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Israel-Hezbollah Ceasefire Begins After Months of Fighting; Trade War Could Sharply Increase Consumer Costs; Russia Lashes Out at Ukraine's Use of Powerful U.S. Weapons; Israel-Hezbollah Ceasefire Begins after Months of Fighting; Pakistani Authorities Launch Operation to Disperse Protestors; Texas to be Ally to Trump's Immigration Plans. Aired 12-12:45a ET

Aired November 27, 2024 - 00:00   ET

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

[00:00:05]

ANNA COREN, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello, and welcome. I'm Anna Coren in Hong Kong.

Ahead here on CNN NEWSROOM, Israel has reached a ceasefire deal with Hezbollah in Lebanon. The question now, will it hold?

Mexico and Canada are reacting to Donald Trump's tariff threats. Why they say the policy is bad for business.

And security forces in Pakistan have launched a fresh operation to break up crowds of supporters protesting the detention of former prime minister Imran Khan.

ANNOUNCER: Live from Hong Kong, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Anna Coren.

COREN: Welcome. Well, it's 7:00 in the morning in Beirut, Lebanon, and it's been just three hours since a new ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah went into effect after fighting ramped up more than a year ago. But there are fears over whether this truce will hold.

Well, this is what the skyline of Beirut looked like just 24 hours ago, with Israel bombarding the city in the hours leading up to the ceasefire deal on Tuesday. The Israeli military says it hit terror targets in Beirut suburbs 20 times in two minutes. At least 25 people were killed across Lebanon on Tuesday.

Well, meanwhile, Hezbollah launched rockets at Israel that were intercepted. The Israeli government has vowed to resume military operations against the Iran-backed group if the ceasefire is breached.

U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701 is the basis of the deal. Uder the ceasefire terms over 60 days Israel will gradually withdraw its forces as Lebanon's army takes control of territory near its border with Israel to ensure Hezbollah does not rebuild its infrastructure there. The U.S. and France will help enforce the deal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Israel did not launch this war. The Lebanese people did not seek that war either, nor did the United States. But lasting security for the people of Israel and Lebanon cannot be achieved only on the battlefield. And that's why I directed my team to work with the governments of Israel and Lebanon to forge a ceasefire, to bring the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah to a close.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COREN: CNN's Nic Robertson has more details from Jerusalem.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR (voice-over): In the hours before agreeing to a ceasefire, Israeli warplanes pounding the Lebanese capital, even areas in the heart of Beirut previously off limits. And Hezbollah, too, down to the very last minute launching rocket salvos into Israel.

Announcing the ceasefire, Israel's prime minister claiming victory.

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): We destroyed Nasrallah, the rest of the senior personnel, its missiles and rockets. Thousands of terrorists.

ROBERTSON: President Biden, an architect and guarantor of the deal, saying the ceasefire should be permanent.

BIDEN: Under the deal reached today effective at 4:00 a.m. tomorrow, local time, the fighting across the Lebanese-Israeli border will end.

ROBERTSON: A 60-day ceasefire expected to begin almost immediately. Hezbollah fighters to pull back 30 miles north of the Israeli border with IDF troops returning inside Israel, and the Lebanese army and the U.N. move in to fill the vacuum. Few other details available. Netanyahu saying time to shift focus and resupply.

NETANYAHU (through translator): So why doing ceasefire now? There are three main reasons. First, focusing on the Iranian threat. Two, refreshing the military forces. And the third reason for ceasefire, detaching the front of the war from Hamas.

ROBERTSON: More than 3,000 Lebanese civilians killed. More than 13,000 injured. 47 Israeli civilians and 31 Israeli security forces killed inside Israel. And 46 Israeli troops killed in Lebanon. Bittersweet for the Israeli families who will soon be able to return to their homes near the border. Many fear Hezbollah will be back.

Nic Robertson, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COREN: Well, let's now go live to London and former Pentagon Middle East adviser, Jasmine El-Gamal joins us.

[00:05:05]

Jasmine, thank you. I want to ask you for your take on this ceasefire. Is it temporary or does it have the foundations to hold and become permanent?

JASMINE EL-GAMAL, FORMER PENTAGON MIDDLE EAST ADVISER: Good morning, Anna. Thanks for having me. Well, as of now, the ceasefire doesn't really address any of the core issues that formed the conflict basis between Hezbollah and Israel, and more broadly, between Iran and Israel. It's basically more of a cessation of hostilities. It's a ceasefire under pressure, if you will.

The U.S. has been pressuring Israel for months now to come to an end to the fighting. Hezbollah is similarly under pressure from Israel after having their entire leadership rank basically be decimated by Israel in a string of assassinations. You had the pager attacks that decimated their communications infrastructure, and so both parties have been under extreme pressure to try to come to an end to the fighting, and try to bring down the temperature in the region.

But if you look behind the scenes and you look basically at the core issues that formed that conflict between the parties none of those issues have actually been sincerely addressed. And that's what gives me pause when it comes to the longevity, the potential for the longevity of this ceasefire. Although it's a very welcomed development. I worry about how robust and how long it could actually last without addressing those core issues.

COREN: Prime Minister Netanyahu has said that the pause will allow the IDF to regroup and rearm. But, of course, it will also allow Hezbollah to do exactly the same thing despite the provisions of the ceasefire agreement. Do you believe there is a high risk of this happening?

EL-GAMAL: Absolutely. I mean, you took the words right out of my mouth. I mean, any kind of break would allow all sides to regroup, and Hezbollah, we can expect to see it, try to reconstitute and rearm because at the end of the day Hezbollah was created as a resistance organization to Israeli occupation of Arab lands and also to serve as strategic depth to Iran in its own conflict with Israel.

And so you would expect to see it rearm, although it will be more difficult to do so. It did so after the 2006 war with Israel. This time around the U.S. and France are participating in an enforcement mechanism along with the Lebanese Army and the Lebanese state and the United Nations to make sure that that doesn't happen. But as you can imagine, based on the very nature of Hezbollah's existence, that it would similarly try to regroup and rearm in this pause, just as the Israeli forces will do.

COREN: Jamine, the Lebanese Army and security forces they will take control of Hezbollah territory, I guess specifically south of the Litani River and they will enforce this agreement.

Do you envisage tensions rising between these different parties? And explain to us also the role of the international peacekeeping force. EL-GAMAL: That's right. It's an excellent point to bring up because

this arrangement basically brings us back to some sort of a status quo where you had UNIFIL, the U.N. forces that were there to enforce security resolution 1701, protecting the territorial integrity of these borders and making sure that Hezbollah wasn't in a position to be armed and to pose a threat to Israel and also for Israel not to violate Lebanese sovereignty.

Now, the Lebanese Armed Forces, if we talk about the internal dynamics of Lebanon, has frequently been met with some sort of resistance, of course, from Hezbollah forces as it tries to prevent Hezbollah from rearming and as it tries to act as the sole legitimate defender of Lebanese territory and so we can expect some of these internal dynamics to come back into play. Some of these internal tensions between the legitimate force of the Lebanese state which is the Lebanese Armed Forces and the illegitimate one, the one that is armed and backed by Iran, which is Hezbollah.

And traditionally Israel has never been fully trusting of the Lebanese Armed Forces. When I was back at the Pentagon and I was handling the Lebanon file, we would frequently come into contact with the Israelis, our counterparts from the Israeli side, who would be very cautious about the U.S. arming and supporting the Lebanese Armed Forces, constantly raising questions about the Lebanese Armed Forces integrity and the relationship to Hezbollah.

So we can see -- we can expect to see some of those dynamics coming back now that the Lebanese Armed Forces will be more and more in charge of making sure that the stipulations of this agreement are enforced.

[00:10:11]

So, I mean, in conclusion, Anna, I would say it's a very, very welcomed development, this cessation of hostilities. But barring this -- barring any resolution or attempt at a resolution of the core issues that exist between both Hezbollah and Israel and Iran and Israel, I do worry about the longevity and the integrity of such a ceasefire in the days and weeks to come.

COREN: Now, that certainly is a very crucial point.

Jasmine El-Gamal, we appreciate your expertise and your analysis. Thank you for joining us.

EL-GAMAL: Thank you.

COREN: Well, U.S. president-elect Donald Trump has announced more picks for top spots in his new administration. Kevin Hassett has been tapped to serve as director of the White House National Economic Council. He previously led Trump's Council of Economic Advisers during his first term, and helped him navigate the country's economic recovery from the COVID pandemic. And Jamieson Greer is Trump's pick for U.S. Trade representative. He served as chief of staff to the Trade representative in Trump's first term. Well, meanwhile, America's neighbors are speaking out about Trump's

threat to impose a huge 25 percent tariff on their products on his first day back in office. He's claimed the move in retaliation for illegal immigration, crime and drugs coming over the border. But Mexico's president issued a letter saying neither threats nor tariffs will solve the issue of migration or drug consumption. Claudia Sheinbaum says cooperation and shared understanding are key to addressing these problems. She also warned that one tariff will lead to another in response, putting shared companies at risk.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLAUDIA SHEINBAUM, MEXICAN PRESIDENT (through translator): I am convinced that the economic frontier of North America, that the economic strength of North America lies in maintaining our commercial society so that we can continue to be more competitive against other economic blocs. I believe that dialog is the best path to understanding peace and prosperity for our nations.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COREN: Well, the Canadian prime minister also taking a diplomatic approach. Justin Trudeau said he and Trump recently spoke about some of the challenges they can tackle together.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUSTIN TRUDEAU, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER: The reality is we're going to continue to work constructively with the incoming administration to protect Canadian jobs, to protect Canadian growth, not to take the responsible approach that isn't steeped in partisanship, that pulls together the team Canada approach that stands up for Canadians. Instead of throwing our arms up and saying all is broken like the leader of the opposition.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COREN: The big fear is that back-and-forth tariff hikes will lead to an all-out trade war and consumers will pay the price.

CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich explains which goods could soon become much more expensive.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): A trade war is brewing.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT-ELECT: We're going to tariff the hell out of them.

YURKEVICH: The casualty, the American consumer.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're going to see higher prices.

YURKEVICH: On his first day in office, President-elect Trump says he's putting a 25 percent tariff on all imports from Mexico and Canada. China will get hit with an additional 10 percent tax on top of existing tariffs. The reason Trump says incentive for these countries to stop the flow of migrants and illegal drugs coming into the U.S.

GENE SEROKA, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, PORT OF LOS ANGELES: I suspect we'll encounter some new headwinds that our industry will have to navigate.

YURKEVICH: Mexico, Canada and China are the United States' key trading partners. The U.S. imports the majority of cars and car parts from Mexico so the price of your car could go up. Shares of the big three U.S. automakers all finished lower with GM down nearly 9 percent. America's top import from Canada is oil. The tariffs could send gas prices up $0.25 to $0.75 in some regions. And the U.S. imports a lot of electronics from China. In addition to sneakers, toys, sports equipment and furniture.

For example, China makes a sneaker. A U.S. company buys it, pays the import tariff, and then makes a choice -- eat the cost or pass it to you. Before the higher tariffs announced Monday night Americans could expect to spend $2600 more each year under Trump's original tariff proposal. Inflation is expected to rise by 1 percent. U.S. retailers like Steve Madden are already moving production out of China to beat the tariffs and keep prices low for U.S. consumers. Small businesses don't have that same option.

RYAN ZAGATA, PRESIDENT, BROOKLYN BICYCLE COMPANY: There isn't really an easy solution beyond passing that cost onto consumers. Small businesses are very much uniquely challenged.

[00:15:03]

I don't have the option of calling up Jamie Dimon at JPMorgan to do a bond offering to build a factory.

YURKEVICH: And then there are retaliatory tariffs, which could also impact U.S. businesses who export to other countries. Mexico's president hinted at that very notion Tuesday.

One tariff will be followed by another in response, and so on, until we put common businesses at risk.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

YURKEVICH (on-camera): There are people that support President-elect Trump's tariffs, but mostly in his inner circle. Elon Musk says that tariffs are highly effective. Billionaire Bill Ackman says that tariffs can be used as a weapon to help achieve foreign policy, political and economic outcomes. And then there is Trump's pick for Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, who says that he supports targeted tariffs but thinks that excessive tariffs or blanket tariffs could actually hurt the economy.

Vanessa Yurkevich, CNN, New York.

COREN: Well, joining us now CNN economics commentator Catherine Rampell, who is also an opinion columnist for the "Washington Post."

Catherine, as always, great to see you. Now, these big tariffs on the U.S.'s three largest trading partners, Canada, Mexico, China, I mean, no doubt will trigger multiple trade wars even more aggressive than Trump's first term. Tell us what will be the ramifications.

CATHERINE RAMPELL, CNN ECONOMICS AND POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: If in fact, Trump carries out these threats, and look, I very much hope it is saber rattling and not something he intends to carry out, but if it does, if it does happen, this will be devastating for the U.S. economy, for our trading partners' economies, potentially for lots of other global economies that are integrated with ours.

And that's because the United States -- excuse me, the United States, Mexico and Canada are extremely integrated trading partners. We have lots of auto manufacturing companies, for example, that have lots of trade across borders. The same vehicle, the same parts of the same vehicle may cross borders multiple times before the auto is ultimately sold. The car or truck. You have lots of other industries. Oil, for example, crosses borders quite a few times.

So you'll have lots of turmoil in the industries that already have supply chains that spread across multiple countries.

COREN: I mean, we listened to Trump's rhetoric. He certainly seems committed to upending global trade including the trade pacts that he made during his first term.

RAMPELL: Exactly.

COREN: I mean, do you think that this is just a negotiating tactic?

RAMPELL: I don't know. You know, Trump referred to his trade deal, the USMCA, as the best trade deal ever. You know, it was the best deal that the United States had ever entered into. Now apparently it's trash, right, and none of it means anything, despite the fact that actually, you know, the fact that the United States, Mexico and Canada, for example, have very low barriers to trade among each other, has brought lots of prosperity to all three countries, much better living standards to all three countries, including the United States. Now Trump wants to blow all of that up.

COREN: Catherine, how could those countries, those three major trading partners, respond? You know, they could very well impose their own tariffs on U.S. products. Beijing could start a currency war. And I also like to get your take on the reaction from the markets and international businesses.

RAMPELL: Right. So, yes, they could have retaliatory tariffs. We saw this again back when Trump was president before. Mexico, the E.U., Canada, China, lots of other trading partners decided that they were not going to just lie back and take this punitive measure from the United States, even if it was hurting the United States as well they were going to retaliate. And as I said much of the time, their retaliation was much more strategically targeted than what had originally launched these trade wars. Beyond that, you know, it's interesting. If you look at how markets

have reacted, the stock market has been relatively complacent given the magnitude of the tariffs we're talking about, which suggests that a lot of traders don't think that they will materialize. But you have seen big moves in a few stocks for companies that would be seriously affected. So like U.S. based auto manufacturers took a big hit because, again, you have very cross-border integrated auto industry right now and that would likely raise costs for those companies and ultimately raise the price of the cars that they sell which might kill off demand.

COREN: Catherine, before I let you go, Donald Trump has announced that he's picked Jamieson Greer to serve as his top trade negotiator. We know that he served during his first term in office.

What do we know about him and perhaps the influence that he will have on Trump's policies?

[00:20:06]

RAMPELL: I think the very fact that Trump has chosen this person suggests that he is on board with the Trump trade agenda, however incoherent and poorly thought out it may be. Trump has learned that he does not want to have any of his economic advisers pushing back against him particularly on things like his trade agenda, like his economic agenda, which many of them did.

To be clear, not his former U.S. trade representative, Bob Lighthizer. He was largely on board with this agenda, but a lot of Trump's prior senior economic advisers did either, you know, you can say undermine him or at least hold him back from some of his most destructive impulses. So, you know, the very fact that Trump has chosen the people that he has this time around tells you that he is selecting them based on loyalty to him and based on belief in the mission.

These are not people, particularly at the Trade office or in the various trade roles, who are there because they want to lower the temperature on the trade wars. They're there to escalate the.

COREN: The guardrails have certainly been removed. Catherine Rampell, as always, great to see you. Appreciate your analysis. Thank you.

RAMPELL: Thank you.

COREN: Well, coming up, Russian president Vladimir Putin is warning the West that it won't pay to arm Ukraine. The latest from Moscow ahead.

Plus, tensions are high in Pakistan, where thousands of protesters have breached the capital, demanding the release of imprisoned former prime minister Imran Khan. All that and more ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COREN: Well, Russia is warning the West that supplying weapons to Ukraine is a dangerous decision. Well, this comes after Ukraine began using U.S. made ATACMS missiles and British French made Storm Shadow missiles to target military sites inside Russia. Well, Russian president Vladimir Putin saying that those, quote, "reckless decisions" will not go unanswered.

Fred Pleitgen has the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Moscow for the first time acknowledging the effectiveness of Ukraine's use of U.S. supplied missiles to hit targets inside Russia, admitting ATACMS struck a radar and an airfield, showing photos of fragments they claimed come from the American rockets.

Kremlin-controlled TV ripping into U.S. and British officials lobbying to give Ukraine more firepower. These same people are then sincerely outraged that Putin is preparing to strike an American air defense base in Poland, and not only there, the host says.

The Kremlin says it's trying to send a very clear message to the West. If the U.S. and its allies continue to give Ukraine longer distance weapons and allow Kyiv to fire those weapons deep inside Russian territory, the West is playing with fire.

(Voice-over): And that message is playing on repeat across Russia since Vladimir Putin ordered a strike against Ukraine with a new type of intermediate range ballistic missile called Oreshnik.

[00:25:10]

State TV showing behind-the-scenes footage of Putin after a televised statement announcing the launch last week. The Russian leader saying I think it's clear and understandable enough. And if it wasn't clear enough, a Russian lawmaker showed up to parliament in a Putin T-shirt in the Oreshnik missile launching.

Oreshnik is the Russian word for hazelnut tree. The writing on the shirt means tough nut.

Perhaps after Oreshnik was put to work, they scratched their heads and understood that they need to listen and hear what our president says, the lawmaker says. He never throws words into the wind, he warns.

With Ukraine's army on the back foot struggling against overpowering Russian forces on several fronts, Moscow accuses the Biden administration of escalating the conflict in the final days before Donald Trump takes over.

The countries of the Western bloc are suffering a fiasco in the conflict in Ukraine, but at the same time, we believe they won't calm down, Russia's foreign spy chief says. They'll act as usual and will try to create chaos on the territories of our allied states and chaos in the Russian federation. And U.S. missiles fired at Russia, the Kremlin says, will make it harder for the incoming Trump administration to end the Ukraine war.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Moscow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COREN: Well, still to come, Israel and Hezbollah agree to a 60-day ceasefire deal brokered by the U.S. More on the agreement after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COREN: Welcome back. Well, more now on our top story this hour.

Right now the 60-day ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon is in effect. But just a day ago the skyline of Beirut was filled with thick smoke, as Israel says, it hit the city 20 times in two minutes. At least 25 people were killed by Israeli strikes across Lebanon.

The deal to end the yearlong border conflict calls for Israeli ground forces to withdraw from Lebanese territory. It also requires Lebanese government forces to regain control of an area currently held by Hezbollah.

Well, the U.S. and France will work with both sides to make sure the deal is enforced. The French president praised the deal, but also wants to keep the focus on ending the war in Gaza.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EMMANUEL MACRON, FRENCH PRESIDENT (through translator): This agreement should not make us forget the war, which continues to wage in Gaza, where France will continue its efforts for a cessation of hostilities. The freeing of the hostages and the largescale arrival of humanitarian aid and of course, a just and lasting political solution through two states.

[00:30:13]

This agreement should also open the route towards a ceasefire, which has been needed for too long in the face of the incomparable suffering of the people of Gaza.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNA COREN, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Well, more now from CNN's Jeremy Diamond in Israel.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, after nearly 14 months of cross-border exchanges of fire between Israel and Hezbollah, the two sides have now reached a ceasefire agreement that was brokered largely by the United States: a 60-day ceasefire during which time both sides will implement the terms of this new deal.

A truce that the United States certainly hopes will ultimately end up being an enduring one, far beyond those initial 60 days. DIAMOND (voice-over): During that 60-day period, Israel will begin

withdrawing its troops from Southern Lebanon. Hezbollah, for its part, will withdraw all of its forces North of the Litani River, some 20 miles North of the Israel-Lebanon border, which will, critically, take Hezbollah forces outside of the --

DIAMOND: -- anti-tank missile range to be able to fire those rockets at Northern Israel.

The Lebanese military, for its part, will then move into areas of Southern Lebanon and be responsible for patrolling that area and ensuring that Hezbollah is not violating the terms of this agreement.

But there are still significant concerns inside of Northern Israel about the terms of this deal and whether or not it will truly make Northern Israel safer, with many of the leaders of these communities in Northern Israel expressing outrage at this deal, saying that they don't believe enough has been done yet to make Northern Israel truly safe.

But the Israeli prime minister, for his part, is insisting that it now is the right time to translate those military achievements in Southern Lebanon into an actual political agreement. And he's also insisting that Israel will have the right to go after Hezbollah, should it violate the terms.

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): The duration of it will depend on what happens in Lebanon. We keep military freedom, and if Hezbollah will rearm itself, we will attack.

DIAMOND: Now, our understanding is that Israel's right to go after Hezbollah, should it believe that violations occurred, is not actually in this agreement, which instead calls for a now U.S.-led monitoring committee to ensure that neither side violates this agreement.

But Netanyahu insisting that Israel will have the freedom to operate in the skies above Lebanon and to go after Hezbollah, should it deem it necessary.

President Biden, for his part, he said that Israel will retain the right to self-defense, which is quite different language from what Netanyahu is talking about.

And so, the question is, how will that play into the possibility of this truce actually enduring?

DIAMOND (voice-over): One thing is for sure. Those final hours before this agreement went into effect, they were marked by several severe Israeli air strikes in Lebanon, including in areas of the Lebanese capital, central Beirut, that previously had not been struck by the Israeli military.

Hezbollah, for its part --

DIAMOND: firing large barrages of rockets toward Northern Israel, including right where we are here in Nahariya, where we heard one rocket alert siren after the next in the hours before this deal went into effect.

Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Nahariya, Israel.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COREN: Well, Pakistan's security forces are cracking down on protesters who have breached the capital, Islamabad, launching a late- night operation targeting thousands of supporters of the imprisoned former prime minister Imran Khan.

Mike Valerio is following the latest developments from Seoul. And, Mike, we know the army has been deployed, and there have been orders to use gunfire, if needed. The situation clearly intensifying. What's the latest?

MIKE VALERIO, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're waiting to see whether or not there are new developments from Imran Khan's political party and saying whether or not these protests should continue.

So, stand by for news on that. We're going through our channels. Our team in Islamabad is reviewing the latest information.

But as you said, the latest that we have in terms of what the protesters are doing is this move overnight with security forces in Islamabad to clear hundreds of protesters from one of the central squares from D-Chowk. It's in the shape of a "D," hence the name, "D- Chowk," square in Urdu.

And it faces Parliament. It's one of the nexus points in Islamabad, a very symbolic site.

So, one of the goals of the protesters, who are calling for Imran Khan to be taken out of custody, to have his freedom regained, was to have that symbolic backdrop, to take their message to the square right in front of Parliament.

It was Imran Khan who, on November 13th, issued that clarion call from his jail cell for his supporters to move on Parliament.

So, what we know at this hour is that there seems to be this tension between security forces and the protesters. Overnight, we saw several vehicles that were on fire.

[00:35:06]

The latest reporting that we have, according to our team on the ground, is that the death toll -- death toll still stands at five people.

There were four security forces who were killed in the unrest; one civilian. According to doctors who are talking to CNN, they apparently were hit by a car in an incident of road rage through one of these episodes of unrest that we've seen throughout the capital.

So, again, Anna, we're just reviewing. What is the message that has been sent out from Imran Khan's party? For what it's worth, late last night, Khan himself posted on X, "Do not give up. We're going to keep up this fight."

So, there may be a disconnect that we're reviewing right now between his party and Imran Khan. We're going to get back to you in the next hour to see whether or not these protests are going to continue for another day, Anna.

COREN: Sure. The role of his wife, Imran Khan's wife, also fascinating. She's -- she's leading the protest, too.

Mike Valerio in Seoul.

VALERIO: Yes.

COREN: We appreciate the update. Thank you.

Well, still to come, Donald Trump prepares to overhaul U.S. immigration policy and is looking to Texas for the first steps to take.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COREN: We're less than two months away from Donald Trump's return to the U.S. presidency, and his team has finally signed the paperwork to begin the most important parts of the transition.

An agreement with the White House, signed nearly two months after it was initially due, gives Trump's team access to key federal agencies and the security clearances needed to receive classified information.

Well, Trump's team, however, has declined to sign another transition document, which would give them access to office space and secure communications, among other things.

Well, one of the likely reasons Trump signed at least one transition agreement is his proposed crackdown on immigration. Both Trump's camp and immigration officials lacked information on what's needed to carry out his plans for additional detention facilities and mass deportation.

But the president-elect could have himself a key ally in Texas, one who has challenged the Biden administration's border policies at almost every turn.

CNN's Priscilla Alvarez has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PRISCILL ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: President-elect Donald Trump's incoming border czar ushering a new era when it comes to cooperation between --

ALVAREZ (voice-over): -- the state of Texas and the federal government. One throughline over the recent years has been the ongoing feud

between Texas Governor Greg Abbott and the Biden administration. But now, a stark pivot is expected as the incoming administration tries to use what Texas has done along the Texas-Mexico border as a blueprint for Trump's own immigration plans.

Of course, Texas Governor Greg Abbott had launched Operation Lone Star in 2021, only months after President Joe Biden took office and as an affront to the Biden administration.

[00:40:06]

Over the last few years, that has included busses of migrants to Democratic-led cities, blocking off a portion of the border to federal agents, and also putting those buoys in the Rio Grande.

Now, that has led to lawsuits filed by the Justice Department and have been moves that, taken together, had frustrated the Biden White House.

But now, that is going to change. The incoming border czar, Tom Homan, praising the work that Texas has done along its border as sources tell me, that the Trump team plans to use what Texas has done as a roadmap for how they want to cooperate with states moving forward.

ALVAREZ: Essentially, trying to usher state resources along the border, even despite their limited capabilities when it comes to immigration enforcement, to free up federal personnel to execute on Trump's mass deportation promise.

ALVAREZ (voice-over): Now, the personnel that the incoming president is considering is also telling. I'm told that Trump is weighing Texas border czar Michael Banks to lead U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

So, taken together, the personnel and the moves and visits over the week --

ALVAREZ: -- have stressed that the incoming Trump administration wants to lean and rely on Texas in ways that the Biden administration had been frustrated, often arguing that Texas was disrupting federal operations, taking what had typically been cooperation between state authorities and federal agents too far.

Now, of course, how that will all shake out will remain to be seen, but certainly, Tom Homan indicating that a new era is on the horizon when it comes to the relationship with Texas in the years and months to come.

Priscilla Alvarez, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COREN: Before we go, for the first time in more than 50 years, a painting by British artist George Stubbs is up for auction, and it's expected to sell for more than $2.5 million.

"The Spanish Pointer," considered one of the artist's most famous works, has been in a private collection. Well, now the painting is on display to the public at the Sotheby's in London until early December.

After that, it may not be seen again for decades. Now's your opportunity.

Well, thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Anna Coren. I'll be back at the top of the hour. WORLD SPORT is next.

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