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North Korea Fails On Attempt To Launch Its First Spy Satellite; Putin Blames Kyiv For Moscow Drone Attack; A.I. Poses Human Extinction Risk On Par With Nuclear War; NATO To Deploy More Troops To Kosovo To Curb Violence; Sudanese Warring Factions Agree to Extend Ceasefire by Five Days; Brazil's President Pushes for Greater Regional Cooperation; Outrage in India after Teen Girl Stabbed to Death in Public; Elizabeth Holmes Reports to Federal Prison in Texas; Beluga Thought to Be Russian "Spy" Now in Swedish Waters Aired 1-2a ET
Aired May 31, 2023 - 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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ANNA COREN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello, I'm Anna Coren live from Hong Kong. Ahead on CNN Newsroom.
Air raid siren sound in Japan and South Korea after North Korea tries and fails to launch a satellite into space. Vladimir Putin accuses Ukraine of trying to kill Russian civilians, even as his military continues to pound residential targets across its border. And leaders in artificial intelligence are sounding the alarm early warning of the potential for global annihilation if their technology is left unchecked.
After weeks of hype, preparation and international concern, North Korea says its attempt to launch its first military spy satellite has failed. Well, state media reports the missile carrying a satellite malfunction during the second stage of launch and crushed into the sea. South Korea says this is a piece of it. Pyongyang says its national space agency will investigate the failure urgently and attempt another launch soon.
The launch early Wednesday morning jolted South Korea as air raid sirens blasted in the capital Seoul.
The situation was similar in Japan where authorities issued emergency alerts for the southern island of Okinawa and urged residents to take shelter.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HIROKAZU MATSUNO, JAPANESE GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN (through translator): North Korea's continued actions threaten the safety and security of our country, the region and the international community. This kind of ballistic missile launch violates U.N. Security Council resolutions. Our country has lodged a complaint against North Korea through diplomatic channels in Beijing. (END VIDEO CLIP)
COREN: For more, let's join CNN's Paula Hancocks live in Seoul. And Paula, this must have been a real shock to wake up to air raid sirens. How did South Korea authorities respond to this?
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it was confusing for many, Anna, it's certainly not the usual to have an air raid siren here that has not been pre-planned as part of a drill. And there was also some confusion when it came to the text messages that come through the emergency alerts as they're known as usually. This one was a presidential alert just 10 minutes after that air raid siren telling people to evacuate. And it was another 20 minutes before another alert came out saying that that had been sent in error.
Now it was the fact that this flight path had been shown ahead of time or had been warned ahead of time by Pyongyang. North Korea had said that they were going to carry out this this military satellite launch. They said it would be between May 31 And June 11. They'd warn Japan's Coast Guard, for example, who had then given a security warning for ships in the area for any possible falling debris.
What we know from the North Korean side, we've heard through state run media, a very unusual and a very swift admission that it did not work that this rocket failed. They said that there was an issue with the engine in the second stage so unusual in itself that they would be quite so open about this.
But what they did say is that they are going to try again as soon as possible. So of course, depending on whether they have another rocket ready or potentially another satellite to try and launch into space really determines how soon as soon as possible will be.
But there has been political fallout here in South Korea. There is confusion as to why an alert was put out when the residents in Seoul did not appear to be in any danger. And we spoke to some people on the street about it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I thought it was an urgent situation and soon it turned out to be false. So I was very confused. Such an important issue must be delivered cautiously. But this time it wasn't.
UNIDETIFIED MALE (through translator): At the moment the Korean government seems to have a backward system on issues as warnings and disasters. So it needs to be improved. But it seems it's not going well.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANCOCKS: The South Korea's military say that they have retrieved what is presumed to be some of the debris from this rocket.
[01:05:02] So clearly they will be examining that very closely to what indication it can give as to how far along this process North Korea is. North Korea, even though it does have a failure will of course have learned something from this process and is planning to do this once again.
Now, the condemnation came in quickly from South Korea, from Japan, from the United States as well saying that they are concerned that these risks destabilizing the region but that condemnation came even before this launch happened when North Korea said that it was going to carry this launch out there.
Now from Pyongyang's point of view, they say that it's necessary for them to have a military satellite in space to be able to counter what they call the dangers from the United States. They refer back to the U.S.-South Korean military drills, and the fact that they need to be able to monitor what is going on. And that is their reason for putting or trying to put this satellite into space. Anna.
COREN: I guess the concern with issuing the alarm this morning is that the next time they do it, people may not take it seriously. Paula Hancocks joining us from Seoul. Good to see you. Thank you.
Well, tensions between the U.S. and China rising again after a Chinese fighter jet intercepted an American spy plane over the South China Sea. What the U.S. is calling an unnecessarily aggressive maneuver.
Our Kristie Lu Stout is joining us here in Hong Kong and following this story. Kristie, as we know, this happened in international airspace, please talk us through what happened and Beijing's response.
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Anna. The U.S. is accusing China of a risky encounter of the South China Sea on Tuesday. The U.S. military said that a Chinese fighter jet carried out what it called an unnecessarily aggressive maneuver involving a U.S. military plane above the South China Sea in international airspace.
This incident took place last week on May the 26th and video of this encounter has been released. Let's bring it up for you.
And in this video, which was released by the U,S, military this was taken from the cockpit of the U,S, reconnaissance plane an RFC 135. It shows there the Chinese J-16 against the clear blue sky. It's moving from right to left and then it makes a move it cuts in front of the U.S. plane's nose and cockpit and the U,S, plane visibly is shaking as a result of the wake turbulence that was caused by that maneuver.
The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said that the plane, the U.S. reconnaissance plane was carrying out a safe and routine operation. It also added this nice statement quote the U.S. will continue to fly sail and operate safely and responsibly wherever international law allows and the U.S. Indo-Pacific Joint Force will continue to fly in international airspace with due regard for the safety of all vessels and aircraft under international law.
The spokesperson for China's embassy in Washington DC offered a response to that U.S. military statement. The spokesperson Liu Pengyu saying this quote, China urges the U.S. to stop such dangerous publications and to stop deflecting blame on China, unquote. And we are awaiting the daily Ministry of Foreign Affairs briefing to take place in just a couple hours from now for additional response from Beijing.
But this incident that took place on May the 26th according to the U.S. military represents part of a bigger trend of increasingly risky behavior being undertaken by Chinese military aircraft. In fact, it was in December when one Chinese military plane came within three meters or 10 feet of a U.S. military plane and forced that American plane to take evasive measures. And of course the incident that happened the latest one on May the 26th is happening as tensions continue to simmer between these two global superpowers over an increasingly long list of issues from Taiwan from access to technology like semiconductors and of course, ongoing territorial disputes in the South China Sea. Anna.
COREN: Kristie Lu Stout joining us here in Hong Kong. Many thanks for the update.
LU STOUT: You bet.
COREN: 15 months after Russian forces invaded Ukraine residents of Moscow are getting a very small taste of what life is like under attack. President Vladimir Putin is blaming Ukraine for launching terrorist drones at the Russian capital targeting civilians. Kyiv denies direct involvement. But a presidential adviser calls it karmic payment for what Russia has done to Ukraine. CNN's Frederik Pleitgen reports.
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FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): Kremlin controlled media in a frenzy with special programming after Russia says its capital was attacked by Ukrainian drones.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): We begin with breaking news Moscow and its region were attacked by Ukrainian army drones.
[01:10:04]
PLEITGEN: The Russian say they down eight drones in total, some over an upscale district close to one of Vladimir Putin's official residences, bringing some of the UAVs off course with electronic measures, but also firing missiles to take out five of them.
The Ukrainians deny any involvement in the attack but Russian President Vladimir Putin ripped into Kyiv, accusing Ukraine's leadership of targeting Russian civilians.
VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Kyiv chose the path of intimidation of Russian citizens and attacks on residential buildings. It is a clear sign of terrorist activity.
PLEITGEN: But so far, it's been Russia attacking Ukrainian cities. And last night Kyiv of was once again under massive attack. Russia launching a barrage of Iranian made Shahed drones. Kyiv's air defenses trying to fend them off.
One woman was killed when drone debris hit this high rise building. Other residents left to run for cover.
VIKTORIYA GOVORUKHA, KYIV RESIDENT (through translator): We were on the eighth floor with my four-year-old son, we first ran to the corridor and then down the fire staircase to get outside.
PLEITGEN (on camera): As you can see, this building sustained some pretty substantial damage and the drone attack went on for several hours last night with the drones hovering over the city center and Ukrainian air defenses frantically tried to take them down.
PLEITGEN (voiceover): Ukraine's military says it shot down 29 of the 31 UAVs the Russian send. Kyiv's Mayor Vitali Klitschko comforting his citizens and telling me Western air defense systems kept many people here safe.
VITALI KLITSCHKO, KYIV, UKRAINE MAYOR: If we doesn't have our defense, modern air defense from our partners. We have much worse insulation in our hometown, more destroy the buildings and more -- it will be more civilians killed.
PLEITGEN: But Russia has already threatened massive retaliation after the drone attack on Moscow, leaving people in Kyiv of and elsewhere bracing for what could be worse to come. Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Kyiv.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COREN: Well, the drone strikes on Moscow and other attacks inside Russia are raising concerns among Western leaders, especially now that Ukraine is getting longer range weapons that could hit targets within Russia's borders. But the British foreign secretary called it a matter of self-defense.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMES CLEVERLY, BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY: Ukraine does have the legitimate right to defend itself. It has the legitimate right to do so within its own borders, of course, but it does also have the rights to project force beyond its borders to undermine Russia's ability to project force into Ukraine itself.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COREN: In Washington, the White House press secretary had a much different reaction.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KARINE JEAN-PIERRE, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: We do not support attacks inside of Russia. That's it, period. I mean, that's I cannot be any more clear than what I just stated. We do not support attacks inside of Russia, period. We've been very clear about that. That's been a general matter that you have heard from us over and over again this past several months. And I cannot be more clear than that. (END VIDEO CLIP)
COREN: We're joined now by CNN military analyst Wesley Clark, who is a retired U.S. General, a former NATO supreme allied commander and the founder of Renew America Together. General. great to have you with us.
Let's start with the drone strikes in Moscow. Obviously, minimal physical damage, but I presume the psychological impact was quite significant. Talk us through that.
WESLEY CLARK (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: I think it was a significant psychological impact. And it's only natural that Ukraine hadn't been pounded by Russia for over a year with many, many civilian casualties, would want to take the war back to Moscow.
This is what happened in World War II. Hitler bombed London, it took London a while but eventually, British bombers were over Berlin. So this is the way it works in war. Putin started it and he's going to live with the consequences.
COREN: And advisor to Ukrainian president Zelenskyy says that Ukraine was not directly involved in these drone attacks. Do you believe him and where would these drones have come from?
CLARK: Well, they could have come from anywhere. We have to take President Zelenskyy at his word. He's the head of state for he says Ukraine didn't do it. Well, fine. He's not accepting responsibility for it. But that's Mr. Putin's problem really.
COREN: Could these attacks come from within Russia?
[01:15:00]
CLARK: It's possible I could have come from within Russia. It's possible that Russian militants who are opposed to Moscow could have moved in, found launching sites brought the bones in by hand or by truck and launched them inside Moscow or inside, at least on near Moscow in Russian air space. Yes.
COREN: General Clark, what does this say about the Russian air defenses? Their radars are designed to detect aircraft and missiles, not drones?
CLARK: Well, we know they've got a good air defense system, at least against aircraft and missiles. We've watched it as it's developed over many years. We know it's been further activated by Mr. Putin and reinforced. It's not going to pick up every drone. That's the nature of drone warfare, some are going to get through.
COREN: And how do you believe that Russia will respond?
CLARK: Well, I think it's using its response by these attacks, even daylight attacks against Kyiv. I expect those to continue. And whether they're designed to intimidate Ukraine, punish Ukrainian citizens or simply exhaust Ukraine's air defense arsenal. We don't know at this point. But we have to expect more of that to come. COREN: General Clark, just one final question. The White House has been adamant that it does not want its military equipment to be used on attacks inside Russian territory. We heard from the British Foreign Secretary a little bit earlier. And he seems to be at odds on this stance. How do you see this playing out? And could it lead to, I guess, a further escalation in this war?
CLARK: Well, I think it's a normal thing that there will be some action behind Russian lines, that Russia is not entitled to a sanctuary. Russia is an aggressor nation. And whether there was your Ukrainians or Russian militants, special forces or some other organization. We don't know at this point, but it's really not relevant to the question.
What's important is to say that Russia is feeling some consequences for its unprovoked aggression against Ukraine. And I suspect those consequences are going to go up.
COREN: General Wesley Clark, a pleasure to have you on the program. We thank you for your time and your insight.
CLARK: Thank you.
COREN: Just ahead, NATO is sending more peacekeeping forces to Kosovo after clashes with Serbian protesters. We'll have the latest next.
And tech leaders are warning about a new way for the world to end not from a pandemic no nuclear war but artificial intelligence.
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COREN: NATO is acquiring hundreds of additional forces to Kosovo following Monday's clashes with Serbian protesters in the northern part of the country, and NATO commander called the deployment of forces to Kosovo a prudent measure would ensure NATO's Kosovo force known as K4 would have the capabilities to maintain security.
30 NATO peacekeepers in the Kosovo force were injured during Monday's clashes. Kosovo's Vice Prime Minister condemned the protesters telling CNN he would not surrender his country do what he called a fascist militia.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALBIN KURTI, KOSOVO PRIME MINISTER: We are facing not peaceful protesters. We're facing a mob of extremists. We're facing ultra- nationalist right wingers who are being paid and ordered from Belgrade and who admire despotic President Putin.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COREN: Meantime, Serbia's president is expressing concern for the survival and security of Serbs in Kosovo. Monday's clashes took place in the northern part of Kosovo, which is a majority Kosovo Serb area. Officials from the U.S., NATO and the European Union, condemned the violence against NATO peacekeepers, and called on both sides to de- escalate tensions.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOSEP BORRELL, EU FOREIGN POLICY CHIEF: It has been too much violence. We have too much violence in Europe already today. We cannot afford another conflict.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COREN: For more on this story, here's Barbie Nadeau.
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BARBIE NADEAU, CNN CONTRIBUTOR (voiceover): A flare up and a tinderbox. More than 30 NATO peacekeepers injured in clashes with Serb protesters in northern Kosovo Monday. Among them several Italians and Hungarians. NATO has condemned the attacks, saying they were quote, totally unacceptable. The peacekeepers known as K4 have been present in this volatile region since 1999, in response to brutal ethnic cleansing of Albanians.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: UN Security Council passed a resolution on the --
NADEAU: A United Nations Security Council resolution paved the way for Kosovo's independence from Serbia, with NATO protecting the uneasy transition. The Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia in 2008, where the ethnic Albanian majority took over the country.
But Serbia did not recognize Kosovo as a sovereign nation, nor do ethnic Serbs who live in the north of the country where Monday's violence sparked.
Nor does Russia which has strongly backed Serbia over Kosovo.
The latest tension comes after ethnic Serbs boycotted an election in the northern part of Kosovo in April, leading to ethnic Albanians governing the region. Serbia claims the Kosovo government is goading Serbs to clash with NATO,
ALEKSANDER VUVIC, SERBIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): I am urging the Serbs in Kosovo not to get into a conflict with NATO. Not because I'm afraid, because any of us are afraid none of us personally had anything to lose, because that's what Kosovo's Prime Minister wants most.
NADEAU: As peacekeepers stand guard inspection today, whether the protesters here listen could determine whether relative peace returns to the region, or if Europe has another conflict on the horizon. Barbie Latza Nadeau, CNN, Rome.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COREN: To delve more into this story I'm joined by Matthew Karnitschnig via Skype from Bratislava, Slovakia. He is the chief Europe correspondent for Politico and Matthew, great to have you with us. Tell us have these been these tensions have been brewing for a while?
MATTHEW KARNITSCHNIG, CHIEF EUROPE CORRESPONDENT, POLITICO: Well, thanks for having me. And you're absolutely right. These tensions really have been brewing for months and actually years. And what we've seen over the past couple of days, I think is a reminder for both the United States and the Europeans, that the tensions in the region remain unresolved and they cannot just continue to paper over them that Kosovo remains -- positions on both sides have been really hardening recently and has led to this violence unfortunately,
COREN: Matthew, we know that hundreds more peacekeepers are going to be sent in. Do you expect things to die down or will more clashes erupt?
KARNITSCHNIG: I think things probably will die down in the short term. There's a lot of pressure on Kosovo from the United States. Kosovo considers the United States to be its closest ally. Sells itself as the greatest ally of the United States in the world.
[01:25:05]
There are statues of Bill Clinton and Madeleine Albright in Kosovo. So I think the pressure from the Biden administration will definitely be felt out there. Hopefully, they will begin. I have meeting with Balkan leaders in Bratislava over the last couple of days. And they are very skeptical about the prospects for lasting peace in Kosovo, if the Western community doesn't really start to do more here and take these issues more seriously, because the Serbian President, as you mentioned earlier, is also a major player in this Aleksandar Vucic.
And there's a sense in the Western Balkans, that he is also phoning this discontent in Kosovo, and that he is in fact trying to create a kind of greater Serbia again, and Kosovo is a very emotional topic for Serbs both in Serbia itself and beyond in places like Bosnia Herzegovina as well.
COREN: Well, let's talk about that, because Kosovo, Serbs make up less than 1/10 of the population. They obviously live in the north. They have demanded greater autonomy from the ethnic Albanian majority. Is that likely to ever happen?
KARNITSCHNIG: Well, I think, you know, this is a solution that most outside observers say would make sense to pursue that kind of path. And so far, there just has not been any real momentum in the negotiations to achieve that. And there's also (INAUDIBLE), you know, if there'll be a will ever recognize the sovereignty of Kosovo, given what an emotional topic it is in the country.
And just yesterday, I believe you had soccer star Djokovic at the French Open, who is Serb kind of making a pretty controversial sort of step by signing the by having a television character. It's too large, an integral part of Serbia. So you can see that this issue really resonates well beyond the world of politics. COREN: Matthew Karnitschnig, we certainly appreciate your insight. Thank you for persevering through that Skype connection but great to get your analysis.
KARNITSCHNIG: Thank you.
COREN: Well, two Italian Secret Service agents were among the four people killed in a boat accident in Northern Italy on Sunday. The vessel was over capacity when it capsized. And now the captain is under investigation for culpable manslaughter. CNN Scott McLean has the details.
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SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): There are a lot of unanswered questions here. But what we know so far is that Sunday evening, a 16-meter houseboat set sail in Lake Maggiore outside of Milan for a birthday party. It had 24 people on board, two of them were crew members. There were no official weather warnings at the time and yet, the boat was apparently hit by what Italian media described as a waterspout that came out of the blue causing it to capsize.
Some of the 20 survivors managed to swim to shore others were rescued. Four bodies have now been recovered, and by Tuesday morning, the focus was on getting the boat off the bottom of the lake. Now adding to the mystery of all this is that two of the four victims were active Italian Secret Service agents meaning intelligence officials. A third was a retired employee of the Israeli security forces according to the Israeli Foreign Ministry.
Now, Israeli media is also reporting that the only reason he was on the boat at all was because he had missed his flight earlier in the day. Now according to the prosecutor in the case, the Italian military police have been called into hell because the case may deal with state secrets.
The boat's captain whose girlfriend was the fourth victim is under investigation for culpable manslaughter because the boat was overloaded beyond its passenger capacity. Scott McLean, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COREN: Still to come, a grim assessment from UNICEF on the plight of millions of children from war torn Sudan. We'll have the details as a conflict enters its seventh week.
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COREN: Welcome back. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Anna Coren, live from Hong Kong.
Sudan's two warring sides have agreed to extend a shaky cease-fire for another five days to allow the delivery of humanitarian aid. Saudi Arabia says the Sudanese army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces also have agreed to discuss a longer term truce.
It comes as almost seven weeks of fighting have killed hundreds and displaced millions of Sudanese. UNICEF says more than 13 million children in the country urgently need lifesaving support.
CNN's David McKenzie has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: These are the images coming from Jeddah in Saudi Arabia of the representatives of the warring factions of Sudan extending a cease-fire for five days to allow humanitarian aid to get into the country.
Now these talks are brokered by the Saudis and the Americans. But even they say that the multiple cease-fires over several weeks have shown no signs of actually halting without fighting in many parts of Sudan. And the toll is largely on the civilian population in Sudan.
UNICEF, the U.N. children's agency saying more than 30 million children need desperate lifesaving support now in Sudan. And because of the ongoing fighting and the lack of a protracted cease-fire, it's very difficult to get that in.
Here is the chief spokesperson of UNICEF.
JAMES ELDER, UNICEF SPOKESPERSON: On the back of conflict, chaos, neglect, more children today in Sudan require lifesaving support than ever before. So we now have a staggering, sobering 13.6 million children in Sudan who urgently require assistance.
MCKENZIE: And in Darfur, there have been running battles. According to witnesses, the Sudan Doctors Union and others between civilians who have armed themselves and largely Arab militia that's caused thousands of people to flee over the border into Chad.
There are more than 1.4 million people, according to the U.N., who are displaced in Sudan as we approach seven weeks or into the seventh week of this conflict. And there's no sign that despite these talks in Jeddah, that there will be a breakthrough and a sustained peace in that country.
David McKenzie, CNN -- Johannesburg.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COREN: Brazil's president is hoping to bring South American nations closer together in a more unified bloc for greater trade opportunities and influence. He is hosting 11 South American leaders in Brasilia.
But that unity may not be so easy to achieve, thanks to the controversial presence of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
Stefano Pozzebon brings us the latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN JOURNALIST: Tuesday's meeting of 11 South American heads of state in Brasilia hosted by President Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva served to bolstering regional cooperation and trade integration after the years of COVID-19 pandemic and a period of deeper polarization across the region.
[01:34:58]
POZZEBON: It was the first time in years that representatives of all South American countries met in a regional summit to discuss policy.
The host Lula propose the creation of a common currency to sustain trade and further funding for social and economic development in the Americas.
The meeting however also marks the return of the Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro to the forefront of regional diplomacy, after the Venezuelan constitutional crisis of 2019 and its violent cycle of protest and repression that followed it.
Lula, who accused the United States of imposing sanctions to hurt Venezuela's economy in his remarks, drew criticism from human rights organizations in the region, who say Maduro committed widespread human rights abuse to crush the protest.
And we also should note that the Maduro government is currently under investigation by the International Criminal Court in the Hague.
For CNN, this is Stefano Pozzebon, Bogota.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COREN: Brazil's lower house of congress has proposed a bill that will limit the recognition of new indigenous ancestral lands in the country. The bill will now head to the senate for a vote.
Indigenous groups protested along a highway in Sao Paulo on Tuesday, burning tires and clashing with riot police, who fired tear gas and water cannons. The bill has drawn criticism, not just from indigenous groups, but also from human rights and environmental organizations.
A 16-year-old girl is stabbed to death on a street in India as people passing by do nothing to help. Now, outrage is growing over the ever present danger to women in the country.
Plus, a whale of a spy tail. A beluga once suspected of being a Russian secret agent swims his way to Sweden, where there are now concerns for his safety.
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COREN: Outrage is growing across India after a 16-year-old girl was beaten and stabbed to death in a busy public alley in the nation's capital on Sunday. The brutal crime was captured on security camera and shows several people walking by as a man attacks the young woman.
CNN's Vedika Sud has this report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VEDIKA SUD, CNN REPORTER: Surveillance video captures the Delhi street quarter to nine on Sunday evening. What the man in blue is about to do is too violent to be shown.
In the next moments, a 16-year-old girl's life is taken. Stabbed and bludgeoned with a rock against the wall of her house. Witnesses passed by but no one intervenes.
Violence against women is so pervasive in India, that a young girl can be stabbed in public in a busy neighborhood against the wall of her home.
[01:39:56]
SUD: The killing of this teenage girl is the latest in a long line of violent crimes against women in India. This time it's on film, shared rapidly online and it has gripped the nation.
The man in blue has been arrested in the murder and named by police simply as Sahil. Police say the two were in a relationship and had an argument shortly before the killing.
The family, pleading for justice, even as across India demands grow to do more to protect women and punish their male attackers. But public anger is no comfort to families stricken by grief at the loss of their child.
JANAK RAJ, GIRL'S FATHER (through translator): I feel lifeless. I miss her so much. She was such a good child. What to do?
SUD: Her mother inconsolable, as her daughter was cremated Monday.
GIRL'S MOTHER: She went to the bazaar to buy some things, and then went to celebrate her friend's birthday. She had gone to buy some new sandals for the birthday. The sandals are now at the police station.
SUD: Life continues in this poor neighborhood in northwest Delhi. Investigators have marked a small cross in the place where the young girl was killed. One more place where women are not safe from men.
Vedika Sud, CNN -- New Delhi.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COREN:L When it comes to crimes against women in India, the statistics are staggering. According to data from India's National Crime Records Bureau, offenses against women increased more than 15 percent from 2020 to 2021.
In 2021 on average, a crime against a woman was registered every 74 seconds. New Delhi was the country's most unsafe city for women with two minor girls raped each day on average.
The data also found that more than 30 percent of all crimes against women registered in 2021 involved domestic abuse.
The attorney for Joran van der Sloot says his client will not fight extradition from Peru, and that he wants to go to the U.S. Once there, he will face fraud and extortion charges linked to the disappearance of American teenager Natalee Holloway.
He's the been prime suspect in the case for nearly 20 years. Van Der Sloot allegedly plotted to sell false information about Holloway's remains to the family for a quarter of million dollars. He's been in a Peru prison since being convicted in 2012 for murdering a 21-year-old woman.
The disgraced founder of the failed blood testing start-up Theranos has reported to federal prison. Elizabeth Holmes was sentenced to more than 11 years behind bars prison for defrauding the company's investors.
Brian Todd has this report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In a light brown pullover and jeans Elizabeth Holmes reports to the federal prison camp in Bryan, Texas -- a far cry from when Holmes, sporting black turtlenecks, was compared to Steve Jobs and dazzled at one media event after another.
ELIZABETH HOLMES, FOUNDER, THERANOS: I've always believe that the purpose of building a business is to make an impact in the world.
TODD: Holmes is starting to serve a sentence of more than 11 years, after being convicted last years of multiple charges of defrauding investors while she ran her Silicon Valley company, Theranos.
JEFFREY SONNENFELD, SENIOR ASSOCIATE DEAN, YALE SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT: We've seen frenzies, hoaxes, throughout American history. This one ranks in the top 1 percent for the speed of the rise and the speed of the fall.
TODD: In 2003, Elizabeth Holmes dropped out of Stanford University at only 19 years old to run Theranos, a start-up that claimed to have created new technology that could accurately test for a range of physical conditions using just a few drops of blood.
HOLMES: So this is the little tubes we collect the samples in. We call them the nanotainer. They're about this big.
TODD: Part of the problem, analysts say, was that Elizabeth Holmes was never really qualified in the field.
SONNENFELD: She was not a hematologist. She was not a biologist. She was not a biochemist. She was a beginning engineer who dropped out of school at the very beginning of her career.
She had no scientific or engineering background or know-how to do this. So this whole thing was a scam. TODD: Yet she still is able to sell the idea to several high-profile
investors. Theranos was valued at about $9 billion dollars at its peak. It all began to unravel in 2015, when a "Wall Street Journal" investigation revealed that Theranos' claim that it conducted hundreds of tests using its unique proprietary technology was false.
JOHN CARREYROU, UNCOVERED THERANOS FRAUD FOR WALL STREET JOURNAL: Theranos proprietary device was only used for 12 tests, 12 finger stick tests, and then all the other 250 or so tests on the Theranos menu were processed on commercial machines, you know, off the shelf machines that anyone can buy, that any lab uses.
[01:44:58]
TODD: And John Carreyrou's investigation found the few tests that were conducted on Theranos' own unique technology were not accurate. Investors backed out. Theranos dissolved in 2018.
Holmes pleaded not guilty to fraud charges, but she and her ex- boyfriend, former Theranos COO Ramesh Sunny Balwani were convicted.
Carreyrou once described Elizabeth Holmes as a chameleon, who got caught up in the heady culture of Silicon Valley.
CARREYROU: I think the cause of her downfall is that she courted the press too much. She raised her profile too much and she courted publicity too much.
TODD: Despite having fallen so far, Elizabeth Holmes told the "New York Times" she plans to work on health care related inventions while she's in prison. She said, quote, "I still dream about being able to contribute in that space."
Brian Dodd, CNN -- Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COREN: Small businesses are vital to the success of countries with emerging economies. In South Africa, they contribute about one third of the gross domestic product. But they are often overlooked by the banks and lenders.
That's where companies such as SnapScan come in. Here's today's "African Insider".
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARIN CUNDALL, CEO, SNAPSCAN: We want to help grow a million sustainable small businesses. So that's kind of our large, big (INAUDIBLE) goal that we've set for ourselves and we kind of use that as a first principle of when you make product decisions or business decisions. Is it serving that end.
I'm Marin Cundall. I'm CEO of SnapScan. So SnapScan started in 2013 as a way for businesses to accept card payments by QR code. A (INAUDIBLE) that can scan and pay without the merchant having to stop what they're doing. And so that check out and that kind of sale interaction becomes really seamless and really self-service with the customer.
Since then, we've opened up to provide e-commerce capability so most can trade on line as well as well as surviving a Snap store (INAUDIBLE) card device so that the businesses can accept card payments at their point of sale.
CAMERON NAIDOO,MANAGER, FUNKI FUNGI: Because we deal with such a big volume of clients that we have so the market share is fast and sufficient and it works well for our company and our business.
CUNDALL: There's a lot of competition in the payments base in South Africa in particular. The rise of tap to pay on the mobile payments and customer value proposition, and then the rise of prolific and really affordable card terminals on the merchant side. So really figuring out how we deliver additional value beyond QR payments has been, you know, one of our biggest challenges.
So around the payment products, really what we're looking at doing is we offer preferential lending to small businesses that works with their cash flow. So that would mean that if a small business gets a cash advance of 50,000 rand and they have, you know, a down month, the collections will be variably lower, so a lower percentage of their daily transactions.
And then wen they kind of start to boom again or kind of have an uptick in sales. That's when the variable collections will (INAUDIBLE) and so we're able to do that even partially well, that really will hopefully contribute to improved economic growth and job creation in South Africa.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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[01:50:00]
COREN: A SpaceX capsule with four people aboard is back on earth. The Crew Dragon splashed down in Gulf of Mexico near Panama City, Florida a little less than three hours ago.
Former astronaut Peggy Whitson and three paying passengers spent the past week aboard the International Space Station.
The mission was put together by the Houston Texas based Axiom Space. The company is hoping to spur private sector participation in spaceflight.
Now to an alarming warning about artificial intelligence from some of the world's top minds on the matter. Dozens of industry leaders and researchers warned there is a risk of human extinction if AI is left unchecked. In a joint statement published by the Center for AI Safety they said, quote, "mitigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority alongside other societal scale risks such as pandemics and nuclear war."
Those signing the statement include top executives and researchers at Open AI, Google, Microsoft, and many others.
I want to bring in the director of the Center for AI Safety Dan Hendrycks. Dan, great to have you with us.
AI could lead to the extinction of humanity. Now, that sounds just slightly alarmist. Or do you actually believe that it poses an existential threat?
DAN HENDRYCKS, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR AI SAFETY: I think the signatories which included the CEOs of the top AI companies and many the people who developed the current wave of artificial intelligence, think that it's a real possibility that within the next few decades potentially, possibly even sooner than that, that AI could either cause society to be a much worse place, or could even lead to extinction.
COREN: So can you talk us through that, to the layman who doesn't really get it? Why this doomsday scenario?
HENDRYCKS: Yes. So AI could be thought of as being somewhat similar to nuclear weapons. Right now AI companies are locked in an AI arms race. So they're racing to develop increasingly powerful systems.
And they're putting that priority ahead of safety. What this means is that we don't really know how to control these systems reliably, nor do we really understand their inner workings at all.
So that means that we have an extremely powerful technology which could be potentially a loose cannon. So that's one possible risk. And that could possibly, like the nuclear arms race, lead to humanity's extinction.
A more typical concern someone could have is if we have advanced AI systems, someone could repurpose them, maliciously use it for harm. They could use it to develop a bioweapon, or they could use it to develop a rogue AI agent and have that try and takeover.
Somebody tried to do that already, but fortunately current AI technologies are not powerful enough to pose the risk of extinction, but given the extremely rapid pace in this AI arms race, we may arrive at that point much more quickly than most people are expecting.
Dan, the statement signed by numerous industry heads, including the CEO of ChatGPT Sam Altman, talks about AI being treated as a global priority, as you mentioned, a nuclear arms race or a pandemic. Is it really on equal footing?
HENDDRYCKS: Yes, I think the main difference is that this is just a much newer risk that's gathered the public's attention. But you know, people in the early 30s weren't thinking that nuclear weapons were that large of a concern and then we started building them and then it became more concerning.
Now we're starting to build AI systems that are about good as human on some tasks but not all of them. But the point may be reached soon where we have AI systems that are potentially smarter than people. Humanity has been able to be the apex species on Planet Earth because
of our intelligence. Not because we have the sharpest teeth, not because we have the biggest muscles. So AI may end up taking that mantle. They may be the ones that are more intelligent than us and if we ever are in a conflict with them that may not bode to well for us.
COREN: Dan, you are obviously calling for regulation of the AI industry. And there's been a handful of people who have now expressed their concerns not just privately about but with this statement you see this as a coming out, that they're now making their concerns public.
How significant is this, and you believe that more industry heads need to be going on the record regarding their concerns over AI?
[01:54:46]
HENDRYCKS: Yes, I think we were generally surprised by how many people are saying that this is a concern. I knew of many people silently agreeing that this could pose the risk of extinction. But we ended up getting many figureheads, like the CEO of Google (INAUDIBLE), we weren't expecting him to sign at all.
So there was surprisingly broad support in industry, as well as in the academy. We have professors from all the top universities. So hopefully now that it's known that this is a legitimate scientific issue, we can hopefully proceed forward in treating it like a global priority so we can cooperate at a domestic level and international level to reduce risks like malicious use to end this AI arms race.
COREN: Well, Dan Hendrycks, we certainly appreciate you explaining that all to us. And we thank you for your time.
HENDRYCKS: Thank you.
COREN: A beluga whale that some believe was used as a spy for Russia has entered new territory. He's now in Swedish waters were volunteers are tracking his movements to help keep him safe.
CNN's Melissa Bell has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The alleged Russian spy was first spotted off the waters of Norway in 2019. A beluga whale, apparently seeking human attention it quickly received.
Nicknamed Hvaldimir (ph) a pun on the Norwegian for "whale" and its alleged Russian origin the whale was found to be wearing a harness with mount for a camera, branded "Equipment of St. Petersburg".
Experts believe it may have been trained by the Russian military, which Moscow denies. Dolphins have long been used by Russian and the U.S. Navy patrolling and detecting explosives beside humans.
Since his arrival in Norway Hvaldimir has been tracked by volunteers who want to protect him.
SEBASTIAN STRAND, ONEWHALE VOLUNTEER: We fear that if he did enough damage to a salmon farm, they may be forced into considering the option of euthanizing him as we've seen with other citations in Norway.
But by all means this does not mean that we think the salmon farmers have anything but goodwill towards Hvaldimir.
BELL: And Hvaldimir as been capturing Scandinavian hearts. A whale that appears more accustomed to humans than his own kind. And now, much further south than he should be. Far from heading back to arctic waters where he might've found some of his own kind, he's headed south, all the way to the coast of Sweden, according to the NGO OneWhale, where waters are too warm and too populated for a whale who may have been used to spy but is now being very carefully watched himself.
Melissa Bell, CNN -- Paris.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COREN: We certainly wish him well.
Thank you so much for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Anna Coren live in Hong Kong.
The news continues on CNN with Paula Newton, right after this break.
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