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Second Wave Of Blasts Hit Lebanon; Netanyahu Vows Return Of Displaced Residents In North; Israel Prime Minister Says New Phase Of War Beginning; ; Seismic Activity Detected After Ukrainian Drone Strike; Zelenskyy Says Ukraine's Victory Plan is Fully Prepared; U.S. Deploys "Arctic Angels" to Remote Alaska Island; London's Mayor Reveals Plan to Ban Traffic on Oxford Street. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired September 19, 2024 - 02:00   ET

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

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[02:00:33]

ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello and welcome to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Anna Coren live from Hong Kong. Ahead this hour. Another wave of deadly blasts across Lebanon as people there fear what's to come. Israel vows a new era of war.

Donald Trump and Kamala Harris in full campaign mode, but neither getting the support of a key labor union.

And the Fed makes a jumbo rate cut. What it means for consumers and the global economy.

ANNOUNCER: Live from Hong Kong. This is CNN Newsroom with Anna Coren.

COREN: Officials in Lebanon are worried the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah could escalate following twin attacks involving booby trap devices targeting the militant group. The Lebanese Foreign Minister tells CNN he fears the consecutive attacks could signal a "introduction to war."

Scores of walkie talkies exploded across the country on Wednesday, killing at least 20 people and wounding more than 450 others. It comes a day after hundreds of pagers, some owned by Hezbollah members blew up nearly simultaneously across Lebanon in an unprecedented attack which wounded about 2800 people. The death toll rose to 12 on Wednesday, Israel's defense minister tacitly acknowledged his country's role in the exploding devices.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

YOAV GALLANT, ISRAEL DEFENSE MINISTER (through translator): I believe that we are at the start of a new phase in the war, and we must adapt. This is true for everyone.

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, PRIME MINISTER OF ISRAEL (through translator): I have said it before, we will return the citizens of the North to their homes safely and that's exactly what we are going to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COREN: An Israeli source till CNN Israel carried out the pager attack after it believed Hezbollah had discovered the device's capability. More now from CNN's Ben Wedeman in Beirut and a warning his report contains graphic images.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTENATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A funeral for those killed a day before is disrupted by another explosion. A wave of walkie talkie blasts across Lebanon killed more than a dozen and injured hundreds Wednesday, coming barely 24 hours after hundreds of pagers blew up across the country at food markets and shops, killing at least 12 people, including two children and injuring around 2800 others.

In what CNN sources say was an attack by Israel's Mossad and military against Hezbollah, unprecedented in its scale and nature. Outside the American University of Beirut Hospital, distressed family members wait for updates on their loved ones.

WEDEMAN (on camera): Friends and relatives of the injured. Don't want to speak on camera, but off camera, one told us, for instance, that a friend of his received a message on his pager. He looked at it and the pager blew up in his face, damaging his eyes and his fingers. And in fact, the chief medical officer here told us the majority of the injuries are to the eyes, to the hands and the hips, where, of course, people were holding their pagers.

DR. SALAH ZEIN-EL-DINE, CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER, AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF BEIRUT MEDICAL CENTER: We received around 200 patients, and we received them in a very short time, about within an hour or two, almost all of them went inside our doors. So, this stretched us pretty much too thin.

WEDEMAN (voice-over): A Lebanese security source says the militant group bought the devices that exploded in recent months from a Taiwanese company Gold Apollo. However, Gold Apollo denies manufacturing the devices and says a distributor in Hungary is responsible. A Taiwanese security official said there's no record the pagers were shipped to Lebanon or anywhere in the Middle East.

Hezbollah has vowed to retaliate, a message echoed by one of the group's lawmakers.

HUSSEIN HAJJ HASSAN, HEZBOLLAH LAWMAKER AND FOREMR LEBANESE MINISTER (through translator): The resistance will continue. The support for Gaza will continue, and the Israelis will regret what they have done.

WEDEMAN (voice-over): The tension between Israel and Hezbollah is nothing new. For most of the past year, cross border skirmishes have been common. These device explosions represent a new level of escalation. And Wednesday, Israel's defense minister said the explosions mark a new era in Israel's war against Hezbollah. [02:05:03]

Worried citizens are now suspicious of everyday devices, including one found in a parking lot near a busy hospital, security detonated it in a controlled explosion.

Ben Wedeman, CNN, Beirut.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COREN: Elliott Gotkine is following developments from London and joins us now. Elliott, when we spoke yesterday, it was the aftermath of thousands of pages exploding. Now it's walkie talkies. I mean, obviously Hezbollah and Lebanon are reeling from this.

ELLIOTT GOTKINE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. You'd imagine that many people there must be terrified right now. And as Ben was just mentioning in his report, you know, that not -- unreasonably, Hezbollah members and Lebanese in general are wondering what devices could be next, what other gadgets and gizmos that they have in their homes, at their workplaces, in their cars, on their person, could also be booby trapped and primed to explode at a time of Israel's choosing.

So yes, Hezbollah certainly on the back foot here. This is a massive blow to its communications, its ability for its fighters to communicate with one another. They of course, don't use mobile phones to avoid being hacked or surveilled. It's a massive psychological blow to the organization. Of course, it's also a physical blow to Hezbollah, many of whose members have been injured, at least 16 of whom Hezbollah said on Wednesday, were killed in that attack with those walkie talkies exploding.

Now, Hezbollah has vowed retaliation. Iran has also vowed retaliation Iran, of course, Hezbollah's main backer, because Iran's ambassador to Lebanon was injured in Tuesday's attacks. And we do seem to be in this kind of holding pattern once more, almost like the third act, if you like. Back in April, you recall that Israel assassinated a top official -- a top commander in the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps at a consular compound in Damascus.

We then had that unprecedented barrage from Iran. At the end of July we had the assassination of Hezbollah's top military commander, followed by the presumably Israeli assassination of the Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in a guest house in Tehran. We waited for retaliation then, which seems to have come from Hezbollah, but not directly from Iran. And so, now we seem to be back in that position where Israel has carried out an attack on Hezbollah and/or Iran and that both of them have vowed retaliation.

But certainly, for now, at least Hezbollah is on the back foot. And for all we know, there could be more attacks on Thursday and these walkie talkie and pager attacks, these explosions, which we now have learned, were indeed carried out by Israel, a joint operation between the military and the Foreign Intelligence Service, the Mossad, could be a prelude to further attacks, or indeed, the wider war that everyone has feared would break out for most of the past 12 months. Anna?

COREN: And Elliott, this tacit acknowledgment really from Israel's defense minister Yoav Gallant saying that you know the focus of this war is now moving north. Clearly, there are fears this is going to escalate.

GOTKINE: There are. And yes, Israel has not claimed responsibility for these attacks, but it does seem to be another case of a kind of nudge, nudge, wink, wink. We're not going to tell you we did it but we did it. And certainly, Israel has been saying for months now. We've heard it from in various expressed in different ways, from Prime Minister Netanyahu to Benny Gantz, back when he was in the war cabinet to defense minister.

Yoav Gallant saying that look, the southern part of Lebanon is supposed to be demilitarized according to U.N. Security Council resolution 1701 from 2006 that ended that war between Israel and Hezbollah. That is clearly not been the case and Israel has now made it an official this week, in fact, made it an official war goal to get the tens of thousands of Israelis who have been displaced from their homes in the north of the country back into their homes.

And understandably, those people do not want to move back to their homes if they are still effectively, you know, under the threat of Hezbollah. So, the idea is, and Israel has been calling for this for months for Hezbollah to move back to the Litany River, several kilometers to the north, in accordance with that U.N. Security Resolution. And has said in the past that if Hezbollah doesn't do it, then Israel will make them do it.

And we seem to be inching or moving quite quickly now to a situation where Israel is going to carry out that threat. There is hope that all-out war can be avoided, but just because both sides seemingly want to avoid all that war doesn't mean we won't get one. Anna?

COREN: Elliott Gotkine in London. We appreciate your reporting. Thank you.

Well, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will head to Paris in the coming hours to discuss the situations in the Middle East and Ukraine with European allies. He spent the last couple of days in Cairo, his 10th trip to the Middle East since the war in Gaza began working to secure a ceasefire and hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas. But the device explosions in Lebanon could further derail those efforts. Blinken says reaching a deal is now a question of political will.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[02:10:00]

ANTONY BLINKEN, UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF STATE: We've been very clear, and we remain very clear about the importance of all parties avoiding any steps that could further escalate the conflict that we're trying to resolve in Gaza to see it spread to other fronts. It's clearly not in the interest of anyone involved to see that happen and that's why, again, it's imperative that all parties refrain from any actions that could escalate the conflict.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COREN: Well, this is the first time Blinken has skipped Israel on a visit to the Middle East since the October 7th attacks. The United Nations is demanding Israel and its "unlawful occupation of Palestinian Territories within 12 months." U.N. members voted overwhelmingly in favor of the resolution on Wednesday with only 14 countries voting against it, including Israel and the U.S. The vote comes after the International Court of Justice said in July that Israel's presence in the West Bank and East Jerusalem is illegal.

The resolution is not binding, but it could further isolate Israel just days before world leaders gather in New York for the annual U.N. General Assembly.

The influential Teamsters' union has announced it's not endorsing anyone in this year's U.S. presidential race in a decision that Donald Trump is calling a great honor. It's the first time in nearly three decades, the Teamsters have withheld an endorsement, and those since have been in support of the Democratic nominee. Trump also talked about his support in New York.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I love New York. I always love New York, and we're going to give New York a big play. You know, I leave here. I mean, you see the crowds and it's so friendly. I love New York. I think we have a real chance of winning.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COREN: Later this week, Vice President Kamala Harris is set to deliver remarks on reproductive rights in Georgia where a new report reveals that at least two deaths have been linked to the state's restrictive abortion law. But on Wednesday, she focused on immigration while speaking at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute's Leadership Conference. She slammed Donald Trump over his proposals and warned of mass deportations if he returns to office.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS (D), U.S. VICE PRESIDENT, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We all remember what they did to tear families apart, and now they have pledged to carry out the largest deportation, a mass deportation in American history. Imagine what that would look like and what that would be. How is that going to happen? Massive raids? Massive detention camps? What are they talking about?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COREN: Investigators believe Iranian hackers have attempted to tip the scales in the upcoming U.S. presidential election, saying they tried but failed to send stolen Trump campaign documents to his political rivals.

CNN's Evan Perez explains.

EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: The U.S. government says that Iranian hackers sent unsolicited e-mails with information that they stole from Donald Trump's presidential campaign to people who are affiliated with Joe Biden's campaign over the summer. There's no indication that the people who received the information replied to the unsolicited e-mails.

And the Kamala Harris campaign says that the campaign itself did not receive any information and that the personal e-mail accounts of campaign staffers were targeted with what looked like spam or phishing campaigns. The latest update from the FBI, the Director of National Intelligence and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, says this is all part of an Iranian effort to try to influence the U.S. presidential election.

The agency said in a statement on Wednesday that the hackers sent unsolicited e-mails to individuals that were then associated with President Biden's campaign that contained an excerpt taken from stolen and nonpublic material from former President Trump's campaign as text in those e-mails. Now the hackers also sent the Trump campaign documents to news organizations.

The Trump campaign says that the incident is an indication that Iran is trying to interfere in the election to help Harris. A spokesperson for Harris says that we condemn in the strongest terms any effort by foreign actors to interfere in the U.S. elections, including this unwelcome and unacceptable malicious activity.

Evan Perez, CNN, Washington.

COREN: Iran's mission to the U.N. issued a statement on the hacking, denying any involvement. It says, in part, already devoid of any credibility and legitimacy, such allegations are fundamentally unfounded and wholly inadmissible. The Islamic Republic of Iran does not engage in the internal uproars or electoral controversies of the United States.

Investigators say the U.S. is also in the crosshairs of Chinese hackers, but one of their operations was stopped on time. FBI Director Christopher Wray says the agency sees hundreds of thousands of routers and other devices hacked by people linked to China's government.

[02:15:05]

The takedown prevented the hackers from potentially threatening critical infrastructure as well as military and government agencies. Well, many of the devices in that network, also known as Botnet, are located outside the U.S. China called the accusations groundless.

Well, still to come. Big news for the U.S. economy, with the first interest rate cut since the start of the pandemic. And it's the first of several to come. And later, Sean Diddy Combs remains in federal custody after losing his appeal for bail. We'll tell you what his attorneys argued in court after the break.

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEROME POWELL, CHAIR, UNITED STATES FEDERAL RESERVE: Our patient approach over the past year has paid dividends. Inflation is now much closer to our objective, and we have gained greater confidence that inflation is moving sustainably toward two percent. As inflation has declined and the labor market has cooled, the upside risks to inflation have diminished and the downside risks to employment have increased. We now see the risks to achieving our employment and inflation goals as roughly in balance.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COREN: Well, that was Jerome Powell, chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve. On Wednesday, it announced the first cut to U.S. interest rates in four years. It comes on the heels of the confident outlook you just heard about. U.S. President Joe Biden will speak on the economy in the coming hours and what it means for Americans. Well, CNN's Matt Egan has more on the Fed's bold move.

MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: This is a major milestone for the economy, the first interest rate cut since COVID. And the Fed, they decided to go big, the fact that they went with a jumbo-sized interest rate cut, it's telling on multiple levels. First, it shows they're not worried about inflation anymore. Judge Chair Jerome Powell, he stopped short of declaring victory over inflation, but they're all but doing that.

It does also suggest, though, that they are worried about what they're seeing in the jobs market. Now Powell, he said repeatedly that he's not alarmed with the jobs market. He even said at one point, the labor market is in a strong place. We want to keep it there. But there are some economists who are concerned that the Fed is late and that they need to play catch up before the cracks in the jobs market turn into something more ominous.

So, the Fed has made clear that they've switched the mission. They've gone from fighting inflation to fighting unemployment. Of course, all of this is happening just weeks before this hotly contested election. Now Powell, he stressed politics played no role here, and that the Fed only does what they believe is right. And I asked Powell about the idea from former President Trump that the sitting U.S. president should have a say in where interest rates go. And Powell, he made clear he's not a fan of that idea.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[02:20:01]

POWELL: We do our work to serve all Americans. We're not serving any politician, any political figure, any cause, any issue, nothing. It's just maximum employment and price stability on behalf of all Americans. And that's how the other central banks are set up, too. It's a good institutional arrangement which has been good for the public and I hope -- I hope and strong -- strongly believe that it will, you know, continue.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

EGAN: Now Powell went on to say that the evidence is clear. Independent central banks are the ones that have lower inflation. Matt Egan from the Federal Reserve, CNN.

COREN: Well, joining me now is Ryan Patel. A senior fellow at the Drucker School of Management at Claremont Graduate University. Ryan, as always, great to see you. Well, as we know, the Fed cut a full 50 basis points. Many thought it would just be 25. Tell me what is your reaction to this?

RYAN PATEL, SENIOR FELLOW, DRUCKER SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT, CLAREMONT UNIVERSITY: One word. Wow. I mean, this is the Fed that has been very, very conservative over the last two years and now they come with the first cut to be 50 basis points. So, I think two things, it sends a message to Wall Street because we saw -- I think you and I were together a handful of weeks ago where it was the Wall Street was not very happy.

Had a whole down week about the information and jobs, and so this kind of helped settle it down. And also think that now that the focus is really price stability and unemployment. And these are the two things that, you know, Jerome Powell was really short from saying that he's still a little bit worried about on what the next decrease in interest rates will come and that still -- he still reserves the right to make a pause.

COREN: Do you see this perhaps couldn't be interpreted as a sign of panic? As I'm sure some economists might read it this way. Do you see that perhaps they are seeing things ahead that are more worrying than many of us, mere mortals realize that the economy, you know, is teetering on recession?

PATEL: I mean, I truthfully think that it wasn't that. I actually, even though he said it wasn't, I believe that they missed this, meaning they could have done a 25-basis point in June, inflation was already easing down. They probably had a good sense it was going to continue. And then they would have done another 25 basis points in September, right? And now we're back to where we are.

I think that there was a little bit of a panic, right, with some of the numbers, and with inflation already in the two percent and interest rates north of six, there's a big gap that you had to do something. So, I think this wasn't a panic because something was wrong underneath the system. I think it was more of like, you got to start right sizing it now, and how do you get there quicker.

And so, yes, there's still -- it's still not solid. I don't think we're still out of the woods because we're still teetering -- I mean, it's a bouncy act when you, you know, decrease inflation and not really kind of have the labor market or unemployment rise in jobs, right? It is still really tricky to play this out.

COREN: What about the market? Because it was pretty much flat, rose three percent then dropped about three percent. I mean, what is that telling you?

PATEL: Nothing. I knew that. I mean, not to say I knew that was going to happen. Every time there's good news, it's just like, OK. But I think part of it is -- the argument is it was priced in. You would say logic would tell you the 50 basis points. If it was the word, everyone using jumbo, if it was really jumbo, wouldn't the market go crazy? Not really. And so, I think it just took it as OK, we got direction, what's next?

And the market's always looking what's next? And for me, that's important of like, OK, you're going to do 25 basis points at one cut or two cuts this year? Is it going to line up with four cuts next year? And so, Jerome Powell and the Fed, this is not the time to not, you know, you have to be really transparent. And the numbers of the next month and the jobs numbers are going to be really important to be, you know what -- what's next. And I think that's what the Wall Street always looks at.

COREN: Ryan the dot plot, it points to further rate cuts by the end of this year and more substantial cuts in 2025. I mean, how will all of this play in the upcoming election?

PATEL: Yes. I mean. I am of the camp that this wasn't a move that wanted -- the Fed wanted to make in September before the election. I think that's interesting. I think the dot plot's also interesting because I look at, you know, you see the median, you see the majority. But like, you know, it's clear in the dot plot, like, you know, there's two cuts, possibly this year and then next year, they're kind of split of three to four.

I mean, really, the focus should be the best-case scenario, this time next year, your interest rates around three some percent -- three to four percent in between. And now you're really having relief for middle class, lower, you know, middle incomes toward businesses. You know, mortgages, that will be more of an effect than just today of 50 basis points, which in the short term most people are not feeling.

[02:25:04]

COREN: Ryan Patel, always a pleasure. Thank you so much for joining us.

PATEL: Appreciate you.

COREN: Music mogul Sean Diddy Combs remains in federal custody after a judge denied his legal team's appeal for bail. The judge said he was concerned about obstruction of justice and witness tampering. Combs was also deemed a flat risk because of his wealth. He has been indicted on charges of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. Combs could be sentenced to life in prison if convicted. Disgraced Movie Executive Harvey Weinstein pleaded not guilty to a first-degree criminal sex act in a New York courtroom Wednesday. Prosecutors announced the indictment last week, but it was not unsealed until Wednesday because Weinstein was too ill to attend court. The indictment stems from an alleged assault in 2006. Prosecutors are looking to consolidate this new indictment with Weinstein's retrial on sexual assault charges related to a 2020 case.

As the region recovers from two typhoons, two new tropical systems are expected to make landfall in Asia on Thursday. Tropical Depression 16 developed off Vietnam's coast, where it's expected to make landfall. Farther north, tropical Storm Pulasan has lost strength, but it still is expected to bring anywhere from 50 to more than 200 millimeters of rain when it comes ashore near Shanghai.

Israel appears to be acknowledging its role in the device explosions targeting Hezbollah militants in Lebanon. The country's Defense Minister is saying about the attacks, that's next.

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COREN: Returning to our top story this hour, Israel's defense minister says a new era of war is beginning after a second day of deadly explosions in Lebanon, tacitly acknowledging Israel's role in the operation. Scores of walkie talkies exploded across Lebanon on Wednesday, killing at least 20 people and wounding more than 450 others.

It comes a day after hundreds of pagers some owned by Hezbollah members blew up nearly simultaneously wounding about 2800 people. The attacks are raising new fears of a wider conflict in the region.

Joining me now is Seth Jones. Senior Vice President of the International Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

[02:30:00]

Seth, thank you for joining us. Let's start with the impact of this attack -- extensive casualties, obviously, but also the psychological damage that this has done.

SETH JONES, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, CENTER FOR STRATEGIC AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: Yeah, I think this attack has had at least two major effects. One is, it has actually killed and wounded a number of individuals connected directly to Hezbollah, and then even some innocent individuals. The second, it has had, in at least a short- term, psychological impact. There's just a sense of, for Hezbollah, right now, whether it is pagers, walkie-talkies, potentially even cell phones, that they're vulnerable.

COREN: As you say, first, it was the pagers, now walkie-talkies. I mean, what else could have been compromised?

JONES: Well, I mean, any technology right now, and I think there are other options. Hassan Nasrallah has already encouraged Hezbollah members not to use cell phones, told them to use computers. So I think they're a range -- there's still a range of other technology options that I think Hezbollah has to be a little bit concerned about now. Where Hezbollah is at now is in some ways where Al-Qaeda ended up being at, including Osama Bin Laden, which is having to resort to couriers to pass information along because any kind of technology was too dangerous, it could either retract or it could be weaponized like what we've seen.

COREN: This is obviously highly embarrassing and humiliating for Hezbollah. How do you expect them to react?

JONES: Well, I think there are three options. These aren't mutually exclusive, but one is Hezbollah is an international organization. It has conducted attacks against Israeli embassies, Israelis and others around the globe in Latin America, in Africa, in Europe, in Asia. So, one option is there's a retaliation somewhere else around the world. Option number two is Hezbollah has between, by our count, 120,000 to 200,000 standoff weapons, including short-range ballistic missiles that they could fire on Israel.

And then a third is Hezbollah, partly through its Iranian connection and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Quds Force, has allies across the region in Syria, in Iraq, the Houthis in Yemen. We could see some kind of coordinated activity as well. Again, these aren't mutually exclusive, but I think there are a range of ways Hezbollah could respond now.

COREN: Hezbollah, we understand, believe that the Israelis had developed technology to hack into phones, activate microphones and camera, spy on users. Ironically, the Israelis had opted for an old old-school basic tactic in catching Hezbollah completely off guard. I mean, what do you make of Israel doing this and doing this now?

JONES: Well, I think what's interesting is, we're at a period right now where the Israelis are starting to wind down the war in Gaza. It's not over; it's not going to be over in at least the short term. But Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Netanyahu, have said repeatedly that they are going to turn their attention to Lebanon and to Hezbollah's firing of anti-tank guided munitions and other standoff weapons from south of the Litani River, north of the blue line, an area that has caused the Israelis to evacuate individuals in the hotels that I was in recently when I was in Tel Aviv.

So, this is really the Israelis starting to focus on both direct strikes, aircraft and other drones that they've been firing into Lebanon, and now these sorts of unconventional, irregular types of activities, covert action. So, I think what we're really seeing is this combination of the Israelis, I expect Hezbollah will do the same, of varying both conventional and very unconventional attacks against each other.

COREN: As we heard from U.S. Secretary State, Anthony Blinken, saying that the U.S. had no knowledge of these attacks, had nothing to do with them. He said that the United States is trying to work for a peaceful resolution to the conflict, not escalate it. I guess, I ask you, what has taken place, Israel doing this to Hezbollah, how can it not escalate tensions in that region?

JONES: Yeah, I think since October 7th, we've seen the war -- I'm going to call it a war between Israel and Hezbollah creep up the escalatory ladder.

[02:35:00]

There have been thousands of stand-off weapons fired from both sides at each other, killing both civilians and military officials. I think this is just another step-up the escalatory ladder, but it is still well below full-scale war. 2006 was the last real case where the Israelis put some boots on the ground, including in southern Lebanon. We haven't gotten to that stage yet. If we do, look out for a lot more weapons flying at Israel from Lebanon, and probably also Syria and potentially Iraq and even Yemen. And then on the other hand, I would expect to see the Israelis really pummeling parts of Lebanon, including Beirut.

So, there's more rings up the escalatory ladder. If they continue to go up, not quite there, but it is concerning.

COREN: Seth Jones, we appreciate your analysis. Thanks for joining us.

JONES: Thank you very much.

COREN: A Ukrainian drone strike in western Russia caused an explosion so large it may have created a small earthquake. A Ukrainian security source says the drones destroyed a Russian ammunition depot about 400 kilometers west of Moscow on Wednesday. Seismologists in Norway later said they detected seismic activity, probably caused by the blast. This before and after video shows the massive plumes of smoke following the attack. A Russian state news agency blamed the fires on fallen drone debris without mentioning what the target was.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to meet with U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris in Washington next week, according to multiple sources. Donald Trump says he'll probably meet with him as well. The Ukrainian leader will also attend the U.N. General Assembly next week in New York. He wants to present what he calls his a victory plan to both Harris and Trump, as well as President Joe Biden.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Today, we can say that our victory plan has been fully prepared. All the points, all the key accents, the necessary annexes with details to the plans have been identified, everything has been worked out. The most important thing now is determination to implement it. There is no and cannot be any alternative to peace, any freezing of the war, or any other manipulations that will simply move the Russian aggression to another stage.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COREN: Well, the U.S. is trying to counterbalance the spike in the Russian and Chinese military activity in northern pacific. The U.S. army has deployed part of its unit known as "Arctic Angels" to Alaska's remote Shemya Island. A military statement says the move is meant to show the army can deploy ready and lethal force anywhere within hours.

Chinese and Russian aircraft have ramped up their operations in the region. U.S. intercepted Russian military aircraft flying near Alaska four times over the last week. China and Russia conducted joint air patrols in June.

Well, still to come, a plan to pedestrianize parts of a famous and busy London street is stirring up controversy. We'll see why some people are against it, after the break.

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[02:40:40]

COREN: Well, London's mayor has announced a plan to ban all vehicles from a section of Oxford Street, one of the city's most famous and busiest streets. The project now has the backing of the British deputy prime minister. CNN's Anna Stewart has reaction from the locals.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Imagine if Times Square had no cars. Well, that may soon happen here in London. Welcome to the shopping hub of Oxford Street. This major intersection is where the mayor of London would like to pedestrianize. What do the locals think?

Banning cars in Oxford Street, yes or no?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.

STEWART: That was a no.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ban cars?

STEWART: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Actually yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't like it so much because it's full of people and like it's quite busy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it's a great idea.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is going to affect all the businesses. Where are all the buses and the cabs going to go? Terrible.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Get the traffic out of the city completely.

STEWART: It's not the first time the mayor has proposed this. Plans were blocked by Westminster City Council in 2018.

SADIQ KHAN, LONDON MAYOR: The difference this time is, I've got the support of central government. That means if, God forbid, there was opposition from the council, we have the powers to proceed with good plans.

STEWART: The mayor still needs to get the green light from government. But in two years, this may all be (inaudible).

Anna Stewart, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COREN: Well, thank you for your company. I'm Anna Coren in Hong Kong. I'(LAUGH) have more of "CNN Newsroom" at the top of the hour. "World Sport" is next.

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[02:45:00]

(WORLD SPORT)

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