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COVID Bursting the Olympic Bubble; Global Markets Tank; England Lifts COVID Rules as Delta Variant Surges Worldwide; At Least 195 Deaths Confirmed in Germany and Belgium; National Day of Mourning Begins in Belgium; First Ever Extreme Heat Warning Issued in U.K.; Suspected Spying Targeted Journalists, Activists; Indonesia's Deadliest Day of the Pandemic; Abuse Sparks National Debate Across England; Amazon Founder Bezos, Three Others Set for Suborbital Flight. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired July 20, 2021 - 01:00   ET

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


[01:00:36]

JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN newsroom, live from Studio 7, CNN's world headquarters, in Atlanta.

Ahead this hour, bursting the Olympic bubble. With a number of COVID infections continuing to rise, concerns are growing over pandemic protocols and preventions within the athletes' village.

Fears about the delta variant have infected global markets. At the same time, the U.S. president downplaying concerns over inflation.

Also, Amazon's founder, Jeff Bezos, about to blast off to the very edge of space. And 11 miniaturized, which he says will benefit all of civilization.

(MUSIC)

VAUSE: So, to try to prevent the spread of COVID at the Tokyo Games organizers promises sort of safety bubble around the Olympic Village. Outside of the bubble, in the real world, the delta variant is fueling a rise in the number of infections. But, inside of the bubble, it is meant to be safe. Entry granted only to those who tested negative, and they would be tested regularly, for the next few weeks.

But now, just three days to go until the opening ceremony, it seems the bubble has burst, with the number of COVID cases linked to the athletes village, standing at 71.

Even so, officials continue to exist, village is, quote, a safe police to stay.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIAN MCCLOSKEY, OLYMPIC GAMES LEADING HEALTH ADVISER: Each layer of filtering is a reduction and a risk for everybody else, and that's what we expect to see. The numbers we are seeing are actually extremely low, probably lower than we expected to see if anything.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, is now in Tokyo, where fears are growing that the Olympic Games could turn into a super spreader event.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Before the opening ceremonies of the 2020 Olympic Games, COVID-19 is front and center. At least three U.S. athletes have tested positive for the virus.

Katie Lou Samuelson, a member of the U.S. Olympics women's basketball team is the latest and won't be attending the games in Japan. She joins Kara Eaker, an alternate on the U.S. women's gymnastics team who tested positive here in Tokyo.

MARK EAKER, FATHER OF KARA EAKER: She's had multiple COVID tests come back positive. She has no symptoms. She's been vaccinated. But the biggest disappointment is that this takes her out of it completely.

GUPTA: Eaker must isolate for at least ten days before being allowed to return to the United States. And another member of her team is also in quarantine.

LINSEY MARR, LEADING EXPERT IN AIRBORNE TRANSMISSION OF VIRUSES: I'm sure they were exposed, but to have become infected from that person, I think it would depend on how much time they have been spending together.

GUPTA: So far, the games have seen dozens of cases but only a handful are among athletes, including one cluster that led to 21 close contacts. These cases, though, aren't coming as a complete surprise. Keep in mind, the athletes are tested daily.

BRIAN MCCLOSKEY, OLYMPIC GAMES LEADING HEALTH ADVISOR: If I thought all the tests we did were going to be negative, then I wouldn't bother doing the tests in the first place. The numbers we're seeing are actually extremely low, probably lower than we expected to see if anything.

GUPTA: Once health authorities approved, close contacts can still return to the competition, but they are subject to additional quarantine measures, which may include moving to separate rooms, and training facilities, eating alone, and using dedicated vehicles.

MARR: We know that testing catches people, perhaps, after they have already been contagious, and had the chance to spread the virus to other people.

GUPTA: The IOC estimates more than 80 percent of residents of the Olympic Village will be vaccinated. In Tokyo, 2020 officials maintain the athletes are safe.

MASA TAKAYA, TOKYO 2020 SPOKESMAN: The IOC, in Tokyo 2020, are absolutely clear, that the only peak range is a safe place to stay.

GUPTA: With more transmissible variants like delta, and over 11,000 athletes from all over the globe, the IOC has laid in a number of safety measures -- masks, distancing, all of it to try and stave off of super-spreader event. But the major question looming is, will these positive cases show that the protocols are working, or underscore the feeling that holding the Olympics was ill-advised, in the first place.

DR. MICHAEL OSTERHOLM, AMERICAN EPIDEMIOLOGIST: We had real concerns about the potential for transformation at the Olympics, well before delta as a variant took hold around the world. When that did happen, in only heightened our concern.

GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Tokyo.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[01:05:01]

VAUSE: CNN's Blake Essig live now from Tokyo.

It was just last week, I think, that the IOC president said that there would be zero risk of any transmission from the athletes, to residents in Japan, and elsewhere outside the village. I guess we will find out fairly soon.

BLAKE ESSIG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, that's the big question. And, really, John, that's the big concern, is the potential spread of infection, you know, as a result of all of these tens of thousands of Olympic delegates coming into Japan from all around the world. And with just a few days ago, before the start of the Olympics, while of course a could be worse, and it is going smoothly as of today, 71 people, involved in the games, testing positive for COVID-19 here in Japan.

Most recently, that includes one alternate on the U.S. women's gymnastics team who tested positive. While the pre-Olympic training camp just outside of Tokyo. Both she and another gymnast, who was considered a close contact, are in isolation.

Out of the 71 positive cases linked to the games, four have come from inside the Olympic Village. Overall, Olympic officials say that out of 22,000 people who have arrived from overseas, only 28 positive cases of come as a result. That's 0.1 percent positivity rate. The rest of the cases involved Japanese residents.

Now, there is also a growing list of athletes and Olympic-related personnel who have been forced into isolation, after being considered close contacts, with people who have tested positive. Now, despite the growing case count, Olympic officials maintain, the games can be held safely, and for the athletes, that the Olympic Village is the place to stay.

Of course, health and safety concerns remained the primary reason why polls consistently show that the overwhelmingly majority of people think that these should not go ahead. Many people here feel that Olympic organizers are holding these games against a little the people, and when all is said and done, it is a people of Japan will be left to deal with the consequences. Now, while COVID-19 remains a primary concern across the board, for the athletes, another big challenge will be dealing with Japan's extreme heat, and humidity. The rainy season here in Japan has come and gone, and temperatures are now in the nineties, and will likely get much warmer, in the days, and weeks to come.

Organizers are also left scrambling after the man in charge of composing music for the opening and closing ceremonies resigned after admitting that he bullied children with disabilities as a kid. While, he had recently apologized for his past actions, calls for his resignation on social media have only grown louder. Olympic officials say his music will not be used, and are now considering an alternative option. Of course, this is just the latest controversy to impact the games, just 3 days before the opening ceremony --John.

VAUSE: Blake, thank you. Blake Essig there Tokyo with the very latest. Appreciate it.

Well, surging COVID infections and fears about the delta variant triggering a sell-off on financial markets. The Wall Street fall is now being felt by markets in Asia. And you can see the Nikkei down by 12 percent. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng is down by more than 1 percent, and Australia down by just over a half a percent, as similar story to Shanghai composite.

In the U.S., Dow plunged 725 points on Monday, the worst day since October. Airlines and cruise operators took a beating, and investors are concerned over the strength of the economic recovery. Still, the Dow is up more than 10 percent this year as President Biden was quick to point out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There is nobody suggesting there's unchecked inflation on the way, no serious economist. That's totally different. I mean, look, the stock market is higher than it has been in all of story, even when it went down this month, even down this month.

Now, I don't look at the stock market as a means by which to suggest the economy like my predecessor did it. But, he would talk to you every day about how the stock market is so high, higher than any time in history. Still higher than time in history.

So, that's not how I judge whether or not we economic growth.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Manisha Tank is following developments live from Singapore this hour.

There was a time where we thought the Asia and U.S. markets are sort of decoupled, if you like. They may go their separate ways, but clearly, it seems they coupled backup. MANISHA TANK, JOURNALIST: You know what, Sean, I don't think we ever

accepted that we don't live in an interconnected world. We do, and so, it's, of course, the reason why we see Asian markets falling at the open here, having seen that fallout on Wall Street, that is investors waking up to the fact that the Delta variant is very much here, and it is spreading. It's certainly been the case here in Asia, where Southeast Asian's economy, and Indonesia, and seeing surge in cases of this very deadly variant. It is a very infectious, and it is hitting the country hard.

For a second though and I will come back to some of the updates of what's been happening as far as COVID-19 goes across Southeast Asia. Coming back to the market, I think what is going on here, is very much, this look as a trajectory for economic growth.

[01:10:01]

And it's important to point where we've seen a selloff, it hasn't been across all sectors. Of course, pharmaceuticals have continued to be robust. It's been particularly hard for those sectors that benefit from economic recovery, think about travel stocks. If we start going into more rolling lockdowns in various countries, if travel continues to be difficult and you don't see that opening up happening, it stands to reason therefore, you see those travel stocks getting hit.

Also, oil prices. They turned low overnight, down 6 percent, and that's because of their worries over growth. Again, but also OPEC's decision to increase supply. So, there are a number of factors which are going into a confluence here, affecting the market.

And it is true to say that the market is still riding high, higher than we've seen in history. We can't compare this necessarily to 2008 financial crisis. This is a very different scenario. We are a world in transition, and we have much to think about.

I want to get back, though, to what's happening in some of these Southeast Asian economies. Here in Singapore, we are seeing cases beginning to spike. They're connected to specific clusters, and the government is working quite hard here to bring here to fence them. But what's Singapore has announced today is that it is sending 500 tons of oxygen to Indonesia, of course, a very important regional partner.

In Indonesia, we have the Indonesian Medical Association announced that 114 doctors have lost their lives to COVID-19, to the delta variant between July 1st and July 17th, and. And I think this just illustrates the amount of pressure that the medical system there is under. And so, regional partner suddenly stepping in to help out a very difficult situation.

So much to think about in this region. Malaysia also seeing a new daily spike in cases. That, again, happening in the last couple of days.

So, really, it is about watching the trajectory of this virus. It seems as though the delta variant is only just picking up, and that is what markets are worried about. If it is only picking up in certain parts of the world, what will this mean for economic growth? Many questions, John.

VAUSE: Manisha, thank you. Absolutely. Manisha Tank there live for us in Singapore.

With us now from New York is Rana Foroohar, a global economic analyst to CNN as well as business columnist and associate editor at "The Financial Times".

Been a while, welcome.

RANA FOROOHAR, CNN GLOBAL ECONOMIC ANALYST: Oh, thanks for having me.

VAUSE: OK. So, the main reasons for this global stocks selloff, it's the rapid spread of the delta variant, with cases of COVID-19 rising, globally, and what that could mean for demand, as well as potential labor shortages, and the impact on supply chains if countries are forced to lockdown. There is also inflation which is rising much faster than many expected. In the U.S., prices increased 0.9 of 1 percent last month with an annual increase of 5.4 percent, the biggest jump since 2008.

That raises questions about how much longer central banks can keep interest rates at record lows, and on that, here is the federal chair, Jerome Powell, talking just last week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEROME POWELL, U.S. FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIRMAN: If we do see that inflation expectations are moving up, or inflation is on a path to be well above our goals, and risk of setting us off on a period of inflation, then we'll use our tools to guide inflation back down to 2 percent.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: It seems the spread of the delta variant is in the unknown unknown. The inflation question is more of the known unknown. We put the emphasis here on inflation for triggering the stock selloff, as supposed the delta variant, which had been around for a while.

FOROOHAR: You know, I think that is probably the right analysis. The two are obviously combined. I mean, the first thing is the fact that we are no longer in a V-shaped recovery. The delta variant is created these pockets all over the world really, you know, from New York, to Europe, to Australia, where you could see rolling lockdowns in some point again.

That triggered the inflation question in the sense that inflation, is so far, only about short term variables. It is about supply chain disruptions, it's about the fact that, you know, when economies open backup, people want to buy stuff. So, you get this sort of, you know, jump in the economy, which creates its own kinds of pressures.

We thought we were sort of smoothing out of that at this point, and coming into the fall and maybe starting to get more back to something that looks like a normal, pretended make economy, and that seems to not have been the case now and has a lot of people worried.

VAUSE: Yeah, the U.S. president, who, you know, is hoping to spend a few trillion dollars of printed money himself, I tried to play down concerns over inflation. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: We also know that as our economy has come roaring back, you see some price increases. Some folks have raised worries that this could be a sign of persistent inflation, but that's not our view. Our experts believe that the data shows, that most of the price increases were seen are -- were expected, and expected to be temporary.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: You know, the issue behind the inflation numbers, though, is interesting because you mentioned this, it's supply shortages. Regardless of what Biden says, it is the supply chain shortages. The order of the industry, a shortage of micro chips is having a massive impact.

[01:15:02]

Analysts at Black Book said June saw new car sales down 14 percent, and the existing inventory was cleared out. And when we have the inflation numbers, it shows that used cars, and trucks, continue to rise sharply. The price of them, increasing 10.5 percent in June.

FOROOHAR: Yeah.

VAUSE: And that's just one area where the shortages. And these shortages will be here it seems for a while longer, whilst at the same time, pumping money into the economy. This is not a good mix.

FOROOHAR: It's not a good mix, but, you know, there are short term issues, and then mid to longer term issues. I would say things like people buying cars, people going out and spending a bit more than they would on vacations. Those are things that are going to stop eventually.

What concerns me more is where the food inflation might be. I mean, that's something that we've really seen skyrocket in the last few months. That impacts the working class population, and middle income people, much more than the wealthy.

And then, the supply chain shortages, to what extent are they, really, all right, we have an economy that was just lockdown and then it moved. But to what extent are they about longer term trade wars. I mean, semi conductor industry in the U.S. and Asia is pretty much going to be decoupling. That's something that both China and the U.S. administration sort of cop to. And that's not going away any time soon.

And when you add in any kind of unknown unknown, as you put it from the delta variant, that's the reason for concern. I think it's going to be a rocky few months.

VAUSE: Well, you know, we know think that the COVID recession is officially over, the National Bureau of Economic Research finding that the recession lasted two months, which makes it the shortest U.S. recession on record. The unprecedented magnitude of the decline in employment, in production, and it's a broad reach across the entire economy, warned that the designation of this episode as a recession, even though the downturn was briefer than earlier contractions.

You know, the traditional definition being two quarters of negative growth, obviously doesn't apply here because it was so severe and so short. But what's the often takeaway from all of this?

FOROOHAR: Well, in some ways, you could argue the system worked. You know, we had the biggest pandemic since 1918, and we had a two-month recession. On the other hand, there is a lot of vector that are just -- they're in play. I mean, we have record amounts of monetary policy, easy money, quantitative easing that's really buoying the stock market. I think it's very interesting that President Biden actually even spoke about the stock market, that's something he hasn't done before.

And we have trade issues still brewing between the U.S. and China, and U.S. and Europe to a certain extent. It's really unclear where the chips are going to fall. I mean, pandemics, wars, these are big sectoral changes in economies. They are the sort of changes that the depth doesn't settle for a few years, but then effects last for decades, if not generations. And that's where we are right now.

VAUSE: Yeah, and if the pandemic is going to be a big hit to the economy, try climate change. Two pandemics every year, by 2050, according to one study, in terms of economics.

FOROOHAR: Absolutely. And, you know, this is something that underscores news we're going to be hearing a lot more about in the summer and the fall, which is, are the U.S. and Europe are going to come into alignment on climate change? You know, Europe just put down a line in the sand about the price on carbon. That is not the tactic the U.S. is taking, so there are things to be worked out. We got COP26 coming down the pike, and if you are in the midst of another lockdown, it's going to be a very contentious debate.

VAUSE: Rana, as always, it's good to see you. Thanks so much.

FOROOHAR: Thank you.

VAUSE: Still to come, England lifts all pandemic restrictions, but of what prices? Growing concerns over the fallout from Freedom Day.

And Canada will soon reopen its southern border with the U.S., but with conditions.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:20:48] VAUSE: All pandemic restrictions in England have now been lifted, but Freedom Day, as it was called, saw surging infections, warnings of shortages of supermarkets, and the British prime minister self isolating after coming in contact with his COVID positive health secretary.

We get more details now from CNN's Phil black, reporting in from London.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The freedom, the joy, of dancing with friends, in a packed nightclub for the first time in more than a year. No masks, no crowd limits, no rules. This is with the U.K. prime minister has long promised, and is now delivering, regardless of the risks.

BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: When I'm traveling on a one- way road to freedom.

BLACK: Newspapers, enthusiastically, gave the journeys and an obvious name. Freedom Day.

Now it's here. For most, it doesn't feel very free -- but especially for Boris Johnson. He is isolating, because the UK health secretary has tested positive.

JOHNSON: We've got to do it cautiously. We've got to remember that this virus is, sadly, out there. Cases are rising. We can see the stream of contagiousness of the delta variant.

BLACK: The delta variant, changing everything. After months of steeply declining cases, this highly transmissible mutation, is now, swamping the U.K. with an accelerating wave of infections. The government is lifting restrictions anyway.

CHRIS WHITTY, ENGLAND'S CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER: There is quite a strong view, by many people, including myself actually, who are going in the summer, has some advantages.

BLACK: Advantages like reduced seasonal pressure on hospitals, and with schools out, reduced he spread amongst students. But, the plan has many expert critics who used words like reckless, and unethical.

DR. DEEPTI GURDASANI, CLINICAL EPIDEMIOLOGIST, QUEEN MARY UNIVESITY OF LONDON: All of the models show, there will be millions of cases over the summer, and that they will be 1,000, to 2,000 daily hospitalizations for the summer.

BLACK: The government is also aware of another, ominous warning, from his own scientific advisers that points to the possibility that dire consequences for the whole world.

The combination of high prevalence and high levels of vaccination creates the conditions in which an immune escape variant is a most likely to emerge. The likelihood of this happening is unknown. They're talking about a variant that's better at beating vaccines.

RAVI GUPTA, PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE: Considering high levels of infection are on against driving further mutations of the virus, and potential further problems down the line. In other words, even less vaccine efficacy against mutated versions of the virus. We know there is a significant risk of what is happening from what we've seen before.

BLACK: The government hopes most people will follow its new message. Yes, the rules are going away, but please, don't change your behavior. One of its own advisers, on behavioral sciences says that's messy and inconsistent.

SUSAN MICHIE, DIRECTOR OF CENTER FOR BEHAVIOR CHANGE, UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON: This kind of mixed messaging is really damaging. We had it previously, in the pandemic, and people want to clear guidance. They want leadership. They want to clear, concise and coherent messages.

BLACK: This is an unprecedented experiment, a desperate bid for freedom. It's success or failure will be measured in lives, and suffering.

Phil Black, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: It may have been called Freedom Day in England, but it was warning day for the U.S. State Department. Americans, advice to not travel to the U.K., which is in line with the CDC's UK risk assessment, which is at level 4.

Despite most adult in Britain being fully vaccinated, new daily cases are approaching 50,000, the highest rate of infections since January.

Well, cities, and towns, placed under lock down in Australia, as infections from the delta variant continue to rise. If you ask, South Australia will go into a 7-day lockdown, the 3rd state to issue a stay-at-home order. Areas around Sydney, and Melbourne already imposed new restrictions.

Under these rules, residents will only be allowed to leave their homes on very limited circumstances. Currently, it's just 11 percent of the population have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

[01:25:06]

Canada will, soon reopened its border with the United States, for the first time since March of last year. The government says it fully vaccinated Americans will be allowed into the country, starting August 9th. That's less than 3 weeks from now. Half of all Canadians, fully vaccinated against COVID-19, surpassing the rate in the United States.

We have more now from CNN's Paula Newton.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: After 16 long months, Canada says it's finally ready to reopen its borders to international travelers.

First up, fully vaccinated Americans and U.S. residents currently living in the United States can come to Canada beginning August 9th and they want us to quarantine for two weeks.

Next up, international travelers. Again, this only applies to fully vaccinated international travelers, and they can come September 7th without having to quarantine for two weeks.

Now all of this comes as Canada passes a significant milestone. More than 50 percent of the population is now fully vaccinated. They've surpassed the United States and that's with having started in the spring with a punishing third wave of COVID-19 and a scarcity of vaccines.

Canada says though there will be no victory lap here. It's being cautious and saying what it's really aiming for, is at least 75 percent of its population to be fully vaccinated by September.

Paula Newton, CNN, Ottawa.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: But the U.S. has not made any commitment about reopening its side of the border with Canada. The White House says it reveals travel restrictions, in any decisions on reopening, they say, will be guided by medical experts.

Nearly 2 weeks after Haiti's president was assassinated, a new debate about who will leave the country settle for now. The acting prime minister has agreed to step hand power to his rival. The goal is to keep the peace in Haiti, until new elections can be held.

CNN's Matt Rivers is in Port-au-Prince with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we have a bit more clarity in terms of who will be running the Haitian government, at least in the near term, after a power sharing agreement was announced between various political factions in the federal government on Monday.

It was announced that acting prime minister, Claude Joseph, will be transferring power to a man named Ariel Henry. Henry was actually appointed as prime minister by President Jovenel Moise just a few days before he was killed. It was soon enough before he was killed that Henri didn't actually get the chance to be sworn in, to create a new government, as is the task of the prime minister here.

So, there was a lot of confusion as to who should be running the government. But Joseph, essentially stepping aside, saying he wants to respect the wishes of the president that is now deceased. He will return to his role as foreign minister, a position that he previously held. Henry said that he does plan on holding new elections, for not only

the presidency, but positions in the parliament here in Haiti. He says he wants to hold those elections soon, although he didn't say exactly when that would be.

Meanwhile, over the weekend, we do know that first lady Martine Moise, she returned to Port-au-Prince, by private plane. She had been recovering in a Miami hospital after being critically injured during the attack, that killed her husband. Of course, a lot of people in the public want to hear what she has to say, investigators want to hear what she has to say, as a surviving witness of this attack. Unclear, though, if she has plans to speak out publicly.

Matt Rivers, CNN, Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: The terror group, ISIS, claiming responsibilities for a blast in Baghdad Monday, which killed at least 27 people, and injured dozens more. The explosion tore through a busy market in a predominantly Shia neighborhood south of the city. According to the Iraqi military, the explosion was caused by an improvised explosive device.

Officials say women and children were among the dead and wounded. This comes as the Iraqis prepared to celebrate a religious festival, Eid al Adha.

Well, Germans and Belgians are asking the questions if their warning systems failed. And we'll more on potential political fallout after Europe's deadly floods in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:31:34]

JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks for staying with us. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.

Hello, I'm John Vause.

In the coming hours, German Chancellor Angela Merkel will continue with her tour of areas impacted by devastating floods. And she'll be joined by the leader of her party, Armin Laschet. He's been a favorite to succeed her as chancellor but right now he is under a lot of criticism for images showing him laughing on an earlier visit to a flood-hit town.

Also under fire, Germany's flood warning system. The death toll in Germany and Belgium has reached 195. And officials are facing some tough questions about whether more could have been done to save lives.

Here is CNN's Fred Pleitgen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Often, heavy lifting equipment is needed to even begin the cleanup.

Bjork Alvila (ph) shows us how high the water rose as the town of (INAUDIBLE) was inundated destroying nearly every home.

"It all went so fast," he said. "Only about 15 minutes and the water was almost up to the ceiling here."

One of Bjork Alvila's neighbors, an elderly lady, couldn't get to safety fast enough and was swept away. Her body later found nearby, he says.

As the death toll from the massive floods continues to rise, some are asking, why wasn't there more warnings about the impending disaster?

Both the Belgian and German weather services, issued severe weather warnings, still many were caught off guard.

(on camera): One thing many people who live here tell us is that they were surprised at how fast the water levels here began to rise. Tearing through the embankment, destroying everything in its path, and killing scores of people.

(voice over): Some weather experts say, Germany's early warning systems simply failed.

KARSTEN BRANDT, DONNERWETTER DE (through translator): So, meteorologists did warn them, but these warnings were apparently not unheard. They were not implemented in measures that one could act, or could act sufficiently, so that one could protect people.

PLEITGEN: The German government says its main priority right now is helping those affected. The country's interior minister, who visited the flood-stricken areas on Monday, says now is not the time to place blame.

HORST SEEHOFER, GERMAN INTERIOR MINISTER (through translator): We shouldn't make unnecessary changes. Centralism won't improve anything here. We need certain central units by a technical assistance agency which is then brought into officer port. But we do not need a decision-making authority in Berlin.

PLEITGEN: In the most affected areas people are in no mood to point fingers, but rather to offer helping hands. This school class is clearing mud from their headmaster's apartment.

Solidarity is unbroken in the disaster zone, but Germany understands it will have to improve its disaster management to prevent a similar loss of life in the future.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN -- (INAUDIBLE) Germany.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Similar questions over the flood warning system are being asked in Belgium where the country is observing a national day of mourning. Details now from Chris Burns.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS BURNS, CNN JOURNALIST (on camera): As this town struggles to recover from a devastating flood, the question is or the debate is whether all of this could have been avoided?

The mayor of this town told CNN that she did not receive warnings in time to evacuate, to prevent all the death and destruction that had been happening over those couple of days with those heavy floods.

Here is what she told us.

[01:34:59]

MURIEL TARGNION, VERVIERS MAYOR (through translator): At 10:00 p.m., there was still not a drop of water in the city of Verviers. And at 3:00 in the morning, we saw almost a tsunami on the river. Not as large as the sea, of course, but a wave of three to four meters that was coming in. And then engulfed Verviers and other municipalities. With water as high as three to four meters in the whole city.

So had we've been warned, we could have evacuated some of the population. We could have avoided deaths. We could have moved cars. People could have taken what they cared about upstairs. We wouldn't have avoided all the damages, but we could've saved lives and preserve what citizens most cared about.

BURNS: Meanwhile, the cleanup efforts continue here. You can see there's a lot more work to do. And throughout the town, they are digging. They are looking. We actually got evacuated from one point where there was a gas leak in one of the nearby towns.

So it is very complicated to continue with this search. Also, the question of restoring public services because here in Verviers only about 40 percent of homes have their electricity.

They do have water, but you can't drink it yet. It is still dangerous to drink. So this anger, and frustration over the fact, that perhaps, this could have been avoided.

There's going to be a parliamentary investigation, and people want to get to the bottom of why there was a communication breakdown that led to that tsunami that came down this river.

Chris Burns, for CNN -- in Verviers, Belgium.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: The U.K. is the latest European country sounding the alarm about extreme weather this summer. Soaring temperatures prompting Britain's National Meteorological Service on Monday to issue its first-ever extreme heat warning. The alert remains in effect through Thursday for the southwest U.K. where temperatures are forecast to its low (ph) of 30 degrees in Celsius. London just recorded its hottest temperatures so far this year with mercury hitting 31 degrees Celsius on Sunday, as well as on Monday.

CNN meteorologist Karen Maginnis joins us now with more on the U.K.'s heat wave, as well as a typhoon brewing on the opposite side of the world. But just to put it in context, 31 degrees, that is what about -- 90 something -- isn't it?

KAREN MAGINNIS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: 87, 88 degrees -- yes. It's the upper eighties. And it's stunning to realize that over the next several days we're going to see a continuation of this type of temperatures. That is why they have issued that first-ever extreme heat warning.

Now, the temperatures over in London are also expected to be around 30 degrees but throughout Wales and extending from Cardiff into Portsmouth, and Birmingham, this is where temperatures are going to be extremely high.

Exercise caution. Be advised, take in lots of water, try to stay out of the heat as best you can.

Now there is a light at the end of this heat wave where temperatures in London over the next several days in the upper 20s, but by Friday we start to see a fairly severe drop with the temperatures dropping about five degrees or so.

But then going in towards the weekend, we're back to near normal levels. It should be about 22 degrees but you'll see some thunderstorms there as well.

But all across sections of Europe, extending from the Mediterranean into central sections of Europe -- quite hot temperatures, but at least a little bit of a break comes by this weekend for much of the United Kingdom eventually moving into sections of western Europe.

All right. Let's talk about typhoon Cempaka. This is edging towards Hong Kong. They have lifted, they are issuing a number 3 warning here. They think that may go to a number one warning.

But this is going to be fascinating to watch. It's going to kind of curve around, move towards the northwest, and then curve around, and then by 72 hours, will fly just along the eastern coast of Hainan, perhaps with supporting winds of about 65 kilometers per hour.

Then move back out into the South China Sea and this is going to enhance some of that moisture in across the Philippines.

Then there's tropical storm Infa. Infa is also affecting Okinawa. But what happens in the future going into the next several days, for Taiwan, they will feel the effects of this, John and they need the moisture. Maybe not in this form but they could really use the moisture. They have been in extreme drought.

Back to you.

VAUSE: Yes. It's been a bad drought there for Taiwan for a while.

Karen, thank you. Karen Maginnis there with the very latest. Appreciate it.

Well, 80 large wildfires are burning in the western U.S., made worse by a hot, dry summer. Oregon's Bootleg fire is the biggest of them all. High winds and low humidity sparked the wildfire in a national forest on the border with California. So far, dozens of homes have been destroyed. Thousands have been forced to flee.

California is fighting nine live (ph) wild fires on more than 70,000 hectares of land. Wildfires there burned five times more acreage this year compared to last.

[01:39:47]

VAUSE: The Israeli cybersecurity company, NSO group is under scrutiny after an investigation by an international group of news outlets, as well as human rights organizations, found their surveillance software may have been used to target activists, politicians, journalists and others.

We have details now from CNN's Hadas Gold reporting from Jerusalem.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HADAS GOLD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This intensive investigation was conducted by an international alliance of 17 news organizations and human rights groups, among them "The Washington Post" and Amnesty International.

Now it started from a leaked list of 50,000 phone numbers, which the groups says were possible targets for spying that governments around the world would utilize a hacking program called Pegasus, which is developed by the Israeli cybersecurity company, NSO.

Now, NSO says they license the software to target terrorists and other criminals. It is so sophisticated that experts say it can essentially give access to everything on a target's phone. Even controlling the microphone and camera which led to widespread security concerns when it was first revealed in 2016.

But this consortium says that among the list of phone numbers, they found numbers in countries like Mexico, Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E. belonging to business executives, human rights activists, and journalists including even some CNN reporters.

The group said 37 phones they were able to examine showed some sort of evidence of having been targeted or breached by this Pegasus software.

CNN has not independently verified the findings of this report but it is bringing scrutiny back onto this company NSO and the Israeli government for even allowing the software to be licensed to other governments, then they use it for reasons beyond its advertised purpose. Now NSO is pushing back strongly against the report. A senior source telling CNN that it's flimsy and that they haven't seen the list of 50,000 numbers. But it would be impossible for all the numbers to be targets of their clients because their clients, they say, only target about 4,000 numbers per year.

The senior source also stressed that they don't operate the software for their clients and have no visibility into the data. But that they do investigate any claims of misuse and will cut off contracts with clients that misuse the technology, something they say they have done five times in the past.

Hadas Gold, CNN -- Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Still to come, a big decision by Indonesia's government whether to extend COVID restrictions or not just a day after reporting a record number of deaths from the pandemic.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: Indonesia appears to be the epicenter of the corona's outbreak in Asia reporting its deadliest day of the pandemic so far. More than 13,000 died on Monday -- 1,300 I should say -- died on Monday, over 34,000 were infected.

New COVID cases have surged in recent weeks. In response, the government implemented new strict guidelines including checkpoints to curb traffic and other restrictions on movement.

Now it is decision time -- extend those restrictions which expired Tuesday or keep them in place.

For more now, I'm joined by Yudi Yudawan, an anchor for CNN Indonesia. And I guess, two questions here. How are they coping with this outbreak? It seems like many of the hospitals there have been overwhelmed. And where does the government stand? What's the likely outcome from all of this? Will those restrictions be extended?

[01:45:00]

YUDI YUDAWAN, CNN INDONESIA ANCHOR: Well John, actually this is the second year for Indonesia specifically not celebrating the Eid al-Adha during the pandemic since 2020.

The government only prohibited residents in (INAUDIBLE) and praying in the mosques, also in the public space during the outbreak knowing the last day we reached 1,300 people died because of the COVID-19.

This is the highest daily death tally according to the last outbreak 2020. The government already making many of the decisions to restriction mobilization for the people from the city to another city, and also to doing their activity during the Eid al-Adha. The festival, as you know, in Indonesia, there is a local festive where people doing the (INAUDIBLE) their cattle (ph) and also the animal and distributing to the neighborhood that the government already prohibited those many activities regarding the COVID-19 spreading during the pandemic since 2020.

If we are talking about the pandemic itself, the government says that the local lockdown or we call the partial or (INAUDIBLE) the local partial lockdown, this is the way to overcome the mobilization for the people especially in the center of Jakarta.

You can say that Jakarta is also the center or epicenter of the COVID- 19. Almost 10,000 cases every day -- cases because of Delta variants from India since July as well. Also the (INAUDIBLE) month actually. So the government has no idea how to overcome this one.

The second opinion, the second solution to overcome by increasing the number of vaccination especially in the center of Java (ph) and also west Java. The government try to give vaccinations to a young age in between 12 and 17 years old to get the vaccination. And also for young adults in other cities in Indonesia as well.

The third condition that we have to know about the lack of festivity especially the house (ph) infrastructure. All this infrastructure how in Indonesia peaked already reached 80 percent especially in Jakarta, in central Java, in west Java and unfortunately also in other regions outside the Java Island.

This is the big thing that governments should be seeing (ph) what the next solution to overcome the COVID-19 spreading around the country.

And then talking about lockdown, probably, the government still have to continue until the end of July, regarding the numbers of cases still high, even though in the two days before the numbers a bit early are not high as well as before.

Back to you, John.

VAUSE: Yudi, thank you. Yudi Yudawan, for CNN Indonesia, we appreciate you being with us.

Well, boldly going where no billionaire has gone before -- not. Jeff Bezos was beaten by Richard Branson. Still the founder of Amazon will blast off on his jaunt in just a few hours.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:49:48]

VAUSE: Peru's electoral authority has declared Pedro Castillo president-elect. The left-wing schoolteacher and union leader from rural Peru called for national unity on Monday while addressing supporters in Lima.

He narrowly won a runoff vote against right wing candidate Keiko Fujimori. The official results were delayed for more than a month due to Fujimori's allegations of voter irregularities.

For her part, Fujimori said that she will respect the results of the election, but did not walk back her early allegations. Castillo and his party have denied any wrongdoing.

England's loss in the Euro 2020 final brought out an ugly side of the beautiful game as some players on the England team were taunted with racist abuse. But football fans are now looking to the future and they're calling on the country's leaders to do the same.

CNN's Salma Abdelaziz reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): On an unassuming street corner in Manchester, something special is happening. A new generation is learning about an issue long-considered taboo in Britain -- race and racism.

When England lost the final match of the European championships, the Marcus Rashford and two of his teammates, faced a torrent of racist abuse. Dozens of fans, armed with messages of support, flocking to a street mural of the hometown hero.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's really nice that people are covering up all of the racism and the bad things that are happening with positive things.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was devastated with the way England fans reacted. But all of this -- did something that was not quite so rare.

ABDELAZIZ: The squad also taking an unprecedented stand against the bigotry. Calling out government officials and sparking a national debate.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's the first football tournament they sort of really got behind and felt really important to show how much that meant to the next generation of football fans.

You know, it might be the history of English football if not the future of it and it's that important to show the kids that.

ABDELAZIZ: Many members of the ruling conservative party are firmly opposed to the Black Lives Matter movement and to taking the knee.

LEE ANDERSON, CONSERVATIVE MP: I don't want the taking the knee business. I think it associates -- it associates the Black Lives Matter Movement.

ABDELAZIZ: At the start of the tournament, manager Gareth Southgate penned a letter to his divided homeland.

"Dear England," it started, "It is clear to me that we are heading for a much more tolerant and understanding society. And I know our lads will be a big part of that," he wrote.

This was the progressive message so many were desperate to hear.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The community has come out to protect the thing they love which is Marcus in this context.

ABDELAZIZ: But the team's loss provoked the ugly side of English nationalism again.

J. CHAMBERS, ACTIVIST AND MUSICIAN: It was virtually like three, two, one -- racism and I went on Twitter, and it began. Like immediately, I knew it was going to happen because we know what happens here in England.

You're British until the point where you let down your nation in their eyes.

ABDELAZIZ: A few streets away where Rashford grew up, we meet his former neighbors.

KENNY, MARCUS RASHFORD'S FORMER NEIGHBOR: What's happened -- embarrassed by them scumbags. I love him. I love his mom, family, done a great job with him.

ABDELAZIZ (on camera): Will you sign that right there?

(voice over): Entrenched racism needs to be confronted they told me.

KENNY: I don't think this football is -- football scorers (ph) would not do that to a lad that's done what he's doing. Right. No, I'm not having it. You know, football is (INAUDIBLE).

ABDELAZIZ: At a time of racial reckoning, the team has chosen to be the voice of dissent. Now, it is up to the country's leadership to listen.

Salma Abdelaziz, CNN -- Manchester.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: The wealthiest person in the world could soon add a job title to his resume on Tuesday -- that would be one of astronaut. Amazon founder, Jeff Bezos set to lift off in just over seven hours from now on board of a rocket built by his company, Blue Origin.

Along for the ride, brother Mark, as well as the oldest and youngest person ever to travel into space.

CNN's Tom Foreman has more now on what the newly minted astronauts can expect from their travels.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This capsule is the (INAUDIBLE). It is a full scale mock up.

I literally have --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two, one --

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Just as it has already in more than one dozen test flights like the one seen here, a million horsepower blast from the liquid fuel engine will start the journey. The astronauts will be strapped into a ring of futuristic space seats about a third of the capsule is made of windows. And the rocket will steadily rotate, changing the view. Riding will be their only job.

ANANE CORNELL, DIRECTOR, ASTRONAUT AND ORBITAL SALES, BLUE ORIGIN: It is an autonomous vehicle. It has been designed so that the customers, the astronauts themselves can experience the flight.

FOREMAN: Over the first two minutes their speed will literally rocket to more than 2,000 miles per hour. G-forces will intensify until each person feels as if they weigh three times as much as normal.

But that won't last. At two minutes and 45 seconds, the booster engine will fall away. 15 seconds later as the capsule arcs towards the highest point in the flight, the passengers will start to feel much lighter. And at four minutes, 62 miles up, they will be unbuckled.

CORNELL: You'll get to experience about three to four minutes of weightlessness. Again, to gaze out of those big beautiful windows, maybe do a couple of somersaults.

JEFF BEZOS, FOUNDER, BLUE ORIGIN: I don't know how it's going to change me, but I know it is going to, and I'm excited to find out how.

FOREMAN: He will have to find out fast. Roughly six minutes into the fight they will return to their seats and start falling back to earth eventually going so fast, they will break the sound barrier just as they did going up. They won't likely see the booster engine land a couple of miles from the launch pad.

And once they are close enough to earth, about nine minutes after taking off, parachutes will deploy to slow their descent to 15 miles an hour. Then a retro thrust system will fire just before touchdown.

CORNELL: Really by the time the capsule lands, it is just at about one or two miles an hour.

FOREMAN (on camera): It won't be anything like orbital flight or what truly-trained astronauts do. But it should be quite an experience. And considering the going rate is about $2.5 million per minute, it ought to be.

Tom Foreman, CNN -- Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: And one of the crew members on the Blue Origin space trip is an 82-year-old aviator. Her name is Wally Funk.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You are going to be an astronaut. WALLY FUNK, ASTRONAUGT: Oh, finally.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: The silver haired pilot, trained for NASA's Mercury program during the 1960s, but was denied the opportunity to go to space because she was a woman.

After half a century of waiting, she finally has her chance now. Funk has piloted more than 19,600 flying hours but will not need her expertise on Blue Origin's fully autonomous craft.

Funk has always wanted to be an astronaut, and in just a few hours from now, she will become the oldest person ever to go to space.

CNN will have full coverage of the launch, scheduled for 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday. If you're watching in New York, that would be 2:00 p.m. In London, set your DVR.

Thank you for watching. I'm John Vause. CNN NEWSROOM continues after a short break with Kim Brunhuber. Thanks for watching.

[01:56:58]

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[02:00:02]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: Dreams derailed. COVID IS sabotaging some athletes' hopes of bringing back Olympic gold. Fear of the Delta variant.