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CNN Investigates Evidence on the Killing of Protesters by Tanzanian Police; Delegates Scrambling for a Deal to End Fossil Fuel as COP30 in Brazil Draws to a Close. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired November 21, 2025 - 03:00   ET

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

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

New details of the U.S. peace plan to end the war in Ukraine. We'll share what we're learning about the proposal.

The COP30's climate conference is coming to an end. Delegates haven't agreed to a deal yet.

And exploring the Holy Grail of shipwrecks, the treasures being recovered from the 300-year-old Spanish vessel.

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

BRUNHUBER: We can now tell you the details of a draft U.S. peace proposal for Ukraine which the White House has so far kept under wraps. CNN has obtained the 28-point draft which calls for major territorial concessions by Kyiv.

They include the recognition of the Crimea, Donetsk, and Luhansk regions as de facto Russian, the current front lines in the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions would be frozen. Ukraine would also have to stay out of NATO and limit its military to 600,000 troops. It would be required to hold new elections within 100 days, in return, it would receive security guarantees.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he's ready to work on the provisions of the plan, but his deputy ambassador dismissed it as a non-starter. Here she is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KHRYSTYNA HAYOVYSHYN, DEPUTY UKRAINIAN AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS: Our red lines are clear and unwavering. There will never be any recognition, formal or otherwise, of Ukrainian territory temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation as Russian. Our land is not for sale. Ukraine will not accept any limits on its right to self-defense or on

the size and capabilities of our armed forces. Nor will we tolerate any infringement on our sovereignty, including our sovereign right to choose the alliances we want to join.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: We're now getting reaction directly from Ukraine to the proposed draft peace plan. In the past hour, I spoke with Oleksandr Merezhko, the chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee at Ukraine's parliament, and he described the U.S. proposal as dead in the water. Here he is.

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OLEKSANDR MEREZHKO, CHARIMAN, UKRAINIAN PARLIAMENT'S FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE: I have read this text, the 28 points, and, you know, the first reaction was the first instinct was it's not serious. It's kind of fake because it's a contradictory plan.

It's full of controversies. It's absolutely illiterate from a legal, technical point of view. It's written as if there is no international law, no U.N. charter, let alone the constitution of Ukraine.

And of course, it contains absolutely unacceptable points which cross red lines of Ukraine. We're talking about our territorial integrity. We're talking about our sovereignty.

So this is a typical case of appeasement of the aggressor. Instead of this plan, which consists of 28 points, we need just three points based firmly on the U.N. charter and principles of international law.

The first point is to stop Russian aggression using all possible means. Second point, to provide with the necessary aid the victim of the aggression. And final point, to punish the aggressor.

This should be the peace plan proposed by the United States and by anyone who is really interested in stopping Russian aggression and saving lives.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Russia's state media reported a short while ago that Moscow hasn't yet been informed that Zelenskyy is ready to discuss the plan. Now, this is happening as Russia faces accusations that it's turning up the pressure on Ukraine's allies in the West.

Clare Sebastian has the details.

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CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Russia's provocations against the West are becoming bolder. A deadly drone and missile attack on Western Ukraine causing NATO to deploy jets, a Russian spy ship in British waters, a Polish rail track funneling aid to Ukraine attacked.

UNKNOWN: The intention was clearly to kill Polish citizens.

SEBASTIAN: Russia is escalating far beyond the front lines. Cruise missiles hitting residential buildings Wednesday killing more than two dozen people and causing Poland and Romania to scramble jets. This Russian intelligence ship sailed to the edge of British waters this week, the U.K. says, and directed lasers at air force pilots sent to track it.

JOHN HEALY, BRITISH DEFENSE SECRETARY: So my message to Russia and to Putin is this. We see you. We know what you're doing.

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SEBASTIAN (voice-over): The Kremlin refused to comment and says it had nothing to do with the Polish train line attack. But why now? Why hasn't recent U.S. pressure, the shelving of a planned leaders summit in Budapest, sanctions on Russia's oil giants, Ukraine openly using U.S. made ATACMS missiles on Russia this week? Why hasn't all that deterred Moscow?

Well perhaps Russia wants to show what it's capable of before international pressure steps up again. But U.S. and Russian sources told CNN this week that high-level talks have continued behind the scenes, keeping Russian hopes of improved bilateral relations alive. And perhaps giving Moscow the confidence it can still persuade the U.S. the war will end quickest in Russia's terms.

Clare Sebastian, CNN, London.

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BRUNHUBER: U.S. President Donald Trump is facing major backlash after accusing some Democrats of seditious behavior punishable by death. Now, those are his own words from his Truth Social post. He's attacking a group of Democratic lawmakers for releasing a video

urging military members and intelligence officials to disobey illegal orders. He says those lawmakers should be arrested and put on trial.

But the White House is now trying to walk back the president's comments. Listen to this.

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REPORTER: Just to be clear, does the President want to execute members of Congress?

KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: No. Let's be clear about what the President is responding to, because many in this room want to talk about the President's response, but not what brought the President to responding in this way.

You have sitting members of the United States Congress who conspired together to orchestrate a video message to members of the United States military, to active duty service members, to members of the national security apparatus, encouraging them to defy the President's lawful orders. (END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Despite what the press secretary said there, the lawmakers specifically spoke about illegal orders. In fact, members of the military are required to refuse unlawful orders. The six Democratic lawmakers in the video have served in the military and intelligence community.

They're vowing they won't be intimidated and urge people to condemn President Trump's remarks. Democratic leader Chuck Schumer labeled his comments an outright threat. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY), U.S. SENATE MINORITY LEADER: I have asked the Capitol Police to give special protection and keep an eye on Slotkin and Kelly as well, because you've got to worry after the President says these things.

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BRUNHUBER: A federal judge has ruled President Trump's deployment of National Guard troops to the nation's capital is illegal. The district judge says the Trump administration exceeded the bounds of their authority in sending the troops to Washington and acted contrary to the law when they deployed the D.C. National Guard for non-military crime deterrence missions in the absence of a request from the city's civil authorities.

Washington's Attorney General sued the Trump administration in early September over the deployment. The White House is responding to Thursday's rulings and quote, "President Trump is well within his lawful authority to deploy the National Guard in Washington D.C. to protect federal assets and assist law enforcement."

The judge delayed an order that would require the troops to leave and give the Trump administration 21 days to file an appeal.

Alright, still ahead, CNN exclusive investigation. Thousands filled the streets of Tanzania after a disputed election in October, now CNN has found evidence the police killed protesters. Stay with us.

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BRUNHUBER: A CNN exclusive investigation has found evidence that Tanzanian police killed protesters in the aftermath of a disputed election. Tanzania's general election at the end of October was the trigger for a week-long protest that rocked the country.

CNN's Larry Madowo has more on this exclusive investigation, he joins me now live from Johannesburg. Larry, excellent reporting on this but a really disturbing story. Walk us through. LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kim, President Samia Suluhu Hassan claims to have won the Tanzanian election with 98 percent of the vote, but many in the country say there was no election. In the weeks leading up to the election itself, many prominent critics, opposition leaders were imprisoned, disappeared, abducted, and the main opposition leader of the Chadema party, he was barred from running, is in prison, charged with treason. His party was not involved in this campaign.

Election day itself quickly degenerated into violence with police quickly breaking up brutally any of the protesters on the streets across the country. And then as evening wore on, they declared a curfew, shut down the internet, gagged the media, and this continued for nearly a week.

It's only after the election was resolved, the result was declared, that we've now begun to piece together what happened and we spoke to more than 100 people for this report and we want to warn you here that this report contains extremely graphic material.

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MADOWO (voice-over): Election day, Tanzania, bloody scenes across the country. The streets have become a hunting ground.

Security forces crack down on protesters, angry at the government of President Samia Suluhu Hassan amid claims of an unfair election.

Three weeks on, the true scale of the bloodshed is still emerging.

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In an exclusive investigation, CNN analyzed dozens of videos showing protesters shot and found evidence linking security forces to the killing of civilians, as well as signs of mass graves that conceal the extent of their brutality.

The main opposition party says at least 2000 people were killed during the week-long protests.

UNKNOWN: We need our freedom in my country. Why are you killing us?

MADOWO (voice-over): With eyewitnesses now too terrified to speak out, CNN, alongside open source investigator Benjamin Strick, has examined what happened across the country.

In the city of Arusha, forensic analysis of video reveals how two people died near this intersection.

It's mid-afternoon. A group of protesters gather at this corner as armed police approach.

Note the man in the red T-shirt holding what appears to be a rock, who we'll come back to.

At this point, the police are here on the map. Two minutes later, chaos as people run down the street, the police advance to the intersection. Then, shots ring out.

The woman in purple, carrying a stick and a rock, is hit by a bullet in the back. You can see the hole in the fabric of her shirt here.

She falls instantly. People try to help her, as she lies bleeding more guts.

A minute later, across the street, a group of men takes cover, among them the man with the red T-shirt.

From a video filmed on the other side of the road, we can see police in our position at the intersection, around 100 meters away. A protester shouts profanity in their direction and then, the man in red is shot in the head.

Audio forensic analysis of these videos confirms the gunshots that killed both of these protesters came from the direction and distance of the police position.

The woman in purple died from her injuries in the street. She was three months pregnant and was a breadwinner for her husband and two young children, according to a source close to her family.

The man's wife shrieks in grief over his lifeless body. These two lives lost are just a fraction of the bloodshed across Tanzania over late October and early November, as the government tries to stamp out the protests.

In Mwanza, Tanzania's second largest city, grim scenes are set at the regional hospital. Bodies piled up.

One doctor, who was too afraid to speak on camera, told CNN the morgue was full from those killed during the crackdown, saying on one day alone, there were, quote, "four trips with piles of dead bodies taken to the mortuary, until it was full, just for others to be piled outside."

He said when doctors tried to save the wounded, quote, "the police would refuse and take them to the mortuary directly for them to die there."

In Dar es Salaam, another morgue overwhelmed. The government called this video fake, but CNN verified the location as Mwana Nyamala Hospital. One woman told CNN she recognized her missing brother among the dozens of bodies spread across the floor.

The scale of the killing may never be fully revealed. Police are accused of dumping bodies in mass graves in an effort to conceal numbers.

At this location north of Dar es Salaam, a video shows a wide area of freshly turned soil. This matches testimony shared with CNN that young men were ordered to dig the site for mass burials.

While CNN cannot independently verify the existence of mass graves, satellite imagery at the Kondo Cemetery before and after the protests shows disturbance in the soil which supports the allegation.

The Tanzanian police and government have so far refused to confirm a death toll and dismissed the opposition's numbers as, quote, "hugely exaggerated." They did not respond to CNN's request for comment for this story.

For this devastated family, a burial of their missing loved ones' belongings is the nearest they will get to closure for now, as the final fate of so many of Tanzania's young people remains unknown.

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MADOWO: The Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan has launched a commission of inquiry into the unrest across Tanzania, but she drew fresh outrage yesterday by suggesting that the protesters were paid to go on the streets. Hundreds of young people have been charged with treason.

That is an offense that carries the death penalty if found guilty in Tanzania.

There are still families who are telling me they're missing family members. They know they were killed, but they haven't been able to find their bodies, they've gone to every morgue and they don't know where they are, leading to questions about the existence of other mass graves. We're still looking into that.

There are many in Tanzania who say they need an international investigation, maybe the International Criminal Court, to come and look into this, these claims of crimes against humanity or what they claim to be a genocide.

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Again, we have no way to determine exactly how many people died here or the extent of the brutality. Through that week when the internet was shut down, the media gagged and people could not move around the country again.

BRUNHUBER: Really important reporting there, Larry Madowo in Johannesburg. Thank you so much.

COP30 wraps up in a few hours, but delegates are still scrambling to negotiate a deal at the climate summit. We'll go live to speak to a delegate in Brazil. That's coming up next, please stay with us.

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BRUNHUBER: Welcome back to "CNN Newsroom," I'm Kim Brunhuber. Let's check today's top stories.

CNN has obtained a draft U.S. peace proposal for Ukraine, which the Trump administration hasn't revealed yet. Among other things, it calls for major territorial concessions to Russia and for Kyiv staying out of NATO. In return, Ukraine would receive security guarantees, but would have to limit the size of its military.

Sixteen people are still missing days after a deadly Russian strike in western Ukraine. Officials say at least 28 others were killed after apartment buildings in the city of Ternopil were hit by a suspected cruise missile. Officials also say the death toll could rise and that entire family may have been wiped out in the strike.

Democrats are slamming U.S. President Donald Trump, claiming he's inciting violence. It comes after the president attacked six Democratic lawmakers for urging military members and intelligence officials to disobey illegal orders. He accused those lawmakers of quote, "seditious behavior, punishable by death."

While they're tropical, sweet and tangy, pineapples are more than just a tasty treat in Africa. They're a big business. Globally, the pineapple market was worth $27 billion last year.

Nigeria, Ghana, Benin and Cote d'Ivoire are some of the major producers in West Africa. CNN's Victoria Rubadiri sees how one agri- food company in Abidjan is looking to double its export potential.

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VICTORIA RUBADIRI, "CONNECTING AFRICA" CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's a welcome sight in Cote d'Ivoire, flourishing pineapple farms. Decades ago, the West African country's pineapple industry took a hit. According to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, Cote d'Ivoire was producing between 200 and 300,000 tons of pineapple a year in the 1970s.

But due to political unrest and an increase in competition from global pineapple producers, investments were shifted elsewhere, and pineapple production numbers drastically fell to less than 35,000 tons in 2023.

Agri-business company Atou Ivorio saw the potential of pineapple production and aims to become a leader within the country's budding industry.

ASIF HASSAM, MANAGING DIRECTOR, ATOU: About 12 years ago, we decided to work actively with the local community to see how we can help them produce more pineapple for the factory. And we have been able to do so by pre-financing, by giving them support.

RUBADIRI (voice-over): The company works with about 150 farmers across 200 hectares of pineapple plantations. They specialize in the production of 100 percent natural pineapple juice, bringing in about $1.3 million in export sales a year.

HASSAM: Atou processes on average 4,000 to 6,000 tons per year. About 70 percent of those sales are locally, 30 percent on exports.

Our main export countries are Mali, Burkina Faso, Senegal and Niger. And we also have some sales in France. RUBADIRI (voice-over): While production boosts full steam ahead at the

factory, the company says in order to become a leader within the African market, they must overcome several hurdles.

HASSAM: The biggest challenge would be in terms of pricing, in transits and taxes that we are faced when we are shipping to other African countries.

RUBADIRI (voice-over): But Atou says it's persevering, knowing the regional market could be fruitful.

HASSAM: For five years we are looking to transform about one third of the local pineapple production. This represents about 10,000 tons per year. We are hoping to increase our sales and exports to about 50 to 60 percent and we are looking at countries such as Benin, Gambia and Liberia.

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BRUNHUBER: Welcome back to CNN, this is your Business Breakout. Here's a look at Asia markets. The Nikkei was down almost 2000 points, the KOSPI is down about 150, the Hang Seng is down more than 600 points.

And checking some of today's business headlines.

The rally from NVIDIA's stellar earnings report was short-lived. U.S. stocks took a dive Thursday. The Dow, S&P 500 and the NASDAQ all closed in the red, NVIDIA's shares dropped about 3 percent, dragging down the broader market.

U.S. President Donald Trump is rolling back tariffs on Brazilian food products, including beef, coffee, cocoa and fruit. It follows a similar move last week when the Trump administration removed tariffs on agricultural products from several other countries in an effort to lower the cost of food here in the U.S.

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Verizon is cutting 13,000 jobs in its largest single layoff ever. This is the first initiative in the company's new CEO's transformation plan. Verizon says it's an opportunity to reset, restructure and realign priorities, the wireless and internet company has been facing increased competition from T-Mobile and AT&T in recent years.

Well COP 30 comes to a close today, and delegates are reviewing a new draft resolution that doesn't mention fossil fuels. That's been a key sticking point throughout the climate conference.

A previous summit agreed to phase out fossil fuels but didn't agree to a timetable. Host Brazil had hoped to end COP 30 with a roadmap to phasing out fossil fuels as well as an agreement on other divisive issues like climate financing.

Earlier, a fire at the COP 30 summit forced attendees to evacuate part of the venue. Some presentations were cut short and attendees fled the scene, 13 people were treated for smoke inhalation. The fire was quickly contained after just a few minutes, the cause of the fire isn't yet known but authorities are investigating.

Alright, joining me now from Brazil is Henna Hundal, delegate to the U.N. Climate Change Conferences. Great to see you again. Thanks so much for coming on here for us early in your time there.

Before we get to the developments of the conference itself, I just want to start with that fire. I mean, right in the middle of these critical final negotiations, you were there. Take us through what you saw.

HENNA HUNDAL, DELEGATE TO THE U.N. CLIMATE CHANGE CONFERENCES: Absolutely. Well, thank you for having me, Kim. Always good to be back with you.

You know, I was actually in the dining area and several personnel came in and started shouting, fire, everybody evacuate. From what I gathered in that moment, the fire had broken out in the pavilion area where one of my colleagues actually was and he was later treated for smoke inhalation along with reportedly 12 other people.

And I think, you know, that was such a moment of pause because you have thousands of delegates in this small area trying to hammer through complicated agreements. And that was really kind of a behind- the-scenes look at what can go on at a conference like this and also a real look at the stakes of what we're dealing with here. I mean, these are the real-world risks of the climate crisis and that was sort of, you know, brought into stark relief right at that conference.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, glad to see you're safe. And, you know, I want to talk about the stakes here because the fire is sort of distracting from the big headline here.

I mentioned it off the top, that potential roadmap for the transition away from fossil fuels. Apparently, no mention of it in the draft agreement. What are you hearing?

HUNDAL: You know, when I was at COP28 in Dubai, the key agreement that came out of that was phasing out fossil fuels, moving away, transitioning away from fossil fuels. And yet, we still don't have really a clear roadmap of how that's actually going to pan out.

More than 80 countries are really pushing for clear language around that. Specifically, how do we include developing economies fairly in that transition? I think that really has to be made abundantly clear and this is really the COP to do that. I mean, the stakes could not be higher from both the standpoint of the climate crisis and sort of a fraying of geopolitical solidarity on fighting climate action due in no small part to the U.S. not even sending a delegation to this conference.

So, I think the stakes could not be higher and I think it's very fair for countries to want clear language on this regard.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, I mean, it really seems to be the pivotal issue. The question is, will it be another year of kind of kicking the can down the road? And if so, I mean, is there any way to frame this conference as successfully if that happens?

HUNDAL: You know, I think there are definitely some bright spots that we've had at this conference.

There was a dedicated health day and the passage of the Belem Climate Action Health Plan which is really about focusing on those downstream impacts of these emissions. You know, what are communities actually dealing with? And how do we make sure that the climate crisis, just as many pain points, doesn't really exacerbate some of these health care inequalities?

So, I think you're seeing a lot of sort of activism and advocates really trying to really tackle the adaptation portion of the climate crisis. But we do need to really focus on mitigation.

And mitigation is those emissions reductions. Making sure that we all gather around the table and look back at our nationally determined contributions which are the levels that each country promises to reduce their emissions by that are submitted every five years. And this is one of those years.

So, I think on that point, we have to be, you know, all heads down and focused on that issue. But I think there have been some bright spots from the adaptation side of the occlusion.

BRUNHUBER: You mentioned activists there. I mean, there in Belem, we've seen Indigenous activists protesting, blocking entrances to make their voices heard, for instance. I mean, you and I have talked during a number of these climate conferences through the years. Has the atmosphere been any different there compared to the other ones you've been to?

HUNDAL: Well, I think the contrast has been very stark in terms of you have all of these Indigenous activists sort of storming the entrance actually at one point in time. And then by contrast, you have a lot of fossil fuel lobbyists inside the conference with credentials to be able to access the inside negotiations.

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So, I think that really sets up the stark juxtaposition in terms of who has access and who is demanding accountability. I think that's really coming to a head in this conference, probably more so than any of the past four COPs that I've been to.

BRUNHUBER: You mentioned the U.S. isn't even at the table this year, but you're from California. Your governor, Gavin Newsom, has been there signing partnerships left and right. I mean, what does the absence of federal leadership from the U.S. mean for really concretely getting results out of Belem?

HUNDAL: I think it absolutely affects the tenor of the conference.

We have to remember that the United States is the largest historical emitter of greenhouse gases, so their absence is acutely felt. Although we don't have representation at a national level, we do have individuals like for example, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island and Governor Gavin Newsom, as you mentioned.

Now we know there has been talks about a potential presidential bid from Governor Newsom, and I think what's really interesting is you see him identifying climate as this area to really exercise global leadership at a time when the Trump administration has fully backed away from this issue.

So we saw Gavin Newsom striking multiple bilateral agreements with countries like Germany, Nigeria, the Netherlands, really trying to showcase the U.S.'s climate posture, even though we don't have national representation in the high-level talks.

BRUNHUBER: We'll have to leave it there, but always great to connect with you. Henna Hundal, thank you so much, I really appreciate it.

HUNDAL: Thank you, Kim. Great to be with you.

BRUNHUBER: Well, Fatima Bosch of Mexico is celebrating an especially sweet victory after winning Miss Universe 2025. She beat out finalists from Thailand, Venezuela, the Philippines and Ivory Coast to take the top honor.

Bosch's win came weeks after she was publicly berated in a meeting by a pageant director who seemed to call her a dumbhead, that was just one incident in a scandal-plagued competition. Two judges resigned days before the big event, with one claiming the final contestants were chosen in advance in a rigged competition.

And finally, Colombia is celebrating the recovery of artifacts from a Spanish warship known as the Holy Grail of Shipwrecks. A cannon, a porcelain cup and several gold and bronze coins are the first treasures recovered from the wreckage of the San Jose. The Spanish galleon was sunk by the British Navy more than 300 years ago.

Now at the time, the ship was believed to be carrying large amounts of gold, silver and emeralds back to the Spanish king. Those treasures are estimated to be worth billions of dollars in today's money.

Alright, that wraps this hour of "CNN Newsroom," I'm Kim Brunhuber. "World Sport" is next, then stay tuned for "Amanpour."

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