CNN.com - Transcripts (2024)

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ANNA COREN, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hello and welcome to our viewers watching in the United States and all around the world. I'm Anna Coren, live from Hong Kong.

Ahead on CNN NEWSROOM, nearly 100 people are reported dead following another Israeli strike on a school in Gaza. It comes amid fears the conflict could spread throughout the region.

Both U.S. presidential nominees are on the campaign trail. Vice President Kamala Harris in a battleground state on the border and former president Donald Trump in a safely red (INAUDIBLE).

And 61 passengers and crew are dead after a passenger plane crashes in Brazil. The latest on the investigation.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from Hong Kong, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Anna Coren.

COREN: We begin in Gaza, where local officials say an Israeli airstrike has killed at least 90 people at a school in Gaza City.

Gaza civil defense says displaced Palestinians were staying in the school. They also say emergency crews are working to rescue the injured and recover the bodies of those killed. CNN cannot confirm the death toll, partly because Gaza is inaccessible to the international media.

But Israel confirms that it struck the building. Israeli military saying it attacked, quote, "a Hamas terrorists" operating within a Hamas command and control center in the school and located next to a mosque. The IDF says it tried to mediate the risk of harming civilians.

The strike comes as the United Nations says more than 80 percent of Gaza has been subject to evacuation orders since the war began last October. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): W are tired of this life. By God, we are fed up. Death is better than this. Let the country see and find a solution. We're tired. We have died, died, died. We've died 100 times. We've died.

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COREN: All of this comes as ceasefire negotiations are expected to resume next week. Well, CNN's Jomana Karadsheh joins us now, live from London with much more.

Jomana, this has been described as a horrific massacre, reportedly carried out during morning prayers.

What more are you learning?

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we are starting to get information, Anna, as you can imagine, the situation on the ground is very chaotic. There's a lot of panic. They are struggling to deal with the number of injured, trying to retrieve bodies from the scene.

Now what we understand happened, according to local authorities in Gaza, is at about before 5 o'clock in the morning, this is around dawn prayers, they say, this school that serves also as a shelter for the internally displaced.

It's in the northern part of Gaza to the east of Gaza City at Al- Tabi'in school. And they say that it was hit by Israeli strikes. We're hearing from eyewitnesses and from officials anywhere between two to three missiles used in this strike.

And they say it happened at a time where people had gathered for dawn prayers and it hit the area where people were praying at that time.

And according to authorities, they say at least 90 people so far have been killed but they expect that this number is going to rise. They say that many are in critical condition. People have been transferred to one of the last standing hospitals in northern Gaza that is barely able to provide services.

And also they're saying that many of these bodies that they have retrieved are unidentifiable at this point because of the state that they are in.

Now as you mentioned, the Israeli military is saying that this was a precise strike against what they say is Hamas terrorists who were operating within what they call Hamas command and control center.

In their statement, they do acknowledge that the school was also a shelter for residents but they're saying that they took measures to mitigate the risk of harming civilians. And they mentioned precise missiles, aerial surveillance and intelligence.

But it's very important to point out here that we've asked the Israeli military to provide us with what evidence they have to support the statement, saying that this was a Hamas command and control center.

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We have not had that from the Israeli military. And also the fact that people on the ground are saying there was no warning to civilians before this strike happened.

And also in the past week, there have been several schools in different parts of Gaza that also are shelters for the internally displaced that have been hit by Israeli strikes.

And we heard from the High Commissioner for Human Rights for the United Nations in a statement this week, saying that they are horrified by the unfolding pattern, as they call it, of Israeli strikes on schools in Gaza, killing internally displaced people.

And of course, this is coming at a time where there were hopes of trying to resume what appear to be these last-ditch efforts by the United States, by Qatar, by Egypt, the mediators, to try and restart these talks for a hostage and ceasefire deal that was supposed to happen August the 15th.

We'll have to wait and see what happens after this. Of course, Hamas had not confirmed yet it was going to attend these talks. But this is really happening at such a volatile time, a dangerous time in this region, where there's so much at stake right now.

And as you mentioned, people in Gaza, authorities and residents describing this as a massacre.

COREN: Jomana, as you just mentioned, this deadly strike this morning flows to attacks on Thursday on schools sheltering displaced Palestinians.

I mean, it would seem that there is no where safe in Gaza for these people.

How will this morning's deadly attack complicate the ceasefire, talks, as you say scheduled for next week?

KARADSHEH: What we'll have to see Hamas' response. First of all, we have been waiting to hear if Hamas was going to attend the talks. But in the last few minutes, Anna, we heard from the Egyptians.

The, there was a statement released coming from the Egyptian foreign ministry, very strongly worded statement, in which they say, quote, "Deliberately killing this big number of unarmed civilians whenever the efforts intensify to reach a ceasefire is clear evidence of the lack of Israeli political will to end this ferocious war."

And this is something that we've heard not only from Egypt as a mediator in the past; there have been others who have criticized the Israeli prime minister, the Israeli government, of not being serious about trying to reach a deal.

The Israeli prime minister has been accused of sabotaging the deal a number of times. This has also come from families of Israeli hostages saying, for his own political survival, he has obstructed these negotiations and talks in the past.

So I think as the day continues to unfold, we'll be getting a lot more reaction from the different mediators here and, of course, the United States. And you know, you look at what's at stake here. This is where we talk about a deal. We talk about political negotiations.

But it is end of the day. Human lives that are at stake, whether it is the civilian population in Gaza that has gone through so much or it is the families of the hostages who just want their loved ones back.

COREN: Jomana Karadsheh, always great to get your reporting on this story. Thank you for joining us.

Last hour, I spoke to Dr. Hasan Alhasan from the International Institute for Strategic Studies about the fears of a wider war that could engulf the Middle East. I began by asking him about this latest Israeli strike on a school in Gaza.

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HASAN ALHASAN, INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR STRATEGIC STUDIES: It's part of a very consistent pattern of Israeli behavior, where Israel justifies the large-scale killing of civilians on the basis of targeting, very often, even one Hamas commander.

And I think that this is obviously no longer acceptable and has raised a host of legal concerns articulated and expressed by the International Court of Justice and the potentially the International Criminal Court.

But as I said, this is part of longstanding Israeli behavior. It's obviously unhelpful to the negotiations. But again, I think we've seen a lot of mixed messaging come out of Israel on its willingness to engage seriously in negotiations.

And so only very recently Hamas took out -- or Israel -- pardon -- took out Hamas' leading top political negotiator and political leader Ismail Haniyeh, which many would interpret as a message that Israel is not interested in negotiating with the group but would rather like to destroy it.

But now, is expressing readiness to join the latest round of negotiations. So we've, I think this part, this mixed messaging and the behavior on the ground has often been inconsistent with some of the rhetoric coming out.

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COREN: The region, as we know, is bracing for a wider war, with Iran and Hezbollah expected to respond to the two assassinations last week.

What are you expecting from the retaliatory strike or strikes?

And is there a risk of this exploding into a much wider conflict? ALHASAN: There's always a risk of further escalation.

There are risks that a retaliatory strike, however or whichever form it takes, ends up landing too many casualties.

And Israel, for example, the risk of catastrophic success, so to speak.

And then prompting a wider Israeli response.

I think Iran has somewhat puzzled most analysts by delaying the response for this long. I think most people had expected a response to come sooner and it hasn't yet materialized.

A few days ago, Hezbollah's chief say Hassan Nasrallah came out and reconfirmed that Israel Hezbollah, even the Houthis would eventually respond to Israel's aggression.

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COREN: Well, the Democratic presidential ticket is on a tear through Western swing states that could determine the outcome of the election.

Kamala Harris and running mate Tim Walz head to Las Vegas, Nevada, later today. But while in Glendale, Arizona, Harris reiterated her plan to sign the bipartisan border security bill that failed to pass Congress earlier this year, accusing her Republican rival Donald Trump of torpedoing the bill for personal gain.

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KAMALA HARRIS (D), VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES AND 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Earlier this year, we had a chance to pass the toughest bipartisan border security bill in decades. But Donald Trump tanked the deal.

Because he thought, by doing that, it would help him win an election. But when I am president, I will sign the bill.

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COREN: Trump is expected to attend fundraisers in Wyoming and Colorado in the hours ahead. He made his first campaign stops since the Democratic ticket became official in Bozeman, Montana, once again insulting Harris' intelligence while making wild predictions.

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DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: So get your friends, get your family and get out and vote in numbers and America, I tell you what, like numbers that you've never seen before. I think that's going to happen. I think we're going to have the greatest election victory in the history of our country.

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COREN: Well, CNN's Alayna Treene has more from Trump's rally in Montana.

But first, let's go to Eva McKend in Glendale, Arizona, with more on the vice president's campaign stop.

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EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: The Harris campaign continuing to enjoy a surge of momentum, this arena packed to the rafters.

The vice president addressing ceasefire protesters directly, saying that she, too, wants a ceasefire and the hostages to be returned home and that she's working in concert with President Biden toward that effort.

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HARRIS: So let me say, I have been clear. Now is the time to get a ceasefire deal and get a hostage deal done.

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HARRIS: Now is the time. And the president and I are working around the clock every day to get that ceasefire deal done and bring the hostages home.

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MCKEND: She also addressed immigration in this border state, saying that, if elected president, she would be tough on the border but she also wants comprehensive immigration reform and a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants -- Eva McKend, CNN, Glendale, Arizona.

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ALAYNA TREENE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Former president Donald Trump traveled to Bozeman, Montana on Friday.

It was his first rally since Vice President Kamala Harris had announced her running mate and selecting Tim Walz on Tuesday. Now Montana's an interesting state, it is not a battleground, it is a reliably red state, one that Donald Trump's senior advisers tell me they're not concerned about him winning in November.

But he came here instead to stomp for Tim Sheehy. He's a businessman as well as a former Navy SEAL and he's locked in a tight Senate race with John Tester, the long serving Democratic senator of Montana.

And really, when I talked to people on the ground as well as people on Capitol Hill, they say this is one of the most hardest fought races in the battle for the Senate majority.

Now I actually caught up with Steve Daines, a senator from Montana, as well as the chairman of the national Republican senatorial committee. And he told me that he was the one who actually privately encouraged Donald Trump to come here.

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He said, we know it's not a battleground but this race is incredibly important. So a lot of reasoning for why he wanted to come here tonight.

Now we did see Donald Trump mentioned Sheehy as well as give shout- outs to both him and other Republican lawmakers. But most of his speech really mirrored what we heard him do on Thursday at his press conference in Florida.

He attacked Harris over immigration, crime, inflation but also mocked her intelligence, argued that she was running to the Left of Joe Biden, that she was a dangerous, liberal and also attacked her running mate, Tim Walz.

Now one thing that was new that we haven't seen before is he actually stopped in the middle of his speech on two different occasions to play a video going after Harris. I want you take a look at what he did.

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TRUMP: Kamala is grossly incompetent. And in my opinion, has a very low IQ. But we'll find out about her IQ during the debate. OK. Let's find out about her IQ.

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TRUMP: So, you know, we have this great system. I want to show you just one other thing, please.

Do you mind putting it up please?

Thank you.

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HARRIS: We've been to the border.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You haven't been to the border.

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TREENE: Now I think it's clear from that that we have really entered this new phase of this election cycle.

Donald Trump's campaign but also the Harris campaign, their attacks have become increasingly personal and nasty. And I think it's reflective of just the state of the race right now as they're sprinting to November. And one thing I can tell you, at least for Donald Trump's part on

this, when I talked to his team, is that he has been increasingly frustrated with the Democratic enthusiasm surrounding Vice President Kamala Harris.

You know, she's sustained this enthusiasm for several weeks now. And you've heard him attack her, crowd size attack her for having celebrity performers. All of those things have been getting under his skin. And I think that's a lot of where this is coming from -- Alayna Treene, CNN, Bozeman, Montana.

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COREN: Well, we're one month away from the first presidential debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. They are both expected to show up on September 10th but Trump is pushing for more debates, including one on FOX News a week before the planned debate on ABC.

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TRUMP: But I think it's very important to have debates. I look forward to the debates because I think we have to set the record straight. So I just look forward to these debates. I think it's very important that we have. I hope she agrees to them, September 4th September 10th September 25th.

And I think they'll be very revealing.

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COREN: He went on to say that minor details are still being worked out, including audience and locations. Early this week Trump had said that he wouldn't debate Harris unless she agreed to the proposed faceoff on FOX News but it doesn't seem likely to happen.

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HARRIS: I'm glad that he's finally agreed to a debate on September 10th. I'm looking forward to it and hope he shows up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you open to more debates?

HARRIS: I'm happy to have that conversation about an additional debate for after September 10th.

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COREN: Mitchell McKinney is dean of the Buchtel College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Akron. He joins us now from Akron, Ohio.

Mitchell, great to have you with us.

Tell us why has Donald Trump decided to debate Kamala Harris?

And what is he risking by doing so?

MITCHELL MCKINNEY, DEAN, BUCHTEL COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES, UNIVERSITY OF AKRON: Well, certainly I think that he feels the need to do so that, again, the dynamics of this race has changed, that we've seen a tightening in the polls.

Some have even suggested that the Harris ticket has gone ahead. So therefore, there's pressure on Donald Trump. And also the Harris campaign really has been using, I think, a Trump strategy of taunting him.

Kamala Harris suggesting that perhaps he's afraid to meet her. He's afraid to debate her. And certainly that's the kind of taunt that gets under Donald Trump's skin. And so therefore, he feels like that he must engage in this debate.

And I think that we will see, this will be a debate of two contrasting styles and, in some ways, I think it can be a very interesting debate in terms of Kamala Harris' ability to rebut, to refute, to take it to Trump.

Donald Trump, when he makes those claims sometimes that are rather outlandish, bombastic. And she certainly has shown in the past that she has that ability. So it is shaping up, I think, to be quite an interesting debate encounter.

COREN: But these circ*mstances are very different because this will be billed as prosecutor versus felon. And you would have to assume that Harris will out-debate Donald Trump.

MCKINNEY: Well, certainly I think they both bring different skills to the debate stage.

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However, as we have seen Donald Trump in his early runs in 2016, again in 2020, and now here he is, the nominee in 2024, I think, in terms of his style, he does not feel that someone will get the best of him.

Kamala Harris, with her skill, again, as you mentioned, a prosecutor. And so I think that that really creates this dynamic of the often brash, aggressive Trump, sometimes rather bombastic in his style, taking on Kamala Harris. So we will then see those two contrasting styles.

COREN: It would also appear that Donald Trump is trying to break into the national conversation and news cycle, for that matter, after being drowned out by the momentum that is behind the Harris-Walz campaign. Admittedly, of course, it is a honeymoon stage.

But you'd have to see from his performance at a Mar-a-Lago news conference, it seemed that he was trying to desperately make some headlines.

MCKINNEY: Well and, again, the news conference of yesterday -- and we could go back to the late June debate with Biden and Trump. Where Trump's approach quite often is to make claims, to make

assertions and to not be challenged, whether that's by journalists, reporters or in the Biden debate to not be challenged necessarily very vigorously by one's opponent.

Now the question is, will that change with Kamala Harris?

Will she have that ability to take it to Trump?

Now certainly on the stump she has, I think, used some of his tactics, taunting him, "say it to my face, Donald, if you" -- as he has been attacking her. And so we will see then what I would expect a very vigorous debate.

COREN: Will this device at the end of the day affect swing states, affect swing voters?

I mean, that's obviously what both Trump and Harris are hoping for.

MCKINNEY: Well, certainly I think, in this instance, Kamala Harris has more to gain in this debate. Perhaps Donald Trump has more to lose. And what I mean by that is, in some ways, it's those voters that you mentioned, again, in swing states, particularly but those undecided, uncommitted.

And I think although Kamala Harris has been vice president, this will be her role to perform in terms of to perform presidentially on that debate stage.

Will she be able to convince voters and particularly voters who are uncommitted, undecided, independents, if you will, perhaps, will she be able to convince those voters that, yes, she can step in and serve in this role as commander in chief, as president?

She has the ability to do that. So this is her opportunity.

COREN: It certainly will be interesting to watch. Mitchell McKinney, great to get your insights. Thanks so much.

MCKINNEY: Anna, very good to be with you. Thank you.

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COREN: Sixty one people are dead and a nation mourns after a passenger plane crashed into a neighborhood in Brazil. We will have the latest on the disaster next.

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COREN: Three days of mourning have been declared in Brazil after a horrifying plane crash killed 61 people with no survivors.

Disturbing eyewitness video shows the plane's descent just seconds before the crash. The passenger plane was on an internal Brazilian flight when it slammed into a residential area outside of Sao Paulo, as people on the ground shouted in fear. Stefano Pozzebon has more from the crash site in Brazil.

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STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The recovery operations are going on through the night for the bodies of the 61 people on board of the Voepass airplane that crashed in Vinhedo, Brazil.

It's a residential city about 100 kilometers northwest of Sao Paulo. The plane crashed in a residential complex called Recanto Florido.

And as you can see, there are still, even in the middle of the night, operations by the police, forensic medics and the civil protection unit, as they are trying to recover as many bodies as possible as quickly as possible under the rain, to recognize and to identify the bodies.

Of course, because of the circ*mstances of the accidents and the state of that body, that could take some time. At this moment, we know that at least three bodies have been taken to Sao Paulo to the Institute of Forensic Medicine in the capital, Sao Paulo, about 100 kilometers from here, and that the relatives have been advised to go there.

At this moment, Brazil has declared a three-day national mourning period. The governor of the state of Sao Paulo has already visited the crash site just behind my back. And the company, Voepass, has said that they have still no information about how that plane could have crashed onto these houses, of what could have happened there.

However, they did recover the black box. So hopefully more information will come up in the next few hours -- for CNN, this is Stefano Pozzebon, Vinhedo, Brazil.

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COREN: Well, the death toll would have been much higher if it weren't for the fact that many people who were supposed to board the plane went to the wrong gate and missed the flight.

Take a listen.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): It's such a big emotion. You don't know. I'm here shaking my legs are here.

[03:30:00]

Only God and I were aware of this

moment.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): At 9:40, the stop was closed. The flight was leaving a Voepass. I was working at the Toledo Regional

Hospital. I'm group 10. When I got here, I waited. I argued with the airport worker and that was it. He saved my life.

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COREN: Absolutely extraordinary.

Well, a number of events are underway right now at the Olympic Games in Paris. When we come back, a recap of Friday's most dramatic moments, including one Olympian's disqualification for wearing a political slogan.

And as Taiwan won its first gold medal of the Paris Olympics, Mainland China television stopped showing the match. We'll find out why when we come back.

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COREN: Welcome back.

Well, we're well into the last weekend of what's been a historic and thrilling Summer Olympics in Paris; 35 gold medals were awarded on Friday. The U.S. and China at tied for most gold medals with 33 each.

The U.S. maintains its lead, with the most medals overall. In the ultimate day of the games kicked off earlier today with the men's marathon, runners getting ever closer to the finish line right now. Two must-see finals are women's football with Team USA and Brazil vying for golden glory.

And men's basketball sees host nation France facing off against the U.S. Patrick Snell has the highlights from Friday's competition.

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PATRICK SNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Day 14 in the French capital, bring it with it, no shortage of compelling story lines. I made a whole series of magical moments for the athletes in question.

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It would be a really emotionally charged Olympics for the Algerian boxer Imane Khelif on Friday, ramped up and at times tumultuous Summer Games. Her goal to end it with a gold medal around her neck, making the most emphatic of statements in the process.

The Algerians had to endure criticism and online abuse falling misconceptions about her sex. Khelif taking on Yang Liu of China. This was in the final of the women's welterweight division at Roland- Garros.

Khelif receiving a warm welcome as well from the crowd as she entered the ring, where she would go on to win the gold medal.

At the Stade de France, Kenya's Beatrice Chebet surging to the Olympic women's 10,000 meters gold medal Friday to add to her 5,000 title at the games. Her time, 30:43.25 seconds. World record holder Chebet did her share of the early pacemaking.

And when the pack broke into a sprint with one lap remaining, she pulled away on the final turn to deliver Kenya's first gold medal as well in this event.

And I'll take your double and raise you one more, says Nafissatou Thiam of Belgium, the 29-year-old from Liege, winning an unprecedented third straight Olympic heptathlon gold.

It was back at the 2016 Rio games the 21-year-old Thiam, becoming the youngest to earn gold in the competition, which contested over two days and features seven different track and field events.

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NAFISSATOU THIAM, BELGIAN OLYMPIC ATHLETE: It was a lot of hard work and sacrifice and being for months far from my family in South Africa. So it was more like feeling grateful that all that work paid off because, as they say in sports, it's you give everything you have and no successes is due or guaranteed to you.

You must just give it all and take what the sport gives you back. Sometimes it's not so much and I'm glad that today was it was that much for me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SNELL: Yes, wonderful achievement.

And Olympic history made as well on Friday in Paris with the first- ever breaking gold medals handed out and what a moment for those atop the podium. Japan's army actually known as bigger army, winning a close full of battle with Lithuania's Dominika Banevic to dance away into the history books.

Sound me laying down a series of halos to seal a win over B-Girl Nicka and bring the crowd at La Concorde to their feet. Chinas B-Girl, 6-7, one taking bronze, a historic Friday for breaking.

And can you believe we're headed to the final weekend of these Olympic Games?

Saturday is the biggest day of this competition, too, with no less than 51 gold, silver and bronze medals on offer. And with that, it's right back to you.

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COREN: Patrick Snell, thank you.

One Olympian sacrificed any chance of making the podium on Friday at the Olympic debut of breaking, also called breakdancing. Refugee athlete Manizha Talash, she fled Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover.

Well, after losing her bout, she was disqualified from the B-Girl breaking competition for wearing a cape emblazoned with the words, "Free Afghan Women" during her pre-qualify event.

The governing body for the sport disqualified Talash for, quote, "displaying a political slogan" on her attire. The 21-year-old said she left Afghanistan to do what she can for Afghan girls and for her future.

Political considerations of a different kind. Taiwan is known as Chinese Taipei for the Olympics. And along with Russia and Belarus, its flag is banned. CNN's Will Ripley reports the games in Paris have become a microcosm for the long running tensions between Taiwan and the People's Republic of China. which claims the island as its own.

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WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On one side of the Taiwan Strait, celebration. On the other side, silence. China and Taiwan's epic badminton battle, ending with the island's

first Paris Olympics gold in Taiwan had millions glued to their screens.

In China, state TV cut the live broadcast, only showing parts where its team played well. No medal ceremony, no celebration. Just a sudden switch to gymnastics.

Taiwanese fans in the stands say they were forcibly silenced.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I made a poster cheering on Taiwan in the shape of the islands before the match, it was snatched away. Although this was a very sad incident, it exposed to the world what Taiwan faces all the time.

RIPLEY (voice-over): Taiwan's foreign ministry calls the incident a violation of Olympic values. The IOC says banners with political messages are not allowed.

Taiwan is one of three flags banned by the Olympics, along with Russia and Belarus.

Taiwan can only compete as Chinese Taipei.

[03:40:00]

Largely due to pressure by Beijing.

China's communist leaders lay claim on the island democracy despite having never controlled it.

MIKE CHINOY, AUTHOR, "ASSIGNMENT CHINA: AN ORAL HISTORY OF AMERICNA JOURNALISTS": Taiwan is a small island of 23 million people. So you can certainly understand the IOC's logic that if somebody has to be offended, Taiwan's going to be the one that has to be offended because they don't want to offend Beijing.

RIPLEY (voice-over): Long time CNN Beijing correspondent Mike Chinoy says Olympic tensions between Taiwan and China go back to the 1960 Rome Games when Taiwan's government agreed not to use the island's official name, just so its athletes could compete.

CHINOY: It's one of the many uncomfortable compromises that Taiwan has had to make in order to carve out what little international space it has.

RIPLEY (voice-over): With the Olympics underway, China's Peoples Liberation Army really seeing this propaganda video, illustrating a full scale attack on Taiwan.

Taiwan's military releasing its own video in response, underscoring, escalating cross strait tensions on and off the court.

RIPLEY: What you don't see is any visible tension on the court between the Chinese and Taiwanese athletes. They seem to have a friendly rapport. They speak the same language.

This extreme sensitivity seems to come from a much higher level. The fact that China, with its dozens of gold medals cannot bear to broadcast tiny Taiwan winning its one gold medal of these Paris Games. This is the second time in a row, though, that Taiwan has actually won gold in the men's doubles badminton.

They also won at Tokyo Olympics. Lee and Wang became the first duo in the history of the Olympics to defend that title. So that might have something to do with all of this. Those two certainly getting a heroes' welcome when they came back here to Taiwan -- Will Ripley, CNN, Taipei.

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COREN: Ukraine is pushing its military incursion deeper into Russian territory. The offensive appears to be widening as Russian authorities scramble to respond. We'll have the latest.

Plus on patrol in the streets of Port-au-Prince, CNN gets exclusive access to the international security force taking on Haiti's gangs. Stay with us.

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(MUSIC PLAYING) COREN: Well, Russia says it has introduced counter terrorist operations in three regions as Ukraine's military incursion stretches into a fifth day.

This video shows Ukrainian troops at a strategic gas transit hub in Russia's Kursk region on Friday. It's the last pipeline through which Russian gas still reaches Europe by Ukraine.

Ukrainian forces say they control the town but the mayor denies it. Russian military bloggers suggest fighting has spread to a much wider area. The governor of Russia's Lipetsk region says a massive Ukrainian drone attack wounded at least nine people and damaged energy infrastructure.

A Ukrainian source says an airfield was hit and an ammunition depot destroyed. Meanwhile, the U.S. on Friday unveiled a new $125 million aid package for Ukraine. It was announced after a particularly deadly Russian attack on Friday; 14 people were killed and 43 wounded in a strike on a supermarket in the Donetsk region.

Well, parts of Haiti's capital showing signs of normalcy again after months of gang violence and unrest. Well, that's due in part to the arrival of a multinational security mission led by Kenyan police.

But the struggle against the gangs is far from over. In this exclusive report, CNN's Larry Madowo gained access to the mission and rode alongside as they battled the gangs through the streets of Port-au- Prince.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking foreign language).

LARRY MADOWO, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Gun battles rage on the street outside one of Haiti's biggest hospitals. Kenyan police here to help local forces take back the capital from the gangs. The first 400 officers from Nairobi quickly learning how volatile Port-au-Prince can be.

Minutes earlier, CNN was touring what is left of the hospital after gangs trashed it. The country's interim prime minister telling us it was just reclaimed.

GARRY CONILLE, INTERIM HAITIAN PRIME MINISTER: There is no tactical or strategic value for the gangs taking over this. This is really just about, you know, completely discrediting the state.

MADOWO: Is enough funding coming through for the multinational security support mission here?

CONILLE: Unfortunately, not enough and not quickly enough. Now we understand there are a lot of emergencies going on out there. And we understand there is, to a certain extent, some Haiti fatigue. The good news is that there is hope.

MADOWO (voice-over): Midway through the interview, shots ring out. MADOWO: Right.

CONILLE: This was really --

MADOWO (voice-over): The security details springs into action.

MADOWO: We've been told we have to leave now. We've had shots in the air. The gangs are getting close up.

MADOWO (voice-over): The prime minister and our team are rushed away.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go, go, go.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I got your microphone.

MADOWO (voice-over): The constant menace of gang violence dominating life here, even for the country's leader.

As night falls, we head out on patrol with Kenya's elite police forces who have been brought in to help turn things around.

MADOWO: They're using four of these American supplied MRAPs or tactical vehicles and we're going to patrol from the airport, which used to be under gang control until very recently, into the downtown area, which is still contested.

MADOWO (voice-over): CNN was granted exclusive access to film the Kenyans leading an international security force that is expected to grow to 2,500 officers from 12 countries, funded mainly by the United States.

Haitian police lead the way as a convoy scan surrounding buildings for any suspicious activity. We soon come under fire. Thousands of bullets hit the vehicles.

MADOWO: The officers are very casual about it. They're calling it rain. I guess they're used to it. Just -- we're hearing a few more from this side of the truck.

MADOWO (voice-over): Some of these men in Haiti say they have fought al-Qaeda affiliated terrorists on the Kenya-Somalia border.

MADOWO: Do you think you guys can bring peace here?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have a lot of confidence that we are going to win this battle.

MADOWO (voice-over): More gun shots as we turn back but the police decide not to engage. Back at headquarters, the damage from the night becomes clear.

With 85 percent of Port-au-Prince under gang control, civilians here are paying a heavy price. This is one of the few operational hospitals in the capital, located in the city's red zone and surrounded by gang territory.

Twenty-two-year-old Natali Marti (ph) has brought her malnourished baby in for treatment. She was raped by a gang member, she tells me.

[03:50:00]

And has had to flee her home because of the violence. The hospital lost half of its staff last year. Those remaining are determined not to give up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have to fight back.

MADOWO: You can't leave it for the gang members?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can't leave it for gang. Someone has to fight back. Someone has to stand up.

MADOWO (voice-over): With an estimated 2 million Haitians living in fear of being raped or killed in their homes, fighting back against the gangs is now an international effort. Haitian forces and their allies need resources but leaders here tell us funding and equipment are not arriving fast enough.

GODFREY OTUNGE, COMMANDER, MULTINATIONAL SECURITY SUPPORT MISSION TO HAITI: It's a matter of support. If they can be given the equipment that they need, these are the brave and courageous people.

MADOWO (voice-over): Through it all, this wary nation still has high hopes for peace -- Larry Madowo, CNN, Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COREN: Well, after the break, Mexican indigenous communities are celebrating their culture. More on that shortly.

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COREN: Celebrations in Mexico there on the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples.

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Mexico has 68 indigenous languages and their representatives paraded on Friday along a main avenue in Mexico City, with band music playing and dancing in traditional costumes.

Organizers say the cultural display is not just a matter of pride but necessity as they try to keep their heritage alive.

Music fans at one of Europe's biggest festivals insist the show must go on despite the discovery of an alleged terror plot at another concert this week. Well, first of all, go is at Hungary's Sziget festival, which began last Wednesday, said they were concerned but ultimately undeterred. The festival will continue through the weekend and conclude on Monday.

Officials in neighboring Austria announced Thursday that they had foiled an attack targeting a Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna. All three tour dates in the Austrian capital were canceled.

The secretive street artist known as Banksy has now revealed five new artworks this week, each with an animal theme. The latest work was found Friday in northeast London, depicting two pelicans eating fish.

The artist has been busy unveiling new works across London every day this week. Subjects also included a goat, two elephants, three monkeys and a wolf howling at the sky. The wolf stands on what appeared to be a satellite dish was stolen hours after it was discovered. All five were confirmed as authentic on the artist's Instagram account.

Well, how much would you pay for a kilogram of coffee?

How about $10,000?

At an auction, Japan's Saza Coffee paid that price for a kilogram, about 2.2 pounds of Panamanian beans, called Elida Geisha Natural Vuelta. The price broke last year's record by about $8 a kilo.

The company that grows the coffee says it's special because it is grown at a high altitude and in volcanic soil. At $10,000 a kilo, one cup would cost between $70 and $80.

Bet it tastes good, though.

Well, thanks so much for joining us. I'm Anna Coren, live from Hong Kong and there's more CNN NEWSROOM with my colleague, Kim Brunhuber, after this short break, stay with us.