he made the plea in a nearly six-minute-long video posted online. and that has since been taken down. anderson? >> wow. he could fly commercial. amara, thanks very much. that does it for us. thanks for watching. our coverage continues next with cnn international. polls open in israel in one hour after explosive last-minute comments from benjamin netanyahu, the election remains too close to call. and an aid worker remains in critical condition. six in american jail charged with murder. welcome everyone. glad to be with you. i'm zain asher. >> and i'm john vause. this is "cnn newsroom." right now, israelis are about to vote in what could be a critical election which could bring about a change of government in that country.

>> now because of israeli polls, they are released last friday and show netanyahu behind herzog. herzog's campaign has focussed on economic issues as well as improving ties with allies. mr. netanyahu has stressed national security. >> he doubled down on his appeal to conservative voters. he says if he keeps his job he would never establish a palestinian state. this is a back-pedal on his previous support for a two-state solution. listen. >> translator: anyone who is going to establish a palestinian state, anyone who is going to evacuate territories today is simply giving a base for attacks by radical islam against israel. this is the true reality. those who don't understand that are sticking their heads in the

sand. >> reporter: so if you are prime minister a palestinian state will not be formed? >> translator: indeed. >> earlier, cnn spoke to the communications adviser for herzog. >> israelis are not going to be bamboozled this time. of course we have a different policy fully support the two-state solution and will take steps in that direction. herzog has said himself that he would go to ramallah and find out if there is a palestinian partner on the other side. but this is about netanyahu's failure on every front. >> a representative from the brookings institution joins us now. the comments about no palestinian state is clearly an

attempt to win over the right wirngs. is it going to work? >> probably not. it's competing for the same votes. it has national ramifications. it's a last-minute idea to stave off. but i suspect most right-wing voters already know netanyahu very well. he's been there for a long time. and they're probably going to buy less of the last-minute statements. >> a lot of people were surprised about the comments especially his statements about two-state policies in the past. which policies will be the most crucial? >> right now we're looking at two blocks that don't have half of the knesset, so essentially a hung jury. one is the star of the last

elections. but more importantly a party led by a former la kud minister. whatever he decides, if the polls hold will be the winner. the nature of israeli politics is it's always crazier than one thinks. >> there is the issue of the economy. there's a growing wealth gap in israel. netanyahu has promised to make the economy a main priority if he is reelected. but is it too late for him on that issue? >> it may be. in a sense, these elections were competition between two contenders. netanyahu wanted to pull it toward foreign diplomacy where he's stronger. the opposition and herzog try to pull it toward domestic affairs where netanyahu is much weaker.

after six years consecutively and nine years in total as prime minister netanyahu, you mentioned the cost of living this is a very big concern. they are talking very clearly and consistently about domestic issues the price of housing, the banking monopoly a whole host of issues that don't usually make the international press on israel. >> and voters start casting their ballots less than an hour from now, 7:00 local time. and later this hour we'll break down the key issues at state for israel's next prime minister whoever that might be. the president of vanuatu says it may be years before his impoverished country recovers from tropical cyclone pam. >> and right now aid workers are

rushing to meet the need for clean water, food and shelter. residents are struggling to clear away fallen trees and debris. look at the devastation. thousands of people are now homeless. the u.n. has put the death toll at 24. >> but the full-scale of destruction may not be clear yet. communication with the remote islands is still cut off. >> within one of those remote islands is known as tana. >> and ivan watson has an exclusive look now at the dire situation inside tanna's only hospital. >> reporter: this is where people wounded from the storm are being taken care of and the only real hospital on tanna island. we've been listening to the patient women perhim per in pain.

she's only 9 years old and suffered a severe head wound when the roof collapsed. it also killed her mother and brother. that's the storm four days ago. we've spoken to the head doctor here. the extensive damage in this hospital and they haven't been able to communicate at all with the outside world because the radios are down. the telephones are down. to tell the capital city and the outside world the damage here and the help that they need and the doctor says that this little girl needs to be medevaced. she could lose her life if she doesn't get taken to an intensive care ward. what do you need most right now? >> water and food for the patients. and some medical supplies. to deal with injuries. i.v. fluids and oral medication. fluids for dehydration and i

think water would be on the list. >> reporter: this used to be maternity ward. as you can see now, unusable. still flooded under several inches of water. and the only doctor here says that all of the medical machines that this hospital was equipped with have all been damaged by the storm. i'm going to bring you over here. and you can just see kind of the improvisational nature of what's going on here. and some good news. this is a little baby who was born one day ago. the mother is elena lowman. hi how are you? congratulations. and the baby is healthy right now. but, as can you see, since the storm, there are new medical problems and challenges that are coming up. and this is not a facility that is equipped to deal with them. ivan watson, tanna, in vanuatu.

>> one of the most powerful storms to ever make landfall. so many people desperate for food and water, especially that new born baby. tugs at your heartstrings. >> and it will be a number of days before agencies reach that area. a powerful man has been charged with murder. he has been suspected for many years for the killing of his wife friend and neighbor. >> on a documentary, and what he appears to admit is getting a lot of attention. >> reporter: following an extradition hearing, robert durst's defense team came out swinging. durst of the multi-millionaire durst family of new york city and now the subject of a documentary was arrested saturday night at this downtown

new orleans hotel on a los angeles murder warrant for the slaying of his friend susan berman. he would stare at the galleriage appear to sleep, leaning back in p his chair. when he was taken out of the glass room he looked at the gallery and smiled. berman was found shot dead in 2000 in her home. according to reports, police were planning to question her about the 1982 disappearance of durst's wife which remains unsolved. the murder charges coincide with "the jinx." it covers a letter written by the millionaire to susan berman. the handwriting and the spelling of her address eerily similar to a letter written to police telling them where to find her body. durst denying he wrote it.

but the biggest bombshell came at the show's conclusion when durst went into a bathroom while still mic'd after being questioned about the murders. here he can be heard talking to himself. >> killed them all, of course. >> reporter: an admission to murder or a sarcastic editorial by durst. on good morning america, andrew gentleman ricky said at least two years went by before they discovered this bathroom recording. >> reporter: how's that possibility possible? >> the fact that it's a small documentary crew and we were all working very hard. >> reporter: a decade before he granted these interviews he was acquitted in texas in the murder of his neighbor claiming self-defense though he admitted cutting up the body and throwing

it away. but now durst is facing murder charges again and awaiting extradition to los angeles. >> we're frustrated because the local authorities are considering filing charges on him here and holding him here. we're ready to go to california and have a trial. >> reporter: and i'm standing right outside the hotel that robert durst was arrested at saturday night. a law enforcement source close to the case says that after durst was arrested they found in his hotel room a very large amount of cash a .38 revolver and marijuana. they say they were tracking him, they won't say how, but they believe he was planning on leaving the country, bound for cuba. and here in new orleans, the international airport does have a flight to havana. gene ca jean ca sares, new orleans. russian president vladimir putin alive and well laughing

off rumors and making a few military moves. what the suspect in the ferguson police shooting says happened to him while he was in custody. we'll be right back. stay with us. i have the worst cold with this runny nose. i better take something. dayquill cold and flu doesn't treat your runny nose. seriously? alka-seltzer plus cold and cough fights your worst cold symptoms plus your runny nose. oh, what a relief it is.

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isis captives in libya. a hospital official says that more than 30 gunmen attacked the hospital while a bus was waiting to take the workers to tripoli. most of the workers are from the philippines. >> the official believes isis did not want the workers to leave because they're the only medical team in sirte. isis took control of the city late last year. the hospital workers were trying to leave because of the poor security situation. eight minutes of sure terror that's what police officers describe as the shootout between the boston bombing suspects. >> dzhokhar and his brother shot at them tossed bombs and tried to run them over. jurors saw photos of bullet-riddled cars. they also saw the spot where tamerlan tsarnaev was run over.

>> the jurors also made a trip to see the boat where police arrested dzhokhar. they saw the words he scrawled inside that boat which were hard to read because of all the bullet holes. >> in all, about three people were killed and more than 260 wumed in the boston marathon attacks. a 23-year-old man accused of shooting police during a protest in ferguson missouri say officers beat him up while in custody. >> his attorney says williams was bruised and scarred. >> [ bleep ]. >> reporter: the gunfire set off a frenzy of fear outside the police department. jeffrey williams admits he fired the shots that wounded two police officers during protests last week. but the 20 year old insists he wasn't aiming at officers. prosecutors say he may have been aiming at someone else in the

crowd. but his attorneys say police have arrested the wrong person. >> in his statements that he made i'm not confident those were voluntary statements. one thing i can be clear, this was no police ambush as it was stated earlier. there was no intent of any to target out any police. and that he's not part of the protest community. >> reporter: but prosecutors say they found a .40 caliber handgun inside williams' home that matched shell casings found at the shooting scene. he has been charged with two counts of first degree assault and for firing a weapon from a vehicle as well as armed criminal activity. he was already on probation on a charge for receiving stolen property. the st. louis county prosecutor is skeptical of williams' story. >> he may have had a dispute with other individuals. we're not sure we completely buy that part of it. >> reporter: the prosecutor says investigators are still trying to interview witnesses and learn

more about the altercation which led to the shots being fired. bishop robinson who has been involved in the protest movement also accuse officials of mistreating him since he was arrested. >> he was brutally beaten by the police. and he was sore. still had bruises all around his neck back and entire body. and also was denied medical attention. and also, he was placed in isolation when he asked for medical attention. >> reporter: monday the st. louis police department called those allegations false and added that every person who enters justice services is seen by a nurse. the nurse released him as fit for confinement. one of the ostfficers last week was hit in the cheek the other in the shoulder. we're told by law enforcement officials that both of them are making a good recovery.

ed lavandera, ferguson missouri. well from one extreme to the other. parts of the united states which were just buried in snow announcing record-breaking heat. >> many states have some unusually warm weather now especially in the central part of the united states which is setting records for the month of march. >> march is a wild month for weather and here's our wild meteorologist pedram javaheri to tell us about it. >> it's melting pretty rapidly, and these are remarkable temperatures. we're going from a very cool winter. and in parts of the country now temperatures going well into summer-like readings. so we'll show you what's happening as far as the summer-like temps. north platte nebraska nearly 40 degrees fahrenheit above what is considered normal for this time of year. 91 degrees. records date back to the 1870s. they've never had a temperature this hot in the winter season.

sioux city iowa 90. but you see the perspective, when it's warmer in kansas city than miami, you know things are toasty. that was the scene across the united states. as of march 1st we had 60% of the nation under snow. so pretty significant melt off. of course flooding a major concern with all of this in the last several days. i want to draw your attention to australia because tropical cyclone nathan the equivalent to a meek tropical storm. it has meandered over cooktown causing road damage. it has produced tremendous rainfall in excess of a half meter. this causes major displacement to the barrier reef salinity

decreases. this is the world's largest coral reef system. we've seen rainfall on the order of 150 millimeters, generally 6 inches. at this time, the model's having a tough time with it but it could significantly strengthen in the next couple days as it make landfall. so the energy is confined near the eye there. we're watching this carefully. >> that part of the world has had enough. >> another cyclone? >> you've been through four you told me. >> you have john? wow. >> my part of the world. >> you've lived a full life. >> thanks pedram. you are watching "cnn newsroom." when we come back another shocking attack in india. intensifyies fears among christians and well as well. we'll have an update. stay with us. and multi-layered security. it's how you stay connected to each other and to your customers.

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the rape of a 71-year-old nun in india is highlighting two major concerns. violence against women and the targeting of christians. >> christians marched and held vigils to protest the attack. they held signs saying real men do not rape and quote, am i safe. though several men are being questioned no one has been

charged yet. >> reporter: it's a crime that has shocked india, and police have released this video of some of the suspects caught on cctv camera. authorities say there were among seven to eight men who marched into a convent school about 50 miles from calcutta robbing and ransacking a temple inside. in a chilling attack when a nun in her early 70s tried to stop the robbers, one of the men raped her, apparently as punishment. the rape suspect has not been identified. >> it's a very very shameful act, first of all, to rape any woman, any female is a horrible and shameful act. but this one becomes even worse, because first of all, she's an old lady and then on top of it she's a nun. she's a religious who has consecrated her life to god and all her life she has remained a virgin. >> reporter: the attackers

allegedly tied up two other nuns and the school security guard walking off with thousands of dollars, laptops and a sacred vessel. police have detained several men for questioning. some students from the school blocked a railway line in protest. it's just the latest in a series of high-profile sexual assaults. police say they're investigating whether this was a robbery or religion-based attacked. but the grotesque alleged rape of a 71-year-old nun once again putting the spotlight on crimes against women in india. >> translator: nuns wear clothing covering their head to toe that leave no part of their body uncovered. it means that rape or any other sexual assaults on women are not results of the way they dress or their behavior. you have to search for the reason somewhere else. stop putting the blame on women for rape and look at the

mentality of the guilty person and find out why he has become so daring. >> reporter: cnn, new delhi. >> and that of course comes weeks after that documentary, "india's daughter" was released that highlights the things that women face in india. >> it seems to be problematic across india. vladimir putin is back to business after more than a week out of the public eye. we have details on the new military moves he's making in russia. also the reason why you end up with more than you've planned to purchase when you visit your local ikea.

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and welcome back. you're watching cnn live all around the united states and all around the world. i'm john vause. >> and i'm zain asher. let's get straight to the headlines. we are about half an hour away from the israeli elections. right now it's too close to call. because of israeli law, the last

surveys were released last friday. they showed netanyahu narrowly behind his opponent herzog. vanuatu is struggling to recover from tropical cyclone pam. more than 3,000 people are living in shelters and there are concerns about lack of water and food supplies. the extent of the damage is still unclear. communications with the remote outer islands is still down. and cheap oil is getting even cheaper. on one point on monday u.s. plunged to $42.85 a barrel. and more analysts are saying it could drop to $40 or less. a supply glut is behind the dive in prices. our top story right now is it's up to voters in israel whether to keep a right wing

party in power. >> right now netanyahu is trailing to herzog. netanyahu has made a few last-ditch efforts. he says if he is reelected, there will be no palestinian state. we turn to the ongoing peace process with the palestinians. >> reporter: with an iranian nuclear threat and palestinianens israeli voters head to the polls facing sharp choices that lo have an impact on the world stage. world powers are moving toward a nuclear deal with iran. if that deal goes forward many fear that israel will find themselves in the middle of a nuclear arms race. either way, the next prime

minister may be forced to consider unilateral military action if iran as nuclear ambitions continue. with the iranian threat and islamic extremism engulfing the middle east israel counts on the united states. which is why they see ties with washington as a top priority. ties have grown extremely tense over netanyahu's tenure. the oust has also voiced frustration with continuing israeli settlement activity something that's also caused tension between israel and europe. the peace process with the is palestinians has been gridlock. negotiations with john kerry broke down last april, moving the palestinians to join the international court. an economic issues rising food

and health care prices have emerged ascii issues in this campaign despite the attention to international crises. and israelis say these domestic issues could be key factors in determining their next leader. and coming up on "cnn newsroom," here, we will have a closer look at isaac herzog. some people had considered him the underdog of this election. now he is top of the opinion polls. and looking to unseat benjamin netanyahu. there is no agreement so far as nuclear talks with iran resumed in switzerland. six world powers in iran are trying to reach anten-year deal. >> the deadline for a framework agreement is the end of this month, and the white house is clear on its terms. listen. >> essentially, shutting down every path that iran has to a nuclear weapon and allowing

intrusive inspections to verify their compliance with the agreement. and if that is not something iran is able to agree to after a year of negotiations then yes, the president and our international partner also walk away. >> after meeting with iran's foreign minister for about five hours on monday oust secretary of state john kerry decided to take a bike ride around switzerland. vladimir putin is back. there's a lot of talk about where he has been was he tied up by guards having surgery? >> he joked about alt rumors swirling around during his absence, but now he is back to business with new military shows of force. here's our barbara starr with more. >> reporter: vladimir putin reappeared for the first time in ten days. making light of his absence, saying it would be boring without gossip. gossip that captured world attention, not seen since cold

war days when ousted soviet leaders suddenly failed to appear. did this russian leader have the flu? back trouble? even reports he went to switzerland to be with his girlfriend for the birth of his baby. publicly russia and the u.s. making light of it all. >> was the president pleased to see vladimir putin resurface? >> reporter: behind the scenes the u.s. says it believes putin was ill but always in charge. not so fast say some experts. >> in a normal country, had you had this type of situation they would have had a photo op with the president. why didn't they do that with putin. >> reporter: is putin always wanting to be seen at strong man in a weakened political position? >> i think there may be something going on in the kremlin that we don't fully understand. >> reporter: what we do know putin has been under fire by his opponents after the murder of boris nemtsov. and there is more trouble as russians begin to realize they

are losing troops in the battle for eastern ukraine. according to a new report from britain's royal united stateservices institute. some are so devastated that new ad hoc front lines are being created. they are trying to keep russian soldiers from retreating. some russian conscripts are being tricked into signing long term papers. still putin showing military shows of force. u.s. military officials say he's sending increasing numbers of nuclear-capable an aircraft into crimea crimea. and he has just ordered snap military exercises of the northern fleet in the arctic involving some 40,000 troops. the pentagon warning the arctic is being militarized. >> the russians have just taken

a decision to activate six new brigades and four of them will be in the arctic. >> reporter: putin now acknowledges in a new documentary on russian state tv that last year he thought about putting his nuclear forces on high alert over the crisis in crimea. now the u.s. dponts think that russia's about to attack anytime soon but it's just another indicator, officials say, of the tension and stress that vladimir putin likes to stir up. barbara starr, cnn, the pentagon. britain's prince harry is leaving the armed forces later this year. the prince has announced he will retire in june after nearly ten years with the british military. he served two tours in afghanistan, made the rank of captain in 2011. he will spend the last two months of the service with the australian defense force, way to go. he will also keep working. >> shut up john. >> he will attend to his royal

duties while finishing up his military service. >> he said it was a tough decision. the prince of wales is heading to corn wall. they going to a reception. prince charles and duchess camilla will meet president obama on thursday and travel to louisville kentucky on friday. after the break, more on that huge backlash against the famous fashion designers, dough dolce and gabbana. and their feud with sir elton john.

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may be able to get every month free. we have an update now on the prize-winning dog who was fatally poisoned after competing in one of the world's most prestigious dog shows. >> they say that the poisoning did not happen at the dog show. jagger died at his home the day after. the kennel club says an autopsy shows jagger ate meat laced with two fast-acting poisons that would have made him very sick within a few hours. most of you may know that a war of words is playing out on social media between a fashion house and a pop legend. >> it began when elton john

spoke out against dolce and gabbana in an interview where they criticized in-vitro fertilization. sir elton, a father of two with his husband is calling for a boycott of the clothing line. >> the fashion designers are defending their right to speak and are calling on people to boycott elton john. >> we have more on the designers whose words, not fashions are making headlines. >> reporter: motherhood was the theme of dolce and gabbana's show in milan this year. pregnant models, even those carrying young children were met with enthusiastic applause. just a few weeks later and those images are being pushed aside by controversy. dolce and gabbana are facing a social media firestorm and calls

for a boycott. what began with elton john has now spread. celebrities from ricky martin to courtney love and tennis star martina navratilova have called for the boycott. even beckham tweeted, sending love to all the beautiful ivf babies. and dolce and gabbana are not staying silent. casting themselves as defenders of free speech, they posted an image on instagram. their views are surprising as the business partners themselves were in a romantic relationship until 2005. a few years ago, they told cnn that close bond was the cornerstone of their multi-billion dollar business.

claire is an openly gay fashion designer in new york and was taken aback by the comments. >> that they would say something that's so backward. i mean it's 2015. >> reporter: dolce and gabbana have a combined net worth of nearly $3 billion and their brand has a powerful international represent tuesday. a lot to lose if this controversy continues to spiral. cnn, new york. american gossip blogger perez hilton shared his thoughts and why he's no longer supporting the designers. >> the drawing awareness to these offensive words and to encourage others to not support them. why would we support somebody who doesn't support their own. as a gay man, i have a lot of

people criticizing and trying to you know keep rights away from me you know not the ability to marriage and then many other things. so for a gay couple that are very powerful and influential to use their platform to perpetuate such ignorance is just disturbing and disappointing. >> and despite being a gay couple they were also previously against gay marriage as well. >> you know they sell umbrellas for $900. i mean let's face it. >> how many do you own, john? >> none and i don't think i ever will. the bbc's top gear is off the air. >> sunday's episode was replaced with something only 1.3 million people watched a week earlier 5 million tuned in for top gear. >> jeremy clarkson got into a

fracas. top gear is incredibly popular and one of the most illegally downloaded shows out there. >> a petition for clarkson has garnered nearly 1 million signatures. when was the last time you went to ikea and didn't buy anything? that empty wallet may not be your fault. why we shop until we drop. up next.

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well many of us have been there. we've headed to the local ikea which is often packed with students and divorced men over 40. we are looking for a side table or meatballs but walk out with a ton of stuff we never wanted in the first place. want to know why? >> ikea is very unique and different from other stores. you start going through this maze which is essentially a virtual catalog. most of the time you can't actually pick up things and put them in your cart. >> that primes customers. it create as sort of anticipation for when we get to a section where we can actually toss things in our cart. we essentially have to walk through the entire store, pass

all the products unless we take advantage of the shortcuts. he believes it's also psychologically disruptive, because we've turned over our shopping experience to ikea. we're at the store's mercy. once we get to a place where we did pick up items, we're worried about having to go back and find them again. so we might as well throw them in our cart. >> and josh sandburg joins us from new york. this type of store layout and the psychology that goes with it it's fairly unique to ikea. >> yeah, i think it is. ikea seems to have originated this idea of a maze as this shopping experience that we go through the and i think it's different. it's essentially the opposite of what we go through at a supermarket. a supermarket's a grid. the bread and the milk is in the back. and it's designed to get us all the way through the store but out-and-out of theirre as quickly

as possible of the the maze keep us in the store for an hours, two hours, and it disorients consumers, and it make it difficult for consumers to backtrack in case they didn't grab something, and it can take a while before we grab something and put something in our cart. and that can prime people into making impulse purchases. and once they see these items that are 99 cents, and $1.99, it's difficult to pass up. >> you used a term in that clip we saw you talked about handing over our shopping experience to ikea. can you explain exactly what you mean by that? >> yeah. this is something that professor penn from the university of college london talks about. when they walk through they step through this threshold where they let ikea sort of take

control. and in return the consumer essentially doesn't have to worry about buying something that is culturally relevant or an efficient piece of furniture or as thetsically pleasing because they know once they get into ikea all of that will be taken care of for them. >> so it's sort of cradle-to-grave stuff in a way. >> yeah. >> and when you look at ikea stores all over the world, whether it's in the united states or united kingdom or israel or china or asia this store layout is exactly the same. so this isn't unique to any one culture or country, it's an exploitation universally in a way. >> it gets to these fundamental impulses we have to shop. it doesn't matter what culture or country we're from or in. the fastest growing regions for ikea are in hungary and china.

and they've opened up 12 different stores in ten different countries. one in croatia, south korea, and ikea essentially is the same design throughout the world. >> the only thing that changes is that you can't get meatballs in israel because they aren't kosher. you get goulash instead. >> it's interesting that more companies haven't taken advantage of that concept. >> they're so huge. obviously it works well for them. one thing that ikea doesn't want you to do while you are there is to play hide-and-seek in their stores. apparently this is a thing. thousands of people were playing to do like can you see that posted there or that one there? hiding in various spots in ikea stores. look in the box. can you see him or her. the company says there are safety concerns with this type of thing. it did let a group of about 500 play hide-and-seek in belgium.

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election day in israel. how voters might just react to the prime minister's last minute campaign surprise. also. aftermath of a monster storm and the devastation in vanuatu. murder charges for a former tycoon after an open mic and what might be an admission of guilt. we welcome our viewers in the united states and all around the world. i'm zain asher. >> and i'm john vause. you're watching "cnn newsroom." we begin in israel where polls were to officially open at this hour for what appears to be a very close election.