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Ukraine Denies Involvement In Kremlin Drone Attack; 13-Year-Old Boy Kills Nine In Belgrade School; Federal Reserve Raises Key Interest Rate A Quarter Point; Sudanese Army Agrees To Seven Day Truce, No Word From RSF Yet; Europol: "Largest-Ever" Hit On Italian Organized Crime; Iran and Syria Strengthen Ties as Leaders Meet; India's Female Wrestlers Claim Sexual Harassment. Aired 12-12:45a ET

Aired May 04, 2023 - 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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[00:00:32]

JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: A head here on CNN NEWSROOM.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: I would take anything coming out of the Kremlin with a very large shaker of salt.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Mystery in Moscow. Doubts grow over claims that a drone attack on the Kremlin was an assassination attempt by Ukraine on Vladimir Putin.

Rare and deadly school shooting in Serbia and still no answers to why a seventh grader armed with two handguns and a kill list opened fire leaving at least nine people dead.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): This is an internal problem and we will focus on solving it internally.

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VAUSE: The army says no to a negotiated settlement in more than two weeks of deadly fighting with a rival of military faction.

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

VAUSE: Thanks for joining us here on CNN and we begin in Ukraine where it's just gone 7:00 a.m. with the sound of air-raid sirens in the east and reports of explosions in Kyiv and Odessa to the south.

Ukraine was bracing for an increase in Russian strikes overnight after Moscow claimed the Kremlin was targeted by two drones in the early hours of Wednesday morning, part of a terrorist plot by Ukraine to assassinate President Vladimir Putin, who doesn't actually live at the Kremlin.

As CNN analysis confirms, Russian claims that two drones were flying over the Kremlin but finds no evidence of Ukrainian involvement.

And unlike previous attacks on Russian soil, when Ukrainian officials have hinted and implied Ukraine was responsible, this time President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made it clear Ukraine was not behind the attack on the Kremlin.

There are many theories about who may have carried out the drone strike. Ukrainian officials have suggested it could be a false flag operation by Russia, where a former Russian lawmaker now living in exile tells CNN Russian partisans may be to blame.

Nick Paton Walsh has our report.

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NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): It's on the edges of imagination but the Kremlin insists it's real. An apparent drone flies into the Kremlin and detonates right on its dome, captured on many cameras, a truly seismic allegation.

Russia saying Ukraine sent two drones to kill President Vladimir Putin but he wasn't home.

As the smoke rose, these videos played out globally, unverified and the only slim evidence of the Kremlin's claim. It is a moment that carries great risk for the Kremlin ahead of an annual victory day parade there just next week. It's embarrassing. They have claimed such a breach of security happened. And there will be calls for their battered military to find a way to escalate, now they have.

Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on a visit to Finland today issued a flat denial.

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: We don't attack Putin or Moscow. We fight on our territory. We are defending our villages and citizens. We don't have enough weapons for these.

WALSH: The U.S. also not convinced.

BLINKEN: I would take anything coming out of the Kremlin with a very large shaker of salt.

WALSH: But fear of Russian reprisals rising again in Ukraine where bombings already definitely do happen every day and night.

Over a dozen dead this day in a recently liberated Kherson, a railway station shelled in a supermarket mid-morning.

Tension mounting here ahead of an expected Ukrainian counter- offensive. So, from Friday, there's a 58-hour curfew, nobody coming out of their homes.

In Zaporizhzhia, our night was shaken by sirens and blasts. Here is where they hit, homes. The first missile landing outside and leaving enough time for families to jump into the bath or shelter their children before the second left this hole.

How did you survive?

You know we were in such stress, Litmila (PH) says, but it was only when people asked us if we were OK that we realized we were alive.

Like in the Kremlin, nobody killed or injured here either, but lives destroyed and no doubt who was behind it.

Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Joining me now from Washington, retired U.S. Air Force Colonel and CNN Military Analyst Cedric Leighton. Good to see you again, Colonel.

[00:05:04]

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Hi, good to be with you, John.

VAUSE: OK, so the Russians claim under the cover of darkness, two drones flew to the very heart of Moscow for what would be the most serious breach of Russian airspace in 36 years since that kid landed a light plane on Red Square in 1987.

But wait there's more, the drones managed to reach the very heart of the Kremlin before being shot down at the last minute. This smells fishier than the dumpster at red lobster. I mean, so what's your take on all of it?

LEIGHTON: Yes, that's quite the dumpster at Red lobster. I have to say that it's really an impossible scenario the more you think about it.

If the Russian air defense system failed so miserably, it would really be cause for lots of heads to roll. This does very much when you look at the videos and when you look at exactly what seems to have happened, it is really impossible for this to have been a successful Ukrainian attack. They would have been detected at launch, they would have been detected as they crossed the border, they would have been -- the drones would have been detected several instances on the way to Moscow. There is no way that they would have made it all the way to the Kremlin undetected and you know, probably would have been shot down or at least an attempt would have been made way before they hit the Kremlin area.

VAUSE: OK, so I just want to play the moment when one of the drones appears to be intercepted and then it explodes.

So, this is just that moment just before it gets into the Kremlin area and you can see the explosion, there it is.

So, what sort of capability do these drones have for causing any kind of major damage?

LEIGHTON: Very minimal at best. You know, it is kind of hard to tell from the video how big the drones actually were but they may have been a lot smaller than I thought initially.

Initially, I thought they might be one of the drones that was used to attack the angles to airfield a few months ago in the southern part of Russia but these seem to be much less capable drones and could very well have been very simple drones with almost no armament on them, if any armament and certainly, very little reconnaissance capability.

The other thing to note here, John, is that these drones probably would have had to have been controlled by a ground controller on the way into a target like the Kremlin and you know, the range of a drone like this, the command and control effort would have had to exceed 100 miles and that is not something that most of these drones have the capability of.

So, I think it seems that on several fronts, it would be possible for these drones to have been launched from Ukraine and have actually been a Ukrainian operation.

And just very quickly, Putin doesn't actually live at the Kremlin, he doesn't sleep there at night which means this was not much of an assassination attempt.

LEIGHTON: Not at all. In fact, the Ukrainians are pretty aware of where Putin is and we know he uses his train. We know he spends time like you said away from the Kremlin especially at night and this is not a place for that he would have been at.

If anything, it would have been a warning to him but I don't even think it was that. I think it was a staged attempt to basically rally the troops if you will, rally people to the flag and in this case I think it's a fairly transparent effort.

VAUSE: What about this theory that Russian insurgents may be behind the attack? Would they have the capability and the opportunity to do something like this?

LEIGHTON: Potentially, you know, there are several possibilities of course you think of the Wagner Group being at odds with the Kremlin and that this might have been something that they could have done. There are other groups out there that are interested in the very least making life difficult for Putin if not potentially even deposing him.

It's possible that they could have done it but I think it's somewhat unlikely that they would have mounted an attack like this and it's certainly unlikely that the attack would have achieved this kind of a shoot down sequence.

VAUSE: OK. Colonel, thank you so much for being with us, Sir. We appreciate your insights and your analysis. Thank you.

LEIGHTON: Thank you, John. VAUSE: Well, Serbia has been left reeling after a seventh grader

opened fire at his school in Belgrade killing eight fellow students and a security guard, wounding six other children as well as a teacher.

After the shooting, the 13-year-old boy called police and turned himself in. Police say the boy was armed with two handguns allegedly belonging to his father.

Authorities have announced three days of national mourning while hundreds gathered for a candle light vigil not far from the school just hours after the shooting.

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LYDIA BULATOVIC, BELGRADE RESIDENT (through translator): As a mother, as a grandmother, as a teacher who has worked for 37 years into school, I'm a guest, I'm surprised.

[00:10:08]

ALEKSANDAR ARADJELOVIC, BELGRADE RESIDENT (through translator): All this time I'm very upset and it's not going away. I just hope we won't see anything like this again.

VESNA KOVAC, BELGRADE RESIDENT (through translator): It's a tragedy, there can't be a worse kind of tragedy. We live through a lot but this is just unbelievable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: The boy's parents have been arrested as part of the investigation and at the age of 13 it seems the boy is not legally accountable for his actions. Serbia's president now says the government is considering lowering the criminal age of responsibility from 14 to 12.

Meanwhile, there's evidence that the shooter planned out this attack in chilling detail as CNN's Fred Pleitgen reports.

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FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Horror inside a school classroom, a scene all too familiar in the U.S. but this is Serbia's capital, Belgrade. This is the deadliest mass shooting in the country in over a decade.

Moments after arriving at the prestigious Vladislav Ribnikar Elementary School, a 13-year-old student took out his father's gun and shot the security guard before turning it on pupils according to officials.

VESELIN MILIC, BELGRADE POLICE CHIEF (through translator): There was one girl at her desk, another at the piano. He took their lives, then he went out into the corridor to the history classroom. He went into the classroom and immediately shot the teacher and the students there from the door.

PLEITGEN: According to eyewitnesses, the boy shot the female history teacher as terrified students hid under their desks. She was rushed to hospital along with six injured children according to CNN affiliate N1.

The hospital's director detailed severe brain injuries and gunshot wounds to the legs. The perpetrator was arrested in the schoolyard and let out in handcuffs after he called the police himself and told them what he did.

I asked where is my kid, says one girl's father, describing the moment he realized she was in the history class. She escaped, but when he found her, she was in shock, he says.

The crime had been planned for over a month. The teen had drawn a sketch of the attack that looked like something from a video game or a horror movie according to Belgrade's police chief.

Locals told CNN the incident came out of nowhere.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This never happened in Serbia before, we only heard about this in news from the United States.

PLEITGEN: Outside the school, these parents are the lucky ones. Their children made it out alive. But a nation is now in mourning and questions are asked over how this could have happened.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Belgrade.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Interest rates are increased once again in the United States. The U.S. Federal Reserve has just announced a hike of its benchmark interest rate by a quarter percent, the tenth consecutive rise. It's now at five -- 5-1/4 percent. But the Fed Chairman suggested the rate hikes might take a breather for a while now to see if inflation eases even more on its own.

Then, certainly, rattled Wall Street, the three major indices ended down less than one percent. Here's how Asian markets have reacted at this hour. Let's take a look. Nikkei up, Hong Kong Hang Seng up by a percent and Shanghai Composite up by a half percent. Seoul KOSPI down and touched by a quarter percent.

CNN's Rahel Solomon in New York has more on the rate hike and what it means.

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RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT (on camera): The U.S. Federal Reserve hiking interest rates yet again Wednesday against a backdrop of fresh tremors in the banking sector and a still unresolved debt ceiling crisis.

Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell and company raised rates by one quarter of a percentage point on Wednesday, making it the 10th increase in a row since the Fed began lifting rates in March of last year.

This now brings the Fed's benchmark interest rate to 5-1/4 percent, a level not seen in more than 15 years. Now, when the Fed raises rates, it makes it more expensive for banks to borrow, which then makes it more expensive for us consumers to borrow. Think anything with an interest rate that's not locked in.

So, mortgage rates for new homes, auto loans, credit cards. The idea is that when borrowing costs go up, it'll curb consumer demand and ultimately bring down consumer prices.

But there is a lag with interest rates. The effects from higher rates can take months, if not more than a year to show up in the economy, meaning that most of the effects of the Fed's rate hikes are still in the pipeline.

That's just one reason there is a growing course of voices, including economists, including lawmakers urging the Fed to pause with the rate hikes. Another reason? The banking stress.

Earlier this week, we also witnessed the second largest bank failure in U.S. history with First Republic. That said, inflation does remain elevated and continues to run hotter than the Fed's two percent target.

In Wednesday's press conference, Fed Chair Jay Powell, signaled this.

JEROME POWELL, CHAIRMAN, FEDERAL RESERVE: These tighter credit conditions are likely to weigh on economic activity, hiring, and inflation. The extent of these effects remains uncertain.

[00:15:08]

In light of these uncertain headwinds, along with monetary policy restraint we've put in place, our future policy actions will depend on how events unfold.

SOLOMON: And later this week on Friday, we will get another look at the state of the U.S. economy and the labor market with the April Jobs Report. Recent data points to a still strong but cooling labor market.

Rahel Solomon, CNN, New York.

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VAUSE: We'll take a short break. When we come back, police in Italy to Brazil launch coordinated raids around the world taking -- targeting rather one of the world's richest organized crime groups, details in a moment.

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VAUSE: Two rival military factions in Sudan are simply digging in and dividing up the country between them. Heavy fighting has been reported around the presidential palace, which is controlled by the paramilitary group, the Rapid Support Forces.

The Sudanese armed forces have agreed to a proposal from South Sudan for a seven-day ceasefire scheduled to take effect Thursday.

But there's been no official response, at least not yet, from the RSF.

In the meantime, U.N. Chief Martin Griffiths says there is still no safe passage to move supplies within the country. And he says, despite early assurances, six trucks belonging to the World Food Programme were looted en route to Darfur. Griffiths says he hopes to meet with both sides to secure a safe passage and have guarantees for aid convoys.

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MARTIN GRIFFITHS, U.N. UNDERSECRETARY-GENERAL FOR HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS: We will still require agreements and arrangements to allow for movement of staff and supplies. We will need to have agreement at the highest level and very publicly, and we will need to deliver those commitments into local arrangements that can be depended on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Alan Boswell is the Horn of Africa Director for the International Crisis Group. He's with us this hour from Nairobi. Thank you, Alan. Thank you for the time.

ALAN BOSWELL, HORN OF AFRICA DIRECTOR, INTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP: Thank you, John.

VAUSE: So, right now, both sides, Sudanese scrambling to take control of key infrastructure and prominent landmarks.

So, let's listen to the U.N. Secretary-General on the current situation and what he wants.

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ANTONIO GUTERRES, U.N. SECURITY-GENERAL: The present situation is totally unacceptable, that a ceasefire, a lasting ceasefire needs to take place, that a political dialogue needs to be established, and that the transition for the civilian government needs to be guaranteed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: So, while this fighting is ongoing with you know, looting and bloodshed, it seems unlikely that there's any kind of negotiation for peace anytime soon, because there's still a lot of bloodshed, and a lot of fighting to go with these two sides.

BOSWELL: Yes, we've seen a lot of attempts at ceasefires. They continue to agree to ceasefires, but they essentially immediately break down.

So, we're moving into a situation now where people are starting to consider, you know, worst scenarios, such as the fighting continues. Are there ways of creating maybe some de-escalation zones? Are there ways of trying to find some sort of humanitarian corridors? Are there ways of getting representatives to talks, even as they keep fighting?

[00:20:15]

But the kind of hope or expectation initially that maybe we could get these two to agree to some sort of a more full ceasefire, those sort of hopes are dimming, unfortunately.

VAUSE: And with that in mind, I want you to listen to a representative of the leader of Sudan's army who is speaking from Egypt. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAFALLAH ALHAJ, ENVOY TO SUDAN'S ARMY LEADER (through translator): There's no responsible government or a state that would accept mediation with those who were built against it and caused all this instability, damage and fighting.

Mediation comes in issues lighter than this when there's no military conflict.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: So, I mean, that statement just seems incredulous when just taking on the surface. But with both sides here well-armed and well stocked, you know, with ammunition to varying degrees, you know, the RSF has the light weapons, the Sudanese army has the jets and the tanks. But it seems that, you know, that statement that this will not be a negotiated end to this conflict is very ominous. It means that you know, essentially, this conflict is going to be dragging on for a very prolonged period of time.

BOSWELL: Yes, that's the risk. These are scary remarks coming out. They're not very surprising. The parties, you know, have been fielding phone calls from diplomatic powers urging them to go to talks.

But we've especially seen the army very intent, I think on trying to gain an upper hand. So, they don't go back to talks with this paramilitary on the same sort of equal footing that they started with.

But the problem is this paramilitary forces still swarming the capital with fighters is more or less entrenched in residential areas. And we're looking at a very prolonged fight.

And because this is taking place in the capital Khartoum, you have essentially a state collapse while this is going on.

So, it's not looking good if we're not able to somehow get this resolved soon.

VAUSE: Yes, and one of the main challenges facing the U.N. and other aid organizations is with security, trucks carrying humanitarian supplies being looted despite the assurances. Here's a little more from the U.N.'s Martin Griffiths . Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GRIFFITHS: It's not as if we're asking for the moon. We're asking if the movement of humanitarian supplies and people. We do this in every other country, even without ceasefires. It's a traditional humanitarian enterprise to go where others don't.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Compared to the Sudanese army, the RSF went into this fight lacking the logistics for medical treatment for their wounded and others. Are they more likely to be behind the hijackings of the humanitarian medical supplies than the commandeering of hospitals?

BOSWELL: Well, I think it's hard to say specifically who's behind what without looking into further information. I mean, both sides have forces throughout the country, but there are many other armed groups in Sudan too. So one of the big risks (AUDIO GAP).

VAUSE: I think we've just lost our link there to Nairobi, unfortunately, (INAUDIBLE) Alan's back. Alan, can you finish your thought?

BOSWELL: Yes, so there are many armed groups in Sudan. And so, one of the -- one of the big risks is that we see these other armed groups, tribal militias, community militias join this fight. And we see something that looks like localized power struggles, civil wars, or just a really breakdown in security generally.

I think a lot of the problems for humanitarian aid might not specifically come from either of these two groups. And they might just come from the general lack of security and other armed groups in the country. We're looking at a very scary scenario in Sudan.

VAUSE: Yes, it's certainly going from bad to worse in the blink of an eye. Alan, thank you for being with us. Technical problems and all, appreciate it.

BOSWELL: Thank you, John.

VAUSE: Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro says he has nothing to hide after federal police raided his home as part of an investigation into allegedly falsified COVID vaccine cards.

Three of Bolsonaro's former aides were arrested, including a close personal assistant. He was crafting a scheme which the former president was showing to be registered as vaccinated even though he wasn't.

Some of Bolsonaro's former advisers and even his 12-year-old daughter also under scrutiny.

Bolsonaro told reporters he was not vaccinated against COVID-19 and that his vaccination card was never tampered with.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAIR BOLSONARO, FORMER BRAZILIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): My mobile phone has been seized. My phone has no password. I will make that very clear. I have nothing to hide. Not only about the vaccination card. I have nothing to hide about anything. It would be good if we had a democratic country where we could discuss all subjects. There are subjects that are forbidden to talk about in Brazil and one of them is about the vaccine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[00:25:02]

VAUSE: Police say any falsified health information could constitute a number of crimes.

European authorities have celebrated a coordinated worldwide hit on an Italian organized crime group based in Calabria, a region known for its history with the mafia.

The E.U. law enforcement agencies has raged stretched out across the globe even as far as Brazil.

CNN's Barbie Nadeau has details reporting in from Rome.

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BARBIE NADEAU, CNN CONTRIBUTOR (on camera): More than 130 people have been arrested in multiple European countries and what authorities are calling the largest ever coordinated hit against Italian organized crime.

The arrests were part of the Eureka operation and tied to the increasingly powerful and dregative crime syndicate based in the southern Italian region of Calabria that has achieved global reach. 108 of the arrest warrants were handed down in Italy. The arrests were made in Belgium, Germany, France, Slovenia, Spain and Romania. Arrests were also made in Brazil and Panama.

More than 2,770 officers were involved. The massive sting operation took nearly two years of investigation that unraveled an international network of drug smuggling from South America to Europe and Australia. A number of European seaports were also involved, official said at a press conference announcing the successful operation.

The arrests were tied to the dregative's extensive global drug smuggling network and charges included armed trafficking, money laundering, mafia association and aiding and abetting fugitives.

Millions of euro in cash, drugs and weapons were also confiscated in the raids.

Barbie Nadeau, CNN, Rome.

(END VIDEOTAPE) VAUSE: And now a long manhunt has ended with the capture of a man accused of opening fire at a midtown Atlanta medical facility Wednesday killing one woman and wounding four others. 24-year-old Deion Patterson was captured at a gated condominium complex about 16 kilometers from the crime scene.

The suspect had gone to the medical facility with his mother. She says he was seeking a new treatment.

Police say at some point he became agitated, opened fire with a handgun. The woman who was killed has been identified as a 38-year-old woman who worked at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Before wounded women were taken to hospital, three of them remained in a critical condition.

Still ahead, a new diplomatic era, Iranian and Syrian leaders meet face to face for the first time since the Syrian civil war began.

Coming up, the Arab world looks to bring Syria back into the fold.

Also, India's female wrestlers are camping out and training on the streets of the injustice after the president of their sport was accused of sexual harassment. Vedika Sud is at the protest site.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VEDIKA SUD, CNN REPORTER: You'd expect professional wrestlers to be training inside an academy but these women have little choice but to train on the road here at the protest site.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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VAUSE: Welcome back. I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.

[00:30:12]

Damascus is hosting the first state visit by an Iranian leader since the outbreak of civil war in Syria. Iran's Ebrahim Raisi and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad signed a long-term cooperation agreement in Damascus Wednesday. That's according to Syrian state media.

President Raisi's two-day visit comes as the Arab world looks to normalize relations with the Assad regime.

CNN's Becky Anderson has our report.

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BECKY ANDERSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): An historic visit 13 years in the making. Iran's president, Ebrahim Raisi, meeting with the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, in Damascus. Despite Tehran's ongoing financial and military support for Assad, it

is the first state visit of its kind since Syria's brutal civil war began in 2011.

Raisi's two-day trip taking place against the backdrop of wider regional efforts to bring Assad back into the fold. Saudi Arabia's foreign minister making a similar trip to Damascus just a few weeks ago.

FAHAD NAZER, SPOKESPERSON, EMBASSY OFF SAUDI ARABIA IN THE U.S.: We are working closely and towards advancing a political solution to the crisis in Syria that preserves its sovereignty, its territorial integrity, and make sure it's part of the Arab fold.

ANDERSON (voice-over): And earlier this week, Jordan hosted a rare meeting between Syria and its Arab neighbors. The tangible outcome of that was Syria agreeing to curb trafficking of the highly-addictive amphetamine captagon. Saudi Arabia and the Gulf are its primary market. The agreements seen by many as a confidence-building exercise.

The push for normalization gained in momentum after a devastating earthquake hit Syria and Turkey in February. Nearly 6,000 people in Syria died, and many Gulf Arab countries rushed to provide humanitarian assistance. Earthquake diplomacy, seemingly shaking the Syrian stalemate.

Saudi Arabia hopes to invite Syria to an Arab League summit in Riyadh later this month. But some Arab states oppose Syria's return without a political solution to the conflict.

MOHAMMED BIN ABDULRAHMAN AL-THANI, QATARI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): We don't want to impose solutions on the Syrian people. The people need to reach them. There must be a political solution for the Syrian crisis.

ANDERSON (voice-over): And for the millions of Syrian refugees brutalized by Assad's war --

MOUAZ MOUSTAFA, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, SYRIAN EMERGENCY TASK FORCE: It is a betrayal of the Syrian people, I think, for any government to normalize with the Assad regime, to do business with the Assad regime. The person that's responsible for -- for displacing and killing his own people. For the Syrian people themselves, it's a stab in the back. It's a huge betrayal.

ANDERSON (voice-over): Syrian refugees and citizens caught between shifting and politics, facing an uncertain future.

Becky Anderson, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: The highest court in France has ruled against a referendum over changes to the government's pension system. On Wednesday, the Constitutional Council ruled the changes of raising

the retirement age from 62 to 64 does not violate the French constitution, ending all immediate legal challenges.

The changes have led to massive protests across France for months, sometimes leading to violent clashes with police.

In India, female wrestlers are demanding the head of the sport's governing body resign or be removed amid accusations of sexual harassment. But after months of the investigations going nowhere, women are now camping out and protesting in the street with growing public support. CNN's Vedika Sud has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VEDIKA SUD, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They're up just after dawn, emerging from tents on a dusty roadside in the heart of New Delhi.

Quickly, their makeshift home becomes a training ground. These women are celebrated athletes. They've held this protest vigil day and night for over a week. Their fight could bring a reckoning for Indian sport.

"We're Olympians, gold medalists, and world champions," wrestler Vinesh Phogat tells us. "There's been a grave injustice. We've dedicated our lives to our country," she says.

Protest leaders Vinesh Phogat and Sakshi Malik are accusing the most powerful man in their sport of sexually harassing female players.

Brij Bhushan Singh, president of the Wrestling Federation of India, strongly denies the allegations. He was asked to step aside earlier this year while the complaint went to a government oversight committee. And while the committee now runs the day-to-day affairs of the federation, Singh officially remains chief.

Malik and Phogat are among those who have been demanding a thorough and impartial investigation.

[00:35:06]

"Seven women athletes have filed police complaints. I believe there are more victims," says Olympic medalist Sakshi Malik.

Singh isn't only involved in sport. He's also a member of federal Parliament and an influential voice within India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.

The police registered two cases against him only after the Supreme Court intervened. India's top court is now observing the police investigation.

SUD: You'd expect professional wrestlers to be training inside an academy. But these women have little choice but to train on the road here at the protest site.

SUD (voice-over): Support has come from across the country. Each day, hundreds come to demand action.

"We realize we just have one avenue left: to appeal to the public," says Phogat. "If we get public support, then at least we know the country stands with us."

Supporters say these wrestlers could become a symbol of change in a nation so often shocked by sexual misconduct.

RAHUL MEHRA, SPORTS LAWYER AND ACTIVIST: Surely it is that #MeToo moment. And surely, you know, women athletes have really mustered the courage to come out. This is, at least, in my living memory, I have not come across this kind of a protest ever. So -- so this is unique. This has its own power.

SUD (voice-over): India's sports minister has promised an impartial probe. But without any firm deadline.

These wrestlers, who have put their careers on the line, are prepared for a long wait. They say they are ready to camp it out, on mattresses, under mosquito nets for as many nights as it takes to get justice.

Vedika Sud, CNN, New Delhi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Still to come, counting down to the coronation of King Charles. We'll have more on a star-studded lineup for a weekend performance to celebrate the coronation.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: Welcome back.

Drug maker Eli Lilly claims an experimental Alzheimer's drug may be able to slow progression of the disease by more than a third, but only if it's used during the early stages.

The drug maker plans to file for FDA approval by the end of next month. And the company says the drug removes a buildup of plaque in the brain, that nearly half the people who took it during an 18-month trial showed no decline on a key measure of brain cognition.

[00:40:02]

But it's not without problems. Lilly reports two of more than 1,700 patients in the trial died from adverse effects, like brain swelling.

U.S. regulators have approved the world's first vaccine for a respiratory virus called RSV. The drug, made by the pharmaceutical company GSK, GlaxoSmithKline, is designed to be given as a single shot to adults 60 and over.

It still requires approval from an advisory committee of the Centers for Disease Control but could be available later this year. RSV is often associated with babies and young children, but it can

also be dangerous to seniors. In the U.S., an estimated 159,000 adults, 65 and older, are hospitalized each year with the virus and up to 13,000 people die as a result of the infection.

Just two days away now to the coronation of Britain's King Charles. The monarch and his wife, Queen Camilla, attended a garden party at Buckingham Palace Wednesday in celebration of the upcoming event.

Among the guests was American singer Lionel Richie, who will join Katy Perry and British boy band Take That to perform at a concert on Sunday.

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LIONEL RICHIE, SINGER/SONGWRITER: First of all, does this ever happen? No. This is -- this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. So, you know, to be a part of it is everything. And I've known His Majesty now for a couple of years. And so to celebrate this with him, and it's just going to be so much fun.

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VAUSE: King Charles named Lionel Richie a global ambassador for his charity, the Prince's Trust, in 2019. That organization supports young people to get into work, education, and training.

Royal fans in the U.K. will have to brave potentially wet weather on the coronation day. Forecasters expect the chance of rain to increase in London by late morning on Saturday, just as the coronation begins, and will continue through the afternoon.

Despite that, high temperatures in the capital are expected to reach 17 to 19 degrees Celsius, balmy weather. Britain's Met Office shows showers and thunderstorms moving across the U.K. over the next several days. And that is your weather report.

CNN will bring you special live coverage of the coronation of King Charles III this Saturday, May 6, starting 10 a.m. in London, 5 a.m. Eastern in the U.S. We'll be everywhere, from Buckingham Palace, to Westminster Abbey, or on the Mall with the crowds. Oh, what fun. You'll see it all here on CNN.

I'm John Vause, back at the top of the hour with more CNN NEWSROOM, but first, WORLD SPORT starts after a break.

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