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Officials: 13 Killed, Dozens Hurt in Mexico City Metro Disasters; India Surpasses 20 Million COVID-19 Infections; G7 Foreign Ministers Meeting Face-to-Face in London; Netanyahu's Mandate to Form Government Set to Expire; 15 Killed, 70 Hurt in Mexico City Metro Disaster; Why India's Vaccination Program Has Been a Disappointment; Namibia's Oil Debate; Bill and Melinda Gates Marriage to End after 27 Years. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired May 04, 2021 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[01:00:24]
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: This is CNN NEWSROOM. Hello. I'm John Vause.
And ahead this hour:
India's perfect COVID storm. New variant, reopening too soon, failure to prepare for a second wave, all leading to a humanitarian catastrophe, only said to get worse as the number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus passes 20 million.
Is this the end of the road for Israel's longest serving prime minister? Benjamin Netanyahu has just hours now to form a coalition government.
And one of the last big oil strikes. Potentially billions of barrels underneath an untouched wilderness in Africa, but for a planet going green, is it really worth the cost?
Well, all those stories in a moment, but, first, breaking news. Officials say more than a dozen people in Mexico City have died in a train accident, 70 others are said to be injured. An elevated train line collapsed with carriages and falling onto the road below. The search continues right now for the survivors amid the wreckage.
CNN continues to work the story, and if we get more details, more information will bring them to you as it comes to us.
Well, now, India continues to descend into COVID hell with the surge in new cases not seen anywhere else in the world, pushing the total number of infected with the virus, passed 20 million. Seven million new cases were recorded just last month, for the 13th straight day more than 300,000 new cases were reported on Tuesday. That's according to government officials.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TEDROS ADHANOM GEBREYESUS, W.H.O. DIRECTOR GENERAL: More cases of COVID-19 have been reported globally, in the past two weeks then during the first six months of the pandemic. India and Brazil account for more than half of last week's cases.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: The only way out of this crisis for India is to vaccinate. The problem right now, only 2 percent of the population was fully vaccinated. There are supply shortages, which, of course, at least seven states and territories to push vaccine rollout.
There is also a severe oxygen sorted. For weeks, patients have been lining up outside of hospitals only to find daily supplies have run out. India's health minister says the oxygen crisis may not be as bad as some believe.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. HARSH VARDHAN, INDIAN HEALTH MINISTER (through translator): The Indian government has provided data for appropriate oxygen production according to demand, according to the production, states have been allocated their quotas. Delhi has been allotted more oxygen than what they probably ask for.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Well, the world is now sending planeloads of oxygen concentrators and other medical supplies. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke on Monday with the European Commission president and thanked for the bloc's support.
The government has now deployed medical personnel from the Navy, the Hospitals across the country. And despite that outpouring of international help, oxygen remains in critical short of supply.
CNN's chief international correspondent Clarissa Ward reports now from a hospital in Uttar Pradesh. A warning, some viewers will find the details and the images in her report disturbing. But we should note, the families wanted to talk to CNN so the world could see the realities of the crisis they're facing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A man wails in anguish, but no one is listening. His cry is just one of many at this hospital in Uttar Pradesh state.
Oh, my child, he says. Oh, my god, my baby.
Inside the entrance, his son Deepak is begging for his life -- gasping for air, his body convulsing. There are no doctors attending to him, a handful of medical staff working in this ward are stretched thin to breaking point.
This hospital is completely overwhelmed. The doctors say that they have around 55 beds and, currently, they're treating more than 100 patients. And you can see, people are literally just lying on the floor, desperately hoping to get some medical attention.
Thirty-two-year-old Kavita (ph) said she's been here for four days, begging for oxygen, that hasn't come.
I'm getting anxious, she says. No one is listening to me here.
Are you struggling to breathe?
I'm unable to breathe freely, she tells us. No one is taking care of me.
In the next room, more than 20 patients are packed in tightly.
[01:05:03]
This is what now passes for the intensive care unit -- family members have taken on the role of primary carers, where medical staff, simply, are unavailable.
This man complains no one will change his wiped soiled bedding.
Suddenly, there is a commotion.
Will someone please call the doctor? This man shouts. His mother, 55- year-old Rashvalla (ph), appears to be slipping away. Her sons worked furiously to revive her.
A doctor comes in, and tells him to stop crowding her. The family is inconsolable.
We've been here for six days, and only today, we got a ventilator for my mother, he tells us. The oxygen is out. We had to bring in an oxygen cylinder.
It's a story we hear, again, and again. One man approaches us pleading. His wife can't get a bed.
No one is listening to me, I've tried everything, he says. Please help me, or she will die.
I'm not a doctor, I'm sorry, I can't help you.
Another man tells us his wife is struggling to breathe outside. They won't let her in.
We spot hospital administrator, and ask him what's going on.
DR. GYANENDRA KUMAR, ADMINISTRATOR, LLRM MEDICAL COLLEGE: Yeah.
WARD: This man says his wife is dying outside, and needs oxygen.
KUMAR: No, there's a central line of oxygen.
WARD: He insists that oxygen isn't the problem, but says they are desperately short of staff. Those who do work here risk becoming patients themselves. These men tell us, they move a dozen bodies a day.
Have you ever seen anything like this before? Are you not worried to be working here, and you're not wearing protective gear?
We should be wearing proper PPE, they say, but even the doctors don't have it, so how can we?
We hear screams, coming from the ICU. Rasvalla (ph) has flatlined again. Her son desperately pumps her chest.
A doctor comes in. He takes her pulse. But, it's too late.
This time, there is no point in trying to resuscitate.
The agony of her sons is shared by so many in this country, failed by a health care system on the brink of collapse, and, a government accused of mismanaging the crisis.
Just a few hundred yards away, the same hospital complex, it's a very different picture. Orderly lines of people patiently wait to be vaccinated, following the prime minister's announcement that anyone over 18 can be inoculated.
A state lawmaker is among 600 people getting their vaccine. The hospital administrator and local journalists eagerly stand to capture the moment.
We were just in the hospital over there and it was shocking to see. It was shocking.
DR. SOMENDRA TOMAR, UTTAR PRADESH LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY MEMBER: Why?
WARD: Because the conditions are so bad here. Why do you think India has been hit so badly?
The hospital administrator interrupts, and warns him that we have been asking too many questions.
Sir, you don't need to coach him what to say.
He's telling him what to say.
TOMAR: Ma'am, we are trying our best, and some problems are here, but we are trying. Now condition is better.
WARD: Do you accept the government has failed its people in the handling of this crisis? Because I've been talking to many people, and I have to tell you, people are angry. People feel that this didn't need to be so ugly.
The situation is not only bad here, we're trying to find solutions, he says. We're increasing the number of beds, and we're working, tirelessly, around the clock.
But, back in the COVID ward, the impact of those efforts is not yet being felt. Rasvalla's (ph) body is left for nearly one hour before it is finally moved.
India's leaders make promise that everything is being done to end this crisis. But, for now, there is no light at the end of the tunnel.
Clarissa Ward, CNN, Merit, India.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: COVID's rapid spread across India is not stopping its national borders. Nepal has been dealing with the deep spiking cases in the last few weeks, reported a record high number of new infections on Monday. Much like India, it's here Nepal does not have the resources of the infrastructure to deal with a massive outbreak.
Live now to CNN's Paula Hancocks.
And, Paula, if nothing else, Nepal had a few weeks warning this outbreak is likely come in their way. What's the preparation was? There were measures are being put in place by officials?
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, we've heard from the prime minister and the measures that he's out in place. He's got a nationwide address on televion.
And what they've done is they tried to restrict entry into Nepal itself. We know that domestic flights have been postponed, have been suspended as of midnight Monday, international flights going to be suspended as of May 6th, until May 14th.
But, of course, Nepal does have a land border with India. They are not completely closing that land border. At this point, they're saying that foreigners could not come through. But they 13 land borders with Nepalese citizens would still be able to come home.
What they do need to do test negative at the check point though before they come across and then going into a quarantine. So, certainly, what we've been hearing from the officials is that there is quite a concern, that what is happening in India could be about to take place in Nepal as well.
We've been looking at some of the numbers and there has been this 1,200 percent increase of the 7-seven day average and the average per capita infection in Nepal at the moment is where it was India less than 2 weeks ago. So, certainly, there is this concern that said that this could be catching up with them.
Now, the prime minister also said there's no exports of oxygen from the country. That has been banned. He's also calling back retired medics and asking to work for another year, to make sure that they don't have a short in medical staff, because it's not a very sophisticated healthcare situation in Nepal, the lifesaving resources are not what they are in other countries.
So, there is a great concern that they won't be able to cope with the sort of catastrophic event that we are seeing in India at this point. They're also making sure that their private hospitals, many of them, are going to become specifically of COVID hospitals. Also, putting aside some schools and some arenas to be quarantine centers. So, they are putting plans in place.
There is certainly a concern that some of these plans maybe a little late, as officials say they have already detected a number of cases of the variant first identified in India, John.
VAUSE: Paula, thank you. Paula Hancocks live for us there in Seoul with the very latest.
Well, foreign ministers from the G7 will gather in the coming hours for their first face-to-face in-person meeting in two years.
On Monday, the British foreign secretary met with the U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.
More now from CNN's Nic Robertson reporting in from London.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Well, the first round of meetings over. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, secretary of state Antony Blinken holding a joint press conference, almost sort of singing from the same hymn sheet, you can say.
Antony Blinken saying that the way forward is to coordinate, cooperate and collaborate, among awe the different countries, share, support, and supplement. That was the term the Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab used. They talk about Russia, they talked about Myanmar, they talked about Iran, they talked about Afghanistan.
But one of the topics that was strong on the agenda was just how much had really changed in the two years since they've actually held face to face meetings.
DOMINIC RAAB, BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY: It's also fair to say that the world has changed quite a bit, in those two short years. Our societies, our economies have been shocked and shaken by coronavirus. At the same time, we are responding to a situation where our values are being challenged, the international architecture is at least in some respects being weekend.
ROBERTSON: And those big challenges, China clearly the big challenge on the agenda. The need for all these partners to hold of the international rules based order, the world economy is built on at the moment.
[01:15:01]
And Dominic Raab saying no coincidence that you had nations here like Australia, like India, like South Korea who all support this notion as well. Secretary of state Blinken, laying out the challenges that China poses.
ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: It is not our purpose to try and contain China, or hold China down. What we are trying to do is uphold the international rules based order that our countries have invested so much in, over so many decades, to the benefit, I would argue not just of our own citizens but of people around the world, including, by the way, China.
ROBERTSON: Two more meetings to go, COVID, building back better, economies, greener economies, that's going to be big on the agenda. Climate change too.
Nic Robertson, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Susan Glasser is a CNN global affairs analyst, and staff writer for "The New Yorker". She is with us this hour from Washington, D.C.
Susan, good to see you again.
The U.S. secretary of state, he described what he believes is the endgame for China, and in two words, world domination. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BLINKEN: I think what we witnessed over the last several years is China acting more repressively at home, and more aggressively abroad. That is a fact.
INTERVIEWER: What's China's goal?
BLINKEN: I think that, over time, China believes that it can be and should be and will be the dominant country in the world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: OK. Well, the key to this strategy is for the economy to continue to grow, and almost everyone assumes China is a sure bet to overtake the U.S. The forecast of end of last year made headlines like this one. China to overtake U.S. world's biggest economy by 2028, a year earlier because of the pandemic, according to this report.
Here's another headline, though, from "Forbes" back in 2011. By 2020, China number one, U.S. number 2. There are a lot of people who've gone broke betting that China would take over the U.S.
The reality is, China's economy will eventually slow, they will bring about social unrest, adds to the environmental problems, which had to be experience to be believed. It's an aging population, there's massive inequality, there's overproduction, and it goes on and on.
And my point is, it seems that this fear of China's rise to global dominance, if it's not a myth, then it's simply oversimplified, and overblown.
SUSAN GLASSER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Now may be the case, but what you are hearing from the new secretary of state is, clearly, a message from the Biden administration in Washington that they buy into the idea that China's rise is inexorable and, in effect, largely unstoppable at the moment. And it's very interesting, but they are really doubling down on saying, we are not shying away from this, but in fact, we are hedging our domestic policy, here, in the U.S., as well as our foreign policy on the idea of competition with a much more adversarial China.
VAUSE: Another issue on the agenda is North Korea, the U.S. has just finished a major policy review. Again, here's a secretary of state on what are we going to do about Korea.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BLINKEN: To state the obvious, it has yet to be solved from administration, to administration, Democrat and Republican, over the years. So, we wanted to take into account, that history, to look at what works, what doesn't work, and how we can have an effective policy to advance the goal that we have, which is the complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: I can list what hasn't worked, everything. Am I missing anything? What has worked?
GLASSER: Well, look, I think there is a recognition that both the approach of, quote/unquote, strategic patience by the Obama administration, and also, this love affair that Donald Trump had with Kim Jong-un, his words, not mine, neither of those retarded in any way the North Korean nuclear program.
Now, the rest of that statement from the secretary of state, I think I hear the words pragmatism three times, which is often code word in diplomacy for, well, we're going to be realistic about not inflating your expectation that a settlement is around the corner of North Korea.
To me, I didn't hear any radical new approach. They said they're going to try diplomacy, that's not a big difference from what we have heard, even though the rhetoric accompanying it is very different. The effort to engage in diplomacy, but without a certain outcome, seems like we've been down this road before.
VAUSE: Also seems to know meeting of the G7 would be complete without talk of Russia, only this time with a former U.S. President Donald Trump, the talk won't be about including Russia into a G8 group. But, behavioral issues.
Here is the Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAAB: The door for positive relations and diplomacy is always open to us. And I think that's something shared across many of the NATO countries, but what's got to change is Russia's behavior against as a P5 member of the Security Council, against the basic norms of international law. (END VIDEO CLIP)
[01:20:05]
VAUSE: Basic question, does Russia want a better relationship with the West? Because the answer seems to be, no.
GLASSER: Well, I think Russia, and certainly as leader, Vladimir Putin, is a big believer of, if you can't make them love you, it's fine to make them hate you, as long as they pay attention to you.
Putin has just purchased an expensive possibility of a summit with Joe Biden, by sending 100,000 troops to the border with Ukraine, in a very threatening military buildup. And, you know, that from Putin's point of view seems to have resulted in this invitation from Biden to consider a summit.
Now, you're going to have the secretary going right through that London meeting to Ukraine, to Kyiv, to make the point to the Ukrainians that we stand with you against Russia and potential for further aggression.
But I think, you know, Putin, is really an expert of playing the West often itself to show those stern words, aren't always accompanied by actual ability to shape, or change, Russian actions.
VAUSE: Susan, we're out of time, but appreciate you being with us.
And I can never forget about Obama's description of Putin as being the unhappy teenager sitting at the back of the classroom, always trying to disrupt everything. Still seems out today.
Thanks for being with us.
GLASSER: Thank you.
VAUSE: Ahead here on CNN, let's make a deal. Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu, and his extraordinary offer to a political rival, to try and form a working coalition, and cling to power.
Plus, calling it quits. Billionaires Bill and Melinda Gates filed for divorce after 30 years of marriage. We have the latest on their plans to go their separate ways.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has just hours to form a new government, with a mandate from the president expiring at midnight local time.
Early this month, no party won a clear majority after Israel's fourth election in two years. For weeks now, Netanyahu is being locked in negotiations, trying to form a working coalition, but without success. So, he's now made a last-minute, extraordinary offer to political rival, Naftali Bennett. In return for his support, Bennett would get to be prime minister for one year. Bennett dismissed the offer is political spin.
Well, for more, Yaakov Katz, editor and chief of "The Jerusalem Post" is with us now from Jerusalem.
Not bad, Yaakov. You get to be prime minister for one year, it kind of seems nice.
But let's start with the easy part, technically, the president has the authority to give Netanyahu an extra couple of weeks. He could cough a parliament, or the Knesset to work it out.
So, what is a chance as either of those things could actually happen?
YAAKOV KATZ, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, THE JERUSALEM POST: Well, John, I think you are right. Being prime minister is not something you say no to, but the problem with Netanyahu is offered to Bennett is that he doesn't have a government, even if Bennett were to serve as prime minister for a year.
Netanyahu, right now, is with Naftali Bennett is only 53 seats.
[01:25:00]
If he has another what's called the religious Zionist Party, that's more far-right, extremer party on the side of the right wing map in Israel, that would put him to 59. He's still short of the 61, because those six seats of the religious Zionist Party aren't willing to rely on air quotes to establish a government.
So, Netanyahu lacks a coalition. So, he could offer anyone to serve as prime minister, as long as he doesn't have the numbers, though, that offer doesn't really mean anything.
What the president will likely do, as you mentioned correctly, is three options. One is to extend Netanyahu's mandate. That's not going to happen. The other is to send it straight to Israel's parliament, the Knesset, to see if someone can get together 61 signatures. Unlikely that he's going to do that right away.
He's probably going to give it to Netanyahu's main contender, the head of opposition in Israel, Yair Lapid, who had 43 recommendations back in the day, before the mandate was given to Netanyahu. Give him a chance to see if he can put together a coalition.
VAUSE: OK. So you mention the fact, even if Bennett throws a slot in with Netanyahu, Netanyahu is still shy by a few seats. It kind of explains why Bibi tweeted out, Bennett, you know well, once you commit to a right-wing government, other will come even without a storm, and we will have 61. They are just waiting for you.
Are they? Or is that just sort of Bibi spin?
KATZ: That is, as I think Naftali Bennett said quite accurately, that's political spin. Look, Netanyahu is -- the sharks are circling for Netanyahu. They are smelling blood. They know this is potentially the end of Netanyahu's long career as prime minister. He's served now 12 years plus consecutively as Israel's prime minister. There for three years back in the '90s.
He was seen as all powerful, and that may come to an end. And he's grasping for straw, right? He's looking for whatever to potentially do.
He is trying to angle himself, now, for the possibility that Israel will go to an unprecedented fifth election. A second election was unprecedented in the span a few years, now we're at four, to go to a fifth is almost unimaginable. They're preparing for that, and eastern to lay the blame, or play the blame game, and placed squarely on the shoulders of Naftali Bennett. If only he had come.
The funny part is, John, people buy into this. I speak to people and they're like, why is Bennett not joining Netanyahu? You explain the numbers don't add up, and they're like, oh, really?
So, you know, as we all know political spin does have some measure of success. Netanyahu is banking on the fact that the other side won't succeed to putting together a government. We'll go to another election, and you will come on top, maybe, for the fifth time.
VAUSE: Well, I mean, that's always a possibility, anything is a possible in Israel, especially Israeli politics. But let's say Benjamin Netanyahu is unable to form this coalition, and an anti- Netanyahu coalition forms in this place.
Where does that leave Benjamin Netanyahu, and all of the corruption charges, and the rest of the criminal charges, he is now facing?
KATZ: Well, as you speak John, the Jerusalem district court is gathering to hear the counter arguments by the defense, by Netanyahu's lawyers, against the testimony that, was quite incriminating, over the last few weeks, in one of the major corruption charges.
It's the bribery case known as case 4,000 which involves telecommunications, benefits that he gave to a mogul in exchange for positive coverage of him, and his wife -- allegedly, of course. That is continuing, that ship has sailed.
And the question is, whether he can, if there is another government, and he's out of government, would he just suffice, and want to stay as head of the opposition? Or, would he say, you know, it's not enough, I need to go home, and I need to focus on fighting my trial.
All kind of estimates, he hasn't revealed much, but estimates are, he would want to stay, at least, in some form of a position in parliament. This would give him some power, and sway, over the court. And, by the way, if he stays as opposition leader, that would be the best thing for this different government because everyone would be deterred from bringing down the government, because they know, if they did so, Netanyahu is waiting in the wings to pick up the pieces, run again, and become prime minister.
VAUSE: Only Benjamin Netanyahu can unite so many people for one cause. It's extraordinary, and something incredible to watch.
Yaakov, thank you so much. We really appreciate you being with us as well as your insight.
KATZ: Thank you.
VAUSE: Thank you, sir.
Well, ahead, the latest on our breaking news coverage about the deadly metro accident in Mexico's capital. Details in a moment with a live report.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:31:59]
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome everybody.
Breaking news now. Mexico City mayor says 15 people have died, at least 70 others have been hurt after a portion of an elevated train line collapsed sending carriages crashing onto a busy street below. The search continues this hour for survivors amid the wreckage.
CNN's Matt Rivers joins us now on the line from Mexico City. So Matt, what details do you have at this point?
MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Yes. I mean very much an ongoing situation here, John, that we're just trying to get a handle on in terms of exactly what the details are. You have the numbers there that you just read out to the viewers.
But what I can tell, you just looking at the videos, and looking at the initial pictures that are coming in from the scene, it is almost assuredly, going to see those numbers rise, I think, at this point, both the deaths and the number of injured, you know, with this collapse of the subway line.
This is in the southeastern part of the city. This is an absolutely massive city, Mexico City. This is Line 12, also known as the golden line. This is the line that's been constructed in the last decade. And it was kind of touted by a lot of city officials at the time as being one of the more technologically advanced parts of the subway system here in Mexico City.
This is a sprawling subway system that millions of people use on a regular basis. It is a key part of the way people get around the city.
Just looking at what the pictures show, what the images show, it is clear that this is an above ground section of the metro. This is a portion of that above ground section that collapsed, it sent at least two subway cars basically collapsed on to the street below.
And so what is happening now is authorities are conducting search and rescue operations, you know, in addition to the people that we know that are dead and injured so far. There could still well be people trapped inside that structure at this point, not only inside the cars that were affected but perhaps also within a car too that was traveling beneath this overpass when it collapsed. We're hearing from the city's mayor, John, that advanced search operations right now are suspended because there are concerns that the structure itself right now, both the metro cars and also the overpass affected -- it's not stable enough for people to just start climbing around. And so they are bringing in a crane to help with operations as rescuers continue to do what they can.
But unfortunately, you know, as we can show our viewers the limited video and the pictures that are coming in so far, obviously, this is a very serious situation. And rescuers are still trying to get some sort of complete idea, complete picture of exactly what is happening here.
But a serious emergency situation right now in Mexico City as officials try and you know, get to anyone who might still be trapped.
[01:34:54]
VAUSE: Matt, thank you. Matt Rivers there and the images, the photographs there of the carriages, which are sort of dangling from what is left of that elevator frame line are incredibly disturbing to look at as well as the reports that so many people have been hurt and many others, 15, have been killed as well in this accident.
Mexico's subway system is the fourth busiest -- or the second busiest rather in the Americas. Four million people a day use Mexico City's train system.
We'll have more details on this story as we get them.
In the meantime we'll go back to the coronavirus. The number of cases in India have now surged passed the 20 million mark. And most experts are warning the official numbers are way under reported.
The health ministry reports more than 350,000 new cases, nearly 3,500 deaths on Tuesday. The 13th consecutive day India has topped 300,000 new infections.
Medical experts say a more effective vaccine program is crucial. Pfizer is discussing expedited approval of its vaccine in India, but right now supplies of other manufacturers are running low. That means shots have fallen sharply from a high last month.
CNN's Ivan Watson following developments from Hong Kong. And Ivan, India is often being called the pharmacy of the world. It is the biggest vaccine maker on the planet. And yet, it doesn't have enough vaccine for its own population.
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That is one of the real contradictions here and one of the enormous logistical challenges facing the country. May 1st was supposed to be the launch of a vaccination program that, would dramatically, expand eligibility of vaccines to anybody over the age of 18. And yet a number of state and territorial governments announced that they couldn't go forward because they simply didn't have enough vaccines to distribute.
And if you consider the scale of this deadly second wave of the COVID pandemic in India certainly it would have been good to have a functioning, well stocked vaccine program, especially in a country that happens to be the world's biggest vaccine manufacturer.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WATSON (voice over): It was billed as the world's biggest vaccination drive. A COVID-19 vaccine program launched in mid January celebrated by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
NARENDRA MODI, INDIAN PRIME MINISTER (through translator): We are minutes away from India initiating the world's biggest vaccination drive.
WATSON: But three and a half months later, India is in the grips of a deadly second wave of COVID infections. Its health care systems completely overwhelmed.
Meanwhile, the vaccination drive has been a disappointment. India lags far behind other countries, for percentage of its population inoculated.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have vaccinated only 2 percent of our population right now. And we lost two crucial months where we could've ramped up our, you know, vaccines.
WATSON: India is the world's largest vaccine maker as it launched the first phase of its vaccination program domestically.
MODI: India is humbled that vaccines made in India are going around the world.
WATSON: The government also embarked on vaccine diplomacy overseas. Since January, the Vaccine Maitri Program or the Vaccine Friendship, shipped more than 66 million doses to foreign countries.
But at home, experts say fewer eligible Indians signed up for shots. In part because by February, the COVID threat appeared to be receding.
SHAHID JAMEEL, VIROLOGIST: Unfortunately, that also created a dilemma in the minds of some people that we are done with this outbreak, so what is the point of getting a vaccine?
WATSON: By march, daily infection rates were growing. Meanwhile, vaccine supply was becoming a problem. On April 16th, the CEO of the Serum Institute of India, the world's largest vaccine manufacturing company, addressed this tweet to the U.S. President asking him to lift an embargo on vaccine component exports. Soon after, India began asking for more foreign help.
HARSH VARDHAN SHRINGLA, INDIAN FOREIGN SECRETARY: Obviously, if we can source vaccines, we will do it. Whether it's from the United States, whether it's from Russia, whether it's from other countries.
WATSON: But that hasn't fixed the supply problem. On April 30th this man says he lined up with his family at 4:00 a.m. for vaccine shots at this location in Mumbai. They left hours later, unvaccinated. UDAY BHAN YADAV, MUMBAI RESIDENT (through translator): At 9:00 a.m.
when the vaccinations were meant to begin, the authorities told us they had orders from above to shut down all vaccinations.
WATSON: On May 1st, India was supposed to expand vaccine eligibility to anyone over 18. But at least seven states and territories postponed the launch, citing a shortage of supply.
(on camera): You have the world's biggest vaccine manufacturer that's now facing a shortage in the midst of a pandemic, which is quite a contradiction, isn't it?
[01:39:54]
JAMEEL: Yes it is. I really feel that it is poor planning and poor execution that has led to this.
WATSON (voice over): With thousands of Indians dying of COVID each day, Russia has now shipped at least 150,000 doses of its Sputnik vaccine to help India immunize its vulnerable population.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WATSON: Now public health experts say one additional obstacle is the fact that the vaccine drive is not centralized, it's not run by the central government as have vaccination drives for polio, and tuberculosis, and measles, and Hepatitis B in the past. It is been distributed out to the states, which creates competition in the marketplace, and that's contributed to the shortages.
There is also vaccine hesitancy. And one of the vaccines produced in India is COVISHIELD, which is essentially the Oxford AstraZeneca, which has gone through its own hiccups and suspensions in Europe. And that has contributed to suspicion within sectors of Indian society, John.
VAUSE: Ivan, thank you. Ivan Watson live for us there in Hong Kong.
Well, CNN's Vedika Sud has been covering India's pandemic since the very beginning. Like so many others, she is dealing with an emotional toll, while also reporting on a staggering wave of death, and suffering. Here she is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VEDIKA SUD, CNN REPORTER: We are lacking accountability and transparency. And that is the reason why communities are coming together today.
Social media has been one such source and one such place where people are actually helping each other. A daughter reaches out and says, my mother needs an ICU bed, can you help me? A son reaches out to say, that my father needs oxygen, can you help me? Someone else reaches out to say, I need four vials of Remdesivir, can you help me?
And help comes their way. Most of the times, at least. After speaking to so many people on a daily basis, at least, the deaths that we have officially in Delhi could be much higher, had it not been for these communities coming together today.
These people are saving lives. I see the same thing, and let me talk about my personal experience here. In my condominium in Gurgaon, which is a satellite city, right next to Delhi. People are actually coming together there. We are trying to get permissions to get one clubhouse as the community halls done into a medical arrangement for immediate medical help. Because we don't know when we're going to get oxygen cylinders for those people.
I have about 1,200 to 1,300 people living in my condo. And out of that as of now we have over 70 active cases, including children. We have lost a neighbor as well.
So it's time, we thought, we shouldn't depend on the government. We shouldn't depend as much on authorities. Come together, we put money together, we put quite a lot of money together over the last week to make sure that we can import oxygen concentrators, we can import other materials needed.
We are trying to get Remdesivir, we are trying to make an Excel sheet in my condo where you have the names of people who've already suffered from COVID-19 and can help and volunteer with plasma donation when required.
This is just one micro case I'm talking about. But this is being been replicated in so many places. Learn from my experience is my message as an Indian to other countries. You don't need to hold rave parties in a controlled environment to see what happens.
Learn from our deaths, learn our misery. I have my parents at home, they were visiting, they have to go to London my sister who just delivered her first baby, my niece. And we haven't been able to get to her, to get any support to her.
My parents, I met them for the first time after a week of grueling (INAUDIBLE) of just hearing bad news the other day and I walked in and I could see relief in my mother's eyes.
My father saw me, I kept my distance as wearing a mask. My daughter saw me, and asked me, have you tested negative, Mama? She's only 5.
Do you know how I cope? I cope through her innocence, through her love. We have, you know, these messages through the day and night, these audio messages, these video messages that we send to each other. That is how I'm coping.
That's the little world I'm trying to live in while I go ahead and I report on what is happening here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Our thanks to Vedika Sud for that.
And if you would like to help, if you would like to know how, please visit CNN.com/impact for a list of organizations which are offering assistance.
Well, it might just be one of the world's last big oil strikes that's standing between a Canadian oil company and potentially billions of barrels and untouched wilderness, home to some of the world's most endangered species.
[01:44:26]
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VAUSE: Namibia might be sitting on the last giant onshore oil find, but the area where a Canadian oil company has begun to drill, is one of the most fragile and vulnerable ecosystems in the world. The wilderness spans from Namibia to Botswana.
CNN's David McKenzie was the first journalist to be granted access to the drilling site.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Andreas Mawano's (ph) family can't sleep at night. Can't rest through the wailing sirens and the floodlights at night.
"They sit there looking for oil here", he says. "And worrying about the land."
The land he says an oil firm took from them.
(on camera): Yes. That's your place?
(voice over): Andreas and his son, Samwel even scared to take us closer to the rig through their own cornfields.
SAMWEL MAWANO, FARMER: They told us to go away.
MCKENZIE (on camera): How do you feel about that?
MAWANO: I feel angry about it. Very, very angry. It even hurts me. It's not right because this land belongs to me. Someone who came somewhere far just to grab it from me.
MCKENZIE (voice over): A staggering swath of land, more than 13,000 square miles or some 30,000 square kilometers. It is what the Canadian oil company, ReconAfrica has secured in an exclusive exploration deal.
(on camera): This is the rig that they are exploring to find if there's oil in this region. But if they actually find oil, this will be just one of many, many rigs like this.
Every basin of this depth in the world produces commercial levels of hydrocarbons. It just makes sense.
You're feeling pretty confident?
CRAIG STEINKE, RECONAFRICA: I am confident, yes. MCKENZIE (voice over): Confident, because ReconAfrica's founder, Craig
Steinke (ph), scoured the globe for the next and maybe last giant onshore oil play.
Striking oil here could be worth billions of dollars. But it is one of the world's climate change hotspots.
(on camera): As the world gets warmer, this zone will get warmer than anywhere else in Africa. Do you see the irony of exploring for oil in this very spot?
STEINKE: I think that, you know, the oil is where you find it.
MCKENZIE (voice over): Not far from the rig, a sensitive water system flows into the Okavango River (ph) and into one of the world's last wild spaces, the Okavango Delta.
Environmentalists and scientists told us Namibia should focus on renewables and not risk a polluting industry they say is dying. Steinke says they have complied with all environmental laws.
STEINKE: You can see, this is about a half inch, high grade steel. Like this is pretty -- this is pretty serious stuff. There's just no way that the water can have any contact with production.
I mean I say to these people, who are critics, who've likely never been to Namibia, nor let alone, the Okavango region come to the Okavango and let's just have a look at the environment. Then you tell me that these people don't deserve a better lifestyle especially if they are sitting on -- standing on a major source of energy?
MCKENZKE (voice over): We ask the (INAUDIBLE) of Namibia, the first people, what they thought.
(on camera): Yes. They have been here for months, exploring, and not a single person from ReconAfrica has visited this San community.
[01:50:03]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am worried, if they come here, they will say that it is a good thing that they are doing here, says Paolos Makoso (ph). But they won't say the bad things. Here he says, they survive on the meager pensions of their elders until the money runs out each month.
They need work and they wonder if oil can provide it.
Nature is important to me, he says. But if you get up, and go into nature, there's nothing left.
MAWANO: They'll just leave me behind because I'm no more important like I own this land.
MCKENZIE (on camera): Do you feel they are disrespecting?
MAWANO: Very much. Very much. Very, very much. MCKENZIE (voice over): After months without answers, Andreas Mawano he
says that our ReconAfrica executive finally visited him. The week CNN arrived.
And that is the first time that they spoke to you, I ask him?
Yes, he says, and she brought her card. She warned me not to speak to outsiders like you.
(on camera): One of your colleagues went to Andreas, and said he shouldn't speak to outsiders like us. That doesn't sound like a transparent attitude?
STEINKE: Yes. I have no knowledge of that. I have no knowledge of that.
MCKENZIE (voice over): ReconAfrica says it has the right permits to drill here, claims the land hadn't been allocated to the family by traditional authorities.
But Steinke admits they can do better with community outreach. And at the end of our interview, just days after we met, the company brings Andreas and Samwel over, surrounded by recon executives and a company lawyer, they say they are cooperating.
David McKenzie, CNN -- East Okavango, Namibia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Another high powered billionaire marriage, coming to an end. Bill and Melinda Gates are going their separate ways. But what will that mean for their $50 billion foundation? Details, when we return.
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VAUSE: Welcome back, everybody.
Well, two of the wealthiest and most generous people in the world, Bill and Melinda Gates have announced their 27-year-long marriage is coming to an end. They announced the divorce on Twitter, after, quote, "a great deal of thought". They'll continue to lead the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation which has given more than $30 billion in charitable gifts since its launch.
CNN's John Defterios live in Abu Dhabi with more.
And you know, when you think about the last couple of decades, you know, this couple have been together like peanut butter and jelly. So, how much of a surprise is this announcement, especially to the philanthropic world?
JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: Yes, you know, it's interesting, John, because that's the first thing that came to my mind.
We covered the world economic formula as you know, for years and years, and they were main stays. The last 20 years with the Gates Foundation, side by side on nearly every panel.
So for the charitable foundation world, this is a real surprise, no doubt about that. Partially because of scale, the number one in terms of foundations in the United States, and the number 4 internationally, at least in the top 5, just depends on which poll you're looking at there.
[01:54:52]
DEFTERIOS: And it was interesting in this tweet that you reference, just take it full screen if you will, very candid language from Bill Gates here. And it was mirrored by Melinda Gates as well saying we did a lot of work on our relationship, and we made the decision to end our marriage.
And then there was also a court filing in Seattle, where the divorce is going to take place. And they said it's irretrievably broken as a marriage. They asked for privacy as you suggested and also asked the court to live by the spirit of private financial settlement.
They don't want this to become public in the debate that we saw with Jeff Bezos and Mackenzie (ph) Bezos back then.
Gates has a net worth of $124 billion according to the Forbes List, that often is updated. Bezos had $200 billion. And I think the lesson out of this, John, money doesn't always buy you love, but it doesn't keep a marriage together at the same time.
But I thought again, if you look at this, they want to live by the spirit of the foundation, remain co-chairs and trustees after all the work they've done.
VAUSE: It seems relatively amicable. But just in sort of hindsight here, what impact did the foundation have, you know, in the fight against smallpox, polio, and malaria?
DEFTERIOS: It's something I know well, because I've interviewed the both of them at different intervals at different locations around the world. With the work of the foundation so for all of those diseases that you're talking about, they've had a profound impact. Now, the criticism, I'm sure you've heard John is that the foundation is almost too big, too dominant of a force.
But they are the ones that define what social entrepreneurship actually is and that nexus between philanthropic activities, if you will. They brought that together, saying, let's take our business skills. And apply them to the biggest challenges in the world. And that was very successful.
And I think you have to give credit to Bill Gates and Melinda Gates for redefining what billionaires do with their money. They said let's just not donate, let's make a difference with it. Is it infectious or not?
Warren Buffett of Berkshire Hathaway became very close to Bill Gates as a result of this relationship. And now Warren Buffett donating $2 billion to the foundation. So it will live on for decades to come with the $43 billion of assets they still sit on. It's despite all those donations, John.
VAUSE: John, thank you. And a very quick note, thank you for all the years. This is the last time, I guess, I'll see you, at least in a working capacity. Thanks for everything, mate. Take care.
DEFTERIOS: Yes. Thanks, John. Always a pleasure. Yes, thanks.
VAUSE: Cheers, mate.
Updating now that breaking news. Mexico City's mayor says 15 people have died, at least 70 others have been hurt after a portion of an elevated train line collapsed sending carriages crashing onto a busy street below.
These are live images right now coming from Mexico City. Search and rescue efforts are underway for anyone trapped in the wreckage. But they have actually been suspended at the moment because of fears that the infrastructure around these carriages collapse. One car is dangling from the overpass. The mayor says they are waiting for a crane to arrive on scene before those search efforts can actually resume.
Well, thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause, CNN NEWSROOM continues after a very short break with my friend and colleague, Robyn Curnow.
You're watching CNN.
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