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U.S. Pledges to Reopen Jerusalem Consulate and Aid to Rebuild Gaza; Gaza Residents Face Bleak Future; Lukashenko Resents "Ill Wishers" Attacking Belarus over Plane; Mexico's Deadly Election Season; Former Boris Johnson Adviser to Face Parliamentary Probe; Burning Cargo Ship near Sri Lanka Could Sink "Any Moment" and Spill Oil. Aired 10-11a ET
Aired May 26, 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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BECKY ANDERSON, CNNI HOST (voice-over): America's top diplomat wrapping up his first Middle East tour. What he achieved is just ahead.
Then, Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko responds to the international growing outrage after a dissident was arrested from a
diverted passenger flight.
Plus --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MATT RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: They gave him a standing ovation as his coffin was led out.
ANDERSON (voice-over): More 18 politicians or candidates have been killed ahead of Mexico's midterm elections. We're on the ground for you in Mexico
City.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: I'm Becky Anderson. Hello and welcome to CONNECT THE WORLD.
This hour, America's top diplomat is in Jordan. Antony Blinken's latest and final stop on a Middle East tour aimed at keeping peace between Israel and
Hamas militants in Gaza. A key meeting happened earlier in Cairo, Blinken sitting down with the Egyptian president, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. Egypt, as
it has done in the past, helping negotiate the Israel-Hamas truce. Antony Blinken praised Egypt for its role in negotiations in comments at the U.S.
embassy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We've had in Egypt a real and effective partner in dealing with the violence, bringing it to a close
relatively quickly, and now working closely together to try to build something positive as we move forward.
I think we both believe strongly that Palestinians and Israelis deserve equally to live in safety and security, to enjoy equal measures of freedom,
opportunity and dignity. And we're working on that together.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, earlier, Blinken met with the Israeli president, who accepted U.S. President Joe Biden's invitation to meet in Washington in the
coming weeks. That trip will happen just before the end of his seven-year term in what is a largely ceremonial role as the Israeli president. Nic
Robertson connecting us to what is going on tonight in the region. He is just outside Jerusalem.
Antony Blinken's critics, Nic, argue that the bar is pretty low so far as to what the U.S. wants to achieve from this trip, specifically Blinken
making -- suggesting the U.S. has no immediate plans to pursue peace talks between the sides.
Is that criticism fair?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Listen, I spent today with one of the people, a non-politician, that the secretary of state met
with while he was on the West Bank.
After he met with the Palestinian Authority leaders, the prime minister, the Palestinian president, he met with some Palestinian people, who, you
know, outside of the mainframe of politics, who were explaining to him their views and how he should view the situation here.
I spent part of today with one of those people. He said that he thought that the secretary of state listened to what he was saying, listened to
this sort of Palestinian people's view, that they need the support from the United States to try to change the political perspective from -- for the
Israeli government so that they could create the political space in the future for future peace negotiations.
He thought that the secretary of state understood that.
I said, how?
He said, from his body language. I said, but, you know, you have heard from American presidents and secretaries of state before and they haven't been
able to deliver on many occasions.
He said, look, this is the beginning. Let's see in six months or 12 months' time but we're hopeful here.
But he said, look, what we're asking for from the United States is for them to look at the Palestinians here through the prism of, is this how American
citizens want to be treated themselves?
He said that, you know, essentially the settlements are growing and that's something that needs to stop. And the United States can bring pressure to
bear on the Israeli government.
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That was the perspective. So I think when you sort of say, can the United States do something?
I think, in Palestinian minds, the answer is they can but the question is - - remains, will they?
And will they engage?
And really that does depend on the Palestinians getting elections and the political sort of status on the Israeli side changing as well, Becky.
ANDERSON: What Antony Blinken insists he will do in the very short term, Nic, is rally international support to rebuild Gaza. What he will most
definitely hear in both Egypt and now, as he is on the ground in Jordan, is that, without breaking the cycle of violence and with Hamas still in charge
in Gaza, the prospect of peace is as dim, if not dimmer, than it was before this current conflict, Nic.
And in the end, Blinken's trip to the region will be -- effectively, it will be marred by that, won't it, because there will be those who say
nothing has changed.
ROBERTSON: Yes. In effect, you know, the United States is putting a Band- aid on the ceasefire to try to hold it together for longer, you know, providing sort of support to both sides; reassurance, if you will, to the
Israeli government, that the United States has their back, that the -- Israel has a right to defend itself and the United States will support with
materiel, the missiles for the defensive Iron Dome system. They'll support there.
And on the Palestinian side encouraging them that the United States will listen, that it is opening the doors for conversations with them. So
confidence building measures. But as we both know, those confidence- building measures run out of road after a period of time.
There will be other incidents that come up, other issues that are connected to the underlying causes here, land rights that will come up, that will
spark tensions and that will potentially deliver another conflict, potentially in and around Gaza. It might take six months. It might take a
year, it might take a couple of years.
But absent that real diplomatic push, that's what's coming. And absolutely, the critics will say that. As they say, the Palestinian person who, from
civil society, who met with the secretary of state last night, who I talked to, said, let's give it six to 12 months to see.
ANDERSON: Nic Robertson, on his way back from the West Bank, thank you.
Well, the Hamas leader in Gaza today saying Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu dragged out hostilities to serve his own political purposes.
Yahya Sinwar warning that Hamas has 300 rockets ready to fire at Tel Aviv if Israel breaks the ceasefire.
Decades of mistrust and occasional wars have left the people of Gaza trapped with no way out, as Ben Wedeman now reports.
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BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In Gaza City's main square, Mohammad and his friends show off their breakdancing
skills. Mohammad's dream is to compete outside Gaza but there is a problem.
"Travel from Gaza," he says, "is almost impossible."
This narrow strip of land on the Mediterranean, home to 2 million people, has been under an Egyptian Israeli blockade since Hamas took over Gaza in
2007. Among other things, the blockade was intended to isolate Hamas and prevent the militants from smuggling in arms.
But since then, Hamas and other groups have been able to manufacture and launch tens of thousands of rockets into Israel. And Hamas, 14 years later,
is still firmly in control.
In Khan Yunis (ph), residents queue for food, donated by Egypt, Qatar and Malaysia. About half the population is dependent on food aid; unemployment
is almost 50 percent. I asked the young people in the crowd the same question.
WEDEMAN: Have you ever, in whole life, traveled outside Gaza?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No travel.
WEDEMAN (voice-over): Everyone gave the same answer, "No, never."
Like the others, Raida (ph) says she's never set foot outside Gaza, never been on a plane or a train.
Gaza is hemmed in by Israel to the north and east, Egypt to the south. Israel and Egypt allow a limited amount of goods, strictly controlled, into
Gaza but exporting is difficult. Israel bombed Mohammad's plastic ware factory the day before the cease-fire went into effect.
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His 12 employees are now without work.
And even before the hostilities, try as he might, Mohammad never received permission to export his products by Israel.
"We met all their conditions," he says. "But we never received an answer from them if we can export or not."
People here, whether they support Hamas or not -- and many don't -- they are all serving the same sentence, says this analyst.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Gaza has become the biggest open air prison on the face of Earth.
WEDEMAN (voice-over): If the blockade isn't lifted, this may be the closest to flying some of these children will ever be -- Ben Wedeman, CNN,
Gaza.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Well, Russia's support for Hamas is part of what many see as its regional power play. And we are seeing similar Kremlin influence over the
man described as Europe's last dictator, Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko.
In his first public address since he forced landing of a Ryanair flight on Sunday, he claims ill-wishes are attacking Belarus. Speaking to parliament
a short time ago the president said there was a bomb threat that came from Switzerland. Switzerland denies any knowledge of that.
Mr. Lukashenko says diverting the plane was legal. But there's plenty of condemnation for it, coming from the U.S. and the U.K., along with the E.U.
and the United Nations. Europe telling airlines to avoid Belarusian airspace. CNN's Matthew Chance joining us from Moscow. Fred Pleitgen
standing by in Berlin.
Let me start with you, Fred. You listened to what Lukashenko said.
What else was in that speech?
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it was a mix of lashing out towards the West, lashing out at the opposition in the
Belarus. But then also a lot of claims that are unverified and unverified until right now.
He obviously made the claim that the bomb threat allegedly came from Switzerland. The Swiss are saying they have no knowledge of that.
He also said apparently several airports in the region had turned down, had not allowed that plane to land there after the bomb threat came in. He
specifically named Vilnius, Poland, Warsaw as well. Polish authorities have come back and said they knew nothing about a plane wanting to divert into
their airspace and toward Warsaw airport.
So a lot of claims that are really impossible to verify or, quite frankly, have been proven not to be true by now.
Lukashenko then also did lash out at the West, naming that the West was trying to stoke some sort of revolt in Belarus, that, at some point, could
then also affect Russia as well. Listen to what he had to say.
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ALEXANDER LUKASHENKO, BELARUSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): As we predicted, our ill-wishers both outside and inside the country have changed
their methods of attacking the Belarusian state. They have crossed a lot of red lines and transgressed the limits of common sense and common morality.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PLEITGEN: Lukashenko there; at the same time, Roman Protasevich, the journalist and critic of Alexander Lukashenko, he was taken off the plane.
He remains in custody and the international community continues its tough line on Alexander Lukashenko and his regime.
The Biden administration saying that sanctions are very much in play. What we're really seeing happen now in the skies over Europe are some of those
flight bans really seeming to take hold.
Take a look at one flight path of a plane supposed to fly from Minsk to Barcelona but then had to hold for around two hours in Belarusian airspace
and then return back to Minsk.
There's also very few Western airlines who are still flying over Belarusian airspace. Also, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the opposition leader of Belarus
who, of course, is in exile, she was at the Foreign Relations Committee of the European Parliament today and she called for even tougher action on the
part of Europe against the Lukashenko government. Let's have a listen.
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SVIATLANA TSIKHANOUSKAYA, BELARUS OPPOSITION LEADER: Let's be frank, the previous used strategy of wait and see towards the Belarusian regime
doesn't work. The E.U. approach of creduly (ph) elevating pressure on Lukashenko's regime hasn't managed to change his behavior and only led to a
growing sense of impunity and massive repressions.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PLEITGEN: One of the things that she was also talking about is she believes that the E.U. should do is restrict the imports of some goods from
Belarus, like, for instance, timber and oil. So as you can see, Becky, a lot going on. We don't see so far is Alexander Lukashenko, in any way,
shape or form, backing down.
ANDERSON: Yes. Fascinating.
Matt, we understand that the U.N. Security Council meeting privately today on Belarus. U.S. President Joe Biden, as Fred pointed out, says he's
preparing sanctions.
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All of this ahead of what is this now confirmed Putin-Biden summit. I wonder how this issue might be addressed or might overshadow what is this
bubble of U.S.-Russia relations at present.
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I mean, I'm not sure it's going to overshadow it but likely to be on the agenda, simply
because it's the latest in a long line of differences of opinion, if we can call it that, between the Russians and the Americans about a whole range
of, you know, conduct and global affairs.
Look, we've talked about how the global community at large and in general has been condemning categorically what took place in Belarus, in its
apparent violation of international norms by forcing that civilian airliner down, apparently with the express purpose of detaining a dissident
journalist and activist on board.
But the Russians aren't part of that. They've backed their neighbor and their ally to the hilt. They've said, just today, that they don't see any
reason to doubt the version of events -- and I'm paraphrasing them -- to doubt the version of events that have been put out by the Russians when it
comes to why they asked or demanded that that plane land in Minsk. It was a security threat, of course, the Belarusians say, a bomb threat on board.
The Russians say they have got no reason to doubt that. And they haven't been critical of the detention of that dissident journalist and activist,
who has been taken into custody. They haven't been critical of the fact that his girlfriend, who is a Russian citizen, has also been taken into
custody. She was taken off the plane as well and has been remanded for, I think, two months by the Belarusian authorities, having been accused of
violating some unspecified crimes in the country over the past couple of years.
And so, look, you know, Fred mentioned that Alexander Lukashenko, the Belarusian president, shows no sign of backing down. And the main reason
for that is because he doesn't need to because he knows Moscow has his back, Becky.
ANDERSON: Matthew Chance is in Moscow. Thank you.
Well, the West also watching the treatment of another dissident, of course, that of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny. He is suing his prison camp,
accusing the penal colony near Moscow of censorship. He made a court appearance a short time ago via video link. He says his newspapers and
correspondence have been tampered with. The prison denies these claims.
Case in point of Russia's efforts to boost its profile, take a look at what it is doing in Syria. Moscow now sending three long-range bombers to an air
base it operates in Syria. Russia's defense ministry tells state media the bombers are capable of carrying nuclear weapons and will hold training
missions in the Mediterranean Sea. Russia has also recently expanded a naval base in the country.
It has long supported Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, looking to cement his power in what experts call a sham presidential election. He cast his
ballots in the former rebel stronghold of Duma, surrounded by cheering supporters. In a joint statement, the U.S., U.K., France, Germany and Italy
describe the election as neither free nor fair and urge U.N. supervision.
Syria dismisses any criticism of its election process. The concern amongst many countries is voting is rigged in favor of al-Assad, who presided over
a decade-long catastrophic civil war and what is a ravaged economy.
Anti-government protests turning deadly in Iraq's capital of Baghdad. One person was killed and several others were injured when security forces
fired into the air to disperse crowds. Hundreds of protesters had gathered in the city's Tahrir Square. They accuse Iraq's government of ignoring the
killings of dozens of activists, who have been shot dead across the country in recent months.
Well, politics is a deadly business in Mexico.
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RIVERS (voice-over): Political assassinations have been a problem for decades but this year is particularly bad.
ANDERSON (voice-over): Just ahead, we'll take you live to Mexico, where this campaign season, dozens of candidates are paying with their lives.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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ANDERSON (voice-over): And off the coast of Sri Lanka, a container ship is on fire and about to sink.
While the crew have been rescued, what will it mean for the coastline?
Details on that are ahead.
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ANDERSON: It's a deadly election season in Mexico. The number of murders is almost hard to fathom. More than 80 -- 80 politicians or candidates --
have been killed in recent months. Hundreds of others targeted in these brazen attacks.
It is just 10 days until voters choose members of congress, state governors and thousands of municipal officials. These midterm elections seen as a
referendum on president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.
And the violence is exposing the power that organized crime and drug cartels have in the country. Well, the latest deadly attack came just hours
ago. Matt Rivers is in Mexico City for you.
And this is a country that is sadly no stranger to election violence.
Just how would you describe what is happening now compared to what has happened in the past, Matt?
RIVERS: Not to diminish what's happened in the past, Becky, because this is a problem every single election season here in Mexico.
But this year really is shaping up to be one of the worst, if not the worst, election season. Consider, since campaigning really kicked off back
last September, when election season began, it's been nearly 10 politicians or candidates every single month that have been killed.
Violence has plagued this country for a long time and what is apparent is that elections, you know, are not different than the rest of the country
when it comes to dealing with that violence.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking Spanish).
RIVERS (voice-over): Here is Abel Murrieta (ph), a candidate for local office in the Mexican municipality of Cajeme. Crime was his number one
issue.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking Spanish).
RIVERS (voice-over): But just one day after filming this ad, he was dead, shot and killed May 13th in broad daylight on a busy street while handing
out campaign flyers.
State authorities say he was deliberately targeted but don't know by whom. Suspects or not, though, it's just further proof that, in Mexico, politics
can be deadly. From September of last year through May 25th, at least 88 politicians or candidates have been killed, according to a Mexican
consulting firm.
They're a part of the more than 565 politicians or candidates overall that have been targeted by some sort of crime, ranging from murder to assault to
threats, the firm says. The government says it believes both numbers are actually far lower, though they don't say how they tallied their numbers.
But still, it admits there's a problem.
"It's a difficult time for these campaigns," says Mexico's president. "We're going to keep protecting them."
Though Mexico has consistently failed to protect its candidates, political assassinations have been a problem for decades. But this year is
particularly bad.
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ANA MARIA SALAZAR, PUBLIC SECURITY EXPERT: I do think that this is going to be considered one of the most violent elections in Mexican history.
RIVERS (voice-over): Security experts like Ana Maria Salazar say politicians are killed for a number of reasons but it most often involves
organized crime. In many cases, criminal groups want their preferred candidate in office, so they might target others they don't like,
especially candidates who make crime a centerpiece of their campaign.
SALAZAR: Candidates that talk the way Abel Murrieta speak clearly are going to run bigger risks.
RIVERS (voice-over): Murrieta was known for challenging criminal groups and drug cartels. As a private lawyer, he was also representing an
outspoken family with duel U.S.-Mexico citizenship that lost nine of its members when they were murdered by suspected cartel members in Mexico in
late 2019.
Adrian LeBaron tweeted shortly after Murrieta was killed, saying, in part, quote, "They have killed my defender.
"What do we call this?
"The rule of law?"
RIVERS: Do you believe he was killed because of his opposition to the cartels?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. He was always exposing them. To me, he died a martyr.
RIVERS (voice-over): Authorities have not identified any suspects or motive in Murrieta's murder but the victims seem to know he was at risk,
saying this a few days before he died.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking Spanish).
RIVERS (voice-over): He went on to say, the streets belong to the people, not to criminals. And some of those people turned up here to his funeral.
They gave him a standing ovation as his coffin was led out.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
RIVERS: And Becky, you said right off the top that the latest political candidate had just been killed hours ago.
I want to show you a video of Alma Borregon (ph), she was a candidate for mayor in a small town in the Mexican state of Guanajuato. She recorded this
video at a campaign event that she held just yesterday afternoon local time. She was killed just a few moments after taking this video.
Unfortunately, Becky, what we have seen in past election cycles is that, the last couple of weeks of campaign season are often the most violent and
we still have 10 days to go before the June 6th midterm elections.
ANDERSON: Shocking. Matt, thank you.
Coming up, a massive mea culpa from the man at the center of the U.K.'s handling of the initial stages of the coronavirus pandemic. Why the British
prime minister's former top adviser is apologizing to grieving families.
And a country ravaged by coronavirus faces another infection. We are tracking black fungus cases in India.
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ANDERSON: We were all in uncharted territory when the pandemic hit and there will be a lot of scrutiny, much scrutiny, over how governments
responded to the crisis.
Well, the U.K. is giving us a sneak preview of what that could look like as Boris Johnson's government gets some harsh criticism over how it handled
the initial stages of the pandemic.
During a parliamentary inquiry earlier, Dominic Cummings, Mr. Johnson's former top adviser, apologized to families of COVID victims. He said many
died unnecessarily because the government failed them. Bianca Nobilo is in London with more on what could be a defining moment for the U.K.
Let's be quite clear here, there is absolutely no love lost between these friends, Dominic Cummings and his former boss, the prime minister. Be that
as it may, the accusation that tens of thousands of people died who didn't need to die, frankly, couldn't be any more serious.
What else has Dominic Cummings said today?
BIANCA NOBILO, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Well, Becky, first of all, you make an important point. Dominic Cummings would clearly have an ax to
grind with the prime minister. Many made that point. He is also somebody that we know has a history of having aversion to institutions and way
things are typically done in government.
But all that borne in mind it doesn't explain the hailing invective he launched against Boris Johnson, the health secretary and the government.
The most significant of all this, is, as you said, that tens of thousands of lives could have been saved had the British government acted
differently.
That is his key thrust throughout, the fact that he argues that Britain locked down too slowly in March and in November respectively. That's
because the prime minister Boris Johnson wanted to prioritize the economy over saving lives.
Just in the last few minutes, Becky, it was confirmed by Dominic Cummings, according to him, that the prime minister did indeed make that comment in
response to the prospect of a new lockdown, that, "let the bodies pile high."
He was saying that it was more beneficial in his eyes to allow thousands more to die potentially in order to protect the British economy. And that's
a key theme that we've seen throughout this testimony from Dominic Cummings, that the prime minister's approach to the pandemic was flippant
from the beginning.
Let's take a listen to something rather shocking that the prime minister said he would do to demonstrate that COVID wasn't, in fact, a big deal.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DOMINIC CUMMINGS, FORMER JOHNSON TOP ADVISER: In February, the prime minister regarded this as just a scare story. He regarded -- he described
it as the new swine flu.
QUESTION: Did you tell him it wasn't?
CUMMINGS: Certainly. But the view of various officials inside Number 10 was, if we have prime minister chairing COBR meetings and just he tells
everyone it's swine flu. don't worry about it, I'll get Chris Whitty to inject me live on TV with coronavirus, so no one realizes it's nothing to
be frightened of, that would be -- that would not help actually serious planning.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NOBILO: I mean going to get Chris Whitty to inject me with coronavirus, speaking about the chief medical officer here in Britain, those are the
words that apparently the prime minister said.
Now he would encourage people to continue to socialize in close quarters and handshake people who had coronavirus early on in the pandemic. There's
been a lot said as to the fact that the prime minister didn't take this seriously enough and that's one of Dominic Cummings' key charges against
him.
But he also leveled a lot of criticism against the health secretary, Matt Hancock, claiming, Becky, he had 15 to 20 reasons to have been sacked in
this pandemic and that he lied many times publicly.
I mean, these are gigantic accusations to make about a government. And he was in the room. He was making those decisions with the cabinet, informing
policy, influencing affairs. So he would know a lot of this information.
As you said, we have to bear in mind the fact that this is his side of the story. But it's important to note that Downing Street actually didn't deny
a lot of these allegations earlier today, such as the fact that Boris Johnson said that he would inject himself live on television.
So there's obviously truth to a lot of what's been said today, not all; we don't know at this point.
[10:35:00]
But it does -- it's very painful to imagine what it must be like for the families of the 128,000 people in Britain who have died of coronavirus, to
hear the prime minister having said things like that and knowing, according to Dominic Cummings, that potentially tens of thousands of lives could have
been saved.
ANDERSON: Yes. These are, of course, accusations from Dominic Cummings. This is part of a parliamentary inquiry. Thank you.
Meanwhile in India, prime minister Narendra Modi has also been under fire for his handling of the virus. The country already struggling with a deadly
second wave, now facing what is at an alarming increase in black fungus. We have been telling you about here if you're a regular viewer of this show.
There are now more than 10,000 cases of those infections throughout India. It appears to be occurring in people who have recovered from COVID,
particularly if they have diabetes. Vedika Sud reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So they have to take out (INAUDIBLE) this part, the palate of the jaw. They had to take it out. And he has to be fed through a
food pipe for a month.
VEDIKA SUD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Twenty-four-year-old Bhavya Reddy (ph) talked to us through Zoba (ph) when her father, Lasli Reddy (ph), was
recovering from COVID-19 in Herdabop (ph) in South India. But he then developed a swelling across his face.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Initially we thought it was some reaction because of all the doses that were given. But after the MRI scan we got to know that
he is infected with black fungus.
SUD (voice-over): Mucormycosis or black fungus is a rare, life-threatening infection. If not detected and treated in time, it could lead to loss of
eyesight or, as in Reddy's case, a part of the jaw and even death.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you take the treatment properly --
Dr. Hemant Thacker, a consultant physician at a top hospital in Mumbai, says black fungus is increasingly being detected in COVID-19 patients who
are immunocompromised.
DR. HEMANT THACKER, BREACH CANDY HOSPITAL: The fungus starts invading the nasal septum, the palate, the sinus membranes and, here, it also invades
the blood vessels. And it rapidly grows.
SUD (voice-over): The Indian government has ramped up production of the anti-fungal drugs but many states are reporting an acute shortage.
Twenty-nine-year-old software engineer Mardishi Welker (ph) recently underwent surgery to remove black fungus from his face and nose. Extremely
weak after suffering from both COVID-19 and the fungal infection, he still needs bars (ph) for a complete recovery.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So I (INAUDIBLE).
SUD (voice-over): Amadi (ph) says he still needs 24 injections and has been to almost all pharmacies across Hyderabad to look for them. They're
not available.
Bhavya Reddy (ph) recently graduated with a degree in fashion management. With a father in hospital and a highly diabetic mother, she's now the
family's primary caretaker.
BHAVYA REDDY (PH), FAMILY CARETAKER: I start looking for the vials (ph) because it's not available and the doses have increased. Everything is
becoming an issue because we're spending so much. And we're not getting anything in return. And my father is the only one who is earning in the
family. (INAUDIBLE).
SUD (voice-over): With the country still reeling from a brutal second wave of COVID-19, the pressure on India's stretched health care system is only
increasing -- Vedika Sud, CNN, New Delhi.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Well, in northeast India, more than 10 million people are feeling the impact of cyclone Yaas. This storm made landfall on Wednesday
afternoon on the northern coast with winds up to 140 kilometers an hour.
Three deaths confirmed and the West Bengal government has set up relief camps for more than a million people forced to evacuate. The Indian
military and national disaster response force are right now carrying out rescues and relief operations.
A burning cargo ship off the coast of Sri Lanka is expected to sink at any moment.
Take a look at these images. This is thick plumes of black smoke. Officials fear more than 300 tons of oil could be spilled damaging the coastline, as
you can imagine.
The ship, on its way to Singapore, was carrying cosmetics and chemicals, including 25 tons of nitric acid. It was anchored off Colombo when a
container caught fire on Friday. All 25 crew members have been safely rescued.
[10:40:00]
Debris from the ship has already washed ashore and is now littering the coastline.
You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Becky Anderson. We will be right back after this.
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