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Israel Edging Closer To Ceasefire Deal With Hezbollah In Lebanon; Heavy Rains Add To Plight Of Displaced Civilians In Gaza Amid Israeli War; G7 Ministers Meet In Italy To Discuss Conflicts In Gaza, Lebanon And Ukraine; Storm Bert Strikes U.K. And Ireland, Brings Extreme Flooding And Travel Chaos; Officials call China's Cyberattack Worst Telecom Hack In Us History; Cryptocurrency Bitcoin Price Hit Record High After Trump's Victory; Bitcoin Soaring after Donald Trump's Election Victory; Violence Against Women Report; Lyle And Erik Menendez to Appear in Court Monday; Mothers of Russian Soldiers Honored in Moscow. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired November 25, 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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[01:00:24]
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome, everyone. I'm Michael Holmes. Appreciate your company. Coming up here on CN Newsroom, a wave of attacks between Israel and Hezbollah as diplomatic efforts are underway to reach a ceasefire.
Plus, one femicide every 10 minutes, a new U.N. report revealing alarming data about who commits violence against women and how often it happens.
And tracking storm Bert as wind and rain impact Western Europe. Recovery is underway in parts of the U.K. battered by downpours and flooding.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from Atlanta. This is CNN Newsroom with Michael Holmes.
HOLMES And we begin this hour in the Middle East where a regional source says a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hezbollah is, quote, very close. But a spokesperson for the Israeli prime minister says while they're moving in that direction, some issues still need to be addressed.
All of this as we see continuing strikes across the border. On Sunday night, the Israel Defense Forces said they hit 12 Hezbollah command centers in Beirut's southern suburbs. The Lebanese capital was one of several areas hit by Israeli attacks over the weekend. Officials in Lebanon say those attacks across the country killed dozens of people.
In Israel, at least seven people were injured after the Israeli military says Hezbollah fired around 250 projectiles from Lebanon on Sunday, some of them, most of them, in fact, as you see here, intercepted by Israel's air defenses. CNN's Nic Robertson tracking all the developments has more now for us
from Jerusalem.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Well, the fact that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with his ministers and senior security officials is an indication that they talked about the Hezbollah ceasefire possibility, that potentially it's getting closer.
And a source in the region has said he feels that it's close in the context there you have the battle tempo picking up more than 250 Hezbollah rockets and drones fired into Israel over Sunday. That is a huge number, much bigger than we've seen over recent days.
And Israel, for its part, increasing its strikes in the center of Beirut over the past week. On early hours of Saturday morning, a strike there killing more than 29 people. It appeared to be a strike going after a senior Hezbollah figure, although none were killed in that strike.
84 other people over the weekend, more than 84 killed in Lebanon, more than 3,000 killed since the war began there. And on Sunday, the IDF actually hitting a Lebanese army base, killing one soldier, damaging equipment and injuring several other soldiers. The IDF apologized for that, said that they were targeting Hezbollah.
But the indications are over the past few days that the battle tempo has been heating up. And if you look back at the ceasefire in 2006 between Israel and Hezbollah, back then in the days before the ceasefire came into effect, the battle tempo heated up as well. It doesn't mean necessarily that there will be a ceasefire, but it does indicate that both sides are really putting their backs into the fight for maximal gain.
The biggest consideration it appears for Prime Minister Netanyahu getting what he wants during that 60-day ceasefire, getting the right to strike back at Hezbollah if they break the ceasefire, that seems to be one of the key issues that's holding out. That and the Iranians weighing in from their part.
Ali Larijani, a senior adviser to the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, saying that Iran would strike at Israel, threatening that possibility. Something we heard them saying several weeks ago when the talks seemed to be breaking down then, now putting their voice in again at a crucial time in these ceasefire talks. And it appears as if Iran is adding pressure. Is there going to be a green light for the ceasefire talks to progress to a point of conclusion? that isn't clear.
Battle tempo talks and discussions, diplomacy seem to be pointing that it could be close. But let's not forget we've been here before, so it's not a done deal far from it. Nick Robinson, CNN, Jerusalem.
(END VIDEOTAPE) HOLMES: Meantime, in Gaza, civilians displaced by Israel's ongoing attacks are now facing a new challenge, worsening weather conditions. Thousands of people have been impacted by flooding after heavy rain soaked hundreds of tents across the enclave, in some cases sweeping away the plastic and cloth sheeting used for protection by families forced to flee their own homes.
[01:05:11]
The majority of Gaza's population, of course, has been displaced since the war began last October. And it's not just the rain and impending winter weather. So many are dealing with a lack of food, with aid organizations warning famine is likely imminent, if not already underway, in parts of northern Gaza.
And joining me now from Oman, Jordan is Bart Witteveen, the International Rescue Committee's country director for the Palestinian Territories. Thanks for doing so, sir. These recent U.N. reports have cited Israel as using food as a weapon of war. Almost zero aid getting into northern Gaza. Aid that has been delivered has been bombed by Israel shortly after.
What is the situation now for Palestinians, particularly in the north?
BART WITTEVEEN, IRC COUNTY DIRECTOR FOR THE PALESTINIAN TERRITORY: Yes, good morning, Michael. Thanks for having me. What I can say about the situation in the north is that it is extremely alarming. We can acknowledge that the situation across the Gaza Strip is extremely difficult, where essentially all of the population is at crisis or worse levels of food insecurity.
But the situation in the north, which has essentially been cut off from the rest of Gaza, and even within the north, there areas that are under particular siege. The situation is now at a catastrophic level, which essentially is the pathway towards famine. So, yes, we're extremely concerned and really looking for effective change.
HOLMES: And what are your people on the ground telling you about how famine is playing out? I mean, what humanize it? What are people enduring on a daily basis?
WITTEVEEN: Well, let me clarify that. Access to the north for humanitarian actors, especially international actors, is extremely difficult. We are engaged there through partnership with Palestinian organizations which continue to deliver services as best they can.
But the situation is such that access to food is extremely difficult. The clone of the easy indicators is the operational capacity of the bakeries providing bread to the population. Most of these bakeries are shutting down because of the lack of access to wheat, which is an indicator of the restrictions of food commodities getting into Gaza.
HOLMES: Yes, the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization, they estimate 70 percent of farmland has been destroyed by Israel. In Gaza, three quarters of the orchards, the vast majority of livestock wiped out. Even once the war is over and what's left of Gaza is revealed when it comes to food, what is going to be Gaza's ability to grow its own food going forward? Because it used to grow a lot of it.
WITTEVEEN: Well, it's fair to say agriculture was a significant part of the Gazan economy before the crisis. But let's be clear, Gaza has never been self-sufficient in food production. Even the agricultural action that takes place is primarily commercial crops such as strawberries and olives at the end of the day is dependent on access, sufficient access to food through Israel primarily.
And this is where the current situation with severe restrictions on commodities getting into Gaza have been, are now so severe that almost nothing is getting in.
HOLMES: Yes. And to that point, last month, the U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, sent a letter to the Israeli government demanding Israel improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza within 30 days. He said that deadline has long passed. Virtually none of those demands have been met. U.S. law bans supply of weapons when humanitarian aid is deliberately blocked.
What does the U.S. need to do now? What is it obligated to do in light of those demands being ignored and what groups like yours see happening on the ground?
WITTEVEEN: Well, the U.S. commitment and obligation, I would say, to international humanitarian law would require them to apply every pressure possible to ensure adequate access of humanitarian assistance. And I would argue this responsibility would go beyond the American borders as well.
The international community, regional actors for that matter, need to apply pressure, in particular on the Israeli authorities to open up access, whether it be food commodities, into Gaza, but also equally important, the access of the population in Gaza to the services that we provide.
[01:10:10]
And under the current circumstances, the situation continues to deteriorate. That letter was sent more than six weeks ago and that disturbing and alarming trend continues.
HOLMES: Yes.
WITTEVEEN: And a reversal of that trend really is paramount at the moment.
HOLMES: Yes, let's face it, that letter was just ignored. I mean, a few days ago the World Health Organization expressed grave concern for the hospitals still partly operating in northern Gaza. None of them are operating properly. Civilians are still being killed and wounded every day. What is your understanding of the medical resources remaining from what you're hearing?
WITTEVEEN: Well, you can imagine if humanitarian cargo is so severely restricted that insufficient food commodities are coming in to the point where people are at crisis levels of food insecurity, then those restrictions must also impact medical supplies which are in severe shortage.
We're also partnering with organizations that are providing emergency medical teams that are operating in the hospitals. They are facing huge challenges in terms of addressing mass casualty events, but they are also severely constrained with regard to the supplies they have available to carry out their difficult mission.
HOLMES: Yes, yes. Bart Witteveen with the International Rescue Committee. Thank you for your time and for the work your group does. Thank you.
WITTEVEEN: It's my pleasure. Thank you.
HOLMES: And this just in. A cargo plane flying from Germany has crashed in Lithuania. It happened just outside the Vilnius air at about 5:30 a.m. local time. Reuters reporting the plane is a DHL aircraft. An airport spokesperson says emergency workers and firefighters are on the scene. No word yet on casualties. We'll bring you more details as we get them now.
The wars raging in the Middle East and in Ukraine will feature prominently in the G7 foreign ministers meeting in the coming hours in central Italy. The delegations will discuss those wars along with Indo-Pacific security and the ongoing security crises in Haiti and Sudan.
Ukraine's foreign minister will be attending the meetings on Tuesday. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Italy on Sunday. It will be his last G7 summit before the Trump administration takes over the White House in January.
Italy's former foreign minister explains why it's so important for the G7 allies to remain in sync.
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ENZO MOAVERO MILANESI, FORMER ITALIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: Present world is quite problematic, is even to a great extent unfortunately dangerous wars both in Europe, Ukraine, in the Middle East, the rewamp of hostilities and the dangers all around the world that we see daily.
So it is quite important for Western country to be in close cooperation in order to grant a sort of common position in the diplomatic talks and in looking for a better and more peaceful world.
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HOLMES: Meanwhile, Ukraine and its allies are working to assess Moscow's latest military technology after Russia fired a new type of missile last week on central Ukraine. Nick Paton Walsh with the latest from Dnipro.
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NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, it was the dead of night here that people in Dnipro saw the extraordinary scene on their skyline of that multi-warhead Russian missile experimental, according to U.S. officials. And here a children's rehabilitation center where some of the debris from the attack that night indeed landed. Children were here at the time. Still broken glass on the ground below me.
And really it's these vulnerable Ukrainians on the receiving end of the broader geopolitical message that Russian President Vladimir wanted -- Putin wanted to send. The parts of the debris of that missile on display to news agencies in Kyiv today a select amount, clearly, Kyiv trying to show the world exactly what technology was used against them. And there is, of course, going to be a lot of forensic attention as to exactly what those missile parts indeed show.
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Experts are currently analyzing the evidence and working with our partners to establish all the details and the specifications of this missile and to find a response together to this latest Russian escalation.
WALSH: There appears to be a consensus this was a hypersonic missile and it was one with multiple warheads, non-nuclear indeed. Vladimir Putin suggested that it can potentially get through all Western air defenses. And I'm sure that the parts on display will be poured over to see if indeed that provides any clues as to whether this is a technological leap by Russia or not.
[01:15:05]
But still here, the message itself was very much more immediate and terrifying, surely, for those who saw multiple different fragments raining down on them from above and damage still here palpable in the freezing night. Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Dnieper, Ukraine.
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HOLMES: Donald Trump's choice to be the next US national security adviser says the president elect is concerned over recent developments between Russia and Ukraine. Congressman Mike Waltz telling Fox News that Mr. Trump is focused on setting up negotiations to end the conflict.
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MIKE WALTZ, INCOMING U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: The president elect has been very concerned about the escalation and where it's all going. President Trump has been very clear about the need to end this conflict. And so what we need to be discussing is who's at that table, whether it's an agreement, an armistice, how to get both sides to the table. And then what's the framework of a deal?
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HOLMES: Well, with most of Donald Trump's top cabinet picks in place, Republicans are now bracing for the long confirmation battles ahead, especially for the president elect's more controversial choices. CNN's Alayna Treene with that.
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ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: Well, president elected Donald Trump has moved very quickly to fill out his Cabinet. He only has a few more names left to announce, but now really the attention is turning to how he is going to get these different candidates through their confirmation processes, particularly the ones that we know are more controversial and that are causing some consternation up on Capitol Hill.
And that includes Tulsi Gabbard, who many senators questioned her position on surveillance and also her deep distrust of some of the agencies that she'll be overseeing. There's also RFK Jr. who has passed comments supporting abortion access may not sit well with a lot of the staunchly anti-abortion senators that will be dealing with his confirmation process. There's also Pete Hegseth, who's Donald Trump's pick to lead the Pentagon. He has been dogged by a recent sexual assault allegation, but also a lot of people raising questions of whether or not he has the credentials for that role.
So all of this together is what I know the Trump transition team is going to be focusing on very heavily between now and Inauguration Day as they prepare all of these different people to go through the Senate process. Now, we did hear some members address this today. I do want you to take a listen to what Republican Senator Mark Wayne Mullen of the deep red state of Oklahoma said in trying to address some of this.
MARKWAYNE MULLIN, U.S SENATE REPUBLICAN: This isn't a new administration coming in. And so when people are criticizing his picks. The president has done this job before. He knows exactly what he needs. He knows who he wants to put in those positions. That's why he's been able to move fast, because he knows he has four years to reach the mandate that the American people said they want the government going in a different direction. And these nominations he's putting forth are actually going to deliver that for him.
TREENE: Now, what Mullen said there I think is pretty significant. And it does align with what I'm hearing in my conversations with those working with the Trump transition team, which is Donald Trump chose these people even though he knew they were controversial for a reason.
He wants disruptors, people who will go into these different agencies and buck the establishment and really try and go in a different way, break from traditional norms. That was his goal in these selections. And that is why we've seen him publicly put pressure, Donald Trump himself, on many of these senators and encouraging them to support him.
Now, one key thing to keep in mind as well, though, is that we do know that Senate Republicans have a backbone, that even though Republicans have control of the House and the Senate, we did see them weigh in very publicly about Matt Gaetz. I mean, Donald Trump was all in on Matt Gaetz. We had been told and really wanted him for his attorney general pick.
But it was clear from his meetings with senators and the conversations they were having that he was not going to get the number of votes he needed to get through the Senate. And ultimately Gaetz withdrew. And so that is definitely weighing on the back of a lot of people's minds at Mar-a-Lago and something they're going to continue to be working toward as they ready all of these different selections for those hearings.
Alayna Treene, CNN, West Palm Beach, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: There are high wind warnings across the United Kingdom as a dangerous weather system moves through the British Isles and into west in Europe. We'll have a look at that when we come back. Also, the dire warning from a U.S. senator over a Chinese cyber attack that targeted top political figures, including Donald Trump.
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HOLMES: At least three people are dead and tens of thousands of homes and businesses lost power as Storm Bert hit the British Isles this weekend. The weather system brought strong wind, snow and rain to the region. Britain's chief meteorologist calling it a multi hazard event. Storm Bert triggering flood warnings across the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Storm Bert is expected to clear from the region by Tuesday, but for now many people in the U.K. and Ireland are working to recover from the storm's damage.
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HOLMES (voice-over): Snow, wind and rain the so called multi hazard event named Storm Bert whipped across Britain and Ireland over the weekend, disrupting airport, ferry and train services across the British Isles. In Wales, emergency services waded through flooded streets and residents tried to bail water from their homes after some parts of the country were drenched with more than 10 centimeters of rain.
UNDIENTIFIED MALE: You see on news, you know, happens in Spain, globally and then it happens to you and it's like oh right, well how do we handle it? And it's just, you know, some of them have in a cuppa, some like me panicking going away.
HOLMES (voice-over): In Northwest Ireland, tens of thousands of people were without power after high winds and floods swept through the area. Sandbags were still out on the streets as people braced for more rain and tried to mop up during a break in the storm.
THOMAS PRINGLE, IRISH MP: The river versus bank up behind us here and the river just basically flowed down the street and flooded the whole street here right up to halfway up the hall towards the main street there. And devastation.
HOLMES (voice-over): Heavy snow covered parts of Scotland and central England where snow, ice and flood warnings were in place. The U.K. Met Office says some rural communities could be cut off, with up to 40 centimeter of snow expected in higher elevations. Forecasters say wind and rain could continue to be a threat before Storm Bert finally clears the region on Tuesday.
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HOLMES: Now the chairman of the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee, Mark Warner, says the U.S. is now witnessing the worst telecom hack in the nation's history. People briefed on the matter telling CNN that Chinese hackers have been spying on some of the most senior figures in both the Democratic and Republican parties. The all senators briefing on the situation is now scheduled for December 4th. CNN's Sean Lyngaas is following the latest developments.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEAN LYNGAAS, CNN CYBERSECURITY REPORTER: U.S. Officials on Friday summoned top telecommunications executives to the White House to share the latest intelligence on an alleged Chinese hacking campaign that has targeted senior U.S. political figures, including President-Elect Donald Trump and Vice President-Elect J.D. Vance.
The hacking campaign is shaking up to be one of the biggest national security challenges facing the incoming Trump administration. But the full scope of the hack, who it affects and its impact on national security are still being investigated.
The meeting comes as U.S. cyber experts are still trying to make sure that the hackers have been actually kicked out of the telecom networks. It's a cat and mouse game that won't be ending anytime soon. China has denied involvement. Sean Lyngaas, CNN, Washington.
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HOLMES: Now, in his flurry of cabinet picks last week, Trump tapped Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick to lead the U.S. Commerce Department. Lutnick has served as the co-chair of Trump's presidential transition team since August. He's a big fan of cryptocurrency with ties to one of the industry's most controversial players.
During the campaign, Trump himself vowed to make the U.S. the crypto capital of the planet with an advisory council and a cryptocurrency reserve. Trump has also had a chance to appoint more friendly Securities and Exchange Commission chair.
Bitcoin, a crypto market bellwether, has shot up more than 30 percent since Trump's victory. It's now trading at $97,000.
Yesha Yadav is a professor at Vanderbilt Law School. She joins me now from Norman, Oklahoma. Professor, thanks for doing so.
This has been an extraordinary rise even for bitcoin, which has been notoriously volatile over the years. How much of that is political? Trump's appointment of crypto boosters to his administration. This talk of a bitcoin strategic reserve.
YESHA YADAV, PROFESSOR, VANDERBILT LAW SCHOOL: Michael, thank you so very much for having me today. This is a very big moment for crypto with the election of President Trump. The upsurge in bitcoin prices has been actually happening since around January this year. But it has really taken off, as you noted, since the election.
There are a couple of elements here that are really pushing its value. That strategic reserve is really, really important, Michael, because what it means is that the U.S. will be buying bitcoin. It already has a very substantial reserve, upwards of 200,000 bitcoins that it has already and it's likely to buy more.
What that means is that the selling pressure will decrease in this market. The U.S. will not be selling. And in addition, other countries may be wanting to buy it as well. More broadly, signals is an institutional acceptance of crypto. Crypto will become extremely legitimized by its association with U.S. economic policy. And they can only spell a very positive upswing for crypto. That two years look like it was very much dead in the water, according to many comments.
HOLMES: Yes, for the uninitiated, of course, at the end of the day, bitcoin isn't like most assets, something -- it's something intangible in a traditional investment sense. There's no cash flow. There's no direct physical property rights. There's no hard assets. It's got limited utility. Is it sustainable?
YADAV: Michael, there is a technological proposition here that Bitcoin proponents have really been speaking to, which is a network that is capable of moving information and value in a way that is decentralized, that doesn't need banks or even governments to surveil it on a everyday transactional basis. That technology is radical and it's new because it's able to operate essentially in an automated and decentralized way.
Now that technological proposition in various different blockchains is actually moving upwards of $70 billion worth of value already today. So that movement today is happening. The question really becomes how safe is this, how viable is this technology? How much can everyday users benefit from it? And that is something that's a really wait and see proposition as regulation takes hold and everyday people start to become more educated about what this technology can actually achieve.
HOLMES: Well, that was going to be my next question. Let's talk more about it. It's not a ride for the faint of heart, or perhaps not something to go all in on or go even heavily into as an ordinary. What are the potential pitfalls? What should average people be aware of?
YADAV: Average people need to be educated about the technology, Michael. In addition, they need to make sure what they're really getting into. There are some novel risks here in relation to this technology. For example, in relation to hacks, in relation to some of the marketing for certain kinds of coins that haven't always been very consumer friendly.
This is something that folks do need to be mindful of, but we're entering a chapter where there can be some -- there's going to be some real regulation coming forward, in particular in relation to disclosure, in particular in relation to making sure that customer crypto is safely handled. After FTX, a bunch of the FTX consumers ended up as unsecured creditors of that exchange. That was not their crypto anymore legally. That is a horrible state of affairs to have been in.
HOLMES: Yes.
YADAV: At this point, it's really a focus on making sure that folks can become educated. They can get comfortable with this technology. In addition, there are some financial products that are coming on this market, like the ETF, that's allowing everyday investors to get into this market more safely by buying this ETF product, which is very much a part of this market, already part of the securities market, and doing so in a way that they're comfortable.
[01:29:44]
HOLMES: Yes. Yes. Trump Media and Technology Group had filed a trademark application for what it described as a cryptocurrency payment processing platform.
And Trump is now, of course, pushing crypto. He used to hate it. He used to call it a scam. But could the president of the United States end up making millions for himself by using his own administration to push or hype crypto when he's basically got a finger in the pie.
YADAV: Yes, it's a -- it's a really important part of the regulatory project here Michael, which is to make sure that any perception of conflicts of interest in relation to the president's own ventures, his family's ventures, can be safely mitigated and dealt with.
In addition to the venture you just mentioned, the Trump family has already been associated with World Liberty Financial, which is a decentralized blockchain project already in motion.
So when regulation gets up and running, any kind of enforcement decisions or rulemaking has to be super careful to make sure that no conflicts of interest or perceptions of these conflicts of interest can arise. And to avoid that kind of suggestion that there's going to be lots of money to be made personally by the president.
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HOLMES: Because that worked so well last time around. Yes, we shall see.
I got to leave it there, unfortunately. A fascinating conversation, Professor Yesha Yadav, thank you so much.
YADAV: Absolutely. Thank you so much for having me.
HOLMES: Yamandu Orsi, a leftist opposition candidate, has been elected president in Uruguay with a tight run-off vote of just over 49 percent of the vote. His victory makes the South American nation the latest to go against an incumbent party in a year of many national elections around the world. The working class, former history teacher and two- time mayor from Uruguay's Broad Front coalition thanked a large crowd of supporters. And in the cause of building a better country, he also called on them to show understanding to those who voted against him.
Still to come, shocking statistics revealed on International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. What the new U.N. report says when we come back.
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HOLMES: Welcome back. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM with me, Michael Holmes.
International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women is being marked around the world. And a new U.N. report, "Femicides in 2023" reveals that one woman is killed every ten minutes by a partner or family member.
[01:34:50]
HOLMES: People are taking to the streets to show support for the cause and dismay sometimes anger at the shocking statistics.
The report shows that globally 85,000 women and girls were killed intentionally in 2023. Much of the violence against women and girls happens in the home. 60 percent of all female homicides are committed by intimate family -- intimate partners or family members, with 140 women and girls, on average, losing their lives to domestic violence every day.
Now, U.N. Women is calling for accountability and more action from decision makers.
Kalliopi Mingeirou is the chief of the Ending Violence against Women section at the U.N. Women in New York. She joins me now and thanks for doing so.
The most recent numbers in this report are horrifying. One woman killed every ten minutes by partners or family members. That is staggering.
Sum up what this report briefly is telling us about this issue.
KALLIOPI MINGEIROU, CHIEF, ENDING VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN SECTION, U.N. WOMEN: This is a big, a very serious issue. Having 80,005 women and girls who were killed intentionally in 2023.
Think about it. This is a war against women and girls. Sometimes these numbers they are more than the fatalities we have where during a war.
And as you said these women and girls are at the greater risk of homicide at home. We have some really horrifying data there. 51,100 women and girls worldwide were killed by the intimate partners or other family members.
HOLMES: Yes.
MINGEIROU: one woman killed every ten minutes by someone in their own family.
HOLMES: They're horrifying numbers. So often this violence, as you point out, is in their homes. It's behind closed doors. It's kept quiet.
I mean, how much of an issue is that aspect? Do we even know how widespread the problem is.
MINGEIROU: we can really see just the tip of the iceberg there. We know that less than 40 percent of the women who experience violence seek help of any sort. And just to mention that less of these women -- less than 10 percent seek -- who seek help appeal to the police.
There's so much stigma for survivors of violence to really report the violence that they experience. And you know, it's really difficult for women just to report on the partners that they are with.
Sometimes they are so much afraid of their own lives. They are afraid that they're going to lose the custody of their children. So it becomes very, very difficult to report such violence.
So we really see only the tip of the iceberg.
HOLMES: 2024 marks 25 years since the U.N. designated the 25th of November, the date of which was the date of the murder of the Mirabal sisters as International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.
What advances have been made in that time, presumably from these numbers, not enough.
MINGEIROU: Although the days of such femicides and violence they are really alarming, we have seen some progress, though, in the last few decades. Member states have been working and governments have been working very hard to implement laws, policies and to put services in place to address violence against women and girls.
And now we have, as of 2023 we have 104 countries that they have comprehensive laws addressing domestic violence. And we have seen some increases of budgets in order to implement these laws.
HOLMES: Yes. There have been some --
(CROSSTALKING)
MINGEIROU: However, this is not enough.
HOLMES: No. No. One presumes it's not.
There have been some high-profile cases that have happened in recent times that have, you know, there's been protests on the street. You know, the woman who was basically prostituted out by a husband and so on in France, tens of thousands turning out to protest. So what needs to change on a base level to stop or at least mitigate this kind of violence against women on a governmental level.
MINGEIROU: we have seen that these really public cases, they have shed the light to the extent of violence and abuse that women can experience every day.
And we have seen that this kinds of vast outcry from everyday citizens, women's rights organizations demanding for action and for legal and policy reforms. They have really created, instigated some progress in the past.
[01:39:50]
MINGEIROU: And they have led not only to prosecution of individual cases, but also to some significant legal and policy action.
What we really need to see right now, it's like not only having laws and policies in place, but we really need to work with governments to address the root causes of such violence, which is harmful social norms, gender stereotypes, the belief that so many people uphold about the gender roles that women and men should have in society, that they really normalize such violence.
And most importantly, we really need to address the gender-based discrimination that we see in laws and policies around the world.
HOLMES: Very, very important issue. And thank you for putting a spotlight on it Kalliopi Mingeirou, thank you so much.
MINGEIROU: Thank you.
HOLMES: The White House is condemning the killing of an Israeli rabbi in the United Arab Emirates. In a statement, the National Security Council spokesperson said, quote, "This was a horrific crime against all those who stand for peace, tolerance and co-existence. It was an assault as well on U.A.E. and its rejection of violent extremism across the board."
Authorities in the U.A.E. have arrested three people in connection with the death of Rabbi Zvi Kogan, who had filed by a friend days before his murder. Israel says he was killed in what they described as an anti-Semitic act of terror.
In Spain, four men have been convicted in connection with the homophobic murder of a 24-year-old nursing assistant. They were found guilty of targeting the victim, Samuel Luis because they assumed he was gay.
Luis' death sparked protests across Spain and abroad. He died after being assaulted outside a nightclub in July 2021. The prosecutor is requesting jail terms between 22 and 27 years.
And the Menendez brothers will face a judge Monday as they fight to be released from prison decades after being convicted of killing their parents. The case has drawn renewed public interest since the release of a hit Netflix show this year, and growing support for Lyle and Erik Menendez from celebrities.
CNN's Camila Bernal has more.
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CAMILA BERNAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This status hearing is the latest step in the brothers' bid to freedom after the Los Angeles County district attorney recommended their resentencing.
It is the first time that we'll see them in nearly 30 years after they were convicted and sentenced to life in prison for the killing of their parents.
And it is nearly 30 years later that this judge will also decide what happens whether they appear in person or virtually. It is likely that they will appear virtually. And it is a hearing that will start at 10:30 a.m. at a Van Nuys courtroom here in the Los Angeles area.
The judge also setting very strict rules around what happens in this hearing. There will be no cameras and no cell phone. In fact, the cell phones will be sealed in bags.
Journalists will be allowed to attend, but only 16 members of the public will be allowed in that courtroom. And they will get their seats via a lottery.
There is huge attention and interest in this case especially after a 2023 docu series on Peacock where a member of the boy band Menudo also alleged that he was a victim of sexual abuse by Jose Menendez, the father of the two brothers.
So that along with a letter that Erik Menendez wrote before the killings describing the sexual abuse is what the defense team says should be used and is why they are asking a court to reconsider the sentence and the conviction.
And so the district attorney here in Los Angeles agreed with the defense. The problem for the defense is that that district attorney was essentially voted out of office.
Nathan Hochman, the incoming district attorney here in Los Angeles, sees this case a little bit different. Here's what he told us.
NATHAN HOCHMAN, INCOMING DISTRICT ATTORNEY, LOS ANGELES: Now as to whether or not I'm going to support that particular motion or not, you got to do the hard work to make that decision. You got to review thoroughly the facts and the law.
You need to actually speak to the prosecutors, speak to law enforcement officers, speak to the defense counsel and speak to any victim family members as well.
Only after I do all that work will I be in a position to weigh in on the Menendez case, because then I'm not only going to weigh in on it, I'll have to defend that decision in court. BERNAL: And the question here is not whether the brothers killed their parents. They have admitted to doing so, but have said that they did it in self-defense after years of sexual abuse, emotional and physical abuse.
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BERNAL: The prosecution at the time argued that this was premeditated and that the brothers did this for the money and because they wanted their parents' money.
So again, we'll have to wait and see what the judge on Monday decides to do.
But there is also another hearing that we're waiting for that is scheduled for December 11th. And that is the sentencing hearing, which could be more consequential for these brothers as this case continues to move through the courts.
Camila Bernal, CNN -- Los Angeles.
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HOLMES: And we continue to follow a developing story out of Lithuania. At least one person has been killed and two others taken to hospital after a cargo plane crashed outside Vilnius Airport.
It happened around 5:30 a.m. local time, the plane flying from Germany. Reuters is reporting it is a DHL aircraft and airport spokesperson says emergency workers and firefighters are on the scene.
Coming up on the program, Russia's government is honoring women whose sons were sent to fight in Ukraine. Those mothers speak to CNN when we come back.
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HOLMES: Thousands of Russian troops continue to go to the front lines, the mothers of those soldiers rarely heard from throughout the conflict in Ukraine are speaking out to CNN.
Fred Pleitgen reports for us from Moscow.
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FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: As the war in Ukraine nears the three-year mark, more and more Russians are signing up to fight. Vladimir Putin saying more than 700,000 are currently stationed in and around Ukraine.
We got rare access to an event in Moscow honoring the mothers of Russian soldiers battling in what the Kremlin still calls its special military operation, mothers whose sons are fighting have been killed or injured.
Oksana Medvedeva's son Yegor was severely-wounded on the battlefield earlier this year.
"He had surgery on his leg and the nerves had to be sewn back together," she says. "He also had surgery on his jaw, but it still has not recovered properly. He's still being treated. I am proud of my son that he is such a hero."
While the Russians have been making significant battlefield gains recently, they appear to come at a heavy price. Moscow doesn't publish casualty figures, but Western governments believe the attrition rate among Russian forces is significant.
To increase manpower, the U.S. and Ukraine say more than 11,000 North Korean troops are now also on Moscow's side, mostly in Russia's Kursk region.
Yelena Yemelina's son Mikhail (ph) is still fighting in Ukraine. She won't say where, but acknowledges for him it's tough.
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PLEITGEN: "He went through a lot of moments he doesn't like to talk about," she says. "But I found out by chance I think he's a true hero."
The U.S. and its allies continue to condemn Russia's president, urging him to withdraw from Ukraine immediately. But this week, instead, a major escalation.
After the Biden administration allowed Ukraine to use longer distance U.S. and U.K.-supplied missiles to strike deep inside Russia, Putin hit back with a new intermediate range ballistic missile capable of delivering devastating nuclear warheads and he threatened to hit U.S. assets as well.
"We consider ourselves entitled to use our weapons against the military objects of those countries that allow their weapons to be used against our objects," he said.
Back at the event, for the soldier's mothers, a Russian parliamentarian backing Putin up.
"We are a strong country and we've been patient for a very long time," she said. "But in the case of mass deaths of our people, if the collective West does not sober up, we should proceed to more decisive actions. We can no longer lose any of our men."
But for now, the battles continue to escalate and the losses continue to mount as Vladimir Putin warns the war is increasingly becoming a struggle between Russia and the West.
Fred Pleitgen, CNN -- Moscow.
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HOLMES: Well, it was a blockbuster weekend at the box office. Coming up the big money totals for Hollywood heavyweights "Wicked" and "Gladiator 2".
We'll be right back
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HOLMES: Well, Max Verstappen of Team Red Bull has won his fourth Drivers' Championship in a row with a fifth-place finish in the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
The Dutchman needed only to hold off rival Lando Norris to come top of the points table, clinching the title with two races still left in the season and joining an elite group of formula one drivers with at least four titles.
Others with four are the brilliant famous, wonderful Alain Prost and Sebastian Vettel. Juan Manuel Fangio claimed five titles in the 1950s, and Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton each have seven championships.
Now Hollywood is seeing green thanks to November blockbusters. The box office got the one-two punch it needed this weekend with the debut of "Gladiator 2" and the long-awaited film adaptation of "Wicked".
David Daniel runs us through the weekend's top five films.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What are we doing?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We need a disguise.
DAVID DANIEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: "Venom: The Last Dance" fell to fifth place, grabbing $4 million for a domestic total of $134 million.
"Bonhoeffer" about the German pastor who worked to overthrow the Nazi regime, opened in fourth place with $5.1 million.
"Red One" dropped to third place, collecting $13.3 million for a ten- day domestic total of $53 million.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I remember that day.
DANIEL: "Gladiator 2" entered the box office fray in second place, starting strong with $55.5 million.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're green.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am.
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DANIEL: A magical debut for "Wicked", which topped the chart with $114 million, the biggest opening ever for an adaptation of a Broadway musical.
In Hollywood, I'm David Daniel. (END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Now millions of turkeys will be consumed across the U.S. this Thanksgiving Thursday. But two birds to be spared that fate by President Joe Biden are Peach and Blossom.
They were introduced on Sunday as this year's national Thanksgiving turkeys and they're all set for their official presidential pardon at the White House in the coming hours. Peach and Blossom will then retire to a farm in Minnesota.
Lucky them -- we've all heard that line. They're going off to a farm, yes.
Well, the City of Lights is a little brighter now thanks to the annual Christmas lights display along Paris' Champs-Elysees. The 400 trees are adorned with LED lights in the shape of wine glasses, possibly to encourage some festive cheer. Why not? The lights will glitter every night until midnight through the New Year.
Meanwhile, in Madrid, some residents and tourists were experiencing Sunday mass like no other.
What is that? Apparently it's a so-called Priest known as comedian Leo Basi (ph), leading mass at a church that worships rubber ducks. And why not?
A bride and groom even exchanged rubber duck rings. Each weekend Basi mixes humor, current affairs and some cracking (ph) for dozens of attendees. He started the unusual church in 2012 to venerate the small things. Thanks to social media its taken off.
That's my kind of church.
Thanks for spending part of your day with me. I'm Michael Holmes. You can follow me on Threads and Instagram @HolmesCNN and on Bluesky @HolmesTV.
Stick around, my friend and colleague Rosemary Church is standing by to pick up more news after the break.
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