so she grabbed that seat. there aren't any assigned seats on southwest. she got the seat. somebody else came on to take the seat and she was able to -- she had to get off the plane. but she is facing six months in jail, a thousand dollars in fines. that does it for us. to our viewers around the world, have a great day. hello, everyone, i'm rosemary church. >> we appreciate you joining us whether you're watching from the u.s. or around the world. coming up for you this hour, no deal yet. israeli/palestinian and egyptian negotiators try and extend a cease-fire. and the u.s. president makes it clear where he stands. >> i have no sympathy for hamas. a growing nightmare. liberia declares a state of emergency. the u.s. centers for disease control goes on its highest alert as ebola death toll nears 1,000. and justice in cambodia. a u.n.-backed court finds a pair

of senior khmer rouge leaders guilty of crimes against humanity. plus, a cosmic first. scientists celebrate the rendezvous of a european space probe with a comet millions of miles away. we want to begin with this recent development. a guilty verdict for two former senior leaders of khmer rouge in cambodia. a panel of international judges backed by the united nations just handed down life sentences to the men. the men both now in their 80s are accused of crimes against humanity for their roles in the khmer rouge's reign of terror back in the '70s. it became known as the killing fields. they denied guilt and had sought acquittals. chea and samphan are the highest ranking leaders to face justice. you see them there.

some critics say that these sentences are too little, too late. >> what's a life sentence to them who are sick and who are unrepentant? they are 88 years old, and they're 83 years old. and plus, we've not seen the core, the hearts of the crimes against them. what we're seeing, the verdict is really only for the crime of forced eviction, which is a forced evacuation. so that's really minor in comparison to the crimes of genocide which has not started yet. >> now, for those of you perhaps too young to know very much about this, i want to bring some background to you because the khmer rouge was responsible for one of the worst mass killings of the 20th century under communist leader pol pot. they ruled cambodia from 1975 to 1979. now, only four years but a lot

of brutal damage done in that time. most people know the name from the 1980s movie "the killing fields." now, the khmer rouge forced millions of people to work in labor camps. almost 2 million cambodians. about a quarter of the country's population were killed or died from disease, malnutrition and overwork. vietnamese forces finally removed the khmer rouge from power in 1979. and we will be speaking to lars olsen in the next hour, the spokesperson for the extraordinary chambers in the courts of cambodia which just handed down the verdicts. at this moment it's 7:00 a.m. in cairo. that's where we have israeli and palestinian negotiators back at the bargaining table again today, although this is not a face-to-face meeting. >> that's right. european mediators are actually

talking with each side separately, trying to extend the 72-hour cease-fire that has held for almost two full days now. israel says it is on board, but palestinian leaders say such talk is premature. >> right. referring, of course, to the egyptian mediators there. u.s. president barack obama, though, says he supports the effort to extend the cease-fire, but he did make it clear that he has no sympathy for hamas. >> yeah, certainly emphasized that. mr. obama says there must be a way to protect israel's security and help the people of gaza who are struggling. take a listen. >> the short-term goal has to be to make sure that rocket launches do not resume, that the work that the israeli government did in closing off these tunnels has been completed and that we are now in the process of helping to rebuild a gaza that's

been really badly damaged as a consequence of this conflict. >> meantime, israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu was praising his country's military for their work in gaza. >> but he says hamas is to blame for the high number of civilian deaths. mr. netanyahu says hamas positioned rockets in residential neighborhoods and then used civilian casualties as, quote, pr fodder. listen. >> israel deeply regrets every civilian casualty, every single one. we do not target them. we do not seek them. the people of gaza are not our enemy. our enemy is hamas. our enemy are the other terrorist organizations trying to kill our people. >> our senior international correspondent matthew chance is following developments this morning. he joins us now live from jerusalem. good morning to you, matthew.

so much mistrust between these two sides, of course, hence these indirect talks. what's the latest information you have this morning? >> reporter: well, the talks are still continuing indirectly through those egyptian mediators in cairo. and that so far no agreement has been reached on extending the 72-hour truce. it's already been in force for 24 hours almost. and it's been a period of quiet in gaza. there have been no rocket attacks from inside gaza into israel. and there have been no troop incursions or airstrikes or artillery barrages from the israeli side into the gaza strip. and so quiet, immense quiet compared to the situation over the past four weeks. and so that's a very good sign. but when it comes to a lasting cease-fire, the problem is that's only going to be brought about by some kind of political solution. and on that front, both sides appear to be as far apart as

ever. they're both -- delegations both in cairo. but on the one hand, you've got the hamas and other plalestinia factions saying they want a lifting of the siege of gaza, the blockade lifted. they want the borders open to allow free flow of movement out of the gaza strip for their people. and you've got israel saying no, we're not going to do that because it would be an opportunity for you to, you know, assemble more weapons and to rearm. and also, by the way, we want to you completely disarm if this cease-fire is going to be extended. and so the two sides very far apart at this stage on extending this truce into a lasting sort of cease-fire. >> i know there are so many issues that both sides want dealt with in order for this to continue. but let's just address one of them. it's being discussed in some reports that hamas wants an opening of the rafa border crossing that connects egypt to gaza. egypt, of course, negotiating this. everyone really watching to see how it will negotiate this.

what does israel think of that possibility, opening that crossing between gaza and egypt? >> reporter: well, this is a matter for negotiations. certainly that rafa crossing has been an essential life line for the people of gaza. in the past it was only really closed when the recent government of president sisi came to power. of course, the muslim brotherhood has been designated now a terrorist group in egypt. and hamas is an offshoot of the muslim brotherhood. so there's no love lost as we've been reporting between the current egyptian government and hamas. but such is the humanitarian situation on the ground in gaza. i think that despite the egyptian government's misgivings about hamas, there is a political pressure within egypt for them to act and for them to make a concession perhaps by opening up this border. there's another possibility on the table as well.

it's been reported to us by a german diplomat saying that one of the points under discussion is that a european force could be redeployed to gaza. it's been there previously to monitor that border crossing, rafa, between the gaza strip and egypt which would perhaps be a guarantee that all of the sides here, the palestinians, egyptians and israelis may be satisfied with. >> interesting possibility there. matthew chance live for us in jerusalem where it's about just past 7:00 in the morning. rosemary? israel has come under heavy criticism for the high civilian death toll in gaza, but israel holds hamas possible, accusing it of launching its rockets from densely populated areas. now, john vause shows us new video that goes to the heart of that controversy. >> reporter: for almost a month, israel focused much of its firepower here on the northern gazan town, devastating entire neighborhoods. the family now living in the

ruins of what's still standing of their home. >> and this is my home with my sisters. >> reporter: israel is just a few miles away. and israel's military says hamas used homes here as cover to fire off hundreds of rockets. but when i asked -- so why? why would they hit this area? were they hamas rockets? >> no, no, no. >> reporter: no hamas rockets? >> no, never, never. >> reporter: no hamas fighters? >> no, never. >> reporter: never, ever seen. >> never, never. >> reporter: but in gaza city, reporters from france 24 and india's ndtv have shown at least one rocket launcher located in a residential area. it's a small vacant block of land surrounded by homes and hotels where many foreign reporters are staying. a u.n. building is close by. children are seen playing on the launchers. the site not far from where the reporter from france 24 ducked for cover last week when a missile was fired overhead. other reporters who tried to get close including from cnn have

been warned off until this is now a closed military area. and the militant group islamic jihad has posted this video on its website showing how rocket launchers can appear from almost nowhere. fire and then disappear. the israeli military says the most effective way to destroy the rockets and their launchers often means destroying the homes where they're hidden. which is why residents are given a warning, usually minutes, before a strike. this area was repeatedly hit by israeli tank fire as well as artillery rounds. they also called in airstrikes. and this is the end result of a missile fired from nf-16. a crater in the ground. it's about six meters, 20 feet or so deep. it totally destroyed this home. israel says with much of hamas's military capability destroyed, it's mission accomplished. hamas claims victory because it's still standing after a 28-day pounding.

while it may not be clear who won this round, it is obvious who lost. john vause, cnn, beit hanoun, gaza. >> extraordinary images there. all right, we will take a short break now. just ahead, a government offensive is intensifying in eastern ukraine. >> yeah, thousands of civilians caught in the middle of this clash as well. this intensifies as the ukrainian military moves in on pro-russia separatists in the key city of donetsk. details coming up. for over 1. [ mom ] with life insurance, we're not just insuring our lives... we're helping protect his. [ female announcer ] everyone has a moment when tomorrow becomes real. transamerica. transform tomorrow.

this is the other big story we are following. a heightened alert in liberia and a stark warning from u.s. health officials as fears of ebola rise across the globe. >> yeah, and particularly in west africa. liberia's president declared a 90-day state of emergency wednesday night after the number of confirmed probable and suspected deaths in her country rose to 282. now, the declaration essentially allows the government to, quote, institute extraordinary measures and possibly suspend certain rights and privileges. >> the world health organization says the global toll of confirmed probable or suspected deaths has risen to 932, prompting the u.s. centers for disease control and prevention to issue its highest alert on ebola. meantime, europe's first

ebola patient is arriving home for treatment thursday morning. he's a spanish priest who contracted the virus in liberia. >> now, concern is growing in nigeria after that country's second confirmed ebola death. >> yeah, the state health commission is now appealing for outside help to try and avert a possible epidemic there. >> we need volunteers now. they are extremely necessary. to our sisters tracking contacts, to manage those cases. so we need doctors. we need nurses. and health workers. >> calling for doctors and nurses there. nigerian officials are stepping up screening measures as well. >> with all that's being asked for, many are wondering is that going to be enough, stepping up screening measures to stop this

virus from continuing to spread? our jonathan mann looks at the growing fear in nigeria's largest city, lagos. >> reporter: worry on the streets of lagos, nigeria. in this mega city of 21 million people, fears of an ebola epidemic are growing after nigerian health officials confirmed five new cases and a second death from the virus. the latest victim, a nurse who helped care for patrick sawyer, an american who died days after arriving on a flight from liberia. >> nigeria is the most populated country in africa. and boy, we hope it doesn't have an outbreak there. >> if this thing is not contained in lagos, i can bet you before you can say jack robinson it's going to be everywhere in nigeria. >> reporter: they've stepped up screening for incoming passengers. >> any suspicious passenger, the

passenger goes to this holding area which we are providing for further investigation and interrogation. after which it is established, we have a quarantine area where the patient will be quarantined for necessary action. >> reporter: but lagos is one of the world's most crowded cities. many residents say medical care is not easily accessible. many others can't afford it. >> to be very frank, i think that we started our remedy or preventive measures rather a bit late. the ebola scare has been around for a while, and we are supposed to do much more than we are doing now. >> reporter: health officials all over the world are hoping nigeria is not too late to head off a possible epidemic. jonathan mann, cnn.

let's get you the latest out of ukraine now. the search for plane crash victims in the eastern part of the country has now been suspended. >> yeah, the dutch government says heavy fighting there has made that recovery mission way too dangerous. it's not saying when searchers might return to the scene. all 298 people aboard that plane were killed when malaysia airlines flight 17 was shot out of the sky last month. so far 228 coffins with human remains have been sent to the netherlands. and it is a national day of mourning in australia which lost 38 people in the plane crash. ♪ >> this was a memorial service. at st. patrick's ka thecathedra melbourne.

across the country, flags are flying at half-staff. meantime, back in eastern ukraine, the head of that dutch recovery mission says small arms fire came very close to the investigators at the crash site. >> yeah, constant shelling was heard north of donetsk as ukrainian government forces tried to take back control of the city from pro-russia separatists there. >> nick paton walsh brings us more from donetsk. >> reporter: the day after the violent night before and what may be ahead dawned on donetsk. this is what a bomb did when it didn't detonate. this when it did. we think here they were from a jet we heard. while nobody was killed near these, the hope the heaviest weapons wouldn't be used in this fight died. closer to the city center, one man was killed here waiting for a tram. someone posting a parody from the ukrainian anthem.

ukraine isn't dead yet, but it already smells, and we can see its end. just around the corner, another man died from shelling. places like here, the shells land. and while both sides blame the other for the loss of civilian lives, it's almost impossible in places like this, markets, homes all around that the fight for donetsk will happen without a lot of innocent ukrainians losing their lives. who fired these shells was the question nobody could answer as they queued to get out late pensions. that's the interesting question, one woman says. they don't advertise who does it. it's hard to tell. in the city's center, too the remains of a night gun battle we heard. unclear who was fighting so far to control this local government finance building. the rare appearance from a separatist leader tried to bolster morale but did not explicitly appeal for russian military help. we're hearing now ukrainian army

advancing every hour. we hear explosions in the town as we speak. how can you win without russian help? "we think we're holding out okay," he says. "for over 100 days, the entire war machine of a state has been crashing down on our young republic. if they lose part of the territory, they are defeated, and this is a huge victory. and we think we have this victory as ukrainian society doesn't want to fight." but outside in the blue, another ukrainian jet flew overhead. the sky is starting to fall in on this uprising. as the moment for russia to bail out the rebellion it started seems about to pass. nick paton walsh, cnn, donetsk. u.s. president barack obama says western sanctions are putting enormous pressure on russia's economy. this after the russian president delivered his strongest response yet to those economic penalties over ukraine. as paul black is about to show

you, vladimir putin is banning many food and agricultural imports from countries imposing sanctions on russia. >> reporter: this move is classic russia. it is a standard play here. when moscow is in a dispute with another country to ban certain products from that country usually citing health concerns. but this is potentially much bigger. the decree bans or restricts imports of agricultural goods and farming materials from all countries that have signed up to sanctions against russia. so at the very least, you're talking about all the members of the european union, the united states, australia, canada, japan. but the language in this degree is important because it talks about certain products and materials, not all. and it talks about restrictions as well as bans. so what we don't know just yet is how big, how wide russia is retaliating here. and we won't know until the government announces its final list of products and materials that are affected. the russian government agricultural watchdog tells us that it is the organization responsible for coming up with that list. and it's going to take a few

days. but it believes certainly that fruit, vegetable, meat and dairy products will all be included. and that russia will now have to seek new imports from countries in south america or asia. and russia's ability to fill that gap left by the bans and restrictions is significant because if it doesn't do that, it means that russian chustomer could face shortages and even price rises. phil black, moscow. still to come with our cnn special coverage, a commuter has what you might call a pretty tough morning. >> yeah. this is pretty incredible, though. we'll tell you what fellow passengers did to help that man out. stay with us. where the reward was that what if tnew car smelledit card and the freedom of the open road? a card that gave you that "i'm 16 and just got my first car" feeling. presenting the buypower card from capital one. redeem earnings toward part or even all of a new chevrolet,

buick, gmc or cadillac - with no limits. so every time you use it, you're not just shopping for goods. you're shopping for something great. learn more at buypowercard.com add brand new belongings from nationwide insurance... ...and we'll replace destroyed or stolen items with brand-new versions. we put members first. join the nation. ♪ nationwide is on your side ♪ anyone who's been in the london underground knows you must mind the gap. now an australian man is realizing why that's so important. he had a very close call trying to board a train. >> yeah, absolutely.

this footage is just incredible. the dramatic images you're about to see, i want you to watch very closely as this man gets on the train. it's caught on surveillance camera. and nick etchels has the story. >> reporter: the morning train rolls in as commuters wait to board. one of the last to step on is the man in the gray hat. but then he steps back. somehow his left leg drops down the impossibly small gap between the train step and the platform, narrower than the width of his hand. he was stuck fast. >> it got stuck and someone yelled out "a guy's leg's caught in the train." >> reporter: passengers inside were told to move to the far side of the train. still, it wouldn't budge. but then rail staff rallied a rescue. they asked the passengers to get out and push. it worked. hidden behind his helpers, the man finally pulls his leg free and rolls inside the train.

>> you didn't notice it too much. but it only took two pushes and he was out. >> reporter: the ill-fated traveler was remarkably unhurt. in the end, the train left just 15 minutes behind schedule, taking the volunteer rescue squad back to their day jobs. >> i think he was more embarrassed about the incident than hurt. so he kind of quickly ran out. >> reporter: no doubt next time he'll take some english advice and mind the gap. nick echols, 7 news. >> did he end up taking the train or not? >> no, i don't think so. i think he said i'll try that another day. lovely thing, all those aussies rally. >> they wanted to get where they needed to go. >> i think it's great to see so many people get on board. >> it was very nice. you hope it would happen. >> interesting how he got his leg caught that far, but anyhow. a typhoon continues to be on track for landfall in japan saturday. >> yeah, let's get the latest now from meteorologist alexandra steele who joins us with more. alexandra. >> hi, you guys. it's really been double trouble

for japan. all last week we were talking about tropical storm nacri which brought historic flooding, a foot of rain in seven hour as loan. and now hot on its heels, we've got a typhoon, typhoon hilong. look at the action here in the tropics. we'll get to iselle and julio headed for hawaii coming up. i want to show you the history. the breadth and depth of this thing, it was a super typhoon. now it's a typhoon, and you can see its long history. and it really has been pretty consistent. it's been powerful. it's been fueled by very warm waters. it hasn't seen a lot of wind shear. that means breaking up of the storm. you see where it is. fairly well organized. its winds now at a maximum sustained winds at 165 kilometers per hour. you see gusts in excess of 200. so certainly it has got a lot of power with it. and you can see it's headed for the same exact location that we saw with this tropical storm. and then it became a tropical depression. and when it was a depression,

which is certainly a lot weaker than this typhoon, it just inundated everyone. so for the weekend, we're going to see this begin to make its approach. i want to show you the history of what we saw in two places especially got hit so hard. kochi, already fourth wettest august on record. and sunday was the wettest august day ever there. and also one other spot, also the wettest, the second wettest august on record. so now here comes this typhoon. and you can see this inundation of rain. now, this is just in the next 48 hours. and you can see kind of the axis of the heaviest rain still well south. then that, too, moves north. so rosemary, errol, a serious situation with an area so saturated. coming, we'll take you to hawaii. double trouble. two hurricanes, a beeline for hawaii. we'll talk about the timing coming up.

>> it is a double whammy for them. >> cancel your trips if you're headed to hawaii if you can. a very serious situation. short break now. just ahead, the fighting between israel and gaza may have stopped for now. >> but if you can believe it, not everyone is happy about the current cease-fire. coming up, extremists on both sides saying finish the job.