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Saudi's Airport Shuts Down Following Houthi Attacks; Pope Leo Prepares for His Nodule Removal Surgery in Rome's Gemelli Hospital. Aired 3-3:45a ET

Aired October 13, 2026 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

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CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Hello and welcome, I'm Christina Macfarlane live here in London, ahead on "CNN Newsroom."

President Trump's energy ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine is on the line as Russia strikes a power plant in Harkin.

Saudi Arabia's main airport is closed until further notice after a series of deadly attacks by Houthi rebels.

And Pope Leo is getting ready to have a nodule removed from his lung. We'll have a live update from Rome.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from London, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Christina Macfarlane.

MACFARLANE: First to Luxembourg where European Union ministers will meet to open two more stages to advance Ukraine's bid to join the EU. Talks are focused on Kiev's internal market and its competitiveness and inclusive growth. Ahead of today's meeting, Ukraine passed legislation expanding minority education rights, a key demand from Hungary to drop objections against Kyiv's E.U. membership bid.

Meanwhile, President Trump's so-called energy ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine is being put to the test. Ukraine says new Russian attacks on energy facilities in Harkin have already violated the agreement. President Zelenskyy is still voicing his support for a ceasefire but says Russia must also agree.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): We continue to engage in entirely constructive dialogue with the U.S. President's team. In fact, our negotiating team is in contact with them virtually every day. Everyone in the U.S. is aware of and many support our position that everything must be conducted fairly.

Ukraine is ready for an energy ceasefire and we have, in fact, proposed such a ceasefire on more than one occasion. Russia must take steps toward calm. (END VIDEO CLIP)

MACFARLANE: Well CNN's Matthew Chance has more on Russia's reaction to the energy ceasefire announcement.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: It's being actually very tight-lipped and you get the impression that the Kremlin was also sort of taken by surprise by this announcement by President Trump that an energy ceasefire had been agreed by both sides. There's been a conference call -- a daily conference call by the Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov over the course of the past several hours. He was obviously repeatedly asked about this and he just said that contacts are ongoing and that he had nothing further to add.

So that's not exactly a ringing endorsement, is it, of that energy ceasefire announced so prominently by President Trump at the weekend. There have been ceasefires like this, energy ceasefires, undertaken in the past. There were a couple last year that didn't amount to much.

There was one earlier this year that lasted for just a few days. What's different this time, though, it seems, is that President Trump has so much more at stake. He's facing the midterms in, what is it, three weeks.

High prices at the pumps in the United States. Really wants to show he's doing everything he can to U.S. voters to try and bring that down.

And that's why there's all this enormous pressure being placed right now on Ukraine, on the leadership in Kyiv to stop their attacks on Russian oil refineries, to try and allow Russian diesel and other fuel products to continue to flow and to pick up. If they don't, it also potentially provides President Trump with a scapegoat in the form of President Zelenskyy and Ukraine. He can blame them for the fact it didn't happen.

All of this, of course, music to the ears of the Kremlin, absolutely rubbing their hands with glee that they are once again on the same page when it comes to Ukraine with the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MACFARLANE: The British Prime Minister says Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard was almost certainly behind the suspected plot to attack a military base used by U.S. forces in England. Tehran has categorically rejected what it calls baseless accusations. Here's what Prime Minister Andy Burnham told the Parliament.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDY BURNHAM, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: We will not tolerate these threats on our soil. We will crack down on Iran's use of criminal networks, using our full range of powers to target them and their funding streams. And we will bring further sanctions to restrict the capacity of Iran and the IRGC to do us harm.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[03:05:00]

MACFARLANE: Well Saudi authorities say the Kingdom's main airport will remain closed until further notice. The decision comes after a series of Houthi attacks that have killed at least 14 people over the weekend and wounded hundreds others. The Houthis have claimed responsibility for the attacks on airports and other targets within the Kingdom. The militant group has warned airlines against operating flights to Saudi airports.

Let's bring in CNN's Leila Gharagozlou live from Abu Dhabi. So Leila, the Houthi attacks now are apparently causing air travel chaos. The King Khaled International Airport, as we were saying, is now shut until Saturday as the sort of economic impacts of this conflict deepen for Saudi Arabia. And we saw yesterday that that call between President Trump and the Saudi Crown Prince did take place, but there's no sign yet that the U.S. will intervene.

LEILA GHARAGOZLOU, CNN PRODUCER: Yes, the U.S. hasn't said whether it's going to come into any sort of aid for one of its biggest regional allies. And they've been very reticent to do so just last month when this conflict reignited. They rejected a couple of appeals from the Crown Prince for U.S. airstrikes on the Houthis.

Now, of course, the U.S. is already in a war with Iran in the region. It's a very unpopular war. And there isn't a lot of appetite from the American public to have the U.S. mired in another Middle Eastern conflict. And particularly with this one between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia, it's a conflict that really spans well over a decade and really is internal between the two when you look at the history of it.

So the U.S. is rightfully quite reticent to step in on this. That being said, the Houthis are really targeting Saudi civilian infrastructure and infrastructure at large and can cause quite a lot of damage, as we've seen.

Saudi Arabia just yesterday said that they intercepted another three ballistic missiles from the Houthis. And the Houthis have claimed responsibility for all of these, saying that it is due to the intensified airstrikes that we're seeing Saudi launch in Yemen.

Now, both sides have had their grievances for quite some time, and we're seeing all of this really come to a head and escalate quite rapidly and really intensify. But the U.S., of course, you know, has another war going on and is going to really have to wait and see whether it makes sense for them to jump into this.

Now, President Trump also said that he does feel that the Houthis are misbehaving very badly. But they also, of course, have to take into account the Houthis' ability to control that Bab al-Mandeb Strait and whether they want to, you know, get mired into this and cause even more havoc on the global markets. Christina?

MACFARLANE: All right, Leila, we appreciate the update. Thank you very much.

For more on this, I'm joined now by Baraa Shiban. He's an associate fellow on international security at the Royal United Services Institute. Thank you so much for joining us.

So as Leila was alluding to there, yesterday we heard sort of U.S. condemnation but also international condemnation of the Houthi attacks from members like the E.U., Turkey, Pakistan, with, of course, whom they have that defense agreement. But there hasn't been a great deal more commitment yet from international allies to assist militarily. Should they be doing more in this moment to isolate the Houthis and to come to Saudi Arabia's aid?

BARAA SHIBAN, ASSOCIATE FELLOW ON INTERNATIONAL SECURITY, ROYAL UNIVERSITY SERVICES INSTITUTE: Well, thank you, Christina. Right now the situation does require an international cooperation, international effort to try and roll back some of the Houthi activities inside Yemen.

Now, let's not forget the Houthis have launched these series of attacks, if you'd like to say, back in July following the trip when a Houthi delegation went to attend the funeral of the supreme leader. And on their way back almost immediately they started launching these attacks on Saudi Arabia.

And now I think it's just the Iran war entering a new phase. The problem I see is that the international community has always been very slow to react when it comes to threats until they become much bigger.

Iran realizes this, and that's why it's basically up-leveling this form of threat on the region. Trying to triangulate the economies of the Gulf allies. So the conflict in Iran is entering a new phase, this time it's just via the Houthis.

It saw what it could do with the Bab al-Mandeb Strait and the global, if you'd like to say, the havoc on the global economy. And now it's just entering a new form of economic warfare, if you'd like to say, with basically President Trump trying to disengage and leave this conflict.

[03:10:05]

MACFARLANE: So Baraa, if you were in Saudi Arabia's shoes right now, facing limited options against an increasingly emboldened military force that we're seeing in the Houthis now, what is their next best option if they do not receive that ally support they're seeking?

SHIBAN: Well, right now they don't have much of a choice. The Houthis are also fighting inside Yemen. They're attacking the Yemeni government's positions, there are many populated towns that are now being besieged by the Houthis, they feel they have the momentum.

And I think for Saudi Arabia, they will have to support the Yemeni government on the ground. In terms of the military pushback, they're trying to stop and regain control of some of the territories the Houthis have gained recently. And without that, I think Saudi Arabia will be just at risk of being

constantly being blackmailed by the Houthis, by the IRGC, and who knows what kind of, you know, militant group that can come and see what the Houthis are doing right now and say, well, we can also take a piece of the cake.

So it is not a situation with multiple options, and especially that there was a ceasefire, there was political talks prior to all of this. But I think now the Houthis feel they have the momentum, and there is no reason for them to talk or engage in any political settlement.

MACFARLANE: In any diplomacy. And on that note, Baraa, I just wanted to get your quick thoughts on Iran, who have sort of curiously stepped forward here to present themselves as indispensable by offering to facilitate Saudi-Houthi talks. And why are they positioning themselves in this moment to do this?

SHIBAN: I mean, it's quite insane, to say the least, because everyone knows that they have been instigating this whole chaos, if you'd like to say, with Saudi Arabia. The fronts inside Yemen have been fighting.

We know now from Associated Press that IRGC officers were on the ground. But they're trying to demonstrate that it's new rules, new game. They are in charge and they can help.

And they can also go to President Trump and say, hey, by the way, those people who are also giving you a hard time by the Red Sea, they can start launching attacks on ships passing through the Red Sea. We can also help you with that. So they can have more leverage when it comes to the memorandum of understanding and the current channels they have with the Trump administration.

MACFARLANE: Yes, Iran sensing opportunity to further drive a wedge between Saudi and its allies. Baraa Shiban, we really appreciate your thoughts this morning. Thank you.

SHIBAN: Thank you.

MACFARLANE: Now, Israeli officials say one teenager was killed and others wounded after an explosion on a school trip near the Lebanon border.

The Israel Defense Forces say an initial review by soldiers on the scene indicate the explosion was caused by an unexploded Hezbollah munition that had landed near the area. It's unclear when that projectile was fired. Emergency officials say multiple people were injured, some of them seriously.

And still to come on "CNN Newsroom." Pope Leo will soon be hospitalized ahead of his upcoming lung surgery. We'll bring you the latest updates on his health.

Plus, Hurricane Simon is causing damage in Mexico even before it makes landfall. We'll show you how.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [03:15:00]

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MACFARLANE: The Vatican says Pope Leo will be admitted today to a hospital in Rome for his surgery. The procedure aims to remove an early stage lung nodule that was discovered during recent health checks. The pontiff is expected to remain hospitalized for at least a week as part of his recovery.

CNN's Stefano Pozzebon joins us live now from Rome with the latest. So Stefano, what more are you learning about the Pope's surgery and how the hospital are preparing for his arrival?

STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Christina. Well, the Vatican in the last couple of days has been adamant that this lung nodule was identified during a routine check and that there is nothing too serious behind it. However, you can understand that this operation was not scheduled by the preparation that we have seen here at the Gemelli Hospital.

We're literally a stone's throw from the Vatican. This is the hospital where most pontiffs come to receive health care. John Paul II -- the late John Paul II, for example, jokingly nicknamed it the third Vatican office because of how much time he spent here.

And we were here from early hours, and gardeners were coming here to trim the bushes and to prepare everything in order for the pontiff to arrive. He's scheduled to arrive here in a few hours in the late morning here in Italy, about 11 a.m. local time, so 5 a.m. in the East Costa.

And, well, we'll be bringing you the latest as soon as we hear from the Vatican on whether he will have the operation today or perhaps tomorrow on Wednesday. Christina.

[03:20:02]

MACFARLANE: And Stefano, what will be the, I guess, likely impact of the running of the Vatican this week? Will the Pope still be in charge even while he's incapacitated?

POZZEBON: Well, yes. So the Vatican effectively runs as an independent state. The only difference is that you don't have a deputy Pope, a vice Pope.

So the institution itself, the Catholic Church, for the day-to-day activities, they will go on as normal. For example, you can imagine with previous pontiffs, both Francis and John Paul II, they had been hospitalized for several days and weeks, and the Vatican didn't stop its running machine.

However, yes, in some cases, some decisions will be put on hold. Those that will require the direct engagement from the head of state and the Holy Father himself, for example, the signature of decrees and other decisions that will require his personal attention, all of that will be postponed for about a week. We understand from the Vatican itself that the recovery operation for this type, the recovery period for this type of operation is about seven days, Christina.

MACFARLANE: All right. Well, we will keep our eyes on the Gamelli Hospital behind you for any sign of the Pope today. Stefano Pozzebon there in Rome, thanks very much.

Now, more student-led demonstrations are expected across France today. Students' and teachers' unions are calling for another round of strikes, demanding better conditions, more staff and additional resources for public schools. The planned protests come as French lawmakers begin debating the 2027 budget.

Hurricane Simon is slowly moving northwest, just offshore of Mexico's Pacific coast. The storm has weakened to a Category 2 hurricane, but is still packing wind speeds of 100 miles per hour or 155 kilometers per hour.

Forecasters say it may make landfall on Thursday, though it's tricky to predict exactly where and when. It has already been causing damage, as CNN's Valeria Leon reports.

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VALERIA LEON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hurricane Simon is battering Mexico's Pacific coast, leaving a trail of destruction across coastal towns and popular tourist destinations.

LEON (voice-over): Huge waves crashing into beachfront businesses, flooding restaurants and shops, with water rushing into nearby streets.

In the state of Jalisco, floodwaters rose to more than two and a half feet, in some areas, leaving entire streets underwater. Military personnel have been deployed to communities along Mexico's Pacific coast, helping residents clear water from their homes.

In some neighborhoods, families are using buckets to remove the water, while piling up sandbags to keep more from coming in.

MARIA ELENA VAZQUEZ, RESIDENT (through translator): Everything got flooded, from here to there, everything, my closet, everything.

LEON (voice-over): In Monsanillo, in the state of Colima, residents woke up early Sunday morning to find water pouring into their homes.

CECILLIA PALOMAR, RESIDENT (through translator): At dawn, around 3 a.m., the water started to rise. It had risen before, but not like this.

LEON (voice-over): Mexico's government has activated its emergency response plan, deploying about 3000 personnel to help communities affected by the storm.

ROCIO LOPEZ, WAITRESS (though translator): We're a bit worried, and here we are, guarding our businesses, which is our source of work, and that of many other families.

LEON (voice-over): Meanwhile, in the popular tourist destination of Puerto Vallarta, workers are being called in to help evacuate visitors from the coastal area. Local authorities have announced plans to transport tourists farther inland to Guadalajara, the state capital.

Simon's impact has also been felt farther south, in Acapulco, one of Mexico's best-known Pacific beach destinations. Authorities there report one dead and two people injured. Simon is just the latest in a series of powerful storms to hit Mexico.

Just two weeks ago, Hurricane Polo struck Baja California Sur and Sonora, bringing flooding and strong winds.

LEON: With communities still recovering from previous storms, Simon is bringing yet another wave of destruction.

Valeria Leon, CNN, Mexico City.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MACFARLANE: There's much more to come here on "CNN Newsroom." A months-long CNN investigation reveals demand for the U.S. is fueling a horrifying trade in the Philippines, where families subject their own children to live-streamed sexual abuse.

[03:25:03]

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MACFARLANE: Welcome back, I'm Christina Macfarlane. Let's take a look now at some of today's top stories.

Ukraine's bid to join the European Union appears to be gaining momentum. E.U. ministers are meeting in Luxembourg today to discuss the next steps in the process. Talks are focused on two areas, Ukraine's internal markets and its competitiveness and inclusive growth.

[03:30:03]

A teenager is dead and more than a dozen others are wounded after an explosion on an Israeli school trip near the border of Lebanon. The IDF says an initial review by soldiers on the scene indicate the explosion was caused by an unexploded Hezbollah munition that had landed in the area. It's unclear when the projectile was fired. Israel's emergency response service says three people sustained serious injuries.

Pope Leo will be admitted to hospital today ahead of his upcoming surgery. Doctors are looking to remove a small lung nodule that was discovered in recent health checks. The pontiff will remain hospitalized for at least a week as part of his recovery process and during the period the Vatican will function as normal but decisions requiring the Pope's signature will be placed on hold. Now in a months-long CNN investigation American men are directing and

paying for the live streamed sexual abuse of children in the Philippines. Children who are often forced by their own mothers and aunts into producing content for profit. The Philippines has become the global epicenter of this trade with nearly half a million children exploited.

This report contains graphic descriptions and that some viewers may find disturbing. CNN's Hanako Montgomery has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATE, CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE SURVIVOR: He told me that when he goes to the Philippines he will bring one of his guns and then put it inside me.

HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): One of the fastest growing crimes online is live streamed child sex abuse. The Philippines is a hot spot for this content.

Up to half a million children a year are put in front of cameras. Usually by people the kids trust most.

UNKNOWN (translated): That's my child. I don't use other children, sir.

MONTGOMERY (voice-over): For Kate, who was 13 at the time, it was her adoptive sister.

KATE (translated): Instead of thinking, why is she making me do this? I just kept thinking if we don't do something at all, we won't be able to survive.

MONTGOMERY (voice-over): Kate can't remember the number of men she had to perform for but a lot of them she says were American exploiting families desperate for money.

JOHN TANAGHO, INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE MISSION CENTER TO END ONLINE SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF CHILDREN: A lot of the perpetrators in the Philippines are women, are people in their 20s and 30s and they're not sexually motivated. The only reason they're abusing a child and live streaming it is because somebody in the U.S. is willing to pay for that abuse.

MONTGOMERY (voice-over): For over a decade, the U.S. has been the number one buyer of child sexual abuse materials from the Philippines according to the country's anti-money laundering council.

This material was harder to find traded largely in hidden corners of the dark web. But in recent years, sellers have moved to encrypted messaging apps like Telegram. Private channels let horrific abuse material fester unchecked making it just a few clicks away. We entered some of these groups.

MONTGOMERY: I mean it's just video after video of naked girls in extremely compromised positions with their genitals out.

MONTGOMERY (voice-over): We tried reaching out to a few sellers advertising content. Almost all got back to us within minutes.

MONTGOMERY: It's only taken us three exchanges with an anonymous user to be offered pre-teen child sexual abuse content. This is how easy it is for people to get this type of abuse of thousands and thousands of Filipino children.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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[03:35:00]

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MACFARLANE: Welcome back. Here are your business headlines this hour.

The International Monetary Fund's annual meetings are underway right now in Thailand in partnership with the World Bank Group. IMF officials revealed a revised economic forecast for global growth next year moving it up to 3.4 percent. They've also noted the importance of AI investments which are currently driving strong growth around the world. I'll call it a $25,000 mistake.

A Republican group trying to boost U.S. Senator Susan Collins intended to run ads like this attacking her opponent in Portland, Maine but the ads accidentally ran in Portland, Oregon. Collins is locked in a tight race with Democratic challenger Troy Jackson.

And Tom Cruise's latest film "Digger" could end up losing hundreds of millions of dollars after another dismal weekend at the box office. The environmental satire film distributed by part of CNN's parent company in many parts of the world opened to just $20 million globally. Variety reports ticket sales dropped 60 percent in the second week, the outlet says the film could become one of the biggest flops of the year and potentially of all time.

Federal data released earlier this month showed finance and information two sectors embracing A.I. most aggressively are employing fewer humans. But what's the long-term impact on America's labor force? CNN's David Goldman has been taking a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID GOLDMAN, CNN BUSINESS SENIOR REPORTER: Will A.I. kill jobs?

Well, yes, probably. I mean, according to this new McKinsey study about 35 million jobs will be lost to automation over the course of the next decade.

But look at this, 40 million will be created. That sounds really good. It's not the full story, though, you really need to dive into these numbers.

[03:40:03]

So about 25 million, according to this study, will not need to leave their jobs at all. You can stay in the current field that you're in and continue to work in it.

But about 11 million will. And that's a sizable part of the labor force, that's 6.5 million people need to find new jobs.

So what could they do? And will there be jobs for them?

Well, yes, maybe there will be, because if you remember, the population of workers is getting older and they're leaving the job force. We're not replacing them with immigrants and we're not replacing them with younger people as the population starts to become older and older.

Six million people by the end of 2032 will no longer be in the workforce. You can already see this trend happening just four years ago, 39 percent of people 55 and older made up the entire labor force, but now that's under 37 percent.

So you can see that maybe this is creating an opportunity for people to move careers. What are these people going to do, though?

These are the jobs that are in demand. It's electricians, plumbers, construction workers. They are building A.I. data centers. If that's not something that's going to be appealing to those workers, well, then that could be a problem.

Now, of the 8000 jobs that are posted for A.I. on LinkedIn, that's about 5 percent of all S&P 500 companies that are listing A.I. jobs, a lot of these are senior level. In fact, 71 percent of them are senior level jobs.

So that could be a problem as well, because those are data machine learning specialists. If you don't know how to do this, that's not something that you can easily train for. So your options may be build an A.I. data center or get the training that you need to do something pretty advanced.

Doesn't necessarily mean that all the jobs are going to be automated, but for those that are, it could be a little bit difficult to get into the labor force.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MACFARLANE: Our thanks to David.

Now, a NASA rover may have discovered proof of life on Mars, but there's a catch. The Perseverance rover collected a leopard spotted rock from a valley shaped by rivers more than 3 billion years ago. The rock has numerous spots that could indicate biological life once existed on Mars, but that rock might not make it to our planet anytime soon.

NASA's Mars sample return program was canceled due to cost cutting, and the agency says the samples are safe on the rover while the agency considers other options for bringing them back to Earth.

And that is it for this hour, thank you so much for watching. I'm Christina Macfarlane. "World Sport" is coming up next, and then I'll be back with more news at the top of the hour. Please stay with us.

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