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Jerusalem Tensions; Afghanistan School Girls Buried Following Attack; Palestinian Fight Eviction From Homes In Sheikh Jarrah. Aired 10- 11a ET

Aired May 10, 2021 - 10:00   ET

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

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[10:00:19]

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BECKY ANDERSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR (voice-over): Hundreds of Palestinians injured in clashes with Israeli police tensions continue in

Jerusalem. Then.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): She was 15 years old and was studying in class eight. She was very intelligent and didn't miss a single

day of school.

ANDERSON: Parents bury their daughters. Eight to five people killed in an horrifying attack targeting school girls in Afghanistan.

And South Africa's president slams wealthy nations alleging that COVID-19 vaccine inequality amounts to " vaccine apartheid."

It's 5:00 p.m. in Jerusalem, it's 6:00 in the evening here in Abu Dhabi, and it is 6:30 p.m. in Kabul. I'm Becky Anderson. Hello and welcome to

CONNECT THE WORLD. Right now nationalists in Israel are gathering in Jerusalem amid the highest tensions that we've seen there in years. They're

preparing to celebrate Jerusalem Day as it's known after a weekend of clashes in the city. The latest Flashpoint, one of the Islam's holiest

sites.

Israeli police and Palestinian protesters clashed at the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Here's what it looked like just a few hours ago.

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ANDERSON: Police firing, stun grenades, protesters throwing rocks. The Palestinian red president says more than 300 people were injured mostly

Palestinians. Jews are now temporarily banned from the temple mountain so called the noble sanctuary where the mosque is located. The city has seen

weeks of unrest over the possible eviction of several Palestinian families from their homes in East Jerusalem.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calls it a struggle for the heart of Jerusalem. Adding to the tensions, two rockets were fired from Gaza

towards the Israeli City of Ashkelon. Israeli military says it intercepted one of the rockets and no one was hurt. We Arab League foreign ministers

are planning an urgent meeting tomorrow on this crisis. There's been lots of international reaction.

Here in the UAE, the Ministry of State says Israeli authorities must "assume their responsibilities in line with international law to provide

necessary protection to Palestinian civil civilian's rights to practice their religion and to prevent practices that violate the sanctity of the

holy accept loss. The White House says the U.S. National Security Adviser spoke to his Israeli counterpart on Sunday.

He expressed "serious concerns about the violence and the potential evictions of Palestinian families." Well, now the Jerusalem Day parade is

being rerouted away from the Muslim quarter. CNN's Hadas Gold is at the Damascus Gate. What's the latest there, Hadas?

HADAS GOLD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Becky, a lot of developments in just the last hour here in front of the Damascus Gate entrance to the Old City. As

you noted, this was where that March, the Jerusalem Day march, the day that Israel marks when he took control of the Western Wall. This was where tens

of thousands were of Israelis were potentially going to be marching through to mark Jerusalem day waving the Israeli flags all of the marching singing

together.

Now, there was a lot of concern that they would be coming through this gate because this is the main gate for Muslims to enter the Old City. This is

often where we've seen people gathering here during Ramadan. We've seen clashes here in the last few weeks when police tried to put up barricades

and stop people from gathering here. But the march was supposed to go through this gate and go through the Muslim part of the Old City.

A lot of concerns that would only further inflame tensions here in a city that has really been at such a boiling point what we have not seen for

several years. But in the last hour or so, police changed the route of the parade. It is now going to start through the Jaffa Gate which is not that

far away from the gate we're standing in but it's a much different situation for them to be marching through that gate versus the Damascus

Gate.

And last few -- in the last hour or so that we've been here we have seen people gathering on the steps behind me or they have been chanting at

various points and we've also seen actually police at different points coming and trying to clear the plaza.

[10:05:10]

GOLD: Were heard what sounded like either stun grenades or sound bombs of some kind as they pushed everybody out of the closet up into the street,

but in the last few minutes has been relatively calm. People are back. They're sitting here on the steps. It's a much different situation than

then what would have been had those marchers come through this gate. Officials were very worried and are still very worried about what the next

few hours can bring just because of how high the levels of tension have been.

As you noted earlier this morning, more than 300 Palestinians were injured 9:00. Israeli police officers were also injured in clashes at the Al-Aqsa

compound. We've seen really dramatic video of police firing stun grenades, some of them even would aim the Al-Aqsa mosque and Palestinians throwing

stones at the Israeli police forces. And part of the -- one of the biggest flashpoints of all this was -- is the situation for those policy and

families.

Someone who have lived in that shaped run neighborhood for generations that are facing evictions that were actually supposed to have a hearing on an

appeal of those evictions today at the Supreme Court. That was postponed but still tensions running very high, Becky. It really feels like Jerusalem

is standing on some sort of an edge, teetering on the edge of some sort of eruption.

ANDERSON: And concern there about what happens next as there is concern around the world, the White House expressing "serious concerns about the

violence and the potential evictions of Palestinian families." You say the Supreme Court has postponed its decision on those evictions. What more do

we know at this point?

GOLD: We don't know whether today would have actually brought an official decision on that appeal. There was supposed to be a hearing today and it

was scheduled to take place today. Of course, the way the calendar has worked out. This has just been a confluence of events Jerusalem Day.

Ramadan, al-Qadr which is the holiest day of Ramadan just took place over the weekend.

But that hearing, that supreme court hearing was postponed at the request of the attorney general and the court does say that they will be

rescheduling the hearing within the next 30 days. So, it's obviously hasn't ended. It hasn't solved anything with what's happening with these families

in Sheikh Jarrah. It is only delaying, only postponing this situation. There have been efforts by officials to try to calm.

Situation as we have seen the parade being rerouted. But we are hearing lots of concern from the international community for the United Nations,

from the Arab League, even from the pope about what is happening here. The White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan spoke with his Israeli

counterpart yesterday expressing concern about what's happening with families in sheikh jarrah and also condemning those rocket attacks that we

saw coming from Gaza overnight.

Clearly a very volatile situation when all of the world's eyes It seems are on Jerusalem as we are just watching and waiting what could happen in the

next few hours, Becky.

ANDERSON: Yes, Hadas Gold is in Jerusalem for you at Damascus Gate. Hadas, thank you. As we mentioned, Israel Supreme Court set to take up the issue

of the evictions in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood. The clashes with police have almost become a nightly occurrence there. Each side saying the land is

their own. Andrew Carey takes a closer look.

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ANDREW CAREY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At divided street in a fractured city, Palestinians breaking the fast. A ritual during the holy

month of Ramadan. On the pavement opposite about a dozen mostly young Jewish nationalists. A blast of pepper spray and the volley of plastic

chairs. Seems like this have become a familiar sight in the neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah in East Jerusalem.

The extreme right-wing Jewish lawmaker, Itamar Ben-Gvir makes an appearance this evening, alongside Deputy Mayor Aryeh King. After taunts of Nazi, Ben-

Gvir says the deputy mayor makes a joke about a bullet entering a man's head.

Later, after a car is torched, nearby videos emerge of religious Israelis with pistols poised apparently taking their positions to defend a building.

This does not look or feel like a city at peace with itself. Back on the street bottles, rocks and objects are thrown by protesters. Police use stun

grenades and make arrests for public disorder offenses. Palestinian residents say the real aim is intimidation. Another common sight, stomp

water, blasting out from a truck. Sprayed to disperse police say.

[10:10:06]

CAREY (voice-over): Residents who have to live with the putrid smell in their homes and their gardens, say demeans and humiliates. It's these homes

and gardens, this land that all this is ultimately about. Seven extended Palestinian families who've lived here since the 1950s face possible

eviction over the summer. Israel Supreme Court is to hear their appeal soon. 77-year-old Nabeel El Kurd is head of one of the seven families.

Nabeel El Kurd, Sheikh Jarah Resident (through translator): We are in the right. We are the owners of the land. We are still resisting. We are

staying here, even if they don't want us.

CAREY (voice-over): Nabeel was a little boy when he moved here after his family were expelled from their home in Haifa by Jewish forces in 1948.

Under an arrangement between the U.N. and Jordan which at the time- controlled East Jerusalem, 28 Palestinian families were found a place to live here in exchange for giving up their refugee status. But using the law

passed in 1970, after Israel took control of the whole of Jerusalem, an organization called Nahalat Shimon International is seeking their eviction.

Arguing that the land had once belonged to Jewish families. Three evictions have already taken place, including the front half of an Nabeel's 12 years

ago.

KURD (through translator): They took all my furniture out and put it in the garden. I had a little cupboard which I used for food and drink that I

would give to visitors. They stole it.

CAREY (voice-over): Nabeel's daughter Luna was filmed in an exchange with the man who currently lives there.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yakub, this is not your house.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. But if I go you don't go back. So what's the problem? What are you yelling m? I didn't do this. I didn't do this.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But I didn't do this.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You are stealing my house.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And if I don't steal it, someone else is going to steal it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No. No one is allowed to steal it (INAUDIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We don't understand why Arabs are here. I don't want any problems. But this area called Nahalat Shimon was

for the Jews even before the establishment of the state. This land is Jewish and belongs to us. We don't believe anyone, not the courts or anyone

else.

CAREY (voice-over): Israel's foreign ministry characterizes what's going on here as a real estate dispute. But Palestinian families say there is a huge

injustice at the center of it all, which is that under an Israeli law passed in 1950 they have no right to return to their old homes in Israel

that were taken away and given to Jewish families. Deputy Jerusalem Mayor Fleur Hassan-Nahoum refused to address the different restitution laws when

interviewed by CNN, but said the municipality was committed to helping all people in the city.

FLEUR HASSAN-NAHOUM, JERUSALEM DEPUTY MAYOR: In local government, we cannot be involved in those matters. It is not asked to make any type of laws like

this. This is a property dispute that will be solved in the courts.

CAREY (voice-over): But which courts? Israel wants this settled at its own high court under its own laws. International law considers East Jerusalem

occupied territory, which Israel strongly rejects.

IVAN KARAKASHIAN, NORWEGIAN REFUGEE COUNCIL: And the people living here are protected, have protected status under international law. And accordingly,

Israel is obligated under international law not to transfer the protected population in or out or within occupied territory, nor is it allowed to

transfer its own population into that territory. For all the legal complexities, the provocations and the violence.

It's hard to avoid the conclusion that something pretty basic seems broken in Sheikh Jarah. Something isn't working. Andrew Carey, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Well, this story is developing quickly. Do stay up to date@cnn.com and we will of course have more coverage for you next hour

here on CONNECT THE WORLD.

But in much of the world, the coronavirus is the biggest threat that children face at school. But in Afghanistan, just being a girl can put you

in mortal danger. Bombs detonated outside of school in Kabul neighborhood on Saturday killing at least 85 people. Most of the victims are school

girls. The damage at the scene tells a heartbreaking story of the bombing. But the sight of these children's graves tells a wider story of

Afghanistan's collapse after decades of war, the most vulnerable are still paying the price. Exasperated families want to know when the violence will

end.

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GHULAM HUSSAIN, UNCLE OF VICTIM (through translator): She was 15 years old and was studying in class eight. She was very intelligent and didn't miss a

single day of school. Yesterday, her mother told her not to go to school but she said no I will go today, but I will not go tomorrow. She told the

truth and we buried her here today.

MOHAMMED SADIQ, RELATIVE OF VICTIM (through translator): Our message to the government is that they should ensure our peace and security. Also our

message to the blind hearted enemy is that there are so many incidents in Kabul that they should stop the violence and accept peace and stability.

[10:15:11]

SADIQ: Until when will we bury the dead bodies? Our government officials only apologize and show sympathy which doesn't cure our pain.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Nick Paton Walsh following the story for us from London recently back from Afghanistan. What more do we know about this specific attack at

this point, Nick?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Increasingly callous. And frankly disgusting, unbelievable in its details. It seems that

these bombs detonated about 4:00 on Saturday when the girls at the school were essentially finishing their shift the past the day when they were

educated. They're the first one in a car went off as they emerged from the school gates.

And then as we've often seen in Afghanistan in the past, the secondary explosions were set off when people ran in to help and to investigate to

ensure the largest death toll they can imagine. Now, why school girls? Why such an apparent X? There are two possible motivations that possibly

combine. The first is that for extremists in Afghanistan, who number in some of their ranks, possibly the hard line of factions of the Taliban

insurgency.

The mere idea of teaching girls at that age and their teams or slightly younger, at all is apparent. Secondly, also this took place in the Shia

minority part of Kabul. A minority in Afghanistan, often frankly, disenfranchised, poorly treated, but also to read recently and frequently

targeted very viciously by extremists, often by the ISIS franchise that exists in Afghanistan too.

We've heard frankly, in past years, death toll is higher than this when it comes to attacks against the sheer minority again, but I have to say I

struggled to recall an attack quite as utterly shocking and apparent as this. The Taliban say it was not them. But that one Twitter account that

they issued the statement on there probably doesn't speak for the entirety of the groups in the insurgency at the moment from moderate to extremist, a

hardliner.

There are suggestions, ISIS may be behind this as well because of their pedigree, because of the nature of the target. But it is utterly shocking,

Becky, and that death toll began at 25 rocketed to 85. And the burials, frankly, it seems from some ports have struggled to find space in some of

the graveyards. Becky?

ANDERSON: And, Nick, the backdrop to this, of course, is that the U.S. is set to withdraw its troops in the coming months. I just wonder how this

attack and the others that you and I have discussed, recently played to what is the bigger picture going forward for Afghanistan?

WALSH: Yes, I mean, you can't say that because the U.S. are leaving that this necessarily occurred. But it is, of course, something which we

probably look at a greater retention, because of the wider political context that it occurs. And these attacks have been occurring over the past

years, but often don't get the same sort of focus This, of course, because of the atrocity that it was.

And also, because of when it occurred has got many wondering what this -- whether this is the first symptom we're seeing of the security vacuum of

the United States, leaving Afghanistan. So often, they were sort of the security blanket for the Afghan government, that is fast being drawn away

now. And Kabul is, of course, the stronghold of Afghan security forces, and somewhere where the Taliban clearly want to make their presence felt has

been quiet in recent months but ghastly and months before that, too.

But there's a separate issue here, too, which is possibly the argument within the insurgency to be it's more frankly, crazy, more disgusting,

ideological, hardline edge. And the people behind this clearly want to claim that territory. So, whoever they were, may well be trying to raise

their flag and say, this is what we stand for, as the insurgency struggles for broader political control in the country in the months ahead.

But be in no doubt, Becky, at all here, there are people at graveside in the past 48 hours who blame the failings of the Afghan government for the

lapse in security that enabled this to happen. I don't think anybody thinks it won't happen again, and as similar or lesser hopefully scale in the

months ahead. But you have to also remember that when President Joe Biden stood there and said, the Americans are leaving, and they're leaving pretty

quickly, pretty much unconditionally.

Most people thought things like this would begin to happen, that this was the cost of the ugly decision America made after frankly, trying everything

else over the last 20 years or so. So we are sadly, I think going to see a greater loss of life. There has been a declaration of a ceasefire over the

holiday by the Taliban recently followed up by the Afghan government. So there will be a sudden low I'm sure for many Afghans but it will blow

slightly pick up again.

The larger fear is the insurgency feel possibly the wind beneath its wings because the Americans are leaving and want to take territory in the south

permanently. It's always a bad summer in Afghanistan, but I think this particular one because of the American departure and its steep consequences

will be particularly fierce and heartbreaking.

[10:20:07]

ANDERSON: Nick Paton Walsh on the story for you. Nick, thank you.

Well amid the surge in -- violence in the Middle East, the United Nations Security Council is holding a private virtual meeting state reportedly

includes an update from the U.N.'s special coordinator for the Middle East peace process. Later I'll speak to the editor-in-chief of the National,

Mina Al-Oraibi on the current regional tensions, a Middle East diplomacy. And now that Joe Biden is in the White House.

That's ahead on CONNECT THE WORLD with me., I'm Becky Anderson, do stay with us. Up next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NYROLA ELIMA, UYGHUR IN EXILE: Come on, a stranger sleeping at your home. Do you -- how can we feel safe about that?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON (voice-over): Why China is forcing some families to host government officials inside their homes. Plus, an esteemed medical journal

blaming the Indian Prime Minister for his country's devastating second wave of COVID-19 What it says Narendra Modi should have done differently.

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ANDERSON: Imagine being told you had to host a government official every month who would eat and sleep in your home. Well, that is part of that

Chinese government policy that ramped up in the country's Xinjiang region in 2016. Just as the authorities were allegedly detaining up to two million

Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities into internment camps. What Chinese government insists these government home stays were popular.

But CNN's Ivan Watson speaks to several Uyghurs who say the unwanted guests meant they had to live in constant fear.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Playing with children, sharing meals, teaching Communist Party thought. These are

some of the activities of the more than one million people sent by the Chinese government to live with the families of mostly Muslim ethnic

minorities in China's Xinjiang region. A very public policy Beijing says is aimed at promoting ethnic unity and battling religious extremism, by

forcing families to host government officials in their homes.

ELIMA: We're not happy with this.

WATSON (voice-over): Nyrola Elima, an ethnic Uyghur who lives in Sweden says her parents in Xinjiang have had to play hosts to Chinese officials.

ELIMA: Come on a stranger and sleeping at your home. Do you -- how can we feel safe about that?

WATSON (voice-over): The policy has been heavily promoted by state media. Cheerful portrayals show outsiders enthusiastically welcomed into the homes

of ethnic Uyghurs. Strangers sent by the government would teach their hosts how to wear make-up and even how to wash their hands.

[10:25:04]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: about sin that I brought the concept of modern life into their home so that they can live a better and more civilized life. Did

you have any choice whether or not to keep these people in your home?

WATSON: Did you have any choice whether or not to keep these people in your home?

ZUMRAT DAWUT, UYGHUR IN EXILE (through translator): No. We had no choice.

WATSON (voice-over): Zumrat Dawut is an ethnic Uyghur from Xinjiang now living in the U.S. She says she was forced to host four Chinese officials

in her home for 10 days every month. If she resisted she says she risked being sent to an internment camp.

DAWUT: We had to pretend that we were happy. If we did not then the government would view that as us being against their policy.

WATSON (voice-over): Rian Thum, an expert in Uyghur history says the homestay program has a sinister motive.

RIAN THUM, UYGHUR HISTORIAN, UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER: It's a combined indoctrination and monitoring project.

WATSON (on camera): This is a 2018 memo produced by the government in (INAUDIBLE) for officials sent to live with families and it instructs them

how to find problems? Spotting red flags that the authorities say could be signs of religious extremism. Telling officials for example, to look for

religious objects hanging on the walls and "ask children questions while playing with them because children never lie."

(voice-over): Thum calls this the ultimate invasion of privacy.

THUM: There's no private space that they can retreat to where they can act in ways that they're -- that they're comfortable.

WATSON (voice-over): Australian born Mehray Menensof says her in laws had no choice but to host a police officer in their house for months in 2018

while her husband (INAUDIBLE) languished in an internment camp.

And did you ever hear how your family felt about this man living in their house?

MEHRAY MENENSOF, AUSTRALIAN UYGHUR: They were like really scared. They just spoke about like, how at night they couldn't really sleep properly because

it was just like -- just to know that there was like this strange man in the other room who was also sleeping. So they were just like pretty much

living in constant fear.

WATSON (voice-over): The Chinese government's rosy portrayal of its homestay program, challenged by Uyghurs in exile who claimed the hosts are

actually hostages. Ivan Watson, CNN, Hong Kong.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Russian authorities have reportedly found a missing doctor who used to leave the Siberian hospital that treated the Kremlin critic Alexei

Navalny. State media say Alexander Murakhovsky has been located in good condition in a forest way he was last seen on Friday and is thanking

everyone for the search. He was the first doctors treat Navalny after the Russian opposition leader was poisoned with a nerve agent last year.

Markowski went on to tell the world Navalny's illness was a case of low blood sugar. Well, coming up on this show. South Africa's president slams

COVID vaccine inequality, calling the vaccine gap between rich and poor countries vaccine apartheid. We're live in Jerusalem with the latest on

that.

And Tokyo is in the middle of a state of emergency over COVID-19 and the Olympics are fast approaching. We'll get you the latest on the poll showing

how the Japanese public feels about hosting the games.

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[10:30:45]

ANDERSON: Right now, much of India is under COVID-19 lockdowns or restrictions as calls for a nationwide lockdown mount. New cases and deaths

today below recent records but still at historically high levels. Hospitals still struggling to supply oxygen to patients even if they have even room

to admit them. And vaccine supplies running low in many places. Well, the British Medical Journal The Lancet has published a blistering editorial

criticizing Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying "Modi's actions in attempting to stifle criticism and open discussion during the crisis are

inexcusable."

The editorial cites what he calls government complacency a botched vaccination campaign, and large political and religious gatherings that

we're allowed to go ahead. Well, our senior International Correspondent Sam Kiley on the ground for is in New Delhi. This criticism is not new. It's

what we've been hearing, both from within India and from some in the international community now for weeks.

And we -- on this show have been calling for some accountability. Now these calls for a full nationwide lockdown is growing. We're seeing these

statewide lockdowns in many parts of the country, but there is no full nationwide lockdown. Sam, is the government listening at this point?

SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's very opaque indeed, Becky. I have to say. It's very, very difficult to get any officials from

the ruling BJP party, to speak even off the record to journalists. They have held occasional press conferences in which they're essentially saying

that things are going pretty well but they recognize the need for local lockdowns.

Indeed, here in New Delhi, they've got increased lockdown Gujarat state where I've just come from after a failed trade there, again locked down,

very severely locked down there even within policed by roadblock and so on. But it's all part as you're intimating of a state by state, a patchwork

response rather than the national response that Prime Minister Modi presided over in the first wave of the pandemic.

And this is presented, Becky with a political conundrum. If he admits now that he has to have a lockdown, he has to admit that this pandemic is

rather out of control, and it needs this level of public involvement resolved. And at the same time, of course, there's the concurrent economic

knock that's going to come. All after he had claimed to have beaten or India had beaten back in January beaten the pandemic.

But the expert advice coming from the genome researchers is absolutely clear. Here's what one of the National Committee told us.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

Dr. ANURAG AGRAWAL, DIRECTOR, CSR INSTITUTE OF GENOMICS AND INTEGRATIVE BIOLOGY: Once you take public health measures, things can be brought back

under control, but you need strict public health measures, which are a bit difficult to keep if you want the entire system to be open.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KILEY: Now that, of course, is the conundrum faced by Mr. Modi. But both nationally and internationally calls from experts and politicians,

certainly in opposition groups are for national lockdown, but it does come with a political price and an economic price. And so far, there's no signs

at all that Prime Minister Modi is prepared to do that. There are some almost anecdotal or some semi-scientific indications that perhaps by the

middle of this month, the pandemic may have peaked in its second wave.

But that still means that they've got to prepare for the third wave. And of course, if you don't lock down now, the argument is the third wave could be

that much worse. I should also add there though that, Becky, the experts here are saying that there's sort of three contributing factors. The

opening up of the economy, the ending prematurely, perhaps, of lockdown, then there's an assumption that the high levels of people who had been

infected would have a degree of herd immunity proved to be false.

It seems that the evidence is that certainly some of the new variants in California, U.K. and India are able to bypass preexisting immunities from

those who've been infected in the past. And then these new variants, particularly the British and the Indian variants showing very high levels

of infect -- infectiousness which means that the public health systems have been overwhelmed. So those three factors have been combined according to

the experts here.

[10:35:11]

ANDERSON: Yes. Terrific work on the ground, Sam. In what is a very difficult and trying situation. Thank you.

India and South Africa are waiting for the World Trade Organization to make a decision on waiving intellectual property rights to COVID vaccines.

That's after U.S. President Joe Biden backed the country's joint proposal. Now South African president Cyril Ramaphosa is adding more pressure saying

would amount to vaccine apartheid, should wealthy countries hoard vaccines and allow millions of people in poor countries to die while waiting to get

them?

Let's get you to David McKenzie who is in Johannesburg for you this evening. That's the assessment from the president. Does it have merit?

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Look, I think it does have merit and that there have been for many months now critics saying that this

vaccine rollout has been an equal at best and really at worst will fix countries in rich parts of the world and kill people in poor parts. But the

latest person to add their voice to that is the South African president Cyril Ramaphosa saying earlier today, as you said, that it's tantamount to

vaccine apartheid.

Eighty odd percent of the doses so far administered to people are in rich countries. 20 percent or so to low-income countries. Here on the African

continent it's the worst picture possible in that very few countries have meaningfully rolled out their vaccine including care in South Africa,

Becky.

ANDERSON: David McKenzie is in Johannesburg for you. Thank you. On the other end of the spectrum, grandparents, grandchildren and just about

everybody across England now limbering up, getting ready for what is -- for them a really big day. Exactly one week from today hugging allow back in

England after months of COVID restrictions. The Prime Minister, British Prime Minister expects to confirm that just under two hours from now when

he holds a news conference from Downing Street.

Boris Johnson's office says the government's roadmap out of the third COVID lockdown is "on track." And it has to be setting. Thanks in large part to

what has been this rapid vaccine rollout.

Well, meanwhile Spaniards making the most of their newfound freedom. The streets were packed with party goers offer a state of emergency expired

across much of the country. They're late on Saturday night. CNN"s Scott McLean on the story for you.

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it was party time in Spain as the country finally lifted it six-month state of emergency in most regions on

Saturday night. People packed Madrid's famous square, the Porta Del Sol to celebrate. And this was a square that keep in mind that the beginning of

the pandemic was heavily secured with police and even soldiers to ensure that Spaniards respected the rules that were set out at the beginning of

the pandemic.

Last night though it was a very different picture. And it was a similar scene in Barcelona where people packed the beaches to celebrate their

newfound freedoms. But all of this was still in violation of the new rules that mandate that outdoor gatherings should not involve more than six

people. Police tried to push people to go home and both Madrid and Barcelona. More than one quarter of all Spaniards have at least one shot of

the coronavirus vaccine, or one in eight are fully vaccinated. Scott McLean, CNN, London.

ANDERSON: Well crowds like that not on the cards for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics. The Japanese Prime Minister on the defensive, insisting his

priority has always been keeping the public safe from COVID-19. More -- next on the mounting pressure as the Olympics are still set to go ahead.

We'll get out your fangs and your cape, Romania has turned a unique venue into COVID vaccination center. More coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:41:21]

ANDERSON: Well, if you live in a country fortunate enough to have an ample COVID vaccine supply, there are plenty of places you can get a potentially

life-saving shot. But probably none like this one. Romania is offering free weekend vaccinations at Dracula's castle, the government hoping this unique

venue will take a bite out of major vaccine hesitancy in the country. As an added bonus, everyone who gets a shot gets a free entry into the castles

exhibit of 52 medieval torture instruments. Compared to those gruesome devices, a quick jab in the arm doesn't seem so bad, does it?

Well, just a couple of months before Tokyo hosts the Olympic Games, the Japanese Prime Minister is on the defensive. He told her lower house

session earlier that he's never put the Olympics out of safety and that his priority has been to protect the lives and the health of the Japanese

population. The prime minister says the final decision to host the Olympics July 23rd rests with the IOC.

Our Amanda Davies is here with me now. So we are back. Are we, Amanda? To once again having the discussion about whether or not when.

AMANDA DAVIES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Becky, yes, we are. It feels like we've been here before, doesn't it? The pressure certainly isn't a basing. You

know, Tokyo had its biggest test event to date this weekend over 400 athletes at the main stadium which will house the opening and the closing

ceremony. Only nine of those athletes though were from abroad, one of them a former 100 meters champion Justin Gatlin was very positive.

He said he felt the experience was a good one although very restricted, not a usual Olympic experience but at the same time that that event was taking

place another poll has come out of Japan saying nearly 60 percent of people in Japan want the Olympics to be canceled, not postponed, canceled. That's

what we're talking about as now. But, you know, time is running out less than 10 weeks to go.

ANDERSON: It's remarkable, isn't it? Amanda's got WORLD SPORT after the break. We will be back after that. Stay with us.

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(WORLD SPORT)

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