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Torrid Heat Threatens Public Health And Infrastructure In U.K.; Raging Wildfires Ravage Parts Of Southern Europe; Heat Alerts Issued At Least 21 European Countries; Escaping From Russian-Occupied Areas Of Ukraine; Sri Lanka Parliament Voting In A Secret Ballot To Elect New President. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired July 20, 2022 - 00:00   ET

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

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[00:00:45]

JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone, thank you for joining us. Coming up here on CNN NEWSROOM. It's never been this hot in Britain, more than 40 degrees Celsius. While in the U.S., more than 100 million people now under excessive heat warnings for heat advisories.

Escaping Kherson, Ukrainians (INAUDIBLE) fleeing Russian occupation, making a dangerous journey on foot, then boat, then bicycle and car.

And lawmakers in Sri Lanka will decide by a secret ballot in the coming hours who will lead the country in the midst of an economic meltdown, wrecked by political division and paralyzed by protests.

ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM with John Vause.

VAUSE: Temperatures across Europe continue to soar. Britain has never been this hot before with new heat records set in 34 sites across the country. At London's Heathrow Airport, a record high of 40 degrees Celsius or 104 Fahrenheit. Fires erupted across the Capitol Tuesday, with more than 1600 calls for firefighters about five times the usual number.

Scotland also saw record temperatures of almost 35 degrees. 21 European countries are under heat alerts stretching as far east to Poland.

For only the third time on record, temperatures in Paris exceeded 40 degrees Tuesday. While Belgium expanded its code red warning for extreme heat.

Germany recorded the hottest day of the year with temperatures close to 40 degrees. The World Meteorological Organization says this heat emergency could last until the middle of next week. And Europe should expect many more heat waves in the years to come.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETTERI TAALAS, SECRETARY-GENERAL, WORLD METEOROLOGICAL ORGANIZATION: In the future, these kinds of heat waves are going to be normal and we will see even stronger extremes. We have already pumped so much carbon dioxide to the atmosphere that the negative trend will continue for the coming decades and so far, we haven't been able to reduce our emissions globally.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: In southwest France, wildfires have scorched an area twice the size of Paris, the tens of thousands of residents forced to flee their homes. French President Emmanuel Macron expected to survey the damage later on Wednesday.

And this is just the beginning of the impact of climate change. But even now, it's clear in many countries, especially the United Kingdom aging infrastructure built in a time long before the planet began to warm, simply unable to cope with a 21st century climate emergency.

CNN's Nina dos Santos explains.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NINA DOS SANTOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): They made it through the U.K.'s hottest ever night bracing for the nation's hottest every day. For the first time, the country's Weather Service recorded a temperature above 40 degrees Celsius or 104 Fahrenheit. This is the only time the Met Office has ever issued a red warning for extreme heat.

PENNY ENDERSBY, CHIEF EXECUTIVE, U.K. MET OFFICE: Here in the U.K., we're used to treating a hot spell it's a chance to go and play in the sun. This is not that sort of weather.

SANTOS: The government is telling its citizens to be aware of heat related death with the elderly and young most at risk. Police say at least three teenagers have died after getting into rivers and ponds amid the record heat.

Airport runways are melting, reservoirs are running dry, and wheat is being harvested early with the fields vulnerable to fire.

The sun is even buckling train tracks, leading to mass cancellations and warnings for commuters to stay at home. For a country more used to complaining about rainy summers, this may be the new normal.

GRANT SHAPPS, BRITISH TRANSPORT SECRETARY: Infrastructure, much of which was built from the Victorian times just wasn't built to withstand this type of temperature. And it will be many years before we can replace infrastructure with the kind of infrastructure that could because the temperatures are just so extreme.

SANTOS: Nine out of 10 of the hottest British days have been recorded since 1990. The government estimates these extreme temperatures have been made 10 times more likely by human impact.

Opposition leaders have criticized the Prime Minister Boris Johnson for skipping national security meetings on the heat wave. He told Cabinet on Tuesday that the heat wave vindicated his net zero pledge. But on the anniversary of the reopening of the country from COVID lockdowns, he still played down the risk.

[00:05:11]

BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: On another scorching sweltering day, I think it's very, very important that we think back to that moment where we opened up and trying to balance risk with the need to keep our country, our society and our economy moving.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The government is not doing anything and in fact, the world is doing nothing. I mean, the world is burning, and we are doing nothing about it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We've never had this kind of heat. So, why would we be prepared?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think we just have to adapt to it. Our homes have to change, our way of life has to change.

SANTOS: That change may be necessary even in countries more accustomed to extreme summers. The heat wave is rolling across the whole of the European continent. Wildfires are raging from Spain to France and Portugal. People are suffering and they're growing desperate, leading to dramatic scenes like this one in Spain's Northwest's Zamora (PH) region.

A man drives an excavator across burning fields, in a desperate attempt to dig a trench and safeguard his town. Within seconds, the flames engulfed the machine.

He dives for safety, running with the clothes cinched off his back. Tens of thousands of people have been forced to evacuate their homes in southern Europe. Unclear if they'll ever return.

Impotence this man says, I feel so impotent, there's no solution.

Record temperatures were set across western France this week. Ireland was the hottest in the century. And now Germany is next, South to North Europe sizzles.

Nina dos Santos, CNN in London.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Let's bring in CNN Meteorologist Pedram Javaheri. So, I guess the important thing here is what is the forecast? When do we get some reprieve? When are we going to see some relief coming?

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN METEOROLOGIST (on camera): Across the north and west, John, it's starting to happen right now. It's still pretty mild outside here into the early morning hour's pre-sunrise or as sunrise occurs and you take a look temperatures across London at 20 degrees.

Keep in mind, the average high this time of year is 23. This is exactly where we were at this time yesterday, but the temperature has got up to 40 into the afternoon hours. We don't expect that this afternoon here as the marine influence is going to be observed here in the next few hours and more of an onshore component of winds begin to move in.

But notice this, how about the past 24 hours rewriting the record books unlike anything I've personally seen, look at the 10 -- top 10 warmest days in U.K. history. All of them coming in since this time yesterday, incredible run of heat with 40 degree temperatures widespread whether you're at St. James's Park, Heathrow or work your way towards the Kew Gardens coming in at around 40 degrees and again, even across other areas 39.9 degrees observed as well.

So, you look at the all-time warmest temperatures ever observed across Western Europe. Guess what, for the U.K., for France, for Spain. All of these have happened in the past three years. The U.K. of course happened on past 24 hours.

But London got up to 40 degrees, Tehran got up to 38 degrees. Just an incredible comparison to show you how excessive this heat has been across Europe.

But when it comes to the fire danger, we know wildfire activity really ramping up, the areas indicated in maroon there and also the deep reds and oranges are the extreme to very high a fire threat danger zones. Notice when you get to the greens and yellows, that's where the lighter concerns are in place across the northern tier of U.K. into Ireland and the higher elevations of course of Austria.

But generally speaking, nearly the entirety of the western half of Europe dealing with excessive fire risks in place because of the dry conditions, because of the heat that has been in place there.

So, this afternoon, we'll aim for 27 degrees, much more bearable. Still a few notches above what is normal this time of year, Paris at 41 drops off to 24.

So again, a nice change there with scattered storms. Some of these storms will be severe across areas of Europe. And we'll watch that here with these thunderstorms developing later into the afternoon. But at least cooler weather for now into the next couple of days, John.

VAUSE: For now. Pedram, appreciate that. Thank you.

Joining us now from Los Angeles is Emily Atkin, climate expert and author of the newsletter HEATED, the appropriately titled newsletter HEATED. Emily, thanks for being with us.

EMILY ATKIN, CLIMATE EXPERT (on camera): Thank you for having me.

VAUSE: OK, so scientists have been warning for years about what is happening now across Europe. Yet, a senior executive with ExxonMobil was talking to an industry group in November last year, talking about the financial gains to be made from climate change. Also, playing down the risks to the planet. Here he is.

ERIK OSWALD, VICE PRESIDENT AND REGISTERED LOBBYIST, EXXONMOBIL: The way I look at it as a scientist is, all's I need to think about is, is there -- is there a risk? Yes, there's a risk. Is it catastrophic inevitable risk? Not in my mind. But there's risks. (END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: This is a company whose own internal research going back to the early 1980s warned of precisely what we are now seeing. But the point is here, despite the fact this crisis is unfolding almost daily before our eyes, there is still a reluctance within industry or within government to do everything possible to reverse course. Why?

[00:10:16]

ATKIN: Well, I think you have to go back to the near mention that climate change is caused by fossil fuels. I mean, to do something about climate change, you have to acknowledge that climate change is caused by fossil fuels and, and there's been a really long campaign -- a 50-year campaign to deny that that's happening as we just saw in that clip.

Most people don't understand that climate change is not something that is just happening to us. It is something that is being done to us. It's not just human caused emissions. Even I think I even heard this on CNN broadcast, the mentioned that it's human caused emissions, it's fossil fuel caused emissions.

Every single year, fossil fuels are responsible for up to 89 percent of carbon emissions. So, I think really, it starts with a reluctance all around, not just from fossil fuel company executives, but from media, from institutions like the IPCC, its draft report didn't mention the word fossil fuels. We have to come to grips with reality before we can deal with it.

VAUSE: Well, speaking of the IPCC, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, their latest report pointed out that there is still this small window to turn things around.

Now, back in April it said, if we could see carbon emissions peak by 2025, we could avoid the worst. But without a strengthening of policies beyond those that are implemented, by the end of 2020, greenhouse gas emissions are projected to rise beyond 2025, leading to immediate global warming of 3.2 degrees Celsius by the end of the century.

If we hit 3.2 degrees Celsius, that's what? Game over for humanity, right?

ATKIN: It's not game over for humanity at all. But it's a really awful situation for the poorest and most non-white people among us, to be honest.

I mean, look, you can see today with these heat waves, I mean, countries that are not prepared to adapt to heat, this is a deadly situation. And so yes, sure, wealthy countries, I'm sure we'll be able to implement some measures to protect the most well off people but that's not the majority of people in the world. There was a study that came out last year showing that should climate change, continue unabated, that heat related deaths will match the same number of deaths as all infectious diseases combined throughout the world. It's not game over for humanity. I don't think any situation is game

over for humanity. But for every degree, we get hotter, the more people are going to suffer. And it won't be the wealthy white people.

VAUSE: It does seem in many ways that you know, it will be a whole different society, a whole different way we live on this planet if we hit 3.2 degrees.

But one of the reasons why we're in this crisis in the first place, it's because of a system which allows a privileged few to continue to access.

In recent days, you know, celebrities have been caught out on social media for the use of private jets, like Kylie Jenner, used her private jet to fly from Camarillo to Van Nuys, California, three minute flight, usually about a 40 minute drive.

Kim Kardashian landed in Cairns in Northern Australia, after just 15 minutes on the air.

Drake, six minutes in the air flying from Hamilton to Toronto in Canada, a drive which will take less than an hour.

This list goes on and on and on. But these short flights are among the biggest producers of carbon emissions. And they just seem to symbolize the whole let them eat cake attitude that some of the world's richest have.

You know, almost weekly, it seems a new record set for extreme weather, be it temperatures and intensity or frequency of floods and hurricanes, that kind of thing. So, there's this overwhelming public sentiment to do something, this need to act.

ATKIN: Well, it's so funny you mentioned that because I spent literally my entire day going through all of those flight logs to see just how many were taken in the last couple of months that were very small. And you add, you know, three minutes, five minutes. And you're absolutely right.

And I think really what the problem is, is that excessive consumption is still seen as not only socially acceptable, but something to aspire to, as you'll see, like Kylie Jenner will post about her private jet and you know, Travis Scott's private jet and be like your jet or mine.

So, that's not -- they're not ashamed of the fact that they're emitting completely needless amounts of carbon into the atmosphere. And that's really a cultural thing that people can shift on a day to day basis. I know sometimes the climate crisis seems like a really hopeless thing that how can anything I do solve it. We are, we create the culture, we don't have to have a culture that glorifies excessive consumption, perhaps you take the flight, but are you really going to brag about it?

That's where we're at right now. There's a huge disconnect from celebrity and reality. And we also need to bridge that gap as well.

[00:15:04]

VAUSE: It seems to me now that there needs to be an element of shame at least I guess when it comes to this sort of excessive consumption at this particular point in time, as opposed to vitalizing it and I guess that's one thing which we can do.

ATKIN: I mean, I don't have any shame for contributing to something that kills poor people. I mean, you don't need to have an element of shame. But I think at that point, you're a sociopath. So, which one is it?

VAUSE: Good point to finish on. Emily, thank you so much. It's good to have you with us.

ATKIN: Thanks for having me.

VAUSE: Pleasure. Still ahead, each day they arrive at the hundreds, young and old Ukrainians making a desperate journey across the frontlines, escaping Russian occupation. More on that when we come back.

Plus, Ukraine's president accuses Russia of terrorism, as missile and rocket attacks hammer cities across his country.

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VAUSE: Grueling battle grinds on in eastern Ukraine as Russian forces ramp up efforts to seize complete control of Donetsk. Ukrainian officials say at least one person was killed Tuesday and a Russian missile attack on the city of Kramatorsk. Strikes also reported in Sloviansk. A key target in Russia's push to capture more cities in the Donetsk region, take control of the entire Donbas.

Areas to the west coming under attack as well. In the Odesa region, officials say at least six people were wounded in an overnight attack. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy calling the strikes clear evidence of Russian terrorism.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Every day, the occupiers give new reasons for recognizing Russia as a terrorist state. Last night, they carried out a missile attack on a village in the Odesa region, seven sea based caliber missiles against an ordinary village.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: And nearby Mykolaiv, the mayor is urging residents to leave as soon as possible. He says the city is being shelled every day overwhelming air defense capabilities.

Meanwhile, the U.S. warned on Tuesday, Russia likely planning annexation attempts in the occupied southeastern regions, following the same playbook used in Crimea in 2014. And even as the war rages, Kyiv is turning an eye towards rooting out

corruption. On Tuesday, officials named experienced investigator Alexandria Shlemenko to head Ukraine's anti-corruption office. But first, he'll need the approval of the country's Prosecutor General. And it's been unclear how long that could take.

On Tuesday, Ukraine's parliament officially voted to fire the country's top prosecutor and the head of the Ukraine's Security Service.

President Zelenskyy asked for their dismissal, saying they failed to crack down on traitors within their ranks. Their temporary replacements were named on Monday.

The impact of Russia's war of choice is being felt beyond Europe but also lead to hunger and starvation across the globe. Many countries dependent upon Ukrainian grain.

Russian President Vladimir Putin could help end the crisis tomorrow by ending the war and shutting down the naval blockade, but instead, he's now in talks with Turkey as Ankara looks to play mediator.

Both leaders in Iran, Mr. Putin thanked the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for his efforts to negotiate between Russia and Ukraine. This as Kyiv accuses Russia of blocking the shipment of more than 20 million tons of grain.

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[00:20:13]

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Initially, we raised the issue in such a way that it should be packaged together, namely that we would assist with Ukrainian grain. We proceed from the fact that all restrictions related to possible supplies of Russian grain for export should be lifted.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: The leaders of Russia, Turkey and Iran are touting their cooperation following the summit. Iran's oil ministry has announced a deal with Russian gas giant Gazprom for a $40 billion investment. Iranian state media is quoting in general saying: Tehran is ready to sell advanced military gear to friendly countries. This after the U.S. said Iran maybe looking to provide Russia with combat drones.

For many Ukrainians trapped behind Russian lines trying to escape, it seem not only dangerous, but nearly impossible. And yet, as CNN's Ivan Watson reports, thousands have been willing to risk their lives just to reach the relative safety of Ukrainian held territory.

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IVAN WATSON, CNN, SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Trudging down dirt roads, Ukrainians escaping zones of Russian occupation. Elderly women on foot with little more than the clothes on their backs. The invading Russian army closed many routes to Ukrainian controlled territory, forcing people to improvise. Hundreds of discarded bicycles left behind by displaced people who used them to reach the village of Zelenodolsk.

Andrei Halilyuk (PH) fled 10 days ago, walking down roads past unexploded landmines.

He traveled on foot and then on a rubber dinghy across the river and then on foot again and then in a car and then in a bus to try to get here.

Halilyuk says he lived for more than four months in his village under Russian military occupation.

Andrei says that pro-Russian militia from Donetsk broke into empty apartments and were living in there, broken into businesses as well. He calls them barbarians.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine, more than 61,000 people fled to the city of Kryvyi Rih where they were all initially welcomed at this reception center.

Natalia says there are about 400 new arrivals fleeing the conflicts who come here every day.

At the center, I met Maxim Ovchar.

They detained you?

DR. MAXIM OVCHAR, FLED RUSSIAN-OCCUPIED KHERSON: Yes, twice.

WATSON: Ovchar is a medical doctor who lived and worked in the southern city of Kherson, which was invaded and occupied by Russian forces in early March. He says he fled with his grandmother on July 7th, after armed Russian officials tried to convince him and other Ukrainian doctors to work for them.

When you and the other doctors said no to working with the occupation, how did the Russians react?

OVCHAR: They react very hateful for us.

WATSON: In the first weeks of the occupation, some Ukrainians in Kherson protested, until Russian opened fire. The occupation had since cut off Kherson's communications with the outside world. But the Ukrainian government claims there is local resistance.

OVCHAR: 90 percent of people of Kherson, I mean, near --

WATSON (voice-over): 90 percent of people in Kherson hate the Russians, Dr. Ovchar says. He says he saw Russian troops wounded by a local resistance attack, then brought for treatment at a Kherson hospital.

At the Welcome Center, volunteers organized temporary shelter for displaced Ukrainians. OVCHAR: I lost my job and --

WATSON: Your house?

OVCHAR: My house.

WATSON: You have a car?

OVCHAR: Some of my friends I was to say murdered by the Russians.

WATSON: The charity provides free food, medicine, clothing and counseling for traumatized adults and children.

We lived well before the war, Dr. Ovchar says. And now I'm ashamed to ask for help. Russia's deadly invasion of Ukraine has forced millions to rely on the kindness of strangers.

Ivan Watson, CNN, Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: And there are growing concerns about the impact Russia's war on Ukraine will have on human trafficking. U.S. Secretary State Antony Blinken released the annual trafficking in persons or TIP Report on Tuesday. This report helps U.S. work with other countries to prosecute offenders and protect would be victims. Blinken noted the millions of Ukrainian refugees are now at risk of trafficking.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Since the start of Russia's aggression against Ukraine, millions of Ukrainians had to flee their homes, some internally within Ukraine, some leaving the country altogether, many most with just what they're able to carry. And that makes them highly vulnerable to exploitation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[00:25:13]

VAUSE: The TIP Report uses tiers to grade countries on efforts to combat human trafficking. Overall, Blinken says it's kind of a mixed bag.

21 countries that have made improvements were upgraded a tier, 18 countries were downgraded. Russia falls into the lowest tier for countries that are not in compliance, not making efforts to eliminate trafficking.

But lawmakers in crisis hitch rancor are preparing to vote for a new president. CNN's Will Ripley is there covering this critical vote. He will be with us live in a moment.

And later, first round of Twitter and his legal fight with Elon Musk, new details when we return.

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VAUSE: Welcome back to our viewers all around the world. I'm John Vause, you're watching CNN NEWSROOM.

And then, there were three. The race to select the next British prime minister in full swing with a fifth round of voting planned in the coming hours. Right now, three candidates are vying to succeed Johnson. Rishi Sunak is leading the pack followed by penny Mordaunt and Liz Truss.

Meantime, Johnson has chaired his final Cabinet meeting Tuesday before he stands down as prime minister after a series of scandals. M.P.s will keep voting until there are just two candidates left. After that, card carrying members of the Conservative Party about 200,000 people nationwide will vote for Johnson's successor as leader of the party, and that by default will make them prime minister.

Sri Lanka's parliament is voting in a secret ballot to elect a new president. The winner of this three way contest will inherit a country reeling from an economic meltdown and shortages of basic necessities like food and fuel and medicine.

CNN's Will Ripley following developments from Sri Lanka's commercial capital, Colombo. So, Will, I guess in the coming hours we'll find out who takes over but it seems that none of the candidates are really acceptable to the protesters.

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Yes, well, isn't that the story of politics, right? If you're making everyone angry, you're doing your job right. But in this case, you have three candidates. One of them is not really considered a contender, although because it is a secret ballot, I suppose you really never really know what's going to happen in Parliament.

They have the place completely barricaded off even though there are very few if any protesters out there right now. The president -- the acting president, I should say, Ranil Wickremesinghe who I interviewed the other day has made it pretty clear by issuing a state of emergency and deploying heavily armed officers across the city that any protesters has been trying to disrupt are going to be stopped.

Anyone who tries to occupy a government building will be stopped by whatever means are necessary. And so that seems, at least for the moment, to have kept people at bay.

[00:30:13]

However, protest groups depending on the outcome could be out anyway. And they've said as much. There is the -- you know, the Inter Student Federation said there could be anarchy if the acting president, Ranil Wickremesinghe, is selected as the president to fill out the remaining term of the former president, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who left and has fled the country after, basically, decisions during COVID that ran the country's economy so deeply into the ground that they can't pay off their creditors. So Ranil is seen by some here as the perfect choice for the job, because he's really experienced. Other people think, because he was so closely tied with the previous administration and worked as the prime minister for two months -- he's been a six-time prime minister, with a number of administrations -- they think that it's more of the same. The old guard, the old bad decisions. And they say they won't accept it if he is selected.

There's another guy who's ten years younger, Dullas Alahapperuma. And this guy, he is a former tabloid reporter who was a very close ally of the former president until the economic crisis. And he's completely flipped, and now he has been blasting him. He's basically kind of been shunned by those that are close to the former president, but he's very popular among the opposition.

And so you have these two front-running candidates who really, it's anybody's guess, John, what's going to happen. And the outcome of however Parliament votes could really determine whether we see peace on the streets of Colombo or whether we see protestors out, potentially clashing with -- with armed officers, unhappy with the result.

VAUSE: Will, thank you, and as you've been talking there, we've been watching live pictures from inside the Parliament, as lawmakers there gather for the secret ballot. We know there are three candidates who put their name forward, including the acting president, in a hope to become the next president of a country which is in turmoil right now, both economic and political turmoil.

So that is the situation there, just one minute past 10 in the morning.

Let's go to King Ratnam now. He's an actor and director, as well as one of the many protestors demanding change. He's also in Colombo, who -- he joins us now.

Sir, thank you for your time.

KING RATNAM, SRI LANKAN FILMMAKER AND ACTOR: You're welcome. Thank you very much.

VAUSE: Out of all the three candidates who have put their names forward to be the next president, is any one of them acceptable, or one of them more acceptable than the others, to you and the protestors?

Ratnam: I think the general mood in the country now is that there is -- Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe, the acting president, is -- is unpopular. And he was asked tot step down by the protestors right along the protests, which continued for four months. He was asked to step down with -- with Gotabaya Rajapaksa, but he did not step down. He, in fact, you know, automatically came to be the acting president. And now he wants to become the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) president for the next two, two and a half years.

So he's glad (ph) to be unpopular. I think the general mood is that he -- you know, people don't like him to be winning. And they would rather, you know, have the other person win.

But then this is like, you know -- you know, you choose -- you know, it's actually an unfortunate situation, because the system is such that, you know, the people rarely (ph) win.

VAUSE: Yes, it's a case of choose your poison, in some ways. But what would you say is the No. 1 priority facing Sri Lanka right now? Is it the need for law and order to secure assistance from the IMF and stabilize the economy? Or is there a need to continue to push to change the system and change it from the old ruling elites?

RATNAM: Yes, I think the No. 1 priority would be political stability. I think, you know, people need to accept who is going to lead them, and they need to accept the ministers that are appointed. And they need to feel, you know, these fellows can do the job. Because we are, you know -- really dead and gone right now.

So there is a lot of work to be done politically.

Secondly, I think the important thing is the economy, of course. But, you know, there is no -- there is no shortcuts. I think the -- even the IMF bailout is going to be just like a plaster, like a patch-up job. So the real change needs to come from the economy policies that this country needs. And you know, we need to simply increase our exports very, very soon.

VAUSE: What is incredible to see is that, despite the turmoil, despite the chaos, we are watching a political system which is still operating. We still have the speaker of the House. We still have lawmakers sitting in Parliament. There are security guards outside. There's not many protestors, according to Will Ripley, who is there.

[00:35:05]

This is a country which has not functioned on many levels, but it is still functioning. How is that happening?

RATNAM: Yes, it's -- well, it's a strange situation. But for 74 years, I think, after the independence, this system has caused a lot of damage to our country. You know, I can go on and tell you a lot of instances there where the system actually, you know, put us down.

And especially the demands of the protestors, there are 13 demands put forward by the protestors, very clear demands. You know, especially things like getting rid of the executive presidency in this country, which has, you know, absolute power. And everyone -- anyone who comes and sits there, you know, can turn into anything. So that -- you know, that needs to go.

There is demand for a people's council, which is parallel to the Parliament. The people will make the, you know, decisions known to the Parliament, and they can proceed further.

There are so many demands, 13 demands, which are very clear.

So I think whoever comes to power cannot ignore these demands, and they need to listen to these demands and act upon it. If not, I think we will be going to another situation where people -- millions of people will come onto the street.

VAUSE: Just very quickly, very quick answer, if you would: Is -- are protestors willing to sit with the government in some kind of official capacity and advise them and be part of the decision-making process? And is the government willing to accept protestors in that role?

RATNAM: Yes, I think the people's council is -- is that idea. That -- that's the idea of the people's council.

VAUSE: But will the government accept the people's council? Do you think there's a possibility?

RATNAM: Well, they have very little option. If they don't, I think they will face trouble again.

VAUSE: OK. King Ratnam, thank you so much for being with us, sir. We appreciate your time.

RATNAM: Thank you.

VAUSE: Still to come here, dozens of high heat warnings across China. But relief might just be in sight. We're live in Beijing with the very latest on another heat emergency.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: Welcome back. We return to our top story this hour. Scorching temperatures are sweeping across the globe, with U.K. setting an all- time heat record.

London's firefighters faced one of their worst days ever Tuesday as blazes raged across the capital. Officials say resources have been stretched to the limit.

In the East London suburb of Wennington, a fire set 40 hectares, or 99 acres, of grassy land ablaze, sweeping across a number of properties.

The temperature in U.K. topped 40 degrees Celsius for the first time ever Tuesday. At least 20 other countries across Europe also facing heat warnings with places as temperatures soared.

[00:40:04]

Dozens of cities in China have issued high temperature alerts in the midst of sweltering heat waves. But rain showers in the days ahead might bring some relief.

CNN's Selina Wang joins us now, live from Beijing.

I guess it's more than the forecast here, because these areas, how are they dealing, essentially, with these heat advisories amid all the COVID lockdowns and all the other issues going on?

SELINA WANG, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's been a huge challenge, John. And that rain shower that's expected to slightly cool the South, well, that's only supposed to be brief.

More than 30 cities have issued an orange alert, which means temperatures are expected to reach 98 degrees Fahrenheit. Only one city in Xinjiang issued a red alert, which means temperatures are expected to reach 104 degrees.

Now, compare that to last week, when more than 80 cities issued those red alerts, with some logging temperatures of more than 110 degrees Fahrenheit.

But again, China's meteorological administration saying this relief is short-lived. They expect that heat to crank up again in Southern China tomorrow and later in the North.

This heat wave has been absolutely ferocious. According to state media, by mid-July, the heat wave engulfed half the country and impacted more than 900 million people. That, John, is more than 60 percent of China's population.

And this is part of the global trend of more extreme weather given by climate change. It's not just the heat wave in China. But people -- the economy, people's lives -- have also been devastated by flooding in China. There have been recent floods in months that have displaced more than a million people. It's also destroyed crops in central and Southwest China. That crop damage threatens to push up inflation.

All of this, it's bad news for an economy that's already been battered by the pandemic. China logging for the second quarter just 0.4 growth. That is the slowest rate since 2020, when China's economy was virtually shut down because of the initial outbreak in Wuhan.

We've also seen this heat wave push up electricity demand to extreme levels. People are turning up the air conditioning. And Zhejiang province, which is a major manufacturing powerhouse, it urges its 65 million residents and businesses to try and save power.

And to your point, John, all of this is coming as COVID cases are rising in China. The snap lockdowns, the mass testing, all of that is not stopping, even in this scorching weather. There have been growing reports of COVID workers collapsing in the heat. And residents across the country still required to wait in long lines for their regular COVID tests, even under the brutal temperatures -- John.

VAUSE: Yes, it does raise the questions about the resources of the government there in Beijing. And they're already facing debt issues, as well. With you know, the COVID, the pandemic crisis, and now the heat waves, and the increased electricity costs and inflation. Difficult days ahead, it seems, for Xi Jinping, the president, and the government there.

Selina, thank you, live in Beijing. We appreciate it.

Well, a judge has ruled that Twitter's lawsuit against Elon Musk will proceed to an expedited five-day trial in October. The social media giant is suing the Tesla CEO for backing out of their $44 billion acquisition agreement. Musk says he backed out of the deal because of a lack of information

from the country about bots and fake accounts on its service. If Twitter prevails at trial, the court could order Musk to buy Twitter for $44 billion, or pay a $1 billion break-up fee.

Breaking up is hard to do.

Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause. I'll be back about 15 minutes from now with more world news. In the meantime, please stay with us. WORLD SPORT is up next. See you soon, top of the hour.

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