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Russians Have No Word of Honor; Europe Facing Energy Crisis; Apologies Taken but Words Are Not Enough; Brittney Griner's Fate Undetermined; Violence in Haiti Becomes Worse; Fires Raging Near Czech-German Border; Residents and Tourists Tries to Escape China's Heat Wave; No Permanent Friends in Politics; U.N. Condemns Execution of Activists in Myanmar; Tunisian President Wants to Have More Powers; Liz Truss Leading Against Rishi Sunak in Polls. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired July 26, 2022 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[03:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church.
Just ahead here on CNN Newsroom, Europe on the brink of a full-blown energy crisis as Russia plans to cut gas supplies, yet again. Now, E.U. energy ministers are in Brussels hoping to find a solution to the shortage ahead of what looks to be a brutal winter.
Pope Francis in Canada apologizing for decades of abuse by the Catholic Church. And, while the apology is welcomed, some indigenous survivors say concrete action must follow.
Plus, global condemnation after the execution of pro-democracy activist in Myanmar. We'll discuss what needs to be done to prevent atrocities like this from occurring in the future.
UNKNOWN: Live from CNN center, this is CNN Newsroom with Rosemary Church.
CHURCH: Thanks for joining us.
Well, a new Russian missile strike on the Odessa region of Ukraine, local leaders say missiles hit civilian areas and set off fires. This marks the second strike on the area since Saturday when Russia targeted its port just one day after agreeing to a grain exporting deal.
The Turkish president, who helped broker the Black Sea initiative is urging Russia and Ukraine to act responsibly and stick to the agreement. Earlier, the U.N. said both sides had reaffirmed their commitments. And that the first shipment of desperately needed Ukrainian grain is expected to set sail this week.
Ukraine's president says his country is ready to start exporting so it can prove to the world that it's not the one holding up the grain. But he wants Turkey and the U.N. must guarantee the security of the shipments.
Meanwhile, Russia's foreign minister fended the earlier attack on the Odessa and tried to shore up support while on a tour of Africa. The grain deal marks the most significant agreement reached since the Russian invasion. But there are cautious hopes and growing doubts over whether it will hold.
CNN's Nic Robertson picks up the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR (voice-over): Despite Russia's missile strike on Odessa Saturday, Ukraine's officials are vowing to push ahead with the U.N. deal to get grain from their ports to the world's needy.
OLEKSANDR KUBRAKOV, UKRAINIAN INFRASTRUCTURE MINISTER: Our hopes are that during the upcoming days, we will start dealing with grain from our ports in Odessa.
ROBERTSON: But Russian missiles aren't the only obstacle creating uncertainty about Russia's commitment. Russia's foreign minister asserting nothing in the deal prevents from hitting military targets in Odessa, and misinformation, too, claiming rights for Russian ships not in the agreement.
SERGEY LAVROV, RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): In the open sea, Russia, Turkey together with another participant which is to be determined the company of the convoys to the straits.
KUBRAKOV: So, we won't to do this, our territorial waters and our sea ports on Ukraine and Ukrainian navy will be -- will be there.
ROBERTSON: So, no Russian ships escorting the convoys anywhere along the convoys?
KUBRAKOV: No ships at all in this process.
ROBERTSON: Ukraine's plan b, to export grain by train, truck and river is still in play, but like the U.N. deal, this too is beset by uncertainty. Train cars full of grain have been shelled by Russia and trucks blown up.
KUBRAKOV: We are doing our best. We are trying to export more through our Danube ports with the help of our railway, Ukrainian railways company and by trucks.
ROBERTSON: If the U.N. deal to export grain from the ports can hold, Ukrainian officials estimate the value to their beleaguered nation could be a much needed billion dollars a month.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
Ukraine's agrarian minister says that he expects farmers to be able to start selling their grain to shippers within days. He says that corn prices have already gone up 20 to 30 percent and expects that by the end of the week, wheat will have gone up 10 percent. Thousands of miles away, millions of people are counting on Russia not to block the deal.
[03:05:04]
Nic Robertson, CNN, Kyiv, Ukraine.
CHURCH: Ukraine admits Russian forces are making small gains on the battlefield in the eastern part of the country. Ukraine's general staff reports Russian airstrikes and intense shelling in the Donetsk region. One Ukrainian official says, there is not a single settlement in the region that hasn't been shelled.
Meanwhile, Ukraine is claiming progress against Russian fighters in the Kherson region. Military officials report three bridges have been hit, making it tough for the Russians to move vehicles and heavy equipment. Ukraine also claims it's targeting ammunition warehouses, missile systems and command post.
Ukrainian officials report a major rocket attack on the southern city of Mykolaiv today. They say, infrastructure at the port was attacked and air launched missiles targeted the outskirts of the city.
Well, Europe is facing another energy crunch as Russia is cutting gas supplies in the Nord Stream 1 pipeline yet again. E.U. energy ministers are meeting in Brussels today to discuss their response. One plan calls for members to cut their gas used by 15 percent from August to March. But a number of countries are pushing back on that.
Nord Stream 1 just reopened after being shut down for 10 days of maintenance. Now, Gazprom says it's cutting flow by half to fix another turbine. The Kremlin insist the cuts have nothing to do with politics but says that European sanctions are only making things worse. Ukraine's president calls it an avert gas war against Europe.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE (through translator): All this is done by Russia deliberately to make it as difficult as possible for Europeans to prepare for winter. And this is an overt gas war that Russia is waging against a united Europe. This is exactly how it should be perceived. And they don't care what will happen to the people, how they will suffer from hunger due to the blocking of ports or from winter, cold and poverty or from occupation. These are just different forms of terror.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: CNN's Clare Sebastian joins us live this hour from London. Good morning to you, Clare. So, whatever the real cost to Europe from Russia's war on gas?
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Rosemary, Europe is already seeing record high inflation. And this latest case to the Nord Stream 1 which is expected to take effect in the early hours of tomorrow morning, Wednesday morning will raise the stakes even further. It raises the odds that, you know, Europe's plans to cut energy demand of 15 percent which energy ministers are discussing today, we'll have to move to mandatory cuts.
It raises the odds that Germany will have to shift up again when it comes to its gas emergency plan. An institute rationing that would hit industry and then it raises the odds of a recession in Germany, which would of course have a ripple effect throughout the continent.
It also piles on the pressure today on that meeting that emergency meeting of E.U. energy ministers who are trying to come to a political agreement on those plans to cut the demand now even more essential in light of this latest move by Gazprom. We know that there are disagreements that some European countries feel that the blanket 15 percent cut for all countries is unfair.
So, there's a lot at stake here. And another thing this morning we got, Rosemary, is that there's another pipeline under scrutiny. Ukraine's gas transit system operator has said that Gazprom without warning has dramatically raised the pressure in one of the pipelines carrying gas from Russia through Ukraine to Europe. And that that could risk some damage to the pipeline. We've had no comment yet from Gazprom on that.
And meanwhile, speaking of inflation, gas prices in Europe are up around 12 percent this morning.
CHURCH: All right, Clare Sebastian joining us live from London. Many thanks.
Well, the latest hearing from American basketball star Brittney Griner is expected to begin any moment now. Griner is being held in Russia on drug charges. And today, her defense team is expected to present evidence. The U.S. State Department says an embassy official will be present at the hearing.
The two-time Olympic gold medalist pleaded guilty earlier this month to bringing cannabis oil into Russia, which lawyer say was for the treatment of chronic pain. Griner faces up to 10 years in prison.
And CNN's Frederik Pleitgen is following the case live for us. He joins us now from Berlin. Good to see you, Fred. So, what's more are you learning about Brittney Griner's latest hearing?
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Rosemary. Yes, so, the trial is about to get underway, indeed. And we do know that State Department officials, namely the charge d'affaires of the U.S. embassy in Moscow has arrived at the court in Khimki which is of course to the north of Moscow.
[03:10:07]
Of course, that trial is taking place there, because that's also the same district at the airport as in where Brittney Griner was intercepted by Russian officials, and where they see that they found that cannabis oil. Now, what's going to happen today is that the defense is going to
present more of its own evidence and its own documents. So, what happens during the last hearing, and that last hearing of course was cut short, it was delayed at the request of the defendant. Is that, first of all, there were some people who spoke on Brittney Griner's behalf. There were witnesses of the defense, for instance, the former team manager saying that she had done a lot for basketball but also, of course, specifically for basketball in Russia.
I think this is an important part of her defense to show that she was trying to help Russian basketball expand, get better and also become more prominent as well. But there was also a former teammate of Brittney Griner in Russia at Ekaterinburg basketball team that also testified on her behalf.
But one of the important things that was also given was a doctor's note that Brittney Griner got saying that she was prescribed this cannabis oil due to pain that she has. So, essentially, if you look at what the defense is trying to do in this case is first of all, Brittney Griner has already pled guilty saying yes, she did make a mistake.
But she is asking for leniency from the court in trying to get it by the fact that she is someone of who the defense says is a very high character, playing for a Russian team, helping basketball in Russia, genuinely a high character individual, and then also, someone who simply made an honest mistake trying to get into the country. Rosemary?
CHURCH: And Fred, how likely is it that Griner will receive any leniency, given what we know about the Russian judiciary system?
PLEITGEN: Yes, that's the big issue in all of this. There really aren't many defendants in Russia who get off with an acquittal. And so, that's something that definitely needs to be said, but there's not going to be leniency in this case. It's really something that is absolutely unclear, and certainly, not something that you can necessarily expect from a Russian court.
If you look, for instance, at the case of Marc Fogel, another former U.S. diplomat, he faced not similar -- a little bit similar charges, also a possession of narcotics. It was a little bit more there as well. He received a 14-year sentence for that, so not really any leniency there. So, we're going to have to wait and see obviously what happens what unfolds in the next couple of days.
There is a trial here today, there's apparently another one scheduled for tomorrow as well where actually, Brittney Griner herself is going to be questioned. But leniency is certainly not something that is very common in Russian courts. Rosemary?
CHURCH: All right, Frederik Pleitgen joining us there, many thanks for that update. I appreciate it.
Well, Pope Francis has apologized for abuse in church around schools in Canada. But decades later, some indigenous communities are still searching for the graves of victims. We report from Manitoba, just ahead.
Plus, gang violence causes thousands to flee in neighborhoods in Haiti as hundreds more are reported dead, injured or missing. The details, just ahead.
PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN METEOROLOGIST: The CNN weather watches in associated with visit Maldives. Here's what's happening across the United States. Big time heat the central United States, lots of monsoon and moisture across parts of the south and west. And severe weather has been a story across areas of the Ohio Valley, and into the northeast in the last couple of days much cooler air has arrived across parts of the northeast after a record heat in recent days.
But you'll notice, every single day the next few, we do warm up a couple of degrees and eventually introduced thunderstorms on Thursday before temps wants to moderate back out close to 30 degrees, which shows 30 degrees across the central United States. Widespread coverage here, Little Rock, Oklahoma City, Tulsa some of these areas near Jackson, Mississippi are still seeing temps into the 40s.
And even that range now approaching the Pacific Northwest, parts of Oregon, parts of eastern Washington. Philly is warm as 43s degrees, and even Seattle and Portland big-time heat in store as a massive heat wave really buckles in across portions of the western United States.
Here's what it looks like in Seattle. Pretty impressive here for their standards where multiple days of temperatures staying above 30 degrees. The average this time of year should be closer to 26. Denver, thunderstorms into the evening hours, 31 degrees. Los Angeles will aim for about 26.
Good news here for the monsoonal moisture across the Valley of the Sun, a lot of drought coverage, a lot of rainfall in recent days.
[03:15:00]
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CHURCH: Pope Francis has formally apologized in Canada for what he called the evil committed by so many Christians against the indigenous peoples.
He was speaking Monday to a largely indigenous audience in Maskwacis in Alberta. The community was the site of one of Canada's most infamous residential schools, many of which were run by the Catholic Church. Children there were harmed sexually and physically. Separated from their families and forced to adopt white culture. Here is the pope addressing that abuse.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
POPE FRANCIS, HEAD OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH (through translator): Today I am here in this land, that along with its ancient memories, preserves the scars of still open wounds. I am here because the first step of my penitential pilgrimage among you is that of again asking forgiveness. (END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: The Ottawa-based Congress of aboriginal peoples welcomed the apologies but called for concrete action from the church including reparations. But even with the pope's visit this week, the process of discovery and reckoning goes on. While the search for unmarked graves of indigenous children continues, survivors of the residential school system are still coping with the memories and trauma that they endured.
CNN's Paula Newton has this story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): It has taken the high- tech tools of this century for Canadian soil to give up the torturous secrets of the last, drones hovering, swooping, mapping. Ground penetrating radar appearing into every layer.
UNKNOWN: We see if there is any disturbances in that soil structure.
NEWTON: Disturbances, these are soil anomalies that could lead to the unmarked graves of indigenous children. Those who were once students at Fort Alexander residential school in the Sagkeeng First Nation in the province of Manitoba.
UNKNOWN: When you have 190 anomalous, there's going to be something.
UNKNOWN: Go this way.
NEWTON: The Catholic institution is no longer standing, but its survivors want you to know what it stood for, abuse of all kinds that a government report found amounting to cultural genocide.
RITA GUIMOND, RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL SURVIVOR: That's where the priest stayed.
NEWTON: Rita Guimond was just six when she arrived. The abuse started soon after.
GUIMOND: And he'd have us sit us on his lap. And meanwhile he had his hands under our skirts.
NEWTON: Patrick Bruyere was seven, he endured eight years.
PATRICK BRUYERE, RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL SURVIVOR: Then he got me drunk. I don't know what happened when I got up the next morning.
NEWTON: Sarah Mazerolle was six, forced to stay until she was 14.
SARAH MAZEROLLE, RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL SURVIVOR: Across the face every morning. She did that to me.
NEWTON: Henry Boubard is 80 now. Just seven when the nightmare started.
HENRY BOUBARD, RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL SURVIVOR: After what the priest did to me sexually, you know? I changed everything.
MAZEROLLE: You have to survive if you are going to live. You have to find ways to get over everything that was being done to you.
BRUYERE: It was all prayer, it was all behaved yourself, it was all don't speak your language, because if you do, you will get punished, you know. And a lot of humiliation.
BOUBARD: These nuns told me to pray. To pray, to pray, but pray? What is prayer? You know, it means nothing to me. If you don't pray, you'll go to hell. I thought all these years I was living in hell in the residential school. This is hell to me.
NEWTON: Hundreds of victims like these from one school. And there were dozens of these institutions across Canada most run by the Catholic Church. More than 150,000 indigenous children were forced to leave their families who were subjected to forced labor, neglect, and sexual and physical abuse. And thousands, just went missing.
In the past year, several indigenous communities have discovered hundreds of unmarked graves and more searches are underway. The survivors of Fort Alexander were too young to know where children went and why. They remain unmarked crosses in the cemetery made from the old school pipes. Who lays there?
So here to, during the very week that Pope Francis is on Canadian soil to apologize they scour the land.
[03:20:01]
NEWTON (on camera): It is with these high-tech tools that indigenous communities throughout Canada hope that they can get this spiritual homecoming, that their lost children deserve, something that no people apology can give them.
The pope arrives with a singular purpose he says, that of penance. But for decades, there was impunity, very few staff members were ever prosecuted. And that inflicts further trauma, some survivors say. And then there is the fact this in-person apology took years.
UNKNOWN: This thing had to be dragged out of this person. Somebody had to go to Rome to go and practically begged this guy to come here and apologize. Why couldn't he have done it on his own from here?
NEWTON: As extraordinary as the pope's pilgrimage to Canada may be, it stands diminished by the scope of the abuse that is already known and the horrors still to be discovered.
Paula Newton, CNN, Sagkeeng First Nation, Manitoba.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: And for more on the story, we go to CNN senior Vatican analyst John Allen in Rome. He is also the editor of Crux, an independent site focusing on news related to the Catholic Church.
Good to have you with us, John.
JOHN ALLEN, CNN SENIOR VATICAN ANALYST: Of course.
CHURCH: So, some critics are suggesting that Pope Francis's apology is not enough. They want more action, even reparations. How far might the church go, considering the appalling abuse perpetrated by the priests and nuns of the Catholic Church.
ALLEN: First of all, I think it is worth acknowledging, that this is hardly the first time the pope has apologized for something. I mean, under Pope John Paul II there are more than 100 apologies for sins of the church including sins against science, the use of violence in defense of the truth and so on.
Pope Benedict the 16th apologized for the clerical abuse scandals, he apologized for the mishandling of important decisions and so on. I mean, even by those standards, the apology that Pope Francis delivered yesterday in Maskwacis is remarkable. I mean, he, the language he used was almost unprecedented in terms of how forceful it was.
He talked about projects of cultural destruction enforced assimilation that resulted in these residential schools. He described as evil. And without using any nuance or diplomatic language, he begged forgiveness.
So, I mean, first of all, my sense is that people understand that this is a historic, and virtually unprecedented apology in terms of its scope and scale. That said, I think there is also a sense that in of itself, the delivering of an apology isn't enough. What we have heard from the indigenous leaders in the last 24 hours or so is that, what they are expecting is that this apology is a beginning, not an end.
And what they hope it will begin is at least two things. One is, a campaign of historical research, opening of archives that will allow us to get to the truth about what happened to these almost 150,000 children of indigenous families who were forcibly removed from their homes in most cases and put into these residential schools. Many of whom, as you've noted, ended up in unmarked graves.
The question is, who are they? And can we bring closure to their heirs to their families? The second question of course, is due injustice. Now justice in the first instance would mean holding the perpetrators accountable. Unfortunately, in many cases the people who committed these abuses are long since dead.
But in the second instance, it would mean doing financial justice to the survivors to their families and their heirs, meaning reparations. The Catholic Church in Canada has committed to raising around $30 million to try to fund those reparations. So far, they've only raised about four or five. There is a serious expectation among indigenous communities in Canada that the pope's trip will kickstart that process. As ever we will have to see.
CHURCH: Indeed, we shall, and we will continue to follow it. John Allen, many thanks for bringing us that. We appreciate it. Well, nearly 500 people in Haiti have been killed in injured or
reported missing due to gang violence. And that's just in the span of about one week in just one neighborhood says the United Nations.
CNN's Matt Rivers has that report.
MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We are getting some new information from the United Nations that's giving us a little more insight into what is happening in a neighborhood of the Haitian capital city of Port-Au-Prince called Cite Soleil. This is a neighborhood, one of the most impoverished in the entire country, several hundred thousand people live in Cite Soleil.
[03:24:58]
And it was earlier this month that gang violence broke out in and around that neighborhood. And it really put the neighborhood directly in its crosshairs with levels of violence that were just staggering. And the United Nations says that from July 8th to July 17th alone, just a nine-day period, some 471 people were either killed, injured or unaccounted for.
They say that roughly 3,000 people were forced to flee their homes in Cite Soleil, including hundreds of unaccompanied children. We know that dozens of homes were also destroyed. Now Cite Soleil is a neighborhood that often relies on deliveries of food, water, aid to be brought into that neighborhood, because it is already a very poor place. And what this violence has done, or did rather, was cut off that neighborhood from the rest of Port-Au-Prince.
Now the U.N. says it has had some recent success in getting deliveries of aid into Cite Soleil starting on July 19th. They say they were able to deliver hundreds of thousands of liters of water, food deliveries, some aid deliveries as well. but they say it's really just a drop in the bucket. And they are calling on a more longer term solution to this crisis.
Now we reached out to Haiti's federal government to ask what are you doing about the situation. And they would not even respond to our request for comment on the issue. They've been largely silent publicly. Although the mayor of Cite Soleil told us that the federal government has basically done nothing to help the several hundred thousand people that have essentially been held hostage by this recent gang violence. The mayor said that the federal government is either unwilling or unable to help those people.
Matt Rivers, CNN, Mexico City.
CHURCH: Two men have been arrested for human smuggling in the Bahamas. Police say their vessel capsized while carrying dozens of Haitian migrants. Seventeen people died including a child. The boat was found off the coast of New Providence early Sunday morning, according to the Bahamian prime minister. He says the accident involved a suspected human smuggling operation and the boat was likely headed to Miami, Florida. Still to come, record heat is bringing devastating wildfires to parts
of Europe. Could things cool down soon? We will take a look at the forecast after the short break. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHURCH: At least 26 buildings are damaged in Texas after a grass fire spread into a residential area just outside Dallas. This was the scene on Monday as fire crews work to put out the flames. Officials say, at least nine structures are a total loss. The local fire marshal says that the fires have all been put out.
[03:30:07]
According to the National Weather Service, the area is under a heat advisory.
In California, a wildfire raging the Yosemite National Park has now burned through more than 17,000 acres. Right now, the Oak Fire is only 16 percent contained. The fast-moving blaze has forced at least 3,000 people to leave their homes so far.
Well, it's not just the U.S. dealing with extreme weather. A brutal heat wave is also sweeping across Europe and China. In Greece, the scorching heat is fueling several wildfires raging across the country. Parts of Spain, Portugal and Italy are also under very extreme danger of fire warnings.
A similar scene to the north in the Czech Republic, dozens of people had to be evacuated as forest fire ripped through a park near the Czech-German border. And in China, nearly 60 Chinese cities and counties are under a red alert, the country's highest heat warning.
Meteorologist Pedram Javaheri is tracking the latest updates in the CNN weather center, and our Steven Jiang is standing by in Beijing. But first we want to go to CNN's Barbie Nadeau who joins us live from Rome.
Good to see you, Barbie. So, a very extreme fire in parts of Europe. What is the latest on that blaze we just mentioned on the Czech-German border? What are you learning?
BARBIE NADEAU, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, they're still trying to get that under control right now. And you know, imagine how terrifying it was for those tourists that have to be evacuated from their resort as this fire just blaze, just went on, you know, fueled by strong winds and this incredibly difficult situation as they tried to extinguish that.
Now, we've seen this all across Italy as well. These fires pop up when they throw a cigarette butt out of the window, or try to have a barbecue or something like that. And the firefighters are really just trying everything they can do to keep them from approaching city areas and things like that. The evacuations are just incredible, all across this region that is still under this heavy fire alert. Rosemary?
CHURCH: And Barbie, what more are you learning about the situation in Greece where dozens of homes have been destroyed?
NADEAU: Dozens of homes, especially on the island of Lesbos, which is a tourist island which should be filled with tourists right now. And they had to evacuate a number of areas there where people were just hoping to enjoy their summer. These fires in Greece are especially difficult because of the high winds and these high temperatures.
And these temperatures have been so -- going on for so long that there hasn't been rain, it just created a really difficult situation. And these fires spread so quickly. It's just a difficult thing. And, on an island like Lesbos, it's very difficult to evacuate people quickly. Rosemary?
CHURCH: And, Steven, I want to go to you now in China where scorching temperatures are causing severe problems there even breaking a bridge in half, as we saw. What is the latest on all of this?
STEVEN JIANG, CNN BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF: Yes, Rosemary, as you mentioned, once again we have seen nearly 60 Chinese cities issue their highest red alert for Tuesday. Meaning, temperature in their location could surpass 40 degrees Celsius. And it is quite extraordinary to see how relenting and widespread this heat wave in China has been for many places here it's been going on for more than a month. And it's really reaching every corner of this vast country.
In that one dramatic example you just mentioned caught on video, a bridge in the city of Quanzhou in southeastern China was seen suddenly buckling under a stream of intense heat last weekend. So not surprisingly, many people here are trying to flee the heat by flocking to popular summer destinations with many of the country's beach resorts, really filled with domestic travellers, very much undeterred by all the travel restrictions and challenges because of the government's insistence on sticking to zero COVID policy.
And there's actually a resurgence of COVID cases across the country with the health ministry on Tuesday, reporting more than 800 locally transmitted cases. That's a alarmingly high number for this country. And that of course also including Shanghai where they just came out of a brutal two-month lockdown. But again, they are now doing mass testing in this kind of very intense heat with temperatures in that city approaching 40 degrees again on Tuesday. Rosemary?
CHURCH: Incredible. All right, let's turn now then to our meteorologist, Pedram Javaheri, to find out if there is any relief in sight. Pedram, what are you seeing?
PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, Rosemary, you know, within the next couple of, days I do see some relief for parts of Europe at least and into areas of eastern Asia as well. But I want to show you the drought monitor right now. Because I was looking at this carefully, trying to find the nation across Europe that does not have a drought monitor issued here for watch warning or an alert.
[03:34:55]
I'll tell you what, every single one of these countries across Europe, the entirety of Europe has dropped alerts in place, speaking to how the area the landscape has been. Of course, we known how hot it's been over a large area as well. And still watching heat alerts across portions of Italy, where excessive heat in place, the dangers remain put.
You notice these temperatures well into the 40s across areas of Spain. And you think to yourself, well, the 40s are normal across Spain in the latter portion of July. Not really. The hottest places typically the upper 30s for this time of year. So, this is very unusual even for their standards of extreme heat this time of year.
But you'll notice, the green contours show a nice transition into cooler weather. But also, the warm states put across the southern periphery of Europe could potentially build a little farther towards the north the next couple of days.
Not as much luck across areas of eastern Asia. There is some relief when we have thunderstorms and wet weather in place. But beyond that, record temperatures have fallen in Shanghai in recent days, Hong Kong observed its hottest temperature ever on Sunday at 37.4 degrees. In fact, three consecutive days that they see record temps across Hong Kong there in the last couple of days.
But notice, wet weather is expected to try to build back in, scattered in nature of course. But enough coverage here to see those temperatures want to cool off the next couple of days, so Quanzhou dropping from above 40 down to 37. Shanghai from 37 down to 34. And in Chongqing, really notable here, going from the upper 30s close to 40 degrees down to the lower and middle 30s there. And potentially tries to warm back up again next week, Rosemary.
But it kind of show you there is some release but summer of course is very young still. So that is the concern moving forward with many months of heat possibly in store for a lot of people.
CHURCH: Yes, very important point. Barbie Nadeau, Steven Jiang, and Pedram Javaheri, many thanks to you all for bringing us up to date. I appreciate it.
Well, Kenya's presidential candidate go head-to-head in a debate later today. The former allies turned rival spoke to CNN about why they're the best choice to fight corruption. A live report from Nairobi is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Well, we are following two developing political stories in Africa right now. First, voters in Tunisia have backed a new Constitution granting the president vast new powers over the government and judiciary.
Meanwhile, Kenya's presidential candidates are set to debate in the coming hours with the election just two weeks out.
And CNN correspondents are standing by to bring you the latest developments. David McKenzie is in Johannesburg. But we begin with Larry Madowo in Nairobi. So, Larry, Kenya's opposition leader Raila Odinga and the country's current deputy president, William Ruto, were once political allies, now rivals. Each one is claiming only they can tackle the country's widespread corruption. So, what is the latest on this and the rivalry, of course?
[03:39:59]
LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So, it's an interesting position that they're both in because technically they're both in government, which is a weird setup. Deputy President William Ruto remains in government but he has no real power. He is Kenya's second in command in name only because since 2018, Raila Odinga, the opposition leader has been working with the government after a famous handshake with President Uhuru Kenyatta.
That both men are leading polls, one of them will likely be elected president in next month of August 9 when Kenya go to the general election. And we'll be speaking to both of them. This is what they say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAILA ODINGA, FORMER PRIME MINISTER OF KENYA: We will win these elections.
WILLIAM RUTO, KENYAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We are very confident we are going to win this election.
MADOWO: The 55-year-old Ruto calls himself hustler-in-chief. A populist appeal to Kenya's largest voting bloc, the youth.
RUTO: Our plan in a -- under the both economic model is to focus on infrastructure that not only drives our economy but intentionally, deliberately creates jobs.
MADOWO: What is the difference between you as a candidate, and your main opponent, Raila Odinga who's one -- you were allies before.
RUTO: I have a plan. He doesn't. When I listen to their campaign, they don't really have the details on what they want to do. He's a good old man, but I don't think today he has the capacity to pull this country from where it is.
MADOWO: At 77, former Prime Minister Odinga, is running for what he says is the fifth and last attempt to lead Kenya.
ODINGA: I'm younger than President Biden. I don't think that age has anything to do with it. I think it is above the plan that somebody has for our country.
MADOWO: If you were to win the presidency, what do you need to do fast to try and fix some of the many problems that Kenya faces?
ODINGA: We don't want to see a Sri Lankan syndrome manifesting itself here in the country. So, we have several options that we are going to look at to keep the cost of essential goods down in order to eliminate, to ameliorate, the suffering of our people.
MADOWO: Both sides have accused each other corruption. And both claimed to have the solution.
RUTO: We ran the real high risk of running this country using cartels and people who have not been elected. You know, people who would be in the shadows.
MADOWO: It's interesting you mention cartels. Because your main challenge has accused you of being corrupt. That if you become president then this country will be even more corrupt than it is right now. What's your response to that?
RUTO: We are going to build the institutions to make sure that any corrupt person, including the president can be prosecuted.
MADOWO: More than $16 million is stolen from the Kenyan government every day. President Kenyatta claimed last year a staggering figure for a poor nation.
ODINGA: What we call budgeted corruption. When we address this, what we are going to get as saving is going to be more than what is required to fund the projects that you are talking about.
MADOWO: So, your plan is to deal with the corruption so that more money is available. But every government promises that but it just never happens.
ODINGA: We are not going to make any compromises. And nobody is going to be indispensable including myself, the fight against corruption.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MADOWO: That man, Raila Odinga, the opposition leader has pulled out after tonight's presidential debate organized by the Kenyan media. And he says he will not share a podium with William Ruto, the deputy president, because he has no basic decency, morals or shame. But William Ruto's supporters think Raila Odinga is pulling out of that debate because he cannot stand as a 78-year-old man for 90 minutes and debate a much younger, much sharper, much wittier opponent.
And so, this is a way to kind of save face. William Ruto says he will be appearing at that debate tonight. And, if he does appear, he essentially has the potential to speak to the whole nation for 90 minutes without competition.
Both candidates say that they will accept the outcome of the presidential election if they lose. This is important because Kenya has a long history of contested, sometimes violent elections. And both men have centered in previous elections where, for instance, in 2007, after that election William Ruto was among men accused of crimes against humanity in the violence that followed that election.
CHURCH: Yes, interesting political ploy pulling out there. We'll watch to see what happens. Larry Madowo, many thanks for bringing us up to date on that situation. So, let's turn now to David McKenzie in Johannesburg. And David, you are just in Tunisia, the birthplace of the 2011 Arab Spring protest. Now, it appears to be sliding back toward autocracy. What more can you tell us about what's happening there?
[03:45:09]
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rosemary, on Monday there was a critical referendum held in Tunisia. And many people feel this is, as you mentioned, the Arab Spring, the final extinguishing of the promise of the Arab Spring when it comes to Democratic transition.
You had celebrations on the street early on Tuesday morning by supporters of the president, Kais Saied who brought this referendum on the Constitution, a draft Constitution that has sweeping powers changes to give him more power. Here is one supporter of the current president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HICHEM EL-HIF, SUPPORTER F NEW CONSTITUTION (through translator): Today, the good news is that despite the heat, and even with no political money, people went and participated in the referendum.
I did not vote for Kais Saied. But in today's referendum, I want to support him because I support the presidential regime.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCKENZIE: I think it's really important to put those comments into context. Though you did have celebration in Tunis, a very small are amount of people relatively voted. According to state media some 27 percent went to the polls. The referendum itself was boycotted in large part by the moderate Islamic party and by opposition groups.
Now, what it will create say that the critics of the president is a much more presidential system which allows Saied to consolidate his power, effectively rule over parliament as well as the judicial system. About or exactly a year ago, his critics again called it a coup when he brought more powers. And this is a consolidation of those powers.
His supporters say, that because of the political chaos and threats to the country, both economically and politically an ongoing corruption scandals, there needs to be a steady hand to steer Tunisia through its many problems. But again, the power is being consolidated by the president. And it's really the last country that showed a robust democracy post the 2011 Arab Spring. That could be extinguish now. Rosemary?
CHURCH: All right, David McKenzie, many thanks for that report. I appreciate it.
Well, the final two candidates for British prime minister will meet face to face today in their second debate and as many days. Day one brought big promises and sharp fighting from former treasury secretary Rishi Sunak and current foreign secretary Liz Truss. They are hoping to convince conservatives to elect one of them to replace Boris Johnson as leader of the party and leader of the government.
And the debate was as contentious as their campaigns. Sunak attacked his rival's economic plan, saying it will raise inflation and cause mortgages to skyrocket. And Truss accused Sunak or trying to get too close economically to China.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LIZ TRUSS, BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY: I'm very clear you know, after the appalling abuses in Xinjiang, after the terrible actions on Hong Kong. And the most recent outrage which is China working with Russia, and essentially backing the appalling war in Ukraine. We have to take a tougher stance. We have to learn from the mistakes we made of Europe becoming dependent on Russian oil and gas. We cannot allow that to happen with China. And freedom is a price worth paying.
RISHI SUNAK, FORMER U.K. FINANCE MINISTER: But what we do need to do is acknowledge that China is a threat to our national security. It's a threat to our economic security.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Bookmakers say that Truss has the edge over Sunak. The new prime minister is expected to be announced on September 5th.
And still to come, Myanmar executes four pro-democracy activists prompting backlash at home and abroad. I will speak with an expert on what needs to be done to stop the violence.
[03:50:00]
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CHURCH: Condemnation for Myanmar's junta government is pouring in after the execution of four pro-democracy leaders and activists. A group of protesters gathered on the streets of Yangon on Monday carrying a banner, reading, we will never be frightened, along with the names of those killed.
The U.N. secretary general says the move signals further deterioration of an already dire human rights environment in Myanmar.
Tom Andrews is the U.N. special rapporteur on Myanmar. He joins me now from Fairfax, Virginia. Thank you so much for being with us.
TOM ANDREWS, U.N. SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR FOR MYANMAR: Thank you for having me, Rosemary.
CHURCH: So, the U.N. secretary general has condemned the execution this weekend of four pro-democracy activist by Myanmar's military. But what more needs to be done to show that executions like this will not be tolerated along with the appalling treatment of other activists and prisoners?
ANDREWS: Well, I think what has to happen, Rosemary, is that the condemnation, the words of condemnation have to be connected to action. I think a price has to be paid by the junta and their cronies and their interests for these horrific acts. We need to make sure that we can cut the supply of weapons that continue to flow to them. We have to specifically focus on their economics -- their economic wealth and the sources of that wealth. What's generating that revenue that's put -- that they are putting into their pockets and stop the flow of revenue in a coordinated and focused way.
We also could do simple things, fundamental things like providing humanitarian aid to the desperate people of Myanmar. Over -- over half the country is now fallen into poverty, the health system is -- has completely collapsed. People are desperate in that country. But yet, the U.N. response plan, humanitarian response plan is only 10 percent filled in for the year 2022. We are almost till August. And only 10 percent of that is filled.
So, there are fundamental things that the international community can and must do. But what is required is the political will to do them. And we are continuing to wait for that political will to manifest itself.
CHURCH: And of course, these represent the first executions in Myanmar since 1988. And the U.N. secretary general says it marks a further deterioration of the already dire human rights environment in Myanmar. And he reiterated his call for the immediate release of all arbitrarily detained prisoners including President Win Myint and a state counselor Aung San Suu Kyi. But how likely is it that they'll be released?
ANDREWS: Well, they're not going to be released simply by individuals including the secretary general calling for them to be released. They will only be released if they feel that they have no alternative but -- but to do so, if the pressure is so strong and sustained that they simply have to do this.
You know, these executions come in the context of a country in which it is against the law, it is a crime to be critical of the government. You have 14,000 people who have been arbitrarily detained, 1,400 of them have been children. Sixty-one children, right now, as we speak are being held hostage by this junta so that they can force their parents and family members to turn themselves in.
This is a horrific situation, a nightmare literally for people all over the nation of Myanmar. And they desperately need the international community to respond. Not simply with words of condemnation and calls for release of prisoners but action.
CHURCH: And of course, at the moment the international community is distracted by what is happening in Ukraine and rightly so. That needs attention. But there are so many other parts of the world that do as well.
[03:54:58]
How much worse do you expect the situation in Myanmar would get? And when might the international community talk less and take action and what type of action needs to be taken. You mentioned cutting off the supply of weapons and the wealth that's going to the military leaders there. But what else needs to be done?
ANDREWS: Well, first of all, let's be clear, that the audience for this action, the primary audience for these executions were the people of Myanmar themselves. There is an extraordinary -- just how unpopular how reviled this junta is by the people of Myanmar throughout the country widespread opposition. And so, I believe desperation. The junta has taken a subject to signal to the people of Myanmar that you may not like us. But if you become active in the opposition movement, you too can be imprisoned, you too can be put on death throw, and you too, could be executed.
I think that's the primary reason why we have had seen this horrific action that they have taken over the weekend.
CHURCH: So, what impact do you think these executions will likely have on the pro-democracy movement? You mentioned that they are designed to scare activists and demonstrators. But they could just as well really make people dig their heels and ever more because they would feel we have nothing to lose.
ANDREWS: That is exactly right, Rosemary. I couldn't agree with you more. I think the intention is to scare people into passivity. But I think, as you had just suggested, I think -- I think that you're right. I think that what is more of what is going to happen is the anger is going to continue to the -- well beyond the boiling point, and you are going to find more and more people being willing to take stronger and stronger action to defy this military junta.
I think they are in for a reckoning, that is I think the junta is in for a reckoning. That what they thought they were going to be achieving through these horrific acts will end up being just the opposite in much, much -- much to bear dismay they're going to realize that the people of Myanmar are simply not going to put up with more of the outrageous behavior on the part of this military rule.
CHURCH: Tom Andrews, thank you so much for talking with us. I appreciate it.
ANDREWS: Thank you, Rosemary.
CHURCH: And thank you so much for your company. I'm Rosemary Church. Have yourselves a wonderful day. CNN Newsroom continues next with Christina Macfarlane.
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