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One World with Zain Asher

Witkoff Will Travel To Russia After Meeting Zelenskyy In Norway; U.K. To Deploy Fighter Jets To Defend Saudi Arabia From Houthi Attacks; Man Charged Over Alleged Attack On Politician Helen Haines; Alberta Votes To Remain Part of Canada; Curfews Imposed After Weekend Of Violence; Flydubai Captain Talks About Terrifying Attack From Hospital; Lacrosse Team Makes Mental Health Training A Priority; Aired 12-1p ET

Aired October 20, 2026 - 12:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:00:38]

ZAIN ASHER, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Coming to you live from New York, I'm Zain Asher.

BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Bianna Golodryga. The second hour of "One World" starts right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, UNITED STATES PRESIDENT: Ukraine could have had this thing settled a long time ago. Maybe it's time for Zelenskyy to get somebody else

to negotiate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: Right now, representatives from the U.S. are in Europe meeting with the Ukrainian president. Could it be a step in the right direction?

ASHER: Plus, defensive missions. The U.K. is sending fighter jets to Saudi Arabia to help them fight the Houthis. What it means for the region, up

ahead.

And speaking of reconciliations, is there room for a royal reconciliation? Prince Harry says he's ready to let bygones be bygones.

ASHER: I miss this era.

GOLODRYGA: I know. Early years.

All right. The U.S. is making a new diplomatic push to try and resolve Russia's war on Ukraine. This as President Trump once again criticizes

Ukrainian leadership.

ASHER: Yeah, meeting is underway in Norway right now between U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, excuse me.

Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, is calling in remotely. Once those talks end, Witkoff will travel to Russia. This comes just one day after Trump

suggested it was time for, quote, somebody else to negotiate on behalf of Ukraine.

GOLODRYGA: Meantime, Zelenskyy says his military was not informed of incoming Russian missiles four times over the last week. U.S. Secretary of

State Marco Rubio is pushing back and appears to be placing the blame on Kyiv.

Earlier, Rubio indicated the problem may have been a technical issue.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARCO RUBIO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: The president made it very clear, he's ordered no such changes, so none of that has changed. None of it. And

I see reporting that it has, but it's just not accurate.

I think at its core, the president is frustrated because he, first of all, he doesn't like to be blamed for things that aren't true, including

accusations that somehow he had ordered intelligence sharing to be cut off. And that's not true. He said that repeatedly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: So, let's go straight to Nick Paton Walsh who joins us now live from London. So, in addition to withholding intelligence sharing, President

Zelenskyy is also saying Washington is deliberately withholding patriot interceptors. Marco Rubio denies that allegation, but talk about the

growing rift here between these two sides and the timing could not be worse for Ukraine right now, Nick.

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR: Yes. I mean, ultimately, Ukraine's President Zelenskyy is saying that paperwork is on

Pete Hegseth, the Secretary of War's desk, to be signed that will potentially allow more Patriot interceptors.

This is a long running dispute, ultimately, where the U.S. said we need those interceptors for ourselves, hung out the possibility that maybe

Ukraine could get licensed to build them themselves, but left Ukraine desperately scrabbling for interceptors from European allies and elsewhere.

That's one of the three things that, as Zelenskyy emerged from his 45- minute phone call with Secretary of State Marco Rubio talking about, also intelligent sharing, also the resumption of Starlink and Starshield

communication systems back to their norm.

All things, those three things that Ukraine has relied upon for the United States for years without interruption. The issue here is that it appears

that Kyiv and Washington, at this moment, have a nadir in their relations can't agree on the common facts of what's just happened.

The issues with Starlink and Starshield widely reported across Ukraine from troops on the ground all the way up to the president. And so a lot of

evidence or at least talk of the same thing that's denied by President Trump repeatedly.

Elon Musk, the owner of SpaceX that runs Starlink and Starshield, obliquely suggested that it's the U.S. government that makes decisions about

Starshield, but a commercial company like Starlink or SpaceX can't be behind offensive operations.

Still so much confusion, frankly, from everyone about what indeed has happened over the past five days. Would Ukraine make up in unison from many

different sources, the same problem being experienced? That seems unlikely, but still Marco Rubio not always inserting himself in this particularly

delicate, complicated, and often frustrated issue coming forward very publicly to defend President Trump's position on this that they did nothing

and they're angry at being accused of having done so.

But it marks a remarkable 10 days. We now have Steve Witkoff on his way to St. Petersburg, likely to meet Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin head, after

meeting Zelenskyy in Oslo alongside the Finnish and Norwegian leaders. That is obviously some bid to try and rekindle some kind of process here.

[12:05:03]

But you'd have to wonder, are we looking more at theatrics here for President Trump to see that a process is indeed continuing rather than some

sort of magical new avenue emerging from the ashes of the U.S.-Ukrainian relationship over the past days.

It is startling to see where we are now, ultimately, President Trump doing many things that put him close to if not in Russia's position in terms of

being an ally in the words of President Trump to Moscow. And at this time, Ukraine showing a much bolder face where ultimately I think Zelenskyy has

learned pandering to Trump gets in nowhere and that they have a limited time now, year 18 months to survive with limited American help, if not

actually the United States assisting their adversary until potentially the post-Trump world begins to hove into view, but extraordinary.

And I should just remind people, this is not just geopolitics and men in rooms in faraway capitals discussing what might be the best policy avenue.

A one-year-old girl, Angelina (ph), and her mother, an elementary school teacher, killed by a Russian jet-powered drone in Kharkiv yesterday.

Drones, missiles continuing to land on Ukrainian cities killing, hourly often, Ukrainian civilians.

This is life and death, not just discussions about who gets the upper hand in terms of who's set of fact is the most sacred.

GOLODRYGA: The image of that one-year-old girl killed in her stroller coming as President Trump said yesterday that Russia, quote, has been fine

on Ukraine. The world can see just how fine Russia has been on Ukraine these past five years.

Nick Paton Walsh, thank you so much.

ASHER: All right. Sources say U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made an unannounced trip to Israel, meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

and Defense Minister Israel Katz Monday evening. The Pentagon has declined to comment. It comes shortly after President Trump endorsed Netanyahu for

Israel's next election, by the way, which is days away.

Meantime, J.D. Vance declined to say where he stands on the election. I want you to listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

J.D. VANCE, UNITED STATES VICE PRESIDENT: I endorse American candidates, and that's where I'm focused on is the midterm. So, I'm not getting

involved in the Israeli election.

MARK HALPERIN, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, 2WAY INTERACTIVE: So -- so he -- so you're not -- you don't want to say one way or the other whether you --

VANCE: I'm not anti-endorsing it. I'm not probably endorsing it. I'm not getting involved in Israeli elections.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: Meantime, the U.K. says that it will deploy fighter jets to defend Saudi Arabia against attacks by Iran-backed Houthi militants. This

comes as the Houthis intensify strikes on key Saudi infrastructure, including airport, energy and military targets.

Britain says it will fly, quote, defensive counter air missions using Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter jets to help Riyadh.

Steven A. Cook is a senior fellow for Middle East and African Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations and the author of "The End of Ambition:

America's Past, Present and Future in the Middle East." He joins us now from Tel Aviv. Steven, it's always good to see you.

First, given that you are there in Tel Aviv, what has the reaction been from your sources to this surprise meeting and visit by Secretary of

Defense Pete Hegseth with Prime Minister Netanyahu just days away from these crucial Israeli elections after President Trump made his endorsement

and as there continues to be talk of potential future strikes against Iran.

STEVEN A. COOK, SENIOR FELLOW, MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICAN STUDIES, COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS: That's a great question. I think among Israelis, it is

just an accepted fact that there will be some major military operation after the U.S. midterms.

So, the fact that Prime Minister Netanyahu met with the Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, other senior Israeli officials, and according to the

Israeli press, the meeting included senior Emirati officials, does not come as much of a surprise.

When it came to President Trump's endorsement of Prime Minister Netanyahu, obviously, Prime Minister Netanyahu's supporters were pleased with this

development. President Netanyahu's opponents were unhappy that the president was intervening so obviously in the election and others were

trying to divine what Prime Minister Netanyahu would have to give President Trump for his endorsement, something that no one quite knows.

But it -- it -- it does not seem, it doesn't seem to have changed the electoral dynamic here, which is everybody believes that there's likely to

be no government, that neither side, neither the opposition nor Prime Minister Netanyahu's coalition block will be able to get to the absolute

majority in Israel's parliament and that there'll be another round of elections in the early winter.

[12:10:01]

ASHER: I do want to talk about this U.K. announcement in terms of the U.K. sending RAF jets to conduct defensive missions over Saudi Arabia, this idea

that these British jets will essentially work to intercept Houthi missiles. What do you make of the different levels of military support that the U.S.

is providing Saudi Arabia versus the U.K.?

COOK: Yes. I think that this is somewhat of a shock for Saudi officials. The assumption in Riyadh was always that the United States would come to

the assistance of Saudi Arabia. The president has said to the crown prince that we would provide actionable intelligence and other types of behind-

the-scenes support for the Saudis, but that we would not get directly involved in it.

If you remember back in the spring of 2025, the United States bombed the Houthis for 50 days. It did very little to undermine the Houthi ability to

harass shipping in the Red Sea or threaten Saudi Arabia.

Somehow, the Saudis need all of the help that they can get, and somehow this deployment of Royal Air Force jets will help. It certainly is possible

in terms of intercepting drones and other munitions that the Houthis are using, but so far, no one's had an answer for the kind of warfare that the

Houthis and their patrons, the Iranians, have used since the president launched Operation Epic Fury.

There is no safe place in Saudi Arabia. There is no rear echelon. And the Royal Air Force, along with Saudi forces, need to be perfect 100 percent of

the time. And the Houthis just have to get a number of well-placed missiles and drones through to wreak havoc on the Saudi economy.

GOLODRYGA: We're already seeing the impact on the economy, Saudi Arabia having to at least postpone some very high-stakes and high-profile meetings

and conferences that had been planned in just the next couple of weeks.

You mentioned that they need all the help that they can get. If I recall, Saudi Arabia just signed a defense pact with Turkey and Pakistan. We've

heard nothing on that front in terms of them coming to the aid of one of the signatories here. Why not?

COOK: That's correct. There is something called the Mecca Agreement. No one has seen the official text of this agreement, but it is believed that there

is a joint defense agreement, a NATO-like Article Five type agreement in which an attack on one is an attack on all.

So far, we've heard about Pakistanis providing support, but not directly engaged in the defense of Saudi Arabia. And the Turkish government has put

off any deployment of Turkish forces to the Kingdom until an a -- act of parliament, which won't come until next week, if it comes at all.

Clearly, the Turks are hoping that this crisis ends before they have to make a significant decision here.

The Mecca pact, based on this -- this question of mutual defense has, so far, been an utter failure. And the Saudis have essentially been left alone

to defend -- to defend themselves.

Sitting here in Tel Aviv and talking to people within Israel's security establishment, they are stunned that Saudi Arabia is so well stocked with

American equipment. And the best of American equipment have been so incompetent in prosecuting this conflict against the Houthis.

GOLODRYGA: All right. Steven Cook, thanks so much. Great to have you there and offering us all of the insight that you're gathering from your sources.

Appreciate it.

COOK: My pleasure.

ASHER: All right. Prince Harry has declared that he's ready to reconcile with the Royal Family in an interview with "GQ Magazine."

GOLODRYGA: Yes, it's the first time he's publicly spoken about his relationship with his father and brother since returning to the U.K. this

year.

The Sussexes caused a major rupture in the British Royal Family when they quit royal duties and moved to California in 2020. Since then, Harry has

barely spoken to his brother, Prince William, and only recently reunited with his father, King Charles.

Now he says he's ready to patch things up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRINCE HARRY, DUKE OF SUSSEX: People maybe look at us and go, how are you going to work it out? And then maybe how -- how I see you're going to work

it out, maybe that will help me work my stuff out. And some people don't --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How are you going work it out?

PRINCE HARRY: Well, some people don't want it to work out. I want it to work out.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You do?

PRINCE HARRY: Of course I do.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

PRINCE HARRY: There's no -- again, with everything else that's going on in world, the most important thing is to -- is, you know, is to reconcile.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: All right. CNN's royal correspondent Max Foster is in London for us. I mean, Max, listen, we all have to deal with family drama, right? But not

all of us have to have our family drama and our dirty laundry play out so publicly, thank goodness.

Walk us through what Prince Harry said to "GQ."

[12:15:04]

MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's interesting. He did actually address that. I'm just looking here at some of the transcripts. He

did say, you know, these family disagreements are massively relatable, sibling disagreements, broken relationships between kids and their parents,

kids and one parent that continues to come up with me the whole time with people I speak to, so recognizes that.

Just on the sound bite that you just played there, the -- the part that people are picking out, of course, is when he talks about some people don't

want to work it out, was that a swipe at William not wanting to work it out?

I've spoken to a spokesperson he said that that was not what he was referring to. So, it's been unclear about what he was referring to or who

he was referring to.

Spokesperson also bringing up the issue of the timing of this interview. So, it happened on the day that the King was hosting the Sultan of Oman, a

big important engagement for him. And Harry's interviews, obviously taking the headlines on the royal pages. So, that sometimes causes some concern.

But it's off the back of last week where you'll remember that William -- Harry and Meghan were out on their first joint public engagement on the day

that the King was opening the Welsh Parliament, again, taking all the headlines.

So, some of this does come to some concern of the establishment, let's say, but he is fleshing out some of his ideas here, calling for reconciliation.

He's talked about that previously in an interview for the BBC.

Also, he did address this idea of whether or not he's calling for public sympathy, and he outright rejected that. He said, I don't want sympathy.

We're way past that. He talked about the therapy he's had and how he's done the work. So, he's passed it. He does want to fix things though.

But, you know, the way he's going about it is he wants to fix things on his terms because he's found himself, I think, in this recent period of his

life. And he doesn't want to compromise, but he does want to fix things at same time.

ASHER: Yes. I mean, I -- I don't know. I hope that -- I hope that things eventually work out between them and they are able to patch. I'm a huge fan

of the Royals, Max, like you. And so I do hope that they're able to patch things up.

Max Foster --

FOSTER: I know that you're on different sides. I know that, so.

ASHER: You know, yes. The (INAUDIBLE) last week.

FOSTER: We watched.

GOLODRYGA: You're talking about us.

FOSTER: It's balance. It's balance.

GOLODRYGA: I'm all for --

FOSTER: It is balance. It is balance.

GOLODRYGA: I'm all for peace, Max. I hope at least the kids can...

FOSTER: Yes.

ASHER: He's like, I know you do.

All right. Max Foster, live for us there. Thank you.

GOLODRYGA: From the cover of the British tabloids there. Different side of "One World."

ASHER: There's a -- there's a world rift right here.

All right. Still to come on "One World," I'm on the right side. Curfews are in place for some cities in France as the country reels from weekend of

violent protests. We'll bring you more from our correspondent on the ground.

ASHER: Yes, voters also in Alberta, Canada have chosen to remain as Canadians. After the break, we'll look at what's behind the secession

movement and why it failed.

Plus.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it -- it's a good reminder for our girls. Be strong enough to get through all of the hurdles and try to, you know, be

the best.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: Building strong athletes means more than physical training. Why one U.S. university lacrosse team is focusing on the mental side of the

game.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:20:56]

ASHER: All right. A man has been charged with attacking Australian lawmaker, Helen Haines, by ramming into her with a car. The suspect has not

yet been named by police, but local media are identifying him as 43-year- old Brendan Nugent. He'll face court on Wednesday. Charges include dangerous driving causing serious injury and causing harm to a public

official.

GOLODRYGA: Haines remains in the hospital. Local media reports that her leg has been amputated. Violent attacks against politicians are incredibly rare

in Australia, but the incident has raised concern about political tensions in the country.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHAWN HILL, MELBOURNE RESIDENT: It says that the political climate is becoming more and more polarizing today, which is -- which is a shame. It's

very concerning if things like this is happening in their -- in their community.

ANNE-MAREE GREENING, MELBOURNE RESIDENT: It has saddened me that we have -- that people have taken action that includes violence. It's not enough that

they would go and talk to this person, which is very open to -- to be speaking with people. They've taken it into their own hands for some

obscure reason that saddens me terribly. It's very close to home. Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: Here's correspondent Robbie Hawken with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBBIE HAWKEN, CNN PRODUCER (voice-over): An Australian lawmaker is in critical condition after being hit by a car in what the prime minister

called a deliberate act. According to CNN affiliate, 7 News, an Australian broadcaster ABC, Helen Haines, the representative for Indi, has had one leg

amputated with doctors trying to save the other.

Victoria police said Haines was struck by a Toyota Land Cruiser in the rural city of Wangaratta. The vehicle drove down the main street before

turning around and ramming the politician, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said, at the time she was standing at the rear of her car, taking items out

of the trunk. She was then airlifted to hospital.

Police have now charged a 43-year-old man with dangerous driving causing serious injury, intentionally causing serious injury and the Commonwealth

offence of causing harm to a Commonwealth public official.

They added that they believe the attack was, quote, targeted.

ANTHONY ALBANESE, AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER: Someone is in custody at this stage. The motivation is not clear for why this incident has occurred and

it is truly shocking that it occurred.

HAWKEN (voice-over): Barber Ricky Jefferies has been hailed as a hero for his actions after he helped pull the suspect from his car and disarmed him.

RICKY JEFFERIES, WITNESS: He did have a knife. He didn't pull it out. I just wasn't comfortable with his movements. And so I basically just took it

out of his pocket and threw it away.

A lot of people got involved immediately and they didn't even check for danger. They just ran to help.

The driver was still in the car. The car was still on and they sat in front of a rolling car.

HAWKEN (voice-over): A multi-tiered investigation is underway led by Victoria Police involving members of the Joint Counterterrorism Team

including the Australian Federal Police and the Australian Security Intelligence Organization.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GOLODRYGA: All right. Well, it looks like Alberta will remain a part of Canada. Voters in the province rejected the move to put it on a path to

secession.

ASHER: Yes. The push to split from Canada was led by a handful of vocal separatists in the oil-rich province. However, a rising tide of patriotism

and unity emerged as the country rallied against Donald Trump's tariffs and annexation threats. The separatists say Alberta is underrepresented in the

government.

Let's bring in Paula Newton joining us live now to give us some more perspective on this. So, Paula, this is exactly what opinion polls had

predicted that they would reject this idea of -- of separating from the rest of Canada.

So, my two questions are, does this put an end to the secession movement in Alberta? Because that is one thing that some people had talked about, that

once this referendum was put forward, that that would be the end of it if it was rejected. But also, this has also brought to fore a lot of the

immigration questions that Alberta has as well.

[12:25:06]

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And that's where really the headline news is here, Zain. Now, and to your first question, no, it doesn't bring

separatism out to the sidelines. It was a definitive vote, right? Three to one. Albertans voted, in fact, to stay united with Canada.

But then when you get to the nitty-gritty of the other questions, Zain, and to your point, I want you to see what was actually question one on this

ballot. It was on immigration. Do you support the government of Alberta taking increased control over immigration? And this is key here. For the

purposes of decreasing immigration to more sustainable levels and giving Albertans first priority on new employment opportunities. Look at that, 55

percent, yes.

What does this mean? This means that the government of Alberta, the people of Alberta, have now given themselves a new mandate to take this to the

federal government.

Prime Minister Mark Carney was, of course, very happy with the vote. It was a great turnout and yet three to one, as I said. Alberta voting to stay

within Canada. I want you to listen to what he said though, mainly in reaction to the other questions on the ballot and how they may reshape

immigration in Canada. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK CARNEY, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER: I believe, for example, on the issue of immigration and cooperation between the federal government and the

provinces for sustainable immigration, a system that works for Canadians, works for our -- our economy, works for our society, and treats those who

come to our country, choose to come to our country with the dignity and standards that -- that they deserve.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: I mean to have a government of Canada really going out there and saying we've listened to Canadians, we need to decrease immigration, that

already is a watershed, has been a watershed for months now in Canada.

I do want to point out though two things that really influence this race. One is Donald Trump. It is not a good look to have the President of the

United States threatening to make you the 51st state and then you, as the province of Alberta with five million people saying, sure, we can go it

alone, we can do that.

But also, I want you to look at some video of hockey. Yes, hockey. We are returning to that cliche. And that is because Mark Carney, you see him

there. Canada was incredibly fortunate, as was the federal government, those who supported Canadian unity, that that man right there was raised in

Alberta. He could go into that province, have the rallies, because his bona fides there have been tested.

He is an Albertan, and so he could speak with that kind of authority at rallies. That was incredibly lucky. I'm not sure if we had a prime minister

from another part of the country, if he could have spoken that authoritatively.

But I also want to tell you something else. Ladies, remember this. Canada...

ASHER: Oh, wait, there's more, Paula.

NEWTON: Canada is that blessed family that has everything, OK? Canada was born rich. Yes, born stunning. That's an objective opinion. It has brains.

The OECD says it is among the most educated populations anywhere in the world. And yet, and yet, and this is what I'll end off with.

I want to show you the Freedom Convoy from 2022. And that was the protest against the COVID restrictions that absolutely, I mean, enthralled the

country for better and worse. It shut down the Capitol for weeks, but it was again, a resistance movement, a populist movement, some of it born in

Alberta, that said to the government, no, you cannot do this. And I am drawing a through line here.

So, what's going on in Europe right now? Mark Carney understands that unless he can hold the middle, the centrist middle, he must bend to some

populist demands and that is why, around the world, you will hear, even in Canada now, some disquiet about the levels of immigration and the fact that

they want to hold the line there.

It's interesting. The prime minister said, look, we should normally do this constitutionally, says that takes so long -- too long, so he's going to

negotiate.

The both -- both of you will remember that Mark Carney has a lot of bruises from Brexit. He was the Bank of England governor when Brexit happened. He's

got a lot of scars from that. And for that reason, I think he dealt with what happened in Alberta and what is happening in Alberta with a great deal

of caution and humility.

ASHER: Paula, you packed so much information into that.

NEWTON: Don't forget...

GOLODRYGA: As usual.

NEWTON: Don't forget that hockey...

(CROSSTALK)

ASHER: Listen --

NEWTON: The fact that Canada...

ASHER: -- you brought it up to ice hockey.

NEWTON: I know. And -- and Canada is a lucky country. We must be the luckiest --

ASHER: Have it all.

NEWTON: -- country on the face of the planet.

GOLODRYGA: And -- and I'm going to weave this into our next story because the French, the Italians, many European leaders would be thrilled to have

protests as civilized as the one you just showed us there, and drivers just driving by with their Canadian flags.

Then the story...

NEWTON: 100 percent.

GOLODRYGA: -- we're about to remind our viewers of again. Paula, elbows up, my friend, to the north. Thank you.

[12:30:02]

Well, authorities in several French cities have now announced curfews after a weekend of violent clashes that saw more than 2,000 people arrested.

ASHER: Yes. CNN's Melissa Bell reports from Paris where a protest march on Saturday was the prelude to riots that night.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The violence taking France and the world by surprise. Clashes and looting that

turned so many streets in France to chaos. Town halls vandalized or torched, attacks, said the president, on the French Republic itself.

EMMANUEL MACRON, FRENCH PRESIDENT (through translator): Those who sought to bring down the Republic will be held accountable.

BELL (voice-over): The state of public services, the high cost of living and anger at the government drove more than half a million people to the

streets. But things took a dark turn even before the marches began.

BELL: Air that is heavy with tear gas because already there have been some scuffles here between protesters and police here at the Place de la

Republique. These two marches that are set to set off from this central Paris square really not due to start for another 45 minutes or so but

already the scenes have been pretty violent, and again, the air is very thick with tear gas.

BELL (voice-over): Very quickly, the protests descended into chaos. With hundreds of shops looted, the far right, which leads the polls ahead of

next year's presidential election, is laying the blame for the violence and destruction squarely at the government's feet.

JORDAN BARDELLA, PRESIDENT, NATIONAL RALLY (voice-over): If France is still standing, it's no longer thanks to a government that ran for the hills, but

thanks to the dedication of our law enforcement.

BELL (voice-over): President Trump weighing in, blaming migrants and urging French borders to be closed fast, at times, it seems hoping for a

revolution.

TRUMP: Let's go to the beautiful country of France and get involved in the revolution.

BELL (voice-over): MAGA also seizing on the protests and sharing pictures to warn of similar chaos should the Democrats wrestle back control of

Congress in the midterms.

The vice president blaming western liberals for importing the Third World in the name of diversity and compassion. And House Speaker Mike Johnson

sending a warning to Americans of what happens when the, quote, radical Marxist insurgent left gets its way.

Moscow too is watching, accusing France of hypocrisy in demanding uncompromising condemnation and strict measures to deal with riots at home,

whilst releasing angry press releases about the inadmissibility of suppressing protests elsewhere.

Political polarization inside France is also adding fuel to the fire with the far left joining protests to demand action from the government and

fears now for next year's presidential poll.

SEBASTIAN LECORNU, FRENCH PRIME MINISTER (through translator): There's no way we will allow violent minorities to impose an agenda of violence and

prevent us from holding this election.

BELL (voice-over): The government is to hold talks this week with French political leaders to urge them to calm their rhetoric, even as it seeks to

control its streets.

Melissa Bell, CNN, Paris.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:35:11]

ASHER: All right. He fought off a savage attack about 10,000 meters in the air and now the Flydubai hero captain is speaking from his hospital bed

about the terrifying moment.

GOLODRYGA: Yes, Captain Smit Machchhar was badly injured while trying to fend off his attacker midair on September 30th.

Investigators say his co-pilot planned to crash the plane into Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv. Here with us now is CNN aviation correspondent Pete

Muntean.

Pete, it is just stunning the more detail that we continue to hear how this plane was seconds away from crashing before miraculously passengers coming

into the defense and rescuing and saving this -- this pilot, but also that he had the wherewithal to know how to open that cockpit door that could

only be open from the inside. What else is he saying?

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Well, pretty amazing stuff here from this new interview by this English language outlet in the United Arab

Emirates. Also, some new details from prosecutors. They talk a lot about the crash axe. That is what's typically stored behind the first officer,

the co-pilot in a Boeing 737. This was turned into a weapon. It is usually emergency equipment, the standard in aviation since about the World War II

era. Two and a half pounds, 15 or 16 inches long. It's got this sharp blade on this one end, this blunt spike on the other hand.

And prosecutors say the first officer used it to strike the captain of that flight. And what's so incredible about this new interview is that Captain

Smit Machchhar says the first blow to his head made him think that something had got horribly wrong with the airplane. It was only after

subsequent blows did he realize that he was being attacked.

This interview done by this outlet called The National was done at a hospital in Abu Dhabi where Machchhar is recovering right now. And I want

you to listen to his incredible presence of mind here.

As he was taking these blows, he managed, as you mentioned, to unbuckle his seatbelt, reach to his right, to the cockpit door, and begin to scream for

help, a critical move that he describes here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SMIT MACHCHHAR, FLYDUBAI PILOT: Immediately, my hand went to the knob which opens the seat -- the -- the door and screaming for my colleagues,

screaming his name.

I did hear the cockpit door opening and there was some screaming conversation happened between my colleague and the -- the guy.

Immediately after that was the scariest thing that I heard and felt was the engines spooling down. When I say spooling down, it's the engine sound

going from full blast to, like, which is not what you want at that stage in the flight.

And the second thing was I felt the aircraft nose steeply going down.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MUNTEAN: At that point, passengers and crew intervened, overpowered the first officer. Thankfully, two other Flydubai pilots happened to be on

board, took control of the plane. The jet still plunged about 16,000 feet in 30 seconds.

Prosecutors in the Emirates say that First Officer Hamam al-Hammami intended to crash this plane into Israel's main international airport, an

attack inspired by 9/11. Such an incredible save here, Zain and Bianna.

GOLODRYGA: Unbelievable. And the quick thinking by so many on board that really averted complete disaster.

Pete Muntean, thank you.

ASHER: All right. A university in the U.S. is making mental health training part of its approach to developing athletes.

GOLODRYGA: Boston College's women's -- Boston College's women's lacrosse team has adopted Bet on You, a program created by two former college

athletes to help players build confidence, mental strength, and resilience both on and off the field.

[12:40:10]

CNN's Brynn Gingras reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Look on your right.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Pass out of it. Pass out of it.

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Boston College women's lacrosse team is a powerhouse in the sport.

ACACIA WALKER, HEAD COACH, BOSTON COLLEGE WOMEN'S LACROSSE: If she overplays, then you roll back.

GINGRAS (voice-over): Led by Acacia Walker, who's adopted a critical new approach to coaching, prioritizing her players' mental health.

GINGRAS: You told me one time you're a therapist and a coach. What did you mean?

WALKER: There's so much of my job that is not X's and O's. It's managing a group of 40 young women. I've just learned, over time, that if I don't have

a pulse on -- on what's going on in their life, outside of lacrosse, then I can't properly coach them anymore.

GINGRAS: So, then that translates into performance?

WALKER: Oh, my gosh, yes. I think the pressure on these young women because there's more eyes on them, we used to say, suck it up. You're going to be

OK --

GINGRAS: Yes.

WALKER: Right? Well, that's not working anymore.

GINGRAS (voice-over): A recent study by the NCAA reports female student athletes experience mental health concerns, stress, and feeling overwhelmed

at more than twice the rate of their male peers, which could lead to burnout, athletes quitting health issues, and in a few cases, even suicide.

COCO GAUFF, AMERICAN TENNIS PLAYER: Two days, I was feeling rough.

GINGRAS (voice-over): Professional athletes like Coco Gauff, Naomi Osaka, and Simone Biles have all openly challenged the stigma of staying quiet

about their own mental health struggles.

WALKER: I think people are finally starting to buy in that this is not -- this is not fake. This is -- this is real.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Top left is ready.

WALKER: And people understand that it's for the happiness of these student athletes.

GINGRAS (voice-over): And that's where sisters Erin Connor and Katie Wood both former collegiate athletes come in.

KATIE WOOD, FOUNDER, BET ON YOU: And if you're not training the mind, you will fall behind. It is a difference between good and great.

ERIN CONNOR, FOUNDER, BET ON YOU: Athletes that I work with, especially, is that they overthink. They hesitate. They doubt themselves. They crumble. If

a coach is saying -- giving them feedback with the wrong tone sometimes, it's taken the wrong way.

WOOD: So, if you can train them, number one, to have the awareness, and it's very normal to have these thoughts, but how do you get past that?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's controlling the control.

GINGRAS (voice-over): BC's women's lacrosse team devotes hours of practice time to Connor and Wood's Bet on You program.

WOOD: We're teaching about the mind. We're teaching the power of visualization and the voice in your head. We're teaching the power of

gratitude, which is not talked a lot about in sports.

CONNOR: We start with one percent better. How can I get a little bit better than I was yesterday?

GINGRAS (voice-over): One unique component of their training is a specialized journal.

LYDIA COLASANTE, BOSTON COLLEGE WOMEN'S LACROSSE PLAYER: It's literally the first thing that I do in the morning, I wake up, I get dressed.

GINGRAS: So, it's practice?

COLASANTE: Yes, I brush my teeth. I walk downstairs. I turn on the coffee pot. I write the journal. Takes me three minutes to do.

GINGRAS (voice-over): Junior defender, Lydia Colasante, tore her ACL two seasons ago and largely credits the intense mental work for her comeback.

COLASANTE: And it dug me out of a big hole. Your sport is such a huge part of, like, what you identify with. And I think this kind of helped me figure

out, like, I'm so much more than just a lacrosse player.

GINGRAS: And that's the goal. Work on the whole athlete.

WALKER: We hang our national championship banners.

GINGRAS (voice-over): The wins will follow.

WALKER: And there's little girls looking up to them every game. I think it -- it's a good reminder for our girls. Be strong enough to get through all

of the hurdles and try to, you know, be the best.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: One, two, three.

ALL: Family.

GINGRAS (voice-over): Brynn Gingras, CNN, Chestnut Hill.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GOLODRYGA: All right. That does it for "One World" today. I'm Bianna Golodryga.

ASHER: I'm Zain Asher. "African Voices" is up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(AFRICAN VOICES)

END