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Ukraine's Grain Prices On a Surge after the Expiration of the Grain Deal with Russia; Philippines Loses to Switzerland at the Women's World Cup; Heat Wave Effect Still Rages in Southern Europe; Protests in India are in an Outrage Following the Graphic Video of a Sex Assault Posted Online; Anti-Government Protests in Kenya Reaches Third Day; Democratic Presidential Candidate Denies Vaccine or Racist Allegations. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired July 21, 2023 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and a warm welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Paula Newton, just ahead right here on "CNN Newsroom."
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Odessa comes under attack overnight, marking a destructive week for that key Ukrainian port. We'll look at why Russia keeps targeting this spot.
Plus, Greece braces for even higher temperatures amid Europe's blistering heat wave as devastating wildfires continue to burn. We are live in the region with the latest.
And the Women's World Cup officially now underway. We'll have all the action on the action from down under.
UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from CNN Center, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Paula Newton.
NEWTON: Ukraine's Odessa region has come under Russian fire for the fourth night in a row. Now officials say Russian missiles went after grain infrastructure overnight, destroying more than 100 tons of food in the process. Two people were injured during those attacks and it all happened after this.
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Air raid sirens went off in the city of Odessa, but Ukraine's air force later gave residents the all clear. Meantime, the U.S. says its cluster munitions supplied to Ukraine have been used in battle. The U.S. National Security Council says they're already having an impact on the battlefield. Now, night after night, Russian attacks have taken a toll on the Odessa region and other parts of southern Ukraine.
CNN's Frederick Pleitgen has our report.
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FRED PLEITGEN, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Search and rescue crews trying to save lives after another round of Russian air strikes in southern Ukraine.
Moscow's army claiming they're hitting military targets.
The Russian armed forces continued retaliatory strikes with sea and air-based high-precision weapons on workshops and warehouses with unmanned boats in Odessa and Chornomorsk, the spokesman says.
But the Ukrainians say the Russians are targeting civilian infrastructure. One person was killed and several wounded when a missile hit this building in the port city of Odessa. The mayor, irate.
Another terrorist attack by nonhumans on the peaceful city of Odessa, he says. Look at what they're doing. This is a nursery. There's a kindergarten nearby.
Others desperately hoping their loved ones might be found alive.
They're searching for my grandson, this man says. From the recording it seems he went down to the basement. They're trying to dig up the rubble.
Ukraine's air defenses were only able to shoot down about a quarter of the cruise missiles Russia fired, Kyiv says, Putin's military using some of its heaviest naval missiles designed to destroy warships and even aircraft carriers.
There is no possibility to shoot them down because we understand what kind of missiles they are, how fast they fly and their trajectory, the spokesman for the Air Force says.
Ukraine says it needs more and better air defense capabilities from the U.S. and its allies, or the authorities here will be able to do little more than try to save victims from the rubble after the attacks.
Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Berlin.
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NEWTON: Scott McLean is monitoring all the latest developments in Ukraine for us. He joins us now from London. We have to say it was a quieter evening, but obviously still a menacing one for residents of Odessa. Is there anything that can change this dynamic in the short term? Because certainly we're used to seeing more success in other parts of the countries with missile defense.
SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, that's right. Sometimes the success rate is quite high, better than, well better than half, Paula, of the country. In Odessa, obviously, it's a different story, and clearly it's because the air defenses there are inferior to what the Ukrainians have elsewhere.
In case in point, yesterday morning, the Ukrainians say that there were 19 incoming missiles, and their defenses there were able to shoot down barely a quarter of them. They have much better luck with the Iranian-made Shahed drones, but the Ukrainians say that the difficulty with the missiles is that these are bombs that are designed to sink ships, and so they fly so fast and at such an altitude and such a trajectory that it makes them almost impossible to shoot down.
[03:04:57]
And this morning's strike on an agricultural storage facility with peas and barley, this is a good example. The Ukrainians say that these missiles, there were two of them they said, flew at an extremely low altitude when they entered Ukrainian airspace over the Black Sea. And by the time air defenses actually picked them up and the sirens went off.
Those missiles, that first missile was already exploding. The second one they were able to pick up in time for the people who had responded to that missile strike to actually be able to take shelter. But this is the kind of thing that they're up against.
They say that the Patriot air defense system made by the United States could better detect and better shoot down these incoming missiles, these types that the Russians are using, but the difficulty is that Ukraine only has at least two, but they say that they would need many times more than that to be able to protect not only soldiers on the front lines, but also the cities as well. The Ukrainians obviously don't say where those Patriot batteries are located, but they have previously confirmed that they've been used to strike down targets over Kyiv.
One other thing to mention, Paula, and that is that the Russians, of course, say that they are targeting military infrastructure. The Ukrainians say that it's civilian infrastructure that is being hit, but one of the things that took some damage, some minor damage, was actually the Chinese consulate in Odessa, which is located very close to the port of Odessa. The Chinese say that they are monitoring the situation closely, but say that no one was there at the time, so no one was hurt.
NEWTON: Yes, certainly another interesting development there. And Scott, CNN has learned that American cluster munitions are now, you know, being used in the battlefield. If there's a lot of controversy as to whether or not the United States should allow us in the first place But a critical question is are they going to make a difference and if they do how quickly?
MCLEAN: Yeah, so the Ukrainians say the short answer is yes. There are already signs from the Americans that is also the case, but you're right. This is a controversial weapon. It is also a fundamentally different kind of weapon, that's because cluster bombs or cluster ammunition essentially break into maybe a hundred or around a hundred smaller bombs that can scatter over an area about the width of a football field or so. And because not all of those little bomblets actually detonate the even with the U.S.-made cluster munitions the dud rate as they say is little over 2 percent which means that. There are bombs that are similar to landmines left over which can obviously cause a hazard in the future to civilians This is why the UK and other countries in Europe have banned their use the Americans and the Ukrainians have not.
John Kirby, the national security, from the National Security Council in the United States, speaking for the White House, said yesterday that the Ukrainians have started to use them appropriately, meaning, we presume, not on civilian targets. He also says that it is having an impact on Russian defense formations and maneuvering, in his words.
Of course, we also know that there is evidence that the Russians have used them in the past, though they deny it. President Putin says that if Ukrainians use them on Russian troops, he may consider using them on Ukrainian positions as well, Paula.
NEWTON: Yes, so yet again another escalation to keep our eyes out for Scott McLean for us from London. Really appreciate the update.
Now, the U.N. Secretary General, meantime, is condemning Russia's series of attacks on Odessa this week. Antonio Guterres says the destruction of port facilities is having a negative impact well beyond Ukraine.
Now, grain prices spiked on Thursday and wheat and corn futures continue to rise after Russia's decision to pull out of that deal allowing Ukraine to export grain through the Black Sea.
Kyiv is accusing Russia of trying to increase world food prices. Ukraine supplies 10 percent of the world's wheat and 15 percent of the corn. Meantime China, this is interesting here, has increasingly turned to Ukraine as a source of key food supplies in recent years and is the top destination, as you can see there, for grain shipments. Beijing's influence could be pivotal in getting Russia to the negotiating table. Listen.
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MAO NING, SPOKESPERSON, CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTRY (through translator): We hope that parties concerned will properly resolve international food security issues through dialogue and consultation. China's position on the Ukraine crisis is consistent and clear-cut. We will continue to play a constructive role in facilitating the political settlement of the crisis.
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NEWTON: So earlier I spoke with Rana Mitter, who is a professor of U.S.-Asia relations at the Harvard Kennedy School. He explained how China is potentially well positioned, in fact, to play a role mediating an end to this war. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) RANA MITTER, PROFESSOR, U.S.-ASIA RELATIONS, HARVARD KENNEDY SCHOOL: The bigger picture for them will be balancing two things. One is trying to make sure that what it calls its friendship without limits with the Russians, which it declared at the Beijing Olympics last year, continues to be strong. In other words, they wanna make sure that they back up Russia's broader position, that the war is really the fault of the United States and NATO.
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On the other hand, they don't want to sacrifice their position as wanting to be honest brokers. They have a delegate called Lee Hui, who is currently doing a peace tour to try and create some sort of peace agreement between the Russians and the Ukrainians. They're trying to balance those two priorities.
NEWTON: And I want to get to that larger priority of trying to get an actual peace agreement here, but specifically if this escalates when it comes to the lack of a Black Sea deal and the fact that it's now actually escalated tensions, do you believe they will be forced to try and intervene sooner than perhaps they would have liked?
MITTER: I think there is a likelihood of that because one out of every five tons of grain that was shipped from Ukraine was in fact going to China. China is a very hungry country. It needs to import a lot of food. And this would be a serious blow in terms of food supply. If you look at China right now, they're actually hastily and almost on an emergency basis, increasing the amount of agricultural land that is available for growing crops, growing grain in China itself.
That's partly a response to this particular crisis that is emerging in Ukraine at the moment, but obviously they can't grow grain instantly, so trying to make sure those food supplies restart would be a priority for Beijing.
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NEWTON: Thanks to Rana Mitter there.
Now, no word yet on the fate of the American soldier who dashed into North Korea. The Pentagon says that Private Travis King is officially AWOL or absent without leave. Adding that it doesn't think he would have any intelligence that North Korea would find valuable.
CNN's Kristie Lu Stout picks up the story from there.
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KRISTY LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: North Korea has been silent about Army Private Travis King, who ran across the border into North Korea on Tuesday, and concerns are mounting. The U.S. Army secretary made her first public comments about the case.
Christine Wormuth said the U.S. has mobilized efforts to contact North Korea, including going through United Nations communication channels. Pyongyang has yet to respond. She cited the case of Otto Warmbier, the American college student who died in 2017 shortly after being released by North Korea. She said this quote. "I worry about how they may treat him. So we want to get him back."
Wormuth also said King's motive is unclear, but he quote, "absolutely would have faced consequences for misconduct if he returned to the U.S. as planned." We also heard from the Pentagon. The Pentagon would not say if it believed Travis King was alive. Here's the Pentagon spokesperson.
SABRINA SINGH, PENTAGON DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY: The Army has launched an investigation into this incident. It's going to be led by Army counterintelligence personnel, and they'll be conducting this in coordination with U.S. forces Korea. So at this moment right now, I can't tell you more about his whereabouts. That's something that the investigation would reveal.
LU STOUT: The investigation will be in part looking at where King was between the time he left the airport and when he went on the tour when he crossed into North Korea. Al Singh said King was not escorted onto his flight because he wasn't in custody when he was at the airport. His escorts weren't allowed to go beyond airport security.
She also said that there was no inclination that King's crossing may have been planned with the North Koreans. At the Pentagon, describes his formal status in the military as AWOL, or absent without leave. Now, this all comes at a time of high tension on the Korean Peninsula. On Wednesday, North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles just hours after a nuclear-capable U.S. submarine made its first port of call in South Korea in decades.
And now Pyongyang has an American soldier in its custody and is not responding to any outreach from the U.S.
Kristie Lu Stout, CNN, Hong Kong.
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NEWTON: U.S. officials have confirmed CNN that China-based hackers recently broke into the email of U.S. Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns. Burns is just the latest named official to fall victim to a sophisticated hacking operation that began in May but wasn't discovered until a month later. Microsoft eventually determined the hackers were based in China. Even though the hacked government accounts were not classified, administration officials suspect they gave Beijing valuable insights into U.S. thinking just ahead of last month's visit by the U.S. Secretary of State.
All right, we are only two days into the Women's World Cup and already plenty of incredible action. Probably the most anticipated match on Saturday, though, will be the U.S. versus Vietnam, which will be played in Auckland, New Zealand.
Vietnam is one of eight newcomers to this year's tournament, and their very first match pits them against, fortunately for them, the two time defending champs. CNN's Angus Watson joins us now live from Sydney, Australia, where co-
host Australia also chalked up its first win of the tournament. You were there, it must have been electrifying.
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ANGUS WATSON, CNN PRODUCER: What a night it was, Paula. Over 75,000 screaming fans cheering on the Matildes. However, there were a lot of Irish fans in the crowd too. That was the event of the season so far in this football, this sports loving country of Australia getting the chance now to host the World Cup and their stars, their Matildas, getting that 1-nil win on the night to get them that little bit of momentum going through to the next few games.
Canada today playing against Nigeria. Canada, the Tokyo 2020 gold medalists, hoping to get a better start to the competition than they did in the end. A nil-nil draw with Nigeria, the top-ranked African team. The Canadians had a chance to get on the board early with a penalty in early in the second half.
Captain Christine Sinclair stepping up to the mark to take the penalty. A great save by Chumaka Ndozi, the opposing captain for Nigeria diving to her left to keep it out, keeping the scores at nil- nil in what was a pulsating game.
In New Zealand, we've also had Switzerland beating the Philippines today. We've got Spain versus Costa Rica a little later. And then tomorrow, Team USA, the ones to beat at this tournament, going for the three-peat, no team has ever won three World Cups in a row and the World Champion the World Cup champions reigning World Cup champions the USA are red-hot favorites to do it they'll have more competition this time 32 teams in this edition of the Women's FIFA World Cup at stars like Sophia Smith Trinity Rodman leading the line for the U.S. will be the ones to watch that attacking team will dazzle as the weeks go on I'm sure Paula.
NEWTON: Yeah, absolutely. I don't have a lot of time left but in terms of the United States they certainly are favorites. How much anticipation is there to actually see them on the pitch for the first time coming up?
WATSON: It's huge. Where Team USA women's football team goes, the world follows. That goes for eyeballs as they watch on the pitch, but also their competitors around the world looking at this team that's been on top for so long, thinking, how can we do that?
And I said earlier that Team USA, the women's team, have really almost inspired their own competition because football associations around the world have seen what's happened in the United States, with the money with the focus that's given to Team USA and really tried to replicate that.
That's certainly the case here in Australia where we have soccer as the most popular sport for young women in this country. Same goes across Europe and there'll be a lot to prove for those sides as they get the chance to play against the Americans in this competition, Paula.
NEWTON: Absolutely, they are expecting great things. Angus Watson for us. Thanks so much. Really appreciate the update.
Now still ahead this hour, my conversation with CNN sports analyst Christine Brennan, she has expert insights into how tournaments like this one have helped propel women's football into a world-class sport. And you won't want to miss that. That's coming up in about 30 minutes from now.
Time for a short break. When we come back, a hot weekend in store right across Southern Europe yet again. We'll get the forecast from our CNN meteorologist. Plus, we're live in Paris with a look at how people are beating the heat and the threat to the elderly and the homeless.
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NEWTON: The heat wave has gotten so bad in Athens at Greece, Athens, Greece, -- the city is actually closing the Acropolis and other popular tourist attractions during midday hours. Workers at the monument are staging a partial strike through the weekend. They say conditions are unbearable, and we believe them. 20 visitors have fainted due to the heat.
Garbage collectors are threatening to walk off the job in the Italian capital meantime if they have to work in the midday heat. And bus drivers are demanding air conditioning for all vehicles.
Wanna take a look at the weekend forecast from CNN meteorologist Jennifer Gray.
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JENNIFER GRAY, CNN METEOROLOGIST: So these extremely hot temperatures and this endless summer has been really all over the world, not just across the U.S., but you can see these areas of high pressure that we refer to as heat domes present across the U.S., the tropical Atlantic, all the way over to portions of China. We've seen these really, really warm pockets, and that's really not going to change. Across Europe, we've had incredibly hot temperatures.
Places like Athens have been well into the 40s. You can see 40 degrees in Athens once again on Saturday. We've hit the mid to upper 30s. Rome, seeing temperatures in the lower to mid 30s. Cooler temperatures well to the north, but across the south have been incredibly hot.
In fact, 32 degrees is where we should be. Temperatures in Rome will stay well above that for much of the seven-day period. Athens hitting 42 degrees on Sunday, back in the 40s once again, Wednesday and Thursday. They've actually limited the visiting hours at the Acropolis because of the extreme heat and so it is very serious. And we've also seen fires as well across portions of Greece, very close to Athens as well.
The excessive heat across the U.S. has been very real as well across the deep South and even the Southwest. We have excessive heat watches in place, excessive heat warnings in place, high temperatures hitting the low 40s in Del Rio and this has been going on since the middle of June. Dallas hitting the mid to upper 30s. Houston, the upper 30s as well.
So, really the heat is going to stick around. It's even hotter across the desert southwest where temperatures are going to be in the low 50s across Death Valley Friday and Saturday. Sunday, 49 degrees, Palm Springs hitting the upper 40s. Phoenix continues that record streak of consecutive temperatures above 43 degrees at 21 and Phoenix is going to stay very hot for the next seven days, so 41 degrees is where we should be temperatures just soaring well above that. So we are still in this for the long haul. Really not much relief in sight.
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NEWTON: Thanks to Jennifer there. We now take you to Paris where Melissa Bell is standing by for us. I mean Jennifer called it an endless summer. It really is a cruel summer at this point, Melissa. This is not, you know, some kind of medical or weather trivia. I mean this is serious, European officials say.
MELISSA BELL, CNN PARIS CORRESPONDENT: It is serious and that's exactly how it feels, Paula. For the second summer in a row now here in Europe, you're seeing really temperatures we simply hadn't seen before. And if that record that we'd seen in Sicily last summer of nearly 119 degrees Fahrenheit hasn't yet been reached, the fear is that it will be.
And meanwhile, it is continent wide, and specifically in the southern parts of the continent, that it has really felt like you're baking. So that has had an impact, of course, on the workers, the ones that we see the Acropolis going on strike, the garbage collectors in Italy. This is starting to have a real impact on the ability of people to do their jobs and therefore on the social unrest that you're seeing breaking out in some of these countries as a result.
It's just too hot to function and yet everybody needs to try and continue to do so. What the World Health Organization has been warning is that you're seeing a real impact now on health care systems in Italy. They've been speaking of a 20 to 25 percent rise in admissions in so many of those cities that had been under extreme weather alerts, people coming in with symptoms of dehydration and not just the elderly. This is heat so high that it is impacting pretty much everyone.
Now, The question is how that continues. What we're seeing is a slight dip in the temperature today, but really the expectation is that it is a fourth heat wave, Paula, that's gonna come in next week, driving temperatures back up in Spain and Greece.
[03:25:03] The worst is feared. There are now warnings here in France, but also in Spain, of those forest fires that we'd seen last summer causing so much devastation and that have started once again in Greece.
Again, huge fires that they're struggling to keep under control and that could be just the beginning of another season of wildfires spreading across Europe. What you're also seeing here right now, Paula, as a result of that very hot weather and colder weather coming in from the north, this is what we've been warning of, extreme rainfall, extreme hail storms in parts of the Venetia region of Italy. There have been injuries caused by the size of these hail storms that are more like tennis balls than they are like golf balls, really extreme conditions caused by the meeting of those two weather fronts.
And yet it is the parched conditions that are causing the most concern, as I say, due to continue next week on what is already parched. Earth. There were parts of the country here in France, Paula, near Bordeaux where the smoke had never ceased to rise from parts of those areas that had seen the fires last summer. The fear is, as the heat comes back, that that's just going to start again, Paula.
NEWTON: Yeah, and as you know all too well, it can still continue to smolder and burn season after season. And again, as you said, with a fourth heat wave on the way, we'll definitely be keeping an eye on it. Melissa Bell for us in Paris, thanks so much.
Now, as Jennifer and Melissa had just mentioned, the searing heat is making it difficult to get those wildfires that are burning under control. They're now burning in three areas of Greece. Residents in the Attica region, just north of Athens, are evacuating their homes and farms as a major fire there was rekindled.
Now, meantime, firefighters are dropping water from planes and helicopters to try and douse the flames and they're getting help from French, Italian and Israeli crews. Meantime, wildfires are also burning at Laconia, in southern Greece and on the island of Rhodes.
So, scientists are alarmed by a long-lost ice core recently discovered off the coast of Greenland. Now, it reveals that much of Greenland was ice-free some 4,000 years ago when global temperatures were similar to what they are today. Now, this overturns previous assumptions that Greenland's ice sheet has been frozen for millions of years. It also indicates that the ice sheet may be more sensitive to climate change than was previously known. If Greenland's ice sheets melted completely, sea levels would rise about seven meters.
China's southern Fujian province is still recovering from typhoon Talim. This was the scene Monday. Crews helped ferry people across roads after water from heavy rains inundated streets. Talim is the first typhoon to make landfall in China this year. It struck Monday and quickly strengthened to a tropical storm.
A shocking video emerges showing a sexual assault in India. It has sparked protests and demands for punishment, the latest just ahead.
Then, the tremendous backlash against Sweden after an Iraqi national and his translator desecrate a Quran in Stockholm.
Plus, Kenya braces for a third day of anti-government demonstrations. More on the policing tactics being used to crack down on protesters. We'll have that when we return.
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And welcome back to our viewers from all around the world. I'm Paula Newton and this is "CNN Newsroom."
There's growing condemnation after a Quran was desecrated in Sweden for the second time in just weeks.
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An Iraqi national is behind both of the stunts that damaged the Muslim holy book, but most of the anger seems to be directed at Sweden for allowing this latest public gathering to actually take place. Iraqi protesters stormed the Swedish embassy in Baghdad on Thursday, and Iraq has threatened to sever diplomatic ties.
CNN's Salma Abdelaziz is following this live for us from London. You know, the fallout from these actions so far have been somewhat limited, I would say. Is that about to change?
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm hard to predict, Paula, but if I had to guess, I would say not likely. There's a few reasons for that, Salman Mamlaki, this one individual in what is essentially a one-man demo. It was him and his translator, but that's all you really see in those images there. But it was Mamlaki who took out, or took part rather, in the really offensive, inflammatory actions of stepping on the Quran yesterday in that event that was held just outside the Iraqi embassy in Stockholm.
This event differs greatly than the one that occurred last month also by Mamlaki that triggered a wider reaction during that event again last month he actually burned pages of the Quran. It took place outside one of the biggest if not the largest mosque in Stockholm and it occurred during Eid al-Adha one of the holiest if not the holiest holiday for Muslims and there was also a lot of political factors at play at the time.
Turkey stepped in with condemnation last month, looked willing to threaten or put it at risk. Sweden's bid to join NATO. Now that bid has already gone ahead so that's no longer an issue, a factor on the plate, but absolutely there was huge reaction to again what was essentially a one-man demonstration.
We saw those protests in Iraq the night before the event outside of the Iraqi embassy in Stockholm where hundreds of protesters stormed the Swedish embassy in Baghdad, but that was also triggered yet again by other political factors. Shia cleric Muqtad al-Sadr taking a stand, taking offense to the actions in Stockholm and galvanizing his supporters, as he was so well known to do, to that embassy just in the hours before the event.
But yes, absolutely, I think for now we've seen the reaction from Iraq with the recalling of its charge d'affaires from Sweden, ejecting the Swedish ambassador from Iraq. We'll see if there's more there, but regardless the structural issues remain, Paula.
In the West, of course, there are no blasphemy laws as there are in many other Muslim countries. Freedom of speech is prioritized. So you can only imagine it's a matter of time before we see something similar. And you've seen just how the actions of one individual, a couple of individuals can trigger this huge backlash across the region.
NEWTON: Yeah, and Sweden has been clear that they are not about to restrict people's right to demonstrate legally, that is. Salma Abdelaziz for us, thanks so much.
Now Israeli lawmakers are expected to vote Monday on the first part of controversial judicial reform plan. And hundreds of protesters marching from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem plan to be there. They say the move would strip the Supreme Court of most of its power, but supporters, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, claim it's necessary to restore balance to the branches of government.
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BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): Even in these moments, I would like to tell you that efforts are being made to reach an agreement on the reasonableness bill. I sincerely hope that these efforts will be successful, but even if not, the coalition's door will always remain open.
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NEWTON: Polls show the judicial reform plan is widely unpopular in Israel. Hundreds of military reservists are now vowing to refuse voluntary service if it passes.
[03:34:59]
To India now where a shocking graphic video has emerged showing two women being sexually assaulted. Now protests broke out following the video's release. CNN has seen the video but isn't showing it out of respect for survivors of this brutal attack. An indigenous group says the assault happened in early May in the northeastern state of Manipur.
The video shows the terrified women being forced to walk naked through a crowd of fully clothed men who are taunting them and assaulting them. The group says they were then taken to a field and gang raped, an allegation which is still under investigation. CNN reporter Vedika Sud has been following all of this for us from New
Delhi. And Vedika, I mean, the video is many things, but it really amounts to torture. outrage here. What do people want? We've seen the protests, but what do they want that they believe will actually serve as justice in this case?
VEDIKA SUD, CNN REPORTER: Paula, there's been national outrage over the last 48 hours ever since this video surfaced on social media. It's been called despicable, it's been called outrageous, it's been called ghastly, and many other words being used to describe how deeply disturbing this video is. It's a 26-second clip that is circulating on social media.
It shows two women, like you said, who are being forced to walk down a street with a mob of men, almost more than two dozen men, around them, sexually assaulting them, slapping one of them on the face, going ahead and making them feel absolutely naked and vulnerable at that point. They cry out for help, but there's no one to help them.
That 26-second clip, every frame, extremely disturbing, extremely distressing, has led to a lot of people across India and overseas comment on it and demand action.
In India and New Delhi, inside parliament, the lower house of parliament has been adjourned for the day. And that's essentially the second day it's been adjourned over protests by opposition political parties demanding action and demanding a statement from the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the situation in Manipur.
Ethnic clashes have been on for over two months there And this particular incident we believe happened in the first week of May. That's when those clashes between two ethnic communities began. Now the reason for those clashes is very Simplistically put that both the communities want access to government benefits and they feel that one deserves it over the other and that continues to be a reason for the violence that Manipur has seen.
But the criticism that the Indian Prime Minister and his ruling government, the Bharatiya Janata Party, they've been facing a lot of it, especially over the last three days essentially because of this video.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the last two and a half months has not made a single statement on the Manipur violence. But once this video emerged, he did speak to the media. Here's what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NARENDRA MODI, INDIAN PRIME MINISTER (through translator): And I want to assure the countrymen that no culprit will be spared. The law, with all its might and strictness, will take steps one by one. Whatever has happened with the daughters of Manipur will never be forgiven.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SUD: Four arrests for now, Paula, four of the dozens of men who were there sexually assaulting those two women that we've seen in the video, but we choose not to show to our viewers. Back to you.
NEWTON: Yeah, and Vedika, in terms of what can be done now, in terms of finding that justice, I mean, so many people have tried to conflate the issue, talking about the ethnic clashes in that area. Does it seem that the government is saying at this point in time that played a role, or are they treating this really as another example of horrific gender-based violence that we have seen throughout India?
SUD: You know, this has been happening for a while in Manipur, the violence. This is just one incident, Paula, and it's worrying, isn't it, that one incident has come to light only because it was uploaded on social media.
Imagine if this hadn't come to light. It's taken for this one video to be uploaded on social media for the government to respond, for the police in Manipur to respond, for the head of the state, the chief minister of Manipur, to respond.
Now, the Manipur chief minister has come out and said that he's deeply disturbed by this video, just like the prime minister of India, but he's also said that they're looking at options in terms of arrests and even capital punishment for those who are a part of this video sexually assaulting these two women.
But there are a lot of questions, Paula, at this point. Everyone can come out. The optics are as they are, as you can see, with the prime minister speaking before entering the parliament yesterday, talking about how pained and grieved he is by what has happened.
But the question is why wasn't action taken two and a half months ago when this incident happened? Why weren't the arrests made then and why wasn't this incident brought to light back then when these two girls suffered and they were sexually assaulted and humiliated by dozens of men, Paula?
[03:40:08]
NEWTON: Yeah, and you make such a good point because had this not been brought to light, this video, who knows what would have happened? And you've explained to us in your stories that so many times the women are not meant to feel like victims but are meant to be in some way shape or form blamed for what happened. Vedika Sud, I know you'll continue to follow this story. Thanks so much.
Now Kenya is bracing for a third day of planned anti-government demonstrations called by the opposition. At least three people were killed in clashes with security forces this week in the latest round of protests over tax hikes. And of course the rising cost of living there.
Larry Madowo has the latest now from Nairobi.
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LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This show of force is how the Kenyan security forces have been responding to these planned three days of anti-government protests. That's why you're getting criticism from the United Nations, from the opposition, from some civil society bodies about how the Kenyan government is cracking down violently on mostly peaceful protesters. That is the language here.
The Kenyan opposition is specifically crying foul. They're accusing the government of heavy-handed policing tactics and using some language which is not accidental. The Kenyan opposition has called some of the reported deaths and beatings and police brutality as crimes against humanity.
They're calling them specifically a genocide in the making. And that choice of language is deliberate because after the 2007 election, President William Ruto was accused of crimes against humanity. He was tried at the International Criminal Court, but those cases collapsed for lack of evidence.
So the reintroduction of that language here is an attempt to try and paint these in a much larger context by the Kenyan opposition. What do you see here for instance an armored water cannon track that we've seen in use in some neighborhoods often in people's homes where children live and it's had some major impacts on them.
Those are some of the policing tactics that have been criticized in this three days of protests. They began as a fight against the legitimacy of the government of President William Ruto, then conveniently these very unpopular tax hikes came in and the opposition has hitched a wagon on that and now they've fully become anti- government protests that have plunged this East African nation into this major crisis.
Larry Madowo, CNN, Nairobi.
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NEWTON: Donald Trump could soon face an unprecedented third indictment as the special counsel continues to interview witnesses about the former president's efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. We'll have that when we come back.
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NEWTON: Now as former President Donald Trump faces a possible third indictment, prosecutors are continuing to schedule witness interviews. That's even as Trump says he's a target in the special counsel's investigation into election interference. It's unclear if or when another indictment could come. CNN Senior Legal Affairs correspondent Paula Reid explains.
[03:45:08]
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PAULA REID, CNN SR. LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: As anticipation builds for a probable third Trump criminal indictment, CNN has learned the special counsel investigating January 6th is scheduled to speak to at least two additional witnesses over the next several weeks. Now, the former president received his target letter this past
weekend. He received it on Sunday. But we know in the weeks preceding the sending of that letter, investigators were reaching out to several witnesses they had never spoken with before trying to set up interviews. Now some of those have already been completed like the interview with Rudy Giuliani, but other people couldn't get a date on the calendar until well into next month.
Now they can still indict former President Trump before they finish all their interviews. In fact, we saw that in Mar-a-Lago. They indicted former President Trump and his co-defendant Walt Nautta and then investigators continued their work. They've even sent out at least one additional target letter as they continue to gather evidence in that probe.
But it's clear even if former President Trump is indicted in the coming days, the special counsel's work is far from over.
Paula Reid, CNN, Washington.
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NEWTON: Democratic presidential candidate Robert Kennedy Jr. is denying allegation that he's racist or against vaccines. Now Kennedy testified Thursday before a House subcommittee on the weaponization of government. Republicans claim social media companies are censoring them while Democrats say they're preventing the spread of dangerous misinformation.
Kennedy has repeatedly called vaccines unsafe and linked them to various diseases. And just last week, he said this.
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ROBERT KENNEDY, U.S. DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: COVID-19 is targeted to attack Caucasians and Black people. The people who are most immune are Askenazi Jews and Chinese.
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NEWTON: The U.S. women's soccer team is pumped and ready to defend their place at the top of women's football.
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CRYSTAL DUNN, U.S. WOMEN'S NATIONAL TEAM: We a lot of things that we've had to adapt to and I think that is something that is ultimately going to make us come together and be even stronger.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Just ahead, CNN speaks with the U.S. players about how they're approaching this year's World Cup. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) NEWTON: Returning now to the Women's World Cup, now underway in
Australia and New Zealand, CNN World Sports' Amanda Davis spoke with a number of U.S. players about how they're preparing for this tournament and their thoughts on possibly winning a third straight title. Here's her report.
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ALEX MORGAN, U.S. WOMEN'S NATIONAL TEAM: As much as the rest of the world is looking at it like a potential three-peat, we're looking at it as this tournament that we have in front of us in 2023 in New Zealand and Australia.
AMANDA DAVIS, CNN WORLD SPORT (voice-over): The U.S. women's national team are no strangers to leading the way, but on the line over the next month, something that no side, men or women, has ever done before. Winning a third straight World Cup.
EMILY SONNET, U.S. WOMEN'S NATIONAL TEAM: You can't really say three because it's such a new group. It's a new World Cup, and attacking that as a new group.
DAVIS (voice-over): Emily Sonnet was there four years ago for victory in France, alongside veteran superstars Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan, preparing for their fourth World Cups this time around.
[03:50:09]
But 14 players will be making their debut on the world's biggest stage. And the message from the top is clear. We win together. We lose together. We stick together.
DUNN: We did have a, you know, big change in a lot of players, we've had injuries, we've had a lot of things that we've had to adapt to and I think that is something that is ultimately going to make us come together and be even stronger because we know that everyone has to pull their weight.
NAOMI GIRMA, U.S. WOMEN'S NATIONAL TEAM: I think it's just keep the belief knowing that we deserve to be at this level, you know, representing the U.S. in the World Cup and we've impacted the game in different levels and in different games, different tournaments. So I think now going into the World Cup it's keeping that belief and just knowing that we're good enough and we're able to make an impact.
DAVIS (voice-over): They started the 2019 tournament with a whopping 13-nil win over Thailand and are aiming to make another statement in the July 21st opener against Vietnam.
JULIE ERTZ, U.S. WOMEN'S NATIONAL TEAM: They're going to get our best. Our team is focused on one game at a time, not looking past anything, giving the utmost respect to whoever our opponent is that we're going to give our best on any day that we have to play. And I think that's our sole focus of the team.
DAVIS (voice-over): The U.S. women's national team have been synonymous with dominance. They've won four of the eight Women's World Cups ever played. That drive to be the best is ingrained in the team's culture and there's no plan to change that now.
MEGAN RAPINOE, U.S. WOMEN'S NATIONAL TEAM: The goal is just always winning. That's all that matters. That's like our secret sauce is just this like insatiable desire to win and everything else comes after that.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: Joining me now is CNN Sports Analyst Christine Brennan. She's also a sports columnist for "USA Today." It has finally arrived and Christine, you know the curtain raiser for this event. It didn't disappoint, did it? New Zealand on its home pitch makes history. Do you think they're kind of setting the tone here, setting the bar for this tournament?
CHRISTINE BRENNAN, CNN SPORTS ANALYST: I'll tell you what, Paula, when you start a tournament with the two host countries winning, and obviously New Zealand right off the bat, against one of the perennial powerhouses over the last 20, 30 years in women's soccer, which is Norway, they may not be the best in the world anymore, but they're still great.
They have been there. They have won huge matches internationally. And for New Zealand to beat the Norwegians, I don't think many people saw that coming. What a boost for their chances.
And of course, what a, just a terrific shot in the arm to start a tournament that probably doesn't even need it because of the support, the interest, the excitement, the ticket sales, TV ratings. But if it needed any extra boost, Paula, clearly that was provided by the great way that New Zealand started this tournament.
NEWTON: Yeah, the excitement was next level. And you could tell just from some of the images we just showed that the players themselves practically could not believe it when the game was over. I mean, and you mentioned Australia as well with that good start, although Sam Kerr, she's hurt. What more are you learning about whether or not she might be able to come back into this tournament? I mean, she's such a star.
BRENNAN: Oh, she is. I mean, she's one of those must-watch players. And for those who haven't seen a lot of women's soccer, which, you know, that's hard to believe there are people that still haven't, Sam Kerr is one of the greatest ever.
Right now, the word is that she will miss at least one more game with this calf injury. That is not good. But if she can really come back and finish the group play and then presuming Australia moving on, that would be, they would be able to salvage something.
But the disappointment was palpable. Here they are, they're packed into that Olympic Stadium over 70,000. And of course, she is their hero. She is the biggest name in Australia in women's soccer. And she can't play. And I think that certainly was, you know, certain. It was the complete opposite of the joy of New Zealand, the fact that Australia didn't have its star.
But they can still get her back, and if they can, then I think she becomes one of the great stories of this World Cup in the sense that how good is she going to be, how much can she play, and the drama there I think will be not only on the field of play, but off the field of play.
NEWTON: Yeah, absolutely, I'd say everyone holding their breath to wait for more news on that. And we have a little bit of controversy perhaps with how this is going to go down in the next few weeks with some of the new rules they've introduced and some of that has to do with video review. I mean, how did this go down in the first few matches?
[03:55:02]
BRENNAN: Well, certainly there was the call, the handball call that turned out not changing anything really in the New Zealand match against Norway. But the one thing that they're going to be trying to do is have the referees actually tell people what's going on and announce the decision and explain what they're doing. So I'm all for that.
I think over the years, soccer in particular has been a sport quala that is kind of, we kind of been waiting, you know, what's the answer? Was that, you know, was that fair or not? I think anything where you can use video going back 30 years, maybe more, where the NFL was trying to figure out should they have instant replay. And the great Don Shula, the coach of the Miami Dolphins actually told me at an NFL meeting, he said, if every fan sitting at home knows more about our game than we do, we need to use instant replay.
And I would say the same here. You've got incredible technical ability now to find things out and double check and make sure you're making the right call. The stakes are too important now, not only for, of course, men's soccer but women's soccer. You have to get it right. So I'm all for it even as obviously some of the purists wonder and we'll see how it plays out over the next few weeks.
NEWTON: And so Christine, I don't have a lot of time left but you predict this will live up to its billing?
BRENNAN: Oh, I do. I really do. I mean, the world is totally into women's soccer now. It goes back to '99, Paula, the Women's World Cup, those stadiums full, those American football stadiums, the Rose Bowl and others. And that has carried that -- that thread is carried all the way through.
As we watch these nations now caring so much about women's soccer, spending money, starting teams, developing the leagues, the pro leagues that then have women's leagues as well as the men's, the, you know, the Arsenals and the Chelsea's with their women's league, women's teams as well as their men's. We are seeing this in all its glory and frankly it is about time that it happens.
NEWTON: And we are the beneficiaries of this amazing tournament that they're putting on. We'll continue to watch it carefully as you will with us. Christine, thanks so much. We really appreciate it.
BRENNAN: My pleasure, Paula. Thank you.
NEWTON: It's going to be a fun few weeks. That wraps it up for this hour of "CNN Newsroom." I'm Paula Newton. "CNN Newsroom" with Christina MacFarlane is next.
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