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Both Sides Accuse Each Other Of Violating Ceasefire; Putin Threatens To Use New Missile Again; Using A.I. To Maintain Offshore Wind Farms. Truce Appears to Hold Despite Accusations of Violations; Ghana's Gold Production Booms Amid Fears over Illegal Mining; Notre Dame to Reopen Soon, 5 Years after Devastating Fire. A.I.-Powered Aquatic Robots. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired November 29, 2024 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[01:00:31]
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome everyone. I'm Michael Holmes. Appreciate your company. Coming up on CNN Newsroom.
The Israeli military and Hezbollah accuse each other of violating the ceasefire in Lebanon. Russian President Vladimir Putin threatens to use his powerful new missile again after unleashing a widespread attack on Ukraine's energy grid again. And how robotics engineers are using AI to maintain hard-to-reach offshore wind farms in the United Kingdom.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN Newsroom with Michael Holmes.
HOLMES: Well, the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon is now in its third day and appears to be holding by and large, despite new accusations against both parties. The people of Lebanon, meanwhile, are desperate for a return to normalcy. Thousands displaced by the 13 months of fighting have started returning to their homes and businesses, many of them destroyed amid Israeli warnings that some areas are not yet safe. The ceasefire heralds are much-needed respite for Lebanese civilians who've watched as hundreds were killed in Israeli airstrikes. Residents determined to rebuild.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BASSEL YASSIN, SHOPKEEPER (voiceover): Thank God, now we're back, and we're back stronger and better than before. We have strength and determination and we're cleaning up our stores. We will work on getting our businesses back better than before. And don't let the occupation think that it has defeated us.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Israel's military claims it killed more than 2,500 Hezbollah operatives since late September, when the military ramped up its offensive in Lebanon. The new ceasefire stipulates that Israeli forces must withdraw from Lebanon within 60 days. IDF troops are still, however, deployed on the ground and won't be leaving immediately. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID MANCER, ISRAEL GOVERNMENT SPOKESPERSON: IDF soldiers are still positioned in southern Lebanon in villages and areas from which the forces will gradually withdraw in accordance with the agreement. Our air force are still in Lebanese airspace gathering intelligence and prepared to act whenever and wherever necessary. The IDF is operating determinedly to any violation of the ceasefire. Fire will be met by fire. Peace will be met by peace. The ceasefire agreement is structured to be gradual and the army will update residents in Lebanon when it is safe to return to specific areas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: CNN's Jeremy Diamond now with details on the alleged violations of the ceasefire. He's reporting from Tel Aviv.
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, the second day of this tenuous ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah was marked by claims of violations on both sides of this agreement. Nonetheless, despite that this ceasefire is indeed still holding up, at least for now. Now, here's what both sides are claiming. The Lebanese military, for its part, says that Israel violated this agreement through the, quote, "targeting of Lebanese territory with various weapons". The Israeli military actually admits that it did open fire on Lebanese territory, but it says that it did so in order to enforce this ceasefire claiming that Hezbollah was violating the terms of this agreement.
The Israeli military says it carried out two airstrikes in southern Lebanon. In one case, they say they identified, quote, "terrorist activity" at a Hezbollah rocket storage facility. In the second case, they say they struck, quote, "two terrorists" that they say were arriving at a known terrorist infrastructure site that had been used to fire on Israel. In another, they say they opened fire on people they described as suspects who were arriving in areas of southern Lebanon.
Now, the Israeli Prime Minister is actually touting these actions by the Israeli military in a new interview with Israel's Channel 14.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (voiceover): We enforced it already on the first day. You saw, yesterday, we killed five Hezbollah operatives. We captured four. Today we strike more. There is no trickery with us. We enforce it forcefully. But if necessary, I have given directive to the IDF. If this framework, this ceasefire is violated, it will lead to an intense war.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DIAMOND: And you hear the threat of a, quote, "intense war" there with Hezbollah by the Israeli Prime Minister. One thing that's so tricky with this new ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah is first the fact that the Israeli military is gradually going to withdraw from this territory. That means for up to 60 days Israeli troops could actually still be inside southern Lebanon.
[01:05:22]
In addition to that, you actually have a party to this ceasefire agreement, Israel in this case saying that it is going to unilaterally enforce this deal and strike it Hezbollah whenever it feels like it needs to for its self-defense purposes. And that of course could ultimately lead to questions about whether or not Israel is violating the ceasefire by carrying out those actions.
Israeli officials say that they have an understanding with U.S. Officials about the actions that they can and cannot take in southern Lebanon. But of course, all of this is potentially a complicating additional layer on top of this agreement. The other question is whether or not this agree between Israel and Hezbollah, the ceasefire in the north could ultimately lead to a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
The Israeli Prime Minister also saying that he believes that is increasingly possible now, at least a deal that would free the hostages because he believes that Hamas is feeling increasingly isolated by this deal. U.S. Officials are of the same view. And President Biden said last week that he is now going to push for a ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza. Jeremy Diamond, CNN Tel Aviv.
HOLMES: And as Jeremy reported there, the Israeli Prime Minister sounding a slight bit more optimistic about a ceasefire in Gaza. But he does still insist on achieving one of his major goals. Here's what he told Israel's Channel 14.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NETANYAHU (voiceover): I'm ready for a ceasefire at any moment, but ending the war, I'm not ready for that because we also need to achieve the elimination of Hamas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Meanwhile, Israel's attacks continue. Gaza's Health Ministry says Israeli bombs killed at least 20 people on Thursday. Several homes in Nuseirat were hit, sending dozens of victims to Al-Awda Hospital with injuries. The hospital director claiming that Israeli forces are blocking delivery of medical supplies, food, and fuel to the hospital.
CNN has reached out to the IDF for comment. It comes as Gaza Civil Defense warns it has run out of fuel in the north. For more on the situation in Gaza, let's bring in Louise Wateridge, Senior Emergency Officer for the UN Relief and Works Agency or UNRWA. She's joining me now from Gaza City. You can see just some of the damage behind her.
You made a powerful video post on X this month. It was a few weeks ago, but it still applies. And I wanted to quote quickly from it. You said, "Across northern Gaza, there is no way of telling where the destruction starts or ends. No matter what direction you enter Gaza City, homes, hospitals, schools, health clinics, mosques, apartments, restaurants, all completely flattened. An entire society now a graveyard."
You're there right now, you've been experiencing it. How would you describe Gaza right now?
LOUISE WATERIDGE, SENIOR EMERGENCY OFFICER, UNRWA: I mean, referencing that video, social media allows you to upload just a few minutes of clip but the videos are 10, 15, 20 minutes long and it's destruction everywhere you look. Each day that we're working in Gaza City, each direction you look in, as far as you can see, there's damage and destruction.
One of the biggest risks right now is the weather, another component to kill people here. The wind and the rain is picking up and people are living in these very dangerous structures. A lot of the ceilings are collapsing, a lot of the walls don't exist. And because people have nowhere else to shelter, they are in these structures trying to find some kind of relief from the cold and the rain. But of course, this bad weather could bring these buildings down on top of people.
So the misery certainly continues across the Gaza Strip. And that's all we keep seeing here.
HOLMES: Yes. Horrendous pictures earlier a day or two ago of the rains washing away tents and people's belongings. And winter's only just beginning. There are so many reports of aid, not just not being able to get in logistically, but access, distribution, being actively denied by Israel. Is that your experience?
WATERIDGE: This week alone, I've been in Gaza City. We've been trying to access the besieged north area. Every request has been denied. In fact, every request in the month of November has been denied or impeded. What can we say?
We're doing our best. We're here. We're on the ground, we have few supplies. We're trying to get them to the people in need. But we're hearing absolute horror reports from this besieged area which we don't have access to. We're hearing from the hospitals. They're asking for aid.
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They're having tanks arrive instead. When we are able to get supplies to people in Gaza City, it's not enough. I'm speaking to people around me here. They fled the besieged areas. They're asking for very basic things. They want food. They want water. They want to be warm.
A woman was crying to me a few days ago. She just wants her baby and her children to have some warm clothing because it's raining and it's freezing. It's not a lot.
When you ask what people need, that's what they tell you. When you ask what people want, immediately everybody says they want to go home, they want the war to end. Everyone I've spoken to in the entire Gaza Strip, when you ask what they want, it's for the war to end.
HOLMES: Yes. We've seen Israel ordering people from the north. We've seen Israel create the so-called Nazarene Corridor that basically splits the north from the rest of the Strip. Do you fear, as many do and do those you speak to fear that Israel is going to stop Gazans from going back to the north either permanently or long term at the very best.
WATERIDGE: The people I've spoken to fled for their lives. They really fled with just the clothes on their back. There wasn't time to organize anything. There wasn't time to think about any kind of long- term prospect. They know they can't get back there. They're sitting in Gaza City now. They're telling me they left relatives under the rubble. They left children under the rubble dying. They had to run for their lives really. The clothes on their back was all that they had and now they're in Gaza City. They don't know what to think. They really don't know what to think.
People are exhausted. It's very hard to kind of have any response from people. After 14 months, they're physically and mentally exhausted. You can the pain in their eyes and their face. I was with a 12 year old boy yesterday. His parents were killed in a strike as they were walking back to the shelter. What can you say to a 12-year-old? He's now living in a shelter, a school with his grandfather. The school has been bombed and hit in a strike. What can you say to these people? There is no hope.
HOLMES: Just horrendous levels of suffering and endless. Louise Wateridge there in Gaza City. Stay safe and thanks for the work that you're doing there.
WATERIDGE: Thank you.
HOLMES: Now for the first time in more than four years, Syrian rebels launched a surprise offensive in the government-controlled city of Aleppo on Thursday. A Turkish security source telling CNN various rebel factions launched what they called a limited operation against the Bashar al Assad regime. It came after government forces and allied militias struck a rebel-held city and killed more than 30 civilians. CNN cannot independently verify that claim.
The rebels say the offensive was aimed at deterring Syrian government and Iranian militias from striking areas with displaced people. Analysts say the rebels were exploiting weaknesses in Iran's proxy Hezbollah to advance in Syria. It's the most significant hostility between Syrian rebels and the Assad regime since they agreed to a ceasefire mediated by Russia and Turkey in March 2020.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is threatening to up the ante again with his strikes on Ukraine, where the following scenes played out across the country Thursday morning. Ukraine says Russian missiles and drones rain down on its energy infrastructure again, leaving more than a million homes in the dark. At least five people were wounded in the attacks. Mr. Putin later saying he may raise the stakes by using a powerful new missile again.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (voiceover): As has already been said, we will respond to the ongoing strikes on Russian territory by western made long-range missiles, including the possible continuation of the Oreshnik test in combat conditions as was done on November 21st.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: CNN's Nick Paton Walsh now with more on this latest barrage of strikes on Ukraine.
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: This is the 11th large-scale attack by Russia on Ukraine's energy infrastructure so far this year. And throughout the night, according to Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, 90 missiles and 100 drones fired at targets across Ukraine. Putin saying this was a response to the use of U.S. Supplied ATACMS to hit targets inside of Russia. But it's part of Moscow's persistent bid to erode the infrastructure here.
The heating and the electricity that's going to keep the lights on and Ukraine warm through what's already becoming a dark and freezing winter. In fact, Zelensky said that some of these caliber missiles that were fired and used cluster munitions, particularly harmful to civilians to hit some of their targets. But it was to the Kremlin head Vladimir Putin said, a response to the use by Ukraine of U.S. Supplied ATACMS missiles to hit targets inside of Russia in the last weeks or so.
[01:15:18]
Escalation here it seems almost daily. And Putin taking opportunity today not only to refer to why this occurred because of the ATACMS, but also potentially hold out a kind of branch of some description towards President Donald Trump coming to the White House in January, calling Trump an experienced and capable man and suggesting potentially that he might be able to find a quote, "solution".
Now, that is surely a nod to the diplomacy which many believe Trump will adopt as the U.S. Policy going forwards in January, a nod to that certainly through his appointment of a Ukrainian special envoy to Ukraine. And that is General Keith Kellogg, his former national security adviser, who in April wrote extensively about a potential way forward for a peace plan here. It would involve freezing the front lines, taking up negotiation as the formal policy of the United States. Ask Ukraine to accept aid, but aid as loans. And the condition for that continuing would be that Ukraine will become part of this peace process, too.
Russia in turn would get slight sanctions really for becoming part of the negotiation process. But then I think the details as to how it gets to an end point in where Ukraine could potentially be happier and secure a little fuzzier. The plan in itself seems to accept that the amount of aid the U.S. is currently giving to Ukraine as at its maximum and they can't produce any more, but also seems to suggest potentially that they need to continue and indeed supply Kyiv more to secure itself against any future Russian advances. But clearly moves towards diplomacy here and potentially a moment in which Vladimir Putin, a wily and frankly at times cynical negotiator, may find it easier to get what he wants out of the new White House.
The news from the front lines, though inconsistently in Moscow's advantage, they're moving forwards on multiple different directions along the eastern front. We saw ourselves over the past week or so. Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Central Ukraine.
HOLMES: Mexico's president is once again insisting that she never agreed to shut down the Mexico U.S. Border. Claudia Sheinbaum spoke with the incoming U.S. President on Wednesday after Donald Trump vowed to impose a steep tariff on Mexico. CNN Steve Contorno picks up the story.
STEVE CONTORNO, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: 24 hours after President-Elect Donald Trump and Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum had a conversation by phone. There seems to be a disagreement over what exactly was said and agreed to Trump writing on truth Social that, quote, "Mexico's president has agreed to stop migration through Mexico and into the United States, effectively closing our southern border." In a second post, Trump added, "Mexico will stop people from going to our southern border, effective immediately. This will go a long way towards stopping the illegal invasion of the USA. Thank you."
In a press conference on Thursday, though, Sheinbaum had a different interpretation of the call. She said, quote, "Everyone has their own way of communicating, but I can assure you, I give you the certainty that we would never, and we would be incapable of it, to propose that we would close the border. It has never been our approach, and of course, we don't agree with that."
This all stems from Donald Trump's threat to put a 25 percent tariff on Mexican goods if the country doesn't do more to slow the flow of migrants and drugs across the U.S. Southern border. Now, it was not immediately clear what policy concessions Trump had actually won in his negotiation or if the Mexican president had promised enough to get rid of that threat of a 25 percent tariff. When I asked the Trump transition team if that was the case, I did not immediately get a response. Steve Contorno, CNN, West Palm Beach, Florida.
HOLMES: The current U.S. President not a fan of Trump's plans to hike tariffs on America's neighbors. Joe Biden issuing a warning about that while celebrating Thanksgiving. CNN's Arlette Saenz with that story.
ARLETTE SAENZ; CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Joe Biden weighed in on President-elect Trump's tariff threats for the first time, saying he hopes he will rethink some of the tariffs he wants to impose on Canada and Mexico, warning that it could jeopardize U.S. Relations with some of the country's closest allies. President Biden was speaking to reporters as he visited a firehouse here in Nantucket, Massachusetts, really offering his first criticism of President-elect Donald Trump and his policy proposals since the November 5th election. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DONALD TRUMP, USA PRESIDENT-ELECT: I hope he rethinks it. I think it's a counterproductive thing to do. You know, look, one of the things you've heard me say before, that we have an unusual situation in America. We're surrounded by the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, and two allies, Mexico and Canada. And the last thing we need to do is begin to screw up those relationships.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SAENZ: These comments from President Biden are significant and really serve as a reminder that he has very different views from President- elect Donald Trump about how to approach issues like the economy, trade, and also relations with U.S. Allies. The President and Democrats during the campaign had warned that some of Trump's tariff threats would have inflationary impacts back at home, could potentially raise prices on goods across the board for Americans. But President Biden made these comments as he's spending the Thanksgiving holiday here in Nantucket, Massachusetts. This is a bit of a family tradition for the Biden clan as they have been traveling to this island for decades now to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday. But it is a poignant one as President Biden is preparing to leave office in January.
He placed a round of calls to troops who were serving overseas this Thanksgiving holiday away from their families, calling into bases across the world, including in Guam, Bahrain, and also Saudi Arabia, trying to thank those U.S. Service members for their time. President Biden told reporters that he is most thankful this holiday season for a peaceful transfer of power, for diplomatic efforts, and also a hope that they could try to achieve more progress when it comes to the conflicts in the Middle East as Biden is trying to work towards a hostage and ceasefire deal in Gaza. Arlette Saenz, CNN, traveling with the President in Nantucket, Massachusetts.
HOLMES: Four Democratic members of Congress from Connecticut were targeted with bomb threats while celebrating Thanksgiving at home with their families Thursday. All are U.S. Representatives from Connecticut. Law enforcement responded, found no evidence of any devices. This all coming a day after several of Donald Trump's appointees were targeted with bomb threats and swatting which is when a false crime is reported to draw an armed response by police to the location of the target.
Now in a world first, the Australian Parliament passes a ban on social media for kids under 16. We'll have a report on that. Also when we come back. Five years ago, a raging fire left Notre Dame Cathedral in ruins. Now the legendary cathedral is close to reopening. We'll have a look at the historic restoration project after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: In what's regarded as a world-first law, Australia has approved a social media ban for children under 16. An intense debate over the proposal gripped the nation for months, with Parliament finally fast-tracking the legislation in its last sitting week of the year. Now tech giants from Meta to TikTok will be required to stop minors from logging on or potentially face fines of up to about US$32 million.
[01:25:08]
A trial run begins in January. The government has faced criticism over the speed of the law's passing, but Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says the country is on the right track.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANTHONY ALBANESE, AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER: Social media is doing harm to our children. And today, as a direct result of our legislation passed through the Parliament yesterday, through the Senate, and confirmed in the House today, parents can have a different discussion with their young ones, a different discussion that will result in better outcomes and less harm for young Australians.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: With more on the ban and public reaction to it, CNN's Hanako Montgomery from Tokyo.
HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The way kids use social media is a growing concern for millions of parents worldwide, and Australia says it now has a solution. A new law requires tech companies to take reasonable steps to block access to social media for users under 16 or face fines of up to US$32 million. The ban targets popular platforms among kids, including Snapchat, TikTok and Instagram, with the possibility of more being added to the list.
This is the world's toughest regulation to date aimed at protecting children from the harms of social media. And the law follows a series of tragic cases where young people took their own lives because, according to their parents, they were bullied online. At a press conference earlier on Friday, Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese emphasized the need to act.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALBANESE: Look, the consequences I've met with parents have lost and buried their child. It's devastating. We can't, as a government, hear those messages from parents and say it's too hard.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MONTGOMERY: Now there's significant public support for the new law. A YouGov survey released earlier this week showed that 77% of Australians support the ban. But the country's parliament has been criticized for rushing the legislation. The bill was introduced, debated and passed within a week to meet the final parliamentary sitting of the year.
Tech companies including Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, urged the government to wait for more data before pushing the law through. Also, there's the question of how this ban will be enforced. Critics say there are no guarantees it'd work and are also concerned about potential privacy risks.
Even Albanese admitted that the rollout might not be perfect. But still, he said, it's better than nothing if it's to protect children. Hanukkah Montgomery, CNN Tokyo.
HOLMES: Still to come on the program, aid groups warning of an urgent humanitarian need in Lebanon, despite the recent ceasefire agreement. We'll have an interview on that after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:30:34]
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back.
You're watching CNN NEWSROOM with me, Michael Holmes.
Now it's about half past eight in the morning in Lebanon, right now, on the third day of a pivotal truce between Israel and Hezbollah. The ceasefire agreement brings to an end more than 13 months of fighting between the two sides, which devastated southern Lebanon and northern Israel. The U.N. says the conflict has displaced more than 1.3 million people.
CNN's Tamara Qiblawi is in Beirut and describes the mood in Lebanon following the ceasefire agreement.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TAMARA QIBLAWI, CNN SENIOR WRITER: It's been a few days since the truce between Lebanon and Israel has gone into effect.
The mood here is jubilant, but it is cautious. We heard bursts of celebratory gunfire and we saw people bundling their mattresses into cars and rushing to return to their cities and villages.
The relief here is palpable. For one thing, people here don't greet each other by saying hello anymore.
They say (INAUDIBLE), which means "I'm glad you're safe." It's a poignant acknowledgment of what this community has gone through. A pat on the back, if you will, for having survived yet another terrible episode in this country's crisis-ridden history.
But the truce here is tenuous. We remain at the very beginning of a 60-day period when both sides are expected to carry out their commitments.
Lebanon, on the one hand, must ramp up the presence of its troops in the country's south to ensure that the area is free of Hezbollah's arms.
On the other hand, Israel must completely withdraw their forces from Lebanese territory. But this will be phased and in the meantime it will be dangerous.
But so far, officials see no reason to worry, and they see no serious threat to the ceasefire, at least not yet. But it is a bumpy road ahead. And meanwhile, all people really want is a return to normal life. Tamara Qiblawi, CNN -- Beirut.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: And joining me now is Imran Riza, the U.N. resident and humanitarian coordinator for Lebanon.
Thanks for being with us, sir.
The ceasefire in place despite some violations but nearly a million Lebanese have been displaced -- more than a million. It's an extraordinary number. It's a fifth -- a quarter of the population, a lot of them do not have homes to return to.
What -- what are the needs for those people now especially as winter approaches?
IMRAN RIZA, U.N. RESIDENT AND HUMANITARIAN COORDINATOR FOR LEBANON: Well, it's exactly that. We're very worried about the weather, the conditions changing. And what we have right now is actually a further level of complexity.
First thing I should say is that we are incredibly relieved after two months of an incredible escalation.
And I think you've seen what was happening in the last couple of weeks. There's been an amazing amount of destruction. Theres been an amazing amount of trauma. And over the last two days this has changed.
And as you -- your reporter was mentioning, people are jubilant, people are moving back trying to go back to their homes but their homes are not there in many cases.
There's something like over 60 villages in the south that the IDF has asked that people do not return to.
But as you've seen or as we are seeing right now, we've got probably 300 -- more than 300,000 people of the displaced that have already been moving in the last two days. They won't -- many of them won't be able to go back to their homes.
There's been a great deal of destruction and as you know, we're very, very happy about the cease fire. But we need to be very cautious. We know that we have a two-month period. We know that the parties have to do a lot in that time to try to make sure that there is confidence in this, that we are moving to the political sphere.
HOLMES: You touched on this and I want to -- I want to revisit it. You know the reports and there's video evidence as well because the media hasn't been able to get down there in the south yet. I'm sure they will.
But the video evidence of Israel having in some cases destroyed almost entire villages, massive damages to towns. What sort of picture are you getting about the level of damage done, particularly in the south of Lebanon? [01:34:53]
HOLMES: We've seen the bombs falling in Beirut a lot of them. But I mean, some of the damage in these villages seems complete.
RIZA: There's been a World Bank report that's just been issued recently, and it talks about 100,000 housing units either completely or partially destroyed.
We do know that a lot of villages actually have been flattened. Those that are close to the blue line.
So yes, we still need proper access. We need the proper assessment to take place. And as you can imagine that's been what we've been discussing over the last two days.
What do we do in terms of both trying to move towards recovery, but also trying to deal with the transit?
You were mentioning earlier the number of displaced. We have over 900,000 people that were displaced internally. We have an additional 500,000 that crossed the border. So that's 1.4 million people from a population of some five million, as you were saying before.
Now there are people that are in collective shelters. Some of them have moved out. There are people that are not, I mean, some 700,000. We were estimating were staying in empty apartments or with relatives or with friends or with other communities.
And now you have people that are on the move that don't necessarily have a place to go to. So the complexity of dealing with all these different groups who all have the same needs.
The needs are basic. They're about food. They're about health care. They're about shelter. They're about warmth. They're about fuel. So -- and they're very much about protection. People are very exposed in a -- in a situation like this.
HOLMES: Yes. And of course, we all know that Lebanon was in a dire state before this war. I was reading one group, the Project Hope Organization, which pointed out that for the -- for the sick and wounded, there is a desperate lack of medical supplies, medicine not just for wounds, but for chronic diseases, diabetes hypertension, cardiovascular issues, and so on.
What are the needs for people in Lebanon right now when it comes to things like that.
RIZA: Exactly what you're saying. We had pre-prepared to the extent we could have, but no one foresaw the level of escalation that basically happened from the 17th of September onwards. And then on the 23rd of September, the level of casualties that that we faced over here.
So all the trauma kits and the medications and all of that were used up extremely quickly. The health sector was under an incredible amount of pressure and one should really note how valiant the health sector has been here, because also at the same time, they were under attack. And we've spoken about it many times, the respect for international humanitarian law.
So at this point it's about replenishment. It's about getting more in because people do have these chronic needs. They are -- and this is expensive medication that's needed in a lot of cases.
The other day I was at a burn center, and you can imagine how reconstructive surgery, burn centers, those sorts of treatments -- these sophisticated treatments that are absolutely needed given the level of damage to the person that's happened.
And this is quite apart from I think, what, you know, everyone should understand, it's been a really traumatic experience for the population here and it continues.
So the psychosocial aspects of this are also extremely deep. And remember that how many children have been affected. In the last two months we estimate that three children a day were getting killed. So the impact of that is phenomenal.
HOLMES: Yes. Eloquently put. Lebanon was suffering before all of this, and now that's just been magnified. The needs are great.
Imran riza, thank you so much. Appreciate you joining us from Beirut.
RIZA: Thank you. Thanks.
Well protesters took to the streets in the republic of Georgia after its government put on hold its bid to join the European Union. Thousands of demonstrators clashing with police in the capital, Tbilisi on Thursday.
Earlier in the day, the ruling party suspending its accession talks with the E.U. for four years. The decision came hours after the European parliament condemned last month's parliamentary election, as neither free nor fair.
Georgia's ruling party claimed victory even though the opposition said that Moscow pulled the strings to rig the vote. Georgia's decision came after the E.U. had already suspended the accession talks, saying Georgia is backsliding on democratic reforms.
[01:39:52]
HOLMES: When we come back on the program, fears in Ghana that illegal gold mining is poisoning the water and devastating forests.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Silvia Pinal, a star of Mexico's stage and screen has died at the age of 93. Considered the last diva of Mexican cinema, Pinal enjoyed a six decade-long career that included playing a nun in Luis Bunuel's film "Viridiana". It won the Palm d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1961.
She gained fame as a leading actress in Mexico's golden age of cinema, appearing in 84 movies and 42 plays. She died surrounded by friends and family in a Mexico City hospital where she was being treated for an infection.
A Mexican cabinet minister called her contribution to Mexico's culture "unforgettable".
Now, gold prices have broken record after record this year, rising more than 30 percent in 2024. The west African nation of Ghana is the largest gold producer on the continent.
But alongside its legitimate mining industry, illegal small-scale mining is booming. Locals fear it is poisoning their water supply and devastating forests.
Reporting for CNN's "As Equals" series, Larry Madowo explores the potentially devastating impact of Ghana's gold rush.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The sound of the gold rush in Ghana, where a multi-billion-dollar industry gets around 40 percent of its gold production from small-scale mining.
But people here are raising the alarm over potentially devastating consequences.
This is the reality of the environmental catastrophe that is "galamsey" -- illegal gold mining. So much of the land is dug up and destroyed, hoping to strike gold. And this water makes its way right back into communities that have no alternative.
Locals, including female miners here in western Ghana fear the brown, murky water that now flows in these rivers is contaminated by the mining process. They believe it is poisoning them and their unborn children.
Do you drink that water?
DIANA AGYEIWAA, SAMREBOI, GHANA RESIDENT: No. Seriously, no. Because I fear for my life. I fear that if I give that water to her, she may die.
MADOWO: Diana Agyeiwaa says other mothers and babies in the community have been affected.
AGYEIWAA: I met one woman when she delivered the baby the nose was somehow half. I've seen a lot of deformities on babies.
[01:44:49]
MADOWO: Scientists in Ghana have begun studying the potential impact of illegal small-scale mining on maternal health. No definitive links have been found, but across the world, the impact of heavy metals such as mercury used in mining on maternal health have been documented by scientists.
When you measured the concentration of heavy metals within these fetuses, what did you find?
DR. LAWRENCE AGYEMANG, MEDICAL OFFICER, KOMFO ANOKYE TEACHING HOSPITAL: We found enormous numbers of these heavy metals including mercury, lead, arsenic, cadmium.
MADOWO: And what are the effect of the heavy metals on the actual fetuses.
AGYEMAN: Bad. We saw very bad presentations with babies with gross abnormalities like shrunken head.
MADOWO: The World Health Organization says exposure to mercury, even small amounts, may cause serious health problems and is a threat to development of the child.
But in Ghana, miners like Sara Akhuzaa (ph), who wears plastic in an attempt to protect herself say there's no other option to earn a living.
"I know very well that the chemicals can be very harmful, but we don't have a choice," she says. "We have to force and keep up with what we're doing.
When you get sick, you go to the hospital, get medication and then you come back and continue with work. Because when you stop, there is nothing for you to do."
And thanks to an increase in the price of gold, the economic benefits are clear.
How much was this gold you just bought?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 3,300.
MADOWO: That's about $200 U.S.. And it's very tiny.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
MADOWO: Where did you get it from?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, I got it from the galamsey.
MADOWO: Protests over the illegal mining have called out the harmful impact on the water supplies millions depend on. The government says it is working on solutions, including teaching safer mining practices, providing mercury-free processing machines and alternative livelihoods.
MARTIN AYISI, CEO, MINERALS COMMISSION OF GHANA: These are things that will not be, you know, achieved overnight.
MADOWO: The CEO of Ghana's Minerals Commission agrees there is a problem. AYISI: A lot of work has been done by our scientists. They've taken
samples from some of these water bodies and there's that report that yes, heavy metals are all over the place.
MADOWO: Ghana's military was deployed recently to shut down illegal mines but the task is immense. Mining used to legally take place in about five regions. It's now in about 13, he says.
AYISI: So it is part of our DNA. It's like coffee or tea in Kenya, and we've been mining all these years.
MADOWO: But the scientists leading the research into the impact on women and children told CNN Ghana faces an existential threat if illegal mining at this scale continues.
The extent of illegal gold mining in Ghana, or galamsey, as it's called, is so great that security services can't stop it. They are digging up almost everywhere, hoping to strike gold.
The environmental devastation speaks for itself. It's chilling. But the impact on maternal health, on women that is only starting to be studied now. But the early results are concerning to researchers, to scientists, and they say something has to be done urgently.
Larry Madowo, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Coming up, how a new aquatic robot powered by artificial intelligence could repair wind turbines out at sea.
You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. We'll be right back.
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HOLMES: French President Emmanuel Macron is set to tour Notre Dame Cathedral in a few hours. His visit coming one week before the historic building officially reopens, rising from the ashes after the devastating fire five years ago, which shook Parisians and the world.
CNN's Richard Quest visited Notre Dame in march to take a look at its $700 million restoration.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICHARD QUEST, CNN HOST: My God, look at the scaffolding. Merci, monsieur. "Zut alors" as they say. Did they have to put the roof back?
PHILIPPE JOST, PRESIDENT, REBUILDING NOTRE-DAME DE PARIS (through translator): The oak structure known as "La Foret" burned to the ground.
It is now rebuilt. We searched for thousands of oak trees in the forests of France. QUEST: How much technical skill had to go into it?
JOST: We had to find extraordinary skills and expertise but we found them.
QUEST: Really?
JOST: Because in France, we have an extensive heritage which we maintain. So, you have carpenters, stonemasons, sculptors
and these people work on all the monuments. In France, we didn't build such spire since 160 years.
QUEST: More people come to Notre Dame than the Eiffel Tower.
JOST: Notre Dame has a spirit that we don't find in -- it doesn't find in the monument as Eiffel Tower.
QUEST: All aboard.
JOST: And we're not just taking very important here. We have 2,250 companies and artists and 140 contracts.
QUEST: I've always been fascinated by logistics. People think it's boring, but it's logistics that make the whole thing work.
I think what really gets you as you see it is the size and scale and the fact that it's been done in, what, four years. It is an achievement to have done this. And it'll be the best part of a billion dollars.
As I understand it, none of the glass was actually broken. Is that correct?
JOST: None of the glass, it's correct. It's correct. We had a lot of luck because all big artistic works here were not damaged by the fire. Here we are --
QUEST: That's the spire.
JOST: -- just under the spire, you see. And to rebuild the spire, we had to build the scaffold which goes through the vault.
QUEST: What percentage of completion do you think you are at now?
JOST: Oh, I think we are at 85 or 90.
QUEST: Wow.
JOST: We have finished the roof, the spire, we are all (INAUDIBLE) --
QUEST: Cleaning.
JOST: Cleaning. We are -- we have cleaned all the inside, all this wood. We have cleaned the paintings in the chapel. You see that vault there, that vault. It was crushed. QUEST: That vault.
JOST: That vault there.
QUEST: Yes, yes, yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was crushed.
QUEST: So, it comes down.
JOST: It's important that if we cannot identify what has been rebuilt because it's the same stones and the same type of work. We see the respect we owe to the monument.
QUEST: You and I in our lifetime have seen projects like this taking 20 years.
JOST: After the fire, a lot of people said, you will need 20 years for rebuild this cathedral. President Macron said he spoke with General Georges Villa (ph) and they said, we will do it in five years for 2024.
And we are doing it. And we do it perfectly. Perfectly.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Now offshore wind turbines are a great source of sustainable energy, but these giant structures are often stationed way out at sea, in windy areas, with choppy waters, which makes maintenance a challenge.
[01:54:51]
HOLMES: Now, a team of robotics engineers may have created an A.I.- powered solution.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Off the shores of the United Kingdom, more than 2,600 wind turbines are generating power for millions of homes. But what if they need maintenance? Accessing them through the often turbulent north sea can be challenging.
This underwater robot is engineered to withstand these rough waters designed specifically to inspect and repair offshore wind farms.
YVAN PETILLOT, NATIONAL ROBOTARIUM ACADEMIC LEAD: We have a sonar here and that robot is able to navigate autonomously around structures and effectively build 3D models of the structure that can enable you to inspect them, to navigate around them, and to detect any defects in the structures.
HOLMES: These A.I.-powered robots are part of the Underwater Intervention for Offshore Renewable Energies Project. The robots create detailed 3D underwater maps, helping them navigate offshore structures and identify parts in need of maintenance. JONATAN SCHARFF WILLNERS, CEO FRONTIER ROBOTICS: Our artificial
intelligence is mainly a big autonomy engine that is analyzing the environment to see where should the robot go next to make -- collect good data about the environment and how to autonomously navigate between these different places, and also utilize the environment to its advantage.
HOLMES: Using data from its sensors and images from its camera, the robot stays operational even in the rough, dark waters of the North Sea.
WILLNERS: In places in the U.K. and especially in the North Sea, the visibility is usually very poor so that's when it really matters for the safety of the robot and for the safety of assets.
HOLMES: If this robot performs as expected, the project managers say it could deliver data insights in just three hours. Much faster than the current industry standard of three weeks.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Thanks for watching, everyone. I'm Michael Holmes. Thanks for spending part of your day with me.
CNN NEWSROOM continues with my friend and colleague Kim Brunhuber, next.
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