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Russian Warship Sinks; Russia's War on Ukraine; Clashes Erupt in Jerusalem; Cruise Ship Turned Shelter; Cases Escalate Amid China's Zero COVID Policy; Coronavirus Pandemic; Flooding Damage in South Africa; New York Subway Shooter Denied Bail; Queen Elizabeth Cancels Recent and Upcoming Engagements; Refugees Helping Other Refugees. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired April 15, 2022 - 03:00   ET

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

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[03:00:00]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN. More people get their news from CNN than any other news source.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL NEWS ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm John Vause, live in Lviv, Ukraine.

Coming up this hour, a huge blow from Russia's naval power with the high-tech guided missile cruiser, the Moskva, now at the bottom of the Black Sea.

KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN NEWSROOM ANCHOR: And I'm Kim Brunhuber live in Atlanta with developing news Out of Israel, dozens of people have been hurt in clashes in one of Jerusalem's holiest sites. We're like in Jerusalem with the latest.

VAUSE: We begin with what could be a major victory for Ukraine's military and a huge blow to the Russian navy with the sinking of the Moskva, flagship of Russia's Black Sea naval fleet. The Russia News Agency Task reports the guided missile cruiser sank while being towed to port after a major fire onboard. Ukrainian fighters say, the ship was hit by two Neptune missiles and critical claim according to sources familiar with U.S. and Western intelligence.

Meantime, Russia preparing for a major offensive to capture parts of the Donbas region. Adding command and control and aviation capabilities to forces already in the East. And a senior U.S. defense official says, the first Russian troops who withdrew from Northern Ukraine about two weeks ago are now arriving in the East.

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VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): During the 50 days of full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation, they shelled at Donbas is the main target for Russia. It is Donbas that Russia wants to destroy in the first place. It is the Luhansk and Donetsk regions that Russian troops are destroying. As if they only want stones to be left and no people to be left at all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Ukrainians say, they have stopped at least one advance in the Kharkiv region. Special operation forces say, they destroyed a bridge just as the Russian convoy of trucks and armored vehicles was crossing. CNN correspondents are spread out across the region carrying this conflict from every angle. Scott McLean in Estonia, Nic Robertson in London, but we begin with Fred Pleitgen reporting in from Kyiv on the sinking of the Russian warship, the Moskva.

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FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): It seems like a massive blow to Russia's war against Ukraine. Ukraine's forces saying, they've struck the flagship of Putin's Black Sea fleet, the guided missile cruiser, Moskva. I spoke exclusively with Ukraine's national security adviser.

PLEITGEN (on camera): Can you tell us what happened to the cruiser Moskva?

PLEITGEN (voiceover): It sank, he says, jokingly.

Russia admits the ship has indeed sunk, but has not yet acknowledged it was struck by Kyiv. Instead, it says it was badly damaged by a fire and then sank while being towed in stormy seas.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Or you will be hit. Acknowledge.

The Moskva was involved in a now famous incident in a place called Snake Island, when its crew told Ukrainian soldiers to surrender. This was the answer.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Russian warship, go -- yourself.

PLEITGEN (voiceover): The event has become so legendary in Ukraine they've commemorated it with a special stamp. People of this post office in Kyiv standing in line to get it.

An important event happened yesterday. Our armed forces destroyed the aggressor's flagmen ship. I think this event has to have a place in everyone's memory, this man says.

The Ukrainians say, they managed to hit the ship, which has formidable defenses systems, with Ukrainian Neptune anti-ship missiles.

The Moskva was still there near the Snake Island and was hit yesterday by two powerful Ukrainian made missiles, he says.

And then a warning to Putin. This is just the beginning, he says. There will be more than one Moskva.

But the leadership in Kyiv understands the next major battles will be different and possibly even more bloody as Russian tanks and artillery pour into the Donbas region.

This horde has invaded our country and they think we will watch them destroy us, he says. But, of course, we will respond by all means that we have. Thanks to our international partners, we have interesting tools.

The U.S. and its allies have already provided Ukraine with billions of dollars' worth of weapons and are now moving to give Kyiv heavier arms to counter Vladimir Putin's tank battalions. The national security adviser says, Ukraine needs all the firepower it can get.

I would never say that the Russian army is weak, he says. Given the amount of weapons thrown there, the number of tanks, armored personnel carriers, planes and helicopters, I would not say this is a weak army. I would say, these are strong Ukrainian soldiers who fight back such a powerful army.

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These territorial defense soldiers in Kyiv are vowing to keep up the fight. Their elite troops gearing up to head East.

We are absolutely prepared for this. We have both fighting spirit and fighting mood. We are patriots of our country. And of course, we will fight back the enemy, this soldier who goes by the name, Vlad, The Rifle, tells me.

And They vow, just like in Kyiv, they will confront the Russian army once again. Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Kyiv.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: With Sweden and Finland both inching closer to applying for NATO membership, Russia has warned that would force the deployment of nuclear weapons to the Baltic region as a way of strengthening the border. But many have dismissed that threat. Among them, Carl Bildt, a former prime minister of Sweden, who tweeted this, in an effort to scare Sweden and Finland away from NATO, Dimitri Medvedev, the man who made the threat, says that Russia could move nuclear weapons to the Baltic area. It's a fairly empty threat, he goes on to say, since Russia has already done so.

In 2018 the Federation of American Scientists reported Russia upgrades nuclear weapon storage site in Kaliningrad. But it's about allocated 50 kilometers from the border with Poland and not far from Lithuania. CNN's Nic Robertson joins us now live from London with more on this. And Nic, the point that many are making here is that this threat by Dimitri Medvedev, a former Russian president, doesn't actually change anything on the ground and in a military sense. It's a status quo, really. NIC ROBERTSON, CNN'S INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: It is. And indeed, it only strengthens the will -- only strengthened the belief in Finland's government, position likely that of its people from what it'd seen in Ukraine which is the invasion of Ukraine changed everything for them. They're calculus that Russia is embarked to a more risky behaviors and that could affect them. That if, Russia is going to make threats like this and be more bellicose. And certainly, Medvedev has been one of the most bellicose of Putin's allies. Then this only reinforces their view that Russia's is a more risky prospect, more dangerous, and therefore they need the support of NATO, which is the direction they're headed in.

It does -- and as you say, all the indications are that Russia already has this nuclear tactical missiles, long-range missiles in Kaliningrad which is behind the Baltic States on the Gulf of Finland. It already is right on the edge of Europe. It already is just across the sea from Helsinki. So no, it doesn't change anything. More reinforces, the view already being taken in Finland.

VAUSE: Finland actually does have a peace treaty with Russia. It was renewed again, what, in 1992. Is there anything in that which could prevent Finland from joining NATO, at least -- sort of a legal sense?

ROBERTSON: Yes, the non-alliance status that they had, they had an agreement to not take sides against Russia. In fact, to support Russia from 1948 in the, sort of, embers of the second World War. 1992 the end of the Soviet Union, they come to a new agreement, that agreement from the Russian perspective allowed Finland to join the European Economic Community, the European Union as we know it.

Finland is taking measures in its proposal. This is going to be under discussion beginning next week in parliament and Helsinki. To mitigate against some of the, sort of, historic concerns, if you like, that Russia might have had. It's not going to allow to -- allow Finland to have permanent NATO bases or permit NATO troops pr position nuclear weapons on its soil. All of these are steps that are sort of designed to signal to Russia that Finland itself is not taking a more belligerent position.

I mean, look at Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary even now. All these countries, all these NATO nations, have now taken on a level of foreign international NATO member troops and bases. Not a permanent bases, per agreement with Russia, but a temporary bases where military equipment is permanently stored.

Finland is staying away from that. It's saying, look, we've got a strong army, a well-equipped army, a modern defense force. This already integrated with NATO. We don't need those initial NATO forces. I think that step is designed to mitigate against some of Russia's concerns.

VAUSE: Just very quickly, if you look, sort of, the history here of what Vladimir Putin has been trying to achieve with his military -- special military operations here. First with the invasion of Crimea. And now this full-on, you know, invasion of Ukraine.

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There is always this concerned that he wanted to push back NATO forces away from, you know, from those Eastern European countries, away from the Western part of Russia. Every time he's gotten back to on one of these, you know, invasions or military operations, it has drawn NATO so much closer. U.S. forces so much costs to the border with Russia. As a strategy, it's not working very well.

ROBERTSON: It's not. But it is keeping him in power and that works very well for him. You know, his popularity soared after he invaded Ukraine and annexed, illegally, Crimea in 2014. And his popularity rating went up to over 90 percent. It was sitting before the invasion of Ukraine, this time it was sitting in the, fort of, mid 60 percent. It is a relatively high number. But that actually is a large part of Putin's calculus about staying in power. Amassing the money and this -- and the popular support and manipulating that popular support. You have to figure at some point the Russian population, despite the misinformation, they're going to realize Putin's tactics have been completely wrong. They've delivered the opposite of what he said they would. But at the moment, Russians don't get that.

VAUSE: Yes, the opposite in so many ways. The high casualty counts. The loss of material, now the Moskva. It just goes on and on. Nic, thank you. Nic Robertson, live for us in London. We appreciate it.

BRUNHUBER: Tensions are high at one of Jerusalem's holiest sites following clashes between Palestinians and Israeli Security Forces. The Palestinians say, left at least 90 people injured. It happened after Friday dawn prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque compound this morning. So, for more on this, Hadas Gold is in Jerusalem. Hadas, what's the latest?

HADAS GOLD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kim, I'm at the Damascus gate entrance, this is one of the main entrances for Muslim worshippers to enter the old city of Jerusalem. Tensions had already been high. Nerves were on edge. Not least because today is a unique day where Ramadan, Good Friday, and Passover all overlap.

What you can see behind me at the entrance to the old city is crowds of people trying to enter, including tourists who are kind of caught up in all of this. Israeli security forces seem to be limiting the people who can go in. We did hear that earlier they were already limiting the people who could enter the Al-Aqsa compound which is within these gates. They were limiting them to only people over the age of 50 or women of any ages. Trying to limit young men out of the compound.

What we know is around 5:00 a.m. we start -- we were actually in the old city, and we started hearing the booms and the firecrackers of clashes. And according to the Israeli police they say that, they were responding to violent rioters, they say. throwing rocks and launching fireworks. They responded with stun grenades and rubber bullets. According to the Palestinian Red Crescent, at least 100 people now, this is most recent numbers we have, have been injured as a relative result of those clashes. The Israeli police say three of their officers have been injured. The situation is incredibly serious right now. Also, because we are seeing some social media videos of Israeli forces within the actual mosque itself. That is seen as very provocative to Muslims. And there is a concern that this could spark an either -- even wider conflict. Because, keep in mind, it was a year ago, right around this time, right around Ramadan when tensions and clashes in drew, some including at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound helped spark off that 11-day war between Hamas Militants in Gaza and Israel.

Now, tensions already been rising in Israel and across the West bank as the Israeli military stepped up their operations in raids in West bank in response to a series of terror attacks in Israel that killed 14 people in less than three weeks. So, tensions were already high. But then the tensions at Al-Aqsa are only bringing things even higher. The question it will be, will the militant group Hamas in Gaza respond and how? Kim.

BRUNHUBER: Absolutely. Things seemed poised on a knife size. We'll keep following that story. Hadas Gold live in Jerusalem. Appreciate it.

Well, it's crowded but safe in a big upgrade from a warzone. We'll have a look inside in an Estonian cruise ship that is now sheltering Ukrainian refugees. When we come back. Stay with us.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I came to visit my son on February 18th. I had a return ticket to go back to Kharkiv on February 25th to go home. However, on the 24th of February, Putin's aggression meant I could not go back to Ukraine. Now, I work as a volunteer.

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VAUSE: Refugees helping refugees as this war drags on much longer than so many expected. But in many places. resources are being stretched because of the length of this conflict. And because so many Ukrainians continue to escape across the borders into other countries. The latest numbers now from U.N., these numbers continue to rise, 4.7 million people have left this country since the fighting began. And more than seven million are internally displaced. That means they've left their homes here in Ukraine, usually in the East, for somewhere in the West.

Now on Thursday, nine humanitarian corridors were agreed upon. Ukraine authorities say more than 2500 people were evacuated. And some of those fleeing Ukraine have traveled North to study. This Baltic State and NATO member all too familiar with living with a Russian threat and is now taking care of Ukrainians who are in desperate in need. Scott McLean shows some unique solutions to overcrowding and the need for accommodation.

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SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): Passengers onboard the Isabelle are usually shuttling between Latvia and Sweden. But for at least the next few months, Isabelle, will be docked in Tallinn, Estonia and be home to some 1,300 Ukrainian refugees.

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Almost all of them are women and children. There are kids in every corner of the ship. Using the ballroom for a soccer match, learning to ride a bike, or learning remotely. The ships dining room now serves three meals a day. The Duty Free shop has turned into a storage room. And everywhere you look, people are trying to adjust to their new surroundings.

MCLEAN (on camera): Most of the people onboard this ship have come here from hotels in the city. Of course, for the government, that was getting pretty expensive. So, they moved them onboard this ship where there's plenty of common areas but the rooms are tiny. This is one of the bigger ones meant for a family of three, there's barely enough room for a mattress. Of course, this is better than the floor of a gymnasium and a lot better than a basement in Ukraine.

MCLEAN (voiceover): For Yuliya Babkova, just about anything is better than living through war in Kyiv with her two young children. This is the second time she's been force from her home. In 2014 she fled Donetsk while pregnant with her daughter, now seven. This time her husband was forced to stay behind.

I don't know what will happen or when I will see my husband, she says. The first time we fled, he was with us the whole time. And now, we've already been separated for one month. How do we feel in the situation? It's hard. I want to go home.

Online classes for Lena Berenza's son were cut short because air raid sirens in their small town in central Ukraine forced his teacher to shelter underground. Those same sirens once terrified both of them.

The more the sirens came, the more my son started to panic and worry, she says. It really affected his mental health to the point he became physically ill. I was also worrying a lot so we decided to leave. Her older son, 18 years old, had to stay behind.

All told, Estonia has now taken in more than 30,000 Ukrainians. The minister responsible for refugees says Estonians know what it's like to be forced from home and what it's like to have an unfriendly neighbor.

SIGNE RISALO, ESTONIAN MISTER OF SOCIAL PROTECTION: Estonia is absolutely terrified by Russia throughout our history.

MCLEAN (on camera): Are there limits to this country's generosity?

RISALO: There can't be limit. You can see what happens in Ukraine. We do not have only the war. This is crime scene, really. There can't be limit.

MCLEAN (voiceover): Many Ukrainians, though, have reached there's. Overwhelmed by war and exhausted by the uncertainty, their nightmare cannot end soon enough. Scott McLean, CNN, Tallinn, Estonia.

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VAUSE: Maybe it's time for a little bit of good news. Something to make us all feel good about ourselves. This is a reunion, it was a puppy pulled from the rubble of a house, which was destroyed in the Donetsk region. The dog survived, the Russian owner also -- sorry, the owner who survived the Russian attack, I should say, so did the 77- year-old owner of the house. So, puppy was pulled from that rubble and the two of them reunited. Police say, man and dog got medical care. There he is. Both doing well. That's some good news for a change.

If you like to help the people of Ukraine who are in need of shelter, or food, water, medical supplies, roof over their head, please go to cnn.com/impact. There you'll find ways that you can be sure that the money you give, whatever you can give, we'll be going to the people who need it the most. We'll take a short break. When we come back on CNN Newsroom, China's zero-COVID policy intensifying as cases of the virus soar. A live report from one of China's hot zones in a moment.

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RICHARD GELFOND, CEO, IMAX: The world is changing. The industry is changing. The windows are changing. Things going to streaming our changing. And I think if you're a company that just sits around and says, I'm going to do the things the same way I've done them for the past 20 years, you're going to be left in the dust. So, IMAX has been looking to move into other areas.

We did a live stream with Kanye and Drake, and that was really successful. People dancing in the theaters. We also, in a related way, did a deal with Disney+ where we're now on that service.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At least we have front row seats. (END VIDEO CLIP)

GELFOND: And for a number of the big Marvel titles, you could see them with IMAX aspect ratio. So, the core movie business is doing extremely well. But I think we have to lead the way to a transition to the new world and look at new ways of doing things.

VAUSE: 20 minutes past the hour. Welcome back, everyone. I'm John Vause, live in Lviv, Ukraine. The European official who is likely to prosecute war crimes in Ukraine described the entire country as a crime scene. Karim Khan is chief prosecutor at the International Criminal Court at the Hague. He's now visited two towns in Kyiv, where mass graves and other atrocities were discovered after Russian troops withdrew. After that, Khan spoke with CNN. And he said even if the prosecution of war crimes is difficult, it is important that the world have all the facts.

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KARIM KHAN, CHIEF PROSECUTOR, INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT: We can't be naive about things. We need to be realistic. But the first thing is first, collect the evidence, preserve it, analyze it, and you know, make determinations based on what it chose. And those determinations can be checked by judges. Common front needs to be built based upon legality because it affects Ukraine. But it affects all parts of the world. Because of the rule's base system and the principles of public international law that have been rendered much more meaningful. Not to judges in their gowns or advocates in the court room. But to the men and women and children that you see on the streets and refugee camps that are completely innocent and that suffer horrendous crimes time and time and time again.

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VAUSE: The International Criminal Court opened an investigation into alleged Russian war crimes in early March, barely a week after the start of the Russian invasion.

Well, earlier in the program, I spoke with a former American ambassador to Ukraine about how the Ukrainians have gained confidence on the battlefield. And I asked, 51 days into this war, what does victory look like for Ukraine? And are they on the same page as Europe, NATO, and the U.S.?

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STEVEN PIFER, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO UKRAINE: Ideally, the Ukrainians would like to drive the Russians out of Ukraine and get back at least to the status quo on February 23rd. Zelenskyy, as I said, is also, I think prepared to negotiate. He wants to stop the killing of Ukrainians. And there's going to be some hard decisions. On the one hand, Zelenskyy wants to stop the killing of Ukrainians. He also has positions of principle that he wants to protect. And my guess is, he understands that some concessions, if we were to consider them, might face some blow back from the Ukrainian population, which I think is becoming more determined as a result of this fighting.

And so, it seems to me that the position for the United States and the West is, let Zelenskyy and his government determine the terms of any settlement if it gets to that point. You know, we can't tell him to accept a bad deal. And also, if there is a deal that he believes which Ukrainians trust, we should not tell him not to take that deal.

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VAUSE: (INAUDIBLE) certainly a little earlier. Now, let's get back to Kim Brunhuber at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta for the rests of today's news. Thank you.

BRUNHUBER: John, thanks so much. Appreciate it.

New York's subway shooting suspect Frank James will stay behind bars for the time being. He was denied bail during his initial court appearance in New York, Thursday. James didn't enter a plea to a charge related to terrorism in an attack on mass transit. Prosecutors say, James set off two smoke grenades and open fire during morning rush hour Tuesday. 29 people were injured, including 10 with gunshot wounds, four victims are still hospitalized. Investigators didn't say what his motive might have been.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted emergency use authorization to the first COVID-19 breath test. The FDA says, the inspector breathalyzer is the bout the size of carry-on luggage, and can give results in less than three minutes. A study shows the test is accurately identifying more than 91 percent of positive samples in all of the negative ones. Now, it does this by identifying chemical compounds associated with the infection. The FDA still recommends results to be confirmed with a PCR test.

In the UK, the medicines regulator has approved a new COVID-19 vaccine. It was developed by the Valneva company. The regulator says, it was the first in the world to approve this vaccine, and it's the sixth vaccine approved for use in the UK. It's also the first vaccine approved in the UK that uses an inactive virus grown in a lab which can't infect cells but can trigger an immune response.

Shanghai is reporting more than 23,000 new COVID cases, that's 95 percent of all new infections reported across China on Thursday. Now, this comes as more than 40 Chinese cities are under full or partial lockdowns to stop the latest COVID outbreak which, still, maybe getting worse. Shanghai is battling China's worst COVID outbreak since the virus first emerged in Wuhan in late 2019.

So, for more on that, I'm joined by CNN's David Culver in Shanghai. So, first, David, before we look at the lockdown it's all for -- big picture, what's the latest on the number of cases there?

DAVID CULVER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Still a pretty significant increase that's continuing here. I mean, you've got more than 23,000 cases. The one thing that you look at with this daily case count, Kim, is that it is down a bit from yesterday. But still, when you go back a month, you're talking about double digits. Now, we're more than 20,00. So, it's still concerning enough for officials to continue to move forward with the rapid construction of makeshift hospitals.

Already, they have more than 100 makeshift hospitals. We know that they are turning in some offices into some of this quarantine isolation centers. It's trying to, on their part, contain as much of this as possible by putting the positive cases in those locations. But when you go outside of Shanghai, you talked about more than 40 other cities in this country, likewise, dealing with outbreaks. A lot of those along China's coast, so think about the impact on ports, and in turn shipping, and in turn the global supply chain. Adding more concerns there.

But also, the cities that have not yet had the major outbreaks are looking at the horror stories from Shanghai. And they're saying, hey, wait a minute. We need to stock up. So, we're starting to see, Kim, this panic spread in other places like neighboring Suzhou, down in Guangzhou as well. And they're starting to try to prepare as best as possible for a similar lockdown scenario. Even though officials there are saying that it's not yet going to happen and they're saying that it may never happen, folks nonetheless, looking at what's happened here and they're saying that we need to prepare.

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BRUNHUBER: Yes, absolutely. And you can imagine they wouldn't want to be going through what you guys are going through. I mean, for some people the lockdown was lifted at least a little bit. But you -- you've been going through these fairly draconian measures firsthand. How are folks handling it?

CULVER: I think it's the uncertainty, too, Kim. Because it's now -- if you go back earlier this week, we were sealed inside. The door behind me from my terrace out had a tape seal on it and a paper seal that we weren't allowed to break. Now, we have what's considered kind of the middle tier of freedom, there's three altogether. And that means we can walk out that door and go down an alleyway and up to the gate of our compound. But we can't leave our compound onto the main street. Again, that's the middle tier.

The most freedom that folks are getting is f they have had no cases in their compound or community within the past 14 days. And that means they can essentially just roam around their neighborhood. And they can't really do much else than that because, well, most shops are closed in the rest of the city, the vast majority at least, is still in the hard lockdown. And that, of course, when people are sealed inside their homes. So that is continuing. And I think there's just a lot of uncertainty, and perhaps even doubt that this is going to end anytime soon.

BRUNHUBER: All right. David Culver in Shanghai. Thanks so much.

Flooding in South Africa has killed hundreds of people and damaged critical infrastructure. Necessities like electricity and clean drinking water are hard to come by. We'll have the latest after the break. Stay with us.

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SUSAN COPPEDGE, LAWYER, KREVOLIN & HORST: We're all consumers in this world. So, it's important to know where the products you are purchasing were made or came from. My name is Susan Coppedge and I presently practice law in Atlanta, Georgia at the law firm of Krevolin and Horst. Prior to that, I was President Obama's Ambassador-At-Large for the office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons at the U.S. State Department.

I believe the next focus for fighting human trafficking will be on what businesses can do to fair it out labor trafficking and their supply chains. We've gotten much better about being aware of the signs of human trafficking. And individuals can look for these when they go to a nail salon or a restaurant. And if they see indicators where people don't feel free to move about or aren't making eye contact or can't communicate without someone standing over them. Then they should call law enforcement.

It's very important not to be a hero, right there, in a moment yourself but to reach out to the appropriate authorities to do that. And I'd like to brag on two hometown companies that do this, which is Delta Airlines which has trained flight attendants to be aware of the signs of human trafficking. And also, UPS which has trained their drivers.

It's also very important to look at what the vulnerabilities are for trafficking survivors, and to go upstream of the problem and try to solve some of these vulnerabilities so that trafficking survivors don't fall prey in the first place.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In China, no wallet no problem. Here, using an app to make purchases is an everyday practice. The industry, so far, has been dominated by private companies. That could soon change. China's new additional currency known as the e-CNY made headlines at the Winter Olympic Games. A centralized virtual form of currency that can be used just like money across the country.

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DARREL DUFFIE, PROFESSOR OF FINANCE STANFORD GRADUATE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS: I think the role out at the Beijing Olympics is designed, in some ways, to show the flag internationally.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In other parts of the world has similar ambitions. The European Central Bank announced plans to create digital version of the Euro aiming to achieve this milestone by 2026. The United States, the world's biggest economy, is currently in the research phase of its own digital dollar, but will not yet proceed. Citing concerns around financial stability and privacy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BRUNHUBER: Queen Elizabeth will not be attending the Easter Sunday service at Windsor Castle, that's according to a royal source who says other members of the British royal family will be there. The Queen has canceled several public events lately. And recently revealed she's been feeling very tired and exhausted after getting COVID back in February. Joining us now from outside Buckingham Palace is CNN's Nada Bashir. Nada, our folks are worried about the Queen's health. What's the latest?

NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER: Well, certainly Kim, there are some concerns around the Queen's health condition. They it's traditionally a very important holiday weekend for the Queen. She would be gathering with family members, as you mentioned, but according to that royal source, she won't be attending the Easter service at Windsor Castle this year.

Now, those health concerns that you mentioned, we're heard that she expressed she has felt tired and exhausted after her bout of COVID in February. She has also been experiencing mobility issues in several engagements in recent weeks and months. We've seen the Queen opting to use a cane. And of course, in March, she did spend a night at a London Hospital where doctors carried out preliminary tests and advised the Queen to rest. She did take a break from royal engagements for some time. And there will certainly be a lot of focus on the Queen and on the royal family in the weeks to come.

She is due to celebrate her 96th birthday next week. And there will be celebrations to mark her platinum jubilee. Her 70th year on the throne in the beginning of June. So, that will certainly be a key focus where she will be gathering with family members or at least will be expected to gather with family members to mark that.

But while she has -- while she will be separated from family on Easter Sunday. We are hearing as well that she has met with other loved ones. She met with Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, that according to their spokesperson, who said that the couple made a stop at Windsor Castle on their way to the Invictus Games. Now, that is, of course, a hugely important event for Harry, the Duke of Sussex. He hasn't been -- the couple hasn't been seen together since January 2022 here in the UK. The -- Prince Harry, he missed his grandfather, Prine Phillips's, memorial service last month. But this is a hugely important event for the founder of the Invictus Games. And of course, (INAUDIBLE) spokesperson, he made that meeting with the Queen on his way to those games. Kim.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, I'm just wondering whether that meeting with the Queen, I mean, there's been certainly a lot of tension in the family. Was this a step towards (INAUDIBLE)?

BASHIR: Well perhaps, Kim. We have heard from Prince Harry over the last few weeks. He said, he hoped to meet with the Queen. He also revealed that the couple and their children had taken part in Zoom meetings, Facetiming with the Queen and other members of the royal family. So, there is still that connection there. Prince Harry has often expressed how important his family is to him. But of course, we didn't see him at that memorial service for his grandfather, the late Prince Philip. But we did see other members of the royal family gathered together. There wasn't a reason given for his absence at that memorial service He chose to stay in California. But, of course, there has to been a lot of scrutiny on the relationship between Prince Harry, the Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle, and other members of the royal family, particularly after the interview that they gave with Oprah Winfrey. So, there are certainly a lot of focus there. Not as unlikely to go away. Kim.

BRUNHUBER: All right. I appreciate the updates. Nada Bashir at Buckingham Palace. Thanks so much. And our breaking news coverage continues after this short break. Please do stay with us.

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PIPPA BAILEY, HEAD OF CLIMATE CHANGE & SUSTAINABILITY PRACTICE, IPSOS: My name Pippa Bailey. I work for Ipsos and I'm the head of climate change and sustainability practice. So, many companies that we speak to struggle with, you know, how to talk about sustainability. How to share the great campaigns that they're doing.

And there's kind of a number of guidelines people need to follow. First of all, making sure you've got your own house in order. That your, you know, own environment, social and governance policies are heading in the right direction before you can go, kind of, on the offensive with a campaign where you want to illustrate and what great work you're doing. But also, to kind of avoid brainwashing is making sure that that really fits under the brand banner that it represents what your brand is about. So that it feels very intuitive consumers for instance.

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BRUNHUBER: Un the U.S., authorities in South Dakota are responding to a number of winds related events as powerful gusts tear through the region. The highway patrol there says, there have been several crashes and rollover accidents, including this one of an overturned semi. Now, there have been no reports of serious injuries.

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And in Kentucky, the national weather service office in Louisville says at least four tornadoes touched down in the area on Thursday. Several homes were damaged and many more were left without power. Officials say, nobody was hurt.

The death toll from devastating floods along South Africa's Eastern Coast rose, Thursday, and more rain is in the forecast. Officials say, at least 341 people have died after several months' worth of rain fell around the city of Durban earlier this week. South Africa's President, Cyril Ramaphosa, said he saw the destruction from South, Wednesday. He issued a disaster declaration to unlock relief money. Now, the destruction has been described by local officials as, "Unprecedented." Now, the video you're seeing there shows people scrambling to get clean water from broken pipes. Many say they have nothing left.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There isn't water, electricity. As you can see, how we suffering. Yes, to get water. We coming far from (INAUDIBLE) to fetch water.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know whether we can get any help here. It's bad. It's bad. Everything is bad.

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BRUNHUBER: Some displaced flood victims are crowding into shelters that are also without power. Authorities say, more than 40,000 people are affected. And shipping operations in Durban, one of Africa's busiest ports, have also been disrupted. Satellite images show the destruction after the deluge.

Well, even as harrowing accounts of destruction emerge from Ukraine, so are details of courage and survival. CNN's Ed Lavandera speaks to one resident of Mariupol, who tried her best to deliver aid and offer support to citizens in hiding while she was running for her life.

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ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): When the first bomb struck Mariupol, Katya Erskaya thought her most effective weapon would be a gentle smile and the ability to calm terrified families. She lived in an underground shelter, coordinating relief supplies for the trapped civilians of this besieged city.

LAVANDERA (on camera): So, you're watching your city get bombed and destroyed, people are being killed, you decided not to leave but to help.

KATYA ERSKAYA, MARIUPOL RESIDENT: It's horrible that enemies didn't allow even children to go out from the city.

LAVANDERA (voiceover): Day by day, the video Katya captured showed life in Mariupol unraveling. She lost touch with the outside world. None of her family and friends outside the city knew if she was alive or dead. Life here was falling into an abyss.

ERSKAYA: It was like Middle Age.

LAVANDERA (on camera): It was like Middle Ages?

ERSKAYA: Yes.

LAVANDERA (on camera): It's almost like you could feel yourself running out of time. There is only so much longer you could stay in Mariupol.

ERSKAYA: I thought I will never go from Mariupol until the end.

LAVANDERA (voiceover): On March 16th, Katya evacuated. She recorded two short videos on her way out just before seeing a family walking on the side of the road, a mother, grandmother, and two young girls.

ERSKAYA: So, we had two or three places in our car and we saw this family and we decided to help them.

LAVANDERA (voiceover): At one of the Russian military checkpoints, they stopped in front of a soldier.

ERSKAYA: And he's -- show us, go out, and we began to turn on our car. And after that, he began to shoot.

LAVANDERA (voiceover): One of the bullets pierced the car over her head.

LAVANDERA (on camera): But in the backseat was 11-year-old Meliena Urolova (ph), shot in the face. The Russians realizing their mistake, sent the girl to a hospital. Katya, now separated, traveled on without knowing if the young girl survived. Until --

MELIENA UROLOVA, UKRAINIAN REFUGEE SHOT IN THE FACE BY RUSSIANS: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.

LAVANDERA (voiceover): CNN found Meliena in the basement of a children's hospital in Eastern Ukraine after surviving lifesaving surgery. For Katya, the relief is overwhelmed by the horrors of what she witnessed.

ERSKAYA: I saw a lot of dead people. A lot of common graves on the street, for example in (INAUDIBLE). And I started to believe that they crazy. Because they were like maniacs.

LAVANDERA (on camera): They were maniacs to you?

ERSKAYA: Yes, they -- they are really -- they're really crazy. Like Nazis in the second World War.

LAVANDERA (voiceover): After escaping, Katya remembered the video she recorded before the Russians ravaged Mariupol. Ukrainians protesting outside the now famous theater, that in a matter of weeks, would be the site of one of the most grotesque bombings in this war.

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The theater still intact. The cities buildings unscathed. She sees the peaceful faces of families and children. The video is hard to watch. Are these people alive or left in makeshift graves around the city? Katya Erskaya doesn't know, and for her there's only one way to deal with this haunting reality.

ERSKAYA: I decided that I will cry only when the Ukrainians get the victory.

LAVANDERA (voiceover): Ed Lavandera, CNN, Odessa, Ukraine.

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BRUNHUBER: I'm Kim Brunhuber. I'll be back with more CNN Newsroom and the latest developments live from Ukraine in just a minute. Please do stay with us.

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