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More Than 400 Arrested In Third Night Of Protests Over Police Killing Of Teen; Macron Urges Calm Amid Unrest Over Police Killing Of Teen; Insurrection Dents Putin's Strongman Image; U.K. Court of Appeal Rules Rwanda Plan "Unlawful"; Israel's Netanyahu Drops Part of Judicial Overhaul; Activity in Services and Construction Sectors Slump; Push for Anti-Discrimination Laws in South Korea; School Resource Officer Acquitted in Mass Shooting. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired June 30, 2023 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone, I'm Michael Holmes. Appreciate your company.
Coming up here on CNN Newsroom. There's been no letup unrest on the streets across France for a third straight night as people protest the deadly police shooting of a teenage boy. Demonstrators stormed the Swedish Embassy in Baghdad, angry about the burning of a Quran during a Muslim holiday. And questions swirl over the face of a top Russian military commander as well as the boss of Wagner. Neither has been seen in public since and attempted mutiny over the week.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from CNN Center, this is CNN Newsroom with Michael Holmes.
HOLMES: And we begin again this hour in France where police arrested more than 400 people as protests swept the country for a third night after the fatal police shooting of a teenage boy.
Confrontations fled between protesters and police in the Parisian suburb Nanterre where the 17-year-old named Nael was killed on Tuesday. Similar chaotic scenes playing out in places like Marseille and Lille. Earlier an estimated 6,000 people joined a peaceful march to honor Nael, a march led by his mother. Many people wearing shirts emblazoned with Justice for Nael.
The teens killing which was caught on video has sparked anger across France, particularly among young men and women of color who feel they have long been discriminated against by police. CNN's Melissa Bell has the latest from Paris.
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MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A night of flames. Cars, town halls schools set on fire across France as rage over the police shooting of 17-year-old Nael continued enough to force the French president to call an emergency ministerial meeting.
EMMANUEL MACRON, FRENCH PRESIDENT (through translator): The last hours have been marked by violence scenes against police stations, but also schools and town halls and basically against institutions and the Republic. It's absolutely unjustifiable.
BELL (voice-over): The deployment of some 2,000 police officers on Wednesday to the Paris suburbs did little to quell the anger with 150 people detained. "It's not the Republic that was in custody. It was not the Republic that killed this young man," pleaded the government spokesman Olivier Veran. Another appeal in vain to calm the violence as Veran described some of the attacks on government institutions as organized, almost coordinated.
In response, a massive deployment of police forces on Thursday, some 40,000 across France, including 5,000 in Paris. But even before nightfall, a protest led by Nael's mother turned violent, emotions still raw even as the police officer accused of shooting the teen was placed under formal investigation for voluntary homicide. With questions on the racial undertones of the tragedy.
DANIELE OBONO, FRENCH MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT: The dimension of race is pretty obvious. And yes, I think France society as a whole that as a lot of difficulties to address it because we have this mythology of the Republic, kind of colorblind Republic.
BELL (voice-over): Scuffles breaking out on the margins of the march some 6,000 strong according to local media. Anger on the streets of France remains all too palpable with a family grieving and a community looking for answers, as Paris suburbs and much of the country prepare for another difficult night. Melissa Bell, CNN, Paris.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
HOLMES: And joining me now is CNN European Affairs Commentator, Dominic Thomas. Good to see you, Dominic.
I mean, is the officer involved in this being put under formal investigation likely to calm things or the core issues behind the protests bigger than that incident?
DOMINIC THOMAS, CNN EUROPEAN AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: The core issues are bigger than this one incident, Michael. There's very little trust of the police and they have a record of lying to protect each other when it comes to these kinds of investigations and it's only when video evidence as happened in this case comes up and contradicts the official narrative that we get to see this. And furthermore, they're rarely convicted, even if the legal process takes it step ahead.
[01:05:23]
And I think the situation is exacerbated by the fact that the current Minister of the Interior has repeatedly stated that he does not see a problem with the police force, just a few bad apples, whereas others are looking at the evidence and the long historical record of evidence and pointing to in fact, a systemic problem with excessive use of violence, and a kind of racialized targeting of ethnic minorities in France, Michael.
HOLMES: And to that very point, often this kind of violence is in the suburbs of cities, where many immigrants who are now third or fourth generation French citizens live. So, talk more about how big an issue neglect is, or perceived neglect of those areas, the value (ph) I think they know and in French.
THOMAS: Yes, so it's a complicated because these are -- they are, they're in -- they're outside of major urban centers. And this is a deliberate French government scheme that goes back to the 1960s, 1970s to build housing, outside urban centers in what were formerly industrialized areas. And so, that model in and of itself, as opposed to say, the inner city model that was adopted in the U.K. or the United States has kind of fostered this idea of feeling peripheralized and marginalized. And this is an age old problem, because each time these demonstrations come along and flare up throughout the last 30 or 40 years, most notably in 2005, there are government commitments to revitalize these areas, but ultimately, the energy runs out and they end up getting forgotten about. These are areas that are underfunded from the school level, all the way through to various social systems, Michael.
HOLMES: Thirteen people were shot this way in France. Last year. Reuters news agency found that a majority of victims of police shooting during traffic stops over recent years were black or Arab. So, you know, talk more about how big of a reason for the anger is that racial component when it comes to what we're seeing unfold.
THOMAS: It's a very significant component. So, as you know, the French pride themselves on Republican ideals on having adopted a model that deals with race that's different to the British model or the American model, they embrace a colorblind model. The problem is between those principles and the reality is where we start to see issues. Racialized groups in France, ethnic minorities, communities of color, we'll talk about the fact that it is precisely their visibility as ethnic minorities, as communities of color that leads to them being targeted by the police and racially profiled.
So as much as Liberty, Equality and Fraternity are the cornerstones of this French Republic, observers will point out and individuals through their experiences, that there is a deficit with the equality pillar in those ideals, and that these communities feel that they are permanently characterized as being somehow second class citizens, whose adherence and -- to Frenchness is somehow always under suspicion. And this is the latest of these kinds of incidents that, as I said, have a long history in France.
HOLMES: Yes, always been seen as others. I mean, it's the stuff of nightmares for President Emmanuel Macron and, of course, comes after the violent protests about pension reform, how damaging is what's happening now for him politically?
THOMAS: Well, in his second term, things are very different to the first. Now, of course, there were incidents of police violence in the first when it came to the repression of some of the demonstrations around the yellow vests, that Emmanuel Macron 2.0, is a very different person, he lost his majority in parliament, he's had to push through controversial measures that many have argued, have go against democratic principles. There were significant police repressions with the pension reform.
And his greatest fear is not so much that urban violence continues to escalate, but that the urban violence around this particular issue ends up kind of galvanizing the very significant opposition in France around just about anything that he goes about proposing to Parliament. So it makes it undermines his presidency or rather further undermines it. And I think also makes it increasingly difficult for his government to be able to legislate and push his agenda forward. And so as this situation unfolds, he's going to have to make some very crucial and strategic decisions as to how he goes about handling this latest crisis.
HOLMES: Great analysis, as always. Dominic Thomas, our thanks.
THOMAS: Thank you, Michael.
HOLMES: The United Nations join Malaysia and other Muslim nations to strongly condemn the burning of a Quran during a demonstration in Stockholm. Swedish authorities criticize the act but called it protected free speech. And on Thursday, demonstrators broke into the grounds of Stockholm's embassy in Baghdad to protest what they call hate speech. CCN's Jomana Karadsheh has more.
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JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Scores of protesters poured into the Swedish embassy compound in Baghdad on Thursday to protest Swedish authorities allowing a man to burn Islam's holy book outside a mosque in Stockholm on Wednesday, the first day of one of the holiest days in the Islamic calendar, the first day Eid al-Adha. It was a brief protest for the most part, it appeared non-violent, but they did scale the walls of the compound, the Swedish Foreign Ministry telling CNN that they are -- their staff are safe.
The protests came after the powerful influential Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr call on his supporters and this is a man who can mobilize the masses to head to the Swedish Embassy. He also called on the Iraqi government to expel the Swedish ambassador. He also called on the government to revoke the Iraqi citizenship of the man who set the Holy Book ablaze. He is an Iraqi refugee as we have reported with anti- Islam views.
This incident appears to be over right now, but there are calls for a larger protest in Baghdad and elsewhere in Iraq on Friday. It's a traditional day of protests in the Arab and Muslim world. And there could potentially be protests as well in other countries, there is just so much anger and outrage across the Arab and Muslim world. Governments are not only condemning what they view as this offensive and sacrilegious act, but they're angry with Sweden furious for Sweden, allowing this to happen once again. Jordan and the UAE has summoned the Swedish ambassadors in their countries. Morocco has recalled its ambassador to Sweden. Swedish officials have always said that they don't agree and condone these acts, but they say that this is Sweden. This is freedom of speech and it is protected by the constitution that is -- and it is central to Swedish democracy. But Muslims around the world are saying for them, this is not freedom of speech, this is hate speech and Islamophobia. Jomana Karadsheh, CNN, London.
HOLMES: The fighting in Ukraine hasn't stopped despite the attempted uprising on Russian soil over the weekend. The Ukrainian military claims its forces are making gains in round the clock battles near Bakhmut. Ukraine also says Russia is moving additional forces towards the city, including anti-tank missile systems. Wagner group fighters captured the now decimated city in the Donetsk region last month, then handed control to Russian forces.
Meanwhile, leaders of the European Union are pledging their long term commitment to Ukraine, they heard from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy by video link who urged them to start work on new sanctions against Moscow. The group also discussed the fallout from the Wagner group revolt.
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JOSEP BORRELL, E.U. FOREIGN POLICY CHIEF: It's clear that putting goes out of this crisis weakened but a weaker put in is a greater danger. So we had to be very much aware of the consequences.
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HOLMES: Documents shared exclusively with CNN that suggests that the Russian General Sergey Surovikin was a secret VIP member of the Wagner group. Neither Surovikin nor the Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin have been seen in public in days now. And questions are swirling about what role Surovikin might have played in the short lived mutiny this past weekend. Documents shared exclusively with CNN list Surovikin and at least 30 other senior Russian officials as VIPs according to the dossier center. Some reports indicates Surovikin has been detained as part of a possible purge in the Russian military ranks but his daughter denies that.
More now from CNN Brian Todd.
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BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Clouds of mystery surrounding one of Russia's most feared commanders, the fate and whereabouts of General Sergey Surovikin unknown, he was last seen looking unshaven in a video appealing to Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin to end his revolt.
GEN. SERGEY SUROVIKIN, COMMANDER, RUSSIAN AIR FORCE (trough translator): The necessary thing to do is to obey the will and the orders of the popularly elected president of the Russian Federation.
TODD (voice-over): A report in the Moscow Times says General Surovikin has been arrested but some Russian commentators and reportedly Surovikin's own daughter say he's not in custody.
EVELYN FARKAS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, MCCAIN INSTITUTE: It reminds me a lot of the Cold War when we talked about Kremlinology, you know, clearly there's a lot going on. We only see part of it on the surface.
TODD (voice-over): This comes after the "New York Times" reported that Surovikin had advanced knowledge of precautions mutiny last weekend, the 56-year-old commander known as General Armageddon for his cold eyed brutality.
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ANDREA KENDALL-TAYLOR, FORMER U.S. DEPUTY NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE OFFICER: This guy is not a nice guy. According to open sources in Russian language. He is a proponent of these types of ruthless attacks on civilian centers.
TODD (voice-over): Surovikin was named the overall Russian commander in Ukraine in October, then was replaced in January, but is said to still hold significant influence as the leader of Russia's air force and is popular among soldiers. He had previously led Russian forces in Syria. For that campaign, he was awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation, but his units were accused of a vicious offensive on the city of Aleppo where barrel bombs and other munitions targeted densely populated neighborhoods, causing widespread civilian casualties. Syrian and Russian officials have repeatedly denied these accusations.
FARKAS: The bombings of the Syrian civilians and their apartment buildings and their hospitals, that was all deliberate. He was the engineer of that kind of brutality.
TODD (voice-over): Surovikin's penchant for cruelty was also seen in 2004 when according to Russian media accounts, and at least two think tanks, he berated a subordinate so severely that the subordinate fatally shot himself. A book by the think tank, the Jamestown Foundation, says during the unsuccessful coup attempt against Mikhail Gorbachev in August 1991, soldiers under Surovikin's command killed three protesters, leading to Surovikin spending at least six months in prison. The Jamestown Foundation also says Surovikin once received a suspended sentence for illegal arms dealing, a conviction that was later overturned.
FARKAS: We believe that there's a lot of corruption in the Russian military, most of it doesn't come to the surface. So the fact that his came to the surface within his system, and he was punished for it tells me that it must have been pretty egregious.
TODD (on camera): If he has purged (ph) General Surovikin, Vladimir Putin may not be done. The "New York Times" reports that U.S. officials say there are signs that other top Russian military officials may have supported Prigozhin's revolts. The "Times," citing U.S. officials as saying Prigozhin would not have launched that uprising unless he believed that other powerful people would come to his side. Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
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HOLMES: Still to come here on the program, a court rules on the U.K.'s plan to send migrants to Rwanda. The ruling and the government's reaction coming up. Also, the end of affirmative action on U.S. college campuses, will explain how the Supreme Court's decision will likely impact minority students for years to come. We'll be right back.
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HOLMES: Tropical Storm Beatriz has formed in the eastern Pacific off the coast of Mexico. Right now, winds are around 65 kilometers an hour but they are expected to intensify rapidly in the hours ahead. The National Hurricane Center expects Beatriz to become a category one hurricane on Friday as it moves northwest. The center of the storm will likely run parallel to the Mexican coast for the next few days bringing strong winds, heavy rain, flash flooding and storm surge.
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Now the policy of taking race into consideration in the college application process, pillar of higher education for decades has been rejected by a majority of the Supreme Court. Thursday, six to three decision by the U.S. Supreme Court have been widely expected but the fallout will be significant. It means most colleges and universities can no longer consider race in student applications and that could severely impact future enrollment of black and Latino students.
In their dissent, the three liberal justices denounced the majority of decision as profoundly wrong saying it erase decades of legal precedents upholding affirmative action. A defined U.S. President had this to say after the ruling came down.
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JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We cannot let this decision be the last word. While the court can render a decision, it cannot change what America stands for. America is an idea, an idea unique in the world, an idea of hope and opportunity, of possibilities, of giving everyone a fair shot of leaving no one behind. We've never fully lived up to it but we've never walked away from it either. We will not walk away from it now.
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HOLMES: By contrast, former President Donald Trump called it, quote, "A great day for America. We're going back to all merit-based," he said, "and that's the way it should be."
Striking down affirmative action has been a conservative goal since Ronald Reagan was president some 40 years ago. We get more now from CNN to Athena Jones in New York.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Our unity is our strength. MULTIPLE SPEAKERS: Diversity is our power.
ATHENA JONES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Affirmative action as we know it is no more.
CALVIN YANG, STUDENTS FOR FAIR ADMISSIONS: Today's victory transcends far beyond those of us sitting in his room today. It belongs to 1000s of sleepless high schoolers applying to colleges.
CLAUDINE GAY, PRESIDENT-ELECT, HARVARD UNIVERSITY: We will comply with the court's decision, but it does not change our values.
JONES (voice-over): Reversing decades of precedent, the U.S. Supreme Court ruling colleges and universities can no longer take race into account as a specific basis for granting admission. In a six three decision, Chief Justice John Roberts saying admission programs at Harvard and the University of North Carolina violate the equal protection clause of the Constitution because they failed to offer measurable objectives to justify the use of race, unavoidably employee race in a negative manner involve racial stereotyping and lack meaningful endpoints. Roberts majority opinion suggests how an applicant's life has been affected by race can still be considered.
Justice Clarence Thomas writing in his concurring opinion, "Even in the segregated south where I grew up, individuals were not the sum of their skin color." But an attorney for UNC students who argued in defense of affirmative action stressing colleges that still want to consider race now face a challenge.
DAVID HINOJOSA, LAWYERS' COMMITTTEE FOR CIVIL RIGHTS UNDER LAW: It's going to be much more difficult to try and demonstrate your lawful program if you do consider race.
JONES (voice-over): Students for Fair Admissions, the conservative group behind both challenges applauded the ruling.
EDWARD BLUM, FOUNDER AND PRES., STUDENT FOR FAIR ADMISSIONS: The opinion issued today by the United States Supreme Court marks the beginning of the restoration of the colorblind legal covenant that binds together our multiracial multi ethnic nation.
JONES (voice-over): Critics argue it will hurt black and Latino enrollment and roll back decades of progress. Justice Sonia Sotomayor joined in her dissenting opinion by Justices Ketanji Brown Jackson and Elena Kagan blasting the decision as an "indefensible reading of the Constitution that is not grounded in law." Jackson, arguing the majority opinion ignores America's past and present, writing, "deeming race irrelevant in law does not make it so in life." Vice President Kamala Harris calling it "A step backward for our nation."
Former President Barack Obama also weighing in, saying, "Now it's up to all of us to give young people the opportunities they deserve, and help students everywhere benefit from new perspectives."
ANGIE GABEAU, PRESIDENT, HARVARD BLACK STUDENT ASSOCIATION: It was disheartening to see. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I benefited from affirmative action.
JONES (voice-over): A major decision sparking outrage and questions about its impact.
GABEAU We live in such a racialized society. Like that is not an argument. The no argument can be made against that. My race is not, you know, something I tack on and take off like a shirt. It's my -- it's me, it's my identity.
JONES (on camera): And we should note, this decision exempts military academies from the ban on race conscious admissions, something Justice Jackson said showed an interest in preserving racial diversity in the bunker but not in the boardroom. Athena Jones, CNN, New York.
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HOLMES: Many Asian students support Thursday's ruling to remove affirmative action from college admissions. They claim that policy has been a major obstacle for them to attend some Ivy League universities. CNN's Kyung Lah is in Los Angeles with our report.
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KYUNG LAH, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Wesley Zhou shows us the rejection letters that ended his Ivy League dream.
WESLEY ZHOU, UCLA STUDENT: I'm a straight A student, you know, 4.0 GPA, 4.68 weighted GPA.
LAH (on camera): Did you get into any Ivy League schools.
ZHOU: I did not. I did not.
LAH (voice-over): That was Zhou when we met him two years ago. This is where we find him today, soon to be a junior at UCLA.
ZHOU: I think eliminating race and consideration would definitely be a lot fair.
LAH (on camera): And help you?
ZHOU: And -- probably, yes, in some sense would help me.
LAH (voice-over): Zhou says he was accepted to every university of California school in the state that banned affirmative action in 1996. What's happened here in California could signal the future for U.S. colleges without affirmative action. UCLA Professor Eddie Cole says the impact was immediate.
EDDIE COLE, ASSOC. PROF., HIGHER EDUCATION & HISTORY, UCLA: As soon as that went into effect, you saw at places like Berkeley and UCLA, the Black student enrollment among incoming freshmen dropped dramatically. LAH (voice-over): By more than half at those schools, across the UC system, black and Latino enrollment fell sharply the next year without affirmative action. But in the decades to follow, the UC system still took a progressive approach to improve those numbers to mid-90s levels. Though black student enrollment still lags at UC Berkeley, and UCLA only recently returned to mid-90s levels.
COLE: So if this decision was made in 1996, and we fast forward to 2023, nearly three decades later to say the numbers have finally improved with the exception of Berkeley, imagine what it's going to look like on a national level. You have to think about the legacy and impact across racial groups and why they're disparities decade after decade despite so many policies
NIA MCCLINTON, UCLA GRADUATE: I could very easily walk into a classroom and feel like I'm someone who doesn't belong here, when that's not the truth, right?
LAH (voice-over): Nia McClinton graduated from UCLA two years ago and now works in black student outreach. Without such outreach and funding, McClinton sees this.
(on camera): Do you feel like a lot of doors were closed for Black students in this country?
MCCLINTON: I'm worried that they will. So it's important to reach out and say like this is something that is attainable for you.
LAH (voice-over): Wesley Zhou will soon be applying for medical school. He still believes affirmative action doesn't help him, but does see the impact beyond his own academic life.
ZHOU: I will say this, right, affirmative action does harm Asian Americans, but without it, it will harm all the minorities in the United States. So that's where I stand right now.
LAH (on camera): After three decades without affirmative action, the University of California system still believes that affirmative action is the way to go. The UC system filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court. The justices though deciding that the rest of the country should follow California on this issue. Kyung Lah, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
HOLMES: Are greedy outdoorsman martial arts fighter, bare chested horseback rider, all part of the strong man image cultivated by Russian leader Vladimir Putin but now they're carefully choreographed picture (ph) is facing a reality check. We'll have that when we come back.
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MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Michael Holmes. And this just into us here at CNN.
The French President Emmanuel Macron will hold a crisis meeting in the coming hours. That is according to CNN affiliate BFM TV. It comes on the heels of a third night of nationwide protests over the police killing of a teenage boy during a traffic stop on Tuesday.
Protesters and police clashed in cities around the country late on Thursday and into the early hours of Friday. More than 400 people were arrested.
Mr. Macron and other government leaders have been calling for an end to the violent unrest.
A senior Russian official assists that Sergey Surovikin is not in pretrial detention amid questions about the top general's whereabouts in the wake of last weekends failed insurrection. This after a Russian newspaper reported that he was detained. CNN cannot corroborate that. The "New York Times" says Surovikin knew about the mutiny in advance. And documents exclusively shared with CNN suggest he was a VIP member of Wagner. The group that obtained those documents said at least 30 other senior military and intelligence officers are also listed as being the VIPs. General Surovikin hasn't been seen in public since he posted this video, there on your screen urging Prigozhin to stop his insurrection.
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin is trying to project strength after Prigozhin's mutiny. But Western leaders say there is still something he lost in the process, his aura of invincibility.
Nick Paton Walsh explains.
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NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: What's a strongman when he is no longer that strong? Just a guy on a horse who needs a shirt.
We've been so accustomed to these images of Vladimir Putin as some sort of superman. Manipulating the known world in a genius game of five-dimensional chess and wrestling his opponents to the mat intellectually.
Now the world is coming to terms with a completely new concept. A weak Putin, who seems almost to play the clown. Here today at a trade fair, making a sketch, living in a parallel reality from the near collapse of the weekend.
While the weekend's armed rebellion by his former confidant, Prigozhin failed, it had one catastrophic success. Bursting the bubble of Putin's impregnability.
The Kremlin head didn't even appear in public for two and a half days, popping up only outside the Kremlin Tuesday to deliver a surreal thank you to the military who stepped back and let Wagner march on Moscow. Putin is now in a place he has never been before. Hunting for traitors
in his inner circle. He was said to have isolated himself so much during the pandemic, keeping visitors at a distance that perhaps he no longer can find his way back down the table to reality.
The Moscow elites' gentle bubble of assured autocracy has also been burst. There is a place where riches were earned through unquestioning loyalty. But now after the Ukraine invasion, contends with drones attacking luxury suburbs, and even the Kremlin.
None of this was meant to happen. None of this is what Putin sold Russia and none of this could be easily answered by a strong man, who no longer seems strong.
Nick Paton Walsh, CNN -- Kyiv, Ukraine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
Jill Dougherty is an adjunct professor at Georgetown University as well as a CNN contributor and former CNN Moscow bureau chief. It's always great to have you Jill.
It's always been a mark of Putin's rule that he controls the narrative, he controls those around him. Having survived the mutiny still (ph), is his next challenge working out just who he can trust anymore? Do you see the signs of a purge?
[01:35:01]
JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, there are indications. Can we call it a purge? Maybe not at this point. It could happen. But what they are certainly trying to do is, very seriously, figure out how did that rebellion happen? And Putin, as you said, is trying to figure out who can he trust?
Because at this point, you have the implication that there was a connection between the rebellion and a general -- General Surovikin. So this is serious and I think we are pretty much in the middle of this. A little hard to see how it is all going to end but it is really significant.
HOLMES: Yes. More shoes to drop perhaps.
I guess, does a purge or even just a reshuffle of those around him in itself show weakness because it acknowledges cracks in his internal support and that things did not go well.
DOUGHERTY: Well, you know, he has always since the beginning played people off. Balanced -- let's say balanced the elites. Playing one off the other.
And now that's really not working that well because you had have this extraordinary moment where for years and years, since 2014, President Putin has said Wagner? We have nothing to do with that. That is ridiculous. And then all of a sudden, out of the blue he admits that the
government has been funding Wagner. And that to me is really significant. So this is essentially, I think you could call it kind of a state-operated entity which actually was pretty much run by the GRU, which is, you know, a foreign military intelligence.
HOLMES: There were those images the other night of Putin being cheered by the public. I mean it's highly unusual for him to do that. He is normally way down the other end of the conference table, to see him mingling in the street.
How much of that is to counter Yevgeny Prigozhin being cheered by Russians as he left Rostov-on-Don. I mean that Putin is now desperate to turn the tide at least visually in the public relations battle?
DOUGHERTY: Absolutely. I mean to me there is no question because before Putin was in the Kremlin most of the time on Zoom calls, or whatever they were using. But he certainly wasn't among the people for the most part.
And then all of a sudden, he has been everywhere and especially that, you know, incredible moment where he went to Dagestan, and was literally mobbed by people, and as we have been saying, this is a president who was sitting at the end of a big table, so I think what they are trying to do with a series of very public events, is to say that the president's there, and the people support him.
I mean that is the message, just as you had Prigozhin, you know, mobbed by people who wanted selfies. The president is now, as one of his propaganda said, a rock star.
HOLMES: Yes, because he just doesn't do that stuff normally. I mean, you know, I think this has kind of gotten lost in many ways. I mean no matter the impact of the mutiny itself.
What about Prigozhin's words before it all began? Specifically saying openly that the reasons for the war were manufactured. There was no NATO threat. There was no genocide of ethnic Russians in the east. There was no Nazi threat, and on and on.
I found it extraordinary. How might that message impact the morale of Russian troops? Or (INAUDIBLE) of Russian public?
DOUGHERTY: You know, I was thinking about the same thing because I noted it too. I mean when I heard that, I thought, oh my goodness. He is actually saying the emperor has no clothes.
What he is saying is the entire rationale for the invasion of Ukraine was bogus. That the military at best were deceiving the president for their own kind of grubby reasons for power, money, control et cetera.
Now, will the Russian people actually pay attention to that because I think it has been more swept under the rug. You are not hearing that in Russia. What you are hearing is yes it was this rebellion. Yes the president was right on top of it. And it's over and it was terrible.
But nobody is saying and that guy who carried out the rebellion is actually saying that Putin started this war under false pretenses.
HOLMES: Yes.
DOUGHERTY: That is extraordinarily important.
HOLMES: Yes. It doesn't seem to be getting enough attention. It really doesn't.
Jill, great to see you my friend. Jill Dougherty, thanks so much.
DOUGHERTY: Sure.
[01:39:46]
HOLMES: The British government's plan to deport some asylum seekers to Rwanda was ruled unlawful by the country's court of appeal on Thursday.
Now, under the scheme, migrants seen to have arrived in the United Kingdom illegally would be sent on to that African nation which the conservative government considers a safe third country.
Humanitarian groups have slammed the policy as unethical and ineffective. The British Home Secretary though says she remains fully committed to the Rwanda plan despite the court ruling.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SUELLA BRAVERMAN, BRITISH HOME SECRETARY: While Labour continue to celebrate today's judgment and continue to celebrate every obstacle in our way, we will not be deterred. We will not give up. We will do whatever it takes for the British people to stop the votes.
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HOLMES: The U.K. government says more than 45,000 migrants arrived to Britain in small boats last year.
The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, says he's getting rid of a controversial part of his plan to revamp the country's court system.
CNN Jerusalem correspondent Hadas Gold with the latest.
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HADAS GOLD, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: After months of massive protests in the streets, international pressure, and pressure from some of his own ministers, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu walking away from one of the more controversial aspects of his massive traditional judicial overhaul plan.
Now, this specific aspect of the judicial overhaul would've allowed a simple majority in the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, to overturn Supreme Court decisions. But now in an interview with the "Wall Street Journal", Benjamin
Netanyahu saying that it is completely off the table. Now Benjamin Netanyahu had actually indicated that back in April, in an interview with CNN, that he was going to be walking away from the simple override part of the judicial overhaul plan.
But there was a question about whether his coalition would try to push through the possibility that there would be an override clause but with a super majority of members of parliament. But now Netanyahu telling the "Wall Street Journal", that is off the table. Take a listen.
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: I already changed a few things right after the original portfolio was put forward. I said that the idea of an override clause where the parliament, the Knesset can override the decisions of the Supreme Court with a simple majority. I said I threw that out.
GOLD: But that certainly doesn't mean that the rest of the judicial overhaul is dead. There are still other aspects, especially how judges are selected that Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed in that same interview will still be pushing forward.
However, they did say that things like judicial selection committee will not be ultimately the same plan that was initially introduced by his own justice minister months ago.
But that also doesn't mean that the protesters are backing off either because there are still elements of this judicial reform, that are still going to be pushed through and brought forward to vote in the coming days and weeks.
And in fact protesters still plan to go out on the streets on Saturday night for their regular weekly protests that are often concentrated in Tel Aviv. But also on Monday they say they plan to shut down Israel's Ben Gurion Airport, the main airport out of Tel Aviv they say as a part of their massive protest because that is the day they believe parts of this legislation will be brought forward for a vote.
Hadas Gold, CNN -- Jerusalem.
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HOLMES: China's post pandemic economic recovery could be on the rocks. New figures show activity in the construction and service sectors have declined. What this means for the world's second largest economy? We will discuss when we come back.
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HOLMES: A Thai woman has lost part of her leg after an accident at Bangkok's airport. The 57-year-old was in the domestic terminal when her left leg got caught in a moving walkway. She was rushed to hospital, but the injury was so severe that her leg had to be amputated up to her kneecap.
The walkway has been in service for almost four decades but now, all of the airport's walkways have been stopped for an investigation.
The world's second largest economy appears to be slowing down. Activity in China's services and construction sectors dropped to its weakest level since December. That is according to the country's National Bureau of Statistics.
CNN's Anna Coren joins me now from Hong Kong to explore. Good to see you Anna. Not great numbers for the world's second biggest economy. Break it down for us.
ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No, that is right Michael. More bad news for China's economy with the release of economic data today from the manufacturing and services sector which still indicates the economy is soft and struggling to rebound post COVID.
Manufacturing activity contracted for a third straight month while services sector activity recorded its weakest reading since China abandoned its harsh zero-covid measures at the end of last year.
Well it comes, Michael, following the government announcement this week that economic growth for the world's second largest economy was projected to reach a modest annual target of 5 percent.
Now addressing the World Economic Forum Summit in Tianjin (ph) earlier this week, Premier Li Qiang talked up China's growth, saying the second quarter of the year will be higher than the first. But not everyone is convinced.
A long list of major banks and a credit rating agencies have cut forecasts for China's economic growth including S&P Global, Goldman Sachs, UBS, and JPMorgan among others.
The property sector remains a drag on the economy as developers struggle to complete presold projects and the local government debt burden comes into focus.
Industrial output and retail sales remain sluggish while youth unemployment, a huge problem in China is at a record 20.8 percent. Many young people, anxious about China's economic uncertainty, they are flooding Buddhist and Taoist temples to pray for divine intervention in securing jobs.
It's just so tough there at the moment. It is feared that youth unemployment could further rise as a record 11.5 million college students graduate this summer.
Analysts, Michael, they believe the government will be forced to stimulate the economy. And Premier Li he actually addressed the matter just yesterday during a cabinet meeting saying the government plans to take measures to promote household consumption.
Let me read to you what he reportedly said. "Taking targeted measures to boost household consumption is conducive to driving growth in consumer spending, and economic recovery."
Michael, the government is under enormous pressure to reverse the slump.
HOLMES: All right. Anna, thanks so much for the update there. Anna Coren for us in Hong Kong.
Now, in South Korea, the LGBTQ community and its supporters are pushing for anti discrimination laws to be enacted in the country but they're facing a tough battle.
Here is CNN's Paula Hancocks with the details.
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PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is a hard-won celebration. The Seoul Queer Culture Festival has attracted thousands since the year 2000.
But this year, the Pride Parade was denied access to the venue that it's used since 2015, Seoul City Hall Plaza. Officials cite a scheduling clash. LGBTQ groups cried discrimination.
Then venue promised to a Christian Youth Event. City hall said events for children take precedence. Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon adding his personal view at a council meeting.
OH SE-HOON, MAYOR -- SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA (through translator): I personally cannot agree with homosexuality. I am against it.
HANCOCKS: Conservative Christian groups say they're hoping some 300,000 people will protest this year's parade. LGBTQ activists say without an anti-discrimination law in South Korea it is almost impossible to fight for their rights.
CHA HAE-YOUNG, MAPO-GU COUNCIL MEMBER: The constitution may say that no one should be discriminated against, but the antidiscrimination bill clarifies what discrimination is. And there could be legal penalties.
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HANCOCKS: Cha Hae-young is the first openly LGBTQ elected official in South Korea. She says her sexual orientation was used against her by her rivals when she entered politics.
CHA: In the political or public realm, revealing once identity as a sexual minority is a handicap. Some people said that I should not be in politics because I am a sexual minority. They made my identity my weakness.
HANCOCKS: Since 2007, lawmakers have proposed 11 anti-discrimination bills. Five have expired, two were withdrawn and four are still pending in the natural assembly.
Lee Jong-geol went on hunger strike last year with another activist to try and push the government to move one bill forward.
LEE JONG-GEOL, GENERAL DIRECTOR, CHINGUSAL (through translator): I believe that our society should be ashamed that there is no law that protects the principles of equality even though it is one of the most basic laws out there. No matter how much our country has developed economically or socially, we should be ashamed.
HANCOCKS: Lee's hunger strike ended on day 39 when he was taken to hospital. A survey conducted by the National Human Rights Commission in 2020 shows that almost 90 percent of the 1,000 survey participants said an anti discrimination law is needed.
But opponents argue that such a law would discriminate against them.
SUH JUNG-SOOK, PEOPLE POWER PARTY LAWMAKER (through translator): When the majority of people who are normal and reasonable say that homosexuality or same-sex marriage is not reasonable or normal based on South Korea's social orders or long respected custom, they could face punitive damages or a fine.
HANCOCKS: Suh argues a new law would lead to the legalization of same sex marriage, something that she does not support.
The national assembly has less than a year to take action on any of the four remaining, nondiscrimination bills. If nothing happens, those bills will expire And it will be up to the next national assembly to start the process all over again.
Paula Hancocks, CNN -- Seoul.
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HOLMES: A former school resource officer learns his fate as a jury returns the verdict in his trial. He was accused of failing to protect children during the deadliest high school shooting in the U.S. We will have details when we come back.
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HOLMES: The rapper, Travis Scott, will not face criminal charges over the crowd crash that killed ten people including a nine year old and injured hundreds at his 2021 Astroworld Music Festival.
The district attorney in Houston, Texas announced on Thursday, a grand jury also decided not to indict others connected to the festival. The grand jury have found that no crime had occurred, and that no single individual was criminally responsible. The decision has no impact on the many civil lawsuits pending against Scott and the organizers. An attorney for the rapper says it is a huge weight that has been lifted.
And a jury has acquitted former law enforcement officer of any wrongdoing in the worst high school mass shooting in U.S. history. Former school resource officer, Scott Peterson, wept as the judge read the verdict.
He was found not guilty of felony child neglect, negligence, and other charges arising out of the massacre in Parkland, Florida four years ago.
CNN's Carlos Suarez with more.
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CARLOS SUAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The jury came back with a not guilty verdict on all of the charges. Scott Peterson cried as the verdict was read in court and the families of some of the victims watched in disbelief. Some of them shaking their head, no.
It is a scene we saw during the sentencing trial for the shooter, when the jury in that case, sentenced the shooter to life in prison, instead of the death penalty.
Peterson was charged with 11 counts including seven counts of felony child neglect and three counts of misdemeanor culpable negligence for his alleged inaction to stop the shooter in Parkland, Florida in 2018.
The defense argued that Peterson didn't go into the building where the shooting happened because he did not know exactly where the gunfire was coming from and where the shooter was. Peterson took cover for more than 45 minutes outside of the building before the shooter was arrested.
On the child neglect charges, the state had to prove that Peterson was a caregiver, a designation not typically given to law enforcement. Here now is Peterson after the verdict, and the father of Joaquin Oliver, one of the 14 students killed.
SCOTT PETERSON, FORMER RESOURCE OFFICER: Don't anybody ever forget this was a massacre on February 14th. The only person to blame was that monster. There wasn't any law enforcement, nobody on that scene from PSO, Coral Springs, everybody did the best they could.
MANUEL OLIVER, FATHER OF JOAQUIN OLIVER: We were there too late. I'm sick of listening to that. Who was working on the moments before what happened? Who allowed that killer to get into the school? Was that not your responsibility also?
SUAREZ: Peterson was found not guilty of lying to investigators about the number of gunshots he heard when he arrived at the scene and whether he saw people running from the building where the shooting took place.
Carlos Suarez, CNN -- Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
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HOLMES: Italian police say they have identified the tourist who allegedly defaced a wall of the Colosseum in Rome. In a video posted online, a man is seen using a key to scratch his and his girlfriend's names into the landmark. The message reads, "Ivan and Haley 23". The suspect is said to be from the United Kingdom, and Italy's culture
minister wants the case to go to trial. If convicted, he could face a $16,000 fine, or up to five years in prison. The man reportedly left the country before police could catch up with him.
We all hope they do catch up with him.
Thanks for watching CNN NEWSROOM, spending your day with me.
I'm Michael Holmes. The news continues on CNN with Kim Brunhuber right after this.
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