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CNN International: Deadly Nepal-China Flood; Iran, Oman Advance Proposal On Strait Of Hormuz; Kremlin: Ratcliffe Held Talks With Counterparts In Moscow. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired August 27, 2026 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:00]

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Polo Sandoval, live in New York. And ahead here on CNN Newsroom, rescue efforts are underway in Nepal and China after catastrophic flash flooding tore through the border region, wiping out entire villages. Details on the search for survivors ahead in a live report.

And after weeks of negotiations, Iran and Iran reach a potential deal on the Strait of Hormuz, but the critical sea passage won't be reopening, at least not just yet. Plus, millions of people around the world are honoring the life of Dolly Parton. For one small Australian town celebrating the country music icon has become a bit of a yearly tradition.

ANNOUNCER: Live from New York, this is CNN Newsroom with Polo Sandoval.

SANDOVAL: At this hour, we are following breaking news from the Nepal- China border, where catastrophic flash flooding has killed at least 162 people in Nepal and three more in China, and the number of missing is staggering. More than 1,300 people across both countries, including hundreds of foreign nationals from around the world, and rescue operations are underway right now.

But crews are facing some dangerous conditions. Forecasters are predicting that the flooded region could possibly see more rain and thunderstorms in the coming hours, and the disaster zone includes a popular route to Mount Kailash. It's a mountain near the border that is revered by pilgrims of several religions. Now, warning that some of the videos that we're about to show you are disturbing.

For example, this was a prominent border crossing between China and Nepal, and you can see people running when this massive wall of water and mud hit the area, destroying everything in its path. And the floods have swallowed homes, roads, bridges, leaving some communities buried in thick mud.

The U.S. Geological Survey now says that the disaster was triggered by a glacial collapse, not an earthquake. In fact, the collapse so powerful that it was first recorded as a 4.4 magnitude quake. Let's go to CNN's Mike Valerio, who's following everything from Beijing. Mike, so just based on that last report from you. It took 24 hours for rescue crews to arrive. What next? What's happening now?

MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, Polo. So the latest information that we have is that there's a risk of a secondary disaster in the sense that so there's all of this landslide debris that is collected down this valley, so there's a risk now that all the water that begins to collect through this new sort of natural dam, that water could begin to overflow this natural dam that has been created by this landslide debris, and potentially create a secondary disaster.

That is what Chinese state media is warning at this hour. We should also add, Polo, that the stories of survival are incredible. We have a new sound bite from somebody who was rescued by helicopter. We're not sure if his wife made it from the huge cascading debris of boulders and landslide detritus that made it past his home, but just listen to what he described. He speaks in Nepali. You'll listen to the translation. We'll talk about it on the other side.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KESHAV PRASAD BARAL, SURVIVOR (through translator): I was at the terrace, and the flood hit the top floor as well. It only subsided after an hour or so. My wife was already buried in the mudslide while we stayed on the terrace for safety. After four to five hours, I was rescued by a helicopter.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALERIO: OK, so in terms of what happens next, we do have new information that a search and rescue team from outside the region has been able to make it to Gyirong Port. That is the land port that is the site of where that CCTV camera captured that wall of water that turns the frame into black. You see all the people who were running there, all the customs officials, all the you know people who were engaged in trade.

This is about where a third of trade between Nepal and China would take place. So rescue teams from outside the region, Polo, have made it there, and we have new details that they made it there at eight this morning. But you know, we were talking about this last hour, the last time that we had an update, and it's worth noting again, government officials tell us here at CNN they have not been able to make contact with the officials who are in charge of that locality on the Chinese side of the border.

[04:05:00]

They have not been able to talk to the people who are in charge of that locality since yesterday, and the closest rescue teams who went in first, who are from the area, they have not been able to be contacted by outside rescuers as well. So it goes to show you certainly how harrowing the conditions are, and then furthermore, the next three days, rain is in the forecast.

So I would say the biggest development over the past hour is this new warning, Polo that we're hearing on state media that there's perhaps this risk of a secondary disaster of this new lake that's forming because of all the debris, potentially breaching with more rain over the next three days, Polo.

SANDOVAL: That's CNN's Mike Valerio reporting from Beijing and these looming fears of a secondary disaster. Thank you, Mike.

We also understand that exactly, obviously, as you saw some video there, there were many people who were caught off guard when that flash flooding happened near the border between Nepal and China. But what actually led to this? Let's just expand on what we just heard from Mike Valerio, a short while ago and head to CNN Meteorologist Allison Chinchar, who continues our coverage.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yeah. So what was initially thought was that this was actually triggered by an earthquake here, you can see that dot. But now, what the U.S. Geological Survey is saying is that's not the case. This was a landslide, a very powerful landslide that was so powerful it actually triggered and measured a 5.2 tremor on the seismograph machines.

Now, to kind of put this in perspective, to show you the area where this is taking place, it's in the Himalayan region where that landslide took place, and we've got the little marker here so you can kind of see where that starting point was. We zoom in to give you a little bit better perspective. Now, if the landslide initiated in this general region, everything surrounding it would fall down with it.

So you're going to have ice, you're going to have water, you're going to have rocks, even some boulders that comes down with it down into the valley below. This is the glacier tongue that then flows down into the river valley. And to kind of show you some before and after images of what we're talking about here, this is image taken yesterday. Now it's flipped upside down, so this is the same glacier tongue we just showed you.

But focus here on the green area. Now we fast forward to today, and all of that green changes to brown, just showing all of that debris flow of where everything went as that landslide continued down along the valley floor, and it wasn't just in one place. Again, you kind of show this area, but then we widen out to kind of show you where it goes from there. It continues to follow down through the river valley and into this particular area where we have several buildings here.

Now, everything would have flowed down in this direction before reaching those buildings. And the video here clearly shows all of that debris from that landslide just sliding into that area, just demolishing all of those buildings that were in that general region. But this isn't the only spot. Again, that water, that debris, everything along with it, is just going to continue to go down through the valley, even more so where you actually then end up having some villages, some towns that were impacted.

So we zoom in here to kind of give you a general layout of these neighboring towns that are here. We zoom in a little bit farther north, and you can start to see this bridge right through here. OK, now we're going to show you some video of that bridge. There is that wall of water and debris just racing down here, flowing not just through where normal water would go, but also into the surrounding buildings, the streets, everything that's there.

And it is such an immense amount of water and debris that comes through, at some point, this bridge eventually just gives way. It's just simply too much of a force for it to be able to hold steady enough, and you'll see it here. It's just about to go, and then it will also follow along with all of the rest of the debris that's being pushed down by this immense flow.

It also continues to spread into there. You can see it kind of go there. It spreads into a lot of these buildings, so those buildings also start to sustain some damage as well. So again, just kind of giving you that overall scope. This was not just one particular area that was hit; it was multiple areas that were hit, and that's why we're seeing so many of these videos come out.

SANDOVAL: Allison Chinchar, thank you. Now to Qatar's Prime Minister, who will be holding meetings in Tehran today, aimed at de-escalating tensions in the Middle East. Qatar is backing the ongoing talks between Iran and Oman on a potential reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, and this comes as the two countries report some progress in the negotiations. But the final agreement is still in the works at this hour.

Oil prices have been seen sliding for a fourth consecutive day, and this follows reports that the talks are advancing, but sailing through the Strait of Hormuz, it remains a gamble as another vessel reportedly took fire in recent hours. Let's get more on that now and head over to Paula Hancocks, who's joining me from Abu Dhabi. So, Paula, what are we learning about this most recent incident?

[04:10:00]

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Polo, what we. We've heard from the U.K. Maritime Agency is that there was another vessel that was targeted in the Strait of Hormuz. Few details at this point. They do say that all crew is safe and accounted for, and there's no environmental damage. But it's just another reminder of how critical it is to secure a deal in the Strait of Hormuz to allow vessels to have freedom of navigation once again.

Now we have seen, as you say, those oil prices have been slipping. We have seen, for the fourth consecutive day, a lower oil price because this really does look as though it's the first time we have any kind of framework for the Strait of Hormuz. Now it isn't formal at this point, but we have heard from Iran and Oman that they do have a framework of a deal to open up a new shipping channel within the Strait of Hormuz.

They say that they will demine this particular area to make it safe. Interestingly enough, we have heard from the U.S. president that that the U.S. Navy has already detonated or removed all of the mines out of the -- the Strait of Hormuz, but they also say at least Iran is saying that the UN authorized route. This is the -- the shipping route that many vessels have been taken. It's hugging the coast of Oman to the south of the Strait of Hormuz,

and it's the route that the Tehran has been against and has targeted vessels that are using that area because it completely avoids all Iranian territorial waters. Now, Oman hasn't mentioned that that route is going to be closed. That's only what we're hearing from Tehran at this point. As I say, there isn't a formal agreement, but this is as close as we've been so far to having any kind of official shipping channel through the Strait of Hormuz, and we know that -- that there have been a number of countries supporting this.

Qatar's Prime Minister will be in Tehran today, and we also saw Monday there was Pakistan's Army Chief in Tehran, Oman's Foreign Minister on Tuesday. So the diplomacy is continuing at the same time. Polo?

SANDOVAL: Paula Hancocks, thank you so much for those updates live from Abu Dhabi. And as Russia's war with Ukraine escalates, President Trump is downplaying the significance of CIA Director John Ratcliffe's visits with Russian officials in Moscow. I'll show some video of what's believed to be Ratcliffe's aircraft landing in Latvia shortly after the visit.

And despite Mr. Trump's denial, the Wall Street Journal reporting that Ratcliffe went to Moscow to deliver a warning to Russia not to attack NATO countries. And this was Ratcliffe's first known visit to Russia since the start of the Trump's second term. Wednesday's meeting is significant, given that CNN reported about two weeks ago that the U.S. intelligence assessments indicated that Putin could try to test NATO's resolve by launching an attack on an allied country.

Well, the Kremlin says Ratcliffe held talks with Russian intelligence officials on Wednesday, but did not meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin. In the last hour, I did have a chance to speak to Keir Giles. He's the associate fellow in the Russia and Eurasia Programme at Chatham House. I asked for his thoughts on Ratcliffe's visit to Moscow.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEIR GILES, ASSOCIATE FELLOW, RUSSIA AND EURASIA PROGRAMME, CHATHAM HOUSE: Well, it's been more than 36 hours now since Ratcliffe left Moscow, and in that time, there have been a lot of explanations continuing to swirl for what exactly this visit may have been about, because it's been treated as something semi-secret. We've had this off-the-cuff comment from Donald Trump, which appears not to shed any light on it and doesn't seem to relate to the actual significance of the visit.

This is anything but semi-routine, as he said, but the explanation that is emerging as the favorite is that this was an attempt to dissuade Russia from escalating its campaign against Europe any further. It's been linked to the intelligence warnings that we've been seeing coming up from the United States and its frontline state allies that Russia was actually planning to prepare to escalate against, particularly one of the Baltic states, or perhaps step up its campaign of sabotage and arson against Europe, or both. And the idea reported by the Wall Street Journal and other outlets was

that Ratcliffe was there to deliver a warning, saying the United States will respond to this, so please do not.

SANDOVAL: What does it tell you that the Trump Administration sent their CIA Director versus a diplomat versus perhaps an envoy that we've seen travel abroad to try to settle other conflicts.

GILES: Inevitably, this is drawing comparisons, as you heard in the introduction just now, with the visit by then CIA Director Bill Burns in November 2021, trying to dissuade Russia then from mounting its full-scale invasion of Ukraine just a few months later, and that in some ways speaks to the seriousness of the issue.

This is plainly something that the United States believes is real in exactly the same way that the threats of invasion of Ukraine at that time were real. What everybody is wondering now, of course, is what exactly could the United States do to dissuade Russia, because that Bill Burns mission ultimately failed.

[04:15:00]

There were not sufficient disincentives presented to Russia to persuade it not to invade Ukraine. Will this time be any different? Is there any greater leverage that the United States can place on Russia to try to deter it from attacking Europe further when this is a U.S. administration, which has famously been disinclined to put any pressure on Moscow at all?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: and there's so much more to come here on CNN Newsroom, including Meta reaching a multi-billion-dollar settlement with dozens of states. We'll explain what changes are coming to popular social media apps. Plus a jury will soon start their deliberations in the triple murder case against Lindsay Clancy. Here, what the final witness revealed while on the stand.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANDOVAL: It will pay about $18 billion to settle a sweeping lawsuit over claims that its platforms endanger children. Court documents are showing that the social media giant has also agreed to make changes to its apps like Facebook and Instagram. Here's CNN's Clare Duffy to explain.

[04:20:00]

CLARE DUFFY, CNN TECH REPORTER: This could be a real turning point in terms of protecting young people on social media. These are the kinds of changes that parents and advocates have been calling for, for years from these big social media platforms.

Meta agreeing to this settlement midway through a trial with just four of these states that were seeking as much as a trillion dollars in damages. Now this settlement is for $18 billion, but still a really significant figure. The state's attorneys general pointing out that this is the largest settlement with a Big Tech company in history.

That money will go towards helping the states fund youth mental health programs, online safety trainings, and the states pointed out that they wanted to see changes to these platforms faster and more comprehensively, and they felt that the settlement could do that rather than continuing on with this litigation.

And the changes to Meta's platforms really are at the heart of this agreement. I'll just walk you through some of those changes. Meta will create a two-hour daily time limit for users ages 13 to 17 that only parents can change. It is turning on by default a night mode that will make Instagram and Facebook inaccessible from midnight to 6 a.m. A school mode that will reduce the number of notifications that teens receive during the school day.

Teens will receive reminders every 15 minutes when they're scrolling these apps to try to get them to think a little bit more mindfully about their use of these platforms. Meta is also turning off likes on teens' -- on teens' content and restricting access to extreme makeup filters. Now, the other really important piece here is that Meta is calling on TikTok and YouTube, and the attorneys general are calling on those platforms as well to make similar changes.

Meta has said that it will pay 70 percent of this settlement agreement, this $18 billion, sort of up front, but the remaining 30 percent is contingent on TikTok and YouTube making similar changes. And the attorneys general had said they are willing to go after those companies as well in court if they do not come to the table voluntarily.

So this really could lead to fundamental change in how teens use social media platforms, and certainly the impact that those platforms have on their mental health. Back to you.

SANDOVAL: In California, Attorney General Rob Bonta, who co-led that lawsuit that Clare was talking about, spoke to CNN after the announcement. He says that the changes Meta agreed to will make a big difference.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROB BONTA, CALIFORNIA ATTORNEY GENERAL: I think people will look back and see this moment as that inflection point, that transformative moment, that watershed moment when things changed. Of course, there was wind at our back with the Southern California lawsuit, you know, the verdict of the individual who was harmed, as well as New Mexico, their verdict.

But this is 51 states, the District of Columbia and territories all standing together, banding together, holding the line, bipartisan, holding Meta accountable, and making unprecedented, historic, transformative changes, which will echo and permeate throughout the industry. It's just a matter of time, in my humble opinion, before TikTok and YouTube and Snap come on board. So I think this is that moment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: And in the coming hours, closing arguments are set to begin in Lindsay Clancy's triple murder trial. The 36-year-old former nurse has pleaded not guilty to killing her three children. CNN's Jean Casarez is in Plymouth, Massachusetts, following this case.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: All eyes are on Thursday, closing argument day. Now the jury is going to get a number of charges. They are going to get first degree murder, second degree murder, manslaughter, and then also not guilty by reason of lack of criminal responsibility, or in other words, not guilty by reason of insanity.

Now on Wednesday it was the final prosecution rebuttal witness. He is with the FBI. He's in the behavioral analysis division. He testified with the prosecution, saying that on that date, January 24th of 2023, that Lindsay Clancy, although she says there was a command, there was a male voice telling her to kill her children, that voice did not tell her when to kill them, how to kill them, where to kill them.

And by her actions of taking each child individually down into the basement, one to the Patrick's office, the other two on the sofa, and individually using murder weapons, the exercise bands to use as ligatures, that that was very intentional conduct on her part. The defense on cross examination completely disavowed that in all respects.

But I want you to listen to that witness for the prosecution saying that she was in control on that final day.

DR. GREGORY SAATHOFF, FORENSIC PSYCHIATRIST: She was able to drive to the pediatrician's office and then back, and the day was really one of significant control. The activities that she engaged in that day, spending time with her children with Play Doh, taking them outside to -- to build a snowman, sending photographs of the children to her -- her mother to her husband on Instagram.

[04:25:00]

Fixing lunch and -- and -- and also fixing dinner for the children. So the activities of that day were controlled.

CASAREZ: We did learn in open court that closing arguments may not be as long as we would think they would be. Kevin Reddington said the defense may go for about 30 minutes with their closing. Prosecution said about an hour, and following that on Thursday, we do believe the jury will begin deliberating. I'm Jean Casarez in Plymouth, Massachusetts, for CNN.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: And Jean will be following those deliberations, and there is still much more to come here on CNN Newsroom, including a torrent of flood waters that has left a trail of devastation and death along the Nepal-China border. We have the latest on the search for the hundreds of people still missing as the death toll climbs. Plus an exclusive interview with a former Israeli hostage kidnapped by Hamas. Hear his harrowing story of survival. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANDOVAL: And welcome back. I'm Polo Sandoval in New York. More now on our top story this hour. The deadly flash flooding on the Nepal-China border. At least 165 people were killed when a landslide sent a wall of water and mud through -- sweeping through towns and villages on Wednesday morning.

The U.S. Geological Survey says that the disaster was likely triggered when a large section of an ice -- of ice just pretty much a glacier broke off and then fell down a slope.