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Gaza Headed Towards Famine Amid Israeli Aid Curbs; Crimea Marks 10 Years Since Russian Annexation; Ten Killed In Port-Au-Prince Suburb As Tensions Rise In Haiti; Trump Has Been Unable To Get Bond For $464 Million Judgment, Some Palestinian Patients In East Jerusalem Hospitals Will Be Sent Back To Gaza By Israel; Israeli Officials Expected in U.S. to Discuss Rafah Offensive; Palestinian Patients Told to Leave Israeli Hospitals; Putin Officially Secures Another Six Years in Power; Cuban President: Government Ready for Dialogue with Protesters; China's Richest Man Loses Billions in Nationalist Boycott; Prince & Princess of Wales Seen in Public Near Home; Inside Notre Dame's Restoration. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired March 19, 2024 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm John Vause. Coming up here on CNN Newsroom.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: People are hungry. People will die.
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VAUSE: And people are starving to death in Gaza with more than a million now facing catastrophic hunger. A declaration of famine could be just weeks away.
Haiti spirals further into complete lawlessness and a total breakdown of civil society.
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DAVID CULVER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is actually where the community takes justice into their own hands.
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VAUSE: That would be justice from machete armed vigilantes killing suspected gang members.
And also show me the money. Donald Trump doesn't have the cash to pay $454 million as ordered by the New York court, the civil fraud judgment against him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from Atlanta. This is CNN Newsroom with John Vause.
VAUSE: We begin with another Israeli raid on the biggest medical facility in Gaza. The IDF says hundreds of so called terror suspects were arrested during a major operation at Al-Shifa Hospital.
According to Israeli intelligence, senior Hamas leaders were at the hospital were using the facility as their headquarters, an allegation Israel has made many times in the past but one with CNN cannot independently verify.
Hamas says it's fighters engaged in fierce clashes with the Israelis around the complex. Well, the IDF claims to have killed more than a dozen people they call terrorists.
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REAR ADMIRAL DANIEL HAGARI, ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES SPOKESPERSON (through translator): Hamas has tried to reestablish its space in the hospital and use it as a refuge for terrorists on the run. We will not allow this and we will attack and continue to attack wherever Hamas tries to reestablish itself.
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VAUSE: One witness tells CNN military vehicles were firing at hospital buildings as well as windows and the Palestinian health ministry says there were multiple casualties.
When Israel's war with Hamas began back in October, the Israeli military ordered a complete siege of the Gaza Strip, stopping almost all deliveries of food, water, fuel and other supplies to 2.3 million people. More than five months on with food and critical short supply.
A new report is now warning of imminent famine in northern Gaza anytime between now and May. Government, charities, U.N. agencies they all report 70 percent of the population is experiencing catastrophic food insecurity, parts of southern Gaza and the emergency phase with famine likely there by mid July.
The E.U. is calling on Israel to allow safe, unimpeded access to all people in the -- in need rather throughout Gaza.
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ANTONIO GUTERRES, U.N. SECRETARY-GENERAL: The latest report on food insecurity in Gaza is an appalling indictment of conditions on the ground for civilians, Palestinians in Gaza are enduring horrifying levels of hunger and suffering.
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VAUSE: Earlier, I spoke with Abeer Etefa, Senior Middle East spokesperson for the World Food Programme and asked if all that famine can be averted.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ABEER ETEFA, SENIOR MIDDLE EAST SPOKESPERSON, WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME: We have a very, very small window if it is still there to save lives. If we get humanitarian assistance in large quantities fin fast and as soon as possible.
VAUSE: Israel has denied accusations that its military actions in Gaza are to blame for this. I want you to listen to a spokesman for the IDF. Here he is.
LT. PETER LERNER, SPOKESPERSON, ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES: We are increasing the access of food supplies to the Gaza Strip both to the north and to the south. There is no bottleneck on the Israeli side. On the contrary, the bottlenecks are on the Palestinian side. And the distribution issue is actually the challenges that is faced inside the Gaza Strip.
VAUSE: I just want you to explain what the situation is on the Palestinian side. Is there a Palestinian side here? Israel is the occupying power. The Israeli military has caused widespread destruction to the basic infrastructure there. I thought there was a legal responsibility for Israel to ensure aid actually reaches those who need it.
ETEFA: Well, let me walk you through how do we get assistance and aid into the Palestinian side. First of all dispatching aid, especially to the north of Gaza, needs day to day approvals from the Israeli authorities, during the long waits once they get a move. If we get the approval and the clearance, then the convoys will move and get on the, you know, kind of checkpoints and the entry points between Israel and the Gaza site and during the long wait.
[01:05:00]
For example, the where Gaza checkpoints, truck convoys face long delays and that increases the risk of, you know, desperation, desperate people helping themselves into the trucks, we face looting and sometimes and many times the convoys are actually are turned back before even we can get them in.
So, if they do get through, you know, the hours when we need to get through to avoid the crowds are very limited and we never get the window to be there by that time so that we can avoid the lawlessness the chaos that's on the ground.
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VAUSE: Our thanks there to Abeer Etefa with the World Food Programme
Well, thousands of Russians gathered in Red Square Monday celebrating the 10th anniversary of the annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, and illegal act widely condemned around the world.
During the event President Vladimir Putin called Crimea the pride of Russia, and he referred to the return of the other Ukrainian regions to Russia as a difficult process, but one which is now accomplished. That is not true. Two years since the full-fledged war in Ukraine, Russia still does not
have full control of the four regions it partially occupies. Many Crimean are not celebrating a decade of living under Russian occupation, especially Crimea's native Tata population who have already experienced a long history of persecution. More details now from CNN's Clare Sebastian.
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CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): 10 years ago, the woman in blue dreamed of being a teacher, life under Russian occupation brought Lutfiye Zudiyeva, a new calling journalist and human rights activist.
LUTFIYE ZUDIYEVA, JOURNALIST AND HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST (through translator): This was the first time I was searched, but I had been preparing for this for many years, I was expecting them.
SEBASTIAN: You're not afraid you have a family, children?
ZUDIYEVA (through translator): I hope that my work will lead to the end of repression in Crimea.
SEBASTIAN (voice-over): This was Zudiyeva's third arrest in four years, this time for several social media posts. Scenes like this are increasingly common, especially in Crimea and Tata communities. Forcibly deported by Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin in 1944 and only allowed back in the early 1990s. 2014 brought another decade of persecution to anyone opposing Russia's rule.
President say the full scale invasion intensified crackdown.
ZUDIYEVA (through translator): In the current situation, even those who before this were protected from prosecution are at risk.
SEBASTIAN (voice-over): On March 5th, 10 Crimean Tatar men were arrested in mass pre-dawn raids. They came through this way the FSB or riot police officers says the wife of one visibly out of breath. A few hours later, she gave birth to her sick child.
KRZSZTOF JANOWSKI, U.N. MONITORING MISSION TO UKRAINE: Well, we have seen a systematic effort essentially to erase Ukrainian identity, forcing people to take Russian passports, drafting Crimea men for Russian military.
SEBASTIAN (voice-over): Another key policy The UN says is to replace those who leave.
JANOWSKI: They brought in at least the 100,000 Russians to Crimea, since the annexation that changes the demographic composition of the peninsula.
SEBASTIAN (voice-over): When unmarked Russian soldiers the little green men began surrounding Crimea as military bases in March 2014. ethnic Russians were already a majority here. The referendum which delivered a 97 percent yes vote to join Russia was illegal in the eyes of much of the world. And at one polling station, our CNN camera film demand dropping to balance into the box.
10 years on Russia's propaganda machine is celebrating.
This news report showing off shiny new highways.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): If you drive along the roads walk around the shops it would probably seem like everything is wonderful, but there is another side. All right. I just came back from the pretrial detention center visiting my defendants. This is young people being accused of terrorism.
SEBASTIAN (voice-over): Some don't even get a trial. The U.N. has documented more than 100 cases of forced disappearance in Crimea since 2014.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): This is how we live today you drive along nice roads arrive home and then tomorrow you simply disappear.
SEBASTIAN (voice-over): As Russia tightens its grip on Crimea's people, Ukraine has stepped up attacks on the peninsula on land and sea in recent months in the place this war originally started military tensions are rising again. Clare Sebastian, CNN.
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VAUSE: Haiti continues to spiral downwards into complete breakdown of Law and Order its vigilantes now take to the streets targeting suspected gang members, at least 10 were killed at Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince on Monday. The violence continues to spread to other areas of Port-au-Prince, food, fuel, basic necessities now in short supply, and the U.S. is raising red flags about this growing crisis.
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VEDANT PATEL, DEPUTY SPOKESPERSON, U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT: It is not hyperbole to say that this is one of the most dire humanitarian situations in the world. Gang violence continues to make the security situation in Haiti untenable, and it is a region that demands our attention and action.
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VAUSE: A flight chartered by the U.S. State Department evacuated dozens of Americans from Haiti on Sunday. They landed in Miami after leaving Titanyen about 20 kilometers north of Port-au-Prince where the main airport is still shut down.
The U.S. says there could be more evacuation flights as needed. CNN's David Culver explains how police are working with militias to try and fight gangs for control.
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CULVER (voice-over): Port-au-Prince feels post-apocalyptic.
CULVER: This is basically the aftermath of a war.
CULVER (voice-over): Driving through the battlegrounds between gangs and police, we dodge massive craters and piles of burning trash. The police controlled these roads leading to Haiti's International Airport for today at least. It's been shut for weeks out front checkpoints to search for suspected gang members and an armored truck to keep watch. It sits beaten and battered.
Less than a month ago we flew in and out on commercial flights here. Now it's desolate. The country is in chaos, essentially held hostage by gangs eager to expand their reign of terror.
Over the weekend, more businesses looted and car stolen, gangs leaving behind a scorched path of ruin. We're headed to one of the last remaining hospital trauma centers that's still functioning in Port-au- Prince.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: February 29 was probably the worst.
CULVER (voice-over): And as soon as we meet one of the doctors to go call comes.
CULVER: Go ahead if you need to get it.
CULVER (voice-over): A gunshot victim heading into surgery. He takes us to him.
CULVER: Most of those cases that are brought here are gunshot victims from the gang violence.
CULVER (voice-over): With the patient's family giving us permission we go in as staff prepared to operate. We're told the 24-year-old truck driver was caught in the crossfire between police and gangs.
CULVER: The doctor has shown me here images that are very disturbing but they show an entry wound of a bullet basically around the temple and went right through cause damage to at least one eye.
CULVER (voice-over): The doctor tells us the man's lost vision in both eyes. Another bullet hit his arm.
CULVER: And so they will have to amputate his arm?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
CULVER (voice-over): We peer into the ICU. It's full.
CULVER: Are most of these gunshot victims?
UNDIENTIFIED MALE: All of them.
CULVER: All of them on. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She's in pain. She feels a pain in her leg.
CULVER: And so how did it happen? Where were you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She was going to the market.
CULVER (voice-over): 86 years old, a reminder no one is shielded from the violence that's gripped Haiti's capital in recent weeks. Police are exhausted. One local commander telling me morale is broken, and that the gangs have more money and resources than they do, low on ammo, their squad cars out of gas. It is personal for the commander.
CULVER: He was forced out with his family from their own home. And now this is his home. Essentially.
CULVER (voice-over): The police, at least in this community do have backup in the form of local residents.
CULVER: Do you feel like gangs are trying to move in and take this area?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, for sure.
CULVER (voice-over): What many community leaders call for peace, they admit they're tired of feeling threatened. So much so some have created their own checkpoints and barricades staffed 24/7 redirecting traffic and determining who comes in. Not everyone gets out.
CULVER: You can see right here this intersection, there's a massive burn pile. This is actually where the community takes justice into their own hands that a week ago is the most recent such case. They captured for suspected gang members. They brought him here, killed them with machetes and set their bodies on fire.
CULVER (voice-over): The gruesome vigilante acts recorded in part as a warning to the gangs. But even amid utter turmoil, life moves forward and within moments to celebrate outside a church. These bridesmaids excitedly awaiting their cue to walk down the aisle.
Port-au-Prince is a city now shattered by the relentless blasts of violence that have forced more than 300,000 of its residents out of their homes.
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CULVER: Where are you staying here? Where's your home in this facility? Right up there.
CULVER (voice-over): They take refuge in places like this school, classrooms turned dorm rooms for more than 1,500 people cram in.
CULVER: So she's showing us this is all her stuff she's able to bring. And this is where she is set up right now.
CULVER (voice-over): In the classroom next door, you meet this woman, her husband killed by gang members, she and her five year old, like many here have been forced to move every few weeks.
We're sleeping hungry. We're in misery, she tells me. We'd probably be better off dead than living this life.
CULVER: Adding to the complication for those folks is the reality that they are not only facing threats from gangs, but as they describe it to me they're also being ostracized from the communities in which they are now essentially camping out and they say those neighbors don't want them there and will likewise attack them because they feel like having these refugees now within their community is drawing the gangs attention and potentially bringing more violence to their homes. David Culver, CNN, Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
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VAUSE: Still ahead here on CNN Newsroom, cash crunch, the former U.S. president struggling to make bond nearly half a billion dollars in his civil fraud case in New York.
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VAUSE: The years now Donald Trump's net worth has often been the punchline of a joke. Number is shrouded in mystery. But now we know what he doesn't have. According to his legal team, Trump doesn't have the cash to pay a $464 million bond in New York civil fraud trial judgment against the former president and his adult sons. Trump has until the end of the month to make bond less an appeals court agrees to delay. More details down from CNN's Katelyn Polantz.
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KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: It's not a simple thing here. It's that they went to insurance companies, underwriters and those insurance companies weren't willing to work with Trump in what he has. He has real estate. And what they want is cash. That would be almost half billion dollars in cash that would be needed to underwrite a bond like this.
And the reason that Trump wants a bond and needs a bond is because he wants to appeal. So you have to post the bond for the amount of the judgment that $464 million because of this lawsuit that would hold off the New York State government from coming and seizing his properties and his assets.
But the insurance companies not only do they want cash and not real estate to underwrite this bond. They also have internal policies that limit them from issuing bonds this large that's according to one of his insurance brokers, who told the court that they often won't do anything more than $100 million so Trump really is going to have to figure something out here.
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[01:20:04]
VAUSE: David Cay Johnston is a professor at the Syracuse University College of Law, as well as author of "The Big Cheat: How Donald Trump Fleeced America, and Enriched Himself and His Family."
David, thank you for being with us.
DAVID CAY JOHNSTON, PROFESSOR, SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY COLLEG OF LAW: Glad to be here, John.
VAUSE: OK, so here's a breakdown of the former president's finances. Forbes estimates Trump's net worth at $2.6 billion, but only $413 million is made up of cash and liquid assets. Meaning the judgment against Trump is he has more money than he actually has in the bank. And that's why he's in trouble right now. He's about $50 million short.
But on top of the bond money, there is also the $91 million damages payout to E. Jean Carroll as damages for defamation. Grand Total, they're $557 million.
Trump's has a lot of wealthy friends by the pillow guy. They could do a GoFundMe or something like that. Or perhaps he could turn to his other friends like Vladimir Putin. All of them could bail him out. But if he takes it from Putin, what does that mean?
JOHNSTON: Well, it would be a national security nightmare for Donald Trump to be in debt to any foreign entity. He already has a bond from Chubb insurance for about $92 million in the E. Jean Carroll second defamation case, and that by itself is concerned about who might have leverage over him. Chubb is a Swiss company with an American CEO.
But if Vladimir Putin, MBS and Saudi Arabia, anybody else in the world seen or to directly back Trump, or more likely do it through fronts, so would appear someone else put up the money. That would still be a real national security concern. We've never had a president of the United States who was subjected to leverage because he was in debt to others.
VAUSE: And there's nothing legally preventing them from doing that. Is that?
JOHNSTON: No, not at all. And in fact, as I pointed out in the past, Donald could serve as President of the United States, even if he is a convicted felon, and in prison. Absurd as that sounds, nothing in our Constitution would prevent that.
VAUSE" If Trump doesn't have a lot of property, though, in theory worth billions of dollars, there's Doral in Florida, home to the world famous blue monster. We all know Mar-a-Lago by now, there's also the Bank of America tower in San Francisco and California Street, and a bunch of other golf courses and resorts. That's more than a billion dollars if you do the math.
But according to the Trump legal team, potential underwriters are seeking cash to back the bond not properties. So, assuming there's no sudden appearance of suitcases filled with rubles turning up at Mar-a- Lago, does that leave Trump sort of no choice here, but start selling assets. JOHNSTON: Donald has real problem here raising cash. I don't think his assets are anywhere near as valuable as Forbes claims and Donald claims. But also he has loans on a number of these properties. And if you have a first mortgage on your home, and you need some money, and you want to get a home equity loan or a second mortgage, you have to get the permission of the first mortgage holder to do that.
And it's quite clear that Donald has been unable to secure permission from his existing lenders to add additional deck his properties if they're not worth nearly as much. And that, of course, was a key point in the New York State persistent fraud case that he overvalued as properties. There may not be much if anything to borrow there.
VAUSE: So just bring all this together. Because what does it say about the actual real state of Trump's finances?
JOHNSTON: Well, for the 35 years, I've been praying about Donald's money, it's always been a house of smoke and mirrors. He's constantly in need of cash, he runs through cash like crazy. Donald is not a wealth builder. He is a cash extractor. And he takes all the money he can from an enterprise and then cast it aside and moves on to something else.
In this case, the game has sort of come to an end like musical chairs, and he has nowhere to sit or in this case, nowhere to pull out of his assets, the kind of cash he needs. So he does have some options. He could file personal bankruptcy, and he wouldn't have any trouble selling that to Trumpers. He would say the deep state, the fascist Marxist, they made me do this. And they would believe him based on all the other stuff they believe.
But we don't we may also see starting March 25, at the state of New York starts foreclosing on properties of his. It will take time, but they're not going to delay unless a court grants leniency of some kind to Donald Trump.
VAUSE: Legal trouble, financial trouble, political trouble. Interesting days for Donald Trump. David Cay Johnston. Thank you, sir, for being with us.
JOHNSTON: Thank you, John.
VAUSE: Still to come here on CNN, sent back to a warzone. Palestinian patients being treated in a hospital in Jerusalem, ordered by Israeli officials, it's time to return to Gaza.
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VAUSE: Welcome back. I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN Newsroom. For the first time in at least a month the Israeli prime minister and U.S. President has spoken by phone with tensions between both men visible now for weeks. According to U.S. officials, they spoke about hostage and ceasefire negotiations and urgent need to increase humanitarian assistance into Gaza and possible alternative to an Israeli military offensive on Rafah. Those discussions are expected to continue when an Israeli delegation arrives in Washington later this week.
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JAKE SULIVAN, WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: On the call today, President Biden asked the Prime Minister to send a senior interagency team composed of military intelligence and humanitarian officials to Washington in the coming days to hear us concerns about Israel's current Rafah planning and the layout and alternative approach that would target key Hamas elements in Rafah and secure the Egypt Gaza border without a major ground invasion. Prime Minister agreed that he would send a team.
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VAUSE: (INAUDIBLE) Critically-ill Palestinians have been often receiving treatment in Israeli hospitals and so it was before October 7. But now Israeli officials have ordered almost two dozen Palestinians to return to Gaza because they're no longer in need of medical care. Among sent back mothers and newborns. Here's CNN's Jeremy Diamond reports.
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JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Little Sarah (ph) is barely six months old. Born in East Jerusalem. All she knows is the safety of this hospital room. This week that will be torn away. War will become her new reality.
I might go back and they invade Rafah, her mother Nima says, I'll be the one responsible for anything that harms them. If I go back with the twins, where do I go with them? Where would I get diapers and milk? Gaza is not the same anymore.
For nearly six months these three mothers have been living sleeping and nursing their five babies in this hospital room together. Before the war, their high risk pregnancies made them eligible to leave Gaza and give birth in Jerusalem hospitals.
But now they've packed their bags after learning that the Israeli government is sending them back to Gaza where Israel's brutal military campaign has made survival a daily struggle.
Hannan, the mother of twins says she's scared of going back to Gaza without a ceasefire. There are diseases spreading, infections, she says, it's not a normal life.
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They will be among the 22 Palestinians set to be bused on Wednesday to the Kerem Shalom crossing in the south. Her husband is in the north and Hanan is still trying to find a place to live.
Despite that uncertainty, Asma wants to return to Gaza. "My daughter is there. She needs me," Asma says. "Every time she speaks to me she asks when I'm coming back. Every time there's an airstrike, children go to hug their mothers. Mine has no one to hug." At nearby Augusta Victoria hospital, nearly 50 Gazan cancer patients have been receiving treatment since before October 7, watching from afar as their families endure the horrors of war.
For Mohammed (ph), one of the ten who are in remission and being sent back to Gaza, being far away from his son, Hamza, who is blind has been the hardest to bear. But going back is also terrifying.
"I'm torn," he says. "The only wish I have in life is to go back home. I regret even coming here for treatment. I wish I could be with them because I know how they need me.
In a statement, the Israeli agency in charge of their returns said patients who have received medical treatment and who are not in need of further medical care are returned to the Gaza strip.
After more than two months of pushing back on Israeli demands, Dr. Fadi Atrash says he was ordered to compile a list of patients to be sent back to Gaza this week.
DR. FADI ATRASH, CEO, AUGUSTA VICTORIA HOSPITAL: We don't want to send them back. It's -- it's not our call at all (INAUDIBLE).
DIAMOND: Now he fears for his patients.
ATRASH: All the support, all the efforts that we have been putting to try to cure them or to put them in a good condition, or to improve their quality of life would be lost because there is no care in Gaza. There is no hospitals. There is no health care. The system is totally destroyed.
DIAMOND: The mothers are preparing for their journey. They've bought sweets and toys for the children who are waiting for them.
"If they want to throw away all my belongings, they can but not this bag for my daughter."
It is All they can bring for the children who have endured so much in six months.
And the Babies who will soon learn the reality of war far too young.
Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Jerusalem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: A day after a huge win, in an election-style event president-elect Vladimir Putin has warned a full-scale conflict with NATO could not be ruled out. And for the third time in less than a month, he dangled the threat of nuclear confrontation with the West.
Earlier he addressed thousands of cheering supporters at a massive rally in Red Square to mark ten years since Russia illegally annexed Crimea. According to Russian officials, turnout during the three days of voting was a record high, almost 88 percent casting their ballots for Putin. A truly astounding, almost totally unbelievable outcome. And yet the only concern expressed by Russian election officials, accusations that exiled oppositions, leaders were trying to discredit the vote.
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ELLA PAMFILOVA, CHAIRWOMAN, CENTRAL ELECTION COMMISSION: The level of aggressive influence on our voters was unprecedented. This level of intimidation of trying to influence our votes from outside Russia has never happened.
This time those outside wish if not to seriously affect these elections, but to discredit them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: And in Berlin the widow of opposition leader Alexey Navalny was among those who lined up to cast a vote in protest.
And CNN's Fred Pleitgen has details.
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FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The contrast couldn't be more stark. In Moscow, Russian leader Vladimir Putin at a flashy election party celebrating yet another landslide victory.
VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): I would like to thank Russian citizens. We are all one team. All Russian citizens who came to polling stations and voted.
PLEITGEN: Meanwhile in Berlin, Germany Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny, who recently died in a Russian penal colony, in the crowd showing Putin clearly not all Russians are on his team
The opposition had called on Russians inside and outside the country to swarm polling stations at midday and vote for anyone but Putin. Thousands showed up here.
The dissent very open and public.
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PLEITGEN: "You're probably wondering what I wrote on the ballot papers, who I voted for," Navalnaya said afterward. "Of course, I wrote the name Navalny because it just can't be that a month before the election and already during the presidential campaign, Putin's main opponent already imprisoned, was murdered."
At noon on Sunday, lines at some polling stations inside Russia also grew and there were other signs of protests throughout the three days of voting. Some ballot boxes set on fire, others doused in green dye.
Putin said the protests didn't make a difference, despite barring any serious competitor from running against him in Russia, he also defended former U.S. President Donald Trump and ripped into U.S. democracy.
PUTIN: In some countries, for example, in your country, is it democratic to use administrative resources to attack a United States presidential candidate including the usage of courts.
PLEITGEN: Putin also publicly uttered, Alexey Navalny's name for the first time, claiming he would have been willing to free Navalny in a prisoner swap.
PUTIN: Some people said that there is an idea to exchange Mr. Navalny for some people who are in prison in western countries. You can believe me or you can choose not to. The person who spoke to me had not finished his sentence yet. I said I agree, but unfortunately, what happened -- happened.
PLEITGEN: In Berlin an angry Yulia Navalnaya said, she's heard enough from the Russian leader and has nothing to say to him.
NAVALNAYA: there could be no any negotiations and nothing with Mr. Putin because he is a killer. He's a gangster. He's the person who brought my country to the war and to everything. Just stopped (INAUDIBLE) messages to Mr. Putin. Thank you.
PLEITGEN: The Kremlin says, it is Navalnaya who's out of touch with Russian society. Yet just a few hours earlier, Russian ex-pats cheered her on as she showed very publicly she will continue her late husband's work challenging the Russian leader.
Fred Pleitgen, CNN -- Berlin.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Cuba's president has borrowed directly from Fidel Castro's playbook and is blaming the U.S. for food shortages and power cuts. But it remains another question if that will be enough for anti- government protesters to stand down.
Four were held in -- sorry, they were held in four cities on Sunday.
President Miguel Diaz-Canel says his government is willing to talk with the protesters. He accused Cuban exiles in Miami for stirring up protestors online and said U.S. sanctions were the cause of shortages of basic goods, a claim denied by U.S. officials.
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VEDANT PATEL, U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT DEPUTY SPOKESPERSON: The United States is not behind these protests in Cuba and the accusation of that is absurd. I will note those who do ask, we are closely following these reports.
Protests across several cities in Cuba yesterday called for electricity, food, and fundamental freedoms. I think what we are seeing is a reflection of the dire situation on the island. We urge the Cuban government to refrain from violence and unjust attentions and are calling on the authorities to respect the Cuban citizens' right to peaceful assembly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Nearly eight years after the unexplained illness known as Havana Syndrome, it's apparently still a mystery for both U.S. intelligence as well as the medical community.
Two new studies suggest patients who are believed to have (INAUDIBLE) show no signs of brain injury.
It was first reported in late 2016 by U.S. diplomats stationed in Havana, who said they had symptoms consistent with head trauma. Since then, hundreds more cases have been reported worldwide among government workers.
Last year, despite much speculation, U.S. intelligence says the illness was likely not linked to any foreign adversaries.
Coming up here on CNN, why China's richest man is losing billions with his bottled water company.
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VAUSE: A big change from today for YouTube content creators. They'll have to label their work if any realistic-looking videos were made using artificial intelligence. When a creator uploads a video, YouTube will ask if the content altered footage or a real event or makes a person say or do not do something they didn't actually do.
If A.I. was used a disclaimer will be on the video noting that it contains altered or synthetic content.
China's richest man is under attack by critics who say he's not patriotic enough. The owner of Nongfu Spring Bottled Water has already lost billions of dollars because detractors are slamming the company's packaging, saying its inspired by Japanese culture.
CNN's Marc Stewart explains.
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MARC STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: If you live here in China, there's a good chance you're drinking Nongfu Spring bottled water. It's the country's biggest maker of bottled water and sold on almost every street corner, including here in Beijing.
The company is owned by China's richest man, but his wealth has been shrinking fast in recent weeks thanks to an unexpected backlash.
Zhong Shanshan is facing online attacks accused of being not patriotic enough in part because of the designs of some of his product packaging. On the bottle, you can see a temple. You can see a crane. Some Chinese people feel these images are inspired by Japanese culture. Now, that's upsetting to some people because of longstanding animosity between the two countries.
Some Chinese people even claim the red bottle cap resembles the shape of the Japanese national flag. CNN has reached out to Nongfu Spring for comment.
A perfect storm that has triggered a nationwide boycott with people uploading videos of themselves pulling Nongfu Springs water off store shelves, all in the name of patriotism.
All of this is proving to be a heavy blow to business. The online campaign has cut into Nongfu's sales as well as its share price wiping about $3 billion off its market capitalization since the end of February, according to a CNN calculation.
But views on the streets are much calmer.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We should have a fair and just attitude. We shouldn't be intensifying conflicts that serves no good for our own government either.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Maybe it is inspired by Japanese architecture, but it could also be inspired by traditional Chinese architecture. If you look back in history, didn't Japan learn from China too?
I think it's wrong to be connecting product design to politics.
STEWART: As Beijing tries to rally behind the private sector in the midst of an economic slump, many worry this war on bottled water could see the business community's confidence dry up even further.
Marc Stewart, CNN -- Beijing.
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VAUSE: We'll take a short break. When we come back, the royal rumor mill working overtime with speculation over Catherine, the Princess of Wales. We'll tell you the response from the palace in just a moment.
Also restoring Notre Dame. CNN goes inside the cathedral for a close up look at the painstaking efforts to return Notre Dame -- sorry, to its former glory.
[01:44:17]
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VAUSE: Oceans around the world had broken heat records every day for the past year. Researchers at the University of Maine call it remarkable yet dangerous accomplishment. The gold line you see on the screen represents ocean temperatures last year. So the black line above it showing how 2024 is already much worse. Marine life has consistently been threatened by this warming trend and
experts warn if it continues, it could mean a very active hurricane season in addition to other extreme weather events later this year.
With reproductive rights looming large over the race for the White House, the U.S. president has signed an executive order to improve women's health research.
On Monday, Joe Biden criticized Republican efforts to restrict women's access to health care while vowing to restore federal abortion rights if he's reelected with a Democratic controlled Congress.
According to the White House, the new executive order will fuel women's research and assess federal funding gaps.
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JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'M going to assure that women's health is integrated and prioritize across the entire federal government. it's not just the women's health, not just at NIH, the National Science Foundation, the Defense Department. (INAUDIBLE) I mean across the board, this is really serious.
And I will spearhead new research and innovation for breakthroughs in a wide range of women's health needs. And that they experienced -- you experienced your life because it really matters.
It matters because we're focused on supporting women together. Our administration has turned around the economy because we focused on women, by the way.
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VAUSE: An over-the-counter birth control pill is now for sale for the first time in the U.S. So far, the Opill can be ordered on Amazon or Opill.com. (INAUDIBLE) says orders will be sent in plain unbranded boxes to protect privacy. A one-month supply cost $20; $90 for six months.
The Prince and Princess of Wales were spotted in public over the weekend out for a spot of shopping near their home. It comes with a tense speculation on Catherine's health and whereabouts after she withdrew from public appearances following surgery in January.
CNN's Isa Soares has more details about how the royals are navigating the rumor mill.
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ISA SOARES, CNN CORRESPONDENT; The Princess of Wales was spotted near her home on Saturday, according to "The Sun's" Matt Wilkinson. Yet those details fueled more speculation and conspiracy theories. Another weekend, another series of fake online rumors. This time drawing a firm response from Buckingham Palace.
A royal source telling CNN, that King Charles is continuing with official and private business. And the British embassy in Kyiv forced to go as far as saying that online rumors about the king's death are fake.
It's all adding to an ongoing sense of crises and uncertainty facing the royals. It's been just over a week since this image of Catherine, Princess of Wales, and her children was released.
The family photo, which was supposed to celebrate Mother's Day in the U.K., quickly became the center of a controversy over trust and image manipulation with Catherine issuing a personal apology saying she edited the picture herself.
Speculation, also swirling about why she wasn't wearing a wedding ring. Buckingham Palace was already facing at the very least, a health crisis with King Charles stepping back from many of his royal duties as he fights cancer; and the Princess of Wales, taking an extended leave after abdominal surgery.
It's meant the royal families perhaps stretched more than it's ever been with just 11 working royals and only Queen Camilla and Prince William as senior members representing the king.
Combine that with questions over why the Princess of Wales hasn't been seen in public and calls for more details on Charles' condition. Its perhaps no surprise its led to such a dent in public trust.
BIDISHA MAMATA, BRITISH BROAD CASTER & ROYAL WATCHER: This is the smallest crisis that the royal family has ever faced.
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MAMATA: In the past, the royal family dealt with violent death, abdication, infidelity -- all sorts of sins and crimes and scandals. Making your family photos look a tiny bit better is nowhere near anything on the scale of what the royal family have had to deal with before.
SOARES: While that may be the case, the rumor mill only adds more unnecessary pressure on the Princess of Wales ahead of our next public appearance expected around Easter.
Isa Soares, CNN -- London.
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VAUSE: Almost five years ago, many around the world watched in real time for hours as fire engulfed Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. But an immense fundraising effort along with an ambitious restoration effort, the cathedral now set to reopen by year's end.
CNN's Richard Quest takes us inside what has been a remarkable reconstruction.
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RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: My God, look at the scaffolding.
Thank you very much, sir.
(INAUDIBLE), as they say, did you have to put the roof up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The oak structure known as "La Foret" burned to the ground. It is now rebuilt. We searched for thousands of oak trees in the forests of Paris.
QUEST: How much technical skill had to go into it?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We had to find extraordinary skills and expertise but we found them.
QUEST: Really?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because in France, we have an extensive heritage which we maintain. So you have carpenters, stonemasons, sculptors, and these people work on all the monuments.
In France, we didn't build such spire since 160 years.
QUEST: More people come to Notre Dame than the Eiffel Tower.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Notre Dame are the spirit that you don't find in those (INAUDIBLE).
QUEST: All aboard.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have 2,250 companies and artists and 140 contracts.
QUEST: I've always been fascinated by logistics. People think it's boring, but it's logistics that make the whole thing work.
I think what really gets you as you see it is the size and scale and the fact that it's been done in what -- four years. It is an achievement to have done this and it'll be the best part of $1 billion.
As I understand it, none of the glass was actually broken. Is that correct?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Or none of the courage? It's correct. We had a lot of luck because all big artistic works here were not damaged by the fire.
Here we are just -- under the inspire. You see. And to rebuild the spire we had to build this (INAUDIBLE), which goes through the vaults.
QUEST: What percentage of completion do you think you are at now?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Or I think we are 85 or 90.
QUEST: Wow. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are finished the roof, the spire, we are all
(INAUDIBLE). We are cleaning. We have -- we have cleaned all the inside, all these wood. We have cleaned the paintings in the chapel. You see that vault there, that vault. It was crushed.
QUEST: That vault.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That vault there.
QUEST: Yes, yes, yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was crushed.
QUEST: So it comes down.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's important that if we cannot identify what has been rebuilt because it's the same stones and the same type of work. We see the respect we owe to the monument.
QUEST: You and I in our lifetime have seen projects like this taking 20 years.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: After the fire, a lot of people said, you will need 20 years for rebuild this cathedral.
President Macron said (INAUDIBLE) has said we will do it in five-years for 2024. And we are doing it. And we do it perfectly, perfectly.
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VAUSE: Our thanks to CNN's Richard Quest doing it tough there in Paris for us. We appreciate you, Richard.
Now the U.K. royal mint is out with the first in a new series of Star Wars collectible coins. Who would have ever thunk it? The first one features a silhouette of the Millennium Falcon along with the Starbird (ph), a symbol of the rebel alliance. I didn't even know they had a Starbird symbol.
The mint will also launch a series of billion bars depicting Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo. The first will be available in time for "Star Wars" day on May 4th, as in May the fourth be with you.
There is a buzz around a neighborhood in north London caused by a new mural. The artwork, which is made up of splashes of bright green, is painted directly behind a sparkling prune tree, (INAUDIBLE) prune tree with no leaves.
It's the talk of the town, especially since the street artist Banksy took credit for it. How about that? Theres the lead. Crowds have been gathering to see the mural. Some saying it's not often the neighborhood gets this kind of attention.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think he spotted something with the tree definitely. Bizarre tree in the middle of this road. I mean, the tree's a prune, but this is a huge old tree still surviving.
So he spotted something and did something with it and the wall, you know, just behind it. It is very clever whoever did this.
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VAUSE: And they're hoping it'll stay around for a while, Banksy' last known piece was stolen just hours after its confirmed that it was his. That was back in December.
Well, as the saying goes, there's no place like home, and so it is now for Dorothy's slippers from "The Wizard of Oz". The FBI says a pair of ruby slippers from the classic movie has been returned to the owner. So too a single red sequent left at the scene of the crime almost 20 years ago.
The slippers are worth an estimated $3.5 million. And were stolen from the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota in 2005.
Two men have been charged with the theft of the slippers. One has already pleaded guilty, sentenced to time served. The other saying, if only I had a brain.
Thank you for watching. I'm John Vause.
CNN NEWSROOM continues with friend and colleague Rosemary Church right after this.
See you right back here tomorrow.
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