Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

CNN INTERNATIONAL: W.H.O. Warns Of Fears Of Cholera Outbreak In Mariupol; Boris Johnson Faces Uphill Battle To Win Back Party's Support After Winning Confidence Vote; U.S.-Latin America Summit Facing Controversy; Matthew McConaughey Calls for Tougher Gun Laws; Putin Blames the West; Cancer Drug Shows Promising Results. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired June 07, 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]

ZAIN ASHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, everyone, I'm Zain Asher, you are watching CNN NEWSROOM coming to you live from New York. Tonight, fears of a cholera outbreak in the Russian occupied city of Mariupol. I'll be speaking to the World Health Organization about the dire condition on the ground. Then Boris Johnson faces an uphill battle to win back his party's support after narrowly winning a vote of confidence.

And later, heads of state across Latin America descend on Los Angeles for the Ninth Summit of the American -- the Americas, with some notable countries missing. Can the summit really be a success? Stalemate is not an option. And that defined statement from Ukraine's president today as he vows to retake all of his country's territory from Russia. But the situation is looking increasingly grim in Luhansk.

A pro-Russian separatist leader says the 97 percent of that Donbas province has now been, quote, "liberated", in his words. Ukraine is still fighting to hold on to the last major city under its control in Luhansk. Officials say the situation in Severodonetsk is consistently difficult and changes by the hour. But they say there is constant shelling along the frontline. Our Ben Wedeman is in Kramatorsk, Ukraine, tonight and joins us live now. So, we're seeing street-by- street, battles in Severodonetsk. What's the latest, Ben?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Really, it just continues to be the same situation as we've seen over the last 24 to 48 hours there, that after -- over the weekend, Ukrainian forces were able to push the Russians back, regain some territory in that city. It appears now that they are back on the defensive. They insist that the Russians have tried to advance further within Severodonetsk, but they've been able to hold the line.

But it continues to be the case that Ukrainian forces are far outnumbered when it comes to artillery being used by the Russians. The Russians basically, their military tactics are highly dependent upon intense and massive use of artillery against targets like this. And therefore, the Ukrainians simply don't have much that they can counter with. So, they are at best holding on to just the last bits of the city that they can. Zain?

ASHER: And then let's talk about Mariupol. That city obviously destroyed by Russian forces. But the nightmare there suddenly is not over, especially those having to endure the grim task of identifying bodies.

WEDEMAN: Yes, in addition to the grim situation within this city itself, where there is the threat of a cholera outbreak, apparently there are so many dead bodies in the street that even the mass graves aren't enough to hold them. But there was a prisoner, rather a body exchange between the Russians and the Ukrainians, and we were the only camera when in Kyiv at the central morgue when they started to unload the bodies of Ukrainian soldiers killed in the two-month siege of Mariupol.

But before we get to that report, we must warn viewers that some of the images they're about to see may be disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WEDEMAN (voice-over): And so it begins on a sunny Summer morning, the grimmest of tasks. Workers at Kyiv central morgue examine the contents of 160 dirty, putrid body bags, containing the badly decomposed remains of soldiers killed during the two-month siege of the port city of Mariupol. And in the city's 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 that ended the siege.

Forensic examiner Liliya Philipchuk has been on the job for three years. Since the war began, she's had little rest.

"We also examine the bodies from Bucha and Irpin", she says, referring to Kyiv's suburbs where retreating Russian forces are accused of committing atrocities against civilians.

[14:05:00]

Olena Tolkatchova 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 the 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.

(END VIDEOTAPE) WEDEMAN: And many of these corpses were simply left out in the open

for weeks. We had a good look at them. Most of them were completely unrecognizable. They were fair -- very few things that would help the authorities identify them. We understand that so far, out of those 160 body bags, only eight bodies have been positively identified. Zain.

ASHER: Ben Wedeman, live for us there, thank you so much. Now, for those still living in Mariupol, the situation is beyond imagining. According to local officials, dead bodies lying in the streets as our Ben Wedeman was just touching on there. And the city's sanitation system is in a desperate state. The World Health Organization has been warning for weeks that these conditions pose a, quote, "huge hazard."

And now fears are growing that Russia may soon close down the city over fears of a cholera outbreak. And W.H.O. spokesperson, Dr. Margaret Harris is joining me live now from the Poland-Ukraine border. Dr. Harris, thank you so much for being with us.

It's unimaginable what you think about when you think about what residents there are dealing with right now, in addition to surviving some of the fiercest battles on the ground they're now having to contend with a cholera outbreak, potentially, dysentery, other ailments as well. Just walk us through what you've seen and heard on the ground.

MARGARET HARRIS, SPOKESPERSON, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: Good evening, Zain. Well, certainly, people have come out have indeed described it as a living hell. And those who are still there are living in a place where there's been massive destruction to the things that we all expect to be normal, such as drinking water supplies, sewage, and the reason we had been warning all those -- for many weeks now about the risk of water borne diseases is because when you've got damage to the sewage system and the water system, you're going to get mixing of the two, and therefore, you are likely to get all the different diseases, gastroenteritis.

But the other diseases -- well, the other infectious diseases. Because when people are living under such difficult circumstances, their immune systems are tremendously weakened, simply by what they're suffering from.

ASHER: So what more do we know about Ukraine's sort of health infrastructure, A, before the war, and B, now.

HARRIS: So, Ukraine was one of the real success stories. They had started to reform their health system. And they were going from strength to strength. And honestly, what strikes me as remarkable is even in the midst of all this terrible suffering and damage -- and I just looked at the number of attacks on health care, we have verified 290 attacks on health care.

Even so, as the damage happens, every chance they get, they start plugging the gaps, repairing as they go. It's almost like seeing the plane being repaired while flying. And people -- doctors and nurses have been displaced by the fighting or by all the different things going on, will start to pick up and start working wherever they end up. So, it's an extraordinary resilient system, but it's a system that should never be under the pressure we are seeing it under.

ASHER: Right because hospitals are being bombed. I mean, when it comes to how people who have been infected get treated, I mean, that is certainly very tenuous. I mean, how does Ukraine deal with this when it is in the middle of a war?

HARRIS: Exactly. And not just deal with it, but you've got hospitals where every night -- I was in a children's hospital recently, every night, the staff go down at 8 O'clock to the basement, where they've made up beds throughout the basement.

[14:10:00]

These are places which are normally home to a few rats and, you know, pipes and things. Now, the entire children's hospital, all the children go down there, the staff go down there, the parents go down there and spend the night there every night. Because they decided that there are so many attacks, so many air raid warnings that they can't keep on bringing the kids up and down, they'll never get any sleep. So, they simply go there every night at 8 O'clock, and the entire children's hospital sleeps down there.

ASHER: Gosh. So, there are about 150,000 residents left in Mariupol, originally, the city had about 400,000. So, what efforts are being made to give those residents access to clean water? Because how on earth do you begin to prepare food if you don't have access to clean water?

HARRIS: You're quite right. Indeed, it's critical to protect yourself from cholera and from any of the gastrointestinal diseases, any of the water-borne diseases, by ensuring that you wash your hands, that you can ensure that your food is clean and that the water you're using is clean. So, for us, we are trying to reach to people with advice, but more than advice, the things -- work with partners to see what can be done about clean drinking water.

Now, we are definitely working through partners -- I'm not saying we as W.H.O. on the ground. But it is critical that people be reached with the things they can use to protect their health.

ASHER: And in terms of where a city like Mariupol goes from here. I mean, you've got a prolonged warfare, there's no sign that this war is going to end anytime soon. But you've also got warmer weather. We're in June, it's Summer now. How is that impacting, you know, the potential for more water-borne diseases?

HARRIS: That definitely increases the risk. So, as I said, we had -- have already assessed the risk is very high. And we do know that in the past, there have been outbreaks of water-borne diseases such as cholera back in 2011 was the last time we saw a big outbreak in Mariupol, and that was during the Summer months, June, July, August. So, these are -- this is a period when you're likely to get it even under normal circumstances, and that's why it's so important to ensure that people have access to clean and safe drinking water and the means to protect themselves. ASHER: Dr. Margaret Harris, thank you so much. It's unbelievable what

people on the ground in that country are going through as if they haven't been through enough already. Dr. Harris, thank you so much. To Westminster now where confidence has been won, but confidence has certainly been shaken as well. Boris Johnson is prime minister on the defensive after scraping through a vote of confidence by members of his own party.

More than 40 percent of Conservative MPs called for him to go, many of those on his side are thought to be on the government payroll, meaning their jobs are directly connected to the prime minister. Mr. Johnson gave a pep talk to the cabinet earlier, saying his government will focus on issues like the cost of living crisis, echoing his reaction to the vote last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BORIS JOHNSON, PRIME MINISTER, UNITED KINGDOM: Of course, I understand that what we need to do now is come together as a government, as a party, and that is exactly what we can now do. And what this gives us is the opportunity to put behind us all the stuff that I know the media have quite properly wanted to focus on for a very long time, and to do our job, which is to focus on the stuff that I think the public actually want us to be talking about, which is what we are doing to help the people in this country and all the things we're doing to take this country forward.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: Right, Phil Black is joining us now outside Number 10 Downing Street. So, Phil, you heard the prime minister there, he wants to sort of draw a line under everything that happened, draw a line on the party-gate, sort of sweep everything under the rug, move forward, but it's not really going to be that easy, is it?

PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No. It is an act of willful optimism for Boris Johnson to describe this as a good result, but that's what he's done. And he and other supporters have used other adjectives like decisive, like comfortable, handsome, to describe the nature of coming out successfully through this no-confidence vote. And they argue that this is -- should really draw a line beneath the whole thing.

That it's a mandate for him to get on with the job of governing. And as you heard there, governing on the sorts of issues, fixing the sorts of problems that he says the British public are most concerned by. That is no doubt his wish. But the reality is, as you touched on the little over 40 percent of sitting Conservative MPs no longer want him to be prime minister.

That is not a figure strong enough to push him from office just yet, but it is a substantial number and strong enough to reveal the scale of the discontent within the party over his continued leadership, to reveal his weakness, the weakness to his authority.

[14:15:00] Now, for the moment, as it stands, under the rules, Boris Johnson

can't be challenged again in this way by the Conservative parliamentary party room, not for a year. But we are told those rules could change. And it is still possible the pressure to continue to increase on this prime minister. He's got some big challenges coming up, a couple of by-elections which will no doubt take on great importance in being a reflection of the view and the feeling among the British public.

There is also an ongoing inquiry into whether or not Boris Johnson lied to parliament over the party-gate affair. If that inquiry finds that he did, then once again, the pressure will ramp right up. But for the moment, Boris Johnson hopes that he can focus on policy, focus on getting things done and with a little luck, perhaps, remain in as the party leader, as the prime minister into the next scheduled election in a couple of years time. Zain.

ASHER: But the fact remains that there are a lot of people within his own party who don't have confidence in him. Who quite frankly, want him to go. How does he win those people back?

BLACK: Well, it's a very good question. Because the things that these people are angry about are pretty fundamental. We're talking about character and leadership and integrity and trustworthiness. These are not things that once lost, they can't be easily restored. Some of the people that have voted against him have clearly done so on a point of principle because they think that his behavior clearly just simply makes him unfit for the office.

Others have made a colder, you would think, political calculation. One that says his popularity in the electorate has waned as a result of this. And this may not be the prime minister who is best positioned to ensure that I hold on to my seat at the next election. Johnson supporters also say that there are people in these numbers who clearly have never liked Johnson or whose careers have suffered under his time as prime minister.

But it is going to be a long slog for the prime minister from here. History shows -- recent history shows that conservative prime ministers don't just bounce back from a no-confidence vote, even when they win, even when they win more convincingly than Boris Johnson has won this particular challenge. So, he might be talking about getting on with the job, but he knows that there is still great uncertainty, many challenges ahead for him to pursue and hold on to his political office.

ASHER: Yes, we saw -- we saw what happened with Prime Minister Theresa May. Phil Black live for us there, thank you so much. OK, still to come tonight, a bumpy start, how snubs and boycotts are threatening to derail the first U.S. hosted Summit of the Americas in years. And a new cancer drug stuns researchers with how well it performs in trials. More details ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:20:00] ASHER: All right, welcome back everybody. Heads of state and foreign

ministers from across Latin America are joining U.S. leaders in Los Angeles right now for the Ninth Summit of the Americas. But it is who is not coming that is getting the attention. The Biden administration refused to invite the leaders of Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela, saying that dictators should have no place at the table.

And that led to Mexico's president saying that actually, he is not coming either. We have a team coverage for you. Joining me live now from Washington is senior White House correspondent Phil Mattingly, and in Havana, we've got CNN's Patrick Oppmann. Phil, let me start with you. Given all the no shows here, especially from heavyweights like for example Mexico, what does Biden hope to achieve with this summit, do you think?

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Look, I think there is palpable frustration at least behind the scenes from White House officials right now, in the sense, they feel like this has become more about the invitations than the actual event itself.

And when you look at the event itself, you look at the work when you talk to White House officials, when you talk to other administration officials who have been working on this, gathering of the hemisphere over the course of the last several weeks and months, the entire goal here was really to kind of insert U.S. leadership -- really, reassert U.S. leadership in this region at this moment in time.

A moment in time obviously where countries have been ravaged by the coronavirus pandemic, have been ravaged economically, there's -- facing real challenges, the U.S. is, when it comes to Chinese footholds within some of these countries' economies. And the U.S. really re-asserting leadership, re-asserting tools and mechanics for new investments inside the region where the United States would be leading the way.

Instead, there is a lot of discussion about who is not coming at this point in time. Now, to be clear, obviously, there will be top Mexican officials, including the foreign minister who will be appearing. The U.S. side believes that they will still be able to secure significant agreements for the region right now. But I think there is a lot of frustration given how the president pledged a new moment in time for a region beset by kind of crises and backhanded treatment over the course of the four prior years.

That this is what they're dealing with at this very critical moment for this administration summit.

ASHER: Phil, standby, Patrick let me bring you in. Because if you have for example countries like Cuba, like Nicaragua, like Venezuela that are not invited, what's the view from their perspective? Can this really be a productive summit if certain countries are excluded?

PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, they're furious here and it's leading to somewhat ironic comments of -- from Cuban officials saying that the United States is not democratic because they're not inviting countries from -- throughout the region. And Cuba for much of the cold war was sidelined, was excluded. But

during the last two summits of the Americas, they were invited, they were at the table, and they were -- had an opportunity, which is what they're seeking to voice their long list of complaints. They will not have that opportunity this time. That is why they have marshaled their influence around the region. Which is a lot bigger than a small island would suggest, and led to Mexico's President AMLO saying that he will boycott the summit.

But it's not just him. It's Honduras' president, and for very different reasons, El Salvador's president, Guatemala's president. And so essentially, you have all the countries that -- leading countries the United States need to engage with on immigration, and their presidents will not be at the table, and that is simply not the optics they want.

But when you do talk to Biden administration officials in the State Department, they say that the idea of having Cuba, which has been trying mostly peaceful protesters over the last several months. Nicaragua where the president there has locked up his opponents and Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro who is under indictment for drug smuggling in the U.S., that's simply just not tenable in their minds and they can't have these countries which they call dictatorships at the same table with an American president, lecturing the American president.

But has led to this really remarkable backlash, and even many of the presidents who are coming have called out the U.S. and said that Cuba and these other countries should have been included.

ASHER: Right, that's the big controversy. So, Phil, this summit is happening just as a caravan of migrants is making its way to the U.S. Mexico border. Given that backdrop, what are the U.S.' key priorities for this summit though?

MATTINGLY: Look, I think you hit at a really key point about why it's not just an invitation issue that the Mexican president has decided not to attend. The leverage right now that the Mexican administration has when it comes to the U.S. because of migration issues, and particularly also those northern triangle countries, it's just that it's simply in a different place than it has been during past summit of the Americas.

[14:25:00]

And you're seeing that leverage kind of be put into play, and that is exactly why the Mexican President AMLO will have a private meeting at the White House sometime in July. So, migration is obviously critical. It is something that this administration has been grappling with, often falling short on over the course of the first 16 months in office.

But I do think when you talk to administration officials, investment in the region is most critical. They recognize what the entire region, really the entire world has been through over the course of the last two and a half-three years. They feel like U.S. leadership in the four years prior wasn't in a place that it should be when it comes to this actual hemisphere.

And I think, you know, you will hear a lot, if not explicitly, certainly implicitly, about the concern of growing Chinese influence in the region. And the country, the United States and its top officials trying to use different mechanisms, whether it's through public health, whether it's through investment, whether it's through structures that they can put into place to kind of re-engage or reinvigorate the U.S. role in this region, tro try and almost to some degree, block or at least better what they've seen from the Chinese in the region over the course of the last several years.

Those will be really critical components. I don't think you're ever going to get away from who is not in attendance, but that would be the focus for U.S. officials and the president over the course of the next several days. Zain.

ASHER: And Patrick, let me just bring you in as well, because you heard Phil touch on the fact that Mexico's president is going to be having a private meeting at the White House in July. But given all the grievances, how does the U.S. reset its relationship with Latin America, do you think?

OPPMANN: Well, they'll have to, because it's not just, you know, the United States' backyard as it used to be called. You have China courting these countries. And that's perhaps giving some of these countries a little more leeway to stand up to the United States. So, people in Latin America, which has been so hard hit by the pandemic, leaders in Latin America feel that the U.S., particularly the Biden administration has not followed through on promises to re-engage.

And certainly, it's -- this summit was meant to be that moment where they would begin to re-engage, it's hit a really rocky start here. And you know, when it comes to Cuba, you know, we're seeing exodus of Cubans leaving towards United States. You know, even if the Biden administration doesn't want to speak to Cuba, they may not have an option to. They probably have to sit down with them very soon.

ASHER: All right, Patrick Oppmann, Phil Mattingly, thank you both so much. Right, U.S. Senate Republicans trying to reach gun reform deal with Democrats met today with their party colleagues to see how far they're willing to go. But one top Republican said, most attendees were in a listening mode. Two weeks after the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, there is urgency to reach an agreement. The Republicans say that raising the age to buy a military-style rifle or banning them, are unlikely.

The Gun Violence Archive reports at least 246 mass shootings in America just this year. Among those in Washington today, urging Congress to take action, is actor Matthew McConaughey, who actually was born in Uvalde, Texas. And McConaughey is actually joining the press briefing at the White House now. Let's listen in.

MATTHEW MCCONAUGHEY, ACTOR: Responsible parties in this debate seems to at least be committed to sitting down and having a real conversation about a new and improved path forward. A path that can bring us closer together and make us safer as a country. A path that can actually get something done this time. Camila and I came here to share my stories from my hometown of Uvalde.

I came here to take meetings with elected officials on both sides of the aisle, we came here to speak to them, to speak with them and to urge them to speak with each other. To remind and inspire them that the American people will continue to drive forward the mission of keeping our children safe. Because it's more than our right to do so, it's our responsibility to do so. I'm here today in the hopes of applying what energy, reason and passion that I have into trying to turn this moment into a reality.

Because as I said, this moment is different. We are in a window of opportunity right now that we have not been in before. A window where it seems like real change, real change can happen. Uvalde, Texas, is where I was born. it's where my mom taught kindergarten less than a mile from Robb Elementary. Uvalde is where I learned to master Daisy BB gun. That took two years before I graduated to a 410 shotgun.

Uvalde is where I was taught to revere the power and the capability of the tool that we call a gun. Uvalde is where I learned responsible gun ownership. And Uvalde called me on May 24th when I learned the news of this devastating tragedy. I had been out of cellular range, working in a studio all day when I emerged, and messages about a mass shooting in the town I was born in began flooding my inbox.

[14:30:00]

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(DOMESTIC PROGRAMMING)

[14:45:14]

(CROSSTALK)

ASHER: That is Matthew McConaughey speaking there at the White House press briefings after visiting Uvalde, Texas, and speaking with the family members of some of the victims. Also should note that he was born and spent part of his life in Uvalde, Texas.

We will be right back after this quick break.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

ASHER: Russia's foreign ministry is banning that another 61 American citizens from entering the country. They include Defense and media executives along with several top U.S. officials.

Among them, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. Moscow has already sanctioned the U.S. president Joe Biden and more than 900 other Americans. Russia's foreign ministry is also demanding the U.S. lift restriction on Russian journalists in the United States.

Fred Pleitgen is joining us live now from Moscow.

Fred, 61 more Americans banned from entering Russia in retaliation for sanctions.

What more can you tell us?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A lot of this looks to be largely symbolic from the Russian Federation. It is unclear how many of those entities and individuals who are now being sanctioned by the Russians were actually traveling to Russia on a daily basis or on a regular basis.

But it is something we have seen from Russia as a pattern in the past as well, where individuals were sanctioned by the United States or allies of the United States, in a tit-for-tat action. Russians would sanction individuals as well.

It is something that goes toward that same pattern. Unclear how much of a difference that is going to make in the broader scheme of things right now.

You still have Russia's war in Ukraine very much going on, what they still call a special military operation. The U.S., of course, remaining very tough in that regard. The Russians with those counter sanctions right now trying to punch back. But at the same time how much difference that is really going to make.

ASHER: What is Putin saying right now on how sanctions have impacted the Russian economy?

PLEITGEN: I think right now what is he's saying, of course, the sanctions have had an impact. What he said today, for instance, there are also chances in the sanctions for Russians to develop their own economy.

Nevertheless, of course, there has been inflation in Russia. The Russians claim it is under control. I think one of the biggest things that the Russians are saying right now, which is a huge impact, is, of course, the global food crisis that we have been talking about.

Right now a lot of countries are saying it is very difficult to get grain and other agricultural products. The U.S. and its allies are saying only Russia is to blame for that because of what they call the blockade of Ukrainian ports, especially the port of Odessa where the Russian foreign minister is in Turkey trying to find some way out of that impasse.

The Ukrainians are saying that, if they take their mines away from that port, they're afraid the Russians are going to attack that port. Of course, the Russians have fired cruise missiles at the Ukrainian ports in the past.

So it is an extremely difficult situation. I think one that is really showing the global impact of Russia's war in Ukraine. They keep saying it is a special military operation. But it is having a huge impact on food security around the world. [14:50:00]

PLEITGEN: Right now it seems as though it is very difficult to see how, in the medium term future, how the world and the allies can come to terms with that.

ASHER: Fred, thank you so much.

Ukrainian energy officials are butting heads with the U.N.'s nuclear chief over the safety of Europe's largest nuclear power plant. The plant fell to Russian occupation back in March.

The chief, Rafael Grossi, said Ukraine had invited the organization to conduct checks at the site. But Ukrainian officials are denying that and accusing Mr. Grossi of legitimizing Russia's control of the plant.

Earlier the IAEA had told CNN's Becky Anderson that he sees the trip as an obligation, not a social visit.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAFAEL MARIANO GROSSI, DIRECTOR GENERAL, IAEA: The Ukrainian government has requested us to come to perform an obligation, all right?

This is not about a social invitation or maybe if you want to come, come or not. This is an obligation for the IAEA and for Ukraine to have these inspections which are not taking place, I will repeat, for a long time now with a lot of nuclear material there that needs to be inspected.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: Still to come tonight, a new drug in cancer treatment exceeds expectations in an early trial. What this could meet in terms of beating the disease for good. We will speak to our health reporter next.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

ASHER: A new cancer drug has shown promising results in a breakthrough new study; 12 rectal cancer patients whose tumors had not spread to other organs were given a drug called dostarlimab. After six months, all 12 patients showed no evidence of tumors after receiving this drug. Experts say more study is needed. It is too early to call this a cure.

Let's bring in CNN health reporter, Jacqueline Howard.

Too early to call it a cure but this is a miracle, literally a miracle, 12 patients, none of them showing any sign of tumors after receiving this particular drug. How promising is this?

JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH CORRESPONDENT: It is exciting. But Zain, more research is needed. These are just 12 patients. To tell you a little bit about this drug, it is an immunotherapy.

How it works, it doesn't kill cancer cells directly. It harnesses the body's immune system to target cancer in the body. In this study in particular there were 12 participants. The patients had a certain type of cancer gene mutation. So it was a specific population of patients, patients where cancer did not spread to other parts of the body.

And these patients were followed for six to 25 months. During that timespan, as you said, we saw no signs of cancer. But more research is needed to determine how long the body responds to the treatment.

The treatment is administered as an IV. Patients received every three weeks treatment for six months. Some side effects were very minor -- rash, fatigue, nausea in some patients. Overall, Zain, like you said, this was very exciting. Here is one of the researchers involved in the study, describing her and her colleagues' reactions to these findings.

[14:55:00]

HOWARD: Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ANDREA CERCEK, ONCOLOGIST, MEMORIAL SLOAN KETTERING CANCER CENTER: We did not expect it. We have certainly never seen this before. It is really what, you know, cancer doctors' dreams are made of, to see a response like this such incredible efficacy with really almost no toxicity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWARD: So we heard her there say that this is really what cancer doctors' dreams are made of. But again the optimism here is cautious optimism. More research is needed; we really need more data on this, Zain.

ASHER: Can you imagine just being basically healed?

Having this drug and eventually being healed?

How might this affect other cancers quickly, Jacqueline?

HOWARD: Researchers are planning to study that. What we are expecting next, again, they want to see these results in a larger group of participants. And they also want to see these results in early cancers, a cancer that may not be as advanced.

They also want to see these results in other cancer types. So the researchers said possibly stomach, pancreas and bladder cancers as well.

ASHER: Amazing. Jacqueline Howard, thank you so much.

Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM. "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS" is up next.