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Situation In Ethiopia North Grows More Dire By The Day; U.S.-Led Troops Leave Bagram Air Base As Taliban Advance; Rescue Work Resumes After Surfside Condo Building Demolished; Russia Battles New Infections As Vaccine Skepticism Persists; U.K. Prime Minister Outline Next Steps To Ease Restrictions In England; Vatican: Pope Francis In "Good Condition" After Surgery. Aired 10-11a ET

Aired July 05, 2021 - 10:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:00:24]

LYNDA KINKADE, CNN ANCHOR: New calls for urgent action, food and fuel are running out in Ethiopia's Tigray Region despite the recent ceasefire moves.

United States is updating its activation plans for the U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan as the threat of violence there rises with American forces

leaving.

And the second tower in the condo building in Miami demolished as a storm approaches. Now, rescue crews hope to access new areas of the debris pile.

It is 10:00 a.m. here in Atlanta, 6:00 p.m. in Abu Dhabi. Hello, I'm Lynda Kinkade in for Becky Anderson. Welcome to CONNECT THE WORLD.

Well, the week after a unilateral ceasefire was announced in Ethiopia's war-torn Tigray Region, the situation there shows no signs of improving.

Fighters in the northern provinces, this weekend, laid out their demands as government troops were paraded out. What's left behind is a desperate

situation.

The World Food Program says it has just resumed food assistance to two million people after fighting haunted it, but it's already running low. It

comes as Ethiopia's Human Rights Commission says the interruption of services like power and water is compounded by limited access to health

services.

CNN's Larry Madowo is following the story from Nairobi and joins us now live. Larry, after eight months of fighting, the United Nations has warned

that there are more than 400,000 people facing famine in that region. Just explain what's being done to get that aid into them.

LARRY MADOWO, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: So, the World Food Program is one of the agencies that's already resumed shipments, but it's at its

last stock, so that will not last too much longer. There are a few other agencies that are trying to get into this region to try and get the food,

nutrition supplies, and other necessary equipment that they need to serve.

So many people, 400,000, are already in famine conditions, according to the UN, another 1.8 million are on the brink, so that's how serious it is. And

it's been a week since the Ethiopian government declared this unilateral ceasefire. In fact, the Ethiopian Prime Minister saying this has been going

on, the withdrawal of troops, for at least a month before they finally made that announcement.

But aid does not get it the people that need it just yet. There is no complete access. Cash, food, and fuel are running out in the capital,

Mekelle, and around that region. And the situation on the ground remains dire. This is the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MADOWO (voice over): Truckloads of supplies bound for people desperate for food and in the Tigray Region, standstill at a checkpoint for days.

This footage filmed by Reuters more than a week ago, shows sacks of aid eventually being unloaded from the trucks at a warehouse near a checkpoint

controlled by government allied forces. The stockpile here is little help to the people of Tigray without enough to eat.

The U.N. warns shipments like these are critical, as shortages of food in the war-torn region have sharply increased in the past few weeks.

RAMESH RAJASINGHAM, ACTING U.N. AID CHIEF: One of the most distressing trends is an alarming rise in food insecurity and hunger due to conflict.

More than 400,000 people are estimated to have crossed the threshold into famine, and another 1.8 million people on the brink of famine.

MADOWO: The World Food Program says it has resumed operations in Tigray that is facing access problems from ongoing fighting. And the destruction

of key supply routes, like this bridge that the U.N. says was targeted by forces allied to the government.

The Ethiopian government denies blocking aid and blames the grand fighters for gutting the bridge, but the spokesman for the Tigray People's

Liberation Front, which has been battling the government in an eight-month Civil War, says the damage is part of the government's plan to cut off the

region.

GETACHEW REDA, TIGRAY PEOPLE'S LIBERATION FRONT SPOKESMAN (through telephone): Amhara and Abiy's forces are really destroying and blowing up

bridges, so they could, one, prevent humanitarian aid from reaching the people of Tigray. And second and more importantly for them to prevent the

Tigray defense forces from taking over the Western part of Tigray.

MADOWO: The urgent need for food aid coinciding with a major shift in battle. A week ago, the Tigray defense forces retook the regional capital,

Mekelle. It's a blow to the government, which with the help of Eritrean soldiers, forced the fighters out of the city last November.

The Foreign Ministry criticized Tigrayan forces for, at first, rejecting a ceasefire called by the government

DINA MUFTI, ETHIOPIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN (through translator): The cessation of hostilities was taken unilaterally from our side. However, to

implement this ceasefire fully, it needs two to tango, the other side has to react appropriately.

[10:05:10]

MADOWO: But on Sunday, Tigray set out conditions for negotiated ceasefire that include an independent investigation into alleged war crimes and the

safe corridor for age to reach the region.

This follows a show of power by Tigrayan forces, as they paraded thousands of captured Ethiopian soldiers through their recaptured territory. But it's

a victory that could be short lived, food and fuel are running out in the city because of a blockade by Ethiopian forces. Eyewitnesses say government

forces and militias are obstructing roads out of the city, and there is no power there, leaving many homes without running water, conditions that will

surely bring more misery to civilians, if help is not arrived soon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MADOWO: So, one way to get aid to people with so many roadblock is air drops. And the World Food Program is now saying it's cautiously optimistic

that an air bridge could be set up in the coming days to aid that -- the delivery. Lynda?

KINKADE: Yes. Larry, let's hope it gets in there soon.

In terms of the regional leaders in Tigray, they have accepted a ceasefire in principle, but there are conditions What do they want?

MADOWO: The leaders of Tigray say they will not adhere to this unilateral ceasefire declared by the military, unless Eritrean troops are pulled out

of Tigray, and there's an independent investigation. They want an international body to look after this, not somebody in Ethiopia. So that

is, finally, we're seeing conditions that they said only yesterday, how they could agree to the ceasefire, if that happens.

The Ethiopian government, the way it's been looking at this, is it did not pull out of this militarily, but for humanitarian reasons, the farming

season is beginning in Tigray, and they want people to be able to till their land. And that's why they say they've been falling out for at least a

month, and the only really concluded last Monday when they made this announcement.

But it still looks like it's a long way off. They're very hardline positions both by the Cuban government and with the fighters. So, if they

can agree to some sort of dialogue and implement this ceasefire, it will really be helpful for so many people that are in dire need of aid.

KINKADE: Absolutely. Larry Madowo, good to have you in Nairobi for us. Thank you.

Well, to Nigeria now where at least 140 children have been taken from their school by armed kidnappers. It happened in Kaduna State in northwest of the

country. Around 25 students were reportedly able to escape during that overnight attack. Police say rescue operations are continuing. Kidnappings

for ransom have escalated in Northern Nigeria. Hundreds of children have been taken since December.

Afghanistan's first vice president sends his tens of thousands of people fleeing to major cities after a major U.S. departure from the country.

American-led troops left Bagram Air Base Friday, the operating and logistical hub for what turned into a two-decade long war. Their withdrawal

coming as the Taliban make major advances through Afghanistan, including in areas where they previously had a minor presence.

Anna Coren visited Bagram Air Base after the withdrawal. As many in the country wondering, what happens next.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNA COREN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We are here at Bagram Air Base. This is the first time we've been given access to this facility since

U.S. and NATO forces departed on Friday, essentially ending America's involvement in the war. It was the hive of activity at the height of this

war. It has now been handed over to the Afghans and currently there are some 3,000 troops on the base assessing what the Americans have left.

Behind me is the delegation from the National Security Council assigned by President Ghani to strategize and work out how they are going to use Bagram

Air Base moving forward.

But it certainly is a strange place to be. It feels a bit like a disorganized, a junkyard. We know the air hangers in the background, but

those hangers are still locked. We were out at the runways which three kilometers long and it was absolutely deserted. It wasn't so long ago that

there were fighter jets, cargo planes, and surveillance aircraft landing and departing a constantly. As I say, it is now quiet.

And then here. You have like a car yard. There are hundreds of vehicles that the Americans have left, whether it'd be four-wheel drives, pickup

trucks, but this is what the Afghans and now having to assess what is in their arsenal to continue this war and we know that the security situation

on the ground is deteriorating a lot faster than many realize. The Taliban have taken over 150 provinces in just the last two months.

[10:10:05]

One of the vice presidents of Afghanistan has said that tens of thousands of people in the countryside with a fighting is happening, are fleeing to

the cities and that has been backed up by the United Nations that says more than 56,000 people have had to flee four provinces in the North East.

It is alarming and very concerning for Afghans on the ground. We spoke to one military personnel who said it feels like an old friend has left

without saying goodbye. There is a deep sense of abandonment here in Afghanistan.

But as the Americans have spelt out, other than limited air support, this war is now up to Afghanistan to fight.

Anna Coren, CNN, Bagram Air Base.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: Well, there is much more on Afghanistan on our website. You can go to cnn.com for the latest news and analysis, including this scathing

critique of American policy by a U.S. security analyst, Peter Bergen, who predicts Afghanistan would ascend into an intense civil war and become a

haven for every jihadist group in the world. That's on your computer all through the CNN app on your smartphone.

A few hours ago, rescue crews in South Florida were cleared to go back to work and the debris of that deadly high-rise collapse. It comes after the

dramatic decision to use carefully placed explosives to take down what was left of the Champlain Towers South last night.

The threat of the tropical storm, Elsa, and its wind and rain prompted the move to take the rest of that building down. It should open up more of the

remaining power to search and rescue teams where 121 people remain unaccounted for, 24 people a confirmed dead.

Reporter Natasha Chen is at the site where search teams have resumed their painstaking efforts. And, Natasha, the demolition was heartbreaking scene,

no doubt for anyone holding out hope of finding a missing loved one alive. But it was necessary with fears that Tropical Storm, Elsa, could make it

more unstable for rescue crews.

NATASHA CHEN, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Yes, and they were trying to get the building to come down in a controlled manner before

the storm is expected to come through tonight, because you wouldn't want high gust of wind to take down the building in the wrong direction or on

top of the people doing the search. And so that structure, the remaining part of the building was already so unstable, creating an imminent threat

to the search and rescue teams there. That's why they had to temporarily pause and do this. And this will make the efforts much safer. And it will

actually allow them better access to the rest of the debris.

They were not actually able to access the part that was closest to the remaining structure because of the instability of the building. So, now

that the building has come down, the search and rescue teams can access more of the pile.

Now, we've actually have seen more people, more teams coming through changing shifts. There are Florida Task Force teams from the rest of the

state that have actually had to go home in preparation for the storm, to help in the weather event.

So, other teams from other states have now come in to assist. We do also see teams from around the world. There's an Israeli rescue unit. And the

colonel, Golan vach, talks to CNN about his conversation with family members just a couple of days ago about what they should expect from this

search and rescue.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOLAN VACH, ISRAELI SEARCH AND RESCUE EXPERT: I said to the families, two days ago, that the chances to find somebody alive is close to zero. I'm

realistic, but we are still full of hope. This hope keeps us very active and we scale up each day. We wake up in the morning, if we have sleep,

slept at all, with a lot of energy to find -- to find their loved ones alive or not alive.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHEN: And he did talk about finding pieces of furniture in the pile. Just signs of the life that was lived in that building that, of course, as we

mentioned, came down last night at about 10:30 local time.

And, you know, the one of the officials did say at a press conference yesterday, a demolition can sometimes be quite a spectacle, a show that

people want to see. But she said this is the furthest thing from a show. This is a continuation of the tragedy when you consider all of the things

that people had hoped to retrieve from the building that they're not able to, but there has been communication with the families to explain to them

why this was the best course of action for them.

[10:15:09]

KINKADE: All right. Natasha Chen for us in Surfside, Florida. Thank you.

Well, still ahead on the show, Russia is setting grim records for COVID deaths. President Putin urging people to listen to the experts on vaccines.

We're going to take you live to Moscow.

Plus, we're live from London ahead of the Prime Minister's announcement on the further easing of COVID restrictions in England. Why the government is

going ahead even though cases are rising.

And good news from the Vatican as the pope recovers from colon surgery. We will have the details in the 84-year-old's condition after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KINKADE: Welcome back. As the world battles the highly contagious Delta variant of the COVID virus, there's a new wave of infections in Russia. The

country just reporting its highest number of New Delhi cases since January.

And for five days before that, a recorded record COVID fatalities every day. But so far, Moscow has rolled out a new lockdown. President Putin

urging Russian skeptical of the vaccine to listen to the experts.

The top infectious disease expert in the U.S. for example, Anthony Fauci, tells NBC that more than 99 percent of COVID deaths in the U.S. in June

were among unvaccinated people.

Yet, in Russia, vaccine hesitancy remains high. I want to bring in our Matthew Chance who joins us now live from Moscow. And Matthew, the death

toll and the case numbers in Moscow and around Russia continues to break records. But at this stage, certainly no plan for a lockdown.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: No, they want to avoid that particularly in the run up to parliamentary elections in

September. Lockdowns are deeply unpopular and the ruling party probably don't want to go there in terms of, you know, kind of angering the

population even further.

But you're right, the death toll has been creeping up slowly over the past several months, so has the rate of infections. It's partly linked with the

spread, which has been rapid and widespread across the country of the Delta variants of the COVID-19 virus that's really ravaging many areas of the of

the Russian population.

Sputnik V, which is the main vaccine in the country is said by the manufacturers of its -- I'm going to say media, to be less effective

against the Delta variant than is against other variants, so that's not helping.

But the real problem is the complete lack of vaccinations in the country. People are very reluctant in Russia. It's got one of the highest rates of

vaccines -- vaccine skepticism or hesitancy in the world. Something like 35 percent is a figure I've seen in one opinion poll.

[10:20:01]

And people are just not really trusting of the vaccine. They think it was developed too quickly. On the one hand, there's also a lot of conspiracy

theories in Russia as there are around on the internet elsewhere in the world, but they've been sort of embraced by many people in the -- in the

Russian population as well.

And so that's led to this extraordinary low rates of vaccination, somewhere in the region of 15 percent and that's the -- that's the best case estimate

that I've heard coming from the Kremlin itself, some of the estimates are a little bit even lower than that.

The authorities have tried to take action. They've tried to encourage people and they're stepping up these efforts to get vaccinated. Vladimir

Putin mentioned that last week saying to people don't believe all the, sort of, conspiracy theories and paraphrasing in here that you see on the

internet, you know, listen to the scientists go and get -- go and get vaccinated.

There's also been tough new rules put in place within the past seven days, in a bid to try and increase the rate of vaccination, people who work in

public facing jobs in the transport sector, in the hospitality business, in restaurants and bars and things like that, they now have to be vaccinated

by the middle of next week, or they could face dismissal.

And so, on the one hand, the government say, look, we're not in favor of mandatory vaccination. On the other hand, they're making whole sectors of

workers in the economy. They're basically saying you've got to do this or we will let you lose your livelihood.

KINKADE: Yes. Fair enough. All right. Matthew Chance for us in Moscow. Thanks so much for that update.

We're going to stay on the coronavirus. We're going to go to Britain where even with the successful COVID vaccination campaign, infections there are

rising, but the British government is forging ahead. And in the coming hours, the Prime Minister is expected to announce plans to ease

restrictions for England, including the next steps on face coverings and working from home.

And the announcement comes the same day as we've learned that the Duchess of Cambridge was forced to cancel her engagements in self-isolate, after

she came into contact with someone who later tested positive for COVID-19.

Bianca Nobilo is in London for us and joins us now live. Good to see you, Bianca. So, thanks to the success of the vaccine campaign. We're not seeing

deaths and hospitalizations rise at the same rate as these new infections. And it means that largely, there will be returned to some more normality, I

guess in another couple of weeks.

BIANCA NOBILO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That is exactly what we're expecting the prime minister to promise the country in just a few hours' time, Lynda. And

that's a really big deal. This will be the first time that the country's returned to anything resembling normal for well over a year.

So, the key policies that we understand the Prime Minister is going to talk about today is the fact that face masks or face coverings in public areas,

such as potentially public transport, will now be voluntary and no longer mandated. We're also expecting him to speak about the social distancing

rules and potentially have that relaxed as well, so people won't need to keep that one-meter distance from others when they're in public places as

well.

Working from home is another key point that we're expecting Boris Johnson to speak about today, again, relaxing the rules around that so it will be

up to businesses. And the key point here going forward is it's going to be a matter of personal choice, personal freedom and discretion. And it's not

going to be a rule coming from the government per se, which is going to be defining how people act vis-a-vis COVID in the coming months.

But the rules, as they stand at the moment in the U.K., have been relaxed considerably. At the moment, they're sort of strictest rules are still

around gatherings indoors, the rule of six still applies in England. Weddings and certain events also have restrictions on how many people can

be in attendance. So, we're expecting to hear more about that as well.

And why might, Lynda, at this time, the Prime Minister be deciding to forge ahead and to relax these rules given the fact that there is a huge surge of

Delta variant cases in Britain. We're seeing cases of upwards of 25,000 now per day being recorded. But that link between deaths, hospitalizations, and

cases does appear to be substantially weakened by the vaccine, which is what the scientists and the government was hoping for. The vaccine effort

does seem to be particularly effective against the Delta variant, which is something that they were concerned about, so that's really, really good

news.

There's also the wider context of the fact that the Prime Minister and his government have been under fire lately for the fact that they have been

asking the public to abide by rules which they themselves, I'm speaking specifically about the former health Secretary, Matt Hancock here, did not

keep to.

So, I think the idea of public compliance when trust in the government on those issues is also declining slightly, is probably another factor here.

But it'll be interesting to see what the Prime Minister has to say, Lynda, because there's all eyes on this in so called Freedom Day on the 19th of

July.

KINKADE: Exactly. No doubt. Many people are looking forward to at that time.

Bianca Nobilo, good to have you with us. Thanks.

Well, Pope Francis is quote in good condition after his planned surgery for a colon issue and that is according to the Vatican. He's expected to remain

in hospital for seven days barring any complications.

[10:25:05]

Well, the Italian Prime Minister, Mario Draghi is amongst those sending well wishes, saying he hopes for a speedy recovery for the 84-year-old.

And just hours before surgery, the pope addressed thousands of people in St. Peter's Square for his regular Sunday blessing.

Our Vatican correspondent, Delia Gallagher, has been following this for us and joins us now live from Rome. So, the 84-year-old Pope, Delia, went into

what was a scheduled surgery late Sunday. What can you tell us about how he's doing now?

DELIA GALLAGHER, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Lynda, the bulletin from today says the Pope is in good condition. He's alert, he's responding. He's

breathing on his own. We've got a little bit of information about the surgery that lasted, they said, about three hours yesterday. It involves

removing a portion of the lower left colon. The Pope was suffering from a diverticulitis, that's inflammation of the colon, particularly in the Sigma

area or sigmoid that they say. And this is something that they say is common in the elderly. The Pope is 84 years old, and it required a general

anesthetic. So obviously good news that the pope is out of that risky operation and he is responding.

The prognosis, as you say, is at least seven days in this hospital. The Pope's room, I don't know if you can see well behind me, but there's about

five windows, square windows up there on the top floor with the blinds down. That's the people suite here at the Gemelli Hospital. This is a

hospital in Rome that's been treating Popes for decades. John Paul the Second spent a lot of time up in that suite. Pope Francis will be there now

for at least the next seven days. Lynda?

KINKADE: And, Delia, this is, of course all comes at a time when the Vatican is indicting officials on financial crimes. What can you tell us

about that?

GALLAGHER: Yes, that is important. That's part of Pope Francis' attempt to clean up financial corruption at the Vatican. And it's not just Vatican

officials and former officials. There's nine of them. There's also an Italian Cardinal Angelo Becciu has been indicted on charges of financial

crimes. Becciu maintains his innocence, we should say. He was a pick by Pope Francis to be Cardinal, he worked his way up. He was an important

figure in the Secretary of State, the pope did relieve him of his duties last year, but now, he's going to be put on trial. That trial is due to

start at the end of July.

Of course, the pope doesn't need to be there. So, his medical condition isn't going to affect the start of that trial, but it is certainly an

important marker for this pontificate, for one of the aims of Pope Francis, which is to try to clean up that financial corruption. We'll have to see

what comes out of that trial, Lynda.

KINKADE: Yes, no doubt we will follow that closely as it starts.

All right. Delia Gallagher, good to have you with us for both those updates. Thanks so much.

Well, South Africa's former president likens his sentence for contempt to the days of apartheid. Just ahead, we're going to take you live to

Johannesburg for the latest Jacob Zuma's long fight in court.

And from cyberspace to outer space, he might have begun his career selling books from his garage. But now billionaire, Jeff Bezos, is beginning a new

chapter of his career.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:30:48]

KINKADE: Welcome back. You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Lynda Kinkade. Good to have you with us. Tens of thousands of people in

Afghanistan of fleeing to major cities after U.S. and NATO forces left Bagram Airbase Friday. That's according to Afghanistan's first vice

president. They fear the advancing Taliban who are moving into areas where they previously had a minor presence.

Sources tell CNN fears of escalating violence, prompting the U.S. to update emergency evacuation plans for the embassy in Kabul. The Taliban for their

pod called the U.S. departure from Bagram "A positive step."

Former South African President Jacob Zuma is blasting the judges who sentenced him for contempt. He compares this treatment in an ongoing

corruption investigation to apartheid era detention without trial. Zuma was supposed to turn himself in on Sunday. He's facing a 15-month sentence. But

the 79-year-old's lawyers managed to get him a delay. Well, David McKenzie has more on the former president's "strategy" joins us now from

Johannesburg.

And David, it seems like as Zuma's as strategy has long been an attempt to avoid trial, but now he's claiming that this sentence for contempt is like

treatment during the era of apartheid.

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, yes, and his credentials are certainly not in doubt as a liberation figure in South

Africa's history. 10 years on Robben Island with Nelson Mandela instrumental, in fact helping a peaceful transition at South Africa's first

elections. But the Jacob Zuma of today and of the last maybe 10, 15 years is very different as the Jacob Zuma was then in terms of the eyes of the

public and the court.

And his strategy, yes, has been to avoid prison time and trial for many, many years on all number of allegations of corruption still at his home

state in Nkandla. He was leaning heavily on those liberation credentials.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JACOB ZUMA, FORMER SOUTH AFRICAN PRESIDENT: I'm very concerned that South Africa is fast sliding back to apartheid type rule. I am facing long

detention without trial.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCKENZIE: That 13 months is because he repeatedly, according to the courts ignored the plea to face a anti-corruption commission and very exacerbated

constitutional court finally had had enough. But there is one wrinkle potentially that on the 12th of July, he could have a hearing, he should

have a hearing to drag it mitigating circumstances in there. And he says it will be a death sentence to put him in jail.

KINKADE: And David, just explain for us, why is this potentially a dangerous situation?

MCKENZIE: But we were at Nkandla throughout the weekend when it looked like he had to potentially hand himself over to the police. And he had a great

deal of supports coming from all over the country. The ruling ANC party, the party of Nelson Mandela, of which he was a key member and is a key

member is riven by factionalism. And he's exploiting that and so are the other members of his so-called faction who also faced many of them,

corruption allegations. Here are couple of Zuma supporters saying what's at stake.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Especially in South Africa, or in particular in South Africa. We seem to undermine the freedom fighters. Instead of

congratulating them for the work that they have done we (INAUDIBLE) them.

MCKENZIE: Are you worried that if they try to arrest them there'll be violence?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Surely there will be violence because we are angry. If they -- if they try, there will be violence but we don't want violence. We

want peace and order. But if they provoke us, we will go there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[10:35:00]

MCKENZIE: So Lynda, it is moving towards a potentially very dangerous time in South Africa's constitutional democracy where you have a ruling party

that appears unable or unwilling through its courts, obviously separated in the constitution to bring its former store-bought book. And it could be a

few weeks yet, but this feels like it's coming to a head finally with the issue of Jacob Zuma. And when it does, should the police try and arrest

him? Then they could be a very tricky situation to say the least here in South Africa. Lynda?

KINKADE: Yes. We'll have to see how that plays out. David McKenzie for us in Johannesburg. Thank you.

Let's get you up to speed on some of the stories that are on our radar right now. Another victim has been found following a mudslide in central

Japan on Saturday. Four people are confirmed dead, 80 are missing. Rain and the threat of another landslide have complicated the rescue efforts.

Fifty people were killed and dozens were hurt when a Philippine military plane crashed while attempting to land. Three of the fatalities were people

on the ground.

After more than two decades at the helm of Amazon, Jeff Bezos is officially handing the CEO title over the Andy Jassy. Bezos will still keep a leading

role as executive chair and will also focus on the future of space travel with his company Blue Origin. It comes as Amazon faces criticism of the

treatment of its workers as well as its business model.

Days after going public on the U.S. stock exchange, several tech giants are targeted by China's internet regulator. What this means for some of the

country's biggest ride hailing services.

And this may look quite right now. But today is manic Monday at Wimbledon. Amanda Davies will have all the action in "WORLD SPORTS."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KINKADE: Welcome back, China has banned its largest ride hailing service from its app stores after claiming it poses a cybersecurity risk to

customers. Didi is accused of violating national security laws by "illegally collecting and using personal information," which China has

caught on the company to address the issue and to comply with its laws. The ban comes after Didi went public on the New York Stock Exchange.

Three other Chinese companies that were recently listed on the U.S. stock market are also under investigation. Well, CNN's David Culver is following

the story for us from Shanghai and joins us now live. And David, the cyberspace administration in China's caught on Didi to fix this issue. How

is the ride hailing app responding? What's it seeking to do?

DAVID CULVER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Not surprisingly, Lynda. They want to keep doing business right here in China and ultimately around

the world. So they're going to get in line, they're going to comply.

[10:40:01]

CULVER: Perhaps all of this though is a lesson in who's the boss here. Beijing, making it clear. China's cyberspace administration announcing a

probe and do several tech companies including, as you mentioned, the very popular ride-hailing service Didi. The agency is citing national data

security concerns but they don't go into details beyond that. And they've suspended the company from adding new users for those apps.

In the case of Didi, it's also banned app stores from offering Didi for download. Didi is likened to the Uber of China, if you will. It boasts some

377 million users right here in mainland China alone, that's larger than the U.S. population. The Chinese regulatory agency says that Didi severely

violated laws by -- as they put it illegally collected in using personal data. And Didi says it's going to comply rectify improve risk avoidance.

Analysts We spoke with say this could have wider implications. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATTIE BEKINK, CHINA DIRECTOR, THE ECONOMIST CORPORATE NETWORK: China is not alone and trying to strike the right balance between innovation and

regulation at a moment when corporations become more powerful than many nation states, when geopolitics and business are intertwined, like never

before. You know, for all of these reasons, you know, what happens to these firms in China has implications for other tech firms and other industries

perhaps in China, to everybody's watching. But also for foreign firms.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CULVER: But it is worth noting the cyberspace administration of China is targeting companies that have something in common. They recently went

public in the U.S. stock market. It raises questions if geopolitics might be at play here. Chinese-state media fueling a nationalistic reaction,

which is also playing out on Chinese social media. The Global Times, Lynda, which is a state run tabloid, they ran a commentary saying, in part, we

must never let any internet giant become a super database of Chinese people's personal information that contains even more details than the

state.

Let alone giving them the right to use those data at will. So, another example here of the power of the central government. Now back in March,

Chinese President Xi Jinping stressed the need to regulate platform companies, businesses that offer services for customers in the country and

several customers in the past few months later, they faced investigations and in turn, that's led to record fines and just massive overhauls.

KINKADE: Yes. Multibillion dollar fines. All right, David Culver. Good to have you with us. Thank you.

Well, in the U.S. Super Bowl winners say they're going to Disneyworld.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Coming off the top road.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: But after England beat Ukraine four-nil. The boys decided to go for a dip cameras catching them frolicking in the pool with inflatable

unicorns and sharks on Sunday. World Sport's Amanda Davies joins us now. And Amanda, I mean, if you can't celebrate a victory like that with a

unicorn race, what's the point?

AMANDA DAVIES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Lynda, I don't know whether or not you believe in unicorns, but England are certainly starting to dare

to dream. And we've seen these unicorns before. They were out in Russia in 2018 when many of these same England players reached at the World Cup

semifinal. But interestingly, they didn't get any further than the semifinal in 2018.

This year, they've added the sharks, which perhaps people are hoping might give them a little bit of extra bite heading into Wednesday's semifinal

against Denmark. Maybe they'll go that one step further. Wembley on Wednesday night.

KINKADE: They certainly look to be having fun either way. Amanda Davies. We will check in with you and tune into World Sport just after the break. We

will of course have much more news at the top of the hour. Stay with us.

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(WORLD SPORT)

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