Blast in Turkish Border Town Kills At Least 21; U.S. Condemns Terrorist Attack in Suruc; U.S. Defense Secretary Meets Israeli Prime Minister; Vatican Summit on Climate Change and Human Trafficking; The Fight to End Human Trafficking; John Kasich Announces Bid for U.S. Presidency
ISHA SESAY, CNN HOST: Funerals are being held for the 31 people killed in Monday's attack near Turkey's southern border. The victims were attending a rally in support of rebuilding the Syrian town of Kobani. As our Arwa Damon reports, authorities say they've identified the attacker.</s>ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is the cultural center in Suruc where the attack took place and we do need to warn our viewers at this stage that the video they're about to see is incredibly disturbing. But we are deciding to broadcast it to show the inhumanity and terror of the attack.</s>DAMON: And now 24 hours later, this is the scene. The group that had gathered not only talking about and wanting to bring attention to the Kobani reconstruction efforts but they had also gathered donations for the children, toys, school books, now symbolically placed here, a sign of defiance against the sheer violence that did take place. Many people, though, very angry at this stage with the Turkish government, the crowds here earlier, chanting anti-government slogans, believing that the authorities should have done more to protect this nation from the threat posed by ISIS. In Gaziantep there was a mass procession earlier in the day before the victims killed in the attack were taken to their various resting grounds, many of those perished here were from different parts of the nation. The Turkish prime minister also saying that they have identified the suspect in the attack but they are not publicly disclosing that information. They're still investigating what lengths the individual may have had. The Turkish authorities have previously alluded to this attack being the work of ISIS revenge for Turkey's most recent crackdown on individuals, hundreds rounded up over the last few weeks, suspected of having links or ties to ISIS. This attack not necessarily coming at a surprise. People have been bracing themselves for the violence in Syria to spill over, but still shocking this nation to the very core -- Arwa Damon, CNN, Suruc, Turkey.</s>SESAY: Turkey's allies, including the U.S., have been increasingly concerned about the stability of the Turkish-Syrian border and the Suruc attack is giving new way to those fears. Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr joins us now from Washington. Barbara, what are U.S. officials saying about this brazen terrorist attack on a NATO ally?</s>BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, the latest certainly that the Turks are saying ISIS is responsible for, the U.S. expressing that concern that you're pointing to, Isha, the concern about the Turkish-Syrian border. This is an area that has been a big concern for some time. For months now, ISIS fighters have found very easy routes across that border into Northern Syria. The U.S. has been pressing the Turks to shut down the border crossings, to exert more control over the border. There had been some indication that the Turks were attempting to do that. So the question is, is this ISIS retaliation for the Turks moving against them? But there may be something else here. There is a good deal of fighting in Northern Syria right now. The Kurds there have been pressing towards Raqqa, the Northern Syrian self-declared capital of ISIS. And ISIS is feeling that pressure, U.S. officials believe. So they may have just simply been lashing out with this terrible episode of violence. Either way, it's getting very much noticed by the U.S. about what is happening in Northern Syria and how much ISIS may be reacting to the pressure it's under. So expect to see more from the coalition, more bombing, more airstrikes, more going after the ISIS targets because as ISIS reacts and moves around, it makes it easier for those coalition warplanes to find them -- Isha.</s>SESAY: Indeed, Barbara. But given that Turkey is critical to the fight against ISIS, do we anticipate the U.S. stepping up direct support to this valued NATO ally?</s>STARR: Well, this has always been an interesting question. Some sort of safe zone on that border region, a lot of people have been calling for it. But for the U.S. to engage in that directly, I think would be very problematic for the Obama administration. They're going to ask as they continue to for more coalition support, more intelligence sharing. That may be something that the U.S. can do something about. As it flies those reconnaissance missions over Northern Syria, having a look at what is happening and sharing what intelligence they can with the Turks -- Isha. Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr, appreciate it. Thanks so much.</s>SESAY: Now the U.S. Defense secretary spends a second day in Israel trying to ease anger over the Iran nuclear deal. Ash Carter met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for two hours. They did not speak to reporters afterwards. On Monday, Carter called the U.S.-Israeli relationship "rock solid" and said Israeli concerns about security are justified.</s>ASH CARTER, U.S. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: There's no disagreement about the ultimate objective. We cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon. And there's no disagreement about the threats Israel sees every day from Iran's destabilizing activities; from terrorists, like Hezbollah, Hamas and ISIL.</s>SESAY: Ash Carter will also visit Saudi Arabia and Jordan. The Saudis have expressed concerns over the nuclear deal as well and how it may increase Iran's influence in the region. The mayor of the largest city in the U.S. says he's committed to reducing carbon emissions by 40 percent by 2030. New York's Bill de Blasio made the ambitious pledge during a Vatican conference on climate change and human trafficking.</s>BILL DE BLASIO, MAYOR OF NEW YORK: The encyclical is not a call to arms; it is a call to sanity. It's a reminder that we, as leaders, have a sworn duty to protect. But how can we protect our people if we accept a status quo that is slowly killing our Earth? I humbly submit that we were called here not to be congratulated for whatever progress we've made, although it is certainly worthy. We were called here to take la datosi (ph) and give it life, to systematically address the danger of climate change.</s>SESAY: You heard Mayor de Blasio refer to the pope's encyclical, released in June. The document is essentially a papal love letter to our planet and a strong warning about the destructive impact of climate change. Our Vatican correspondent, Delia Gallagher, joins me now with all the latest on the Vatican summit. Delia, help us understand the Vatican's point of view, their reason for calling this summit and those they have invited.</s>DELIA GALLAGHER, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Well, what's interesting about this summit, Isha, is that for the first time the Vatican has invited mayors from around the world. We've had religious leaders here; we've had international government leaders here. But for the first time we've got the mayors. And the recent for this, the Vatican says, is that they want to address the issue of climate change and modern slavery from a grassroots level, in particular in urban areas, where the poor are the hardest hit. So for the Vatican's part, they are hoping to encourage action at a local level as well as obviously working at the international level and attempting to influence the conversation that's going on and some important decisions that will be made on U.S. sustainable development, U.N. sustainable development goals in December in Paris. So really Pope Francis has kind of ramped up the Vatican's efforts with regard to these two issues, which are very close to his heart. He has been very consistent in mentioning them over and over. You heard Mayor de Blasio reference the pope's encyclical, which, in large part, is devoted to the topic of climate change and human trafficking. On the part of the mayors, of course, it's a wonderful opportunity for them and perhaps one of the first times that they've been able to all get together, 65 of them, and hear and share some of their best practices. It's been a fascinating morning and afternoon to listen. It's still going on at the moment, to listen to some of their contributions. They each had 10 minutes to speak and, for example, there's the mayor from Kochi in Kerala in India. And he says India has the most slaves in the world but that they have enacted laws to attempt to allow Indians the right to work and to give children the right to an education. The mayor of Madrid, for example, said that it's not enough just to set laws; they have to set a good example. And she says that she and her local counselors take the bus and walk whenever possible. So there's a good exchange going on between the mayors to effect action at a local level but from the Vatican's point of view, they want to put what they call moral pressure on the U.N. decisions for some kind of a legally binding agreement between all countries on these issues -- Isha.</s>SESAY: Delia Gallagher joining us there from Rome, Delia, appreciate it. Thanks so much. Now the CNN Freedom Project is dedicated to shining a light on modern- day slavery. Our latest production is a documentary called "Children for Sale: The Fight to End Human Trafficking." Actress and activist Jada Pinkett Smith speaks with a young survivor right here in the United States, who was sold for sex a few years ago. She was lured, she says, by someone she thought was her friend.</s>JADA PINKETT SMITH, ACTOR AND ACTIVIST (voice-over): "Sacharay" was born and raised in Florida. By the time she was 14, she was constantly being teased at school. "</s>SACHARAY": What I got picked on a lot about was being black. I have really, really dark skin, I guess.</s>SMITH (voice-over): She felt alone at home and at school. That's why, when an older classmate offered friendship, she jumped at it. "</s>SACHARAY": I thought she was like my best friend because I could like tell her anything. And one day she asked if, you know, I want to skip school, want to have fun, you know. So we went to this barber shop. When I was there, she introduced me to these guys.</s>SMITH (voice-over): "Sacharay's" new "friend" had just led her to the man who would eventually become her trafficker. "</s>SACHARAY": We talked about how we was going to make money, how it was going to be easy. We didn't have to depend on nobody and it was all fine and good and stuff. So I fell for it.</s>SMITH: Was there any kind of grooming process, like when this first started? Or it's just something that just happened and you -- he was just expecting you to learn on the way? "</s>SACHARAY": He slowly brought on. When we got closer, when he felt like he got closer to me, he usually did it out of the back of the barber shop. And he'd even have people that were with the post office, mailmen come in. Mailmen came in and paid their money to him, came back there to me.</s>SESAY: Be sure to watch the CNN Freedom Project documentary, "Children for Sale: The Fight to End Human Trafficking." It premieres Wednesday night at 8:00 in London, 9:00 pm in Berlin, only here on CNN. You're with INTERNATIONAL DESK. Still to come, as polls close in conflict-stricken Burundi, we'll get up an update on the vote and the violence. Plus, Donald Trump is making headlines and even leading in some polls. But is the U.S. Republican presidential candidate really electable? We're there as he hits the campaign trail. Do stay with us.