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Blinken Visits China On Mission To Mend Ties; African Leaders Pitch Peace Plan In Russia; Biden Holds First Campaign Rally In Philadelphia At Event Organized by AFL-CIO and Other Unions. Aired 3- 4a ET

Aired June 18, 2023 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

LAILA HARRAK, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from the United States and all around the world. I'm Laila Harrak.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with the Chinese foreign minister in Beijing. We'll have a love report from Hong Kong on the diplomatic state of his high-profile trip.

And African leaders visit Russia hoping to help end the war in Ukraine. What Vladimir Putin is saying about that possibility.

And U.S. President Joe Biden hits the campaign trail, his first official rally for re-election as president.

This hour, the U.S. Secretary of State is holding talks in Beijing to try to mend ties with China. Moments ago, Antony Blinken began the first of several meetings with the country's foreign minister. U.S. officials say Blinken's main goal is to re-establish lines of communication with senior Chinese leaders, especially in the military.

High-level talks have been disrupted in recent months, but U.S. President Joe Biden says they can get back on track.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: I'm hoping that over the next several months, I'll be meeting with Xi again and talking about legitimate differences we have, but also those areas we can get along.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRAK: CNN's Anna Coren is following developments for you from Hong Kong. She joins me now with more on these latest developments. Anna, high-stakes meeting, will it help smooth tensions between the two countries?

ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think that definitely is the hope, Laila. As you saw from that footage just moments ago, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken being greeted by China's foreign minister, Qin Gang, and then that brief photo opportunity for the press before being ushered into the meeting room where there will be no doubt hours' worth of talks as both sides, I guess, explain their grievances, their frustrations about what has taken place and the deterioration in the relationship. Experts would say U.S./Chinese relations are at their worst in decades. So, a lot needs to be rebuilt.

But, really, this is about re-establishing those lines of communication. We know that the last time that Antony Blinken spoke to China's foreign minister was just a few days ago, and that was a rather terse conversation in which Qin Gang told Blinken the U.S. needs to show respect to China and it needs to stop interfering in China's internal affairs. The last time, Laila, a U.S. secretary of state visited China was back in 2018 with Mike Pompeo.

So, a lot is at stake here. As you heard from Joe Biden, he is now hoping to meet with Xi Jinping, China's leader, in the next few months. So, they've extended the olive branch. We have to see what takes place at this working meeting this afternoon that will then move into a working dinner. But as we say, this is about getting things back on track.

Sure, these two countries are going to have differences. These are the two largest economies in the world. But at the end of the day, they are intertwined. And as far as communication goes, military to military, that is something that we know Antony Blinken will certainly be pressing upon his Chinese counterpart, is that both militaries need to speak. We have seen near misses, Laila, over the last month or so involving both militaries' naval ships as well as fighter jets.

Now, if there was to be a mishap, a mistake, an accident to happen, that could then deteriorate into an armed confrontation. That is something that both countries certainly want to avoid.

But what will be on the agenda? Obviously, Taiwan. This is a big sticking point between China and the United States. China sees it as part of its own territory, and yet the U.S. sells it weapons. We know the war in Ukraine will also be discussed, the detention of a number of U.S. citizens. We know that Antony Blinken will be lobbying for their release, and so, too, is the opioid crisis in the United States, the precursors for fentanyl.

[03:05:08]

Much of that is made in China. So, we know that the U.S. is going to be pushing back on China to certainly crack down on that.

But this is hoped that this meeting will pave the way so that meetings like between Xi and Biden will be able to take place in the future, Laila.

HARRAK: It's a start. Anna Coren in Hong Kong, thank you.

Let's discuss further with Victor Shih. He's the chair in China and Pacific relations at University of California San Diego. So, thank you so much for joining us, it's good to have you with us.

Do you expect some very difficult conversations to take place? VICTOR SHIH, HO MU LAM CHAIR IN CHINA AND PACIFIC RELATIONS, UCSD: Thanks for having me. Yes, I expect that there will be some very difficult conversations. We saw a preview of this when Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser, met with Wang Yi in Vienna a month ago. They discussed for over ten hours. I think that's quite a figure.

I think the work meeting tonight with Chinese officials likewise will last for a very long time. These difficult issues, as mentioned, include Taiwan Strait, Ukraine. But on the China's side, some very important issues include all the sanctions and export bans that the U.S. has imposed on Chinese firms and also even U.S. businesses during -- trying to sell technology products in China. So, I think those will be discussed.

HARRAK: What will be the secretary of state's objective? What will he hope to return home with?

SHIH: So, as mentioned already, I think trying to get China to dial down the temperature, if you will, in some of these hot spots, like South China Sea, the Taiwan Straits, and have a channel of communication in case the two militaries are in close proximities with each other. I think that will be very, very important. And if Blinken were to be able to establish some kind of communication channel with Chinese counterparts during these times of tension, I think that would be quite an accomplishment. Of course, these other issues like getting American citizens released from China would be icing on the cake.

HARRAK: And in terms of China's priorities, I mean, you mentioned a few there, what is the willingness to engage with this administration in a constructive way?

SHIH: I think, you know, as President Biden said, you know, there's some willingness to de-escalate the tension between the U.S. and China. You know, things were quite bad, obviously, at the end of the Trump administration and continue to have quite a bit of tension even into the Biden administration. So, I think there is some willingness there to de-escalate, although I think some of these export control policies are rolled out as part of a multi-year strategy for the U.S. to compete with China. So, I don't see a lot of these things getting rolled back but perhaps some individual sanction measures will be moderated or rolled back to some extent.

HARRAK: What is the best-case scenario?

SHIH: I think the best-case scenario is for the Chinese side. I mean, what we're seeing right now is actually very interesting. The People's Daily, which is the flagship newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party, has not mentioned Blinken's visit at all. So, I just looked right before getting on here.

So, I think kind of a victory would be for the Chinese government to acknowledge that this visit was an important visit and that substantial progress has been made between the U.S. and China. And if we do indeed see some substantive kind of agreements between two sides, like having a channel of communication between two militaries during times of tension, I think that would be quite an achievement. HARRAK: We'll soon find out. Victor Shih, thank you so much for talking to us.

SHIH: Thank you.

HARRAK: Ukraine says Russia is trying to push back against its ongoing counteroffensive. And just a warning, the video you're about to see is graphic. Officials say Russian ground forces went on the attack across Eastern and Northeastern Ukraine on Saturday and conducted more than three dozen air strikes.

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Ukrainian commanders say their troops held the line, and they posted this video saying it shows Russian troops taking losses on the battlefield.

But as the fighting heats up, Russian President Vladimir Putin says he's still ready to negotiate. He spoke during a visit by a group of African leaders who pitched their peace plan for Russia and Ukraine.

Let's get you more on all these developments. Scott McLean joins us now from London. Good morning, Scott. Another mediation effort bites the dust?

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It seems that way. It is difficult to be optimistic about this for sure, Laila. These seven African leaders from Congo, Uganda, Senegal, Comoros, Egypt, Zambia and South Africa surely went to Kyiv, went to St. Petersburg with the best of intentions, because more than half these countries actually abstained from the U.N. vote condemning Russia's invasion at the outset of the war. And so they went here with some legitimacy as honest brokers.

This is a lane that we know that Turkey and other countries have tried to sort of carve out for themselves, maintaining good relations with both Moscow and Kyiv in hopes that they can broker a peace deal. But on Friday, when this group of delegates went to Kyiv, they really realized how difficult things might be. They came armed with a ten- step peace plan. While they were there, though, there was actually a Russian missile strike on Kyiv that ended up injuring at least four people.

It is hard to see how they could even get past step one of their peace plan given that President Zelenskyy's position has been that, look, there ought not to be any negotiations until every single Russian soldier leaves Ukrainian territory, something that seems pretty unlikely, if not impossible at this stage of the game.

And yet they continued on going to St. Petersburg to meet with President Putin, where they continued their message of negotiation. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa insists that there is a, quote, common position that can emerge, and he says now is the time to negotiate. And at least on the surface, President Putin seemed pretty receptive to that message, listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT: I want to stress again, we are ready for constructive dialogue with everyone who wants peace on the grounds and justice and legitimate interests of all sides.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCLEAN: Now, listen, it's important to listen closely to that last bit, where he said the legitimate interests of all sides. And for the Russians, well, we can guess what those legitimate interests are, because, of course, they believe that a wide swath of the Ukrainian territory is legitimately Russian, belongs to Russia.

And so it's pretty easy for the Russians to say that they're open to peace talks, they're open to negotiation, when the reality is that Ukraine's position makes all of that a nonstarter, given that Russian troops still remain in the country and they're not going anywhere any time soon. Laila?

HARRAK: Scott McClain reporting, thank you.

A close call for a passenger ferry in the Philippines, 120 people were rescued after the M.V Esperanza Star caught fire while at sea early Sunday morning. The Philippine Coast Guard says the ship was traveling between islands of Siquijor and Bohol. The Coast Guard also says no one was injured and the fire has been put out, and rescue ships will stay on scene as a precaution.

And just ahead, the latest on the brutal and deadly massacre by Islamist rebels on a school on Friday. We'll have a report from Uganda.

And then the most devastating part of Sudan's conflict may be happening in a remote region that suffered genocide just a few years ago. We'll discuss the rekindling crisis in Darfur with an African affairs expert.

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[03:15:00]

HARRAK: A group of high-level Ugandan government officials visited the school that was the scene of a massacre a day after it was attacked by Islamist rebels. The death toll from Friday's brutal attack has now risen to at least 41. Local police and military are blaming a rebel group from the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo.

CNN's Larry Madowo reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Horror and heartbreak in Western Uganda. Authorities say the Allied Democratic Forces, ADF, an armed group linked to ISIS, attacked this high school Friday night. Distraught neighbors speechless as police try to piece together what happened. A heavy security presence, but for many here, too little too late. Dozens of people were brutally murdered, most of them students, some as young as 13. Staffer Brenda Masika heard it all.

BRENDA MASIKA, SURVIVOR: The students crying, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. (INAUDIBLE) I hid in my room. They tried to open my room. They failed.

MADOWO: It's an unspeakable tragedy that shocked the nation but this area especially hard, like this man who says he lost four relatives.

CLAY BIRUMUNANE, MPONDWE RESIDENT: We are still in shock. People are crying. Everyone is in shock. And the schools around, there are like five schools, they have already released the students who were in the section.

MADOWO: Survivors are being treated at a nearby hospital with some said to be in critical condition. The Ugandan military says it is in hot pursuit of the rebels it calls terrorists, across the border in the Democratic Republic of Congo. They also abducted six students, prompting this apology.

DICK OLUM, COMMANDER, UGANDA PEOPLE'S DEMOCRATIC FORCES: It's very unfortunate. Please forgive us that a mistake happened and our children died. This was a very peaceful area. I live in Congo. That's where I spend all my time. But what happened here is a real shame.

MADOWO: But residents and their leaders are outraged that this tragedy happened despite assurances from the Ugandan military.

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FLORENCE KABUGHO, UGANDAN PARLIAMENT MEMBER: They are telling us the borders are secured. Security is tight. I want the security to tell us where they were when these killers came to kill our people. Should we say they are rebels that came to kill our people? Is this security within Uganda?

MADOWO: The Friday night massacre saw 17 girls attacked with machetes and a petrol bomb thrown into the boys' dormitory, where 20 students had barricaded themselves. They were burnt beyond recognition, Ugandan First Lady Janet Museveni said.

JANET MUSEVENI, UGANDAN FIRST LADY: (INAUDIBLE) the country, please do not panic. Our children are safe and they will remain safe. There are evil people and they are trying to harm our children but they will not manage always (ph).

MADOWO: Neither the ADF nor ISIS have claimed responsibility for the attack.

Larry Madowo, CNN, Kampala.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRAK: A horrific air strike has left devastation in a residential neighborhood of Khartoum. The Sudanese Health Ministry says at least 17 people were killed, including children, and 25 homes were destroyed. Shortly afterward, the Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese military agreed to a 72-hour cease-fire. The U.S. and Saudi Arabia brokered it during talks in Jeddah. They are threatening to end those talks if the two sides break the ceasefire. While, meantime, many hospitals across the Khartoum region have closed and the few still operating say they are overwhelmed and short on supplies.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ABDUL HAKAM, SUDANESE HOSPITAL PATIENT: The situation keeps deteriorating, making it unbearable. From what I saw in the hospital, there are patients dying from medical shortages approximately every 10 to 15 minutes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRAK: The situation is particularly dire in the western province of Darfur.

I want to turn to Cameron Hudson in Bordeaux, France, he is a senior associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Africa Center. Welcome back.

Since we last spoke, the vicious power struggle between Sudan's army and paramilitary forces continues to destroy lives but there now seems to be a separate arms struggle playing out in West Darfur.

CAMERON HUDSON, SENIOR ASSOCIATE, CENTER FOR STRATEGIC AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: Right. Well, what we're seeing right now is essentially a campaign of ethnic cleansing against one of the minority tribes in Darfur, the Masalit. We've seen thousands escaping into Eastern Chad over the course of this weekend.

And we've also seen beyond that targeted killings of prominent members of West Darfur society and the Masalit society. So, lawyers, doctors, human rights activists, even the governor of the region were brutally, gruesomely murdered in the past few days by the Rapid Support Forces and their allied militia. So, we're seeing a real spiraling of the situation in this region right now reminiscent of the genocide that we saw more than a decade ago.

HARRAK: Who is perpetrating these atrocities?

HUDSON: Well, it's primarily the Rapid Support Forces, as we understand it. Even though they've denied responsibility, we know that they, through eyewitness accounts and other documented efforts, talking to refugees streaming across the border into Chad, that it is the RSF and other Arab militias who are associated with them who are carrying out these crimes.

HARRAK: How would you describe the situation of civilians in South Darfur right now?

HUDSON: Well, it's completely perilous. It's a lawless community right now. What we have seen is the Sudan Armed Forces either taking shelter in their own bases or, frankly, withdrawing from portions of Darfur, really focusing their efforts, trying to retake the capital, Khartoum. But that has left communities in Darfur, West Darfur, South Darfur much more vulnerable to these sort of opportunistic and in some cases targeted attacks by Arab tribes.

And so they are without protection. They are fleeing the region in large numbers but being caught up in these raids and in these attacks. We're seeing not just killings but rapes. We're seeing torture. We're seeing looting and destroying of villages. So, it's really, I think, a worst case scenario for this region right now.

HARRAK: A worst case scenario. And what is even more terrifying is that nothing seems to deter these militias in that particular province. I mean, they seem battle-hardened, almost, unbothered by these atrocities that that you have just described. What kind of international response is needed right now to protect civilians in the Darfur Region?

HUDSON: Well, it's a great question.

[03:25:00]

And I think one of the things that we can look to is how did we respond a decade ago when we were experiencing genocide in Darfur? Clearly, it's not enough to make statements. The State Department and others have issued multiple statements over the course of the last week condemning these killings, but that doesn't go nearly far enough.

I think it's early right now to suggest peacekeepers could possibly deploy, but, clearly, some more robust effort beyond statements is required if we want to bring this killing under control. We need to up our documentation effort so that we can understand better the patterns of violence but also ultimately hold responsible those people who are organizing and committing these crimes to act as some kind of deterrent against future crimes.

HARRAK: And, Cameron, CNN has found that Russia's notorious paramilitary group Wagner is operating in the region and is also exacerbating the violence. How would you describe the role that they play?

HUDSON: Well, again, I think they're being very opportunistic in this as well. They have provided weapons. We know the State Department has declared that surface-to-air missiles have been provided to the RSF through a transit route from the Central African Republic. We know that the Wagner group is helping supply weapons and fuel to the RSF through Libya and possibly even through Chad as well.

So, they are, I think, on the margins of this conflict, aiding the RSF to the best of their ability, but we haven't seen them playing an active role like we have seen in other places, like in Syria or even Ukraine, where they are active belligerence. We're not seeing that active level of participation yet. But I think that because these armies in Sudan, the RSF and the Sudan Armed Forces, are so evenly matched that a group, like the Wagner Group, could really be the difference-maker in tipping the balance in this conflict.

So, if we see them getting more involved, I think that's going to be greater cause for concern. And there, I think, Washington should have no hesitation in trying to target and sanction and even block and disrupt these shipments that the RSF is receiving from the Wagner Group from various countries in the region.

HARRAK: In a few words, ceasefires have come and gone. Another one has been declared, as we speak. Will anyone be monitoring what is happening in Darfur and are we now looking at a protracted war?

HUDSON: Well, we're monitoring via satellite imagery and remote sensing, and, of course, through interviewing refugees streaming across the border in Chad. But there's not much else that the international community can do to project itself into these very remote corners of the country. Obviously, putting out a message that we are watching has not been a sufficient deterrent to stop these crimes from happening. So, I think we're going to have to think much more seriously about getting international monitors on the ground in some way, perhaps from the African union, to create a kind of a buffer zone or safe area for civilians. But, again, that hasn't happened yet.

HARRAK: Cameron Hudson, senior associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies Africa center, thank you.

HUDSON: Thank you.

HARRAK: And coming up next on CNN Newsroom, we'll hear from a young survivor of a deadly tornado in Texas and look at what's next for the devastated community.

Plus, one of America's biggest labor unions has given its endorsement to Joe Biden, the earliest it has ever backed a presidential candidate. Those stories and a whole lot more when we return.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:30:00]

HARRAK: Welcome back to our viewers in the United States, Canada and around the world. I'm Laila Harrak and you're watching CNN Newsroom.

The governor of Texas has signed a new disaster declaration for several more counties in his state days after a tornado killed three people and destroyed hundreds of homes. The cleanup is under way in one community devastated by the storm.

CNN's Isabel Rosales spoke to some of the people who lived through it.

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And I spoke with so many people in this community over the past couple of days and not one heard a siren. Now we know from the city manager that's because the siren system failed due to a lack of electricity. Those that did know whom I spoke with that there was danger coming, that's because they had weather applications on their phones that alerted them.

I want to show you now what's happening here on the ground, and that's really cleanup mode, heavy machinery coming here and clearing out all of these destroyed homes and businesses. They'll need to clear this out before they can rebuild. And also, look up there. These guys up there, crews working on those power lines getting electricity back into this town. That is going to be a big part of the cleanup effort as well and rebuilding effort.

Now, I spoke with Alexa Lugo, an 11-year-old girl who rode out the storm in a mobile home praying in that moment as the windows were shattering that her family would make it out safe. Her family did, but at a nearby mobile home, 11-year-old Matthew Ramirez did not.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEXA LUGO, TORNADO SURVIVOR: He's very funny. He was very funny. We would always joke around. And he would always be playing with his friends, playing soccer. He loved soccer. Yes. And I just remember, like, him -- like, we'd be in class, sometimes he would come in class and he would just be laughing for no reason and he would make his friends laugh. It was funny.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROSALES: And, Ramirez, at 11 years old, is the youngest victim to this tornado.

We did also hear from the Ochiltree General Hospital who said that they treated 160 people related to this tornado, injuries related to this tornado, and a hospital that only has 25 beds. So, really a remarkable effort by the medical staff.

Isabel Rosales, CNN, Perryton, Texas.

HARRAK: Welcome news for drivers on one of the main highways in the Eastern United States. Pennsylvania's governor says the collapsed section of I-95 in Philadelphia will reopen within two weeks. The fix is temporary. The damaged area will be paved over until a permanent bridge is built. But as CNN's Polo Sandoval reports, they will get traffic flowing again.

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: For the governor of the state of Pennsylvania, the repairs to the badly damaged section of Interstate 95 seemed to be moving right along. Governor Josh Shapiro appearing alongside President Biden at a campaign event Saturday. During that event, the governor said that the damaged section of Interstate 95 will reopen in the next two weeks. The governor also praising efforts from union workers, some of them actually present at that Biden event over the weekend, as they updated folks on the repair efforts.

[03:35:06]

Listen in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. JOSH SHAPIRO (D-PA): There's something special happening in our community, people coming together. Now, don't get me wrong. I know that motorists are hurting, business owners are hurting, but right now, this community is coming together and lifting up those workers and making sure that they know we are supporting them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: Hard to believe it was just last weekend that a tanker truck was involved in a deadly accident directly under that portion of the interstate, the fire causing that damage to the overpass. The demolition portion of the project, we're told, that wrapped up on Thursday. Now, it's full speed ahead with repairs, according to officials.

A state disaster declaration, it's really what's allowed authorities to not only dip into federal funds but also to go around the red tape that's typically necessary for projects of this scope. And it's certainly a very busy road, one of the busiest in the region, roughly 160,000 vehicles that are carried through that portion of the interstate in Philadelphia every day.

Polo Sandoval, CNN, New York.

HARRAK: Joe Biden's presidential re-election campaign is officially under way.

A large crowd of union members was on hand in Philadelphia for his first rally since announcing his candidacy. Biden flipped Pennsylvania in 2020, and during his speech, he hit on the reasons he thinks it can happen again. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: I'm looking forward to this campaign, I want you to know why. Because you've got a story to tell, we've got a story to tell. We've got a record to run on.

We've created 13 million new jobs since I became president. Inflation has come down 11 months in a row and going to continue to come down. Today, it's less than half of what it was one year ago. Folks, this didn't just happen. We made it happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRAK: Mr. Biden's appearance in Philadelphia also served to remind voters that he's from Pennsylvania and has deep personal and political ties to the state.

CNN's Priscilla Alvarez was at the rally and has our report.

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: President Biden kicked off his re-election campaign in Philadelphia on Saturday where he spoke to a union rally. In his remarks, about 2,000 union members, President Biden ticked through a number of issues that have resonated with this movement, including low unemployment rates, adding jobs, investment in clean energy and manufacturing. The crowd was revved up over the course of his remarks, providing enthusiasm and expressing their support for the president.

And it has already been clear through their endorsements that they stand behind him. The AFL-CIO had already endorsed the president, and that is their earliest endorsement of a presidential candidate. President Biden talked about that during his remarks, writing his things, but also making clear that these unions are critical to his campaign moving forward.

It is a group that President Biden has relied on before when it comes to his political ambitions and one that he hopes will mobilize voters going into 2024. And that's important not only nationwide but also in the crucial swing state of Pennsylvania. It's a state where the president has political ties and personal ties, both of which he was trying to capitalize on during his remarks on Saturday as his campaign really kicks into gear in earnest.

Priscilla Alvarez, CNN, Philadelphia.

HARRAK: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis took his campaign to Nevada on Saturday, another key state that any serious candidate must try to win. Speaking at a Republican event near Lake Tahoe, DeSantis told voters among things that he wants term limits for Congress and to restore the line item veto. That controversial presidential power was ruled unconstitutional some 25 years ago.

And making his pitch for the presidency, the governor offered his grim view of the country under Democrats.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL): Leftist government is destroying cities all over our country. It's destroying other states. And I think what we're going to see in this election coming up is America has got to make a decision, because we need to restore sanity in this country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRAK: Well, recent polls show DeSantis with about 23 percent support among Republican voters compared to more than 50 percent who say they favor Trump.

Now, off the coast of Florida, a huge haul of cocaine, the U.S. Coast Guard says one of its crews has seized more than 14,000 pounds of cocaine in the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea. That's more than 6,400 kilograms. The street value estimated almost at $200 million. 12 suspected smugglers were also arrested.

Still ahead, Pope Francis will lead the Angelus prayer today after being discharged from the hospital.

[03:40:03]

We'll head to Rome for an update on his health.

And King Charles revives a royal tradition as he celebrates his first official birthday as a monarch. We'll have details on the pageantry in London.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HARRAK: Welcome back. In the coming hours, Pope Francis will lead the weekly Angelus prayer at the St. Peter's Basilica a day after he was discharged from the hospital. The 86-year-old was at Rome's Gemelli Hospital for more than a week where he was recovering from abdominal surgery.

Let's get you more now, CNN's Barbie Nadeau is standing by live in Rome. Barbie, the pope will finally deliver the Angelus?

BARBIE NADEAU, CNN REPORTER: That's right, what a difference a week makes. Just a week ago last Sunday, he was too weak to stand at the window of the Gemelli Hospital, on the balcony, to give his Angelus and other popes have done previously when they were in the hospital. This week, we're expecting him to look out of the apostolic apartment windows above St. Peter's Square, give the Angelus blessing, and bless the crowd.

We're expecting him also, as he usually does, to make a few comments about world issues and things like that. So, we'll be waiting to hear how strong he sounds, how good he looks. But he's been home from the hospital. Now, he came back Friday to the Vatican City. He had gone on his way home from the hospital to the Basilica of Saint Mary Major. This is a very important church in Rome and a very important church for him, where he prayed and gave thanks for his recovery, and he's been inside Vatican City ever since.

We haven't seen him, haven't heard anything about what he was up to yesterday. But, undoubtedly, he's working to build up his strength. He's got two big trips to make in August, one to Portugal at the beginning of the month, one to Mongolia at the end of the month. So, we can expect he'll be recovering, growing stronger. His doctor gave an interview yesterday to an Italian paper and said that he's much stronger than he was before he went in for the surgery.

[03:45:06]

So, all good news, we're waiting to see him in the window and hoping that -- to hear his voice loud and clear and very strong. Laila?

HARRAK: All right. Barbie Nadeau reporting there from Rome, thank you so much.

And Sunday is Father's Day in many nations, including the United Kingdom. And to mark the occasion, the prince and princess of Wales have released this warming picture of William with his three children. The photo shows the first in line to the throne with Prince George and Princess Charlotte as Prince Louis holds on to dad tightly.

And Prince William joined his father, King Charles, and other royals at the annual Trooping the Colour Ceremony on Saturday. It marked the king's official birthday with a gala spectacle that drew thousands of spectators.

CNN's Anna Stewart has more.

ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER: One of the perks of being a British monarch is having a second official birthday and one marked with a parade like no other. This was King Charles' first Trooping the Colour.

He left Buckingham Palace for the procession on horseback, a sight not seen for nearly 40 years, and wearing the regimental uniform of the Welsh Guards, the regiment whose color or regimental flag was being trooped this year.

Cheers from the crowds who gathered on the mall. Also for the royals that followed close behind, Prince William, now the Prince of Wales, also in Welsh Guard uniform as he is the regiment's colonel now, a position he inherited from his father. He was joined by Princess Anne and the duke of Edinburgh in their respective regimental uniforms.

And then behind in a carriage, Queen Camilla, the Princess of Wales, with the ultimate crowd-pleasing trio of Princes George, Louis, and Princess Charlotte.

Unlike the coronation, this military ceremony focuses on the household division of the British Army. The five regiments of the Foot Guards take turn to troop their color each year with the two household cavalry regiments performing the king's escort.

The national anthem played as the king received his final salute marking the end of the ceremony and the return of his majesty to Buckingham Palace.

Guns sounded across London before the king and other members of the royal family made it out onto Buckingham Palace's iconic balcony to watch a flypast. 17 aircraft took part to the delight of many, especially Prince Louis, whose expressions were as expected. It culminated with a flypast by the Red Arrows. Plumes of red, white, and blue smoke, a British flag emblazoned across the start to mark King Charles' official birthday.

Anna Stewart, CNN, from outside Buckingham Palace in London.

HARRAK: And still to come on CNN Newsroom, you may be creeped out by how quickly artificial intelligence is becoming an integral part of our lives, but the developers of these robots say they were designed to use A.I. for good, not evil.

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HARRAK: A woman in Argentina was clearly nervous as she took her driving test and put on quite a show. First, she ran right through a stop sign, then she hit a few curbs and then suddenly she sped right into a light pole and flipped the car. The 63-year-old woman suffered minor injuries and was taken to a hospital. Officials haven't said whether or not she passed the test.

In F1 racing, Max Verstappen sped through a wet track to grab pole position in Saturday's qualifier for the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal. This is the 25th time in Verstappen's career that he'll lead the pack at the start of a race. The Red Bull racer is trying to win his 41st career race and has won five out of seven races this season. If Verstappen wins later today, he'll tie for fifth place with the late Ayrton Senna on Formula 1's all-time winners list, and it would be Red Bull racing's 100th victory.

U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner has been home half a year after being held several months in a Russian prison. Well, now, she's had a reunion with the U.S. national security officials who worked for her release. Griner met with them Friday night after her basketball team played a game in Washington. Families of other wrongfully detained Americans who helped Griner during her imprisonment were also there.

Now, robots already play a role in our lives. They're bartenders, restaurant servers and even drivers sometimes. But tech researchers and developers are working on ways to put robots in even more places and to fulfill even more of our human needs.

CNN's Eleni Giokos shows us.

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ELENI GIOKOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Emotional robots, pet robots, heavy-lifting robots and a crowd of tech enthusiasts. You're looking at the next generation of robots on display at tech fairs in Europe. Despite widespread concerns about artificial intelligence, developers say these robots were made for good.

Ergocub, for instance, was built for helping people with difficult physical tasks. Picture it bringing in grocery boxes, taking out the trash, working in warehouses to reduce physical stress and the risk of injuries to workers. Ergocub is being developed in Italy.

DANIELE PUCCI, ISTITUTO ITALIANO DI TECNOLOGIA: The (INAUDIBLE) is for national interests that is foreseeing future applications of the robot to reduce the impact of muscle-skeletal diseases.

GIOKOS: At the Paris tech fair, VivaTech, developers are showcasing Buddy, an emotional robot, programmed to show feelings, and, they say, capable of developing new ones.

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RODOLPHE HASSELVANDER, FOUNDER, BLUE FRONG ROBOTIS: For example, he can help children who have been in hospital for a long time to continue their lessons at a distance. It will also help autistic children improve their ability to communicate with others.

GIOKOS: Meet Miroki, a twin robot. It's able to grasp things, perform simple tasks and interact with people. This one is named Miroki and he's saying he is the brother of Miroka.

JEROME MONCEAUX, FOUNDER/COE, ENCHANTED TOOLS: These two characters have escaped from a cartoon to enter our daily lives and help us manage our social spaces, places like hospitals, hotels, restaurants and tons of other places where there are lots of objects to move around. GIOKOS: But it's not just robots on display at VivaTech. Historical figures are also back to life. French startup Jumbo Mana used A.I. generate famous Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh, who died over a century ago, but is now back to answer your questions.

Also answering questions at VivaTech, Elon Musk.

ELON MUSK, CEO, TESLA: There's a real danger for digital super intelligence having negative consequences. And so if we are not careful with creating artificial general intelligence, we could have potentially a catastrophic outcome.

GIOKOS: But he went on to say the most likely outcome for A.I. is positive. And that's something the robots might agree with.

AMECA, ROBOT: Yes, it is important to remember that these technologies can also have a positive impact on our lives if used responsibly.

GIOKOS: Eleni Giokos, CNN.

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HARRAK: And that wraps up this hour of CNN Newsroom. I'm Laila Harrak.

Kim Brunhuber picks up our coverage after a quick break. Stay with us.

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