Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Tracking Hurricane Helene; Lebanese Officials: At Least 81 Killed On Wednesday; U.S., Allies Call For 21-Day Israel-Hezbollah Ceasefire; U.S. Allies Call for 21-day Israel-Hezbollah Ceasefire; People Fleeing as Wildfire Covers Quito in Smoke; Japan Court Acquits Longest-serving Death Row Inmate; Two Giant Pandas Gifted From Beijing Arrive in Hong Kong; 'Legally Blonde' Prequel Looking for Young Elle Woods. Aired 2-2:45a ET

Aired September 26, 2024 - 02:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:00:32]

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world and everyone streaming us on CNN Max. I'm Rosemary Church. Just ahead. Calls grow for an urgent ceasefire as Israel's army prepares for a ground invasion, Lebanon braces for an all-out war.

A massive hurricane is barreling toward Florida. The storm is expected to grow in strength before it makes landfall.

And the world's longest serving death row inmate is now a free man.

ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta. This is CNN NEWSROOM with Rosemary Church.

CHURCH: It is 9:00 a.m. along the border between Israel and Lebanon, as a top Israeli general alerts troops to prepare for a possible ground incursion. The warning comes as the U.S., France and other allies are calling for a 21-day cease fire between Israel and Hezbollah. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israeli strikes on terror targets in Lebanon will continue until his goal is met.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, PRIME MINISTER OF ISRAEL (through translator): I cannot detail everything we are doing but I can tell you one thing, we are determined to return our residents in the north safely to their homes. We are inflicting blows on Hezbollah that they did not imagine. We do it with power. We do it with guile. I promise you one thing, we will not rest until they come home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Another 81 people were killed by Israeli strikes on Wednesday, according to the Lebanese health ministry. That puts the death toll since Monday, well over 600. Israel claims it has hit more than 2000 targets in the past three days, including 70 Hezbollah intelligence facilities.

Meanwhile, an umbrella group of Iran-backed militias is claiming responsibility for a drone attack on the Israeli port city of Eilat. The IDF says two people were slightly injured. Mr. Netanyahu is expected to arrive in New York in the coming hours to speak at the U.N. General Assembly. He left Tel Aviv a short time ago. Diplomats are there are backing a call from the U.S. and France for a 21-day ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. The Security Council heard Wednesday from a number of the key players.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NAJIB MIKATI, PRIME MINISTER OF LEBANON (through translator): The Lebanese people reject the war. Regrettably, we are still witnessing Israeli violations of our sovereignty around the clock by air, sea and land. These repeated violations undermine all the stability efforts and threaten the whole region with an explosion at any moment.

DANNY DANON, ISRAELI AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N.: Every act of terror on foreign soil places back to one source, the Islamic regime of Iran. It is the spider at the center of this web of violence, and we have to fight this web of violence.

ABBAS ARAGHCHI, MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF IRAN: The only way to prevent further escalation is clear. Israel must immediately seize its war on Gaza and its attacks on Lebanon must stop. Let me be clear, Mr. President, without the ceasefire in Gaza, there would be no guarantee for peace in the region.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: CNN's Paula Hancocks joins me now live from Abu Dhabi. Good to see you, Paula. So, what's the latest on this call from world leaders for a 21-day ceasefire and how likely is it that Israel and Hezbollah will accept the proposal?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rosemary, one senior U.S. official, has called it an important breakthrough. We understand that the past 48 hours, there have been work behind the scenes at the U.N. General Assembly. The beauty, of course, of having all the leaders in one place is being able to put something like this together quickly.

Now, the idea behind it, we understand from the U.S. side, is to try and give some space for diplomacy to work. So, a 21-day ceasefire would effectively give time for discussions to continue. Would give time for residents to be able to move back to the areas of northern Israel and also of southern Lebanon. And also, to push forward with the ceasefire proposal in Gaza at this point.

[02:05:11]

Now, the U.S. says that it has partners and allies in the European sphere. It also has those in Asia and also some -- here in the Middle East. We know that the UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia have signed on to it. But of course, there is a very big question as to whether it could be successful given the fact the Biden administration has spent so many months trying to push through a ceasefire in Gaza.

We've heard from one Israeli official that Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, has given the green light for his government to engage in this kind of mediation. So to engage with the U.S. trying to push this forward. We know that the U.S. Special Envoy Amos Hochstein has been speaking to the Lebanese prime minister about this. Obviously, the U.S. does not speak directly to Hezbollah.

So, there's certainly a lot of activity behind the scenes and diplomatically happening. But when you see what is physically happening on the ground, there are serious concerns and doubts whether this could, in fact, be pushed through, especially when you hear from the Israeli side that now they are planning for that potential ground invasion. You had the IDF Chief of Staff speaking to troops on the border saying that they have been carrying out these aerial bombardments to try and weaken Hezbollah to plan ahead for a possible invasion. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HERZI HALEVI, CHIEF OF GENERAL STAFF, ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES: Today, we will continue. We are not stopping. We keep striking and hitting them everywhere. The goal is very clear. To safely return the residents of the north. To achieve that, we are preparing the process of a maneuver, which means your military boots, your maneuvering boots, will enter enemy territory.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANCOCKS: The IDF also calling up two reserve brigades ahead of a potential grand incursion. Rosemary?

CHURCH: All right. Thanks to Paula Hancocks for that live report. Joining me now from Beirut, Fadi Nicholas Nassar is U.S.-Lebanon Fellow at the Middle East Institute. Good to have you with us.

FADI NICHOLAS NASSAR, U.S.-LEBANON FELLOW, MIDDLE EAST INSTITUTE: Good to be here. Thank you for having me.

CHURCH: So, how likely is it do you think that Israel and Hezbollah will heed this call from the U.S. and its allies for a 21-day ceasefire to allow time for a diplomatic solution?

NASSAR: You know, the main takeaway for me is actually that in a world increasingly on the brink of war, where the U.N. Security Council often seems divided on nearly every issue. The world's major powers all seem to agree that a wider conflict between Israel and Lebanon must be avoided. We also already have a clear framework to get there. U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701 which both the council and the disputants already accepted.

The troubling reality, however, is that for nearly two decades, the international community has not followed through on the will to see it fully implemented. Look, we really stand at a breaking point. Right now, the global consensus to prevent war presents us with a rare opportunity. The real question is, are world leaders ready to take bold action to enforce UNCR 1701?

CHURCH: So, what will be the likely consequences then, if Israel or Hezbollah ignore this call for a three-week ceasefire and how much do you worry that this could evolve into an all-out war on the scale we saw in 2006?

NASSAR: I mean, that's an excellent question. And let me start by stating we all share the responsibility to ensure that this is the last conflict between Israel and Lebanon. This issue has disrupted international peace and security longer than my generation has been alive. The truth is that decades of piecemeal interventions and passive diplomacy have utterly failed, leading us to that scary scenario you pointed out of Lebanon becoming a theater or even a spark for a wider regional conflict. Possibly even more.

But if you'll allow me, I want to stress three key points for diplomacy to succeed. First, we need to understand Iran's aggressive strategy in this context. Iran is actively destabilizing the levant by undermining states and propping up militias. We're seeing a string of failed states, collapsed economies, and the mass displacement of people. That cannot be the future of the Middle East. Second, the international community must speak with one voice firmly preventing all parties from pursuing military solutions or escalating hostilities.

Third, we must not change the parameters established in U.N. Security Council resolution 1701.

[02:10:05]

The past two decades have shown us that previous concessions turned Lebanon into a battleground for Iran's unity of the fronts fueling this wider conflict. For too long, Lebanon has been dismissed as insignificant and left to decline under the grip of Hezbollah and Iran. Today, the threat of war makes clear that the collapse of Lebanon is not just a local issue, it's a threat to international peace and security.

CHURCH: Let me ask you this, because you mentioned Iran, and Iran is saying that it won't stay on the sidelines if a wider war breaks out. What do you think that could mean?

NASSAR: You know, it's -- again, another great question. Iran generally prefers to keep conflicts at the proxy level. This strategy really took shape with the establishment of Hezbollah as the tip of its spear against Israel and has since evolved into the unity of the fronts which coordinates groups like Hamas, the Houthis, Iranian proxies in Syria and Iraq. This interconnected theater allows Iran to project power across the region while diverting attention from its direct involvement.

Creating a sort of unified front against its adversaries. But at the same time, this dynamic seems to be shifting. Now, Iran appears to be under pressure to protect Hezbollah. While I do think Iran would still likely prefer to maintain the conflict at the proxy level, drawing Israel and the U.S. into a slow struggle designed to weaken them gradually. The dynamics of war are changing.

New technologies are altering the balance of power, making traditional advantages of militias over state actors in wars of attrition less certain and laying bare their vulnerabilities.

CHURCH: Fadi Nicholas Nassar, I want to thank you so much for joining us. Appreciate it.

NASSAR: It's a pleasure. Thank you.

CHURCH: Eighty-six million Americans are under hurricane and tropical storm warnings or watches at this hour as Hurricane Helene heads toward the Florida coast as a category one storm. But it's expected to make landfall Thursday evening as a much stronger category four. Five states across the southern U.S. are under emergency declarations ahead of the hurricane making landfall late Thursday.

Helene is threatening record rainfall, potentially deadly flooding, tornadoes and more extreme weather. Evacuations are well underway in the state of Florida ahead of the storm's arrival. CNN Meteorologist Derek Van Dam has more details as residents prepare for the worst.

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: If this storm surge measurement is any indication of what's to come with approaching hurricane, then here in Apalachicola, we need to prepare for the worst. This shading of blue represents the potential storm surge inundation from a category four land flying hurricane, which we are anticipating here. This is for a category three in this shading of red is inundation with a category two hurricane.

Now with over 10 feet of storm surge right here where I'm located. That's what's in the forecast. You can see that that is nearly twice as high is how tall I am. This is the storm that people here have feared for their entire lives. And the reason this area is so susceptible to storm surge and hurricanes is because of the shallow nature of the Gulf of Mexico. Over my right shoulder, you can go 50 miles out into the Gulf of Mexico and have only 10, 20 feet of water underneath you.

Now that shelf actually drops off very quickly. So, an approaching storm pushes up the water from the eastern Gulf of Mexico, and that hits the shelf and it has nowhere to go but up, of course, inundating this portion, the low-lying area of Florida's big bent. Now we're under a mandatory evacuation here. Now we know that this storm is not only going to bring the catastrophic winds to the coastline of Florida, the Gulf coastline of Florida, but the feeling, the expanse of the storm is going to be significant because it's only growing in size.

So not only intensifying in strength, but also growing in size. It could be one of the largest storms in terms of its wind field in modern record keeping. That is incredible. Even eclipsing Hurricane Katrina, that means the effects of the system will be felt well outside of the center. Now, once the storm races inland, it's going to bring these hurricane force gusts into central and southern Georgia as well. There's a lot of trees between here and Atlanta metro, for instance. So, expect extended duration power outages, and then, not to mention the potential at least four unprecedented catastrophic flooding as the system dumps over at least 10 inches, maybe upwards of 15 inches, in some locations across portions of South Carolina, Georgia and into North Carolina.

Derek Van Dam, Apalachicola.

[02:15:00]

CHURCH: Joining me now is John MacDonald. He is the director of Levy County. Florida's Emergency Management Department. Good to have you with us.

JOHN MACDONALD, DIRECTOR, LEVY COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT: Thanks for having me.

CHURCH: So, your entire county is under a hurricane warning. What's being done to prepare for this storm?

MACDONALD: OK. So far, we've done, we did a mandatory evacuation for all mobile homes, manufactured homes, R.V. parks, all the coastal communities and all low-lying areas that went out yesterday. We opened our shelters up. We went ahead and preempted that. We got our shelters. We did two general population shelters one of them is pet friendly and then we also did a special needs shelter.

Those opened up at 10:00 this morning. So, we've been doing shelter and operations all day. We did -- we send out multiple messages and all that specifically for the storm surge, the potential storm surge that we're seeing. And some of the wind -- some of the wind amounts that we were looking at.

CHURCH: And John, what is your message to those residents who have decided to stay?

MACDONALD: We keep -- we keep punching that messaging out, you know, letting them know about this storm surge. I've worked here for 21 years. This is the highest surge numbers I've ever seen. So, you know, we've had multiple storms. You know, come across the coastline here at Levy County. We're on our third one in a year. So, it's nothing new to us to deal with these tropical cyclones.

But it is, you know, people get amnesia a little bit from them, if you get a few get a few, you know, some of them that are not so bad, and you get some that are, you know, a little worse than others. So, we keep pushing that same messaging out there. A lot of graphics that we pull off the National Hurricane Center and in our Local National Weather Service, we take those graphics and we push all that stuff out through all of our applications. We have an applicate.

We have an app that goes through emergency management. We have social media, you know, Facebook, Twitter, all those accounts and all that. So, we push things there. And then we also have our Levidisaster.com Web site where residents get that information from. CHURCH: And last month, of course, Hurricane Debby flooded parts of your county and caused power outages. And then last year, Hurricane Idalia devastated places like Cedar Key. So how are people coping with these ever increasing storms roaring ashore in your community?

MACDONALD: Yes. It's a -- it's a -- it could be -- this would potentially be an economic disaster for the whole western side of Florida from levy county north. Most of those counties, those coastal communities. They're all fiscally constrained rural counties and all of them have been hit with the same impacts that Levy County has all the way through. Most of them, a little more damage a farther north you go.

But we've got two communities in our county. Two different type -- two completely different type areas. Cedar Key being more tourism based, more -- they do have residential residents out there. But it's mostly tourism based on, you know, that type of atmosphere. And then we have Yankeetown, which is on the south end of the county, that it's in the corner of the Withlacoochee River.

And it's a coastal community and it's mostly residential. Every one of these locations in the last three years, or in the last year, for the, you know, this will be the third storm. We are still dealing with homes that have not been repaired from Idalia, only to get hit by Debby again and then have to go back through that whole process. And then here we come again. So, it's a -- it's a -- it's an economic -- this is going to be, you know, a pretty big economical disaster for this portion of the state of Florida.

CHURCH: And John, what are your biggest fears as Helene approaches your county and is set to make landfall later today?

MACDONALD: Yes. My biggest fear, we're looking at -- we're looking at our most likely arrival of the tropical storm force winds, but there'll be surge pushing in and that surge is going to come the tides. We're already dealing with the astronomical high tide cycle this week anyway. So, our tides have been running about, I think the last one looked at was about 2.9 feet above our normal high tides.

So that you have to include that into this surge amounts, and these numbers that they're giving us for our coast. So, it's a -- this storm surge with these numbers and all that. It's pretty -- it's pretty impressive to see numbers get that high. You know, for a storm, that's, you know, it's, you know, it's a larger storm. We've had storms pass on the same path like that, but the storm surge is the biggest -- the biggest threat that we're. worried about here because once it -- once it starts, you know, it's a -- you get about one or two foot of water you can get out of there, you know, quick enough.

But anything past three foot or higher, you're pretty much done. You know, you can't even drop cars in it or anything. So, our biggest fear is trying to get these folks to take heed of these evacuation orders and get out of that surgeon. We always tell everybody, you know, run from the surge high from the wind but that message, you know, we keep driving, that we've been driving it all day.

CHURCH: John MacDonald, thanks so much for joining us and do stay safe.

MACDONALD: Yes. Thank you.

CHURCH: Still to come. Ukraine's president is set to present his victory plan against Russia as he rallies support from key allies and world leaders. Back without and more in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:22:18]

CHURCH: Ukraine's president is set to unveil his victory plan to defeat Russia at a key meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden in the coming hours. Volodymyr Zelenskyy visits Washington on Thursday, a day after he met with world leaders at the U.N. On Wednesday, Mr. Biden and other world leaders signed a joint declaration promising to support Ukraine's recovery and rebuilding efforts.

Mr. Zelenskyy also warned the U.N. General Assembly that Russia is planning attacks on Ukraine's energy supply heading into winter.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE: Russia is getting images and detailed information about the infrastructure of our nuclear power plants. But what does this really threaten? Any missile or drone strike, any critical incident in the energy system could lead to a nuclear disaster a day like that must never come.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

The warning comes as Russia announces it has changed its official nuclear policy because of Ukrainian strikes backed by the West. President Vladimir Putin warned nuclear weapons could be deployed if it was struck by conventional weapons. Putin also said Moscow would consider any assault on its territory by a non-nuclear state that is supported by a nuclear power to be a joint attack.

The change to Russia's nuclear policy comes as the U.S. and U.K. consider whether to give Ukraine permission to fire conventional Western missiles into Russian territory.

Joining me now is global affairs analyst Michael Bociurkiw. He's also a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council. Appreciate you joining us.

MICHAEL BOCIURKIW, GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Thank you for having me.

CHURCH: So, Ukraine's President Zelenskyy addressed the U.N. General Assembly one day after he addressed the Security Council and he appealed to the world to stand against what he called Russia's Colonial war. What's your assessment of his address and how do you think he was received there?

BOCIURKIW: Sure. Well, there was definitely note of urgency, I would say, even a bit of desperation in there. But also, I have to be honest with you, I was quite taken aback at some of the tone when he started talking about, not only that, Russian colonialism but what -- according to his intelligence, he claims is Russia plans to attack the four nuclear power plants in Ukraine, one of which, of course, is in Russian hands.

He didn't really explain where this information came from other than that the Russians have satellites that have spotted where the reactors are.

[02:25:05]

And the odd thing here, Rosemary, not to get into too much detail is that all of these plants were built in Soviet times. So, they know very well, you know, where the facilities are, the blueprints and so on. But I think it indicates to us, in the bigger picture, that, you know, the Ukrainians feel that they have to almost scare the west into doing something, because they know -- they know the political clock is ticking down, not only in the United States, but in other capitals as well.

Change of leadership, and they have to shake people into reality and say, we need help now. We need missiles now. We need air defense systems. Otherwise, it's going to be really bad news for the entire globe.

CHURCH: And President Zelenskyy now heads to Washington, D.C., where he will unveil his victory plan to defeat Russia in meetings with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris in the coming hours. And that plan includes Kyiv's request to use U.S.-manufactured long range missiles to strike inside, deep inside, Russia. A request which the Biden administration has repeatedly denied up to this point. What do you expect to come out of those meetings?

BOCIURKIW: Yes. Well, he's heading into very, very strong political headwinds. The Republicans are really kicking up a storm in terms of Zelenskyy coming to Washington and they're accusing him of meddling in U.S. politics. But I think come we're at a crucial point right now, Rosemary, where the Biden administration and especially people like Jake Sullivan have to, you know, the U.S. national security advisors have to decide, yes or no, does Ukraine use U.S. provided, British- provided missiles to strike deeper in Russia or do they not?

I think sadly, what is happening is the decision makers, mainly President Biden and his team, are succumbing to Mr. Putin saber rattling that he's threatening to use tactical nuclear weapons. Very few of us believe he will, but it's still causing this fear in the White House and the State Department that it's going to bring about escalation. So, Mr. Zelensky and his team have a very, very tough job ahead of -- ahead of them.

But if that permission isn't given, I suspect that the Ukrainians will go ahead and use them anyway, with a kind of passive U.K. approval, French approval, because there's no alternative at the moment.

CHURCH: And on Wednesday, the U.S. announced a $375 million aid package for Ukraine, as the Biden administration pledged unwavering support. How significant is that aid package? BOCIURKIW: It is not significant to be blunt with you when you consider that Ukraine has a $5 billion a month deficit, that money is going to be going very quickly because most of the revenue collection that Ukraine has little there is goes to the war effort. So, that will be used very quickly. I think Mr. Zelenskyy and his team would rather see again, the permission to use Western supplied missiles to strike deeper into Russia at those airfields where Russia sends missiles into Ukraine.

But also, for air defense systems for key cities, for example, like Odesa where there is a world port that feeds the world. Why isn't the world doing more to protect that? But again, I can't emphasize this enough that I think the feeling there among the Ukrainian team is that things have to happen very, very quickly or it's not going to turn out in Ukraine's favor or the West favor.

CHURCH: Michael Bociurkiw, a pleasure to have you with us. Appreciate it.

BOCIURKIW: My pleasure.

CHURCH: The U.N. chief has a stark warning about the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTONIO GUTERRES, SECRETARY-GENERAL OF THE UNITED NATIONS: Hell is breaking loose in Lebanon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Still to come. A new proposal to pause the fighting before it potentially escalates into a full-scale war. We'll have details.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:31:30]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTONIO GUTERRES, UNITED NATIONS SECRETARY GENERAL: To all sides, let us say in one clear voice, stop the killing and destruction, tone down the rhetoric and threats, step back from the brink. An all-out war must be avoided at all costs. It would surely be an all-out catastrophe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: A clear warning from the U.N. Secretary General about a possible all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah. The U.S. and its allies are now proposing a three-week ceasefire as the first step towards a possible diplomatic settlement. But the two sides traded more fire on Wednesday and Israel's army chief floated the idea of a potential ground incursion into Lebanon.

Meantime, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is headed to New York right now for a speech each at the U.N. in the coming hours. And for more, Ivan Watson joins us now from Hong Kong. Good to see you, Ivan. So, what more are you learning about this call from world leaders for a 21-day ceasefire, and how likely is it that Israel and Hezbollah will accept that proposal?

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rosemary, this is an initiative that was spearheaded by the U.S. and French governments, and seems to have been brokered by them and a number of other countries that have endorsed this proposal, not the combatants, it's very important to add, not yet at least, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly gathering in New York.

Here's what the U.S. President Joe Biden had to say about this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We put out a statement for a 21-day ceasefire along the Israeli-Lebanese border. We were able to generate significant support from Europe as well as the Arab nations. It's important this war not widen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON: As he pointed out, this has been endorsed by Australia, Canada, the European Union, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar. The question is, what will the warring parties have to say about that? That is Hezbollah, the Lebanese militia, that's been battling the Israeli military for nearly a year now, and the Israeli government. The big question, will the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is flying to New York right now, what will he say about it?

We've already heard some reaction from influential voices in Israel. For example, the head of the opposition, Yair Lapid has said, yes, Israel should accept this, but for only seven days in order, as he put it, not to allow Hezbollah to restore its command and control systems. This he published on Twitter or X. And then the finance minister of Israel, Smotrich has come out saying that this should be rejected, that Hezbollah should not get 21 days of peace. It should be surrender of Hezbollah or war.

And as you pointed out, the top general in Israel has talked about possible preparations for a ground incursion into Lebanon. The Lebanese ministry of health, it says that in just a single day of bombing, on Wednesday, by Israeli war planes, at least 81 people were killed in Lebanon and some 403 wounded.

[02:35:00]

And for the first time, Hezbollah claimed responsibility for firing a ballistic missile, a long-range missile, not in the border regions, but at what it said was the headquarters of Israel's Mossad intelligence agency in Tel Aviv. That was shot down. There are hints that that was more of a symbolic warning as opposed to a real effort to overwhelm Israel's air defenses. So, a last-ditch effort to try to broker some kind of pause in the fighting while many analysts would argue that a broader war has already begun.

CHURCH: All right. Thanks to Ivan Watson, joining us live from Hong Kong.

Still to come, Hong Kong gives a special reception to two giant pandas who arrived earlier, as gifts from Beijing. We'll have details after a short break. Do stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: Ecuador's president is making an emergency trip home from the U.N. due to a raging wildfire in Quito. People are fleeing as heavy smoke spreads across the capital city. Dozens of firefighters are battling the blaze and the city's mayor is urging people to stay indoors due to the poor air quality. Authorities suspect the fire was intentionally lit and are investigating it as a criminal act.

We are following breaking news out of Japan, the world's longest- serving death row inmate has had his name cleared. According to national broadcaster NHK, a Japanese court acquitted the 88-year-old. He had been sentenced to death in 1968 for murdering a family. A re- trial was ordered after new evidence appeared to show he was innocent. The legal saga has fueled calls to abolish the death penalty in Japan. So, let's go to CNN's Hanako Montgomery, who joins us live from Tokyo. So Hanako, what is the latest on this? And why is this acquittal coming at this time?

HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Rosemary. It's good to see you. So of course, this is a cause for celebration for Hakamata's family and for his supporters. But, some in Japan are wondering whether justice has really been served here. Iwao Hakamata has spent nearly five decades, a majority of his life in fact, behind bars for a crime that the court now says he never even committed, and he can't get that time back.

Now, just some background about Hakamata and the timing of this acquittal. He was a boxer turned miso factory worker, who was arrested in the '60s for allegedly killing his boss and his boss' family. Now at the time of his arrest, he initially confessed. But according to the judge, that confession was actually forced out of him.

[02:40:00]

The police had threatened him and beat him to make that confession. And actually, the re-trial that he's been granted was first granted in 2014 after new evidence in his case emerged. And as we learn today from the judge's ruling, that evidence was the fact that prosecutors and police had fabricated evidence to convict him. They placed articles of clothing at the scene of the crime that said (ph) belonged to him and contained bloodstains that had the same DNA as Hakamata's. But again, according to the judge's ruling today, that evidence is indeed fake and Hakamata is innocent.

He has been found innocent after all these years. But really, this is all evidence according to human rights lawyers and activists why Japan should abolish the death penalty because, like in Hakamata's case, we sometimes see false and allegedly and fake arrests when it shouldn't be that way and also, of course, just the mental toll that this has taken on death row inmates. In Hakamata's case, he actually suffers from mental illness now because of all the years that he spent behind bars.

And again, really this just goes to show according to activists, all the issues facing Japan's criminal justice system.

CHURCH: All right. Thanks to Hanako Montgomery, joining us live from Tokyo with that story. Appreciate it.

Two five-year-old giant pandas, a gift from Beijing, have arrived in Hong Kong. They were greeted with a welcoming ceremony after landing at Hong Kong International Airport. They will join four other giant pandas at the island's Ocean Park animal theme park. But, they will be quarantined for 30 days before they make their public debut. Beijing sent the giant pandas to Hong Kong to mark 75 years of Communist Party rule in China.

Well, the search for a young Elle Woods is on.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you have a resume?

REESE WITHERSPOON, ACTOR: Yes, I do. Here it is.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's pink.

WITHERSPOON: Oh, and it is scented. I think it gives it a little something extra, don't you think?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: 'Legally Blonde' star, Reese Witherspoon announced an open casting call to find the next Elle Woods. The actress is co-producing a prequel series to the 2001 classic, that will follow a teenage Woods before her journey to Harvard Law. Witherspoon directed her followers to submit auditions and said she's excited to see all the "fabulous takes on everyone's favorite Gemini vegetarian."

Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Rosemary Church. "World Sport" is coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:45:00]

(WORLD SPORT)