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Muslim Countries Slam India over Anti-Islam Comments; Gunmen Killed Close to 50 people in City of Owo, Nigeria; Shanghai Delays College Entrance Exam Test Due to COVID Surge; China's COVID Enforcers Under Scrutiny; One on One with Rafael Nadal. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired June 07, 2022 - 01:0 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:00:23]
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back for another hour, I'm John Vause ahead here on CNN Newsroom. When a win is just don't enough, Britain's Boris Johnson survives the leadership vote. But is this the beginning of the end in his hold on power?
The high cost of Russian gains in eastern Ukraine. And blood on the altar of dead bodies in Kyiv. The gruesome aftermath at a Lutheran church attacked by gunmen on motorcycles leading close to 50 dead.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from CNN Center, this is CNN Newsroom with John Vause.
VAUSE: So how long? Boris Johnson is still leader of the Conservative Party still Britain's Prime Minister, but for how long? If history is any guide, his days in both jobs are numbered. Johnson now he won a confidence vote Monday and now leads a political party with almost half of its elected members want him gone.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GRAHAM BRADY, BRITISH CONSERVATIVE PARTY: That the vote in favor of having confidence in Boris Johnson as leader was 211 votes, and the vote against was 148 votes. And therefore, I can announce that the parliamentary party does have confidence.
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER (in unison): Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: After leading the conservatives to a landslide win three years ago, Johnson has been a one-man scandal machine. His fall from grace though does not appear to be the initial botched response to the COVID pandemic, but rather party gate, when the British leader and his staff were drinking and socializing while millions where in the U.K. were under COVID locked down.
And let's say the less than decisive winner of the confidence vote means the beginning of the end for his time in Number Ten. At the very least, it has left his legislative agenda in disarray. Still, the Prime Minister praised the outcome of the confidence vote and thanked his colleagues for their support.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: A very good result for politics and for the country. It just --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE).
JOHNSON: I do, just in this sense I think it's a convincing result, a decisive result and what it means is that as a government, we can move on and focus on the stuff that I think really matters.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Live now to Number Ten, CNN's Nina dos Santos is with us again. I guess, so today, Boris Johnson will begin the process of trying to do what Theresa May, John Major, Margaret Thatcher all failed to do and let's not lose power shortly after winning a confidence vote. So can he do it?
NINA DOS SANTOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's the big question here is Number Ten puts into effect damage limitation exercises on a grand scale probably over the next few days to come, John, is he just fatally potentially wounded or rather weakened, we'll have to see. Presumably Boris Johnson's response to that will be quite similar to the address that he gave to his members of his party just ahead of that no confidence vote yesterday evening, which has to reinforce this idea that he delivered the most thumping election victory for the Conservative Party in 40 years.
Not just that, he was also conservative mayor of a notoriously labor leaning London not once but twice, and he was the Prime Minister he claims who delivered Brexit after his predecessor. Theresa May have failed to be able to do so. So that will probably be his response. But if history is anything to go by, obviously, the figures don't look good.
This is the worst performance and a no confidence vote by a sitting British Conservative Prime Minister all the way back since the 1990s. The last time we saw anything like this was Margaret Thatcher. And remember that even though she actually triumphed in that conservative party, no confidence vote in 1990. At the end of her tenure, she actually had to resign a couple of days later, because she lost the confidence of her Cabinet colleagues.
Are we likely to see the Cabinet removing its confidence from Boris Johnson in the next few days? That is probably unlikely. But what we are probably likely to see is this growing resentment on the back benches that just crystallized with 148 of his own MPs against him. That represents 41 percent of his party who say that they don't want Boris Johnson to be the person who will be leading them into the next election, which the Conservative Party has to call May 2024.
And even before then, John, we've got a couple of other obstacles to navigate. In a few weeks time, we've got to buy elections, which polls indicate the Conservative parties may well lose those seats. Then it privately speak to a number of Conservative MPs who've publicly been against Boris Johnson and this, they say we just don't know when the next scandal is set to come and how that will be handled.
So really, this isn't so much about winning for now. It's about trying to hold the line and also keeping your MPs in line and seeing whether or not they'll support you in your legislative agenda, John.
[01:05:05]
Just two or three weeks ago, we're here in Westminster when Parliament was opened and the government unveiled 38 bills, it's going to try and get through the next parliament, it's going to be very difficult to do that, with 41 percent of your MPs against you, if you're Boris Johnson today.
VAUSE: This really is kind of the worst result you could possibly expect for the Conservative Party. It's kind of betwixt in between. It's not a decisive to get him out of -- to keep him. So this is a real conundrum now for, you know, to keep him, really back him or do they actually move again?
DOS SANTOS: Not least because the rules of the Conservative Party mean that technically he can't face another vote of no confidence for one year from now. So that kicks things into the long grass temporarily, but then you've got the problem of having an election that needs to be cooled by 2024. So would he be the person in a year's time to actually steer the Conservative Party after already very long tenure and turbulent time in office that this party has had with many different prime ministers from David Cameron to Theresa May and now Boris Johnson, of course, the whole issue of Brexit rumbling on in the background.
Would he be the right person to run the party into the next election? 41 percent of his MPs obviously say no. But where do we go from here and the temporary? Well, it's likely we're going to probably see some reshuffling to try and get discipline back on board to perhaps punish some MPs who are quite publicly against Boris Johnson, and to elevate some junior MPs to reward them for their support.
You heard in the Prime Minister in the interview that he very briefly gave after winning this no confidence vote yesterday evening that he wanted to thank those who had voted for him. They were 211, he might well reward some of them in the temporary. He's probably also going to try and reinforce the message that he wants to tackle the immediate pressures that people have in this country, which is the cost of living crisis, with inflation set to spiral towards the double digits in this country.
People are really worried about the pound in their pocket, and also their future, their jobs, their livelihoods. So we're probably going to be seeing an increased focus on that. But as I said, whether or not this is going to go away, it's not looking likely for anytime soon. John?
VAUSE: Nina, thank you. We appreciate you getting up early. What does is it, 8:00 a.m. there, I think, right now or 7:00 a.m. Thank you.
DOS SANTOS: Thank you.
VAUSE: CNN's European Affairs Commentator Dominic Thomas, is with us now from Berlin. Dominic, welcome back. I guess the question --
DOMINIC THOMAS, CNN EUROPEAN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Thanks, John.
VAUSE: -- of Boris Johnson and his leadership seems to come down to this. What happens to a populist leader who is no longer popular?
THOMAS: Well, that's a great question. I mean, in so many ways, the whole of the Brexit years were about fear mongering. And Boris Johnson then ultimately stepped up and offered to speak to the people to get Brexit done. But at the end of the day, his own sense of entitlement, the fact that he is not like them, came through and I think that's what ultimately is going to cost him -- his position here. And the emotions that drove him to the Prime Ministership will be turned on him now as people express their discontent, John.
VAUSE: OK. So over the weekend, the tweet about discontent, the Prime Minister attended that Thanksgiving service at St. Paul's in honor of the Queen. This is the reaction from the crowd outside.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(Cheering and Booing)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: So here's a Tory Prime Minister being cheered and booed by a crowd of monarchist waving the Union Jack outside of service celebrating the Platinum Jubilee. Did that one moment sort of capture the predicament that Johnson is facing and his party is now facing?
THOMAS: Yes, it was, without a doubt, the catalyst that drove this vote. So the gray report concluded that the rules and regulations for which the Prime Minister Boris Johnson was responsible for were not only violated by him and and his entourage, but he also lied about the fact that he had done this. And what you saw play out and at the weekend in that -- on the occasion of the Platinum Jubilee was essentially the booing was expressing the tremendous kind of sacrifices that the British people were asked to make, the concessions that they made to this.
And what played out there in the public square was essentially amplified in the parliament yesterday when over 40 percent of his MPs voted against it. So it was a very good indication both in Parliament and also on the streets as to where the people are right now with this Prime Minister.
VAUSE: You know, if politics -- you know, politics is wins are win, right, majority of wanting parliament is still a majority, narrowly winning a district is still a win. Even when an opponent might win a leadership challenge by one vote, it's still a win. But why is a win not a win for an incumbent party leader even when it's decisive, not like in Johnson's case would say Thatcher's?
THOMAS: Yes, I mean, you're absolutely right. I mean, the same applies to just about everything. You know, in sport, you know, if you win one nil, you win, that's it. You get the medal, you get the trophy. In this particular case, it all has to do with the very purpose of having this vote. Yes or no, do the members of Parliament for which, you know, in his party have confidence in him?
[01:10:09]
And so yes he won the vote more said they have confidence in them, they do not. The problem is you cannot govern, you cannot legislate when you have over 40 percent of your party that does not have a confidence in you. And to that extent, it's a resounding loss. And I think Boris Johnson, in this case, is irredeemable, there is no way out of this for him as he goes forward, John.
VAUSE: OK. So one potential replacement for Johnson is the current foreign secretary, Liz Truss, who tweeted this, "Pleased that colleagues have backed the Prime Minister. I support him 100 percent. Now's the time to get on with the job." Let me take that for what it is, but is there any real viable alternative to lead the conservative?
THOMAS: Yes, well, that's a great question. I think the answer is actually yes. Because anybody right now will be better than Boris Johnson who has become toxic and everything confirms that all the way to the booing at the Platinum Jubilee over over the weekend. So I think the struggle right now for the Conservative Party is they've squandered this incredible will that they had with this parliamentary majority. Their leader is no longer viable as they head to a general election, within a two-year framework.
And at this stage, they've got to start that very difficult conversation as to who that replacement might be. And there are extensive divisions in the Conservative Party, a lot of vulnerable MPs and Cabinet members and so on. And I think that whoever ultimately ended up with that position is going to have an up -- it's going to be an uphill struggle for the party to go back and to convince the British people that they are best positioned to serve them going into the 2024 general election, John.
VAUSE: Dominic, thank you. Appreciate you being with us. Dominic Thomas there in Berlin. Thank you.
THOMAS: Thank you.
VAUSE: The opening day of the Summit of the Americans has been overshadowed by some notable no shows. Chief among them, Mexico's president who has declined to attend. We've seen as a snub to the host country, United States.
CNN's Patrick Oppmann has details now reporting from Havana.
PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Even before the Summit of the Americas got underway this week, in Los Angeles, there was a controversy brewing over the guest list. As the United States is the host for this summit, the Biden administration gets to decide who is invited, and fairly early on officials indicated that Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela because of concerns over their human rights records, would not be getting invites sent to them.
That did not sit well with Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who said that if those countries were not invited that he perhaps would not attend. There was some back and forth behind the scenes for several days where the Biden administration and AMLO as he's known, his administration, tried to work out a compromise, but apparently those negotiations failed.
As on Monday, the Biden administration finally confirmed that Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela would not be getting invites. The Mexican President said that he himself would be boycotting the summit, but he would send in his stead a delegation of high ranking Mexican officials. And then in July, he would visit the White House to meet one-on-one with President Biden.
Cuba blasted their exclusion saying that it was undemocratic of the U.S. said that there would be Cuban representation in the form of opposition activists who they said they would invite to the summit. But some of those activists over the weekend said that they were not being allowed to leave the island by the Cuban government.
Patrick Oppmann, CNN, Havana.
VAUSE: When we come back, another blow to the Russian military with another general apparently killed in battle in eastern Ukraine. Details in a moment.
Also from the breadbasket of Europe to the bread line. Now Russia's war on Ukraine is threatening food security around the world.
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[01:15:05]
VAUSE: Welcome back, in a grinding battle in eastern Ukraine, Russian forces appear to be stepping up attacks in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Heavy smoke was seen rising from the city of Donetsk Monday. The area is controlled by Russian backed separatists. They say Ukrainian missile hit the city.
But Ukraine says it's Russian strikes hammering most of the towns and villages across the east. This is the town of Druzhkivka, where officials say one person was killed in attacks on Sunday. Towns west to the Severodonetsk city that remains a major target for Russia's offensive in the east.
Fears fighting has raged there for weeks now as Russian and Ukrainian troops battle street to street to gain the upper hand. Fresh off a visit to the frontlines, President Volodymyr Zelensky says Russian troops are holding on despite being outgunned and outnumbered.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translation): The situation in the east is difficult. The situation in Severodonetsk, you know, we are holding out. There are more of them and they are stronger.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: The impacts of this conflict are being felt around the world in the form of a global food crisis. Before Russia's invasion, Ukraine grew enough food to feed 400 million people. And the war isn't just impacting their ability to plant and grow, also blocking Ukraine from exporting what's already been harvested. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says millions of tons of wheat currently stuck in Ukraine because of a Russian sea blockade.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: This is all deliberate. We know that. President Putin is stopping food from being shipped and aggressively using his propaganda machine to deflect or distort responsibility because it hopes it'll get the world to give in to him and then the sanctions. In other words, quite simply put, it's blackmail.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: The President of the European Council Charles Michel took it a step further Monday accusing the Kremlin of using food supply as a stealth missile against developing countries. it was a hit back at Moscow's claimed that the West is to blame for the crisis. Michel addressed his criticism for the Russian U.N. Ambassador directly, prompting him to walk out of the meeting.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHARLES MICHEL, EUROPEAN COUNCIL PRESIDENT: This is cowardly, this is propaganda, pure and simple propaganda. Let's get to the facts. The E.U. has no sanctions on the agricultural sector in Russia, zero. And even our sanctions on the Russian transport sector do not go beyond our E.U. borders. You may leave the room, maybe it's easier not to listen to the truth the ambassador.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: (INAUDIBLE) live to Kyiv, CNN's Salma Abdelaziz is on livestock duty for us right now. So Salma, there is also the problem with the area which is normally used for harvest, which is now under Russian control, which is being mined according to the U.N. preventing it from growing any further crops. So what's the latest in that with that situation?
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN REPORTER: Absolutely. And Ukraine says it's working with its counterparts to try to unblock some of these ports. It says that these millions of grains are available, but it is accusing Russian forces of trying to limit global food supplies. You heard, of course, that soundbite there, Ukraine's allies accusing Russia of using weapons -- basically using food as a weapon of war.
Russia, of course, disagreeing with that accusation. But it does mean that this conflict will continue to sprawl, continue to have crises spread across particularly North Africa, Africa, which depends heavily on Ukraine for its green. So these are very important negotiations that are taking place right now.
Russia, for its part, denying that it is the reason behind the blocking of the supports. Ukraine turning to its counterparts, including Turkey to try to figure out a way to get millions of tons of grains out. Meanwhile, of course, you're looking at the possibility of a domino effect here. Potentially breadlines, high prices in other parts of the world that allows this conflict to grow which is you can see now has just ground down to street to street battles, John, with no clear end in sight.
VAUSE: Salam, thank you. Salma Abdelaziz there with the very latest. We appreciate that from Kyiv.
[01:20:03]
Meanwhile, Russia appears to have lost yet another general in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. CNN's Clare Sebastian has details.
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is another blow to Russia's military already facing tough and unforeseen resistance and its battle to take control of Ukraine's Donbas region. Russian state TV quoting the telegram account of military correspondent Alexander Sladkov, said General Roman Kutuzova led his people into an attack and died in battle.
Ukraine's armed forces also confirmed his death, saying in a post on Facebook on Sunday that General Kutuzova have been, quote, officially de-notified demilitarized, an ironic reference to Russia's stated goals in the conflict in Ukraine.
Well Kutuzova is far from the first Russian general to die in this war. As of early May, the head of the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency estimated up to 10 Russian generals had been killed, an unusually high number in a modern conflict. As for why, well, some intelligence officials have cited reports of low morale among Russian troops, meaning generals were having to go closer to the frontline to make sure that orders were carried out. Others have suggested U.S. intelligence sharing helped Ukraine locate and target the generals.
Clare Sebastian, CNN, London.
VAUSE: To Canberra, Australia now nothing, Malcolm David is a senior analyst of the Defense Strategy and Capability at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute. It's been a while, so welcome back. Good to see you.
MALCOLM DAVID, SENIOR ANALYST, AUSTRALIAN STRATEGIC POLICY INSTITUTE: Good to see you too.
VAUSE: So in recent days, British military intelligence and Russian forces in the East have generated and maintained momentum. And then Russia controls over 90 percent of Luhansk and is likely to complete control in the next two weeks. Russia has achieved these recent tactical successes at significant resource cost.
And according to Ukraine's Ministry of Defense, as of Monday, Russian losses so far amount to more than 31,000 troops, more than 200 fighter jets, 176 helicopters, more than 1,300 tanks, that list just goes on and on and on. So right now, whatever against the Russians have made, it's been the result of artillery equivalent of carpet bombing, and heavy losses. How much longer can the Russian military sustain this sort of offensive?
DAVID: Look, I think the Russians can sustain this offensive, quote, for quite a while. Yes, they're taking very heavy losses, but from the Russian way of warfighting, that's par for the course in the sense of the Russians assume heavy losses in any battle. So it's kind of different from how Western forces fight where we try to avoid losses. In the Russian perspective, you just throw forces in and if you take losses, you take losses. The key is to achieve the objective.
VAUSE: Looking at this battle for Severodonetsk, it doesn't seem that there's any real tactical advantage for the Russians if they take control of the city. The Ukrainians don't lose much either if they don't control it. Is this more about sort of projecting power demoralizing the Ukrainians in the West?
DAVID: I think it is, and I think that Severodonetsk ultimately, does open up a way for them to advance towards Kramatorsk. And that would be a real victory for the Russians. But probably, the most important step the Russians would take would be if they could complete the encirclement of Ukrainian forces around Severodonetsk and Kramatorsk in what is known as a salient.
If they can cut off that salient, and trap those forces, they can wear them down and impose a very significant defeat on Ukraine, and that could potentially demoralize the Ukrainians, force them to push back a bit. And essentially, we could then see Russia try to build on that momentum to try and expand further westwards.
VAUSE: As this war goes on, there's also a pretty high price being paid by Ukrainians. Here's the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LINDA THOMAS-GREENFIELD, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N.: There have been multiple reports from survivors of Russia's soldiers, breaking down doors to basements where women were sheltering and raping them. These terrible acts were done in front of their children, and they were filmed by the Russian soldiers. These are bone chilling accounts.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: There seems no attempt by Russian soldiers to hide their crimes, in fact, quite the opposite. That seems to suggest they have no fear of being held accountable, at least by the Russian military commanders and making videos and taking photographs. Is that being done deliberately to so they can be seen by Ukrainians to terrorize women and young girls?
DAVID: Now, as I said, earlier, I think the Russians fight war in a very different way to the how the U.S. or Australia or the United Kingdom fight wars. We are very focused on what's known as laws of armed conflict, international humanitarian law, avoiding civilian casualties and certainly not committing atrocities, whereas, the Russians simply don't care.
[01:25:00]
So, you know, you do see these sorts of behavior by Russian troops on the battlefield. They don't care because they figured they're never going to be held to account and it's war. So, therefore, all the rules are away. They can do what they like. We have a very different approach to warfare to what they do.
VAUSE: Russia is also holding Ukrainian grain hostage, leaving many around the world facing food shortages. Here's the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BLINKEN: Right now, a Russian naval blockade in the Black Sea is preventing Ukraine's crops from being shipped to their normal destinations. There somewhere around 20 million tons of wheat that's trapped in silos near Odesa, and in ships literally filled with grain that are stuck in the Odesa port.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Is there a legitimate reason for preventing the export of grain? Is this just all about raising the cost for the West for its support of Ukraine?
DAVID: I think it is. I think what the Russians are doing is using food as a weapon to try and put pressure on in particular Western European states to force Ukraine into some sort of settlement with Russia on Russia's terms. And we've had the likes of Emmanuel Macron, saying that we shouldn't give -- we shouldn't humiliate Russia, we should give them an off ramp. But Russians are playing on this and they're using the threat of famine and food insecurity to try and pressure the west into forcing Ukraine's hand.
You know, the potential for this to be turning into some sort of global food crisis is very real, and the West certainly does need to do something to break open those ports and restore the flow of grain to markets in Africa and elsewhere.
VAUSE: Malcolm, we appreciate you being with us. Malcolm David there in Canberra. Thank you.
DAVID: Thank you.
VAUSE: Many Ukrainians both soldiers and civilians who paid the ultimate price for defending their country, they've been killed in combat, but yet they remain unknown. CNN's Ben Wedeman was given exclusive access to the central morgue in Kyiv where crews are working to identify the fallen and give their families closure. Warning now his report contains some disturbing images.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): And so begins on a sunny summer morning, the grimmest of tasks. Workers it keeps central morgue examined the contents of 160 dirty, putrid body bags. Containing the badly decomposed remains of soldiers killed during the two-month siege at the port city of Mariupol and in the city sprawling Azovstal steel plant, where Ukrainian forces made their last stand.
Ukraine and Russia have conducted an exchange of bodies as part of the agreement and ended the siege. Forensic Examiner Lilia Philipchuck (ph) has been on the job for three years. Since the war began, she's had little rest.
We also examined the bodies from Bucha and Irpin, she says, referring to Kyiv suburbs where retreating Russian forces are accused of committing atrocities against civilians. Elena Tolkachova is also helping. She's affiliated with the Azov brigade, which fought in Mariupol. The brigade is a nationalist militia that was integrated into Ukraine's armed forces.
The morgue is already full of bodies from Kyiv, from Bucha, from Irpin, she says, so we have to put them in a refrigerator truck.
Morgue workers search the ripped and ragged clothing for documents and tag and bag and personal items. This is just the start of a long process.
(on-camera): Some of these bodies have no identification so their DNA will have to be sampled. And it may take a month, maybe more to find out who they were.
(voice-over): And only then will their loved ones know their fate. Finality for the living and the dead will have to wait.
Ben Wedeman, CNN, Kyiv.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Still to come here, free speech or blasphemy outrage in the Muslim world over controversial comments by Indian officials about the Prophet Muhammad. Live report from New Delhi in a moment.
Also harrowing stories of survival after gunman storm in Nigerian church murder. Dozens of people including children. Our report from Lagos when we come back.
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[01:32:09]
VAUSE: Welcome back. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause.
Well, controversial comments by some officials from India's ruling party about Islam has caused outrage in parts of the Muslim world. In some countries there's a little diplomatic blowback with India's ambassadors being summoned to demand an apology.
CNN's Vedika Sud has more now reporting in live from New Delhi. So I guess from the Indian perspective it's just freedom of speech?
VEDIKA SUD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's a good question you ask me there, John. But it's quite clear that many governments across Islamic countries have actually gone ahead and launched formal protests with Indian representatives from India's diplomatic circles within their countries stating that they're extremely concerned and angry over the controversial comments made by two officials belonging to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu Nationalist Party, the Bharatiya Janata Party known as the BJP here in India.
Now, among those countries is also the state of Qatar. Now let me just read out what the foreign office of the Qatar foreign ministry had to say. A part of the statement that they put out stated that "The state of Qatar calls on the Indian government to immediately condemn these remarks and publicly apologize to all Muslims in the world."
Now, the response from the Indian embassy in Qatar was quite, surprising, John. Because you have to actually hear what they had to say. I'm reading out another excerpt here where the ambassador conveyed that "The tweets do not in any manner reflect the views government of India, these are views of fringe elements."
Now, this was in response to a tweet by a BJP official as well. He has now been expelled, while the other official has been suspended.
But it's very interesting to see, how the ambassador from India to Qatar has actually used the term "fringe" for the BJP, which is the mainstream political party of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in India.
Now, however much damage control the Indian government is in currently, the impact and ramifications have been plenty.
Like you mentioned, at least 14 Muslim countries have expressed their anger over the controversial comments made by these two officials belonging to the BJP, the comments were controversial on Prophet Muhammad.
Now, in Kuwait, there has been an impact of this as well. Supermarkets out there have been pulling Indian goods off their racks and shelves. This after a huge call in several Muslim countries to boycott Indian goods. And you can see those visuals there where these goods are being pulled off the racks in Kuwait.
Now, this comes at a time when very recently, the U.S. has actually put out a report, this report is on international religious freedom, and this report also spoke about India talking about how the violence, the attacks on members of minority communities has been happening in the country of India throughout the year 2021.
[01:35:00]
SUD: This is a report that the Indian foreign ministry has officially condemned and rejected. So clearly, the Indian government is in damage control mode. And this comes at a time when most of these countries that we are talking about share close ties with India, John.
VAUSE: Vedika, thank you. Vedika Sud there reporting live from New Delhi.
It's still not clear who's behind Sunday's brutal and deadly attacks on a Nigerian Catholic church where a lawmakers says close to 50 people are confirmed dead, including children after gunmen stormed in riding motorcycles and opened fire.
The wounded were treated at local hospitals. Here's one account from a survivor.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FRANCIS OBI, CHURCH ATTACK SURVIVOR: While the church was going on, all of a sudden while the mass is about to end, we heard two gunshots near this side. Everybody began to run.
Everybody is wondering, what is happening, what is happening? It is (INAUDIBLE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: CNN Stephanie Busari has more now reporting from Lagos and a warning: her report contains some graphic images.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STEPHANIE BUSARI, CNN DIGITAL SUPERVISING EDITOR, AFRICA: Nearly 50 people have died after attackers stormed a Catholic church in the city of Owo, Ondo State, southwest Nigeria as mass was coming to an end and began sporadically shooting, authorities say.
Eyewitnesses say a large group of armed men on motorcycles stormed the St. Francis Catholic church and threw explosives into the building to cause confusion then opened fire on the congregation.
A woman whose parents died in the attack has paid tribute to them, saying they never missed mass. Laide (INAUDIBLE) said her parents were always together and even in death were inseparable.
Nigerians are reeling from this latest killing in the country. Violence has escalated in parts of the country in recent times. And President Buhari has condemned the killings. But his words ring hollow to many Nigerians who say they simply do not feel safe doing every day things anymore in the country
Buhari, a former general, was supposed to be tough on crime and insecurity. But some say it has worsened under his administration. And kidnappings and killings are now a daily occurrence in the country, with ever more brazen and audacious attacks.
Stephanie Busari, CNN -- Lagos.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Well, no deal yet but progress on gun reform according to a key Democrat in the U.S. Senate who's part of the negotiations with the Republicans. Of course, there are two Republican senators who have indicated Congress is unlikely to raise the age limit to buy a semi automatic weapon. Right now in many states, it is 18.
But the moderate Senate Democrat Joe Manchin has voiced support for higher age requirements. His vote is critical to pass any legislation in the split chamber. He says some of the proposed reforms may have saved lives in Uvalde.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SENATOR JOE MANCHIN (D-WV): Here, you want to look at two things that could've prevented this. an age requirement would have prevented an 18-year-old. And basically a red flag law, that's basically intended to try to help a person get some mental health.
MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Do you think that there should be a ban -- an assault weapons ban, an AR-15 --
MANCHIN: We're not talking about bans, I wouldn't have a problem on looking at some of these things. What is the necessity? Tell me what the purpose is. And let's use them for those purposes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: A tally by CNN confirmed at least At least 13 mass shootings just since Friday, killing 17, and wounding more than 70 others. The nonprofit Gun Violence Archive says the number of mass shootings in the U.S. is on track for the worst year on record.
And a somber scene at the national mall of Washington. more than 45,000 flowers were placed for the National Gun Violence Memorial. The number represents the rising U.S. death toll from firearms each year. The Giffords Organization says the installation is meant to inspire change.
The group was founded by former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, herself a victim of gun violence. The display is open to the public until Saturday.
Still to come, the terrifying sight of China's COVID enforcers -- the hazmat suit wearing stormtroopers. That's next.
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VAUSE: Well, a nuclear oversight group says North Korea could be preparing to resume nuclear testing. The International Atomic Energy Agency reports a passage to access the country's only nuclear testing site has been reopened after being partly dismantled back in 2018.
News comes after Pyongyang's 17 missile launch of the year over the weekend. Eight short-range ballistic missiles were launched off the eastern side of the Korean peninsula.
South Korea and the U.S. responded by launching releasing eight surface to surface missiles a day later.
Shanghai's COVID surge causing tens of thousands of students to delay taking China's national college entrance exam. The test, originally scheduled for this month, has now been pushed back to July. Yet another impact of China's zero COVID policy.
CNN's Kristie Lu Stout joins me now for more on this live in Hong Kong.
You know, i's hard to overstate just how big of a deal the Gaokao is. So for Shanghai to delay the college entrance exam it's just indicative of how serious officials are taking this COVID outbreak.
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, absolutely. You know, 50,000 students in Shanghai will not be taking the Gaokao exam today. They're going to have to wait, you know, about a month from now.
But look, you know, Shanghai is slowly emerging from that punishing two-month lockdown. But there are reports of cases of COVID-19 and reports of targeted lockdowns in various neighborhoods, as a result of these cases popping up.
And again, back to these students. The Gaokao exam as you said is huge. This is a very significant college entrance exam. It's taking place across the country right now, except in Shanghai.
This is an exam that could change your life in China. It takes about nine hours, it spans two days. A high score is the only way you can get into a top university. And unlike the SAT in the United States, you don't get a second chance, you only get one shot at the test.
Shanghai students will be able to take it though on July the 7th. Look, the city there is, you know, just slowly getting back to normal on Monday in fact. They were able to report that older high school students in Shanghai resumed in-person classes. So they would be able to prepare for the Gaokao exam. And yet, hundreds of thousands of people in China's financial capital are still being subjected to mandatory COVID-19 testing as authorities there in zero COVID China hunt for every and single case of the virus.
So much so yesterday, on Monday, we learned that three new cases of COVID-19 were detected at a community level. That led to three different neighborhoods being put under lockdown for two weeks.
So it's far from normal in Shanghai, John.
VAUSE: It's far from normal too for kids going to school across China. Many have been locked out of campus for months now. And when they are on campus, they routinely undergo COVID tests. So this is a very disrupted school year to say the least.
STOUT: Absolutely. And more disruptions taking place in the Chinese capital in Beijing. It was able to avoid a lockdown. But there have been recently major restrictions there including involving school students.
And we know that next Monday, that's when students in Beijing will be able to resume in-person, in room testing and being able to go back to the classroom.
You know, life slowly returning back to normal in Beijing. Yesterday, they started to resume public transport, going back to normal. Office workers can go back to the office. In service resuming as well in most areas of the capital city.
The only catch is you have to have proof of a negative PCR test taken in the previous 72 hours.
[01:44:56]
STOUT: And it's really important to just point out that Beijing was able to avoid the fate of Shanghai. It was able to avoid a lockdown. And it continues to report lower cases of COVID-19. And that has prompted some China watchers to say it appears that Beijing party bosses are much more able to manage zero COVID in China, than party bosses in Shanghai, John.
VAUSE: Kristie, thank you. Kristie Lu Stout, live for us there in Hong Kong. Good point.
China's COVID enforcers known as big whites are being portrayed by state media as just helpful civil servants but as CNN's Selina Wang reports, some have been behaving in ways that are sparking fear as well as outrage. A warning: some of the images you are about to see are disturbing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SELINA WANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is a common sight in China, armies of COVID workers in full bodyweight protective gear. Shanghai maybe exiting its harsh lockdown, but China's COVID war is not over. Since lockdowns began in cities across China, hazmat suit workers have become symbols to many of brutality and authoritarian excess.
In this Shanghai community, a COVID worker repeatedly beats a man with a stick. This COVID worker forcefully shoves a woman to the ground. She hits the pavement, then clutches her head in pain.
In another video, a COVID worker kicks and slaps a man to the ground. And a brigade of COVID officials dragged this woman out of her apartment in Shanghai. She screams that she will go with them if she can just get her shoes. She tries to resist with all her strength, but in vain.
CNN was not able to verify the identities of the people involved or the circumstances in these videos, or even if they are related to COVID control, and authorities did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Most of the big whites are health care workers, volunteers and police officers, genuinely trying to help their communities. While extreme violence from these COVID enforcers is rare, these viral videos have sparked outrage, underscoring people's growing frustrations with China's zero COVID policy.
This video in particular, horrified residents earlier when they were locked down. It shows nine police officers in hazmat suits surrounding a man in a Shanghai community with some relentlessly beating and kicking him. He tries to run away, but they catch him and continue to throw their punches.
CNN geolocated where this beating happened, I called the local police station. So she seems to have seen the video. She knows that the video exists. She says she's going to call over her colleague who's going to give me a call back.
But I never got the call back, so I tried again.
He told me that this never happened, and then he just hung up.
This isn't the image of COVID control that China wants. This is more desirable, government propaganda has called COVID enforcers big whites, a nod to the cute and inflatable robot from "Big Hero 6".
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello I am Baymax, your personal health care companion.
WANG: Like Baymax, the big whites in state media videos are lifting people's spirits, they're leading dances and quarantine centers helping the elderly, even climbing ladders to deliver COVID tests.
But the innocent image of the big whites (INAUDIBLE) by the horrific behavior some who are possibly empowered by the anonymity under their white suits.
Numerous videos show them beating residents, barricading them in their homes, breaking doors to take people to quarantine, climbing into houses through windows to disinfect -- even beating pets to death.
Chinese social media have even started calling the COVID enforcers white guards, referring to the red guards of the cultural revolution, who savagely beat, tortured, and killed.
But most of these videos of brutality from the big whites are gone, censored from Chinese social media. In their place are fluffy heroes, but the big whites' cruelty already seared into so many minds, shaking peoples faith in the Chinese government.
Selina Wang, CNN -- Beijing. (END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: The U.N.'s cost for extreme weather related disasters has increased by more than 800 percent in the last two decades. According to report from the charity Oxfam, the average annual cost of weather related humanitarian funding in 2002 was up $1.6 billion. By 2019 through 2021, it topped out at more than $15 billion.
The Research also found that wealthy countries which caused the most harm to the climate, are only paying about half of what's needed.
Tennis superstar Rafael Nadal speaks to CNN's Christiane Amanpour about his record-extending win at the French Open.
When we come back, find out what he says what is likely called the greatest of all time.
[01:49:54]
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VAUSE: Fresh off another French Open win, tennis great Rafael Nadal says he is proud of his record 22 Grand Slam victories. But does he think he is the greatest of all time?
Nadal spoke with CNN's chief international anchor Christiane Amanpour in Paris on Monday after winning his 14th French Open title. Here's part of that interview.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: There's the cup, I mean there we have it, the great trophy. 14 times, 22 Grand Slams, a whole load of other U.S. Open, Australian Open, two Olympic gold medals. Are you ready to declare, or at least have people say, that you are now the greatest of all time. You wouldn't agree when I asked you last time?
RAFAEL NADAL, TENNIS PLAYER: I honestly, I don't think much about that. And from the bottom of my heart, I really don't care that much, you know.
I mean, I think, it doesn't matter. you know, I think we achieved our dreams, I achieve my dreams, I enjoy what I'm doing. Yes, I understand the question, and I know the praise of the people's always caring about this stuff.
But in some way, I know I am an important part of the history of the sport. And that makes me feel proud, happy, and at the end, it doesn't matter much.
AMANPOUR: When you came off the court yesterday, in your on-court speech, you said I never thought that at 36 years old, with all these injuries, that I would be in this position.
And we see your, you know, your fingers bandaged, like Muhammad Ali after he takes off his boxing gloves. We see your feet and you're limping today. It is an amazing achievement because you yourself said and you turn to your team saying, I didn't think I would be here.
Then what made you achieve this?
NADAL: Well, yes it's unexpected. The last couple of years have been very difficult. After the pandemic something happened in my foot, I'm not able to manage that pain to play often and to practice.
In the past I had a lot of things starting from the foot for the first time in 2005, then of course, the knees have been a big issue for me for such a long time. Then a couple of times I break my wrist. I don't know.
But the only thing that I can say is going through all of this probably challenges, I always hold the passion for keep going. I always hold the love for the game. I always wanted to keep going.
That's probably why I'm in the position that I'm in today.
AMANPOUR: When you're -- I don't know the Australian Open final and you're two sets down, and you're playing the guy who won the U.S. open final, what goes through y our mind. Even here you -- like when you played Felix Auger Aliassime. I was there. I watched it.
01:54:55]
AMANPOUR: And it was very touch and go. What steel trap do you --
NADAL: My mind is -- the normal thing that I lose. But if I lose, let the opponent win, you know.
AMANPOUR: Beat you.
NADAL: Beat you.
AMANPOUR: So they still have to beat you. They're not going to learn --
NADAL: Exactly. I don't have to lose. I don't have to give. I don't have to put the things easy for the opponent.
In my mind it's ok. Things are super difficult but let's keep trying to find a solution, you know. Let's keep trying to find a way to play for the better, to make the opponent feel a little bit more uncomfortable.
I don't know, just try to fight mentally and (INAUDIBLE)
AMANPOUR: You must feel some joy at beating Federer and Djokovic in terms of the Grand Slams. Can you take some joy?
NADAL: Yes, of course, as I said, of course I want to be the player with more Grand Slams of the history. That's competition. But, it's not something that I'm upset at all and that's not something that's going to change my mind. AMANPOUR: Maybe that's how you keep achieving?
NADAL: You never know. But honestly it's something that not bothers me Novak win 23 and I stay with 22. I think my happiness will not change at all. Not even 1 percent.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Well, despite ongoing injuries, Nadal says he wants to be at Wimbledon, as long as his body is ready for it.
And before we go, a moment of ahhh -- the latest photo of Prince Harry and Meghan's -- Lilibet Diana Mountbatten Windsor -- quite the name, celebrating her first birthday at (INAUDIBLE) cottage in England. Lilibet is named after her great grandmother, Queen Elizabeth.
While they're no longer working royals, Prince Harry and Meghan were in the U.K. for the Queen's Jubilee, celebrating an unprecedented 70 years on the British throne.
Thank you for watching this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause.
My colleague Paula Newton will take over the chair. I'll see you tomorrow.
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