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Heat Wave To Intensify Across Southern Europe; Europe, Asia And U.S. Baking Under Excessive Heat; U.S. Climate Envoy Meets China's Foreign Police Chief; 41 Killed By Torrential Rains In South Korea; Israel Recognizes Morocco's Sovereignty Over Western Sahara. Aired 2- 3a ET

Aired July 18, 2023 - 02:00   ET

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

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[02:00:29]

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church. Just ahead on CNN NEWSROOM. From blistering heat to deadly flooding. Extreme summer weather is creating dangerous conditions for people across the northern hemisphere. The record-breaking weather extremes coming as America's climate envoy John Kerry is in Beijing looking to improve cooperation on tackling the climate crisis.

Plus. Russia officially pulls out of the Ukraine Grain Deal, raising fears that food could soon be in short supply in parts of the world that need it most.

ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Rosemary Church.

CHURCH: Thanks for joining us. Well, Southern Europe is waking up to another day of scorching temperatures as the second extreme heat wave of the summer shows no signs of easing. Spain, Italy and Greece are baking in temperatures well above normal for this time of year. Residents and tourists are looking for any way they can to beat the heat. And forecasters say the day ahead may be the hottest. Madrid is looking at a high of 41 degrees. Rome can expect 40 degrees and Athens could top 37 degrees.

The extreme heat is sparking wildfires across Greece and in Spain's Canary Islands, off the west coast of Africa. Reuters reports thousands of people have been evacuated as nearly 5,000 hectares have burned. The heat is not limited to Europe. Death Valley in California hit 55 degrees Celsius or 132 Fahrenheit on Monday. A dome of high pressure has settled over the region, pushing the mercury to record highs.

But nothing compares to the flaming mountains in northwest China. Tourists flocked to the region where the thermometer reached a shocking 80 degrees Celsius on Sunday. CNN's Barbie Nadeau is live this hour in Rome at the Trevi Fountain. She joins us now. Good to see you, Barbie. So, record high temperatures are severely impacting the lives of tourists and residents across Italy and of course other parts of Southern Europe. How are people coping with this?

BARBIE NADEAU, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, you know, one of the things we're seeing is people are going out earlier in the morning. It's 8:00 a.m. here in the morning and the Trevi Fountain i's packed. There are people here already and they're trying to beat the heat. You know, it's been a relatively cool morning and then all of a sudden the sun pops up and you can really feel that burning heat come in.

We took a closer look though at the rest of Southern Europe and this devastating heat wave.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NEDEAU (voiceover): Summer is here. But across Europe people are battling the extreme heat just to keep cool. Spain, Italy and Greece are just some of the countries that have been battling the blistering sun for days already. In Italy authorities issued extreme health warnings saying that even hotter temperatures are yet to come. And even for locals, it's sweltering.

FEDERICO BRATTI, ROME RESIDENT (through translator): This is not normal. I don't remember such intense heat especially at this time of year.

NEDEAU (voiceover): But that didn't stop people from trying to catch a glimpse of the Pope. As priests, nuns, locals and tourists filled out St. Peter's Square. Dancing around in the heat. One priest from the Democratic Republic of Congo compared Italy's son to being hotter than Africa.

FRANCOIS MBEMBA, PRIEST FROM DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO (through translator): The heat goes on well into the night and sometimes we even find it hard to sleep.

NEDEAU (voiceover): In Rome's zoo it's feeding time and workers are giving animals frozen fruits as treats to help keep them cool. A walk on break during the heat wave.

Over in Spain, it was a long night for firefighters battling a wildfire in the Canary Islands raging in a dry wooded area. Emergency workers are however not losing hope.

JOSE FERNDANDEZ, LA PALMA FIREFIGHTER: It was a bit difficult because of the shifting wind and the heat of the last days but we're holding on.

NEDEAU (voiceover): Last week tours who braved Athens heat did so while stopping by the fountain in Syntagma Square to cool down.

As temperatures rose above 40 degrees Celsius or 104 degrees Fahrenheit in some areas. These horses also felt the heat after being evacuated from their stables because of wildfires ripping through their home.

[02:05:06]

After extreme heat caused nearly 62,000 deaths in Europe last year, meteorologists are warning that over the next few days, things could get worse in parts of Europe. And this intense and prolonged period of extreme heat could be the new norm.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NADEAU: And, you know, Rosemary, when you just look at those devastating fires and the effect it has on livestock and wildlife and things like that, you know, it's tough for the tourists but it's really hard for the infrastructure in the southern European countries. And the residents, especially the elderly, especially the vulnerable. Those are the people people really need to worry about. Rosemary?

CHURCH: Absolutely right. Barbie Nadeau joining us live from Rome. Many thanks. Well, the northern summer is brutal right now for people across the globe. CNN meteorologist Chad Myers has a look at the miserable conditions from Asia to North America.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Some dreadful and deadly heat across the northern hemisphere. Obviously, summertime there but some of these temperatures here especially for places like China, 126 degrees Fahrenheit. 52.2. It has never ever been hotter in any city in China than that right there. That's an all-time country record. So yes, it has been hot and it's still hot. Now there will be a little bit of a tropical system that will cool Beijing down with some clouds and maybe even a shower or two.

But that's all part of the front that's going to move on by even in parts of Tokyo cool you down just a little bit as the (INAUDIBLE) just gets a little bit farther to the south there. This is where the rainfall is going to be with the last typhoon Talim, just to the north of Hanoi, likely the heaviest rainfall there. Here's what the radar would likely look like for this. The forecast radar watched the circulation there to the west of Hong Kong.

Made landfall on Monday. Still going to put down quite a bit of rainfall though, for today and into tomorrow as we start to see that storm kind of wind down in speed intensity but still bringing an awful lot of tropical moisture with it. Here's the rainfall across from Tokyo and Seoul. This is where the area is going to cool down a little bit with that cloud cover.

And then we take a look at what South Korea had. Almost the half a meter in many spots and more than a half a meter in just a few. We certainly don't need any more rainfall there across parts of South Korea. The heat is still on in Europe, it's not really going away. Northwestern Europe is an absolutely has been very, very cool. But it's the Mediterranean down here. Italy, Rome all the way into Greece, temperatures are going to be the hottest set. They'll be on Tuesday. Beginning to cool back down just a little bit. But Rome, 41 in the afternoon, that's going to be a very hot day. Then the hottest for the rest of the week as we cooled down back into 30s. But that's still well above normal for Rome. So above normal for Athens as well and not really cooling down there much. Temperatures in the afternoon, right around 40 degrees.

The United States still has this heat dome over to the desert southwest, and we call it a desert Southwest because it doesn't rain there very much in the summertime. But when it doesn't rain, an awful lot like when India doesn't get the monsoon on time. It can get very, very hot and there will be showers and there will be a southwest monsoon here in parts of the United States Southwest.

That will cool the area down in the afternoon where it won't heat up as much. But it will be muggy and the heat index will go way up. We'll see temperatures and Death Valley, not very many people live there. But people want to go there to visit, to feel what 50 degrees Celsius really feels like. Las Vegas, you'll be in the middle 40s. Even in the afternoon, there will be a couple of showers around to just starting that little bit of monsoon there across parts of the Desert Southwest.

So yes, the heat is on. And it seems like worldwide. Very few record low places, if any, across the globe right now.

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CHURCH: The U.S. climate envoy is holding another round of talks in China meant to restart climate negotiations between the two countries that are of course the world's biggest polluters. John Kerry has been meeting with the Communist Party's foreign policy chief Wang Yi as both the U.S. and China suffer through extreme heat. And CNN's Anna Coren is covering this for us. She joins us live from Hong Kong. Good to see you, Anna.

So, what has John Kerry achieved so far?

ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rosemary, John Kerry really is taking these diplomatic talks in Beijing to another level. You know, he's telling China's top diplomat that climate cooperation between the two countries could in fact redefined the strange relationship between the U.S. and China. As you say he's meeting with Wang Yi at the Great Hall of the People this morning.

Kerry said that talks could provide a fresh start for the world's two largest greenhouse gas emitter on other issues that have caused serious tension such as Taiwan, trade, restrictions on the sale of advanced technology regarding semiconductors.

[02:10:12]

Let's take a listen to what Kerry had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KERRY, UNITED STATES SPECIAL PRESIDENT CLIMATE ENVOY: Our hope is now that this could be the beginning of a new definition of collaboration and the capacity to resolve the differences between us. We both know there are real differences, but we also know that from experience, if we work at it, we can find the path ahead in ways that resolve these challenges.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COREN: Kerry is not your average U.S. diplomat. He was a presidential Democratic nominee. He was U.S. Secretary of State under President Obama. I mean, he is the consummate professional when it comes to this. Wang described Kerry is my old friend saying they had worked together on a series of problems including the Iran nuclear talks. Kerry also had a message to convey from the U.S. president.

He said that Joe Biden values his relationship with Xi Jinping and is very committed to civility in the U.S.-China relationship and to achieve efforts together that makes significant difference to the world. Now yesterday, Kerry met with his counterpart Xie Zhenhua for nearly 12 hours. Wang praised Kerry and Xie for their hard work throughout the talks. And Kerry said in a tweet, Rosemary. And we might bring that up for you that the climate crisis demands the world's two largest economies to work together to limit the Earth's warming and take urgent action on coal and methane pollution.

Now climate experts have said that any move to cooperate on methane, a greenhouse gas responsible for roughly 30 percent of global warming could provide a way forward. Now this is Kerry's third visit to China as U.S. climate envoy and really marks the formal resumption of top- level climate diplomacy between the two countries. He of course, is the third top U.S. official to visit Beijing in the past month.

There was a U.S. Secretary of State, followed by the Treasury Secretary, now John Kerry. It is hoped, Rosemary, that U.S. and China will be on the same page ahead of the U.N. Climate Conference Cop 28 at the end of November in Dubai. Back to you.

CHURCH: All right. Anna Coren joining us live from Hong Kong. Many thanks.

And I want to bring in Bernice Lee now who is the research director at the International Affairs Think Tank, Chatham House, and the Hoffman Distinguished Fellow for sustainability. Thank you so much for being with us.

BERNICE LEE, RESEARCH DIRECTOR, CHATHAM HOUSE: hi.

CHURCH: So, U.S. climate envoy John Kerry met with his Chinese counterpart for about four hours or so calling for urgent joint action to cut methane and coal pollution. But how likely is it that China will take any concrete action on this and the U.S. for that matter, both nations being the world's biggest greenhouse gas emitters?

LEE: Well, I mean, given the level of mistrust between the two sides, it is obviously good that they're talking about talking. Talking about having diplomatic track on these issues. At the same time, either sides could be really seem to be taking orders from each other in terms of climate action, even though they're probably both actually doing quite a lot on all the areas that we're talking about here.

There is reportedly a methane action plan that China has been working on even though it hasn't been made public, for example. The idea is that because of the renewables as well, that China has been putting on line, they are really overachieving on the renewables target. And the next step will indeed be about how can they really concretely reduce even more coal consumption as well.

CHURCH: So with expectations, apparently, so low what exactly are the goals for this visit and what is achievable this time?

LEE: I think that because the expectations are set low because of the politics, it is important that they keep talking, having a diplomatic track would be a first step. And then again, you know, having a tracker platform doesn't necessarily mean cooperation. It could mean coordination, information, exchange, and dialogues. All of which could help the two sides build towards more trust so that they could indeed do more, as I think Secretary Kerry said earlier in the quote cited, that they could do more to contribute to global climate affairs as well.

So, I think that right now, the best thing to do is to make sure that they keep talking and that the areas of -- the areas of "contention" are on the working level continuing so that there could be progress as well down the line.

CHURCH: And on that, why is it so critical that the U.S. and China ensure they remain engaged in dialogue on climate issues, if that's perhaps all that's achieved at this juncture?

LEE: Well, I mean, the two sides are obviously two of the largest emitters. The rest of the world will take -- will take note whether or not the two sides are working together as a sign of whether or not there is indeed prospect for stronger climate action.

[02:15:09]

But also, ultimately, even though they may not, "cooperate" being able to move separately together is extremely important when it comes to the question about solving the climate challenge which is also about scale and about speed as well. So, sending the right signal together is extremely important, even though they may not be doing this hand holding so to speak.

CHURCH: And is setting more targets and commitments perhaps, for China and the U.S. about all we can expect from these talks, and will they ever meet those targets, even if they are set?

LEE: I'm not sure that this talk will give us more targets, but I think working towards those will be extremely important down the line. And the reason for that is because I think certainly what I'm hearing as well from folks in Beijing are telling me, you know, the academics and others we talk to is that, well, China kind of feels that he has overachieved on the renewables target. And it's quite unlikely they want to go back and revise it today. But at the same time because they're overachieving on the renewables, the hope is that that would actually provide a very solid backdrop for all the other things that needs to happen such as, you know, having properly concrete toll reduction targets, even though at the moment it is really about reducing energy demand still and looking at the quality of the -- of the growth increasingly.

CHURCH: Bernice Lee, thank you so much for joining us. Appreciate it. Well, Ukraine says it's destroyed Russian missiles and drones targeting the Black Sea port city of Odesa. It comes hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed retaliation for a damaging attack on a Key Bridge. We will have all the details straight ahead.

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CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Russian drones and missiles have targeted the Ukrainian port city of Odesa overnight. Hours after Moscow pulled out of the deal enabling ships to safely carry Ukrainian grain across the Black Sea. A CNN team in Odesa recorded this video of a large explosion in the sky. Ukrainian officials say their air defense forces are working successfully. Though they warn several waves of attacks are expected and missiles could still be incoming.

The barrage also comes less than a day after Ukraine admitted its naval drones severely damaged the Kerch Bridge. A vital Transit Link between mainland Russia and occupied Crimea.

Well, it's not clear if the attacks on Odesa are Russia's retaliation for the strike on the bridge. But Vladimir Putin called it a terrorist act which left two people dead and he is vowing payback. CNN's Alex Marquardt is in Odesa.

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ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): A brazen strike on Russia's bridge that links it to the illegally annexed Crimean Peninsula.

[02:20:03]

The roadway a mangled mess after Ukrainian sea drones targeted it just before dawn. At least two people. Russian parents of a small girl were killed in the attack according to Russian officials. The child was injured. Trafficked on the critical highway grinding to a halt. The trains temporarily stopped.

Russian President Vladimir Putin called it a terrorist attack. Vowing there will be a response and that the Russian military is preparing options. New satellite imagery shows extensive damage from the blasts. A section of the bridge knocked out. Russian authorities now say it won't be fully functional until November. Ukraine quickly claimed that it was behind this secret operation. A rare admission saying it was a joint operation by Ukraine's Navy and security services which cryptically tweeted the bridge was sleeping again.

A reference to a huge explosion in October last year, as a fuel truck exploded on the 12-mile 19-kilometer-long bridge, igniting a passing train. Putin then called it an act of sabotage appearing on the bridge when it was reopened two months later, a direct strike on his nearly $4 billion project. Connecting Russia to Crimea that he personally inaugurated in 2018. It has become a vital supply route for both the Crimean population and the Russian military's fight in southern Ukraine.

Ukraine sees the bridge not just as a ripe but highly symbolic target. Hours after the blasts Russia announced it is pulling out of the international agreement that allows Ukraine to ship grain to the world.

ANTONIO GUTERRES, UNITED NATIONS SECRETARY GENERAL: Today's decision by the Russian Federation will strike a blow to people in need everywhere. But it will not stop our efforts to facilitate the unimpeded access to global markets for food products and fertilizers from both Ukraine and the Russian Federation.

MARQUARDT (voiceover): Russia claims the deal only benefited Ukraine while its own food and fertilizer had been blocked. The decision was not connected Russia said to the bridge attack. The last grain ship sailed from Odesa's port on Sunday. A United Nations official tells CNN that Russia's announcement appears final.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MARQUARDT: Russia received global widespread condemnation for pulling out of this Green Deal the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken calling it unconscionable, echoing comments earlier in the day from the U.N. Secretary General Blinken saying that Russia is responsible for denying food to people who desperately need it. As for that attack on the Kerch Bridge, President Putin says he wants work to begin immediately to restore it.

But a senior Russian official warns that it may not be back up and running until mid-September. That is just half of the roadway won't be fully operational. The deputy prime minister says until 3-1/2 months from now early November. This was a significant attack by Ukraine's armed forces. Alex Marquardt, CNN in Odesa.

CHURCH: CNN's Clare Sebastian is tracking all these developments from London. She joins us now live. Good morning to you, Clare. So, what is the latest on those strikes on Odesa and what more are you learning about Russia's response to the Kerch Bridge attack?

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Rosemary. The attacks overnight, it seems that there's a good chance it wasn't coincidental that Russia in the wake of pulling out of the Grain Deal and that attack on the Kerch Bridge would target Odesa for one that is Ukraine's biggest sea port. One of the ports included in that Black Sea Green Initiative. Mykolaiv also, down the Black Sea coast, another grain producing region targeted seems to have been a relatively big attack.

Six Kalibr missiles according to the Ukrainian military. They were all shot down more than two dozen drones targeting both those regions to 21 of which in the desert were shut down, four in Mykolaiv. Though there was some damage in Odesa cause to a port facility. So look, aside from the obviously the futility of this being a revenge attack and a war where Russia is already the aggressor. Certainly, Ukraine is interpreting it this way.

The head of Zelenskyy's office saying this morning that this is further proof that Russia is trying to achieve a sort of a goal of causing hunger for 400 million people. He says the world must realize that the goal of Russia is hunger and killing people. They need waves of refugees. This is how they want to weaken the West. So, you know, it may have been the response that Russia has called for the President Putin called for on Monday.

Though, of course, these aerial overnight assaults are part of a pattern that we see from Russia. In fact, they targeted Odesa just exactly a week ago. Today, separately, Russia is saying that it averted a drone attack by Ukraine on the Crimean Peninsula saying that they shut down 28 Ukrainian drones. So, that Perhaps showing again that Ukraine is targeting the return of that peninsula as well as the other occupied regions. Rosemary?

[02:25:07]

CHURCH: And Clare, what has been the international response to Russia withdrawing from the Black Sea Grain Deal?

SEBASTIAN: So widespread condemnation, Rosemary as Alex was pointing out. Secretary Blinken saying that trust is now weakened to such an extent that it will make it hard to even seek alternative routes for Ukrainian grain. The head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen condemning it as a cynical move. The U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres addressed the fact that Russia is claiming that it is not benefiting enough from this deal.

Saying that he sent a letter to President Putin in recent days outlining various successes that they've had in terms of concessions for Russia so far. Outlining a further proposal on one of Russia's key demands, which was to reconnect its agricultural bank to the Swift International Payment System. He also said that Russia's own grain and food exports have in his words stabilized and in fact, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is forecasting that Russian wheat exports for the year that just ended in June are set to have hit a record.

So look, Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman is saying that if Russia's demands are met, the deal could be reinstated. I think that's perhaps why we haven't seen more of a reaction from the sort of food commodities markets, wheat prices, corn prices, things like that. But it isn't clear at this point what the threshold for that would be. Rosemary?

CHURCH: All right. We'll keep watching that. Clare Sebastian joining us live from London. Many thanks.

And coming up. South Korea is assessing the damage from a weekend of floods and is bracing for the next torrential rains in the forecast.

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CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Forecasters say the heatwave scorching Southern Europe will get even worse this week. Temperatures across Spain, Italy and Greece are soaring above the 40-degree mark. One climatologist compared the bubble of hot air over the region to a giant pizza oven. The heat house sparked 81 wildfires across Greece, threatening homes and farms. Dozens of horses were moved to safety as the flames closed in on their stables.

[02:30:07]

Cities across Asia are looking at more heat in the days ahead. Beijing can expect a high of 39 on Wednesday, Taipei will top out at 35. Seoul and Tokyo will see highs of 33. The southwestern U.S. isn't getting any reprieve either. Phoenix, Arizona has seen 18 straight days above 110 degrees Fahrenheit or 43 degrees Celsius.

At least a dozen people have died this month from the heat. Torrential rains and possible flash flooding could be in the mix for the Northeastern U.S. today. Here's a look at areas facing excessive rainfall Tuesday into Wednesday morning, some are already saturated. Floodwaters crumbled this roadway in Hillsborough, New Hampshire, the Asheville just gave way under all that water and rolled up.

And in Bucks County, Pennsylvania at least five people have died after being swept up by flash flooding over the weekend. Well, heavy rainfall in South Korea has damaged dozens of cultural heritage sites. Torrential rains have pummeled the country for days leaving at least 41 temples and historic monuments with collapsed walls and damaged roofs. And the death toll from the rain caused disasters has now reached 41. Anna Coren has our report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNA COREN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): Apocalyptic scenes in South Korea as an onslaught of Torrential rain causes flooding and landslides, leaving more than 40 people dead and thousands in shelters. In Yecheon, about 200 kilometers south of the capital Seoul, a landslide enveloped around 30 homes in mud, killing multiple people.

South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol visited the area on Monday. He promised to mobilize all resources to help with the disaster, including the police and military. Yeol also met with local residents made homeless who are now gathering in a community shelter. He pledged to build new homes for those who had lost this.

KIM CHUN-JA, RESIDENT: People don't have a place to live. We're gathering here because we have to eat, and we have to sleep.

COREN (voiceover): The rains have pummeled central and southern regions of the country since Thursday. And another deluge is expected in the coming days. Authorities say more than 40 cultural heritage sites have been damaged, including temples listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. On Saturday, another disaster unfolded in the town of Osong, about 130 kilometers south of Seoul. A levee broke and flooded and nearby underpass in just minutes. 17 vehicles were trapped, including a bus and its passengers.

The search has now ended after rescuers pulled out 14 bodies. Locals criticized the decision to keep the road open despite a flood warning. South Korea's President blamed the failure of the authorities to follow disaster response rules. And he warned that they need to do a lot more to prepare for the future.

YOON SUK YEOL, PRESIDENT OF SOUTH KOREA (through translator): This kind of extreme weather event will become commonplace. We must accept climate changes happening and deal with it. The idea that extreme weather linked to climate change is an anomaly and can't be helped, it needs to be completely overhauled.

COREN (voiceover): Yeol's words will echo with other world leaders facing similar threats to their population. As Asia, the U.S. and Europe suffer record breaking heat waves and severe flooding this summer. Anna Coren, CNN, Hong Kong.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Israel has recognized Morocco sovereignty over the long- disputed territory of Western Sahara. The Royal office of Morocco says it was notified of the decision in a letter from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The statement says Mr. Netanyahu is also examining the possibility of opening a consulate in the city of Dhakla. Morocco wants recognition of its sovereignty over the region. But the Algerian-backed Polisario Front, want an independent state there.

The White House's U.S. President Joe Biden will probably meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this year. It comes after a phone call between the two leaders on Monday. U.S. officials say details of the meeting are still being worked out. But it might take place in autumn in the U.S. It follows months of tension between Biden and Netanyahu in part over the Israeli Prime Minister's contentious proposal to overhaul the country's judicial system.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KIRBY, U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL COMMS. COORDINATOR: That doesn't mean that -- and you shouldn't take away from the fact that they had a conversation today. And that they will meet again in the fall, that we have less concerns over these judicial reforms or less concerns over some of the extremist activities and behavior by some members of the Netanyahu cabinet. Those concerns are still valid, they're disturbing. The President had a chance to reiterate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[02:35:26]

CHURCH: The announcement comes as Mr. Biden is set to meet Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Washington in the coming hours. Well, China's Foreign Minister and former Ambassador to the United States has suddenly disappeared from public view. The Chinese government has cited health reasons. But as we hear from CNN's Will Ripley, that excuse is raising eyebrows. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: There are a few reasons why the disappearance of Qin Gang, China's Foreign Minister is really sparking so much mystery, so much speculation, really rampant rumors across China. That is because one, he was or is trying to second highest diplomat after Wang Yi. He's spent his whole career working as a diplomat. He was promoted to the Foreign Minister post last December after working as the Chinese Ambassador of the U.S.

He was a well-known voice in Washington speaking on behalf of Beijing's interests. Even in an aggressive tone that made him unpopular with a lot of other diplomats from, certainly from the west. He was a trusted aide though of the Chinese leader Xi Jinping. And that's the reason why he was installed into this important position because Xi, when he received that unprecedented presidential term, the third presidential term, he essentially surrounded himself an analysts say with an echo chamber of yes men and Qin Gang was believed to be one of them.

He met with Blinken, Secretary of State of the United States Antony Blinken during his visit to Beijing in June. But he was last seen in public on June 25, when he met with Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister. This absence is incredibly noteworthy given the flurry of diplomatic activity that he has missed during the period that he's been disappeared. He missed meetings with Janet Yellen, John Kerry two top U.S. officials.

And last week, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs only offered the explanation that this health reasons, were the reason why he has been absent for so long. And then they said that China's diplomatic activities are continuing on as usual. So, that brief health reasons excuse that someone calling it from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has a lot of people in China wondering, what really happened?

And there are all these rumors online, rumors that are frankly driven by the real lack of transparency inside the government in Beijing. When you're talking about the Communist Party and particularly Communist Party officials under investigation when people are disappeared and it may be months before the world learns what happened. Will Ripley, CNN, Taipei.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Coming up, Twitter closed its only office in Africa just days after opening. Now, former employees tell CNN, the company has ghosted them and is cheating them out of severance pay. We'll explain.

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[02:40:12]

CHURCH: Welcome back everyone. Well, in the month since billionaire Elon Musk took over Twitter, the company has been turned nearly upside down. He has laid off thousands of workers including those Twitter's only Africa office. And since then, they say the company has ghosted them, refusing to pay them severance. CNN's Larry Madowo explains.

LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: These former employees in Twitter's only office in Africa, feel that they're being treated differently compared to those who are laid off in Europe or North America. Today, did not even formally begin discussing a Separation Agreement with them until after CNN reported on their case. And after that, these employees feel that they were low balled by Twitter.

They were reluctantly forced into accepting this severance offer of three months' pay as well as repatriation costs for foreign workers could move into Ghana for their job and the legal costs of the negotiation process. But after agreeing on all that back in May, they haven't heard back from the company. I want to read the statement from the lawyer. Carla Olympio has been representing them she says, "Unfortunately, it appears that after having unethically implemented their terminations in violation of their own promises and Ghana's laws dragging the negotiation process out for over half a year.

Now that we have come to the point of almost settlement, there has been complete silence from them for several weeks." The attorney representing these former Twitter Africa employees says, she is considering legal options for action against Twitter and other jurisdictions, including Ghana. And this is not hundreds of employees. There were just 11 people who are asking for this severance from Twitter. And they feel that the world's richest man surely can afford to pay them. Larry Madowo, CNN, Nairobi.

CHURCH: An unopened first-generation iPhone has sold at auction for more than $190,000. That's more than 317 times the original retail price when it was released back in 2007. This model is special because it was discontinued after two months, since customers wanted more storage for photos and music.

The auction firm belonged to a member of the original Apple engineering team when the product was released. According to the auction company, it's the first factory sealed version of the phone to ever surface at auction. And thanks so much for joining us. I'm Rosemary Church, "WORLD SPORT" is coming up next. Then, I'll be back in about 15 minutes with more CNN NEWSROOM. Do stick around.

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