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Mass Stabbing Kills 10 People in Canada's Saskatchewan; Conservative Party Votes Results Expected in Hours Ahead; Majority of Voters Reject New, Progressive Constitution; Ukrainian Forces Appear to Retake Town in Kherson; Typhoon Hinnamnor Set to Make Landfall in South Korea, Japan; A Third of Pakistan Underwater Amid Historic Flooding; Chengdu Extends Lockdown & Mass Testing Campaign. Aired 12- 1a ET

Aired September 05, 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 INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Everyone, welcome to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Michael Holmes. Appreciate your company.

[00:00:30]

Coming up on the program, a manhunt underway in Canada after two suspects in connection with a deadly mass stabbing. What we're learning from Saskatchewan.

And hours away, we will be finding out who will be the U.K.'s next prime minister. We'll look at the government they'll inherit from Boris Johnson.

Plus, Chilean voters have spoken. The outcome of a referendum on a new progressive constitution.

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

HOLMES: Welcome, everyone. We begin in Canada, where a manhunt is underway for two suspects in connection with a deadly mass stabbing.

Police in Saskatchewan say the attacks killed at least ten people in more than a dozen crime scenes in the province. At least 15 people were taken to hospital for various injuries.

The leaders of the James Smith Cree Nation have declared a state of emergency. Police have identified the two suspects as Damien Sanderson and Myles Sanderson. They are considered armed and dangerous and believed to be traveling in a black Nissan Rogue with a Saskatchewan license plate. CNN's Paula Newton spoke with me earlier.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (via phone): Police are tying pieces together. When you think about we are at well over a dozen crime scenes and counting.

The problem there is that they are trying to figure out exactly what happened, what may have started this. And again, where they may be hiding out, where they may be going to next.

And in terms of trying to piece this all together, as we understand it, this also covers a fairly large territory.

And police, if you can imagine, are even asking right now at this hour. They believe there are people who are out there who were injured who have presented themselves for medical attention who still haven't told police that they were actually attacked.

As this information starts to come in, police believe they will get a clearer picture as to how all this unfolded, and crucially, where these suspects may be trying to hide out right now.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Joining me now is Jason Kerr. He's the editor of the "Prince Albert Daily Herald" in Saskatchewan. I appreciate you making the time. I know it's been a busy night for you. You are a local area journalist. We know that it's a reasonably lightly populated area. Just give us a sense of the area and the people who live there.

JASON KERR, EDITOR, "THE PRINCE ALBERT DAILY HERALD": Sure. The community of Walden has about 200 people living in it, and James Smith Cree Nation is made up of three smaller communities, and combined, they're about 2,000.

And so we're talking about very small communities. We're talking about isolated areas. Both of these communities are off the beaten path. You have to go off major highways to get to them.

So to see something like this in small communities, in our rural area is quite shocking for a lot of people.

HOLMES: Yes. I know. I wanted to ask you about that. You've been out there. You've been talking to people. You know the area. I'm sure the entire country is shocked. But has there been more reaction from locals, those most affected by what happened? I mean, they must be traumatized.

KERR: There are a lot of people who are stunned that something like this could happen in their community. There are a lot of -- Sunday morning is for church services typically.

And a lot of the church services in this area have turned into prayer services, where they're praying for the victims. They're praying for the families of those who died.

So a lot of people are used to seeing this kind of thing in large urban centers, near New York, near Los Angeles, maybe Toronto to Vancouver. To see something like this in small town Saskatchewan is very unnerving.

HOLMES: And the thing -- the thing that's interesting is police, they've named the suspects. They've released photographs. They know who they are, clearly. What other information is there on them or possible motives? Has that been any information out on that? KERR: Well, their last sighting was at 11:45 a.m. Saskatchewan time.

They were seen in the city of Regina, and if they have been since, police haven't told the media about it.

As far as motive goes, the RCMP held a press conference this afternoon. They were very hesitant to talk about motive when asked about it. They've got so many crime scenes right now that they're just trying to sift through all the evidence. And as a reporter mentioned earlier, there are so many victims, and they're not even sure exactly how many, because not everyone has checked in.

So it's probably going to be a while before we know the motive. Now, the RCMP sent out a statement saying they're going to make a written statement at 10:30 a.m. tomorrow with an update on the case. So hopefully, we'll find more of them.

But for now, the RCMP remain very tightlipped about a possible motive.

HOLMES: Unbelievable. Very sad stuff. Jason Kerr, appreciate you making the time. Thanks so much.

KERR: Thanks for having me.

HOLMES: Well, we will soon learn who will become Britain's next prime minister. In the coming hours, the ruling Conservative Party is expected to announce the results reveal of its leadership race, the vote that has taken place. This all coming just two months after Boris Johnson announced he would leave his post.

CNN's Scott McLean with more from London.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We are now just hours away from finding out who the best British prime minister will be. Back in July, it was Conservative Party M.P.'s who whittled down the candidates to just two.

Now, it is party members who have voted between foreign secretary Liz Truss and the former chancellor, Rishi Sunak, the man whose recognition arguably helped force Boris Johnson to step down.

Now, if you believe the polls, then Liz Truss is likely to be the next prime minister. The political talk shows in this country are already talking about her almost as if it's a done deal.

If she does win, she'll get the keys to No. 10 Downing Street on Tuesday, after a quick trip to Scotland, see the queen, where she will be formally asked to form the next government.

Now, while there is plenty of speculation that Boris Johnson may one day plot a political comeback, try to come back as prime minister, for now, he is urging his party to back the new leader wholeheartedly.

In the newspaper column, he wrote in part, "As I leave No. 10 after three tough but often exhilarating years, I know just how big and demanding this job is. I also know that either candidate is more than capable of delivering to the people of these country."

But delivering will be particularly challenging for whoever does when. The U.K. is facing inflation at more than 10 percent, soaring energy bills, the threat of labor strikes, plus the war in Ukraine.

The rising cost of energy is currently dominating the headlines, and may well be the defining issue of the new prime minister's term in office.

Last month, Liz Truss pledged not to give handouts for energy bills. Now, though, she is planning an immediate action plan and announced within her first week, though she hasn't given any specifics.

Rishi Sunak, meanwhile, is pledging direct payments to help with energy bills, if he defies the odds and wins.

Scott McLean, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Joining me now is CNN European affairs commentator Dominic Thomas. Always good to have you on, Dominic.

I guess it is. It's always the career pinnacle for a politician to leave their nation, but what will this new P.M. be inheriting in the midst of all of these crises? I mean, how poisoned is the chalice?

DOMINIC THOMAS, CNN EUROPEAN AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: I think, Michael, considerable baggage. Let's not forget that this will be the fourth Conservative Party prime minister in just a six-year period.

And I think we also have yet to really assess the damage that was done by Boris Johnson as prime minister to the Conservative Party brand. So election that was just held also proved to be incredibly divisive within the Conservative Party.

And the new prime minister is clearly going to have to restore a unity. The issue for the two candidates, and whichever one is ultimately elected, and we will find out tomorrow, is that they ran, essentially, a campaign that at the end had to appeal to the Conservative Party membership that represents less than 1 percent of the U.K. electorate.

So the big issue, really, it's going to be how do they go about reconciling that agenda and those promises with the very great concerns that the British people face moving forward, particularly when it comes to the economy, Michael.

HOLMES: And going forward, what does the electoral map look like for the Tories in -- in this climate? I mean, how unified is the party? How unified is the Labour Party? Might the new P.M. not want to fully unpack at No. 10?

THOMAS: Yes. Well, I think that, certainly, when we see what's happened to the -- to the previous prime ministers, that might not be wise. I think it's really important to look at the fact that Boris Johnson

was essentially elected on a single issue, which is Brexit, at a time when the British electorate was so fatigued by the multiple general actions, party elections, and then watching the situation unfold in Parliament. They just wanted to get Brexit done. So they ultimately won on emotions.

[00:10:05]

The new prime minister has to deal with real issues, the kinds of issues that Scott just outlined, that have to do with inflation and recession, and the legacy of COVID.

And unless this new elected prime minister is able to convince the British people that this is the best person to have at the helm, it's going to be an uphill struggle for the Conservative Party as they head into a general election, which may come anytime now, but certainly, by 2024 at the latest, Michael.

HOLMES: Yes. Maybe move in to No. 10 with an overnight bag. What do you see ahead for Boris Johnson? He's not really the type to, with apologies to Dylan Thomas, go gentle into the goodnight, is he?

THOMAS: No, he's not, but he's got his own struggles here. There's a Parliamentary investigation underway that, in many ways, will determine his -- his immediate political position and future.

But I think it's important to look at the fact that, you know, he really has damaged the Conservative Party, and as much as many around him felt like they could legislate with him and determine the agenda moving forward, I think the British public are not about to forget the kind of sense of entitlement that defined his prime ministership, and incredible sacrifices that they made during that COVID era.

And I think to that extent, he's politically damaged as he goes about facing the British public in a more general way, if that was ever part of his ambitions, Michael.

HOLMES: Yes. Hard to see him sitting quietly on the back bench, I guess.

Liz Truss is the favorite. I guess everybody thinks that. She's the foreign secretary. She has that experience. But for international viewers, I mean, she's been pretty gaffe-prone. She's put her foot in it a couple times.

A couple weeks ago, she said the jury was out on whether France's Emmanuel Macron was friend or foe. How do you think she will be viewed internationally, if indeed, she is picked for the job?

THOMAS: Yes. I think it's not just her, Michael. And it's -- once again, it's the biggest situation in the U.K.

As European leaders, particularly, especially in the aftermath of Brexit, another important global leaders, are looking for certainty as they deal with the global energy crisis, the situation in Ukraine. They're not finding that kind of reliability in the U.K. This is a

prime minister elected within the party as a leader who's not yet faced the British people. And I think it's important to remember that particular aspect. As they try to build trust moving forward, it's difficult to do that when you're not certain that the person who's your interlocutor is going to be in office one or two years from now.

And I think that's the major challenge that she faces internationally. But clearly, it's the domestic issues that will be the hardest to tackle for this incoming prime minister.

HOLMES: Yes. And she's already suggesting a big spend up to try to tackle some of those issues. Always greater analysis, Dominic. Thank you so much. Dominic Thomas there.

THOMAS: Thank you, Michael.

HOLMES: And do stay with CNN for two days of extensive coverage of the leadership announcement and what it means. Max foster, Bianca Nobilo and Isa Sores will bring you that, starting at noon Monday, London time. That's 7 p.m. in Hong Kong, 7 a.m. in New York.

Well, the people of Chile have spoken. Nearly all the ballots counted, a majority of voters rejecting a new constitution, 62 percent to 38 percent.

Voters came out on Sunday to cast their ballots on the charter, which focused heavily on indigenous rights and gender equality. The results stand in stark contrast to October of 2020, when nearly 80 percent of Chileans backed the creation of a constitutional assembly to replace the previous charter, much of which dated back to the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.

And CNN's Rafael Romo joins me now in Atlanta with the latest. You know, it seems nobody liked Pinochet's constitution. Did this just go too far? What happens now?

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's exactly right, Michael. That's exactly what happened.

I was talking to an analyst in Santiago who told me that -- that they were comparing this proposed constitution to a Christmas tree constitution, because anything that anybody wanted, and I'm talking about special interests, specific groups, political party, anything they wanted, it went in. Three hundred and eighty-eight articles.

Can you imagine that? It would be one of the longest in the world. And so when people started looking at it closely, they said, OK, that's good, but what about the economy? What about security? What about immigration? What about these big core items that everybody is interested in? What about those?

And so, in the end, as we saw on the vote today, people rejected it, and the -- the approve option ended up losing badly, Michael. I was looking at results, not only Chile as a nation, but region by region, province by province, it didn't win in any province at all. Imagine that.

HOLMES: So what happens? What -- what's next?

ROMO: Well, that's what President Gabriel Boric was talking about, just a couple of hours ago. They saying they're going to start from scratch again and the whole idea is to start a new process to try to approve a new constitution. Let's take a listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GABRIEL BORIC, CHILEAN PRESIDENT (through translator): I pledge to do my utmost to build, together with congress and civil society, a new constituent itinerary that will provide us with a text that, taking on board the lessons learned from the process, manages to interpret the views of a broad majority of citizens. And I know that everyone will join us in this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: And so Michael, those exact words that President Boric said, the same thing the opposition said, the real question here is, how are they going to do it? If this time it didn't work, and they were inclusive, they were careful, they were trying to give something to everybody, now what? And it's really an open question.

HOLMES: Wow. That -- I mean, you go from a constitution everybody hated to one that was everything for everyone and, yes.

ROMO: Didn't work.

HOLMES: Didn't work.

Rafael Romo, thanks for popping by.

HOLMES: Good to see you.

Interesting. Well, we're going to take a quick break. When we come back, new details on Ukraine's counteroffensive to take back a town in the Southern region of Kherson.

Also, Germany announces a multi-billion-dollar relief package amid soaring fuel prices. What the chancellor says about the future of Russian energy supplies. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Welcome back. Ukraine forces say they're gaining ground in their counter offensive in the Kherson region. One official telling "The Wall Street Journal." The goal is to, quote, slowly and systematically destroy Russia's supply chain and artillery with precision strikes.

CNN's Melissa Bell with the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There's been some good news from the Ukrainian counteroffensive, according to officials here in Kyiv, with the -- an aide to President Zelenskyy tweeting a picture of what he says is a Ukrainian flag being placed once again on the rooftops of Vysokopillya.

This is a town that had been the center of battles for some time. We're getting some confirmation of the fact that it may well now be in Ukrainian hands, also, from the Russian side, since there's been talk on some pro-Russian Telegram channels of the retreat of Russian forces around that town.

And it is, of course, a counteroffensive now that's been going on for just about a week and about which Ukraine authorities have been remaining pretty tightlipped, insisting that this is about degrading Russian military capabilities, trying to take out infrastructure that allows them to resupply their troops around Tucson. Not really aimed at fast territorial gains.

And yet, the tweeting of that picture is a reminder that, of course, this is also about morale and momentum. There's been bad news, however, from the Zaporizhzhia power plant, where continued shelling over the weekend has led not just to the closing down of one of the last remaining functioning reactors of the plant, but also, damage the last remaining, functioning external power supply.

[00:20:10]

Now, there is an extra power supply that leads to a thermal power plant that allows both the energy leaving Zaporizhzhia to get to the Ukrainian electricity grid and the plant itself to be supplied with electricity.

But Rafael Grossi, who was there only last week, the head of the IAEA, has been saying that although the presence of his six inspectors still inside the Zaporizhzhia plant haven't been able to do much in terms of stopping the shelling, saying that the fact of their presence had been important in gathering the information they needed. And in changing their ability to try and get things up and running in Zaporizhzhia once again. Calling that presence a game-changer.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Melissa Bell there.

Now, meanwhile, Germany planning to spend nearly $65 billion to help millions of households struggling with inflation and soaring energy prices. The chancellor, Olaf Scholz, promising to help Germans through the winter after Russia announced it is suspending some gas deliveries indefinitely.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OLAF SCHOLZ, GERMAN CHANCELLOR (through translator): Russia is no longer a reliable energy supplier. That's part of the new reality. The German government prepared itself for this scenario. The third relief package we put together is bigger than the first two

combined. It is of a large dimension. We are talking about 65 billion euros, when you add everything together. And we are talking about 95 billion, if you include the first two relief packages. That's a lot that we are doing, and it's necessary.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Now, the aid package includes proposals for an extension to discounted public transport and tax breaks to energy-intensive companies. The government will also use income from windfall taxes to lower prices for gas, oil and coal.

Mr. Scholz also met with the Ukrainian prime minister Sunday to discuss the war and reconstruction of the country.

Joining me now is Matthew Karnitschnig from Berlin. He's "Politico's" chief Europe correspondent. Thanks for making the time, getting up early for us.

This is a huge aid package. I mean, $65 billion shows how worried the government is. How do you think it's likely to be used? And how is the package being received in Germany, both politically and publicly?

MATTHEW KARNITSCHNIG, CHIEF EUROPE CORRESPONDENT, "POLITICO": Well, it is a massive package, especially by German standards, 65 billion euros, as you said. And it really is a kind of laundry list that the government has put forward here, in terms of how they want to use it.

And despite that, and despite the size they've been promising they would put forward a package with punch, and you know, the headline number certainly suggests that.

But it has been criticized for not doing enough for lower-income households, for example. You have the industry lobby coming out, saying it doesn't do enough to help companies and that it's going to take too long for a lot of these measures to be introduced. It could be months before Germans see some of money. And other measures depend on what the E.U. is going to do.

For example, there's -- there's a plan to cap electricity prices, which is something that a lot of German households, pretty much every German household, is worried about right now. But it's not clear how and when that is going to take place.

I expect there will be a lot of political discussion about this in the coming days --

HOLMES: Yes.

KARNITSCHNIG: -- and weeks.

HOLMES: Now, of course, Germany, as we've been discussing, is among the most affected nations when it comes to reliance on Russian oil and gas.

How is that impact likely to show itself this winter, package or no package? Is that package going to be enough to mitigate the impact?

KARNITSCHNIG: Well, economists say that the increase in energy prices are going to cost Germans an additional 200 billion euros in the coming years. So the 65 billion will compensate for part of that, but certainly not for all of it.

I think one of the big questions is how this affects the German economy, because the German economy, in particular, relies on cheap Russian gas to run many of its -- of its factories

And if they don't have that competitiveness that they've enjoyed for so long, which basically their business model has been, to use cheap Russian gas to fuel their economy. And they sell their cars and other equipment to Asia and the United States and so forth.

And that -- that equation has really kind of gone out of whack now. So I think this is something that a lot of people are worried about in the medium term. It seems that the Germans will be able to get through this winter, at least. They have their gas storage facilities which are nearly full now. But the big question is what happens after that. It doesn't seem that these energy prices will be coming down anytime soon.

HOLMES: Yes. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian p.m. visiting, as we said, calling for even more weapons, as well. Is that a plea likely to be heard?

[00:25:03]

KARNITSCHNIG: Well, I think that the Ukrainians are likely to continue to get weapons from Germany. But maybe not the kind of weapons that they want. They've really been pushing for tanks and, you know, more armored vehicles.

But the Germans are very, very reluctant to do that, because they feel that that would be provoking the Russians and that the Russians would declare them to be a party in this war.

Other Europeans have -- other European countries have delivered tanks to -- to Ukraine. The United States hasn't. And Germany is arguing, well, until the U.S. does, it's not going to either. So I think this is going to remain a very contentious issue between Ukraine and Germany.

HOLMES: I wanted to ask you something else, on the social level. There's a large Russian population in Germany, one of the biggest in the world, I think. And a lot of them are at odds with the government's overall stance on Russia.

There have been reports of Russians saying that they're being harassed. And there are reports of Ukrainians saying that they're being harassed by Russians. What is the tension level like?

KARNITSCHNIG: Well, there have been demonstrations on both sides. You do hear reports of Ukrainians complaining that they're being harassed by Russians in the subway and so forth. But it hasn't become violent yet.

There were some protests yesterday in Germany, some demonstrations. And then there were counter demonstrations. But it clearly is a -- something that people are worried about in the political realm.

You have over 200,000 Russians living in Germany. And there are almost a million Ukrainian refugees who have been registered here. So I suspect that this is going to be something that people are going to continue to grapple with, because it's very easy to recognize not Russian, you hear Russian often on the streets of Berlin, for example. And that's when it comes to these -- to these clashes people have.

HOLMES: Yes. Yes. I guess something to keep an eye on in Germany.

Matthew Karnitschnig, thank you so much, joining us from Berlin early in the morning there. Thanks for taking the time.

KARNITSCHNIG: Thank you.

HOLMES: Quick break here on the program. When we come back, a powerful typhoon set to get stronger as it moves towards Japan and South Korea. We'll be tracking that storm to get the forecast from Gene Norman.

Also, U.S. lawmakers visiting Pakistan as the death toll continues to rise from historic flooding there. We'll have a live report, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:30:07]

HOLMES: In East Asia, Typhoon Hinnamnor is set to gain strength and make landfall on the Korean Peninsula and Japan's Southern islands on Tuesday.

The storm, as we've been reporting, has been lashing parts of mainland China, Taiwan, Japan, and the Koreas with heavy rain and strong winds. Officials in parts of Japan and China have canceled dozens of flights and closed schools because of the storm.

Let's bring in meteorologist Gene Norman with the very latest. What are you seeing there, Gene?

GENE NORMAN, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Michael, good to join you.

We're seeing an intense storm, as you mentioned. It's already lashed parts of Eastern China, parts of Taiwan, and Southwestern Japan.

That's because it kind of stalled toward the end of last week, but now, it's on the move. Currently, it has winds of 205 kph, and is really steady to the north at 22.

And you can see that rapid movement as the system winds up. Now, it could get just a little bit stronger before it makes landfall.

But I also want to show you the radar. This is courtesy of the JMA. This is Kyushu, and you can see near the Southern sections of Korea, we're already starting to see some of those outer bands begin to move through.

And that's going to intensify. Some pretty decent rains right now in Jeju. But as we look at what's been going on across Taiwan, over the past three days, there've been almost 500 millimeters of rain. So that will be the calling card of this system.

Lots of rain, along with some gusty winds. It may not actually make a landfall, but that's not really the most important thing when you're tracking a tropical system.

Because take a look at some of these heavy rainfalls that have already fallen in the last 48 hours in sections of Southwest Japan. So that's what folks in Korea are in store for.

And the forecast model shows that it's going to arrive there sometime in the next 24 hours. So as we time it out, hour by hour for you, you can see we're watching this storm move close to Korea. It should make an approach to the Southern peninsula sometime early on Tuesday before quickly moving to the north. And then it should be out of there, not being much of a concern.

The other concern, Michael, is the wind gusts. Because when it makes that landfall, winds could howl in excess of 100 kph. A storm will be tracking for sure. Folks in this area really need to batten down the hatches and get ready.

HOLMES: Yes, indeed. Good to see you, Gene. And we'll check in with you again later. Appreciate it. Gene Norman there.

Well, now to the latest on flood-ravaged Pakistan. Two members of the U.S. Congress arrived in the region on Sunday to assess flood damage and show solidarity with the victims.

This as the death toll from the disaster is rising, and children being hit especially hard.

Let's bring in CNN's Anna Coren. She's been following developments from Hong Kong.

And Anna, good to see you. I mean, I was reading earlier that authorities are being forced to breach deliberately a massive lake to save people from even worst flooding. What's the latest?

ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Michael.

Officials made this decision to really stop another catastrophe from happening. This is Pakistan's largest freshwater lake, Manchar Lake, and they made that decision to strategically breach it to save other, much more densely populated cities.

Yes, 100,000 people have been impacted and displaced. But they say that the number would have been far greater if they'd left it up to Mother Nature. But the death toll from this disaster is just growing. We know this

has been going on since June, but it now stands at more than 1,300 people, of which a third of those victims, Michael, are children.

And there is not good news on the horizon. The rains are expected to return for this monsoon season as the country, you know, grapples to deal with climate change induced disaster.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COREN (voice-over): As rushing floodwaters turn stagnant, the nightmare for Pakistani citizens who survived the initial onslaught now displaced by one of the worst flooding events in the country's history has only just begun.

MUHAMMAD KHURSHID, FLOODING SURVIVOR (through translator): Villages have been submerged one after another. Our village was on the front side, and it was also submerged. In 30 minutes, our village was there no more.

COREN (voice-over): With an estimated more than one-third of the country underwater, makeshift shelters like this one are overrun with survivors with no point to returning to you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): There are too many people in very few rooms. The bathrooms are clogged, and there's no water.

COREN (voice-over): Hunger, lack of sanitation, and disease now threaten to extend the monumental suffering for the more than 33 million people affected.

FAISAL ECHI, EDHI FOUNDATION (through translator): I can see a very big famine looming very close. Very soon. I can see its initial stages. Right now, there are people who are hungry for a week, or even ten days. This is a very alarming situation.

[00:35:09]

COREN (voice-over): Doctors also sounding the alarm about a system struggling to cope.

VIJAY KUMAR, HOSPITAL DOCTOR (through translator): Before the floods, we used to see 50 to 60 patients during my night duty. But now, we're seeing 132 to 140 patients due to illness arising from unsanitary conditions.

COREN (voice-over): While it's almost impossible to comprehend the level of devastation, brought on by what the U.N. calls a monsoon season on steroids, this satellite image of just one district in Punjab province, a little less than a month ago, compared with now, gives a glimpse into just how dire the situation is.

For some, fortunate enough to see floodwaters recede, a new shock.

ASHAN ULLAH, SHOPKEEPER (through translator): The town has been turned to ruins. Before, it was a lively place, and hundreds of tourists would come and go. But now, everything is turned to ruins.

OREN: Aid agencies, alongside the Pakistani military, are doing their best to reach those still cut off by impossible roads. With herculean skew efforts ongoing.

And as the death toll continues to rise, more rains are expected for much of September. That forecast an ominous warning that the worst may be far from over.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COREN: And Michael, you mentioned those two U.S. lawmakers who have visited the floods zone. They have obviously pledged U.S. assistance. They've called this a monster of a disaster.

We know the U.N. security general, Antonio Gutierrez, is expected to visit Pakistan later this week, but the appeal is for much more aid and assistance, Michael, for the international community.

HOLMES: It's just a massive, massive disaster.

Anna, thank you. Anna Coren there in Hong Kong for us.

Pope Francis says he takes personal responsibility for ending sexual abuse within the Catholic church, adding there should be zero tolerance for it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

POPE FRANCIS, CATHOLIC CHURCH (through translator): If he is a priest, he is there to lead man to God and not to destroy men in the name of God. Zero tolerance, and we cannot stop on that. Every case of abuse that appears hurts me. Hurts me. But we have to face it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: In an exclusive interview, the pontiff told our partner channel, CNN Portugal, quote, "A priest cannot remain a priest if he is an abuser."

In recent years, multiple reports about sexual abuse and efforts to cover it up have emerged, some going back decades, of course. Pope Francis has introduced some reforms, like abolishing secrecy rules and requiring diocese to set up systems for reporting abuse and cover-ups.

Still to come on the program, China extends a lockdown in the city of Chengdu, amid a new outbreak of COVID infections. We're live in Beijing with the latest efforts to contain new cases. Be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:40:06]

HOLMES: The Chinese city of Chengdu has extended COVID lockdown measures in an effort to isolate an outbreak of new cases. Officials shut down the city on Thursday after more than 100 new infections were reported.

A new round of mass testing will run from Monday to Wednesday for the city's 21 million residents.

CNN Beijing bureau chief Steven Jiang joins me with more. It's fascinating, Steven. I mean, China increasingly living in what seems to be a parallel universe. The rest of the world dealing with COVID, and still, these harsh tactics.

STEVEN JIANG, CNN BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF: That's right, Michael.

And it's not just Chengdu. There are literally dozens of Chinese cities of all sizes across this vast country now currently under full or partial lockdown. And that includes major ports and economic centers like Caixin (ph) and Dalian (ph), but also, multiple districts in Shenzhen, China's Silicon Valley.

That's why Goldman Sachs last Friday said the GDP of all those cities now, coming for some 35 percent of the country's total GDP, and that's the worst we have seen since 2021.

And if this persists, many fear that the third-quarter GDP growth could be even worse than the second quarter, which was only 0.4 percent. And that would make the government's four-year growth target of around five and a half percent very much out of the reach.

But local officials of -- at all levels are very much sticking to their old playbook despite growing evidence that this is not working well against the highly contagious Omicron variant.

Actually, they're doubling down ahead of a major Communist Party meeting set to start in mid-October where Xi Jinping is almost certain to assume a precedent-breaking third term as the country's supreme leader.

So local officials are doing this not only to ensure social stability in their mind, ahead of that event, but also, really trying to show political loyalty to Xi Jinping, who has very much put his personal stamp of approval on the zero-COVID policy.

But I've been speaking to numerous residents affected by this latest wave of lockdowns. They are really -- their grievances are deep. Very much like a deja vu from the Wuhan or Shanghai lockdowns, saying how their life and livelihood disrupted with little notice by these lockdowns.

And many are literally trying to flee their hometowns in anticipation of imminent lockdowns. So that's why we've seen a once very supportive Chinese public has grown frustrated and resentful of this policy. Many no longer buying into the government claim that this policy is saving lives.

But as of now, Michael, many are still holding out hope that all of this could loosen up after that major Communist Party meeting is over. But as of now, the government has not indicated any timeline to relax, let alone abandon their zero-COVID policy -- Michael. HOLMES: All right. Thanks for the update, Steven. Steven Jiang there

in Beijing for us.

And thank you for spending part of your day with me. I'm Michael Holmes. You can follow me on Twitter and Instagram, @HolmesCNN. Do stay with us. WORLD SPORT with Coy Wire, coming up next.

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HOLMES: Hello and welcome to our viewers, joining us all around the world. Appreciate your company. I'm Michael Holmes.