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UN Report Accuses China Of Serious Human Rights Violations In Xinjiang; UN Team To Visit Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant; EU Set To Suspend Visa Travel Agreement With Russia; Trump Team Doubles Down On Demand For Special Master; Gazprom To Shut Down Nord Stream 1 Pipeline For 72 Hours. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired September 01, 2022 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello again, welcome to CNN Newsroom. Coming up this hour. The UN says it has credible evidence that China has committed serious human rights violations, including torture of Uyghur Muslims, which could amount to crimes against humanity.
Mission unprecedented. International inspectors heading to the frontlines of the war in Ukraine to assess safety at the largest nuclear power plants in Europe.
And Donald Trump's legal team struggles with the meaning of the word former as it former president and white citizen Trump does not own classified documents seized by the FBI at his Florida Country Club.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from Atlanta, This is CNN Newsroom with John Vause.
VAUSE: A damning UN report outlining evidence of human rights violations and possible crimes against humanity committed by Beijing against ethnic Muslim Uyghurs has finally been published just 11 minutes before the Human Rights Commissioner ended her term and stepped down.
China received an advanced copy and has already dismissed the findings as being based on disinformation and lies. The overall assessment by the UN High Commissioner of serious human rights violations in China's Xinjiang province is based on extensive interviews with just 40 people of Uyghur, Kazakh and Kirghiz ethnicities.
The report outlines allegations of patterns of torture or ill treatment, including force medical treatment, adverse conditions of detention are credible as allegations of individual incidents of sexual and gender based violence.
CNN's Beijing bureau chief Stephen Jiang standing by live for us this hour. But first, live to Hong Kong CNN's Kristie Lu Stout with the key takeaways of this report. And, you know, Kristie, right up to the very end, Beijing was piling on the pressure to try and prevent this report to be published, which seems to indicate just how serious these allegations are.
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, very serious allegations and very chilling testimonies inside this 45-page report that was released just minutes before the end of the tenure of the outgoing UN Human Rights Commissioner Michelle Bachelet. And this is a damning document it says serious human rights violations have been committed in Xinjiang. And it says that crimes against humanity may have been committed in the region as well.
And it goes through systematically. All the key allegations have been leveled at Beijing over the years in regards to China's treatment of Uygur as well as other ethnic Muslim minorities in Xinjiang, including torture, including sexual violence and rape, including forced medical treatment. And critically, this report says that all those allegations are quote, credible.
Other report features voices from people who were inside the camps in Xinjiang, they were either detained there or working there since 2016. And they share details that are truly chilling.
In fact, all of them mentioned that they were subjected to forced medical treatment, that they were administered pills and injections on a regular basis, I'm going to bring up one account for you. And it the individual says this quote, we received one tablet a day. It looked like aspirin. We were lined up and someone with gloves systematically checked our mouths to make sure we swallowed, unquote.
Others spoke of various forms of sexual violence that took place in the form of rape, in the form of sexual humiliation and forced exams. One woman said that one such exam was done in a public setting and said this, it quote, made old women ashamed and young girls cry. This is a very disturbing and damning report.
China has already slammed the release of this report and says that it's full of lies and disinformation. We have the statement for you it comes from China's mission to the UN in Geneva. They say this quote, all ethnic groups including the Uyghur are equal members of the Chinese nation. Xinjiang has taken actions to fight terrorism and extremism in accordance with the law, effectively curbing the frequent occurrences of terrorist activities, unquote.
Now China has called the camps in Xinjiang vocational, reeducation or training centers. UN experts for years now have said that they are extrajudicial detention centers and one of the many recommendations that is put forward in this report includes a call for Beijing to as soon as possible, initiate a process to release all those who have been arbitrarily detained at you, John.
VAUSE: Kristie, thank you for that. Let's go to Steven Jiang in Beijing. So Steven, you know, China has been constantly called out and criticized for the treatment of Uyghur Muslims. The response has been to first deny, then criticize whoever wrote the report, engage in a bit of what about ism, then just keep doing what they're doing will be any different this time? [01:05:00]
STEVEN JIANG, CNN BEIJING BUREAU CHEIF: Highly unlikely, John. Now remember the timing of this release just sent 40 days away from that very important Communist Party Congress where Xi Jinping has opposite certainty assume a precedent breaking third term as the country's Supreme Leader.
So, from the outside, this may seem to be an embarrassing moment for him. But indeed, in this country, this subject has been so heavily censored and indoctrinated. It does seem that many if not most Chinese people have bought into the party's version of events. So they may actually take advantage of this report by a whip up even more nationalism and a time when they were facing a growing number of domestic challenges, including on the economy.
Actually, as we are speaking, a CNN viewers in this country are actually staring at a screen of color bars, because the censors here have surprisingly, a blocked hours coverage on this topic. But also remember Xi Jinping just recently in July visited Xinjiang, and that was widely viewed as a victory tour because he has time and again said his policy on Xinjiang is quote, unquote, absolutely correct.
Now, during his most recent visit, the underlying theme was clear. That is the success of his Heartland policy was why they got to stabilize the region and allowing them to now refocus on economic growth in that part of the country. And the message was clear. That is they're not really pulling back from the harsh crackdowns in the region, but rather, the massive infrastructure of security and surveillance they had built in the past few years has now become part of a daily routine and social fabric in Xinjiang which in a way is even scarier.
And under a point worth noting, of course is the timing of the release because the lengthy delay may make it difficult for some member states at the UN's Human Rights Council, which is the body that needs to debate and vote on any resolutions for concrete actions to be taken. They may find it difficult to go through all the details and make up their mind. And that of course is on top of China's already very considerable sway within the body with Beijing aligned bloc has in the past consistently voted down any resolutions condemning its human rights record including Xinjiang.
So it's very likely that Beijing's carrots (ph) and sticks approach and their attempt to redefine human rights on the global stage may still work despite the stronger than expected conclusions in this latest UN report. John.
VAUSE: Redefine it. Steven, thank you. Steven Jiang for us in Beijing. Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong as well, thanks to you both.
Inspectors from the UN's nuclear watchdog expected to visit the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in the coming hours, as constant shelling around the facility has sparked fears of a nuclear accident. The director of the International Atomic Energy Agency is among the 14 member team. He's pushing for a permanent presence at the site. This visit though expected to last just a few days. Ukraine's Energy Minister wants the IAEA to also examine security threats at the plant, which has been under Russian control since the early days of the war. He's now the head of the IAEA described their mission.
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RAFAEL GROSSI, IAEA DIRECTOR GENERAL: Mission is a technical solution. It is a mission that seeks to prevent a nuclear accident. And it reserve as is important the largest, I think the biggest nuclear power plants in Europe, in the whole of Europe, not only in Ukraine.
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VAUSE: The Zaporizhzhia facility is not the only nuclear power plant in Ukraine, which is under threat. And CNN's Sam Kiley has details.
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SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ukraine second largest nuclear power station is under Russian missile threat even its warnings of a nuclear disaster of causing international horror at its largest plant.
There's just been a dramatic air raid siren Do you know what the threat was then?
IHOR POLOVYCH, DIRECTOR GENERAL SOUTH UKRAINE NUCLEAR POWER PLANT (through translator): Yes, we received information from the military is that the error rate alert was for the danger of our flying or launching missiles by aircraft.
KILEY: Can we carry on or do we have to go down again?
POLOVYCH (through translator): There are planes over Crimea with guided missiles on board. Nobody knows where they will fly. Let's go down again.
KILEY (on camera): So the director just said that they've got information that aircraft have been seen in Crimea. They're in this oblast, this province or heading in this direction so they pose an immediate threat. This is something that happens several times a day, very often they say the sirens are almost back to back.
(voice-over): The director is told that the Russian aircraft crossing the Dnieper have fired missiles. Ukraine's military are tracking them trying to figure out if his nuclear power station is the target.
POLOVYCH: You're welcome.
KILEY: This monitor shows the background radiation remains normal. Working in this bunker has become a new normal for the teams running the south Ukraine nuclear power plant. The maintenance of Ukraine's four power plants and 15 nuclear reactors is stressed.
[01:10:02] POLOVYCH (through translator): Part of the factory that produced spare parts were bombed by Russian Army. That is at the moment there is nowhere to make some types of spare parts.
KILEY: And Russia has stored army trucks in Zaporizhzhia's turbine hall. It's identical to South Ukraine's turbine. Both use highly explosive nitrogen as a coolant. Fire here could be disastrous, and Russia is accused of shelling the plant, which it denies. This man worked at Zaporizhzhia under Russian occupation but fled in June.
OLEKSANDR, FORMER ZAPORIZHZHIA NUCLAER POWER PLANT WORKER (through translator) The Russians shoot at the territory of the plant, where as a storage facility for solid waste as well as a dry storage facility for nuclear fuel is.
KILEY: At least three Russian missiles have been recorded flying over the South Ukraine plant. Back above ground the director is amazed by Russia's threats to Ukraine's nuclear industry.
POLOVYCH (through translator): They was so smart they shelved the nuclear power plant is or the military was not aware of the danger, or they did it on purpose.
KILEY: But as this plant generates 10 percent of Ukraine's electricity in Zaporizhzhia up to 20 percent, there's no wonder that both are such tempting targets. Sam Kiley, CNN in South Ukraine nuclear power plant.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
VAUSE: Matthew Kroenig has held a number of senior positions at the Pentagon and within the U.S. intelligence community in the Bush, Obama and Trump administrations. He's also a professor of Government and Foreign Service at Georgetown University. Welcome to the program.
MATTHEW KROENIG, PROFESSOR OF GOVERNMENT AND FOREIGN SERVICE, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: It's great to be here.
VAUSE: OK, so this is an unprecedented undertaking by the IAEA inspecting a nuclear plant in the middle of a war zone. And they're hoping to assess physical damage to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plants facilities determine whether the main and backup safety and security systems are functional, evaluate the plants staff's working conditions, along with performing urgent safeguard activities.
How will they actually be effective given the fact that the Russians control the plant, and they need to talk freely to Ukrainian technicians? For example, how much freedom will they be given here?
KROENIG: Well, it's an important mission indeed. The worst case scenario here could be a meltdown, like we saw at the Fukushima reactors in Japan 10 years ago. And so the International Atomic Energy Agency has been wanting to get access to this plant since March. Finally they have access. There are a lot of concerns about the safety of the plant. And so that'll be the main part of the mission to make sure that we're not in danger of a meltdown that everything is working effectively. But as you point out, the Russians are occupying the plant. They have an incentive to have the IAEA say everything is working fine. The IAEA hopes to talk to the Ukrainian technicians there, but they've been held captive by the Russians since March. And so unclear whether they are really going to be able to speak freely with the IAEA. So an important mission, but a lot of questions hanging over it.
VAUSE: Yes, he's a little more from the director of the IAEA on the authority which they have to carry out this inspection. Listen to this.
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GROSSI: Well, as you know, this is part of Ukraine, currently occupied by Russian forces is clear whereas that this is a Ukrainian facility. And if we are here our authority, legal competence to be here is clearly established by the safeguards agreement that we have with Ukraine.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: So the invitation by the Ukrainian government gives the IAEA every legal right to have access to the site to inspect the facility. But that's just like Ukrainian every legal right not to be invaded by Russia in the first place. Because ignores the elephant in the room the reality on the ground.
KROENIG: Yes, that's right. It's Ukrainian sovereign territory. So the IAEA can only be invited in by the Ukrainians. But practically the plant has been occupied by the Russians since March. So practically to access the facility, of course, requires Russian acquiescence. And so the Ukrainians have been supportive of a visit for some time. Finally, the Russians have come around and that's why they'll be able to visit later today.
VAUSE: Why would the Russians at least initially is sort of key to have the IAEA access to plan via, you know, Russian --
OK, we're just going to interrupt you there for a moment because the director of the National Energy Atomic Agency, Rafael Grossi, the man heading up Russia is actually holding a news conference, let's listen he has to say.
GROSSI: The inherent risks, but weighing the pros and cons and having come so far we are not stopping. We are moving now. We know that there is an area as you know the so called gray zone where the last line of the Ukrainian defense comes and before the first line of the Russian occupying forces begin where the risks are significant.
[01:15:15]
At the same time, we consider that we have the minimum conditions to move, accepting that the risks are very, very high. Still, myself and the team, we believe that we can proceed with this. We have a very important mission to accomplish. As you know, we are going to start immediately an assessment of the security and the safety situation at the plant at it is right now. We are going to be liaising and consulting with the staff at the facility.
And I am going to consider the possibility of establishing a continued presence of the IAEA at the plant, which we believe it's indispensable to stabilize the situation and to get regular, reliable, impartial, neutral updates of what the situation is there.
So wish us luck. We are moving now. Thank you for your interest. It's very important that the world knows what's happening here. Thank you very much. We are moving ahead. Thank you.
VAUSE: Wish us luck. The world needs to know what's happening at this nuclear power plant the words from the Director General of the International Energy -- Atomic Agency, Raphael Grossi, as he heads to Zaporizhzhia, the nuclear power plant there, which is in the crosshairs of the war between Ukraine and Russia.
They are on the move. They want to try and assess the risk and the security and the safety risks to that nuclear power plant, which has come under constant shelling for almost a month now. That's when the shelling really started to tick up in that region. Ukraine blames Russia for that. Russia blames the Ukrainians for that. You know, the Russians are in control of that nuclear facility but Ukrainian technicians actually still operate the facility there.
So he did say that there is a considerable risk because they are going into a war zone into a nuclear power facility, which is an operation in a war zone the first time this has ever happened. It is unprecedented mission and is one which is dangerous. We noticed that he was actually wearing a flak jacket, a bulletproof vest, so two members of his team. A 14 member team now on the way to inspect that nuclear power plant.
Since we have more details on that we'll bring it to you here live on CNN.
In the meantime, the EU has agreed to make it harder and more costly for Russian tourists to travel to Europe. To move Moskow describes as the European Union shooting itself in the foot. More now from CNN's Fred Pleitgen reporting in from Moscow.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN Senior International Correspondent (on camera): Well, this decision by the EU foreign ministers will still have to be ratified by a formal European Union summit. And it's definitely not the full on visa ban that many Eastern European and North Eastern European countries would have wanted. It is more of a compromise.
And essentially, what it does is it makes it more difficult for Russians to obtain visas to come to the European Union. The process gets more difficult, the process gets more complicated, the process takes longer, and the process also becomes more expensive. And there are certainly EU officials who believe that fewer Russians will be able to come to the European Union.
Now, this does not preclude some European countries from taking even tougher measures. And there are some who have called the decision that was made a first step and have said that they might put in place even tougher measures unilaterally or perhaps in conjunction with some other European Union member states.
The Russians, for their part, have already angrily reacted to all this. In fact, Russia's deputy foreign minister has said that there will be a staunch reaction coming from the Russian Federation and that reaction could be symmetrical or asymmetric. Not exactly clear what the Russians mean by that, but certainly the Russians do say they are going to take a very tough line. Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Moscow.
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VAUSE: Still ahead, Donald Trump's legal team will get its day in court, a closer look at their demands for an independent review of classified documents seized by the FBI from Mar-a-Lago. Also what's at stake is Russia's Gazprom shuts down a major gas pipeline for the second time in weeks. Have more on that and the very dodgy reason. Moscow is putting forward for the temporary closure.
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[01:21:34]
VAUSE: Lawyers to Donald Trump will appear in a Florida courtroom in the coming hours to argue for a special master for review documents seized by the FBI at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate. Part of their legal argument is that should be no surprise federal agents found classified material at Trump's home. Was there a cause for concern?
The Justice Department though accusing the former president of hiding and moving documents to obstruct the investigation. CNN's Sara Murray has more now reporting in from Washington.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): The Trump team is doubling down on their request for a special master to review the materials that were seized from that August search and Mar-a-Lago. That's from a court filing from the Trump team on Wednesday night. They say the notion that presidential records contained sensitive materials should not have been caused for alarm and they say the National Archives should have continued to negotiate in good faith with the former president to get those documents back. Of course, we know those negotiations went on for months and the former president still had not returned all of those.
Now the Trump team did not rebut fact by fact many of the damning items the Justice Department laid out in a court filing and their narrative events earlier this week. They did take issue with a June 3rd meeting the Trump team says has been significantly mischaracterized. This is when investigators showed up at Mar-a-Lago to collect documents after they'd issued a subpoena. And a Trump lawyer signed a document saying essentially we've handed over everything with classified markings pursuant to this subpoena. Of course, we later learned from the Justice Department that was not the case. There were many documents with classified markings left behind at Mar-a-Lago.
The Trump team also had some pretty pointed words for how the Justice Department has conducted themselves saying, left unchecked, the DOJ will impugn leak and publicize selective aspects of their investigation, with no recourse for movement that's Trump, but to somehow trust the self-restraint of currently unchecked investigators. Of course, the move the FBI have made so far had been signed off on it by a judge, but we are going to hear more about this fight in a hearing in Florida on Thursday, Sara Murray, CNN, Washington.
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VAUSE: Yet more maintenance for the Nord Stream pipeline by Russian energy supply Gazprom. On Wednesday, Gazprom again shut down the pipeline to Germany claiming the three-day pause was much needed maintenance. Pipeline was shut down for 10 days late July for the same reason. This latest shutdown is being met with skepticism surprisingly, by regulators in Germany.
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KLAUS MUELLER, PRESIDENT, BUNDESNETZAGENTUR (through translator): We don't really understand the technical need for this renewed maintenance from Russia. But in the meantime, Germany is now better prepared. We have filled the storage facilities better. We are getting gas from Norway, Holland, Belgium soon France. We are saving gas and in this respect, I assume that we will be able to cope with this for the time being.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Gas has been flowing through the pipeline at 20 percent capacity. Gazprom says it will also cut gas to France effective Thursday, apparently for not paying their bills. The EU Commission set to discuss all of this in the coming hours.
Energy industry analyst Alex Munton is Director of Global Gas Service at Rapidan Energy Group. He joins us from Houston, Texas. Thanks for being with us. Thanks for taking the time.
ALEX MUNTON, DIRECTOR, GLOBAL GAS SERVICE, RAPIDAN ENERGY GROUP: Good evening. Good to be with you.
VAUSE: OK, well, ever since Russia invaded Ukraine and was hit with those punitive economic sanctions, it seems the maintenance needs of the Nord Stream pipeline, well, have surged. All this is just pure (INAUDIBLE) stayed.
[01:25:01]
For now though Germany seems it can accommodate at least this pipeline shut down for the time being. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MUELLER (through translator): We still have very, very warm temperatures. We are still in summer. So there is no cause for alarm at moment, it depends very much on whether we are talking about three days or whether Russia will somehow make a different decision afterwards.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: OK, so if Russia decides not to turn the gas back on, what will be the real world impact on overall gas flows to Europe? And what's the shortfall here between what they have and what they need?
MUNTON: Well, this is really the question. I mean, the Nord Stream pipeline is, you know, one of the major pipelines that connects Russia directly with Germany. And, you know, for several months, up until June post the invasion of Ukraine, it was running at capacity. And then very quickly, it started to drop and it dropped ostensibly for reasons of maintenance that couldn't be done due to sanctions.
And there's been this whole process of wrangling between Russia and Germany on the equipment that Russia says it needs. Russia says its hands are tied, it can't bring in the equipment because of the sanctions. Germany says there's really nothing preventing the equipment to be delivered to Germany.
And so you know, the parties are stuck in this disagreement with really no solution. So from that standpoint, it does seem inevitable that the pipeline at some point will be fully cut, but all of this sort of wrangling over the turbines. That's really just the surface level issue, the sort of proximate reasoning, really the core reason and that the sort of fundamental issue is that Russia and Europe are in an energy war. And to the extent that Russia can curtail gas supply to Europe, which it can, it can use that almost as a weapon in this war, it can really do damage to European energy security. And that's what we've seen.
VAUSE: Yes, and one of the big factors here between Europe's inflation numbers, energy costs are up driving inflation up. And CNN's reporting inflation in the Eurozone increased to 9.1 percent in August, highest level since the formation of the euro, energy prices have increased 38 percent over the last 12 months.
So if Nord Stream is actually taken out of the mix altogether, that will no doubt drive up energy costs, how much that increase is in response to an actual shortage? And how much of that increase is just perception, the fear factor?
MUNTON: Yes, I mean, there's elements of both, John. And, you know, really, with the expectation that Nord Stream will sort of go down or felt, you know, fully -- be fully cut, probably sooner rather than later, maybe as soon as October, we think.
The question is, what does Europe do? Can it get through winter without Russian gas, without running short of gas? And the answer to that is really, that it depends, it depends on what alternative suppliers available. And it depends on what demand side levers can be pulled to lower gas demand. And in both of those areas, Europe really faces some quite significant challenges. And just in respect of supply, we heard on your clip there with the interview, and in Germany that storage levels have been building quite strongly. And that's really been a very positive story over recent months.
Europe is well on track to reach its storage targets. They're now at about 80 percent full, but still, the gas in storage won't be enough to get Europe through the winter. In fact, all of the gaps in storage would only represent about 25 or 30 percent of the amount of gas that Europe typically consumes during the winter.
So, alternative suppliers are going to be needed. And the biggest source of that is going to be the global LNG market. And that's really what year it's been doing all through this year, importing very large volumes of LNG. It's done it well. It's hard to very pay a very high price, but things are going to get much harder going into the winter, because competition for LNG increases.
And I'll just give you an example from where I am in Houston very close to the U.S. Gulf Coast facilities. There's a lot of Asian buyers of U.S. LNG, and throughout much of this year, they've actually decided to ship their U.S. LNG into Europe, taking advantage of high European gas prices.
Well as we start moving into the winter months, and Asian demand really starts to grow, that LNG won't be available to Europe. That will be shipped to the home markets in Northeast Asia.
[01:29:48]
VAUSE: That's become the price of competition but we also have a situation where they're firing up coal-fire power plants as well because of certain implications.
Alex, we will leave it there. It's a good point to finish on about, you know, the months ahead and the high prices which are coming ahead. It's something to keep a very close eye on. Alex, thanks for being with us.
MUNTON: Thank you very much.
VAUSE: A funeral for Mikhail Gorbachev will be held on Saturday in Moscow. Russian state media reports the former general secretary of the communist party will be honored with a farewell ceremony and buried next to his wife. The last leader of the Soviet Union died Tuesday after a long illness. He was 91.
Still to come, Pakistan now dealing with shortages of food and clean drinking water and an outbreak of illness and disease. All this amid a flood crisis. The very latest in a moment.
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VAUSE: Welcome back everyone. I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. At one point, up to a third of all Pakistan was under flood water. And
that's led to some cities destroyed, entire fields of crops washed away. Food prices are now soaring. Victims say despite emergency aid, they're still without shelter, still without food and no clean water to drink leaves no choice but to drink dirty floodwater. That's causing sickness.
The director general of the World Health Organization warns flooded areas are now breeding ground for an outbreak of disease.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TEDROS ADHANOM GHEBREYESUS, DIRECTOR GENERAL, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: Pakistan was already facing health threats, including COVID-19, cholera, typhoid, measles, (INAUDIBLE), HIV and polio. Now the flooding has led to new outbreaks of (INAUDIBLE), skin infections, respiratory tract infections, malaria, dengue, and more.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Meteorologist Derek Van Dam with us for more on this. This is one of the situations where this flood emergency was created by climate change. The people of Pakistan had the lowest -- or among the lowest carbon emissions on the planet. Yet they're paying a high price for what, you know, other countries have been doing for years and years and years.
DEREK VAN DAM,CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. We're seeing that across the planet, right. I mean this is a disproportional impact to countries like Pakistan, for instance.
And it's just incredible what the U.N. secretary general is saying that this is a monsoon season on steroids and we did agree (ph), just like this, you can see what people are dealing with. How many people are having to upend their lives just to try and flee from the floodwaters.
[01:34:53]
VAN DAM: We've had over 1,500 millimeters of rain according to this Climate Prediction Center map in the southern portions of Pakistan, some of the areas that had been hit the hardest. And we still have another month left to go in the typical rainy season or the monsoon season which ends at the end of September.
Look at this, the Baltistan and Sindh provinces in the southern portions of Pakistan have had more rainfall the last five seasons combined. We're talking about 500 percent on average, or more, of the average rainfall.
Look at this incredible amount of rain to comprehend. It's so incredible, that we have been able to see it from space. And what you're looking at is the satellite image of Indus River in southern Pakistan. It's a satellite image form a year ago.
Now this was taken a couple of days ago. And you can see how the Indus River almost looks like a lake from space, right. So there is the before, there is the after and you can see just the copious amounts of flooding as the river continues to overspill its banks.
Now, the good news is that there isn't any rain in the forecast for the hardest hit areas. Majority of the precipitation going forward this week, over the next five days actually, located in the northern sections of the country.
Let me take you quickly to the Western Pacific because now, we have Typhoon Hinnamnor that has regained its super typhoon status. More than 60 kilometers per hour, this thing is a beast.
And while it rapidly intensified over 145 kilometers per hour in wind strength in a 24-hour period. That is called rapid intensification, and we have never seen something that amazing and so powerful.
Now the storm is set to travel north here in the coming days. We'll keep a close eye on it in Taiwan, eastern China, and the Korean Peninsula, John.
VAUSE: Time to heat up. Derek, thank you, meteorologist Derek Van Dam there with the forecast.
The U.S. and South Korea are holding their biggest combined military exercises in years and North Korea, true to form, says these drills are invasion rehearsals.
CNN's Paula Hancocks live this hour once again from Seoul. It's been a while since we've had these, so I guess it's back on for (INAUDIBLE).
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, yes John. I mean about five years ago we were being invited to film these, to show them on international television frequently. Of course, this is a very useful tool for the U.S. And South Korean military, not only to train together, to be able to have that combined force, but also to be able to show potential enemies just how strong they are together.
But it has been sometime since we have been able to go and see these for ourselves. So we were invited, one of very few media invited to see a new combined unit of U.S. and South Korean military. And it was the first time that they have managed to do this large scale, live- fire drill since the unit was formed back in 2015.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HANCOCKS: They find (ph) that combined live-fire drills have not been seen for such time here on the peninsula.
The scenario for a joint U.S.-South Korean counterattack to an invasion by an unnamed enemy. Around 30 kilometers, 18 miles south of the demilitarized zone on North Korea it's not hard to imagine who that enemy might be.
COL. BRANDON ANDERSON, DEPUTY COMMANDER, U.S. ARMY 2ND INFANTRY DIVISION: The greater the threat, the greater the alliance and the greater the training and the focus of training, the focus of training. And I think that threat is -- we're all here for a reason.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All clear. Invasion (ph) commence counter attack.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- goes in, goes up, and this is the safety handle.
HANCOCKS: Now both militaries are at pains to point out that these are defensive in nature. But it's simply not the way that North Korea sees them. They believe that these are a dress rehearsal for an invasion.
We've had Kim Yo-jong, Kim Jong-un's sister calling them anti-north war exercises. Now, we haven't seen this for some time partly because of COVID-19. There were many simulated exercises during that time but not these large live-fire drills.
And also back in 2018, then-U.S. President Donald Trump put these kind of drills on hold saying that he wanted to give diplomacy a chance. Calling them, wargames. Saying that they simply did not have a place while he was talking to then -- to the North Korean leader Kim Jong- Un.
With new leadership in both the U.S. and South Korea, came a decision to expand these exercises in the face of missile launches, and the feared seventh nuclear test from North Korea.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HANCOCKS: 18 missile launches so far this year and counting. And of course, there is that fear of the seventh nuclear test. Both U.S. And South Korean intelligence agencies say that they believe everything is ready, and has been ready for months.
The preparations are done and it's now up to the political decision for Kim Jong-un to decide when or if, of course, he wants to carry out that nuclear test which will have an impact far greater reach than just this region.
North Korea at this point, showing no interest whatsoever in speaking to either the U.S. or the South Koreans. So I think we can see this public show of this combined fighting force between the two being quite prevalent in the months ahead, John.
[01:40:00]
VAUSE: Paula as always, Paula Hancocks, thank you much, live there in Seoul.
Coming up thousands of migrants arriving daily at the Mexican border for their chance at a new life in the United States, find out what's driving this recent surge.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: Investigators in South America feared the endangered Galapagos tortoises are being poached by wildlife trafficker. Ecuador's attorney general has begun an investigation into four dead tortoises which can be found among the islands dwindling numbers.
There is serious world efforts to keep this rare species from extinction. A U.S.-based conservatory group says that it strongly believes poachers were to blame for 15 dead giant tortoises discovered last year.
There's a big change in the nationality of migrants trying to cross into the U.S. through the border with Mexico. For decades, they mostly came from Mexico. Then later the northern triangle of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. But U.S. border patrol border officials say that migrants from Cuba, Colombia, Nicaragua and Venezuela have increased dramatically over the past few years.
Administration officials have routinely stressed the border is not open. Critics though say White House policies encourage many to try crossing illegally. And despite the Biden administration trying to close down that myth that the border is open, there is an unprecedented influx of migrants now at the southern border.
CNN's Rosa Flores has our report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROSA FLORES: Little Francione (ph) has been in pain for weeks. His dad, Francione Senior, has no money for doctors after the family fled Haiti with nearly nothing six years ago.
There's a lot of violence, earthquakes, (INAUDIBLE) for your family, you left?
They have been living at this migrant shelter in Reynosa, Mexico for about a month.
Pastor Hector Silva runs the shelter and says in 25 years he has never seen this many migrants, thousands arriving every week. He drives us to the second shelter he opened a few months ago and estimates about 12,800 migrants, mostly Haitians, are currently waiting in Reynosa. He can house nearly 6,000. The rest are living on the streets.
PASTOR HECTOR SILVA, RUNS MIGRANT SHELTER: It's very difficult to spend every day, and see the man with a child and say, I'm sorry I cannot help you.
FLORES: The question is why? Why are so many people flocking here, and why now?
Instagram. And for you? Facebook. Facebook? Facebook?
[01:44:50]
FLORES: Many say word has spread including on social media that migrants who come here can enter the U.S. legally if they wait their turn. Silva says there is some truth to it.
SILVA: The good way.
FLORES: The legal way to do?
SILVA: The legal way.
FLORES: We checked. From May to July at these six ports of entry, more than 28,000 Title 42 exceptions were made which allowed migrants to go to these international bridges and seek asylum.
This is notable because until recently, exceptions to Title 42 were rare. Title 42 is a Trump-era pandemic public health rule that investigations agents have used nearly 2.2 million times since 2020 to swiftly expel migrants to Mexico.
And per court order, the Biden administration must keep it in place forcing asylum seekers to cross into the U.S. illegally, advocates say. Little Francione's family want to cross legally. That's why they're here after a grueling journey.
So they traveled through ten countries to get to Mexico?
The pastor shows us how it works. Anticipation builds as he puts migrants on a list by arrival date. Little Francione's parents arrived in early August and don't make the cut on this day.
After months of waiting and paperwork, the pastor buses these migrants to the Reynosa-Hidalgo International Bridge where they walk up to immigration and in most cases ask for asylum.
On this day, he says he bussed more than 200.
This removes the human smuggler. This is them going to the port of entry and in some cases, asking for asylum?
SILVA: Yes. They know that there is many people on the list. And then, it's got to be legal.
FLORES: Legal, but still broken. More than 40 percent of the more than 28,000 exceptions to Title 42 have happened here at the Reynosa- Hidalgo International Bridge.
Silva has this message for migrants.
SILVA: Do not come to the border. Do not come to Reynosa.
FLORES: Little Francione's family is already here, risking it all.
What is your American dream?
He says he wants to work for a better life.
And so are thousands of others waiting for their chance at the American dream.
Rosa Flores, CNN -- Reynosa, Mexico.
(END VIDEOTAPE) VAUSE: When we come back here on CNN, is this the performance of someone who is really ready to retire? Serena Williams and her incredible run into the third round of the U.S. Open.
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VAUSE: Welcome back everyone.
Is Serena Williams really ready to retire? One month shy of 41, the tennis great advanced to the third round of the U.S. Open with a stunning upset of the world's number two.
Let's bring in CNN Sports anchor Coy Wire and boy it was quite the match.
COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Yes. It was a fairytale happened at the U.S. Open when Serena won her first of her six U.S. opens, Tom Brady wasn't even in the NFL yet. Lebron James wasn't even in high school yet. So her 27 years of dominance, John is simply mind-boggling.
And she's not done yet. Serena pulling off the upset of world number 2 Anett Kontaveit (ph), advancing to the third round there in front of a sell-out record crowd in New York on center court. And there were celebrities in the house.
[01:49:57]
WIRE: So it was a little bit of an awkward moment, John, when Kontaveit walked out, the Estonian, there was hardly any applause at all. Must have been an overwhelming moment for her. She's never played Serena before.
But I mentioned the star-studded crowd. Tiger Woods sitting there, another legend in Serena's box with her family. They were all in for the legend.
And they witnessed an epic first set. It went all the way to a tiebreak. But here is that iconic serve, Serena sealed it. 7-6. Now Kontaveit would go on to take set number 2. But set number 3 belonged to Serena.
It was an incredible moment. You mentioned her being 40 years old John. She is a mother. She's making us all reconsider our definitions of strength and of determination. This was only her 6th match this year. Not tournament. the 6th match.
She might be heating up one last time to finally get that record tying 24th Grand Slam. Here she was after the win.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SERENA WILLIAMS, TENNIS PLAYER: Well, I'm a pretty good player. You know, this is what I do best. I love a challenge. I love rising to the challenge. And, yes, I haven't played many matches but I have been practicing really well. And my n last few matches, it just was not coming together. But this isn't me. And you know, the last couple of matches here in New York has really come together. Maybe I should've traveled with you all, folks, all those years.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WIRE: All right, Serena's next singles match will be Isla Tomjanovich (ph). That's on Friday. She is the 46th ranked player in the world. She has not yet played Serena either.
So we will see John. She's actually playing tomorrow night in the primetime, in the doubles with her sister Venus.
VAUSE: Amazing what you can do when there's no pressure. Coy --
WIRE: Yes.
VAUSE: -- thanks a lot. Good to see you.
WIRE: You got it.
VAUSE: Christine Brennan is a CNN sports analyst and sports columnist for USA Today. Good to have you with us, Christine.
CHRISTINE BRENNAN, CNN SPORTS ANALYST: Great to be with you, John. Thanks.
VAUSE: Ok so is Serena Williams really ready for retirement? It just doesn't look like it judging by the way she played Wednesday night to move on to the third round of the U.S. Open. What's going on here?
BRENNAN: I don't know. I wish I could tell you. I think everyone is stunned with what's going on. You know, she said she is evolving away from tennis. Well, this is a very, very slow evolution.
Obviously, Monday night, a little bit shaky early on. Scoring back one or two sets. But, a whole different manner on Wednesday evening, playing the number 2 player in the world, Anett Kontaveit and just a slug fest. Beautiful tennis. Amazing points.
Obviously Kontaveit could have easily won it but Serena, almost 41 years old, John, was just superb. And whatever Kontaveit threw at her, she can (INAUDIBLE) back.
I think it was Serena as feeling free. Feeling like I have nothing to lose. No one expects anything from me. As she said afterwards, you know, she's got a target on her back for all these years since winning her first U.S. Open at 17 years old in 1999.
Now, no one expects her to do well. She's having a blast. And she's playing great tennis. And right now, you're kind of going, oh my goodness could we be watching something really spectacular as in she continues to work her way through the draw, all the way through the weekend, and the next week.
I mean right -- I think anything now is possible for one of the greatest athletes in any sport we have ever seen.
VAUSE: Anyway, (INAUDIBLE) going out on top. You know, for most people when they stop doing that thing in their life that was their profession. The thing that kind of defines who they are within society. As well as being the main source of income.
But that's called either a midlife crisis overtime -- just don't say that to Serena Williams cause she's not retiring. This is what you prefers to call it. Here she is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WILLIAMS: I prefer the word evolution because I feel like I'm at a stage in my life where I'm not necessarily retiring. I'm just evolving from tennis.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: So the question is, what does she move on to now?
BRENNAN: Anything that she wants to do. Well, based on these first 2 matches John. I do think that there will be people calling for her to continue to play. You know, she certainly looks great. So there will be that conversation.
Will we maybe see her play a little bit of tennis? I don't know how you do that. You know, Tom Brady just retired, unretired. You know, it's a very different thing with her. But, yes, I think there will be some people wondering.
Other than that? The sky is the limit I mean, business, fashion, obviously, a spokesperson for so many products and so many causes, wonderful causes. Working mothers, women in sports, obviously, racial issues, black women achieving great things.
[01:54:51]
BRENNAN: I can see her doing anything and everything. But there is no doubt that she will be a part of our lives for the rest of our lives. Serena will be that kind of a force within the culture even if she no longer is playing tennis.
VAUSE: Yes and whatever she does from this point on it really is hard to overstate her achievements as a player on the court, and as a role model off the court especially for up and coming players.
Listen to this
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Before Serena came along, there wasn't, you know, not really an icon of the sport that look like me. And so growing up, I never thought that I was different because you know, the number one player in the world was somebody who looks like me.
NAOMI OSAKA, TENNIS PLAYER: She changed the sport so much. She's introduced people that have never heard of tennis into the sport and, I think I'm a product of what she has done.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Two very recognizable faces there. That in itself is the legacy for Serena Williams which few people can ever claim, the ability to bring real change just by her example.
BRENNAN: Exactly. Just by being there. And also of course, her sister Venus. Serena and Venus had never seen anything like this. I think the two greatest siblings in any sport, ever. And I know that there will be competition in the NFL with the Manning brothers or what have you.
But I would put the Williamses first and from Compton, California. Not from a country club. Not from a well to do area. It is a remarkable story.
And yes, they have changed the face of tennis. They have allowed children of color to dream big. And frankly, it has been fabulous for the game of tennis to open its doors to so many different people, different nationalities.
You see the whole world playing tennis. Women and men on the same court at the same tournament. The equality there with the genders. As far as gender equity that you do not see say in golf.
And I think all of that but yes. It starts with Serena's background being a black young woman. Growing up in America. And having her father, of course, push both Venus and Serena to incredible, unthinkable heights.
Not only for any kid, but especially for young, black girls. And, the women they have become -- role models, leaders, fighting for so much equal pay. It is extraordinary. So as great as they are, Venus and of course Serena on the court John, they may well have been even greater off of it. And their reach and their impact will continue far after their tennis playing days are done.
VAUSE: These stories give you chills to think about. And it's been a great one. And I should say, it will continue. And obviously, Serena Williams will continue on at the U.S. Open.
Christine Brennan, thanks so much for being us. It's good to see you.
BRENNAN: My pleasure, John. Thank you.
VAUSE: Thank you for watching. I'm John Vause.
Please stay with us my friend and colleague Rosemary Church takes over after a very short break.
CNN NEWSROOM continues in just a moment. See you tomorrow.
[01:57:55]
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