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CNN International: Ukraine: Dozens Killed in Russian Strike on Military College; Britain to Suspend Some Arms Exports to Israel; Pope Francis Begins 12-Day Historic Asia-Pacific Tour; 129 Killed in DRC Amid Attempted Mass Prison Break; U.S Seizes Venezuelan President Maduro's Plane. Aired 9-9:45a ET

Aired September 03, 2024 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST, CONNECT THE WORLD: Well, new pictures coming into CNN from Poltava in Ukraine, after President Zelenskyy announces a massive

Russian strike on a military education facility there in the center of the country. It is 04:00 p.m. in Kyiv, it's 05:00 p.m. here in Abu Dhabi. I'm

Becky Anderson, you are watching "Connect the World" here on CNN.

Also happening today Israelis plan to launch new protests against the Netanyahu government in just two hours, demanding a deal to release the

remaining hostages. And the Pope begins an historic tour of Asia in Indonesia.

Well, the stock market in New York will open about 30 minutes from now. As things stand, the futures indicating a slightly lower opening. Busy week of

economic data this week, culminating in the August Jobs Report. More on that of course, at the bottom of the hour, as that market, or those markets

open.

Well, we begin with more breaking news about a Russian strike on a military college in central Ukraine. The country's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy

says at least 41 people have been killed. It is one of the deadliest single attacks of this war, as we hear from CNN's Fred Pleitgen from Kyiv.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Apparently there was an air raid alert, but the time between the alert and the actual two

missiles impacting the site was so short that people were still on their way to air raid shelters and were obviously very much caught off guard, and

that is why you have this very high toll of people who were injured and of course, people who were killed as well.

The emergency services, though, Kate, we're pretty quick to be on the scene. The Ukrainians say, and were able to rescue 25 people, 11 of whom

were trapped underneath the rubble. As you can imagine, a lot of that operation is still very much going on. The Ukrainian President has come out

and ripped into the Russians for this attack.

ANDERSON: Well, let's bring in Salma Abdelaziz, who is following things from London. We got some detail there from Fred in the wake of the news.

What more do we know at this point about what is this massive Russian strike?

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, absolutely. So far, we know that 41 people have been killed, but officials say that number is expected to

rise. That makes it already one of the deadliest single incidences since the start of this conflict, and it deals a major blow to morale.

It was only a few weeks ago that President Zelenskyy was flying high on the surprise incursion into Russian territory, into Kursk. Now, for the last

few days, we have seen this constant bombardment, this constant barrage of rockets and drones coming from Moscow.

And of course, this the latest hit on a military educational facility that also bears significance Becky in many places along these front lines.

President Zelenskyy is simply struggling to find the manpower. So, to have a military educational facility struck at a time like this, that will deal

a moral blow to Ukraine's military.

And it will also embolden the country in other ways. They have been pleading, they have been begging, for more air defense capabilities, and

that's exactly what they're going to do in the wake of this. In fact, Ukraine's Foreign Minister, just a short time ago, speaking to our

Christian Amanpour, said, if we had the proper technology, maybe lives could have been saved here.

I'm paraphrasing of course. Ballistic missiles, which is what was used here, according to President Zelenskyy, are more difficult to intercept.

That's why they need that tougher technology, but for now, of course, emergency services digging through the rubble, people reeling from this

horrifying attack.

ANDERSON: Salma, thank you. Let's bring in CNN's Christiane Amanpour, who is in Ukraine's capital, and she has just spoken to the country's foreign

minister, as Salma mentioned. What did he tell you Christiane?

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Well, first of all, this is the third in just a long, long, long list of attacks. It's really

been very, very difficult over this past week, but it is one of the deadliest attacks that Russia has done on Ukrainian territory on -- you

know outside the front lines.

So, I spoke to the foreign minister, who had just come from a meeting with the president. He had had a meeting of the war cabinet earlier to discuss

this. And they do confirm that dozens have been killed. You know, more than hundred have been wounded, and that these numbers are bound to increase.

And this is little bit of what he talked to me about.

[09:05:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DMYTRO KULEBA, UKRAINIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: Ballistic missiles, educational facility the City of Poltava, a large city in Ukraine. I actually come

myself from Poltava region. My father is from there. So, this geography is very familiar to me. And we had a very detailed briefing.

And the main takeaway, the main lesson that I want everyone again to hear about, and we will not get tired of reminding of it. This is just another

reason why delivery of air defense systems to Ukraine must be expedited.

AMANPOUR: Do you think if you had them there, this would have been intercepted.

KULEBA: Well, ballistic missiles are very difficult to intercept, and Poltava is in the east of Ukraine, so much closer to the to the Russian

territory. According to what I know, the time range for the ballistic missiles to reach the target was very short, and the only way to intercept

them was to have to have a patriot system or -- air defense system, because they're the only one capable of intercepting ballistic missiles.

So, I didn't know how many more tragedies like this have to occur for all promises to be fulfilled and for all new commitments to be made.

AMANPOUR: From what we understand, and I'd like you to confirm the education facility was targeted, as was a hospital. This is a Defense

Education a Military Education Center. Can you tell us what are the number of casualties?

KULEBA: Well, the most recent number that I heard was like 40. 40 dead but and more than 100 wounded. But these numbers, unfortunately, are growing.

We started the meeting in the morning with one number, and the meeting lasted for hour and a half, and by the end of it, the numbers increased.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AMANPOUR: So, as we said these numbers are bound to change. And he was talking about -- you know what's immediately available in terms of answers.

When I asked him why he thinks this step up of the Russian barrage of ballistic crews and drones into this country and in capital Kyiv and now

what's happened in Poltava? Why now?

He said, well, the Russians know that winter is coming, and they want to cripple our civilian infrastructure -- you know before the winter, and

create another really, really, really hard winter. So, he associated with that, rather than their incursion into Kursk. And I did actually ask him

about that as well Becky.

ANDERSON: And what did he tell you about that incursion out of interest?

AMANPOUR: Well, it was interesting, because, as you know, there is quite a debate inside Ukraine, and frankly amongst allies and analysts as well. Was

it worth it is basically the bottom line. And you know, they're really quite suffering on the front line as well. There are some very important

logistical hubs like Pokrovsk, which is very much in danger of falling.

And he said, look, we had to do that, because we needed to put an end to this waffling around, as he sort of said in foreign capitals who were

believing this notion that there was a stalemate and that actually Ukraine could not punch through. So, he said we had to do something to show that

not only can we break a stalemate, but we are capable, when we do have the weapons, of taking the fight to the enemy.

And we absolutely had to do that to change the calculation in our allies, capitals and to -- you know affect a little bit the Russians, perhaps as

well. But most importantly, to make this plea as well for more and timely weapons deliveries, again, saying that we have been promised things that

have not yet come to again, make an appeal to have restrictions on the use of a lot of that military support lifted.

And to again, say that most importantly, they need these missile defense systems, and they really do need them, as we can see. And even, as you

know, the Polish Foreign Minister has put out a statement earlier that they had to scramble their own jets on Monday when this barrage was coming into

Kyiv, because -- you know they didn't know where these ballistic and cruise missiles were going.

So, it's becoming quite urgent, this needs for more anti-aircraft and anti- missile defenses, and you can just see that on a daily basis now Becky.

ANDERSON: Christiane, the sense was that that Kursk incursion was an effort on Ukraine's part to get itself on the front foot, as it were, ahead of any

further discussions about a peace plan, a peace summit. There has been some talk about November being the next point at which the international

community certainly might get together with Ukraine and possibly Russia at the table to sort of hammer out what a peace plan might look like.

[09:10:00]

Now you and I spoke yesterday, and you were reporting on a four-part plan that Ukraine has presented to the United States with reference peace talks.

Do we have any further detail on what that four-part plan presented by Ukraine looks like at this point? All right, our technology letting us

down, just somewhat. I'm sure you can appreciate we are working under some constraints there in Kyiv today. We'll get Christiane back as and when.

Well, protests are set to resume in the coming hours in Israel as the prime minister rejects intensifying pressure, both in Israel and internationally,

to finalize a deal with Hamas to end the war with Hamas. And Hamas militants have said they have instructed their assets to kill hostages if

Israel's military comes close to rescuing them.

Well, Benjamin Netanyahu digging in in a televised speech late on Monday, the Prime Minister insisting that Israel would not withdraw from a corridor

that separates Gaza and Egypt, known as the Philadelphi Corridor, which is a main sticking point in finalizing a ceasefire hostage deal, and saying

Hamas, not Israel, must make concessions to achieve that deal.

Well, the family of one of the six hostages killed at the weekend by Hamas blames what it calls Mr. Netanyahu's failed policy for their daughter's

death, echoing the feelings of many in Israel as anger and frustration grows. We are connecting you this hour with Jeremy Diamond, who is in Tel

Aviv.

And you were on the streets yesterday, tens of thousands of people demonstrating against Netanyahu and his government. What are you seeing on

the streets today?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well Becky, over the last two days, we have seen Israelis pour into the streets, not only just here in

Tel Aviv, but in towns and cities across Israel, demanding that the Israeli Prime Minister and his government change course, prioritize a hostage deal.

And strike an agreement now that would see Israeli hostages return home alive, rather than in body bags, as we saw over the weekend, as those six

hostages who were murdered by Hamas were brought back -- their bodies brought back by the Israeli military.

And despite the fact that we have seen so many Israelis raising these demands and hoping that perhaps the deaths of these six hostages would be a

wake-up call for this government that would cause it to change course, to change priorities.

The Israeli Prime Minister last night doubling down on his position, doubling down on his demands that Israel retains control of that

Philadelphi Corridor along the Gaza Egypt border, explaining repeatedly in a press conference last night why he believes it is so critical to Israel's

security that Israeli troops remain along that corridor.

And so, with his doubling down and as Hamas continues to insist that Israeli troops do withdraw from that corridor in order to get to the first

phase of a ceasefire agreement, it doesn't leave much room to manoeuvre here for these negotiators who are still trying at this hour, to try and

bring these two sides closer together, to try and strike a ceasefire agreement.

As we understand, the United States is working to present a final proposal to both sides to see if they can get some kind of agreement. But it's

really not clear how that can be achieved, as both sides seem to be dug into their positions. But the families of the hostages and many other

Israelis who have come out into the streets over the last couple of days, they are planning to continue to raise their voices.

Protests are planned for here in Tel Aviv, as well as several other key locations across the country. At 07:00 p.m. local time, we will see in what

numbers people continue to show up as the families of these hostages try and keep the momentum going from the horrible news that we learned over the

weekend and even in the face of Netanyahu digging into his current position.

ANDERSON: Jeremy, the United Kingdom announced in the past 24 hours that it will suspend some arms exports to Israel, a decision that was applauded in

the past hour or so by both Jordan and Qatar. The Jordanian Foreign Minister tweeting, and I quote him here, the UK did right to suspend some

arms export licenses to Israel. We urge an expansion of this suspension, and call on all countries to impose a complete arms embargo on Israel.

[09:15:00]

Unless consequences are real, Netanyahu will not end his aggression on Gaza and the West Bank will not stop violating international law and threatening

the security of the whole region. And that sentiment echoed, as I say, by Qatar in the past hour or so, an enormous amount of pressure on the Biden

Administration to consider using its leverage over Israel with regard arms and while the U.K.'s is a small shipment.

It is more than symbolically sending a message to Washington, which of course, has so far refused to hold its shipments. Any indication that, that

leverage by Washington might be used at this point to try and get a deal across the table?

DIAMOND: There are no indications at this moment that the United States is going to follow suit. I mean, look, we did see President Biden as Israel

was preparing to go into Rafah, suspending the shipment of certain specific types of munitions, in particular those very, very large bombs that the

United States has been sending to Israel.

But beyond that, we haven't seen a willingness from the Biden Administration to impose real consequences on Israel from a security

assistance perspective that would actually put consequences to the rhetoric that we have been hearing from the United States. We heard yesterday,

President Biden said that he doesn't believe that Prime Minister Netanyahu is doing enough to get to a deal.

I think the real question will be if the United States submits this so- called final proposal to both parties, and if it becomes clear to the United States that the Israeli Prime Minister is the central impediment to

reaching that deal, does that trigger new consequences from the United States?

We had already heard during the last month or so that should Netanyahu be viewed as the problem from the U.S.'s standpoint that we might hear

President Biden and other top U.S. officials being blunter about the blame that they believe Prime Minister Netanyahu should hold for the failure to

reach a ceasefire agreement.

And so, we could see that, and then the question will be, will we see more? Will we see actual policy actions to make clear that the Israeli Prime

Minister is standing in the way of this deal. I can tell you certainly that privately, a number of diplomats and other officials involved in this.

They believe that Prime Minister Netanyahu additional demands which he had added after there was that framework agreement in early July regarding, for

example, this demand on the Philadelphia corridor, and also a security mechanism that he was trying to enforce to get to check Palestinians going

from Southern Gaza to Northern Gaza.

That those certainly have been impediments to reaching a deal, but we certainly haven't heard U.S. officials say so, quite so bluntly in public.

And so, will the rhetoric heighten and will policy action follow suit? Should these negotiations actually collapse, and should the United States

view Israel as the central reason, why? But I think that still remains to be seen, and there's quite a bit of ground to cover still before we get

there.

ANDERSON: Yeah, absolutely. Jeremy as ever, it's always good to have you. Thank you very much indeed for joining us. Well, you're watching "Connect

the World". I'm Becky Anderson, still to come here on CNN, Pope Francis starts his 12-day tour of Asia with a stop in the world's largest Muslim

majority country, a look at what is ahead during his visit to Indonesia.

And total chaos and a deadly stampede, a mass escape attempt at the largest prison in a Democratic Republic of Congo ends in tragedy. Details are just

ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:20:00]

ANDERSON: Welcome back. Pope Francis has just started what is a 12-day historic tour of Asia, and he has touched down in Jakarta, Indonesia. His

visit comes as the Catholic Church seeks to grow its presence across Asia and strengthen ties with other religions. Now the Pope is expected to meet

with Indonesia's President and other officials in the coming hours before continuing his trip to three other countries.

CNN's Christopher Lamb is following the pope for us in Jakarta, and he joins us now. You are in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim

majority country, and we've set out why the pope is traveling there. How does he plan to cement the Catholic Church's position in the region,

Christopher?

CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Well Becky, in the region, the Catholic Church is generally a minority, but what Pope Francis wants from

the church is it to be a minority that punches above its weight when it comes to service, education, healthcare, but also crucially, interfaith

dialog.

And France is going to put that into action when he goes to the Istiqlal mosque here in Jakarta for a major interfaith gathering. Now that mosque is

the largest in Southeast Asia. It's also connected by a tunnel to the Catholic Cathedral across the road is known as the tunnel of friendship and

that kind of embodies the vision that Pope Francis has for religions to coexist.

The importance that he's repeatedly emphasized, for faith to talk to each other, to build relations, to try and further peace, to work on things like

climate change. So, Francis wants a Catholic church in the region to be a creative and impactful minority, and that's one of the reasons why he's

come all this way.

A 13.5-hour flight from Rome to Jakarta, Francis seemed in good spirits on that flight, greeting reporters and thanking them for coming along with

him, but that is really the vision that Francis has, a church that is working with other faiths and trying to build the common good.

ANDERSON: And it reminds me of the pope's visit here to Abu Dhabi back in 2019 when he traveled to this country of the United Arab Emirates in

support of tolerance and interfaith dialog, the Abrahamic house here in Abu Dhabi the result of that trip some five years ago.

You are right to point out that during his pontificate, the pope has insisted on the protection of the planet. He sees that as a pressing moral

issue. You've said that he will be addressing issues of climate crisis during his Asia tour. Is it clear how he will do that? What the narrative

will be?

LAMB: Well, the pope will be meeting with the leaders of the various countries he's going to. He will be making speeches in front of the

authorities. He can be addressing the Indonesian authorities tomorrow. I think it's just by being in this region which, of course, is so badly

affected by rising sea levels and climate change. I'm talking to you from Jakarta.

And of course, this is the capital of Indonesia that the Indonesian authorities have decided to move away from here because of rising sea

level. So, I think his presence in the country that draws attention and allows him to deliver his message about the importance of protecting the

environment.

[09:25:00]

That's something that he's consistently called for throughout his pontificate. And what it'll be trying to do, I think, is to galvanize not

just Catholics, but all faiths to work together on this project. Francis has sought repeatedly to work with other religious leaders and other faith

leaders to try and get better action on this very important topic.

And I expect when he is here in Jakarta that he will be looking to try and work with other faith leaders on this topic, saying it is emphasizing it's

a moral responsibility for all religions to work together to try and protect the environment.

ANDERSON: It's good to have you sir, on what is day one of a significant tour around the region. Thank you. Let's get you up to speed on some other

stories that are on our radar right now. Folks and Kamala Harris and Joe Biden have hit the campaign trail together for the first time since the

U.S. Vice President became the official U.S. Democratic Nominee.

They attended a rally in Pittsburgh where Harris said U.S. Steel should remain American, owned and operated. This is the first time that she's

spoken out about a proposed sale of the company to Japan's Nippon Steel. Elon Musk, creating some controversy over this AI generated image he posted

to X.

Musk shared this fake photo of Kamala Harris with the caption, Kamala vows to be a communist dictator on day one. Can you believe she wears that

outfit? X has a policy against sharing manipulated or out of context media, and I quote them there and says posts with quote, misleading media must be

labeled. This one is not labeled.

The Harris campaign is looking to keep the issue of abortion and reproductive rights at the top of voters' minds in the U.S., a bus tour

focused on the issue kicks off in Florida today, and that state will be voting on an abortion ballot measure in November. That's in our radar.

Next up standing firm in the Steel City, the U.S. Vice President and the U.S. President deliver their pitch to working class voters as the U.S.

election race enters its final stretch. More on that coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:30:00]

ANDERSON: All right. Welcome back. I'm Becky Anderson, and you are watching "Connect the World" and listening to the opening bell on Wall Street today

being run by Vista Energy, an independent energy company who suggests, they have an ambition to lead the region through sustainability and efficiency.

Their goal to be a growth, leading company generating superior shareholder returns with a world class level of efficiency in terms of low costs and

lower carbon emissions. The markets are out of the gate and trading slightly lower, as were indicated by the futures markets earlier, one of

the biggest, the world's biggest airlines, is canceling dozens of flights over concerns about possible engine problems.

Cathay Pacific is inspecting its entire fleet of Airbus A350s after part of an engine failed on a flight from Hong Kong to Zurich. The plane was forced

to return to Hong Kong and landed safely. Cathay Pacific says repair work is now underway across its entire fleet of A350.

CNN's Hanna Ziady is on the story for us. And Hanna, Cathay Pacific now making repairs as it inspects these models. How concerned should consumers

and other airlines be at this point that this could be a wider issue?

HANNA ZIADY, CNN BUSINESS WRITER: Becky, it's unclear at this stage, I think the answer to that is that there are some concerns. And clearly

several other airlines fly A350s and have, you know, engines that could have this issue. Qatar is among them, Etihad, British Airways, Virgin

Atlantic.

Rolls Royce, which is the engine maker that makes the engines on these planes has said that it's keeping airlines fully informed of developments,

but hasn't yet told airlines to stop flying the planes as far as we understand. Rolls Royce hasn't commented on exactly what the issue is with

the engine.

Reuters, citing people familiar with the matter, said it relates to a fuel nozzle, which experts say is generally less serious of a problem than the

failure of a major rotating part of the plane, such as a turbine blade. But clearly this could be very disruptive for airlines, and certainly, as you

alluded to in the beginning, it has been very disruptive for Cathay Pacific, which has had to cancel some 34 flights between Monday and

Wednesday as it attends to this problem.

ANDERSON: Good to have you. Hanna, thank you. Well, at least 129 people have been killed in the Democratic Republic of Congo as an attempt by

convicts to force their way out of prison ended in horror. Authorities say most of the casualties were crushed in a stampede.

In a social media post, the interior minister said it happened early on Monday morning, the country's largest prison in the capital, Kinshasa. He

said at least two dozen people were killed by gunshots as they tried to escape. An investigation is now underway. CNN's Larry Madowo joining me now

with more and what are we learning about how this prison break unfolded, Larry?

LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Becky, we've heard a bit more from authorities about exactly what happened early Monday morning at the Makala

Central Prison in Kinshasa, that's the capital the DRC, the largest prison where there was a mass attempt at a prison break, but authorities say they

controlled it.

They managed to keep everybody in the prison. But that's just one part of the story. 129 people died there. At least 24 was shot after warning,

according to authorities in the DRC, many of them also died from crushing and suffocation during the stampede.

A fire was also reported that broke out in the administrative building of the prison, in the food depots and in the hospital, and sadly, some women

were raped in the process. Authorities say they are investigating exactly what happened. Here is the DRC's Interior Minister.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JACQUEMAIN SHABANI LUKOO BIHANGO, DRC SECURITY MINISTER: On a material level, we deplore the fire in the administrative buildings of the registry,

the infirmary and the food stocks. The government is pleased with the restored calm. Condemns these unfortunate incidents and presents its

deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims. Investigations are continuing, and the public will be informed of the

outcome.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MADOWO: There will be a lot of questions about that investigation. The government is temporarily suspending sending any more prisoners to the

Makala prison, which have the capacity it was built for 1500 prisoners, but it is dangerously over crowded.

[09:35:00]

According to Amnesty International, as many as 12,000 people could be there, though some figures say it could be as many as 15,000 people in a

prison built for just 1500. This is not even the first prison break attempted or successful from the Makala prison in the DRC in 2017 religious

sect broke in and freed some of their members and other prisoners at that prison.

There's been other reported prison breaks in the northeast of DRC and other parts of the country, but again, the government says it's trying to improve

the conditions and to depopulate some of these prisons is building another prison outside Kinshasa, but that tragedy has a lot of people in the DRC

just distraught, Becky.

ANDERSON: Yeah, absolutely, stay on the story for us. Larry, thank you. Right, still to come, Venezuela's President bought a $30 million jet, but

he won't get to set foot on it, again, coming up, why he is accusing the United States of piracy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: Venezuela's government accuses the United States of piracy and of escalating aggression for seizing President Nicolas Maduro's plane on

Monday. Now, the U.S. says the jet was acquired by him in violation of sanctions, among other criminal issues. My colleague Oren Liebermann with

the story.

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This jet was in the Dominican Republic for maintenance when U.S. authorities seized it. FBI agents flew it from

the Dominican Republic to Florida. There, you can see video obtained exclusively by CNN as it landed in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and was taxiing

around there.

It's not quite the 747, jumbo jet that the U.S. uses as Air Force One, but it is, according to two U.S. officials, Venezuela's version of Air Force

One used by President Nicolas Maduro to fly around to meetings and to other events there. According to Garland, it was purchased for some $13 million

you buy a shell company before it was illegally flown out of the country.

Now, the U.S. and Venezuela have long had a frosty relationship that's only gotten worse, perhaps even almost outright hostile, since the July

presidential election, the U.S. not recognizing the claimed results of that election. According to Maduro's own regime, he won with some 51 percent of

the vote.

The U.S. not recognizing that as a free and fair election. In fact, many other countries not recognizing it as well. It is because of the results or

claimed results of that election that the U.S. reimpose sanctions on Venezuela's oil and gas industries. Venezuela said the seizure of that jet

was quote, piracy. Oren Liebermann, CNN in Washington.

[09:40:00]

ANDERSON: Well, let me get you some incredible video out of Australia now. It involves a couple of YouTubers and a humpback whale. Now I don't need to

tell you anymore. Pat Heagney of 9 Network News has the whole story for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAT HEAGNEY, NINE NETWORK NEWS (voice-over): A swim like no other.

JACQUELINE PAYNE, YOUTUBER: What just happened?

HEAGNEY (voice-over): One moment this man is in the water the next the air.

PAYNE: It was on he was on the whale.

HEAGNEY (voice-over): As the tale of a whale as big as a bus launches him from the sea.

PAYNE: All of a sudden someone was in the air on top of a freaking whale.

HEAGNEY (voice-over): Queensland, YouTubers Max and Jacqueline were snorkeling with humpbacks in waters off the Gold Coast when they captured

the gentle giant's moment of mayhem.

PAYNE: We were super excited, obviously, the opportunity to swim with whales is pretty rare.

HEAGNEY (voice-over): But they didn't expect an experience quite this unique.

PAYNE: It got wild.

HEAGNEY (voice-over): Surrounded by three whales. The couple were keeping an eye on one beneath them, when the unbelievable happened.

PAYNE: All of a sudden, there was commotion behind us, and we turned around and someone we didn't know at the time who it was, but someone was up on

top of the tail of a whale.

HEAGNEY (voice-over): The man on the tail was one of their tour guides lifted from the water by a leviathan of the deep.

PAYNE: Everyone was just in such like, adrenaline, I think, like, had this adrenaline rushing through your body.

HEAGNEY (voice-over): The tour guide escaping uninjured after taking flight.

MAX PERSYN, YOUTUBER: It was the first time this happened to him.

PAYNE: Yeah.

PERSYN: But he was very, like, very ecstatic about it.

PAYNE: It was like a relatively gentle experience, from what we could tell --

HEAGNEY (voice-over): Now, with a whale of a tail.

PAYNE: That was crazy, that was the most insane thing I've ever experienced in my life.

HEAGNEY (voice-over): Pat Heagney, 9News.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: And let me get you some sports news now in the quarterfinals about to get underway at the U.S. Open in New York, and the top seeds on

both the men's and women's sides each had pretty dominant performances on Monday night. Amanda Davies, with a little bit more for you, Amanda.

AMANDA DAVIES, CNN WORLD SPORT: Becky, I was wondering what kind of segue you were going to try and come up with, then, from the swimming with the

whale to the tennis. But, yeah, I really got to be a fantastic evening of action at the U.S. Open in New York, because both the top two seeds on the

men's and the women's draw, Jannik Sinner and the Iga Swiatek have made it through to the quarterfinals.

You suspect Swiatek may take a few words of advice from Jannik Sinner. She's up against U.S. home favorite Jessica Pegula. Next Pegula, a player

in great form, while Sinner beat home favorites Tommy Paul and an incredibly raucous New York crowds to set up a quarterfinal encounter,

which is the repeat of the Australian Open final from earlier this year, where Sinner came back from two sets down to take the title in five. We've

got plenty more on all the action to come in just a couple of minutes in "World Sport".

ANDERSON: Was that only the beginning of this year, goodness gracious. I guess we're in September already. It is the U.S. Open. It's been a busy

year of sport. You've been at it all year. "World Sport" with Amanda is up after this short break. We will be back with the second half "Connect the

World" after that. So please stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:45:00]

(WORLD SPORT)

END