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Australia's Labor Party Wins, Albanese To Be Next PM; Biden "Not Concerned" about Possible North Korean Missile Test; Russia Says "Large" Batch of U.S. and European Weapons Destroyed; Israel Reports First Case of Monkeypox; Nearly 9 Million Afghans at Risk of Famine. Aired 1-1:30a ET

Aired May 22, 2022 - 01:00   ET

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

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PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hello and a warm welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I am Paula Newton.

Ahead on CNN NEWSROOM, the U.S. President announcing a possible return of military exercises with South Korea, as the specter of a potential missile launch by the North looms.

Plus, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy defiant on his third anniversary at the head of that wartorn country, promising now to deter Russia in the Donbas region.

And a change at the top in Australia. The country's prime minister Scott Morrison concedes defeat, ending nine years of conservative rule.

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NEWTON: And we begin in South Korea, where U.S. President Joe Biden is wrapping up his first visit as commander in chief. Right now he is meeting with American troops stationed there before heading to Japan.

Earlier Mr. Biden met with the chairman of Hyundai, where he touted the company's plans to build a new electric vehicle plant in the U.S. state of Georgia. It's part of $11 billion in new investments by the Korean automaker.

The visit comes as the Biden administration seeks to reaffirm security ties in Asia in response to North Korea's growing nuclear threat. But Saturday the U.S. and South Korea announced plans to expand joint military drills on the Korean Peninsula.

Biden also left the door open for a possible meeting with North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un.

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JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: With regard to whether I would meet with the leader of North Korea, that would be dependent on whether he was sincere and whether he was serious.

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NEWTON: Meanwhile, Russia's war on Ukraine has loomed large over the trip, with Biden saying the war is a security concern, not just for Europe but the entire world.

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BIDEN: Putin's war against Ukraine isn't just a matter for Europe, it is an attack on democracy and the core international principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity.

And the Republic of Korea and the United States is standing together, part of a global response that our partners and allies around the world, to condemn Russia's flagrant violations of international law and to hold Russia accountable and to support the people of Ukraine.

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NEWTON: Following all of this for us is CNN's Paula Hancocks. She joins us now from Seoul.

Paula, good to have you there on the ground. As you continue to follow this visit, as it is wrapping up, I have to ask you, the headlines here, the leaders wanted them to be all economic.

And yet, can we get more on what it means, if they are renewing these military exercises?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Paula, just like everybody who comes to this region, every high profile visit, North Korea does manage to insert itself at the top of the agenda and this trip is no different.

So the fact that President Biden and President Yoon Suk-yeol, the new South Korean president, did announce in that press conference yesterday on Saturday, that they were going to discuss expanding the military drills.

These are joint exercises between the U.S. troops here, almost 30,000 U.S. troops, based in South Korea, and South Korean troops. Now in recent years, there had been some scaling back, partly due to COVID but in great part because the former president of the United States he had wanted to stop the "war games," because he thought that it would jeopardize his efforts to try and talk to the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un.

So what we will see, inevitably, is more friction with North Korea. These are the sorts of exercises that, historically, every time they happen, they irritate Pyongyang. There is increased rhetoric and sometimes there's also missile launches, other weapons testing to show their displeasure.

So clearly this is a move toward -- or a move away, I should say, where we have been for the past several years. They also both criticized and condemned the ballistic missile tests that have been happening from North Korea this year.

They also both said that they were willing to sit down with the North Korean leader. Now this morning, this Sunday morning, as he was standing next to the Hyundai chairman, talking about economic issues, President Biden was asked by our Kaitlan Collins about whether he was concerned of the intel assessments.

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HANCOCKS: Effectively saying Kim Jong-un could launch a missile anytime soon. This was his answer.

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BIDEN: We are prepared for anything North Korea does. We've had -- we've thought through how we should respond to whatever they do. And so I'm not concerned, if that's what you're suggesting.

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HANCOCKS: He was also asked what the message would be for Kim Jong- un, to which he said, "Hello," a couple of seconds later, said, "period." So a very short, simple message.

But we do know that Washington has been reaching out to North Korea. They have also offered COVID assistance. Pyongyang admitting just over a week ago that they have an Omicron outbreak within the country, which could be devastating, given we believe it is a largely unvaccinated country, with very little health infrastructure.

The U.S. President said he has offered to help. The South Korean president has also offered masks, vaccines and testing kits, which we know are few and far between in North Korea. Publicly, at least, there has been no response whatsoever from the North.

NEWTON: Which is also significant, there as you continue to keep an eye on not just South Korea but as you said, that outbreak of COVID-19 in the North. Paula Hancocks, really appreciate it.

Now as President Biden visits East Asia, CNN's Blake Essig touched down on the USS Abraham Lincoln, with China and North Korea challenging U.S. security interests in the region. This aircraft carrier is a key part of American deterrence. Here's Blake's story.

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BLAKE ESSIG, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If you ask United States 7th Fleet Commander Karl Thomas, this is what deterrence looks and sounds like.

ADMIRAL KARL THOMAS, COMMANDER, U.S. 7TH FLEET: Deterrence to date has worked. And I'm hopeful that it continues to work but my job is to be prepared in case it doesn't.

ESSIG: For the past several months, the U.S. Navy Carrier Strike Group 3, led by the USS Abraham Lincoln and armed with the U.S. Navy's most advanced fighter wing, has conducted joint drills with allies like Japan and patrolled the waters of the Indo-Pacific.

THOMAS: Being out here operating is a very physical, a very agile, dynamic force. There's no better way to provide the deterrence that we need in this part of the region.

ESSIG: This aircraft carrier brings massive firepower to the region. Its purpose: to project power, increased security and serve as a deterrent to countries like China, North Korea and Russia.

But in a part of the world seemingly more unstable by the day, the effectiveness of a carrier strike group like this as a deterrence to adversaries has been called into question.

KEN JIMBO, PROFESSOR, KEIO UNIVERSITY: We need to have more robust, like-minded states coalitions, because China's rise is now the global phenomena.

ESSIG (voice-over): A reality that isn't lost on Quad member states. A coalition made up of the United States, Japan, Australia and India, whose leaders are set to meet in Tokyo early next week.

With South Korea watching from the sidelines, member states are likely to discuss a unified response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the recent flurry of weapons tests conducted by North Korea; and, of course, China.

RAHM EMANUEL, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO JAPAN: One of the things that China doesn't have is friends and allies. They have subjects. We have friends and allies who want to stand shoulder to shoulder with the United States.

ESSIG: While the Quad isn't a NATO-like mutual defense commitment, continuing to upgrade security cooperation between Quad member states and other likeminded nations in this region is extremely important to maintaining maritime security.

ESSIG (voice-over): But according to Cleo Paskal, an Indo-Pacific strategic specialist, the key to combating China's rise isn't necessarily through military strength.

CLEO PASKAL, FOUNDATION FOR DEFENSE OF DEMOCRACIES: By the time you get to the military part, you're almost too late. You don't want to cut off China militarily. You want to block its influence politically and economically first.

ESSIG: However, as China and Russia work to strengthen their own military alliance in the region, Rear Admiral J.T. Anderson says the U.S.' presence, along with the strength of its allies, has proven to be an effective deterrent. Nevertheless, if that deterrent fails...

REAR ADM. J.T. ANDERSON, COMMANDER, CARRIER STRIKE GROUP 3: Our job is to fight and win, period.

ESSIG: An outcome no one wants but one the U.S. military and its allies must prepare for -- Blake Essig, CNN, on board the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Philippine Sea. (END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: The Kremlin has updated its list of Americans who are now officially persona non grata in Russia and nearly every member of the U.S. Congress is now barred from traveling to Russia, along with a long list of current and former U.S. officials, journalists and many others, even Hollywood celebrities, like Rob Reiner and Morgan Freeman.

Now the list of 962 people also includes former senator John McCain, who died several years ago.

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NEWTON: The Russian military is claiming it destroyed a large shipment of U.S. and European weapons in Western Ukraine on Saturday. There has been no confirmation. But Ukrainian military officials in the city of Lviv (ph) say missiles struck military infrastructure.

And in Eastern Ukraine, the Ukrainian military says the Russians destroyed a bridge between Sievierodonetsk and a neighboring town.

Ukraine's president, now marking his third anniversary in office, was as defiant as ever in his nightly address. Listen.

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VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Russia has used virtually all its resources to destroy us. The situation in the Donbas is extremely difficult. As in previous days, the Russian army is trying to attack Slovyansk and Sievierodonetsk. The armed forces of Ukraine are deterring this offensive.

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NEWTON: Friday's missile strike on a town near Kharkiv, you see it there, was even more damaging than this video shows. Besides destroying a newly renovated cultural center, it damaged more than 1,000 apartments and numerous schools. Seven people were hurt in that attack.

Now for the latest on what's been going on in the country, here's CNN's Melissa Bell in Kyiv.

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MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: More Russian strikes in Ukraine, this time targeting the west of the country. Residents in the Rivne region have been told to stay at home for the next 24 hours, according to local authorities in case of further strikes.

Another strike announced by Moscow, this time the Chetchamir (ph) region. They're targeted and destroyed a batch of weaponry that's been brought into Ukraine from NATO allies and that has proven so crucial to Ukraine's fight against Russian forces. The main focus of fighting, though, remains the east of the country,

where Russian forces continue to try and press ahead from their strongholds in Donbas and Luhansk.

Meanwhile, in Kharkiv, that city that was for more than two months the subject of a brutal siege and constant shelling, are now quiet again, with residents counting the costs of some of that damage.

The local mayor says that it is 30 percent of the country's high-rise residential buildings that have been destroyed, as well as 100 schools -- Melissa Bell, CNN, Kyiv.

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NEWTON: Well, the Cocktail Festival is known for its goods, glam and the occasional red carpet sartorial statement. But on Friday, a topless protester stormed the event with a much more serious message. Covered in the colors of Ukraine's flag and red paint, resembling blood.

The activist organization said that she wants to draw attention to the, quote, "sexual torture" that women in Ukraine are enduring, since Russia invaded. Security guards led her away.

Ahead on CNN NEWSROOM, a major policy shift and a power shift in Australia. Why voters delivered a sharp rebuke to prime minister Scott Morrison. And a look at who will be leading that country next.

Plus stunning images from Italy. Look at that, as Mt. Etna erupts, why officials say there is no threat to local residents. That's after the break.

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NEWTON: Anthony Albanese will be the next prime minister of Australia.

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NEWTON (voice-over): Voters in the national election picked the Labor Party over Scott Morrison's conservative coalition to now lead Australia. Now that he is sworn in with that new government on Monday, Mr. Morrison's election defeat amounts to a rebuke of his leadership style, which critics noted was more authoritarian than collaborative.

From more, we're joined by CNN's Anna Coren, who has been following this quite closely for us.

Anna, it was in fact a slim majority but it is quite a mandate. He is already making it clear, Australia will make some policy changes. ANNA COREN, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: That is right. He is

looking for change, he is representing change. And that is what he says Australians have voted for.

We weren't sure whether or not he would form a majority government. But he is now on track to do so. He secured 77 of the 151 seats needed in the House of Representatives.

Now Anthony Albanese is a veteran politician who has been in parliament for 23 years. He joined the Labor Party when he was just a teenager. He has a quite fascinating story, Paula. He was raised by a single mother in a council flat. She was on a disability pension.

He is the first person from his family to attend university. He really prides himself on being that battler coming from the working class. When he addressed his supporters last night, he said he wants to represent all Australians and be a government that is unified and optimistic, something we haven't seen in Australian politics for some time.

You talk about that stunning rebuke, really what this election result is about, it is that rejection of Scott Morrison, his pugnacious, combative style of leadership and his conservative government that has dominated Australian politics for 19 of the last 25 years.

But this government has been around for almost a decade. Australians saying we want change and they certainly voted that in. Let's listen to what Anthony Albanese had to say when he addressed his supporters.

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ANTHONY ALBANESE, INCOMING AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER: I want to seek our common purpose and promote unity and optimism, not fear and division.

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ALBANESE: It is what I have sought to do throughout my political life. I want to find that common ground where, together, we can plant our dreams, to unite around our shared love of this country, our shared faith in Australia's future, our shared values of fairness and opportunity and hard work and kindness to those in need.

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COREN: Now that is interesting, Paula; on the campaign trail there were missteps and gaffes by Anthony Albanese; when questioned by a journalist about the unemployment rate, he didn't have an answer. He was also slim on his policy detail. He really made himself a small target throughout the six-week campaign.

But it didn't matter. People were looking for change, they were willing to give Anthony Albanese a go. He has big challenges ahead of him, there's no doubt about. He travels to Japan to attend that Quad meeting. As you say he will be sworn in first thing Monday morning. But economic headwinds are facing Australia. There will be tough times

ahead. But he is somebody who is seen as being quite collegial and, you know, goes to his people for their advice. So he is someone who does not pretend like he is the smartest person in the room. He wants that expertise around him.

NEWTON: Definitely a consequential election, not just in Australia, but for things like climate policy around the world. Anna Coren for, us thank you so much for following so closely.

Now Israeli health officials have announced the country's first confirmed case of monkeypox. The health ministry says a man admitted to a Tel Aviv hospital on Friday tested positive for the disease Saturday. The man had recently returned from Western Europe.

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NEWTON: He has now been quarantined and remains, thankfully, in good condition. The World Health Organization said Friday there were now 80 confirmed cases of monkeypox worldwide and at least 50 potential cases under investigation.

On the brink of starvation, CNN's Christiane Amanpour speaks to the people being hit hardest by Afghanistan's food crisis. You will want to see her report from Kabul. That is coming up next.

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NEWTON (voice-over): And those are the incredible images from Europe's tallest active volcano. Now recent video captures Italy's Mt. Etna, erupting and sending huge plumes of smoke and lava high into the sky over Sicily.

The volcano can erupt several times a year. Authorities have said before there that there is no direct threat to residents who live nearby. Although, look at those pictures. Italy's civil protection department has raised the alert level, though, for volcanic activity.

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NEWTON: To Afghanistan now and the country's hungry crisis is no longer just desperate; it is a full-on catastrophe. The U.N. says about half the population now is on the brink of starvation. And as CNN's Christiane Amanpour found out, the children are among those suffering the most.

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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.

[01:25:00] 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.

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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.

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NEWTON: There's still so much suffering in their country.

I want to thank you for being here with us. I'm Paula Newton. "AFRICAN VOICES: CHANGEMAKERS" is next. I will be back at the top of the hour with more news.

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