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Russians Fleeing Their Country To Avoid Military Draft; Japan Holds State Funeral For Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe Amid Protests; Iran Widens Crackdown As Protests And Dissent Grow. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired September 27, 2022 - 00:00   ET

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

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JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: All around the world. This is CNN NEWSROOM.

Coming up, the other great rush of mobilization tens of thousands of military age men heading for the border at anywhere it seems but the war in Ukraine.

What is it about women's hair that terrifies Iran's hardline leaders so much that artillery is now being used on those opposed to women covering their heads with hijab?

And controversial in life, controversial in death. Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe laid to rest as criticism grows over the decision to honor him with a state funeral.

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

VAUSE: Like almost everything else about Vladimir Putin's war of choice in Ukraine, the recent call up of 300,000 reservists has been a debacle. So bad on Monday the Kremlin admitted mistakes were made.

Mistakes like drafting men who are not eligible to serve in the military, like fathers of young children and others have been conscripted by mistake.

A small number of senior lawmakers have now spoken out criticizing what has been a chaotic call up. While anger and fear of being sent to fight in Ukraine has sparked the first real opposition inside Russia to Putin's war.

Today's now major cities in Russia have seen protests against the draft. But in the Republic of Dagestan, violence has erupted between security forces and demonstrators. The mostly Muslim region has reportedly seen the highest death toll in Ukraine compared to the rest of the country.

Elsewhere, recruitment centers have been attacked. And in Siberia, authorities say a recruitment officer is in a serious condition in hospital after being shot when a gunman opened fire. And in parts the best way to see the long lines of Russians tried to

cross the border is from outer space. The satellite images show long lines of cars waiting to cross into Georgia, stretching in some parts for 16 kilometers.

We don't often report rumors, but there is one going around that the Kremlin plans to close the borders on Tuesday. It's a rumor, we don't know.

But officially, the Kremlin has said a decision on whether to close the borders has not been made.

CNN's Nic Robertson reports on the other great Russian mobilization a rush for the exits.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR (voice-over): At Russia's borders, Vladimir Putin's comeuppance, the lifeblood of his war in Ukraine, military age men fleeing fears of conscription. Record numbers crossing into neighboring Finland.

MIKKO HAUTALA, FINNISH AMBASSADOR TO U.S.: Basically, the Russian inflow of people it has now doubled in the course of last five days or so. We are now already in the process of basically squeezing the inflow.

ROBERTSON: Georgia, another border. Rushers would be recruits are racing for. Cars backed up for tens of miles in the two-day wait. They don't need a visa. But even so, Russia slowing the exodus to a tiny trickle. Bribes paid to jump the line before a feared total exit ban rumored for September 27th.

In three hours, we jumped a 40 kilometer, 30-mile line. It's not a nice thing to do. But alas, the 27 scares me greatly, this military age man says. Adding, the border guard called me a deserter but not everyone fleeing.

In Siberia, recruitment, resentment took a violent turn. At close range, a man shooting a recruitment officer. Other would be recruits scatter run screaming from the room. The officer wounded, taken to hospital.

In Dagestan, a mostly Muslim region of Russia, police fired over protesters heads. Others wrestle to the ground. Anger particularly strong here, as many residents feel recruitment falls too heavily on their community.

Putin's fabled ability to read Russia's mood appears to be fading. His own officials admitting mistakes were made. The Chairwoman of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation saying officials overstepped to take such liberties is absolutely unacceptable. And, in my opinion, the harsh reaction we are seeing in society is deserved.

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Beyond doubt, so many young men voting with their feet and leaving, shows trust in Putin is at its lowest ebb in years.

Nic Robertson, CNN, London.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: With us now for more on Putin's problems is Robert Baer, CNN national security analyst and former CIA operative. Good to see you, it's been a while.

Thanks, John.

VAUSE: OK, so as far as the call up for Russians to fight in Ukraine, it seems we're now hearing the Kremlin's version of mistakes were made. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DMITRY PESKOV, KREMLINS SPOKESMAN (through translator): These cases of discrepancy with the needed criteria about call ups that had been issued in error are being fixed. We hope that the speed of fixing will rise. That all the mistakes will be corrected.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: This was a war of choice, Putin decided how, where and when. It's been a debacle from the beginning. So, we're now at a tipping point within the Russian population that could see Putin under enough pressure to at least de-escalate inside Ukraine, at least for a time.

ROBERT BAER, CNN INTELLIGENCE AND SECURITY ANALYST (on camera): I think the chances of his de-escalating are close to zero.

I mean, he simply cannot give up so much ground and be seen to be losing and continue as a leader of Russia. He's a strong man. He's portrayed himself that for the last 20 years. He doesn't give in to dissent. He's cornered, he is completely cornered, and like a shark, he's got to move forward.

I just do not see him coming to the negotiating table, agreeing to leave Donbas or Luhansk, or whatever, I just do not see it happening.

I mean, he's continually resorted to more force, to more force, to more force, he continues to bomb Ukrainian cities. He continues to grab people. He continues to hold on to grounds. And I see -- I don't see him caving in at all.

VAUSE: One of the biggest fear now is its threat that he made about going nuclear. Moscow and Washington at least have open lines of communication on that. Again, here's the Kremlin spokesman.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PESKOV (through translator): The dialogue channels are active, but contact is rather sporadic in nature. At least they allow us to convey urgent notes about each other's positions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: And the U.S. State Department believes the threat of using nuclear weapons is a sign that Putin is losing. And that the threat is meant to be intimidation, here's Ned Price.

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NED PRICE, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN: These actions from President Putin signal very -- signal very clearly that he knows he's losing. He's on his back heels. And he's making every attempt to intimidate those who would stand up to him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: He may be losing it, he is out and this could be intimidation. But so far, everyone who says Putin wouldn't be crazy enough to do X have been wrong, because he does.

BAER: John, he's -- the chances of his using nuclear weapons, at least tactical nuclear weapons is going up by the day. The Russians that I keep in touch with in Russia are convinced he's going to go nuclear. I don't know how well connected they are.

But this threat, it was a threat initially, but the more trouble he's in, the more than likely he's going to use nuclear weapons. And I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't actually use attack against the Ukrainian forces.

VAUSE: If he decided to go down that road, is there a chain of command around him, which can act as a circuit breaker, so it doesn't happen?

BAER: There is a chain of command, he's got to go to the military to launch. They may in fact refuse to do so. But we don't know that.

We do not know what the key military leaders think about this conflict. They certainly aren't talking amongst each other. It's not something we can pick up on intercepts. And ultimately, they may refuse to launch weapons. And in that case, it's effectively a coup d'etat, and he's out of power.

VAUSE: This is part of the overall problem that Putin is facing with the country in the terms of where it is right now are under his leadership.

BAER: He's been an utter failure. I mean, he has completely miscalculated Ukraine. He's completely miscalculated the resistance. He's miscalculated Europe as well. He thought the Europeans would give up by now. He is like a cornered rat, and he will bite before he steps down.

VAUSE: If there is the use of tactical nuclear weapons by the Russians, what will be the response from NATO in the -- in the U.S.?

BAER: There's frankly nothing we can do. We're not going to launch strategic weapons. It will -- we're going to be in unchartered waters at this point. Of course, the Soviet Union never used nuclear weapons. And nor did we

during the Cold War. It just -- we simply cannot respond in kind, because it would unleash a nuclear exchange, including the continental of the United States.

[00:10:13]

And that's what has the administration terrified because the administration keeps bringing up nuclear weapons. It is seriously assessing the situation that he could turn to them.

VAUSE: Well, thanks for being with us, appreciate it. Bob Baer.

The Russian president took time out from losing the war in Ukraine to grant citizenship Monday to U.S. whistleblower Edward Snowden. He fled to Russia almost a decade ago and faces 30 years in jail for leaking highly classified details on U.S. surveillance programs.

The Kremlin says the mass shooting at a school Monday that have killed 15 people was a terrorist attack. The gunman who took his own life was a former student and was wearing Nazi symbols.

11 children are among the dead. Dozens more have been injured. Investigators have been searching the shooter's home to find out more about his background and his alleged neo fascist ideology.

The state funeral for the former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is set to begin next hour. Mourners are paying their respects nearby for the leader who died in July after being shot during a campaign speech.

Abe's high profile memorial will be attended by dozens of current and former world leaders. Protesters around Tokyo opposing the use of public funds to bankroll the event among other things.

So, these are the live images right now from Tokyo. Which has gone 11 minutes past 1:00 there in the afternoon. And these protests have been going on for quite some time.

CNN's Blake Essig has been monitoring the situation, he is also live for us this hour. Blake?

BLAKE ESSIG, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Well, John, very loud here, so I apologize. But within the hour, about 4,300 people, including 700 foreign dignitaries from 217 countries, regions and international organizations will enter Japan's iconic Budokan indoor arena built for the 1964 Olympics and just a few 100 yards away from where I'm standing in that direction. They're all here to honor the diplomatic legacy of Shinzo Abe.

As a result of the high ranking officials and world leaders planning to attend, roads have been blocked in the police presence, as you can see right behind me has been extremely high especially around this particular area near the Budokan.

All of this John for a state funeral that has sparked controversy and divided the nation. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ESSIG (voice over): Across Japan, the feeling of shock, sadness and disbelief continues to be felt nearly two months after former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was gunned down on the street while delivering a campaign speech.

In the days that followed, Japan said its final goodbye to its longest serving prime minister. But as messages of condolence came pouring in from around the world, current Prime Minister Fumio Kishida made the decision to further honor Abe's diplomatic legacy by holding a state funeral.

FUMIO KISHIDA, JAPANESE PRIME MINISTER (through translator): By conducting the state funeral, we are mourning former Prime Minister Abe and showing our country's determination to resolutely defend democracy and not give in to violence.

ESSIG: That decision that opposition lawmakers say was made without consulting Japan's parliament is expected to cost taxpayers more than 1.6 billion yen, or nearly $12 million.

JUN AZUMI, DIET AFFAIRS CHIEF, CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY (through translator): Prime Minister Kishida made this decision by himself. He didn't make a proper effort to reach a consensus that involved the voices of the citizens and the opposition parties.

ESSIG: The prime minister defended his decision to lawmakers but admits his explanation was insufficient. As a result, public opinion against holding a state funeral continues to mount. In fact, according to the latest poll from Yomiuri Shimbun, a slight majority of the public stands in opposition.

Well, recently, one man reportedly told police he was so against the event that he set himself on fire outside of Prime Minister Kishida's residence.

Gatherings like this one protesting former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's upcoming state funeral had been held on a regular basis since the government announced the plan back in mid-July.

Although the specific reason for each person here varies, the underlying message remains the same.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I'm against the idea of holding a state funeral for anyone.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Many people can't even eat right now. Instead of spending billions of yen on his funeral, they can help the lives of many people. It's outrageous that they chose to use it on something like this.

ESSIG: For many people, including the thousands gathered here at this event don't think it should happen. Others say state funeral is appropriate to honor Abe's legacy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I support a state funeral. Abe was an international statesman who attracted more people to Japan.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): His legacy is reflected in the way he raised Japan's global profile, how he was able to implement a new peace and security law while facing huge opposition and how that law has now become essential for maintaining peace and security. I think his past achievements for Japan makes a state funeral appropriate for him.

ESSIG: Despite the public backlash, appropriate or not, a state funeral for Abe will take place. A polarizing figure in life and even in death as deep divisions about his leadership haven't disappeared.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ESSIG (on camera): The state funeral is set to begin in less than an hour and throughout the roughly 90 minute long service, flowers will be offered. A video tribute with images of Abe will be played and the two men who most recently succeeded him as Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and current Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will give speeches.

So, since early this morning, members of the Japanese public unable to attend had been lining up for the chance to lay flowers and say a final goodbye to Japan's longest serving prime minister.

At the same time, outside of Japan's parliament, where Abe spent more than three decades of his life and other protests is set to get underway at the same time that the state funeral is set to begin.

And John, as we speak right now, just within the last 30 seconds, you know, a crowd of people, protesters with drums, banners, all just came walking down the street and around the corner, the police have kind of diverted them away from the Budokan.

But again, it just gives you an idea of the divided nation that is Japan right now. Not only around the polarizing figure that is Shinzo Abe but also the state funeral that is set to begin in less than an hour, John.

VAUSE: Blake, thank you for that. We appreciate the live update, of course more on this story in the next hour. Thanks, Blake.

Just ahead, as protests continue across Iran, the government's brutal response ramps up.

After the break, find out why Tehran's leaders are so terrified by women's hair.

Also, a new worst case scenario for parts of Florida as Hurricane Ian takes aim at the U.S. after pummeling Cuba and the Caribbean.

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VAUSE: With nationwide protests in Iran entering a second week, the government has responded with increasing brutality. According to state media, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard most drone and artillery strikes against Kurdish groups in northern Iraq. The Iran accuses the Kurds are trying to destabilize Iran by supporting the protests, which began earlier this month after a Kurdish woman 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died within the custody of the morality police.

Iranian on security forces are accused of using deadly force to quell some of the protests.

CNN's Jomana Karadsheh has the story.

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JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Regime supporters out on mass. These organized pro government rallies a show of unity against the so called rioters they say.

[00:20:07]

Iran's leadership is dismissing the thousands of protesters across the country as a handful of mercenaries. They claim it's all a foreign plot to destabilize the Islamic Republic that is only just beginning to unleash its brutal force to crush the rising voices of dissent.

It's throttling the internet, blocking social media sites, dragging protesters off the streets and using lethal force to silence things rising up for their rights.

No one really knows how many lives have been lost. But the gut wrenching scenes of those grieving their loved ones are slowly trickling out. The heart ache, the agony of families burying their dead, need no words to explain.

Jawad Haidari was 36 shot at a protest last week. His family says he bled to death. Amir Fouladi was only 15, one of several children killed according to Amnesty International.

Her name is Hadis Najafi, one of countless women who've said enough to tyranny and repression. Hadis never made it back from a protest. Her family says she was shot six times.

Her Instagram posts tells a story of a young woman who loved her country, loved life, music, dressing up and dancing. Her devastated sister mourning her in this Instagram post.

She writes, sis, how did they have the heart to shoot you? My tears have dried up. I can't breathe. Forgive me. I wasn't there to defend you. Hadis was 23.

The threat of bullets of prison of flogging hasn't stopped the protests. Nightfall brought hundreds back on the streets. They're daring chants of Death to the Dictator echoing through the dark streets of Iran. A defining generation risking it all for freedoms they've never known.

Jomana Karadsheh CNN, Istanbul.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Karim Sadjadpour is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Welcome back. It's good to see you.

KARIM SADJADPOUR, SENIOR FELLOW, CARNEGIE ENDOWMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL PEACE (on camera): Thank you so much.

VAUSE: OK, so a spokesperson for Iran's foreign ministry put the blame for these protests on the U.S. and some European countries and their misleading media, which have taken advantage of a tragic incident under investigation and use the excuse of supporting the Iranian people's rights.

Blaming all of your internal problems on the great Satan, aka the U.S. and others seem to be a little tired and well beyond its use by date, why do they persist in doing it?

SADJADPOUR: Well, it's a script that they've been rehearsing for decades now whenever there is any type of popular tumult, whether it's triggered by, you know, economic discontent, political, social discontent, they always try to delegitimize the protesters as being puppets of America or Israel.

You know, in the past, they've actually had some success and the least convincing U.S. officials that perhaps it's unwise for the United States to support protesters in Iran, because these -- by supporting them, the U.S. could de legitimize them or taint their independence.

But I think the Biden administration has figured out that whether they really support the protesters or they do nothing, the Iranian government's accusations are going to remain the same. I think that's why you see the Biden administration little more willing to be vocal and outspoken and condemning Iran's human rights abuses than the Obama administration was when Iran experienced massive protests in 2009.

VAUSE: Over the past few years so, before Raisi became president in what was a rigged election, the dress code for women was effectively not being enforced.

But now we have the U.N. Rights -- Human Rights Office, I should say, with this report. In recent months, the morality police have expanded street patrols, subjecting women perceived to be wearing loose hijab to verbal and physical harassment and arrest.

The U.N. Human Rights Office has received numerous and verified videos of violent treatment of women, including slapping women across the face, beating them with batons, and throwing them into police vans.

Mahsa Amini was one of those arrested by these kinds of patrols. Around in Afghanistan are the only countries where a dress code for women is so brutally enforced like this. What is it about the sight of women's hair that has them so terrified?

SADJADPOUR: I mean, first, there's an elements of power here for both the Iranian government and the Taliban. You know, the view power is basically a zero sum game and the more power women have, the less power men have.

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And this was, you know, if you go back to the Iran 1979 revolution, of all the things that angered Ayatollah Khomeini about the monarchy in Iran, it was parity between men and women, and female liberalization that was really concerning for him. So, that's one element. There's a power element.

But there's a second element which is important for both the Taliban and the Iranian government. And this is the words of the Iranian leadership themselves. They say that essentially, they fear that you know, the free flow of hair and women refusing to bail or not bailing, could incite men, essentially sexually arousing them and this is a quote from the supreme leader that you know, could lead to the destruction of civilization.

VAUSE: That then brings the question to can the leadership in Tehran be convinced we are no live -- we are no longer living in the 13th century B.C. Canada announced sanctions on Monday, listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MELANIE JOLY, CANADIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: In Iran, woman for testing the death of Mahsa Amini are met with arrest and bullets. We salute their courage and join them in sending a strong message that women's rights are human rights.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: You know, Iran is already heavily sanctioned. Will more sanctions from more countries have any impact?

SADJADPOUR: I don't think that Iran is going to change for example, you know, this law on hijab or even just the social conservatism in reaction to any outside pressure.

The reality is that there are really three pillars left -- ideological pillars left of the 1979 revolution in Iran. You have the opposition to America, opposition to Israel and the hijab, the veiling of women is really the flag of the Islamic Republic.

And I actually don't think there's any chance that certainly as long as the current Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (PH) is alive, he's 83 years old. I would say there's virtually zero chance that he would be willing to compromise on this issue.

VAUSE: Very quickly from a diplomatic point of view, where do negotiations over restarting the Iran nuclear deal fit into all of this right now?

SADJADPOUR: So, the Biden administration remains committed to trying to revive the deal. And when I've spoken to Biden administration officials, what they express concern about is that perhaps given the tumult in Iran, it's going to be even more decision for -- Iran's decision makers to reach an internal consensus. So, my prediction is that the nuclear deal is not going to happen

anytime soon.

VAUSE: Karim, thank you very much. Appreciate you being with us.

SADJADPOUR: Thank you, John. Great to be here.

VAUSE: First, the rain wouldn't stop. Now the suffering seems without end. In past, the floodwaters across Pakistan has been stagnant, sickening and killing many, especially children.

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VAUSE: Welcome back. A powerful hurricane is gaining in strength as it batters Cuba before heading towards the U.S.

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Right now, Ian is a Category 2 and is expected to grow into a major hurricane in the coming hours. In parts of Florida, residents in the storm's path have been told, get out now. Authorities warn this could be the storm of a lifetime.

Tens of thousands in Cuba boarded up their homes and evacuated ahead of the storm, with flash flooding, severe storm surges, and possible mud slides expected as Ian inches closer to landfall.

Let's find out exactly where Ian is right now. CNN meteorologist Pedram Javaheri following for us. What are the details, Pedram?

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hey, John. You know, it's about 150 kilometers South of the Western tip of Cuba, and I wouldn't be surprised it makes landfall in the next couple of hours here across the Western edge of Cuba, with winds that are very close to Category 3 strength.

Right now, high-end Category 2, so a major hurricane is certainly what is poised for this storm system in the coming hours.

And notice, the storm surge threat here is significant: as high as four and a half meters across portions of Western Cuba. With the storm system that, again, has the potential to reach major hurricane status as it makes rainfall.

And certainly, beyond portions of Western Cuba are favorable for further strengthening, and that's really what's most concerning about the storm system.

Also, this track right here, a parallel track towards the Florida coastline, really makes it a dangerous go. And we do expect the system to slow down quite a bit from Wednesday to Thursday, possibly slowing down to about five, maybe six kilometers per hour moving forward. So, essentially talking about the average pace that a person walks is how slow this system could travel from Wednesday into Thursday as it sits just off-shore of the Western Florida coastline. So really going to have significant impacts across an area, Pinellas

County, which is among the most valuable properties there across all of Florida. This region, home to some $30 billion of built properly. No other county in the state of Florida, including Miami-Dade area, as well, has that much value and property on the coast.

So, a lot of people, certainly, set to be impacted. And a lot of damage certainly potential in store there.

Now, notice the models here. The guidance has gradually shifted the storm system closer towards Tampa Bay. Again, late Wednesday into Thursday. That track, the progression of the storm being so slow, could produce hundreds of millimeters of rainfall on top of a significant storm surge.

Again, as you funnel the water into an area like Tampa Bay, we know major, major issue could certainly develop. And, with a storm that kind of parallels the coastline, John, a counter-clockwise flow also, ushers in water into Tampa Bay.

So really, a worst-case set-up here for that region of Western Florida.

VAUSE: Yes. Brace yourself. It's coming, I guess. Pedram, thank you. Appreciate that update.

The death toll from extreme flooding in Pakistan is now more than 1,600. A third of the dead are children.

The rain for now has stopped, but the disaster hasn't. Stagnant water means the growing risk of water-borne disease.

CNN traveled to one hospital, fighting to save the lives of children. Anna Coren has more on that. Also, a warning: her report includes images of children in distress. Some do not survive.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

ANNA COREN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the scorching heat, a couple carry their listless child towards a packed wooden boat, ferrying sick villagers through the floodwaters.

The mother grabs her daughter and finds a place to sit. The 8-year-old is burning up. "She's got a high-grade fever and has become unconscious," explains her mother.

"Let's go, let's go," yells a villager.

The mother then wets her daughter's brow with the very same water that has made her so sick.

Pakistan's months-long catastrophic floods that inundated one-third of the country, affecting 33 million people, are still causing unspeakable suffering. The monsoonal rains may be over, but the volume of stagnant water is

now causing a health crisis, especially in Sindh, one of the worst-hit provinces in the country's Southeast, where cases of cholera, dengue and dehydration have surged.

AADARSH LAGHAN, UNICEF COMMUNICATION OFFICER: I have seen families and children consume the very floodwater that they are surrounded by. And that is what -- because they don't have access to any other water source.

COREN: As they reach the shore, it's a race against time. The nearest hospital is hours away by rickshaw, and her daughter's condition is worsening.

These young mothers have found medical care, although their newborns barely have the energy to cry. They've come to the Nawabshah Mother and Child Hospital where the critically ill are taken to the resuscitation ward.

A baby's chest slowly rises and falls as oxygen, pumped through a tube, helps this infant to breathe. Lying beside it, the body of another baby that didn't make it.

[00:35:10]

For the doctors here, this is agonizing work. Up to a dozen children are dying each day from flood-related illness, which is unheard of in this small hospital.

"This girl has cholera," says Dr. Nazia. "Their bodies go into shock. We try to rehydrate them with fluid they've lost."

One of the four children sharing this bed appears to be going downhill rapidly. Heart monitors are placed on the chest of 5-year-old Ikra (ph), who is severely stunted. Her heart is slowly beating, but her eyes glaze over. Minutes later, she dies.

A nurse prepares her tiny body for an Islamic burial, as her sister and grandmother weep outside.

Of the more than 1,500 people who've died since June from Pakistan's climate change-induced catastrophe, more than one-third have been children.

Millions upon millions remain homeless, having lost homes, crops and livestock. Rani is one of them. She wonders if the waters will also take her youngest, 3-year-old Abbas (ph), who is suffering from malaria.

"Death is a better option for us," she says. "We accept it. One should not have to live like this."

Anna Coren, CNN, Hong Kong.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: Let's take a look at trading in Asian markets right now, after a day of world-wide turmoil. At the moment, we see two up, two done Nikkei is up by half a percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng down by just over 1 percent. Seoul KOSPI down by just over half a percent, with the Shanghai composite up by a quarter of 1 percent.

The Dow dropped more than 300 points on Monday, entered a bear market for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic. There you see, down by 329 points.

This comes after the British pound hit a record low against the U.S. dollar on growing fears about the government's plans there to deliver the biggest tax cuts in 50 years, funded by massive debt.

The euro also hit its lowest value in 20 years against the dollar.

Well, the first far-right leader to be elected in Italy since Mussolini, Giorgia Meloni, has claimed victory of the country's general election.

Nationalists within the E.U., including France's Marine Le Pen, welcomed the victory. In stark contrast, the vice president of the European Parliament said, "These will be difficult times for Europe.

But the former Italian prime minister, Matteo Renzi, says there's no reason to fear that Italy will return to the dark days of its authoritarian past.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATTEO RENZI, FORMER ITALIAN PRIME MINISTER: That is not a danger for Italian democracy. She's my rival. I -- my rival. We will continue to fight each other.

But the ideas are now there is a risk of fascism in Italy, is absolutely fake news.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[00:40:05]

VAUSE: Final official results are expected soon. But it could take weeks for a new Italian government to be formed.

More now from CNN's Barbie Nadeau, reporting in from Rome.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBIE LATZA NADEAU, CNN CONTRIBUTOR (voice-over): The leader of Italy's center-right coalition, Giorgia Meloni, will now likely become the first female prime minister of Italy.

Despite low voter turnout, she was able to secure the majority, together with far-right Lega leader, Matteo Salvini, and center-right politician Silvio Berlusconi. As Italians woke up on Monday morning, they grappled with a new

reality. It was clear that the results wasn't to everyone's taste.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not really happy with the action it wants to take. I think that the main problem of the -- my generation and the next generation, the environment in our problem is not really a priority for them. We have a lot of problems now with economy and social with the energy crisis. So let's see what they want to do. And I'm not really that confident. But --

NADEAU (voice-over): Italy, like the rest of Europe, is in the midst of an energy crisis. Everyone is feeling the pinch.

This coffee bar in central Rome has been in Lorenzo Vanni's family since 1929.

LORENZO VANNI, VANNI CAFE OWNER: The biggest problem we have is the cost of the energy. Because we HAD an increase of five times more than before. From 15,000, now we have a bill of 54,000.

NADEAU (voice-over): Vanni wants a government that puts its people first.

VANNI: We have to see if they will find an agreement among the three -- Berlusconi, Salvini and Meloni -- to make things for Italy.

NADEAU (voice-over): Giorgia Meloni has become a symbol of hope for that change.

This woman tells me that, even though Meloni has a very strong character, that could intimidate some, she likes her, and she hopes that there will be change.

NADEAU (voice-over): We met Antonio Moscova (ph). He told us, it was other's weaknesses that led to Meloni's victory.

"Brothers of Italy were able to understand voters' discontent," he says. But, he also tells me, "In Italy, we change our mind very often. We are a very divided country. And very different from north and south. Today, Meloni has 24 percent. But that could be 10 percent in a couple of months."

Meloni's position won a clear mandate not seeing Italy for decades. She campaigned on traditional family values against a regular immigration and on giving dignity back to Italians.

NADEAU: There are a lot of expectations on Giorgia Meloni. But this country has had 67 governments and 30 prime ministers in the last 75 years.

In 2018, Italians voted for the anti-establishment Five Star Movement. But that was before the pandemic and before the war in Ukraine.

This time, they voted for a very precise political direction. Now it's up to Giorgia Meloni to unite the country and make good on her campaign promises. Barbie Latza Nadeau, CNN, Rome.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: I'm John Vause. Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'll be back at the top of the hour with live coverage of Shinzo Abe's funeral on CNN NEWSROOM.

Right now these are the images from Tokyo inside the stadium where the funeral will be held. It's a state funeral. It's causing a lot of controversy there. Live reports in a -- at the top of the hour.

But first, WORLD SPORT starts after the break.

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