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Gaza Residents Experiencing Famine As it May Become Imminent; Russian President Finally Mentions Alexei Navalny's Name in His Post- Election Press Conference Weeks After his Death; Japan Increases Interest Rate for the First Time in 17 Years; Royal Rumor Mill Circulating Ahead of the Princess of Wales' Public Appearance on Easter Sunday. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired March 19, 2024 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[03:00:00]
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ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world and to everyone streaming us on CNN Max. I'm Rosemary Church.
Just ahead, starving in Gaza, officials warn famine is just weeks away for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians trapped in the north.
Plus, Haiti spirals deeper into chaos as gangs battle for control of the capital. We'll discuss what needs to happen to restore order to the nation.
And Vladimir Putin takes a victory lap on the heels of his so-called election win.
UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from Atlanta, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Rosemary Church.
CHURCH: Thanks for joining us.
We begin with the Israel-Hamas war and new efforts to reach a hostage and ceasefire deal with the U.S. State Department saying Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Saudi Arabia and Egypt this week for more talks.
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The Israeli military says it has arrested hundreds of, quote, "terror suspects" after launching a major operation at Al Shifa Hospital. An eyewitness told CNN military vehicles were firing at hospital buildings and the Palestinian Health Ministry says there were multiple casualties.
The IDF claims it killed more than a dozen quote "terrorists" while Hamas's military wing says its fighters were engaged in fierce clashes with Israeli forces. CNN cannot independently verify these claims. The leaders of Israel and the U.S. held their first known phone call
in at least a month amid tensions over Israel's handling of the war in Gaza. The White House says Joe Biden and Benjamin Netanyahu discussed the hostage and ceasefire talks and the urgent need to get more aid into Gaza. President Biden also warned that Israel's plans for a major ground operation in Rafah to go after Hamas would be a mistake.
More than a million Palestinians are sheltering there. The White House National Security Advisor says a senior Israeli delegation is expected to arrive in Washington this week for further discussions on possible alternatives to an offensive.
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JAKE SULLIVAN, WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: A military plan cannot succeed without an integrated humanitarian plan and political plan and the president has repeatedly made the point that continuing military operations need to be connected to a clear strategic end game.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: A new report is warning of imminent famine in northern Gaza anytime between now and May. Governments, charities and U.N. agencies say 70 percent of the population there is already experiencing catastrophic food insecurity. Regions in southern Gaza are in the emergency phase with famine likely by mid-July.
For more let's go to CNN's Nada Bashir who joins us live from London. Good morning to you Nada. So with this new report warning of an imminent famine in northern Gaza what is the situation on the ground right now for most Palestinians?
NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER: Well Rosemary more than five months on and the reality on the ground continues to be one of unprecedented levels of suffering for the Palestinian civilians in Gaza.
We've been seeing that video footage coming in from Gaza from our teams on the ground for some time now showing children's emaciated bodies in hospitals many of them already facing starvation and we have been hearing those warnings of a looming famine but according to this startling report that could come much sooner than many had hoped it is a warning that that famine could be imminent in northern Gaza between March and May so we are talking about just the coming weeks really and as you mentioned 70 percent of the population already in northern Gaza living under catastrophic levels of hunger.
We've been hearing from other aid agencies including the United Nations describing this as an unprecedented situation, levels of hunger that we haven't seen before anywhere else or at any other time and of course the situation is not only being felt in northern Gaza where it has proven near impossible to get aid to those most in need over the last few weeks and months but also of course in southern Gaza many are living at level four phase four which is an emergency level of hunger just edging towards the brink of those catastrophic levels of hunger being experienced in northern Gaza. [03:05:12]
And of course this has all come as we continue to see aid agencies coming up against several obstacles and difficulties in trying to get humanitarian aid and crucially food supplies to northern Gaza but of course this report has triggered widespread concern in the international community not least from the United Nations. Take a listen to the U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaking yesterday.
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ANTONIO GUTERRES, U.N. SECRETARY GENERAL: Palestinians in Gaza are enduring horrifying levels of hunger and suffering. This is the highest number of people facing catastrophic anger ever recorded by the integrated food security classification system anywhere, anytime. This is an entirely man-made disaster and the report makes clear that it can be halted.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASHIR: Now you heard there from the Secretary-General describing this as an entirely man-made disaster. Now we did hear from the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaking to CNN on Sunday.
He shifted the blame for the lack of aid getting into the Gaza Strip from his government to Hamas. He accused Hamas of looting humanitarian aid getting into the Strip but that is a claim that has been rejected by many aid organizations including the U.N.'s own agencies who have accused Israel of placing obstacles in the way of getting aid into the Gaza Strip.
We have of course seen attempts to get aid in via airdrops by several countries as well as of course this new maritime corridor which has been established from Cyprus to Gaza but what many aid agencies including the U.N.'s own agencies are calling for is more land crossings. They have accused Israel of obstructing those land crossings, crucially the Rafah border crossing and there are concerns that if we see a military operation, a ground operation in Rafah, that could only make the situation much, much worse. Rosemary.
CHURCH: All right. Our thanks to Nada Bashir, joining us live from London.
Some Palestinian patients receiving treatment at a hospital in Jerusalem have been ordered by Israel to return to the war-torn enclave. As CNN's Jeremy Diamond reports, they are fearful for their lives.
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JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT (voice-over0: Little Sarah 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.
Hanan, 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.
They will be among the 22 Palestinians set to be bussed on Wednesday to the Kerem Shalom crossing in the south. But 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, and mine has no one to hug.
At nearby Augusta Victoria Hospital, nearly 50 Gazan cancer patients have been receiving treatment since before October 7th, watching from afar as their families endure the horrors of war.
For Mohamed, one of the 10 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.
[03:10:01]
In a statement, the Israeli agency in charge of their return 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, but it's not our call at the end of the day.
DIAMOND (voice-over): 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 will be lost, because there is no care in Gaza. There is no hospitals, there is no health care. The system is totally destroyed.
DIAMOND (voice-over): 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.
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CHURCH: Armed gangs are turning Haiti into a war zone. New video shows bodies lying in the streets of Port-au-Prince. Police say at least 10 people were killed in Haiti's capital on Monday as gang violence spreads into more communities.
People are running out of food and basic necessities, largely cut off from the outside world. The U.S. is raising red flags about the 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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CHURCH: A U.S. State Department charter flight evacuated dozens of Americans from Haiti on Sunday. They landed in Miami after leaving from an airport about 200 km north of Port-au-Prince where the main airport is still shut down. The U.S. says it is open to sending more evacuation flights if needed.
CNN's David Culver was the first major network journalist on the ground in Haiti's capital. He explains how police are working with militias to fight gangs for control.
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DAVID CULVER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Port-au-Prince feels post-apocalyptic.
CULVER: This is basically the aftermath of a war zone. CULVER (voice-over): Driving through the battlegrounds between gangs
and police, we dodge massive craters and piles of burning trash.
The police control 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 cars 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.
UNKNOWN: February 29th was probably the worst.
CULVER (voice-over): As soon as we meet one of the doctors, a call comes in.
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 prepare to operate. We're told the 24-year-old truck driver was caught in the crossfire between police and gangs. The doctor is showing me here images that are very disturbing, but they show an entry wound of a bullet basically around the temple and went right through and caused 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?
UNKNOWN: Yes.
CULVER (voice-over): We peer into the ICU. It's full.
CULVER: Are most of these gunshot victims?
UNKNOWN: All of them are. She's in pain. She feels a pain in her leg.
CULVER: And so how did it happen? Where were you?
UNKNOWN: 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.
[03:15:02]
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?
UNKNOWN: Yes, for sure.
CULVER (voice-over): While 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 at this intersection there's a massive burn pile. This is actually where the community takes justice into their own hands. About a week ago was the most recent such case. They captured four suspected gang members. They brought them 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 with it, 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.
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, where more than 1,500 people cram in.
CULVER: So she's showing us, this is all her stuff that she's been able to bring. And this is where she is set up right now.
CULVER (voice-over): In the classroom next door, we 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 in. 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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CHURCH: Jake Johnston is a senior research associate at the Center for Economic and Policy Research. He's also the author of "AIDS State: Elite Panic, Disaster Capitalism and the Battle to Control Haiti". Appreciate you joining us.
JAKE JOHNSTON, SR. RESEARCH ASSOCIATE, CENTER FOR ECONOMIC AND POLICY RESEARCH: Thanks for having me.
CHURCH: So as the chaos and violence in Haiti spirals out of control at the hands of brutal gangs in the capital, Port-au-Prince, the country's outnumbered police force tries to fight back in what appears to be a futile endeavor. What's it going to take to bring this situation under control?
JOHNSTON: Yeah, well, this is an excellent question. I think, you know, the police and what remains or what is going to be constituted of the military have been obviously fighting and turning back and protecting the installations. But certainly it doesn't seem sustainable in the short or long term. And I think really the only true way forward here, this is -- this is not happen in a vacuum. This has been a long time coming. And the roots of this crisis are far more than simply the armed gangs. There are big, bigger societal issues here.
And it's not a thing that can be fought only with force. And so to some extent, there are going to have to be broader negotiations and dialogue with all sectors of Haiti.
CHURCH: And you have written extensively about foreign intervention in Haiti. How does this need to be dealt with as Kenyan troops prepare to arrive in the country once the current wave of violence is brought under control and a new government is in place?
JOHNSTON: Certainly, the history of foreign intervention is key to understanding the situation in Haiti. And we could go back to the founding of Haiti, the successful slave revolt in 1804, the U.S. occupation in the early 20th century. But we can look at just a recent history. And I think it's important to note that it was foreign support for the deeply unpopular prime minister, Ariel Henry, over the last few years, in spite of Haitians repeatedly arguing and making the case for the need for this transitional government to be set up.
That really pushed Haiti into this current crisis. And so, of course, there's a lot of skepticism about a solution being coming from those very same actors that helped to create this mess.
[03:20:01]
CHURCH: So how does Haiti get back on track politically once the chaos, violence and, of course, these gangs are brought under control?
JOHNSTON: Well, I think these things can't be seen as separate. The armed groups in the capital are political actors. They have both their own political demands, but also deep connections with Haiti's political class and business elite.
And so for me, you can't speak of a political solution separately from the security issue. These things are so deeply intertwined that there's really no solving one without the other.
CHURCH: And meantime, how are civilians surviving this chaos and anarchy as well, of course, as the day to day struggle to simply survive?
JOHNSTON: Yeah, of course. I mean, in any crisis, and certainly in Haiti, it is generally the most impoverished of the population that is facing the worst of the crisis, that is being most victimized. And that's certainly the case here today.
We have a million plus of the estimates in terms of those on the brink of famine. With the ports closed and the country reliant on imports, which is a legacy, again, of foreign trade and aid policies that have decimated local production, access to the port becomes extremely important. And that's not just about the capital. I think it is important to note the violence that we're seeing in the headlines in the media today.
This is largely consolidated in the capital Port-au-Prince. Haiti is a big country, but this does have an impact on the rest of the country because without goods flowing, without people being able to come into the capital, bring the goods to the capital to sell that, and then things coming back out to the provinces, there's an economic ripple effect that spreads across the entirety of the country.
CHURCH: Jake Johnston, thank you so much for talking with us. I Appreciate it.
JOHNSTON: Thanks so much for having me.
CHURCH: Cementing his grip on power, Vladimir Putin is cheering his landmark win and a fifth term in office. His reaction to US criticism of the vote. That's next.
And later this hour, Donald Trump's cash crunch. The former U.S. president is struggling to pay the penalty in his civil fraud case. Back with that and more in just a moment.
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CHURCH: It's an outcome that was never in doubt. Russian President Vladimir Putin officially securing another six years in power after the country's stage-managed presidential election. Putin celebrated his landslide win on Monday during a massive rally in Red Square marking 10 years since Russia's annexation of Crimea.
Election officials in Russia report record turnout in the presidential contest with Putin winning nearly 88 percent of the vote. But the Russian leader faced no credible competition to his rule.
On Monday, Putin invited the three other candidates on stage during the rally where he congratulated them.
[03:25:01]
His nearest rival had won just four percent of the vote. But even during his victory lap, Putin reacted to criticism of the election as he took a swipe at the U.S.
CNN's Matthew Chance has more now from Moscow.
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MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): As he basks in the glory of a fifth term, President Putin is lashing out at U.S. criticism that his carefully choreographed re- election was neither free nor fair. Instead, taking a swing at the U.S. political system.
Suggesting court cases involving Donald Trump were politically motivated.
VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Can it be considered democratic to use administrative resources to attack one of the candidates for President of the United States? The use of the judicial system, this has become simply ridiculous and a disgrace in front of the whole world.
CHANCE (voice-over): Officially, the Kremlin says it has no preference who's the next U.S. president.
And amid a costly war in Ukraine, Donald Trump's claims he would end the fighting quickly if elected may play into the Kremlin's hands, pressuring Ukraine into a peace deal favoring Moscow.
The idea the U.S. and the West should back off military support for Ukraine to prevent escalation is also a theme Putin is pushing after his recent election win.
PUTIN (through translator): The conflict between Russia and NATO will be just one step away from a full-scale World War III.
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: I will prevent and very easily World War III, very easily. CHANCE (voice-over): That overlapping rhetoric is now fueling concerns among Western officials of a repeat of the damaging Trump-Putin relationship of Trump's first term, which then-President Trump backed Putin over his own intelligence services on the issue of Russian election interference.
More recently, instead of criticizing Putin for the recent death in an Arctic penal colony of Alexei Navalny, Russia's most prominent opposition leader, Trump compared it to his own legal battles.
The sudden death of Alexei Navalny has made me more and more aware of what is happening in our country. Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.
And this was Putin after his election win on Sunday night, mentioning Navalny by name for the first time.
PUTIN (through translator): As for Mr. Navalny, yes, he passed away. It is always a sad event. And there were other cases when people in prisons passed away. Didn't this happen in the United States?
CHANCE (voice-over): In a country shocked by the death, and after an election condemned by independent monitors as unfair. It's one comparison with the United States the Kremlin is happy to make.
Matthew Chance, CNN Moscow.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Earlier I spoke with David Sanger, CNN political and national security analyst, and White House and national security correspondent with the "New York Times". I asked him about Putin's reference to the late Alexei Navalny and his confirmation that discussions were held around a prisoner exchange.
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DAVID SANGER, CNN POLITICAL AND NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, on the last point, the exchange, it was very interesting that he said that, that he was aware of it. American officials tell me that they weren't that close to an agreement, that there had been discussion among the allies, because part of the swap would involve releasing a Russian suspected intelligence officer who was in jail for a murder of a Chechen dissident in Berlin.
So the Germans said that the conversation had not yet reached the point where they had to make a decision on that. Putin made it sound like it was very close.
On the bigger question of what he does now, I think the first suspicion is that he may use the moment to declare another draft, essentially, and bring in more troops in the hopes that he could finish off Ukraine at this moment when they are running short on ammunition.
[03:30:00] Now, whether he can make that work, we don't know. So far, the drafts he's done do not appear to have led to any widespread opposition, but partly that's because he was picking the poorest, the neediest, the most desperate people from far corners of the country.
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Yeah, and of course, at that same post- election press conference where Putin talked about Navalny, he also threatened a full-scale World War III if any Western troops dared to set foot in Ukraine in response to a suggestion recently made by French President Emmanuel Macron. How should NATO respond to such chilling rhetoric, and what should we read into that?
SANGER: Well, it's hard to know, but the first temptation, of course, Rosemary, is to just ignore this as more noise that he's making.
But the fact of the matter is that he recognizes very well that the way that you really get a reaction out of the West is to threaten escalation.
He knows that President Biden has been particularly concerned about escalation. That's the reason the President didn't give Ukraine some of America's best weapons early in the war, though later on he got to doing it.
I think that the big crossing point that Putin's trying to avoid is NATO actually sending troops in. I don't think there's much of a chance that the British or the United States would do that. Of course, we did hear Emmanuel Macron suggest it, the President of France, a few weeks ago. He was pretty well slapped down right away by the German Chancellor and by the British as well.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Still to come, an end to the era of negative interest rates in Japan, but a warning for consumers, prices will be going up. We'll explain.
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CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone.
There are new efforts to reach a hostage and ceasefire deal as the Israel-Hamas war grinds on.
The U.S. State Department says Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Saudi Arabia and Egypt this week for talks that would include discussions to reach an immediate ceasefire agreement in Gaza, release of more Israeli hostages and increase humanitarian assistance to the enclave. A source tells CNN talks between Qatar, Israel and Egypt are already being held in Doha.
[03:35:01]
Alon Pinkas is a former Israeli Consul General in New York and was advisor to Ayyad Barak and Shimon Peres. He joins me now live from Tel Aviv, Israel. Thank you so much for being with us. ALON PINKAS, FORMER ISRAELI CONSUL GENERAL IN NEW YORK: Thank you, Rosemary. Good morning.
CHURCH: So Mossad's chief is now in Doha spearheading Israel's delegation in these negotiations for a ceasefire and the release of hostages. Hamas has been demanding a permanent ceasefire and the withdrawal of Israeli troops, but Israel refuses on both points. So what is Hamas willing to accept and what is Israel willing to do to reach some deal?
PINKAS: Well, I have to tell you, Rosemary, you described it exactly right. I don't see how this is bridgeable because at the outset, there were three points. At the outset, I mean, in the last two, three weeks, not the real outset.
There were two or three points during the negotiations. One was a reciprocal exchange of hostages in exchange for prisoners. The second was a ceasefire, and the third was indeed, as you indicated, an Israeli withdrawal. Now, not only that, but Hamas is demanding guarantees that Israel will abide by the ceasefire and complete the withdrawal.
Guarantees not only from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt, and Jordan, but also from the United States. At the same time, Rosemary, Israel is deliberating an invasion or some kind of a large-scale military operation in the southern part of the Gaza Strip, in the city of Rafah, near the city of Rafah, which is completely inconsistent or incompatible with ceasefire talks. But right now, I honestly don't see how this is all reconcilable.
CHURCH: Well, let's talk about that, because with pressure building on Israel over its planned ground offensive into Rafah and southern Gaza, President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, they did speak on the phone on Monday, their first in more than a month.
It's been tense between the two leaders over concerns about civilian casualties. The White House says Netanyahu agreed to send a delegation to Washington to work out an alternative approach. What do you think that means? What is an alternative approach to a ground offensive in Rafah?
PINKAS: Well, militarily, the alternative would be focused or concentrated incursions or commando raids or so-called intelligence- driven micro-operations.
But that's not going to take care of what Israel defines as a sizable Hamas military infrastructure in southern Gaza. Now, what the delegation going to Washington, as a result of that meeting, means is that it's all on hold.
This is the U.S. essentially saying to Israel, well, come over and explain to us how you intend to do this and how you intend to ensure that, parallel to whatever it is that you plan on doing, there's also a steady influx of humanitarian aid.
That means that it's all put on hold. Now, there are two ways of interpreting that. One is that the American administration has put on so much pressure that Israel is recoiling from this. And the second is that Israel is not that interested about a large-scale operation in southern Gaza. And this provides a perfect pretext to delay this or even not do this.
This, of course, Rosemary, leads to something which is completely different. And maybe we should talk about this some other time.
On Mr. Netanyahu heading for a deliberate confrontation with President Biden, exactly on that point, positioning him, Biden that is, Netanyahu positioning Biden as some kind of a scapegoat. I was this close to eliminating Hamas. I was this close to invading the south of Gaza, but he stopped me. So I don't know which of the two interpretations would prove to be the right one.
CHURCH: Alon Pinkas, thank you so much for joining us. I Appreciate it.
PINKAS: Thank you, Rosemary.
CHURCH: 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 re-elected with a Democratic-controlled Congress. According to the White House, the new executive order will fuel women's health research and assess federal funding gaps.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: I'm going to ensure that women's health is integrated and prioritized across the entire federal government. It's not just in women's health. It's not just at NIH, the National Science Foundation, the Defense Department, the Environmental Protection Agency. I mean, across the board, this is really serious.
[03:40:06]
And I will spearhead new research and innovation for breakthroughs in a wide range of women's health needs. And they experience throughout you experience throughout 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.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Meanwhile, 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. Drugmaker Perrigo says orders will be sent in plain, unbranded boxes to protect consumers' privacy. A one-month supply of the Opill costs $20 and it's $90 for six months' worth. Donald Trump is facing a cash crunch. His attorneys say he can't find an underwriter for his $464 million bond in the New York civil fraud judgment against the former president and his adult sons.
Trump has until the end of the month unless an appeals court agrees to a delay. Monday's court filing says Trump has approached 30 underwriters with no success. One broker who testified for Trump during the trial says securing the bond is a practical impossibility.
The Bank of Japan has raised interest rates for the first time in 17 years. The central bank started its negative interest rates policy in 2016 in an effort to kick-start the country's struggling economy. But with inflation now at a healthy rate and wages on the rise, policy makers have decided to make a change.
CNN's Hanako Montgomery is following developments from Tokyo. She joins us now live. Good to see you, Hanako. So, what does all this mean for consumers, investors and world financial markets?
HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Rosemary, this is really a symbolic shift for Japan and indicates to investors, to consumers and world financial markets that Japan believes its economy has finally turned a corner after seeing so many years of deflation.
So just a bit of background as to why Japan is even ending negative interest rates in the first place.
Really there are two key reasons. The first, because we're seeing inflation. The second, because we're seeing wages go up. So right now the rate of inflation for core consumer prices, this includes everything besides food and fuel, is hovering at about 2 percent, that healthy number that indicates that the economy is growing in the right direction.
Now, this is a huge shift from the years of deflation we've been seeing in the country. I spoke to an expert earlier who discussed why this was so significant.
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SEJIRO TAKESHITA, DEAN, UNIVERSITY OF SHIZUOKA GRADUATE SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT: Well, what we've been seeing is two decades of deflation, which is basically stagnating the economy and also the minds of the people, including the corporations and the consumer as well. So we have to get out of that doldrum.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MONTGOMERY: So that, in addition to the fact that we are seeing pay increase significantly, has really set the tone now, Rosemary.
On Friday, Japan's largest labor union, Rengo, which is comprised of the country's biggest companies, decided to increase pay by 5.28 percent, the largest pay hike we've seen in 33 years. Now, this is really historic for workers in Japan. They haven't seen their wages go up in the same way that they have in other OECD countries, like the United States, the U.K., Germany, for instance. So these two key components indicated to the Bank of Japan's governor, Kazuo Ueda, that it was finally time to end negative interest rates, which will now set the tone for the economic agenda in the months ahead.
Now, in terms of investors, experts tell me that we'll probably see more in the coming months in Japan. It will probably be encouraging to investors from abroad. And for consumers in the country, now, economists tell me that we'll probably see a stronger yen riding on the back of these higher interest rates. And now what this will mean is that input prices will go down.
This is hugely significant for Japan because it is a very resource- poor country. It imports more than 90 percent of its fuel, of its energy, and about 60 percent of its food. So if input prices go down, that means the cost of living for people in Japan, people like myself, goes down.
But for foreign tourists, it might mean that their next holiday to the country is a little bit more expensive.
You know, Japan has been earning itself a reputation as being a country that's easy and cheap to visit. Right now, it's about 150 yen to the dollar.
But if we see that yen get stronger, it might mean their next vacation, their next holiday to the country is just a bit more expensive, Rosemary.
[03:45:00]
CHURCH: All right. Hanako Montgomery, joining us live from Tokyo. Thanks for that.
Still to come, a deep dive into years of unrest in France ahead of the Paris Olympics. Why Emmanuel Macron's big vision for France and the rest of Europe could be in trouble.
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CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Re-elected Russian President Vladimir Putin may be cheering his landmark win, but the vote was not without opposition and defiance at home and abroad. The widow of opposition leader Alexei Navalny was among those who lined up to cast a ballot from Berlin and protest the presidential election.
CNN's Frederik Pleitgen has details.
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FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): 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 (voice-over): Meanwhile, in Berlin, Germany, Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of Russian opposition leader Alexei 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.
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 protest 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 (through translator): 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 (voice-over): Putin also publicly uttered Alexei Navalny's name for the first time, claiming he would have been willing to free Navalny in a prisoner swap.
[03:50:05]
PUTIN (through translator): 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 (voice-over): In Berlin, an angry Yulia Navalnaya said she's heard enough from the Russian leader and has nothing to say to him.
YULIA NAVALNAYA, WIDOW OF ALEXEI NAVALNY: There could be no negotiations and nothing with Mr. Putin, because he is a killer, he is a gangster, he is the person who brought my country to the war and to everything. Just stop asking about messages to Mr. Putin. Thank you. PLEITGEN (voice-over): The Kremlin says it is Navalnaya who's out of touch with Russian society. Yet, just a few hours earlier, Russian expats 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)
CHURCH: Cuba's president is trying to tamp down growing unrest in the country while also blaming the U.S. for causing it.
Anti-government protesters in at least four cities gathered on Sunday, angry about long power cuts and the growing scarcity of food. President Miguel Diaz-Canel says his government is willing to hold dialogue with protesters about their complaints, but accused Cuban exiles in Miami for stirring up protesters online and blamed U.S. sanctions for the shortages of basic goods. But U.S. officials say they have nothing to do with the problems facing Cuba.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VEDANT PATEL, DEPUTY SPOKESPERSON, U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT: The United States is not behind these protests in Cuba and the accusation of that is absurd. I will note, though, since you asked, 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 detentions and are calling on the authorities to respect the Cuban citizens' right to peaceful assembly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Still to come, the Royal Rumor Mill is working overtime when it comes to speculating about Catherine, Princess of Wales. How the palace is responding, that's next.
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CHURCH: The Prince and Princess of Wales were spotted in public over the weekend shopping near their home. It comes amid intense 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 ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): 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 are forced to go as far as saying that online rumors about the King's death are fake.
[03:55:06]
It's all adding to an ongoing sense of crisis 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 family has perhaps stretched more than it has 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. It's perhaps no surprise it's led to such a dent in public trust.
BIDISHA MAMATA, BRITISH BROADCASTER AND ROYAL WATCHER: This is the smallest crisis that the royal family has ever faced. 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 (voice-over); While that may be the case, the rumor mill only adds more unnecessary pressure on the Princess of Wales, ahead of her next public appearance, expected around Easter.
Isa Soares, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Fans who paid to see football superstar Lionel Messi play in Hong Kong but didn't since he stayed on the bench will soon get some money back, but only if they don't pursue any legal complaints, according to news outlets. Organizer Tatler Asia is now offering a 50 percent refund for last month's friendly between Messi's Inter Miami and their Hong Kong opponents.
I want to thank you for your company this hour. I'm Rosemary Church. Have yourselves a wonderful day. "CNN Newsroom" continues next with Max Foster and Bianca Nobilo. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
