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Leaders Look to Keep Pressure on Moscow, Ease Price Spikes; Russian Missiles Hit Kyiv as G-7 Summit Begins; Investigators Seek Cause of South African Tavern Deaths; 4 Dead After Stadium Collapses; Protestors Take to Street over Supreme Court Ruling; U.K. Parliament to Debate Bill to Change Part of E.U.-Brexit Deal; Shanghai to Allow Indoor Dining at Restaurants; Somalia Faces Climate Emergency, Risk of Famine. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired June 27, 2022 - 00:00   ET

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

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Michael Holmes. Appreciate your company.

[00:00:29]

Coming up here on CNN NEWSROOM, in the shadow of Russia's war on Ukraine, G-7 leaders are meeting in the Bavarian Alps, debating the impact the conflict is having on the rest of the world.

Also, a mystery inside a tavern in South Africa. Investigators still trying to determine how more than 20 people, mostly teenagers, died inside.

And the tragedy inside a bullfighting arena in Colombia. Several people are dead, hundreds injured after the stands collapsed.

ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Michael Holmes.

HOLMES: A balancing act on the world stage right now. G-7 leaders gathered in Germany for a second day of a summit dominated, of course, by Russia's war on Ukraine and the impact that war is having around the globe.

Leaders are having to show a united front and sustain their pressure campaign on Moscow while also limiting the economic fallout. But after months of war, and with food and energy prices soaring around the world, their unity is being tested.

On Sunday, U.S. President Joe Biden urged allies to stand firm in the face of those challenges.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We have to stay together. Putin has been counting on from the beginning that somehow, NATO would -- and the G-7 would splinter and -- But we haven't, and we're not going to. So we can't let this aggression take the form it has and get away with it. (END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: The British prime minister, Boris Johnson, echoing that sentiment. Speaking to CNN on Sunday, he warned that the consequences of a Russian victory in Ukraine could be catastrophic.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: And if we let Putin get away with it, and just annex, conquer sizeable parts of a free, independent, sovereign country, which is what he's poised to do, if not the whole thing, then the consequences for the world are absolutely catastrophic.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: For more, let's bring in CNN's Kevin Liptak. He is live near the site of this year's summit.

Good to see you again, Kevin. Of course, Ukraine's President Zelenskyy will be speaking to the G-7 leaders. He'll want more help. But what are officials there saying about the new military assistance that is on offer?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, heading into these talks, Michael, U.S. officials did say that they hoped to announce new military aid to Ukraine. And we do understand that the U.S. is prepared to announce as soon as this week that it has purchased an advanced, long- -- medium- to long-range surface-to-air missile defense system that had been on Ukraine's wish list.

We do understand that the Ukrainians will be -- have to -- have to be trained to use it, but it's sort of the latest in these billions of dollars that the West has pledged and secured the assistance to Ukraine.

So when the leaders hear from President Zelenskyy later today, he is expected to sort of lay out the trajectory of this war, where he sees things standing right now on the battlefield.

And when you talk to U.S. officials, there is a real desire among these leaders to sort of shift the momentum right now in Ukraine, as Russia continues to make small gains in the East.

At the same time, they're balancing this concern about potential escalation, and that's something that White House officials have said President Biden weighs every time he sort of announces one of these new systems. He takes into account what Vladimir Putin might think. Would he view that as an escalatory step, and how he might respond.

And so as these leaders continue those meetings today -- and you saw them yesterday, you know literally rolling up their sleeves as they sat around the table to get into these discussions -- that big question of what the next phase of the war looks like will continue to dominate. Will there be more push for negotiations with Russia? Or, as some

leaders are hoping for, are there -- are they looking for a more decisive victory on the battlefield?

And these leaders aren't necessarily in 100 percent agreement on that issue, and it's something that will certainly arise when they're speaking to Zelenskyy later today.

Now, heading into these talks, I did speak with a European official who said that there is a consensus among the G-7 leaders that they will take their lead from Ukraine on this. When President Zelenskyy and his government want to make this pivot towards diplomacy. But they say that he's not there yet, and they don't feel like he's going to be there anytime soon, Michael.

[00:05:12]

HOLMES: Yes. He's not going to want to give up any territory. That's for sure. Kevin Liptak, really appreciate it. We'll check in with you next hour, as well. Thanks so much.

To Ukraine now. President Zelenskyy says scores of Russian missiles have hit Ukraine over the weekend, and his country needs that urgent help.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Part of the missiles were shot down, but only part. We need a powerful air defense, modern, fully effective, which can ensure complete protection against these missiles. We talk about this every day with our partners. There are already some agreements, and partners need to move faster if they are really partners, not observers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Meanwhile, the mayor of Enerhodar in Southeastern Ukraine says hundreds of residents are being held captive in the Russian-occupied city and that the situation has grown worse over the last two weeks.

He says people are being electrocuted, beaten, and held for months. Many of them are skilled workers from the nearby Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

And as world leaders gathered for the G-7 summit on Sunday, Russian missiles continued to rain down on Kyiv. Ukraine's president calling it, quote, "the Russian method." That is, to escalate attacks every time international events take place. CNN's Salma Abdelaziz is in Kyiv with the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): An attack that rattled Ukraine's capital. In the early hours of Sunday morning, multiple Russian missiles hit a residential area.

A nine-story apartment block was struck, leaving families trapped under the rubble.

Dozens of rescue workers scrambled to pull survivors out of the ruins, using cranes to reach the still-smoldering top floor.

Natalia Nikita (ph) now watched in horror as first responders tried to rescue her daughter-in-law.

"Losing loved ones is the worst fate," she said. "We do not deserve this."

This video from emergency services shows the harrowing rescue. After nearly a five-hour ordeal, Catarina (ph) was pulled out, injured but alive.

ABDELAZIZ: This horrific attack is going to shake up Kyiv. For weeks now, the capitol has been relatively secure, relatively quiet. This is absolutely going to shatter that semblance of safety.

ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): Several other residents were wounded, including Catarina's (ph) seven-year-old daughter, who was cut by fragments as she slept.

At least one person was killed, police said.

The backyard of a nearby kindergarten was also struck, leaving shrapnel where children play.

On the scene, the mayor of Kyiv expressed outrage.

VITALI KLITSCHKO, KYIV, UKRAINE MAYOR: It's a senseless war, and we have to do everything to stop this war, because thousands and thousands of un-guilty people, civilians, die.

ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): There are a number of military facilities in the area, officials say, but the victims here, clearly innocent.

The air strikes happening as G-7 leaders gathered for a major summit in Germany, a possible message from President Putin.

Salma Abdelaziz, CNN, Kyiv.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Joining me now from Washington, D.C., is CNN political and national security analyst David Sanger.

David, always good to have you on. Great article about the G-7. How big of an issue for the G-7 and NATO is unity when it comes to Russia's war in Ukraine, and how the world responds to it? Are Western allies still united?

DAVID SANGER, CNN POLITICAL AND NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: I think they are for now, but it's clear there's some fatigue setting in.

You know, you heard Henry Kissinger and President Macron of France all say within the past month or so that we ought to think about what kind of compromise could be reached with the Russians that might ultimately give them some land. In the case of Macron, he said that we had to be careful not to humiliate Putin, which was interpreted as saying, give him something for what he has done.

So you are seeing some smaller cracks. But I think the bigger issue out here, Michael, is we're just in a very different phase of the war than we were when the president was last in Europe at the end of March.

HOLMES: Yes.

SANGER: At that time, the shock was still on, and people were loading on new sanctions. Now, they have to think about sustaining a long war.

HOLMES: And to that point, I mean, despite the sanctions and all the unity so far, and all the weapons that are being sent, Russia has the momentum right now. Putin has shown zero sign of backing down.

So how, then, might strategies to deal with him going forward be addressed, both at the G-7 but also, of course, the NATO meeting, starting Wednesday?

[00:10:07]

SANGER: Well, it's going to be a challenge, because while the sanctions have been successful in reducing the amount of oil that he can export, obviously, natural gas is continuing to flow.

And because oil prices have risen so, Russia isn't suffering from quite as much of a revenue decline as you might think.

There are some signs, though, of the sanctions having some bite. The export controls of semiconductors and other electronic components are seriously beginning to hurt the Russian military. And we've seen some reports that Russia is right on the verge of defaulting for the first time on its sovereign debt.

HOLMES: Yes.

SANGER: That hasn't happened since 1918.

HOLMES: Certainly a big deal. You're right. I think Putin said -- and I know you've been interested in this aspect. He said on Saturday that he would move nuclear-capable missiles into Belarus.

Now, if they are nuclear armed (ph), that's a pretty big step in terms of spreading Russia's arsenal back into former Soviet states. What do you think of the implications, were that to happen?

SANGER: I think this is the most important and least discussed development of the weekend in the Ukraine war. You know, ever since the fall of the Soviet Union, we have seen a shrinkage of the nuclear footprint. Ukraine, obviously, gave up the nuclear missiles that were based there. Belarus gave up on it. So did other Soviet states.

So if we are beginning to see that some of these states are, once again, becoming a base for Russian missiles, that tells you that we're going to have to reconfigure the nuclear defenses for the West, and we could be back in an arms race cycle.

HOLMES: Yes, and that -- yes, that is frightening. I want to get your thoughts on this, too. How much do you think -- how much damage has the events, and in reference to the G-7 and the NATO meeting, how much damage have the events of January 6th and what's come out of the hearings impacted U.S. standing at gatherings like these?

I mean, has it become harder for the U.S. to say, be a strong democracy like us, be like us, when that democracy has, you know, really been so shaky, to be honest?

SANGER: You know, I think it's been a problem since January 6th. I mean, people think about January 6th here in the United States as its own dynamic, and I can understand why they do. It was a traumatic moment, and as we now know, a very perilous moment for our democracy.

But it was also a perilous moment, Michael, for the argument that this is a battle between democracies and autocracies that's taking place now, a line that President Biden likes to use and has used often. And we are basically making the case, no, you want to be more like us and less like China and Russia.

Well, people get the "less like China and Russia" part, but I'm not sure the version of democracy they're ready to sign up for is necessarily the American version. And that's why the Chinese and the Russians kept playing the tape of January 6th and saying, you guys want democracy? This is what you get.

HOLMES: Yes. Yes, yes, reputational harm, for sure. I mean, of course, there's a lot of other big issues globally. Inflation, looming food shortage, supply-chain issues, continued energy prices as you pointed out, many of them tied to or influenced by Russia's invasion.

But when it comes to the G-7, what effectively can they do about those myriad issues, which are global issues?

SANGER: Well, I think there are two big energy-related issues they're going to have to grapple with.

First of all, they're going to need a common strategy about how to go deal with gas imports from Russia, because if they continue trying to import at this level, they're being held at Russia's mercy if the Russians decide that they're not getting enough concessions in Ukraine, and they're just going to turn the taps off for a bit.

I think a big issue for the Germans is that they had wanted this to be about climate, and instead, it's the Germans themselves that have talked about keeping some of their dirtiest generation sites going in order to insulate themselves some more from -- from the Russians.

So, we're beginning to see the tension between supporting the Ukrainians and supporting our climate goals.

HOLMES: Yes, yes. The Germans wanted this one to be all about climate. And -- and that got derailed.

David, thank you so much. David Sanger, always good to talk to you.

SANGER: Great to be with you.

HOLMES: Still to come here on the program, 22 people, most of them teenagers, mysteriously die at a tavern in South Africa. We'll have the latest on the investigation for you.

[00:15:04]

Also, a bullfight in Colombia turns deadly after a stadium partially collapses. The stunning video taken from the scene. That's when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: The president of South Africa has expressed his condolences to the families of the 22 people who died at a tavern in the city of East London.

Forensic examiners were on the scene Sunday, trying to figure out what caused the deaths. A local health official said the victims were between 18 and 20 years old, though some might have been as young as 13.

CNN's Larry Madowo has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LARRY MADOWO, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: South African police say they're spending maximum resources to investigate and figure out exactly what happened at a tavern in the coastal city of East London, where kids, essentially, aged between 13 and 17, according to provincial authorities, died in unclear circumstances.

The South African Police Minister Bheki Cele said it was not natural causes, but he stopped short of giving the exact cause of death. Because that's what an investigation will unearth.

He was reduced to tears after seeing the bodies at the morgue. Later, this is what he told reporters.

BHEKI CELE, SOUTH AFRICAN POLICE MINISTER: But when you look at their faces, you realize that we're dealing with kids. Kids, kids, kids. You've heard the story, that they are young, but when you see them, you realize that is a disaster.

MADOWO: President Cyril Ramaphosa sent his own condolences to the families. A statement from his office also said, "While the president awaits more information on the incident, his thoughts are with the families who have lost children, as well as families who are awaiting confirmation of how their children may have been affected."

He pointed out that it was especially tragic that this happened during South Africa's Youth Month, when they talk about advancing opportunities, economic and social, for the country's youth. And he expects the full force of the law to take effect on those who maybe have been responsible.

But a nation truly in mourning, devastated by such a tragedy on people so young.

Larry Madowo, CNN, Nairobi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Now a bull fight in Colombia quickly turned into a disaster scene on Sunday. At least four people are dead, hundreds injured after part of a three-level stadium -- you see it there -- holding fans collapsed during a bull fight.

Screams, of course, being heard as the structure fell inwards, and people in the area fleeing from it, as you can see there.

Stefano Pozzebon joins me now from Bogota. What more do we know about what happened and why?

STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes Michael. What happened, the stand was evidently full with too many people, and it simply crushed under the weight of the bystanders. On the onlookers who were there to watch the bullfight taking place.

It's important to notice, maybe -- I don't know if you can see that from the images. But the bullfight was happening as the stand crashed. So there was also bulls -- live bulls involved in the tragedy that occurred.

[00:2015]

Only a few hours ago, the governor of Tolima, the region in Colombia where the small town of El Espinal is located. We're talking about a small rural town a few hours southwest from where I am here in Bogota.

Confirmed that at least four people have died. One of them a minor, two women, and another man.

But perhaps more than that the nation is now, taking a moment to think about bullfighting in itself. The president-elect, Gustavo Petro, who won the election just last week and is due to take office and to become the president of Colombia next -- in August, sorry -- has already called for mayors across the country to suspect bullfighting to avoid similar tragedies.

The bull fight in Colombia, just as in many other countries in South America and in the Hispanic world, is both historic tradition, dating back to the middle ages and to, here, to the age of the colony. But at the same time a controversial practice that environmentalists and campaigners have often protested against, petitioned to suspend the practice.

And now perhaps, in the face of this tragedy, where we said, at least four people have died, Colombia might take a different -- a different path, Michael.

HOLMES: Yes, indeed. Unbelievable. Stefano, thank you. Stefano Pozzebon there in Bogota.

All right. Shockwaves still rippling across the United States after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and ended constitutional protection for abortion.

States run by Democrats are now taking steps to protect access to the procedure, and dozens of prosecutors have released a statement saying they will not prosecute abortion providers or patients.

Abortion rights advocates were out in force again on Sunday. Although, there have been some arrests, demonstrations have been overwhelmingly peaceful.

But have a look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JODIE SWEETIN, ACTRESS/ACTIVIST: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: That's Jodie Sweetin, who starred in the iconic television show "Full House," being thrown to the ground by police in Los Angeles. Nadia Romero has more on the protests this weekend.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Abortion bans are illegitimate. Forced motherhood is illegitimate!

NADIA ROMERO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From Washington, D.C., to Los Angeles, and in between, abortion rights protesters continued to voice their anguish following the ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court to eliminate the federal constitutional right to an abortion.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm angry. I'm fired up. The fight is not over. People did this fight 50 years ago. I guess it's our turn to take the fight up again. It may take us 50 years, but we'll get back.

ROMERO (voice-over): Smaller gatherings of people celebrating the ruling are also taking place.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Millions of lives will be saved by this decision.

ROMERO (voice-over): In Cedar Rapids, Iowa, a pedestrian was injured by a truck, while trying to legally cross the street in front of the federal courthouse during Friday evening's protests in the city, according to Cedar Rapids Police.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I look over, I see people trying to push the truck back. And I just instantly got mad. And ran over, tried to stop the truck. ROMERO (voice-over): Video of the incident shows a truck appearing to

push through a group of protesters, with one person falling to the ground after making contact with a vehicle.

In Providence, Rhode Island, state Democratic Senate candidate Jennifer Rourke was punched in the face by an off-duty police officer and GOP opponent, at an abortions right rally at the state house on Friday night, Rourke told CNN in a statement.

The incident, which was caught on video, shows what appears to be Rourke stepping into an altercation at the protest, and almost immediately afterwards, getting punched in the face by Jeann Lugo.

Lugo turned himself into the Rhode Island state police on Saturday, Eric Yanyar (ph), lieutenant for the Rhode Island State Police told CNN.

CNN reached out to the Providence Fraternal Order of Police to inquire about the possible legal representation for Lugo but did not hear back Saturday night.

In Phoenix, law enforcement used tear gas late Friday to disperse a crowd of abortion rights supporters. After they repeatedly pounded on the glass doors of the state Senate building, Arizona Department of Public Safety spokesperson Bart Graves told CNN.

In Eugene, Oregon, ten people were arrested on Friday night during a demonstration dubbed a Night of Rage in response to the ruling, according to a release from Eugene Police Department.

Greenville, South Carolina, at least six people were arrested Saturday at a protest that was attended by hundreds of people in downtown, according to a news release by the Greenville Police Department.

Video taken by Emily Porter shows the moment police detained several demonstrators in downtown Greenville at the rally. A video shared with CNN shows police detaining several people and forcing a man to the ground.

[00:25:05]

And officers also seen yelling at protesters to get back, although another officer tells protesters who are jeering the police, "We are not on either side!"

In Washington, D.C., U.S. Capitol Police arrested two people on Saturday afternoon for the destruction of property after they were accused of, quote, "throwing paint over the fence by the U.S. Supreme Court," USCP tweeted.

Large protests have also been held in Philadelphia and Los Angeles. And in New York City, many demonstrators gathered in Washington Square Park to protest the ruling, even though, New York state law will remain in place to protect abortion rights. ROMERO: Here in Mississippi, the state's last abortion clinic will

open its doors again on Monday, and they do expect anti-abortion protesters to meet them.

Nadia Romero, CNN, Jackson, Mississippi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Virginia police are investigating the vandalism of a pregnancy center in Lynchburg. It happened Friday night after the court ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade was announced.

Officers found multiple broken windows and graffiti spray-painted on the building. Police said security camera footage showed four masked individuals committing the acts. The investigation is ongoing.

In the coming hours, the U.K. Parliament is that to debate a bill to change the Northern Ireland protocol, part of a post-Brexit deal, agreed to with the European Union two years ago.

This even though the E.U. has launched legal proceedings against the U.K. over its failure to implement parts of that deal.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss is expected to tell the House of Commons that the legislation will help uphold the Good Friday agreement and fix problems the protocol has created.

The U.K. says those problems include a, quote, "burdensome customs process."

CNN's Nic Robertson spoke about this with the Irish Taoiseach, Michael Martin.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: The rationale of the British government is providing for changing the law and the way that it's saying it's not breaking the law, international law here, is that there's a state of necessity, that there's political instability, social instability in Northern Ireland. Are you seeing it?

MICHAEL MARTIN, IRISH TAOISEACH: The British government is contributing its own share enough, political instability in Northern Ireland, I regret to say.

But I think the key point that needs to really be reflected on is the fact that the protocol has worked for a lot of Irish industry and businesses, not just in Northern Ireland, businesses and industry.

Let the British government get into discussions with the European Union. I'm in no doubt that those issues can be resolved satisfactorily. But there needs to be a will to resolve this and to get involved in substantial negotiations.

ROBERTSON: And you're not seeing the will?

MARTIN: No, I'm not seeing the will. I haven't seen it for quite some time.

ROBERTSON: You're talking with President Biden's administration about Brexit as it moves along. What commitments are you getting from them, for supporting Ireland?

MARTIN: The U.S. government has communicated, consistently, over the last two years, to the United Kingdom government that it wants a resolution on a negotiated basis. And I think that makes sense between like-minded democracies. That's -- that's how you resolve issues of this kind.

You don't resolve it by unilaterally breaking an international agreement that you'd entered into not too long ago.

We're all democrat democracies. We should all be aligned, given the enormous geopolitical pressures at the moment and the war in Ukraine. The U.K. government has -- has done very well in terms of protecting and working with Eastern European countries and, indeed, the Ukraine itself. That has to be acknowledged. So, really, there is an obligation, in my view, and that makes sense, that we would work to resolve this issue.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Still to come here on the program, Shanghai will soon let some restaurants resume dine-in services for the first time in months. We'll have a live report from Ivan Watson on the roll-back of the restrictions in the city.

Also, Somalia's worst drought in decades, coupled with soaring food and energy prices, putting millions of people at risk of starvation. We'll take a closer look at the crisis after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:31:40]

HOLMES: Shanghai will allow restaurants in areas that at low risk for COVID-19 to, quote, "gradually open up" for indoor dining starting Wednesday. Officials say restrictions will only be lifted in areas without any community level spread of the virus.

Now, it comes just one day after Shanghai's top party leader declared victory over COVID-19 after the city reported zero new local cases.

CNN's Ivan Watson joins me now from Hong Kong with more. Shanghai, of course, have had those stringent lockdowns of its residents for months. Could that be changing?

IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It looks like it. But first, some important context here.

China's -- the government announced they only detected 23 COVID cases across the entire country on Sunday. OK? So only 23 cases in the entire country, and Shanghai is just announcing that it's going to be restaurants within coming days. Meanwhile, the movie theaters there, the swimming pools, the gyms, the

karaoke bars, those are still closed.

And of course, Shanghai, a city of 20 million people, spent two months over very strict lockdown, with people rationing food and worrying about food supplies.

Beijing, the capital, is having elementary school kids allowed to go back to in-school learning today. It's had outbreaks. The in-school learning will not be taking place in districts where COVID cases are detected. And that could just be one case, Michael, which could shut down in school learning.

So there is movement to ease some of these restrictions in Chinese -- China's biggest cities, but this battle, this war that the Chinese government has declared against COVID, where it's trying to maintain zero COVID, still means that life is far from normal.

For example, you still need to, in urban areas, get a COVID test every 72 hours to be able to enter those places. If you want to leave or enter Shanghai, the travel is still very restricted. You're still going to face perhaps seven to 14 days of compulsory quarantine if you want to travel from Shanghai to another part of China.

And just to give you another sense of how the country is still playing whack-a-mole when trying to stop any cases from propping up, the city of Shenzhen, which is close to here, Hong Kong, where I am, just across the internal boundary -- it has announced that its central district of about 1.5 million residents is going into a partial lockdown because of several cases being detected there. So that all the public venues -- parks, cinemas, bars, gyms -- all being closed.

So this war that China is waging against COVID, you've got a top official in Shanghai saying that they've -- they've won the battle to defend that city against COVID, but there is still a nationwide struggle very much underway and infringing on day-to-day life and commerce -- Michael.

HOLMES: Yes. A couple of dozen cases in the entire country, interesting. Ivan, thank you. Ivan Watson in Hong Kong, there.

[00:35:05]

We're going to take a quick break. When we come back, a once-in-a- lifetime find as an ice-age animal is uncovered by chance in Canada. We'll have the details for you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: The Taliban is promising not to interfere with the distribution of humanitarian aid arriving in Afghanistan to help victims of that deadly earthquake last week.

Aid groups had initially been worried they might try to divert aid to their supporters. The 5.9 magnitude six quake struck near the Pakistan border, killing

more than 1,000 people. And heavy rain and mudslides are making it difficult to deliver aid to some of the more remote areas.

A devastating drought has triggered a humanitarian crisis across the Horn of Africa, putting millions of people at risk of starvation. But climate change, sadly, isn't the only concern. The conflict in Ukraine, seemingly a world away from this region, is only making desperately-needed food aid that much harder to get.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES (voice-over): In southern Somalia, two mounds of earth heaped over the tiny graves of twin girls. They lived for only one day after their mother, severely weakened by hunger, gave birth a month early in a camp for displaced families.

Sadly, their tragic story is now part of a grim reality facing millions across the region.

HALIMA HASSAN ABDULLAHI, GRANDMOTHER OF DEATH TWINS (through translator): This is the worst drought that I have seen in many years. After years of drought, we lost all of our livestock. We tried to survive on our goats, but one after the other, they all finally died. We fled our home and looked for water nearby.

HOLMES (voice-over): Somalia is among the countries in the Horn of Africa facing the driest conditions in four decades, and it's leading to what one United Nations official describes as an explosion of child deaths.

The ongoing drought is causing hunger mortality rates to rapidly rise across the region. The U.N. says in Somalia as many as 29 percent of children younger than 5 are experiencing acute malnutrition.

It comes after four consecutive rainy seasons have come and gone with little rain. According to the World Food Programme, that is killing crops and livestock, and making food and clean water scarce.

CLAIRE NEVILL, WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME: The humanitarian effort for Somalia is only 15 percent funded. So what we need now is right now, is money. We need the cash to avert the risk of famine. In 2011, famine, I think about a quarter of a million people died. So if we don't act now with the money that we need, I think we might head into that kind of direction.

HOLMES (voice-over): Making matters worse, the World Bank warns that the war in Ukraine is contributing to an historic rise and global prices of energy and food.

[00:40:08]

That's hitting communities in countries like Somalia that rely on staples like grain, particularly hard, relief groups say.

RUKIA YACOUB, WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME, EAST AFRICA: The fundamental issue in Somalia and in the Horn at the moment is a climate-induced crisis, right? It's drought.

But where the effects of the Ukraine crisis come in, is that the food prices and fuel prices and others are hiked up to a point where we need more resources to secure what we would've secured before. We need a lot more.

HOLMES (voice-over): As G-7 leaders meet this week to discuss a series of global emergencies, a convergence of crises in Somalia and the Horn of Africa is proving ever more dire, as climate change and war in Europe drive desperate need in one of the most vulnerable areas of the world.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Well, from the vastness of Australia's Northern Territory to the remote reaches of the planet's atmosphere. NASA teaming up with an Australian space port to launch missions that can only be studied from the Southern Hemisphere.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three, two, one! Yes!

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HOLMES: Yes, they said. NASA launched the first of three rocket missions from Australia's Arnhem Space Center on Sunday night. It's the first time NASA has conducted a rocket launch from a commercial facility outside the U.S.

The company partnering with NASA says it is a milestone for Australian spaceflight.

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MICHAEL JONES, EQUATORIAL LAUNCH AUSTRALIA CEO: It's historic for Australia. And so I don't want that to pass without sort of, you know, feeling good. But for us, we're going right back into it. The Fourth of July as the next launch, and so we need to, you know, dust ourselves off, take a day off, and then get back into it in readiness for the next launch. Because it's just as important.

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HOLMES: With the U.S. space agency as its first customer, the Australian space center hopes to build on this success and ramp up to more than 100 launches a year with various clients.

NASA and Australia have worked together before on space projects. Australian tracking stations assisted NASA during Apollo 11's mission to the moon in 1969.

Now, a gold miner in Northwest Canada has stumbled upon an incredible and unexpected find: a mummified baby woolly mammoth, thought to be more than 30,000 years old.

The discovery in Yukon's Klondike gold fields is the first near- complete and well-preserved wooly mammoth found in North America.

Scientists, miners and government officials helped recover the frozen female baby mammoth.

Well, the Colorado Avalanche are the Stanley Cup champions. They defeated the two-time defending champs, the Tampa Bay Lightning, 2-1 in game six of the National Hockey League finals on Sunday.

The game was tied 1-1 until halfway through the second period, when Colorado scored the deciding goal.

This is the team's first Stanley Cup title since 2001 and third overall.

And on that note, more sports coming up next on WORLD SPORT. Thanks for watching. I'm Michael Holmes. I'll see you in about 15 minutes with more news.

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