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Officials: At Least 1 Dead in New Strike on Saudi Airport; Trump Announces 'Energy Ceasefire' Between Ukraine & Russia; Economy Remains a Key Issue for Voters Ahead of Midterms; Desperate Search in Gaza for Those Missing & Killed in War; Pope Leo to Undergo Surgery for Growth on Lung; India's Youth-Led Party Vows More Protests Over Voter List Dispute; Commuters Complain About Noise on London Underground. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired October 12, 2026 - 00:00   ET

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

BEN HUNTE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello. Wherever you are in the world, you are now in the CNN NEWSROOM with me, Ben Hunte, in Atlanta. And it is so good to have you with me.

[00:00:37]

Coming up on the show, Houthi rebels struck one of Saudi Arabia's biggest airports for the second day in a row. We'll talk to an expert on the Houthis about what's behind this latest escalation.

President Trump announces an energy ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, but it seems nobody told Moscow, as Ukraine says Russia continued its strikes. So, where do things actually stand?

Plus, a health scare for Pope Leo as he announces he will undergo surgery. Hear how the Catholic faithful are reacting to that.

ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Ben Hunte.

HUNTE: Welcome. We begin with the Middle East after a new strike on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Officials say at least one person was killed and 11 others injured. A quick warning: the images you're about to see are disturbing.

Sunday's attack comes just one day after a Houthi missile strike killed at least 12 people and wounded more than 300 others. It is the deadliest attack in the kingdom in more than a decade.

Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis have claimed responsibility for these attacks, saying they're in retaliation for Saudi airstrikes in Yemen that have killed women and children.

U.S. President Donald Trump says he is planning to speak with the Saudi crown prince. That's Mohammed bin Salman. President Trump also says he is considering joining Saudi strikes against the Houthis in Yemen.

That is obviously despite previously resisting the kingdom's requests for direct military intervention. CNN's Oren Liebermann has the details for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF: The Iran-backed and armed Houthis in Yemen are showing they are ready and willing to fight and to escalate, attacking civilian infrastructure in Saudi Arabia.

LIEBERMANN (voice-over): This matches the pattern of attacks we've seen on the exact same airport, King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh.

It was on Saturday that a Houthi attack hit the airport, causing the deadliest attack on Saudi Arabia in more than a decade. At least 12 people were killed, including a U.S. citizen, and more than 300 people were injured.

LIEBERMANN: That led into Sunday, where Saudi authorities say another attack hit the airport, striking a terminal building there and hitting a fire (ph), and Saudi air defenses intercepted a cruise missile that was on its way, effectively, towards the same target here.

So, the Houthis there are indicating that they're willing and very much able to fight.

LIEBERMANN (voice-over): Now, the Saudis have carried out punishing strikes against the Houthis in Yemen, trying to offer their support to the internationally recognized government of Yemen, which has tried to push back against the Houthis.

But in much the same way we saw Iran fight, the Houthis are doing the same. They don't have the military capability or the weapons to match Saudi Arabia's military. What they do have are drones, ballistic missiles, and cruise missiles, and they're able to use those very effectively to cause the disruptions we're seeing here.

LIEBERMANN: Now, why does this matter beyond the Arabian Peninsula? And why does this matter beyond the Middle East? Take a look at this map.

LIEBERMANN (voice-over): Just as Iran was able to leverage control over the Strait of Hormuz on one side of the Arabian Peninsula, and that sent gas prices surging and shocked the global economy, the Houthis may well be able to do the same to the Bab El-Mandeb Strait on the other side of the Arabian Peninsula, one of the world's most critical waterways, through which traffic going to or from the Suez Canal has to pass.

LIEBERMANN: That is the risk to the global economy here, and that is the reality the region and, frankly, the world are facing as the conflict between the Houthis and the Saudis escalate.

The key question, of course, now is what is the U.S. and what is President Donald Trump going to do?

LIEBERMANN (voice-over): The Saudis have made clear they want the U.S. involved here striking the Houthis. In fact, it was President Donald Trump who said earlier during the weekend that he's considering his options, and he may get involved, but it's unclear that he's really willing to do so.

The war with Iran is already unpopular and has driven up gas prices. Another unpopular war with the Houthis, another shock to the global economy. This close to the midterms, it's not clear Trump wants to go in that direction.

And that leaves the Houthis perhaps feeling emboldened as they carry out and continue to carry out these attacks on the Saudis.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: I want to bring in Fatima Alasrar, senior analyst for Red Sea futures and a fellow with the Arab Gulf Institute.

It is good to see you.

We have now seen repeated attacks on Riyadh's airport, with the latest coming just a day after a strike that killed 12 people. What do you think the Houthis are trying to achieve with this escalation now?

[00:05:12]

FATIMA ALASRAR, SENIOR ANALYST, RED SEA FUTURES: Fundamentally, the Houthis are trying to change the calculus. They're trying to impose costs on Riyadh. But there are two reasons why the Houthis are doing this now.

First is, locally, they're being pushed by ground forces that are supported by Saudi Arabia after the Houthis attempted to take Bab El- Mandeb in September.

So, they took government land in September. And then, there was a counteroffensive that the Saudis backed. And the Houthis are trying to get the Saudis to back off from supporting the government of Yemen that's internationally recognized and recognizing the Houthis instead.

But on the other hand, the Houthis are also the forward arm for Tehran. And what they want to do is pretty much Tehran wants to make the same calculus that it has in Hormuz repeat itself in Bab El- Mandeb. So, they're trying to impose the same costs on Washington. So, this is much more of a message to Washington and less to Riyadh.

HUNTE: These attacks are putting Saudi civilians at risk, though, and the airport has been hit repeatedly. How vulnerable is Saudi Arabia to further strikes, and what can it actually do to protect its people?

ALASRAR: Yes. Saudi Arabia is vulnerable, because the Houthis use asymmetric warfare by launching cheap drones, ballistic missiles, pulling all of that arsenal into vital Houthi -- Saudi infrastructure. And that's -- that's quite important.

So, they're attempting to disrupt and impose economic costs on the Saudi kingdom. That's their entire play. That's what they're really proud of and what they keep playing on.

But something has happened today. I mean, with Saudi Arabia releasing the footage of the pilgrims who were hit, it puts in sharp contrast the hypocrisy of this movement that has been sort of describing Saudi Arabia as allying with the United States and hosting a -- you know, moving towards normalization. And this is the same group that attacked Israel.

So, now to see them attack pilgrims, I think it changes something in the calculus of this war, as well. And I think it might -- it might shift it; it might activate the Mecca Defense Pact with Pakistan and Ankara. So, it's -- it's unpredictable at the moment.

HUNTE: President Trump is considering whether the U.S. should join Saudi Arabia's campaign. What could direct American military involvement change?

ALASRAR: I think the United States have tried its luck with Operation Rough Rider. And it deduced that it does not want to engage with the Houthis further.

Also, with what's happening at Hormuz, I don't think the United States wants to open another front at Hormuz -- at Bab El-Mandeb.

But at the same time, we have an American person who is among the injured in Riyadh's airport. This changes the calculus. The -- both Houthis and Iran are waiting to see how the United States might respond. This is really a test for both the U.S. and the Mecca Alliance from Iran and its proxy to see how -- where is exactly the red line?

And at the same time, you have the volatility with -- with the oil. You've got, currently, the president is buying diesel from Russia. And Tehran thinks that probably right now, it's time for a deal, and it's time to de-escalate.

So, these are -- this is -- this is the -- the, again, like they're trying to impose additional costs in order to get the United States to back down from pressure at Hormuz.

HUNTE: OK. Fatima, thank you so much for your insights. We appreciate it.

ALASRAR: Thank you so much.

HUNTE: The Trump administration is threatening to suspend intelligence sharing as well as European purchases of U.S. weapons for Ukraine if Kyiv does not stop its strikes on Russian energy facilities. That is according to two European officials familiar with that matter.

That warning comes after President Trump posted this on Truth Social early on Sunday. Quote, "Effective immediately, there is an ENERGY CEASEFIRE in the War between Russia and Ukraine. Both parties have agreed. Do not break it!"

But the news appears to have surprised Ukrainian leadership. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted on X that Ukraine is still waiting for more details about that arrangement. He said Kyiv supports a ceasefire and that it's important that Russia does the same.

[00:05:16]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Today, there was a statement by the president of the United States that an energy ceasefire has been reached. This is good news for everyone. It is important that it becomes a reality.

Ukraine is ready to refrain from striking Russian energy facilities, and we expect Russia to show the same readiness. We welcome such an agreement. Unfortunately, Russian Shahed drones were in the skies throughout the day today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: President Zelenskyy later revealed that Russia had carried out a new attack on energy facilities in Kharkiv after President Trump's announcement, and Ukrainian officials say a separate missile strike hit a residential area in that same district.

A quick warning: the video you're about to see is disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(EXPLOSIONS)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: All right. Authorities in Kharkiv say this footage shows the moment that a village grocery store was hit. They reported at least three people killed and 20 others injured.

CNN's Matthew Chance has been tracking developments on the energy ceasefire announcement, and he brings us the latest from Moscow.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Look, I mean, I think it's -- I think it's unlikely that either side --

CHANCE (voice-over): -- is going to want to directly contradict or confront President Trump on this issue. I think they know pretty well how volatile he is.

And I've tried to speak --

CHANCE: -- to the Kremlin. I'm looking at my social media messaging with them now, asking them about this issue. There's been no public announcement, and they haven't even read my messages, frankly. So, we'll wait to see what comes out.

CHANCE (voice-over): Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine, has responded, basically saying that it is important that a ceasefire becomes a reality. So, not actually confirming that a ceasefire has been agreed.

In fact, a Ukrainian official told CNN in Ukraine --

CHANCE: -- that the Truth Social post that President Trump made was the first they ever heard of it.

So, it seems that once again, President Trump is -- I mean, out in front of the other parties when it comes to announcing these deals.

There have been ceasefires like this in the past. There were two in 2025 which didn't sort of result in much. There was one earlier this year in -- I think it was -- it was in January this year, which lasted for a couple of days. It may -- it's not clear whether it will be different this time.

But I think what is different this time is that Trump, President Trump, has --

CHANCE (voice-over): -- so much more at stake. He is facing the midterms, as you all know over there. He's got really high prices at the pump. Diesel prices, gasoline prices, as well. And he needs to show the American electorate that he's doing everything he can, or at least something, to try and -- to try and alleviate that -- that painful price and cost that they're paying before those elections take place.

I think, so that may be what is at play here.

CHANCE: That diesel deal, remember, came just 24 hours ago, just -- just before this energy ceasefire was announced. Very controversial, basically lifting sanctions or energy sanctions on Russia --

CHANCE (voice-over): -- to allow it to legitimately export its -- its diesel products and other energy products from Russia, which would earn it billions of dollars. Yes. Of course, in revenue.

The really important thing about it, though, is it basically is a huge blow for -- for Ukraine, because Ukraine has been targeting --

CHANCE: -- Russia's energy infrastructure as a way of making it feel the pain for its == for its full-scale invasion of -- of Ukraine.

And it's also a big blow to the Western alliance. For several years now, for the last four or more years, there's been a sort of joint Western effort to try and isolate Russia, to try and punish it for its full-scale invasion.

This very much puts Washington on the other side of that, of that divide. And so, that's a big blow for Western unity.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: At least 139 migrants, including 15 children, have died after a boat carrying more than 300 people capsized while traveling from Djibouti to Yemen.

The International Organization for Migration says around 84 people are still missing there.

Video released by the U.N. agency shows parts of the boat floating at sea, with shoes scattered along Djibouti's Eastern shoreline, and aid workers searching for survivors.

The migrants were heading to Yemen, hoping to eventually make it to wealthier Gulf nations, even as Yemeni nationals themselves flee the country amid escalating conflict.

More than 200 migrants were rescued by Spanish authorities off the coast of the Canary Islands on Sunday. The group, which included women and children, received medical care when they arrived on shore.

[00:15:04]

They say they had been at sea for six days in a small, canoe-like vessel.

The number of migrants making that dangerous journey from West Africa to Canary Islands is down nearly 47 percent this year,

following a record high in 2024.

There is much more to come here on CNN NEWSROOM, including the countdown to the critical midterm elections in the U.S. We'll take a look at what some early voting figures are showing and which issues are top of mind among voters. See you in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:19:57]

HUNTE: Welcome back. We are now 22 days from the critical midterm elections, with millions of early votes already cast.

And in one key state, there are clear signs that Democrats are more enthusiastic to vote. Figures from Ohio show that, so far, registered Democrats make up a larger share of early voters than they

did two years ago. That's even in the most Republican part of the state.

At this point in 2024, Republicans had a 30-percentage-point lead over Democrats in counties that voted for President Trump by 20 points or more. This year, that has shrunk to just five points.

The overall electorate so far is about 27 points more Democratic than it was at the same time in 2024.

In the state of Maine, Democrats hope Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders can give a boost to Troy Jackson, their candidate in a tight Senate race.

Jackson is facing the five-term Republican Senator Susan Collins. Sanders campaigned with Jackson in Maine just a few hours ago. And here's part of his message ahead of the midterms.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT): And here in Maine and all over this country, we've got to stand up to Trump. And we've got to make sure that we end this rubber-stamp U.S. Senate Republican.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: CNN Politics senior reporter Stephen Collinson joins us now. Good to see you, sir.

STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN POLITICS SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Hi.

HUNTE: Trump has now ruled out new U.S. attacks on Iran before the midterms. How much does that tell us about the political pressure that Trump is facing right now over this war?

COLLINSON: I think the big problem of the war for the president is not just that he promised Americans that he wouldn't take them into any more wars, more wars in the Middle East.

It's that the war is becoming a tangible thing that Americans can point to as a Trump policy that is making their lives more difficult.

Voters were already worried about the cost of living, the cost of groceries, interest rates, all those kind of things. Those impediments to their well-being have been made worse by the war, by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which has pushed prices of oil up and gasoline prices in the United States.

By the record highs in diesel oil, which have hurt people who drive trucks to work, pick-up trucks, but also are crucial for the transportation network in the United States of those groceries and pushes the prices up there.

So, the war has become, perhaps, the most visible and most unpopular Trump policy. And it is a real big focus for voters. Look at every single poll, and the war is hugely unpopular. A majority of voters.

And it is something that's increasingly unpopular among Republican voters. And that may be reflected in some of those numbers you were talking about at the top there about turnout in Ohio.

HUNTE: Polls do show a growing annoyance with Trump's handling of the economy, and fuel prices, obviously, stay a massive issue.

How vulnerable are Republicans going into these midterms, and what are voters saying?

COLLINSON: Well, let's look at where the election is now being fought, where all the money is going, where Republicans are trying to shore themselves up.

It is, especially in the Senate, on territory that they thought that would not be in danger in this midterm election. In the case of Ohio, where you showed those early voting numbers, that

was a state where President Trump won by more than 10 percent just two years ago in the presidential election.

Now, the Democrat candidate for Senate, Sherrod Brown, is clearly leading that race only two years later. That tells you that a state that was seen as reliably Republican in the last few elections now is very vulnerable to the crash in Donald Trump's popularity.

Other states like Kansas, like Texas, places -- North Carolina is another one. Places where Trump won easily two years ago, which have been Republican states for many years. You're seeing close Senate races there, and Democrats only need a net gain of four seats to win back the Senate. They're also favored in the polls to win back the House.

So, I think if you look at where the most contentious close races are, and they're all on Republican territory, that tells you a lot about why so many Republicans are worried about what's going to happen in three weeks' time.

HUNTE: At the same time is that Barack Obama has warned Democrats not to get complacent, saying they could still lose races that they're currently leading in.

Are Democrats getting ahead of themselves at all? And what do they need to do to turn the positive polling into actual votes?

COLLINSON: I think that Democrats are still pretty traumatized by their loss in 2024, and really, the entire way that politics has developed in the United States since President Obama left the White House in January 2017.

[00:25:00]

So, I don't detect a great deal of complacency. In fact, I detect more dread among Democrats that the polls could be wrong, that the Republican vote could come out for President Trump one more time, and that their hopes of a wave election will not be reconciled.

And I think there is some reason for them to be concerned. While they are in a good picture and a good place in many of these Senate races, most of those races, as former President Obama says, are win them within the margin of error, 2 or 3 points.

That means they could win by two three points. But depending on turnout, they could also lose by 2 to 3 points. So, I think they're right to be nervous.

Ohio, which I was talking about just now, Sherrod Brown, the senator, the former senator there, he lost his seat in 2024 in Ohio at the end of September, beginning of October. He was actually leading the polls.

So, they have immediate experience of how the Republican vote can come home. I think the difference here is that President Trump is not on the ballot. There are many Republican voters that are specific to him. He had a real talent in his presidential election campaigns for

driving out those low-propensity Republicans who vote for him, but don't necessarily come out in midterm elections.

So, that's one reason why the Democrats are quietly optimistic. But I think they are hopeful and certainly not complacent about what might happen on November the 3rd.

HUNTE: President Trump is obviously campaigning hard for Republicans, but his rallies have also seen some protests. Is his presence helping Republican candidates, or could he be becoming a bit of a liability in some of these races?

COLLINSON: Well, this is a president with a, say, a mid-30s approval rating. Presidents, generally, in midterm elections, get a rebuke from the voters, especially presidents who are in their second term, like President Trump.

He's deeply unpopular across the country. He has -- there is evidence that his 2024 coalition with many Latino voters, with independents and moderate Republicans and younger voters, as well, is beginning to fracture.

So, there are quite a few Republicans who don't want him to come and campaign for them, especially those who are in close races. If you look where he's been going, he's made 2 or 3 trips recently to Texas.

The idea that a Republican president would have to go to Texas to try to shore up a Republican Senate candidate is extraordinary. Democrats haven't won a statewide race in Texas for about 30 years. It's one of the most reliably conservative states in the union.

I think that tells you that, if the president is spending time in Texas and not, say, in Maine, where Susan Collins, as you showed a little while ago, is trying to keep a Republican seat. Or in some of these other close states.

That does suggest that the president is not really going to be a great help for many Republicans. And in fact, his determination to make himself the issue of this election has, in fact, delighted many Democrats, because it's taken the focus off of their policies and their still quite stark unpopularity in many opinion polls and help them make the race about an unpopular president.

HUNTE: It's a very interesting time. Stephen Collinson, appreciate your analysis. Thank you so much for joining us.

COLLINSON: Thanks.

HUNTE: There is much more to come here on CNN NEWSROOM, including a new Israeli strike in Gaza. Ahead, why the military says it's stepping up its assault on Hamas. See you in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:33:28] HUNTE: Welcome back.

Palestinians say an Israeli airstrike hit a house in central Gaza over the weekend as the military ramps up its attacks against Hamas.

On Sunday, residents sifted through the rubble of the building, which was struck following an evacuation order.

Israel is accusing the Palestinian militant group of rearming and carrying out attacks, but that is a claim that Hamas denies.

It's been one year since a U.S.-brokered ceasefire, but there has been little progress made in implementing a deal to actually end the conflict there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Young men are martyred. Children are gone. Houses are gone. I don't know, is this truce? His words on paper. But in reality, it has no basis.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: According to Gaza health officials, at least 1,400 Palestinians have died since the ceasefire began, and more than 74,000 have been killed since the war began in 2023, following Hamas's attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people.

Three years later, a desperate search is ongoing for those killed and missing in Gaza.

CNN's Jomana Karadsheh has that story. But first, a warning. Her report does contain disturbing images.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

GRAPHIC: His mother was wearing a skirt. A skirt.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

GRAPHIC: Yes, she was wearing it. She was wearing it.

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Through the stench of decomposing remains, Ahm (ph) Talib is identifying the dead by the clothes they wore that day three years ago.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

GRAPHIC: Your mother! Your mother!

I'm telling you, it is your mother.

The prayer clothes, it's your aunt. KARADSHEH (voice-over): This is what it's come to in Gaza. Those who survived trying to identify those who did not.

Three years in, the smallest detail carries the most weight. A scrap of clothing enough to bring a family its answers and the deceased their dignity.

The search is painstaking, today sped up by Gaza City's only excavator, finally here to remove the rubble from the 2023 Israeli bombing that killed dozens of Ahm (ph) Talib's family.

Israels banned the entry of heavy machinery into Gaza until it says Hamas has disarmed. But that means leaving the whole devastated strip with only two excavators, according to local officials.

It's been a year since the ceasefire agreement, and so many are still searching for what's left of their loved ones. The Palestinian civil defense says more than 8,000 are missing, believed to be buried beneath the sea of rubble Gaza has become.

But even trying to locate their remains seems impossible. Over 60 percent of Gaza is under Israeli control and off-limits for Palestinians.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

GRAPHIC: I try to find him, but I don't know where.

KARADSHEH (voice-over): For three long years, Soha (ph) has been searching among the dead, looking for her boy. She says her son, Jehad ([h), was shot and killed in front of her in November 2023 during the Israeli military's forced evacuation of Gaza City.

She had to leave his body behind at the hospital and flee. She's been searching for him ever since.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

GRAPHIC: Why am I still alive? Why am I alive? My home is gone, my son is gone. What should I live for?

KARADSHEH (voice-over): Our cameraman met Soha (ph) last year as she and other families gathered to dig out the makeshift graveyard at Shifa Hospital.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

GRAPHIC: I was calling out for him in the cemeteries. "I am here, my son. I brought you to your daughters. Dear God, give me a sign that he is here."

I want to see him, even if for a minute to hold him.

KARADSHEH (voice-over): She spotted this blanket. She's certain it's the one he was carrying that day. A year on, we found her still looking for her son. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

GRAPHIC: I need to find him. To know his place, his body, his grave. So as a mother, I can be at peace. I want to be at peace. I want to find my son to be at peace.

KARADSHEH (voice-over): But in this place, it seems there's no peace. Not for the living, not even for the dead.

Jomana Karadsheh, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: There is much more to come here on CNN NEWSROOM, including Pope Leo's announcement that he will undergo surgery to remove a growth from his lung. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:42:53]

HUNTE: Welcome back. Pope Leo is undergoing surgery this week after doctors discovered a small nodule on his lung. This is the first health scare since the 71-year-old American became pontiff.

Catholic parishioners sent their thoughts and prayers to the pope ahead of his surgery.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would like to share with the pope that we are with him and we are praying for him like he does for us. And we believe in the Lord, and we believe that he will guide him through his surgery and that there is hope. And there's a light at the end of the tunnel for him, and that there's a plan. And there's a reason that this is happening, to show hope to the people.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: CNN's Stefano Pozzebon has the latest on the pope's condition from Rome.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The announcement by Pope Leo that he is to have an operation to remove a nodule in his lung in the coming days, took most people by surprise --

POZZEBON (voice-over): -- especially when they heard it live this Sunday in a very warm October morning here at the Vatican in Rome.

However, this surprise does not necessarily mean that there is a cause for anxiety. A lung nodule is a small mass of dense tissue on the lung, and most of them are not cancerous.

The procedure is fairly simple, and according to experts that spoke with CNN, the pontiff is expected to recover in about seven days. Pope Leo made the announcement at the end of his angelus on Sunday morning, and he referred to it as a matter of fact. Take a listen.

POPE LEO XIV, LEADER OF CATHOLIC CHURCH (through translator): Dearest, recently, during some medical examinations, doctors found a localized nodule in my lung. It was detected at a very early stage and is well contained.

The doctors believe it's advisable to intervene. So, following their advice, I've decided to undergo surgery to remove it. The operation is already scheduled for the next few days. I thank you for your spiritual support and entrust myself to your prayers.

POZZEBON: Shortly after the Vatican confirmed that Pope Leo is due to go to the Gemelli Hospital --

POZZEBON (voice-over): -- the main hospital that is known for treating pontiffs and other high hierarchy in the Catholic Church.

[00:45:11]

That is just a stone's throw from the Vatican itself, a stone's throw from the Vatican itself, and he will go through the operation in the upcoming days.

POZZEBON: Before making the announcement, Pope Leo spoke directly to Peruvian faithful who were listening to him in St. Peter's Square, saying that he is looking forward to visiting Peru in the upcoming month.

The pontiff is due to travel to South America, Uruguay, Argentina, and Peru between November 6 and November 17. And at this stage, it does not seem that this upcoming operation will put that travel at risk.

For CNN, this is Stefano Pozzebon, Rome.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: India's youth-led Cockroach political party is vowing to press ahead with more protests against the country's top election official.

It is demanding his resignation over changes to voter lists they say favor Prime Minister Modi's ruling party.

Hundreds of demonstrators were detained in New Delhi over the weekend after a large-scale security operation to curb planned protests.

Among them was the Cockroach movement's founder, who has since been released under orders to keep the peace for a year.

For more on this, I want to bring in CNN correspondent Gage Golding joining us live from Seoul.

Good to see you, sir. Lots of twists and turns in this story. What's the latest you're hearing? GAGE GOULDING, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. The story line was going to be potentially thousands, maybe more than 10,000 youth packing into central New Delhi on Saturday.

But it quickly turned into the fact that the leader of the Cockroach Janta Party, the CJP, being detained on his plane, along with other founders and leaders of the CJP, as soon as they landed in New Delhi on Saturday.

Now, they were released nearly 24 hours later. The police and the head of the CJP sharing that they were released on conditions of not breaching the peace for a matter of a year.

But the leader of the CJP, Abhijeet Dipke, he posted on X, saying that he had not signed any bond conditions, and says that "We will hit the streets again." That's a quote. Whenever he posted that on X.

So, a lot of kind of confusion there. But he is among the hundreds. Reuters saying that maybe thousands of people were detained by police in New Delhi on Saturday as a result of those protests that were -- were scheduled to happen. The CJP calling this the second season of their protesting.

And they're up in arms. They're upset about the removal of tens of millions of people from the voting rolls in India.

Now, there's allegations that the people being removed are eligible voters. The government, they're saying that that's not necessarily the case, but opposition parties presenting a much different side of the story.

And this youth-led movement is something that's really been on the uptrend, especially this year. It's kind of started. You think about the Cockroach Janta Party. It's an interesting name. It started earlier this year with an Internet meme, and it quickly turned into a movement in July.

There was thousands of protesters that again packed in, and they really just upset about what was to be education. There was allegations that test results and answers for very competitive exams were leaked or sold, and that led to a big blow for Prime Minister Modi's government body when the education minister stepped down.

So, they were looking for that again on Saturday. That did not happen because there were thousands of police officers and paramilitary members in central New Delhi. The mobile Internet was turned off. Metro stations were closed.

And again on Sunday there was a strong presence from the government. And even today, there was another strong presence.

So, they do say -- the CJP says they are going to have another protest. Protest? Excuse me exactly when that will be, ben. Well, only time will tell.

HUNTE: But you're going to be across it for us. Gage Goulding, live in Seoul. Thank you for joining us.

Right now. Hurricane Simon is lashing Mexico's Pacific coast with dangerous waves like these. The U.S. National Hurricane Center warns the Category 4 storm is extremely dangerous, even if it doesn't make landfall.

Intense rainfall has already caused flooding and power outages in some areas. And as the storm gets closer to West Central Mexico, it will continue to bring strong winds, heavy rain, and storm surge to parts of the coast through Monday.

Forecasters say Hurricane Simon's path is becoming harder to track after it changed course on Sunday. It's not clear whether it will make landfall or stay offshore.

Mexico has deployed thousands of military personnel to assist in the states that are expected to be hit hardest by that hurricane.

Mexican officials are warning residents to shelter until the danger has passed.

There is much more to come here on CNN NEWSROOM, including British actor and comedian Russell brand will stand trial on Monday on charges of sexual assault and rape.

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In our next hour, a legal expert will tell us what to expect. See you in a moment.

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HUNTE: Welcome back. Commuters are complaining about the noise on the London Underground.

In some sections, the sound is as loud as a rock concert. It is.

CNN creator Charline Bou Mansour reports on the growing calls for an investigation there.

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CHARLINE BOU MANSOUR, CNN CREATOR: That was loud.

I want to know, is London's Underground getting louder?

Londoners have long complained about the deafening screech in certain parts of the London Underground, but now mounting complaints have sparked calls for a full investigation into tube nose.

We should have bought earplugs.

Some sections of the tube exceed 100 decibels. Now that's really loud if you're listening to that day in, day out. MANSOUR (voice-over): TFL received 342 complaints about in-carriage

noise in 2025 alone.

MANSOUR: Oh, my gosh. That just hit 100 decibels. That's comparable to a concert.

OK, so we're trying out another line now. Victoria Line.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is Oxford Circus.

MANSOUR: Highbury and Islington, between that station and Finsbury Park is what is supposed to be one of the loudest points in the London Underground. So, we're going to test it.

You can see the average decibels and the maximum decibels that we hear over 100. The average is at 83, which is still really loud.

And prolonged exposure to these kind of levels may possibly lead to hearing damage.

Even the train approaching is quite loud. It's about 85 decibels.

Are you concerned about these noise levels in the London Underground?

ANNIE MORRIS, AUDIOLOGIST: Conversation's normally about 60 decibels. And that's loud conversation. Anything over 85 decibels, we say that you need to listen for specific periods. So, no longer than eight hours at 85 decibels.

But it becomes increasingly shorter as it goes up in decibel level. So, for example, 90 decibels should be less than two hours; 95, an hour. And then anything over 100, it should be less than 15 minutes in that environment with no protection.

If you've been in a loud environment, you have something called a temporary threshold shift, which is where your hearing feels a bit muffled after -- after a gig and you think, oh gosh, can't hear quite -- quite well.

What is dangerous is when that temporary threshold shift becomes a permanent one, and you can't no longer recover back to your normal levels.

MANSOUR: Should TFL be doing more to protect their employees, and should they also be doing more to fix the tracks?

MORRIS: We as (UNINTELLIGIBLE) would really encourage any investigation that helps us understand exactly what's happening.

What we have seen is people be more proactive around their ear health to make sure that they are getting help as and when it's needed, rather than waiting because of the historic stigma that was around hearing and hearing aids. There is still some of that, but it definitely is becoming less so.

[00:55:13] MANSOUR (voice-over): But this isn't just an annoyance for passengers. Tube staff spend hours underground every day, and one driver I spoke to, who wants to stay anonymous, has worked on the Underground for 30 years, and he now has to wear hearing aids daily. He believes tube noise has contributed to his hearing loss.

A TFL spokesperson said reducing noise levels is, quote, "a priority," adding, "as part of our work to improve noise and vibration issues, we have removed insulated rail joints which removes the source of noise and improved the condition of the track. We also continue to invest significantly in track renewal and maintenance, including a continuous program of rail grinding and track modernization."

I spent a few hours on the tube looking at my decibel meter. I didn't expect it to peak at 100 decibels as often as it did.

MANSOUR: That also hit over 100 decibels.

MANSOUR (voice-over): So, the question remains: when will the screech finally get quieter?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: A London suburb is proving that you don't need snow to go skiing.

Organizers staged what they called a downhill skiing event in Surbiton on Sunday. Since there was no snow, people strapped blocks of ice to their feet and other objects and slid along a track made slippery with water and detergent.

Have a look at this. Oh, my goodness!

Proceeds from the entry fee went to a local charity. It's kind of more like bobsledding than skiing, I have to say. Interesting.

That's all I've got for you. Thanks for joining me and the team. I'm Ben Hunte in Atlanta. I'll be right back with more of the top headlines. See you in a moment.

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