Return to Transcripts main page
Hala Gorani Tonight
Activists: Barrel Bomb Kills 15 In Aleppo; Daraya Evacuates Under Government-Rebel Agreement; Many Children Among The Dead In Aleppo, Syria; Quake Survivors Deal With Grief, Sense Of Loss; Burkini Bans Imposed In Several French Towns; Trump's Shifting Immigration Policy; Civilians, Rebels Begin Evacuating From Daraya; First Look Inside Iraqi Town Liberated From Terror Group; Canada's Sex Traffickers Target Indigenous Girls; "Fox News" Ordered Report On Reporter Looking Into Ailes. Aired 3-4p ET
Aired August 26, 2016 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(HEADLINES)
HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello, everybody. I'm Hala Gorani. We're coming to you live from CNN London. This is THE WORLD RIGHT NOW.
After four years of a brutal army siege, mass evacuations are now under way in a Syrian town that had become a death trap. Civilians and rebels began
leaving Daraya in buses today. The government and opposition fighters signed a deal to evacuate the town, ending one of the longest standoffs of
the entire war.
It's a victory for the regime and a defeat for the rebels, no way around it, but it also could be a lifesaver for Daraya's civilians, those who
stayed and faced extreme food and water shortages.
Some had resorted to eating grass just to stay alive. There is no such relief in sight for civilians trapped in Aleppo. Activists say new barrel
bomb attacks there have killed at least 15 people including children.
We're about to show you some very disturbing images from the aftermath. It's almost unbearable to watch, but we feel it's important to convey the
extent of grief and suffering in Aleppo and the sheer hell that has become daily life there. Here's Jomana Karadsheh.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is my son, Hassan. He's gone, she says. She wants a last picture with her son. What follows
is pain and anguish that doesn't even need to be translated.
Once again, she tries to wake 12-year-old Hassan up. This is one mother. More than a hundred children have been killed in Aleppo this month alone,
according to a Syrian monitoring group.
Reports say two barrel bombs dropped by the regime on this besieged rebel- held neighborhood of Aleppo killed women and children. There's been no comment from the regime.
As rescue workers search underneath the rubble for wounded and lifeless bodies, this distraught man sobs. Don't step on them, he says. There are
children underneath the rubble.
These scenes a little over a week after this image surfaced of 5-year-old Omran Daqneesh, an image and a story that captured the world's attention
and some hoped would pressure world powers to enforce a ceasefire in Aleppo, even if just for 48 hours to get desperately needed humanitarian
aid in.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That has taken more time, frankly, than I thought was needed. I thought everybody would help us make it happen. We're very
hopeful that it will only be a very short time until we can roll and we can help the people of -- long suffering people of Aleppo.
KARADSHEH: The Syrian state news agency is reporting a death on Thursday in the regime-held part of Aleppo. The people of Aleppo stuck in this
death trap where living through one day doesn't mean surviving the next. Jomana Karadsheh, CNN, Amman.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: In sharp contrast to the daily misery endured by people across Syria, there are talks, political talks, happening in Geneva once again for
more times that we can count.
Syrians have demanded time and time again for the international community and the world to step in and help this crisis. Right now the secretary of
state of the United States, John Kerry, and his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, are speaking in Geneva.
We're expecting them to come to the podium any minute. When they do and when they say something newsworthy, of course, we'll bring that to you.
But across the region, certainly a lot of frustration that as people continue to die, politicians continue to talk.
[15:05:01]Let's get to senior international correspondent, Ben Wedeman, he is following developments tonight from the Turkey/Syria border. First,
let's circle back to Daraya, how did this deal come about?
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it was worked out between the Syrian government and the rebels there in Daraya, but it
really is a one-sided deal. There are 8,000 civilians and fighters still in that area.
Of course, they've already begun to leave. Most of the civilians will end up being housed in various parts of Damascus and the fighters and their
families will be bussed between today and tomorrow.
They have received guarantees of safe passage to Idlib Province, the rebel- controlled areas in the northwestern part of the country. But this is a part of Syria that has suffered for more than four years under this
unrelenting government siege.
This is where initially many of the peaceful protests against the regime took place. But as the peaceful protests descended into this endless God
awful war, the situation for Daraya got worse and worse.
The siege began in November 2012. It has been relentlessly bombed by regime aircraft and artillery. In fact, just last week, the last hospital
in Daraya was hit by an air strike. It's not clear whether it was Russian or Syrian.
Only two U.N. relief convoys ever made it into Daraya in those four years, but the Syrian regime only allowed in mosquito nets and shampoos. So this
is a real defeat for the Syrian uprising.
And the concern of course is that those civilians who are moved to other parts of Damascus, there's no guarantees that they will not be punished in
some way for sticking it out in this suburb for so long.
And the other worry is that now that the government has full control of Daraya, that the troops that were involved in the siege there will be freed
up and sent to fight in Aleppo -- Hala.
GORANI: All right. And let's talk about Aleppo, far from any kind of deal, we're still seeing barrel bombs fall on civilians and killing
children. But one has to imagine that the regime with this, quote/unquote, "victory" for them in Daraya would like to replicate it in rebel-held
Aleppo.
WEDEMAN: It probably would like to, but Aleppo is a whole different situation. For one thing, 8,000 people in Daraya, in the rebel-controlled
parts of Aleppo, we're talking about more than 200,000. Are they ready to surrender? That's not altogether clear.
The regime tried but failed to completely encircle those rebel-controlled areas of Aleppo. Perhaps a deal is in the works now that the Russians and
the Americans are talking. But at this point it's not altogether clear.
And as you mentioned, the regime continues to pummel the rebel-held parts of the city unrelentingly. As we've seen, the civilian death toll climbs
relentlessly. So certainly there probably are people in Aleppo who, like the people of Daraya, are about to give up, but it doesn't appear at this
point -- Hala.
GORANI: All right, Ben Wedeman, thanks very much with the very latest on the unfolding tragedy on the war in Syria. We'll get more, by the way, on
the humanitarian crisis in Syria ahead in the show. I'll speak to the Syrian Arab Red Crescent from Damascus.
Now to Italy. It's been three days since a powerful earthquake hit a remote area in Central Italy. Emergency crews with sniffer dogs are still
searching for survivors, even though the chances of finding anyone alive under piles of rubble are slim.
They do exist, however, we've been reminded of that by experts time and time against. Quake survivors are also dealing with immense grief and many
don't have homes to turn to. Atika Shubert is in the quake zone and she sent us this story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A little girl plucked from the rubble alive. Rescued 17 hours after the
earthquake. Many of the victims here were children, enjoying their summer holidays with their families.
The 4-year-old Georgia Rinaldi survived because her older sister, Julia, shielded her from the rubble, sacrificing her own life for her baby sister.
(on camera): This is (inaudible) hospital and this is where that little girl pulled out of the rubble was brought for treatment. Ninety nine of
those injured in the earthquake were brought here. This is where family members wait for word of their loved ones, still living the trauma of their
ordeal.
[15:10:08](voice-over): Here Georgia's father is coming to terms with the loss of one daughter and the survival of the other. He told doctors he was
not yet ready to speak to media.
But others talked to try and make sense of the destruction. This man was lying in bed with his wife when the earthquake struck. Now he is waiting
for her to come out of a lengthy surgery.
For us, it's the end, he told us. It's a house with so many memories, so much life, but it's finished. We're scared. We won't be coming back. We
saw death. We felt it.
My wife -- and then he breaks down in tears. He says we prayed. The Madonna wanted to save us. This 19-year-old was sleeping on the top floor
of his family's summer house, his mother in the room next door when the house collapsed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My first thought was my mother. My mother is here but I can't help her.
SHUBERT: Brandina (ph) was buried in rubble. It took his uncle an hour for his uncle to find him and dig him out with his bare hands.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I said to him that he was my life, but my thoughts are still on my mother because she passed away.
SHUBERT: He survived with hairline fractures to several vertebrae. His greatest pain is the loss of his mother.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm like this because my mother teach me to be a person like this.
SHUBERT (on camera): To be strong?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To be strong, yes.
SHUBERT (voice-over): Given new life, the survivors of Italy's devastating earthquake are healing, slowly.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: That was Atika Shubert reporting. We're trying to be in touch with Atika, but to be completely transparent with you, communications are
difficult in the quake zone. Once we get in touch with her and we're able to put on her live, we'll go to her for the very latest on the search and
what has turned into mainly a recovery operation in Central Italy.
Now to France, though, a lot of you have very strong opinions, what women should or shouldn't be allowed to wear in public has been a hot topic of
debate for a long, long time.
In France and among our viewers, almost everyone has an opinion on the recent bans of burkinis. The country's highest court has effectively
overturned the bans, ruling that French mayors do not have the right to outlaw the Islamic swim wear.
Let's bring in BFMTV chief political correspondent, Thierry Arnaud, who is in Paris. Most French people support some sort of ban against the burkini,
and now the highest court says local municipalities should not have that right. What happens now?
THIERRY ARNAUD, CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, BFMTV: Well, it's a difficult question to answer, Hala. First let's get a grip on what is
actually said by the court today. The court has banned actually one executive order in one particular city, which is a little town close to
Nice.
That decision, as we speak tonight, Hala, doesn't yet apply to other bans, about 30 or so, issued by other mayors in 30 cities or so. One of two
things has to happen now for that to happen.
The first thing that can happen is for the mayor to take back the executive order. But because this was as much a political decision, if not more,
than a legal initiative, that is not going to happen.
So what needs to happen now is other parties have to take these particular mayors to court and then the court will decide on the basis of the legal
precedent that was established today that the ban has to take place. So we still have a little bit of a way to go before everything is banned.
GORANI: So that means there still is essentially a ban in effect in those towns?
ARNAUD: Absolutely, that's what it means as we speak. Of course, given what's happening today, it's very unlikely that ladies on beaches will be,
you know, fined or asked to leave. In any case, those cases were very few and far between.
But there is still some legal way to go before everything is settled and then we'll enter into a very difficult political debate here as to what has
to come next.
Many French politicians, particularly on the right, are pushing for a new law that would basically say that this particular swim wear, the burkini
and maybe other outfits are not allowed in France.
[15:15:11]And then under those circumstances, there would be a legal basis to prohibit those outfits.
GORANI: And we're also hearing from Sarkozy's party, as you mentioned pledging to go to parliament, the prime minister saying that this outfit is
a symbol of oppression. We know what the national front's feelings are about Islamic forms of swim wear, and the people mainly back the ban.
But then when you ask other countries, many times you'll hear the opposite position, no, it's a free country, women should be allowed to wear what
they want. Why is France standing out in this regard, do you think?
ARNAUD: It's a combination of several things. The first one you alluded to, the context of the terrorist attacks. That has been carried out in the
name of Islam, even if it's not Islam as we know for the overriding, indeed almost all Muslims. But it has been carried out in the name of Islam.
The second thing is there are several reasons put forward by politicians to justify the ban. The oppression of women is one. The statement that you
just said, the prime minister said tonight that it's not only putting on an outfit to express a religious belief, it's also a political statement.
To some it's almost a statement of support of radical Islam. For all those reasons and for this particular context of the terrorist attacks and in
addition to the context of a French presidential campaign taking place as we speak as well, all these together create this difficult atmosphere.
It's very hard in this particular context to, you know, take a step back and think calmly about these things.
GORANI: Yes, it is certainly, in the heat of the moment. By the way, Thierry, I mentioned how other countries generally speaking don't have
burkini bans, but many of the opinion polls suggest that individuals in other western countries oppose a ban on burkini.
For the first time ever I tried an internet poll on my Twitter page. You may be interested to learn, when I asked individuals do you support a ban
on burkinis in public places, 76 percent said no, we do not support the ban.
Very unscientific, but it gives you a sense more or less of what people are saying online. So Thierry Arnaud, thanks very much, chief political
correspondent for BFMTV. We'll see you very soon in France, hopefully. Thank you.
Still to come this evening, U.S. presidential candidate, Donald Trump softens his stance on immigration or does he? We dig into Trump's
transformation on one of his favorite topics. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:20:12]
GORANI: Let's return to the Italy earthquake. Atika Shubert, we were able to establish contact with her. She is now live from (inaudible), Italy.
Atika, I know it's been three days, and hope is fading. But are rescue crews saying there is any chance, have they made any contact with any
survivors?
SHUBERT: Well, I think realistically many of the search crews believe this is now a search and recovery operation. This is why I'm here in the town
of (inaudible). This is where the most of the survivors in this area have been brought to.
A total of 99 people were brought to that local hospital, pulled out of the rubble. Since the last 20 hours after the earthquake, they haven't been
able to pull any of the survivors out. Most of the people who have been found, frankly, have been bodies.
So it's been a recovery operation, and it's been hampered by aftershocks. Even the towns that we visited, Pescara del Tronto, the road there, you can
see these huge cracks with every aftershock, they get wide and wider.
And it is this race against time for rescuers even just to find bodies, not to mention survivors. So it is getting more -- the hopes are dimming with
each passing day.
GORANI: OK, Atika, thanks very much. We'll stay in touch. Atika Shubert in Italy.
As the American presidential election gets ever closer to the November vote, Republican nominee, Donald Trump, is softening his immigration
message in a bid to woo minority voters.
But so far the only thing he seems to be pulling in is attacks from Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, as well as some Republican bigwigs.
Jason Carroll has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There is no path to legalization unless people leave the country -- well, when they come back in, if they
come back in, then they can start paying taxes.
JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Donald Trump struggling to clarify his immigration stance, now telling CNN's Anderson
Cooper he's ruling out a pathway to legal status for undocumented immigrants in the United States.
TRUMP: There is no path to legalization unless they leave the country and come back.
CARROLL: This after indicating earlier this week that he was open to the idea.
TRUMP: They'll pay back taxes. They have to pay taxes. There's no amnesty as such. There's no amnesty, but we work with them.
CARROLL: Trump sending mixed messages.
TRUMP: There certainly can be a softening because we're not looking to hurt people.
I don't think it's a softening. I've heard people say it's a hardening actually.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, "AC360": But 11 million who have not committed a crime -- there's a going to be a path to legalization, is that right?
TRUMP: You know it's a process. You can't take 11 million at one time and just say boom, you're gone.
CARROLL: Now Trump supporters insisting their candidate cannot flip flop on his central campaign issue. Sarah Palin warning in "The Wall Street
Journal," there would be massive disappointment if Trump were to go down a path of wishy-washy positions. His reversal also provoking criticism from
former rivals.
JEB BUSH (R), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE (via telephone): All things that Donald Trump railed against he seems to be morphing into. It's kind
of disturbing.
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Thank you.
CARROLL: This as Hillary Clinton launches a blistering takedown of Trump.
CLINTON: From the start, Donald Trump has built his campaign on prejudice and paranoia. He is taking hate groups mainstream and helping a radical
fringe take over the Republican Party.
CARROLL: Clinton accusing the Trump campaign of merging with the Alt- Right, a movement linked to white nationalists.
CLINTON: A man with a long history of racial discrimination, who traffics in dark conspiracy theories drawn from the pages of supermarket tabloids
and the far, dark reaches of the internet, should never run our government or command our military.
CARROLL: Trump defending his campaign, accusing Democrats of what he calls their oldest play in their playbook.
TRUMP: When Democratic policies fail, they are left with only this one tired argument. You're racist, you're racist, you're racist.
CARROLL: Trump also disavowing support from hate groups.
(on camera): Do you want white supremacists to vote for you?
TRUMP: No, I don't at all.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Well, there you have it. Jason Carroll reporting. Let's bring in John Avlon for more on this. He is a CNN political analyst and editor-in-
chief of "The Daily Beast."
So John, these messages on immigration are a little bit all over the place. I mean, first, it's deport 11 million, then it's path to legalization and
if they pay back taxes, it's fine, then I'm not softening my position, they have to leave and come back. Which is it? I mean, how are voters going to
make a decision here?
[15:25:08]JOHN AVLON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: I think you're mistaken if you think you're going to find coherence in Donald Trump's policy plans.
There is none. This is the danger of a candidate who has played demagogic techniques, you know, bumper stickers that are all bluster, but no actually
policy prescriptions.
And now he's in a general election and realizes he has a huge problem with Hispanics in America, with African-Americans, and so he's trying to
navigate spin. But he's in a double blind because he doesn't understand the policy.
He doesn't have a coherent policy. He's not going to win over the folks he's already offended and instead he will risk losing the hard-core
supporters who've rallied around him because he began his whole campaign on this idea of building a wall. So it's a giant message --
GORANI: Right. But he must be counting on the fact that his supporters don't really -- I mean, the passionate supporters don't really care whether
or not he changes his position, it's the person they're voting for. They like the businessman. They like the guy who is antiestablishment.
Could some of his change of strategy have to do with polling that's come out? I mean, there are new Pew polls, support for a border wall among
Americans, 36 percent, only, 61 percent oppose a border wall.
Would you describe undocumented immigrants as, quote, "honest and hardworking," 76 percent say yes. This goes against much of what Donald
Trump has said.
AVLON: It does and it's a really important reality check for this entire election. Look, the fundamental fault line that folks missed early on is
that Donald Trump's policies appealed to a clear majority of Republican primary voters. These are conservative populist policies.
But as the Republican Party has gotten more and more polarized, its base does not reflect the views of the vast majority of Americans. So the
policies that were really popular on the far right are kryptonite in a general electorate.
That's what those polls show. He can't advance those policies and win over a majority of Americans. So you know, imagine what would happen if he was
president of the United States trying to pass them through Congress.
There is a disconnect between the conservative populous base in the Republican Party that rally around Donald Trump and the vast majority of
Americans.
GORANI: But nationally, I mean, yes, Hillary Clinton is in the lead nationally and in most swing states. But at the same time there is a gap
that Donald Trump can close here. It's not a foregone conclusion.
AVLON: Sure. Absolutely not. The only poll that counts is Election Day. That cliche happens to be true. But, you know, Trump is facing some really
difficult demographic math. I mean, he is behind in states that Republicans have carried historically.
Georgia looks like it could be in play. Missouri is tight. Those things shouldn't be the case for a Republican candidate who has rallied the base
around him. You've got third party candidates, Gary Johnson, Evan McMullan, running a sort of conservative independent bit, siphoning away
support.
Hillary Clinton has been investing heavily in the ground game and television ads, which Donald Trump has so far failed to do. His new
campaign CEO has precisely zero campaign experience. It's not that this is over.
But he has not set himself up to succeed when it comes to operations where the critical demographic math determines who wins these states.
GORANI: And lastly, they've been trading barbs on who is the most bigoted recently, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. Hillary Clinton tweeting that
the long time KKK leader, David Duke, supports Trump because they share so many of the same values. Donald Trump had an interesting quote,
"#flashbackfriday," tweeting video from a 2008 interview saying Hillary Clinton needs to address the racist undertones of her 2008 campaign.
What's going on here?
AVLON: We've got a real Lincoln-Douglas debate type situation here in the United States. A valley of tweets about who is more bigoted. It's a sign
of the times. It's a sign that the silly season has definitely seeped into the national debate.
That said, Hillary Clinton gave a serious speech yesterday about Trump's connections with the Alt-Right. And it's worth pointing out that a lot of
folks on the fringe Alt-Right, which has sort of ethic nationalistic undertones, in some cases white supremacist national undertones, seem to be
responding to what Donald Trump is selling.
That doesn't mean that Donald Trump represents them intentionally, but he's got understand and reflect upon the fact that those folks were professional
bigots seemed to be nodding in unison when he says a lot of what he says, whether it's dog whistle or otherwise.
But this was an ugly week in the campaign and I got news for you, Hala, it's probably will get worse from here.
GORANI: All right, John Avlon, thanks for joining us. Always appreciate it. Have a great weekend.
All right, coming up, thousands race to get out of one Syrian city after an agreement was reached between rebels and the government. Next, we'll take
you live to Damascus to ask a charity group if the evacuation is too little, too late.
Then this --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Children taking -- coming down the street on their toys and just to think of what they've been through and just how 24 hours
ago this was an active battle zone.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: CNN takes you inside a town that was liberated from ISIS only hours ago today. Keep watching for that.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: Welcome back. Our top stories, one of the longest standoffs of the Syrian war is now over. Civilians and rebels began leaving Daraya
today after the government and opposition fighters agreed to evacuate the town near Damascus.
This is a deal that is a victory for the regime. The rebels in circle for years. They have been under siege by the army for four years, and now have
left to rebel-controlled Idlib.
Also among our top stories, some survivors of the earthquake in Central Italy are starting to return home to salvage their belongings.
Firefighters assisted residents as they returned to the town of Pescara Del Tronto. More than 2,000 people are taking refuge in makeshift camps. The
earthquake killed at least 267.
The Kurdish militant group, PKK, is claiming responsibility for a truck bombing in Southern Turkey. It destroyed a police headquarters near the
Syrian border and killed at least 11 officers and injured nearly 80.
A 5-year-old girl was killed in the Philippines' war on drugs this week according to Human Rights Watch. Danica May is the youngest reported
victim of President Rodrigo Duterte's relentless drug war. In June, Mr. Duterte effectively said he supports vigilantism in a nationally televised
speech.
Let's go back now to that deal in Daraya that has allowed for some evacuations from that town under siege, a suburb of Damascus. We're joined
on the line by Mona Kurdy, a spokeswoman for the Syrian Arab Red Crescent. She is in Damascus tonight.
Mona Kurdy, first of all, where are all these people going? Do you have concerns for their safety? They've been under siege for so many years.
Mona Kurdy, can you hear me?
MONA KURDY, SPOKESWOMAN, SYRIAN ARAB RED CRESCENT (via telephone): Yes, I can hear you now.
GORANI: Mrs. Kurdy, where are all the people going who have been evacuated from Daraya and are there concerns for their safety?
[15:35:01]KURDY: It's not clear. But as far as I have understood, like usual for operation like that, Syrian Arab Red Crescent (inaudible) needed,
especially for the (inaudible) people. Syrian Red Crescent (inaudible) and took all the measures (inaudible) they need to take the people from the
area to the shelters.
And on the ground, we had 275 volunteers (inaudible), which is in disaster management. And on the ground, the center where the people are right now,
there is a kitchen prepared to serve hot meal meals for (inaudible) --
GORANI: I apologize, Mrs. Kurdy, the line is terrible right now with you in Damascus. We'll try to reconnect with you a little bit later. Every
other word was cutting out, I don't think we're able to understand you enough.
Mona Kurdy is a spokesperson for the Syria Red Crescent. She's speaking to me from Damascus on this mass evacuation that came about as a result of a
deal that the government struck with the rebels, but essentially this was a deal that meant the surrender of the rebels.
Daraya has been under siege for four years now. So many shortages, very few trucks and supplies being let in. People had to eat grass in some
cases. This is the end result of it, people were desperate and had to take any deal they could to leave.
Civilians sent to shelters, fighters going to rebel-controlled Idlib Province, although there are some concerns, these are after all people from
rebel-held territories, up until now, concerns for their safety.
Will there be reprisals? Other questions like that very much that we will continue to ask those questions as we continue to follow the story.
Now we have reported on the refugee crisis often this year. A new piece on our website takes you inside the dangerous journey refugees and migrants
travel in hopes of better lives in Europe.
CNN digital reporter, Moni Basu, tells the story of one rescuer and his desperate day at sea. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're all safe, OK?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They might not trust us. Their concern is they might be attacked by pirates or get arrested again by the authorities. All we're
hearing is people dying, dying, dying, boats capsizing. The Italian Coast Guard, they cannot cope. We're talking about mass migration. We have to
do something.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I called one of my cousins. They said, if you do not bring $2,000, he will be dead by evening.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I get outside from the misery. They are treating people like an animal.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These people that we come across are really desperate. They're coming from countries, they're tortured. They're beaten.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They took me with knife, they asked me for money. They are killing if you don't have money.
[15:40:02]UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The time now is 20 past 7:00. We've started early, since 4:00 in the morning. Now we're going to a number two boat.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have another boat.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They do know about this journey before. They know exactly what it's going to be. Maybe they've got two choices. They can
die in the sea or get across the sea. This is the two choices that we have.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: All right. You can find more of that report online at CNN.com. Head to our Facebook page, facebook.com/halagoranicnn. We would love to
hear from you as we put up the best content from the day's programs.
Let's turn our attention to Northern Iraq, where the Iraqi military is celebrating a victory over ISIS. CNN is getting a first look at a town
liberated from the terrorist group just a few hours ago. It is a key win on the long road to taking back another city, Mosul. That's the big prize
Arwa Damon was in Qayyarah and sent us this report -- Arwa.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Just take a look at how desolate it is here, how abandoned the road is at least in this
direction. This was the main road that cut through the town, it was the main market here.
It was a thriving place before ISIS took over this town some two years ago, more than two years ago. Then you still have this thick, black smoke
billowing above it. And that is from the crude oil that ISIS was burning to impair the visibility of coalition aircraft and drones.
Residents tell us they've been burning this crude oil for the last six months. These forces are part of Iraq's counterterrorism units. They were
the ones who first came in and really led this operation to liberate the city.
It used to be a lot more crowded, there are a lot of children out earlier. The kids right now are wearing shorts. They were not allowed to do this
under ISIS. It may seem like something that's very basic.
But just to be able to do that right now for them is a novel experience to a certain degree. A lot of the residents we've been talking to are
describing how ISIS was using them as human shields.
There was a father here earlier with his 2-year-old son, and he was saying that ISIS had fighters positioned in front of his door, firing out towards
the Iraqi Security Forces as they were advancing.
And then the Iraqis counter with mortar fire, he described how everything went black and he grabbed his little 2-year-old and ran for it out the
backdoor. People would have escaped if they could. They said that they weren't able to do so.
On one of the lamp posts down the street, a little girl that the Iraqi Army soldier met and showed us a video, she described how her father was strung
from one of these lampposts for three days because ISIS accused him of collaborating with the coalition.
You just hear story after story from this one town that the Iraqis have just managed to liberate. They described the fighting as being very
intense. There were roads that were inlaid with bombs.
They were attacked by, in all, ten to 15 suicide bombers, suicide car bombs. You see a bit more, people coming out over here, children coming
down the street on their toys.
And just to think of what they've been through and just how 24 hours ago, this was an active battle zone. They must have been so afraid.
It's really hard to imagine what it was like for the children, what it was like for the parents that weren't able to keep their children safe in all
of this.
You'll also notice a lot of the men are clean-shaven, and that is because under is, of course, they all had to keep the really long beards. Some of
the women, there aren't any out right now.
We haven't actually seen that many coming out. The handful of women that we have seen, some are still wearing the full black, and that is partially
because of the psychological impact of everything.
And that's how they've been having to dress for the last two years. Some of them have already taken it off. But we're seeing here is really just a
snapshot of the challenges that the Iraqis are facing.
The sheer and utter horror and hardship that the populations are going through. And you think about what is going to lie ahead as the Iraqi
Security Forces push towards Mosul, Iraq's second largest city, and the potential destruction that might be caused there.
[15:45:10]And as one of the residents said, look, the town can be rebuilt, the country can physically be rebuilt, but what we're paying for in terms
of lives lost. That is a price that can never be restored to us.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Well, that was Arwa Damon in Qayyarah, Iraq. This is a town that was liberated from ISIS, people milling around wearing pretty much what
they want, you saw some boys there. We'll have more on the fight against ISIS a little later.
But when we come back, criminals targeting Canada's indigenous population. We'll look at efforts to bring them to justice in our continuing series.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: Winnipeg, Canada has fine art galleries, music festivals, sporting events, but if you look closer, you'll discover a secret hiding in plain
sight. When it comes to who is falling prey to this horrific crime, one group has the grim distinction of standing out. Paula Newton has our
story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's a startling statistic that plays out again and again on the streets of Winnipeg. More than half
of all women and girls trafficked for sex in Canada are indigenous. Yet indigenous people make up just 4 percent of the population. Poverty,
abuse, addiction, all play a role, but who are the people preying on them? Danny Smyth is Winnipeg's deputy police chief.
DANNY SMYTH, DEPUTY CHIEF OF POLICE, WINNIPEG: We see young people exploiting young people. We see older people exploiting young people. We
see white people exploiting indigenous people and certainly see indigenous people exploiting it.
NEWTON: What the perpetrators have in common is a sense of impunity. History here tells them they're unlikely to get caught.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A lot of people who are already involved in crime have figured out this is a much safer way to make money.
NEWTON: Jennifer Richardson is working to change that. She leads Tracia's Trust, a government anti-trafficking program in Manitoba. Together with
law enforcement, they're using laws already on the books to gather evidence against those interfering with the government's mandate to protect
children.
JENNIFER RICHARDSON, TRACIA'S TRUST: So we started utilizing that piece of legislation because we don't need the children's testimony, which is much
different from other types of legislation in this area.
NEWTON: Because victims are sometimes too fearful to testify, convictions for human trafficking have been few in Canada. Although the law on
trafficking provides for tougher sentences, the burden of proof rests with the prosecution to obtain victim testimony and prove they feared for their
safety.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There is no question that this is a very difficult area to prosecute for a whole number of reasons.
NEWTON: Jennifer Mann is a Manitoba Crown prosecutor. She's been working these kinds of cases for years. This year she successfully prosecuted 46-
year-old the Darryl Ackman (ph), sentenced to 15 years for living off (inaudible) of prostitution, making child pornography and sexual assault.
Seven victims came forward, five of them children. Two of them committed suicide before a verdict was even reached.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All of the victims were ripe to be taken advantage of and the accused did this with gusto. You have the judge's strong comments
about the conduct and vulnerability of the children involved in this case.
NEWTON: Mann says she simply did not have the evidence to prosecute for human trafficking. Still she points out it's a strong verdict with a long
sentence.
Here in Manitoba, more arrests, prosecutions, and convictions are working in tandem with outreach, prevention, and rehabilitation.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How are you doing? Did you sleep yesterday?
NEWTON: The trafficking of indigenous women and girls is no longer perceived as a crime without punishment.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It looks like they're wearing light tops.
NEWTON: Paula Newton, CNN, Winnipeg.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Coming up, a massive document leak could be about to get one of America's most powerful media executives into a whole lot more trouble. A
live report coming up on Roger Ailes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: Billionaire Richard Branson says his life flashed before his eyes after a harrowing bike crash earlier this week. These pictures are pretty
unbelievable. In an online post, Branson wrote that he's happy to be alive and that his helmet helped save him. Branson thinks it did most of the
work, letting his shoulder and cheek take most of the impact instead of his head. So he's OK, and happy to still among us.
Now spying, sexual harassment, racism, intimidation, the list of allegations against former Fox News boss, Roger Ailes is long, really long.
A massive document leak could be about to make things much worse.
Our Brian Stelter has the scoop and joins us from New York. So what type of documents are we talking about here?
BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: It's a 400-page memo that shows the extreme length that Roger Ailes went to in order to investigate
his opponents, in this case a journalist writing a biography of Ailes.
The memo was written in 2012, we don't know exactly by who, commissioned by Ailes to find out all about Gabriel Sherman. Sherman had announced he was
writing a biography of Ailes.
[15:55:00]So this goes into detail about his mortgage, his voter registration records, where he used to live, whether he's been sued,
whether he has a criminal record, things like that.
Now it turns out Sherman is kind of boring. Yes, he had written some stories that Fox didn't like in the past. There were some other little
details they were able to find.
But in this 400-page memo, it lays out a strategy about how to criticize Sherman, how to undermine his book. Another example of the ways that Ailes
investigated who he thought were his enemies.
GORANI: What's next for Roger Ailes? We've heard of women coming forward, of course, there's Gretchen Carlson, the women whose story, whose
allegation against Roger Ailes is what started everything. So what is next for him after his departure from Fox?
STELTER: Well, right now he's informally advising Donald Trump. This is a master political strategist. Frankly, the way he was conducting
investigations into journalists goes to show the way he was always thinking like he was running a permanent campaign.
So now he's advising Trump, giving Trump advice about the debates and he is planning a defense against these lawsuits. You mentioned the first suit by
Gretchen Carlson. There is a second lawsuit this week by another ex-host, Andrea Tantataros.
So there are lawsuits now and ongoing investigations into what he was doing. In some ways this is like the phone hacking scandal from Britain a
number of years ago. That scandal exposed the culture of the Murdochs' news organizations.
That's what this Ailes sexual harassment scandal has been as well. There have not been allegations of illegal behavior in terms of investigating
opponents, but these sexual harassment lawsuits will move forward.
There have been some talk of possible settlements with Carlson, but the reality is no matter what happens, this is just the beginning of the story.
We're just seeing continued revelations each and every week.
GORANI: And now it's out, it's out in the open, and more women are coming forward. This document dump, though, this idea that somehow that Roger
Ailes investigated and kept tabs and even spied on journalists who he felt threatened by, could that land him in trouble as well?
STELTER: My review of the documents doesn't show illegal behavior here, but it shows something that's incredibly unusual for a news organization.
Fox News presents itself as being a fair and balanced news organization. And yet they were looking into people's voter registration records and
things like that that you normally think of political spies doing as opposed to newsroom bosses.
GORANI: All right, thanks very much, Brian Stelter for joining us. Always appreciate it.
This has been THE WORLD RIGHT NOW. I'm Hala Gorani. I'll see you next week. Thanks for watching. "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS" is up next.
END
