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Medical Supplies Reaching India, COVID-19 Deaths Near 200,000; Brazilian Health Regulator Blocks Russian Vaccine; White House Working out Details of Biden-Putin Summit; U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson Faces Scrutiny for Conduct; Experts: Infections in India Could Be 30 Times Higher; Turkey Denies Sexism Played Role in 'Sofagate' Snafu. Aired 12-12:45a ET

Aired April 28, 2021 - 00:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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JOHN AVLON, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm John Avlon. Coming up on CNN NEWSROOM, badly needed aid begins to arrive in India amid extreme suffering and a staggered numbering of COVID-19 deaths and cases.

Brazil's president has spent the last year downplaying the COVID pandemic, with devastating consequences. Now Jair Bolsonaro finds himself at the center of a probe into how the COVID-19 crisis was handled.

And the White House hammering out details for a likely summit with Russian president Vladimir Putin, what each side hopes to gain.

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AVLON: India is drowning under a massive wave of COVID deaths and cases. The country is close to 200,000 deaths but a new model predicts the death toll is much higher and could hit nearly 1 million before August.

Sounds of sorrow and pictures of people begging for oxygen have become an all too common sight in the country. Hospitals are running out of beds. Health care workers are under tremendous strain.

Bodies are being cremated in makeshift crematoriums in parks and parking lots but help, we hope, is on the way. Vital medical supplies are finally reaching India as countries around the world step up to help. the U.S. president Joe Biden told the Indian prime minister Modi, "You let me know what you need and we will do it."

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JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I've discussed with him when we will be able to send actual vaccines to India, which would be my intention to do. The problem is, right now, we have to make sure we have other vaccines

like Novavax and others coming on probably. And I think we will be in a position to be able to share, to share vaccines as well as know-how with other countries who are in real need.

That's the hope and expectation. And I might add, when we were in a bind in the very beginning, India helped us. Thank you.

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AVLON: CNN's Anna Coren is following the story from Hong Kong.

Good to see you.

How did this situation spiral so out of control so suddenly?

ANNA COREN, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: It hasn't spiraled out of control so suddenly. The warning signs were there at the beginning of the year.

Yes, India declared it had defeating COVID and eased restrictions, allowing social gatherings, religious festivals, political rallies. They are still being held. I want to show you some pictures coming out of the southern state of Telangana.

This was taken just 2 days ago. The second wave right across India and yet Modi's party is still holding political rallies. So India's government is basically dropping its guard. Last week, we had the prime minister attending a political rally in West Bengal state. Clearly, there was just this denial.

Obviously doctors and medical staff have been crying out, saying this is inevitable. This is going to come. Suddenly, it hit with a vengeance. The numbers that we have been seeing, over 350,000 daily infections, that dipped slightly yesterday. We are waiting for the health ministry to issue the latest figures.

But by all accounts, the experts are saying this is a drastic undercount. The real figures could be something like 30 times higher, which is really quite staggering. You mentioned the international aid coming in. It's desperately needed but it's a drop in the ocean in a country the size of India, 1.3 billion people.

The WHO has described the situation that led to this as a perfect storm, mass gatherings, religious festivals, also a very low vaccination rate. Less than 2 percent of the population has been fully inoculated.

I should also mention that this is spreading and that very contagious variant that's afflicting younger people first detected in India last year has now been detected in Nepal. There are fears that it also could be in Pakistan, Bangladesh and China.

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COREN: All of India's neighbors must be very concerned as to what is taking place. Let me give you an idea. In Nepal, just two weeks ago, cases were around 4 percent. Now they have risen to 30 percent. So it gives you an idea of how contagious this particular variant is.

AVLON: It's just horrific. Anna Coren, thank you so much.

For ways you can help those suffering in India right now, head to our website, cnn.com/impact.

At least two of India's neighbors, Pakistan and Nepal, are taking steps to ensure the COVID crisis doesn't spill over their borders. Pakistan is seeing the biggest rise of infections since last summer. The military says there's 90,000 active COVID cases, more than 4,000 patients in critical condition.

Troops are patrolling the streets in 16 major cities to make sure people are wearing masks. More now from Sophia Saifi.

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SOPHIA SAIFI, CNN PRODUCER: The Pakistani government has enforced certain measures to make sure the situation does not get as bad as it is in neighboring India. What they've done is the army has been called in.

The prime minister has spoken directly to the public, requesting that they follow SOP, that they wear masks, that, during the month of Ramadan, they ensure that there is proper social distancing.

The Pakistani government has also gone ahead and made an announcement that the government is going to be enforcing a complete ban, interprovincial travel during the holidays of Eid in the middle of May. There's also been an announcement of a complete ban on tourism between the 8th and 16th of May.

There is a very real concern of oxygen supplies running out in the country. Medical officials have come out and said that 80 percent of the country's oxygen supply is already in use by medical institutions.

They've said that due to that, the two major provinces of Sindh and Punjab have gone ahead and banned nonurgent surgical procedures in the country. In case somebody has tonsillitis or breaks a bone, has a kidney stone, they cannot be operated upon unless it's a complete emergency measure or if it's urgent.

So due to that, there is a real concern amongst the Pakistani people, there's a concern due to the month of Ramadan. There's a concern because of the impending Eid holidays and there's the concern and fear amongst the Pakistani people that things should not and cannot get as bad as they are next door.

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AVLON: Nepal shares a long, porous border with India. COVID infections are surging there as well. The government reports more than 300,000 cases and 3,100 deaths since the pandemic began. Lynda Kinkade has more. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LYNDA KINKADE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In parts of Nepal, hospitals are struggling to cope with the sudden surge in cases.

"He was brought to a hospital in an ambulance because he was having trouble breading," says this woman whose husband has COVID-19. But she says no doctor has seen him. Yet everyone is busy.

The medical staff are struggling to keep up with new infections. Johns Hopkins University data shows cases are rapidly rising across the country, with the highest number of daily infections since the October peak.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Now the hospital beds are full. This is the beginning of another wave. We are a little surprised, as the people are getting infected and falling sick rather quickly and are having to get admitted to hospitals.

KINKADE (voice-over): Some public health experts warn that thousands of people may have caught more infectious variants first identified in the U.K. and in neighboring India. Now some border cities have become hot spots, raising fears that the situation will only worsen.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I call that a mini India. If the same thing replicates in a densely populated city like Kathmandu, it may give rise to a difficult situation.

KINKADE (voice-over): The capital is one of a number of cities across the country imposing lockdowns starting Thursday. Local governments are hoping to prevent infections from spreading as the vaccination campaign could soon be in peril.

Nepal depends, in part, on India's Serum Institute for vaccines. But India is prioritizing its own needs as infections there spiral out of control.

In Nepal, the decision to reopen Mt. Everest to climbers is proving challenging. COVID-19 has reportedly reached base camp. The government, however, denies those reports and Nepalese officials say they have not received any official notices of that -- Lynda Kinkade, CNN.

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AVLON: Brazil has the second highest COVID death toll in the world after the U.S. Now the Brazilian senate is investigating the government's handling of the crisis. That could lead to an impeachment vote on president Jair Bolsonaro ahead of next year's election.

The probe will look into the country's vaccine rollout, which has been plagued by missteps and delays. And now as our Matt Rivers reports, Brazilian health officials are rejecting the Russian vaccine.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Like so many other countries around the world, Brazil is in dire need of more vaccines. So far, it has managed to vaccinate just a small portion of its population.

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RIVERS: There were many in Brazil who were hoping that problem might have been alleviated somewhat with the introduction of the Russian developed vaccine. In Brazil, some 66 million doses or so have already been agreed to in different contracts.

But it was Monday night that Brazilian health regulators actually denied emergency use authorization for the Russian developed vaccine, saying that it has grave concerns over the safety of this vaccine, the efficacy of this vaccine.

It says Russia did not provide enough data about quality control, about efficacy and also that there were flaws throughout the clinical testing phase during the development of this vaccine.

So because of those reasons and more, health regulators in Brazil denying entry to Brazil, denying use of this Russian developed vaccine.

Meanwhile, the agency in Russia that's funding the development of that vaccine, that agency responded, with the CEO basically saying that the decision in Brazil was a political one, saying that he believes that Brazil made this decision due to direct political pressure from the United States -- Matt Rivers, CNN, Mexico City.

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AVLON: Thailand's prime minister is being fined for not wearing a face mask. He is masked up here at a hospital but he wasn't in a picture posted on Facebook, showing him at a government meeting. The photo has been removed but he still has to pay $190.

Bangkok has mandated masks in public as the country battles another wave of the coronavirus. More than 2,000 new infections were reported Tuesday with 15 deaths.

The U.S. is hoping for more stable relations with Russia, as it eyes a face to face meeting between the two countries' presidents. We will hear from the U.S. secretary of state just ahead.

And the British prime minister is accused of some bad behavior, involving possible corruption in his handling of the pandemic.

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AVLON: There are signs that the crisis in Myanmar is turning into a wider conflict. Ethnic minority Karen insurgents attacked the Myanmar army outpost near the Thai border on Tuesday. The Karen National Union said Thai authorities said the military hit back with airstrikes. The Thai military moved more than 450 villagers away from the border for their safety.

Villagers said they heard heavy gunfire before dawn.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I have never heard the sounds of guns like this. I've never seen people needing to flee like this. I'm really concerned for all the villagers. I'm also afraid, because we live along the border.

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AVLON: Meanwhile, a group that claims to be a new fighting force against Myanmar's junta released a video of members training in an area held by the KNU. A founder of the united defense force said they are protesters who fled the crackdowns. She said they will train for three months to fight, not for a party or an individual but, quote, "for the people."

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AVLON: Ukraine's president is telling the country's military to be ready at any time in case Russia sends troops back to the border. Volodymyr Zelensky visited a military base at Southern Ukraine on Tuesday near the Crimean Peninsula seized by Russia in 2014. Last week, Russian troops began pulling back from their shared border after weeks in massing forces. The Ukrainian president said that on Monday all sides of the conflict were at the finish line of agreeing on a new cease-fire.

He also said he will likely meet with Russian president Vladimir Putin to discuss the conflict.

America's top diplomat says the U.S. and Russia are discussing the timing of a possible summit between Presidents Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin. Secretary of State Antony Blinken's comments come one day after sources said the White House is working out details of a likely meeting that could happen as early as summer.

Blinken says it's important to speak directly with Mr. Putin and he noted President Biden has made it clear that, if Russia continues with aggressive actions, the U.S. will respond.

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ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We would prefer a more stable, predictable relationship. But that's ultimately up to Mr. Putin. If he continues to engage in this kind of conduct, we are going to stand up to it and respond to it.

On the other hand, if he chooses not to escalate, then I think there are areas where we can work together out of our mutual shared interests; for example, strategic stability. We extended New START. There is more to be done in that area.

But all of that, whether it's making clear what we will do if Russia continues to act out or what we could do if it chooses to get onto a more predictable and stable course, all of that benefits from being able to speak face to face.

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AVLON: Natasha Bertrand joins me now. She's a CNN White House reporter covering national security.

Welcome to CNN, Natasha.

First off, what's the latest on this proposed summit between Biden and Putin?

NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, so the White House is hammering out the details of this. What we do know is that, any summit that would take place between the president and Vladimir Putin would take place after President Biden meets with G7 E.U. officials, NATO officials in Europe this summer.

In keeping with the administration's practice of coordinating major foreign policy and national security initiatives with key allies. That's important because, obviously, the sequencing here is something that would send a strong signal to Russia that the U.S. comes at that relationship from a position of strength and from a position of coordination with allies and from a united front.

So when the president goes to Europe in June for these meetings, it is ,expected as of right now, that he will meet with Vladimir Putin shortly thereafter while he's already in Europe. The president has already proposed to Putin that they hold the European summit around that time.

We are told it's going to take place probably early this summer. That's where we're at now. We don't know the exact details of where it will take place. Several countries had volunteered to host the summit, such as Vienna.

Vienna is actually looking like a pretty likely possibility as of right now. But this could all change. There is a lot that Russia could do to make the administration say, perhaps this isn't worth it and we are not going to reward you with a meeting.

AVLON: This is, of course, a fluid situation. But as you say, the Biden administration is pursuing the summit from a position of strength. That is a frankly stark departure from the relationship between the Trump administration and Putin. President Biden has called Vladimir Putin a killer. He has instituted two rounds of sanctions, expelled 12 diplomats.

So what is the significance of the fact that the Russians and the Biden administration seem so eager to get this on the books early in the administration? BERTRAND: Well, the Biden administration wants to show that it's willing to engage with adversaries in the name of national security, in the name of making sure that there are no misunderstandings, diplomatic misunderstandings, security misunderstandings, that could lead to something potentially catastrophic.

And this isn't a reset, exactly. The Biden administration seriously cautions anyone against calling it that. Of course, the last reset during the Obama administration did not exactly work.

But it is an attempt to move forward in areas that they can cooperate on. One such area that the Biden administration has made a key priority, obviously, is climate. They feel that the Russians could have a role to play there in combating climate change if they are committed to that.

Another area is counterterrorism, which has been tried in the past by previous administrations but it is a key area where the U.S. would, of course, like to see more coordination and cooperation by Russia.

So there are a lot of areas, including nuclear security, for example, where the U.S. would like to see some kind of deconfliction and predictability and stability in the U.S.-Russia relationship.

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BERTRAND: And the Russians, of course, are very eager to have this recognition, of being, once again, major players on the world stage and having, especially over the last few years, being considered a global pariah and an international pariah by the global community because of their annexation of Crimea and invasion of Eastern Ukraine.

It would be to their benefit to have this summit with the U.S. and be recognized by a new administration as a legitimate actor in the international community. So that is what the Russians are hoping to get out of this.

AVLON: But you mention Ukraine, that's obviously key. You say that reset has been rejected. But Ukraine has been obviously the source of continued tensions. Russia had been building up forces on the border.

So what is the significance of this staging of the meetings with Ukraine ahead of Russia, both for the secretary of state and potentially for the president?

BERTRAND: Very key, John. So the administration is dispatching secretary of state Tony Blinken to Kyiv early next month, as soon as next week, to meet with his Ukrainian counterparts.

What we're told, it is essentially to ease their anxiety over a potential Biden-Putin summit this summer. There is a lot of fear in Ukraine that this is a reward for Russia, to sit down with the United States and, again, be recognized as a legitimate actor on the international stage.

And the Ukrainians are wary of that. They have been at war with Russia for the last 6-7 years. They are very concerned that if they don't have a say and if they don't have a voice in these discussions, there are going to be decisions made over their head and perhaps they will be sold out here.

They want reassurances from the United States, that they are going to be continuing as a key security partner, they continue receiving military assistance from the United States, they will have the full support of the United States and NATO behind them as they continue to deal with Russian aggression.

So the Ukrainians really want a meeting between their president Zelensky and Biden before any meeting with Vladimir Putin takes place.

And that will be on the agenda for Secretary Blinken next week when he meets with his counterparts, is, can we make this happen before Biden sits down with Putin, either virtually or with a sit-down summit while President Biden is in Europe?

These are things being considered by the administration. But of course, nothing has been telegraphed by the White House so far on this.

AVLON: Front-loading a meeting with Ukraine certainly would send a very strong message about the priorities. Natasha Bertrand, CNN White House reporter, thank you very much for joining us.

BERTRAND: Thank you.

AVLON: The British prime minister is facing scrutiny on several fronts over his conduct. Among the allegations, that he showed a callous disregard for COVID victims and that he lied about who paid for renovations to his residence. Isa Soares picks up the story.

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ISA SOARES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After a horrific year of deaths and lockdown, Boris Johnson had hoped for a triumph this spring, easing restrictions, opening up the economy and taking credit for Britain's successful vaccine program.

BORIS JOHNSON, U.K. PRIME MINISTER: I literally did not feel a thing.

SOARES (voice-over): But as the prime minister hits the campaign trail this week, he faces damaging allegations about his conduct that might cast a shadow on the months ahead.

He's reported to have said he would rather let the bodies pile high than enforce a third lockdown, remarks said to have been made during a heated discussion in Downing Street in October. A British tabloid and two broadcasters cite unnamed sources for the claims.

But Johnson denies he used these words but again and again he's asked, did he?

JOHNSON: No. But, again, I think the important thing I think that people want us to get on and do as a government, is to make sure the lockdowns work.

MICHAEL GOVE, BRITISH MINISTER FOR THE CABINET OFFICE: The idea that he would say any such thing, I find incredible. I was in that room. I never heard language of that kind.

SOARES (voice-over): The prime minister approved a lockdown in October and, again, as the U.K. faced its deadliest wave this year.

JOHNSON: The government is once again instructing you to stay at home.

SOARES (voice-over): But the claim could fault the leader of the nation with one of the worst COVID-19 death tolls in the world.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a bit of a horrifying thing to say, isn't it?

Let the bodies pile up, pile high in their thousands. But it was some time ago and it was very much in the context of the difficult decision that the government faced at the end of October when they really didn't want a lockdown but felt that they had to.

JOHNSON: I consider this --

SOARES (voice-over): It's not the only story that threatens the prime minister's trademark optimism. A stack of claims, all denied, are piling up at Downing Street's door.

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SOARES (voice-over): There are demands for an independent inquiry into who paid for expensive upgrades to his Downing Street flat. Johnson and his partner, Carrie Symonds, have spent tens of thousands of pounds redecorating their home, according to British news outlets.

A former top aide turned critic alleged Johnson planned to have Conservative Party donors foot the bill although his trade minister said Johnson has paid for it.

Dominic Cummings was once Johnson's right-hand man but left Number 10 in November amid a power struggle. He is now at war with former colleagues who worry what secrets he's prepared to spill.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There could be other stories that are embarrassing to the prime minister that have yet to come out. If Dominic Cummings has that information, it looks as though he is prepared to stop at nothing to use it.

SOARES (voice-over): Cummings has denied being the source of the leaked text to the billionaire James Dyson. Johnson reportedly saying he would fix a tax issue if Dyson's staff came to the U.K. to produce ventilators during the first wave of the pandemic last year.

BORIS JOHNSON, U.K. PRIME MINISTER: I make absolutely no apology at all, Mr. Speaker, for shifting him without doing everything I possibly could, as any prime minister would in those circumstances, to secure ventilators for the people of this country and to save lives. SOARES (voice-over): Meanwhile, the opposition leader says claims

about bad behavior and misconduct can't be brushed aside.

KEIR STARMER, LABOUR PARTY LEADER: Every day there is more evidence of this sleaze and, frankly, it stinks.

SOARES (voice-over): Only a third of Britons think Johnson is trustworthy (INAUDIBLE) poll. The worry for the prime minister is how to limit the damage and fellow row (ph) that no signs of simmering down -- Isa Soares, CNN, London.

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AVLON: With new COVID cases spiraling out of control in India, people are blaming the prime minister for the crisis.

Why was the country celebrating a few months ago?

And deadly violence breaks out in Chad as demonstrators demand a return to civilian rule in a clash with security forces.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My father is in a very critical condition and I am getting no help. (INAUDIBLE) there but nobody is responding. (INAUDIBLE). Please help me, please. My father is dying (INAUDIBLE). Yesterday, I lost my younger brother.

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AVLON: Heartbreaking stories out of India, where hospitals are packed with COVID patients and running out of oxygen. Officially, the country reports more than 17 million infections since the start of the pandemic. But experts say the real number could be much more higher, more than half a billion.

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And by the middle of next month, India could see more than of next month, India could see more than 13,000 people dying every day, four times the current rate.

Joining me now from New Delhi, Jeffrey Gettleman is the South Asia bureau chief for "The New York Times," Pulitzer Prize winner and author of an extraordinary news story. Very powerful. Jeffrey, thank you for joining us. What is the feeling in the streets of New Delhi today?

JEFFREY GETTLEMAN, SOUTH ASIA BUREAU CHIEF, "THE NEW YORK TIMES": People here are really, really terrified. There are variants of the coronavirus that are spreading through India, and these variants are believed to be more contagious and possibly more resistant to vaccines.

And so the coronavirus is much easier to catch now than it has ever been. That's why we're seeing all these cases. And then, on top of that, the healthcare system is collapsing. There's almost no room in ICUs. There's almost no spare ventilators, and even the basics like lifesaving medical oxygen and certain medicines are running out.

So people are finding themselves getting infected more easily and having no place to go. And that's just adding to the sense of anxiety, and a deep anxiety and -- and even sort of terror about what happens if you get sick.

AVLON: You quote a friend in the article talking about this being chaos and murder, in effect, and the cascading effect of the mistakes of the government operationally, combined with the new strain.

Tell us a little bit more about what we know about this new double variant. Because that's what seems so particularly devastating right now and causing a lot of fear overseas.

GETTLEMAN: No, it's a very good question. So there are a number of variants circulating in India now. And India is the perfect laboratory for mutations. You have rapid transmission and an enormous population of 1.4 billion people. So it's giving the virus opportunities to change and to adapt. And that's what viruses do.

So there's two variants. There's one known as the double mutant, because it has two mutations that we've seen on other strains, and then there's the U.K. variant there that is believed to be even deadlier. And the combination of the two is what's sickening to so many people, but the data in India is just not great. The government has not done a lot of studies on these individual variants. So we don't know what's happening, really, like why we're seeing this incredible spike.

But I do think that the rest of the world is concerned about what's happening in India for a couple of reasons. One, they feel horrible seeing these images of people dying needlessly because they can't get medical help, and two, they're worried that these variants in India could spread outside of India and infect or reinfect people all over the world.

AVLON: Absolutely. You mentioned the government, and I want to get your take on two things. First of all, why the vaccine rate is so low, compared to other countries? And second, why these political rallies are still continuing.

GETTLEMAN: So, it kind of has the same route. The answer to those questions has the same route. And that is there was this sense in India that the pandemic was over, that -- that India had beaten the coronavirus.

This country enjoyed this great lull for several months between last fall and just about up until a month ago where there were very few cases. New Delhi, a city of 20 million, was reporting something like 100 infections. The positivity rate was less than 3 percent. It -- it was like the virus had disappeared.

I was doing reporting in central India a couple months ago, and no one was wearing masks. Nobody on the streets, not even police officers. It was like the coronavirus had gone away and wasn't going to come back.

So that over confidence that India had -- had kind of reached this "mission accomplished" moment is what led to a lot of these mistakes. Part of it was on behalf of the government. But part of it was just the society not taking it seriously.

And the government was -- was supporting big gatherings of people for these political rallies in a state in Eastern India until recently. The government was supporting this gigantic Hindu pilgrimage that happens every couple years. But millions of people are packing together.

And now they've -- they've scaled back from that. They told people not to go to the rallies. They've -- they've sort of closed down that Hindu pilgrimage. And a lot of people worry that the damage is done, that these events turned into super-spreader events.

But -- but I don't think that's -- I don't think those specific events are what's responsible for this spike. It's this overall -- it was this overall sort of dropping of the guard and not being prepared to get hit by the second wave. And that's what's happened across India, and it's been devastating.

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AVLON: Well, that's a cautionary tale for all of us.

Before we go, I want to get your thoughts on the fact that a lot of the countries that seem to be having the most difficult time dealing with the virus have, coincidentally or not, populist leaders in place, and what that pattern says to you on a global basis?

GETTLEMAN: You know, I've heard that. And it's an interesting -- it's an interesting analysis. There are some differences, though.

So India has a very populist leader, Narendra Modi. He's very popular and very powerful. People sometimes liken him to Donald Trump in the sense of him -- him sort of trying to stir up the majority and -- and be very divisive. I think that's true.

But -- but Modi was not anti-science. He said from the beginning coronavirus is dangerous, wear a mask, take precautions. It wasn't like the message that was coming out in the U.S. where you didn't really know if the -- if President Trump was scared of coronavirus or not.

Modi has been taking it seriously. They just haven't sent a clear message to society to be prepared for the second wave. During the first wave, they did OK. But then, as the cases went down, everybody just figured it was over, and that was the mistake. AVLON: Jeffrey Gettleman, we'll have to leave it there. Thank you so

much for joining us from New Delhi today. Be safe and be well.

GETTLEMAN: Thank you.

AVLON: Chad's interim leader is pleading for international support to prop up the beleaguered country's economy and restore stability. It comes after his father, Chad's longtime president, Idriss Deby, was killed last week while visiting troops battling rebels in the north.

In his first speech since taking power, the late president's son promised to keep fighting terrorism and denounced actions he says threaten national unity.

But he's facing massive street protests. Soldiers put out a fire after a wave of protestors demanding civilian rule marched through. AFP reports at least five people have been killed and dozens more wounded in the demonstrations.

Two Spanish journalists have been killed in an ambush in Burkina Faso. They've been identified as Roberto Fraile and David Beriain, seen here in the light-colored shirt. An Irish citizen was killed, as well.

Reports say they were traveling to -- with an anti-poaching patrol near a nature reserve.

The West African nation of Burkina Faso faces a deepening security crisis, with increasing attacks by Islamic militant groups. The U.N. said the region is experiencing a critical humanitarian crisis.

The E.U.'s chief executive says she was met with sexism at a meeting with the Turkish president earlier this month. But Turkey says it was all just a misunderstanding. We'll have the latest on what's been called Sofagate when we return.

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AVLON: It's not often you see a deluge in the desert. The holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, has been getting hammered by heavy rain and flood waters. Here you can see cars submerged in the streets. Authorities are warning people to stay away from places that could flood.

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There's also reports of hail at the Grand Mosque. But many are rejoicing over these rare Ramadan rains.

Well, Turkey is pushing back on a claim from European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who says she was subjected to sexism at a meeting with the Turkish president earlier this month.

CNN's Jomana Karadsheh has more from Istanbul.

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JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This incident earlier this month has been dubbed Sofagate. We had two European Union presidents arriving to meet the Turkish president in Ankara, the European Council president, Charles Michel, and the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen.

They walk into a room to meet with President Erdogan. Only two seats were set up in the center of that room, two chairs that were taken by the two men, leaving von der Leyen standing. And it was a very awkward moment that was caught on camera. She was eventually seated on a sofa on the same level as the Turkish foreign minister. Of course, she is a higher-ranking official.

Turkey came under a lot of criticism following this incident, accused of treating two presidents differently because von der Leyen was a woman. And Charles Michel also coming under criticism for taking that chair.

Now, Turkey completely rejected the accusations that this happened because of -- of her gender, saying the -- the Turkish foreign minister at the time saying that this was an issue that was discussed between the protocol teams from both sides, in that Turkey went with the arrangements that were suggested by the E.U. protocol team.

Charles Michel also addressed that issue at the time, blaming this on Turkey's strict interpretation, as he put it, of protocol.

We have heard this week from von der Leyen herself, saying that she felt alone. She felt hurt as a woman. Take a listen to what she told the European Parliament.

URSULA VAN DER LEYEN, EUROPEAN COMMISSION PRESIDENT: I'm the first woman to be president of the European Commission. I am the president of the European Commission. And this is how I expected to be treated when visiting Turkey two weeks ago, like a commission president. But I was not.

I cannot find any justification for what I was treated in the European treaties. So I have to conclude that it happened because I am a woman. Would this have happened if I had worn a suit and a tie?

KARADSHEH: She went on to say that this incident was caught on camera. That there are thousands of more -- far more serious incidents that take place that go unobserved and unseen.

Jomana Karadsheh, CNN, Istanbul.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AVLON: Queen Elizabeth has -- the Second has carried out her first public engagement since her husband's funeral. She held two virtual audiences on Tuesday to welcome the ambassadors of Latvia and Ivory Coast.

The queen was at Windsor Castle, where the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral was held earlier in the month, while the ambassadors were at Buckingham Palace.

Thanks for watching CNN. I'm John Avlon, and I'll be back with more NEWSROOM in about 15 minutes. WORLD SPORT is next.

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