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Ukraine Ends Defense Of Besieged Mariupol Plant; Sweden And Finland Launch Bids To Join NATO; Palestinian Mourners And Israeli Police Clash Around Funeral; Odessa Resists Russia As It Struggles With Its Past; Nearly 9 Million Afghans At Risk Of Famine Conditions; Shanghai Says Community Spread Of COVID-19 Eliminated; UFOs A "Potential National Security Threat." Aired 2-3p ET

Aired May 17, 2022 - 14:00   ET

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

[14:00:00]

LYNDA KINKADE, CNN HOST: Hello everyone, I'm Lynda Kinkade, you're watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Atlanta. Tonight, Ukraine ends its defense of a besieged steel plant in Mariupol, and hundreds of soldiers are evacuated. We'll have the latest from Kyiv. Then Finland's parliament votes in favor of applying to NATO. But will Turkey block their membership? I'll be joined by Finland's Minister for European Affairs.

And later, dozens of Palestinians are injured after Israeli police clashed with mourners at a funeral procession in Jerusalem. Ukraine calls them heroes who held out for weeks in catastrophic conditions, changing the course of the war. It's defending the decision to evacuate fighters from Mariupol, saying it was the only way they could leave a besieged steel plant alive. Both Ukraine and Russia say hundreds of fighters have left the last bastion of resistance in Mariupol, they're now in Russian-controlled territory, some being treated in hospitals.

Ukraine is hoping to exchange them for Russian prisoners of war, but no details have been released on any possible agreement. And we don't know exactly how many fighters may still be inside the Azovstal plant. Ukraine's deputy defense minister says they fulfilled their combat mission.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HANNA MALYAR, DEPUTY DEFENSE MINISTER, UKRAINE (through translator): Thanks to the defense put up by the Mariupol defenders, the enemy was prevented from the redeployment of its groups. These are approximately 20,000 personnel. The enemy was not able to redeploy them into other regions, and thus it was unsuccessful in rapid-taking of Zaporizhzhia.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: In the north, Ukrainian officials say there are many casualties from new Russian strikes in the Chernihiv region. But they say Russian efforts to advance on the ground in the east are being repelled. Well, let's get more now from CNN's Melissa Bell who joins us live from Kyiv. Hi, Melissa, Ukraine's armed forces say the defenders of Mariupol are heroes. Do we know just how many have been evacuated? Have been bused out of that steel plant? And are you learning anymore about this so-called prisoner swap?

MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, those bus-loads of evacuations have continued throughout the day. The many hundreds of fighters that have been holed up there in Azovstal, taken now to Russian-held territory. Some of them going to hospital for the worst wounded, others as we understand are being taken towards the border of Donetsk. But that prisoner swap that we expect to take place at some point, that has been the subject of negotiations between Ukraine and Russia.

Ever since we first learned at the beginning of those evacuations yesterday, remain, they continue, they have yet to yield any concrete signs of a deal of an actual prisoner swap. So, huge anxiety for all those families that have been watching and trying to secure the release of their loved ones that have been hoping that they'll come home.

And I think to understand their plight, you have to remember that these are fighters who had been there for several weeks now. Their medical supplies, their food was running out. And I think that is also important in remembering why their resistance was so stiff. Azovstal mattered a great deal, not only to Ukrainian morale as a symbol of its resistance, but actually, strategically to its fight to try and keep its country whole.

If we just have a look at the map of where -- what Russia now controls as a result of Azovstal. Azovstal fighters having surrendered, it's quite remarkable to see that at least one of those strategic aims of Vladimir Putin will be able to claim have clearly been achieved at this stage. A land bridge between what was Russian-held Crimea annexed back in 2014, and separatist-held Russian-backed People's Republic of Donetsk and Luhansk in the Donbas region.

That land bridge essentially means that in many ways, if Vladimir Putin decides to continue the war, he has a great advantage now in getting his troops together and moving northwards, and if he decides to stop it, he can claim to have achieved a substantial victory. Now, we've been hearing from Ukrainian officials that the negotiations between Russia and Ukraine to try and find an end to this war, a negotiated settlement have now officially been suspended.

[14:05:00]

With one of President Zelenskyy's advisors explaining that any idea of a partition of Ukraine, of accepting that there should be a dividing line between those parts of Ukraine that find themselves in Russian hands and the rest is simply not acceptable to Ukrainian forces. But that is where we are tonight, and that is what that surrender of those fighters meant in terms of the wider battle here in Ukraine.

Of course, it is the individual plight of those fighters that we're very much focused on for the time being. They are now in Russian hands, they are prisoners of war, Lynda. The question is, whether the negotiation specifically for their release will find a resolution. Whether that prisoner swap will be able to take place, and if so, when?

KINKADE: Yes, certainly a shame that three months into this war, peace negotiations have collapsed. Melissa Bell, we'll leave it there for now in Kyiv. Thanks so much. Well, Russia's war is triggering one of the very things it sought to prevent, the expansion of NATO. Sweden and Finland will officially submit their applications for membership Wednesday, ending decades of military non-alignment. The country's leaders held a joint news conference today, saying they believe they can convince Turkey to drop its opposition to their bids.

Russia's foreign minister is downplaying this historic move, noting that Finland and Sweden already participate in NATO drills. Well, we are joined now by Nina dos Santos in Stockholm and Jomana Karadsheh in Istanbul. Good to have you both with us. I want to start with you, Nina. So Finland and Sweden, both expected to hand in their NATO application Wednesday, before the nation's leaders are set to meet with the U.S. President. Russia initially said it would retaliate, but now listening to Russia's foreign minister, he says this move makes no difference.

NINA DOS SANTOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right. Russia now taking a few steps back, and also, we heard President Putin of Russia just earlier this week say that, well, actually, when it comes to Sweden and Finland joining NATO, he has no issue with that, it would only be if there were a military bases or nuclear weapons position in this part of the Baltic sea, then he might have an issue, and that would provoke a Russian response.

Look, at this point, Sweden has not asked -- has actually put on paper as a pre-condition of its accession to NATO, that it doesn't want any nuclear weapons in this part of the Baltic sea, on its territory, and it doesn't want any military bases here. So, essentially, political analyst I've been speaking to here in Stockholm throughout the course of the day say that this dance from Russia really is just a recognition of the fact that these countries have been closely allied with NATO ever since they became partners back in 1994.

Now, today was all about a choreographed series of statements, votes, signings of papers, and now, we finally have both of these two countries having filled in their application forms, that as you say are going to head to Brussels first thing tomorrow morning. I spoke to the prime minister of Sweden about one particular issue that might be a thorny one that could hold things up over the next year to come.

And that could be Turkey's resistance as probably the only member of the 30-member alliance to Sweden and Finland joining. She said that there might be room for negotiation on that. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAGDALENA ANDERSSON, PRIME MINISTER, SWEDEN: We've stated very clearly to Turkey that we're ready to talk. We are ready to go to Turkey to have bilateral discussions on the way forward, as we are ready to do our part.

(END VIDEO CLIP) DOS SANTOS: So, as you could see there, we have both the Swedish side

and the Finnish side playing down very much this resistance from the Turkish president. But they're also going to have the most powerful member of NATO, the United States on their side to try and expedite these discussions. After these talks, the debate in the Finnish parliament, the vote that happened earlier today almost overwhelmingly in support of NATO membership.

We saw an invitation coming from the U.S. President Joe Biden no less for both the leaders of these two countries to head to Washington on Thursday to discuss that key issue of NATO accession and how the United States could probably help with that. Lynda?

KINKADE: All right, our thanks to you, Nina. I want to go to Jomana for more on Turkey's response to this, as Nina mentioned, getting Finland and Sweden into NATO requires agreement from all 30 members of NATO. Turkey being one of those members. But certainly, Turkey's leader is doubling down on his opposition to Finland and Sweden joining NATO. What is he hoping to gain here, Jomana?

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, Lynda, you know, despite this really tough talk, this fiery rhetoric that is not unusual for President Erdogan that some feel perhaps the Turkish president here trying to raise the ante before negotiations that are set to take place. We know that Sweden and Finland are going to be sending delegations here to Turkey to discuss Turkey's issues. And, also perhaps, more importantly, senior Turkish officials are in the United States this week.

[14:10:00]

The Turkish foreign minister is expected to meet with his U.S. counterpart also this weekend. And this is expected to top the agenda. And you know, despite what the Turkish president is saying, we have heard from his senior officials, Lynda, over the weekend, saying that, this is not a definite no. That they're not closing the door to Sweden and Finland joining. But they're saying, look, they have certain issues that they have brought to the table that they want addressed.

And they want security guarantees. Those main issues revolve around what they say. It's this alleged support for terrorist organizations, mainly here, referring to the Kurdish separatist militant group, the PKK that is considered a terrorist organization by the EU and the U.S. as well as Turkey. And then another key issue for them is the issue of arms embargo restrictions on Turkey's arms industry, its military industry that was put in place back in 2019.

They want these restrictions lifted by Sweden and Finland. So, I mean all indications right now, Lynda, are while keeping in mind that President Erdogan is a very highly unpredictable leader, all indications are that, there is room for compromise here. That they could perhaps reach some sort of an agreement during these negotiations. What is very clear is that Turkey is really trying to seize this moment, right now to try and advance its own national interest with this new found leverage, Lynda. KINKADE: Yes, Turkey certainly trying to capitalize on this. Jomana

Karadsheh in Istanbul and our Nina dos Santos in Stockholm. Thanks very much. Well, for Finland joining NATO signals a major shift in Europe's security landscape. The Finnish Minister for European Affairs Tytti Tuppurainen says that joining the alliance is a one-of-a-kind opportunity for her country to protect against the growing threat of Russian expansionism. She joins me now live from Helsinki to discuss. Good to have you with us, Minister.

TYTTI TUPPURAINEN, MINISTER FOR EUROPEAN AFFAIRS, FINLAND: Thank you so much for inviting me.

KINKADE: So after decades of having no military alliance, your country of Finland is set to apply for NATO membership tomorrow. This is a seismic shift, and certainly a historic move. How would you describe it and what sort of opportunity is this for Finland?

TUPPURAINEN: Well, after the vote in the parliament, there were certainly a lot of enthusiasm in the air, given the strong mandate that the government got from the parliament to negotiate the further application in NATO. But of course, the things we tend to take things also very calmly, so in a very Finnish pragmatic, moderate manner we are doing things and we are ready to negotiate. We understand that our access into NATO needs reputation, it needs every current NATO member states.

So it's not going to be any walk in the park. We have to be humble in front of that participation process, but we do appeal for a very speed process.

KINKADE: And I want to ask you about those negotiations, because Turkey obviously, is refusing your application to NATO because its president claims your country harbors terrorists, Kurdish militants. What's your response?

TUPPURAINEN: Well, first and foremost, it is also about the credibility of the whole alliance. We have been repeatedly told that the open-door policy of NATO is valid. And Finland is a very close partner to NATO. So, in that sense, it's no giant leap to anyone to access -- accept us as members in NATO. But we understand that we need to have different discussions with all of the current member states, and we are already to discuss with Turkey as well.

And I believe that we share the same objectives, the fight against terrorism, it is very important for Finland, it is also a priority in NATO.

KINKADE: Representatives from your country and Sweden are supposed to be heading to Turkey for bilateral discussions. President Erdogan says don't bother coming. Will you send representatives to Turkey, and what can your country do to overcome Turkey's opposition?

TUPPURAINEN: Well, it is a decision that has to be made in Ankara, so Turkey has the right and the responsibility to make the decision, whether to rectify or accessing through the -- so, we are not going to force anyone, we go to Turkey if and when we are invited. But we're grateful for all the signs of solidarity from our partners like United States, Germany and U.K.

[14:15:00]

So, I believe that it is also in the best interest of the whole alliance to make this process as swift as possible. But like I said, it is not for us to say, it is a decision that has to be made in Turkey.

KINKADE: But is there anything your country is willing to do to negotiate, to bring Turkey on board?

TUPPURAINEN: Well, we've heard the concerns that Turkey has voiced, and we are ready to give answers. I believe that we have no differences when it comes to countering terrorism. For instance, it is very important for Finns and if it needs to be confirmed over and again for Turkey, we are ready to do that. So, we do not want to escalate or run any extra disputes, it is a very serious matter. NATO enlargement is not any bilateral issue, it's also a matter of the whole alliance, and a response to the Russian attack in Ukraine.

KINKADE: And for weeks, obviously, Russia has made threats with regards to your country joining NATO -- threatening retaliation. Now, it's acting like it's not a big deal. When you listen to Russia's Foreign Minister, Minister Lavrov saying it doesn't make much of a difference. Why do you think we're seeing this about-face from Russia?

TUPPURAINEN: Well, that's the most appropriate way to react to our national decision. We believe that we have to -- the right to do our own security arrangement. It is not for Russia to dictate our decisions. And perhaps, it is possible for Russia to think that Finland has already been so close to NATO. Having enhanced opportunities, probably it's a big NATO being so close as one can be without being an actual member.

So, perhaps in the -- in the grandsome perspective, we have already been an allied country. And that is just stating the obvious. If that would be the response from the rest aside, then of course, we have every reason to be relieved. But would it come to any kind of malevolence or ill-will, we are also prepared for that, and we are very grateful for all the indications of solidarity from our partners, was there to be any kind of interference.

KINKADE: Minister Tytti Tuppurainen; the Finnish Minister for European Affairs, pleasure having you on the show, thank you so much.

TUPPURAINEN: Thank you so much.

KINKADE: Well, still to come tonight, U.S. President Biden vows to make America a better place to live in the aftermath of the latest mass shooting.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:20:00]

KINKADE: Welcome back, I'm Lynda Kinkade, you're watching CNN Newsroom. Well, the United States is grieving again after another mass shooting, this time it's one that authorities are calling a hate crime. And President Joe Biden has labeled it a domestic terrorism. Mr. Biden spoke in Buffalo, New York, a couple of hours ago. The city is reeling after ten people were gunned down at a supermarket on Saturday. Here is a part of the president's message.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: In America, evil will not win. I promise you. Hate will not prevail. And white supremacy will not have the last word. What happened here is simple and straightforward terrorism. Terrorism. Domestic terrorism.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: CNN's Joe Johns is in Buffalo following the story for us and joins us now. Joe, the U.S. President today meeting with people grieving, meeting with first responders. What else did he have to say?

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Well, in some ways, Lynda, it was classic Joe Biden, in that he has personally experienced so much grief and loss in this life. People say he is able to relate to those who have had a lot of grief and loss. And so, at the very beginning of this speech, he connected with his audience just simply talking about their loss and saying, that in time, a smile will come to your lips before a tear comes to your eyes.

But he says, of course, that will take time. And then he turned to some of the policy issues, and one of the policy issues that people have been talking about a lot here, is whether the president would actually call out people by name for essentially, if you will, putting out the message of hate, and putting out a message of theories that they believe in that effectively are discriminatory if you will. And he didn't call anybody out by name, but essentially said, look, this is wrong.

This is something that should not be happening in America. So, the president's message was brief to the people here in the city. Still, the question of course is what the United States government can do in the long run with all of these shootings that have occurred over the last year.

[14:25:00]

It wasn't that bad during COVID period, and now it's picked up again. There is a whole series of policy prescriptions the Biden administration has proposed. However, it doesn't look like any of those are going to take effect at least this year during a mid-term election year. With guns, such a big issue, also and the right, the preservation of Second Amendment freedom. We are expecting the status quo to remain in effect for now.

KINKADE: Yes --

JOHNS: Back to you -- KINKADE: Certainly, a sad situation when you consider 201 mass

shootings have taken place here in the U.S. since January this year. All right, we'll leave it there for now, Joe Johns for us in Buffalo, New York, thank you. Well, dozens of Palestinians injured after Israeli police clashed with mourners at a funeral procession in Jerusalem. The Palestinian Red Crescent says more than 70 people were hurt. Israeli police say six officers were also injured.

The funeral was for a man who died following last month's unrest at the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Atika Shubert joins us now from Jerusalem. And Atika, another funeral, another scene of violent clashes.

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, this is the second time in less than a week that Israeli police have used force on a Palestinian funeral in Jerusalem. This time, it was the funeral of Walid Al- Sharif; he's a young Palestinian man who was actually injured last month during another set of unrest, again, with Israeli police at the grounds of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in the old city of Jerusalem. He succumb to his injuries in the last few days, and a funeral was held yesterday.

Now, Israeli police blocked Palestinians from -- some Palestinians from attending the funeral at the mosque, and that appears to be what triggered the clashes that lasted for up to an hour. Palestinians threw bottles, rocks and fireworks at police. And police used tear gas, stun grenades and rubber bullets. And in fact, among those injured, one of them was very serious.

A man who was shot in the eye with a rubber-coated bullet. So, very serious violence indeed. And unfortunately, this is just the latest cycle in a turn in this cycle of violence here. Tensions have been escalating not just in Jerusalem, but in Israel and across the West Bank. In the last few weeks and months, there have been recent spate of violent attacks by Palestinians on Israelis, killing a number of Israelis.

Israeli police in turn have cut off access to a lot of the Palestinian territories and conducted a number of raids in the West Bank and particular, some of those raids turning deadly. And in fact, one of those Israeli military raids in the town of Jenin is what the "Al Jazeera" correspondent Shereen Abu Aqleh was covering when she was shot and killed last week. So unfortunately, the tensions do seem to be rising, the violence is not abating at this point, Lynda.

KINKADE: Yes, certainly not. All right, Atika Shubert in Jerusalem. We'll leave it there for now, thank you. Well, still to come tonight, a vital Ukrainian port city hangs on edge. We'll take you to Odessa to see why its past, its present in the war with Russia. Plus, desperately hungry in Afghanistan. How millions of Afghans are struggling to survive, many on just one meal a day. That story, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:30:00]

(MUSIC PLAYING) KINKADE (voice-over): Welcome back, you are watching CNN NEWSROOM.

Despite heavy fighting in Eastern Ukraine, a missile strike almost to the Polish border. Russia still is not close to capturing what would be perhaps its biggest prize, the strategic and vital port city of Odessa.

Still, Russia has been shelling the region and has ships in the Black Sea off Odessa shores. And as the city faces off against the Russians today, it is also struggling with the Russians of its past. CNN's Sara Sidner explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The remains of freshly bombed buildings a hotel and homes reduced to dust the result of the latest Russian missile attack in the Odessa region that has experienced strike after strike on places people live, work and visit.

This is Russia's attempt to terrorize a target it desperately wants to possess.

SIDNER: Tell me what the strategic importance is of Odessa?

GENNADIY TRUKHANOV, ODESSA MAYOR: This is the sea gate of our country, he says. This is a city of legend younger.

SIDNER (voice-over): its home to Ukraine's largest Black Sea port used both commercially and militarily. Russia has already attacked its oil refinery.

If Putin's forces were to take the Odessa region, Ukraine's entire Black Sea coast would be controlled by Russia. The mayor of Odessa bristles at the idea.

"Ukraine today is a maritime power it will be a completely different state without access to the sea without transport logistics," he says.

"We and our armed forces will do everything to prevent the enemy from entering."

SIDNER (voice-over): But the ties to the enemy run deep, historically and financially. Before the war, Russian tourists helped this Ukrainian seaside city thrive.

OLEKSANDR BABICH, HISTORIAN: Ideal Russians really liked our cuisine, our shops here the sea, architecture and there were no problems.

SIDNER (voice-over): Oleksandr Babich, she's a historian who also owns a tour guide company. He says citizens of Odessa speak Russian more than they speak Ukrainian. Pro-Russian politicians were voted into office regularly. The mayor was once friendly with Russia. He himself spoke to us in Russian.

SIDNER: Were you pro-Russian before and changed?

TURKHANOV: I want to say that I have always had pro-Odessa views he says but I love and respect the history of my city where I was born.

SIDNER (voice-over): Everywhere you look in the city as a reminder of its Russian history, there are statues of Alexander Pushkin considered Russia's greatest poet and monuments to the conqueror of this land Russian Empress "Catherine the Great" her sculpture used to be guarded and kept pristine now it's soiled and a fresh Ukrainian flag flies on it.

SIDNER (voice-over): There has been a long fight over whether to remove these symbols of imperialism in Odessa.

There is social demand say and we need to get rid of the symbols, he says. Not everyone agrees. Odessa writer and poet Paul Makarov says the monuments should stand.

[14:35:00]

SIDNER (voice-over): "The attitude was positive we appreciate and respect Catherine. Today the beds should in no way affect our attitude toward her. And there is this problem. If we remove the monument to Catherine we need to rename the square, he says it was for a time named after Karl Marx for a while named after Hitler.

Then again Karl Marx and here again after Catherine, what name should we choose?

But the more Russian missiles wipe away lives here, the more fierce the argument to erase the physical reminders of its Russian past -- Sara Sidner, CNN, Odessa.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: A prominent former Russian colonel has given a unusual reality check to those in his country who think the war in Ukraine is going well. The colonel said on Russian state television that the situation with the Russian forces is going to get worse.

And he said any reports that Ukrainian forces are demoralized or falling apart is just plain wrong.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I must say, let us not drink information tranquilizers because sometimes information is spread about hearing some more psychological breakdown of Ukraine's armed forces. And this day, nearly the crisis of morale or a fracture. None of this is close to reality.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: The colonel added that Ukraine could raise 1 million soldiers armed with foreign weapons. Even before the invasion, he also warned that defeeding Ukraine would be much more difficult than many were anticipating.

Taliban authorities have dissolved Afghanistan's human rights commission, saying that department is unnecessary and, quote, not being used. They're also closing five other key departments of the former U.S.-backed government.

The Taliban say they are trying to make up for a $501 million budget shortfall. Observers fear it's another way to stifle human rights in the country. And despite promising to rulel more moderately than before, they haven't allowed all of the girls to restart their education and have ordered women to start covering their faces in public.

Since the Taliban took over Afghanistan, the country's plunged into an economic crisis. People are starving. Human Rights Watch says 95 percent of the population does not have enough to eat. Our Christiane Amanpour shows us the desperation that is causing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Under a scorching sun, standing patiently for hours in organized lines, hundreds of newly poor Afghans wait for their monthly handout, men on one side, women on the other.

Here, the U.N.'s World Food Programme is delivering cash assistance, the equivalent of $43 per family. Khalid Ahmadzai is the coordinator. He says he's seen the need explode. And right from the start, the stories are dire.

KHALID AHMADZAI, WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME: A few days ago, one woman came to me and she told me that, "I want to give you my son by 16,000 afghani. Just give me the afghani."

And he was -- she was really crying. And that was the worst feeling that I had in my life.

AMANPOUR: Are you serious?

AHMADZAI: Yes, this is a serious thing that we had a distribution at the first day. So the hunger is too much high here.

AMANPOUR: You know, we have heard those stories but I have never heard it from somebody who's actually seen it.

AHMADZAI: Yes. Yes. Yes, I have seen it. It's too much bad. And it hurts me a lot.

AMANPOUR (voice-over): Everyone we met is hurting. According to the International Rescue Committee, almost half the population of Afghanistan lives on less than one meal a day. And the U.N. says nearly nine million people risk famine-like conditions. Fereshtah has five kids.

AMANPOUR: And how many meals per day can you eat?

AMANPOUR (voice-over): "When you don't have money," she tells us, "when you don't have a job, you don't have income.

"Would you be able to eat proper food when there's no work?"

Khatima is a widow.

"They should let us work because we have to become the men of the family, so we can find bread for the children. None of my six kids have shoes. And with 3,000 afghanis, what will I be able to do in six months' time?

"You just want work. I have to work," she says.

At this WFP distribution site in Kabul, you do see women working and women mostly with their faces uncovered. Outside, Taliban slogans plastered over the blast walls tout victory over the Americans and claim to be of the people, for the people.

But while security has improved since they took over, the country is facing economic collapse. And that shows up all over the tiny bodies we see at the Indira Gandhi Children's Hospital.

[14:40:00]

AMANPOUR (voice-over): It's the biggest in Afghanistan, now heaving under the extra weight.

Dr. Mohammad Yaqob Sharafat tells us that 20 to 30 percent of the babies in this neonatal ward are malnourished. Suddenly, he rushes to the side of one who stopped breathing. For five minutes, we watched him pump his heart, until he comes back to life.

But for how long?

Even in the womb, the deck is stacked against them.

DR. MOHAMMAD YAQOB SHARAFAT, INDIRA GANDHI CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL: From one side, the mothers are not getting well nutritions.

AMANPOUR: Wow. So it's a triple whammy. The mothers aren't nourished enough.

SHARAFAT: Yes.

AMANPOUR: The economy is bad.

SHARAFAT: Bad.

AMANPOUR: They have too many children.

SHARAFAT: Children.

AMANPOUR: And they're overworking themselves.

(CROSSTALK)

SHARAFAT: So all these factors together make the situations to they give birth premature babies. AMANPOUR (voice-over): Because they're under sanctions, the Taliban

are struggling to pay salaries. So the International Committee of the Red Cross pays all the doctors and nurses at this hospital and at 32 others across the country. That's about 10,000 health workers in all. Look at this child. He's 2.5 years old.

AMANPOUR: His name is Mohammed. He's malnourished.

How much food is she able to give her child at home?

Why does he look like this?

AMANPOUR (voice-over): His mother says she's had nothing but breast milk to feed him but now can't afford enough to eat to keep producing even that. It's the same for Shazia. Her 7-month-old baby has severe pneumonia but at least she gets fed here at the hospital, so that she can breast-feed her daughter.

"Back home, we don't have this kind of food, unfortunately," she says. "If we have food for lunch, we don't have anything for dinner."

While we're here, the electricity has gone out.

"It happens all the time," the director tells us.

We watch a doctor carry on by the light of a mobile phone, until the electricity comes back. We end this day in the tiniest dwellings amongst the poorest of Kabul's poor.

Waliullah and Basmina have six children. While she prepares their meal of eggs, two small bowls of beans and two flatbreads, the 8- and 10- year olds are out scavenging wastepaper to sell and polishing shoes. It's their only income, since Waliullah injured his back and can no longer work as a laborer.

He tells us their 10-month-old baby is malnourished.

"I always worry and stress about this," says Basmina. But she tells her kids, "God will be kind to us one day" -- Christiane Amanpour, CNN, Kabul, Afghanistan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: We will take a short break, we'll be right back. You are watching CNN.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:45:00]

(MUSIC PLAYING)

KINKADE: Welcome, back voters in Lebanon fed up with a devastated economy and ineffective government has stripped the group Hezbollah and its allies of their parliamentary majority.

It's the first election since most Lebanese fell into poverty and that port explosion in August 2020. It killed more than 200 people. CNN's Ben Wedeman is in Lebanon's capital and joins us now live.

Good to see, you Ben So the coalition by Hezbollah appears to have lost its majority.

What does this mean for Lebanon?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's important to point out that in the leadup to this election, there was a fair amount of skepticism that, after all is said and done, after the votes were cast, nothing would change.

But to the surprise of many people, there have been significant developments in the aftermath of the election. And cracks are beginning to appear in Lebanon's old regime.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WEDEMAN (voice-over): Every vote counts, the saying goes. And in Lebanon, despite low expectations, perhaps change can come through the ballot box. With the official results finy in, it appears Hezbollah, which, for the past four years led a majority coalition in parliament, has lost that majority, a blow to its prestige and a boom to the supporters of the October 2019 uprising against the political elite.

The so-called revolutionaries often came to blows with Hezbollah supporters.

WEDEMAN: These ashes are all that remain of what was a fist, symbolizing the uprising of 2019 against the ruling elite. But Monday evening, when it was becoming increasingly apparent, the Hezbollah led coalition might lose its majority in parliament, the people, presumably supporters of Hezbollah, came and burnt that fist down.

WEDEMAN (voice-over): Hezbollah, which maintains a powerful and well armed militia, has made clear it has red lines, says analyst Mohanad Hage Ali.

MOHANAD HAGE ALI, ANALYST, CARNEGIE MIDDLE EAST CENTER: Do not try, us do not touch upon these issues. We will not discuss the weapons issue. And on the other side, it is raising the bar when it comes to Hezbollah's arsenal, et cetera. So it seems we are back to the same level of polarization, which created the violence that we saw in the past.

WEDEMAN (voice-over): The 2019 uprising sputtered out as the country was gripped by the coronavirus pandemic, the economic crisis and the port blast. But its legacy emerged in this election, with around 10 percent of the seats in parliament going to reformist candidates.

Researcher Ibrahim Halawi sees signs of hope.

IBRAHIM HALAWI, RESEARCHER, UNIVERSITY OF LONDON: This has given the Lebanese society at least the idea that something is possible, that the system is not sort of ahistorical and inherent, that things can change.

WEDEMAN (voice-over): That change, however, may not happen soon. It will take months of political horse trading for the perpetually squabbling politicians to agree on a new government. And more paralysis will only exacerbate the ongoing economic collapse. Change can't come soon enough.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WEDEMAN: And of course, it is going to take a while for any new government to be formed. What does seem important in the aftermath of this election is that, with this significant bloc of reformist candidates, who are now, of course, members of parliament, perhaps the ruling elite that has watched as this country has fallen apart may get the message that they cannot just sit on the sidelines as their people suffer.

KINKADE: Yes, exactly. Thanks to you, Ben, in Beirut, for that report. We will catch up with you soon.

Well, officials in Shanghai say that they have achieved zero COVID at the community level. This means infections are no longer being found outside of government quarantine facilities or in neighborhoods under the strictest lockdowns.

However, some residents remain skeptical that the city will reopen anytime soon. And that is because authorities announcing yesterday a plan to return to normalcy by mid June.

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KINKADE: Staying on the pandemic, North Korea has revealed a breakdown of confirmed COVID cases for the first time. Officials have recorded at least 168 coronavirus infections.

This just days after Kim Jong-un first officially acknowledged the outbreak. Meanwhile, state media is reporting a total of nearly 1.5 million "fever" cases in the country.

Still to come tonight, unidentified flying objects in the U.S. Congress. Well, not quite. But this unusual subject is being discussed today in the heart of Washington. We will have that story on a live report, when we come back.

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KINKADE: Welcome, back UFOs are a potential national security threat. That is according to one U.S. lawmaker. For the first time in decades, the controversial subject of unidentified flying objects is being discussed in Congress. Joining me now to discuss this, extraterrestrial news, CNN space and defense correspondent, Kristin Fisher.

Good to have you with us. So it is pretty remarkable that this is up for discussion for the first time in over 50 years in Congress. Certainly they want to know what's out there.

KRISTIN FISHER, CNN SPACE & DEFENSE CORRESPONDENT: They do, you know, Lynda, it has not been all that long since the Pentagon actually confirmed that there is something out. There, some kind of physical objects, they like to use the word that the UAP or the unidentified aerial phenomena.

And the Director of National Intelligence detailed that they have been investigating about 144 of these. In this report last June, there were only able to explain a single one. And so that report is kind of what led to this hearing, the first hearing on UFOs on Capitol Hill, first public hearing, in more than half a century.

It went by very quick, only 90 minutes. We did not get a ton of questions answered. One thing that happened was the Deputy Director of Naval Intelligence declassified and showed two videos that Navy pilots took of unidentified aerial phenomena. Here is one of them.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What you see here is aircraft that is operating in a -- at a U.S. Navy training range that has observed a spherical object in that area and as a flyby, they take a video.

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REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D-CA), CHAIR, HOUSE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: And is this one of the phenomena that we cannot explain?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I do not have an explanation for what this specific object is.

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FISHER: Yes, you can see that object right there kind of whiz by this Navy pilot at very close range. The report last summer, Lynda, detailed about 11 of these close encounters with military pilots.

And so that is really what this open hearing was all about today, to show that this is not just science fiction and conspiracy theory but also potentially a safety concern and potentially a national security threat as well.

KINKADE: And just, quickly mention the 144 reported sightings. But since then, they are now saying it is up to 400 unidentified objects, identified by military personnel.

How do they explain that increase?

FISHER: They say the two top Pentagon officials that were testifying today, they explained it as you know, simply the fact that they are destigmatizing it. The top Pentagon brass saying to these military pilots, hey, it is OK if you see these types of things, to report them.

You are not going to be ridiculed, your career is not going to tank essentially. So that is a part of this push toward more transparency. Also, destigmatizing the reporting of the sightings. And that is a part of the reason for that spike that we saw. Lynda.

KINKADE: All right, Kristin Fisher, certainly interesting topic to discuss. Thank you so much.

And thanks to all of you for watching tonight. "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS" is next.