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Deadly Strike On Rafah A Tragic Mishap; Closing Arguments Set In Trump's Hush Money Trial; Thousands Buried Alive After Papua New Guinea Landslide; Russian Attacks Leave Parts of Eastern Ukraine in Ruins; Taiwan Lawmakers Debate Controversial Reforms; Ruling ANC Party Has Strong Support but Faces Challenges; Rafael Nadal Eliminated in First Round at Roland Garros. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired May 28, 2024 - 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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JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Ahead here on CNN Newsroom.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): Unfortunately, a tragic mistake happened last night.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: A tragic mistake in Russia which the U.S., United Nations, aid agencies, humanitarian groups, the International Criminal Court all warned Israel for weeks, it could happen.
And a jury will soon hear closing arguments and Donald Trump's hush money trial. Their verdict could have a major impact on the U.S. presidential race and the rescue to recovery of poverty to Guinea, four days after deadly landslide hope for finding anyone else alive and quickly fading.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from Atlanta. This is CNN Newsroom with John Vause.
VAUSE: Israel's offensive around the border city of Rafah in Gaza itself has continued overnight with at least four Palestinians killed by artillery fire. According to the Palestinian news agency WAFA, which had a camp for those forced from their homes was targeted.
It comes a day after the Israeli prime minister said a weakened airstrike on a similar cap in Rafah, which killed at least 45 civilians was a tragic mistake.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NETANYAHU (through translator): Despite our best effort not to harm those not involved, unfortunately, a tragic mistake happened last night. We are investigating the case. (END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: According to one U.S. official Israel says an early assessment indicates shrapnel from the airstrike ignited a nearby fuel tank spiking and inferno melting the plastic tents many were using for shelter. The Israeli military says to senior Hamas officials were killed in the strike but regardless has begun an investigation and in a statement said the IDF regrets any harm to uninvolved civilians during combat. Regrets.
In the hours after the strike protests were held a number of cities around the world with U.N. agencies a groups of governments all calling for Israel to respect last week ruling by the International Court of Justice for an immediate halt to the offensive in Rafah.
All those come to Spain, Ireland and Norway each plan to make a formal declaration in the hours ahead to recognize a Palestinian state.
The Israeli Prime Minister faced some harsh criticism at the U.N. for describing the Rafah airstrike as a mistake. In his statement Martin Griffiths, the U.N. chief for Emergency Relief wrote this, whether the attack was a war crime or tragic mistake for the people of Gaza there is no debate. What happened last night was the latest and possibly the most cruel abomination. He went on to write they're calling it a mistake is a message that means nothing for those killed, or for those who are grieving. CNN's Jeremy Diamond has more now on the attack on refer and a warning his report begins graphic images and sounds.
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JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Their blood curdling screams tell the story of the unfolding horror more than words ever could. But it is only as bodies are pulled out of the inferno that the scale of this attack becomes clear.
At least 45 people were killed after an Israeli airstrike targeted this camp for displaced Palestinians in western Rafah according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. Plastic tarps engulfed in flames. Sheet metal walls crushed by the blast, a block of makeshift shelters flattened in an instance.
The Israeli military says the strike killed two senior Hamas militants who commanded Hamas' West Bank operations Yassin Rabia and Khaled Nagar. In a rare move the Israeli military's top lawyer launching an investigation into the strike, saying civilian casualties had not been expected.
It was assessed that there would be no expected harm to uninvolved civilians. The IDF regrets any harm to uninvolved civilians during combat.
Muhammad Abu Tavi (ph) is one of those civilians so badly burned that he cannot even open his eyes. But there are so many more. So many children writhing in pain. And then there are the parents desperate to save babies whose cries have been silenced, perhaps forever. For those who survived whatever thin sense of safety they still had,
has now been completely shattered. We were sitting and suddenly there was a big blast and fire people started screaming, Ranin (ph) says, describing how they spent the whole night pulling charred bodies out of the embers.
[01:05:04]
While hundreds of thousands have fled Eastern Rafah after the military ordered its evacuation, many others like this man displaced from Central Gaza came here to Western Rafah told the area would be safe. And then there are the mourners.
The occupation army is a liar. There is no security in Gaza, says this man, whose brother was killed in the strike. Here he is with his wife, they were murdered, they are gone.
For one man, a brother for another his sister. She was the only one, he says. She was the only one. And she is gone. Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Jerusalem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Still story a little longer we'll head to Adelaide in Australia and Juliette McIntyre, a lecturer in law at the University of South Australia. Thank you for being with us.
JULIETTE MCINTYRE, LECTURER, UNIVERISTY OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA: Thank you for having me.
VAUSE: OK. So the timing of the strike on Rafah comes just days after the ICJ demanded for a third time, and we had ceasefire in Gaza. And that's the point not lost on Hamas. Listen to this.
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OSAMA HAMDAN, SENIOR HAMS OFFICIAL (through translator): The timing of carrying out these massacres during the past two days, is considered a defiance by the Zion Nazi government of the criminal Netanyahu to the International Court of Justice's decisions that ordered the cessation of the military operation in the city of Rafah, which places the world and the international community before a grave historical responsibility to put an end to the Zionist arrogance and stop the aggression of this entity.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Yes, well, Hamas has been called out for its own wrongdoing with arrest warrants issued for Hamas leaders as well as the great Israeli leaders. Does he had a valid point that by ignoring these rulings Israel and its allies, United States, and Great Britain and everyone else, are essentially undermining the credibility of the ICJ?
MCINTYRE: It's certainly not helping. We have seen the International Court of Justice issue a series of different rulings which have required Israel to ensure that adequate humanitarian aid is reaching Gaza. And then as you mentioned, on Friday, this order for a ceasefire, at the very least a ceasefire, in terms of the action in Rafah making sure that that action doesn't cause any undue civilian harm.
Now, what we've seen over the course of the weekend is action that appears to be in contradiction of that order. Whether it's a tragic mistake, or whether it was deliberate or careless, we don't know yet. That's -- that is the truth.
But when we have the court making an order to withdraw from Rafah when we have a court ordering Israel to ensure that humanitarian aid is reaching civilians in Gaza, and we want to see tangible effects on the ground. So if we don't seem to be seeing.
VAUSE: Well, here's part of that ceasefire rule in the order, which actually came from the ICJ, Israel must immediately hold its military offensive in any other action in the Rafah government, which may inflict on the Palestinian group in Gaza, conditions of life that could bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part. It's pretty straightforward. It doesn't leave much wriggle room there for debate, does it?
MCINTYRE: Well, it doesn't, it doesn't. There has been debate about whether or not it requires a full and complete ceasefire in Rafah or whether that last part of the order leaves a little bit of wiggle room to allow Israel to conduct military action. That doesn't lead to the imposition of as it says conditions of life, and so on.
So there has been a little bit of argument about that. But look, I tend to fall on the side that it's fairly straightforward. And I think when you're dealing with questions of civilian or sub life, it's better to be safe than sorry. It's very difficult to conduct a major military operation without significant civilian loss of life.
And the court has previously certainly independent judges have said separate judges and separate opinions have said that it's almost impossible to follow through with the rest of the court's orders, which is to allow adequate humanitarian aid without withdrawing military offensives.
So it's certainly going to be difficult to fulfill the court's orders, while still engaged in military action.
VAUSE: Among the dozens of aid agencies and other humanitarian organizations wrote to the U.N. Security Council demanding action to enforce this ICJ ceasefire. Here's what they wrote, in part, the Security Council must act now to uphold justice, protect human rights, maintain international peace and security, failure to do so it would further compromise the conditions to sustain human life in Gaza, and would undermine Global Trust in the primacy of international law.
And this seems to come down to the United States. You know, will the United States allow it to happen? Will it go before the U.N. Security Council? Will there be in fact a resolution? And that seems to be case that the United States will continue to stand by Israel for as long as it takes into dramatic measures and even if there is some kind of Security Council resolution demanding Israel as these viral reports the ICJ failure it's unlikely to have any impact on Israel itself.
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MCINTYRE: We have to wait and see, we did have a U.N. Security Council resolution earlier this year, the code for a ceasefire for the month of Ramadan. And that wasn't necessarily put into place. But what I think you're right about is that it does come down to the U.S., the U.S. has been a staunch ally of Israel. And it has the ability to encourage Israel to even pressure Israel to cease its military offensive in Gaza.
If the U.S. were to either not veto, it doesn't have to vote in favor of resolution, it can just sit out the resolution, it can abstain. And that's what it did earlier this year with the Ramadan resolution, then that would be an enormous step forward allowing the U.N. Security Council to make orders that would be potentially binding on Israel.
And then the further steps can be taken that states can be asked to implement countermeasures, economic sanctions, other ways of putting pressure on Israel, to step back from what it's currently doing.
VAUSE: To the broader picture here, there was an opinion piece in The Guardian, which points out that 50 people charged by the International Criminal Court since its inception, 47 of them are African, arguing the court what has long been understood but never stated is that the court and its processes to put it bluntly, target a certain type of political leadership that is easier to go after.
The line of suspects and defendants has long solidified the oppression below the equator, that the ICC is a quote for Africans, and lately maybe Russians as well.
Is there an argument that you made that that is not the case at all, because it seems pretty obvious that the ICJ the ICC similar garter leaders in Africa and, you know, the Americans and Israelis and Brits in every aisle seem to be immune?
MCINTYRE: Well, look, it certainly was a valid criticism of the International Criminal Court in its early days, and one that was made quite regularly that its operations or seems to center on African states.
Nowadays, that's not the case. There are a series of investigations around the world, Afghanistan, the Philippines, Ukraine, obviously and Palestine. It's still the case that a lot of these are in the investigative story stage. So we haven't seen arrest warrants come out of some of those investigations yet.
But I think the criminal court is trying to ensure that it's upholding its mandate, which is to prevent and prosecute atrocities wherever they may occur in the world. At the end of the day, the standard is the rules of law to which states have agreed and the responsibility of the prosecutor is to investigate those potential crimes no matter if he was complicit in.
VAUSE: Juliette McIntyre in Adelaide, South Australia. Thank you for being with us. We really appreciate your time.
MCINTYRE: Thank you.
VAUSE: Just as the aisle before closing arguments in the first ever criminal trial of a former U.S. president, the jury in Donald Trump's hush money trail to a porn star will then retire to consider a verdict. And if they do decide he's guilty, the 45th President of the United States could be facing up to 20 years in prison. More details now from CNN's Kara Scannell.
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KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Donald Trump watching NASCAR in North Carolina this weekend while his hush money trial approaches the final lap in New York.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you going to win North Carolina?
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: It will, I tell. I think by a lot.
SCANNELL (voice-over): Trump's lawyers and prosecutors will square off trying to win over the jury of seven men and five women. Prosecutors called 20 witnesses over five weeks and in their closing arguments they're expected to tie testimony together with a paper trail of text messages, phone calls, and the records at the center of the case.
The 11 invoices seeking payment pursuant to a retainer agreement, a dozen vouchers and 11 checks most signed by Trump.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Trump, who you doing (inaudible)?
TRUMP: Very good. I think we the greatest cases put on. There is no crime.
SCANNELL (voice-over): During the trial, the jury heard from former members of Trump's inner circle the publisher of the National Enquirer David Pecker, campaign aide Hope Hicks and his former fixer and personal attorney Michael Cohen, who was the only witness to directly tie Trump to the cover up.
Trump's attorneys are up first and closings and are expected to attack Cohen's credibility, arguing to the jury that they cannot find Trump guilty based on the testimony of a convicted liar.
TRUMP: Michael Cohen is a convicted liar and he's got no credibility whatsoever.
SCANNELL (voice-over): Cohen was on the witness stand for five days telling the jury Trump called the adult film actress Stormy Daniels story a disaster for his campaign and directed Cohen to take care of it. Cohen testifying he spoke with Trump twice to get his approval just before wiring the $130,000 payment to Daniels attorney to block her store of an alleged affair with Trump from becoming public to influence the 2016 election. Trump denies the affair.
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MICHAEL COHEN, FORMER TRUMP PERSONAL ATTORNEY: And I can't even tell you how many times he said to me, you know, I hate the fact that we did it. And my comment to him was but every person that you've spoken to told you it was the right move.
SCANNELL (voice-over): He told the jury that Trump signed off on the repayment scheme in a meeting at Trump Tower with former Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg. Cohen walked the jury through the 34 allegedly falsified documents, testifying there was no retainer agreement, the money was paid back for the Daniels' deal.
COHEN: This $35,000 check was one of 11 check installments that was paid throughout the year while he was president. The president of the United States thus wrote a personal check for the payment of hush money as part of a criminal scheme to violate campaign finance laws.
SCANNELL (voice-over): Trump attorney Todd Blanche has used Cohen's own words to bolster their defense that Cohen would say anything to take Trump down and is out for revenge.
COHEN: I truly hope that this man ends up in prison.
SCANNELL: Trump's lawyers are also expected to highlight the witnesses that the prosecution did not call, including Weisselberg, who was in that meeting with Cohen and Keith Schiller, Trump's former bodyguard, who was with Trump during the campaign closings are expected to go all day Tuesday.
On Wednesday the judge will instruct the jury on the law what prosecutors need to prove in order to win a conviction. And then the jury will begin deliberations. The jury of seven men and five women will continue until they reach a verdict. Kara Scannell, CNN, New York.
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VAUSE: Will be held guilty or not guilty. There are a number of outcomes so Trump's hush money trial. POLITICO Senior Legal Affairs reporter Josh Gerstein outlined some of the options. I also asked him about Trump's rant on social media. When he posted this why is the corrupt government allowed to make the final argument in the case against me? Why can't the defense go last big advantage very unfair. Witch hunt.
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JOSH GERSTEIN, SENIOR LEGAL AFFAIRS REPORTER, POLITICO: They have to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt they have quite a few different things that they have to prove here beyond a reasonable doubt. So they're given the first word and the last word in the closing statements. And the defense gets to make their presentation usually of equal length, sandwiched in between that.
VAUSE: And there are a few outcomes here for the jury, there's they can find guilty on all 34 felony counts of guilty on some, acquittal on others. Acquittal on all 34 felony counts, it could be a hung jury. There's also a very unlikely outcome of a directed verdict from the bench, which basically means the judge directs and acquittal for various reasons, but that's unlikely here.
And as was reported in POLITICO for the jury, jurors to find Trump guilty of all 34 counts, they must find beyond a reasonable doubt not only that Trump falsified or caused the falsification of business records with intent to defraud, but also that he did so with intent to commit or conceal another crime, which is what makes this all a felony.
So how important will these final words be to the jury? Is there one side which has more work to do than the other?
GERSTEIN: Well, I think that Trump's side has probably more to do here, because they're going to need to stitch together sort of things that they have left hanging and various arguments. They have put out a number of different issues that they want the jury to consider as the prosecution case was presented.
Remember, the defense didn't really call very many witnesses compared to the prosecution, maybe 10 percent, as many only two witnesses, one was sort of almost trivial to put in some phone records. And so they have been cross examining the prosecution's witnesses, but not necessarily trying to string together a full theory of what happened, whereas I think the prosecution's theory is pretty evident.
So, even though the prosecution has the burden of proof, I think the defense is going to have to try to, you know, make a more if not consistent, you know, more explained argument than they have thus far.
VAUSE: You mentioned that the case being put forward by the defense or that sort of, you know, the way they've handled themselves throughout this trial. One of the outcomes is a hung jury, which just takes one holdout juror to make this a hung jury by essentially maybe a Trump supporter, who always says, though not guilty, not guilty, not guilty, and they can't get to a unanimous decision.
If they reach that point, what happens in and does it seem that that has been the sort of the strategy here by the Trump team?
GERSTEIN: Sure, I think that's part of the Trump Train strategy. It's frankly not that unusual strategy for the defense in any criminal case that goes in front of a jury. You know, as I was saying, they need to stitch together an explanation, but they don't really have to come up with an explanation for everything that might be an issue in the case if they can convince one juror of this and another juror of that and that creates reasonable doubt.
[01:20:00]
For those two jurors, now they've got two holdouts and that could prevent a conviction. If that happens usually the judge will prod the jury a few times to try to come to a unanimous verdict or verdicts. And if they can't do so then any counts that the jury hangs on, the judge would declare was misstried. (END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: When we come back after a weekend of deadly weather, severe storm warnings, flood warnings, heat warnings here that heat advisories remain in places out for parts of Texas. Also, hope fading are finding more survivors from a landslide in a remote area of Papua New Guinea, thousands already fed dead, thousands more now ordered to evacuate headed fears of another landslide.
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VAUSE: Across the United States, a severe thunderstorm watch remains in place for a number of states after a weekend of deadly storms and tornadoes. And for Texas. There's also flood warnings, excessive heat warnings and heat advisories.
Over the weekend more than 600 storms who are reported nationwide. These images are from Missouri on Sunday. You can see the funnel cloud there. Sunday was the busiest severe weather day so far of the year. At least 23 people die from storm related causes 15 deaths in Texas and Arkansas alone.
And this is Valley View, Texas. It's just north of Dallas after tornado swept through the area, leaving tress and destroying homes and buildings and causing a lot of damage. CNN's Ed Lavandera spoke with Texas residents who survived tornado now face that daunting task of cleaning up what the storm left behind.
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ED LAVANDERA, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Across 20 states there were more than 630 locations reporting storm damage on Sunday, making it the busiest severe weather day of the year. In Texas, seven people were killed when a tornado ripped through this subdivision near the small city of Valley View, Bonito Esparsa (ph) raced here Saturday night to help his brother's family. The family was inside their home in the tornado packing 135 mile power winds catapulted them more than 100 yards away.
LAVANDERA: He says he's really tried to control his emotions.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): His brother survived, but his sister in law Laura and their two children Miranda and Markel were killed.
LAVANDERA: This is the remnants of his brother's family's home. This is where they ended up and his brother was leftover in this debris over here, and his sister in law, the three of them were already dead, and he took his brother and loaded him up into his truck and drove him out of this neighborhood to get him to the hospital.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): In Arkansas eight people were killed by the violent storms. In the town of Rogers, Tony and Landon Roberts grabbed their two children and raised for cover as a tornado took aim at their home.
TONY ROBERTS, ROGERS, ARKANSAS RESIDENT: Tried to make it to the hallway. That's the most central part of our house and that's when we realized we didn't have a roof.
LANDON ROBERTS, ROGERS, ARKANSAS RESIDENT: Yes.
T. ROBERTS: There was water and debris coming through the attic fan.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): The common theme of all these storms from Texas to Kentucky is the near brushes with death and injury. Residents escaping with him harrowing stories of survival.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Me and my wife and our four-month old we hopped in the tub and it just sound like a train.
LISA ARNDT, MEHIVILLE, MISSOURI RESIDENT: All of a sudden my husband screams run, and we grabbed the dog and ran down to the basement. But before that I saw the water swirling around and hitting our window.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right in there.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): Back in Valley View, Texas Frank Garcia's father built this cinderblock storm shelter by hand. They ran inside as the tornado approached.
LAVANDERA: And you could feel the tornado hit?
FRANK GARCIA, VALLEY POINT, TEXAS RESIDENT: And then out of nowhere, you just hear the wind started wailing hard. And at that point, we knew that we're going to have some damage. I mean, for sure, but I don't think I realized, you know, the whole magnitude of everything until you started walking out.
LAVANDERA: Pretty terrifying.
GARCIA: Definitely going to leave a scar in this town for a bit.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): When they saw the shattered remnants of their home after the storm, they knew the shelter saved their lives.
LAVANDERA: So now thousands of people are left cleaning up the pieces. This was the home of Mike Gonzalez. He was inside that home when the tornado struck here in Texas. He survived was able to walk out with his wife but soon the destruction like this will look like this. And that is what many residents here have done simply bulldozed everything in piles and burned it here in pits. That is what the cleanup process is looking like right now. Ed Lavandera, CNN in Cooke County, Texas.
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VAUSE: Four days after a deadly landslide in Papua New Guinea officials have ordered thousands to evacuate the area have been fears of another landslide. As many as 2,000 people are fear to being buried alive. And the main highway to the region is completely blocked, hampering efforts by rescue crews to reach those most in need.
The landslide destroyed more than 150 homes, burning villages under tons of rock and mud while they slept.
Live to Hong Kong CNN's Anna Coren following developments for us. So what do we know what's coming from the scene?
ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, this landslide is active. It is growing that is from the provincial administrator as well as from engineers that we are talking to, who say that this is continuing to spread. Hence, they've ordered this evacuation of more than 7,000 people from the surrounding area because of the dangers that it poses.
A government official from the province so that they can hear that he called it explosions of the rock and the debris just tumbling down the hillside.
Now these are the highlands of Papua New Guinea, this province anger province in the north of the country. It is remote, it is isolated. But this particular village that was hit on Friday at three o'clock in the morning, it is densely populated, which is why the number initially was 100 and then jumped to almost 700. And then as of yesterday, the government believes that more than 2000 people have been buried alive.
This was a village that had houses that had had shops a highway which is considered the lifeline of the region ran straight through the middle of it and this village was above the highway and below the highway. There was a school, a church, a gas station, farming plots, livestock that is all buried.
And we understand that heavy equipment is arriving on the scene thanks to the defense forces of Papua New Guinea. But they are yet to access this area because it is so unstable and it will probably John will be unstable for a very long time.
We know six bodies have been recovered people using spades using their hands sticks whatever they can to dig up the Earth to people miraculously were pulled alive with the hope of finding anyone else alive is near impossible.
We know that funeral possessions have begun for the bodies that have been recovered. And you know, this is a community that is morning. Let's take a listen to the U.N. Development Program Official we spoke to a short time ago.
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MATE BAGOSSY, UNDP HUMANITARIAN COORDINATOR SPECIALIST: We talked to a lot of the population members affected communities. They are in total shock. Understandably so. And they are mourning. They are dead. And they are looking forward to receive some assistance which is already coming. But I think the main question is right now the population is caught between the trauma of what just happened and the uncertainty about the longer term future.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COREN: We understand that aid centers, evacuation centers will be built for the short term interim. These are places that people can stay where they'll get food, fresh water, medical supplies, but it is that long term future John, that is so uncertain.
[01:30:00]
Obviously they cannot rebuild where this landslide occurred. And we also understand that this highway it's like a 150 meters of it has been covered in earth. Earth that is nine hectares in diameter, six to eight meters deep. That has to be removed.
But then you've also got either side of the highway that has collapsed. And that is why engineers are saying that this landslide is active and moving.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Anna, thank you for the update. Anna Coren there live for us in Hong Kong.
Cyclone Remal has killed at least 17 people in India and Bangladesh Monday, the storm hit West Bangor in India, where low-lying areas were flooded after the storm dumped several inches of rain. The powerful winds, downed trees and uprooted power lines, leaving millions without power and mobile phones services.
In Bangladesh, authorities say rising water in a number of parts overwhelmed the drainage system. Remal is the first major cyclone of the year to hit the region.
With that we'll take a short break.
In a moment, the death toll continues to rise in Kharkiv after one of the deadliest Russian airstrikes in the region (ph).
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VAUSE: Welcome back everyone.
I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.
The death toll from a Russian airstrike on Kharkiv has risen to 18, making it the deadliest attack on Ukraine in weeks. Almost 200 people were inside a hardware mega store when it was hit. Five people remain unaccounted for.
Ukraine's interior minister says the hours following the strike were hellish. Kharkiv has faced a sharp increase in the number of Russian attacks in recent weeks as Russian forces continue to advance on Ukraine's northern front line.
Spain is promising Ukraine more than a billion dollars in new military assistance, including air defenses, a top priority for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who was in Madrid on Monday there to sign a new security deal with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who says it's crucial to continue to support Ukraine with Russia not backing down.
Spain is now the 10th nation to sign a bilateral security deal with Ukraine since last year.
President Zelenskyy heads to Portugal next to meet with the country's leaders (INAUDIBLE).
CNN's Nick Paton Walsh is in eastern Ukraine where Russian strikes have devastated homes and communities.
He spoke to one boy who lost both his parents when their home was destroyed. And a warning his report contains some disturbing images, content, and video.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: The fragments of loss and losing so often go unheard, but fast unravel lives all the same.
[01:34:46]
WALSH: Two missiles hit this comfortable family home just outside Pokrovsk. Now only dust and the smell of a decaying family dog.
We're close enough to the Russians. We can pick up their radio station.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translation): The West will not give modern equipment to Kyiv. So, the ordinary Ukrainian soldiers will be the ones to suck it up.
WALSH: Every time you see destruction like this, it's really hard to work out exactly what Russia must have thought it was hitting with firepower like this. People in the streets say there's no military around at all, but all the same, utter devastation.
People here know two parents died, but the survivor knows a greater horror. Mykola is 10 and watched his mother, Larissa (ph) die as she lay crushed by the rubble.
MYKOLA GLUSHKO, SURVIVOR OF RUSSIAN ATTACK (through translation): I heard a whistle through my dream. Then, bang. All the windows were shattered in a second. My eyes were still closed. I felt the windows shattering and I heard it. Then, something fell.
My mom was saying, "Kolya, Kolya." I shouted "Mom, I'm alive." I took everything off my face and then I saw my mom crushed down by the ceiling. I tried to pull it away but I couldn't.
Mom was moaning and shaking her legs. I was shouting "Mother, mother, it's just a dream, just a horrible dream." I was screaming, "God, why did you do this to me?" I was running in my underwear, asking for help.
WALSH: He says he hates himself for not saving his mother.
GLUSHKO: I will visit them, take care of their graves. Apologize for not being able to save them. I'll apologize to my father, that I couldn't save my mom, his wife.
My biggest dream is to ask my parents at least one question. What should I do now? How do I live? My other dream is to take revenge on who fired the missile.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): Enter. Easy, easy. We are in.
WALSH: When you hear the words too injured in Ukraine, the agony of survival is rarely heard too. A blast hit four feet from these two soldiers' dug out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): So what was it?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): I don't know.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shelling or drone?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Legs, here. Good job.
WALSH: It'll take weeks to learn if they'll see again. Now this stabilization point has to just keep them alive.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When I open the eye like this, do you see the light?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And people?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cold?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK for you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
WALSH: Well, these two are from a town that Russia's claimed to be seeing progress in the past days, possibly because forces have been withdrawn from there by Ukraine and rushed north towards Kharkiv to stop the new Russian offensive there.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translation): Oleh Mykolayovich, look at the hand.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Something burns on my side.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where?
WALSH: Suddenly he feels pain in his right, internal injuries from the sheer force of the blast. They must quickly intervene.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is it a short or what?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just a little shot. A painkiller, it will be unpleasant now. That's all, it's done, honey.
WALSH: The doctor says last year during Bakhmut was much busier.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 200 people a day.
WALSH: The beds here are empty now not because the war is getting better, quite the opposite. This unit, the 93rd Mechanized Brigade, say it's because they're running low on infantry.
And that's how they leave, in complete darkness with their headlights off so worried are they about the Russians spotting this place.
Nick Paton Walsh, CNN -- eastern Ukraine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Still ahead this hour, intel (ph) on fears that opposition move for greater presidential oversight could open the door to interference from Beijing.
Also ahead South Africa amid blackouts, unemployment, and stark inequality, the ruling ANC Party hopes they can win the next election.
More on that in a moment.
[01:39:35]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: North Korea has failed for the second time in six months to send a spy satellite into orbit. According the state media the rocket carrying what is believed to be a military reconnaissance satellite exploded during the first stage of flight possibly due to (INAUDIBLE) problems.
Pyongyang said that it would be deploying a satellite sometime this week, which is, you know, impressive (ph).
In Japan emergency sirens were heard Okinawa warning residents to take cover. South Korea, Japan, the United States have all denounced law saying any use of ballistic missile technology is a violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions.
To Taiwan now where protests have been continuing outside the island's legislature with lawmakers once again still making controversial reforms aimed at oversight of the presidency.
Opposition leaders are pushing China's scrutiny of the island's new president and his administration. Protesters are warned the bill could undermine Taiwan's democratic institutions and lead to greater influence from mainland China.
CNN's Mike Valerio is following developments. He joins us live from Hong Kong.
So did the actual new president and his administration actually do anything in particular which sparked these moves by the opposition for greater oversight.
MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well John, in short, they won. So critics are saying this is a power grab by the two opposition parties to try to take control and confront the presidents since he won. Since he is from a party that has many views that are antithetical to the two parties that want this to happen.
So you know John, what we're doing right now, we are looking at the perspectives of the protesters who are gathering outside the parliament in Taipei.
And what they're saying, if you don't follow Taiwanese politics too closely they submit that this John amounts to a dangerous overreach from the parliament, and it could put Taiwan's national security in jeopardy.
So you know, it's worth talking about how they get to such a dire point of view and what this bill would do. It would allow lawmakers to heighten their investigative powers.
If you're a member of Taiwan's parliament, if this passes, you could in theory ask for sensitive documents, sensitive state secrets from the highest echelons of power in Taiwan be it the president or even the military for example.
So you know, those kinds of investigations happen all the time in the United States and the United Kingdom. But John what the protesters here are saying the parties that want this to happen, the Guomindang and the Taiwan People's Party they are both closely -- they are in favor of closer ties with China.
And the fear the protesters are expressing is that if sensitive information lands in their hands, that information could perhaps trickle down to hands that are involved with the Chinese Communist Party.
That is one of the major concerns the protesters are expressing. We've spoken to so many of them, John, over the past few days. Here's what just a few of them had to say.
[01:44:46]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LIU YAN CHENG, JOB SEEKER (through translator): The process does not reflect our democratic value. I will slowly lose my trust in Taiwan's democracy if they continue to pass new laws in this matter. I hope through this protest, we can stop, slow down, and improve the process.
FONG JYE-MEI, RETIREE: Both Guomindang and Taiwan People's Party are secretly supported by the Communist Party.
This is why they create chaos in our parliament. Our parliament does not need reform into what they proposed. I think China is the one needing reform. Why do they have to meddle with us when they themselves do not have a democratic system. (END VIDEO CLIP)
VALERIO: So the two parties, John, that want closer ties to China, they are in the majority. They are saying that this is needed for a necessary check and balance, like the checks and balances that exist in the United States or in the parliament in Westminster in Great Britain.
But the protesters are saying this process has been so rushed, in their point of view it is so opaque. That's why we see all of these fights and all of these people who are protesting outside of parliament right now, John.
Mike, thank you. Mike Valerio live for us in Hong Kong.
VALERIO: No problem.
VAUSE: Well, as South Africans head to the polls Wednesday, the ruling African National Congress Party is facing the first serious challenge to its 30 year-long rule mostly because of high unemployment, economic stagnation, power cuts, and rampant corruption, to say nothing of crime. But the party of Nelson Mandela still has supporters.
CNN's David McKenzie.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: IT worker Mmeli Mbatha knows how to gin up a crowd. He's volunteered for the ANC since he was just 15. But now it's crunch time.
MMELI MBATHA, ANC YOUTH LEAGUE: We want to show the support to the ANC, because ANC has been supporting us.
MCKENZIE: The party of Nelson Mandela needs their voices, and it really needs their votes. 50 years in power, and the party that has defined South African politics faces its strongest challenge yet.
This could be the most closely contested election since the dawn of South Africa's democracy. And many believe that the ruling ANC could lose its majority. But their supporters say don't count them out yet.
The ANC can fill stadiums, yes, but it also has a formidable ground game.
Spending vast sums on this campaign, getting right into neighborhoods with senior leaders.
THULI GWALA, ANC SUPPORTER: Voting for ANC until now.
MCKENZIE: Why do you still want to vote for the ANC?
GWALA: I want to vote because my ANC he worked for me.
MCKENZIE: Millions of South Africans, like Thuli Gwala depend on modest government social grants to survive. For decades, these grants have been the party's trump card.
But South Africans want more. Breathtaking unemployment, sustained electricity blackouts, and stark inequalities have left many feeling betrayed by the promises of the ANC.
Once loyal supporters are abandoning the ANC, even forming their own parties. There are more than 50 on the national ballot.
HERMAN MASHABA, LEADER, ACTION SA PARTY: I have voted for the ANC twice. All these people here before, majority of them used to vote for the ANC. Look at the ANC's electoral support every year is going down.
MCKENZIE: The ANC government has presided over huge allegations of corruption. And there is a very significant problem with unemployment.
Why should people this time vote for this party given that record?
FIKILE MBALULA, ANC SECRETARY-GENERAL: We are a party that has made strides in terms of renewal and fighting the stigma, so to say, of being associated with corruption.
MCKENZIE: Is it enough to win this election? Are you feeling confident?
MBALULA: The elections will be one on the basis of the work we do among our people. And as we -- you can see, we are not idle.
MCKENZIE: Never idle, not during campaign season. But on Election Day, will voters be singing a different tune?
David McKenzie, CNN -- Soweto, South Africa.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Well, the Vatican is yet to respond to reports that Pope Francis used an anti-gay slur in a recent meeting with Italian bishops.
According to two Italian newspapers, on May 20 and during a closed- door meeting, the pope allegedly said gay men should not be allowed to train for the priesthood. One paper says the 87-year-old pontiff who speaks Italian as a second language, may not have realized the offense his comment made.
Pope Francis has demonstrated rather a more welcoming approach to LGBTQ plus Catholics including the possibility priests could bless same-sex couples.
Well, a tennis titan makes an early exit from the tournament he loves the most. When we go back, Rafa Nadal's struggles at the French Open. Bye-bye Nadal.
[01:49:40]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) VAUSE: Tributes are coming in for one of the true giants of basketball. Hall of Fame player turned broadcaster Bill Walton died Monday of cancer. The towering redhead led UCLA to national championships in 1972 and 1973. He was an outspoken activist against the Vietnam War, was arrested at a campus protest in 1972.
Walton went on to win NBA championships with two teams, the Portland Trailblazers and the Boston Celtics. He was named the league's Most Valuable Player in 1978.
A series of injuries derailed his career on court so he moved into broadcasting. He was 71.
Boxer, Mike Tyson is said to be doing great after experiencing what representatives called a medical episode during a cross-country flight on Sunday. A spokesperson for the 57-year-old says Tyson became nauseous and dizzy due to an ulcer flare up, but says it won't affect a planned boxing match in July.
He'll face former YouTube creator turned boxer, Jake Paul, Tyson's first professional match in nearly 20 years. His first fight since 2020, when he fought Roy Jones Jr. in an exhibition match.
Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal has been knocked out of the tournament he loves the most. The king of clay was ousted in the first round of the French Open during his first match at Roland Garros in two years raising questions about will he (ph) return.
CNN World Sport's Don Riddell has details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DON RIDDELL, CNN WORLD SPORT ANCHOR: Yes, you know, we might just have witnessed Rafa Nadal's last ever match of the French Open.
We don't know for sure. And if he knows for sure, then he isn't saying. But there is a pretty strong chance that the man who won an extraordinary 14, singles titles at Roland Garros will not be returning as a player.
There was a real sense of occasion, as Nadal took the court to play his first-round match against the German fourth Alexander Zverev on Monday.
It was a really tough draw for Nadal who's been out injured for much of the season so far. And he lost the match in straight sets, but Nadal still had his moments reminding us all of why he's been so dominant at Roalnd Garros over all these years.
Since making his debut here in 2005, Nadal has played a total of 160 matches and this was only his fourth defeat. Afterwards, he reflected on almost 20 years of near-complete perfection.
And he suggested that at the very least, he would like to return at least one more time to play in the Olympics this summer. RAFAEL NADAL, PRO TENNIS PLAYER: You know, it's difficult for me to talk. I don't know. It's going to be the last time that I'm going to be here in front of all of you, honestly. I am not 100 percent sure.
But if it's -- if it's the last time I enjoyed it. Now, the crowd have been amazing during the whole week of preparation.
And today yes, the feelings that I -- that I have today are difficult to describe in words, but for me so special to feel the love of the people, the way that I felt in the place that I loved the most.
So (INAUDIBLE). I mean, maybe two months. I say it's enough. I can give anything else now, but it's something that I don't feel yet I have some goals in front. I hope to be back on this court for the Olympics, that motivates me.
But the feelings that you made me feel here are just forgettable now. Thank you very much. From the bottom of my heart and I really hope to see you again.
But I don't know. Merci beaucoup.
[01:54:55]
RIDDELL: Wow you know, it is very unusual that the winning player in a tennis match would end up being the side show afterwards. But this was not a normal first round match at a major tournament.
Reportedly, the cheapest ticket prices on the secondary market. But going for as much as $3,250. And you could tell by looking at some fans how unusual it was.
There were several other players watching. And you never see that, certainly not in the first round of a major.
The young Spaniard, Carlos Alcaraz, who many see as the next Rafa Nadal well he was there as were the top rank players. Novak Djokovic, and also Iga Swiatek. Iga had actually just played on the same court before taking her seat. Among this spectators.
These are, of course, great players in their own right but they were there to, as it were, pay their respects and just see it, be a part of a special occasion because I don't think any athlete has dominated a tournament, quite like Nadal has at the French Open.
Back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: If you're planning a family reunion anytime soon and the menu features grilled bear meat, maybe think again. Three people went to hospital according to a new report from U.S. health officials. Six people developed parasitic diseases called trichinosis. That's after they grilled black bear meat kebabs in 2022.
One man reported to be in muscle pain, fever, swollen eyes. He recovered, so did two other people who were sickened. CDC says game meat should be cooked thoroughly to an internal temperature of at least 165 degrees Fahrenheit to kill the parasites. Or maybe just don't eat it at all.
And finally some advice here about those who wish to join a regatta. This one in Miami, I think. Make sure your vessel is seaworthy unless it's all part of the joke.
In Key West on Sunday, participants in the Schooner Wharf Minimal Regatta sailed boats made of plywood and duct tape. Joining the race is a mini pirate ship, a boat modeled after the Titanic and it sank as well.
The awards for the regatta were given to a design costume (ph) sportsmanship, and for the least seaworthy boat which was a very difficult choice to make.
Good effort (ph), son.
Thank you for watching. I'm John Vause.
Please stay with us. CNN NEWSROOM continues with my friend and colleague Rosemary Church after a short break.
See you back here tomorrow.
[01:57:07]
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