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One World with Zain Asher
White House Pauses All Federal Grants And Loans; Justice Department Fires Officials Who Investigated, Prosecuted Trump; DeepSeek Changing The Face Of Artificial Intelligence; Palestinians Continue Returning Home To Northern Gaza; Trump Administration Praises Arrests Of Undocumented Migrants; Protesters Light Fires Near Embassies In Kinshasa; North Korean Troops Using Near-Suicidal Battlefield Tactics; Aired 12-1p ET
Aired January 28, 2025 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[12:00:31]
BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN ANCHOR: An order from the White House with huge implications. ONE WORLD starts right now.
Just hours from now, the freeze on federal funding ordered by President Trump will go into effect.
And a little-known Chinese start-up is shaking up what we know about AI.
Plus, growing unrest in the Democratic Republic of Congo, as rebels claim to have captured a key city.
Hello, everyone. Live from New York, I'm Bianna Golodryga. You are watching ONE WORLD.
Well, it's a move that could impact trillions of dollars in government spending, halt public programs that affect millions of Americans, and is
creating widespread confusion across Washington today.
The White House has ordered a pause on all federal grants and loans set to begin five hours from now. And according to two-page internal memo, Social
Security and Medicaid won't be affected by this pause, but it remains unclear what will be targeted. And could include funding from a wide range
of priorities, including domestic infrastructure, nongovernmental organizations, energy projects, diversity-related programs and foreign aid.
Now Democrats are accusing the president of a power grab by shifting control away from Congress, which has already approved the funding.
So let's get straight to CNN's Alayna Treene, who joins me now live from the White House. And, Alayna, we're talking, as I noted, about billions of
dollars in grants to state and local governments, disaster relief aid, education, transportation funding, loans to small businesses, all of this
going into effect in five hours' time.
And what we know is that it could likely last until mid-February. Talk to us more about the scope of the pause and the reasoning behind it.
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, I think it's clear that this is just the latest, you know, stunning power move by President Donald
Trump's White House just eight days into his administration. And really broadening the assault that we've seen this administration do so far on
some of the functions of government as we know it.
And also more so shifting some of the purse strings away from Congress and to the executive branch.
Now, to talk about the scope, you mentioned, you know, trillions of dollars that could be affected by this freeze on federal grants and loans, but also
the impact would likely of Americans.
Now, one thing that is not clear is the size and the scope. You mentioned, let's dig into that. I mean, it is very clear that this is going to be
widespread, but there's still a lot of confusion about how this is going to be implemented and exactly how long some of this will take, as well as just
how far-reaching it really is.
One thing that is clear, though, Bianna, is that the White House budget office says that a lot of this is coming because a lot of these different
organizations who receive this type of money don't necessarily align with some of the Trump administration's viewpoints.
We heard from the acting OMB director actually saying he believes a lot of this is wasting taxpayer dollars. I want to read for you some of what this
internal memo said. It said, quote, the use of federal resources to advance Marxist equity, transgenderism, and Green New Deal social engineering
policies is a waste of taxpayer dollars that does not improve the day-to- day lives of those we serve.
Now, one thing I do want to be clear on is that the memo does specify that Social Security and Medicare benefits will not be impacted by this freeze,
as well as individuals who receive assistance directly from the government through these different types of grants and loans.
However, all other type of organizations that rely on this money could be in jeopardy. As you mentioned, it could hit research bodies, charities,
universities, and community projects, as well as many other different groups.
And so what we're still trying to figure out, of course, is how widespread is this actually going to be? How long should we expect this freeze to
last? Will it be beyond that February 10th deadline for submitting the reports?
And I do think as well, I want to note that we are going to hear in about one hour from White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. I believe that
this is going to be one of the top questions that she faces today will be relating to this memo.
GOLODRYGA: She'll face a barrage of questions, but this obviously is a major one. We know that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer says that the
president must rescind this order, suspending government funding, and the Congress must act.
If he refuses to do so, what are we hearing from members of Congress in response to this? This is money, as we noted, that has already been
allocated by Congress.
[12:05:02]
TREENE: Exactly. I mean, Chuck Schumer essentially said that he did not believe that Donald Trump, the president, has the authority to do this,
that Congress had already appropriated a lot of these funds, and that he can't just kind of take that money back.
I want you to take a listen to how he put it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): Last night, President Trump plunged the country into chaos. Without a shred of warning, funds for things like disaster
assistance, local law enforcement, rural hospitals, aid to the elderly, food for people in need, all are on the chopping block in this new
administration.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TREENE: Now, Bianna, similarly, a lot of other top Democrats, including those who run appropriations like Senator Patty Murray, for example, have
been also trying to warn of the implications that this freeze will pose to millions of Americans across this country.
We've also heard other Democrats, and not just those in Congress, but people like J.B. Pritzker, the governor of Illinois, arguing that perhaps
Donald Trump doesn't have the constitutional authority to move forward with this type of directive.
Now, some experts are arguing that it is within the president's authority to temporarily put a pause on this type of funding. Again, temporarily.
So I think a lot of this has to still play out. There's questions of whether it could face legal challenges. All of that to come and all of
really what we just don't know yet once -- as we wait to see kind of how this unfolds in practice. Bianna?
GOLODRYGA: Yes, hopefully, we learn some more in the press briefing, as you noted, getting underway in less than an hour's time.
Alayna Treene, thank you so much.
Well, the freeze on federal funding may not just impact the U.S., but could have consequences far beyond its borders. The head of Africa's Center for
Disease Control spoke to CNN earlier and warned that the pause in foreign aid may lead to global disease outbreaks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEAN KASEYA, DIRECTOR-GENERAL, AFRICA CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION: Without funding, this MPOX that is affecting almost around 45
percent of African countries will continue to spread. Don't forget that MPOX, in 2021, affected the U.S., Europe, and other continent.
There is a huge risk if we don't get this funding pledged by Western countries that MPOX can even become a next pandemic.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: Well, on the campaign trail, Donald Trump repeatedly vowed to seek retribution against his perceived political enemies. The U.S. Justice
Department may be where that all begins.
The DOJ is now starting to investigate its own prosecutors for bringing charges against January 6 rioters who tried to overturn the 2020 election.
Now it comes as the acting attorney general fired more than a dozen federal prosecutors who worked with the special counsel on investigations that led
to now dismissed indictments against the president.
CNN's Katelyn Polantz has details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Really a stunning afternoon at the Department of Justice, where the people put in place by
Donald Trump to lead his U.S. attorney's office and the entirety of the Justice Department, the acting attorney general, carrying out on that
promise of retribution toward people who were working on criminal cases related to the 2020 election and against Trump specifically.
So the main thing that happened, the acting attorney general fired more than a dozen people who had been back in the department just doing their
jobs as career prosecutors, line attorneys. They were the people that worked on the special counsel investigations from Jack Smith.
These were not political appointees, though. These were people who had long been with the department, not just as part of Smith's team, but had worked
on the type of criminal cases that always were part of the Department of Justice's bread and butter. Those people were back in their home offices
after Smith closed shop and they were fired yesterday.
The memo from acting Attorney General James McHenry, it said, you played a significant role in prosecuting President Trump. I do not believe that the
leadership of the department can trust you to assist in implementing the president's agenda faithfully.
This announcement to those people came just after the announcement by the D.C. U.S. attorney. So that is the interim person in charge of the office
that prosecuted the 1,500 or so Capitol rioter cases since that took place on January 6th of 2021.
That interim U.S. attorney, Ed Martin, he announced that there was going to be a special project, an investigation into the work of dozens of line
prosecutors in charging the people in the Capitol riot who initially were charged with a felony obstruction count that the Supreme Court later tossed
out.
That investigation, which appears to be an investigation of the investigators, the people that were doing those cases on a daily basis,
it's asking for documents by this Friday, so it is unclear how far of a reach that will go as Ed Martin tries to push forward some sort of
investigation into what happened there.
[12:10:08]
But this is two things that happened on Monday in the Trump administration that are so extremely out of the ordinary for any president and any
leadership of the Justice Department to take on upon themselves.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GOLODRYGA: Our thanks to Katelyn for breaking that down for us.
Gene Rossi is a former assistant U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia. He joins me now live in Washington.
And, Gene, just getting your initial reaction with our producers before this conversation, you call this move shameful, and that in close to your
30 years as a career prosecutor, you've never had pressure from a change in regime to be aggressive or hold back on your work.
Give us more insight into your reaction --
GENE ROSSI, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: Sure.
GOLODRYGA: -- here and why this is such a significant and extreme action by this incoming administration.
ROSSI: Bianna, thanks for having me. I have two pointed comments. I worked under about 10 attorney generals of the United States, Democrats and
Republican, probably 50-50, for almost 30 years.
During that time, I never, ever felt any pressure that my actions, either in the future, currently or in the past, would be scrutinized to such a
degree that I would either be reassigned or fired. That has a chilling effect on the career prosecutors. And my heart bleeds for those career
prosecutors who are the subject of retribution.
The second thing is, I had a six-week jury trial in 2023. I represented likely the first Oath Keeper who entered the U.S. Capitol.
Was the -- was the prosecution aggressive? Yes, it was. But the prosecutors that I faced, they were five. They had high ethics, high integrity, and I
did not sense any political bent in what they did.
Those five prosecutors, in good faith, prosecuted the case against my client. And as I said, I thought it was aggressive, but I didn't have any
reason to question their legal ethics and morals.
And what Mr. Martin, Mr. Martin, who's the interim U.S. attorney in DC, and this breaks my heart, on January 6th, he didn't enter the Capitol, but he
was the head cheerleader standing by with red pom-poms.
GOLODRYGA: Yes.
ROSSI: And that really bothers me.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. He was a prominent member of the Stop the Steal movement. And he also posted on social media from that day, it was like Mardi Gras in
D.C. today, love, faith and joy. Ignore the fake news.
To this specific issue about this special project that he has now launched, and it's -- you said it was an aggressive statute that was brought against
250 of the people that were charged were taking part in January 6th and ultimately knocked down by the Supreme Court.
What do you make of this probe in and of itself and the message that it sends?
ROSSI: Bianna, I apologize for the noise. I can't control that. What do I make of it? I call this a witch-hunt. What they're doing is there were 14
out of 15 trial judges that said the 15-12 obstruction charge was well founded.
So what the prosecutors did in those 250 to 300 cases, one of them was my client who was pardoned. They had a good faith basis to prosecute the 15-
12. So I really am upset, discouraged and disappointed that there's now this special unit in the U.S. Attorney's Office that is questioning the
motives of career prosecutors who were approved, whose actions were approved by 14 out of 15 judges.
GOLODRYGA: We're out of time, but I do want to get you to respond to a question that many have following this news and this headline of the
firings. And is that -- do these career prosecutors not have legal protections to avoid just this scenario?
ROSSI: They do have legal protections. You cannot fire somebody or have them reassigned to a position that they know they're going to reject if
they are career prosecutors. There's a protection board.
The -- you know, Andrew McCabe was fired about two days before he was going to receive his pension. He took legal action and he got his pension
benefits reinstated.
[12:15:00]
Those career prosecutors who were fired, they have civil protections and they have a basis to file a lawsuit to either get back their job or get
damages.
So the Trump administration has opened up a can of legal worms. And we'll see where that goes.
GOLODRYGA: Yes, the likelihood of them getting their jobs back, though, are probably slim to none. You mentioned Andy McCabe in response --
ROSSI: That's true.
GOLODRYGA: -- to this news. I'd like to quote what he said. There will be a chilling effect that will impact every single DOJ prosecutor. And this will
not serve the United States ultimately very well.
Gene Rossi, we'll continue to follow this story. Thank you so much.
ROSSI: Thank you.
GOLODRYGA: Well, a scrappy Chinese start-up, barely more than a year old, is now upending the tech world with its artificial intelligence model and
its rather slim price tag.
We're talking about DeepSeek, and it's boast an AI model that's rivaling now the big names, but at a fraction of the cost.
When news broke Monday, Wall Street panicked. Tech stocks plummeted and took chipmaker NVIDIA with them. Well, stocks are now crawling back in
midday trading.
And U.S. President also, Donald Trump, responding, saying that this may be a positive thing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: China and some of the companies in China, one in particular, coming up with a faster method of AI
and much less expensive method. And that's good because you don't have to spend this much money. I view that as a positive. The release of DeepSeek
AI from a Chinese company should be a wake-up call for our industries that we need to be laser focused on competing to win.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: The president trying to spin this positively. I'm not so sure if that's how he really feels about it.
Matt Egan joins us now from New York with a closer look at DeepSeek. And so, Matt, a day later, the world has had time now to absorb the impact of
DeepSeek and the race for AI dominance.
How does it now stack up from what we've learned about what this company can do? How does it stack up against big U.S. names like OpenAI and Google?
MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Well, Bianna, it does look like DeepSeek is a formidable competitor that can really go toe-to-toe with OpenAI, Google's
Gemini, and the other leading AI platforms that are out there.
Now, obviously, that startled investors yesterday. I'd imagine it shocked some U.S. officials as well. And it raises a lot of questions about the
state of the AI arms race.
Because when you think about it, in a lot of ways, DeepSeek really shouldn't be possible. Because for years, the U.S. has imposed these really
tough export controls on China that were designed to limit the flow of cutting-edge computer chips, computer chip equipment and AI software from
getting to China. And the whole goal here was to prevent China from getting ahead in the AI arms race.
And there's a few schools of thought here. Some argue that those tough restrictions backfired by giving Beijing maximum incentive to innovate
around the restrictions, the export curbs, and that in some ways the U.S. accidentally upped China's game.
But there's others that are skeptical about some of these claims from DeepSeek, particularly that they only spent $6 million to train this AI
model, that they didn't have access to many cutting-edge computer chips.
Art Hogan, a veteran market strategist, told me that, look, maybe China is arguing that they have this silver bullet here on AI. But he said, it could
be like the guy in high school who says he has a girlfriend, but she's really at a different school.
If that's the case, and we don't know that that's the case, but if it is, it suggests that maybe these export curbs have to be strengthened, because
perhaps China was able to stockpile computer chips before the sanctions took effect. Maybe China was able to buy a lot of these computer chips on
what has been described as a very active black market.
Look, Bianna, it's easy to see how the Trump administration could decide to double down on these export controls, particularly when you think about
some of the China hawks that he's surrounded himself with, such as Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
And there's just so much at stake here. The U.S. knew that there was this arms race with China, but DeepSeek suggests that the arms race might be
closer than we realized.
GOLODRYGA: We'll be watching the space very closely.
Matt Egan, thank you.
EGAN: Thanks, Bianna.
GOLDORYGA: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, may be the very first head of state to visit the White House following Donald Trump's
inauguration.
U.S. and Israeli officials described the plan for a visit as preliminary, and sources say it could happen as soon as early next week.
Meanwhile, President Trump is doubling down on a suggestion that Gaza needs to be, in his words, cleaned out. And he wants Jordan and Egypt to take in
more Palestinians. Now, both countries have rejected any resettlement.
[12:20:00]
And Israel says eight of the hostages set to be returned by Hamas in the first phase of the ceasefire agreement are dead. Israeli authorities say
Hamas provided information on the status of all of the hostages due for release in the coming weeks. Hamas has not said how they died.
Meantime, seven hostages have already been freed. Israel says the rest are still alive.
And meanwhile, for the second straight day, tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians are returning to Northern Gaza. And many are seeking shelter
amid the rubble after finding their homes destroyed after 15 months of war.
CNN's Jeremy Diamond reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Today, the masses of people trekking up Gaza's coastal road are not being forced to
flee, they are returning home.
The Palestinian people are going back to their homes, this man shouts, announcing his joy to anyone who will listen. It's a great happiness. We
feel like we can fly.
After being displaced for months on end, tens of thousands of Palestinians are finally returning to Northern Gaza shielded by the guarantees of a six-
week ceasefire.
This river of humanity flows for miles and miles, underscoring the magnitude of the last 15 months of war.
For many, like Iyad al-Masri (ph), their journey began in Southern Gaza, taking down their tents they hope forever.
I'm taking these four bags and going back to my house, Iyad says. I don't know if it is still standing or not, but I'm going back to Beit Hanoun.
People quickly crowd around the few busses heading north. Babies and belongings hoisted with urgency.
Others carry what they can, taking their chances on foot. Trudging through this uneven coastal road, young and old alike, are determined to push past
fatigue and return home.
For the first of many, that moment came shortly after 7:00 A.M., crossing an abandoned Israeli checkpoint where masked Hamas militants now stand
watch.
Israel agreed to open the road to Northern Gaza only after resolving a two- day dispute with Hamas over the fate of an Israeli hostage, Arbel Yehoud. Hamas now set to release her alongside the captive Israeli soldier Agam
Berger and a third hostage on Thursday.
Back in Gaza, this is what most are returning to, bombed-out buildings and heaps of rubble now line the streets.
Even amid the destruction, there is joy as family members, separated by war, reunite.
Thank God, Mataz (PH) says as he kisses his mother and embraces his daughter. He hasn't seen them in 10 months.
Amid the reunions, there are also tears as people set foot on the land they call home once again.
I'm crying right now out of happiness, this man says. I don't want anything except to enter my homeland.
The enormity of the destruction in Gaza, prompting President Trump to call for moving Palestinians out of Gaza.
TRUMP: I'd like Egypt to take people and I'd like Jordan to take people. I can -- I mean, you're talking about probably a million and a half people.
And we just clean out that whole thing.
DIAMOND (voice-over): Among those who camped out for days near the checkpoint in Northern Gaza, waiting for it to open, Trump's idea is
quickly rejected.
We say to Trump, no, and a million and one nos. We will stay here. We will stay in Gaza, he says, even if it is a pile of rubble.
Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Tel Aviv.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GOLODRYGA: Still to come for us, a real crackdown or is it just a show? Agents are told to be camera ready for immigration raids. We'll have more
after a quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:25:38]
GOLODRYGA: Education officials in Oklahoma just approved a measure requiring parents to report their citizenship status when they enroll their
children in public schools. The State Board of Education says the goal is to understand the needs of its students better.
But immigration advocates say the new rule will make immigrant families fearful and unwelcome at public schools. The measure will only take effect
if it's also approved by Oklahoma lawmakers and the state governor.
Federal law enforcement agents in the U.S. are not slowing down in their effort to round up undocumented immigrants. Raids in Illinois, California,
Georgia, Colorado and elsewhere resulted in over 2,000 arrests on Sunday and Monday.
Now, for perspective, last year, the Biden administration arrested about 300 undocumented immigrants per day. An immigration and customs enforcement
official in Chicago says the priority is to target criminals first.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SAM OLSON, CHICAGO ICE FIELD DIRECTOR: We're not targeting people in schools. We're not targeting people in churches. We're targeting people who
are the worst, you know. There's a chance they're going to go to some of those places. And this administration has kind of taken some of the
handcuffs off of us in a way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: And while President Trump and members of his administration have reiterated the idea that they're targeting criminals, there is no data that
supports the idea that undocumented migrants commit more crimes than people born in the United States.
Ed Lavandera reports from El Paso, Texas.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Trump administration is celebrating images of immigration officers fanning out
across the country, arresting undocumented migrants. The president's supporters call it a new day in controlling the U.S. southern border.
REP. TONY GONZALES (R-TX): I think what I've seen in the first week has been very positive as far as deporting people that deserve to be deported.
These convicted criminal aliens need to go home.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): The Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency or ICE says in the last five days it has arrested an average of 710 people a
day who will face deportation.
In Colorado, the Drug Enforcement Administration says nearly 50 people suspected of being undocumented gang members were taken into custody
Sunday.
ICE officials say they carried out enhanced targeted operations in Chicago searching for criminal immigrants.
In Georgia, cameras recorded ICE agents arresting a Honduran man in his 50s at his home. The man's family says he is a construction worker with no
criminal record other than a ticket for driving without a license.
While the Trump administration is touting its deportation efforts, critics say not much has really changed in Trump's first week from the Biden era.
In fiscal year 2023, the Biden administration deported about 390 people a day, according to ICE data. That jumped to 743 a day in 2024.
REP. VERONICA ESCOBAR (D-TX): What the Trump administration is doing right now is performative. A form of propaganda so that he can tell his base,
look, I'm doing exactly what I told you I was going to do.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): The Trump administration is also boosting the military presence along the southern border. More than 1,500 troops have
been brought in and will be deployed along various points on the border.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott is also bringing in 400 additional National Guard soldiers to work alongside Border Patrol agents.
[12:30:03]
TOM HOMAN, WHITE HOUSE BORDER CZAR: They're down there to create a secure border and lock that border down. And DOD has helped administrations
before, but not at this level. So it's a force multiplier and it's sending a strong signal to the world our borders are closed.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): Tom Homan is the Trump administration's border czar and he's vowing more arrests to come, which is triggering a sense of fear
among immigrant communities across the country, especially among farm workers.
TERESA ROMERO, PRESIDENT, UNITED FARM WORKERS: Right now, farm workers are not even opening their doors to anybody who knock on their doors because
they are afraid that it's going to be somebody who's going to take him, who's going to separate him from the family. So, this is the worst that I
personally have seen in many years.
LAVANDERA: There have been some operational changes here on the ground along the U.S. southern border. Military aircraft are now being used to
carry out deportations, repatriating undocumented immigrants back to their home countries, as well as more cooperation, interagency cooperation in
terms of being able to arrest undocumented immigrants around the country. So, we have seen those changes.
But the question is, just how long will this be sustainable?
Ed Lavandera, CNN, El Paso, Texas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GOLODRYGA: And still to come for us, longstanding tensions erupt in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Growing clashes between rebels and Congolese
troops force thousands of civilians to flee. We'll have the very latest.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:35:03]
GOLODRYGA: Welcome back to ONE WORLD. I'm Bianna Golodryga.
We turn now to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where rebels have made a major advance in the eastern part of the country. That advance led to
protests outside of several embassies in the capital of Kinshasa. This was the scene outside of the French embassy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(SHOUTING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: The violence in Kinshasa comes as the rebel militia known as M23 has taken control of Goma Airport, according to a source.
Now, earlier, the Rwanda-backed rebels claimed to have seized the city, considered a strategic hub in a region rich with minerals. Thousands of
panicked civilians started fleeing Goma, as you see in these images, when fighting between the rebels and Congolese forces began to ramp up.
CNN's Salma Abdelaziz has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Heavy fighting was seen around Goma Airport just a couple of days after the M23 rebel group claimed that it had
full control of the city in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Now, M23 has been advancing for weeks on Goma. And this lightning fast offensive has forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee. At least a
dozen peacekeepers have been killed in the fighting. Hospitals are overwhelmed with the wounded and now the tensions have spread to Kinshasa,
the capital where protesters were setting fires around Western embassies including the French embassy, the American embassy, the Belgian embassy,
angry what they see as western intervention in African affairs.
Now why is all of this happening? Well it may have something to do with your cell phone. The M23 rebel group, this militia group, which is accused
of really terrible human rights violations, is backed by a neighboring country, Rwanda, that's according to the United Nations and other aids
groups, although Rwanda denies this and the accusation from those groups is that Rwanda and the M23 are after valuable minerals, precious minerals,
that are in the eastern part of the DRC that are used to build our phones and to build our computers.
Now there is one sign of hope, one sign of progress. Kenya says that it is bringing both Rwanda and officials from the DRC to a negotiating table to
try and find a diplomatic solution. Of course the U.N. is appealing for calm.
Salma Abdelaziz, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GOLODRYGA: Time now for The Exchange. Joining me now from Johannesburg is William Gumede. He is executive chairperson of Democracy Works Foundation,
an independent foundation committed to supporting democracies in Africa. William, thank you so much for taking the time.
So, M23 briefly occupied Goma once before in 2012, and it was defeated and then lay dormant for almost a decade now. What spurred this recent revival
and these actions that we're now seeing by this militia?
WILLIAM GUMEDE, EXECUTIVE CHAIRPERSON, DEMOCRACY WORKS FOUNDATION: Good evening and thank you for having me. And apologies, you know, my poor
light. We got a power outage --
GOLODRYGA: It's OK.
GUMEDE: -- here on my side. (INAUDIBLE)
So I think, you know, the M23 alleged after 2009, peace accord deal, a peace deal must be in 2009. That unless that, you know, the government has
not included them in government in -- you know, in government.
And secondly, that, you know, the government did not reintegrate them into the armed forces and into government and so on. So that's what they -- what
they are alleging now.
You know, the issue now is as typical in many of these African conflicts, is that the M23 now controls a big part of the DRC. And although they are a
rebel movement, they now almost look like a government extracting taxes. And it is almost now becoming for them, you know, they're getting so much
money, $800 million U.S. a month, according to the -- to the U.N., that it is almost in the interest to continue, you know, to fight this war against
the government.
GOLODRYGA: A spokesperson for M23 announced the, quote, liberation of the city of Goma on X and said Congolese military personnel had to hand over
their arms to the U.N. and assemble in a stadium before 3:00 A.M.
Talk about the concerns here, as far as what we can see unfold in the weeks and days to come under this militia leadership and what, if anything, can
be done to pressure them to back off.
GUMEDE: You know, the big concern, obviously, is, you know, the humanitarian crisis in the Congo. I mean, six million people have been
displaced. This, along with the Sudan displacement is, you know, is the world's -- this is the world's biggest humanitarian crisis driving any of
the other crises that we've seen in the world now.
[12:40:13]
So, I mean, the real concern is that firstly, I mean, it's going to get worse.
Secondly, you know, there are many businesses and properties that have been absolutely totally destroyed. And I mean, just the abuses also that we've
seen before in rebel run territories. And so now how do we resolve? You know, how is this -- how to resolve this?
Now, the thing is, you know, the African Union has sent peace troops to the region. The problem is the peace troops, they are firstly not enough.
Secondly, that the African Union have struggled to deal with African base crisis.
There's something structurally wrong with the African Union's structure. You know, every country, every undemocratic leader can be a member of the
AU. That means that the AU doesn't have the credibility to hold its individual members accountable because, you know, they're almost all
equally corrupt or autocratic governments.
I mean, almost half of African countries and leaders who are members of the AU, for example, are military ruler. So that's the difficulty.
So what we now need really is the U.N. to step in and possibly the U.S. also to intervene because we've got Rwanda, another country that's involved
in their conflict. So, you know, President Trump, for example, can put pressure on Rwanda to withdraw from the conflict.
And then the U.N. must reinforce this --
GOLODRYGA: Yes.
GUMEDE: -- to try to bring the parties to the table.
GOLODRYGA: We already know that U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio had a phone call with the president of the DRC yesterday and condemned the
assault by the Rwandan-backed M23 and affirmed the U.S. support and respect for the sovereignty of the DRC.
And no further indication as to what other measures the U.S. would take. But the U.N. is reporting that there are several thousand Rwandan troops
who are in the Congo now supporting M23.
Back in 2012, the world was able to pressure Rwandan troops from backing -- to back down from its support of M23.
Do you think that global pressure now that the U.N. is willing and able to step in to do the same today?
GUMEDE: You know, absolutely (INAUDIBLE) and given the fact that the African Union, you know, our local continental organizations quite weak and
lack the credibility.
I think, you know, with the Trump administration, if they can deal with these two, you know, with their three crises in Africa right now, and this
course of, you know, humanitarian crisis is one is in Congo.
If the U.S. administration can put pressure on the resolution of the conflict, and the same with the Sudan conflict. And also there will be a
conflict, it will do a big favor for Africa.
GOLODRYGA: A trifecta there of conflicts, for sure, that we have been covering. And you're just talking about the humanitarian crisis, over
400,000 people have now fled their homes since the start of this year in the DNC, according to the U.N.
So the DRC -- I'm sorry, so according to the U.N. So this clearly is something that can only metastasize, unfortunately, unless there's outside
intervention, as you noted. We'll continue to focus on this and watch this space closely.
William Gumede, thank you so much.
Well, we're getting our first glimpse now of North Korean troops in battle. After the break, you'll see the extreme measures they take to avoid capture
and what effect it has on the battlefield in Ukraine.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:45:33]
GOLODRYGA: President Donald Trump has signed four new executive orders that affect the U.S. military. These include banning transgender service
members, gutting the military's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs, and reinstating with back pay members who were discharged for refusing to
get a COVID-19 vaccine.
His defense secretary has been a vocal critic of such programs. Here's Pete Hegseth before he was confirmed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETE HEGSETH, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: The dumbest phrase on planet earth in the military is, our diversity is our strength.
The integration of the military racially was a huge success.
But now we're pushing boundaries and lots of different levels that are different than that, because men and women are different, because being
transgendered in the military causes complications and differences.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: Well, now, a fourth order calls for the creation of an Iron Dome, a missile defense shield for the U.S.
Denmark is now responding to Donald Trump's comments about wanting to annex Greenland. In other news, the Danish government says that it is investing
more than $2 billion in building up its military strength in the Arctic region, which includes Greenland. It is buying extra naval ships, as well
as drones and satellites for use in long-range surveillance.
President Trump has refused to rule out using military force to take control of Greenland, even though the U.S. and Denmark are close allies
with military cooperation agreements.
Well, CNN has gained rare insight into the North Korean troops on the ground fighting alongside Russia and Ukraine. Ukrainian troops tell us that
their battle tactics are highly unorthodox. They don't surrender, often choosing suicide over capture. And they're loyal to their supreme leader
until the end.
Nick Paton Walsh has the story, which, as a warning, contains graphic video throughout.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These are the first images on the ground of the capture of North Korean troops by
Ukraine. The soldier is injured, can hardly walk, but they spirit him away.
Russian shelling intensifies to prevent capture.
A wild prize pulled through their wires here from brutal fighting in Russia's Kursk region against a radicalized, near suicidal enemy, but one
who'd never seen drones in war before.
The special operations forces who fought them told us.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translated text): They are all young, fresh and hardy. But they're only prepared for the realities of an '80s war. Despite
all attempts to call them to surrender they continue to fight.
WALSH (voice-over): There's a unique challenge here. Ukraine wants to take captives, but the North Koreans seem to prefer to die. They shoot one here
in caution.
In the distressing images that follow, they pull one injured Korean's leg, then realize he has a grenade he detonates under his chin.
His last words were to scream North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's name, South Korean officials say.
We meet the Ukrainians who show us the fake Russian military papers he was carrying, suggesting he was from Russia's Far East, and his military radio
codes.
Another paper, handwritten pledges of brainwashed courage.
[12:50:04]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translated text): The hammer of death to the unknown and the puppet trash is not far off. We wield the powerful force
that makes them tremble in fear. World, watch closely.
WALSH: These notes from a soldier killed really a snapshot of the mindset inside the Hermit Kingdom. Declarations of loyalty, even tactics on how to
fight Ukrainian drones, and also the suggestion that their presence here is about helping North Korea prepare for war.
It's a remarkable insight, but also a reminder of how this biggest land war in Europe since the '40s is becoming more global.
WALSH (voice-over): But also a glimpse of the fear they live under, how they inform on each other. Notes from an officer writing a critique of his
fellow soldiers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translated text): He engaged in an unimaginable disgraceful act by stealing supplies. (Another soldier) failed to uphold
the Supreme Commander's dignity and placed his personal interest above all.
WALSH (voice-over): Ukrainians film themselves taking DNA samples from the dead, which they say proved these were Korean. Ukraine says up to a third
of the 12,000 here are already dead or injured, and more are coming.
Amur shows us the newish AK-12 rifle and backpack Russia gave the North Koreans. They are overladen with ammo, he says, but sometimes nobody armor
or warm clothes and minimal water.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translated text): We have seen cases when fighters from North Korea ran without body armor. They often don't wear
helmets which we find strange as well. They're very maneuverable, they run and move very quickly. They're hard to catch, especially with a drone.
WALSH (voice-over): This thermal drone video shows that speed of attack. Below are seven Ukrainians in a trench facing 130 North Koreans above, who
race at them and then try to flank them. Many died here, but they seem to be learning.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translated text): They have a plan of what to do if they are attacked by a drone. It's one person who takes the hit. Two or
three people stand on the side and shoot directly. It is worth noting that they shoot quite well. This suggests that they were trained.
WALSH (voice-over): Ready to die, everybody checked for grenades. But not ready for this modern warfare.
On a training mission, many won't survive, for a future war not even glimpsed yet.
Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Sumy, Ukraine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:55:24]
GOLODRYGA: If you plan on heading to the Gulf of Mexico on vacation, don't depend on Google Maps to get you there. The app will soon label the body of
water the Gulf of America, in line with President Donald Trump's executive action.
Now, that action calls for all government maps and documents to reflect the name change.
And Denali won't be there anymore either. President Trump changed the name of America's highest peak back to Mount McKinley. In 2015, President Barack
Obama renamed it Denali to reflect the region's native population.
Well, that does it for this hour of ONE WORLD. Thanks so much for watching. I'm Bianna Golodryga. We'll have much more news after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[13:00:00]
END