Return to Transcripts main page
Hala Gorani Tonight
U.S. Vice President Makes High-Profile Visit To Guatemala; Mexico's Ruling Coalition Loses Some Seats In Congress; Peru's Presidential Race Remains Too Close To Call; India Records Lowest Daily COVID-19 Cases In Two Months; Amazon's Jeff Bezos To Join First Blue Origin Space Flight; Angela Merkel's CDU Thumps Far-Right AfD Party. Aired 2-3p ET
Aired June 07, 2021 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[14:00:00]
HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: Hello, everyone, live from CNN London on this Monday, thanks for being with us, I'm HALA GORANI TONIGHT. The U.S.
Vice President on the ground in Guatemala. Kamala Harris is focused on trying to stem the flow of people from Latin America to the U.S. border,
her message, do not come.
Then Harris travels to Mexico where the president is losing some of his grip on power after an election stained with blood. And later, the
billionaire boys space race. Jeff Bezos plans to be the first of the ultra rich tech gurus to get literally, out of this world.
We begin tonight in Guatemala where conversations are taking place about a political problem thousands of miles further north. U.S. Vice President
Kamala Harris is in the country meeting with the President Alejandro Giammattei. They're holding a press conference as we speak, and Kamala
Harris essentially could not have been clearer.
If you are thinking of coming to the United States and you live in this part of the world, don't do it. They've held a meeting, the two leaders in
the last few hours, the vice president saying the trip is a reflection of how important the region is to the United States.
Harris is looking as I mentioned at the top of the hour, looking to address those root causes of migration toward the United States. And it could be a
little awkward because some of the root causes are the corruption and the poverty issues that plague Guatemala.
And she's of course speaking to the leader of that country about some of those issues. And the migration, the migratory flows from Guatemala,
Central America and Latin America into the U.S. continues to be a political headache for U.S. politicians including of course, her boss Joe Biden.
Jeremy Diamond is traveling with the vice president and has sent us the latest from Guatemala.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: A major diplomatic test for Vice President Kamala Harris as she embarks on her first foreign trip of her
vice presidency. The vice president here in Guatemala City and then heading over to Mexico City. All of this to try and address the root causes of
migration. This major portfolio that she was assigned by President Biden.
The vice president making very clear here in Guatemala City that migration is the number one issue that she is here to discuss. And also saying that
her decision to make Guatemala the first country that she visits as vice president, the first foreign country that she visits.
Making clear that is the reflection of the priority that she and President Biden put on this issue of migration and really trying to make concrete
progress. But there's no question, there are no easy answers here. There's of course this issue of corruption on which the vice president and her host
here, Alejandro Giammattei; the Guatemalan president, they do not see eye to eye.
And so, it will interesting to see how the vice president is able to make progress, but certainly, she is hoping that this trip as a whole will help
her burnish her foreign policy credentials, something that she came into this office of the vice presidency with very little experience in. Jeremy
Diamond, CNN, Guatemala City.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Thank you, Jeremy. Joining me now is Claudia Escobar; former Guatemalan judge, she actually fled to the United States after death
threats received in Guatemala after calling out certain politicians for corrupt practices.
And she was one of the justice leaders who met Vice President Kamala Harris before her trip to Guatemala. And she joins me now live from Washington
D.C. Thank you for being with us. So, first off, what can be achieved do you think in a trip such as the one we're seeing Kamala Harris embark on in
Guatemala.
CLAUDIA ESCOBAR, FORMER GUATEMALAN JUDGE: Hi, thank you for inviting me. I think that we can expect, you know, Kamala Harris to talk about how
important it is to strengthen the judicial institutions. I think that Kamala Harris wants to bring hope to the region.
If she wants to bring hope to the region, she needs to build justice and Guatemalan people need to trust the justice system. And that is why I'm
saying that it's not happening right now. So, many Guatemalan people are really expecting her to -- that she can back up the people that is fighting
corruption in the country and will make, you know, changes. So --
GORANI: I'll ask you in a moment if you -- how much leverage do you think the United States has. How much influence they have over Guatemalan
politicians, the Guatemalan president. But just minutes ago at this joint news conference, this is what the U.S. vice president had to say. This was
her message to Guatemalans thinking of making the trip to the United States and crossing the border into the U.S. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: At the same time, I want to be clear to folks in this region who are thinking about making that
dangerous trek to the United States-Mexico border, do not come. Do not come.
[END VIDEO CLIP)
[14:05:00]
GORANI: So, she couldn't be clearer here. What leverage do you think the vice president and the president of the United States has on Guatemala to
change its ways in terms of corruption, in terms of alleviating the conditions that are leading so many to make that dangerous trip to the
U.S.?
ESCOBAR: Well, you know, I believe that the United States has a little leverage because it's one of the most important partners, economical
partners of the region. All the commerce that the region has depends really on the United States. So, what I think is that the trade agreements that
the United States has with the region need to be focused on the rule of law.
And that's, you know, the big change that Guatemalans can have. If they really want to bring prosperity to the region, they need to do something
like they did in Europe after the second World War when the Marshal Plan was created.
So, right now, Harris has the opportunity to really create a Harris plan and work in developing the institutions that can help the people to achieve
their goals.
GORANI: The U.S. has tried a development and assistance to Guatemala, their programs that are designed to help coffee farmers, there's a forestry
management program, there are vocational schools. This is American money funding these programs. And despite all of that, you still had 400,000
Guatemalans trying to cross the U.S. border since 2019.
That is 2 percent of the population of the entire country. So, the U.S. has tried, maybe not on the scale of the Marshal Plan. But they've tried to
help Guatemala to try to alleviate these conditions that are pushing people to make that dangerous trip. Why hasn't it worked?
ESCOBAR: Because it's not about putting money in the problem. You know, when you have pandemic corruption in the country, you need to build a way
of institutions that will work. And the only way that you can do it is creating super national framework of institutions.
That's the only way that it will work. Because you have here a problem of perverse and corruption. You know, when you have kleptocrats in power that
will enrich themselves after the office, the problem is the system.
GORANI: Right --
ESCOBAR: And that's what the United States has to focus on. How to change the system that doesn't allow development for, you know, the majority of
people. You have 70 percent of people that live on the poverty line --
GORANI: Yes --
ESCOBAR: And that is not acceptable in Guatemala.
GORANI: But I understand -- so, essentially, what you're saying is to condition aid, to condition assistance on reform inside of Guatemala?
ESCOBAR: I think that will be very important. I think --
GORANI: Yes --
ESCOBAR: It will be the key issue. The United States has helped for decades, putting a lot of money in the country, and so far, you know, the
results are the same. So, we have to start thinking about how to create something that hasn't been done before. And I believe that the only way to
do that is creating another, you know, framework of --
GORANI: Yes --
ESCOBAR: Relationships.
GORANI: That is something that Kamala Harris is clearly thinking of doing. The question is how? The question is how much money? The question is how
much support does she get from her, you know, colleagues in Washington? So, we'll have to watch that story and see how it develops.
Claudia Escobar, thank you so much for joining us. Well, Kamala Harris heads to Mexico tomorrow, Tuesday. And initial results from Mexico's mid-
term elections show that the ruling coalition is on track to lose some seats in the lower house of Congress. This defeat will likely prevent the
left-leaning president from passing major legislative and constitutional reforms. But his coalition is still expected to keep a simple majority.
Let's go to Matt Rivers, he joins me now live from Mexico City with more on this. It has to be a disappointment for the Mexican president, these
interim results.
MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, there's no doubt about it, Hala, I mean, this was not the night that Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, the
president commonly known here as AMLO, this was not the night that he or his political party were hoping for.
What we're seeing is that his party will probably get somewhere right around 200 seats based on current projections, it's still a preliminary
count, not all the votes are in, but right around 200 seats if you add in the seats that his governing coalition will add to that number.
Still not enough for a super majority. What does that mean? It means he's not going to be able to push through the relatively controversial
constitutional amendments that he has proposed. It means he is not going to be able to push through key pieces of legislation that he wants to.
However, he's still the most powerful political figure in this country. His coalition still has the simple majority as you mentioned.
[14:10:00]
But what his critics will say is look, this is voters rebuking this president who has in their view centralized power in the presidency to
appoint hasn't been seen here in Mexico for more than 30 years. And he's undermined democratic institutions on his way to accumulating that power,
and what critics are going to say is look, Hala, this is the voting public here saying we don't like the track that Mexico is taking.
And so, when Kamala Harris arrives here later on tonight, she's going to meet tomorrow with the president who absolutely without question has less
functional political power than he did just a few days ago.
GORANI: And the violence has been shocking. The violence that has -- that has taken place and the incidents that have taken place on the campaign
trail and during the voting itself. Why has it been so bad?
RIVERS: Yes, you know, it's hard to escape violence in this country. I mean, that's just the simple reality. I mean, the general levels of
violence for a number of different reasons mainly propagated by organized criminal groups nationwide, it's among the highest levels we've ever seen.
And elections are not going to escape that reality.
So, if you look at the statistics, during the campaign season which started last September officially ended yesterday here in Mexico City. At least, 96
politicians and/or candidates were killed according to one Mexican consulting firm that tracks this information. That same firm says that more
than 900 crimes were committed against these politicians or candidates, everything ranging from homicide to, you know, physical abuse to threats.
So, the general violence that we're seeing plague Mexico, you know, the election system here did not manage to escape that, and really that should
come as no surprise given what we're watching day in and day out here in Mexico.
GORANI: All right, Matt Rivers, thanks very much. Speaking of elections, the results of Peru's presidential race are trickling in and it looks like
it will be a very tight race to the finish. In the last few hours, leftist candidate Pedro Castillo overtook his right-wing rival Keiko Fujimori after
trailing for most of the race. He's picked up critical votes in rural areas where he's campaigned as a champion for the poor.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PEDRO CASTILLO, PERUVIAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE (through translator): We mobilize. We participate openly without fear, without hatred, without
words. I believe that in Peru, there are no more undecided people, no more inclinations, above all, there's Peru. Long live Peru. Long live democracy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Well, meantime, Fujimori; the daughter of a former president has picked up most of the urban votes with her free market proposal to end the
country's economic slump. And she called earlier for calm.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEIKO FUJIMORI, PERUVIAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE (through translator): Whoever wins has to look for that change. There are no winners or losers
here. Finally, what we have to look for is the unity of all Peruvians. That is why I ask both groups for calm, patients, peace to those who voted and
didn't vote for us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Still to come tonight, buying time for Benjamin Netanyahu. How a powerful ally in parliament could help the Israeli Prime Minister's last
ditch, long shot effort to stay in power. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:15:00]
GORANI: Well, Israel could be in for another week of political suspense after a crucial session in parliament today. The speaker is an ally of the
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. So, he has acknowledged that opposition leaders have formed a new government.
However, he has not scheduled a vote to approve it, only stating what we already knew that it must happen by next Monday, but he is not rushing to
do it. Politicians trying to unseat Mr. Netanyahu wanted a speedy vote to deny him time to try to derail their coalition. Their majority is so slim
that even one defector could make a difference, and they don't want to give Benjamin Netanyahu time to wreck it.
The man who is on track to become Israel's next prime minister is urging Netanyahu to just let go so the country can move on. Let's bring in CNN's
Hadas Gold in Jerusalem with the very latest on what Naftali Bennett is saying, Hadas.
HADAS GOLD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Hala, earlier today, we did hear from the speaker of the Israeli parliament and many were expecting or perhaps
hoping that he would let the country know when this confidence vote would actually take place to potentially bring in this new government.
But instead, as you noted, he just acknowledged that the coalition had declared they could form a government, and just said that the date would be
set at a later time but by law has to take place before next Monday. So, that's all we know so far. This vote will take place sometime in the next
week.
But Benjamin Netanyahu and his allies, every day that passes, that gives them more time to try and get defectors. And we are hearing really
increasing rhetoric from Netanyahu, he's very reminiscent of his old friend Donald Trump.
Netanyahu has been giving interviews and tweeting on social media about the deep state, calling this new coalition a fraud, the scam of the century. A
deception. Tweeting specifically at members of this coalition and there have actually been demonstration in front of some members of parliament's
house to the point that some of these members have required extra security.
And even the head of the Israeli Internal Security Services issuing a very rare public statement, calling on all sides to tamp down on this incitement
to violence. A real fear here about what this sort of rhetoric could potentially lead to. Now, Naftali Bennett, the man who is set to
potentially replace Netanyahu as prime minister and actually Naftali Bennett, formerly worked for Netanyahu, gave a speech last night calling on
Netanyahu to let it go, to step aside and to not leave a scorched earth behind him. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NAFTALI BENNETT, ISRAELI PARLIAMENT MEMBER (through translator): I call from here on Mr. Netanyahu, let go. Release the country to move on. People
are allowed to vote for the establishment of a government even if it is not you who is heading it. A government that is ten degrees to the right than
the current one, by the way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLD: Now, Netanyahu himself has also condemned any sort of incitements to violence. But he has said that if he is in the opposition, he will work to
topple this government quickly. Now, all eyes are on the parliament to see when this confidence vote will actually take place, if it will take place
before Monday like this coalition wants them to so that they can get this new government sworn in.
But as you noted, any day that passes gives Netanyahu and his allies more time. But so far, from people I've spoken to who are working with this
coalition, they are feeling optimistic. They're feeling confident. And they say that this new government will be a big change, a big positive change
for Israel. Hala.
GORANI: All right, Hadas Gold in Jerusalem, thanks very much. Well, this coalition is really assembling the entire spectrum of Israeli politics from
the ultra-national nationalist Naftali Bennett to Mansour Abbas who is Arab-Israeli, Yair Lapid in the middle, so plus a collection of other much
smaller parties.
And I want to get some perspective from a prominent Israeli-Arab member of the Knesset, Aida Touma-Sliman joins me from Jerusalem. Thank you for
joining us, and you are not supporting -- you will vote -- you will not vote in favor of this coalition. Why not?
[14:20:00]
AIDA TOUMA-SLIMAN, ISRAELI-ARAB POLITICIAN & JOURNALIST: Well, good evening first, and yes, that's true. We are not going at least -- me and my
colleagues will vote against this government because mainly we have been looking for making a real change after finishing the era of Netanyahu's
rule.
But for our regret, we don't think that this change is coming with this new government. This new government is changing a person but not changing the
attitude, the politics and the ideology that stands behind it.
The right-wing -- the ultra-right wing including the nationalist of -- like Bennett and Sa'ar and Lieberman are known for their positions that are
against -- or let me put it this way, not against, but for strengthening more and more the occupation of the Palestinian territories. They do not
really seek for equal rights for us as Palestinians. Citizens of Israel, they are willing to compensate us for lack of equality in citizenship by
giving some budgets.
This is not the change we wanted. And we think that this government might also continue the dangerous way of rooting the occupation and enlarging the
settlements including in their guidelines this new government they just published one hour ago their guidelines, and one of the guidelines is
strengthening the occupation in east Jerusalem, building more settlements around Jerusalem. This is not --
GORANI: But can I --
TOUMA-SLIMAN: Something that we can --
GORANI: I just -- I understand the point -- I understand the point you're making. But here you have Mansour Abbas, so you have an Arab-Israeli
politician. Yair Lapid, more of a centrist, so it's a coalition, you don't believe that because this coalition covers really a very wide spectrum of
views and positions that it is better than having Netanyahu stay in power in your estimation?
TOUMA-SLIMAN: I'm not saying that I want Mr. Netanyahu to continue to control the country. We were the first to warn about the continuation of
his governing the country, we understood the real dangers behind it, it's not only being accused of corruption, we believe that the moral corruption
that he has been assembling by continuous war crime and occupation is more dangerous to the country than the economic corruption that they are talking
about.
That's why when we want to do the change, we want to do it in a real way. The fact that there's Arab citizen who is -- or a party who is a part of
that coalition, in my opinion it's not -- it's giving the legitimacy to the coalition more than making a real change in it. When you look at how --
GORANI: So, what's the -- what would be your preferred outcome --
TOUMA-SLIMAN: Coalition --
GORANI: Just because I want to get to -- I want to get to several topics here. What would be your preferred outcome in here? If you vote against
this coalition, you've made that clear. Let's say the coalition doesn't get the 61-member of the Knesset votes that it needs in order to form a
government. Then inevitably, then another election --
TOUMA-SLIMAN: If they don't get the 61, it's -- if they don't get the 61, it's their responsibility. Nobody asked us what we -- how can we get into a
situation where we are able to enable this government. Nobody did ask our opinion about it or we try, at least, to understand how they can do the
real change. So, it's their responsibility if they don't get 61 members in the Knesset to vote for that government. They have a proposition --
GORANI: I absolutely understand, I just wanted your --
(CROSSTALK)
I want your preferred -- your preferred scenario. You're a member of the Knesset, you have a lot of power in a 120-member parliament. If you do --
if this coalition does not achieve 61 votes, what would you like to see happen in order to bring about the real change that you want to see?
[14:25:00]
TOUMA-SLIMAN: If this coalition does not have the 61, we will go again to election. And then I really believe that I would like to see the Israeli
society, the whole citizens of Israel, Jews and Arabs voting for those who are willing to be courageous enough to do the real change, and to tackle
the real problems that brought us anyway to this political crisis.
This political crisis is not only about one person, it's about the whole policy and the whole political atmosphere that was existing in Israel. If
you change, if you replace Netanyahu with Bennett who has declared yesterday that he is willing to attack military, Gaza, and who wants to
enlarge the settlements, and who still believes of the supremacy of the Jew citizens over the Arab citizens, this is not a real solution.
I hope that if they make it, then they make it and we will be very constructive opposition in the Knesset. And we would fight to continue to
push the government for real change, but if not, then the elections have put the Israeli citizens in front a reality, saying that if you want to
change, then you have to vote for those who are courageous enough to do the change that is needed.
GORANI: Aida Touma-Sliman; member of the Knesset joining us, member of the Knesset from the Joint List, we really appreciate having you on. Aida
Touma-Sliman telling us she will not be voting in favor of this coalition and we'll continue to follow this story very closely. Thank you so much for
your time this evening. Still to come --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My 14 and 9-year-old sisters know about our parents. I haven't told the three younger ones. All they believe is that they're
unwell and recovering in the village.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: The burden of raising her younger brothers and sisters has fallen to this young woman orphaned by India's COVID-19 crisis. Plus, more than a
year ago, Uganda implemented one of Africa's most restrictive lockdowns, and now it's back because of a second wave that might spiral out of
control. We'll be right back.
[14:30:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: It is the G7 meeting this week and the British Prime Minister will be hosting world leaders and he is saying that he wants the world's richest
nations to vaccinate everyone around the globe by the end of the year. It's a very ambitious goal. Boris Johnson says that if that were to happen, it
would be the single greatest feat in medical history.
The Prime Minister plans to ask G7 leaders to make that commitment when they meet in Cornwall this week. It will be their first in person summit in
nearly two years because of COVID.
Now in Uganda, a country where less than two percent of the population is vaccinated, COVID-19 cases are on the rise again and strict new
restrictions are in effect. CNN's Larry Madowo joins me now live from Kampala. and I -- what does a country like Uganda want from G7 leaders in
terms of in terms of vaccine doses and sort of figuring out an effective vaccination program?
LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hala, they want as many vaccines as they can get, because Uganda only got just under a million shots from
AstraZeneca, that and the COVAX global vaccine program that helps countries like Uganda get vaccines for free, or at a discounted rate. They've used up
more than two thirds of that and could run out anytime now.
They're hoping to get another 175,000 from Kovacs and President Yoweri Museveni has also said he's receiving 300,000 donations from the Chinese
Sinovac vaccine. He's going to be getting sound from the Russians, from the Indians.
He's going to buy some Johnson & Johnson because he needs to vaccinate as many people as possible because so far, only under 800,000 people have been
vaccinated. Only 6,000 Ugandans have gotten two shots of AstraZeneca. Out of a country of 45 million, it's a drop in the ocean. And the yet cases are
rising so fast. In a single week leading to last week, cases were up 131 percent according to the World Health Organization. This is what President
Museveni says.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
YOWERI MUSEVENI, UGANDAN PRESIDENT: The answer is prevention. In this wave, the interest of severe and critically ill COVID-19 patients and death is
higher than what we experienced in the first wave of the pandemic. In the previous wave, it took us three to four months to get to the current state
of critical and severe patients. While in the second wave, it has taken us less than two weeks.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MADOWO: The new lockdown and restrictions announced in Uganda are to avoid overwhelming the bed capacity available and the oxygen supply in the
country. So he shut down all schools, restricted most public gatherings, and is trying to make sure that there's very limited contacts in large
places just so that the country can deal with this wave of the pandemic.
But the big problem for Uganda, like the 14 other countries in Africa where cases arising, is the vaccine shortages, only 2 percent of Africans, Hala,
are vaccinated, which is a big crisis. The African Union's target is to vaccinate the adult population by the end of next year. So that's a long
way off. And as long as the pandemic is not completely under control here in Africa, the rest of the world is not safe because the virus will mutate
and will get to the rest of the world.
GORANI: Absolutely. Thanks for giving us that global picture of how necessary and urgent it is to get more vaccines, more jabs into more
people's arms in Africa. Larry Madowo, thanks very much. He's live in Kampala.
Well, India, of course, we covered over several weeks, how deadly the pandemic was there, but it has -- there is a glimmer of "good news" because
India has recorded its lowest daily number of Coronavirus cases in more than two months.
And now the Prime Minister is saying the country will offer free COVID-19 vaccines to all adults. But despite the progress, India's second wave has
already done enormous damage having a particularly devastating impact on children left behind. CNN's Vedika Sud report -- reports from New Delhi.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VEDIKA SUD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A silver lining for India, over 100,600 cases of COVID-19 had been reported Monday, the lowest in 61 days according
to the Health Ministry. A month ago, India had reported over 400,000 daily cases of the virus. India is still reeling under a second wave that has
been exceptionally brutal on children. According to India's child Rights Commission, over 1,700 children have been orphan since the beginning of the
pandemic.
[14:35:03]
The Indian government says 577 children lost both parents to COVID-19 between April 1st and May 25th this year. I spoke to the eldest sister now
the primary caretaker of a family of seven siblings who lost their mother and then their father to the virus 10 days apart. She likes this oil lamp
in memory of her parents every morning, just 23, Devika's now the head of the family and caregiver to her six siblings.
These children, the youngest only four years old, lost their mother and then their father to the brutal second wave of COVID-19 in India.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DEVIKA, CAREGIVER TO HER 6 SIBLINGS (through translator): My fourteen and nine-year-old sisters know about our parents. I haven't told the three
younger ones. All they believe is that they're unwell and recovering in the village.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SUD: In the last week of April when the crisis hit the capital Delhi hard, India was reporting over 350,000 daily cases of COVID-19 and a severe
shortage of hospital beds and oxygen. Devika's 39-year-old mother was suffering from high fever. Her oxygen levels had dropped. After being
turned away from many hospitals, Devika admitted her to a medical facility in the city of Kurukshetra about 170 kilometers away where she took her
last breath.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DEVIKA (through translator): All she wanted was to get better. She wanted to fulfill her responsibilities as a mother. She wanted to be saved.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SUD: Ten days later, her father, also infected by the virus and heartbroken, couldn't be saved. And emotionally, Devika says her parents
loved each other very much.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DEVIKA (through translator): My father doted on mommy. They're together now.
SUD: You're very brave.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SUD: It's hard to console this young woman who's barely out of her teens. She hasn't had much time to grieve. Devika holds test prep classes. She
brings in about $70 a month. Before his death, the father was the only earning family member. While family and friends have helped them
financially, I asked Devika if she's worried about not making enough to sustain the family and about his siblings being taken away by authorities.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DEVIKA (through translator): This is my biggest fear. I will do all that I can to keep them with me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
YASMIN ALI HAQUE, UNICEF INDIA REPRESENTATIVE: Calls to child welfare organizations reporting orphaned and abandoned children, especially through
the second wave, have been relentless. The biggest challenge is who takes responsibility, if I can put it that way. And that's where it's so
important that we link them to the services needed so that there can be determination of especially kinship care.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SUD: Orphaned, Devika says memories is all she's left with.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DEVIKA (through translator): One of my favorite memories is of my parents dancing on my sister's birthday in December. It was the first time they
danced in front of us. It's now one of the lasting memories we have of them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SUD: In the midst of this raging pandemic, that saw her cremate not one but both parents, Devika doesn't let us siblings out of sight. Still fearful of
the virus, this door opens to very few. Three of Devika's siblings are eligible for school but she just doesn't have the money to enroll them. The
Indian government has a short financial support to children who have lost one or both parents to COVID-19.
The challenge for the government will be to identify these children, ensure their safety, and provide them with psychological counseling. They have
witnessed trauma at a very young age. Vedika Sud, CNN, New Delhi.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: So many kids are going to be impacted by this absolutely wretched pandemic. Let's now turn our attention to something completely different.
The world's richest man, you know what I'm talking about. Well, he wants to fly to space, which on Earth isn't enough for Jeff Bezos anymore.
He wants to take his own company's rocket ship out past the atmosphere next month. If all goes according to plan, he'll win the informal space race
between billionaires investing in space companies right now, edging out Virgin Galactic's Richard Branson and Elon Musk of SpaceX. Bezos is also
taking a special guest with him on board.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEFF BEZOS, CEO, AMAZON: You see the Earth from space, it changes you.
[14:40:03]
It changes your relationship with this planet, with humanity. It's one Earth. I want to go on this flight because it's a thing I've wanted to do
all my life. It's an adventure. It's a big deal for me. I invited my brother to come on this first flight.
MARK BEZOS, YOUNGER BROTHER OF JEFF BEZOS: I wasn't even expecting him to say that he was going to be on the first flight. And then when he asked me
to go along, I was just awestruck.
M. BEZOS: Seriously?
J. BEZOS: If you're willing, if you want to.
M. BEZOS: Oh my God.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Well, Rachel Crane joins me now live from New York with more. First of all, what timeline are we looking at here for this first flight?
RACHEL CRANE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well --
GORANI: When -- Yeah,
CRANE: Yes, Hala. So this first flight is set to take off on July 20th from Blue Origin's test facility in West Texas, and that date of July 20th is
significant because it is the 52nd anniversary of Apollo 11's historic moon landing, also just days after Jeff Bezos steps down from being CEO of
Amazon.
As you heard, this journey that he will be making into space, it's something he's been dreaming about since he was five years old. He founded
his aerospace company, Blue Origin, more than 20 years ago. The company has been working on this spacecraft, New Shepard, for more than six years now.
And this spacecraft, it'll be flying this historic suborbital flight to space, and they've made 15 consecutive successful space launches up until
now. But they haven't had people on board. That's what's so historic about this flight that Bezos and his brother will be making.
And, Hala, it's interesting to point out that they're not going to be the only ones in the cabin, there's an additional seat that Blue Origin is
auctioning off at the moment. And the going price right now is $2.8 million. And that price tag could still go up because they'll be having a
live auction -- well, this live auction will be ending on June 12. And all the proceeds from that auction and for that seat in the cabin will be going
to Blue Origin's foundation, Club for the Future.
So, you know, as much of a space enthusiast as I am, Hala, unfortunately, that price tag is a little too pricey for me. But it also puts at this --
at $2.8 million, every second on that flight is more than $4,000 at this point, because it's only an 11-minute journey, you know, this suborbital
flight.
It's only going about 60 miles above Earth. But that's high enough to get their astronaut wings. They, you know, Bezos, Jeff Bezos and his brother
Mark Bezos, will be passing the Karman Line, they will be getting their astronaut wings, and for Jeff Bezos, at least, fulfilling a lifelong dream
of becoming an astronaut, Hala.
GORANI: All right. Well, if I had that money, I'd pay it not to be sent into space. That just sounds awful to me.
CRANE: That's where you and I differ.
GORANI: All right. I mean I don't even like flying commercial on commercial airliners so forget me being just blasted into space. Thanks very much,
Rachel Crane.
This just in to CNN, U.S. investigators have recovered millions of dollars' worth of cryptocurrency that was paid to hackers whose ransomware attack
caused the shutdown of a key pipeline last month. According to people who've been briefed on the matter, the Colonial Pipeline CEO said that
after the attack that he authorized a payment of $4.4 million. It's not clear whether all of that was recovered or some of it.
A Justice Department news conference is now set for next hour and we'll bring you more information as we get it because you'll remember that the
FBI director said these ransomware attacks are a major, major intelligence and security issue for the United States, likening it, Christopher Wray, to
what the U.S. had to deal with after the 9/11 attacks in terms of the terror threat against the country.
Still to come, Islamist violence surges in the Sahel. How a horrific attack in Burkina Faso is exposing a growing crisis in West Africa and how
innocent people, as always, are paying the highest price. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:46:50]
GORANI: Well, there's a spate of Islamist violence raging throughout the Sahel region. But the death toll on this latest attack is really bringing
into stark relief what innocent civilians are paying as a result of some of this violence. It's a massive death toll, the random nature of it as well
as quite shocking. David McKenzie has the story. David.
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hala, the death toll in this horrific attack in Burkina Faso has risen to at least 132 people according to the
government. Now it happened in late Friday into Saturday morning at a village near the border of new Niger. . According to state media, unknown
assailants attacked that village and the market, firing indiscriminately and also torching the village structures.
Now many people were injured, at least seven children were killed according to the United Nations. The authorities have visited the regional capital of
Dori to see those most badly injured who were evacuated. They're in a state of shock.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SALFO KABORE, SAHEL REGION GOVERNOR: A man in shock is speaking to you right now. We lost 132 countrymen in Solhan, but we also lost 13 in the
commune of Oudalan. We also lost two elsewhere and probably others of which we have not been informed of. You've seen the injured. There's even a
little girl who is less than five years old. You saw men and women who got shot in the back. These types of situations have no human soul. No human
being can watch this and go home and sleep in peace.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCKENZIE: Now, while this is the worst attack of its kind in some years of Burkina Faso, it's the latest attack as well, because there has been a
decorating security situation in that border region between Mali-Niger, and Burkina Faso. And the authorities said they will take on the assailants.
Unclear exactly who they were. They are both ISIS and al-Qaeda linked militant groups operating in that area.
There is some indication this could have been a reprisal attack against the local defense unit, the kind of vigilante group that operates out of that
village. There is a real sense that the Sahel region, particularly those border regions, are totally insecure and unsafe for civilians. Hala.
GORANI: David McKenzie, absolutely unsafe in some parts. Coming up. Angela Merkel's party fends off the far right in German election. We have a live
report.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:51:54]
GORANI: Well, this was a big test for Angela Merkel and her party appears to have recaptured the political momentum in Germany after a big win in a
regional election. According to an exit poll for the German public broadcaster, her party, the CDU has won in the Eastern State of Saxony-
Anhalt and it's come well ahead of the far right anti-immigrant AfD party. Fred Pleitgen has more from Berlin. There were polls that gave the AfD
ahead, that put the AfD ahead of the CDU. So how is it that Merkel's party did better than expected?
FRED PLEITGEN, SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I think that the governor there in that state, he just did really well on the campaign
trail. You're absolutely right, those polls that I was following very closely, many Germans were Following very closely, they did have the
Alternative for Germany, that far right party, in many polls neck and neck with Angela's Christian Democratic Union, but in some even ahead of Angela
Merkel's Christian Democratic Union.
I can tell you one thing, Hala, here in Berlin, there was a big fear that for the first time in the state, the AfD could have been the strongest
force in a German regional parliament, that certainly would have been a major signal, especially since this is the last regional election, the last
state election before the federal elections that are set to take place in September.
So it certainly was a big surprise. In the end, a lot of people said they believe that it was local issues, but it was also a large chunk of the
population saying that they don't want this far right party to be the strongest party in that state.
The big question that people are asking here now is, what is that going to mean, for the big federal election that's coming up here in September. Of
course, Angela Merkel will no longer stand in that election. And even for that, her party was looking very weak.
But now, after this victory that they had yesterday, they certainly are looking a lot stronger than they had been in the past. So it seems as
though they have fended off some of the adversity, also some of the adversity for the handling of the COVID-19 crisis. And really, Angela
Merkel's party seems to be back on track to possibly win the major federal election again as well, Hala.
GORANI: OK, Fred Pleitgen, thanks very much. Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, have -- has given birth to a daughter, the second child for her and Prince
Harry. And it's the name that is that has everyone talking. Lilibet Diana, it's a nod to both her grandmother Elizabeth and -- or sorry, her
grandmother, Diana, and her great grandmother, Elizabeth. Max foster has the latest from Windsor.
With all the tension in the family, the fact that they named the child after the great grandmother and Diana, the late Princess of Wales, I mean,
that's kind of interesting in itself.
MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, that certainly is something the British newspapers are looking into. There's two ways of looking at it,
isn't there? There's the idea that Harry was very close to his grandmother -- is very close to his grandmother, was very close to his mother, just
wanted that reflected in this baby, but the newspaper's very much saying -- most of the newspapers actually saying this is about trying to heal the
rift with the rest of the family.
[14:55:05]
So, using the Queen's name and Diana's name, both royal family names, as opposed to anyone from making the side playing into that sort of rift
healing, we don't really know. The couple are now on parental leave. Their office say everything went really well. By all the sound -- by the sounds
of it, they were back home on Monday, mother and baby, having had the baby in the hospital on the Friday so all going as planned.
Lilibet was a name that the Queen grew up with, she couldn't say her name properly as a young child, she would say Lilibet instead of Elizabeth. So
her father called her that but also Prince Philip called her that until his death actually. So, a very sort of sensitive choice and very close to the
queen of course.
GORANI: And now that I'm now delighted to see your handsome face, Max, but I do notice that we do not have a picture released of the new baby. When
should we expect one?
FOSTER: We'll have asked that question and nobody around them knows. And I haven't managed to speak to the couple because they're off looking after
their new baby, of course. But, you know, going on past experience, they will not go by the Royal rulebook, they certainly would never come outside
the hospital holding their baby in front of live TV cameras.
With Archie, they did release a photo eventually, but just of his hand. So we just don't know what we're going to get. It really depends on how they
feel, what they want to give away about their babies' privacy really.
One of the reasons they left the royal family, the main reason really was to protect the privacy of the children. They talked a lot about that. When
Archie was born here in Windsor, they were very protective, even about the christening photos. Didn't invite any mass media into those events. So, I
think we just have to wait and see. But I do get the impression we'll get a photo at some point.
GORANI: All right. Well, let's hope so. Max Foster, thanks very much for that. It's interesting. It's interesting to see how they're communicating,
the news, it's interesting how different it is, of course to how other members of the royal family have done things in the past, still a very much
topic of conversation for many people and for various reasons. Thanks very much, Max Foster.
And a quick programming note, CNN's Anderson Cooper sits down for a one-on- one interview with the former President Barack Obama, their topic of discussion, not so much politics, but fatherhood, of course. Anderson
Cooper is a new father himself, Barack Obama with two daughters who are growing up quickly, leadership as well and legacy will be subjects that
they will tackle.
That's 8:00 a.m. in Hong Kong, and we'll replay it at 7:00 a.m. London time, 10:00 a.m. in Abu Dhabi. Thanks to everyone for watching tonight. I'm
Hala Gorani. Thanks for your company. We'll have a lot more same time, same place tomorrow. Please stay with CNN. We'll take a quick break and when we
come back, "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS" is coming your way.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
