Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Argentina's VP Survives Apparent Assassination Attempt; U.N. Nuclear Watchdog Visits Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant; President Biden Deliver's Prime-Time Address to Call Out MAGA Republicans; Decision to Appoint Special Master Could Come at Any Time; Typhoon Hinnamnor Making Way Through Asia; China Puts 21 Million People on Lockdown in Chengdu; India Commissions Its First Home-Build Aircraft Carrier; Lukoil Chairman Dies Under Mysterious Circumstances. Aired 12-12:45a ET

Aired September 02, 2022 - 00:00   ET

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

JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: This is CNN NEWSROOM. Ahead this hour, Argentina's vice president survives an apparent assassination attempt. A gun pointed at her head. The trigger appeared to be pulled, but, then nothing.

[00:00:48]

International nuclear inspectors finally given access to Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, and now they intend to stay.

Joe Biden declares a battle for the soul of America, accusing extremist supporters of former President Donald Trump of undermining democracy.

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

VAUSE: Argentina's vice president has survived what appears to be an attempt to kill her. It was over in just a few moments as Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner was greeting supporters outside her home late Thursday.

Suddenly, from among the crowd, a gun appears, the barrel pointed out her head. A click is heard, and the trigger, it seems, may have been polled, but the weapon did not fire.

The vice president was not hurt, but all of this playing out live on television.

Right now, a suspect is in custody.

Journalist Stefano Pozzebon joins us now live from the region with more. So just tell us exactly what happened here. What's the latest with the investigation?

STEFANO POZZEBON, JOURNALIST: Yes, John. Well, the latest is what we have seen from these shocking images that were streamed, broadcasted live on national TV in Argentina. You can see a man was able to get very close to Cristina Fernandez de

Kirchner, the vice president of Argentina, a former two-term president of the country, and arguably, the most famous political figure in the nation at the moment, and drew a gun and pointing it literally at no more than 20 centimeters from her face.

The president of Argentina addressed the nation shortly afterwards to send a message of calm, of quietness, but also calling it the most serious attack that the nation has faced since the restoration of democracy in the 1980s.

In particular, the president of Argentina, Alberto Fernandez, said that the gun was armed with five bullets, and that he said -- and I quote -- "Cristina is alive only because, for some technical reason that we have not clarified yet, the gun did not detonate," calling it, then, a clear assassination attempt.

He also called for a day of national holiday on Friday, tomorrow here in South America, to rally the population around -- around Christina Kirchner and calling for a moment of reflection.

This is happening, John, at a moment of increased political tension in Argentina as a prosecutor called for a 12-year sentence against with Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner just a few weeks ago. She's facing charges related to corruption while she was the president of Argentina a few years back.

And that is why we're seeing this moment where this accident -- this attack occurred during a rally of her supporters around her House, her private residence in Buenos Aires to support and to protest against this investigation.

So you can see polarization rising, the temperature of the nation is rising, and now these attacks, which could act as a detonator for further political imbalance. Alberto Fernandez doesn't want that, and urged calmly -- calm and used very strong words to condemn the attack -- John.

VAUSE: So, Stefano, just to recap, we have a loaded gun, as Argentinian authorities say, pointed directly at the head of the vice president, and if it hadn't jammed, then chances are she would mostly likely be severely wounded or dead at this point.

The question about now, is about security. Will security be increased? How does someone with a gun get so close to a former president and the current vice president?

POZZEBON: Yes, definitely. And Argentina is not a nation where gun accidents are so common. It's not one of the nations in South America that has one of the most widespread gun problem.

[00:05:09]

But it shows how the political tension is -- is rising. And I think this is not just, John, an issue for Argentina. Only a few hours ago, the brother of the Chilean president was beaten on the streets in Santiago by political opponents of -- of his brother.

And we've seen throughout the Brazilian presidential campaign -- Brazil is slated for electing a new president in -- in October -- that a series of attacks against left-wing activists in the last few months have left several of them killed.

And so, you see that across the region, there is the feeling that political tensions are -- are growing and that perhaps, this is yet again another threat to democracy, at least here in South America -- John.

VAUSE: Stefano, thank you. Stefano Pozzebon there in Bogota, Colombia, with a view, the big overall view of what's happening in and across the region. Thank you, sir.

A team of nuclear experts from the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency has now reached the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and intend to stay.

This is the first inspection of the nuclear facility since Russian forces took control during the early days of the war. In recent weeks, as artillery fire has increased around the plant, so too, the concern of concern over backup and safety systems.

If the director of the IAEA has his way, this four-day-long mission will end with a permanent presence at the plant. Ukraine's nuclear operator says just five of the 14-member team is still in Zaporizhzhia and are expected to leave Saturday.

Notably, Russian television aired these images of the inspectors inside the plant. Ukraine's president, though, has accused Russia of using the plant's inspection for P.R. purposes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE (through translator): It is good that it has happened, despite all the provocations of the Russian military and the cynical shelling of Enerhodar city and the territory of the station.

Ukraine has done everything so that this mission could happen. But it is bad that the occupiers are trying to turn this IAEA mission, which is really necessary, into a fruitless tour of the station. I trust that this will not be allowed to happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Never before has an IAEA team been sent to carry out safety checks at an operating nuclear power plant in the middle of a war zone. And on their journey to Zaporizhzhia's facility, the nuclear inspectors came within eyeshot of artillery and mortar fire.

Here's CNN's Melissa Bell.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MELISSA BELL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The shelling began at dawn around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the worst that the town of Enerhodar has seen since it was occupied in March, according to its mayor.

Briefed on the situation, but undeterred, IAEA inspectors decided to head through the front line, nonetheless.

RAFAEL GROSSI, IAEA DIRECTOR-GENERAL: We are moving now.

BELL (voice-over): The 14-strong team seeing for itself as a traveled the artillery and mortar fire that led to the shutting down of one of the plant's last two functioning reactors.

After an hours-long delay on its way, the IAEA inspectors arrived, a glimpse at last into a plant that's been occupied by Russian forces for months.

GROSSI: It is obvious that the plant and the physical integrity of the plant has been violated several times. And this is something that cannot continue to happen.

BELL (voice-over): Which is why, he said, five members of his team have stayed behind to ask more questions, and to dig deeper.

In a plant controlled by Russian forces, but manned by workers who say that it's been almost impossible for them to do their jobs.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We feel like hostages. We actually can't do our jobs. We can't carry phones, flash drives, memory cards. And God forbid if you look at a soldier the wrong way, you can be thrown into the basement.

GROSSI: The Ukrainian employees, I was with them throughout the -- throughout the day. Of course, they are in a difficult situation, but they have an incredible degree of professionalism. And I see them calm and moving on.

BELL (voice-over): The plan, he said: for the IAEA to establish a permanent presence at the plant, and to make good on his word to its workers that the U.N. nuclear watchdog is now there to stay.

Melissa Bell, CNN, Kyiv.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Joining us this hour is Mariana Budjeryn, a research associate with the Project on Managing the Atom, the Harvard Kennedy School Belfer Center.

Welcome back. Thanks for being with us.

MARIANA BUDJERYN, RESEARCH ASSOCIATE, PROJECT ON MANAGING THE ATOM: Thank you for having me.

VAUSE: OK. So the director-general of the IAEA said the physical integrity of the plant had been violated, and he added this after touring the nuclear facility. Here he is. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[00:10:05]

GROSSI: Thank you for today, because I think we were able to, in these few hours, to gather a lot, lot of information. The key things I needed to see, I saw. The explanations were very clear.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: So, he said he saw everything he needed to see in this period of time, which was just a few hours. So is it possible, though, for him to make a worthwhile analysis on the plant's safety after just a brief tour like he's done?

BUDJERYN: Well, certainly two or so hours that the director-general, Grossi himself, had spent at the plant is not enough to make any sort of far-reaching conclusions.

But part of the team, part of IAEA's team, did stay beyond Grossi's visit there and will be staying for the next two or three days. And this is the working group, right? These are the people who will really be checking all the safety systems, and doing all of the work on the ground. And it is their work there that will comprise the bulk of the IAEA report after this mission.

VAUSE: You know, some big demands are being made of the IAEA, in particular from the Ukrainian side, for a demilitarized zone around the power plant. Here's the president of Ukraine. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENSKYY (through translator): Demilitarization of the territory of the station is the goal of Ukrainian and international efforts, and it is bad that we have not yet heard the appropriate messages from the IAEA, despite the fact that we talked about it with Mr. Grossi during our meeting in Kyiv.

It was the key, the key security point of our agreements. It was outlined clearly: demilitarization and full control by our nuclear workers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Does the IAEA actually have the authority, in the first place, to impose a demilitarized zone? And does it have the ability to enforce that?

BUDJERYN: What the IAEA can do in it -- in its report is to state quite explicitly that, for instance, the presence of the Russian troops itself at the plant endangers the safe and secure operation of it, which of course, is -- is true.

Unfortunately, the IAEA does not have the capacity to either institute or enforce a demilitarized zone. It doesn't have its own troops. It doesn't, you know -- that would require a U.N. peacekeeping mission. And the authorization for that would have to go and be granted by the U.N. Security Council.

And of course, we know that Russia has a veto power in -- in the Security Council. So that is probably a dead end.

VAUSE: This will be, what, a three- or four-day mission for this team, this four team member team, but it seems that it could just be the start of something much longer. Here we are. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GROSSI: We are not going anywhere. The IAEA is now here, is at the plant, and is not moving. It's going to stay there. We're going to have a continued presence there, at the plant.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: So, when they're talking permanent presence, what does that look like? I mean, would it be people? Would it be video cameras, other kind of high-tech surveillance devices? What would it be?

BUDJERYN: Well, John, at this point we do not know the details of it. There's some indication that perhaps a couple of people from this mission, from the IAEA, can stay. Whether that would be on a permanent or on rotating basis, this remains to be seen. It's really still very early in the process.

But the very mention of a continued presence, I think, is a very positive one. Because of course, it's also the fate of the people who operate this land that's on the line. Right?

The mission comes in, and then three days later it leaves and leaves those people behind to deal with the Russian occupying force. And so, I think it's very positive on many different levels that the IAEA might -- might stay in some shape or form.

And also since this mission was accomplished, against great odds -- let's face it. You know, there was shelling all around the route that the convoy took. So a lot of things could have gone wrong.

But it did make it it, with the help of U.N. security team, to the plant. So there's sort of -- there's this trail blazing. There's this route that's already set. And hopefully, future missions can also come through this same process, following the same procedure.

VAUSE: Yes, it was a positive day in many respects. Mariana, thanks for being with us.

BUDJERYN: Thank you.

VAUSE: In a are primetime address, U.S. President Joe Biden warned that American values, democracy itself were under attack by extremists loyal to his predecessor, Donald Trump.

The 28-minute-long speech was seen as an attempt to set the stage for upcoming midterm elections as a battle for the soul of the country.

[00:15:05]

Biden called out Trump by name, accusing him of inspiring a movement of election deniers, determined to undermine the Democratic process. The U.S. president notably said not all Republicans have embraced extremism, while adding he will not stand by while MAGA forces roll back hard-won civil rights.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our republic.

Now I want to be very clear, very clear up front. Not every Republican, not even a majority of Republicans are MAGA Republicans. Not every Republican embraces their extreme ideology. I know, because I've been able to work with these mainstream Republicans.

But there' s no question that the Republican Party today is dominated, driven, and intimidated by Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans. And that is a threat to this country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Republicans delivered a preemptive rebuttal to Biden's remarks from House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy, who demanded Biden apologize for recent comments during a closed-door fundraiser, equating MAGA philosophy with semi-fascism.

Ron Brownstein is CNN senior political analyst and senior editor for The Atlantic." He's with us live from Los Angeles.

It's been a while, Ron. Thanks for taking the time.

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Thank you, John. Good to be with you.

VAUSE: OK. So, Joe Biden stood not far from where he launched his run for the White House three years ago, telling supporters back then he wanted to restore the soul of the nation. It's now become a battle for the soul of the nation. Here's a little more from the U.S. president.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: MAGA Republicans do not respect the Constitution. They do not believe in the rule of law. They do not recognize the will of the people. They refuse to accept the results of a free election, and they're working right now, as I speak, in state after state to give power to decide elections in America to partisans and cronies, empowering election deniers to undermine democracy itself.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: I mean, this was quite the speech, but I'm wondering, is that the most immediate concern for the U.S. president, this attempt by Trump and his supporters to appoint so-called 2020 election deniers in key positions in key states?

BROWNSTEIN: And not -- and not only that, I mean, look, I think so much of the commentary on this speech has really missed the point, kind of, you know, the phrase instinct for the capillary. People are talking about whether there should have been green guards there. What was the color scheme, the lighting.

And it is indicative to me, John, of the bigger problem we face. Is that we don't have a language or a framework to evaluate what is happening, and what Donald Trump and his movement represents.

I mean, the president was very careful to distinguish Trump and his movement from other voices in the Republican Party, but he correctly noted that it is the dominant force in the Republican Party.

This summer's primaries have made that unequivocal. And we are seeing election deniers nominated for critical posts up and down the ballot by Republican voters.

And that has left the country in a situation without exact precedent. We have one of our major parties is now predominantly controlled by a movement that is fundamentally undemocratic, that is trying to normalize the use of political violence.

Today Donald Trump, as you know, floated the idea of pardoning the January 6th rioters if he was elected, reelected in 2024. That is working to subvert the administration of elections.

We just don't have a precedent for this. I mean, you know, unless you count the John C. Calhoun-dominated Democratic Party before the Civil War.

We just don't have a framework for one of our parties no longer operating in the American political tradition. And it has been very hard for every institution in American life, pointedly including the media, to grapple with the reality of that.

And I think above all tonight, that's what the president was trying to do, you know, basically call that out and say, Look, we are in uncharted waters here as a country, and we need to focus on what's happening.

VAUSE: Yes, and aides to the president insisted this was not an anti- Donald Trump speech by the president, but rather his own concerns about the future of democracy. Again, here's a little bit more from Biden's speech.

BROWNSTEIN: Yes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: I will not stand by and watch. I will not let the will of American people be overturned by wild conspiracy theories and baseless evidentiary claims of fraud. I will not stand by and watch elections in this country stolen by people who simply refused to accept that they lost. (END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: And the very obvious question which follows is, so what can he do about it?

BROWNSTEIN: Well, I mean, look, the -- you know, the unilateral authority is -- is limited, but not zero.

[00:20:03]

The main thing he can do, first of all, is try to expand -- hold the House of Representatives, expand the margin in the Senate, and pass the legislation that was blocked by a Republican filibuster, establishing a nationwide floor of voting rights; and also establishing protections for non-partisan election workers.

But there is no easy answer. You know, as I'm saying, this is not a situation we have really been in before. Charles Coughlin, you know, in the 1930s, the radio priest who was a -- you know, a semi-fascist, did not control one of the major political parties.

And so -- and especially when those in the Republican Party, the other -- the leaders in the Republican Party, who are uneasy about Trump as a threat, and democracy, simply will not say so.

I mean, you know, the Republican commentary tonight was entirely slandering everyone who voted for Donald Trump, when very clearly the president kind of bent over backwards to make clear he was not doing that.

I have not seen a single Republican elected official, except perhaps Liz Cheney somewhere that I haven't seen, grapple with the underlying question. Do you believe that Donald Trump and the actions that he has taken since November 2020 represent a threat to American democracy, or not?

And the reality that so few are willing to confront him now, probably gives you a pretty good preview of how they would behave if he is reelected as president. And thus, kind of the stakes that are -- that are unfolding in -- in his potential to really change the basic structure of kind of liberties and freedoms and democracy in the country.

VAUSE: And to your point, here's part of the Republican preemptive rebuttal. Listen to this.

BROWNSTEIN: Yes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA): In the past two years, Joe Biden has launched an assault on the soul of America: on its people, on its laws, on its most sacred values. He has launched an assault on our democracy.

(END VIDEO CLIP) VAUSE: Did I miss something over the last two years?

BROWNSTEIN: Yes, well, look, I mean, two-thirds of House Republicans, like Kevin McCarthy, voted to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

Two-thirds of Republican attorneys general voted to -- filed a lawsuit to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

A majority of Republican voters in polls, in multiple polls now, have said the traditional way of American life is disappearing so fast we may have to use force to save it.

Half of Republican voters said the word "patriot," "patriotic" applies to the January 6th assault on the Capitol.

Republican election deniers have been nominated for control of election positions in states from Arizona to Nevada, to Wisconsin, to Pennsylvania. Virtually every swing state on the -- you know, on the map.

And, Republicans have been almost -- again, outside of the handful, have been entirely silent, if not openly defending Trump's stockpiling of classified documents.

I mean, what they are showing, I think very -- I mean, voters are getting a very clear preview of what it would be like if he was elected again, and their -- and their unwillingness to impose any meaningful constraints on him.

And again, you know, I said this before. In polling, somewhere between 20 to 25 percent of Republican voters consistently say they know that what Trump has done since the November 2020 election is wrong. They ascribe to him responsibility for the January 6th attack. They know that the election was not stolen.

And yet, so long as they continue to give their vote to officials who enable and propagate Trump's lies, basically, all the pressure in the party is to bend towards Trump. There's simply no consequence at the moment for stand -- for giving in to him, and there is potential consequence from his base for standing up to him.

And those are the voters, I think, who really have the near-term decision to make. Are they comfortable being in a coalition with leaders, and particularly with Trump and his forces, who are talking about normalizing violence and undermining elections.

They're the ones who will decide, I think, the impact of the Biden speech, along with potentially whether it changes -- the turnout patterns among the 81 million people who came out to vote against Trump.

VAUSE: Ron, we're out of time, but I remember years ago we were talking about would the Trump fever break in the Republican Party. We're still waiting, it seems. Good to see you, Ron.

BROWNSTEIN: Still waiting. Thanks, John.

VAUSE: Well, the filings are in from the Trump legal team and the Department of Justice, making the case either for or against the appointment of a special master to review classified documents seized by the FBI during a search of Trump's Mar-a-Lago country club.

The judge is expected to issue a ruling at any moment. During Thursday's hearing, a Trump lawyer likened the case to an overdue library book.

[00:25:03]

The Trump-appointed judge has indicated she's leaning in favor of granting the request to the Trump team. CNN's Evan Perez has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: A federal judge in Florida signaled that she is open to appointing a special master, a third party to review documents that the FBI retrieved from Donald Trump's home.

Judge Aileen Cannon held a two-hour hearing in West Palm Beach, where a lawyer for the former president described the conflict over the removal and retention of classified government documents as comparable to an overdue library book.

Prosecutors say more than 100 documents bearing classified markings were removed from Mar-a-Lago during the FBI's search. The documents include some of the most highly classified national security information, and they were being kept in a storage room and in other spaces that don't meet security requirements.

The Justice Department opposes the appointment of a special master, saying it's unnecessary, and that it would impede the ongoing investigation.

But Trump's legal team says that appointing someone else to review the documents would increase trust in the investigation and lower the temperature in the nation.

The judge says that it was -- that she was considering granting Trump's request, temporarily restricting the FBI's access to the documents, while allowing the intelligence community to continue doing a damage assessment.

Evan Perez, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Well, parts of Asia being slammed with heavy rain and strong winds. And in a moment, we'll check the path of Typhoon Hinnamnor.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: Parts of Asia now feeling the effect of Typhoon Hinnamnor, with heavy rains and powerful winds. It's not expected to make direct landfall on Taiwan or the Northern Philippines, but it could impact the Southern islands of Japan and the Korean Peninsula as it slowly heads North.

The very latest now with CNN meteorologist Derek van Dam, who has the details. This is a powerful one, right?

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. The good news here is that it's no longer a super-typhoon status, but as you aptly noted, it is still impacting parts of Taiwan, Northern Philippines, Southern Ryukyu Islands, with its outer rain bands.

But this latest analysis of the satellite imagery, it's looking kind of ragged. A bit of dry air on the North side. It's been meandering over the same locations over the Western Pacific. Upwelling colder ocean temperatures are allowing for a decrease in the strength. And that's why we no longer have our super typhoon.

A hundred and seventy-five-kilometer-per-hour storm, so still a formidable storm. And of course, has got quite a punch left in it before it starts to move in a general Northernly direction, which it has started to do within the past, let's say, three hours or so.

I've got to show you this, because we've been analyzing the satellite imagery, as meteorologists do. And we're seeing the planetary impact known as the Fujiwhara Effect. We actually had two different tropical systems almost moving around each other, around a common focal point or a common center.

This is a common occurrence over the Western Pacific. And if one of those tropical systems is stronger than the other, it actually absorbs it and can impact the outcome of the storm.

[00:30:05]

So I want to show you what you're talking about here. Here's a low- pressure system, or tropical depression. And there's Hinnamnor, and as it intensified into super-typhoon status, there is the depression kind of doing that dance around the center of this storm system and eventually eroding the North side of the super typhoon, allowing for it, again, to weaken somewhat. And that's good news for these locations.

But going forward, we have this track moving in a Northernly direction. It will bring heavy rainfall to this area, especially over the mountainous regions of Taiwan into Eastern sections of China, perhaps into Shanghai by the end of the weekend, and then eventually into the Korean Peninsula, as well.

Remember, these are some of the more populated areas of Northeast Asia -- John.

VAUSE: Derek, thank you very much for that. So many (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Derek van Dam, appreciate it.

Just ahead, mass lockdown: 150 COVID cases, 21 million people ordered to stay at home. China's enforcing its zero-COVID policy in all its glory. A live report when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: Twenty-one million people in one city in China are now under lockdown as Beijing enforces its hardline zero-COVID policy. All residents in the megacity of Chengdu have been ordered to stay at home. That is except for mandatory testing.

On Friday, the city reported 150 -- that's one-five-zero -- new local cases. A third of them were asymptomatic.

Live now to CNN's Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong for more.

And just for context, Chengdu, with a population of 21 million people, that's about more than the entire population of Chile or Mali. And this province, Sichuan, has already seen drought, heat wave, wildfires.

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes.

VAUSE: And now Chengdu is in lockdown. So, this is, to say the least, a miserable time for 21 million people.

STOUT: Yes. It's just misery, upon misery for the people in Sichuan, especially in Chengdu, where you have 21 million people confined now to their homes.

This is the largest city-wide lockdown in China since the Shanghai lockdown earlier this year in April. And the apparent trigger on Wednesday: Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan, reported 156 new local cases of COVID-19. Today, reported 150 new local cases of the virus.

So this entire city, 21 million people, now subjected to mandatory mass COVID-19 testing. That means that they have been advised to stay at home, only allowed to leave for that mandatory COVID test.

It also means, for every household, only one person can go out once a day to fetch groceries. Businesses have been shut down. Only essential services like supermarkets, as well as pharmacies and hospitals, remain open.

There are also reports of factories, production lines being hit, as well, including Volvo cars. They have a factory in Chengdu, and they have announced that they have suspended production in light of these new restrictions.

[00:35:04]

And it's not just Chengdu this week. A number of major Chinese cities -- and these are economic engines -- are ramping up their anti- pandemic measures.

For example, in Shenzhen, the major high-tech hub in the South of the country. They are home to the world's highest high-tech market. That market is closed because of rising COVID-19 cases there. Dalian, a major port city in the Northeast, you have 3 million

residents there now subjected to a lockdown that's happening right now.

Just a few months ago, it was in April. That was when the financial capital of China, Shanghai, went through that punishing two-month lockdown, and as you recall, that resulted in major personal problems when you had food shortages, you had family separations, the economic toll rising, as well, there despite all that. China keeps holding on to its zero-COVID policy, as we're seeing now in Chengdu and elsewhere.

Back to you.

VAUSE: Kristie, thank you for the update. It's incredible to think about.

STOUT: Yes.

VAUSE: Kristie Lu Stout, live in Hong Kong.

Well, an historic first for India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi commissioning the country's first aircraft carrier designed and built in India.

This is an attempt to catch up with regional rival China. They have a long way to go. For more, let's go live to CNN's Vedika Sud in New Delhi.

So, Vedika, how do they intend to pull this off? What's the timeline here?

VEDIKA SUD, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's a red-letter day for India, John. And as we speak, and moments from now, we're expecting the commissioning of India's first indigenous aircraft carrier, Indian Navy ship Vikrant, INS Vikrant, to take place any moment now.

With the induction of this carrier, there will be two warships that India will have. Now, let me just talk to you about the domestic significance of this aircraft carrier before I go on to the global significance.

Now, INS Vikrant has taken about 17 years to be constructed, John, and it's taken a massive, staggering $2.5 billion to be constructed in India.

The message India wants to convey to the world at this point is that India is now going to be self-reliant as much as possible and the defense sector. And hence, you have this aircraft carrier, which is being inducted into the Indian navy today.

The significance is so relevant for India that most of the national news channels are actually carrying the coverage live, at least for the next one hour. The Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, is the chief guest for the occasion. Let's just talk about the deck. This deck is almost the size of two football fields and can operate 30 aircraft carriers. While it's a massive aircraft carrier for India, on a global scale, it's not that big when it comes to other carriers across the world.

But its significance has been encapsulated by a defense expert here in India, Ajai Shukla. Let's just listen into what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AJAI SHUKLA, DEFENSE EXPERT: Well it certainly takes India into a higher lead into the multi-aircraft carrier operating league. The United States operates a large number of carriers, 11 to be precise.

But most other countries tend to have none or one or, as in the case of China, now a second aircraft carrier. So it takes India up into a higher league, into an area where it can cover far more oceanic space.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SUD: John, as far as the CORD is concerned and the global significance of this aircraft is concerned, this will fill (ph) up the efforts of the CORD in the Indo-Pacific region. India, remember, is seen as the biggest counter-balance with China in the Indo-Pacific region.

And this aircraft carrier will just boost the ambitions of the informal coalition called the CORD in this area -- John.

VAUSE: Vedika, thank you for the update. It is, as you say, a big day, I guess, for India and their military defense production capabilities. Thank you for that.

Well, soon to come, a Russian oil executive whose company slammed the war in Ukraine is now dead. When we come back, growing questions over how he died.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:41:08]

VAUSE: Vladimir Putin is just too busy to attend the funeral of Mikhail Gorbachev, scheduled for this weekend, according to the Kremlin. Putin did pay his respects Thursday, laying flowers by the coffin of the former Soviet leader.

In recent years, Gorbachev had become more critical of President Putin, who in turn, blamed Gorbachev for the demise of the USSR.

A public farewell ceremony for Gorbachev will be held Saturday; funeral later that day.

The chairman of Russia's second largest oil and gas company has died under strange circumstance. State media report that Ravil Maganov fell from a window of a Moscow hospital, one of a handful of prominent Russian businessmen who've died just this year. And his company Lukoil, has a loud -- was a loud critic, rather, of

Russia's war in Ukraine. Details now from CNN's Anna Stewart, reporting from London.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNA STEWART, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This death is raising questions. Now, according to Russian state media, Ravil Maganov died after falling out of the sixth-floor window of a hospital.

A law enforcement source told RIA Novosti this was an apparent suicide.

Lukoil confirmed the death of its chairman with a statement but made no mention of the fall, saying he had passed away following a severe illness.

Now, one of the reasons the cause of death is being questioned is the company that Maganov worked for. Lukoil is Russia's second biggest oil company, and it took a public stand against the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine.

In March, the board of directors published this statement, saying they express herewith their "deepest concerns about the tragic events in Ukraine. Calling for the termination of the armed conflict, we express our sincere empathy for all victims who are affected by this tragedy. We strongly support a lasting ceasefire and the settlement of problems through serious negotiations and diplomacy."

The founder, CEO and major shareholder resigned from the company the following month. Then in May, another Lukoil executive, Alexander Subbotin, died.

Now according to Russian state media outlet TASS, he died of a heart attack. His body was reportedly found in the home of a shaman who performed Jamaican voodoo rituals, and it was alleged Subbotin was seeking a hangover cure. Mysterious, to say the least.

Add to that at least five more deaths of Russian businessmen this year. All reportedly died by suicides. Three are also alleged of killing members of their families before taking their own lives.

Four of the businessmen had associations with Russia's state energy company Gazprom, or one of its subsidiaries.

For now, the international community can only speculate on this latest death of Lukoil's chairman.

Anna Stewart, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause. Please have a great weekend. But stay around. WORLD SPORT is next with Coy Wire, with all the very latest.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:45:30]

(WORLD SPORT)