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U.S. President Rallied for Ukraine's Support; United Nations Calls Sudan Conflict a Crisis of Humanity; Pakistani Boy among the Casualties in the Shipwreck in Greece; Europe Bracing For Potentially Hottest Temperatures Ever; India Set To Launch Historic Moon Mission; Actors Set To Join Writers On The Picket Line. Aired 2-2:45a ET

Aired July 14, 2023 - 02:00   ET

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

[02:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to all of you watching us around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber.

Ahead on "CNN Newsroom." A promise to stand by Ukraine and by NATO. The U.S. president caps off the trip to Europe heavy on symbolism.

The U.N. calls it a crisis of humanity. More than 3 million people forced to flee their homes in Sudan. An ever worsening situation with no end in sight.

And cities across Italy are under a red alert warning as a heat wave sweeps across the Mediterranean reaching far into the Middle East.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from CNN Center, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Kim Brunhuber.

BRUNHUBER: U.S. President Joe Biden is back in Washington ending a busy week of talks with European allies as the war in Ukraine rages in their backyard. One of Biden's primary goals was securing long-term commitments from allies to keep supporting Ukraine.

Speaking at a news conference just a short distance from the Russian border, the president said Europe's security and America's security are closely bound together. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: Peace and security in Europe is essential to U.S. security and peace. The idea that there could be conflict in Europe among our friends and us not engaged has never happened in modern history. That's why we're staying together.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: As for NATO's promise to bring Ukraine into the alliance and unspecified future date, Russian President Vladimir Putin had this reaction. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): As for Ukraine's membership in NATO, this creates threats for Russia's security, obviously. And one of the reasons for the special military operation is the threat of Ukraine joining NATO. I'm convinced that it won't improve the security of Ukraine itself, and in general, it will make the world a lot more vulnerable. And will lead to additional tension on the international stage.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: So while Russian forces face off against Ukrainian troops on one side, some of their senior commanders appear to be fighting their own skirmishes with Moscow.

CNN's Matthew Chance has those details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is how the Russian Defense Ministry wants to portray its army.

Well-trained, equipped and effective.

But the reality looks increasingly chaotic with the recent battlefield death of one top general and now another saying he's been fired for telling the truth about the dire situation on the front line.

MAJ. GEN. IVAN POPOV, 58TH ARMY COMMANDER (through translator): Now it is possible to confidently say that an order was issued and I was removed from my post.

CHANCE (voice-over): General Popov was the commander of the Russian 58th Army, heavily engaged in battles around Zaporizhzhya in southeastern Ukraine.

One of Russia's most senior commanders, he says it raised questions about high casualty rates and the lack of artillery support.

One Russian M.P. criticized his audio link as a political show, but there's been no official pushback on its content.

POPOV (through translator): I had no right to lie in your name, in the name of my fallen comrades. So I outlined all the problems which exist.

CHANCE (voice-over): It feels like another swipe at Russia's beleaguered defense minister, Sergei Shoigu, seen recently touring this Russian arms factory. Russian military bloggers, often the only source of comment in the absence of any official reaction, say his chief of staff, Valeri Gerasimov, signed the order to have Popov removed.

There are unmistakable echoes of the criticism made by the Wagner chief, Yevgeny Prigozhin, who went on to lead an armed uprising against what he said was an incompetent Russian military leadership.

That ended in failure, we think. But it seems discontent among Russia's senior officer class may be widespread, a worrying sign for the Kremlin.

And there's still no word about what's happened to this Russian commander, General Surovikin, last seen calling on Wagner to abandon their mutiny last month.

[02:05:04]

"The Wall Street Journal" is now reporting he's been detained for suspected Wagner links. Though this senior Russian MP is now playing that down. Surovikin is not reachable, he told this Russian blogger. And is resting, he says.

Wagner, according to its leader, is resting too.

The Russian military takes control of its heavy weapons and ammunition. Amid setbacks both on and off the battlefield, the Kremlin appears to be tightening its grip, purging its ranks of dissent.

Matthew Chance, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: U.S.-made cluster munitions have been delivered to Ukraine. U.S. officials confirmed the transfer of the controversial weapons on Thursday, saying Kyiv won't use them anywhere close to civilians. A Ukrainian general says cluster bombs can radically change the battlefield.

Meanwhile, Ukraine says it's keeping up its momentum south of Bakhmut. It also claims a recent strike has killed up to 200 Russian troops in the city of Tokmak. It's located in southern Ukraine, where Kyiv says it's consolidating its recent gains.

Meanwhile, close allies, Russia and China, have been holding talks on the sidelines of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers Summit. China's top foreign policy chief said when meeting with Russia's foreign minister that the two countries should strengthen their strategic communication and coordination.

Now this comes amid intense efforts to simply stabilize the U.S.-China relationship. The U.S. Secretary of State met with the same Chinese envoy in Jakarta and were told there were no breakthroughs.

CNN's Marc Stewart is following this live from Tokyo. So Marc, take us through what we've seen and what we're expecting.

MARC STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kim, you repeated that phrase that we've been hearing from the State Department of no breakthroughs. Yes, that is true. However, we should not discount the significance of this meeting between these two top diplomats, because it was just six months ago that relationships between the United States and China were quite frosty, especially after that spy balloon shoot down. But yet in recent weeks, we have seen Secretary of State Anthony

Blinken travel to Beijing as well as Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. So as far as the specific meeting in Indonesia, the meeting between Blinken and the Chinese diplomat lasted about 90 minutes. It's being described as both candid and constructive.

And while there were no breakthroughs -- breakthroughs continued on that theme, there were some important points discussed, including peace in the Taiwan Strait, fentanyl, the issue of fentanyl has been a big issue, as well as that recent email hack that was raised by Microsoft.

No real specifics on how much detail went into that particular item. However, a senior State Department official did bring up the point that Secretary Blinken was able to basically continue the conversation right where things left off, making reference to some of the past conversations that Blinken, as well as Secretary Yellen, have had with their Chinese counterparts.

The big question that still looms in the future of this relationship is when President Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping will actually meet face to face again. The last time that happened was last November on the sidelines of the G20.

It is perhaps safe to say that the discussions that we are seeing now are going to pave the way for a future conversation between these two leaders. No date has been set, but I think it's very much safe to say there is hope from the State Department that by having these incremental meetings now, Kim, it will lead to a broader discussion with those two leaders.

BRUNHUBER: Interesting. All right. Thanks so much, Marc Stewart in Tokyo. I appreciate that.

All right. Still ahead, a deepening humanitarian crisis in Sudan. Millions are forced from their homes as violence from warring factions spreads and evidence of new atrocities is discovered.

Plus, a young Pakistani teen hoping to help his family died in what became one of the worst migrant shipwrecks. We'll hear from his heartbroken father.

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BRUNHUBER: New reports from Sudan reveal the worsening humanitarian crisis in the war-torn country. The numbers are staggering. More than three million people have been forced to flee their homes.

The International Organization for Migration says nearly 2.5 million are internally displaced while more than 730,000 have crossed the border into neighboring countries. The World Food Program says 20,000 Sudanese refugees crossed into Chad

just last week, many of them coming from Sudan's Darfur region. The International Criminal Court is investigating a wave of violence in Darfur. The ICC says reports of killings and sexual and gender-based violence have surged since April, including allegations of mass rape and violence against children.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KARIM KHAN, PROSECUTOR, INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT: We are, by any analysis, not on the precipice of a human catastrophe, but in the very midst of one. It is occurring.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: The dire warning comes as the U.N. says it's found scores of bodies in a mass grave in the Darfur region. More now from CNN's Stephanie Busari in Lagos.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEPHANIE BUSARI, CNN SR. EDITOR, AFRICA: A mass grave with at least 87 people was discovered in Sudan's West Darfur region, a United Nations agency said Thursday.

The grave was discovered outside the region's capital in El Janinia, and the U.N. said some of the bodies were of ethnic Masulite people who are often targeted by Sudan's paramilitary rapid support forces, also known as RSF.

The U.N. says it has credible information that the killings were carried out by the RSF who are fighting against the Sudanese National Army.

The RSF have denied their involvement in the attacks. The RSF involved from the Janjawick militia, which were accused of genocide and war crimes in Darfur 20 years ago.

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, said he was quote, "appalled by the callous and disrespectful way the dead along with their families and communities were treated."

The U.N. has said crimes against humanity been committed in Darfur and that their fears that history could be about to repeat itself are 20 years after the genocide that killed more than 300,000 people and displaced millions.

The gruesome discovery came as leaders from Sudan's six neighboring countries met in Cairo for more mediation talks.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi presented an initiative based on the ceasefire, opening of safe passages for aid, and comprehensive dialogue between the warring parties.

Leaders at the summit also expressed their concern over the spillover effect Sudan's three-month conflict has had on their borders. The U.N. says nearly 2.8 million people have fled Sudan, many without passports, for some of these countries such as Ethiopia, Chad and Libya.

Stephanie Busari, CNN, Lagos

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: And joining me now is Donaig Le Du, the spokesperson for UNICEF in Chad. Thanks so much for being here with us. First, I just want to start with what we just saw there, your reaction to this new horrific discovery.

DONAIG LE DU, SPOKESPERSON, UNICEF CHAD: Well, you know, what we've been seeing here on the Chadian side of the border is dozens and dozens and hundreds of people coming every day from the other side, from the Darfur province.

[02:15:00]

And the stories they're telling are absolutely horrific. I met a woman just the day before yesterday and she was 28, heavily pregnant, six months pregnant, with three children and she was sitting there in this neighbor in this border city. And she told me how she had to flee El Jenina, the main city in Darfur, which is 30 kilometers away, that's 15 miles, 18 miles on foot.

And she told me she had to, her house was burned down. They couldn't take anything. Her husband, she hasn't heard from him. And she told me how she had to run without even having shoes on. She tied her little two years old on her back.

And the five-year-old and the seven-year-old had to walk barefoot 30 kilometers to get to Chad. And she told me how she saw bodies of her neighbors scattered on the street while she was fleeing.

BRUNHUBER: It's unbelievable and as we just heard earlier the U.N. was talking about how there's been a huge increase in sexual violence perpetrated against people just like that women and children who have been forced to flee their homes as well.

LE DU: Well, you know, almost 90 percent of the people who cross here to Chad are women and children. They arrive here, they're extremely tired, they're in a very poor condition, most of them have nothing. Yesterday, I was at the border and I saw an old woman being carried in a wheelbarrow, being pushed by other people.

It's really difficult and we're extremely worried for the fate of children here because You know, they've been at war for almost two months back there at home in Darfur. And so when they come here, they're in a very difficult state.

We have malnutrition that is spiking. And we are currently quite worried about, first of all, the health of the children, but also their well-being. And honestly, the children I've been speaking to have seen what no human being should ever see. BRUNHUBER: Yeah, absolutely. We're showing some pictures from some of

the refugee camps in Chad where you've been. So you're talking about their condition when they get to the refugee camps. I mean, what are the conditions like in the camps themselves?

LE DU: Well, they're safe. First of all, they're safe and that's maybe the most important thing on the short term. Now they're crossing over to a very remote region of Chad, which even before all of this started had very poor access to basic services. There's no running water, there's no electricity, there's hardly any sewage system.

And of course now, for example, in Adre, the city, which is literally on the border. This was a small city of maybe 15, 20,000 people. And now the number of refugees, we don't have an exact estimation. UNHCR is trying to count them, but they have counted 65,000 at this point, which is already like three or four times the local population.

So now we have a double issue. We have the refugees streaming in. But we also have the local population who had very little in the beginning, and now they have to share the little they have with the refugees.

For example, yesterday I was in one of those refugee camps and people, I mean they're not really camps, they're settlements. People sit wherever they can sit. They're going to be moved in proper, decent camps further in time.

But for now, they're just sitting on people's fields. So what happens with the crops in September? There's going to be no crops. You can only share what you have with people coming to seek refuge in your house. But if you have nothing, then we have a double issue. And also the prices have spiked because this city here was getting all its supplies from Sudan and now nothing's coming. So the prices are doubled or tripled in the past month.

BRUNHUBER: Yeah, so the fears of destabilizing other countries like Chad for instance are very real. We only have about a minute left, but I just want to talk about, you know, the steps towards solutions. As we heard in our report previously, Egypt is trying to mediate an end to the conflict. That unfortunately might still be a way off. But how important are the smaller steps, like for example establishing safe passages for aid?

LE DU: Well, that's crucial. Obviously that is crucial because we need to have aid coming into the fore, obviously. But we also need to have more aid coming here into Chad, you know.

[02:20:03]

We're desperate to get some funding. This is a very remote area and we really need a lot of help from the international community. And I can't believe that the international community can look away while we have, literally tens of thousands of children at risk of outbreaks, malnutrition and violence.

BRUNHUBER: Yeah, it's just tragic and hopefully there will be a solution sooner than later. Donaig Le Du, thank you so much for speaking to us, I really appreciate it.

LE DU: Thank you for having me.

BRUNHUBER: The Senegalese Navy has intercepted a boat carrying some 70 migrants bound for Europe and turned them over to the authorities. Now this happened at the mouth of the Senegal River which flows into the Atlantic Ocean. A separate migrant boat capsized in the same area on Wednesday killing at least six people.

Dangerous journeys from migrants in West Africa tend to pick up during these warmer months. Nearly 100,000 migrants have already arrived in Europe this year according to the U.N. Refugee Agency. Italy is by far the most popular destination followed by Spain and Greece.

And it was near Greece that an overcrowded boat packed with more than 750 migrants capsized in June. The majority of them drowned, including a 14-year-old boy from Pakistan.

CNN traveled to his home in Punjab province and spoke to his devastated father. CNN's Anna Coren has this exclusive report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The lush plains of Gujarat in Punjab province are home to some of the most fertile land in all of Pakistan.

The mighty Indus River and its tributaries, the lifeblood.

But not everyone here prospers from its richness.

14-year-old Mohammed Abouzar felt the heavy burden of responsibility. His father, a school van driver earning less than $90 a month, was struggling to provide for the family. Abouzar worried about the future of his younger brothers, especially 6-year-old Azzan, who is severely disabled.

My son pleaded with me to be sent abroad, he explains. He said look at how we live, we'll die of hunger. It's best for me to leave so I can support our family.

Many older boys from the village had already made the trek to Europe through human smuggling operations, sending hefty remittances back home.

Abouzar's uncle had decided to go, and the teenager knew this was his chance.

The people smugglers said it would cost more than US$ 8,000 to send my son to Italy. I said I can't afford it. He told me your kid will earn that in a couple of months.

At the beginning of May this year, Abouzar, his uncle and a small group of teenage boys from the village set off.

Human smugglers organized for the group to fly from Karachi to Dubai, then to Egypt before transiting to Libya. From Tripoli International Airport, they drove to the Libyan port city of Tobruk and waited in a camp filled with other illegal migrants for the next month.

The day before the group set sail for Italy, their final destination, Abouzar sent a video to his brothers, hoping to make them laugh. He then recorded the group's final prayers.

That night, he called his father.

My son was really happy. He said, don't worry, Dad. It will be OK. We'll have life jackets. It's a big boat. Once I'm there, you'll have nothing to worry about.

On the 9th of June, Abouzar boarded the Adriana, a fishing vessel with a capacity of 100. Instead, 750 illegal migrants were crammed aboard, of which almost half were from Pakistan, according to the Pakistani Interior Ministry.

Within days, the trawler would capsize off the coast of Greece, as a Greek coast guard ship watched on.

More than 600 people drowned in what would become one of the deadliest migrant boat tragedies.

Among the survivors, only 12 Pakistanis. Abouzar was not one of them. don't send your children away.

Dying of hunger is better than this. Don't send your children away. For us, life and hell are now the same.

But this grieving father's warning is falling on deaf ears. According to U.N. migration, last year Pakistanis weren't even among the top 10 nationalities arriving in Europe. This year, however, they're ranked number five, with economic migration fuelling the surge.

A financial crisis in Pakistan and record high unemployment is driving many families to make this life-altering decision.

[02:25:02]

ROBERTO FORIN, HEAD OF E.U. OFFICE, MIXED MIGRATION CENTER: The common narrative is that smugglers are there to lure people into this dangerous journey. We look at who are the people that influence the decision of migrating and it's mostly family. So migration is a family investment.

COREN (voice-over): For this mother in Bandali, in Pakistan, administered Kashmir, Her 20-year-old son was supposed to be on that ill-fated vessel. She says the human traffickers disembarked him because of overcrowding. He's now waiting for the next boat.

I asked him to come home, but he won't, she explains. He wants to go to Europe like other boys from our village. I pray that he makes it.

Anna Coren, CNN, Hong Kong.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Europe is already sweltering and forecasters say it's just the beginning of a major heat wave. More details after the break, stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRUNHUBER: Welcome back to all of you watching us around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is "CNN Newsroom."

Much of Europe has been sweltering this month and climate scientists at the European Space Agency say it's only just begun.

Italy, Spain, France, Germany and Poland are bracing for a major heat wave. The Italian Health Ministry has issued a red alert warning for 10 major cities including Rome and Florence. And in northern Italy, the heat has claimed the life of at least one person. A construction worker died after collapsing on a roadside on Tuesday.

Millions are bracing for scorching temperatures from the Mediterranean to the Middle East, southeastern Turkey and North Africa. The temperatures are expected to reach a staggering 48 degrees Celsius, 118 Fahrenheit, on the islands of Sicily and Sardinia, which could be Europe's hottest ever recorded temperature.

And joining us now is Henning Gloystein, Director for Energy, Climate and Resources at Eurasia Group. Thank you so much for being here with us. So I just want to start there with the predictions from the European Space Agency that Europe could be seeing the hottest temperatures ever recorded. What impact is this going to have?

HENNING GLOYSTEIN, DIRECTOR, ENERGY, CLIMATE, AND RESOURCES, EURASIA GROUP: Yeah, thanks. It's also a bit of a deja vu. We saw this last year already, but this year seems a little bit worse again. So, and this is the problem.

[02:30:00]

It's the frequency and the constant pressure of the heat and drought is causing across Europe.

Now, of course, vulnerable people are at risk here of heat exposure. People will die in this sort of weather. That says the brutal reality of this sort of stuff.

But there are more long-term problems here as well. It's not just the imminent heat. Even if it gets colder next week for a briefly -- again, or cooler, I should probably say, there is extreme stress on water supply -- fresh water supply systems across Europe.

The most extreme, we've probably seen in Spain where there has been regional water rationing already in place. And that sort of stuff is really disruptive for life. But it's actually in more -- you know, in -- but also affected places where isn't as obvious, North of the Alps.

So, Germany, Poland, France, and even the Nordic, and Scandinavian, they've all had constant declines in freshwater supply over the last years, and this will just get worse. So, the latest data says, more than 40 percent of the entire European Union is currently in a water deficit. And you know year after year of record or near-record droughts and heat waves will compound this problem.

And it just shows that this climate change issue isn't something we need to plan for, for the future. We need to understand the immediate. And that's the issue.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, absolutely. And so, there are so many things that might happen longer term. It's multifaceted, as you say.

But I don't want to handwave the loss of life here you mentioned last year, setting all sorts of records. And we know from a report that came out this week that last year, more than 61,000 people died in Europe because of the heat. And unfortunately, we know that as the temperature rises, so does the body count.

GLOYSTEIN: Yes, absolutely. And it's a -- you know, this is sometimes dismissals that will -- you know, it's elderly or -- but there are people. And it's -- it is this -- the entire systems in Europe aren't really prepared to handle temperatures, as you mentioned a bit earlier like 45 to maybe even 50 degrees centigrade. People can normally live under those conditions.

And actually, the other aspect here of human life risks is refugees because if this is happening in southern Europe, it is happening in North Africa, probably in the Middle East, and turn to even more extreme levels. And this is causing or contributing to these extreme refugee waves that are hitting Europe, which you just mentioned a little bit earlier. So, this -- you can see how widespread this problem is, and how dramatic the situation is becoming.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, on exactly that. I mean, the UN says that as bad as it is for Europe, for in North America, it's exponentially more costly elsewhere around the world. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOESUNG LEE, CHAIR, INTERGOVERNMENTAL PANEL ON CLIMATE CHANGE: The impacts of rising temperature global climate change has a different picture for developing countries versus developed countries. In the developed world, the human mortality in the developing world is about 15 times higher than in the regions with less vulnerable to this worsening.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Yes. So, we know the big picture, obviously more needs to be done on climate change. Our emissions targets are too low. And we're not even living up to the ones that they've made. But on a -- on a smaller practical scale, what can be done to sort of mitigate some of the risks here?

GLOYSTEIN: Yes, that's a good point. Because there are sorts of -- if you've just living in your house, things you can do. A lot of people make the mistake that they keep the windows open all day to think -- hope that that will cool them down.

Actually, what you will probably want to do in an extreme heatwave is keep the windows open at night, close them during the morning, and then close the curtains so the sun doesn't warm up the house. You do need to keep hydrated if you can, as long -- as much as possible. And really you know avoid exposure to direct sun during the day, if you can.

But again, you mentioned some cases just a few minutes ago, people are working outside on the streets. You know, some people just don't have the choice. And then it's up to employers and authorities to enforce some measures that keep people safe.

And in the long term, this -- it requires adaptation. Insulation doesn't only improve you know protection from cold in winter. Better insulated houses are important. And we need to get to reducing those emissions into the atmosphere really fast.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, it's an investment that needs to be made right now because as you say, it's not a problem from the future. It is happening right now. Henning Gloystein, thank you so much for speaking with us. Really appreciate it.

GLOYSTEIN: Thank you.

BRUNHUBER: In Japan, days of flooding and landslides have now killed 11 people. Three others are still missing. The country's southwest region saw record-breaking rainfall earlier this week, and the area's been getting heavy rainfall since the beginning of the month. Japan's weather agency warns there could be more landslides as the heavy rain moves north mainly along the eastern coast.

[02:35:14]

The European Union is lifting restrictions on food imports from Japan. Now, this comes after the EU-Japan summit where Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida met with EU President Ursula von der Leyen. The EU started restricting certain farm and fish imports following the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that damaged the Fukushima nuclear plants. But evidence and assessment by the International Atomic Agency -- Energy Agency found that the measures were no longer needed.

India shoots for the moon. Still to come. Counting down the country's historic mission for a controlled landing on the lunar surface. Why engineers hoping it's third time lucky? Stay with us.

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BRUNHUBER: India is counting down to its historic mission to the moon. It's attempting to make a controlled landing off a probe and rover to the lunar surface. It's hoping to launch its spacecraft in just a few hours. And if the landing is successful, India will only be the fourth country to accomplish such a feat.

All right. Joining me now is CNN's Kristie Lu Stout. So, Kristie, what's India trying to achieve with this lunar mission? KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kim, this is India's latest attempt for a soft landing on the moon. The Chandrayaan-Three which means moon vehicle in Sanskrit is launching today at 2:35 p.m. local time. Less than three hours from now. And as the name suggests, this is India's third mission to the moon and it's part of the country's greater bid to become a space power.

Now, during the last mission in 2019, the rover crashed after a hard landing. But with this mission, they are aiming to soft land the rover near some pretty challenging terrain. The unexplored south pole of the moon.

And according to the Indian Space Agency or ISRO, we have a statement for you. They say this. "The Chandrayaan-Three is a follow-on mission to Chandrayaan-Two to demonstrate end-to-end capability and safe landing and roving on the lunar surface."

Now, space officials, they add that the lander is due to reach the moon on August 23. Now, after the landing, scientists, they plan to deploy the rover and to conduct scientific experiments including analyzing the chemistry of the soil of the moon, measuring the temperature on the lunar surface, and also scanning for moon quakes.

Now, success here would be huge for India. So far, only three countries have managed to soft-land a craft on the moon. You got the U.S., the former Soviet Union, and China.

India also has a reputation for low-cost space missions. Don't forget in 2014, it became the first Asian country to reach the Red Planet. The Mars Mission cost only $74 million, compare that to the one hundred million dollars budget for the movie "Gravity." Back to you.

BRUNHUBER: Interesting comparison there. All right. So, Kristie, China has its own ambitious lunar mission. So, how does India stack up against China in the greater Asia space race?

[02:40:06]

LU STOUT: Yes. It's interesting to discuss and to compare at this point. Now, China's space program has accelerated rapidly in recent years.

Just earlier this year, they were able to send for the first time a civilian astronaut into space. Last year, they completed the basic construction of the Tiangong Space Station. And it was in 2019 that was when China was able to land a rover on the far side of the Moon. China is also planning to have a manned mission within the decade.

So, what India's trying to do in comparison is saying, look, we're going to focus on being a low-cost space power. We've heard from Prime Minister Modi. He has encouraged private investment into startups to launch more rockets into space.

This is something that India is very good at. And analysts have said this low-cost angle and also the current geopolitical environment give India leverage as an emerging space power. Back to you, Kim. BRUNHUBER: Fascinating. Thanks for that analysis, Kristie Lu Stout, in Hong Kong. Appreciate it.

LU STOUT: Thank you.

BRUNHUBER: Nearly all movie and T.V. production in the U.S. is still -- is at a standstill. The Actors Union which represents 160,000 actors is going on strike after extended contract negotiations fell apart on Thursday. The performers are demanding more pay for streaming residuals as well as protections from A.I. technology.

They now join the Writers Union which have been on strike since May. News of the strike came during the British premiere of the biopic "Oppenheimer" in London. The cast walked out of the screenings to support their colleagues.

In his ongoing sexual assault trial on Thursday after Kevin Spacey told the London court he touched his accuser in what he described as a "romantic and intimate way." What Spacey says he didn't have sexual relations with the accuser because the alleged victim did not want to go any further. The trenches are related to incidents that allegedly happened in around London in the 2000s and 2010s when Spacey was the artistic director at London's Old Vic Theatre. The 63-year-old actor is facing 12 charges including indecent assault and sexual assault. Spacey denies all the charges.

We only now know why Lisa Marie Presley died in January. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner, she had a blockage in her small intestine. It was attributed to a complication from weight loss surgery years before.

The toxicology report also found certain medications in her system that they didn't contribute to her death. Lisa Marie was the only daughter of the late Elvis Presley and Priscilla Presley. She was 54 years old.

All right, I'm Kim Brunhuber. I'll be back with more CNN NEWSROOM in 15 minutes. "WORLD SPORT" is next.

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