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Anger Growing Over Reports Of Ignored Warnings; Amnesty International Calls For Global Aid, Investigation; Investigating Russia's Rapid Test And Vaccine Claims; Germany Adopts Massive Testing Plan For Tourists; India Surpasses Two Million COVID-19 Cases; President Donald Trump Signs Order Banning TikTok, WeChat in 45 Days; There is Growing Anger as Protesters in Beirut Demand for an International Investigation to the Deadly Explosion; Community Take Steps to Begin Rebuilding Beirut; International Aid are Pouring into Lebanon; Coronavirus Ravages the United States; President Trump Says Vaccine Might Be Ready by Election Day. Aired 2-3a ET
Aired August 07, 2020 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[02:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: Anger on the streets of Beirut. Protesters want to know who is responsible for Tuesday's deadly blast.
A grim new forecast predicts U.S. coronavirus deaths could be nearly doubled by December. A simple step, experts say, could save tens of thousands of lives.
And, on notice, President Donald Trump issues executive orders, giving the Chinese parent companies of TikTok and WeChat 45 days to sell or face a U.S. ban.
Hello and welcome to "CNN Newsroom." I'm Kim Brunhuber.
We are going to start in Beirut where there are growing calls for an international investigation into the deadly explosion that decimated the port and much of Lebanon's capital.
According to Lebanese National News Agency, at least 16 port employees have been detained as part of the government's investigation. Lebanon's central bank has ordered a freeze on the accounts of the heads of Beirut port and Lebanese customs.
So far, at least 137 people are confirmed dead, 5,000 injured, and hundreds are reported missing.
French President Emmanuel Macron toured the devastated city on Thursday and got a rousing reception in the streets. While promising aid, he called on the government to crack down on corruption.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EMMANUEL MACRON, PRESIDENT OF FRANCE (through translator): The requirement of a friend in times of need is to rush to the scene when times are hard, but not to hand out blank checks to a system that is not trusted by the people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: The blast is fueling anti-government sentiment in protests, as many say its negligence led to the explosion.
CNN's Jomana Karadsheh joins me now from Istabul, Turkey. We saw -- you know, people were angry for many months already. Will this be a tipping point, do you think?
JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kim, it is hard to say at this point whether this is going to be the tipping point, whether it is going to reignite the popular protests that we saw across the country in different Lebanese cities over the past year.
But certainly, as the initial shock, as the trauma, begins to subside, as people come to grips with what has hit their city, I think we are going to be seeing this anger and this rage building. These demonstrations so far have been pretty small, you know.
But the political aftershocks of this, Kim, are going to be felt for a long time to come. You know, you referenced President Macron's visit in Beirut, touring the streets, inspecting the devastation, talking to people. I think that really says a lot not just about how people feel about him, but how they feel about their own political leadership.
Their own leaders would not dare get that close to the people and certainly would not get that kind of reception. You know, we saw on the same day, a government minister touring streets of Beirut being chased down by the people. They were being sprayed by water.
You know, you need to keep in mind, when this disaster, this tragedy hit Beirut, this is a country that was already on its knees. It was facing multiple crises at the same time -- a political crisis, a financial crisis, an economic crisis, the COVID crisis -- that the country is struggling to deal with.
[02:04:55]
KARADSHEH: When we talk about the financial crisis, it really translates into really heartbreaking situation on the ground with the Lebanese lira sinking to unprecedented levels, losing much of its value, which meant that people's life savings became worthless. People can no longer afford basic goods because of inflation, because these goods are imported.
The people blame all of this, Kim, on their politicians, the political elite, the leaders, who have been leading this country, and consecutive governments for decades. They have consistently failed the population.
Right now, all indications at this point are what happened on Tuesday. That blast was caused by negligence and incompetence by their authorities, who have consistently failed them.
So, you know, you can understand how this is going to turn into anger and rage against these politicians and the ruling elite, because what people are struggling to come to grips with right now is that this was preventable. Kim?
BRUNHUBER: Mm-hmm. And we will have plenty more announces on that very question throughout the program. Thank you so much, Jomana Karadsheh, in Istanbul.
Well, the aftermath of the explosion is being felt across the city. Streets filled with shattered glass and debris. The blast impacted nearly every home and business.
CNN's Ben Wedeman shows us how many in the community are wasting no time jumping into action, determined to rebuild.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For Beirut residents, life is now divided between what came before and what came after.
A staff member of the Barbell House gym captured these images on his phone. He was unharmed. Shiva Karout is a trainer at the gym.
SHIVA KAROUT, TRAINER, BARBELL HOUSE GYM: As soon as I saw that nothing happened to me, I ran out, ran to the gym, started helping people out. A lot of people were wounded. A lot of people were on the floor, disoriented. We just picked them up and put them outside, took them to the hospital.
WEDEMAN (voice-over): Less than two days later, with blood still on the weights, gym members are doing the heavy lifting to restore a semblance of routine.
In the Mar Maroun Maronite Church, the priest conducts a live-streamed mass, cut short by the tremor, and then the crash of shattering glass. Father Marwan Malwood (ph) was sitting in the pews and immediately assumed it was a political assassination in the streets outside.
"We thought, God save us, God save us," he recalls. "We wanted to get out of here with the least possible damage."
Glass shards torrent to the pews, mostly empty on Tuesday evening, because of coronavirus restrictions. Two stained glass panels were spared, one depicting Jesus, the other, Charbel, a Lebanese saint renowned for miracles.
Not a miracle, but perhaps a glimmer of hope that Lebanon spirit is far from broken. It is on vivid display in the crowded streets of Marmehile (ph), the neighborhood next to the port.
Social distancing has been sacrificed in an effort to cling to a spirit of community, in a land where the very system of government is based upon divisions between the country's 18 officially recognized religious sex.
Their work done for the day and ad-hoc volunteer crew heads home, singing the popular song with the refrain "Lebanon will come back." The city is bruised, bleeding, and battered, but unbound.
Ben Wedeman, CNN, Beirut.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: International offers of aid for Lebanon are pouring in. France, Turkey, the U.K., U.S., and Israel are all helping, and some nongovernmental agencies are already on the ground. The need is urgent and vast. Many people have already lost their jobs and watch their savings disintegrate.
CNN's Isa Soares has more on global efforts to help the stricken country.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ISA SOARES, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Amidst the rubble, an expression of sympathy and the promise of support.
MACRON (through translator): In the coming days, we will organize more support in France and on a European level. I would like to organize European cooperation, and more widely, international cooperation.
SOARES (voice-over): The French president is the first world leader to visit the blast site. His offer of help, though, came with a warning.
MACRON (through translator): For months and years now, France has been demanding indispensable reforms in certain sectors -- energy, government procurement, and the fight against corruption. If these reforms are not carried out, Lebanon will continue to sink.
[02:10:00]
SOARES (voice-over): With each passing hour, the scale of the devastation becomes clearer. So, too, does the immense need for a global response to the crisis.
The European Union has already pledged almost $40 million. Italy has already dispatched planeloads of medical aid and rescue workers. Turkey, too, has sent humanitarian aid, along with teams to scour the rubble for survivors.
From the United Kingdom, a message of condolence from the royal family, along with the government pledge of nearly $7 million in humanitarian assistance.
DOMINIC RAAB, BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY: We are going will stand by the Lebanese people in their time of need.
SOARES (voice-over): Many other countries, including Kuwait, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq have made contributions. The U.S. says it will send aid, too.
MIKE POMPEO, UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF STATE: We stand ready to assist the government of Lebanon as it grapples with this horrible tragedy.
SOARES (voice-over): But even before the blast, Lebanon's economy was in freefall with anti-government protests, skyrocketing unemployment, and a plummeting currency, then came the coronavirus pandemic, and now this.
For a country that had slowly pulled itself out of the ruin of a Civil War, the events of this week are a catastrophic setback, and once again, Lebanon finds itself dependent on foreign aid to try to rebuild.
Isa Soares, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: Let's go to Beirut now. Mona Fawaz, she is a professor of urban studies and planning at the American University of Beirut. Thank you very much for joining us. If I can start with, you know, where you were when the blast went off and what your reaction was when you realized the extent of the damage?
MONA FAWAZ, PROFESSOR OF URBAN STUDIES AND PLANNING, AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF BEIRUT: Yeah, I was working from home when it first started. So, at first, I thought it was an earthquake. I went to gather the kids and run out from the house, and then just began to first collect glass from home and wonder what it was, look for loved ones, you know.
It was very much reminiscent of the Civil War. We were trying to call. The phones weren't getting through. We wanted to know that everyone was fine. My partner was at work. I wanted to know that he had not been hit. Then it was my parents and friends and the outpouring of calls from everyone else to make sure we were all alive.
And then you start figuring out that some of your friends actually were at the hospital or they are missing. The usual -- I mean (INAUDIBLE) Civil War, first few hours after a blast.
BRUNHUBER: I want to focus on your specialty, which is urban planning. So, I want to find out what factors made this blast, you know, so devastating in these crowded residential neighborhoods.
FAWAZ: Yeah. So, the blast happened in the port, which is like sort of (INAUDIBLE) some of the oldest neighborhoods of the city. These neighborhoods, if you look at them, they are like layers starting from the historic core of Beirut which dates back to the 1800s, and then expands throughout the layers of history of the city.
There are very important architectural and heritage design. They have been built incrementally. Sometimes, floors added illegally. What this means is that the structures of the building, their organization, may be -- seems to have been really much more, if you want, resilient than what were actually thought. But some buildings did fall, particularly when floors have been added.
What is really important to know is that these neighborhoods really have a very important architecture and heritage. They are the neighborhoods that used to attract a lot of tourists to the city. They are very vibrant communities. There are small stores but also young people, a lot of creative energy, workshops, artists, bars, cafes. Everyone talks about these areas when they visit Beirut, particularly young people.
So it is really important to prevent their destruction in the same form that happened with the historic quarter of Beirut after its so called reconstruction with the Civil War.
BRUNHUBER: I mean, speaking of reconstruction, you know, to rebuild, Beirut's governor said it would cost, you know, some $15 billion. Clearly, the country needs international support.
But we saw during French President Macron's visit, you know, some Lebanese were literally pleading with Macron, saying, don't give money to our government. How do you rebuild when there is so little trust in public officials that they will handle the money wisely and honestly?
FAWAZ: Yeah. Look, two things. First, this is not the first time that the Lebanese pledged -- asked people not to donate money to their government. Already, the last conference that was held in France, which was called SED Conference, had many members of the Lebanese Civil Society writing letters and pleading with the French government not to continue to support the same form of political coalitions that existed in Lebanon.
[02:15:00]
FAWAZ: That had been sustained in part by foreign aid because that allows them to continue to distribute some benefits to specific communities, and by doing that, to maintain power.
So I think this is an element of awareness that gives me a lot of hope, that we want to rebuild our country, we want to rebuild our city, but we want to do it in a way that does not keep in place the visibly failing system that was put in place in the early 1990s when the Civil War was over.
Instead, what we are asking is direct support for those groups, those institutions, universities, innovation centers, non-profit institutions, so many microcredit organizations that support local businesses.
It could really be supported to allow for a bottom-up reconstruction of these neighborhoods in a way that allows the local population to remain anchored and not produce another occasion of vast gentrification, displacement or years of neglect that lead to the same conclusion.
And really, without international aid, there is no way the city reconstruction is going to happen. There is an enormous impoverishment over the last few months. Most people will not afford to even buy the glass they need to seal their homes.
BRUNHUBER: Well, clearly, as you say, a huge task ahead. Thank you so much for your insight, Professor Mona Fawaz, in Beirut. We appreciate it.
FAWAZ: Thank you for having me.
BRUNHUBER: And speaking of help, if you would like to help the victims of Tuesday's blast in Beirut, we have made it easy. Just go to our Impact Your World website. It is cnn.com/impact. Some groups are still assessing the needs. You can count on CNN to keep you updated. Again, the address there is cnn.com/impact.
Coronaviruses is stealing the lives of thousands of Americans each day. Researchers say it is going to get exponentially worse. But they say there is a guaranteed way to slow those numbers. We will explain, next.
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BRUNHUBER: What you are seeing and hearing mainly there, dozens of school teachers in Georgia, loudly showing their opposition to reopening schools. They've been hours parked outside of the headquarters of the state's largest school district, honking their car horns the whole time. The teachers object to a plan to resume in- person schooling later this month.
New numbers from Johns Hopkins suggest more than 160,000 people in the U.S. have now died from coronavirus. Some researchers say that number could nearly double by the end of the year.
[02:20:00]
BRUNHUBER: The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation is predicting nearly 300,000 U.S. deaths by December. They say tens of thousands of lives could be saved if 95 percent of Americans consistently wear masks.
The CDC is urging people to avoid masks with valves or vents. You can see it there. That is because the point is to stop respiratory droplets from spreading in the air and those vents don't help.
The U.S. president says he is hopeful about a vaccine being ready in time for the election in November.
The top U.S. infectious disease doctor says it is time for the country to get serious in order to lower infection rates by November.
CNN's Athena Jones explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: This is a predictor of trouble ahead.
ATHENA JONES, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A new warning for nine U.S. cities in California's Central Valley, where the rate of people testing positive for coronavirus is rising.
FAUCI: It is a clear indication that you are getting an uptick in cases which inevitably, as we've seen in the southern states, lead to surges, and then you get hospitalizations, and then you get deaths.
JONES (voice-over): In a recording of a private phone call with state and local officials obtained by the Center for Public Integrity, the White House's Coronavirus Task Force coordinator, Dr. Deborah Birx, urging these areas to take measures to mitigate the spread, like avoiding crowds and using masks, arguing data from previous hot spots show such measures work.
In fact, Dr. Anthony Fauci says these simple measures could bring COVID-19 infections down to manageable levels by Election Day.
FAUCI: If we pay attention to the fundamental tenants of infection control and diminution of transmission, we could be weighed down in November.
JONES (voice-over): But far too many people have not gotten the message. In Los Angeles, house parties like this one leading authorities to say they will start turning off power and water at places that host such functions, especially repeat offenders.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These large house parties have essentially become nightclubs. Some research has shown that 10 Percent of people cause 80 Percent of the spread.
JONES (voice-over): Since the beginning of June, the infection rate in Los Angeles County tripled among 30 to 39 year olds and nearly quadrupled among 18 to 29 year olds. Dr. Fauci pleading --
FAUCI: Don't be a weak link in the chain. Be a very strong part of the chain of ultimately getting us down.
JONES (voice-over): In a stunning move, at a town of Sturgis, South Dakota, preparing to host a motorcycle rally, expecting to draw hundreds of thousands of people. No masks required.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We want to stress personal responsibility to our visitors and our residents as this gathering move forward.
JONES (voice-over): While new infections are steady or falling in all but three states, it isn't all good news. Mississippi reported the highest COVID test positivity rate in the country at nearly 26 percent, while Louisiana has the most cases per capita. And with testing rates falling off, these positive trends likely don't show the whole picture.
Meanwhile, the number of daily deaths is on the rise in 15 states and stubbornly high nationwide, averaging more than a thousand a day for the past seven days. The University of Washington, now predicting nearly 300,000 U.S. deaths from COVID by December 1st. And as more schools open for in- person classes, cases of coronavirus are popping up daily.
PETER HOTEZ, DEAN OF TROPICAL MEDICINE, BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE: We are trying to open up schools in the middle of a raging forest fire in many parts of the country. We cannot do that.
JONES (voice-over): Outbreaks in Georgia and Mississippi, proof in- person learning is risky in some places, which is why nearly seven million children will begin the year remotely.
Athena Jones, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: Prominent U.S. governor got a coronavirus scare on Thursday. Mike DeWine, the governor of Ohio, announced he tested positive for COVID-19, then, several hours later, DeWine said a second test came back negative. But, it was enough to mix a meeting with President Trump, who spent much of his day doubling down on wild claims about the virus.
CNN's Jim Acosta has the details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Trump appears to have a target date for the release of a coronavirus vaccine, it just so happens to fall on November 3rd, Election Day.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Sooner than November 3rd?
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think in some cases, yes, possible before, but right around that time.
ACOSTA (voice-over): Even though top health experts have cautioned there is no guarantee a vaccine will be ready by November, the president reiterated that goal to reporters, while insisting the timeline has nothing to do with his reelection bid.
D. TRUMP: I believe we will have the vaccine before the end of the year certainly, but around that date, yes, I think so. But I'm not doing that for the election. I want it fast because I want to save a lot of lives.
ACOSTA (voice-over): The president was also asked if he stands by his tone-deaf comment about the COVID-19 death toll in the U.S., that it is what it is.
D. TRUMP: Nobody can do what I have done in terms of all of the things that we are doing to combat this horrible disease.
[02:25:05]
D. TRUMP: It never should have been sent to us.
ACOSTA (voice-over): Trump is asking Americans to trust his leadership on the pandemic despite his false claim that children are -- quote -- "almost immune" from the virus.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): What evidence have you seen about children being immune from this virus?
D. TRUMP: All you have to do is read the newspapers. Read the medical reports.
ACOSTA (voice-over): But that is not true. When that remark to Fox News --
D. TRUMP (voice-over): If you look at children, children are almost -- and I would say definitely, but almost immune from this disease.
ACOSTA: It was later posted on social media by the Trump campaign. Both Twitter and Facebook blocked it. Twitter removed the message, saying, this tweet violated its rules.
Top administration health expert Dr. Anthony Fauci warned children can contract the virus and pass it along the vulnerable family members.
FAUCI: That is the message we got to get to young people because obviously they are not doing anything deliberately or maliciously. What they are doing is inadvertently, they are propagating the outbreak.
ACOSTA: The president almost came in close contact with the virus as Ohio GOP Governor Mike DeWine tested positive for COVID-19 and had to suddenly set out an event with Mr. Trump.
D. TRUMP: And we want to wish him the best. He will be fine. I guess he is going for a secondary test.
ACOSTA (voice-over): The president is shifting to campaign mode, attacking mail-in voting, tweeting, "How can voters be sending in ballots starting, in some cases, one month before the first presidential debate. Move the first debate up."
Mr. Trump is attacking Joe Biden, accusing the former vice president of somehow hurting God.
D. TRUMP: Take away your guns, destroy your Second Amendment, no religion, no anything, hurt the bible, hurt God. He is against God.
ACOSTA (voice-over): The Biden campaign jabbed back, noting the administration's violent clearing of Lafayette Park for the president's photo-op last June. Biden says he will use the debates to push back.
JOE BIDEN (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I am so forward looking to have an opportunity to sit with the president or stand with the president in debates. There are going to be plenty of time. ACOSTA (on camera): The president delivered a speech in Ohio, what was built as an official White House to event. But the president repeatedly attacked Joe Biden during the speech, saying the former vice president often says the wrong thing. This was after Mr. Trump during the visit, mispronounced Thailand and said Failand.
Jim Acosta, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: On Thursday, Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, talked to CNN's Wolf Blitzer about the next steps the U.S. must take to fight the virus.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FRANCIS COLLINS, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH: The reason to wear a mask is because you may be that super spreader that could be infecting other people and not know it. We just heard about Governor DeWine who tested positive, had no idea that he was a person infected with this. And unfortunately, that is the case for about 30, 40 percent of the time.
And so if we are really going to figure out a way to stop the transmission of this virus, we all have to take that responsibility. Even if we are feeling fine, even if we are 23 years old and feel like we are immortal, we are the link in the chain that needs not to be the weak one, as Dr. Fauci said.
So, yes, when you go outside of your home, put on that cloth mask and think about all the people you are saving.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: You will save a lot of lives. The president also said today, he is optimistic that we all could have a successful vaccine around Election Day, November 3rd here in the United States. Do you think that is really, Dr. Collins, a realistic timeline?
COLLINS: Well, I am a scientist and not a politician, but I will tell you that all the scientists and doctors, and I'm one of those two, are working around the clock to try to move these vaccines forward and find out if we got something that is safe and effective.
There is not just one, there are several of them. Two of them are already in phase three trials, others are about to get into that same space. Each of those is requiring 30,000 volunteers to help us. So part of it is, are we going to be able to roll all those folks in order to learn whether the vaccine actually works?
I don't have a crystal ball. I think it would be amazing if, by the end of this year, we were able to say we have at least one of these that is safe and effective. I am cautiously optimistic about that. But trying to put a finer prediction on the timetable right now, I don't think any of us have enough information yet to know how that is going to shake out.
Sooner would be better. We got to get out there as fast as we can with this vaccine and try to stop this disease before it gets into more people's lives.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: That was Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of health. We should point out again, after the positive test earlier in the day, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine tested negative for this virus Thursday evening.
Anger is spilling into the streets of Lebanon. Just ahead, cries for justice and accountability are growing as Beirut begins to clean up after that devastating explosion. Stay with us.
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[02:32:33]
KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Kim Brunhuber.
Back to our top story as Beirut begins cleaning up after its shattered city. The Lebanese Government is promising a transparent investigation into Tuesday's blast with their growing calls for an independent international investigation.
Explosion killed at least 137 people, injured thousands more with hundreds reported missing. Emergency relief from around the world is beginning to arrive.
French President Emmanuel Macron visited the city on Thursday. He promised to send international aid while calling on the government to crack down on corruption and implement political reforms.
And anger is growing in Lebanon over reports of ignored warnings over the storage of highly explosive compounds at the scene of Tuesday's blast. Calls for accountability and governmental reform are growing as well. CNN's Arwa Damon is in Beirut as ordinary Lebanese search for answers, justice and hope.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Could there be anyone left alive? It's a hope dozens of family members of the missing cling to. Knowing that it's unlikely but not wanting to accept that their loved one could be gone.
Others are laid to rest. Lives utterly shattered in the trail of destruction by Tuesday's explosion in Lebanon's capital city.
Those who survived are trying to pick up the pieces.
Glass and debris crunch below the feet of an army of volunteers stepping in where the government is not, attempting to clear the rubble of billions of dollars of damage.
They urge each other on, but for others, it's all just too much. The intensity of the emotional roller coaster that is being Lebanese has left them hollow shells.
What should we feel? Asks one resident. You can't feel anything in Lebanon. There's nothing to be sad about anymore, he says.
As the cleanup continues, a rage grows across the country at how a new disaster could happen, still without any clear explanation or apology.
As French President Emmanuel Macron toward the wreckage, the first foreign leader to set foot here. He was surrounded by hundreds of Lebanese calling for revolution, urging him, begging him, do something. He vowed that France would stand with the Lebanese people but caution its leaders.
[02:35:02]
EMMANUEL MACRON, PRESIDENT OF FRANCE (through translator): The requirement of a friend in times of need is to rush to the scene when times are hard, but not to hand out blank checks to a system not trusted by the people.
DAMON: From outside and inside the country demands for answers grow louder, as calls emerge for an independent probe into the explosion.
This is not just about accountability, or how the country is going to rebuild emotionally and physically. It's about how it's going to find its hope.
Arwa Damon CNN, Beirut.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: I want to bring in now Lynn Maalouf. She's the director or the deputy director of Amnesty International in the Middle East and North Africa and she joins us now via Skype from Beirut.
So, Anthony -- Amnesty International among several organizations that have called for an international investigation into the blast, why is this needed?
LYNN MAALOUF, DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL'S MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA (via Skype): It is absolutely needed because there could be -- there can be no other alternative that would be able to provide facts and justice to the people of Lebanon who have suffered through this explosion and all of the preceding ordeals and successive ordeals really, over the past few months and years and weeks, just an escalating deteriorating situation.
This was just a final -- like the final death note to the -- to everything that the Lebanese people have been experiencing over the past few months.
There is no alternative to an international mechanism because a domestic mechanism will have no trust. The one that has already been announced that will vary -- I mean, the government, the Lebanese government, and the Lebanese authorities just have no trust among the people. It has a track record of judiciary that is politicized. We -- there is
already evidence emerging of all of the different institutions that would have been aware of this stockpile that was saved and the risks that it carried during the past six years, and did nothing about it.
So, the people who are already or the institutions that are viewed or perceived to have been responsible for this class by the very least by having known about the risks and not having done anything about it, can't be themselves investigating this explosion.
The government has been conspicuously absent from all of the relief efforts. The streets in the past two days have been filled with Lebanese, young volunteers who have been clearing the rubble, going into people's homes, offering help, but the state is nowhere to be seen.
BRUNHUBER: Now, we've seen protests in the streets demanding accountability. Is there a fear that this as violence seems to escalate a little bit that this will lead to further violence or that it will lead to suppression of dissent? I mean, we've already heard, you know, demonstrators being shot with rubber bullets, for example. What's your -- what's your greatest concern here?
MAALOUF: Yes, protests were already being met with tear gas yesterday. I mean, the call for accountability has been a very strong call since the October movement protests. It began with -- the protests began with calls for economic and social rights but it morphed into a very strong call, very clear call for accountability.
And when we're talking about accountability in Lebanon, we're talking about the four last decades of impunity of a continuing system that followed through after the war. That's so -- a continuation of complete impunity with everything that the Lebanese people have gone through and experienced through.
And this is why today, with a blast of this magnitude, the impact of this magnitude on all of the people in this country and all of the residents in Beirut, there can be no justice without an international mechanism that has some measure, some level of trust. Trust is the key word here. Any investigation that has no trust cannot deliver on justice.
BRUNHUBER: All right, well, listen, thank you so much for joining us. Lynn Maalouf with Amnesty International in Beirut. Thank you so much. Appreciate it.
MAALOUF: Thank you.
BRUNHUBER: Well, a disturbing claim is emerging from a former top Saudi intelligence officer. According to a legal complaint filed in Washington, Dr. Saad al-Jabri claims Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman sent a hit squad after him. Al-Jabri is living in exile in Canada.
He says the infamous Tiger Squad was stopped at Ottawa International Airport. Now, this reportedly happened just days after journalist Jamal Khashoggi was allegedly murdered by the same group. [02:40:06]
BRUNHUBER: Al-Jabri says the attempt is likely because he knew damaging secrets about the Crown Prince. The Saudi government hasn't responded to CNN's requests for comment.
Well, when we come back, a couple of different perspectives on testing. So first, we'll take you to Russia where they say their scientists have invented a fast test that will make air travel safe again and later.
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BRUNHUBER: As coronavirus continues its deadly path around the world, the World Health Organization says the virus is hitting more young people with a number of teens and young adults getting sick increasing six-fold.
There are now more than one million cases across Africa, more than half in South Africa according to Johns Hopkins University.
Peru, Colombia and Argentina each reported a record number of new cases Thursday. And Japan recorded nearly 1,500 new cases, its second highest daily numbers since the outbreak began.
And Australia's Prime Minister says, any country that finds a COVID-19 vaccine needs to make it available globally or risk being, quote, judged terribly by history. He says if Australia develops one first, well, they'll share it.
That as Russia says it's making medical advances on the coronavirus; it's putting the rest of the world to shame from rapid testing with results in one hour to a vaccine that it will start giving to the public within weeks.
Russia says, it's winning the war on the disease. But many are skeptical that the claims are true.
CNN's Matthew Chance got exclusive access to one of the rapid testing facilities in an effort to find out.
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MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is the new frontline in Russia's war on COVID-19. We gained exclusive access to the rapid testing being introduced at Russia's airports. Soon, every passenger could be screened like this. And what Russia says is another example of its scientific edge.
ANDREY KASHUBSKY, EMG DIRECTOR, RUSSIAN DIRECT INVESTMENT FUND: This is the leading edge of everything in the diagnostics. It's called point of care system, so it can be used everywhere whenever people need it. Here and you're the witness it takes one hour.
CHANCE: Chance, Matthew.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Chance, Matthew.
CHANCE: For those behind this new technology in Moscow say that the tests can be used in global airports around the world, including in the United States. It's a way of resuming flights, they say, while protecting the safety of passengers.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Open up.
CHANCE: Of course, what that means is that, in the future (INAUDIBLE) -- in the future, every journey -- ow -- could start or end like this.
[02:45:06]
CHANCE: Russia has been casting itself at the forefront of efforts to tackle the global coronavirus pandemic, as well as mass testing. It's poised to approve what it says will be the world's first COVID-19 vaccine, developed at breakneck speed at this Moscow research lab.
Claims of Russia's world beating medical advances ring hollow to critics like Anastasia Vasilyeva, a Russian doctor turned prominent opposition campaigner, who now broadcasts her concerns on a popular online show. Seems more like propaganda, she told me, than progress.
ANASTASIA VASILYEVA, DOCTOR'S ALLIANCE: They just want to say, we are the first. But this vaccine is not safe, it's not effective, because they didn't do the necessary investigations with this vaccine and --
CHANCE: Why did they need to be the first?
VASILYEVA: I think it's the Russia the big and strong country. And Putin the big, great president who just want to be the best president maybe in the world.
CHANCE: Right. Hi. The moment of reckoning.
There are concerns about the accuracy of Russian testing too. Officials admit, early cases could simply slip through.
CHANCE: Negative (INAUDIBLE).
Relief from Russia could prove premature.
Matthew Chance, CNN Moscow.
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BRUNHUBER: Germany has announced a new coronavirus testing plan designed to allow tourism while preventing the spread of the disease.
Starting this weekend, anyone traveling to Germany is required to take a coronavirus test and the government's paying for it. CNN's Frederik Pleitgen has the story.
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FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's the new normal for anyone arriving at German airports, get your suitcase and then get a coronavirus test.
Toby Rosen just got back home to Berlin.
TOBY ROSEN, TRAVELER: The lines been pretty short. It's only like 30 minutes. And I think we get results the next 24 hours.
PLEITGEN: Germany is offering all travelers arriving here free coronavirus tests. And starting Saturday, people coming from high risk areas will be required to get tested on arrival.
The German government says it doesn't want the situation here to deteriorate for instance the way it has in the United States with tens of thousands of new cases every day. That's why they're taking the drastic step of offering everyone who enters the country a coronavirus test.
Germany has the capacity for about 1.2 million tests per week, official data shows. And Berlin says the pandemic remains under control here. There's only been one day with more than a thousand new infections in the past three months.
Even as President Trump continues to falsely claim the U.S. is doing better than countries like Germany.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And if you look at death --
JONATHAN SWAN, POLITICAL REPORTER, AXIOS: Started to go up again.
TRUMP: This one -- well, right here, the United States is lowest in numerous categories. We're lower than the world.
SWAN: Lower than the world?
TRUMP: We're lower than Europe.
SWAN: In what? In what?
TRUMP: Take a look. Right here. Here's case death.
SWAN: Oh, you're doing death as a proportion of cases. I'm talking about death as a proportion of population. That's why the U.S. is really bad. Much worse than South Korea, Germany, etcetera.
PLEITGEN: Johns Hopkins data shows that both South Korea and Germany indeed have a much lower number of coronavirus deaths per 100,000 residents.
Today, Germany's health minister said, the drastic increase in testing is part of a broad strategy to prevent new lockdowns and to save lives.
In my view, it arises from an obligation for us as a society to look after and protect each other, he says.
And there are other strict measures in place. Travelers from high risk countries who are not residents of Europe are banned from coming here all together. The U.S. is considered a high-risk country, with the Trump administration still failing to contain the outbreak.
Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Berlin.
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BRUNHUBER: India has now become the third nation to surpass two million confirmed coronavirus cases, it's a milestone that only the U.S. and Brazil had reached and India hit the number startlingly fast. It just took three weeks for the country to go from one million to two million cases.
So, let's bring in CNN's Vedika Sud in New Delhi with the latest. So, Vedika, that last factor, the speed with which it seems to have accelerated is surely the most worrying part. Do we know why?
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VEDIKA SUD, CNN FIELD PRODUCER: Well, before that, let me just tell you, Friday has been a huge setback for India for two reasons. Two unenviable milestones achieved. One, like you mentioned is the two million cases mark, and the other is that today marks a day over the last 10 days we've seen, over 50,000 cases being reported per day for 24 hours. And today's the first time that India has crossed the 60,000 mark. We have over 62,000 new infections being reported today.
But coming back to your question, India reached about a million cases in about six months. It reached a million and a half cases in the next 12 days. And it's reached two million cases in nine days after reaching the 1.5 million mark, worrying figures really.
When we speak to experts, they say that a lot of states have been reactive rather than proactive. They haven't learned from other states that have reached a peak in India. And they haven't really got down to massive testing.
Testing is still a huge worry here in India, because the figures are at 22 million, but given a population of 1.3 billion people, especially a lot of people living in rural areas, that's still not enough, say a lot of experts.
So that's one of the worries. The other worry, of course, is also the fact that when it comes to these numbers, the government has come out and said that about 68 percent is our recovery rate.
So, of the total cases, we have 68 percent of people who have recovered, which is good, but you have 32 percent still to recover. And like I said, experts go on to say that the peak hasn't been reached in a lot of states across India. Some of them haven't even got close to it.
So, we're going to see this happening for the next few days, weeks and months. Unfortunately, we're out of all the states and union territories in India. Different states will be reaching the peak at different times. And that's the biggest worry for India along with the testing numbers right now, Kim.
BRUNHUBER: All right. That sounds very ominous. Thanks so much for that CNN's Vedika Sud in New Delhi.
All right, please stay with us here on CNN NEWSROOM, plenty ahead. Donald Trump sets a deadline to pull the plug on the popular video sharing app TikTok. He says it could go away and what could keep it in business in the U.S., coming up ahead on CNN NEWSROOM.
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BRUNHUBER: The U.S. president has officially cracked down on the Chinese own social media apps TikTok and WeChat. He signed an executive order banning the apps from operating in the U.S. within 45 days unless they're sold. He says TikTok and WeChat are effectively spyware.
Now the executive order comes just after the Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced the expansion of the Clean Network plan which is an attempt to block Chinese technology from the U.S. internet. Sherisse Pham joins me now from Hong Kong.
So, as well as citing national security concerns, the President Trump cited -- you know, he accused the platforms of spreading disinformation about coronavirus, which, of course, is interesting. But what can you tell us on the latest on this -- on this Pham?
SHERISSE PHAM, CNN BUSINESS REPORTER: Well, the latest that we are seeing here in Hong Kong is that this has really rattled investors. You know, this expected ban on TikTok has been widely reported and confirmed for a few days now, almost a week since Trump first announced it. Which is why we're seeing this fire sale negotiation going on between Microsoft and TikTok's owner ByteDance to get that apps U.S. operation sold to Microsoft as soon as possible to essentially save their business in the United States.
[02:55:09]
PHAM: But for Tencent and WeChat, this is a huge blow to Americans, to Chinese diaspora, to students, to any business people who use the app to communicate with folks in China. Which is why you saw Tencent's stock drop as much as 10 percent.
Here in Hong Kong today, its last trading down about five percent. So, they've pared back some of their losses, but still doing worse than the broader Hang Seng Index.
So, investors have a reason to be worried because the scope of the ban is still unclear. There's a lot of wiggle room in the executive orders that Trump signed on Thursday.
And so, the questions that are being faced and still yet to be answered is, what will happen to these apps? At the very least, it is very likely that Apple and Google will be forced to remove the apps in 45 days, and what will happen to the apps -- business in China? That is a big question mark. And Tencent relies on these apps, as well as other apps that could also face the firing gun from the Trump administration to obviously make money and bulk up its revenue.
So, this is a huge unprecedented move from the U.S. government on the consumer technology sector. It's the first time that we've seen the U.S. government try to ban a software application that is currently running on millions of American phones. And it's a huge ramp up of tensions between the U.S. and China. So, we'll be waiting to see how Beijing responds in the coming hours.
BRUNHUBER: Yes, so many questions there. Thank you so much, Sherisse Pham in Hong Kong. We appreciate it.
And thank you out there for watching. I'm Kim Brunhuber, and I'll be back with another hour of CNN NEWSROOM coming up right after the break. Stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: Hello, and welcome to you, our viewers joining us from all around the world. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM, I'm Kim Brunhuber.
Just ahead, picking up the pieces in Beirut. The resilient city gets to work cleaning up and demanding answers to the deadly blast. The urgent need for humanitarian aid is being met with pledges from
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