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tv   CNNI Simulcast  CNN  August 10, 2014 1:00am-2:01am PDT

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u.s. fighter jets target more isis positions. this time in the area where the trapped yazidis are. in the united kingdom it makes its first humanitarian drops to help the displaced people in northern iraq. the palestinian delegation is threatening to pull out of cease-fire talks in egypt accusing israel of not being sneers negotiating. how israel is responding to the claims.
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hello, everyone. welcome to our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm amara walker. >> i'm george howell. we begin in iraq. american war planes have been pounding isis positions in the north. thoerchlths u.s. says four air strikes on saturday destroyed isis armored personnel carriers and armored trucks in the sinjar area. the strikes killed at least 16 islamic fighters who were attacking kurdish checkpoints. u.s. officials say the strikes were made to defend yazidi civilians stranded in iraq's sinjar mountains. >> u.s. president barack obama is warning of an extended air strike campaign against isis with no specific timetable spelled out. meantime, cameras captured the desperate situation in northern iraq as kurdish troops delivered aid to members of the yazidi sect who are being persecuted by isis who are not adhering to fundamentalist
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islam. >> iraqi kurdish forces have opened a road to provide an escape route for those trapped on sinjar mountain. >> food and water are now getting through to some of the tens of thousands stranded there. cnn's ivan watson reports from the northern city of erbil. >> desperation on a mountaintop. kurdish civilians, some clearly wounded, baking in the august sun. this little girl crying, i lost my sister and brother. where is my mother? with every passing day, kurdish officials say more people die here of dehydration and exposure to the extreme august heat. kurdish officials say tens of thousands of people from the yazidi religious minority fled to this mountain ridge to escape isis militants who recently captured the nearby town of sinjar. isis have the yazidis surrounded. they are relying an air drops of vital water and food delivered by the u.s. and iraqi air
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forces. kurdish tv released this footage of a helicopter delivering assistance to the same area. a lucky few make it on board the flight to safety. their faces pretty much say it all. not far away, isis militants have been celebrating their latest advances. showing off their control of the mosul dam, a strategic piece of iraqi infrastructure. if it breaks, it could flood all the way down to the capital baghdad. further east, u.s. air strikes appear to have slowed the isis advance. bombing suspected isis positions just west of the zaub river, just 20 minutes drive from erbil. kurdish officials relieved and thankful for the u.s. intervention. >> we are most grateful and express our gratitude and deep, deep appreciation for president obama and the u.s.
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administration and for the courageous u.s. army and airmen who are now patrolling the skies of iraq and iraqi kurd stan. >> reporter: u.s. air power has given the kurdish administration in erbil the opportunity to bolster its defenses around this fragile sanctuary in the north where hundreds of thousands of iraqis fled to escape the isis advance. ivan watson, cnn, erbil in iraqi kurdistan. our next guest is an expert on iraq. he says he's never seen a militant group like isis ever before. gareth stanfield is the director of the arab and islamic studies at britain's university of extear. thank you for your time today. let's first start about just talking about the breakdown of iraq. the kurds, the sunnis and shias all kept together under brutality under saddam hussein
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but now looking at the situation, fair to say the country has really just fallen apart? what can be done at this point to move things forward between these different groups? >> yes, i think your analysis is quite right. rnd saddam, a tremendous amount of brutality. even though there was a sem plans amongst arabs. now what we've seen since 2003 and especially 2011 is really the ripping apart of iraq's social and political fabric. what can be done now? the islamic state has got right in the middle of this issue between sunni, shia and kurds. something has to be done about the islamic state, whether it's the eradication of it as a political entity or whether it's the working of it or a more moderate version of it in though future which may have to be the case because it's so strong. ultimately, though, to keep the kurds in iraq, there needs to be some former solution that allows them to have the height that
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they have and to keep the shia happy with the concept of iraq. they need to be in power as prime minister, holding a prime minister's position. it's a very difficult political game going forward and even more difficult security-based game as well. >> so here's another question. obviously, the united states reluctant to put any troops on the ground as it has done before. so the question now, do you think this is a matter of policy to bring these different groups back together or would it take military force? >> i think president obama has never moved away from the notion of iraq being maintained as a unified state. one in which iraqis of whatever ethnicity or sect work together in a wider national interest. whether that is possible or not, he's not moved away from that policy. so what we're now seeing is, yes, an immense amount of effort an the political front by senior
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u.s. officials to try and stitch together this very tattered fab ridiculous. now getting involved with military strikes against isis going forward. now america has committed to striking isis. i think it will get drawn into striking it more and more. it's such a capable, powerful and widespread organization that it has reserved strngt in depth that we've never seen with any other islamist group in iraq or elsewhere arguably. >> certainly, you've been tracking the money trail of isis, where they get their funding. can you talk to us about how this group is able to maintain and what do you know about where they are getting the money to do what they are doing? >> well, it's very difficult to track this money. certainly very capable and dedicated organizations in the u.s. have tried to do this, and rather well. it still remains quite unclear. they've clearly inherited a lot from islamic organizations in
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iraq including al qaeda iraq and islamic state of iraq. they've also been selling oil from oil fields they've captured in syria and reports perhaps of iraq but i doubt that. perhaps to the tune of a million dollars a day. and there are also the fact that they they've taken a great amount of military material from the army meaning they can offset that cost. they don't have to buy military equipment. on top of that, i think isis is quite a passmonious organization. doesn't cost a lot to run it. you aren't going to commit corruption within isis if you are a member so they don't need a great amount of cash to survive. also the great amount they take a considerable amount of donations from arabs across the region from radical muslims across the region, from private donations, although that's almost impossible to find out. similarly, the states of the region and the arab gulf, the
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arabian peninsula deny that they fund isis. and it's very difficult to say either way whether that's the case or not. >> as far as slowing or even stopping isis, talk to fuss you could about the peshmerga forces and their capabilities. are they able to do the job and stop isis where they are? >> the peshmerga are a very dedicated, capable military organization of the kurds. with commanders from different parts of the kurdistan political spectrum. however, they are a light infantry. they have light military weapons. ak-47s, rpg-7s. they have some heavier weapons as well. that's certainly the case. what they are facing is an organization that has far more heavy weapons, and it's an organization that is utterly determined with a very high
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moral, high tempo of operations as well. and the kurdish peshmerga have struggled as isis has turned their attention to it. however, with american air strikes against isis targeting the heavy weapons they have the artillery and the army personnel carriers, along with perhaps western military supplies to the kurds so that the kurds can be the foot soldiers against isis. this could perhaps turn the tide against isis going forward. pcall to say whether this will t work or not. certainly the kurds should now be able to defend their territory but whether they can push isis back into mosul or maybe back even into syria is really a question that remains unanswered. >> it is no doubt a complicated situation. a lot of history that brings us to where we are now. gareth stanfield, we appreciate your insight on this situation
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in iraq. >> thank you. coming up after the break -- new developments in the conflict in gaza. we'll have a live report coming up from the region. >> plus, ukrainian forces surround the rebel-controlled city in the east and those inside warning of worsening humanitarian crisis. u eat - but do you know what's in your skincare? neutrogena naturals. a line of naturally derived skincare with carefully chosen, clinically proven ingredients and no harsh chemicals. healthy skin-starts from within. neutrogena naturals.
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welcome back. in the crisis in gaza, palestinian negotiators are giving an ultimatum to israel. now the talks in cairo have not resumed since the two sides failed to renew a cease-fire that expired early friday. >> in the meantime, no end in sight to the fighting with militants firing rockets into israeli territory. and israel continuing to launch air strikes into gaza. >> with more on what is happening on the ground, let's go to cnn's john vause live in gaza city. palestinian negotiators issuing this ultimatum that israel come back to the negotiating table, but we've heard from israel that they are saying they won't unless the rockets stop being, you know, they stop launching these rockets into israel. so at this point it seems like the prospects for a cease-fire isn't looking so good. >> yeah, and that's a fairly frank assessment, amara.
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what we're seeing overnight, though, fairly limited rocket fire from gaza into israel. and what seems to be fairly limited air strikes being carried out by the israelis. about 20 targets hit here since midnight by the israeli air force, although one of those was deadly. a 17-year-old was killed in the central part of the gaza strip. everyone is focused on what is happening in cairo or what is not happening in cairo. we understand that right now, the egyptianed me yad ed med me meeting. there is a lot of talk out there right now the egyptians have put together some kind of compromise plan, that they are putting it to the palestinians right now. they've also presented it to the israelis. we're not too sure if that is the case but certainly the egyptians are talking to the palestinians. we know that the israelis have said time and time agone there can be no negotiations in cairo and they are refusing to return
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to cairo to continue those cease-fire talks until all of the militant rocket fire from gaza is stopped. and that has not been the case. we are hearing from the palestinians as well. a lot of frustration it seems coming from them. they say the israelis are stalling. they aren't taking their demands seriously. they aren't hearing anything back from the israelis in terms of their key demands. and that's lifting the economic blockade of gaza. and they are also tacking on to that now, they want a sea port here in gaza and the israelis, of course, are saying a sea port just isn't going to happen. but i guess negotiations on those other issues, as far as the israelis are concerned, can take place once the rocket fire stops. and that hant happened. so we're at the position now where hamas is saying unless the israelis return in some kind of serious capacity to those talks in egypt, then the palestinian delegation will leave and then we could see a renewal of the fighting and hamas has warned if this fighting does kick back
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off, that there will be rocket fire towards tel aviv for instance and also they could be targeting the airport in tel aviv. ben gurian airport. when rockets landed there nearly three weeks ago, that was a huge blow to the israelis. >> if the palestinian delegation does end up leaving cairo, there is this expectation that hamas and the other islamic militant groups may ramp up their rocket firing into israel. but, really, in the end, an escalation would mean the palestinian people would be the ones who will suffer. >> yeah, and that's been the case pretty much for more than a month now. the numbers really are staggering. and we have to say these are still early numbers. not entirely sure exactly how many people have been killed. we're not entirely sure how many homes have been destroyed. but according to the palestinian officials and u.n. officials here, the death toll in gaza,
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it's approaching 2,000. somewhere between 1800, maybe over 1900. the u.n. says most of those deaths are civilian deaths. the israelis disagree. the number they are putting out, they've killed about 900 militant fighters. and no way to confirm that either. we are also being told that 10,000 homes have either been destroyed or damaged. but the united nations, unwra said that 60,000 homes have been damaged or destroyed. the infrastructure has taken a huge hit. many are living in shelters. there's a concern about outbreak of disease. there's only a few hours of electricity every day which has that knock-on effect. so the population here has taken a lot. many are still defiant. they still want to fight on. they want to see something at the end of the day for all the pain and suffering and all the destruction here. others are -- i get a feeling they just want it to come to an
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end but they also want some kind of relief as well. >> i would imagine. john vause, thank you so much, live in gaza city. you know there is reaction from israel's leadership on the demands from the palestinian delegation. here's cnn's jake tapper speaking to a senior israeli official earlier. >> the egyptian process was supposed to be based on a cease-fire and serious discussions. now when discussions are difficult, they can break the cease-fire and shoot rockets, and they can the whole time say we're going to leave the table. if problems are going to be solved, what we need is to stick by the egyptian initiative which means cease-fire and serious discussions. >> a little bit later on, we'll have a live report from jerusalem for more an where israel stands as this conflict continues.
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ukrainian forces are surrounding a key rebel city in the east amid a growing humanitarian crisis in the stronghold. donetsk has been hit with heavy shelling. the rebel leader there is vowing to defend the city to death. the fighting in eastern ukraine has gotten so severe the recovery mission for downed malaysia airlines flight 17 has been suspended. >> especially on the wednesday, there were arrival fire. only 150 meters of our search team. and our search team is unarmed and cannot protect itself. that was one. secondly, in the last days, we get less access to certain areas we want to search. >> correspondent will ripley is live in the ukrainian capital of kiev. and with the very latest information. will, russia's foreign minister sergei lavrov is discussing a humanitarian mission, but critics are questioning whether
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there's an ulterior motive. what more can you tell us about those discussions? >> absolutely, george. one of our cnn analysts put it well. as opposed to peacekeeping, russia may be trying to get a piece of ukraine. also, crimea fresh on the minds of many leaders in kiev as they just are releasing new information within the past hour or so about the situation on the grond. we know that the ukrainian military has circled donetsk and it's described that circle as getting smaller and smaller, describing what the rebels describe a very tense situation in donetsk right now. there was intense fighting overnight, including artillery fire at 4:00 a.m. that's word from the rebels. however, donetsk, at least for the people living in that city, public transportation at this point is still functioning. they still have limited water service. people have electricity. however, a situation farther to the east in the other rebel stronghold of luhansk, much more
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critical. we're told that for over a week now there's been no electricity. supply lines are basically cut off. so very limited food, medical supplies. again, the water cut off. no communications in or out of the city. so there's this, what many consider both the rebel side, ukrainian government, the russian government and many around the world who are watching this situation develop, there's a real potntial here for a humanitarian crisis. you have more than 200,000 people who remain in that city right now who are having to live literally caught in the crossfire and cut off from the rest of the world. and if the days progress and there's not a way to get them some kind of help, medical care, food, any other basic necessities, this situation could get a whole lot worse for the people living on the ground there right now. and thn you talked about mh-17. that search susresponded. investigators not able to get close to some areas. they haven't been able to search some areas where wreckage and
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human remains are believed to be because it's just too dangerous right now, george. >> a lot of families, i'm sure, are frustrated with the suspension of that crash site. will ripley joining us live in kiev. we appreciate your reporting. the news continues on cnn. powerful typhoon is making its way across japan. u van cabrera is with us with more an that storm. and a dark cloud fills the sky in tehran. we'll get the very latest on a deadly plane crash there. at your credit report site. do you guys have identity theft protection? [ male voice ] i'm sorry, did you say identity distribution? no. protection. identity theft protection. you have selected identity distribution. your identity will now be shared with everyone. thank you. no, no, no -- [ click, dial tone ] [ female announcer ] not all credit report sites are equal. [ male voice ] we're good in here, howie. yeah, have a good night, brother. experian.com members get personalized help plus identity theft protection. join now at experian.com. with enrollment in experian credit tracker.
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welcome back. halong is slamming japan. >> the typhoon struck shikoku. it's caused power outages and widespread flight cancellations. almost 1.5 million people have been evacuated. for more on the storm let's head over to ivan cabrera at the cnn weather center. >> it's unbelievably strong as far as the currents. haven't had word any of swift water rescues but i imagine that is well under way as well. the flooding has been incredible here because it had come on top of nikrit. my main concern with this typhoon, despite the fact it was a typhoon, was going to be the rainfall because the stage was set. it was just completely saturated here in japan because of nakri and now we have halong which
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itself brought a couple meters of rainfall. just incredible stuff. here's the latest radar from the japan meteorological agency here. normally when we talk about typhoons we are concerned about the winds. as this was making landfall it did weaken to a tropical storm which is its current status. and they have written its last advisory on halong. that's good news but the problem is it's still raining in some areas. look at kochi japan since august 1. 1200 millimeters of rainfall. that's three times as much as they normally get in the entire month of august and it's only 10 august. that's their wettest august ever and their third rainiest month since we've been keeping records here. this is an incredible event for kochi. and mt. torigata. 6 1/2 feet of rain in ten days. that's going to take a while to recede. 130 to 150 kilometer per hour wind gusts. the rain was coming down from the mountains and sideways at
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times because of the gusty winds. we have this front now that's picked up our typhoon, now tropical storm and we're about to be done with it. just a little more rainfall. tokyo, you'll be seeing the heaviest of the rain as this begins to scoot off to the north and east. quiet relatively in the tropics. nothing doing here. that's good news for our friends in the western pacific. still keeping an eye on julio. well north of hawaii. iselle brought all the rain to them. julio continues to head off to the north and west. no twin hurricanes for hawaii. >> ivan, thank you. iranian news anxiety reports all 48 people on board a plane that crashed near tehran have died. it crashed shortly after departing the capital for tabas, a city in eastern iran. aid agency red crescent says five people on the ground were badly burned. one of them has died. still to come on cnn, the u.s. looks out for its regional allies as isis -- as the threat
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continues to spread in the north. plus, tensions over gaza boil over in the west bank. a cnn report inside the region. ♪ ♪ so nice, so ni-i-i-ce ♪ sweet, sweet st. thomas nice ♪ so nice, so ni-i-i-ce ♪ st. croix, full of pure vibes ♪ ♪ so nice, so ni-i-i-ce ♪ st. john, a real paradise ♪ so nice, so ni-i-i-ce ♪ proud to be from the virgin islands ♪ ♪ and the whole place nice to experience your virgin islands nice, book one of our summer packages today. virgin islands nice, book one this one goes out to all you know who you are... you've become deaf to the sound of your own sniffling. your purse is starting to look more like a tissue box... you can clear a table without lifting a finger... well muddlers, muddle no more. try zyrtec®. it gives you powerful allergy relief. and zyrtec® is different than claritin.
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it was done to defend members of ooh rack's yazidi sect and american personnel on the ground. >> u.s. officials say that's why american war planes attacked more isis positions in the northern iraq area on saturday. they say four air strikes destroyed isis armored personnel and carrier trucks in the sunjar
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area. officials in mosul say the strikes killed at least 16 islamic fighters who were attacking kurdish checkpoints and threatening the lives of yazidi civilians stranded in iraq's suddenjar mountains. >> u.s. president barack obama is warning of an extended air campaign against isis with no specific timetable spelled out. >> i'm not going to give a particular timetable because, as i've said from the start, wherever and whenever u.s. personnel and facilities are threatened, it's my obligation, my responsibility as commander in chief to make sure that they are protected. we feel confident that we can prevent isil from going up a mountain and slaughtering the people who are there. >> now cameras captured the desperate situation as you see in northern iraq as kurdish troops delivered aid to yazidis being persecuted for not
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adhering to fundamentalist islam. >> in the meantime, the u.s. continues to watch the proximity of istois the autonomous region of kurdistan. they've long been considered allies of the united states. and it's something they don't want to lose. richard roth has more. >> reporter: america's air strikes in iraq highlights the importance of washington's relationship with the kurds. >> the kurds are the very best friends we have in the middle east. they've always been there, second only to israel. we have no better friends there. >> reporter: now the friends are facing their toughest enemies in two decades in the form of isis, also known as the islamic state. the extremists who are terrorizing their way through iraq. >> we can and should support moderate forces who can bring stability to iraq. >> reporter: over the years, the united states has been a strong ally to the kurds and their president barzani.
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>> i'm grateful to president barzani for a generous welcome. >> reporter: the kurds don't have their own country but have autonomy in kurdistan, the most stable part of iraq as the rest of the country has deteriorated along sectarian lines. they have a good reputation but ammunition is running low. if the kurds fall it could lead to a domino effect. >> this is a terrorist organization that has ambition not only vis-a-vis iraq, syria and the region, but also regionally and, therefore, it could pose a threat ultimately to the united states. >> reporter: america's support for the kurds soared after hundreds of thousands of people were brutalized under the rule of saddam hussein. in such a conflict-filled region, the kurds have made overatures, force alliances. >> that has created, not so much
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a dependence but a certain mutual loyalty which helps explain why the united states is getting involved right now and why the u.s. wasn't involved a week ago. >> reporter: now two decades later, the kurds are an ally the u.s. can't afford to lose and may be critical in the effort to help stop isis. richard roth, cnn, new york. britain and france say they will now join the u.s. in its air drops of humanitarian aid to iraqi civilians in the north. here we see british aid being loaded for transport to iraq. british foreign secretary phil hammond says his government will provide more than $13 million in humanitarian aid. >> the wider the humanitarian effort can be, the better. the more support we have. the better both in terms simply of the quantity of humanitarian aid that can be delivered but also around the political message that it sends. that the world is horrified about what is going on in iraq
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and is determined to provide all the support it can. let's return to the crisis in gaza. palestinian negotiators are saying they are prepared to leave cairo and go home if the israelis do not return to talks in the next day. >> although israel says it has ended its ground incursion of gaza, it still has plenty of firepower amassed near the border. there have been relatively fewer attacks by both sides in the past couple of days, but there are also fears that won't be the case if talks completely collapse. >> let's go now to senior international correspondent sara sidner standing by live from jerusalem. >> we have just heard from israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu who said the israeli military operation will continue. it will go on for a longer period of time.
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hearing that after he had gone to that regularly scheduled cabinet meeting here on sunday. so we are hearing that which gives you a good indication of how the israelis feel about what is happening right now from the political sense. they are going to continue their military operation in gaza. we know that since midnight there have been at least 20 strikes by israel into gaza. there have been rockets coming over from gaza into or towards israel too, since midnight. overall since the cease-fire ended more than 100 rockets coming over and israel says as long as the firing is going on, they will not negotiate. you are also hearing a breakdown from the palestinian side as well. a member of the palestinian delegation that's been trying to negotiate in egypt, in cairo with the egyptians as the mediator saying if israel does not show up in cairo to continue talks, that they will leave today and go back to the leadership here to try and sort things out a bit here on the ground. showing you just how strained
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the ties are now, when it comes to the talks. it seems now hearing from the israeli prime minister and hearing from someone in the plun delegation for the negotiations, that these talks have completely broken d en down at this point. >> no resolution in sight at this point. both sides digging in their heels. what will it take? what will it take to bring both sides back to the negotiating table? >> yeah, it's a difficult question in the sense that israel has been clear. if the firing keeps coming out of gaza, doesn't matter if it's other militant groups or hamas, which is the government in place, they hold hamas responsible for any of the firing that's coming out of gaza, whether it's islamic jihad or another militant group or not. so as long as that's happening, israel says we're not going to sit down and talk. secondly when it comes to hamas, they say israel is not taking the negotiations seriously, that there have been points.on the table that israel has not responded to.
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and they've been very clear that they want the port opened and they want an airport opened. both the sea port and airport so that they can continue commerce. the economy there in dire straits and the damage created throughout this war is extensive with the u.n. saying it could take more than 30 years to try and fix what has been damaged in gaza. a serious humanitarian crisis going on there at this point in time. and so it does sound like they are far apart, although at one point, the egyptians said the negotiations were quite close. but that was before the 72-hour cease-fire ended. and now we're hearing word from both sides that it looks like these talks have completely broken down for now. >> sara sidner, thank you for that update from jerusalem. meanwhile, a funeral for a palestinian man leads to more violence. this time it happened in the west bank. our simon mosun has a look at how tense things got there.
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>> reporter: another body, another martyr for the people of the west bank. they chant, god is great. the flags of fatah and islamic jihad and other factions came together to honor those killed in clashes with israeli forces. these people are marching in the funeral procession for the 42-year-old. he was killed in clashes between israeli forces and marchers in the west bank here in hebron. he was watching the clashes between israeli soldiers and demonstrators in a pro-gaza rally an friday when he was shot and injured by a live round. he died of his injuries overnight. leaving behind seven children, three sons and four daughters. in ramallah, also in the west bank on friday, a 19-year-old palestinian man was shot dead. in response, the israeli defense
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force told cnn its soldiers use riot dispersal means, and after exhausting all possible measures, they used .22 munitions. health officials here say 12 people have been killed in clashes between pro-gaza demonstrators and the israeli military since the start of "operation protective edge." in hebron saturday, after the burial, children took to the streets throwing stones towards armed israeli forces positioned on roofs. stun grenade were shot into the handful of children. meant to scare and disperse them. soldiers came on to street level and took their positions. the fooneral has just taken place. kids have been throwing stones and setting fire to tires. we're being told to clear out of the area by the israeli military.
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we're moving out of the way. we're moving. for some, this has become a part of daily life. a bizarre juxtaposition of the young who stand to protest and the old who have been there before them. saima mohsin, cnn, hebron in the west bank. >> such a tense and awful situation for people just trying to go about their daily lives and they are in the middle of all of that. >> no end in sight, right? still to come, with ebola ravaging west africa, guinea makes a move to help stem the spread of the most deadly outbreak in the history of the disease. ice for healthy looking, radiant skin? a good night's sleep... and aveeno®. [ female announcer ] only aveeno® positively radiant face moisturizer has an active naturals® total soy formula... one of nature's most effective skin tone correctors. it helps reduce the look of brown spots in just four weeks. and for stubborn spots,
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a lot of people are worried about the spread of ebola. the death toll now from the ebola virus in west africa approaching 1,000. >> nearly 1800 suspected cases
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have been reported across four countries. in nigeria, the number of confirmed infections is up to nine. the world health organization has declared an international health emergency but workers an the ground say more needs to be done to help combat the disease. liberia's president is promising to step up efforts to try to stop the rampant spread of ebola. ellen johnson surleaf apologized for the ravaging effects of the virus in her country. she's pledged up to $18 million to fund ambulances and health centers. >> if we haven't done enough so far, i have come here to apologize to you for that. we don't have enough ambulances. ambulance is not something you can just buy off the shelf. you have to order it, and it has to come. so just to try to make up, they are now taking some pickups to build different bodies an to
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them to turn them into makeshift ambulances to be able to respond to that need. >> the country of guinea where the outbreak started is now reportedly closing its borders with liberia and sierra leone to try to stem the spread of the virus. david mckenzie has more. >> reporter: seems to be an attempt to stop the flow of the virus to and from its neighbors. it was in guinea where this outbreak began several months ago. and serious questions are being asked whether enough was done then to stop the spread because now this outbreak is incredibly complex, and the worst outbreak of ebola in history. i put the question to the head of the w.h.o. here in sierra leone whether they were ready for what happened next. were you unprepared for the level of this outbreak? >> i think one can say we were unprepared for the level of the outbreak. we anticipated, we were using best practices in the region.
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the previous outbreaks have had 200 at most, 300 cases. this one is unprecedented. >> could this have been avoided? this situation that we're in now? >> the current situation in terms of the outbreak status, i think could have been contained. >> disturbing news coming from freetown is that the main physician at the hospital in the capital has contracted ebola. there have been scores of doctors and nurses dying from this disease and criticism that the protocols for safety were not put in place in time. the world health organization says that's a key factor in stopping the spread of the disease. they've also said people should be screened when leaving this region and going to the rest of the world. but now doctors without borders and others are saying what's needed is not words but actions to stop this unprecedented outbreak.
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david mckenzie, cnn, freetown, sierra leone. vong is under way in turkey in the country's first ever presidential election. three candidates are vying for the position, including prime minister erdogan. mr. erdogan is tipped to win but he's not without controversy. harsh action against widespread anti-government protests has raised fears of political intolerance. still to come on cnn -- they make laws and looks like they break some of the laws, too. >> you'll love this story. the chase to catch french ministers on the road. three grams daily of beta-glucan... a soluable fiber from whole grain oat foods like cheerios can help lower cholesterol. thank you!
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i'm sure you've heard it before. i've 3rd pleheard it plenty of . do as i say, but not as i do. >> it could apply to quite a few french government officials as well. jim bitterman reports from, shall we say, a road paved with good intentions.
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>> reporter: the french government has been imposing lower and lower speed limits on roads here. something ministers say will help cut down on accidents and pollution levels. who could be against that? but it turns out driving slower is not to every frenchman's liking. now one of the leading auto magazines here has done a little investigation into the driving habits of the ministers themselves. or at least the way their chauffeurs drive. lo and behold, 4 out of the 5 politicians the magazine followed with motorcycles and cameras were having some difficulty putting into practice what they've been preaching. >> translator: our researchers follow them gor months during most of their travels in the cannotside and in the paris area. and this was simply to see if the leaders respect the rules of the roads like they ask us to do. >> reporter: the answer? well, not exactly. take the prime minister for example. his motorcade was clocked by the
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magazine at 60 miles an hour in a 30-mile-an-hour zone. and 100 in a 55-mile-an-hour zone. or the interior minister essentially france's top cop. his entourage was seen not only speeding but running five red lights in the space of one-third of a mile, often driving the wrong way into oncoming traffic lanes to do so. although it should be said, he had a police motorcycle escort. but the magazine gave top honors for bad driving bethifr the minister of the economy whose limo was caught by the magazine running 12 red lights in three minutes and driving at nearly twice the speed limit without the benefit of motorcycle outriders. cnn reached out to the minister's offices but they had no comment on the reporting. as for the president himself, the magazine found that while his motorcade was sometimes caught speeding, most of the time it obeyed the law. in keeping with the image he cultivates as mr. normal. and the auto reporters discovered that one minister always respected the law, the
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minister of the environment. but it should be noted that she's given around in an electric car, not a high powered limo. in the end, perhaps some of those speedier ministers would like their countrymen to remember that old french expression -- forbidden but tolerated. forbidden for most motorists but tolerated for the very special few. jim bitterman, cnn, paris. >> jim bitterman crossing the champs elysees. have you ever tried to cross that? not a good idea. he's pretty speedy. so the annual perseid meter shower is under way but a supershower may hinder the view. ivan cabrera with more on that. >> it's supermoon part 2. sometimes you need things to happen not too close together to appreciate them. we're having three supermoons. three in a row. one last month.
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one today. and then another one heading into september if you missed the one today. the moon going around the earth as it usually does. when it gets into the perigee. those two things have to come together. it has to be at its closest path and at a full moon. the fact it's happened three months in a row is very rare. it want happen again for another 20 years. will you be able to see round two? depends on where you are across the globe here. poor conditions once again in atlanta at cnn. looking poor into canada. good in the western u.s. europe looking good. and most of africa in pretty decent shape as far as the viewing. some of the pictures from the last event were pretty nice. o
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ouru reporters were out there. we'll have lots of shots coming up for you. perseid meter shower. it happens every year july into august. but because of the supermoon and how bright it's going to be, that's going to hinder your viewing. you'll have plenty of opportunities for the rest of august as the moon becomes dimmer as we lose the full moon. let's get to the sacred thread. the annual hindu festival commemorating the wonderful ties between siblings of the opposite sex marking the ceremony there. excellent stuff. we'll leave you with some wonderful colors from the cnn world weather. >> thanks so much, ivan. that does it for our special coverage on cnn here. i'm amara walker. >> i'm george howell. the news continues on cnn with "new day" next. [ female announcer ] take skincare to the next level
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welcome to an early morning here on "new day." i'm christi paul. >> i'm victor blackwell. >> we welcome our international viewers as well. >> we want to start with you in iraq. u.s. war planes and drones have carried out another series of air strikes against isis fighters in the northern part of the country. >> the strikes targeted armored vehicles used to fire an the yazidi group near sinjar in the mountains. that's where tens of thousands of them have fled into that range in fear for their lives. on saturday, president obama made it clear and