Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Pieces Of Chinese Rocket Land In Indian Ocean; Arab League To Discuss Jerusalem Unrest In Special Session Monday; NYC Times Square Shooting; Experts Critical Of Indian Government's Complacency; Cyberattack Temporarily Shuts Down Major U.S. Pipeline; Russia Marks WWII Victory Day; Jersey Fishermen Caught In U.K.-France Dispute; Chinese Government Workers Monitor Xinjiang Uyghur Homes; Paralympian Willing To Risk Her Life For Games. Aired 5-6a ET

Aired May 09, 2021 - 05:00   ET

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

[05:00:00]

(MUSIC PLAYING)

KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Forced to live and eat together. We'll look at Chinese policies that make Uyghurs feel like hostages in their own homes.

Welcome to all of you watching here in the United States, Canada and around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN NEWSROOM.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

BRUNHUBER: We begin with another night of clashes between Israeli police and Palestinians as tensions boil over in Jerusalem. The Palestinian Red Crescent says nearly 100 Palestinians were injured by stun grenades and rubber bullets Saturday. Police say they were trying to disperse crowds and people who were throwing stones and fireworks.

Jerusalem has seen weeks of unrest after the possibility of the eviction of Palestinian families from their homes. Let's bring in Hadas Gold, live from Jerusalem.

Growing international backlash, what's the latest?

HADAS GOLD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kim, last night was the holiest night of Ramadan. While the prayers were relatively peaceful, there were clashes across East Jerusalem. I am standing outside of Damascus gate. This is one of the entrances to the Old City.

This was the scene of some of the clashes, where police say protesters were throwing rocks and other fireworks and other objects. Police say they responded with stun grenades, rubber bullets, skunk water, which we can still smell.

There were clashes in the neighborhood where the Palestinian families are facing eviction. That neighborhood has also seen several days of tension and of unrest. Last night as you noted, the Palestinian Red Cross said around 100 people were injured, and six of them were under the age of 18, including a 1-year-old child were among those injured. The clashes we saw last night were not as dramatic as those we saw on

Friday night, when we saw some really dramatic clashes at the Al-Aqsa compound, known as the Temple Mount. That night we had more than 200 Palestinian injured, 17 officers were injured in those clashes.

None of this is happening in a vacuum. As you noted, there have been tensions in Jerusalem for several weeks now and the tensions are only intensifying, especially around the possible eviction of the families in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood.

There is condemnation over the violence from many countries, the European Union as well as members of Congress, specifically especially about those families facing eviction in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood.

The Arab League has a session for tomorrow. And the Israeli cabinet is meeting later this afternoon today to discuss what is going to happen tomorrow. Because tomorrow could be another major flashpoint because of a confluence of events.

The calendar is creating the sort of tension. Tomorrow is Jerusalem Day when Israel marks when it gained control over the Western Wall. On top of that, there is often a march of Israelis through the Old City of Jerusalem.

And also we may hear from the supreme court on the case related to the evictions. There is a lot of concern here, Kim, that we are teetering on the edge of something even bigger in Jerusalem, even more than the unrest we've seen in the last few weeks.

BRUNHUBER: All right, thanks so much for staying on top of those important stories for us, Hadas Gold in Jerusalem.

And my colleague, Michael Holmes, spoke with CNN political commentator, Peter Beinart, about the situation in Jerusalem and asked what the government can do to calm the rise in tensions. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETER BEINART, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: On Monday is Jerusalem day, which is the day celebrating for Israel, when Israel took control of all of Jerusalem.

It has historically been a day when often extremists, Jewish extremists March through Palestinian areas in Jerusalem, often saying and doing very, very aggressive things. So it's a dangerous day under the best of circumstances.

[05:05:00]

BEINART: It has historically been a day when often extremists, Jewish extremists, march through Palestinian areas in Jerusalem, often saying and doing very aggressive things. It's a dangerous day under the best of circumstances.

Given the confluence of forces that are going on here, the most obvious thing is that the police in Jerusalem and in Israel have to make sure that Jewish extremists who yell things like "death to Arabs" and attack to Arabs are not allowed to rampage through Palestinian neighbors in Jerusalem.

The second thing is that it would really be a travesty for the court to rule that these families -- important to remember that these families are not originally from this neighborhood in Jerusalem; they originated from places like Jaffa and Haifa. They were forced out in 1948.

So for these families to be forced out again and to be made homeless again, is something that is really enraging to Palestinians, particularly in a context where Palestinians in East Jerusalem are not citizens of Israel.

They don't have the same basic rights that Jewish citizens of Jerusalem have. There is a lot here that is dry tinder, unless the Israeli government, which is also distracted from that it doesn't have a working government, really focuses and tries to calm the situation down, things can get worse.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: That was CNN political commentator Peter Beinart speaking with us earlier.

The voyage of that out-of-control Chinese rocket is over but we're still not exactly sure how it ended. Chinese officials say parts of it fell into the Indian Ocean just west of the Maldives. U.S. Space Command says parts of the rocket reentered the atmosphere over the Arabian Peninsula but they haven't confirmed the impact site.

Social media users recorded it as a speck in the sky when it overflew parts of the Middle East. But the Long March 5B rocket was huge, 10 stories high and weighing 22 tons. China's national space agency says most of the devices it carried were destroyed during reentry into the Earth's atmosphere.

We are still waiting for final confirmation on the landing but so far no reports of damage or casualties or any debris. So for more on this let's bring in CNN's Will Ripley, joining me from Hong Kong.

Will, around the world, a huge sigh of relief but still a lot of finger pointing at China.

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Because, Kim, even though, in the end, China claims that the debris went down just shy of the Maldives in the Indian Ocean, southwest of India and Sri Lanka, the area of possible impact was unclear up until hours before this actually went down.

And even now we can't exactly confirm, beyond China's statement, that this is where this rocket or whatever debris remained of it ended. And we might not even know how much actually made impact because unless something washes ashore.

We don't know how much of that massive 10-story, 22-ton hunk of metal that was seen on social media, people even with their cell phones, this tiny blip was captured over the Middle East.

I believe this video was from Saudi Arabia but there were videos taken in Israel, in Jordan and then in Japan. An astrologist actually got a better view of it in the hours before it made its final, you know, reentry into Earth.

You can see how it was so quickly flipping. You see a little speck there. Every time that it kind of gets bigger, that's the reflection of the sun. It shows how the object was turning around in space, hurtling out of control at 18,000 miles an hour.

It has been decades since Western space agencies allowed for anything of this size to make an uncontrolled reentry, where, frankly, nobody knew for sure where it was going to touch down.

China was saying the last couple of days -- the rocket was launched April 29, their first module of the International Space Station. They were confident it wouldn't cause injury and it would probably go down in the ocean because 70 percent of the world is ocean.

But what was left of this rocket, 10-story building, mind you, the weight one-fifth of the Statue of Liberty, it could have hit an area stretching from New York to New Zealand. Just because it didn't doesn't mean how this turned out is OK.

According to a statement from NASA administrator senator Bill Nelson, posted on the NASA website overnight, he is condemning what happened here, saying space faring nations must minimize the risks to people and property on Earth of reentry of space objects and maximize transparency regarding operations.

He went on to say it is clear that China is failing to meet responsible standards regarding their space debris.

It's not to say Western nations haven't allowed big objects to fall down out of control. The American space station Skylab in 1979 scattered debris over Western Australia, off this map here. But it's been more than four decades since that has happened.

China's space program, relatively new, and they have an aggressive schedule to get their space station finished by the end of 2022.

[05:10:00]

RIPLEY: One of the ways they did that is by designing a rocket that will put it further down south in the Indian Ocean, far away from any possibility of interfering with shipping lanes or being anywhere near people.

But China's model, the way this is designed, doesn't necessarily allow for that. And since they're planning more launches like this in the coming months and years ahead, this may not be the first time the world wonders where the debris could fall down, Kim.

BRUNHUBER: So we're going to have to go through all this again in the next couple of months. Thanks so much for that initial analysis, Will Ripley in Hong Kong.

Well, just when New York City is ready to get back to business as usual, a shooting in one of the world's tourist meccas, Times Square. We'll bring you what we know after the break.

Plus U.S. vaccination rates going in the wrong direction. We'll have the latest on where things stand and efforts to give them a boost. Stay with us.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

BRUNHUBER: Just as New York City began to open up after a strict pandemic lockdown, the famous Times Square became a crime scene. Now the New York Police Department is looking for a suspect in the shooting there on Saturday.

[05:15:00]

BRUNHUBER: They posted this video to its official Twitter feed, asking anyone with information of his identity to contact them. CNN's Evan McMorris-Santoro has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

EVAN MCMORRIS-SANTORO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Police say a dispute ended in gunfire in Times Square early Saturday evening, leaving three innocent bystanders hit, including a 4-year-old girl who was shot in the leg.

Surveillance video shows the moment when busy crowds, walking around in broad daylight, were stopped by the gunfire. At a press conference, the commissioner of the New York City Police Department said all the victims are in stable condition.

But he expressed extreme frustration at what he said are local policies that are leading to more shootings. The police are doing their job, he said, asking the politicians to do theirs.

DERMOT SHEA, NEW YORK POLICE COMMISSIONER: How many more kids do we need to be shot before we realize that bad policies have consequences and we need action and we need policies regarding laws to have consequences?

MCMORRIS-SANTORO: This shooting comes at a very important moment for New York. Times Square is the heart of this city, trying to reopen itself to tourists. Broadway theaters all around this area just started selling tickets again last week. Officials are hoping to bring tourists back to the city.

And incidents like this shooting, in the tourist heart of the city, could make that a tough sell -- Evan McMorris-Santoro, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: We're seeing new signs here in the U.S. that demand for vaccinations is dropping. Average daily doses have fallen below 2 million the first time since early March.

Experts say vaccine hesitancy is to blame and it could hinder Joe Biden's goal for adults to receive one dose by July 4th. Here's the pitch for more Americans to get their shot.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You know, we can't let up now. The vaccines are safe. I promise you, they're safe. They work. Everybody in America 16 years old and older is now eligible to get vaccinated for free now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Vaccination rates, daily infections keep decreasing. California plans to fully reopen next month and restaurants are already allowed to expand capacity in Los Angeles. But they are facing a problem they didn't see coming. Paul Vercammen has the story

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Restaurant owners throughout Southern California are telling us they need to rehire or hire more employees. Here at AOC, a Los Angeles landmark, they can't even open up one of their dining rooms because they do not have enough workers.

And the owner here wants to open up some other restaurants. So in all, they need more than 100 workers.

CAROLINE STYNE, LOS ANGELES RESTAURATEUR: I think in total we need to hire about 250 people. And I know that we're not alone in this. Other restaurateurs are having this issue. A lot of job sectors are seeing this. But ours is being hit particularly bad.

VERCAMMEN: And this restaurant, AOC, L.A. icon, pretty good-paying jobs, I know you had a manager that was getting paid $75,000 a year. But the pandemic hit. And tell us what happened to that manager as a consequence of not having a job.

STYNE: Oh, yes. It's so expensive to live here in L.A. that she and her husband and their 1-year-old son, they decided to move to Bend, Oregon, where they could afford to live, with this uncertainty about their financial future.

And they have family there. And this is a story that we have across the board, with so many employees who have left. They've just left the state. It's too expensive. And without a job and without prospects, they just had to take off.

VERCAMMEN: Now while some restaurant owners in Southern California have been very critical of Governor Newsom and all of his social distancing and lockdown policies, Styne is not. She says California would not be where it is now in terms of its low positivity rate if it wasn't for a serious lockdown.

She just says now they need to look forward, try to get people back to work. If they can put the restaurant workers back on the job, then that, in turn, will spark the rest of the economy -- reporting from Los Angeles, I'm Paul Vercammen, now back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Even as cases and deaths on the decline in the U.S., health officials have been watching India's COVID crisis with deep concern, especially the variants that's now taking hold in that country.

Should people who have been vaccinated worry about it?

Well, a top adviser to Joe Biden said no. Here's what he told CNN earlier.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDY SLAVITT, SENIOR ADVISER, WHITE HOUSE COVID-19 RESPONSE TEAM: It looks like we're going to get very good levels of protection from our current vaccines. I think we'll see that confirmed over the coming week.

But Americans should expect that, if they're not vaccinated, they're going to be more exposed. If they are vaccinated, I think they can look at these variants and there's going to be very good levels of protection so far.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: For the fourth straight day, India is reporting more than 400,000 new COVID cases. The latest figures have pushed the total number of cases past 22 million. And for the second day in a row, the daily death toll has surpassed 4,000. The lockdowns, curfews and other restrictions are set to take effect in numerous states.

[05:20:00]

BRUNHUBER: Hardhit Delhi extended its lockdown a third time. India's health ministry reports 900,000 people depend on oxygen to breathe. The Indian supreme court said it set up a special task force to help get oxygen supplies to the places that most need them. CNN's Paula Hancocks is monitoring the crisis for us from Seoul.

More cases, more curfews and criticism for the government.

What's the latest?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Kim, yes, the government has come under a certain amount of criticism from unusual avenues. The medical journal "The Lancet" is criticizing prime minister Modi's government, saying they squandered the early success they had in dealing with this pandemic.

They also said in this medical journal, quote, "At times, prime minister Narendra Modi's government has seemed more intent on removing criticism on Twitter than trying to control the pandemic."

The article went on to say, "Modi's actions in attempting to stifle criticism and open discussion during the crisis are inexcusable."

Now it's not unprecedented for someone, a journal like "The Lancet," to criticize a government's handling of the pandemic. But it's certainly unusual -- and this is particularly pointed criticism, saying that there was complacency that certainly played a part in how things got so bad so quickly in India.

It is also a very worrying projection, Kim, "The Lancet" saying there could be up to a million deaths by August. Now we are less than a quarter of that figure now, in itself a horrifying figure. But it just shows things could get a lot worse.

And the journal said that, if that is the case, it will mean that Modi's government has presided over what it calls a self-inflected national catastrophe.

Now as you say as well, there has been a decision by the supreme court to set up a task force to deal with distribution of oxygen supplies. This has been another thing that the government has been criticized for.

We've seen countries around the world donating oxygen supplies, oxygen cylinders, facilities necessary for trying to prevent the shortage in oxygen supplies. And, quite frankly, the government has been criticized for not having distributed that well.

So the supreme court appears to have, at least in name, taken that out of the government's hands, showing that they will be looking at the bigger picture, deciding where these resources need to go and making sure that they get there -- Kim.

BRUNHUBER: A long road ahead. Paula Hancocks in Seoul, thank you so much.

Throughout the holy month of Ramadan, Muslims around the world have been encouraged to take precautions and alter the way they observe certain traditions during the pandemic. Some countries have even issued a number of restriction to help curb the spread of the virus.

But not everyone seems to be following the guidance, as our Michael Holmes reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This was the scene in the Pakistani city of Lahore this week, as thousands of Shia Muslims took part in an annual religious procession. Many people, not wearing masks and gathering close together, despite the risk of contracting COVID-19.

Quite different from what the city looked like more than a week ago, when the country's military was seen patrolling the streets, enforcing COVID restrictions. It's part of the balance between tradition and caution, in some of South Asia's Muslim majority countries.

Sometimes, the balance tipping towards tradition, like these people shopping, ahead of the Eid al-Fitr festival, marking the end of Ramadan in a few days.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Half of the people don't even understand COVID-19, nor do they consider it a pandemic. If they considered it, we wouldn't be going through this situation.

HOLMES (voice-over): Crowded Hindu religious festivals are one factor behind neighboring India's massive second COVID wave. And the fear is that the same could happen with the end of Ramadan, in Pakistan and Bangladesh.

So Pakistan issued a number of restrictions, such as banning intercity travel and shutting down all but essential markets.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): If we don't act on these instructions, you have the example of India right in front of you. What happened there can happen to us. Please, stay home and stay safe.

HOLMES (voice-over): There are long lines of people, waiting to get the vaccine in Karachi in Pakistan, many there, worried the crisis in India could be repeated here. Both Bangladesh and Pakistan, so far, have avoided a massive surge in cases, such as seen in India.

Bangladesh is also seeing a steady decline over the past few weeks. A doctor in the health ministry telling CNN, that is due to a lockdown in effect since early April. There is concern now, some shopping malls have opened up again.

[05:25:00]

HOLMES (voice-over): The lockdown has been a challenge for many, during Ramadan. In the capital, a group of volunteers was seen, out feeding the meal that Muslims eat after sundown to break their Ramadan fast. They have managed to feed around 1,000 people per day, many of whom lost their jobs during the pandemic and cannot afford food.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I am fasting, I pull my rickshaw in the sun but I make very little earnings and I'm supported by Iftar. So I come here for free food and park my rickshaw by the road.

HOLMES (voice-over): Across South Asia, so many reasons to get COVID under control --Michael Holmes, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: One of the largest gas suppliers in the U.S. was the victim of a major cyberattack. The East Coast relies on this pipeline system for nearly half of its fuel.

So what kind of impact will this disruption have on consumers and how is the White House responding?

We'll explain ahead.

Plus, Russia celebrates 76 years since Nazi Germany surrendered. The Russian military went on full display for a traditional parade, all against the backdrop of testy relations with the west. Stay with us.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

BRUNHUBER: Welcome back to all of you watching us here in the United States, Canada and around the world.

A major U.S. pipeline company was a the target of a ransomware cyberattack. Federal agencies are working with the Colonial Pipeline to investigate the breach. The company says it learned of the incident Friday, causing it to pause operations.

The cyberattack on such a critical part of the nation's infrastructure is raising serious concerns at the White House.

[05:30:00]

BRUNHUBER: Arlette Saenz reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: One of the largest fuel pipelines in the U.S. was forced to shut down due to a cyberattack. President Biden was briefed Saturday morning and the White House said the federal government are working actually to avoid disruption to supply and help the company restore pipeline operations as quickly as possible.

A White House official tells me that one thing they are really focusing on is analyzing just how much of the fuel supply will be impacted and affected by the shutdown. And the White House has also started reaching out across the energy sector to make sure that companies have protocols in place to prevent similar attacks like this from happening again.

Now very little is known about the actual attack itself. The owner of the pipeline, Colonial Pipeline, says that it involved ransomware and they have hired a third-party cybersecurity firm to assess the nature and scope of the incident.

But this is one of the largest pipelines in the United States that provides about half of the fuel oil supply to the East Coast. It runs from Houston to New York Harbor, carrying about 100 million gallons of gasoline each day.

And this all comes against the backdrop of concerns over possible vulnerabilities to the nation's critical infrastructure. That is something the Biden administration has been working on in the opening months of their administration and will continue to focus on in the coming months -- Arlette Saenz, CNN, the White House. (END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Explosions outside a girls' high school in Afghanistan Saturday killed more than 50 people and injured more than 100. The majority of the victims are reportedly students. Authorities say the blasts were caused by a car bomb and two improvised explosive devices. The Taliban has denied involvement.

This comes as the U.S. military withdraws from the country and is raising questions about a security vacuum and more insurgent violence after U.S. troops are gone.

Moscow's Victory Day parade just wrapped up. This year marks 76 years since the Soviet Union defeated Nazi Germany in World War II. Russia's troops, military vehicles and aircraft were on full display on the city's Red Square under president Vladimir Putin's watch. CNN's Fred Pleitgen is also watching in Moscow.

Fred, the context of this makes it a little different this year with COVID and growing tensions with the West.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, COVID growing tensions with the West, also a new president in the White House as well. And one of the things that we also have to keep in mind is that we might be a month or maybe less away from a possible summit between Presidents Biden and Putin. That certainly could set the tone for the relations between Russia and the United States, at least for the next couple of years to come.

You're absolutely right. The context of this coming sort of at the tail end of the pandemic last year being a key day for the Russian's 75th anniversary. It couldn't take place on the 9th of May. The country was in a really hard lockdown at that point in time, so therefore this parade and the day, this day very special for Russia.

And certainly, also something that a lot of people here have been watching very closely. You're also absolutely right, it comes, Kim, at a time of continued heightened tensions, in some way escalating tensions between Russia and the West, specifically also between Russia and the United States.

You had the U.S., of course, taking some serious retaliatory action for the SolarWinds hacking, also for election meddling in the 2020 election. Both countries expelling diplomats from one another.

But then you also had Russia amassing what some say is well over 100,000 troops at the southern border with Ukraine. Now a lot of those troops have so far or since then withdrawn. But that, of course, again fueled tensions.

Vladimir Putin spoke at this event. He tried to frame things in a way that he says Russia is the country being threatened by the West. I want to read you a key portion of what he said or we believe is a key portion.

Quote, "The war," meaning World War II, "brought so many unbearable trials, grief and tears. It is impossible to forget it."

Then comes the phrase, "and there is no forgiveness and excuse for those who again contemplate aggressive plans."

And that's certainly something, hearing from Russian officials, they believe, that Russia is the country that is under threat from Western nations, specifically, of course, from NATO as well. We've seen some of those tensions between Russia and Ukraine, between Russia and the United States.

So certainly, an important piece of that context on this day but, by and large, of course, for the folks here in Russia and for many other -- for people in many of the former Soviet Union countries.

[05:35:00]

PLEITGEN: A day to celebrate the very massive contributions that the Soviet Union made to defeating Nazi Germany -- Kim.

BRUNHUBER: Always appreciate your analysis. Fred Pleitgen, thank you very much.

Nicola Sturgeon's party's has won the country's parliamentary election but it's fallen short of a majority. The Scottish National Party picked up an extra seat compared to 2016. Together with the Green Party, there is now a pro independence majority in parliament.

Sturgeon is now promising to hold another independence reference. CNN's Scott McLean is standing by in London.

Lots of threads to pull out from these elections. We have to start with Scotland.

What is the significance of this result?

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Kim. Yes, so the significance is the kingmaker in Scotland in the Scottish Parliament is the Green Party which is also a pro independence party, which really bolsters the case for a new Scottish independence referendum.

But it's unlikely that we will see that anytime soon. We are much more likely to see a lot of politicking, saber rattling and maybe even some legal wrangling over this issue. That's because the power to actually grant a Scottish independence referendum lies with politicians in Westminster at the British Parliament, not the Scottish parliament.

The Scottish parliament can vote in favor of holding a Scottish referendum. That would likely be challenged in the courts by Boris Johnson's majority party in Westminster. They could hold an unauthorized referendum to try to make the case that, look, Scotland has voted. They have voted to leave the U.K.

Even if that were to be the result, and it's not clear that it would be, that would also likely be held up in court and certainly would not be recognized internationally, at least not at first. So there is a long road ahead there. And also the Scottish Green Party

also seemed to pour cold water on that idea of an unauthorized referendum. They're saying any referendum that is held, they want to be legally binding. They want it to be internationally recognized. So they don't want something held up in the courts for years.

All of that said, the SNP is promising none of this is going to be discussed until the pandemic is clearly behind us, Kim.

BRUNHUBER: All right. We'll watch for that obviously. Scott McLean in London, thank you so much.

The chief minister of Jersey is vowing to resolve dispute with French fishermen. Post Brexit fishing permits went into effect for the island last week. That's led to headaches, confusion and anxiety for the fishermen who make their livelihood on these waters. Our Nic Robertson has the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR (voice-over): Back to what they know best. Jersey skipper Adrian and crewman, Harry, hauling the harvest from the sea, undisturbed.

Angry French fishermen, gone.

But the dispute over fishing rights?

Not done. A post Brexit-for-tat, France refusing their catch, after Jersey withheld permits for French boats.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now the markets are closed in France, so we're just going fishing because it's a nice day.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Among Jersey's tiny fishing fleet, a sense of foreboding: most of what they land goes through France. Many aren't bothering to fish.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We can't sell our fish to France. We can sell a little bit, locally but we catch way more than the local market needs.

ROBERTSON: What does that do to your livelihood?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Destroying it, slowly.

We've had a couple of really hard years and this could just be another nail in the coffin for Jersey's fishing industry.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Jersey didn't vote on Brexit or get a say on the new U.K.-E.U. trade agreement. But it is bound by its terms, leaving fishermen feeling caught in a Brexit whiplash.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's not just us, is it?

The whole of the south coast of England will have trouble exporting their stuff into France. ROBERTSON (voice-over): The island's chief minister, disagrees. Season

end in sight.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For French fishermen, they can demonstrate that they meet the thresholds for the time to fish in their waters and essentially, they'll be going from the old permit to a new permit. All they need to get through is this transitional period.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Pressure is on him, too. Brexit's torturous birth has his island, with its close historic ties to France, snared in its myriad complexities, leading, he says, to confuse license submissions by some French fishermen.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The data we received through the process goes up from France, to Paris, to Brussels, United Kingdom, back down to us. It's incomplete or incorrect in certain instances.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Back in the harbor, we hope the chief minister is right.

[05:40:00]

ROBERTSON: Your politicians good enough to stand up for the French right now?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know, the jury is out. They've been weak, they've rolled over to the French numerous times. But the last couple of days, they seem to be taking a tougher stance, which I think is good, because you can't give in to bullies.

ROBERTSON: The drama of the French fisherman's dispute seems done for now, at least diplomacy is kicking in. But was so much at stake it will still be a rocky ride ahead -- Nic Robertson, CNN, off the coast of Jersey.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: And just ahead on CNN NEWSROOM.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Come on, a stranger sleeping at your home, do you -- how can we feel safe about that?

BRUNHUBER (voice-over): Why China is forcing some families to host government officials inside their homes. Stay with us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

BRUNHUBER: The U.S. Navy has seized thousands of what it says are illicit weapons in the North Arabian Sea. The cache includes rocket launchers and Chinese made assault rifles. The Navy says it discovered the cargo aboard a stateless vessel during

routine flag verification, boarding in international waters according with international law. The origin source and destination of the weapons are under investigation. The crew was questioned and ultimately released.

Imagine being told you had to host a government official every month who would eat and sleep in your home. That's part of a Chinese government policy that ramped up in the country in 2016, just as the authorities were allegedly detaining up to 2 million Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities into internment camps.

They insist the government home stays were popular. Ivan Watson speaks to several Uyghurs, who said they had to live in constant fear.

[05:45:00]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Playing with children, sharing meals, teaching Communist Party thought. These are some of the activities of the more than 1 million people sent by the Chinese government to live with the families of mostly Muslim ethnic minorities in China's Xinjiang region.

A very public policy, Beijing says, is aimed at promoting ethnic unity and battling religious extremism by forcing families to host government officials in their homes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We aren't happy with this.

WATSON: An ethnic Uyghur, living in Sweden, says that her parents in Xinjiang have played host to Chinese officials.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Come on, a stranger, sleeping at your home. How can we feel safe about that?

WATSON (voice-over): The policy has been promoted by state media and careful portrayals show outsiders, enthusiastically welcomed into the homes of ethnic Uyghurs. Strangers, sent by the government to teach their hosts how to wear makeup and even, how to wash their hands.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I brought the concept of modern life into their home, so that they can live a better and more civilized life.

WATSON: Did you have any choice whether or not to keep these people in your home?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): No, we had no choice.

WATSON: This woman is an ethnic Uyghur from Xinjiang, living in the U.S. She said she was forced to host four Chinese officials in her home for 10 days every month. If she resisted, she said she risked being sent to an internment camp. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): We had to pretend we were

happy. If we did not, then the government would view that as us being against their policies.

WATSON (voice-over): Ryan Thum (ph), an expert in Uyghur history, says the home state program has a sinister motive.

RYAN THUM (PH), UYGHUR HISTORY EXPERT: It's a combined indoctrination and monitoring project.

WATSON: This is a 2018 memo, produced by the government in Kashgar prefecture. For officials, sent to live with families. It instructs them how to find problems, spotting red flags, that the authorities say, could be signs of religious extremism.

Telling officials to look for religious objects, hanging on the walls and "ask children questions while playing with them, because children never lie."

Thum calls this, the ultimate invasion of privacy.

THUM: There is no private space they can retreat to, where they can act in ways that they are comfortable.

WATSON (voice-over): An Australian born woman says that her in laws had no choice but to host a police officer in their house, for months, in 2018 while her husband languished in an internment camp.

WATSON: Did you ever hear how your family felt about this man living in their house?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They were very scared. They just spoke about, how at night, they couldn't sleep properly, because it was just to know, there was a strange man in the other room, who is also sleeping. Pretty much, they were living in constant fear.

WATSON (voice-over): The Chinese government's rosy portrayal of its home stay program, challenged by Uyghurs in exile, who claim, the hosts are actually hostages -- Ivan Watson, CNN, Hong Kong.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: And we'll be right back.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:50:00]

(MUSIC PLAYING)

BRUNHUBER: The Olympic torch is heading to Tokyo after completing its journey through Nagasaki Saturday. But with fewer than three months to the beginning of the Summer Olympics, there are growing calls to cancel the games. Japan extended the state of emergency in Tokyo due to a surge in

COVID-19 cases. Now despite the growing number of cases, Japan's prime minister says the games are still on and athletes say they are risking their lives by participating. Here's the story of a 73-year-old paralympian hoping to compete in her fifth.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KIMIE BESSHO, PARALYMPIAN: (Speaking foreign language).

SELINA WANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: She is a paralympic legend, known as the Butterfly Lady, 73-year-old Kimie Bessho, donning her trademark hair clips for every match. She is aiming to be in her fifth Summer Games, a competition, she says, she is risking her life for.

WANG: How are you feeling amid the uncertainty of the games and this pandemic?

"I am prepared to die under these circumstances," she tells me. But I don't want to die of COVID. If I die, I want to die in competition, after a winning smash.

Bessho, like the thousands of Olympic hopefuls around the world, is training constantly, despite mounting anxiety. She's been unable to get vaccinated, amid a fourth wave of COVID cases in Japan. She doesn't even know yet if she can be in the Paralympics. Qualifiers are weeks away, in Slovenia.

"Vaccinations are unbelievably slow here," she tells me. "I called the health center and health ministry, many times, asking on what goes on with the vaccines."

[00:55:00]

WANG (voice-over): Bessho says she is unable to get vaccinated before her qualifiers and she is scared to go on an international trip. Even though the games are just months away, Japan has only fully vaccinated less than 1 percent of its population, drastically behind other developed countries.

Just 0.1 percent of senior citizens have had a single dose. A key lawmaker said vaccinations for people over 65, which only started this month, may not be finished until end of this year or next. The prime minister has declared another state of emergency in several prefectures, as Japan reports thousands of new cases per day, driven by more contagious variants.

Compare that to last March, when the games were postponed and the country was reporting less than 100 cases per day. Experts say the games could turn into a superspreader event.

Even one of the highest-ranking members in Japan's ruling party said this month, cancellation remained an option.

[05:55:00] WANG (voice-over): But Bessho is no stranger to adversity. She played sports as a child, volleyball, track and skiing. When she was 38, her husband fell ill and died. She was diagnosed with cancer 2 years after. And the operation to get rid of the cancer left her paralyzed. The doctor said she would only have 3 years to live.

"At the time, I wanted to end my life. I couldn't do anything myself," she tells me. "I became disabled but I was also given a great gift, to play wheelchair table tennis."

She started the sport at age 45 and, by 56, she was in her first Paralympic Games. But after the fourth Paralympics, she suffered another setback. She was injured in two severe car accidents.

"I have been through so many hard times but I am mentally strong and I have a fighting spirit in me," she tells me. "No matter how old I, am I will still beat the younger players."

She says she will fly through the Paralympics just like a butterfly -- Selina Wang, CNN, Tokyo.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Billionaire Elon Musk opened "Saturday Night Live" by joking with his mother about the cryptocurrency dogecoin.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYE MUSK, ELON MUSK'S MOTHER: Well, break a leg tonight. I love you very much.

ELON MUSK, TECH BILLIONAIRE: I love you too, Mom.

(APPLAUSE)

M. MUSK: And I'm excited for my Mother's Day gift. I just hope it's not dogecoin.

E. MUSK: It is.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Britain Well, dogecoin's value dropped sharply after that joke. That's power for you.

That wraps CNN NEWSROOM. "NEW DAY" is just ahead.