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Waves Of Russian Strikes Take A Toll On Odesa; U.S. Confirms Ukraine Now Using U.S. Cluster Bombs; Protesters March In India To Protest Manipur Sexual Assaults; Iraq Expels Sweden Ambassador, Recalls Envoy to Sweden; Kenya Braces for Third Day of Demonstrations; New Zealand Score Emotional First-Ever Win; U.S. Aim to Make History with Third Straight Title; Fast Fashion Impact on Environment; Hollywood Embraces A.I. Technology. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired July 21, 2023 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[01:00:23]
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome everyone, coming from Studio 4 at the CNN Center in Atlanta. I'm Michael Holmes. Appreciate your company. Coming up on CNN Newsroom, relentless attacks on southern Ukraine including sites to link to grain shipments. Russia's decision to pull out of the grain making deal making matters worse, sending prices spiking.
Clothing littered as far as the eye can see many of the new unworn clothes. We'll take a look at how some of our fashion habits are impacting the environment.
And Hollywood Studios embrace artificial intelligence. We'll look at how it's being used in movies and what jobs could be at risk.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from CNN Center. This is CNN Newsroom with Michael Holmes.
HOLMES: And we begin the program in the Ukrainian city of Odesa, which has now received the all clear after an air raid alert early on Friday.
Air raid sirens went off for a fourth night in a row but unlike the previous night's there were no reports of Russian attacks. To the southeast, the bridge linking Russia and occupied Crimea is up and running again after a temporary closure late on Thursday. That's according to Russian appointed officials who said the bridge was closed during an air raid alarm.
Meanwhile, the U.S. says its cluster munitions supplied to Ukraine have been used in battle. The U.S. National Security Council says they're already having an impact on Russian defenses.
Days of Russian drone and missile strikes have taken a toll on Odesa and other parts of southern Ukraine. President Zelenskyy says about 70 missiles and 90 drones were launched. CNN's Fred Pleitgen reports. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): Search and rescue crews trying to save lives after another round of Russian airstrikes in southern Ukraine. Moscow's army claiming they're hitting military targets.
The Russian armed forces continued retaliatory strikes with sea and air based high precision weapons on workshops and warehouses with unmanned boats in Odesa and Chornomorsk, the spokesman says.
But the Ukrainian say the Russians are targeting civilian infrastructure. One person was killed and several wounded when a missile hit this building in the port city Odesa, the mayor irate.
Another terrorist attack by nonhumans on the peaceful city of Odesa, he says. Look at what they're doing. This is a nursery. There's a kindergarten nearby. Others desperately hoping their loved ones might be found alive.
They're searching for my grandson, this man says, from the recording it seems he went down to the basement they're trying to dig up the rubble.
Ukraine's air defenses were only able to shoot down about a quarter of the cruise missiles Russia fired, Kyiv says. Putin's military using some of its heaviest naval missiles designed to destroy warships and even aircraft carriers.
There is no possibility to shoot them down because we understand what kind of missiles they are how fast they fly and their trajectory, the spokesman for the Air Force says.
Ukraine says it needs more and better air defense capabilities from the U.S. and its allies are the authorities here we'll be able to do little more than try to save victims from the rubble after the attacks. Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Berlin.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: U.N. Secretary General condemning Russia's attacks on Odesa, saying that the destruction of port facilities is having a negative impact well beyond Ukraine. Grain prices spiked on Thursday and wheat and corn futures continued to rise after Russia's decision to pull out of the deal allowing Ukraine to export grain through the Black Sea. The World Food Program tells CNN the U.N. will not give up on negotiations to revive that deal.
But the international community needs to push for more than just a partial humanitarian agreement. The World Food Program warns the collapse of the deal leaves in their words a massive hole in their operations.
[01:05:00]
Ukraine's foreign minister on Thursday accused Vladimir Putin of racketeering by killing the agreement.
And Timothy Ash is an Associate Fellow in the Russia and Eurasia Program at Chatham House and a senior sovereign strategist at Bluebay Asset Management. He joins me now from London. Thanks for getting up early for us, Sir.
One of the immediate effects of Russia's withdrawal, as we just said, is prices rising, what are going to be the other major impacts of Russia pulling out of the deal?
TIMOTHY ASH, RBC BLUEBAY ASSET MANAGEMENT: Well, it's kind of political. Obviously, it strains relationships with Turkey, and probably China as well. Yesterday, we heard that some of the grain that was targeted in Odesa was 60,000 tons of it was aimed to be to be sent to China. So it's going to strain that relationship or question that relationship and question whether Turkey and China need to do more to force Russia to stop this invasion, and go to the negotiating table.
HOLMES: Before the Grain Deal emerged, you know, when grain ships were blocked last time, food prices went up. Some nations were hit really hard, both in terms of prices, but also, crucially supply. How soon for those sorts of things to happen again now that the deal is off again?
ASH: I think it's happening already. I mean, obviously, the global south countries in Africa, for example, are most badly impacted. Unfortunately, the poorest countries in the world, again, that are indeed getting impacted by climate change, but also that they're getting impacted very aggressively by the global cost of living crisis, which really has been caused by Putin.
And I think by these attacks, he shows that actually doesn't really care about the global south. There's been a battle for the hearts and minds of the global south about this war that Putin has raged. And as I mentioned, I mean, I think, interestingly, what he's doing now shows his weakness at home, shows the impact of the Wagner coup attempt. And it's an attempt by Putin to retake the initiative, I think, and show that he's still the -- is still a player, people still need to come to him to negotiate. I think, actually, that's what this is all about.
This is not about grain supply from Russia, or trying to improve exports of fertilizer. They were okay even before this, the grain blockade was ended. It's about putting supposition at home, I think after Wagner.
HOLMES: Yes, You make a great point, because Russian grain exports are actually higher than they were the year before they've gone up. And also, another good point is that, you know, a lot of these countries are getting a double whammy of climate change crop failure and now this.
What then are the alternatives for Ukraine to get its grain out if not by sea? There are options, but they're not simple or fast, right?
ASH: Unfortunately, no, I mean, it's transport by land, by road or by rail. And obviously, you know, it means transporting mostly through the rest of emerging Europe. And obviously, you know, there have been complications there in some of its neighbors in Poland, in Hungary, et cetera, that don't -- the farmers that don't like grain from Ukraine been effectively dumped in their markets, depresses prices there obviously. So that's a political complication.
I think, you know, what we need to see is greater coordination from the European Union to make sure this grain gets out. And also obviously, you know, question marks, could there be a new deal where Russia is excluded from the, you know, the grain shipments by sea, and there's some kind of NATO or Turkish or even global south assisted convoy style system to get grain out.
But I guess Putin's bombing of the actual infrastructure in Odesa, the grain silos, et cetera makes that even that quite difficult if that infrastructure is destroyed. It's difficult to get it out physically by sea.
HOLMES: Yes, yes, which Zelenskyy says targeting of the grain silos that Odesa is just another war crime. Turkeys been a key middleman, a broker in the grain deal from the get go, really. But, you know, recently Turkey hasn't been pleasing Putin with things like dropping opposition to Sweden joining NATO. They sent home those Ukrainian soldiers who were meant to stay in Turkey until the war ended.
Does Turkey's President Erdogan have the influence to change Putin's mind on the Grain Deal? How do you see that dynamic?
ASH: Well, you're right. I mean, I think possibly a little bit of this is frustration annoyance with Turkey. Russia has argued that he broke that deal in terms of the Azov commanders. Turkey is also been stepping up military support for Ukraine, not only through drones, but providing a lot of armaments.
But actually, Turkey still has leverage. It's still a conduit for a huge amount of business that Russia does internationally. It helps Russia circumvent sanctions is the diplomatic word probably to say there.
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You know, I was in Istanbul last week full of Russian tourists, right? I mean, it is -- it helps Russia certainly. And if Turkey stopped that, if the relationship with Russia deteriorated to such an extent, because of the ending of this blockade, I think that would really, really damage Russia badly.
So I think that they'd be reluctant to do this -- to do things that would permanently break that relationship with Turkey. So Turkey still has leverage. It can still can get Russia back to the negotiating table about these great grain exports.
But you know, as was said already, you know, if you destroy that infrastructure, that key infrastructure on the parts that Ukraine has left it, you know, it physically makes it very difficult to ship grain by sea. HOLMES: Great analysis. Fascinating. Timothy Ash, I really appreciate your time early there for you in London. Thanks so much.
ASH: My pleasure.
HOLMES: Well, Ukraine began using us cluster bombs against Russian forces almost as soon as those weapons arrived in the country, sending those munitions was a high risk move, and U.S. officials are closely monitoring how and where they're used, as well as what impact they're having on the battlefield. CNN's Oren Liebermann is at the Pentagon with details.
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OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (on camera): U.S. cluster munitions began arriving in Ukraine sometime last week, and it seems Ukraine has already been putting them to good use. According to two U.S. officials who are familiar with the information, Ukraine has already begun using cluster munitions in its ongoing counteroffensive against occupying Russian forces.
The White House even acknowledged the use of cluster munitions, saying they're using them appropriately. Because of the controversy around cluster munitions there was an agreement between the U.S. and Ukraine to make sure that Ukrainian forces didn't use them in urban areas or against civilian targets. That's because all of the bomblets within the cluster munition can create a danger hitting a wider area. And if there are duds that explode later, those two can create a risk.
But the White House says Ukrainian forces have been using them appropriately and crucially also effectively against defensive Russian lines that have proven a tremendous challenge to Ukraine, as it tries to break through and make progress and it's counter offensive.
The White House said the National Security Council said that Ukrainian forces have used them effectively to move around and disrupt Russian defensive formations and positions along the front line as Ukraine pushes forward and it's counteroffensive.
on the question of how effective they've been and what sort of difference they have made. That's something the U.S. is looking for very carefully to find out how effective the impact of cluster munitions on the battlefield so again, the U.S. and officials here watching that very closely to try to learn more, even with the controversy around them.
The Biden administration made the decision to send over cluster munitions because of Ukraine's need for more artillery ammunition in its ongoing counter offensive, and especially as that counter offensive comes after about a year and a half of war. Oren Liebermann, CNN in the Pentagon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Turning now to India, where shocking and graphic video has emerged showing two women being brutally sexually assaulted. Protests broke out after the videos released. CNN has seen the video but we're not showing it obviously out of respect for the survivors of what was a brutal attack and indigenous groups as the assault happened in early May in the northeastern state of Manipur.
The video shows a terrified women being forced to walk naked through a crowd of fully clothed men. The group then says they were taken to a field and gang raped and allegation under investigation.
CNN Vedika Sud joins me now from New Delhi with more. Vedika, tell us what you can do about this but also the reactions and the outrage over the video and what it shows.
VEDIAK SUD, CNN REPORTER: Despicable, ghastly, shocking, deeply disturbing, horrifying, just some of the words people are using on social media and beyond Michael after watching that video that's gone viral over the last 48 hours.
There's national outrage here in India of the video where of course like you pointed out we won't be showing that video because we cannot and should not for several reasons, especially to respect those two women and what they've been through.
But here's what we saw and we were shocked to see this video when itself is online. Two women were forced to walk naked across the street. They were surrounded by a mob of men fully clothed. They were assaulted. One of the women was slapped on the face while another man groped her. They were forced into a paddy field.
This video which is about 26 seconds long, every frame of it shocks you. It leaves you disgusted, depressed and a loss for words to see what they went through.
[01:15:03]
These women were sexually assaulted. The mob consists of more than two dozen men. And a lot of reactions have been coming in. They've been protests in Delhi by the opposition party, the Congress Party, they took to the roads of Delhi yesterday, demanding action and justice for these two women.
Inside Parliament, the opposition party is demanding a statement from the ruling government, the Narendra Modi government in power. They want the Prime Minister to come out and make a statement.
The ethnic clashes in Manipur, Michael, have been taking place for over two months. What we know from an indigenous group that has come up with the press statement is that this incident took place on the fourth of May just about when those ethnic clashes in the northeastern state started.
And now there's mounting pressure on the Chief Minister of Manipur to take action to make sure there's justice for these women. But of course, there's so many unanswered questions, which I'll get to in a moment from now.
But also Michael, at this point, women activists are demanding action. They want justice for these two women who are now in a safe house as we've been told. Back to you.
HOLMES: Tell us more about the context in which these ethnic clashes and how that plays in?
SUD: Yes, the ethnic clashes are taking place between two ethnic communities in the northeastern state of Manipur, this has been happening like I said since the beginning of May, and this is essentially two ethnic groups at war over access to government benefits, while one feels they should be the one who get benefits. The other feels they're the ones entitled to it.
One is a larger group essentially with a large Hindu community while the others are from hill tribes in Manipur. But the violence has led to deaths of the last two months. There have been dozens of people dying. A lot of people have seen and witnessed their homes being torched.
And what's really stood out is how the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi only spoke and referred to the issue and the crisis in Manipur after this video emerged, and that was yesterday, right ahead of the monsoon (ph) session of parliament commencing. Here's what the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had to say about the video.
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NARENDRA MODI, INDIAN PRIME MINISTER (through translator): And I want to assure the countrymen that no culprit will be spared the law with all its might and strictness will take steps one by one. Whatever has happened with the daughters of Manipur will never be forgiven.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SUD: The first comment, the first reference to Manipur and the ongoing clashes there, Michael, by the prime minister after months long violence that the state has witnessed. Now the opposition in parliament is demanding a statement from the Indian Prime Minister. They want to only discuss the Manipur crisis.
According to the Chief Minister of Manipur, Michael, four people have been arrested and a massive manhunt has been launched to find the rest of that mob. But the unanswered question that I was talking to you earlier is this. Why has it taken more than two months for the police in Manipur, for the administration in Manipur to bring these people into the jails, into the prisons of Manipur, and take action against them.
Only four arrests. And the more contained dozens of people who groped sexually assaulted and hit these women while they cried for help and cover their bodies just hoping someone would come and help them at that point, but no help came their way. Back to you.
HOLMES: Yes. And why does it take a viral video for something like this to, I mean --
SUD: Absolutely.
HOLMES: That is disgraceful. Vedika a tough story to cover. I appreciate it. Thanks so much. Vedika Sud there.
SUD: Thank you.
HOLMES: All right, quick break here on the program. When we come back, the Pentagon speaks out about the American soldier who went absent without leave as they're putting it and is now being held in North Korea. We'll be right back.
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HOLMES: The U.S. Army says the American soldier held in North Korea would have quote absolutely faced additional consequences for his conduct for committing assault had he followed orders and returned home to the US.
But instead privates traveled to -- Private Travis King snuck out of the Seoul airport joined a tour of the Korean Demilitarized Zone and then bolted into North Korea. He's now officially listed as AWOL which is absent without leave of growth.
CNN's Kristie Lu Stout is live in Hong Kong for us and I guess, concerns mounting about the fate of this guy. I mean, we don't know anything about what's happened to even and what's the status of the investigation.
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Michael concerns are growing because North Korea has been silent you know, silent about the fate of Travis King, the U.S. soldier who dashed across the border into North Korea on Tuesday. The U.S. Army Secretary made her first public comments about the case of Christine Wormuth said that the U.S. has mobilized efforts to Contact North Korea including going through U.N. communications channels but North Korea has yet to respond.
And she also cited the case of Otto Warmbier. That's the American college student who was arrested in North Korea in 2016, who died in 2017, shortly after being released by North Korea. And she said this, let's bring up her quotation from you from the U.S. Army Secretary she said quote, I worry about how they may treat him. So, we want to get him back, end quote.
Now, Mormuth also said that King's motive is unclear. I don't know why he did this. But quote, he absolutely would have faced the consequences for misconduct, if he returned to the U.S. is planning. We also heard from the Pentagon overnight, the Pentagon would not say it believed that Travis King was alive. I want you to listen to this from the Pentagon spokesperson.
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SABRINA SINGH, PENTAGON DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY: The Army has launched an investigation into this incident. It's going to be led by army counterintelligence personnel and they'll be conducting this in coordination with U.S. Forces Korea. So, we are -- at this moment right now I can't tell you more about his whereabouts that's something that the investigation would reveal.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: Now the investigation will be in part looking at where King was between the time he left the airport. And when he went on tour. The tour that he crossed into North Korea from and Singh also said that King was not escorted onto his flight because he wasn't in custody when he was at the airport. His escorts weren't allowed to go beyond security there.
She also said that there was no inclination that King's crossing may have been planned with the North Koreans in advance on the Pentagon describes his formal status in the military as AWOL or absent without leave.
This of course comes at a time of high tension on the Korean peninsula on Wednesday, North Korea fire two more missiles. They fired two short range ballistic missiles. And now Pyongyang has an American soldier in its custody and is not responding to any outreach from the US. Back to you, Michael.
HOLMES: All right. Appreciate it. Kristie, thank you. Kristy Lu Stout there in Hong Kong.
Now the heatwave has gotten so bad in Athens, Greece that the city is closing the Acropolis and other popular tourist attractions during the midday hours. Workers at the monument are staging a partial strike as well through the weekend. They say the conditions are unbearable, and they certainly would be 20 visitors have fainted due to the heat.
Meanwhile, firefighters are battling wildfires outside the Greek capital and on the island of Rhodes, water bombers and reinforcements from Italy, France and Israel all helping out. Temperatures across southern Europe might be a few degrees cooler in the day ahead but that's not going to provide much relief and it might it won't last long.
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CNN's meteorologist Jennifer Gray with the forecast.
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JENNIFER GRAY, CNN METEOROLOGIST (on camera): So these extremely hot temperatures endless, endless summer has been really all over the world, not just across the US. But you can see these areas of high pressure that referred to as heat domes present across the U.S., the tropical Atlantic all the way over to portions of China. We've seen these really, really warm pockets, and that's really not going to change across Europe. We've had incredibly hot temperatures places like Athens have been well into the 40s. You can see 40 degrees on Athens -- in Athens once again on Saturday. We've hit the mid to upper 30s.
Rome seeing temperatures in the lower to mid 30s. Cooler temperatures well to the north, but across the South have been incredibly hot. In fact, 32 degrees is where we should be. Temperatures in Rome will stay well above that for much of the seven day period.
Athens hitting 42 degrees on Sunday back in the 40s once again Wednesday and Thursday. They've actually limited the visiting hours at the Acropolis because of the extreme heat. It's so it is very serious. And we've also seen fires as well across portions of Greece very close to Athens as well.
The excessive heat across the U.S. has been very real as well across the deep south and even the Southwest we have excessive heat watches in place, excessive heat warnings in place, high temperatures hitting the low 40s and Del Rio and this has been going on since the middle of June. Dallas hitting the mid to upper 30s, Houston the upper 30s as well.
So really the heat is going to stick around. It's even hotter across the desert Southwest where temperatures are going to be in the low 50s across Death Valley Friday and Saturday, Sunday 49 degrees, Palm Springs hitting the upper 40s. Phoenix continues that record streak of it consecutive temperatures above 43 degrees at 21. And Phoenix is going to stay very hot for the next seven days.
So 41 degrees is where we should be temperatures just soaring well above that. So, we are still in this for the long haul really not much relief in sight.
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HOLMES: All right, Jennifer Gray there for us. Now there is tremendous backlash against Sweden after any rocky national and his translator desecrate a Koran in Stockholm. We'll have details coming up.
Also, we're living in the era of fast fashion where tons, literally tons, hundreds of tons of discarded clothes end up in landfill. The United Nations calls it and environmental and social emergency. How can we help change that? We'll discuss.
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MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Iraq has kicked out the Swedish ambassador and recalled its own charge d'affaires from Sweden in what is becoming a growing dispute.
That's after Swedish police allowed an Iraqi national to hold a public gathering outside Iraq's embassy in Stockholm with reports saying he intended to burned a Quran.
But before that event ever happened, hundreds of Iraqi protesters stormed to Swedish embassy in Baghdad and set it on fire. Security forces eventually dispersed the demonstrators and put out the flames with Iraqi authorities condemning the attack.
But then that stunt in Stockholm took place, and triggered tremendous anger in other parts of the world as well.
CNN's Salma Abdelaziz takes us through what happened.
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SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The inflammatory actions in Stockholm are sending ripple effects across the Muslim world.
Salman Momika (ph) the same man who just last month was engaged in burning pages of the Quran outside a major mosque in Stockholm held yet another demonstration, this time, in front of the Baghdad embassy -- the Iraqi embassy in Stockholm.
The demonstration lasted about 45 minutes. He was issued, himself and his translator, permits by Swedish police to carry out this protest, although they emphasized that the permit is for the gathering, not for the happenings at the gathering.
The event, the protest, was livestreamed. In the video, you can see Salman Momika, that man, that individual wiping his shoes at one point with the Iraqi flag, and appearing to step on pages of the Quran. It does not appear that he burned the Quran on this incident on Thursday.
Still again, there were repercussions even before the demonstration took place, hundreds of demonstrators in Baghdad stormed Sweden's embassy in the city, setting part of the building alight. They were mostly followers of the Muqtada al-Sadr then prominent Shia cleric who was outspoken on this issue.
Iraq's government crackdown, of course, saying that it's arrested certain individuals, that they would face legal consequences for the storming of the embassy, but at the same time, threatened to sever diplomatic ties with Sweden for permitting the demonstration, for permitting this protest to go ahead in Stockholm.
As the event was taking place, Iraq took the first steps in that, expelling, asking Sweden's ambassador in Iraq to leave the country, and at the same time, recalling its charge d'affaires from Stockholm as well.
We did see that there was information from a telecommunications giant which suspended the license of Sweden's telecommunications giant, Ericsson, and that was suspended by Iraqi authorities as well. But still, causing huge reactions, and huge anger across the Muslim world.
Salma Abdelaziz, CNN -- London.
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HOLMES: Kenya is bracing for a third day of planned anti-government demonstrations called by the opposition. At least three people were killed in clashes with security forces this week in the latest round of protests over tax hikes and the rising cost of living.
Larry Madowo, with the latest for us from Nairobi.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This show of force is how the Kenyan security forces have been responding to these planned three days of anti-government protests. That's why they're getting criticism from the United Nations, from the opposition, from some civil society voters about how the Kenyan government is cracking down violently on mostly peaceful protesters. That is the language here.
The Kenyan opposition is specifically crying foul. They're accusing the government of heavy-handed policing tactics and using some language that is not accidental.
The Kenyan opposition has called some of the reported deaths and beatings and police brutality as crimes against humanity. They're calling them, specifically, a genocide in the making.
And that choice of language is deliberate because after the 2007 election, President William Ruto was accused of crimes against humanity. He was tried at the International Criminal Court. But those cases collapsed for lack of evidence.
So the reason that's the language here is an attempt to try and paint these in a much larger context by the Kenyan opposition.
What you see here for instance, an armored water cannon truck that we've seen in use in some neighborhoods, often in people's homes where children live, and it has had some major impacts on them.
These are some of the policing tactics that have been criticized in these three days of protest. They began as a fight against the legitimacy of the government of President William Ruto.
[01:35:01]
MADOWO: Then conveniently, these very unpopular tax hikes came in and the opposition has hitched the wagon on that. And now they have fully become anti government protests that have plunged this East African nation into this major crisis.
Larry Madowo, CNN -- Nairobi.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: U.S. officials have confirmed to CNN that China based hackers recently broke into the email of the U.S. ambassador to China, Nicholas Burns. Burns is just the latest named official to fall victim to what was a sophisticated hacking operation that began in May, but wasn't discovered until a month later.
Microsoft eventually determined that the hackers were based in China. Even though the hacked government accounts were not specified administration officials suspect they did give Beijing valuable insight into U.S. thinking ahead of the secretary of state's visit there last month.
A thrilling opening to the women's World Cup as co-host New Zealand tally an emotional first ever win and leave fans eager for more. We'll have a live report from Sydney, coming up.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Well, after five World Cup tournaments without a single win, New Zealand has finally claimed its first ever victory in this Women's World Cup competition.
Now that moment came with a well-timed strike against favored Norway in Thursday's opening match in Auckland executed before a huge, hometown crowd, that have been waiting a long time for this day.
And one of the most anticipated matches takes place Saturday, local time, when defending champs the U.S. takes the pitch against Vietnam, one of eight newcomers to this year's tournament.
CNN's Angus King joins me now live from Sydney, Australia where co- host Australia also chalked up its first win of the tournament. And I'm incredibly jealous, Angus, because you got to go to see the Matildas play.
Tell us about the atmosphere of what was a packed Stadium Australia?
ANGUS KING, CNN PRODUCERS: Michael, the atmosphere was electric last night at Stadium Australia, over 75,000 fans packing Stadium Australia the record for a women's soccer match here in the country.
They went home happy, 1-0 winners in the end, Australia, the Matildas, highly (INAUDIBLE) against Republic of Ireland getting the Chocolates with a 1-0 win, courtesy of a penalty by Stef Catley in the 50th minute. That was totally done from that big win from New Zealand that you mentioned there.
Not only did they get their first win in the competition, it was their first ever win against the European side, Norway, one of the tournament favorites there New Zealand's opposition and a fairytale beginning for the competition for those -- for that host team New Zealand.
[01:39:59]
KING: You mentioned there Team USA, up tomorrow. the U.S. team will be the hot favorite, once again all these teams trying to catch up with them and their stars. Sophia Smith upfront will be a name to watch throughout the entire competition. Her strike partner Trinity Rodman, one of the exciting players that we've got coming up at this tournament while playing Vietnam there, a small footballing country not quite the pedigree that the U.S. has that's starting for its third World Cup win in a row but an exciting game it will be, I'm sure, nonetheless.
The games ongoing today -0- already, we've had a nil or draw between Canada, the Olympic gold medalist from Tokyo 2020, and Nigeria the top ranked African team Michael were in full swing here at the Women's World Cup and it's a very exciting place to be right now.
HOLMES: I wish I was there back there in Sydney with you Angus. ?Enjoy it my friend. Thank you, Angus Watson there.
Now, CNN World Sport's Amanda Davies spoke with a number of U.S. players about how they are preparing for this tournament, and their thoughts on possibly winning a third straight title.
Here is her report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALEX MORGAN, U.S. WOMEN'S NATIONAL TEAM: As much as the rest of the world is looking at it like a potential three-peat. We are looking at this tournament that we have in front of us in 2023 in New Zealand and Australia.
AMANDA DAVIES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: The U.S. Women's National Team are no strangers to leading the way, but on the line over next month, something that no side -- men or women, has ever done before, winning a third straight World Cup.
EMILY SONNETT, U.S. WOMEN'S NATIONAL TEAM: You can't only say three because it's such a new group. It's the new World Cup and attacking that as a new group.
DAVIES: Emily Sonnett was there four years ago, for a victory in France alongside veteran superstars Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan. Preparing for their fourth World Cup this time around.
But 14 players will be making their debut on the world's biggest stage and the message from the top is clear. We win together, we lose together, we stick together.
CRYSTAL DUNN, U.S. WOMEN'S NATIONAL TEAM: We did have a, you know, big change on a lot of the players that had injuries. We've had a lot of things that we had to adapt to. And I think that is something that is ultimately going to make us come together and be even stronger because you know that everyone has to pull their weight.
NAOMI GIRMA, U.S. WOMEN'S NATIONAL TEAM: I think it's just to keep their belief knowing that we deserve to be at this level, you know, representing the U.S. in the World Cup and we've impacted the game on different levels, and different games, different tournaments. So I think now we're going at the World Cup is keeping that belief. And just knowing that we're good enough, and we're able to make an impact.
DAVIES: They started the 2019 tournament with a whopping 13-nil win over Thailand and are aiming to make another statement in the July 21st (ph) opener against Vietnam.
JULIE ERTZ, U.S. WOMEN'S NATIONAL TEAM: They're going to get our best. Our team is focused one game at a time, not looking past anything, giving the utmost respect to whoever our opponent is, that we're going to give our best on any day that we have to play. I think that is the sole focus of the team.
DAVIES: The U.S. Women's National Team have been synonymous with dominance. They have won four of the eight women's World Cups ever played. That drive to be the best is ingrained in the team's culture. And there is no plan to change that now.
MEGAN RAPINOE, U.S. WOMEN'S NATIONAL TEAM: The goal is just always winning, that's all that matters. That is like our secret sauce. This like insatiable desire to win, and everything else comes after that.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Now there is a pile of discarded clothing in the middle of a Chilean desert, and it's so big, it can be seen from space. Clothing that didn't sell and stores in the U.S., Europe and Asia now ending up in landfills in the Atacama Desert, and elsewhere as well.
It is a consequence of the new fast fashion era that we are living in. According to the United Nations between 2000 and 2014, the average consumer bought 60 percent more clothing, compared to 15 years ago. But now, each item is only kept half as long.
All of this production is having an effect on the environment as well. The fashion industry is estimated to be responsible for between 2 and 8 percent of global greenhouse gases. Fast fashion also linked to massive water use, unsafe processes and hazardous substances.
All right. I want to bring in author and journalist Oliver Franklin Wallace who joins me now from England. And thanks for doing so.
[01:44:53]
HOLMES: Your book is called "Wasteland: The Dirty Truth about What We Throw Away, Where It Goes and Why It Matters". It covers a lot of issues but the issue of discarded clothing is huge. Give us a sense of the impact of that particular area of waste. The clothes we buy then toss away.
OLIVER FRANKLIN WALLACE, AUTHOR AND JOURNALIST: As we mentioned, Michael, the explosion of fast fashion in the last decade or two has been kind of astonishing.
There is a statistic that we collectively buy about 80 to 150 billion items of clothing every year to clothe about eight billion people. So you can see the disconnect there with the sheer volume of stuff that we are buying every year.
And as you say, it really -- the 44 percent -- we only wear about 44 percent of the clothes in our wardrobes. The rest of it just kind sits there unworn.
And so what we've seen over the last few years is more and more people are choosing to dispose of their clothes by giving them to thrift stores, to charity shops, and from there, there is this assumption people have that thrift shops are going to resell in store.
It's not actually true between (INAUDIBLE) -- between 50 to 80 percent of what is in the charity shops is actually kind of bundled up, crated (ph) and then exported to the global south to the developing world where as you've seen there just isn't a way for structures to deal with it so you end up with these piles in the Atacama Desert, in landfills, in my reporting and we have a similar scale of the problem. It really is astonishing to see the scale of this waste that's happening.
HOLMES: And you lead me nicely into this. Because you literally, physically followed the trail of discarded clothing. What did you find in terms of how big the issue is in terms of dumping on poorer nations? Primarily Africa, but parts of Asia, as well as Latin America. What is the effect on those countries? Those people?
WALLACE: I'd be careful to use the word "dumping" because I think it's a little bit more complicated than that. You know, a lot of times in these countries there are import themselves, they're buying this stuff. There was a really surprising market and it does (INAUDIBLE) some economic value to this country and it's been competing with fast fashion so we want to be careful about the word dumping.
But you're absolutely right. The scale of this is huge. You know, from my reporting, I went to Ghana and West Africa, and which is where a lot of clothing, particular from the U.K. and the rest of Europe ends up.
And I stood on gigantic dumps, essentially and saw, you know, you could pick out the names of the brands and it's still on the label, in some cases they still have the labels from the charity shops see on them.
And the challenge that, you know, I interviewed the head of the sanitation department for the city, (INAUDIBLE) for Ghana. And he told me that the city's one solitary, sanitary landfill which had been built with a loan from the World Bank and was designed to last 30 years. There is so fast fashion waste coming into the country, it filled up in three and a half years.
And what happens when you get a big pile of clothing in a very hot country, and a lot of this clothing is now made of plastic which people don't know is, essentially, fuel, you know, petrol? It caught fire in the dumping ground.
And so they have to seal it, they have to cap it, their one landfill which they are still paying interest on. You know, some of the poorest people in the world are still paying interest on a landfill that burned down because of this fashion waste. The impact is really real in this community.
HOLMES: Absolutely. I mean when it comes to clothing, but also other things, we think we are recycling, I know that term recycling is out. But we hope it is being re-used. I know you've spoken of just reducing, rather than recycling. I mean cutting consumption.
What are some of those things that people can do?
WALLACE: (INAUDIBLE) it's recycling things because you want to be able to recycle them. But actually, there is no real demand, or it's technically impossible. Clothing is a great example, it's virtually impossible to recycle a pair of shoes, for example because a lot of (INAUDIBLE) glued and stitched together, that can't be separated later on.
A lot of our particularly fast fashion has been kind of frustrating for me to watch that many fashion companies say, we're going to be sustainable with all the work we do, while also putting more and more petroleum based plastics into their clothing, for example, because it's very difficult to separate, and there isn't machinery at scale to recycle this.
So what happens as they get down cycled? So they get, you know, your t-shirt might become a drainpipe, or a toilet seat, or something like that. And you get this kind of cascading degradation, which means that you kind of need more clothing on top of this all to replace it.
Now as you said, for me, fashion is a really simple one which is you know, I say if people buy less or buy better. Buy less -- but buy better and buy clothing that might cost a little bit more and it can last longer, you tend to like wearing it more and you're going to be able to pass it down to your kids or when you do give it to charity shops or you do give it elsewhere, or resell it, it's going to have a longer lifespan.
[01:49:59]
WALLACE: We're talking years, rather than months.
I've seen people have T-shirts that last ten months (ph) now before they're falling apart. We need to stop that.
HOLMES: It is such a wasteful thing that we do. And the other thing too, we're almost out of time, but I wanted to squeeze in. There is also the carbon footprint of the clothing industry.
The fast fashion industry contributes, as we said, 2 to 8 percent of the world's carbon emissions. The U.N. found that it consumes vast amounts of water, and other resources. More greenhouse gases than international flights and maritime shipping.
Do you think people understand how big that footprint is? And we are contributing to it?
WALLACE: It's something I have, really, come to terms with over the reporting on this book is that we are all thinking about our climate footprints, and what we are pumping into the air.
Waste is something physical. It's something tangible. You could see it. You touch it every day. All of us have been recycling with those things every single day, often a lot of times.
This is the low hanging fruit. You mentioned the water use, food waste is estimated to between 8 to 10 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions. We throw away a third of everything that we produce without it being eaten.
For me, this was like a low hanging fruit for climate change. If you can't get people to grapple with the things that they're touching, and feeling, and using every day, it is hard to feel connected to the stuff that you need.
For me, it's a lot of opportunity, this should be the first wave, the first line of issues to tackle. And the thing is, the solutions are simple, they are out there, there are a lot of things people can do with small changes in behavior at home that can make a big difference.
HOLMES: Yes. Fascinating, fascinating topic, an important topic, and a fascinating book. People should check it out.
Oliver Franklin Wallace thanks so much. Really appreciate it.
WALLACE: Thank you.
HOLMES: All right. We're going to take a quick break. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, one week on, there is no end in sight for the actors' strike in Hollywood. A key issue between the union and studios is the use of artificial intelligence.
Donie O'Sullivan takes a look at the technology that is already being adopted by the industry.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATT PANOUSIS, COO, MARZ: This is where we start. It's an automated solution for cosmetic and de-aging work.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dr. Jones.
CHRIS WALLACE, CNN HOST: Through some technological wizardry, 80-year- old Harrison Ford looks exactly like 40-year-old Harrison Ford. Do you understand how they did that?
HARRISON FORD, ACTOR: Not completely.
DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In the latest "Indiana Jones" movie, Harrison Ford is de-aged for a flashback where he fights the Nazis.
FORD: It's not photoshopped or anything, it doesn't look that way.
O'SULLIVAN: Hollywood studios are moving beyond traditional digital effect technology and embracing artificial intelligence, turning to companies like MARZ.
What does MARZ stand for?
PANOUSIS: Monsters, Aliens, Robots, and Zombies.
O'SULLIVAN: I think that's the best name I've heard for a company.
PANOUSIS: Thank you. O'SULLIVAN: The latest "Spider-Man" movie released in 2021 features
villains like the Green Goblin and Dr. Otto Octavius, characters who haven't been seen in years.
PANOUSIS: So they took the villains from previous versions of "Spider- Man" movies and they wanted to bring them back in that moment, and when they originally performed that characters.
So without naming names, we helped Marvel do that on a certain character.
[01:54:54]
O'SULLIVAN: MARZ says its de-aging A.I. technology knocks thousands of man hours off visual effects process, but they say they aren't killing jobs.
PANOUSIS: The demand for visual effects way out-strips the supplies. But there are a finite number of artists in the world that are able to execute on that demand.
O'SULLIVAN: MARZ has also built an A.I.W. tool, aiming to make awkward, out of sync voice-overs like these a thing of the past.
MARZ uses deepfake technology to reconstruct an actor's lips to match the dubbed audio. They tried it out on me.
First we sent them this short clip I shot in a CNN studio.
I've always been terrible at speaking any language other than English, in fact I struggle with English sometimes.
With that, they were able to do this.
That is very impressive.
My lips look French.
LIAM NEESON, ACTOR: I don't know who you are.
O'SULLIVAN: This technology can even put other people's words in your mouth.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But what I do have are a very particular set of skills. If you let my daughter go now, that will be the end of it. I will not look for you. I will not pursue you.
My fellow Irishman, as well.
PANOUSIS: Lip Dub was It was built for the purpose of allowing studios to take content in their native tongue and put that content across the globe in a way where it looks native to the viewer.
O'SULLIVAN: For its part, MARZ says it is not in the business of replacing actors. Its technology is meant to enhance performances, not create them. FORD: I think it is not a question of the technology, it is how you
use it.
TOM HANKS, ACTOR: Look, you know, I could be hit by a bus tomorrow and that is it, but my performances can go on and on and on and on and on. And outside of the understanding that it's been done with A.I. or deepfake, there will be nothing to tell you that it is not me and me alone.
O'SULLIVAN: Fears of how A.I. will be used as (INAUDIBLE) SAG-AFTRA the actors union is on strike, saying the studios want to replace them with artificial performances.
The movie studios are pushing back on that claim.
JONATHAN BRONFMAN, CEO MARZ: Technology cannot replace an actor full on, so you cannot go head to toe and redo the entire face and expect that to be photo real. The technology just isn't there right now.
Now ass it relates to writers, I think they can more easily be replaced by artificial intelligence.
O'SULLIVAN: Donie O'Sullivan, CNN -- Toronto, Canada.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: I am putting in for the de-aging process. Thank you very much, boss.
Thanks for spending part of your day with me. I'm Michael Holmes. You can follow me on Twitter, Instagram and (INAUDIBLE) @HolmesCNN.
Do stick around, somebody who does not need anti-aging technology, Paula Newton will pick up our coverage after the break.
[01:57:53]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
