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CNN INTERNATIONAL: Ukraine Vows Not To Surrender Eastern City; Berlin Police Investigate Deadly Car Crash; Gun Violence Survivors And Families Of Victims Urge U.S. Lawmakers For More Tighter Gun Laws; Biden Hoping To Reinvigorate U.S. Influence; Victims Of Larry Nassar Seek Compensation From FBI; Belgian King Returns Mask Taken From DRC. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired June 08, 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]

ELENI GIOKOS, HOST, CNN NEWSROOM: Hello, everyone, I'm Eleni Giokos and you're watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Dubai. Tonight, Ukraine remains defiant, vowing to fight on in the east rather than surrender Severodonetsk to Russia. German police are trying to determine if a deadly car crash in Berlin was an accident or a deliberate attack. And powerful testimony from gun violence survivors and the families of victims urging U.S. lawmakers to do more.

Welcome to the show. Now, they may be facing a setback, but insists they will not surrender. Ukraine says it won't give up a key city in the Luhansk region, even if it's forced to retreat to more fortified positions. It says Russian forces are shelling Severodonetsk 24 hours a day. A pro-Russian separatist leader says Ukrainian forces have now been cleared from the airport.

A Ukrainian governor acknowledges Russian advances, but says Ukraine still controls the city's industrial zone. Also today, chilling reports about some Ukrainian troops who surrendered at the Azovstal Steel plant in Mariupol. Russians state media says more than 1,000 soldiers have been transported to Russia for quote, "investigation". And in Russian-occupied Kherson, Ukraine says 600 people have been held hostage in basements that have been turned into torture chambers.

CNN has reached out to Russia for response to the allegations. Now, let's get more from CNN's Ben Wedeman reporting from Kramatorsk, Ukraine. Ben, really good to see you. Look, you've been speaking to residents in Sloviansk, and they face a stark new reality as fighting is closing in. Give me a sense of what they're telling you.

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, really, it all sort of revolves around this situation, Eleni, in Severodonetsk. If that city falls, and certainly, it looks fairly grim when it comes to the prospects for the Ukrainian defenders. The expectation is that the Russians will re-focus their efforts, and apparently, according to Ukrainian officials, the Russians are already amassing forces not far to the northeast of that city.

And therefore, the expectation is Sloviansk may well be the next in the Russians' crosshairs when it comes to this part of Ukraine. And some people, nonetheless, are staying, but others have decided now is the time to go.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WEDEMAN (voice-over): At 3 years old, Ivan(ph) doesn't know war rages around him. "He doesn't really understand it yet", says his father, Igor(ph). For him it's just boom-boom. We try to explain, it's only a loud car passing by. Ivan's(ph) mother Sagna(ph) shows where they live. Neighbors who left the city of Sloviansk let them move into their ground floor apartment because it's safer. "The hallway is full of bottled water, the bathtub is full.

There's been no running water here for weeks." As the air raid sirens blares, those who remain behind wait for food supplies at a distribution center.

"We're staying", says Zanida(ph), "my neighbor has a well. I have dogs and two cats, my husband has diabetes." Sixty-four-year-old Nikolai(ph) shrugs off the danger of staying put.

"Where can I go if they bomb everywhere"? He asked me, "you can't escape your fate." Galina(ph) fled her village nearby on the frontlines. "It was very hard there", she says, "there was a lot of shelling. Half the village disappeared."

[14:05:00]

Her son-in-law and her daughter are taking her away. Every day, people gather for buses out of Sloviansk, the war now into its fourth month, has seen millions flee their homes. With no end in sight, a sense of resignation and exhaustion has set in. Some who leave may never return. Katya's(ph) mother and father come to say goodbye.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Actually, I didn't plan to leave. But I decided to leave because the situation is getting more and more dangerous.

WEDEMAN: Her parents will stay behind, even as a part of them leaves.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WEDEMAN: And Eleni, the mayor of Sloviansk as well as other Ukrainian officials, have urged those few people remaining in the city to leave. But it seems some people just don't want to go despite the danger. Eleni.

GIOKOS: Yes, I mean, capturing some of those stories, it's really heartbreaking. Ben, you know, looking at the map right now, we know the Ukrainians say they don't want to give up Luhansk, that you're seeing shelling 24 hours a day. And then you're hearing the Ukrainians saying they're not going to surrender, and here we have the map up right now.

To kind of get a sense of just how much headway the Russians are making, is this a really big setback for the Ukrainians? What are you hearing?

WEDEMAN: It would be a symbolic setback, but the fact of the matter is that there's a river that separates Severodonetsk from Lysychansk, which is the next city, right next to it. And from a strategic point of view, many military analysts say it might make sense, simply to pull back to Lysychansk which is high ground overlooking Severodonetsk, and have a better position from which to fire upon the Russians, and to sort of build -- mount a better defense.

But I think symbolically, the Ukrainians have lost Mariupol after a bloody two-month siege and a defense that was quite incredible under the circumstances by the Ukrainian fighters there. But as I said, militarily, it might make sense actually to pull back just to consolidate Ukrainian positions and not just lose men in a battle where the Russians are using their artillery in a way that's reminiscent of World War II.

Just massive artillery bombardments around the clock. I was there in April, and it was -- the city was being pounded by the Russians, and by all accounts, it's much more intense than it was back then. And it's really hard for soldiers to stay in their positions under those circumstances. Eleni?

GIOKOS: Ben Wedeman, thank you so much for your reporting. Now, German police are trying to determine if a deadly car crash in Berlin was an accident or deliberate attack. The vehicle plowed into a crowd of people in a busy shopping area of the German capital. The car eventually crashed into a shop window. Police say one person was killed, a teacher who was with a group of high school students, several others were injured, including six people with what have been described as life-threatening injuries.

CNN's Nada Bashir is on the scene where the crash happened. Nada, look, the timeline of the route that the driver took is quite important in understanding in terms of whether this was an accident or deliberate. And we know that the police are trying to ascertain this. What more do we know at this stage?

NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER: Yes, absolutely, Eleni. As you can see behind me, that police investigation is still ongoing. As we understand it from the police, at this stage, a vehicle crashed into those pedestrians -- plowed into them at around 10:30 a.m. this morning. It drove up this busy high street in western Berlin. And just right behind me is the spot where police have identified the car crashing into those pedestrians.

And we've been told more than a dozen people were injured among them as you mentioned school children. Latest information we're getting is that 14 school children who were on a visit to the city were involved in this incident were -- have been sort of involved in this incident as victims. But as you said there, six people have sustained life- threatening injuries. At this stage, it is unclear whether those were the school children.

[14:10:00]

But as we do understand it, their teacher has been confirmed to have been killed in the incident. Now, investigation is still ongoing. A 29-year-old German-Armenian man has been identified as the driver of that vehicle. He has been arrested, according to police, he's undergoing medical examination at this stage and will face police questioning. But the key question that the officials are trying to get to the bottom of is what was the reason behind this incident?

Was it an accident or was it deliberate? That answer is still proving elusive. The investigation is still ongoing. We heard from the president of the Berlin Police Department speaking earlier today. They said "we currently do not have conclusive evidence for a politically motivated act." Now, they're in the process of searching the car, we saw the vehicle just down the high street a little while ago, being pulled away from that store front a little earlier today.

And we saw a forensics team looking at that vehicle, that is part of the investigation, a crucial part at this stage. But of course, as police have said and have stressed, the motive for the incident, whether or not it was deliberate or an accident is still unclear. Eleni?

GIOKOS: Yes, Nada, it's a developing story and will definitely come back to you as we get more information. Thank you so much. Now, still to come tonight, millions of tons of grain are trapped in Ukraine, stuck behind Russian blockades.

Turkey is offering to help. We'll tell you how? Stay with us -- oh, and on Capitol Hill, sharing tragedy and demanding action. Victims' relatives and survivors confront Congress about gun violence as they recount their heartbreaking stories of loss.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GIOKOS: Turkey's foreign minister says his country is willing to facilitate talks between Ukraine and Russia. He met with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Ankara earlier. The Turkish minister says they could be, quote, "new ground for peace negotiations and for talks on how to export millions of tons of Ukrainian grain trapped by Russian blockades." Let's talk about this and more with Omer Taspinar; he's a professor at the National Defense University and a senior fellow at the Brookings Institute.

Really good to see you, Omer. We've discussed the transactional relationship between Erdogan and Putin in the past. We know that Erdogan also wants to position himself as a negotiator in this -- you know, this crisis.

[14:15:00]

But I want to talk logistics first in terms of how to get the grain out of Ukraine. It's stuck behind Russian blockades. But also Importantly, to get it out of Odessa ports, the Russians want to see that area de-mined. The Turks say that they can do it. Do you think they can?

OMER TASPINAR, PROFESSOR, NATIONAL DEFENSE UNIVERSITY: Well, beyond the technical capacity of whether the Turkish Navy is able to de-mine this corridor, there is the question of trust. In this meeting between Lavrov and his Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu, absent was the Ukrainian party. The Ukrainians are not at the table. And there has to be some dialogue between Ukraine and Russia or the confidence building and trust measures to emerge.

Because the Russians believe that it is Ukraine that has put the mines in this area, and Ukrainians blame Russia for mining the Black Sea. So, in any case right now, there is concern in Ukraine that if the minds -- if there is an attempt to take the mines out, de-mining would give an opportunity for Russia to actually attack with its Navy the port of Odessa. Therefore, there is definitely a need on the Ukrainian side to have guarantees from Russia that there will be -- there will be no Russian Navy attack on the port of Odessa.

And such confidence, such trust is simply missing. Therefore, we have a problem of confidence rather than just the technical ability of whether Turkey can engage in the mining.

GIOKOS: Yes, and to be honest, firstly, the technical issues here are actually quite big. And then you talk about trust, which of course, has been lacking. Of course it lacks during times of war. But you know, when the Turkish government is saying that this could open, you know, a new opportunity for peace negotiations should we say, well, hang on, we're first trying to get the grain out. What do you think comes first? And do you think this could be a real avenue that might be explored?

TASPINAR: Well, this could turn into a confidence building measure to address the trust issue. And for that, however, I think there has to be some dialogue between Ukraine and Russia. There are 22 million tons of grain waiting in the Ukrainian ports, mostly in Odessa. And getting this grain through a safe corridor, a de-mined corridor, is of course, an urgent matter, not only for Turkey, but also for Egypt, for Lebanon, for Middle East and North Africa, for many countries that are dependent on Ukrainian and Russian wheat.

The Russians are also benefiting from that. They would certainly also benefit commercially from having their own wheat and fertilizers shipped out. And they actually want to weaponize this issue by saying that they need the Europeans and the United States to talk about sanctions. So, they want some sanctions relief because although, yes, Russian wheat, Russian grain are exempt from energy sanctions, there is the issue of Russian shipping companies that are subject to sanctions.

So, Russia wants to use this opportunity to tell the West that it needs some sanctions relief in its shipping -- for its shipping companies. And then on the technical issue, Eleni, there is the question of how long it will take to de-mine, addressing the technical issue that you ask first. The short answer --

GIOKOS: Yes --

TASPINAR: Is that it will take months. The Turkish Navy does have the capacity. However, of course, there are better Navies. The French, the American Navy, if they enter the Black Sea, which is a big if because Turkey right now has put limits on the entry of non-Black Sea literal states, Navies to the Black Sea. This could be done in a shorter period of time.

But if it's just the Turkish military, the Turkish Navy that is supposed to do this, it may take at least 3 to 4 months, which is much longer than the urgency that the problem requires.

GIOKOS: I want to talk about the relationship between Turkey and Russia. Turkey is, you know, becoming a very big challenge for Finland and Sweden joining NATO. Putin, we've spoken in the past about this, obviously, probably enjoying the fact that, you know, he's creating this big issue.

But the Ukrainians are seeing it as a hindrance to their security and safety concerns. So, when we're talking about trust, do you think that on -- you know, sort of behind closed doors, Putin and Erdogan are having far wider conversations than what they're letting on in the public eye?

[14:20:00]

TASPINAR: Well, it is well known that relationships between Russia and Turkey, more than a strategic partnership. It's a marriage of convenience. Turkey and Russia have their own differences on Crimea, on Ukraine, on Armenia, Azerbaijan, on the Balkans, on Cyprus, on Syria. There are not many issues where Turkey and Russia see eye-to- eye.

However, the two countries have excellent trade relations. Turkey has not signed up -- signed on, on sanctions against Russia. And Turkey has purchased Russian missile defense systems. And therefore, it is currently a subject to military sanctions from the United States.

So, if you're sitting in Kyiv, at the seat of Volodymyr Zelenskyy; the Ukrainian president, you normally should question whether there is a secret deal between Putin and Erdogan in terms of Erdogan playing the role that Russia would usually play by blocking the entry of Sweden and Finland by basically paralyzing this NATO expansion at this point.

So there is not only a problem, trust problem between Moscow and Ukraine, obviously the two countries are at war. But also I think Ukraine has some trust and confidence issues because Turkey, first, has not -- is not abiding by the sanctions the way the European Union and the United States does. And also, Turkey is playing Russia's game with NATO by blocking the entry so far, vetoing the entry of two new members, Finland and Sweden to the delight of Putin, I might add.

GIOKOS: Omer, really good to see you, thank you so very much for your insights, and as you say, to de-mine that area near Odessa is going to take months, and it's a travesty because of food shortages around the world. Thank you so very much for your time.

Now, in Washington D.C., heart-wrenching testimony and urging peace today from gun violence survivors and the loved ones of victims. Witness after witness told house members of the anguish they felt as they learned their children were slaughtered and the community shattered in mass shootings. The mother of ten-year-old Lexi Rubio murdered in Uvalde, Texas,

described the last moment she spoke with her daughter, promising her ice cream that evening.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KIMBERLY RUBIO, MOTHER OF UVALDE VICTIM LEXI RUBIO: And the real that keeps scrolling across my memories, she turns her head and smiles back at us to acknowledge my promise. And then we left. I left my daughter at that school. And that decision will haunt me for the rest of my life.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

GIOKOS: And the mother of 20-year-old Zaire Goodman wounded in the racist mass shooting in Buffalo challenged lawmakers who refuse to enact new gun control to come help treat his wounds.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZENETA EVERHART, MOTHER OF BUFFALO SURVIVOR ZAIRE GOODMAN: To the lawmakers who feel that we do not need stricter gun laws, let me paint a picture for you. My son Zaire has a hole in the right side of his neck, two on his back, and another on his left leg caused by an exploding bullet from an AR-15.

As I clean his wounds, I can feel pieces of that bullet in his back, shrapnel will be left inside of his body for the rest of his life. Now, I want you to picture that exact scenario for one of your children. This should not be your story or mine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GIOKOS: While the committee also watched a video from 11-year-old Mia Cerello(ph) who described how she smeared herself with her classmates' blood to fool the Uvalde gunman into thinking she was dead. And a Uvalde pediatrician who treated many of the young victims pleaded with politicians to protect America's children.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROY GUERRERO, UVALDE PEDIATRICIAN: In this case, you are the doctors and our country is the patient. We are lying on the operating table, riddled with bullets like the children of Robb Elementary and so many other schools. We are bleeding out and you are not there. My oath as a doctor means that I signed up to save lives. I do my job. And I guess it turns out that I am here to plead, to beg, to please do yours.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GIOKOS: But some witnesses argued against new gun laws, saying those are not the solution. The hearing comes as bipartisan group of senators are negotiating new measures to combat gun violence. But sources say strong gun control such as a ban on military-style weapons are raising the age to buy them are unlikely. [14:25:00]

Now, in the U.S., the Justice Department is charging a man with attempting or threatening to kidnap or murder a U.S. judge. The suspect was arrested Wednesday near the home of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. The man was arrested after calling emergency authorities, saying he was having suicidal thoughts and had a firearm in his suitcase. According to an FBI affidavit, the man told law enforcement he was upset about the leak of the Supreme Court opinion related to abortion rights and the Uvalde school shooting.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(CHEERS)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GIOKOS: Cheers and boos for British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. He stepped up in parliament Wednesday for the first time since narrowly surviving a confidence vote in his leadership. The tally may have been closed, something Mr. Johnson wanted, but he told lawmakers that it's all just part of the job.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BORIS JOHNSON, PRIME MINISTER, UNITED KINGDOM: In a long political career so far, I have, of course, picked up -- barely began. I have of course picked up political opponents all over.

(CHEERS)

And that is -- and that is because -- and that is because -- and that is because this government has done some very big and very remarkable things which they did not necessarily approve of. And what I want everyone here to know is that absolutely nothing, and no one, least of all her, is going to stop us. We're getting on. We're delivering.

(CHEERS)

We're delivering to people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GIOKOS: While the prime minister is playing down the results, it's clear he's facing an uphill battle to win back his party as one opposition leader pointed out, 41 percent of Mr. Johnson's own MPs have now said that they do not support him staying in power.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

IAN BLACKFORD, WESTMINSTER LEADER, SCOTTISH NATIONAL PARTY: Week after week, I've called on this prime minister to resign. I've been met with a wall of noise from the Tory benches. I thought they were trying to shut me down. But all this time --

(BOOING) But all this time, Mr. speaker, it comes out that 41 percent of them

have been cheering me on.

(LAUGHTER)

Because Mr. Speaker, let's be clear, at least the numbers don't lie.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GIOKOS: Well, still to come tonight, U.S. President Joe Biden heads off to Los Angeles and the Summit of the Americas, hoping to enhance U.S. influence across Latin America. But he faces a firestorm of his own making. We'll go to Caracas to gauge reaction. And the world will play -- pay rather a hefty economic price for Russia's war on Ukraine. We dig into that stark warning from the OECD just ahead. Stay with CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:30:00]

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GIOKOS (voice-over): U.S. President Joe Biden is on his way to the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles at this hour, carrying a proposal for a new trade partnership.

Representatives from almost 2 dozen North, Central and South American countries are there and the Biden administration hopes to forge new agreements on trade and a host of other issues to blunt China's growing influence on the region.

But much of the summit is being overshadowed by who is not attending: Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua, which the White House refused to invite because it says they are run by dictators.

Journalist Stefano Pozzebon is standing by for us in Venezuela, in Caracas.

Good to see you as always, look. The U.S. doesn't invite significant players to the summit but it is on a quest to try to stymie China's influence in the region.

How is the absence of these three countries impacting talks?

STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, the way that these absences or these snubs, if you want, that these U.S. have refused to invite, Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela to Los Angeles, are impacting because, as a consequence, a whole host of other countries are not going to Los Angeles.

Those are the countries that the U.S. are really interested in speaking with in order to further the Biden agenda, especially on an issue so central as migration. I'm talking here about in three Northern Triangle countries, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, with whom the U.S. has tried to engage, as those are country of origins (sic) for many of the thousands of migrants that arrive at the U.S. border every day and with whom Biden has tried to reach out.

Just on the day before yesterday, Kamala Harris unveiled a plan for a $3.2 billion plan of private investments in those countries. Now those countries decided not to go for different reasons.

But essentially, calling that a retaliation for the failure to invite Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela. And as a consequence now, the Biden administration doesn't have the (INAUDIBLE) to speak with on such a central issue as migration, which I think is central.

At the same time, Maduro, where I am here, didn't relish (ph) time to try engage with the Americans. He took a flight and he's now in Turkey, which is closer to where you are, Eleni, to further have calls with -- talks with President Erdogan.

GIOKOS: That's a really interesting point. Maduro and Erdogan meeting at a time when Biden is trying to forge stronger relations in his region. It shows that the emerging market space, specifically in the Americas, could be swaying to other powers that could be emerging; Turkey and China, of course, being some of those strong names.

POZZEBON: Yes, exactly. Maduro, of course, by flying to Turkey, and it was a very sudden visit, by the way. Maduro only announcing late yesterday it received authorization for this trip from parliament.

Under Venezuelan law, presidents need to receive a parliamentary authorization to conduct official visits and he received that authorization only an hour after he arrived in Turkey.

It was a very hastily organized visit. But of course, it proves a point that works for bought Biden and Erdogan, as well as other interested players, such as Russia and China, that perhaps the U.S. position as a leading country in the Northern Hemisphere is not as stable as you might have been perhaps four or five or six years ago.

[14:35:00]

And now there are other players who are willing to play a central role in economics, trade but also geopolitics around here in Caracas and the rest of South America and Latin America.

GIOKOS: But the timing is really important. And I think it sends a strong message. Stefano Pozzebon, good to see you, thank you so much.

Now a U.S. diplomat says North Korea could carry out its seventh nuclear test at any time. The Biden administration's special envoy for North Korea says that's based on assessments that Pyongyang is preparing for such a test.

Last month, U.S. military and intelligence agencies determined that the country could be ready to resume underground nuclear testing based on satellite images of the Punggye-ri site.

The envoy also says the White House tried to contact North Korea last month to discuss possible cooperation on humanitarian issues, including COVID-19. But there was no response. Now the world is paying the price for Russia's war in Ukraine and

that's the new message from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The body has lashed its growth forecast for this year. It's now predicting just 3 percent growth, way down from the 4.5 percent in its December forecast.

It comes on the heels of a similarly stark warning from the World Bank, which has dropped its growth forecast to 2.9 percent for 2022. We've got Richard Quest joining us right now for all the details.

So 3 percent is still growth. They're not saying its a recession but I keep seeing downward revisions of all these reports that are coming out. And this was meant to be the year of healing after an unprecedented pandemic, Richard.

How much worse can this get?

RICHARD QUEST, CNN HOST: Oh, it can get a great deal worse. The problem is, they keep revising downwards and that's the way these things go. So they all start off by saying there's a recession; is not our baseline but the risk is on the downside.

And then, as more data comes in, it becomes clear that a recession is on the cards. But you've got to look at what the problems are. All the world is not equal, so you could have a recession in one bit. I don't think anybody says there's going to be a global recession per se. There will still be growth in many countries.

But in terms of the developed economies and some of the emerging economies, the situation is going to get extremely nasty. And you could see negative growth. Whether this means the technical definition of two quarters of negative GDP doesn't matter. I promise you that.

It's going to feel sluggish, it's going to feel bad; inflation is going to remain high, unemployment is going to rise.

GIOKOS: Yes, Richard. And when we say we're not really expecting global recession just yet, it's the oil producing countries that are going to be making quite a bit of money. It's the importing countries of gas, of food. We are seeing food shortages globally, in emerging markets.

I think you're right to say that there's an unequal balance in terms of what the realities could be playing out in different parts of the world.

QUEST: I think you need to look closely and say, what are the driving forces?

They're feeding on each other. So you have the war in Ukraine, which is pushing up fuel prices, which is pushing up the manufacturing costs. And that's feeding into already heightened inflation because of the last five or six years.

Then, you've got China with its supply problems, which is feeding into supply chain issues, which is then feeding into inflation, which is feeding into manufacturing costs, which pushes up inflation.

So you've got these both outward pressures, what they call a suite of problems. And now you start to get the ever decreasing cycle because the demand has got to come down, therefore this and that. Inflation and, before long, you're heading toward recession.

It can be broken but policymakers have to decide what is their principal bogeyman. At the moment the evil to be cured is inflation. So they're going to do whatever it takes, so they say, to get rid of inflation, higher interest rates and that makes it even worse. Stagflation is the word.

(CROSSTALK)

GIOKOS: And you and I know, whenever there's a problem -- stagflation. And you and I know that, whenever there is a problem, they're able to spend and stimulate the way out of it. But now, inflation has become so much harder. Richard Quest, always good to see you. Thank you so very much.

QUEST: Thank you.

GIOKOS: Lawyers for more than 19 women and girls who were sexually abused by former USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar have submitted claims to the FBI.

[14:40:00]

They are seeking more than $1 billion, saying investigators could have protected other victims had they not mishandled the case.

The claimants include Simone Biles and Aly Raisman, two of the biggest names in gymnastics.

And still to come tonight, a controversial new golf tournament is drawing top names. We'll tell you all about it next.

And new charges against disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein. But this time, they're in the U.K. The latest accusations ahead.

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[14:45:00]

GIOKOS: Now disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein will be charged with two counts of indecent assault in the U.K., according to the Crown Prosecution Service. The alleged offenses took place against one woman between July and August 1996.

Weinstein is currently serving a 23-year prison sentence in the U.S. for criminal sexual assault, including rape.

Still to come tonight, when is a gift not a gift?

When you are returning it to the person you stole it from. Still Belgium's king hopes that this mask, taken from the Democratic Republic of Congo, will heal some very old and deep wounds. That story when we come back.

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[14:50:00]

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GIOKOS: Welcome back.

The king of Belgium is hoping a gift can help heal a decades-old wounds. King Philippe returned a traditional initiation mask worn by the Suku people to the Democratic Republic of Congo on Wednesday.

The mask was taken during Belgium's rule over the country from 1885 to 1960. Many in Congo are still angry that Belgian has not apologized for the killings and the looting that happened at that time.

King Philippe has expressed regret for the suffering and humiliation his ancestors inflicted on Congo but stopped short of an official apology.

Joining me now is Gia Abrassart. She is a journalist and activist who has written extensively about Belgium's brutal rule over the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Good to see. You we know it's going to be the 60th year anniversary of independence for the Congolese. This mask is absolutely symbolic.

Are you surprised there was no apology that came with the return of this mask?

GIA ABRASSART, JOURNALIST: You know, it is sad; the mask (INAUDIBLE) has been given back. The regret has been offered by King Philippe. But we need more. We need how to have an impact on the daily lives of the Congolese people.

And I think the mobility of the Congolese people to travel to Europe can be one step, one concrete human step of recognition and reparation.

GIOKOS: That's a really good point. I have to say, listening to the regret -- and you spoke of humiliation and the tragedies and devastation left by Belgium's colonization, he spoke about his ancestors.

When we think it's just been 60 years of independence, this is still a memory for many people. These are still stories, harrowing stories, that have been passed down.

What is the sense you are getting from the Congolese people about the atrocities and also the way forward in terms of healing some of those wounds?

ABRASSART: Yes, I think it is the right time now for Belgium to take complete responsibilities for the reparation to create a healing process altogether. And a food of this (ph) intense and sometimes very often tragic history between Belgium and Congo.

So now it's really time to have a long-term vision how Belgium can really repair for the added value (ph) of the Congolese during the civil war edoire (ph) during the economic inflation of Belgium.

GIOKOS: Let's talk about, when you say reparations, do you think that any money would be put on the table here?

Do you think that those discussions should be happening at this point in time?

Of course this is a very delicate issue. As you say, it starts with the return of relics. We've seen this happening in the past. But it always just stop shorts of monetary reparations. And it always stopped short of actual apologies, because that would mean accountability and responsibility.

ABRASSART: Here, we don't need cosmetic action. If King Philippe stays one week in Congo, we really hope that Belgium will take complete responsibilities in a long-term vision. The 10 experts on the commission regarding the colonial past of Belgium, propose and offer a radical vision how to repair, how to offer a residence (ph), how to put an added value for the Congolese in this current situation.

It is not only promises on military support that Belgium will offer. We want new male (ph) vision. We want medical support and how Belgium can support also the situation in the east of Congo.

It's so many years that Congo has been completely alone in this situation. And I think that Belgium has complete responsibility. So today, this, week we need concrete action. We don't need cosmetic, short term vision.

And the situation, coming from Ukraine, has a complete impact regarding Europe and Belgium and that's also -- we have to take into account this kind of characters (ph).

[14:55:00]

GIOKOS: I think it's important for us to reflect on some of the writings. You have really investigated the impact of the colony, Belgium's colony being the Congo, and what that meant in terms of the economics of what we see there.

It has impacted it socially. It is impacted so much.

Very quickly, could you give me a sense? ABRASSART: Yes, we can see here the recent comass (ph) in the new generation of region Congolese. We can see how it is so difficult to be recognized as Belgian citizenship for Congolese. And also how we can create and be supportive for the Congolese diaspora in relation direct with the continent with Congo.

And all these fragments, all these ruptures have to be honored and -- because we can still feel the colonial continuum today, when the Belgian Congolese people have to find houses and get high-level jobs.

So we --

(CROSSTALK)

GIOKOS: Thank you so much. Unfortunately, we've run out of time. But really good to see. We really appreciate it.

And thanks so much for watching tonight. Stay with CNN. I'm Eleni Giokos in Dubai.