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One World with Zain Asher

Red Cross Reports At Least 41 Possible Deaths In A Migrant Shipwreck Near The Italian Island Of Lampedusa; Niger's President Mohamed Bazoum Reveals Details Of Living Conditions While Under House Arrest; Kidnapped American Nurse And Daughter In Haiti Released; Holiday Turns To Tragedy Due To Fire In Eastern France; Wildfires Rage On The Hawaiian Island Of Maui; Tropical Storm Khanun Pummels Japanese Island Of Kyushu; New COVID Variant Takes Hold In The U.S. And Several Other Countries; World Bank Says It Will Suspend New Loans To Uganda; "Save The Children" Describes Grim Situation On The Streets Of Khartoum; International Migrant Groups Demand E.U. Expand Safe Routes For Migrants; Special Counsel Investigation Into Donald Trump Gets A Search Warrant For Donald Trump's Twitter Account History. Aired 12- 1p ET

Aired August 09, 2023 - 12:00   ET

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

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[12:00:39]

ZAIN ASHER, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello everyone, I'm Zain Asher in New York and this is One World. We begin with a tragedy at sea that has become

all too familiar. The Red Cross reports that at least 41 people are believed to have died in a migrant shipwreck near the Italian island of

Lampedusa last week. It comes amid a spike in the number of migrants making the treacherous journey from North Africa to Europe.

The Red Cross spoke to some survivors who say the boat left Tunisia several days ago. The Italian government says so far this year, more than 93,000

people have arrived in Italy by boat. That's more than double the number over the same period in the previous year. CNN's Senior International

Correspondent Ben Wideman shows us live now from Rome. Ben, what more do we know about what happened here?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We understand, Zain, that this boat, which apparently wasn't a very big one, left the Tunisian

port of Sfax perhaps as late as last Thursday, and that within just a few hours a big wave came along and capsized it. Now, four people survived.

They managed to somehow use -- it looks like they used inner tubes to stay afloat until they found apparently an abandoned other kind of boat.

They say that they were told the Red Cross that they were at sea for six days before finally being picked up by a merchant ship. They said that of

the -- originally there were 45 people on board the boat, obviously not 41 According to that account are missing, presumed dead. Among the 41 was a

three-year-old child, as well as a pregnant woman.

Now, we understand that the four survivors came from sub-Saharan Africa, I believe Guinea and the Cote d'Ivoire. But what we've seen is that,

certainly, over the last few months, there's been a huge increase in the number of people crossing the Mediterranean, reaching Italy in this

instance. As you mentioned, the Italian government says that, as of today, 94,000 migrants and refugees have reached the shores of Italy, which, yes,

it's twice as much as last year. It's three times more than the year before that.

Now, the Italians have worked out agreements, for instance, with Tunisia. The European Union is giving more than a million euro to the Tunisian

government to provide training, drones, and other equipment to try to stop people from leaving the shores of Tunisia and heading toward the Italian

coast and other parts of Europe, but very little is being done. In fact, I can probably confidently say nothing is being done to address the problems

that cause these people to leave their homes in the first place, homes in sub-Saharan Africa, homes in the Middle East, homes as far away as in

Pakistan and Bangladesh. Zain.

ASHER: I mean, yeah, it really is about addressing the root cause. A lot of people blame civil wars, violence, extreme poverty, rising cost of living,

that sort of thing. And that does need to be addressed as it is the root problem. Ben Wedeman, live for us there. Thank you so much.

Two weeks after he was ousted in a coup, Niger's president is revealing details of his living conditions while under house arrest. In a series of

text messages that were shared with CNN, Mohamed Bazoum says he has had no electricity for a week and has been reduced to eating dry rice and pasta.

He also says he's been denied any human contact, including with his doctor, since Friday. Meantime, U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken says the

safety of Mr. Bazoum and his family is paramount. Lincoln spoke with Niger's ousted president by phone on Tuesday.

And an American nurse and her daughter, who were kidnapped in Haiti, have now been released. That's according to the organization El Roi Haiti, which

she worked for. Alix Dorsainvil and her child were abducted last month. They went missing. Schoolchildren, parents and teachers took to the

streets, demanding the pair be released. CNN's Rafael Romo has more on this.

[12:05:00]

Glorious outcome, Rafael, but do we know more about what happened and the circumstances surrounding their release?

Rafael Romo, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, there are many questions still, Zain, and at this point we don't know how they were released. We don't know if it

was a part of a negotiation or some other reason. What we do know is that El Roi Haiti, the Christian humanitarian aid organization, the American

nurse from New Hampshire works for has confirmed that she and her daughter were released earlier today. As you may remember, Alix Dorsainvil and her

child were abducted on July 27 in the morning while serving in their community ministry on El Roi Haiti's campus and the capital city, Port-au-

Prince.

In a statement released earlier today, El Roi Haiti said the following, quote, "It is with a heart of gratitude and immense joy that, we, at El Roi

Haiti, confirm the safe release of our staff member and friend Alix Dorsainvil and her child who were held hostage in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

Today, we're praising God for answered prayers."

The statement said the organization asked that no one contact Dorsainvil or her family. There is still much to process and to heal from in this

situation. The statement said, as you may remember Zain, the nurse is the wife of El Roi, Haiti Director Sandro Dorsainvil. The same day they were

kidnapped, the U.S. State Department ordered the departure of non-emergency government personnel from Haiti as the security situation in the country

deteriorated.

As we have previously reported, Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas have been gripped by years-long kidnapping for profit and

with hundreds of Haitians targeted by gangs seeking ransom payments each year. The Haitian National Police told CNN they can't comment on the matter

because they're still investigating the case.

As a spokesperson with the U.S. State Department said, they welcome reports of the release of two U.S. citizens from captivity in Haiti. We have no

greater priority than the safety and security of U.S. citizens overseas. The spokesperson said, adding that out of respect for their privacy,

they're going to allow individuals to speak for themselves if and when they feel ready because they've been through a very difficult or deal both

physically and mentally.

But again, Zain, today, the good news, great news for their family is that Alix Dorsainville and her daughter are now free. Back to you.

ASHER: Yeah, but as you point out their privacy is really paramount. It's - - I mean it's trauma what they've been through essentially. Rafael Romo, live for us there. Thank you so much.

A holiday turned into a tragedy Wednesday morning when a fire tore through a vacation rental in eastern France killing 11 people. The fire broke out

at a pair of attached homes in a town near the German border. Officials say 17 people were able to get out before firefighters arrived. The vacation

home had been hosting people with disabilities and their companions for the summer.

In the meantime, wildfires are raging on the Hawaiian island of Maui. The fires are being fueled by strong winds associated with a passing hurricane.

The blazes burning out of control are so catastrophic. Some people are literally jumping into the ocean to escape. And an historic section of the

island, a wall of flames, destroyed businesses. The business owner tells CNN there were no fire trucks on the scene. He feels they were completely

overwhelmed fighting fires elsewhere. Hawaii's lieutenant governor calls conditions on the island unprecedented.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SYLVIA LUKE, HAWAIIAN LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR: 911 is down, cell service is down, phone service is down, and that's been part of the problem. Our

hospital system on Maui -- they are overburdened with burn patients, people suffering from inhalation. The reality is that we need to fly people out of

Maui to give them burn support because Maui Hospital cannot do extensive burn treatment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: And with communication systems down, residents are frantically trying to get a hold of loved ones to see if they are safe.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TIARE LAWRENCE, LAHAINA RESIDENT: It's just so hard. I am currently up country and just knowing that I can't get a hold of any of my family

members. I still don't know where my little brother is. I don't know where my stepdad is. Everyone I know in Lahaina, their homes have been burned

down. Luckily, some of my family made it upcountry tonight with my cousin Dustin, who was sitting up here, but they lost everything. The house is

gone. And just please pray for Lahaina.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: Such emotional time for residents there. We will, of course, bring you any updates we have from Maui and these wildfires that have been

raging. All right, tropical storm Khanun has been wreaking havoc on the Japanese island of Kyushu and could make landfall in South Korea by

Thursday.

[12:10:00]

Watch this as large waves triggered by the storm crash along the coast of South Korea's Jeju Island. Heavy rain and wind from Khanun has also forced

warnings and evacuation orders in both countries and triggered flight and train cancellations.

Let's bring in our CNN Meteorologist Jennifer Gray. Thousands of flights canceled out of Korea. We've been reporting on this massive sort of

jamboree festival that's happening across the country. And a lot of those boy scouts have been through so much, especially with extreme temperatures,

when it comes to the heat wave. Now, they're dealing with this. Just explain to us what's in store for the nation.

JENNIFER GRAY, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You're right, and this storm has been just lingering off the coast of China for days finally moving to the north.

And now you're right, impacting a lot of the same areas that have been hit really hard with extreme weather over the last couple of weeks. So, Khanun

is right there. You can see it just swirling heading closer to South Korea.

We also have Lan that's just on its heels. This is also a tropical storm. So, Khanun has about 110 kilometer per hour winds, gusts of 140. It is

moving to the north at 17 kilometers per hour. And on this track, it is going to run right into South Korea. Now, over the last couple of days, the

last three days, we've had reports of anywhere from say 285 all the way up to 400 millimeters of rain.

So, this has really been a huge rainmaker and will continue to be so as it makes landfall across South Korea. Wind gusts have been incredibly high, as

well. We had wind gusts of 150 and even 104 across southern sections of Japan. And you can see from the satellite imagery, the storm, the central

portion of the storm, the eye of the storm, just heading to the north.

So, on the latest forecast track, it is going to pick up some forward speed. It is going to remain a tropical storm, weaken even more within the

next two days or so, and then head into northern sections of China. So, the forecast radar keeping very heavy rain in place. You can see a front sort

of moves through and absorbs it. So, the rain for northern sections of China won't be quite as much, but we are going to expect some very heavy

downpours and very gusty winds across South Korea in the coming days.

So, your forecast wind gusts are going to be anywhere from say 70 to 80 kilometers per hour. As far as the rain goes, we could see anywhere from

150 to 200 millimeters of rain all across South Korea. And then tropical storm Lan, you can see just heading to the north and once again impacting

Japan in the coming days with possibly 120 kilometer per hour winds there, as well. Zain, can't catch a break.

ASHER: Absolutely, all right. Jennifer Gray, live for us there. Thank you so much.

Abortion rights activists in the U.S. state of Ohio are claiming victory.

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UNKNOWN: Ohio, we did it. We did it!

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ASHER: Republican-backed measure was soundly defeated in a high-stakes special election on Tuesday. It would have made it harder for voters to

change Ohio state constitution and protect women's access to abortions when the proposed amendment goes on the ballot later on this year. The failed

measure would have changed the rules to require a 60 percent super majority instead of a simple majority to pass the abortion amendment in November.

Jeff Zeleny joins us live now from Columbus, Ohio, for a closer look at this. So, I think Tuesday's outcome really demonstrated that despite the

fact that Ohio has been drifting more to the right, the abortion issue, as we saw in the midterm elections by the way, the abortion issue continues to

be a problem for the GOP.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF U.S NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: There's no doubt about it and it certainly is another warning sign for Republicans on the

issue of abortion. And as you said, Zain, really, this was just an election that abortion was not even mentioned on the ballot issue yesterday called

issue one but that is what was the underlying issue here about whether it would be more difficult to protect abortion rights in the state's

Constitution in November.

And so, really, this was a preview of what that election could be. But it was also the latest sign in a series of signs state by state that we have

seen over the last year after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and sent the issue back to the states, the states have been responding. We saw

it initially last summer in Kansas. And then we have since seen it in the red states of Kentucky, the U.S. state of Montana, then again in Michigan,

and here in Ohio.

So, the new campaign begins for the abortion rights movement. The anti- abortion rights movement is equally engaged in this November election, as well. But it does almost make certain that this will be an underlying

campaign issue for the 2024 presidential campaign, as well. President Biden and the White House weighing in on this issue last night, as well, Zain.

So, this is clear as the states are deciding this, they're making certain that what national polls show. And so, in fact, we had one yesterday, 64

percent of Americans disagree with that Supreme Court decision from last year.

[12:15:00]

So, that is what is driving most of these state issues.

ASHER: And as you point out, it sends a very clear message to the GOP. I mean, what has been this sort of broad Republican reaction to this?

ZELENY: Well, look, the reaction to this in some respects is to keep going on this aside. They are going to fight for this to oppose enshrining

abortion rights in the Constitution. But it really also comes at the time when the Republican presidential campaign is playing out and on messages on

issues of abortion and other matters, the party is veering right, if you will, while the country clearly is not. So, there is a sense when you talk

to Republican strategists and elected officials that there could be a collision here, and this is a winning argument for Democrats.

Now, we do not know, of course, how potent it will be a year from now, but certainly we have had plenty of state-by-state evidence here, what is on

the minds of voters, and they simply are rejecting extreme measures in their view, and responding to that Supreme Court decision that sent the

issue back to the states, the states, of course, are answering. Zain.

ASHER: All right, Jeff Zeleny, so any life for us there. Thank you so much. All right, still to come. Ethiopia just ended one war that forced thousands

to flee. Now, there are fears of another conflict erupting in that country. We'll talk to a historian about the recent fighting with another militia.

And the scars of war in Sudan are compounded amid growing fears of a potential cholera outbreak. You will hear a firsthand account of conditions

there, but later on also ahead on One World. New charges in Alabama after a riverfront brawl that started with a group of white men assaulting a black

man. We'll have the latest on the investigation, next.

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ASHER: I want to take a closer look at Ethiopia now, where the government has declared a state of emergency and rushed soldiers to the front lines.

Residents tell Reuters that government forces have pushed local militiamen out of two major towns in the Amara region. That's the country's second

most populous region. Fierce fighting erupted last week between the local Fano militiamen and federal forces. There are fears the militiamen are

seeking to overthrow the federal government led by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.

[12:20:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TEMESGEN TIRUNEH, DIRECTOR-GENERAL, ETHIOPIA'S NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE SERVICE: I call upon anyone included in this informal organization of

bandits to refrain from this path of self-destruction immediately and come to a peaceful solution. The National Defense Force is always the ultimate

protection for the Constitution.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: It's Ethiopia's most serious security crisis since a brutal two-year civil war in the northern Tigray region ended last November. The conflict

killed thousands and upended the lives of millions who were forced to flee to Sudan and other neighboring countries. Ethiopia, by the way, is Africa's

second most populous country and one of its biggest economies. And what happens there could, of course, have broader consequences for the entire

region. For more on the conflict, I want to bring in Etana Habte Dinka, an Assistant Professor of History at the University of Miami whose research

interests include the political history of Ethiopia.

Etana, good to have you on. I wish it was under better circumstances. I mean, here we are, it's been about a year or so since the Tigray War ended,

and here we are talking about more conflict brewing. You have the Fano militia fighting against Ethiopian government forces. I mean, just walk us

through this. Could another, could another civil war be brewing in Ethiopia, do you think?

ETANA HABTE DINKA, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF HISTORY, UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI: Yes, it is mainly another beginning of civil war, but this is in the Amhara

region, instead of Tigray region. So, it's important to have few features of the war or the violence that recently emerged in the Amhara region. The

violence erupted in the region, paralyzed government administration and led to assassination of different number of government authorities and

government services collapsed. And as a result, the government felt threatened and imposed the state of emergency.

Now, this war has some basic causes and immediate triggers. The immediate trigger is what the federal government under Abiy Ahmed did in April this

year, disarming the regional militias and the special units. Amara region complained against the federal government pushing back the measure to

disarm its special forces. The major complaint was that Tigray was not fully disarmed, and it should not be, it should not put down its arms.

But the federal government forcefully pushed and completed the disarmament. And members of the special forces then mixed with the paramilitary Fano,

who was a major actor in the Tigray war. And as you remember, the Amara forces, the special units and the Fano were accused of war crimes and

ethnic cleansing during the Tigray war.

So, the impact of this is significant in the entire northern Ethiopia and the security of the country, because the Fano militias are allied with

major government organs and the politicians within the Prosperity Party and the military commanders of the state itself, because the Ampara Party,

which constituted a good part of the Prosperity, the ruling Prosperity Party, was a major ally of Abiy Ahmed to stay in power.

So, the military confrontation is not just a military fight in the north. It's also a political divide within the Prosperity Party. And in this

sense, it's a major challenge for Abiy Ahmed to keep his party together and to be able to impose his grip on the leadership of the country. But the

major cause of this war is the growing Amhara nationalism, which is infused with interests of territorial expansion, irredentism, and territorial

conquests of the neighboring state.

The best example is that the Amhara region has territorial claims over Western Tigray. And that is the major reason why Amhara regional forces

complained about disarmament. They refused to leave Tigray, western Tigray, after the Pretoria negotiation which requested the Amhara forces.

ASHER: So, Etana, what happens to Abiy Ahmed going forward? I mean, you know, he's just shown a complete inability to really keep the country

together. I mean, obviously Ethiopia has had a lot of sectarian tensions over the years, but this is particularly acute, especially given that the

Tigray War just ended a year ago.

{12:25:00]

What's his political future looking like right now?

DINKA: It's a major difficulty for him because the violence in the north now laid by Fano is not only internal rebellion because it was also

connected to regional forces, particularly Eritrea, who is still in control of parts of Western Tigray and north, western parts of Tigray. Amara

nationalists openly claim alliance with Eritrea, so this is not a simple internal rebellion. So, for Abiy Ahmed, it's a major challenge because it

affected his ability to keep his party together as smoothly and as strongly as he did over the last five years.

ASHER: Right.

DINKA: The main reason for this violence is not only rebellion from various regions in the country. One important reason is that Abiy Ahmed himself did

not believe and has no faith in negotiations. He wants to rule at gunpoint, especially wherever he sees any kind of resistance. So, he always loses

excessive power of the federal government, and this is deteriorating his ability of leading the country from time to time. To be honest, it doesn't

seem that Ethiopia will be relieved from multiple forms of violence, including mass arrests and killings, as long as Abiy Ahmed is in power.

ASHER: All right, Etana Habte Dinka, live for us there. Thank you so much. All right, still to come, just as summer break wraps up for many schools, a

new COVID variant is on the rise in several countries, we'll explain after the break. Plus, seven people at a family lunch. Now, three of them

mysteriously dead, one of them critically ill. Australian authorities want to know if they were served poisonous mushrooms. That story after the

break.

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[12:30:56]

ASHER: Hello and welcome back to One World. Let's catch up on the headlines. Russia has opened a criminal investigation after at least 56

people were injured in a massive explosion at an industrial plant outside Moscow. The regional governor says six of those victims are in intensive

care, according to state media reports. The blast appears to have happened in a warehouse containing pyrotechnic equipment.

And a new COVID variant is taking hold in the U.S. and several other countries. The CDC says EG.5 is now the most prevalent strain across

America, accounting for about 17 percent of new infections. The World Health Organization says it's also grown quickly in Ireland, France, U.K.,

Japan, and China.

And the World Bank says it will suspend new loans to Uganda and pause most project financing over the country's controversial anti-LGBTQ law, saying

it, quote, "fundamentally contradicts what the World Bank group's value is." The law bans gay marriage, punishes same-sex acts with imprisonment

and calls for the death penalty for aggravated homosexuality.

A humanitarian group in Sudan is describing the grim situation on the streets of the capital Khartoum. "Save The Children" says dead bodies are

left in the street because the morgues are simply too full. Making matters worse, hygiene and sanitation services are pretty much non-existent. That's

likely to spread disease in a country that's been already battered by months of war. "Save The Children" Sudan Director tells CNN, Sudan needs

more help from the international community.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARIF NOOR, SUDAN DIRECTOR, "SAVE THE CHILDREN": We have seen conflicts in other parts of the world. The recent example being the Ukraine response,

where the world community just did so much for the people who were in need of that. I think we need similar commitment from the international

community to provide more resources and make sure that we are able to take those resources to the people here in Sudan.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: Larry Madowo has more on the horrible conditions in Sudan.

LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Zain, it's not surprising that you're hearing these dire warnings from Sudan because this conflict has been

running for 115 days, about four months almost continuously. There's now big fears about a cholera outbreak in Khartoum, the capital.

I want to read this section for you from this statement from "Save the Children" that blames it on a horrifying combination of rising numbers of

corpses, severe water shortages, non-functioning hygiene and sanitation services and a lack of water treatment options. So, that's the combination

of factors leading to this situation. I'm also hearing from people in the Khartoum who talk about a fuel shortage.

So, on top of all the problems they've had, you're looking at an almost total collapse of the health and sanitation infrastructure in the country.

Keep in mind that so many hospitals have not been operating for months because in some cases they've been bombed out, in some cases the staff

cannot get there. And now you see the situation of either cops that are lying on the street or that are just overcrowding the few modes that are

still operating.

The wider picture here is that more than four million people have been displaced in this conflict since it began. Nearly a million have now

crossed into neighboring countries like Egypt, like Chad, like South Sudan, anywhere to get away from this conflict that does not appear to be coming

to an end. And all the attempts at mediation, all the talks did give to a ceasefire that was not observed in any meaningful way.

So, while this appears to have fallen from the world's attention, it is still a real ongoing crisis that has a real impact on ordinary people's

lives in Sudan. Zain.

ASHER: Larry Madowo, thank you so much. International migrant groups are demanding the European Union expand safe routes for migrants after 41

migrants are believed to have died in a shipwreck off the island of Lampedusa, Italy, last week. It's a persistent problem.

[12:35:00]

This year alone, more than 120,000 people have arrived in Europe, mostly in Italy. Lampedusa is between Sicily and Tunisia and is currently over

capacity with more than 1500 migrants being housed there. The Red Cross says that hundreds are due to be transferred to Sicily.

Time now for The Exchange and a closer look at the migration crisis. Joining me live now is Carla Melchi from the group SOS Mediterranee. Carla,

thank you so much for being with us. And we keep talking about these shipwrecks or boats capsizing on their way from North Africa to Europe.

Just explain to us what can be done to ensure the safe passage, be it, for example, in terms of better, more advanced search and rescue capabilities

among European countries, but also dealing with the problem at the root cause, to ensure that these migrants don't have as much reason to make

these treacherous journeys in the first place.

CARLA MELKI, DEPUTY HEAD OF OPERATIONS, SOS MEDITERRANEE: Thank you very much. Maybe I would like to come back first on what happened yesterday and

over the last day because SOS Mediterranee on board, you know, the recue vessel Ocean Viking was informed about these four people in distress, that

through a major relay from Frontex, the European Coast Guard and Border Control Agency, and was also reported by a civil aircraft from the German

organization, Sea Watch. We were 12 hours of navigation from them.

And finally, these four people were rescued by a merchant vessel. What we understood when they arrived in Lampedusa, is that people at the shipwreck,

maybe four or five days ago, because of the weekend, the weather was extremely dangerous and not suitable for navigations. Then it's already

three shipwrecks over this weekend from Tunisia shore to Lampedusa. What is interesting is this boat was adrift and we find this last known position

was more closer to Libya or Tunisian shore, mostly over the border, at the line of the border, 14 (ph) nautical miles north.

Just for me to give an overview, it's more than 900 people who have died only in 2023. In total, it's 93,000 people arrived by sea, and more than 50

percent are departing from Tunisia. This is the first time since we are rescuing at sea, and since the central menu was a major and the Daedalus

migration roads of the world, that we experience this change of patterns in the departure. It's linked from one side as Libya is known as a very

dangerous and like described often as a hell for migrants.

And so, Tunisia was a kind of an alternative world, but now this condition and the situation in Tunisia highly deteriorated with heavy xenophobia, but

we also see more than 1200 people who have been deported in the middle of the deserts between Tunisia and Libya. So the situation here is

deteriorating and we are, since the beginning of the year, more than a double of people who try to cross the central meds, if you compare to 2022.

ASHER: I mean, you bring up such a good point about the situation in Tunisia right now for black African migrants. It's not a welcoming place.

There is so much xenophobia. You brought up the fact that a lot of these migrants were transferred to the desert on the border with Libya.

Obviously, that's not acceptable.

Just explain to us what the solution is on that front, because we know that the E.U. has granted I think it was just over $100 million to Tunisia to

help them tackle the problem of irregular migration. In your experience, how exactly should that money be spent?

MELKI: The question what we are all calling from search and rescue organizations, but also for people working with migrant, but also from the

U.N., UNHCR or IOM, we are all calling to have a proper search and rescue operation that is managed and coordinated all by Europe, all by an

international organization, because we are calling for Europe to manage visa, coordinated search and rescue operations since years already, and now

it's time to happen.

The situation is -- every year deteriorating and is not anymore acceptable. There were also possibility to go to safe transfer and safe travel from

Africa and from, like, the Maghreb shore. These have been called from several organizations to be able to transfer people from Maghreb to Europe,

because you never stop people who want to cross. Now, you're making your journey more dangerous and the risk of loss of life is also a

responsibility.

ASHER: You know, the Italians, many Italians, I should say, would say, look, you know, even if we want to help, the fact that you have about

100,000 people trying to travel and get to Italy by sea is also not sustainable for us. Places like Lampedusa is at capacity. I mean, you know,

there is an argument on that front, too. Just explain to us what the solutions to places like Lampedusa is at capacity.

[12:40:00]

I mean, you know, there is an argument on that front, too. Just explain to us what the solution is for the Italians.

MELKI: I would say we are always speaking about European solidarity mechanism, way of reparting load is not like only the southern countries

that need to have all the load of the migration. It should be an -- often, people doesn't (ph) want to stay in Italy or in Greece or in Spain when

they arrive. They have possibly other places that they want to go. I don't see a way to stop. It's not by building walls that you stop migrants to

cross. These have been known and well-understood since. You are just making more people to die.

ASHER: Right. Carla Melki, thank you so much for being with us. We appreciate it. All right, still to come, a fight between a group of white

boaters and a black riverboat. Co-captain escalates into a massive brawl. I'm sure you've seen the video. We'll have details and an explanation after

the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ASHER: And now, to a mystery in Australia. What killed three people after a family luncheon? And were they killed on purpose? A fourth lunch guest, a

local reverend, is now critically ill. Authorities say the culprit may have been poisonous mushrooms. CNN's Anna Coren looks at how this story has been

unfolding.

ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Police in Victoria, Australia are investigating the poisoning deaths of three elderly people after they were

served a meal believed to contain extremely poisonous death cap mushrooms. Police are trying to determine if the deaths were homicide.

At the end of last month, two elderly couples went for lunch at the home of 48-year-old Erin Patterson in the small township of Leongatha. She is the

former daughter-in-law of one of the couples. Police say she is separated from her husband, who has now lost both his parents from the poisoning.

Police say that evening, the guests began showing signs of food poisoning and were admitted to hospital. Days later, 70-year-old Gail Patterson and

her sister, 66-year-old Heather Wilkinson died. A day later, Gail's 70- year-old husband passed away. The fourth guest, Heather's 68-year-old husband, a reverend in the local community, remains in a critical

condition.

[12:45:00]

Police say that Erin Patterson is a suspect because she cooked the meal and is the only adult at lunch who didn't fall ill. She has not been charged in

the deaths. Her two children were also at lunch but did not get sick because they were served different meals. Let's take a listen to what

Victoria Police homicide detective Inspector Dean Thomas had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN THOMAS, DETECTIVE INSPECTOR, VICTORIA POLICE HOMICIDE SQUAD: We have to keep an open mind in relation to this, that it could be very innocent,

but again we just don't know. But it's really interesting, you know, four people turn up and three of them have passed away, and with another one

critical, so we just need to work through this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COREN: In addressing local media outside her home on Monday, a tearful Patterson denied any wrongdoing, saying she was devastated and that she

loved them. While the cause of death has yet to be confirmed, police say the symptoms suffered are consistent with poisoning by death cap mushrooms.

Toxins in death cap mushrooms found in the wild cannot be destroyed by boiling, cooking, freezing or drying. Eating a small portion can lead to

death. Anna Coren, CNN, Hong Kong.

ASHER: All right, still to come, turning trash into treasure. Nigerian artists using other people's waste, hoping to make a statement about the

environment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ASHER: All right, this is just into CNN. We've learned that the special counsel investigation into Donald Trump actually got a search warrant for

Donald Trump's Twitter account history back in January. And that Twitter was actually fined $350,000 because it delayed producing the records sought

under the search warrant. CNN's Katelyn Polantz has more on this. So, Katelyn, this is an interesting development. Do we know what the special

counsel was looking for in terms of searching through Donald Trump's Twitter history?

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: Well, Zain, we don't have a lot of information on that, but we do know from this new court

filing that's unsealed that this search warrant was looking for data and records related to the @realDonaldTrump Twitter account, so that Twitter

account Donald Trump used throughout his presidency until he was banned from the platform right after January 6th.

There are underlying court filings that explain what the Justice Department wanted that are still protected and confidential in the court system. I

really hope we get to see those at some point but right now, we know that there was this search warrant that the special connected and confidential

in the court system.

[12:50:00]

I really hope we get to see those at some point. But right now, we know that there was this search warrant that the special counsel's office got in

January, mid-January of this year, trying to get access to this information in Trump's Twitter account or related to his Twitter account, and that they

ultimately did get that information. But there was a bit of a struggle.

There was some issues over a few days where Twitter was unwilling to hand it over or didn't hand over that information under the search warrant

immediately, and so Twitter was fined about $350,000 for that. And also, the Justice Department didn't want Twitter to tell Donald Trump, the

account holder, their client, that this search was going to be taking place of his account handle.

And one of the things that happened there was it went through a judge, and the judge in Washington, D.C., found that there was reason to believe that

telling Trump and allowing Twitter to tell Trump that he was going to have this search warrant on his account. It could jeopardize the special counsel

investigation around the 2020 election. It possibly could give Trump an opportunity to tell other people that this was taking place, destroy

evidence, change his patterns of behavior.

There also was a discussion that the judge had about whether Trump might flee if he knew this search was going to be taking place, that this

investigative activity was happening. The Justice Department ultimately walked that back and said, we don't actually believe that, according to

this record. But it is one of these really illuminating things that the Justice Department did as the special counsel's office was looking to build

a case clearly against Donald Trump, which they then ultimately brought just a few weeks ago in the federal court here. Zain.

ASHER: Never a dull moment. Katelyn Polantz, live for us there, thank you so much. All right, the mayor of Montgomery, Alabama, says justice will be

served after a riverfront fight in his city turned into a chaotic brawl. Three white men are facing assault charges after footage showed them

attacking a black man who was the co-captain of a riverboat. Montgomery's police chief says there could be more arrests. CNN's Ryan Young has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CLAYTON THOMAS; WITNESS: You see stuff like that on the TV but to see it live and I've been a person of color, you know, you have those stories from

your grandmother about how it used to be and how wrong it was. So, it was hurtful.

RYAN YOUNG, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Clayton Wildcat Thomas is a musician on the river cruise at The Harriott II. It witnessed a

fight that took place between a group of white boaters and a black employee that escalated into a massive fight on a riverside dock in Montgomery,

Alabama on Saturday.

The incident occurred after the river boats co-captain, Damian Pickett tried to clear the dock space where the riverside cruiser normally docks.

Montgomery Police Chief, Darryl Albert, announcing Tuesday that three white men had been charged with third degree assault for their involvement in the

incident.

DARYLL ALBERT, CHIEF, MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA POLICE DEPARTMENT: We're also asking for Mr. Reggie Gray, the black male, 42 years old who was seen

wielding that folding chair, to contact the Montgomery Police Department for further interviews.

YOUNG: The chief also identified the other victim today, a 16-year-old white male whose mother signed an arrest warrant on one of the individuals

who attacked her son. The river cruiser idle for about 40 minutes while the captain was prevented from docking and first attempted to contact the

pontoon owners by the cruise's PA system.

ALBERT: The co-captain was then picked up by a separate vessel and brought to the pier in an attempt to have a conversation with the private boat

owners and or have those boats move so that the Harriott could dock. A confrontation ensued between the co-captain and Mr. Pickett, the co-

captain, being attacked by several members of the private boat.

THOMAS: Everybody's yelling, hey, you know, and the captain, everybody's cringing because we can't help him because he's getting stomped and kicked

and cussed.

YOUNG: While it appeared to be largely split across racial lines, the police chief said at this time, there's not enough evidence to meet the

criteria to charge for a hate crime or inciting a riot.

ALBERT: Knowing Montgomery's history, knowing all the civil rights things that we went through here in the city of Montgomery and what that means to

the nation, you know, we were very amped up to get this right. We'll continue to do all that we need to ensure that we get it right.

YOUNG: Montgomery's mayor, Steven Reed, says the investigation isn't over yet.

STEVEN REED, MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA MAYOR: You can't allow your emotions or your initial thoughts to get out in front of what the facts tell you. And

so, while this is an ongoing investigation, so far, the facts are kind of separating themselves from what was fiction.

YOUNG: You can see the Harriott II right behind me. Since this incident happened, there have been signs that have now been added to this dock space

to make sure no one parks in that space again. The real question is about the three men who police want to charge with these crimes and how soon will

they all be in custody. That's something this community is looking forward to, to try to figure out exactly what happened.

[12:55:00]

Ryan Young, CNN, Montgomery, Alabama.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ASHER: All right, Canadian Rapper Tory Lanez has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for shooting fellow Rapper Megan Thee Stallion in 2020. Last

year, Lanez was found guilty of three charges from the incident where Megan Thee Stallion was shot in the foot. His attorney says the sentence is

harsh, but the Los Angeles District Attorney says Lanez had tried to silence the victim. An attorney for Lanez argues his client is being

punished for his celebrity status and is being used to quote, "set an example".

And finally, the microphone Rapper Cardi B reportedly threw at a fan nearly two weeks ago during a concert is once again in the spotlight, but for a

different reason. It recently sold for almost $100,000 on eBay. The owner of an audio production company put the mic up for auction. He says the

money will go towards two charities, the Wounded Warrior Project and a non- profit for special needs kids and young adults. All right, thank you so much for watching One World. I'm Zain Asher. Amanpour is up next. You're

watching CNN.

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END