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Nation Mourns after Crowd Crush Kills at least 154 People; Indian Imports of Russian Oil Hit Record 23 Percent in September; ADNOC CEO warns Against Divestment of Hydrocarbons; Tuesday's Election is Fifth in Less Than Four Years; Death Toll Rises to at least 134, Including 30 Children; Coldplay Pays Tribute to Iranian Protesters. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired October 31, 2022 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[11:00:00]
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST: Well, this hour horror and heartbreak as South Korea grapples with one of its worst ever disasters, an evening of intended
celebration turned into an unbelievable night of tragedy. At least 154 people died in a massive crowd surge in Seoul, it happened on Saturday
night in the city's popular nightlife district.
Chaos erupted when Halloween party goers packed into a narrow street in Seoul. Witnesses say they were unable to move or brief. Forensic teams
descended into that alley on Monday, questioning witnesses and combing through security camera footage looking for answers.
The Interior Ministry says there were no guidelines to deal with gatherings that didn't have an organizer. Well, the nation begins a week of mourning.
Senior International Correspondent Will Ripley joins us now live from Seoul. Well, the authorities there where you are seeking answers. Do they
have any at this point?
WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, they're certainly getting closer than we were when we arrived here, Becky, on
Saturday night, when all of this chaos was unfolding. One of the obvious questions is where was the crowd control? Where was the planning? And the
answer is, and we got it today that there was not really there were extra police officers and increasing about 50 percent from previous Halloweens,
which are always busy here in Itaewon.
This is a very popular nightclub district, especially post-COVID, first Halloween in three years; people didn't have to wear masks. So they knew
that there were going to be large crowds out here. But for events without a single organizer they have acknowledged that they don't have contingency
plans. So there wasn't a lot of coordination.
There were police officers out here, some of them were sent away to a protest that was happening in another area, and those who were here, their
commands to the crowd, when they eventually did show up, were drowned out. And some people thought that they were even in costume just like everyone
else.
So the severity of the situation wasn't really sinking in. Even for people who were caught in the middle of the crush, I just talked with two people
who actually were caught into the crush in this alley. And we'll just zoom in a little closer, Becky, so you can see how narrow it is.
So when you have several thousand people packed in this really small space, a man who was in it, and a woman that I just spoke with a few minutes ago
off camera here, they said that it basically felt like people were pushing them from all directions to the point that they couldn't breed.
And the one woman was kind of showing me that she was basically being pushed to the left to the right, push forward. And that's how people
started to fall. And as people fell and the crowd continued pushing forward, apparently there were social media videos, and people could hear
people in the crowd saying, push, push, move forward.
Then the pile of people grew to about 10 people high. And when first responders finally arrived to the scene, and they couldn't get through,
because even though the traffic right now, as you can see is very sparse. It was gridlock here on Saturday night, when the first responders finally
arrived and started to pull these people out. They described essentially what looked like a pile of people, you know, with the ones on the bottom
having nine other people possibly on top of them, only if their face is visible. They were pulling them out one by one; they were placing them down
on the streets on the sidewalks.
And they were trying to perform CPR. And these people were not coming back, they were not being revived. Some of them were conscious when they were in
the pile itself. But then as they were pulled out, they faded away. And so that's why you have just this horrific number of dead 154 people, 99 of
them women.
You know, the women particularly had a harder time is struggling against such a massive amount of force from so many people pushing them in multiple
directions. You have now this memorial here, Becky that continues to grow. And the crowds here silent now but there have been times earlier in the day
where people have come out and they have shouted in anger.
Where was the government? Where was the protection of our young people? Why was more knocked on to keep them safe? That is the big question.
ANDERSON: And you talk about that--
RIPLEY: Really as we get the answer, it's not a comfortable answer Becky.
ANDERSON: Yes, absolutely. And you talked about the fact that there were no organizers of this. Just describe where you are in Seoul and why there were
so many people in that part of town, I know it was Halloween and in many parts of the world, people are out celebrating as it were. Why there?
RIPLEY: Yes. This is Itaewon, this is the place that you go if you want to have drinks, if you want to have dinner, a block that way I celebrated my
birthday here one year. I used to come here all the time in years past. This year I stayed far away.
[11:05:00]
RIPLEY: I knew that it was going to be crowded because there was so much hype on social media. But you know, you get older and a quiet evening at
home sounds a little more appealing. But for people in their teens in their 20s this was the spot to be in Seoul.
In fact, people even fly in from other places to come and party here in Itaewon on Halloween. That's why you had 26 foreign nationals listed among
the dead. You know, two from the United States, there were five from Iran, four from China. There were victims from France, from Australia, from
Austria, from Sri Lanka, the list goes on.
And so this is truly an international tragedy, Becky. This area here obviously a very wide street, but the alleyways of Itaewon are kind of what
makes it so unique, because it's these very, very narrow and winding, small roads, where people can go up into bars, and they can go to restaurants.
But when you had so many people, you had 100,000 people packed and then everybody trying to get into the same place to get to a particular bar that
might have had a particular special or particular music that people like. That is really what created this just nightmare absolute nightmare
scenario.
ANDERSON: Will Ripley is in Seoul, Will thank you. Well, partial blackouts and water service disruptions happening across multiple parts of Ukraine
today after what a Ukrainian Minister calls a barbaric Russian attack on the country's critical infrastructure.
These pictures showing the aftermath of a missile strike on Kyiv. The mayor is saying one attack hidden energy facility that supplies power to 350,000
apartments in the capital. Well, the strikes happening amid calls for Russia to renew its participation in the Black Sea grain deal.
12 Ukrainian grain ships did leave port today despite Russia withdrawing in reaction to what it claims of the Ukrainian drone attack on its Black Sea
Fleet in Crimea. Turkey's president vowing to keep grain shipments moving.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN, TURKISH PRESIDENT: Even if Russia is hesitant about this because they are not given the same opportunities. We will continue
our efforts with the termination for the service of humanity.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, as the war continues on the ground and these assaults continue from the air, Salma Abdelaziz connecting us to the latest
developments from Kyiv. And I want to talk about both the strikes Salma on land, on the capital of Kyiv and around the country.
And indeed, what is happening in the Black Sea because the global impact of that, of course is one that we have discussed at length here on this show.
Let's start with those strikes, specifically where you are in Kyiv what's the impact been so far?
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely Bucky. We woke up as all families in Kyiv woke up to the sound of air raid sirens. Today we could
see explosions or hear explosions rather just behind me here. We could see smoke billowing and we later found out more than 50 cruise missiles shot by
Russia today across 10 different regions in Ukraine hitting 18 different facilities, most of them energy related electricity related.
The result of that is here in Kyiv 80 percent of the city's residents do not have running water right now. The mayor says officials are scrambling
to try to bring that back up. You can imagine the suffering that's already causing, and again, not just here in Kyiv, but along the East as well.
Critical infrastructure hit there, energy infrastructure trains being cut off all of this coming just a couple of days after Russia accused Ukraine
of attacking its black sea naval fleet with drones. Ukraine has denied that accusation.
But as a result of that Moscow pulled out of this all important grain deal that you mentioned Becky, this UN brokered with Turkeys help initiative
that has allowed millions of tons of grain to continue to be exported out of Ukraine, despite the conflict, despite the conflict.
So now the concern is, is that grain will be blocked again? what we know so far is there are dozens of ships up to 200 more than 200 rather vessels
that are potentially going to be blocked, unable to get out of the Black Sea, unable to export their goods.
We do know that 12 vessels 12 ships with the help of the United Nations and Turkey were able to leave the Black Sea today. But Russia responded to that
by saying if Ukraine carries on with the initiative without Russia's involvement, it could be "Risky and dangerous" worrying rhetoric there.
But yet again, Becky, this is the pattern we've seen, Russia taking this war out of the battlefield, inflicting civilian suffering and hitting the
most critical most basic things that people need food, water, electricity, transportation. Every family here is worrying about how they're going to
get through the winter, Becky.
[11:10:00]
ANDERSON: Salma Abdelaziz is in Kyiv, Salma, thank you. Well, Russia's relentless attacks every day, Ukrainians are fighting back with their
wallets by donating money to military crowd-funding. CNN's Nic Robertson explains why that effort has received a recent boost, have a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR (voice over): Amidst tumbling leaves, Lesya Karnauh takes her kids out to play. Hard to imagine
three weeks ago, a Russian cruise missile slammed into this park. CNN's Fred Pleitgen was there reporting on the massive new barrage of attacks.
Lesya works nearby, remembers it clearly. A colleague was injured. It motivates her to do what she has been doing more and more of lately,
donating to military crowd-funding.
LESYA KARNAUH, CIVIL SERVANT AND MOTHER OF THREE: Definitely push us to do it quicker and more and more.
ROBERTSON (voice over): In her family, they've been donating for months.
KARNAUH: All my family even my mother and even my daughter from her savings will be sent money. And we didn't tell each other.
ROBERTSON (on camera): It turns out they're not alone. Putin's recent assault on Kyiv has drawn instant outrage and a backlash his troops may
regret.
SLAVA BANIK, COORDINATOR OF DIIA, UKRAINIAN MINISTRY OF DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION: 12 Millions of Ukrainian grievances were ignited during
that week.
ROBERTSON (voice over): Slava Banik helps run a government app simplifying donations, more than 18 million users so far.
BANIK: So for example, I make selections. And then the next step I just can pay this by Apple Pay.
ROBERTSON (on camera): And you have now just given $2 more or less to your army of drones.
BANIK: Yes.
ROBERTSON (on camera): To buy drones.
BANIK: Yes.
ROBERTSON (voice over): The stats the day of the big attack, he says show Putin miscalculated if he thought Ukrainians wouldn't fight back.
BANIK: And donations on the 10th of October began being bigger maybe four or five times more than the day before.
ROBERTSON (on camera): So the attacks made people give money.
BANIK: Yes, if all the drones bought with your help to cough into the sky at the same time, it would look like this.
ROBERTSON (voice over): Crowd-funding began with the war is really taking off now. Drone donations particularly popular recently. Some military units
is actively promoting the impact of donations, in this case, a drone that drops a bomb on Russian troops.
MYKOLA KIELIESKOV, ANALYST, COMEBACKALIVE: Here, ours is the main place where we collect all the technique equipment, walkie talkies, and drones
and other stuff.
ROBERTSON (voice over): A crowd-funding NGO come back alive, their warehouse an, Aladdin's cave.
KIELIESKOV: Here is like screens from the comment posts.
ROBERTSON (voice over): Donations by much more than just drones, their shelves filling off the back of Putin's attack spikes.
KIELIESKOV: And we collected about $113 million since the beginning of fall through.
ROBERTSON (on camera): That's through massive amount of money.
KIELIESKOV: For Ukraine, it's a massive amount of money.
ROBERTSON (voice over): Big money. Government officials estimate many hundreds of millions of dollars across all crowd-funding platforms.
ROBERTSON (on camera): Do you mind that the money goes, but it might kill Russian soldiers?
KARNAUH: You know they occupied my country; they went here to kill my children. Why I should care about that?
ROBERTSON (voice over): Winter and more airstrikes are coming. But so to a Ukrainian windfall, Putin's troops will reap, Nic Robertson, CNN Kyiv,
Ukraine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Well, when we come back more on the global impact of the war in Ukraine. India has emerged as a key consumer of Russian oil or at least a
key importer of Russian oil. I'll speak to the Minister for petroleum and natural gas about how his country is dealing with Russia's invasion and its
own energy demands.
And so, in India, the tragedy that unfolded when a newly renovated bridge collapsed into a river over the weekend, we'll have the very latest on the
investigation and the search for survivors.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:15:00]
ANDERSON: As the war in Ukraine continues to send shockwaves through the global energy market, ministers and business executives from around the
world are meeting here in Abu Dhabi today for a conference focus on the future of energy security.
The Head of Abu Dhabi's National Oil Company says the world must use all means available to meet demand and warned against a total divestment in
hydrocarbons, have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SULTAN AHMED AL JABER, MANAGING DIRECTOR AND GROUP CEO, ADNOC: If we zero out hydrocarbon investment due to natural decline, we would lose 5 million
barrels per day of oil each year from the current supplies. This would make the shocks we have experienced this year, feel like a minor tremor. If this
year has taught us anything, it taught us that energy security is the foundation of all progress, economic, social, and climate progress.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Let's bear in mind that the UAE is heavily reliant on its oil and gas profits accounting for nearly a third of its GDP. Although the energy
diversification story here is a fascinating one and this economy built to look beyond oil and gas going forward.
The world has faced a painful reckoning hasn't it on energy security this year. India just one of the nation's hit hard by this, it has turned to
discounted Russian oil to help ease the pain with imports rising to a record 23 percent of its supply in September up from just 2 percent before
the war. That makes it Russia's second biggest oil client after China.
While our Western nations iron out plans for an oil price cap, some question how effective it will be given the Kremlin's Asia market. I'm
joined now by Hardeep Singh Puri, who's India's Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas.
India has certainly served, and welcome to the show been benefiting from discounted rates of Russian oil. Does the country have any qualms about
continuing to buy so much given that Narendra Modi has certainly expressed concerns over the invasion, saying now is not the time for war? Now is the
time to move into a path of peace.
HARDEEP SINGH PURI, INDIAN MINISTER OF PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS: Let me first try and correct your perspective. We ended the financial year 2022
that is 31st March 22. The purchases of Russian oil were not 2 percent, 0.2 percent, number one, number two, we still buy only in a quarter what Europe
buys in one afternoon.
So let's be very clear about what the perspective is. Where will we buy from Russia is not the largest supplier of oil to India. Russia has
supplied only 0.2 percent, now it's one of the top four or five suppliers. And in fact the largest supplier last month was Iraq, so that there is no
misunderstanding anywhere.
We owe our moral duty to our consumers. We have 1.34 billion population and we have to ensure that they are supplied with energy, whether it's petrol
or diesel. We were the only country in the world which at the time when we were feeding 800 million people three meals a day, which we are still
doing.
[11:20:00]
PURI: The government reduced its revenue in order to make sure that prices at the petrol bunk didn't go up. You know, we have 60 million people go
into the petro bunks.
ANDERSON: There is no model conflict with buying Russian oil?
PURI: Well, absolutely none, absolutely none. There is no model conflict. I mean, somebody wants to take an ideological position. Well, but we don't
buy from X or Y, we buy whatever is available, and I don't do the buying. It's the oil companies will do the buying.
ANDERSON: Let's be quite clear about this. And India is a backdoor into Europe for Russian oil at the moment. You're talking about the - hang on,
let me just finish. You're talking about the oil that comes in and is useful. And you said there's no moral issue with this in providing energy
for 1.4 billion people. But let's be quite clear, Russian oil is imported, it is refined, and then it is exported to Europe, sir.
PURI: No, that was done by some private sector companies, not by the OMCs. Who buys Russian oil where it is refined?
ANDERSON: You're denying that's happening.
PURI: No, there's no question, I have no, we have nothing to do with that. First of all, the government doesn't do the buying. Let me be very clear.
Oil trade is conducted by economic entities. Alright, today I met the Minister from Guyana. They've got a production, come we'll buy from there,
we are buying from Canada. Do you know something? I bought last year from the United States $20 billion worth, which is almost half of what I buy
from OPEC. No, we will buy oil gas from wherever we can get it.
ANDERSON: Well, if the EU or the U.S. were to ask India specifically to halt Russian oil purchases, would you--
PURI: I'll tell you something. First, you should address that question to the EU or to the United States.
ANDERSON: --with respect.
PURI: I'm telling you because if India did not buy, or someone else didn't buy Russian oil, and the Russian oil were to go off the market, what would
happen to international prices, these people will turn around then the same. Somebody's cutting supply. We have more people buying it; the price
will go up to $200. ANDERSON: Minister with respect, I'm asking you a simple question. If the EU or the U.S. were to ask India to hold--
PURI: I don't address hypothetical, I don't address hypothetical question. If the EU wants to come up with something they will talk to us, we will
examine what's on it. So what is on offer now? We have a situation where Hungarian oil can come in through a pipeline, and it's exempt from the so-
called price gap.
Chinese oil goes through Russian oil goes to China through the pipeline, it is exempt, Japan can buy it. So I'd like to find out whom the price cap is
aimed at. We'll have a good, robust discussion on that.
ANDERSON: Because does India have a backup plan? Should the West tighten sanctions on Russia?
PURI: First of all, we have many backup plans, first of all, and I don't look at the way the way you are looking at it. We have had healthy
discussions going on with the West, the United States and the European. I think this is something you're creating in a TV studio.
ANDERSON: Well, no, that's not fair. That's not fair. You know the narrative is out there. I'm just crossing--
PURI: I have just come back from the United States. Do you know what happened in my bilateral discussions with me? No, I don't have to, it's
privileged conversation. But I don't feel and I've set on, I've said on record, not only now to you, but to you earlier into it. We don't feel any
pressure.
Modi's government doesn't feel the pressure. We are the fifth largest economy in the world. We are the one country where we are making the
transition, transition when you have increases in oil prices, they have consequences.
One of the consequences is there'll be inflation and recession. But one of the consequences we'll make the transition to green energy just that much
faster.
ANDERSON: And I want to talk about that. But before I do, let me just press you a little further. Will India cooperate with g7 attempts to cap the
price of Russian seaborne oil --?
PURI: I'm surprised that you are fixated on a proposal whose which has not been fully spelled out number one. Number two, India will examine it. India
will respond according to its supreme national interest. And I'm telling you, we will take a view and we will discuss it with everyone. And I'd be
happy to come back to you and tell you what our response is.
ANDERSON: OK all right. Well, let's, I'll hold you to that if I can Sir with the greatest of respect.
PURI: Sure.
ANDERSON: Let's get back to Dr. Sultan's comments earlier on today, who is the Head of the National Oil Company here. He's also the special envoy on
climate. And I started this part of the show by discussing the fact that this is a country that has embedded energy diversification in its economic
growth story originally reliant on oil and gas profits.
And of course, you know, this is a good time for oil and gas prices. But as a story of energy diversification going forward, let's just have a listen
to what else Dr. Sultan had to say today at meeting the euro.
JABER: The world needs all the solutions it can get. It is not oil, or gas, or solar, or wind or nuclear or hydrogen. It is oil and gas and solar and
wind and nuclear and hydrogen. It is all of the above.
[11:25:00]
ANDERSON: That was Dr. Sultan speaking earlier today at the conference that you have been at. And I know that there is an inordinate amount of what not
inordinate I mean, a huge amount of bilateral trade between India and the UAE. And that's a really burgeoning story.
Do you agree with what Dr. Sultan said there? And what do you see from your perspective as the opportunity for energy diversification, the use of solar
wind renewables going forward? What's your position?
PURI: I think perhaps some people are not aware of the fact what he said is what we are practicing. He's not saying anything with which I can disagree.
He says that the transition will come not only from the continued use of fossil fuels, but also from solar from wind, from X from Y, Z and from all
of the above.
And let me tell you what we've done. We are the one country in the world which has demonstrated that we can bring the cost of solar down; we brought
it from 25 cents down to three cents. Now if you have to make green hydrogen, what do you need? You need cheap power and you need
electrolyzers. We're getting both.
We are one of the most ambitious and comprehensive green hydrogen plants in the world. Biofuels we have gone from 1.4 percent blending in 2014, Andy to
10 percent now, we had a target of 20 percent biofuel blending by 2030. We brought it out to 24, 25.
If you look at compressed biogas, we have 42 plants producing compressed biogas. Our target is 5000 plants, making ethanol from agricultural waste.
So India is doing precisely what Minister Sultan is recommending. So we have no difficulty on that.
What we have a concern on is that if you want to make the transition from the current position to green energy, you have to survive the present. And
that is where I think the high oil prices have unintended consequences, some good some bad. The bad ones are that you will find that the situation
which is already inflationary, because of the stimulus packages, which went in pair, will become more inflationary and recessionary.
And the good ones are that we will be a mother is a necessity of - necessity is the mother of invention, you're English speaking. So we will
go into green energy faster, which we are doing. And we've just released 1 million square kilometers out of the 3.5 for exploration production. Well,
all a major guys coming in.
ANDERSON: Let me stop you there. It's always a pleasure to have you on, important stuff that we've discussed tonight. And I look forward to
speaking to you again; it's COP27 of course, what 10 days or so less than that away now. The next climate change meeting had in what is this
environment of energy security and crisis. Sir, thank you very much indeed for joining us.
PURI: Thank you.
ANDERSON: After four years of a hard right government, Brazil turns left, Bolsonaro will be out, Lulu will be back in and the road ahead will be
filled with challenges. And Benjamin Netanyahu is looking for his own big comeback as elections loom.
We'll see why Israel's former Prime Minister remains his country's dominant political figure, more on that after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:30:00]
ANDERSON: Well, hours of --Paulson's Brazil declared Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the winner in Brazil's presidential runoff, but so far no concession
from the man that he has defeated, incumbent President Jair Bolsonaro. He has not even publicly commentator on the results which had Lula winning by
just more than 2 million votes and less than two percentage points, a race as close as it was polarizing.
Well, some of the defeated president's supporters aren't accepting the results, at least not yet. Dozens of truck drivers for example, who have
backed him burn tires and blocked several major arteries and highways throughout the country.
They say Lula's victory was too close and they are waiting to hear from Mr. Bolsonaro. Well, the run on victory marks a major comeback for Lulu after
he spent a year and a half in prison on corruption charges that were later annulled. He'll retake the reins of a deeply divided nation struggling with
problems related to poverty, to the pandemic and to the environment. Here's more now from CNN's Paula Newton.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Supporters partied like it was 2003 the last time Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was swept
into power and promise to transform Brazil for a new century. He is now pledging to do it again. These women just babies when Lula was first
elected hailed him now as their political savior.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, so, so happy. We couldn't take any more Bolsonaro we can dream again.
NEWTON (VOICE OVER): Lulu cemented an improbable political comeback destined now for the history books. He walked out of prison less than three
years ago, appealing corruption convictions. After they were thrown out he mounted a campaign to defeat conservative populace, Jair Bolsonaro.
LUIZ INACIO LULA DA SILVA, BRAZILIAM PRESIDENT-ELECT: I consider myself a person who's been resurrected in Brazilian politics, because they tried to
bury me alive. And I'm here.
NEWTON (voice over): And gratified Lula pledged Brazil is back for its citizens and the world.
SILVA: From January 1, 2023 will govern for 215 million Brazilians and not just those who voted for me. They are not to Brazil; we are one country,
one people, one great nation.
NEWTON (voice over): Lula supporters flooded the streets of Sao Paulo relishing a fresh start.
NEWTON (on camera): Despite this victory, uniting this country now, very difficult and fight a challenge for Lula as he also considers a very
determined opposition.
NEWTON (voice over): Bolsonaro did not formally concede on election night the last time Brazilians saw their president was when he voted. But even
the Head of Brazil's Congress, a Bolsonaro ally, allowed Lula supporters their victory, saying Congress accepted the outcome. This Lula supporter
says the war in her words, the culture war, the Bolsonaro leaned into is not over.
AYLA RAMALHO, SUPPORTER OF LUIZ INACIO LULA DA SILVA: Look at the amount of votes this man had. Even after everything he's done almost half of the
votes, the difference was really small.
NEWTON (voice over): This is Lula's victory, but no longer Lula's Brazil. Years of division and political acrimony have taken their toll blindsiding
this democracy, and it could yet challenge this president like they have before. Paula Newton, CNN, Sao Paulo.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Well at this time on Tuesday, Israelis will be heading to the polls to elect a new Knesset or parliament for the fifth time in less than
four years. As you know, Israel's parliamentary system is made up of several parties. They create coalitions to try and reach the 61 seats
needed to form a ruling government.
Well now the final poll suggest Benjamin Netanyahu and his potential allies are hovering around the knife edge number of 60 seats.
[11:35:00]
ANDERSON: And the drama of election night could be whether the former prime minister scrapes above that. Well, CNN's Hadas Gold joining me live from
Jerusalem Hadas?
HADAS GOLD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Becky, I think political reporters in Israel are starting to feel a bit like Bill Murray's character in Groundhog
Day, because here we are, again, fifth election in less than four years. And yet once again, the opinion polls in the days leading up to Election
Day tomorrow morning do not show that any block has the 61 seats needed in order to form a majority in the government.
However, the pro-Netanyahu block does seem to have the closest number potentially closest to that 61 number. Some polls show them at 60, some do
show them at 61. But the anti-Netanyahu block don't seem to be any closer. But there is a major difference this time around than the last four
elections.
And that's the fact that Benjamin Netanyahu will not be running for this Election Day as the sitting Prime Minister.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GOLD (voice over): The Bibi show is back, replete with a Bibi Mobio encased in bullet-proof glass, aiming to once again become the main attraction.
Polls show Benjamin Netanyahu does not yet have a clear path towards the majority. So the former prime minister is trying to pull every possible
vote out of his base.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't be despondent. Be turbo-charged.
GOLD (voice over): And just like the previous four elections in just over three years, for most Israeli voters, the question at the ballot box will
be whether they want Netanyahu or not.
ANSHEL PFEFFER, AUTHOR, "BIBI: THE TURBULENT LIFE AND TIMES OF BENJAMIN NETANYAHU: We're not talking about any other policy issue really beyond
Netanyahu and what Netanyahu will do on the day after the election.
GOLD (voice over): Netanyahu's ongoing corruption trial where he faces charges including bribery, fraud and breach of trust charges Netanyahu
denies will be his first priority, analysts say.
YOHANAN PLESNER, PRESIDENT, ISRAEL DEMOCRACY INSTITUTE: Perhaps firing the Attorney General those kinds of maneuvers that will allow him to free
himself from the legal process that he's facing, and to deliver the goods to his political allies.
GOLD (voice over): Those political allies will likely include the far right wing of Israeli politics. People like Itamar Ben Gvir, an extremist who has
been convicted for supporting terrorism and inciting racism, now expected to help garner at least 12 seats for Netanyahu's block.
He was once an outcast of Israeli politics, known for his art in support of settlers and inflaming Israeli Palestinian tensions. Just last year,
Netanyahu said Ben Gvir wasn't fit to serve in the cabinet, but now desperate for his votes, Ben Gvir certainly could get a ministerial
position, Netanyahu said this month.
PFEFFER: And then the question is what is the price that the far right is going to extricate from him? Will it be perhaps canceling the disengagement
law from 2015, meaning that perhaps some settlements in the West Bank which were in the past abandoned by Israel, will be rebuilt reoccupied, and
perhaps further steps towards some kind of annexation in the West Bank.
GOLD (voice over): But at least one former adviser says Netanyahu won't make any extreme moves because the alliance with Ben Gvir won't last.
MOSHE KLUGHAFT, FORMER NETANYAHU STRATEGIST: Netanyahu's strategy is walk for the short term, and then for another short term and another short term,
and not for the long term.
GOLD (voice over): 61 seats are needed to form a government. And if he wins, Netanyahu has denied that he'll try to quash his trial, or that the
extremists will have power.
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, FORMER ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: I wouldn't do anything that affects me. I think my trial is unraveling as it is. I've had such
partners in the past. And they didn't change an iota of my policies.
GOLD (voice over): But before he can decline such policy ideas, only to claw his way back to power, one parliamentary seat at a time.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GOLD: And Becky as with any election, so much of what happens will be determined on voter turnout, who actually shows up to the polls tomorrow,
for BB, for Netanyahu and his supporters. They're hoping to get what they estimate is hundreds of thousands of voters who didn't turn out last time
in 2021.
But then there's also Arab Israelis that make up something like 20 percent of the population. And if they come out in force, that could be the main
difference between whether Benjamin Netanyahu is blocked or parties managed to get that 61 seats or not, Becky.
ANDERSON: Yes, fascinating. Hadas, thank you, Hadas Gold on the story for you. And do be sure to watch our live coverage of the Israeli election
results as the polls closed that begins Tuesday 4 p.m. New York time 10 p.m. of course in Tel Aviv, midnight here in Abu Dhabi, only on CNN.
And a programming note for you my colleague, Max Foster will be anchoring on a new 30 minute program starting on Tuesday airing weekdays on CNN
International at 8 a.m. in New York 4 pm here in Abu Dhabi, do tune into that.
[11:40:00]
ANDERSON: Well, Iran says it will hold public trials for thousand people charged with taking part in the protest there. State media report those
trials will begin later this week. Well, the protests began more than six weeks ago when Mahsa Amini died while in the custody of Iran's morality
police.
Iran's Revolutionary Guard warned protesters that Saturday just gone would be the last day as they described it for their demonstrations. Well,
protesters didn't listen. Violent clashes broke out between security forces and student protesters at universities across Iran on Sunday.
That is, according to activist and the human rights groups inside Iran who provided this video? Of course it is extremely difficult for any news
organization to act on the ground there, impossible to get in. For its part, Iran is accusing the U.S. specifically the CIA of encouraging the
protests by supporting Kurdish separatist leaders.
Well come up, a message of solidarity from a popular rock group to those fighting for their rights in Iran. You will have their musical tributes
after this short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: In India, that investigation is now underway following the deadly bridge collapse over the weekend. Police say they arrested nine people on
Monday and all the suspects they say are associated with the company that carried out maintenance on the bridge.
Meanwhile, the number of people killed and the collapse is now surpassed 130 including 30 children. The State's Home Minister says a cable appears
to have snapped leading to the tragedy. Well CNN's Kristie Lu Stout reports on the latest rescue operations and why the bridge may have been so
overloaded at the time.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The death toll continues to climb in India after a recently renovated suspension bridge collapsed in
the western Indian state of Gujarat on Sunday killing scores of people, including children. Authorities say 200 people were on the bridge at the
time of the collapse that took place 6.30 pm local time in the town of Morbi.
And the video which is circulated widely on social media is disturbing to watch. You see dozens of people clinging to and climbing up. The twisted
remains of the bridge to escape the water below, as some are clambering up to try to make it to safety, others managed to swim to shore and tragically
a number of children are among the victims.
[11:45:00]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Many children were enjoying holidays for Diwali and they came here as tourists, all of them fell on top of one another. The bridge
collapsed due to overloading.
STOUT (voice over): On Monday search and recovery teams combed the river to find the missing. The bridge was a popular tourist destination built during
British rule in the 19th century. It had been closed for renovations and was only recently reopened to the public.
Gujarat has lodged a criminal complaint against the agency that maintained the bridge and a special investigation team is looking into why the bridge
collapsed. The Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is in his home state of Gujarat for a three day visit said he was deeply saddened by the
tragedy.
He also announced compensation for the injured as well as for the families of the victims. Kristie Lu Stout, CNN, Hong Kong.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Well, from one tragedy to another it seems the terror group Al- Shabaab says it is responsible for a pair of car bombings on Saturday in
Somalia's capital, Mogadishu. That's according to a report from Reuters.
These two blasts killed at least 100 people and injured many more. This happened on the side of an even deadlier attack a few years ago and speaks
to the growing challenge the Somali government is facing in combating terror attacks. My colleague Larry Madowo has the details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Smoke rises over Somalia's education ministry. The designation of two car bombs near a busy
intersection with the Capitol could be seen and heard throughout the city on Saturday. The blasts happening in deadly succession, the second hitting
just minutes later, as ambulances arrived to treat the victims of the first blast.
Cleanup is now underway, as well as the search for bodies, - would normally be an area filled with people buying and selling food. Early Sunday,
Somalis President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud visited the blast site and said at least 100 people have been killed with hundreds more wounded, some so
seriously, he expected the death toll to rise. He also blamed the al Qaeda linked Al-Shabaab terror group for the attacks.
HASSAN SHEIKH MOHAMUD, SOMALI PRESIDENT: We are the Muslim Somali people are at war with these men.
MADOWO (voice over): The terror group claimed responsibility for the blast according to multiple reports. In a statement, Al-Shabaab says they
targeted the ministry because it teaches Somali children using a Christian based syllabus. Many of the wounded were taken to a nearby hospital, lucky
to have survived the blasts. But some say they are still shocked by the carnage they saw.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We heard a loud explosion. The shop collapsed and smashed mirrors scattered on us that made us bleed, dead bodies and people
with injuries were everywhere. Some were screaming that's what I can remember now.
MADOWO (voice over): Al-Shabaab frequently stages attacks in Mogadishu and Iran, Somalia with a goal of overthrowing the government and establishing a
hard line Islamic State. Somalia's president has launched an offensive against the group and vowed to eradicate them.
Saturday's blast for the deadliest terror attacks in Somalia in five years. A previous explosion in 2017 in the same location killed more than 500
people, a sign of how formidable the task ahead is for the Somali government to stop scenes like these from happening again. Larry Madowo,
CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Right out of the gate, Twitter's new owner spreads a baseless conspiracy theory. Elon Musk's unfounded tweet about the attack on the U.S.
House speaker's husband, we'll discuss the fallout and the impact after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:50:00]
ANDERSON: On Sunday, Twitter's new billionaire owner tweeted then later deleted a fringe conspiracy theory about the violent attack on Paul Pelosi
who is the husband of U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Elon Musk was responding to a tweet by Hillary Clinton in which she accused the Republican Party of regularly spreading hate. Musk replied there is a
tiny possibility, there might be more to this story than of Paul Pelosi then meets the eye and shared a link to an article on a website that once
claimed Clinton had died, and that the person on the presidential campaign trail was her body double.
Well, CNN Business Senior Media Reporter Oliver Darcy joins me now from New York. I was just reading earlier Robert Reich who was a former Secretary of
State for Labor in the US. In a piece of the UK newspapers suggesting that Elon Musk's tweet about Paul Pelosi proves he has no business running
Twitter.
And this piece was about whether he had the judgment and the character to be running a platform that has so much power. Questions swirling over the
future of Musk, a future of Twitter, under Musk at this point, just explain.
OLIVER DARCY, CNN SENIOR MEDIA REPORTER: Yes, well, I agree. It does throw into question whether he must understand the weight of his words, or even
the power of the platform that he just purchased to Twitter, in after Musk tweeted this fringe conspiracy theory. And it was, you know, he received a
lot of responses, pointing out that it was not true.
He deleted it. And then he only really addressed it in a tweet, basically mocking the New York Times for reporting on the fact that he had tweeted
this absurdity. And so he's not seemingly taking it very seriously.
I think most of us if we had promoted a heinous conspiracy theory like this would be a little more apologetic, and remorseful for doing so not in
Elon's case. But I do think this really speaks to a larger issue at play here. And that's really our broken information economy that allows
conspiracy theories like this to flourish, to gain a foothold in the public discourse.
And then for them to reach someone like Elon Musk within a matter of days of the Paul Pelosi attack. Unfortunately, Musk who owns Twitter now should
really be working to clean up the platform to make sure that these things don't spread. But we're seeing that he's actually in this case, the one
spreading it.
ANDERSON: Thank you, sir.
DARCY: Thank you.
ANDERSON: Well, in our parting shots tonight, a tribute to Iran. The British band Coldplay paid homage to young people protesting in Iran this
weekend, at a concert in Buenos Aires, the group performed Baraye, a song that has become an anthem for the protests, lead singer Chris Martin told
the story on stage.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRIS MARTIN, LEAD SINGER, COLDPLAY: Maybe you see on the news right now that there are so many places where people are not able to gather like this
and be free to be themselves, whether that's to listen to what they want to listen to, to where what they want to where, to think what they want to
think, to love who they want to love.
And particularly at the moment, this is very clear in Iran. And so we were thinking because this is being broadcast in some other countries, we would
like to do something to show that we support all the women and everybody fighting for freedom in Iran and everywhere, in fact.
And we thought, what can we do and this is what we decided. We decided that there's a very beautiful and famous song now in Iran by a sweet guy called
Shervin Hajipour. He has a song called Baraye and we asked our friend, girl if she would come and sing this with us. And so we're going to sing this
song now.
This is an Iranian song. And maybe at the end, we can all sing it together. But this is what we're going to do in Argentina to show support, a little
girl, let's welcome, and our friend, Nicole.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[11:55:00]
ANDERSON: Earlier this month, Coldplay posted a message of solidarity with Iran's protesters on social media and sent condolences to Mahsa Amini's
family. In the branch one of many celebrity voices is expressing support for the people of Iran. Thank you for joining us. That was "Connect the
World". Inside Politics with John King is up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:00:00]
END
