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Ukrainian Fighters Plead For More Advanced Weapons; Joe Biden Opens Event With Call For Cooperation And Common Purpose; Families, Survivors Of Mass Shooting Testify In Congress; Simple Pasta Dish Shows Impact of Inflation; Rwanda Prepares to Take in Migrants from the U.K. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired June 09, 2022 - 00:00   ET

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

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[00:00:53]

JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello everyone, great to have you with us. I'm John Vause.

Coming up here on CNN NEWSROOM. Vladimir Putin inching closer to seizing all of Ukraine's Donbas region, with Russian forces in almost total control of the city of Severodonetsk as Ukrainian fighters retreat.

How the Biden administration did the diplomatic equivalent of shooting themselves in the foot at the Summit of the Americas.

And after two mass shootings by 18-year-olds armed with semi- automatics, the U.S. law House votes to raise the age limit to own a semi-automatic to 21. But even that seems a bridge too far for Republicans in the Senate.

ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM with John Vause.

VAUSE: Ukrainian president has warned Severodonetsk so to the fate of eastern Ukraine. And now it seems that city is under almost total Russian control. Severodonetsk is the last foothold for Ukrainian in the mostly Russian controlled region of Luhansk.

Just a day ago, Ukrainian fighters was set to control about half of the city but have now been forced to retreat.

Residents who have refused or been unable to leave the region are taking shelter from continuous shelling in basements and wherever they can.

According to the Russian military, Ukraine is suffering significant losses of manpower, weapons and equipment across the Donbas region. But Ukraine's president says the fight is not yet over.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Severodonetsk remains the epic center of the confrontation in Donbas, we defend our positions, inflict significant losses on the enemy. This is a very fierce battle, very difficult, probably one of the most difficult throughout this war.

I'm grateful to everyone who defends this direction. In many ways, the fate of our Donbas is decided there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Ukraine's military says to win this war, it needs powerful longer range weapons. They're getting new shipments from the United States and NATO allies every week.

And CNN's Matthew Chance reports now on these weapons in action.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): These are just some of the powerful American guns now on the Ukrainian front lines meant to make a critical difference in the war with Russia. Of course, they might be targeted at any moment. Media access to them is highly sensitive and rare.

All right, well, we've been taken here, very close to the frontlines in southern Ukraine where we're being shown these U.S. provided long range artillery systems, it's an M777.

According to Ukrainian military officials that we've spoken to, the U.S. has so far supplied approximately 90 of these weapons, and many of them are already being used on the frontline, including in this area here in the south of Ukraine, pounding Russian positions.

We were only shown a training exercise, but Ukrainian military officials say these are exclusive images of the same weapons in action just this week, firing on Russian forces more than 20 miles away.

Including on this Grad multiple rocket launcher, they say had been targeting civilian areas. Ukrainian aerial footage shows the Grad being destroyed. Its ammunition exploding after a direct hit.

Ukrainian artillery troops say their guns are now giving them an edge and their Russian counterparts are feeling the pain.

LT. IVAN SUROV, UKRAINIAN ARMY (through translator): Yes, they definitely noticed as we became faster and more precise, they are not able to keep up with us as they're operating old Soviet guns, which are heavier, less precise, slower and difficult to use.

These guns are objectively the best in the world. And when we started using them, our efficiency rose tremendously.

CHANCE: It's giving the Ukrainian military an advantage they say on the battlefield, because these weapons are much lighter, much more accurate than they've used before. Much more mobile as well. And it's giving them the edge they say to try and help them push back Russian forces all along this region.

[00:05:16]

CHANCE: But of course, the complaint, if you can call it a complaint, is that they want more of this. They want more weapons like this, and they want even longer range rocket systems which have already been promised of course by the United States to push back the Russians even further.

And Ukrainian authorities are likely to need more guns still, to hold them back. With no end to this conflict. The demand for U.S. weapons may be endless too.

Matthew Chance CNN, in southern Ukraine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: To New York now in Max Boot, a senior fellow with the Council on Foreign Relations as well as a columnist for the Washington Post. Welcome back. Good to see you.

MAX BOOT, SENIOR FELLOW, COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS: Thanks for having me.

VAUSE: OK, so what was meant to be a lightning military strike over in less than a week appears to be now a war of attrition into its fourth month.

So, is this essentially the state of play now moving forward? Russia will make small incremental gains, the Ukrainians will launch counter offensive when they can. Wash, rinse, repeat.

BOOT: That's really hard to predict what happens in war, because war is fundamentally an unpredictable activity. And we saw that unpredictability in the early phases of conflict, which began on February 24th. There was certainly a widespread expectation that Russia would very quickly overrun Ukraine or at least overrun the capital of Kyiv. And obviously, that did not happen.

Instead, Russia suffered massive setbacks. And now, Putin has made -- unsized his objectives to focus on the Donbas and eastern Ukraine, rather than trying to take the whole country.

So, how all this plays out? Nobody knows. But certainly the initial Russian objective of regime change in Kyiv seems to be off the table right now.

I would say the state of Ukraine has guaranteed its existence as an independent country. But the question right now is, what are the border is going to be of that country and that remains, I think, very much to be determined on the field of battle.

VAUSE: One thing that we've seen though, as this sort of war drags on, interests around the world has fallen dramatically. The news website Axios reports on social media data from news web which shows between the first week of the war and the recent 100 day mark.

Social media interactions like comments and shares or news articles about Ukraine have fallen 22 fold from a high of almost 110 million interactions to less than five million, which is a reflection of the decline on online media coverage, which is down from half a million stories during that first week to 70,000 as of last week.

You know, there was a lot more interest in the Johnny Depp, Amber Heard trial than Ukraine. That may be disheartening. But overall, it does not seem to be entirely surprising.

BOOT: Well, there's no question that Western public opinion always has a limited attention span. And there's always some hot news story. And you can just see that the interest in Ukraine has waned somewhat, since the wars early days where it was, you know, very much an open question whether Ukraine would survive, whether President Zelenskyy would survive. The world was captivated by this tale of Ukrainian heroism and standing up to this Russian invasion, and of course, also disgusted by news of Russian atrocities.

But now, you know, as we head into the fourth month of the war, all of this has become, you know, kind of part of the background noise. It's something that people are getting used to.

But I just hope that even if the public opinion, the public focus starts to fade on Ukraine, I hope that the focus of the U.S. government and other Western governments, that will not fade because the issue of what happens in Ukraine remains a crucial importance to the entire world.

VAUSE: In your column for The Washington Post, you make this point that Putin reportedly calculates that he can still win the war by waiting for the will of the West to erode. And there are many in the West who have given him encouragement.

Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger suggests that Ukraine must see territory for peace. The French president Emmanuel Macron insists that Russia must not be humiliated.

So, without the public pressure, without the world watching, how easy will it be for some of these politicians, I guess, some of the less than fully committed European states, if you like, to sort of walk away from the unity which has been a hallmark of the U.S.-European response so far.

BOOT: That's clearly what Putin is counting on. That's also what I'm afraid of. And I think Putin's hope is that as we get deeper into the year, as winter approaches, Europeans are going to revolt with the prospect of paying more for oil and gas. He's also hoping to use the Black Sea blockade to essentially create famine in Africa, and thereby, perhaps to send refugees from Africa into Europe, again, to place pressure on Europe.

[00:10:01]

BOOT: I hope all of these schemes do not work. They don't need to work. But we need to be honest with people and to say that we may have to endure some sacrifice, there may be some short term adjustment if we're weaning ourselves off of Russian oil and gas, but it's in a great cause. It's in the cause of freedom. It's in the cause of preserving democracy and safeguarding the West against this Russian threat and that's a small price to pay compared to the heinous price that Ukrainians are paying every single day of there lives and seeing their cities destroyed, their people deported, horrible human rights abuses, but they are standing firm.

And, you know, it's imperative even though Putin is trying to apply pressure to us to weaken the sanctions regime that we hold firm as well and make Russia pay an increasing price for its aggression.

VAUSE: Well said. We'll leave it there. Max, thanks so much. Thanks for being with us.

BOOT: Thank you.

VAUSE: It should have been a diplomatic success for the White House. The Summit of the Americas held in Los Angeles officially opened a few hours ago with a speech by President Joe Biden calling for cooperation and common purpose.

Nearly two dozen leaders from the western hemisphere are attending the gathering with issues like immigration in the spotlight. Mr. Biden, in remarks just a few hours ago, urged leaders to anew the focus on democracy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: As we meet again today, in a moment, when democracy is under assault around the world, let us unite again and renew our conviction that democracy is not only the defining feature of American histories, but the essential ingredient to America's futures.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: But it was the issue of the leaders who were not invited and those who boycott it because of that, which is overshadowed the summit.

And more on that, we had journalist Stefano Pozzebon live this hour in Caracas. So, now that we've had the speech by Biden and this summit has been -- is now officially underway. What is the reaction there in the region to the sort of non-inviting of the three countries which autocratic leaders and the boycott by the President of Mexico and others?

STEFANO POZZEBON, JOURNALIST: Well, first and foremost, I think, John, we must say that these issues is really dominating at least this first day that we have seen off these summit on Wednesday.

And while the United States wants to present a serious of points on the agenda to try push the United States position across the hemisphere, the fact that these countries -- I'm not -- I'm talking specifically of those countries that decided not to participate in the summit, and those are Mexican particular, but also Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, the fact that those are not present in Los Angeles is really what is dominating the -- at least this first day.

And why that is crucial, because those are the countries that the U.S. want to partner with, needs to partner with to address the root causes of migration.

John, we hear -- keep hearing about these phrase, address the root causes of migration. Those are the countries where the migrants are mostly coming from and one way or another, they are not present in the conversation in Los Angeles.

Some leaders are there in Los Angeles, and they've criticized the White House decision, I'm talking of Argentina and Chile, for example, they pushed for every country in the Americas to be included.

Others instead, like Colombia have applauded the White House decision. But what stays at the forefront is that these countries are simply not there. And you see that as we have the news of just the fresh from a couple of hours ago, that more than 5,000 migrants have started again, a new caravan address in trying to get to the U.S. southern border.

Now, 5,000 is not a dramatic number of migrants. The U.S. receive about 8,000 migrants every single day at the U.S. southern border. But the fact that these migrants are once again starting a hundreds of kilometers long trip from Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador down to Tapachula, Mexico and up through the whole length of Mexico up to the southern border. It shows you how much Biden needs to speak with those leaders. And those leaders are now not present in Los Angeles, John.

VAUSE: Absolutely, Stefano, thank you. Stefano Pozzebon live for us there in Caracas. Thank you.

To Washington now and Brett Bruen, president of the Global Situation Room, an international consulting firm. Before that, he was director of Global Engagement with the Obama White House. Brett, it's been awhile, thank you for staying up late and being with us.

BRETT BRUEN, PRESIDENT, GLOBAL SITUATION ROOM: You bet.

VAUSE: OK, so one of the issues with the summit we just heard migration. Right now about 5,000-6,000 people are walking from the Mexico Guatemala border towards the United States. Just take a look at the map.

Four countries which border leading to the United States. Countries these migrants will either -- they're from or must pass through to reach U.S. Honduras and Nicaragua both invited to the summit, but not invited rather, triggering a boycott by El Salvador, Guatemala and Mexico.

So, the question is, how does the U.S. have a meaningful and serious discussion on migration without the leaders of those five countries there?

[00:15:10]

BRUEN: Well, John, it's important to note that this really for the United States is the top issue Biden has tried since the beginning of his presidency to address the flow of migrants up to our southern border, he tapped Vice President Kamala Harris with addressing the issue.

Unfortunately, there hasn't been a lot of progress. And I think the absence of those leaders from the summit is a testament to quite frankly, their frustration with the Biden administration's lack of engagement on this.

I mean, Kamala Harris, there was a report just the last couple of days that documented she has spent half as much time as the First Lady of the United States in Latin America. That is to say, she's been there for less than three days.

VAUSE: Right. Well, the Biden administration says the three countries were not invited Honduras, Nicaragua, Cuba, because they're not democratic states with a history of human rights abuses.

Yet, when it comes to meeting the leader of Saudi Arabia, which is also a well-known civil rights abuser. Well, here's the answer from the Biden administration.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KIRBY, PRESS SECRETARY, PENTAGON: Saudi Arabia is an important partner. And the president believes that and the president also believes John, that it's important for him to be willing and able to meet with leaders all across the world, no matter who they are, who they represent, if in fact, it's going to improve U.S. national security interest.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: So, hang on, engaged with leaders across the world no matter who they are, unless they're what? From Honduras, Venezuela and Cuba.

BRUEN: Yes, the hypocrisy here is pretty thick, John. And it's just not a defensible position. But what's worse, is that they delayed making this decision until the very last moment.

So, what you're seeing right now is the chyron across CNN, about how Mexico as well as these other leaders have boycotted this summit, which is not the headline, not the focus that you want if you're sitting in the White House.

So, I just don't understand the diplomatic logic here that the White House has used. It's part of a pattern of indecision, and quite frankly, of just bad assumptions that they've been making.

VAUSE: And the opening speech, President Biden talked about the power of democracy to bring real change. Here's part of his remarks from Wednesday, listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: At this summit, we have an opportunity for us to come together around some bold ideas, ambitious actions, and to demonstrate to our people the incredible power of democracies deliver concrete benefits, and make life better for everyone, everyone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Everyone, unless they live in Cuba, Honduras, or Venezuela, there are just so many mixed messages coming from the White House. And what seems hard to believe is that they had months to organize this summit. Work began, what? Back in August last year.

How much harm has been done to the U.S. and whatever influence it may have had in the region?

BRUEN: I fear that we've done considerable harm to our influence. The fact that this summit has been so poorly organized, and quite frankly, it's illustrative of neglect, American neglect of our neighbors. And that has just reinforced the perception that's long been held by Latin American leaders and the population of Latin America that the U.S. just isn't spending the necessary amount of time.

And John, it wouldn't have taken a lot. I understand obviously, that you know, Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela were always going to be hot button issues. But if the president went down, if Kamala Harris went down, spend some more time, explained our position, look for areas of cooperation, we would have had a very different situation in Los Angeles today.

VAUSE: Yes, it's a good point to end on. Brett, so thank you very much for being with us. Brett Bruen there in Washington.

BRUEN: You bet.

VAUSE: Still ahead here, a survivor of the Uvalde school shooting goes before U.S. lawmakers, making the case for tougher gun walls with her own very horrific personal account.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIAH CERRILLO, FOURTH GRADE STUDENT AT ROBB ELEMENTARY SCHOOOL: He shot my friend and I thought he would come back into the room, so, I grabbed the blood and put it all over me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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[00:21:29]

VAUSE: Still no word on why a driver plowed his car into a crowd on in Berlin on Wednesday killing at least one person, 17 others were injured. Six of them still fighting for their lives.

After running down pedestrians, the vehicle then crashed into a nearby store. Police say the driver is a dual German Armenian citizen who is now in hospital. They're still not sure if foul play was involved. At least 17 people were killed and 50 more hurt when a passenger train derailed in Iran according to the Iranian Red Crescent. The train was carrying more than 340 passengers when it collided with an excavator on the rail line Wednesday morning near the city Tabas.

Real estate media reports that the death toll is expected to rise because of the severity of the injuries.

Gun reform once again taking center stage in the U.S. Congress following mass shootings in Uvalde, Texas in Buffalo, New York.

In Wednesday, House lawmakers passed a sweeping gun control legislation called Protecting Our Kids Act. Although its chance of passing in the Senate is next to none.

It comes after heart wrenching testimony from families and survivors of the recent shootings.

CNN's Manu Raju has our report.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you feel safe at school? Why not?

CERRILLO: Because I don't want it to happen again.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you think it's going to happen again?

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: 11-year-old Miah Cerrillo recounting in harrowing testimony how she pretended she was dead in order to survive the massacre at her school in Uvalde, Texas,

CERRILLO: There is a door between our classrooms. And he went through there and shot my teacher and killed my teacher (INAUDIBLE) and shot her in the head. And then, he shot some of my classmates and the white board.

When I went to the backpacks, he shot my friend that was next to me. And I thought he would come back to the room. So, I grabbed the blood and I put it all on me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What did you do when you put the blood on yourself?

MIAH CERRILLO: Just stayed quiet. And then I got my teacher's phone and called 911.

RAJU: The parents of a murdered fourth grader Lexi Rubio describing the agonizing wait as they frantically tried to locate their daughter.

KIMBERLY RUBIO, MOTHER OF UVALDE SHOOTING VICTIM: I left my daughter at that school. And that decision will haunt me for the rest of my life.

At this point, some part of me must realize that she was gone. In the midst of chaos, I had the urge to return to Robb. We didn't have our car at this point and traffic was everywhere. So, I ran. I ran barefoot with my flimsy sandals in my hand. I ran a mile to the school, my husband with me. We sat outside for a while before it became clear we wouldn't receive an answer from law enforcement on scene.

RAJU: Before receiving the devastating news that shattered their lives.

RUBIO: Soon after we received the news that our daughter was among the 19 students, two teachers that died as a result of gun violence.

RAJU: The gut wrenching testimony from a pediatrician who treated the victims.

DR. ROY GUERRERO, PEDIATRICIAN: Those mothers' cries I will never get out of my head.

RAJU: Witnessing this.

GUERRERO: Two children whose bodies had been pulverized by bullets fired at them, decapitated, whose flesh had been ripped apart.

But the only clue to their identities was the blood spattered cartoon clothes still clinging to them, clinging for life and finding none.

RAJU: And the mother of a victim from the Buffalo grocery store massacre detailing the injuries her son has endured.

ZENETA EVERHART, MOTHER OF BUFFALO SHOOTING VICTIM: As I cleaned 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.

[00:25:16]

RAJU: All demanding action from Congress.

RUBIO: We demand action. We seek a ban on assault rifles and high capacity magazines. We seek to raise the age to purchase these weapons from 18 to 21 years of age, we seek red flag laws, stronger background checks. We also want to repeal gun manufacturer's liability immunity.

EVERHART: No citizen needs an AR-15. These weapons are designed to do the most harm in the least amount of time.

RAJU: But many of those changes will not be included in any final deal in Congress, given GOP opposition to restricting access to high powered semi-automatic rifles.

Why do you oppose reinstating the assault weapons ban?

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): We're trying to get an outcome, guys.

RAJU: Senate negotiators are instead focusing on a narrow set of changes, including bolstering states red flag laws, providing billions for mental health programs, money for school security and allowing juvenile records to be searched in background checks.

Even though it doesn't go far enough for many Democrats, senators are willing to give the talks a chance.

How concerned are you that this guns deal is not going to go as far as you want restricting access to guns?

SEN. CORY BOOKER (D-NJ): I think will be incremental. I think it will be necessary things, not sufficient to stop that level of carnage we're having.

But God, we haven't done anything since Parkland, since Columbine on the national level. So, I'm hopeful, temporary hope that we can get something done that will be meaningful.

Manu Raju, CNN Capitol Hill.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: The insurrection at the U.S. Capitol last year hits primetime in the coming days with the first public hearings by the House committee investigating the attack. Expected to be a multimedia event and the first chance for the committee to reveal what they've learned from more than a thousand interviews about the riot and the events leading up to it.

An avalanche of new information has been unearthed since Donald Trump's impeachment. Lawmakers will argue the former president was responsible for serious abuses of power in his unprecedented efforts to stop the transfer of power.

He accused of dereliction of duty while his supporters trashed the Capitol. Findings will also include the Trump campaign attempts to pressure state and federal officials.

CNN's special live coverage of this highly choreographed hearing will begin at 7:00 p.m. Eastern time. That's 7:00 a.m. in Hong Kong, and midnight in London.

Still to come here, the ingredients for a plate of pasta could not be simpler. But that mainstay of the Italian diet can't escape the impact of war in Ukraine and the impact it's having on global food prices.

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VAUSE: Welcome back. I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.

[00:30:21]

One of the serious effects of Russia's war on Ukraine has been a sharp spike in global food prices. At least, in part, that is due to tons of Ukrainian grain, blocked from export. But, Russia's foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, says Moscow was not to blame, adding that it's up to Ukraine to open its ports, not Russia.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SERGEY LAVROV, RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): With regards to grains, there is no obstacle or challenge caused by the Russian Federation. For that to happen, Mr. Zelenskyy needs to give instructions so the Ukrainian ports can become safe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Ukraine is a major supplier of grain and cooking oil to many parts of the world, including Africa and the Middle East. But Ukraine says more than 20 million tons of grain cannot leave port because of a Russian blockade.

A Ukrainian agricultural officials says Russia has now stolen 600,000 tons. On Wednesday, the head of the European Commission accused Russia of food terrorism.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

URSULA VON DER LEYEN, EUROPEAN COMMISSION PRESIDENT: This is a cold, callous, and calculated siege by Putin on some of the most vulnerable countries and people in the world. And therefore, honorable members, food has become now part of the Kremlin's arsenal of terror, and we cannot tolerate this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: A senior Ukrainian official has accused Moscow of trying to seize Ukraine's grain market so it can blackmail Europe with the threat of food shortages.

Well, higher food prices are being felt in grocery stores, food markets, and restaurants around the world. Spiking costs of basic staples has been staggering. Corn and wheat up more than 60 percent. Soybeans and sunflower oil up more than 35 percent.

It's not just cereal grains and other staples feeling the pinch. The cost of fertilizer and shipping also climbing. CNN's Barbie Nadeau shows us the entire dilemma can be summed up in a very simple dish of Italian pasta.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

BARBIE NADEAU: This is the quintessential Italian meal. Spaghetti with tomato. But the price of this Italian staple has increased tremendously over the last year.

(voice-over): To understand where the cost to produce pasta from durum wheat, and tomato sauce from fresh tomatoes has caught up, we went, directly, to the source.

Here at the Maestri Pastai pasta factory in Southern Italy, owner Valentina Castiello tells us the price of some of the raw materials to make her pasta have jumped by 100 percent. She tells us her company is trying to find ways to absorb the excess, but some of it will go to the consumer.

VALENTINA CASTIELLO, OWNER, MAESTRI PASTAI FACTORY: We have increased the price of our final product by 30 percent. The cost is high, but the consumer continues to buy the affordable products that everyone can use at home.

NADEAU (voice-over): The average Italian eats around 50 pounds of pasta every year. Castiello says, to confront the rising cost of living, distributors are actually buying more inventory from her factory. Because, even if the price of pasta goes up, it is still, by far, the most affordable way for many Italians to put food on the table.

The rising costs range from packaging, to electricity, to fuel to transport these goods.

But it isn't just pasta makers struggling to produce economical food. At this tomato farm near Rome, that Damina Larasca (ph) owns with her father and brother, things are much easier.

She tells us that fertilizer costs alone have risen 150 percent over last year. They had to make a drastic decision to reduce the number of tomatoes they planted by 40 percent, because they had no idea what the market will be like when these new tomato plants are ready to harvest.

Larasca (ph) says the tomato is the base of the Italian diet. During the summer, as fresh produce, and during the other seasons as canned products.

The factors driving the prices of these fundamental Italian gradients are complicated. First came the pandemic, then Russia's war in Ukraine, and now, the uncertainty of what's next.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: That was CNN's Barbie Nadeau with that report.

Well, economists are warning the world will pay a hefty price for Russia's war in Ukraine. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has smashed this year's global growth moment from four and a half, to 3 percent.

It follows a similar outlook by the World Bank earlier this week. OECD chief economist Laurence Boone says inflation is double what was previously expected, and it may get worse.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LAURENCE BOONE, OECD CHIEF ECONOMIST: Inflation pressures have been growing. There is the uneven recovery from the pandemic, and, especially, disruptions from China's zero-COVID policy. And this had already, led to rising inflation. But, the war halting commodity production and distribution, and threatening further disruptions, is adding even more.

(END VIDEO CLIP) VAUSE: Of all G-20 nations, besides Russia, the groups predict the

U.K. will be the hardest hit economically next year.

Well, the E.U. is moving to ban the sale of new combustion engine cars by 2035, after a vote passed European Parliament. It will now head to the European Council, and if approved, will become the world's strongest law to phase out gas vehicles.

While critics argue, it's unwise to phase out those types of cars altogether, the E.U.'s climate policy chief says now is the perfect time to start.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FRANS TIMMERMANS, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, EUROPEAN COMMISSION: What we need to do is make this transition happen. The war has only accentuated the importance of making this transition happen as quickly as possible.

Money spent on renewables in Europe is money that stays in Europe. Money spent on fossil fuel bought in Russia is money that disappears in Putin's pockets and is then used to wage a war against his peaceful neighbors. This reality is the reality that should dictate the urgency of the measures we need to take.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: The E.U. is the world's third biggest polluter, with transportation being the only sector to continually increase output of greenhouse gases.

When we come back, Rwanda preparing to has migrants who will soon deported from the U.K. And CNN goes inside a hostel that will be hosting the asylum seekers, when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: New daily cases of the coronavirus have been in steady decline since the start of the year. According to the World Health Organization, last week more than 3 million new infections were reported globally, a 12 percent drop from a week before.

U.S. reported the most new cases. And despite these falling numbers, the WHO chief warns the pandemic is far from over.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TEDROS ADHANOM GHEBREYESUS, WHO DIRECTOR-GENERAL: The perception that the pandemic is over is understandable but misguided. More than 7,000 people lost their lives to this virus last week. That's 7,000 too many. A new and even more dangerous variant could emerge at any time, and vast numbers of people remain unprotected.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: The WHO is now working to increase vaccinations in countries with very low vaccination rates.

Rwanda is preparing to take in the first batch of migrants deported from the U.K., due to arrive next week. Britain is paying the African nation more than $150 million to house the asylum seekers, hoping that it will deter others from making the dangerous crossing by boat.

[00:40:06]

The deal, though, has come under fire, as CNN's Larry Madowo reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LARRY MADOWO, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These are the final touches at Hope Hostel in Kigali, before the first migrants, deported from the U.K., arrive.

MADOWO: And so this is the new place waiting for the migrants?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

MADOWO (voice-over): This building that, until recently, housed the young survivors of the Rwandan genocide, has a new purpose. This newly-renovated hostel can host up to 100 people, two to a room, and sharing communal bathrooms.

MADOWO: So this is one room?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, this one side of the room for the house floor. We have the amenities. It's got towels. It's got an iron. It's got a change of sheets.

MADOWO (voice-over): This is where the migrants will live, under the watchful eye of Rwandan authorities.

The hostel is functional, not luxurious, but the Rwandan government says the migrants will be free here, not in detention, like in the U.K.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: View of Kigali.

MADOWO (voice-over): Officials are also promising health care, and support for at least five years, or until they're self-sufficient.

But the plan has been widely criticized by many refugee rights groups in the U.K., internationally, and here in Rwanda. The main opposition party here says Rwanda shouldn't have to bear the U.K.'s burden.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is their responsibility.

MADOWO: So you think the U.K. is violating its international obligations by passing that off to Rwanda?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. And we don't see why. We are still suffering over having enough infrastructure, electricity, water, roads, schools, hospitals. We are not similar to the U.K. We have to think twice. MADOWO (voice-over): Rwanda and the U.K. expect this migrant scheme to

disrupt the business of people smugglers, but many international bodies, even the U.K., rank Rwanda poorly on some human rights indicators.

Critics also say accepting migrants rich countries don't want is cruel and inhumane.

YOLANDE MAKOLO, RWANDA GOVERNMENT SPOKESWOMAN: It's cruel, and it's inhumane, that people are dying in the desert, trying to cross the desert, making these dangerous journeys, drowning in the Mediterranean. We are interested in protecting vulnerable people, and this has been our philosophy for the last 30 years.

MADOWO (voice-over): Rwanda has also welcomed refugees and asylum seekers evacuated from Libya after unsuccessfully trying to cross to Europe. Orientation has started for the latest arrivals at the Gashora Emergency Transit Center. They're mostly from the Horn of Africa.

MADOWO: How do you compare the conditions in the four years you spent in Libya and here in Rwanda?

ZEMEN FESAHA, REFUGEE AT GASHORA EMERGENCY TRANSIT CENTER: It is so difficult to compare, because it is like from hell to heaven.

MADOWO: Being in Libya to Rwanda is like coming from hell to heaven?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, yes, yes.

MADOWO (voice-over): Zemen is grateful for the peace and freedom in Rwanda, but it's still not his destination of choice. None of the people we spoke to here wanted to stay, even though it's one of the options.

MADOWO: Your final goal is still to go to Europe?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

MADOWO (voice-over): Rwanda has become the global market leader in migrant offshoring. After the U.K. scheme, a deal with Denmark is in the works.

It's helped clean up Rwanda's image internationally, but some accuse it of trying to paint over a dark reputation.

Larry Madowo, CNN, Kigali.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: I'm John Vause. I'll be back at the top of the hour with more CNN NEWSROOM. In the meantime, please stay with us. WORLD SPORT is up after the break.

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