Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

At Least 12 Killed, 300 Plus Wounded In Attack On Saudi Airport; Trump Calls For Elections In Ukraine, Suggests New Leader; Indonesian Wildfires Causing Smoke-Filled Skies Across Asia. Aired 2- 2:30a ET

Aired October 11, 2026 - 02:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:00:34]

BEN HUNTE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello whoever you are in the world. You are now in the CNN Newsroom with me, Ben Hunte in Atlanta. And it is so good to have you with me.

Coming up, Houthi rebels launch another deadly attack on Riyadh's international airport. What President Trump is saying about that strike.

President Trump escalates his war of words of Ukraine's president over rising fuel prices. Why he says Ukraine should now hold new elections.

And Panama declares a state of emergency as strong aftershocks follow Friday's powerful earthquake.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN Newsroom with Ben Hunte.

HUNTE: Welcome. Saudi-led forces are vowing to retaliate against the Iran backed Houthis. That is after an attack on Riyadh's international airport which killed at least 12 and wounded hundreds of others. Saturday's attack came without warning with no alert issued by Saudi Arabia's warning system.

It is the third attack just this week on King Khalid International Airport and it marks the deadliest strike in the kingdom in more than a decade. Footage shared on social media appears to show the aftermath of the strike. After the attack, a Houthi official announced that the group had "Shut down Riyadh International Airport."

The militant group declared the kingdom's airspace to be a zone of military operations after the Saudi-backed Yemeni government launched its offensive on Monday.

Earlier, President Trump said he plans to speak with the Saudi crowned prince and he also weighed in on the attack.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think it's terrible. Well, you're going to find out, Steve, but I think it's terrible.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Will the Saudis able to defend themselves without you over this?

TRUMP: Well, they're able to defend look, the Saudis are good fighters, but I think the attack was a terrible thing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: The U.N. Secretary General has strongly condemned these attacks, saying they must cease immediately. Our Matthew Chance has more.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Eyewitnesses at the scene are talking about an explosion taking place at Riyadh International Airport. They're talking about a dozen ambulances have appeared at the scene and again, eyewitnesses reporting that there are injured people lying down waiting for treatment as a result of that explosion.

I can tell you that, you know, this is only the latest in a series of incidents that has affected the international airport in Riyadh. I was there just a couple of weeks ago. And just before we arrived, there was an attack by Houthi rebels in Yemen on fuel tanks close to the airport, sending a big plume of black smoke billowing into the skies over the Saudi capital near the airport.

And then when we left a short time afterwards, the airport was shut down. We couldn't take off. The planes were grounded for several hours because of another threat of an incoming attack. It's put the Saudis in a very difficult position. Obviously, they've had their oil exports curbed to the east of the country through the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz because of the Iran war.

But now the Houthi rebels, who are backed by Iran, are doing the same thing in the west of the country and the Red Sea, striking oil pipelines, striking Saudi shipping, and also striking Saudi infrastructure like its airport. There's been, of course, a Saudi response. They've called on their allies to help them out. They've had a response from the French, who provided air support, or rather air defense support.

The British have provided support. The Pakistanis have put troops on the ground. The Turks have said they're going to help. The United States as well, have been requested directly from the Crown Prince in Saudi Arabia for military assistance. And they're offering data on targeting data, intelligence and things like that, but they're stopping short. The United States at this point are providing sort of the full throated kind of military support that Saudi Arabia is looking for in order to combat this Houthis rebel threat.

President Trump was asked about this recently. He said he's about, about support. He said he's looking at it, but no decision has been made yet and obviously stopping very short of a commitment to get involved in this conflict.

HUNTE: So what are the Houthis actually trying to achieve and how far could this go? Earlier, I spoke earlier to Alex Plitsas, CNN's national security analyst.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[02:05:07]

ALEX PLITSAS, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: So it's clear at this point that they are pushing back against the Yemeni government's offensive. So the Saudis have made qualms of their support for the Yemeni government there. This is not their first foray into this battle. That has been sort of a shadow war between Saudi Arabia and Iran for years now. Going back, didn't receive as much attention.

And then there was sort of a detente for a little bit after there was a rapprochement that was brokered by the Chinese, Saudi Arabia and Iran, and things have calmed down. But now that this has been activated again, it looks like the Houthis obviously successfully pushed through to the coast after they routed the host nation forces. And then the Saudis were going to provide some support to the host nation government. And once again, we see this tit-for-tat strike.

HUNTE: President Trump isn't ruling out possible U.S. military involvement. What would have to happen for Washington to move from supporting Saudi Arabia to directly striking Houthis?

PLITSAS: This puts the president in a very difficult position this close to the midterm election. So what would happen in this sense is, as you rightly noted, the Saudis have reached out multiple times through the Crown Prince and requested specifically from President Trump military support, direct military action here. But there's a bit of a problem.

The U.S. and the Houthis had engaged in a ceasefire agreement about a year ago that seems to have held. And there were some meetings that alleged that that was going to be the case. They're not attacking international shipping. They're not attacking U.S. ships. Right now, the focus is on Saudi Arabia, who, by the way, was supposed to be leading the naval coalition to ensure the freedom of movement through the Bab al-Mandab's, which is the other strait on the other side of the Arabian Peninsula, even though we hear so much right there on our screen there where it's in red and you see in blue right next to Bab al-Mandab.

If you look up to the right where there's that little sharp piece that juts out north in the water, that's the Strait of Hormuz, which is what we hear about so much. So those two critical waterways are problematic if choked off. So the Iranians are already putting pressure on the Strait of Hormuz. If the Houthis at this point decide to choke off the Bab al-Mandab and the entrance to the Red Sea, which, as you see, goes up the Suez Canal and up into Europe, that would force traffic to go all the way around Africa, adding, you know, 10 plus days to the journey, adding lots of costs on top of that, which gets passed on the consumer, particularly for oil and gas and other things at a time when the President's trying to get those prices to go down.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: Central Command says forces disabled a cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman, claiming the vessel, quote, attempted to run the ongoing naval blockade against Iran. According to CENTCOM, a U.S. military fighter jet struck the stern of a Panama-flagged vessel after the crew ignored several warnings on Saturday. American officials say no crew members were hurt. CENTCOM forces resumed the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports on July 14th. Since then, four commercial vessels have been disabled and 135 ships have been redirected.

Bad blood between the U.S. and Ukraine's presidents is boiling over once again. This time, the issue is the new U.S.-Russian agreement that allows Moscow to export diesel to the world market. Kevin Liptak has the details for us.

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: President Trump is lashing out at the Ukrainian leader, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, after President Trump struck a deal with Russian leader Vladimir Putin last week to supply more diesel to the global marketplace, President Trump trying to do what he can to bring down diesel prices three weeks before the midterm election.

But critics of the deal say that, one, Russia isn't able to provide enough diesel to make a meaningful effect on those prices, and, two, that lifting sanctions on Russian diesel will just have the effect of giving Putin an economic lifeline as his war in Ukraine drags on. Now, President Trump, harshly critical of that line of criticism when I asked him about it on Saturday here at the White House, here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: He could have settled it many times, and he chose not to. We said, you can do whatever you want to Russia, don't hit the refineries, because that's a world problem that's caused. And he wants to make problems for the world. He wants to make problems for our farmers, our ranchers with diesel fuel, because Russia supplies a large portion of the diesel fuel throughout the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIPTAK: Trump also saying that Zelenskyy, "Could have settled this war many, many times, and he chooses not to," and saying that Ukraine should pick a new president, which is a remarkable statement. You know, the relationship between Trump and Zelenskyy has really been on a pendulum, you know, starting with that ugly Oval Office scene a month into President Trump's term in 2025. They had seemed to be on better terms over the summer, but now clearly the relationship at a low ebb.

[02:09:56]

President Trump is claiming that Zelenskyy continued to target Russian diesel refineries despite American requests that he stop doing that. The question now, of course, is what happens next? Does President Trump cut off support for Ukraine somehow through potentially intelligence or arms sales? That is not something the President mentioned on Saturday, but it's something that he has done previously when he was frustrated at Zelenskyy.

The Ukrainian foreign minister responding to President Trump said that Zelenskyy, "Has the support of the Ukrainian people" and that, "Statements from abroad only confirm that he is doing his job well."

Kevin Liptak, CNN, the White House.

HUNTE: In our last hour, I spoke to William Taylor, a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, and I asked him for his reaction to President Trump saying that Ukraine should get a new president.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILLIAM TAYLOR, DISTINGUISHED FELLOW, ATLANTIC COUNCIL: My reaction, Ben, is that's going to what President Trump said is going to increase the popularity of Zelenskyy in Ukraine. When Trump attacks or anyone attacks their president, the Ukrainians rally around that president. This happened a year and a half ago after the Oval Office meeting, I suspect. We'll see it again tomorrow.

HUNTE: Wow. Trump is blaming Zelenskyy for refusing to make a deal. How far apart are Russia and Ukraine and what a peace deal would actually require?

TAYLOR: Very far apart, Ben. Very far apart. And Russia has shown no indication that they're willing to make any deal, even negotiate. They've not shown up. The Ukrainians have made proposals. The Americans, we've made proposals. President Trump, President Zelenskyy have made proposals for energy ceasefire or a grain ceasefire. And the Russians have said no. The Russians have said no. So there's no indication the Russians are ready to deal.

HUNTE: Trump has, of course, struck a deal with Putin to allow Russian diesel exports. What leverage does Washington believe it is gaining from this? And what might Moscow be winning in return?

TAYLOR: Moscow is winning revenue. It's gaining money from the sale of that diesel. If it can sell the diesel, there is a question as to whether or not the Russians can actually deliver. But if they can sell, then they get funds. Those funds go into supporting the war that the Russians are waging against the Ukrainians. So that's what comes out of this deal.

HUNTE: Zelenskyy has described the diesel agreement as a gift to Putin. Could easing sanctions actually strengthen Russia's ability to continue this war against Ukraine?

TAYLOR: It could. It could. It's very likely. The sanctions are an important part, not the only part, but an important part of the pressure that has to be put on Putin to end this war. The Ukrainians have been putting pressure on Putin. They've been going after their energy systems, their military systems. The Ukrainians are stopping the Russians on the battlefield, indeed pushing the Russians back on the battlefield. So the Ukrainians are putting a lot of pressure on the Russians. The sanctions do the same. And relaxing the sanctions, even if it's just the Americans, will have an effect on extending this war.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: Police in India's capital are cracking down on the latest wave of anti-government protests by the youth-led cockroach political party. More than 2,000 people were reportedly detained during and ahead of the planned demonstrations on Saturday, including the party's founder, who was taken into custody as his plane arrived in New Delhi. But one cockroach party leader says the government's response has only strengthened their resolve.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AJINKYA SHINDE, LEADER OF INDIA'S COCKROACH JANTA PARTY (through translator): We want to tell this government that we are not scared of your dictatorial actions. The way this government responded today, it shows that it is scared of the public, and it is like we have won half of the battle. The government would be feeling that the protests would end today if they detained us, but this is a new beginning of our protest.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: The cockroach movement is demanding the removal of India's chief election commissioner, accusing him of removing potential voters from electoral rolls to benefit Prime Minister Modi's ruling party.

[02:14:27]

There is much more to come here on CNN Newsroom. Wildfires in Indonesia are once again covering vast parts of Southeast Asia with a smoky haze. We'll have a full report in just a minute. See you then.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HUNTE: Welcome back. Panama has been hit by a series of aftershocks after a powerful 7.7 quake struck the country on Friday. This is what parts of Panama City look like after those shocks. Yikes. The epicenter of the quake was about 200 kilometers from the capital, or 124 miles. So far, no deaths have been reported. That's positive. But at least 40 aftershocks have been recorded.

Los Santos province was one of the hardest hit areas, with some buildings collapsing or suffering severe damage. In response to the earthquakes, the government declared a state of emergency. It is also setting up shelters for more than 2,000 people who cannot return home.

We are watching three major storms impacting North America right now, and one is about to make landfall. The U.S. National Hurricane Center is urging residents along parts of Mexico's Pacific coast to take lifesaving preparations right now as Hurricane Simon approaches. The storm has rapidly strengthened into a Category 4 hurricane. Forecasters warn it could get even stronger before making landfall. Simon is threatening to bring torrential rainfall, damaging winds, and storm surge to Mexico's west central coast.

Meanwhile, post-tropical cyclone Rachel is creating dangerous surf along parts of northern Mexico and Southern California, too. San Diego is under a tropical storm watch for only the second time on record. Video you're seeing there shows huge waves crashing over a seawall and into homes in Long Beach, California, prompting evacuations in that area. Forecasters do say that Rachel is getting weaker, though, and is expected to be over early on Sunday.

[02:20:13]

Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of people all across the eastern U.S. are still without power as the remnants of Isaias move further inland. Isaias made landfall in Florida on Friday as a Category 2 hurricane. Authorities say severe weather has killed at least four people across Florida and Alabama.

CNN's Melissa Nord has the forecast for us as the system brings the threat of severe weather further north.

MELISSA NORD, CNN METEOROLOGIST: The remnants of Isaias travel up the east coast over the next 24 hours. So by first thing on Sunday morning, we've got rain spreading through the Carolinas up into the Mid-Atlantic and Washington. And then by Sunday after daylight breaks, we got that rain arriving in New York City. So it's going to be a breezy kind of nasty raw day on Sunday. Cool temperatures, that rain passing through, all that rain should be lifting north by first thing on Monday morning for the most part.

Forecast rainfall, now these are not going to be rainfall amounts that are anywhere near what they were close to landfall. But you know, it's a good soaking rain from this tropical system. We could see Additional rain amounts 1 to 2 inches on average. But locally couple spots could end up with 2 to 4 inches of additional rainfall. And then we're also tracking for Sunday another day of tornado risks. We saw that play out Saturday afternoon across the low country of South Carolina.

Well for Sunday, once again it's going to be some areas with a little more instability and a little bit more warmth where we could see some brief spin up tornadoes develop on the eastern side of the remnants of Isaias. So there is a Level 2 risk of severe weather for that brief tornado threat during the afternoon.

HUNTE: Parts of Southeast Asia are covered in a dense haze from wildfires in Indonesia. The increased air pollution is causing health concerns and other issues, too.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE (voice-over): Thick clouds of smoke billow into the sky in Indonesia. Firefighters battle to extinguish the flames on the ground, but it's a cumulative haze from fires burning all across the country that's choking parts of Southeast Asia. UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We get scared because it could reach our homes. It's dangerous, very dangerous. Just yesterday, there was an accident over there. The fire has spread over a large area.

HUNTE (voice-over): Fires in Indonesia's forests and peatlands have been burning for weeks now, fueled by bone-dry conditions and a supercharged El Nino weather pattern. It's created a steady stream of toxic smog that's drifted as far away as the Philippines, and that is causing the air quality to plummet across the region.

In South Sumatra, one of Indonesia's hardest-hit provinces, clinics are seeing a surge of respiratory illnesses.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I have been experiencing shortness of breath, coughing, and irritated eyes, possibly because of the haze that has affected us for over the past two months.

HUNTE (voice-over): But the crisis isn't just taking a toll on humans. Conservationists warn Indonesia's critically endangered orangutans are also suffering as fires ravage their habitats in Borneo. At a regional rehabilitation facility, caretakers say they're treating a group of the great apes for breathing issues and burns.

But the Singapore Grand Prix is still racing ahead. That's despite air pollution levels reaching unhealthy ranges. Some spectators say the grey skies won't derail the weekend, but others say they're worried about the health of the competitors.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Drivers are fully athletes, so I don't think, I've been watching runners going up and along the bay and they're running with masks on. I don't think that as an athlete I would want to be performing in this kind of haze or weather.

HUNTE (voice-over): In Malaysia, thousands of schools were forced to close on Friday because of the smog. The prime minister says he's hoping the Southeast Asian block ASEAN can step in with a regional response to the damaging haze.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: Berlin's annual Festival of Lights is now underway. Colorful light displays are lighted up the city's landmarks, including the Brandenburg Gate, as well as its streets and squares too. Every year, millions of visitors come to see the capital transformed into a sea of lights. This year's theme is Color of Love. The festival runs through October 18th.

One person's discarded clothing can be another person's goldmine. People are turning to online platforms to resell old or used clothes and turning thrifting into a full-time and very high-earning career. CNN's Ivana Skotola has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[02:25:01] IVANA SCATOLA, CNN SUPERVISING PRODUCER (voice-over): Steam, snap, send, repeat. That simple process is part of a business that's made Evan hundreds of thousands of dollars.

EVAN, VINTED RESELLER: I usually get, like, not mocked in school, but a lot of people say, oh, why are you selling sweaty old clothes for?

SCATOLA (voice-over): He's been reselling clothes since the age of 15, and it's made him some serious money, like a lot.

EVAN: Sixteen, I did my first ever, like, 10K month.

SCATOLA: What do you think are the three biggest purchases you've made from reselling?

EVAN: A Porsche Cayman, so it's like, I'd say it's a dream car. Obviously, being 20 and buying a Porsche was like a massive deal for me, and I love cars. And then I love watches, so probably one of my watches. I'd say traveling, I probably spent near enough, like, 30 grand last year on trips.

SCATOLA (voice-over): Evan resells on Vinted, Europe's leading platform for buying and reselling clothes. In France, it's the top retailer, ahead of brands like Zara and H&M.

EVAN: I'm sure so many people would agree with me that I know and I work with who've said, you know, reselling wasn't going to be their long-time, you know, career, but it's opened so many doors and opportunities for them, and same for me.

SCATOLA (voice-over): Now, it's his full-time business.

EVAN: So when it's been washed by my grandmother, I then put it into these unlisted boxes.

SCATOLA: And does your grandmother do the washing for you, or you just do it?

EVAN: She does it for me, but I obviously pay her to do it, so.

SCATOLA (voice-over): Every day, he uploads new items and packs all the orders he's sold.

EVAN: Day to day, you know, I try and list 30, 40 items. So what I always say is make sure I have the stock waiting for you, not you waiting for stock. So that's the most important thing, because overall, if I'm getting a 2x return on it, it's a 50 percent profit, and then I'm happy.

So these caps were from Naples, so they were about a pound apiece. So I'm only selling them for like 5 or 6. But obviously, that's a 6x return, so if I sell 100 at 6, that's 500 pound profit, so.

SCATOLA (voice-over): Evan says he was one of the first U.K. full-time Vinted resellers. Now hundreds of other Gen Zers are doing the same. Although Vinted's been in the U.S. since 2013, it hasn't had much presence there. In January, the company launched a proper expansion into the U.S. market.

EVAN: I think once it reaches America, it'll go to a new level. And I know for a fact that this second angle of the market is going to overtake the retail market in the next 10 years.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: And that is all I've got for you. Thanks for joining me and the team. I'm Ben Hunte in Atlanta. I will see you again tomorrow. Marketplace Asia is coming up next. Enjoy. And that's my city.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)