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CNN International: Zelenskyy Visits Dnipro Amid Ongoing Offensive; North Korea, Russia, China Commemorate "Victory Day"; Judge not Ready to Accept Hunter Biden Plea Deal; U.S. joins Condemnations of Apparent Coup Attempt. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired July 27, 2023 - 08:00   ET

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

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MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR "NEWSROOM": Hello, you're watching CNN "Newsroom", I'm Max Foster in London. Just ahead, Wagner Chief Yevgeny Prigozhin has reportedly been spotted in Russia, as it hosts a summit with African leaders latest on what we know about his possible whereabouts.

Then protesters gather in Niger's capital, a day after a group of soldiers claimed to have overthrown President Mohamed Bazoum. And North Korea marked 70 years since the Korean Armistice Agreement with visits from his closest allies, Russia and China.

Ukraine's critical Southern city of Odessa is once again the target of an overnight missile attack. Kyiv says Russian forces hit port infrastructure in the strike killing a security guard and damaging a cargo terminal. Meanwhile, Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the Southeastern City of Dnipro, earlier to discuss the situation on the battlefield.

It comes amid reports of a large push by Ukrainian forces along the Zaporizhzhia front line. We're getting some new details about possible whereabouts as well as Wagner Chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, according to a telegram channel linked to the mercenary group Prigozhin was spotted in St. Petersburg, on the sidelines of the Russia-Africa summit.

CNN is unable to verify that account, but if true, is the first time that Prigozhin has been seen in public inside Russia. Since leaving last month armed mutiny. CNN's, Nic Robertson joins me now. Why was he there?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Well, I think, you know, in that old phrase that everyone knows a picture speaks 1000 words. But what are the words here? One is clearly Prigozhin has been the Head and the figurehead of the Wagner mercenary group in Africa where it's been doing the Kremlin's busy bidding, propping up leaders there and extracting mineral rights gold in some cases, diamond and others.

So the fact that he should appear on the margins of this Africa summit really seems to send a message to those Wagner client's states in Africa, Kremlin client's states in Africa and reality that the business operation is there and it continues to work. How much support there is from the Kremlin is unclear.

We know that some sort of Wagner allies Prigozhin allies within the Russian military have sort of been disappeared, if you will. We know the British MOD believes that Prigozhin is suffering financial troubles right now to pay his mercenaries. So there seems to be an effort to prop up his image as a viable, ongoing, mercenary enterprise supporting leaders extracting minerals in Africa.

But what else does it tell us? It's very, very hard to say is that a message for Putin? Undoubtedly, if he is there in St. Petersburg, mingling with these delegates, this cannot be without Putin's say so. And Putin had threatened him with severe retribution for this mutiny barely a month ago.

FOSTER: Fascinating, Nic, thank you so much. Meanwhile, at that summit in St. Petersburg, Vladimir Putin is trying to reassure African leaders that the Kremlin suspension of the Black Sea Grain Deal won't impact their food supplies. The Russian President said Moscow can replace Ukrainian grain exports, and he's vowing to supply six African countries for free.

He also said its Western sanctions that are making Russian deliveries more difficult.

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VLADIMIR PUTIN, PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA: We sent almost 10 million tons to Africa, obviously, in the conditions of the illegitimate sanctions, which make it much more difficult for Russia to send food to Africa. We talk about logistics, banking and transfers.

We have a paradox so picture here. On one hand, Western countries are limiting the supply of grain and fertilizers to Africa and on the other hand, in a totally hypocritical manner. They blame us for all the problems.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: CNN's David McKenzie joins us live from Johannesburg. And you know, grain is such an important issue, isn't it for Africa, because it gets so much of it from Russia and Ukraine.

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It does get it but in terms of that grain deal, Putin is right in at least, Max, saying that a large amount of that grain didn't come to African countries, but in fact, went to European countries and he used that fact to push his agenda, which is he has been saying for some time now.

Excuse me, that grain deal really was in his words to enrich European countries and companies and not exactly to help African countries.

[08:05:00] But that's a very simplistic way of looking at of course because the overall wheat price has shot up since Russia pulled out of that Black Sea Grain Deal. And that means that African countries can be affected. And he certainly belabor that point saying that, according to the Russian Head of state, it is the sanctions which is stopping Russia from getting grain fertilizer or other products out to the developing world.

And particularly to parts of Russia and he said that they will be doing that in the coming months shoring up their credentials in Russians mind as an aid partner, at least two African countries, Max.

FOSTER: OK, David in Johannesburg, thank you for that. North Korea, rolling out the red carpet meanwhile, for key allies, Russia and Ukraine and China rather, he said high level delegations to Pyongyang they are celebrating the 70th anniversary of the Armistice Agreement that ended the fighting on the Korean Peninsula.

And anniversary North Korea falsely referred to as Victory Day. Meanwhile, Kim Jong-Un has been showing off his country's weaponry as these three allies bolster ties and they've put on a show of unity as well. Let's bring in CNN's Marc Stewart live from Tokyo. So this event was all about optics, wasn't it for North Korea?

MARC STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No question, Max. In fact, as we have seen many times North Korea often looks for opportunities to make the symbolic displays of power and might and what happened today is certainly no exception. We saw North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un along with Russia's Defense Minister.

Basically go on a tour if you'd like have a have a military display almost a show. There. They saw what has been described by state media as new type weapons as well as equipment. It's interesting because North Korea and Russia have enjoyed a long time relationship.

A partnership almost in fact, we recently heard from Russia's Defense Minister talking about Korea's People's Army saying "has become the strongest army in the world". It is obviously not alone here. China has a presence as well. We saw the three of these nations come together during this historic moment, especially as the rest of the world condemned the war in Ukraine.

These three nations have really formed an alliance together. North Korea accused by the United States of supplying weapons to Russia in that effort and China, not necessarily condemning Russia, in fact, if anything kind of maintaining a cozy relationship with Russia through all of this.

So Max, it is 9 o'clock at night right now in Pyongyang so far no sign of a big military parade which is perhaps emblematic of these kinds of anniversaries. We'll certainly be keeping watch.

FOSTER: OK, Marc in Turkey. Thank you. Dozens of new wildfires cropping up in Greece fueled by the unrelenting heat wave, the Greek fire service reported 61 new fires in the past day alone. Two people were killed on Wednesday near the City of Velos as parts of the country reached 46 degrees Celsius.

A break in the heat wave in Italy has helped firefighters battling places there. One official says many of the fires that have risen in the south are now 95 percent contained. Nada Bashir joins us from Rome. This will help presumably the firefighters.

NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER: Absolutely a long awaited break in that heat wave we have seen temperatures dropping over the last few days. But of course, as of yesterday, according to the civil protection agency 10 fires still raging across Italy southern regions in particular, across Sicily, now they appear to be largely contained on the island of Sicily.

Now that fire warning has been downgraded, and the vast majority of residents who had been evacuated as a precaution have now been allowed to return home. But of course, this is a major challenge for the government. We've heard from the Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, she spoke yesterday and said that this was a test for the government as they continue to grapple with extreme heat events and in fact, extreme weather events.

We've seen storms and parts of the north of the country. And now many of these regions have requested a state of emergency to be put in place in order to provide these regions with the resources needed to deal with the aftermath at this stage that is still under consideration.

There are also questions around potential incidences of Arson in parts of the south of the country which may prevent a state of emergency by from being put in place. So that is certainly another concern for the government. But this is really a reflection of what we've seen across the Mediterranean and continue to see across the region as a result of climate change has upset.

According to experts, we've seen wildfires ravaging parts of Greece in some areas and roads, for example, that is now largely focused on uninhabited areas, which is a relief for many. But we've seen drone footage shown how dangerously close these fires have been edging towards homes.

And many of course are still evacuated, still hoping to return to their homes waiting for news of the damage.

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And in Corfu, it appears that those fires are largely contained but it has also spread further afield it is not just Europe experiencing these extreme heat events Algeria and Tunisia and North Africa have seen wildfires causing significant damage there, in Algeria dozens killed.

As a result, we've seen wildfires taking place across Turkey as well. And of course, the message that we are hearing from experts is that this is only going to get worse unless the world stops burning fossil fuels and stops rapidly. Of course, we've seen those warnings coming from experts coming from European Union officials as well. So they are putting in place preparations for what they expect to be more frequent extreme heat events. They are expecting these heat waves and indeed, wildfires to become more frequent. And for these wildfires and extreme heat waves to become more severe in the coming years on these urgent changes are made.

So that is a huge concern, certainly a worrying prospect for residents living across the Mediterranean.

FOSTER: OK, Nada, thank you. 150, 140 million Americans are under an extreme heat alert today. The dangerous scorching heat wave that's been plaguing the Southern U.S. is creeping into the Northeast and Midwest now. President Joe Biden is expected to announce steps to combat the heat later today.

A plea deal between the U.S. Justice Department and Hunter Biden is on hold leaving the President's son in legal limbo. Hunter Biden is facing two federal tax charges. He was hoping to finalize a plea deal on Wednesday that would have kept him out of prison but during a dramatic court hearing the judge said she had concerns.

Now Biden and his lawyers are heading back to the drawing board to try to salvage that agreement. Still to come, an apparent coup in Niger sparks international alarm. What the chaos could mean for the fight against the Islamic insurgents in the Sahel? We'll have the latest.

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FOSTER: The U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is joining the chorus of condemnation after an apparent military coup in Asia. A group of military officers announced Wednesday night that President Mohamed Bazoum has been ousted is election two years ago was an historic first for the African nation.

And this concern is removal could be a major drag on the fight against Islamist insurgency in the region. The country's army command is supporting the coup in order to "prevent bloodshed and instability" and warned against foreign military intervention as well. CNN's Larry Madowo joins us from Nairobi.

Just give us a bit of context here for people that just don't understand what's recently happened in Niger and actually the progress that was being made.

LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Max, in 2021, President Mohamed Bazoum was elected in the first time that the country so a peaceful, democratic handover of power. This country has had four coups since independence from France in 1960.

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It's become a key part of the international community's security strategy in the Sahel. It's not surrounded by neighbors like Mali and Burkina Faso where the jihadist insurgency is quite active and even though it also does face its own threats from groups affiliated to ISIS and to al-Qaeda, it's been safer compared to its neighbors. And then on Wednesday, we saw these reports about President Bazoum being held at the presidential palace but the presidential guard and then on Wednesday night. These men in military fatigues show up on TV and say they have taken over they have asked him that suspended the Constitution close all borders and airports.

And they are in charge because of a breakdown in the security as well as the economy. President Bazoum we're not sure where he is right now. The international community is calling for his release. In March, Antony Blinken became the first U.S. Secretary of State to visit partly to highlight the progress that the country had made, and he's been traveling in New Zealand talking about the situation in this area.

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ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We are very closely monitoring the situation and developments in Niger. I spoke with President Bazoum earlier this morning, and made clear that the United States resolutely supports him, as the democratically elected President of Niger. We call for his immediate release. We condemn any effort to seize power by force.

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MADOWO: So the U.S., the European Union, France, the African Union, the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS all support President Bazoum, but the army command now saying that they support these military men who have taken over in the country.

We last saw President Bazoum do we do a public event on Tuesday. He met with the outgoing Belgian Ambassador. In fact, they talked about terrorism and the reintegration of people from conflict zones, young people from conflict zones into the community, into the army.

The exact thing that happens next to him at this point, we don't know exactly. And France and the U.S. especially have a huge presence in the country. And we've seen some protests today supporting this military takeover. One of the signs said we don't want any foreign troops in the country, they should leave.

So that is the undertones here that we should be looking out for in the days and weeks ahead. And seeing what happens with this country, which was so critical for peace in the Sahel.

FOSTER: Just seeing a military commander speaking on Nigerian state TV saying all activities of political parties have been suspended until the new order. Is there any sense of what this new order might look like or any suggestion that what they're moving towards?

MADOWO: We're going to have to figure out how they intend to govern. Because these men have said that they they will continue to honor Niger's contributions and obligations to the national and the international community. But if they have suspended the Constitution and all political activities, if they have closed the borders, then it's a coup in all but name. So how do they move from here? Will they suspend parliament? Will they get rid of cabinet? All of these things that we just don't know at this point are all speculative, but the two countries surrounding Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso have both had four coups in the last four years or so.

So Niger's appears to be heading in that same direction. And this is a really worrying sign for, say for peace and security in the region.

FOSTER: OK, Larry Madowo, thank you very much indeed for bringing us the latest on that now. A big loss for the world of music, Irish legend Sinead O'Connor has died at the age of 56. We'll look back on her tumultuous career, next.

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FOSTER: Irish singer Sinead O'Connor who rose to international stardom in the 1990s has died. The 56 year olds cause of death has not yet been made public but isn't being treated as suspicious. As CNN's Randi Kaye looks at her rise to fame and the deeply troubled life that later followed.

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RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Sinead O'Connor singing the hit song that catapulted her to international stardom, nothing compares to you. The song was written by Prince, and in 1990, she topped the music charts with her version of it. The Irish singer earned four Grammy nominations for the song and the album it was on.

She also won the award for MTV's video of the year. In 1991, Rolling Stone magazine named her Artist of the Year. O'Connor's singing voice was extraordinary pure power. And her stage presence electric but behind all of that, or perhaps helping fuel it, there was pain, lots of it.

O'Connor spoke about how her mother abused her in a recent Showtime documentary called Nothing Compares.

LATE SINEAD O'CONNOR, IRISH SINGER: My mother was a very violent woman, not a healthy woman, mentally at all and she was physically and verbally and psychologically, spiritually and emotionally abusive. My mother was a beast and I was able to soothe her with my voice, was able to use my voice to make the devil fall asleep.

KAYE (voice over): Sometime after her parents divorced O'Connor at age 14 was sent away to live in an asylum run by the Order of Our Lady of Charity.

O'CONNOR: I was a bit messed up, and it wasn't acknowledged what had happened to me in my mother's has.

KAYE (voice over): O'Connor's mother died in a car accident in 1985, two years before her debut album was released. O'Connor often used her music to address social issues and inspire change. In 1992, one Saturday Night Live, O'Connor tore up a photo of Pope John Paul the second to protest sexual abuse in the Catholic Church.

O'CONNOR: Fight the real enemy.

KAYE (voice over): In 1999, she became the first priestess of a dissident Roman Catholic group. And after the Catholic pre sex abuse scandal broke wide open, she called on the Vatican to stop covering up the truth telling Anderson Cooper this in 2010.

O'CONNOR: The one thing that victims really require for healing and so do the rest of us, as Catholic people is a full admission by the Vatican that there was an active cover up in operation for decades. And since 1922,

KAYE (voice over): O'Connor long struggled with her mental health. She attempted suicide at age 33. In 2017, she posted this video of herself at a motel in New Jersey, in the midst of a mental breakdown.

O'CONNOR: The people are over remembering those are the most vulnerable people on Earth we can take care of our things so --

KAYE (voice over): A year later, she converted to Islam and changed her name to Shuhada Sadaqat. Last year, O'Connor's 17 year old son Shane died by suicide. O'Connor shared this photo of the two of them just last week on Twitter. Despite saying in 2021, she would quit making music and touring.

O'Connor recently recorded the opening song for the hit show Outlander seventh season.

KAYE (voice over): Sinead O'Connor was 56.

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FOSTER: Now before we go, NASA's Webb Telescope has captured new images of stars in the making. They're located about 1500 light years away incredibly and in the process of their creation. They ingest at a jet gas and -- over thousands of years which is what makes that orange material.

You see the right in the center of the image and running along. NASA says the stars will take millions of years to fully formed, so there'll be more images to come. NASA thinks commercial air travel may be more sustainable meanwhile, and stylish -- is collaborating with industry partners to develop two fuel efficient aircraft with lower emissions including a hybrid electric plane.

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Test flights for the two projects are slated within the next five years or so, NASA's goal is to introduce the planes commercially between 2030 and 2035. Thanks for joining me here on "CNN Newsroom", I'm Max Foster in London. "World Sport" with Amanda is up next.

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