He's been saying that without evidence. But, look, it all plays into his I'm going to be talking to him about his broader goal of trying to paint her as not being fit to serve as being part of the Democratic establishment and the overall D.C. establishment. You saw signs on Saturday that said, drain the swamp. That is going to be another key message that you'll hear him talk about on Tuesday in Philadelphia.

Alayna Treene, CNN, Mosinee, Wisconsin.

COREN: Harris has been in Pennsylvania preparing for Tuesday's debate and hitting the campaign trail. In Pittsburgh on Saturday, she welcomed the endorsement of former Vice President Dick Cheney and his daughter, former Congresswoman Liz Cheney.

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KAMALA HARRIS, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT, DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I'm actually honored to have their endorsement. And I think that what they both as leaders who are well respected are making an important statement that it's okay and it's not important to put country above party. And I'm honored to have their support.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COREN: Both campaigns are hoping the debate will help them win over some undecided voters, as new CNN polling shows the two candidates are running neck and neck in several key battleground states.

Well, the wait is over for Aryna Sabalenka, the world number two in tennis. She took home her first U.S. Open singles title on Saturday, defeating American Jessica Pegula in two straight sets. Well, this was the second straight year that Sabalenka reached the final of the major tournament.

The win marks Sabalenka's third career Grand Slam singles title. She won the Australian Open for the second consecutive year back in January.

Well, thanks so much for joining us here on CNN Newsroom. I'm Anna Coren in Hong Kong. Inside Africa is coming up next. Stay with CNN.

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