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CNN INTERNATIONAL: Russian Missiles Hit Mall In Ukraine With A 1,000 People Inside; U.S. Reels As Roe v. Wade Is Overturned; Mysterious Deadly Tragedy In South Africa Of School Children Celebrating End Of Year War Draws Attention To Russia's Influence In Africa; Somalia Faces Climate Emergency, Risk Of Famine; NASA Launches First Rocket From Australian Space Center. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired June 27, 2022 - 14:00   ET

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

[14:00:00]

ELENI GIOKOS, HOST, CNN NEWSROOM: Hello, everyone, I'm Eleni Giokos, and you're watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Dubai. Tonight, NATO plans to dramatically bolster its eastern front as Russian missiles hit a shopping mall in Ukraine with more than 1,000 people inside. We're live from Kyiv just ahead. And then, the U.S. reels as states move to ban abortion after the Supreme Court ruling and with another controversial decision released today.

We look at how the Supreme Court is reshaping life in America. And 22 dead and still no answers. The latest details on the mysterious tragedy that's devastating a South African community. Recent allies of Ukraine are working on two fronts today. To rally support against Russian aggression and help bring an end to the war. First, NATO is gearing up for what could be its most important summit in decades.

Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg gave a preview of the meeting that begins tomorrow in Madrid, calling it transformative. He says NATO will adopt the biggest overhaul of its collective deterrence and defense since the cold war.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JENS STOLTENBERG, SECRETARY-GENERAL, NATO: At the summit, we will strengthen our forward defenses. We will enhance our battle groups in the eastern part of the alliance, up to brigade levels. We will transform the NATO response force and increase the number of our high- readiness forces to well over 300,000.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GIOKOS: And in Germany, G7 leaders are vowing to support Ukraine for as long as it takes. But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is making clear that he wants the war to end this year before Winter sets in. And while diplomats talk about ending the war, Russia is ramping it up. Taking a once again at civilians, an airstrike hits a shopping mall in central Ukraine Monday, triggering this massive fire President Zelenskyy says more than a 1,000 people were inside emergency.

Officials say, at least, ten people were killed, but now, don't know how many more may be buried under the rubble. And we'll go live to Ukraine in just a moment, but first, an update on the diplomacy that's currently underway. We've got Nic Robertson in Madrid for the NATO Summit as well as Kaitlan Collins following the G7 talks from Austria. Nic, I'd like to go to you first. And hearing Jens Stoltenberg talking about the summit that is going to be transformative.

It sounds like it's going to be a radical shift in terms of what NATO's presence in the eastern flank, but what does it all mean in terms of this new strategy that NATO is adopting.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, the strategic concept NATO has been working on this for a long time, the last time they had a big overhaul like this was back in 2010, and this overhaul specifically deals with a threat from Russia. In fact, Stoltenberg said he expects Russia to be declared the number one and biggest threat to security instability for NATO nations. That is huge, given that just a few years ago, Russia was at a partnership for peace with NATO.

So, what does it really mean at the granular level? These 300,000 force -- troops that are going to be on a higher level of readiness. The supreme allied commander of NATO, the military commander will have a lot more information about what those troops can do specifically. They will be assigned to specific countries. There will be ammunition stores and equipment stores placed in those countries.

[14:05:00]

They will be familiar with those -- with those military equipments so that they can deploy faster, more readily. The way that NATO had its eastern flank defended from 2014 was what was called a tripwire. And the reality was, there was a relatively small NATO force, and that if those countries were attacked, the Baltic states here or those who were attacked by Russia, that would hit the tripwire and then other forces would come in, but it could have taken weeks, even months to get those forces in.

This will have a much bigger force on the ground already, and a much bigger force on a much shorter lead time with much greater understanding of the fight and the location that they're getting into, ready to go. So that's a big change, the big change as well for Ukraine. The idea of NATO is to get Ukraine using NATO equipment, get rid of the Soviet equipment, get NATO, get Ukrainian forces trained up on a par with NATO forces so that they would be in the future, interoperable.

The way to pay for this as well, Stoltenberg talking about the way that there had been increases in the funding coming from NATO nations, $350 billion extra since 2014. Nineteen NATO nations saying that they will hit the 2 percent GDP by 2024. Nine nations already hitting that target, five others committed. So, this is going to be a big commitment and a radical overhaul by NATO. And that's what Stoltenberg is looking to get down here.

But another flag on all of this, it's not all worked out. There are still details to be worked out. So -- GIOKOS: Yes --

ROBERTSON: Some of this is still in the works, if you will. Eleni.

GIOKOS: Yes, Kaitlan Collins standing by for us in Austria. At the G7 Summit, look, we've heard time and time again, global leaders committing to supporting Ukraine. Here is the reality on the ground right now. You've seen Russia, you know, making headway in the east, and also now the strike in Kyiv. Are we just hearing more platitudes, would you say, Kaitlan? Are we hearing a real concrete commitment in terms of assisting Ukraine at the moment?

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I don't think I would say it's platitudes because you saw overnight, the U.S. announced that they have purchased that more advanced defense system for Ukraine. It's similar to the one that's used to protect Washington. And so, it kind of gives you an insight into what exactly the White House is preparing to do to help Ukraine, which is something they've said they are ready to play an indefinite role in.

And I think the $40 billion approved by Congress, much of it o go to military assistance to Ukraine shows that. But I think where the disagreement may come in is what exactly to provide to Ukraine? Does that match up with what Ukraine itself wants to see? Because you've seen Ukrainian officials including President Zelenskyy be very clear about what they wanted. And for weeks, they've asked for this defense system, and now the White House says they are going to be getting it.

And so, I think the question that's really been on a lot of these leaders minds as they've been huddling here at the G7 Summit is how long this could potentially go on for, and how long they are going to have to be prepared to help supply Ukraine with weapons and help with everything else that they've been doing to back them up in this invasion ever since this war got started. And today, that was a big topic during Zelenskyy's remarks to them.

As he was speaking virtually because he said he doesn't want to see this war go past the end of 2022. Which is, of course, just about six months away. And so, he was very focused on having these G7 powers use their leverage to the maximum ability possible over the next several months to help Ukraine get in the best advantageous, most advantageous position that they can possibly get.

And so, that is a big question of the timing because of course, each of these leaders is considering their own domestic politics. And concerns that maybe there's Ukraine fatigue that could happen at home. Obviously, they have all been suffering from soaring prices when it comes to food and energy. So I would say that's more of a complicating factor. But they have said that they will remain steadfast in their support of Ukraine.

GIOKOS: Kaitlan Collins, Nic Robertson, really good to see you both. Thanks so much for that update. Now, let's get more on that airstrike that killed at least ten people at a shopping mall in central Ukraine. CNN's Salma Abdelaziz is live in Kyiv for us. Salma, you've just heard from Nic and Kaitlan that there's a lot more commitment in terms of what the international community, the NATO members, G7 members are willing to do.

But your reality on the ground, you're seeing Kyiv being targeted once again after months of relative safety after the Russians exited. I want you to give me a sense of what you've seen, importantly, and whether this strike came at a shock.

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN REPORTER: Russia is absolutely stepping up its attacks on Ukraine. It's widening the scope of them. It's reminding everyone in Ukraine that it can hit anyone at anytime, anywhere. Take this mall airstrike that just happened a few hours ago. A place where President Zelenskyy says a 1,000 civilians were inside this mall when this Russian airstrike hit.

[14:10:00]

We know so far, 10 people are killed, several others wounded. Those numbers could rise and we know we have those very dramatic pictures of that mall just on fire, that fire raging for hours while first responders trying to put it out. And then just yesterday, we were at the scene of yet another missile strike. Multiple missiles hitting this apartment block here in Kyiv. And all of this happening while these frontline battles are raging in the east.

Again, Russia is just such a much more powerful military than Ukraine. And they've been pounding Ukrainian defenders for months now, and they're buckling under that pressure, Eleni. You can see that on the front lines where Ukrainian forces are saying they're having to pull back particularly in a place like Donbas. That's a very important region. A place that President Putin absolutely wants to take full control of.

And he's getting closer and closer to that goal every day. One of the key cities in the Donbas, Severodonetsk, a few days ago. Ukrainian forces saying they could no longer hold the line. They could no longer sustain the battle that they had to strategically withdraw. We know that about 100 to 200 Ukrainian soldiers are dying on those frontlines every day. We know they're losing artillery. They're losing weapons.

Meanwhile, Russia has reserves, it has the capability to sustain this fight. And you might ask yes of course about that western aid, the military aid that's supposed to be flowing into this country. If you're looking at the battleground, if you're reading the situation there, It's simply not enough. It is not turning the tide. The favor is with Russia right now. And a lot of those weapons, Russia says, it is targeting those western weapons.

It is targeting that long-range artillery, the precious few of them that Ukraine has. And the reach here for Russia is massive. You have to remember, they are firing from Belarus, from Crimea and from Russian territory to be able to hit Ukraine. Ukraine simply doesn't have those capabilities. So these G7 leaders are going to need to think about how they bolster, literally prop up a weaker military against a much stronger military force, and against President Putin's growing appetite for Ukrainian territory, Eleni.

GIOKOS: Yes, Salma, a very important insight you're sharing with us, realities on the ground, very different from what we hear in the board rooms with global leaders. Thank you so much. Now, Russia is facing a default on its foreign debt for the first time in more than a century. But unlike what happened in 1918, Russia actually has the money.

Cash is pouring in from all of its energy exports every day. But Russia missed payments on some of its foreign currency bonds, and it's blaming the West. The Kremlin says, these allegations of defaults are incorrect. Pointing to sanctions that keep it from tapping foreign bank accounts or using networks that move money across borders. Now U.S. President Joe Biden says G7 countries will ban Russian gold imports.

The country's second largest export after energy. Let's turn to CNN's business editor-at-large, Richard Quest standing by for us. Richard, good to see you. I mean, there is quite a few points here. I want to start off with the G7 countries wanting to ban or put a cap on energy prices, oil in particular. It was always a sticking point, the fact that anyone buying anything from Russia was actually de facto funding the war.

RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS EDITOR-AT-LARGE: And that still is the case. Funding the war, but this is a recognition --

GIOKOS: Yes --

QUEST: That countries like Hungary and Germany will need to continue buying, and certainly in the case of gas and some cases in case of oil and like with Hungary, they're going to have to continue. So what they're aiming to do is put a cap on the price. In other words, make sure Russia gets as little revenue as is humanly possible from those oil sales.

The problem, of course, is A, Russia, you know, will try and sell the oil to somebody else, and it's highly possible that India or China or some other country that's not following the sanctions regime does agree to pay marginally more than the European cap. So it's a unilateral policy by Europe.

It may or it may not work. But it is a good faith effort of reducing Russia's income. In the same way holding or stopping gold purchases from Russia. Russia, of course, gold mines among the largest in the world, same idea. What can you do to restrict, reduce, diminish the revenues Russia gets? If you can't eliminate, make it as low as possible.

GIOKOS: Yes, and that's the thing. You have to get everyone on board for it to actually have maximum impact on Russia. Look, they missed an interest payment, you know, that means --

QUEST: Yes --

GIOKOS: They defaulted on that payment. But I mean, do they really care if they're being pushed out of the global economy anyway?

[14:15:00] Do they really want to be tapping into international markets? What is

this going to mean? I mean, the ruble is so strong right now. It's fascinating to see internally what the Russian economy is doing.

QUEST: The ruble -- the ruble may be strong or at least, give the appearance of strength, but the Russian economy is in reverse and it is in deep trouble. Now, as for this default, when is a default not a default, well, it depends on your definition. Russia says we made the payment. We made the payment as required. It's not our fault if, you know, your sanctions mean that you can't get the money.

But we made -- look at what Lavrov said, and the way he actually put it, the foreign secretary, he made it clear that they had made the payment to the international creditors. But that the sanctions had meant that it wasn't able to be paid across. That means the other lot, the allies and the partners say no, you didn't make the payment. You didn't make the payments because we never received it.

So, Eleni, a question for you. Is the payment made when it's made or when it's received? And I -- there is only one group that is going to make a fortune out of this. And that is the lawyers. The bond lawyers that will litigate this to the nth degree.

GIOKOS: Yes, look, there's a lot of creative accounting that is going on. And that's a question still is raised. Is it going to have the effect that the West wants in terms of squeezing Putin to stop this war? What's your --

QUEST: No --

GIOKOS: Prognosis, Richard?

QUEST: Yes, in the short term, the answer has to be no. Even --

GIOKOS: Yes --

QUEST: Joe Biden, President Biden admitted that. You remember the early parts of the sanctions regime, he was asked quite bluntly, they're not working, and he said, they take time. Sanction is a long- term policy. It's not an overnight bullet. And so, therefore, it is going to take time. We know the history of sanctions is spotty at best. There is pain being caused to the Russian economy. Probably not enough for President Putin to rapidly --

GIOKOS: Right --

QUEST: Bring this to a close.

GIOKOS: Yes, and he still has friends globally. So Richard, always good to see you, thank you so much --

QUEST: Thank you --

GIOKOS: For that insight. And still to come tonight, many American women are now losing their reproductive rights. But they're not giving up without a fight. Another controversial ruling today from the U.S. Supreme Court.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:20:00]

GIOKOS: Welcome back. Now, the U.S. is reeling days after the Supreme Court's conservative majority overturned Roe versus Wade. At least, ten states with trigger bands have already effectively outlawed abortion with few if any exceptions. Twenty six states are planning to set extreme limitations or ban abortion altogether. But the Supreme Court's decision does not have overwhelming support.

Now, according to a recent "CBS News", YouGov poll, majority of Americans disapprove of the Supreme Court ruling, including 67 percent of women. Now, many are sharing their fears about what happens next. Vanessa Yurkevich hears from some of them.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When Alana Edmondson unexpectedly got pregnant with her partner at 21, she had a choice to make. She was working a low wage retail job in Seattle while dreaming of getting her PHD at Yale. She made the tough decision to have an abortion.

ALANA EDMONDSON, ABORTION RECIPIENT: I knew that I would be stuck in a cycle of poverty that I was already trying to get out of.

YURKEVICH: The Supreme Court dismantled 50 years of precedent when it overturned Roe v. Wade, for turning abortion laws to states. There will be significant economic repercussions. Women denied abortion access who gave birth were more likely to experience increased poverty, lasting at least four years, compared to women who received an abortion, according to the University of California San Francisco.

EDMONDSON: It would just be very difficult, especially like with the prices of daycare, I mean, even feeding somebody else.

YURKEVICH: Twenty six states will likely ban abortion. Those states already have lower wages, barriers to health care and less funding for social services, according to the Economic Policy Institute. The impact would be felt most by women of color.

ASHA BANERJEE, ANALYST, ECONOMIC POLICY INSTITUTE: When women are not able to complete their education or get the job they want, this has severe economic consequences, yes, for them, but this loss of economic potential of possibility will have ramifications for the state economy, the national economy as well.

YURKEVICH: The anti-abortion group Right to Life cites public assistance efforts in five of the 26 states likely to ban abortion. Aimed at helping pregnant women and new moms. And now, dozens of corporations are stepping in, providing protections for employees in those states.

MIRIAM WARREN, CHIEF DIVERSITY OFFICER, YELP: I think for any employer that cares about issues of diversity, equity and inclusion, to stay silent on such an issue is really just not OK.

YURKEVICH: Yelp, which calls the SCOTUS decision a denial of human rights and a threat to workplace gender equality, said before the ruling, it's covering travel and health care for employees, family members and partners seeking an abortion anywhere in the U.S.

(on camera): Do you think it's both an asset for retention of employees, then also an asset for attracting new employees to the company?

WARREN: I think it's both. It has really been a wonderful recruiting tool in terms of perspective employees, saying I want to work at a company that is out there and loud about what they believe in and what they care about.

YURKEVICH (voice-over): Edmondson went on to realize her dream and moved to Connecticut to get her PHD in literature at Yale. She says she feels lucky to have been able to make her own choice.

EDMONDSON: Thinking outside of myself, it felt very scary for other people who can get pregnant, who might not have the option to live their dreams if they wanted to.

YURKEVICH: Oh, I see --

EDMONDSON: OK.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GIOKOS: All right, that was Vanessa Yurkevich reporting. Now, the U.S. Supreme Court is issuing new rulings today, and its latest decision show how it is rapidly changing the political landscape. Ariane de Vogue joins me from Washington. Ariane, good to see you. Look, a 50-year-old precedent reversed, Roe versus Wade. And many are concerned this is the start of more ruling of this nature to come, a ban on the use of contraceptives, for example, has been thrown out as a potential.

Same-sex marriages. But tell me about today's rulings that could show that the Supreme Court is pointing to more conservative direction.

ARIANE DE VOGUE, CNN U.S. SUPREME COURT REPORTER: Well, you are absolutely right. You know, states are still reeling from that abortion opinion that upends near a 50-year-old precedent, sends the issue of abortion back to the states.

[14:25:00]

And here's what's more about that abortion decision. Today, for instance, members of the LGBTQ community, they're worried because they're fearful that the court will use the same reasoning that it used to overturn Roe to overturn that much more recent case having to do with gay marriage, as well as other cases having to do with the right to contraception. Conservatives are really winning across the board right now as this term comes to an end. We saw another win in that Second Amendment case. That case is going

to open up new challenges to gun restrictions, about all sorts of gun laws across the country. Because the Supreme Court's majority there struck down that New York law. And then today, we had an opinion in a major religious liberty case. In this case, it was a high school football coach, he wanted to pray at the 50-yard line after games.

And the school district, it suspended him ultimately, saying, look, we can't look like we're endorsing religion here. But the conservatives on the court, in an opinion written by Justice Neil Gorsuch ruled in favor of that coach. Basically, in a decision that's going to allow more religious speech in the public sphere. So, just these last couple of weeks, we're looking at this conservative court and the opinions that they've already issued and the opinions that are coming down.

Because this week, we are still waiting for a major environmental case, as well as another immigration case. Right now, the liberals on this court are basically left worrying, saying to themselves, what's next?

GIOKOS: Yes, I mean, the Environmental Protection Act, that's a really interesting one. And it seems so widespread. This is blanket approach in terms of what the Supreme Court is doing. Many are asking how this is changing the United States.

DE VOGUE: Well, in a lot of ways, it's highlighting what we're seeing as a divide of the two Americans. In the abortion case, for instance, the liberals said, look, it's a constitutional right. Women have this right and they need to be protected in those red states that are never going to allow abortion. And they also feel like, look, we've got to be able to give the poor who cannot travel equal treatment.

On the other hand of the spectrum, the conservatives say the Supreme Court went astray when it found this right in the constitution. It's an issue that belongs to the states. The Supreme Court should have never stepped in. And for the conservatives, they feel like they're riding the ship now. They felt like the Supreme Court went astray, they have struck this down. So, you're really seeing such different visions about the future of America in all these cases that affect everyone.

GIOKOS: Ariane de Vogue, good to see you, thank you so much.

DE VOGUE: Thank you.

GIOKOS: Now, moving on to the stories making headlines around the world. Authorities in Aqaba, Jordan, are now urging people to close their windows and stay indoors amid a deadly gas leak. Public security says at least ten people have died and more than 250 people are injured. Now, a video from CCTV camera in the port of Aqaba shows a container being transported by a crane which then drops, unleashing a cloud of yellow gas that you can see on the screen there.

State news reports that nearby hospitals have reached full capacity. Now, nearly 400 LGBTQI activists in Istanbul who were detained over the weekend have been released. Riot police were deployed in the Turkish capital on Sunday to prevent protesters from gathering for the countries annual pride march.

Authorities have banned the event as part of an increasing crackdown on LGBTQI freedoms. And in Colombia, a disaster at a bullfight, as a section of the stadium suddenly collapsed as thousands of spectators watched the event. At least, four people were killed, and more than 300 others have been treated at hospitals. Officials don't know yet what caused the packed stands to topple, but an investigation is currently underway.

And still to come tonight, the far-reaching impacts of Russia's war on Ukraine. We'll show you how the conflict in Europe has led to children starving in Africa. And a mystery in South Africa. More than 20 teenagers celebrating the end of the school year are dead, and no one knows what killed them.

[14:30:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GIOKOS: Welcome back. I'm Eleni Giokos in Dubai. Now dozens of countries in Africa are facing potential grain shortages, and that's because Ukraine's ports are blockaded, and grain is going unharvested during the war. But many African nations are refusing to condemn Moscow's aggression in Ukraine. David McKenzie explains why many African leaders have a long history of friendship with Russia.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In the 1970's, Obbey Mabena made a choice.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBBEY MABENA, UMKHONTO WESIZWE VETERAN: We need to decide whether we want to continue living on our knees, or to die fighting.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCKENZIE: The choice he made, with thousands of others, to flee the violence of apartheid South Africa. Train and clandestine camps scattered across the continent, preparing to fight the racist regime back home. Like many African liberation movements, they found a powerful ally.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MABENA: We find that there is a country like the Soviet Bloc that is ready to give us everything that we need. You know, gave us food, they gave us uniforms, they trained us, gave us weapons.

MCKENZIE: And they were Russian soldiers treating you with respect.

MABENA: With the greatest of respect, they came there, they were friends with us. For the first time, we came across white people who treated us as equal beings. Russia is our friend. Our friend's enemy is our enemy. (END VIDEO CLIP)

MCKENZIE: In Africa, that history colors today's conflict. As Russia's brutal invasion of Ukraine unfolded, the West demanded a stark condemnation of Putin's war. Seventeen African nations refused to take that stand.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NALEDI PANDOR, SA MINISTER OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND COOPERATION: And the response we got was you take it or leave it. And in the face of that arrogance, we thought the only a decision we could take was to abstain.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCKENZIE: South Africa's Foreign Minister took another lesson from history.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PANDOR: Perhaps our colleagues in the West don't understand the fact that we are very weary of aligning to one position or another.

[14:35:05]

MCKENZIE: Are you disappointed that many countries aren't taking a stronger stance?

LIUBOV ABRAVITOVA, UKRAINIAN AMBASSADOR TO SOUTH AFRICA: I'm worried, I'm not disappointed. Worried that the countries that went through the history of struggle for human rights, democracy, sovereignty, territorial integrity, now don't acknowledge or don't see for themselves the threat of the now colonialism that is basically happening in the 21st century.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCKENZIE: Russia has signed military technical cooperation agreements with more than 30 countries where we supply a large array of weaponry and hardware. In recent years, Putin has aggressively courted African leaders, rapidly expanding diplomatic and military ties. And the shadowy Kremlin-backed Wagner Group deployed its mercenaries to train militaries, and in some cases, fight insurgents across the continent. They're accused by human rights groups and the U.N. of multiple abuses. No matter what atrocities Russia is accused of committing, Obbey Mabena, and many in his generation, will still support Moscow.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MABENA: By default, we are on the side of Russia. And to us, Ukraine is what we call a sellout. It is selling out to the West.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCKENZIE: Africa is, of course, a diverse continent of more than 50 nations and several countries have squarely backed Ukraine, but it must be said, Ukraine has struggled to counteract the weight of history and the power of today's Russia. David McKenzie, CNN, Johannesburg.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GIOKOS: A devastating drought has triggered a humanitarian crisis across the Horn of Africa, putting millions of people at risk of starvation. But climate change sadly isn't the only concern. The conflict in Ukraine, seemingly a world away from this region, is only making desperately needed food aid much harder to get. Michael Holmes reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In southern Somalia, two mounds of earth heaped over the tiny graves of twin girls. They lived for only one day, after their mother severely weakened by hunger, gave birth a month early in a camp for displaced families. Sadly, their tragic story is now part of a grim reality facing millions across the region.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HALMA HASSAN ABDULLAHI, GRANDMOTHER OF DEAD TWINS (through translator): This is the worst drought that I have seen in many years. After years of drought, we lost all of our livestock. We tried to survive on our goats, but one after the other, they all finally died. We fled our home and looked for water nearby.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Somalia is among countries in the Horn of Africa facing the driest conditions in four decades. And it's leading to what one United Nations official describes as an explosion of child deaths. The ongoing drought is causing hunger mortality rates to rapidly rise across the region, the U.N. says. In Somalia, as many as 29 percent of children, younger than five, are experiencing acute malnutrition. It comes after four consecutive rainy seasons have come and gone with little rain, according to the World Food Programme, that is killing crops and livestock and making food and clean water scarce.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLAIRE NEVILL, WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME: The humanitarian appeal for Somalia is only 15 percent funded. So, what we need now is -- right now is money. We need the cash to avert the risk of famine. In 2011 Famine, I think about a quarter of a million people died. So, if we don't act now, with the money that we need, I think we might head into that kind of direction.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Making matters worse, the World Bank warns that the war in Ukraine is contributing to a historic rise in global prices of energy and food. That's hitting communities in countries like Somalia that rely on staples like grain particularly hard, relief groups say. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUKIA YACOUB, WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME, EAST AFRICA: the fundamental issue in Somalia and in the Horn at the moment is a climate-induced crisis, right? It's drought. But where the effects of the Ukraine crisis come in is that the food prices, and fuel prices, and others are hyped up to a point where we need more resources to secure what we would have secured before. We need a lot more.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: As G7 leaders meet this week to discuss a series of global emergencies, a convergence of crises in Somalia and the Horn of Africa is proving ever more dire as climate change and war in Europe drive desperate need in one of the most vulnerable areas of the world. Michael Holmes, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[14:40:00]

GIOKOS: All right. Now, to South Africa, the country is grappling today with a mysterious tragedy. What killed 22 teenagers at a tavern during the weekend? The victims showed no visible signs of injury and were found sprawled over tables and chairs. Authorities are investigating if some kind of poison was involved. And moments ago, CNN's Larry Madowo gave me the latest. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Eleni, we're just shy of two days since this incident at this tavern in East London, and we still don't know what happened. You remember that the South African Police Minister, Bheki Cele, on Sunday ruled out the possibility of a stampede or natural causes, which means that the leading theory right now about what happened could be some kind of poisoning. Did they inhale something? Did they consume something? Investigators are asking the community not to speculate to allow the police to have time to investigate and come up with an answer. Forensic experts have been at the scene of this tavern. It is now shut down. The owner of that tavern has apologized to the public.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SIYAKHANGELA NDEVU, OWNER, ENYOBENI TAVERN (through translator): It's not something that, as a businessman, I expected that to have happened there. But things like this happen unexpectedly. But I'd like to convey my condolences to the families that lost their loved ones and say that we will look into what happened.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MADOWO: Provincial authorities in the Eastern Cape say schools closed on Friday. So, one possibility is that these kids could have been celebrating the end of the semester, the end of their exams, it's not known for sure. They say that there are four children who remain in critical condition. They hope that they recover so that they can shed more light on what exactly happened here. And what could have led to this tragedy that happened in South Africa's youth month when the country talks about advancing the socioeconomic opportunities for the country's young people. So, a tragedy that has the whole country stunned and still not enough answers as to how it happened and how to avoid it, Eleni.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GIOKOS: That was Larry Madowo there for us. And, yes, so many questions that still need to be answered. And still to come tonight, the world's most prestigious tennis tournament is back but this year, there's controversy at Wimbledon. We'll go there to find out why. Stay with us.

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GIOKOS: NASA has made history again. The agency successfully launched a rocket from Australia's remote northern territory.

[14:45:05]

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Four, three, two, one, go. Yeah.

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GIOKOS: What a countdown. All right. So this video that you're seeing is NASA's first commercial spaceport launch outside the U.S. The rocket is expected to travel more than 300 kilometers to observe star systems close to Earth. It's the first of three planned missions from Australia's Arnhem Space Center. And the company partnering with NASA says it is a milestone for Australian space flight.

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MICHAEL JONES, CEO, EQUATORIAL LAUNCH AUSTRALIA: It's historic for Australia. And so I don't want that to pass without it, sort of, you know, feeling good. But for us, we're then right back into it. Beautiful. July is the next launch. And so we need to, you know, dust ourselves off, take a day off, and then get back into it in readiness for the next launch because it's just as important.

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GIOKOS: For six decades, rockets have used fuel to create the thrust they need to reach space. But what if there is another way? A series Mission Ahead introduces you to entrepreneur -- entrepreneurs and scientists on a mission to rethink the way that we move even how we get things into space. CNN's Rachel Crane visits a California company working to develop a radical alternative.

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RACHEL CRANE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Over the years, inventors and scientists have envisioned some wild ideas to send things to space, laser powered launches, a magnetic levitation, too. Even a space elevator. A giant slingshot might sound like another one, but according to the entrepreneur behind the technology, so is the way we already put objects into orbit.

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JONATHAN YANEY, FOUNDER & CEO, SPINLAUNCH: Rockets are the most complex systems ever built as a means of transportation. They're actually incredibly illogical.

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CRANE: This is Jonathan Yaney.

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YANEY: I went to space camp as a kid. I flew an airplane by myself for the first time when I was 14. And so, yes, I just -- I just took a look at it and said, well, what if? What if there was a different way? What if we could absolutely dramatically transform the way we access space?

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CRANE: To answer that question, Yaney founded SpinLaunch in 2014, hired a team of engineers like David Wrenn.

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DAVID WRENN, ENGINEER, SPINLAUNCH: We're going to be doing a launch of a one-meter projectile.

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CRANE: And built this prototype.

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WRENN: So this is like the same amount of power that you have in like a minivan.

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CRANE: Right now, SpinLaunch is running its tests here and in a larger launch system in New Mexico.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Launch.

CRANE: Ooh.

WRENN: Oh.

(END VIDEO CLIP) CRANE: But today's projectile is only launching a few meters in this

controlled environment. The ultimate goal, load a satellite onto the projectile, spin it faster than the speed of sound, and catapult it out of the Earth's atmosphere, where a rocket engine kicks in to carry the payload to its final destination.

But to actually reach orbit, the accelerator will need to spin about 17 times faster than SpinLaunch has demonstrated so far, and be three times larger. And that's just one of the technological hurdles the company faces, experts say.

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JUAN J. ALONSO, PROFESSOR, AERONAUTICS STANFORD UNIVERSITY: You have to make sure that the vehicle is stable and it flies a trajectory that it's supposed to fly, that the payload sustained a very heavy loading or G environment that occurs during the spin-up face. And finally that the second stage rocket actually ignites properly and senses the orbit.

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CRANE: SpinLaunch is seeking a location for a full scale accelerator which it hopes can overcome these challenges, and power the company to orbit by 2025. If successful, the rewards can be worth the weight. This system will use 70 percent less fuel and materials in conventional rocket, SpinLaunch says, making it greener to get objects to space and up to 10 times cheaper. Even if it works, it won't be able to launch everything.

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YANEY: SpinLaunch is only flying satellites about the size of a washing machine. So, you know, we're not talking about flying the Hubble Space Telescope or really any delicate instruments like that.

CRANE: Let alone humans, they could never withstand the G forces of your system.

YANEY: We're not going to fly human payloads on SpinLaunch anytime soon.

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CRANE: Small satellites may well be enough to keep SpinLaunch busy. The market will be worth around 7.4 billion by 2026 by some estimates, and Yaney expects demand for fast launches to grow as humans venture further. And as Yaney sees it, it will take some wild ideas to get there.

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GIOKOS: All right. We'll be back right after this short break. Stay with CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [14:52:23]

GIOKOS: Welcome back. Now one of the oldest tennis tournaments in the world is back. Wimbledon begins today for the first time since 2019, but not without controversy. The tournament has banned Russian and Belarusian players from competing this year, a move criticized by professional tennis Association's. Now the last time Wimbledon prevented players from competing was after World War Two when it banned German and Japanese athletes. Let's bring in CNN Tennis Contributor Ravi Ubha from Wimbledon to discuss the controversial move. Hey, Robbie, good to see you. Has it been noticeable the emission of Belarusian and Russian players at Wimbledon?

RAVI UBHA, CNN TENNIS CONTRIBUTOR: Eleni, yes, it certainly has because, you know, there are a number of top players from those nations who probably would've expected to go very deep first week, second week, and maybe make a dent as the tournament went on. So I think that part of it certainly has been seen and has been noticed. The players were asked a lot about this going in and I'd have to say that the overwhelming majority of them were saying the players they felt should have been here. They backed there their fellow peers in pro.

So, I think as the tournament goes on, deeper and deeper, some of the big names we might expect who have done some damage not being here, yes, that may be felt just a little bit.

GIOKOS: OK. So Novak Djokovic, all eyes on him. He opened up his title defense. Is he the player to beat this year, would you say?

UBHA: Eleni, I think you have to say yes. Now, let's give some context on Novak. Novak, we know, was basically thrown out of Australia playing the Australian Open and he couldn't do that. And then, as it stands right now, the U.S. Open, which is the next major of the four and a season, he cannot play because he has not been vaccinated. And he's already said over the weekend, he's not going to change that.

He also faces a three-year ban from Australia. So, there's a very good likelihood he may not play another grand slam until next spring at the French Open. So coming in, I still think he is the favorite because grass is a specialized surface. But with what I just said, there's a bit more pressure on him, I feel, because he knows he may not play another grand slam for a while.

He also said today in his press conference after his win, he does have extra motivation because of that. And Eleni, he's somebody who's always talked about the fact that he wants to be number one in terms of the grand slam wins among the many. He has 20 grand slams, he's two behind Rafael Nadal. So, that is an extra source of motivation, a big source of motivation.

GIOKOS: OK. Let's talk about the women's side. Lots to say about British hopeful Emma Raducanu and she was in action, how did she fare?

[14:55:06] UBHA: Eleni, she won and that was a big step, and I think -- and I think that's important because she's somebody who has a lot of pressure on her young shoulders, coming in at the Wimbledon after what she did last year at the U.S. Open, winning that from qualifying and not losing the set. She's now one of the most commercial or marketable athletes in the entire world, any sport, one of the world's richest female athletes, and everybody really knows her now, which wasn't the case 12 months ago, because 12 months ago here, she was just finishing her exams.

And she made the second week, which I think was a bit of a surprise. So, it's been a complete whirlwind for her. And what she's going to be experiencing now at Wimbledon is what's happened to Andy Murray for many, many years when he played.

GIOKOS: OK. Very quickly, Ravi, what's it like being back at the Wimbledon? Are you excited?

UBHA: It's great. It's absolutely great. I was here -- oh, very, very excited. I was here last year, there wasn't the normal amount of fans, nor the media center, so having this court behind me to seeing it in full capacity, it's absolutely great.

GIOKOS: Yes. All right. Hopefully, we get back to some form of normalcy. Ravi, good to see you. Thank you so much for that update. We'll catch up with you soon.

All right. So thanks so very much for watching tonight. Stay with CNN. "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS" with Richard Quest is up next. From me, Eleni Giokos in Dubai, greatest to be with you. Have a great night.

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