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Israel Targets Hezbollah's Financial Arm; Lebanese State; Media: Israeli Airstrikes Hit Beirut; Top Israeli And Egyptian Intelligence Officials Discuss Stalled Ceasefire And Hostage Release Negotiations. Investigation Into Leaked U.S. Intelligence Docs Underway; U.S. Can't Confirm Reports of North Korean Soldiers in Russia; Fans From Around the World Pay Tribute to Late Singer; Inside Singapore Prison Where Drug Dealers are Executed; The World's Smallest Rubik's Cube. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired October 21, 2024 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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ANNA COREN, CNN HOST: Hello. And welcome to all our viewers around the world. I'm Anna Coren, ahead here on CNN Newsroom.
Israel launches a wave of air strikes across Lebanon targeting Hezbollah-affiliated financial institutions. We're just 15 days to go. U.S. presidential candidates hit the campaign trail hoping to find an edge in a race that's in a virtual dead heat. Plus the world's smallest Rubik's Cube size of a few grains of rice to add another challenge to your puzzle-solving.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from Hong Kong. This is CNN Newsroom with Anna Coren.
COREN: We begin in the Middle East, where Israel is still bombarding Lebanon launching a new wave of air strikes on Sunday.
This video, geolocated by CNN, captures the moment a strike hit a building near Beirut's International Airport, sending it crumbling to the ground. You can see the airport in the background of another video with plumes of smoke rising from a building in front the Israeli military says it's targeting financial institutions linked to Hezbollah. The Lebanese health ministry says more than 1,800 people have been killed since Israel ramped up attacks on the Iran-backed militant group last month. The IDF is vowing to continue defending the Israeli people, saying Hezbollah fired about 200 projectiles into Israel on Sunday.
Meanwhile, an Israeli official says top Israeli and Egyptian intelligence officials discussed the stalled cease-fire and hostage release negotiations. The head of Israel's Shin Bet Security Agency met Egypt's new intelligence chief on Sunday. Egypt has played a key role as mediator between Israel and Hamas for years, especially since the October 7 attacks. The meeting comes after Israeli troops killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar last week. Well, Gaza's health ministry says at least 87 people, including
children, were killed in an Israeli air strike in northern Gaza on Saturday. CNN's Matthew Chance has more from Tel Aviv and a warning some of the images in his report are disturbing.
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MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): Israeli forces patrolling the labyrinth of narrow streets in the central Gaza Strip. These latest images from the Israeli military, what they say is their continued activity amid the devastation to dismantle Hamas. To the south in Rafah, where the Hamas leader was recently killed, drone footage of strikes and what Israel says are more Hamas fighters and infrastructure, while across Gaza, civilians are paying a heavy price.
At this hospital in the north of the Gaza Strip an influx of casualties from a new Israeli strike at Beit Lahia, where Palestinian health officials say dozens of people, including women and children, were killed. Among the shrouded bodies of her family, this woman calls her father to grieve their loss. "I swear, dad, nobody's left." She sobs.
Israel says the casualty figures are exaggerated and that they operate against Hamas in a precise and targeted manner that eyewitnesses at the scene say the Israeli air strikes felt like an earthquake. It was just Wednesday when an Israeli drone captured the final moments of the Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar's life. His killing, fueling hopes of a hostage release, even a cease-fire in Gaza and beyond. In fact, the region seems to be plunging further into chaos, with Israel stepping up strikes and pressing deeper into neighboring Lebanon, hitting what it says are strongholds of Iranian-backed Hezbollah, like here the Town of Nabatieh in southern Lebanon.
Back in Israel, Hezbollah rockets have been striking the country's north. One drone even hitting near the Israeli Prime Minister's private house in the coastal town of Caesarea. He called it an assassination attempt by agents of Iran, vowing to press ahead with military action. Iran denies involvement, and Hezbollah has not claimed responsibility.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're going to win this war.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So will something deter you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
CHANCE (voiceover): Amid fears of an even wider, escalating war, all sides seem bent on pressing ahead. Matthew Chance, CNN, Tel Aviv.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COREN: As the humanitarian crisis deepens in Gaza and land aid routes are cut off, countries are using airdrops as a way of getting vital food into the Enclave, but Palestinians are describing the airdrops as dangerous and humiliating. One devastated family in central Gaza is speaking out after an aid pallet killed their three-year-old child.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They dropped parachutes of aid and the aid killed our children. We don't want this aid a little boy who was running for safety in his tent a ton fell on him and killed him. Look at this little girl, her mother was injured. What for? I don't want aid. My son is gone.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is what our child died for, beans. Take your aid. We don't want it. Is this our dignity? Packs of tea, packs of sugar.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COREN: Absolutely tragic. Well, joining us now from Southern Gaza is Sam Rose. He's the Senior Deputy Director of UNRWA affairs in Gaza. Sam, thank you for joining us. Perhaps we just start with the latest situation on the ground in Gaza. Describe to us what is going on.
SAM ROSE, SENIOR DEPUTY DIR. OF UNRWA AFFAIRS IN GAZA: Thanks for having me on. The situation is absolutely catastrophic. You're hearing from correspondents reporting on the situation in the North, absolutely harrowing conditions up there as hundreds of thousands of people are trapped, nowhere to go, under bombardment, no access to food and water, hospitals that are out of commission, and are encircled an absolutely devastating situation up in the north and the rest of the Gaza Strip, not much better, to be perfectly honest. As we enter the 13th month of this horror show, we're hearing similar reports well of aid, or well-intentioned aid, falling from the sky, landing on tents, and killing people.
As the last speaker said, people don't want aid anymore. They want security. They want safety. They want this humiliation, injustice and helplessness to come to an end.
COREN: Sam, the UN Human Rights Office warns that Israel may be destroying the Palestinian population in northern Gaza through, quote, "death and displacement". You talk to us that the situation in the North is absolutely dire. There's a blockade going on and now these renewed airstrikes. It would seem that anyone still there is now a target.
ROSE: I mean, they're certainly in the most desperate of conditions, a cry for help that is being echoed around the world that doesn't seem to be being heeded. Just in the in the past five days, we've had three attacks on UNRWA installations in the north that have led to large losses of life, 300 patients trapped in hospitals. Requests and appeals for United Nations staff to enter with paramedics to retrieve people from underneath the rubble of destroyed buildings. And those requests are being denied.
So, I mean, it is beyond anything really that we've seen since the start of the war, the situation that is playing out in northern Gaza, under everyone's watch. And these are people that have been through this now for 12 months. Every moment of every day, just, you know, injected with violence, with fear, with helplessness.
COREN: Yes. As you say, the sustained bombardment of Gaza death and misery, 42,000 is the latest, or more than the latest death toll. The horrors that you and your staff are witnessing. I mean, talk us through that. Explain to our audience what you see on a daily basis.
ROSE: I mean, we go to bed at night wondering if our colleagues and our friends will wake up in the morning. The surroundings where I am are completely desolate. I drive 10, 15, kilometers from Central Gaza to Khan Yunis every day, and the landscape completely desolate. You see more bombed out buildings than you see buildings that are standing and the people are bereft, reduced to the absolute minimum of what they need to survive with way beyond talking about dignity here. It's children scrambling and scavenging on piles of rubble. It's old ladies queuing with jerry cans of water, trying to get, you know, a tiny bit of water to wash them themselves, with people wearing the same clothes for a year dreaming of a cup of cold water and medicines and anything. But as I said at the outset, people just want security now. They want safety, and they feel that the world can see this happening, but it's just abandoned them.
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COREN: Yes. They just want peace. I mean, what they are going through is simply do human, dehumanizing. Sam, talk to us about the aid that that is getting in. Obviously, we saw that the air drops of aid pallets, tragically, one fell on a three-year-old child. But what is getting in, are there any land routes where aid is crossing? Explain to us what the latest is there.
ROSE: I mean, right now, almost nothing is getting into Gaza in terms of humanitarian supplies. We're back to a situation that we were in in last October, last November. We essentially have three main entry points, Kerem Shalom in the south. We were able to get lots of aid and supplies in through that crossing point, but when the military operation started there in May, that was choked off, and it's been choked off since we try and uplift supplies whether it's the arbitrary process of clearance and getting supplies truck that getting supplies approved to come in that that itself is difficult. But once those supplies are in, the breakdown in law and order, the criminality, the looting, the danger of the situation means that we're not able to get the aid out.
So right now, nothing is coming in through southern Gaza. And southern Gaza is where 1.7 million people are living right now. Up in the north, there is a checkpoint, but again, it's not functioning properly for the people in Gaza City. And as I said, those In Jabalia, they're in circles. So we're not able to get in, they're not able to get out. No supplies have been able to get into Jabalia, where over 100,000 people we believe are trapped. No aid has got in there for two or three weeks now.
COREN: Sam rose, we thank you and your staff for the incredible work that you are doing. Thank you for talking to us today.
ROSE: Thank you, Oscar. COREN: Oscar is now a tropical storm hours after making landfall as a
category one hurricane on the northern coast of eastern Cuba. The slow moving storm has brought heavy rainfall, and the National Hurricane Center warns that could cause significant flash flooding and mudslides. It is expected to continue moving across eastern Cuba through Monday, eventually turning to the northwest. It's then expected to make another turn to the northeast on Tuesday, when it's forecast to move near the southeastern and central Bahamas.
Oscar's landfall comes as Cuba continues to cope with ongoing power outages. The countrywide blackouts are causing worry about food spoilage and a lack of water, as the storm is expected to delay urgent efforts to restore power. CNN's Patrick Ottman reports from Havana.
PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Cuba on Sunday afternoon, lost power across this entire island for the fourth time in as many days, that's 10 million people that were left without light, some of whom have never had their electrical service restored. We briefly had power here in our offices for the first time since this crisis began on Friday, and of course, it felt like a moment of celebration to have power and not rely on a generator as we have for the last several days, but it was short-lived. The power went out immediately, not just for us, but across this entire island, it really speaks to how aging and outdated the infrastructure is in Cuba.
There are power plants from the 1970s that they are trying to put back into usage, according to officials here with the Ministry of Energy. They spoke to us earlier today and said that they were confident that power would be restored soon, that 52,000 different workers from the Ministry of Energy are working around the clock to restore power. But at this point, it is becoming less and less clear whether power can be restored, and whether it can stay on. This is a huge problem for Cubans, most of whom do not have generators, most of whom are now having to throw out food because it is spoiling. You do not get water here when the power is out, because there are no pumps to bring that water to your house. A lot of people use gas from lines on the street to cook with. They do not have that right now.
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So while people are staying stoic, increasingly, people are asking for answers from some sense of when power will be restored. All they're hearing from the government at this point is that school will remain closed throughout much of this weekend, until at least Thursday. That people should not go to work and most workplaces unless they are quote, unquote, "essential employees" who are needed to try and restore power here.
COREN: Patrick Ottman reporting from Havana. At least one person is dead in northeast Italy after heavy rain caused extensive overnight flooding across the region. Meanwhile, in Roswell, New Mexico, at least two people are dead, and nearly 300 people have been rescued. After extreme overnight rainfall sparked severe flooding late Saturday. CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam has the latest.
DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: We're monitoring flooding on two different continents. We're going to start in North America, where the wettest day ever in Roswell, New Mexico's history unfolded on Saturday and into early Sunday morning.
Look at the video of the flooding that occurred. That is a submerged truck, and there were several instances where there were swift water rescues and water entering buildings and homes. A significant situation unfolding as a flash flood emergency was in place for this area. Look at how much rain fell.
This is again, incredible, 5.78 inches, roughly 150 millimeters from this storm that moved through their average October rainfall only a little over an inch and a quarter. So again, this is the wettest day that Roswell, New Mexico, has ever recorded. And the wet weather continues, even though the storm system that is responsible for the flooding that occurred Saturday into early Sunday morning hours still could produce a bit more rainfall over eastern New Mexico. It will quickly move on by Monday afternoon and bring rainfall to the central parts of the country.
Now we are focusing our attention on Southern Italy, where they are also contending with flooding. The Salto River in Sicily actually overflowed its banks, and this is the result. And look at the flooding across this agricultural area, significant impacts to the region. It's all thanks to a low pressure system that's churning across the central Mediterranean. There is the potential here for more rain. Some of the totals here have exceeded 125 millimeters, especially across the central portions of the country, but Sicily impressive rainfall totals as well, with more rain to come and the potential for more flooding as well.
In fact, chances of flooding through about Tuesday with orange and red alerts in place for the area as we get this onshore flow from the Mediterranean, allowing for precipitation to build up across the region, so covering flooding from North America to Europe on this latest weather report. Back to you.
COREN: Derek Van Dam, thank you. A wooden boat carrying 231 migrants, including 14 women and three children, was intercepted off Spain's Canary Islands on Sunday. It's the largest number of people to be rescued from the same boat off the island this year. More than 30,000 migrants have taken the boat journey from West Africa to the Spanish island since January, marking a rise of nearly 40% from the same period last year.
Still ahead, with just two weeks and counting, how the U.S. presidential candidates hope to find an edge in a race that's in a virtual dead heat.
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COREN: 15 days and counting, the U.S. presidential race, and Kamala Harris and Donald Trump will each spend that time working to convince voters they're the right choice to lead the United States for the next four years. Polling shows the race is way too close to call. Analysts say the entire election will likely come down to just a few battleground states.
And that's where the two candidates are focusing all their efforts, crisscrossing a handful of critical states, trading bars, and sometimes personal attacks as they look to pick up the support they each need to take the lead.
Well on the campaign trail in Georgia, Kamala Harris urged people to cast their ballots as soon as possible as early voting continues in the key state. She also sat down with a conversation with MSNBC Al Sharpton. She explained why she feels Donald Trump is simply not fit to leave lead the country. Eva McKend has more.
EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: In an interview with Al Sharpton, the Vice President, arguing when the former president demeans her. He is denigrating the office of the presidency, and that he lacks a basic standard to return to the White House. And we have seen the vice president employ this argument with increasing frequency over the last several days. It seems targeted to a very specific type of voter, a voter that perhaps doesn't agree with her on every policy matter, but is in alignment with this broader argument that the former president is unfit for the White House. Take a listen.
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KAMALA HARRIS, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You know, we -- we as representing the United States of America, walk into rooms around the world with the earned and self-appointed authority to talk about the importance of democracy rule of law, and have been thought of as a role model, and perfect though we may be, but a role model of what it means to be committed to certain standards including international rules and norms, but also standards of decorum. And what you see in my opponent, a former president of the United States, really is it demeans the office.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MCKEND: A big component of this Georgia swing over the last two days was for the Vice President to reach black voters in this critical battleground state. She did that through the Souls to the Polls events. They are targeted to the faith community, where, essentially black voters, they organize and mobilize in church, and then immediately after church, take advantage of early voting. And this comes at a time when Democrats have been accused of taking black voters for granted, the base of the party, but the campaign is not operating in that space. They will argue that black voters are persuadable voters, and that the campaign is doing all that they can to reach them in these pivotal closing weeks. Eva McKend, CNN Stonecrest, Georgia.
COREN: Well, Donald Trump spent his Sunday in the critical state of Pennsylvania. He held a town hall in the Philadelphia suburbs, where he promised to protect Social Security and Medicare and to secure the border to help reduce crime and improve the nation's economy. Trump also slammed his opponent, saying Kamala Harris is such a bad leader, the United States will be finished if she wins the election.
And in a taped interview that aired on Fox News Sunday, he lashed out at several critics. He now calls the enemy within.
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DONALD TRUMP, U.S REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Adam shifty Schiff. He's a crooked guy. He's a crooked politician. 100% he's going to be a senator. Now, can you believe it?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But again he's a political opponent of good but he's the enemy.
TRUMP: No, no, but -- he's not. No, no. He's a -- well, he's of course, he's an enemy. He's an enemy. He wanted to put my son in jail, and my son didn't even know what he was talking about. He's a bad people. We have a lot of bad people, but when you look at shifty Schiff and some of the others, yeah, they are, to me, the enemy from within. I think Nancy Pelosi is an enemy from within.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COREN: For more, I'm joined by Caroline Heldman, a Democratic strategist and professor of critical theory and social justice. Caroline always great to see you. I want to start with Trump, continuing his attacks on Democrats as the enemy within, and I guess just how dangerous that is in the pollical climate?
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CAROLINE HELDMAN, PROFESSOR, CRITICAL THEORY AT OCCIDENTAL COLLEGE: Well, it's incredible that he's using this language, right? It does harken back to a lot of the rhetoric that was used in repressive regimes, notably Hitler's. And he knows this. He's using vermin. I mean, we all learn this in the sixth grade, right? That that's what he's referencing. And he is saying that folks within meaning liberals or progressives that he doesn't like are more threatening than China, are more threatening than Iran, and then calling on use of the military to do goodness knows what. But the Supreme Court has now granted the president the ability to do things and their line of duty in a way that the framers never intended. So that shift to our constitution is really scary when Trump is using this rhetoric.
COREN: His photo opportunity at McDonald's. What did you make of that?
HELDMAN: Well, it was interesting. Obviously, he's trying to do kind of this working-class or middle-class appeal. I think it was really effective for Bill Clinton. Not so effective for Donald Trump, because he didn't know how to use the friar and, you know, Kamala Harris worked at a McDonald's, so if I were her, I would put that in an ad. I know what he's trying to do. I don't think that particular photo op was very effective.
COREN: What about with undecided voters? I mean, did they look at him as having common touch. Is he relatable to that section of America?
HELDMAN: Well, he's doing really well with young men, right? So young millennial men and Gen Z men, he leads them about 58% versus 37% for Harris. He's really tapping into this kind of Dubro in manosphere. He's hearkening back to more traditional brand of masculinity, like a Joe Rogan or an Elon Musk sort of masculinity, and it's been highly effective. I don't -- his numbers for the working class. If you look at 2016, he was shellacked by Hillary Clinton with working class voters. Same thing with Biden in 2020, but there's something different here. He's tapping into this kind of brand of macho masculinity that is kind of surpassing or transcending class, and it's highly effective with young men, especially young men of color.
COREN: Caroline, I want to shift gears to Elon Musk, the world's wealthiest man. He was a lifelong Democrat and has now gone all in on Trump. I want to ask you about his key motivation. What is driving Elon Musk's support at Donald Trump?
HELDMAN: Well, it's fascinating to watch his transition, right? This is a man who was on a council that Trump appointed him to during his presidency. Elon Musk left in kind of disgust and was critical of Trump, and now he has put in $75 million in Trump's campaign. He is running a ground game with Harley Kirk. He is deeply embedded, showing up at rallies. So, you know, what is driving that?
I mean, I think it's pretty obvious that, that it's has something to do with taxes, right? We have billionaires getting involved in elections so that they can maintain our regressive system of taxation. And I think there's something even further, you know, as the owner of Twitter, which I will forever call it, Elon Musk is stands to benefit if Donald Trump is not monitoring Silicon Valley in a way that Elon Musk will be pushing for.
So I see this as kind of naked capitalist ambition on Elon Musk's part.
COREN: And we're looking at pictures of musk handing out a million dollar check. This is an initiative which began at this rally in Pennsylvania, where he is now giving away a million dollars each day until Election Day. Pennsylvania's Governor Josh Shapiro is calling on law enforcement to investigate. But surely this, perhaps constitutes a federal crime.
HELDMAN: It probably does. I mean, federal election laws are very clear that you cannot actually trade for voter registration or vote any monetary compensation. Musk is trying to get around this by saying, no, no, they're just signing a petition for my super PAC. But at the end of the day, it's very obvious that it's for registration or, you know, to vote for Donald Trump, that's the implication.
So I would imagine that there they will put a stop to that. But it is strange to have billionaires involved this directly in politics, whether it's Mark Cuban with the Harris campaign or Elon Musk even more involved with the Trump campaign. It really causes me to question whether or not the one person, one vote is really in place. And of course, as a political scientist, I know it's never been in the American context, but we are seeing it just so clearly with billionaires whose votes and their money matters so much more than an everyday person in this election.
COREN: It's a very sad indictment on society. Truly. Caroline Heldman always appreciate your analysis. Thank you so much for joining us.
HELDMAN: Thank you, Anna. Good to see you.
COREN: Well still to come, classified us intel on Israel's plan for a retaliatory strike on Iran has been leaked. We'll bring you the latest on the investigation. Plus heartbroken fans from all over the world pay their respects to the late singer and One Direction member Liam Payne, as investigators try to reconstruct his final moments, stay with us.
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COREN: Officials say an investigation is underway into the leak of highly classified U.S. intelligence on Israel's plans for retaliation against Iran.
But Israeli sources say this was a quote, "minor leak that was unlikely to have been the work of an Iranian spy.
CNN's Arlette Saenz has more.
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ARLETTE SAENZ: The U.S. continues to investigate how exactly highly- classified intelligence documents showing the U.S. assessing how Israel is planning to retaliate against Iran were leaked in public.
There are major questions about who had access to these documents and who might have leaked them. And also whether there is any other highly-sensitive information that could also potentially be leaked.
House Speaker Mike Johnson confirmed the investigation and said that the leak is very concerning. It comes at a time when the U.S. Is trying to assess exactly how Israel will proceed as it's planning its response to Iran's barrage of missile attacks, which it had launched at Israel earlier this month.
Now, these documents started to surface on Friday after they were posted on Telegram. There are two documents that are marked "top secret" and also bear markings suggesting that they were only meant to be viewed by the U.S. and its so-called Five Eyes allies. That includes the U.K. and Canada. Now without getting into the specifics of these documents, they appear to show how the U.S. is assessing that Israel is preparing for its response. That includes satellite imagery of descriptions of Israel military activities in preparation as well as the movement of military equipment such as munitions.
Now, while the details of Israel preparing for a response against Iran are no surprise. The fact that these documents were leaked is a key concern to the U.S.
[01:34:50] SAENZ: It comes at a delicate moment as the U.S. is trying to speak with Israel on a regular basis about their next steps.
President Joe Biden has said that they -- he believes that he does have a sense of how and when Israel will be responding.
Now, it's unclear whether this leak might cause Israel to change any of its plans but this is something that the U.S. is trying to get a handle of trying to figure out exactly how these documents were leaked at a very sensitive time.
Arlette Saenz, CNN -- the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COREN: We're learning that an American detained by Russia was involved in a bit of intrigue for the U.S. Paul Whelan, who was held for more than five years has passed information he learned from other prisoners about the Ukraine war to western officials during his detention.
Whelan says he was able to communicate with former prisoners who were later sent to the front lines in Ukraine.
During an interview on a Sunday news show, he explained how it happened.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL WHELAN, FORMER PRISONER IN RUSSIA: The prisoners from the camp, they went to the front line. They had communication and they would communicate with us. And the communication from them, I was passing back to the four governments.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How.
WHELAN: Through illegal cell phones.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You got a cell phone into a Russian labor camp?
WHELAN: Yes, we had burner phones.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's pretty incredible.
WHELAN: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And the guards didn't know about it or they just looked the other way.
WHELAN: They looked the other way. a Russian prison guard gets $300 -- $400 a month. You give them a carton of cigarettes and you can do just about anything you want.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COREN: Well Whelan has been detained by Russian officials on unrelated charges of spying for the U.S. He was released this past August in a prisoner swap between the U.S.
and Russia.
Well, breaking news coming to us from Kyiv. U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has made an unannounced visit to the Ukrainian capital.
Well, this follows a meeting in brussels last week with his counterparts in NATO. High on the agenda: questions from allies about the upcoming election and how it might impact Ukraine aid,
Specifically concerns that a potential Trump victory could jeopardize a future U.S. aid to Ukraine. Well sources familiar with the meeting tell us, Austin said that while he cannot predict the future, there is still bipartisan support for Ukraine in Congress. NATO officials say they are preparing for the U.S. to take on a lesser role.
Well, it elsewhere in Ukraine, a CNN producer on the ground in Kyiv reports hearing loud explosions and air raid sirens early Monday. The city's mayor warned residents on social media to take shelter as air defenses had been activated.
It comes amid reports that more than a dozen people injured in central Ukraine in the hometown of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Officials say a missile attack damaged several buildings and the local gas pipeline.
Well, meantime, President Zelenskyy is warning of a new threat amid reports North Korean soldiers may soon join the war to support Russian troops.
The U.S. Defense Secretary couldn't confirm those reports, but said it may signal something even more important about the conflict.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LLOYD AUSTIN, U.S. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: I can't confirm those reports at this point in time. It's something that we will certainly continue to investigate.
If that is the case, it's serious obviously but it also indicates that Putin is having trouble, you know. We know that that he's continues to lose a lot of people. And you heard me say before that he's lost somewhere north of 350,000 people killed and wounded. I believe that that number is probably much higher than that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COREN: Joining me now is Mick Ryan, a retired major general in the Australian Army, former commander at the Australia Defense College and author of "War Transformed: the Future of 21st Century Great Power, Competition, and Conflict". Mick, great to see you.
This news that 1,500 North Korean troops have arrived in Russia, there are reports that this is just the beginning, that there could be thousands more on the way.
What are you learning? And what does this mean for the broader war?
MAJ. GEN. MICK RYAN, AUSTRALIAN ARMY (RET): Good day, Anna.
Well, we're yet to receive definitive confirmation that the North Koreans will be dispatched to the front line, even though we've had that briefing from people like General Budanov (ph) in Ukraine.
But it's highly likely that they will do this and if they do get them to the front line, North Korea in effect becomes a co-belligerent in this war alongside Russia against Ukraine. That has interesting implications for NATO and the E.U.
[01:39:43]
COREN: Why are they there? Is this something that Kim Jong-un would have suggested, you know? You can train up our guys who have not had battle experience. Or is this a plea from Putin saying, you know, we need reinforcements?
RYAN: Well, it could have been a bit of both, actually. Generally countries that are doing well in most endeavors don't seek North Korean help. So it would probably indicate that the Russians are having some trouble with manpower at the moment.
Putin is very unwilling to go through another mobilization effort. So this might be some way that he can push that back at least until after the results of the U.S. presidential election are known.
What it will do, however, is also expose North Korean troops to modern war and that will not make the South Koreans very happy.
COREN: Let's discuss that because North Korea has one of the largest militaries in the world, something like 1.2 million soldiers. But as you say, they lack that combat experience.
I guess the question is yes, that they could gain that experience, take it home if they survive what is very much the meat grinder that Russia uses in its fight against Ukraine.
RYAN: It's clear that they will use this as a learning opportunity. North Koreans have not brought in any kind of conflict for decades. It will be a major learning opportunity for them.
So this deployment doesn't just have implications for the war in Ukraine. It has implications more broadly in western Asia, South Korea, Japan, and others. We're deeply concerned at this development.
COREN: I presume Mick that language is going to be an obstacle here, or would these North Korean troops, and we've seen pictures of them picking up their uniforms in Russia -- would they, would they speak Russian considering they'll be dealing with Russian soldiers and commanders and perhaps talk to us of the other challenges that they will face.
RYAN: It's likely they might have some trained (INAUDIBLE) but very unlikely all these North Koreans will be able to speak Russian. So that will be a major issue for them, not just in base citations (ph), but coordinating battlefield operations, things like logistics, food, fighting doctrine, these killings (ph) will all be very different between the Russians and Koreans. And they'll have some problems integrating the North Koreans, at least in the initial phases of their deployment.
COREN: And Mick, President Zelenskyy, he recently issued his plan for victory. I guess many thought, well, this is just more of what you've been saying. There hasn't been much of a response from the west, from NATO countries to his demands. Where do things stand at the moment?
RYAN: Well, the victory plan that President Zelenskyy brief to the Ukrainian parliament last week and has subsequently briefed at the European Council as well to heads of state in various European countries and the United States have an array of different elements to help Ukraine terminate the war on conditions that are more favorable to it.
It needs more equipment, but most importantly, it needs a sustained commitment from NATO and the United States to help it beat Russia. That is yet to be forthcoming.
COREN: And Mick, were you surprised that, that Lloyd Austin said he wasn't aware of reports that North Korean troops were in Russia. Does that come as a surprise considering this is intelligence that the South Koreans are reporting.
RYAN: Yes, it's hard to believe that he wasn't informed of this. This has been -- reports have been on about this for days now. So it would be very difficult to believe that either he or the president having at least been briefed on this.
COREN: Mick Ryan, we appreciate you bringing light to it as you always do. Mick Ryan, good to see you. Thank you.
RYAN: Thank you.
COREN: Well fans from across the world are paying tribute to the late singer/songwriter and former One Direction member Liam Payne. In Indonesia, hundreds of mourners held a prayer vigil in Jakarta on Sunday. And in Spain, dozens of heartbroken fans gathered in central Madrid to honor the late singer's impact and legacy.
Well Payne was just 31 years old when he died after falling from his hotel room balcony in Buenos Aires on Wednesday.
Our Camila Bernal brings us the latest.
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CAMILA BERNAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Even though Liam Payne's father has been in Buenos Aires since Friday, sources telling CNN that the body has not been released to the family.
We are being told that they will release that body to the family as soon as they complete the last clinical test needed. We were being told by sources that the father was able to see the body at the morgue, but what he wasn't able to do was go into the room where his son was staying.
They allowed him to go into a similar room on another floor because of this ongoing investigation. While there the father also going outside and speaking to the fans, thanking them for their support.
[01:44:46]
BERNAL: Fans have been gathering, not just in Buenos Aires but also all over the world, including in London, in Japan, in Australia and here in the U.S. A lot of these fans bringing letters and photos and flowers and candles.
A lot of them singing together, singing One Direction songs, and expressing how meaningful the band has been for them as they've grown up with them.
We've also seen an outpouring of support on social media, including from Liam Payne's sister, who expressed the fact that he was her best friend, saying she is in disbelief and of course, also expressing her love for her brother.
We also learned that one of the other former members of One Direction, Zayn Malik announcing that he's postponing his U.S. portion of the tour. And of course, thanking his fans for understanding.
Camila Bernal, CNN -- Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COREN: Ahead on CNN NEWSROOM, CNN's Ivan Watson gets an exclusive look inside the Singapore prison where drug traffickers await execution.
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COREN: Welcome back.
Well, Singapore has some of the harshest drug laws in the world and narcotics conviction in the city-state can carry a death sentence even for the smallest amounts. Well, last year a woman was hanged for attempting to traffic an ounce of heroin.
CNN's Ivan Watson went inside a prison where Singapore's death row is located. Here's his exclusive report.
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IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Crime and punishment. In the short distance from normal city streets to the depths of a prison, you enter another world -- a fortress carefully designed to strip convicted criminals of their freedom.
WATSON: This is a maximum-security wing in the Changi Prison complex in Singapore. The inmates incarcerated here have been convicted of felonies ranging from drug trafficking to violent crimes. And CNN is getting a rare look at this country's criminal justice system.
Under the constant gaze of guards and security cameras are sheer (ph) cell blocks, where rules are strict and meals arrive through a small shutter in each prison cell door.
During my visit here, officials allow me to interview one prisoner, a 41-year-old former teacher named Matthew. He was sentenced to more than seven years in prison and seven strokes with a cane for trafficking methamphetamines.
In Singapore, you can be sentenced to death for that.
MATTHEW, CHANGI PRISON INMATE: Yes.
WATSON: Was that a potential threat for you?
MATTHEW: At that point of time, I wasn't thinking about it. In fact, I was actively avoiding the whole issue of consequences.
[01:49:51]
K. SHANMUGAM, SINGAPORE'S MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS AND LAW: I see this as an existential threat to the social fabric.
WATSON: K. Shanmugam leads Singapore's war on drugs.
K. SHANMUGAM: If you look around the world, anytime there has been a certain laxity in the approach to drugs, homicides go up.
WATSON: Flying into Singapore, visitors get a stern warning.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Drug trafficking may be punishable by death.
WATSON: While Singaporean citizens may also face testing for drugs on arrival. This small city-state in Southeast Asia is per capita one of the wealthiest countries in the world.
K. SHANMUGAM: The amount that a drug trafficker or drug barons can make by trafficking drugs into Singapore is because the people of Singapore can afford to pay for it.
WATSON: What do you want me to take away from being able to visit the prison?
K. SHANMUGAM: That our philosophy on prisons is not the same as, say, the Scandinavian philosophy. You won't find air conditioning. You will find it to be quite a tough regime.
WATSON: This is a standard cell for a single prisoner. Inmates can spend from 14 to 23 hours a day in here. And as you can see, it's not very big.
The shower and toilet are right behind here and there's no air conditioning. And in this climate here in Singapore, I am dripping with sweat.
Authorities did not give CNN permission to enter death row. Under Singaporean law, those caught trafficking certain quantities of heroin, meth, or even marijuana face mandatory execution.
How does Singapore execute criminals?
K. SHANMUGAM: They are hung.
WATSON: Officials say most Singaporeans support the death penalty and argue this is an essential part of Singapore's system of deterrence.
What do you want to say to the government here?
NAZIRA LAJIM, SISTER OF EXECUTED PRISONER: I want to say to the government to abolish this hang system. It's very cruel to take one's life. Just put a life sentence, that will do. That will deter them from committing the crime.
WATSON: Nazira Lajim's brother Naziri was executed in 2022 for trafficking heroin. He was a lifelong drug addict, she says, and not a violent man.
WATSON: These are portraits.
LAJIM: These are portraits, yes.
WATSON: OK.
In Singapore, the government organizes a professional photo shoot before execution for each prisoner to share with their families.
How does it make you feel, him looking happy kind of --
LAJIM: No, no. I know it's fake. It's fake happiness. I know it's fake.
WATSON: But Singapore's zero tolerance approach to drugs remains very real. Since August, authorities have executed four men convicted of drug offenses.
As for the prisoners in maximum security, statistics show that after completing their sentences, one in five of these men will likely commit crimes and end up once again behind bars.
Ivan Watson, CNN -- Singapore.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COREN: We'll be back with news. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.
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COREN: King Charles and Queen Camilla are in the Australian capital of Canberra. They visited the whole of memory at Australia's National War Memorial and pay their respects at the Tomb of the Unknown Australian Soldier.
[01:54:48]
COREN: The British monarch was greeted in a variety of ways. First by a friendly alpaca before going on to meet with the Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
During a ceremony inside parliament, he was heckled by Australian Senator Lidia Thorpe, who shouted, "You are not my king", as she was escorted away by security.
The king will travel back to Sydney on Tuesday before heading to Samoa for a commonwealth leaders' meeting.
The world's smallest Rubik's Cube is the size of a few grains of rice. Well, Japanese toymaker MegaHouse unveiled the miniature puzzle earlier this month.
Our Hanako Montgomery in Tokyo had a go at solving it using a pair of tweezers.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HANAKO MONTGOMERY: This is what it takes to solve the world's smallest Rubik's Cube. They'll need a lot of patients and a pair of tweezers.
It's about the size of a few grains of rice with each side measuring just five millimeters.
But yes, it actually works.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's made with such delicate parts that if shaken (ph) roughly like you would with a normal Rubik's Cube, there's a possibility that parts might come off.
MONTGOMERY: The world's smallest Rubik's Cube was designed by Japanese toy maker MegaHouse. Made of aluminum, it's about a thousand times smaller than the classic version.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I wanted to show the world, the beauty of Japanese miniatures, the technology that is packed into these small things. But assembling them is the trickiest part because it has to be rotatable. If you make it too tight with no gaps, it won't move.
So you need a minimum amount of space.
MONTGOMERY: You need a lot of concentration to do this.
Then good eyes. At over $5,000 this tiny cube is more of a collector's item with deliveries rolling out from April.
Hanako Montgomery, CNN -- Tokyo.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COREN: That looks tough. Thanks for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Anna Coren. My friend and
colleague, Rosemary Church picks up with more news after this short break.
Stay with CNN.
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