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APEC Summit Underway; Israel Identifies Two Deceased Hostages; King Charles Strips Brother Andrew of Titles and His Mansion; Heartbreak After Hurricane Melissa; Senators Leave Washington, D.C. With Food Aid Set To Expire; Airlines Call On Congress To Reopen Government; More Than 2,400 Charged Over Protests In Morocco. Aired 2- 3a ET

Aired October 31, 2025 - 02:00   ET

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

[02:00:00]

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KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN HOST: Welcome to all of you watching us around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is "CNN Newsroom."

After striking a trade war truce with the U.S., China's president takes center stage at a major economic summit as his U.S. counterpart is back to Washington.

From royalty to commoner. King Charles strips his brother's prince title and his mansion as Buckingham Palace tries to distance itself from the Epstein scandal.

And horror and heartbreak across parts of Jamaica. Still digging out from the devastation caused by Hurricane Melissa.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from Atlanta, this is "CNN Newsroom with Kim Brunhuber."

BRUNHUBER: China's president is taking center stage at this year's APEC summit. Xi Jinping was welcomed by South Korea's president, who's hosting the annual gathering of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. Heads of state and senior officials from 21 APEC member nations are attending. President Xi is expected to meet with Japan's new prime minister and Canada's prime minister in the coming hours. That's after he held talks with the U.S. president on Thursday.

Donald Trump says they came to an agreement on -- quote -- "almost everything," including tariffs and rare earth minerals," but President Trump chose to skip the APEC summit after wrapping up his whirlwind tour of Asia, instead sending U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to stand in for him during the discussions.

CNN's Mike Valerio is covering this live from Beijing. So, Mike, we were just mentioning President Trump there. Much of the spotlight has been on him for obvious reasons. But now, the attention is shifting to Xi Jinping. What do you have your eye on that APEC as we head into the weekend? MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're going to see if anybody

tries to join Xi in that spotlight, moving their focus from the United States closer to China. And to that end, Kim, I think that we're really looking to see how Chinese leader Xi Jinping tries to position himself as, from his point of view and China's point of view, a vanguard of free trade and somebody to provide more stability in this global trade environment.

We were saying in last hour, you got to think of this meeting more like an effort to try to stabilize the ship of global trade when we're talking about nations on both sides of the Pacific that represent more than half, more than half of global trade.

So, to that end, comments from Xi Jinping a little earlier in the morning where he says, in part, to the gathering -- quote -- "The world is undergoing rapid changes unseen in a century, and the international landscape is marked by both changes and turbulence, with rising instability and uncertainty affecting development in the Asia- Pacific region. The more turbulent the times are, the more we must stand together in solidarity."

So, you don't even really need to read between the lines with Xi Jinping trying to present himself as a counterforce of stability when we're looking at the United States.

I think, though, notably, Kim, when we're talking about Xi trying to present himself as a vanguard of free trade, the United States and myriad allies of the United States from the West would disagree with that point. When they try to have so many of their companies that are leading in technology, trying to establish a foothold in China, it often is quite difficult, from their point of view, to establish those footholds in China. A lot of subsidies are given by the Chinese government to their own domestic industries.

So, we're going to see if more nations start to come over to the Chinese side of the equation because the mood, certainly, based on our reporting at APEC in beautiful Gyeongju, South Korea, has moved from kind of a feeling of mutual cooperation to competition and how to deal with that competition acutely between China and the United States.

BRUNHUBER: So, that's an excellent look at the big picture. Let's get into some of the specifics. Mike, what should we be watching for in terms of concrete results?

VALERIO: You know, I think this is just becoming clearer over the wires with Prime Minister Mark Carney speaking to the gathering, where he said that he wants his non-U.S. exports to double over the next few years. So, when we were talking about who we're watching, maybe establishing a closer rapport with China, we certainly have our eyes on Canada, and there is a Carney-Xi bilat meeting on the sidelines of APEC that is supposed to be happening in the next hour.

[02:05:02]

So, after years of kind of strained ties, I shouldn't say kind of, certainly strained ties in many respects between Canada and China, that certainly will be interesting to watch, in addition to how are these countries going to shore up their supply chains.

There are aging, aging populations among the nations of the Asia- Pacific rim. Can they think of any policies to deal with that, and especially with A.I. potentially taking away a whole multitude of jobs? Are there any areas that all 21 of these nations can agree upon to try to figure out how to live with A.I. in a healthy economic way going forward, Kim?

BRUNHUBER: We'll be watching. Thanks so much for that. Mike Valerio in Beijing, I appreciate it.

VALERIO: No problem. Thanks, Kim.

BRUNHUBER: Israel has identified two deceased hostages from Gaza that Hamas returned on Thursday. Twenty-five-year old Sahar Baruch lost two family members in the October 7th attack and was later killed during a failed rescue attempt in Gaza, and 84-year-old Amiram Cooper was reportedly killed in captivity last year.

CNN's Jeremy Diamond reports the handover is the strongest sign yet that the ceasefire is still alive.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Hamas has now returned the remains of what it says are two deceased Israeli hostages. Those two bodies were transferred to the Red Cross, and from there brought to Israeli forces inside of Gaza. That would mean that the number of deceased hostages still in Gaza would come down from 13 to 11, still outstanding, still unaccounted for at this stage.

This would be the clearest indication yet that this ceasefire agreement between the two parties is indeed now back on track after we saw two days ago Israel accusing Hamas of multiple violations of the ceasefire and choosing to carry out very punishing strikes across Gaza. As a result, those strikes killed more than 100 Palestinians, nearly half of whom were children, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

In the wake of those strikes, we've seen both Israel and Hamas say that they are committed to the ceasefire agreement and that it is back in place. But this handover of additional remains of deceased hostages is critical to ensuring that this ceasefire remains in effect, and it is the best sign yet that the ceasefire is back on track although we know, of course, that the road ahead will still likely be bumpy. But for the time being, a ceasefire back in place.

Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Well, for many Palestinians, the ceasefire is a matter of seeing is believing. More than two million have been displaced by the war in Gaza, often living in camp cities like this one. This past Tuesday, when Israel's strikes reportedly killed more than 100 people, that was the deadliest day since the ceasefire began. Some Palestinians don't have much faith the truce will hold. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FATHI AL-NAJJAR, DISPLACED GAZA RESIDENT (through translator): We're scared that another war will break out because we don't want a war. We've suffered two years of displacement. We don't know where to go, where to come. My God, I didn't sleep all night. I heard the planes bombing. Every time they bomb, there are hundreds of martyrs. Nobody is looking for us. The whole world is watching us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: My next guest is the author of the book, "How Long Will Israel Survive? The Threat from Within." Gregg Carlstrom is a Middle East correspondent for The Economist. He joins us from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Thank you so much for being here with us. I really appreciate it. So, we just heard there, Palestinian skepticism about the ceasefire, which has already had several close calls. What does that tell us about how fragile this whole arrangement really is?

GREGG CARLSTROM, MIDDLE EAST CORRESPONDENT, THE ECONOMIST: I think we've seen how fragile it is this month. I think what worries me is not that the deal will collapse in the coming days or the coming weeks. I think the dynamics are such that both Israel and Hamas will largely abide by the agreement.

Hamas will test it as it has done by carrying out several attacks on Israeli troops, but they don't want it to collapse altogether, they don't want the war to resume. And I think for Israel, so long as there is continued American pressure from the Trump administration, no matter how much Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition partners might want to resume the war, I don't think they can defy the Trump administration.

But I think the concern is more about what happens in, say, three months' time if there hasn't been progress on disarming Hamas, if there hasn't been progress on standing up a peacekeeping force for Gaza. Do we see an all-out presumption of the war or do we see, which I think is more plausible, that the status quo becomes entrenched, that Israel doesn't withdraw further from Gaza, and that you end up in this situation where it's not a full-fledged return to war, but it's also not really the sort of durable peace that President Trump was talking up earlier this month?

BRUNHUBER: Yeah, that's right.

[02:10:00]

I mean, phase two is definitely where all the really tough stuff happens, and we could be stuck basically in phase one indefinitely, as you suggest. On the Trump plan of an international stabilization force, you told CNN in an interview, I think, a week ago or so, you were skeptical Arab states would be willing to play a major role. Now, we're hearing Indonesia. Azerbaijan might join. But are countries actually willing, do you think, to put boots on the ground to enforce Hamas disarmament, for example? I mean, it seems like an impossible job. CARLSTROM: It does. I mean, there have been a lot of talks about this with countries across the broader region. But there are still two big unresolved issues. Who's going to join the force, and then what is the force actually going to do in Gaza?

I think on the first question, there are these vague expressions of interest from Indonesia, from Azerbaijan. But I think for the legitimacy of this force, you really want to have an Arab component to it that will make it look more legitimate for Palestinians in Gaza. And there still is great skepticism from Arab countries. I think they might be willing to help train a Palestinian police force outside of Gaza.

But sending boots on the ground, as you say, that's a very different question. And why are they skeptical about doing that? It's because of the second issue of the mandate of the force. The Israelis would prefer a peacekeeping force that's going to go into Gaza and actually work to disarm Hamas on the ground. But doing that is going to be very unpopular with domestic constituencies across the Arab world.

So, I think there's a possibility that we end up with, you know, some sort of force is stood up, but rather than going into Gaza and policing the streets of Gaza and trying to disarm Hamas, it ends up deployed along the borders of Gaza, monitoring the ceasefire, and leaving the question of disarmament for someone else to resolve.

BRUNHUBER: Yeah. The Trump administration is trying to throw everything at keeping this ceasefire alive, sending in the joint chiefs, establishing a military coordination center. You talked about that big if, if Trump continues to pressure Netanyahu. But if Washington can't get Netanyahu and Hamas to move forward -- I mean, what happens when President Trump loses patience?

CARLSTROM: We don't know yet. We don't know when that's going to happen. We don't know if that's going to happen. It would be quite a shift from, you know, talking about eternal peace in the region in early October to allowing Israel to resume the war perhaps a few months later. That's a big policy shift for the administration to make.

I think what's likely to happen between now and then is when it comes to the question of disarming Hamas, I think both Washington and countries in the region are going to try and use the issue of reconstruction as leverage over Hamas. The needs in Gaza are enormous. The World Bank says $53 billion needed to rebuild the territory. That money has to come from donor countries outside. But they've been very, very clear throughout the war, they don't want to invest if there's a possibility that the war is going to resume in a few months or a few years. They don't want to see their investments blown up.

So, the thinking certainly for many Arab foreign ministries is that they want to present Hamas with a choice. They want to say either you relinquish your weapons or there's no reconstruction in Gaza. Choose between the two. You can keep your arms or you can have Gaza rebuilt. You can't have both, and that is perhaps powerful leverage of the group. BRUNHUBER: Yeah. We'll have to leave it there. Really appreciate, as always, getting your analysis. Gregg Carlstrom, thanks so much.

King Charles says he's stripping his own brother, Andrew, of his royal titles and evicting him from the Windsor royal estate. Now, this comes as Buckingham Palace attempts to distance itself from the ongoing scandal over Andrew's ties to late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and recently published allegations from a posthumous memory by Virginia Giuffre. She worked for Epstein, and her book accuses Andrew of sexually assaulting her as a teenager. The king's brother has repeatedly denied these accusations.

We'll get details from CNN's Max Foster. But first, here's some reaction from London.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARRY HUMPHRIES, CONTENT CREATOR: Is this what we represent? Is this what the people represent? No, it's a disgrace. So, I'm happy he's got stripped of his titles, his royal titles as well.

CHARLIE CARTER, SENIOR RECRUITMENT CONSULTANT: We all saw it coming, to be honest. As soon as the first thing came out, we all knew immediately something is wrong, just by the way that he got removed from all the royal duties, all of the lists and everything that was conveniently mentioned and got covered up. What we're hearing, just the way that he's unpaying rent and all these sorts of different things that we hear, it's sort of -- it's a bit of an embarrassment, to be honest, on the nation, on the country, everyone in general. This is a member of our royal family, these are our leaders.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MAX FOSTER, CNN LONDON CORRESPONDENT: He has been evicted from his mansion. He has effectively been evicted from the monarchy. King Charles has stripped his younger brother, Andrew, of all his titles officially now, including that of "prince."

[02:15:02]

He's now just a plain "mister." He has been told to pack up his boxes at his royal lodge mansion on the Windsor estate. He has been offered a home on the king's private Sandringham estate. And I'm told that he will be looked after there. So, he's clearly going to receive some sort of income. Andrew was living with his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, in Windsor. I'm told by sources she'll have to make her own arrangements.

Sources at Buckingham Palace pointing out to me that Andrew still is the king's brother. But the king is aware of the serious lapses of judgment that his brother made in relation to his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, the late pedophile, and accusations that Epstein trafficked young girls to a series of men, including Prince Andrew.

The king and queen making it clear in a statement that they wish to make clear that their thoughts and utmost sympathies have been and will remain with the victims and survivors of any and all forms of abuse.

Virginia Giuffre, who was Prince Andrew's main accuser, is no longer with us. She passed away. She committed suicide some months ago. But a family issued a statement saying, "Today, an ordinary American girl from an ordinary American family brought down a British prince with her truth and extraordinary courage. Today, she declares victory."

Prince Andrew has always denied any wrongdoing. And he still does have some remnants of privilege because he still remains eighth in line to the British throne, something for the British public and British politicians to consider about how they want to handle this next.

Max Foster, CNN, Buckingham Palace, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Hurricane Melissa heads for Bermuda, leaving a path of destruction in its wake. Still ahead, we'll take you to Jamaica where the storm flattened buildings and blocked roads. Plus, families in Rio de Janeiro line up outside a morgue to identify loved ones. Just ahead, what officials are saying about the police raid that left dozens dead. Those stories and more coming up. Please, stay with us.

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[02:20:00]

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BRUNHUBER: Ukraine is assessing the damage from a fresh barrage of Russian attacks over the past 24 hours. The Ukrainian Air Force says Russia launched more than 50 missiles and more than 650 drones. The attacks killed at least three people and caused significant damage to Ukraine's energy infrastructure with the cold winter months fast approaching.

Earlier, Ukraine's president said a Russian strike hit a thermal power plant near the front lines in the eastern city of Sloviansk. Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned what he called violent attacks on civilian life.

And another troubling incident in the skies above Europe. Poland's military says it intercepted a Russian reconnaissance plane over the Baltic Sea on Thursday. That's the second such incident this week. The Polish Air Force says the Russian aircraft was in international airspace with its transponder turned off and didn't violate Poland's airspace before Polish jets escorted it out of the area. Countries on NATO's eastern flank have been on high alert since September when Russian jets violated both Estonian and Polish airspace in just a matter of days.

Hurricane Melissa is now impacting Bermuda as a Category 1 storm. It's expected to bring heavy rain and gusty winds as it rushes just west of the island and then continues to barrel northwards. The storm left destruction across eastern Cuba. Seven hundred and thirty-five thousand people were moved to shelters ahead of the hurricane in Santiago de Cuba. Residents returned to sweep waters from their homes and repaired collapsed roofs.

But it was Jamaica that was hardest hit by the storm. Homes were flattened and roads blocked by debris. Jamaican authorities are now racing to clear the way and deliver aid to trapped communities. Journalist Jonathan Petramala shows us the plight of the country's third biggest hospital.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JONATHAN PETRAMALA, JOURNALIST: So, again, everything here is destroyed, damaged, it's gone. They're using a car to patch up and bandage up an injury. Now, that's one thing that the hospital here in Black River says has not come quite yet because there are so many roads that are blocked. It's so difficult to get here.

They know that in the community, in this parish, in the surrounding area, that there are going to be a lot of injuries, but they just haven't been able to make it into the hospital yet to get treatment. And so, they're preparing the best they can, but they have nothing here, and by nothing, I mean no food, no water, no electricity.

This is the generator that went out. All the electrical components that the generator needs to energize the hospital was destroyed. This was the backup plan. This was what was going to run the electricity and the water. They expected to have at least 72 hours of fresh water. But at this point, they have no hours of fresh water and it's two days on past the hurricane.

So, the desperation continues to raise with every hour that passes. Now, they do have helicopters flying in right across the street from the hospital. They're bringing supplies to here in Black River, and then they're taking patients away.

But this is such a critical hospital for this area. According to administrators here, around 180,000 people or so that they manage and assist in this whole area in this region.

[02:25:00]

The third largest in the country of Jamaica. And it is crippled from the force of Hurricane Melissa that blew on shore right over the top of this hospital, taking with it all the roofs, destroying the seawall, bringing water in. And now, the staff is doing what good hospital staffs do, making it work, making miracles happen, sometimes from the back of a hatchback car like this in Black River, Jamaica.

I'm Jonathan Petramala for CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: A torrential downpour in New York has left one person dead and another clinging to life. City official tells CNN that firefighters arrived at a building in Brooklyn and found a person who they think was electrocuted. The victim couldn't be saved. The official also said divers responded to another Brooklyn home and found a person inside their basement. The victim was in cardiac arrest and taken to a nearby hospital in critical condition.

All right, still to come, as the shutdown continues in Washington, airlines are calling on Congress to reopen the government. We'll share their reason next. Plus, senators skip town as the government shutdown stretches on and food banks are seeing a spike in demand as millions of Americans are set to lose key benefits very soon. Those stories and more coming up. Stay with us.

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[02:31:13]

KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to all of you watching us around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN NEWSROOM.

Thirty-one days into the U.S. government shutdown, the second longest ever, and there's no end in sight. President Trump is urging Senate Republicans to break the stalemate by eliminating the filibuster. The 60-vote threshold needed for passing legislation that would be an unprecedented move. And many Republicans have opposed the idea in the past.

Senators have left Washington for the weekend, though the top Senate Republican says he expects some members to keep talking. While lawmakers are back home, many of their constituents will lose access to the federal program for food aid, known as SNAP benefits. A federal judge has indicated she'll intervene over the Trump administration's decision to not tap into billions of dollars in emergency funds for the food program.

Meanwhile, food pantries are working overtime as the expiration deadline looms for America's largest food assistance program.

Our Danny Freeman has more.

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DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, the impacts of these impending SNAP disruptions have been felt very fast. And also, they've been very stressful for at least this community here outside of Philadelphia. We spent the afternoon at loaves and fishes food pantry. It's a food pantry in Delaware County, Delco.

And we saw firsthand just a number of people come up here to take advantage of the food distribution on Thursday afternoon, specifically because they feared those snap benefits running out when the new month began.

Now, we actually spoke to the pastor who runs the food pantry, who's the director of the food pantry, and he said that here they've seen a 30 percent increase in the number of families who have been trying to get that extra support. He also said that because of this fast increase in people who need these resources, he's had trouble stocking the pantry entirely in terms of what they're used to. One of the other things, the pastor who runs this food pantry also

noted, which was really striking, was that he has not felt this type of pressure really, since the pandemic. And the big difference with the pandemic was there was federal and government help coming to the rescue in that particular time. And of course, federal government assistance leaving this moment is really leading to this surge in need here at this food pantry.

Now, I want you to take a listen to two residents that we spoke with who really describe that fear and that emotion. And I'll note that the first woman you're going to hear from, she also has four children.

KLOE MCGEE, DELAWARE COUNTY RESIDENT: It's a lot. It's just like a piece of your livelihood getting taken away. Granted, I don't want to be on SNAP benefits the rest of my life, but it has carried us over this far. So yes, it's a big impact.

PAMELA KELLY, DELAWARE COUNTY RESIDENT: We don't know what we do. But just been praying to God that these politicians would make up their minds, whether its Republican or Democrat, but need to come together and fix these issues.

FREEMAN: Yeah, it seems like its for you. Its less about even one side or the other. Its like, please, both of you come because this is not sustainable.

KELLY: Exactly.

FREEMAN: Now, according to the Pennsylvania governor, Josh Shapiro, nearly 2 million Pennsylvanians rely on SNAP benefits at the moment, 713,000 children and nearly 700,000 older adults. Again, all of that really on display on Thursday afternoon at this food pantry behind me.

Danny Freeman, CNN, Delaware County, Pennsylvania.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: So, as the shutdown continues in Washington, airlines are now calling on Congress to reopen the government. This comes as air traffic controllers and TSA agents have been working without pay, leading to delays in flights due to people calling in sick.

CNN's aviation correspondent Pete Muntean has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: With just a few weeks until what could be the busiest Thanksgiving air travel period ever, airlines are now pleading with Congress to pass a continuing resolution to reopen the government, so air traffic controllers and TSA agents can get paid.

[02:35:00]

Immediately after a White House roundtable with Vice President J.D. Vance and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby says it is time to pass a clean C.R.

Delta Airlines is also calling for a continuing resolution, saying in a new statement to immediately pass a clean continuing resolution to reopen the government so that our air traffic controllers, TSA and CBP officers charged with the safety and efficiency of our national airspace can collect the paychecks they deserve. The statement continued, "Missed paychecks only increases the stress on these essential workers, many of whom are already working mandatory overtime to keep our skies safe and secure."

Thursday was a tough day for air travel, with bad weather on the East Coast and delays crept into the thousands. The FAA reported air traffic control, staffing shortages at control towers at Dallas-Fort Worth international airport in Texas and Reagan national airport outside Washington, D.C., and delayed flights to keep things moving safely.

Pete Muntean. CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Youth-led protests have been erupting across the world, and thousands of Gen Z protesters are facing charges in Morocco. We'll hear from an expert about this growing phenomenon.

Please stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:40:59]

BRUNHUBER: Families in Rio de Janeiro lined up outside a morgue Thursday to identify loved ones killed in a police raid. At least 132 people died in the Tuesday raid aimed at organized crime, the state governor says. Police confiscated a large quantity of drugs, as well as several firearms.

Funerals for four Brazilian police officers killed in the raids began Thursday. Officials say drones were used to target police during the raid. More than 80 people were arrested. Police raids are common in Rio ahead of international events. Rios hosting a major climate conference next week, authorities posted on social media that the raid was to stop expansion of a criminal group.

Protests led by young people or Gen Z have been erupting around the world. In Morocco, the youth led movement called Gen Z212 has mobilized thousands. More than 2,400 people are facing charges over recent anti-government protests that turned violent. Three people were killed, many others were injured, and shops and cars were damaged.

In Madagascar, the military grabbed power this month after the president was forced to flee the country as youth led protests escalated. And there have been several youth-led protests across Africa, which has the world's youngest population, including in Kenya and Bangladesh and in Uganda.

Hanan Salah is the associate director in the Middle East and North Africa at Human Rights Watch.

Thank you so much for joining us on this. Really appreciate it.

So, as I mentioned, we're seeing thousands of young Moroccan protesters who are now facing charges after demonstrations this past month. You've been tracking this closely. What are the conditions like for these protesters who have been detained? Are we talking about fines, jail time or something more serious?

HANAN SALAH, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, MIDDLE EAST & NORTH AFRICA, HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH: Thank you so much for having me. I think what's been incredible in -- to see in the last few weeks in Morocco is how heavy handed the authorities have really gone against youth protesters, protesters who called for peaceful protests.

And now, as your report rightly says, there are hundreds who are facing charges. At least 1000 remain detained and including and, many, many hundreds are now facing charges including children. According to the Moroccan Association for Human Rights, at least 330 children are among those facing charges.

Now, they are facing charges for different things, including posting on Facebook or other social media platforms, you know, supporting those protests. And some are facing heavier charges, given some acts of violence that have occurred. And so, we really see a very massive clampdown on freedom of speech and assembly by the authorities in Morocco.

BRUNHUBER: Yeah, as you say. I mean, some of these are children, you know, people with no political experience. Some of them are calling their moms when they get arrested. I mean, these protesters, as I mentioned, are calling themselves Gen Z212.

So, explain that for us. Who are they exactly?

SALAH: So, this is a grassroots movement really, that started, in the social media. The people who started this remain anonymous. So, they haven't declared who they are.

But what we have seen is really there is a very, very big support among Morocco's youth and Morocco's youth are the ones who are really calling for social change, much like the other Generation Z protests that we have seen around the world. You name some Madagascar, Nepal, Kenya, Peru being some of them. They are really calling for social justice.

And the calls in Morocco are the demands of those protesters have been very streamlined and very basic. They want basic health care. They want quality education. They want an end to corruption. They want social protection, adequate social protection.

And so, you know, we have seen a very, very large number of them being very, very young people, men, women, girls, boys who are out on the street calling for these, you know, very, very basic things, which, you know, I would like to remind these are rights.

[02:45:15]

It's not a luxury to demand health care. It's not a luxury to demand education. It's not a luxury to say, I want social protection for me and my elderly -- and my elderly grandmother. And so, we have -- we have we have really seen how this movement has been a nationwide movement that has gripped this country.

BRUNHUBER: Uh-huh. And as I mentioned earlier, I mean, it is -- these Gen Z protests are taking place around the world, and in some countries it's had real world effects. I mean, just this year, we've seen governments fall in Nepal, Mongolia, Madagascar.

I mean, could this lead to similar changes in Morocco, or do you expect the level of repression to just worsen?

SALAH: So, the repression has been there in Morocco for a long time. It's a known playbook that the government simply pulls out every time there is a protest. This is not the first protest this year demanding social justice. Initially, the demands were for adequate health care, adequate education and end to corruption.

But we have seen throughout the protests that the protesters are now after this extreme repression and violence used by the authorities, particularly by the police, by the royal gendarmerie, by those special forces, including the use of lethal force. We have seen that three people were killed and the authorities have yet to announce, you know, a proper investigation into these killings.

We have seen awful acts of violence, like the ramming with police vans of multiple protesters that have left people seriously injured, possibly for life. And we have not seen the authorities really respond adequately with an investigation to those. What we have seen more lately after these acts of violence really started and after the police and the authorities responded with such extreme violence, we have seen that protesters are now demanding a change in government.

I think there are a few key things that the government really needs to tackle very, very urgently. One is the is the very prompt release of anyone who is detained merely for peacefully expressing their opinion and exonerating of any charges related to the peaceful protest, their right to peaceful protest.

Those people need to be released immediately. The government also needs to urgently conduct transparent investigation into these acts of violence by their own security forces, including the killing of three -- three men, and other very serious acts of violence. And the other thing that they need to do is what Human Rights Watch has been calling for, is for the authorities really to engage with those demands.

These demands are very simple. People are asking for health care. They're asking for adequate social protection, meaning Social Security. They're asking for good quality education. They're asking for a chance for a job. About a third of Morocco's youth are unemployed and it's definitely driving those people out on the street.

BRUNHUBER: Yeah. SALAH: I think these are those very, very initial things that the government can do and should do to avoid further, you know, further acts of violence from happening.

BRUNHUBER: Yeah. It's important to continue to track these protests. The reaction that we're seeing, the fallout as well.

Really appreciate getting your expertise on this. Hanan Salah, thank you so much.

SALAH: Thank you very much.

BRUNHUBER: For businesses, the shift to remote work has opened a world of talent. But the challenge of equipping a global team with the necessary tech remains a logistical mountain, especially in emerging markets.

In Nigeria, I.T. firm Rayda is looking to tackle that issue by building better systems around the world.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OGOCHUKWU FRANCIS OSIFO, RAYDA CO-FOUNDER AND CEO: It almost feels like magic, you come on a platform with a few clicks and three days later, an employee in a foreign country has the equipment, they need to work.

Rayda started actually about two and a half years ago. I was the co- founder and CTO of my previous company called 54gene. I had an employee joining the business in Kenya, and I tried shipping a computer from Nigeria to Kenya, and the computer got stuck in customs for two months.

Obviously, it was not a great experience for the employee or for the business. That led me to start asking, how do other companies, both in Africa or across the world, solve this very problem?

[02:50:03]

When I eventually left 54gene, that problem led me to co-founding Rayda. Rayda enables global companies with employees across 170 countries to equip, manage, store and recycle I.T. equipments for their global teams.

BABATUNDE VAUGHAN, RAYDA HEAD OF GLOBAL PARTNERSHIPS: Every time a new company needs to make a new hire, one of the things they're looking at is how do you make sure that you empower this individual for success? And that has to do with getting them the right equipment right before they resume, and making sure that they have all the resources from head side to accessories. We make that happen by the partners that we have across the globe. We have about 70 partners right now.

OSIFO: When the employees leave, we actually enable collection of those equipments. We do proper wiping of those data, and we ensure that the devices are properly recycled or reused because again, we are seeing a growing challenge of e-waste across Africa as well and across emerging markets in general.

What makes us different is in how we approach the problem. Today, a lot of our global competitors ship internationally. That makes it very expensive because again, it has to go through the same customs. We are trying to avoid that by building local vendor networks and relationships in-country.

Our goal really is that we want to make companies that have I.T. teams superhuman. We want to make them look good 100 percent of the time.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: We'll be back after a short break

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BRUNHUBER: Well, it is Friday in Toronto, and later tonight the city could be celebrating its first world series championship in 32 years. The Toronto Blue Jays have a 3-2 lead in the Fall Classic against the reigning champion Los Angeles Dodgers. They stunned L.A. in two straight games with strong pitchers and powerful hitting, led by Vlad Guerrero Jr.

Now, the Jays have two games at home on Friday and Saturday to close it out, but they'll be facing the might of the reigning champions. Shohei Ohtani has eight home runs in the postseason and his compatriot, pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, has been lights out during the Dodgers' run to the World Series.

Well, it's Halloween on Friday, but the spooky celebration kicked off a bit early at the White House. Have a look.

President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump handed out candy to children on Thursday. The first lady's office says the children were members of the military and law enforcement families, as well as kids of administrative staff, and one child did show up dressed as the president.

[02:55:11]

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)

BRUNHUBER: The fifth and final series of "Stranger Things" drops November 26th. It will wrap up with an episode on Christmas day and the finale on New Year's Eve. And if that's not enough, another spooky trailer dropped this Halloween eve.

Have a look.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)

BRUNHUBER: Well, "Scream 7" reunites stars Neve Campbell and Courteney Cox. The plot involves Campbell's Sidney, who's built a new life for herself and her daughter. But no surprise it does not go well. The movie hits theaters in late February. Now, humans aren't the only ones enjoying Halloween. The fall holiday

also includes pumpkins, and for animals around the world, that means it's time for some squished treats of the squash variety.

CNN's Polo Sandoval has more.

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POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's trick or treat time at zoos and animal sanctuaries around the world, and pumpkins are the prized snack. The gourds are downed in one big gulp by these hippos at the San Antonio Zoo. But it's a slow crush at the Oregon zoo, with elephants using their powerful feet to crack open the pumpkins.

It was part of an annual event called the squishing of the squash. It attracts visitors to the zoo each year. The donated pumpkins can weigh hundreds of kilograms too much for eight-month-old Tula-Tu, who prefer to show off some tricks rather than eat her treat.

Bears at a sanctuary in Kosovo also enjoyed their seasonal eats, but they had to work for their meals. Sanctuary workers say they hit the pumpkins so that the bears could forage for food the way they would in the wild.

TAULANT HOXHA, SANCTUARY SPOKESPERSON: Now it's autumn. The season of chestnuts and pumpkins, but at the same time, we've also decorated these pumpkins to match the Halloween celebration atmosphere.

So the idea is to make it interesting for the animals and to make them more active. You can see how they run after the pumpkins, their seeds and the fresh chestnuts.

SANDOVAL (voice-over): Visitors say it was a delight to watch the bears getting a taste of the season.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm very lucky to have come today because we saw the bears having the special ceremony with pumpkins.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We really liked what we saw. We loved the landscape. We loved the bears.

SANDOVAL: No costumes, nothing scary, just full bellied fun. And the hopes of bigger pumpkins to come, maybe next year for little Tula-Tu in Oregon.

Polo Sandoval, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: That wraps this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Kim Brunhuber. I'll be back in just a moment with more news.