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Donald Trump Indicted for the Third Time; French and Other Nationals Being Evacuated from Niger as Political Crisis gets Worse; Poland, Ukraine Summons Ambassadors over Grain Deal Comments. Rains Brought by Typhoon Doksuri in Beijing now the Heaviest Rainfall in 140 Years; USA Marches into the Women's World Cup Round of 16; Australia's Great Barrier Reef Out of UNESCO's In-Danger Sites List. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired August 02, 2023 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church.

Just ahead on CNN NEWSROOM, former U.S. President Donald Trump indicted for a third time in four months, this time for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election. We will break down the charges and the potential fallout for the next election.

Hundreds of French and other European nationals being evacuated from Niger as the political crisis deepens after last week's military coup.

And Typhoon Khanun turns deadly and leaves hundreds of thousands without power as it slams Okinawa with high winds and heavy rain.

We begin with an unprecedented moment in U.S. history as former president Donald Trump is indicted on criminal charges for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election. This indictment now marks the third time Trump has faced criminal charges.

In this case, prosecutors allege Trump knowingly spread prolific lies of fraud as he remained determined to stay in power despite having lost. Trump is scheduled for an initial hearing Thursday. That's when he will be formally charged with four counts, including conspiracy to defraud the United States.

Special counsel Jack Smith says his investigation will continue as he publicly addressed this latest federal indictment, which included six unindicted co-conspirators. Smith says Trump's repeated lies about the 2020 election fueled the attack on the U.S. Capitol.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JACK SMITH, SPECIAL COUNSEL: The attack on our nation's capital on January 6th, 2021, was an unprecedented assault on the seat of American democracy. As described in the indictment, it was fueled by lies. Lies by the defendant targeted at obstructing a bedrock function of the U.S. government, the nation's process of collecting, counting and certifying the results of the presidential election.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: CNN's Katelyn Polantz has been following developments and has more now from Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SR. CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: Donald Trump now faces federal criminal charges for trying to hold onto the presidency in 2020 and early 2021 in a sweeping set of allegations where the Justice Department is now accusing a president, a former president, but at the time he was president, of trying to defraud the government, block the Electoral College vote, and disenfranchise voters.

So this is a serious set of four conspiracy and fraud charges, making this the third criminal case Donald Trump now faces as he runs for president, a third time. The allegations that the Justice Department outlined in these charges are largely a story that we have heard before, but these prosecutors that are presenting this from the special counsel's office went through a grand jury today.

They are saying what Donald Trump was doing after the 2020 election was intentional fraud, a time where he was being told by his close advisors that fraud didn't exist in the election, that votes couldn't be found to deliver him the presidency, and that he needed to stand down after losing the election.

Prosecutors say that Donald Trump tried to quote, defeat the federal government function through dishonesty. Now the parts of that effort they say was that he was using state legislators, that he was using illegitimate electors, the Justice Department, his own vice president Mike Pence, even the violence of his supporters on January 6 to his advantage.

And this case called U.S. v Trump is only against Donald Trump at this time, making it different even from the case against him, also from the special counsel's office in Florida for actions he took after his presidency.

But when this case, in D.C. district court, when it moves forward, it will be overseen by an Obama appointee, Judge Tanya Chutkin, a judge who is known to be -- to not suffer fools and to be a judge who is very interested in sentencing rioters from January 6th quite firmly. She has had many of them in her court before. She also has denied Donald Trump the ability to block records from his White House being turned over to congressional officials.

So that is the judge who will have this case. But all of this still is not clear exactly how much of the case behind the scenes, how much of the investigation may remain.

[03:05:02] We have these charges against Donald Trump. This case will move forward in court. But the Justice Department, even in this new indictment, on Tuesday they are outlining six conspirators, people like Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, John Eastman, who were working with Donald Trump after the election. And the Justice Department is saying that though these people are not charged at this time, they helped Donald Trump in his disinformation effort.

Katelyn Polantz, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Joining me now from Los Angeles is Areva Martin, a civil rights attorney and legal affairs commentator. A pleasure to have you with us.

AREVA MARTIN, LEGAL AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: Hi Rosemary.

CHURCH: So this 45 page indictment lays out four counts against former President Donald Trump for his effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election, charging him with three counts of conspiracy and one count of obstruction. What's his legal jeopardy this time, now his third indictment?

MARTIN: Yes, Rosemary, this is the most consequential indictment that we've seen to date because this indictment, unlike the indictment by Jack Smith related to the mishandling of classified documents, this indictment goes to the heart of our democracy.

You have a sitting president at the time that was trying to deny the peaceful transfer of power trying to hold on to the seat of the presidency, even though he had been told by senior campaign advisors, by lawyers in his own cabinet, by justice department lawyers, and even by judges in the 60 plus cases or so that his team had filed, that there was no fraud, that there hadn't been anything illegitimate about Joe Biden's win.

And despite all of those efforts to cause Donald Trump to allow there to be a peaceful transfer of power, he tried to hold on to the presidency. So this indictment, as you said, three conspiracy charges, one obstruction charge, basically says Donald Trump tried to subvert the democracy from this, our country, 250-year old United States, now having our entire democracy threatened by the efforts of Donald Trump.

CHURCH: And, Areva, more than a thousand people have already been charged in relation to the January 6th attack. Hundreds of those have been imprisoned, and now Trump, the man who the DOJ says orchestrated the election lie and led the conspiracy, is now charged and perhaps facing the same fate. But how likely is it, in reality, that a former U.S. president will go to jail?

MARTIN: Well, I think it's very likely, unlike the case even in Florida, that's been, again, indicted by the special counsel. This is Washington, D.C. This is a much different jurisdiction. The jurors in this jurisdiction are likely to be more liberal, more democratic of not favorable to Donald Trump, not like the jurors likely to be in Florida.

And you have a different judge in this case, Rosemary. That is very important. Tanya Chutkin, an Obama appointee, very tough judge, has proven to be tough, has been exceptionally tough with respect to those insurrectionists that have been in her courtroom, has given sentences in those cases that are longer in many cases than those recommended even by the prosecutors.

And she has already denied a motion that Donald Trump filed trying to withhold documents and evidence from the January 6th Congressional Committee. So this is a judge that has demonstrated that she's prepared to hold Donald Trump accountable.

One of her famous lines in that case involving the documents and turning them over to the January 6th Committee is that presidents are not kings. And I think that tells us a lot about how she's going to handle her courtroom and how this case will be handled. So I don't think we should assume that Donald Trump will be able to skate accountability in this particular case.

CHURCH: And Trump has been summoned to appear in court on Thursday. What will likely happen on that day and how will Trump's lawyers likely fight this when it does eventually go to trial?

MARTIN: Yeah, a couple of things are going to happen. Obviously, he's going to show up at this arraignment and on Thursday, this is going to be before a magistrate judge. This is where he may enter a plea. And obviously we should expect that plea to be a not guilty plea.

Then there will be some dates set where he will have to return. And then we'll start to see this Judge Chutkan who is going to preside over this case, set a trial date, set some dates with respect to discovery and motions and this case to move forward like any other case before her.

What we see in terms of a defense, Rosemary is already Trump's lawyer. One of his lawyers was on Fox News, stating that the Justice Department, the special counsel, would not be able to prove beyond reasonable doubt that Donald Trump knew that the election, had not been stolen from him.

[03:10:07]

So there's going to be this, this kind of plausible deniability. He's going to say, I believed, I had every reason to believe that there was fraud and I was just pursuing those efforts available to me based on my belief of fraud.

I think that is an argument that is dead on arrival when you look at the monumental amount of evidence pointing to the fact that he had been told over and over and over again by credible sources and shown evidence that there was no fraud, that Joe Biden had won the election and that he should be acting as any president would be and that is to ensure the peaceful transfer of power.

CHURCH: How historic is this moment from a legal perspective do you think?

MARTIN: We have not seen anything like this in the history of the United States. You have to put into context, Donald Trump has been charged with a crime before he became president of the United States. He's now charged with a crime while he was president of the United States. And he has a federal indictment for after he left the office of presidency.

So you have someone running for president who happens to be the frontrunner in the Republican party who has been twice impeached and now three times indicted and facing yet what we expect to be a fourth indictment coming out of Georgia, because that prosecutor, Fannie Willis, has said unequivocally that she is ready to go.

She's put the court on notice in Georgia, on Fulton County, not to hold any in-person trials or hearings because something big is going to be happening. And she has really signaled that something big is the likely indictment, fourth indictment of Donald Trump.

CHURCH: Areva Martin, we thank you for your legal analysis yet again. I Appreciate it.

MARTIN: Thank you.

CHURCH: Well, the first European planes have taken off from Niger's capital as French, Italian and American nationals rush to leave the country. An Italian flight carrying 87 passengers, including 21 Americans, touched down hours ago in Rome. It comes as tensions between E.U. countries and Niger's military junta sharply escalating following last week's coup that ousted Niger's democratically-elected president. That's particularly the case between the coup leaders and France.

Paris dispatched two planes to Niger on Tuesday. The first landed in Paris just a few hours ago. Anti-French sentiment is sweeping the capital of the former French colony with supporters of the coup burning the French flag and attacking the embassy. But France denies its planning military action to free the ousted president, as coup leaders have claimed.

And we have team coverage of the latest developments. CNN's Jim Bittermann is covering the French perspective from Paris. But let's start with CNN's Stephanie Busari, who is in Lagos, Nigeria. So Stephanie, what is the latest on the situation on the ground in Niger?

STEPHANIE BUSARI, CNN SR. EDITOR, AFRICA: Rosemary, we're one week out and evacuations are continuing as the reality sinks in that this situation could escalate. This coup has rattled the region. There's tough talking on both sides from the regional body, the ECOWAS, who have imposed tough sanctions and threatened military action.

And that threat of military action has also brought a response from junta leaders in neighboring countries, Mali and Burkina Faso, who are saying that, quite emphatically, that any military force or any use of force in Niger is tantamount to a declaration of war. So things -- the rhetoric is heating up. And so with this current

situation, countries across the world, citizens, Europe, France in particular, are scrambling to get their citizens out.

But this is bad news for the people of Niger, Rosemary. This is one of the poorest countries in the world. And many of the people leaving would have been working on aid projects, development teams, projects that would be crucial to the people of Niger, and who would be relying on these initiatives. So it's a tense time.

The ECOWAS body is meeting later today, the defense chief in Abuja, as President of Nigeria Bola Tinobu continues to seek ways to intervene in this coup. And they're really keen to stop what is being known here as a contagion effect.

[03:15:02]

Mali, as I mentioned earlier, and Burkina Faso have had coups in recent years, and they have rejected the French ties. They've cut diplomatic ties with France, and they're moving closer to Moscow.

They were both at the Africa-Russia summit last week where Mali's head of state, Ibrahim Drayre, asked for Russia to reopen its embassy in the country and also have a military presence, which in some cases has been the private mercenary group, Wagner.

So we're watching closely for those developments to see where Russia will pop up in this whole scenario, Rosemary.

CHURCH: And Jim, that takes us to you in Paris, of course. What is the latest on evacuation efforts?

JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, as you mentioned, Rosemary, there are two flights that have made it to Paris. The first one had 262 people on board, including 12 babies. We don't have the figures on the second flight, but it's on the ground here.

And there are two more flights en route. So it looks like the French are pretty much on track for meeting their goal. They wanted to get all of the French civilians who wanted to get out within 24 hours. There are about 600 people who have registered with the French embassy in Niamey, and in fact they are saying that they would like to go so the flights continue and they're continuing to bring them out.

There are also on the Italian side, as you mentioned, the Italians ran an evacuation flight and they brought out 87 people including 21 Americans and a number of missionaries that Stephanie was saying, these were people who were working for the good of Niger and in fact it may be harmful for the future of the country.

CHURCH: All right. Our thanks to Jim Bittermann and Stephanie Busari. I appreciate it.

Well, the Norwegian Refugee Council is suspending all its humanitarian work in Sudan's capital Khartoum and the Darfur region as fighting in the country grinds on. The aid group calls it a heartbreaking decision, but says it had no other choice amid more than three months of violence between the Sudanese army and the rival Rapid Support Forces.

It has moved operations to other regions in Sudan and across the western border to Chad, which has taken in more than 300,000 Sudanese refugees since the conflict began.

And even after they make it across the border into Chad, Sudanese refugees are confronted with other life-threatening challenges. On top of suffering loss and trauma from fleeing the war, many face hunger and now flooding in their makeshift camps.

CNN's Zain Asher reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ZAIN ASHER, CNN ANCHOR, ONE WORLD WITH ZAIN ASHER (voice-over): A storm at a refugee camp in Chad doubled trouble for the Sudanese living here, victims of the latest refugee crisis in Africa, fleeing fighting between the Sudanese army and the RSF, the Rapid Support Forces.

With plastic bags for carpets, sticks for structure and nylon for shelter, they stand no chance against the cold.

NAJMUDDIN, SUDANESE REFUGEE IN CHAD (through translator): Since the previous rainfalls, some people do not even have a tarpaulin sheet to cover them from rain. Today the situation is very difficult because there's too much wind, there's no food available, the conditions are extremely difficult and even the tents have not been set up well. The water seeps into them.

ASHER (voice-over): And their children have it worse.

NAFISA, SUDANESE REFUGEE IN CHAD (through translator): My son is sick with inflammation. And since we fled, we have been sitting like this with water over our heads.

ASHER (voice-over): The tarpaulin and branches on the ground are what's left of this woman's refugee home, devastated and alone. She can't hold back the tears.

ISLAM, SUDANESE REFUGEE IN CHAD (through translator): This is the humiliation that we're experiencing. My elder brothers would have built us houses to live in if they were alive.

ASHER (voice-over): Since conflict escalated in Sudan four months ago, more than 2.6 million people have been displaced within Sudan, and more than 800,000 have fled the country, creating one of the fastest growing refugee crises in the world.

Zain Asher, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: In a move to help try and quell deadly gang violence, the Bahamas says it will provide 150 people for a multi-national force in Haiti. It comes after Kenya offered to send 1,000 police officers. Before that can happen, the U.N. Security Council must first pass a resolution in support of the force.

Meantime, it has been nearly a week since American nurse Alix Dorsainvil was kidnapped along with her child from the aid organization where she works in Haiti. A parent who depends on that aid group is worried.

[03:20:06)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BELONY MARIE CARMELLE, FOOD VENDOR (through translator): I have been selling here since the school opened and it has allowed me to support my children. I sell eggs and banana figs. My children attend this school and the income helps them too. Without this school, I wouldn't know where to send my children. I demand justice and the release of the nurse. If the school remains closed, my life is over and my children won't be able to attend school.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Few details have emerged about their capture and whereabouts as authorities work to secure their release.

And coming up, Russia is attacking Kyiv and vital port infrastructure in Odessa, Ukraine. And Ukraine's president calls it an assault on global food security. We'll have the latest on the conflict next.

And Poland is making military moves after it says two Belarusian helicopters flew into its airspace. We'll hear what Belarus' president says about Poland's border worries.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: Ukraine's air force says it shot down 23 Russian attack drones overnight. These are explosions over the capital Kyiv as air defenses did their work. But Ukrainian officials say some Russian drones hit their targets in the port city of Odessa.

That attack damaged a port facility and industrial infrastructure, including a grain elevator. Further east, Ukrainian officials say Russian forces shelled a medical facility in Kherson killing a doctor and wounding a nurse.

CNN's Fred Pleitgen brings us the latest on the conflict.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERICK PLEITGEN, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ukrainian forces advancing near Bakhmut. As Kyiv says, they have Moscow's army on the back foot on nearly all battlefields. And now Russia's capital increasingly in the crosshairs. Another drone attack hitting a high-rise building.

Suddenly, there was this explosion and we immediately ran, this resident says. There were shards of glass and then smoke rising.

While authorities claim the attack was thwarted, one drone damaged a building already struck two days prior in a complex housing several government offices.

Kyiv's message to the Kremlin, the war is coming to them.

I think Moscow will have more and more war on its territory, the presidential adviser says, and this has nothing to do with Ukraine alone. Now, this is due to the historical significance of this moment. If you start such a war, you have to expect that this war will be on your territory.

[03:25:00]

Ukraine is increasingly using drones to strike Russian targets both inside Russia and in Russian-occupied territories, both in the air and on the water.

After Kyiv hit the Crimean bridge three weeks ago, Moscow now saying its forces thwarted a naval drone attack on cargo ships in the Black Sea, though Ukraine denies targeting civilian vessels.

The ships of the Russian Navy, which escorted the sea transport, detected and destroyed all the boats in a timely manner, the spokesman says.

With Russian forces slowly getting pushed back in southern Ukraine, a rare alleged front-line visit by Putin's top general, Valeriy Gerasimov, getting updates from commanders in the Zaporizhzhia region, the Russian say. Although it's not clear where exactly and when exactly the video was filmed.

Russia's military leadership trying to portray strength and control, even as more Russians feel the war coming even closer.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Berlin.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Meantime, Poland and Ukraine have summoned each other's ambassadors over comments made by a Polish foreign policy adviser.

CNN's Clare Sebastian is following that and joins us now live from London. So Clare, what triggered this intensifying disagreement between Poland and Ukraine?

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Rosemary, this started earlier this week after comments by a Polish foreign policy adviser, essentially accusing Ukraine of not being grateful enough for Poland's support specifically when it comes to helping Ukraine export its grain.

Now Poland is in quite a tricky spot when it comes to grain. It's had to ban domestic imports of Ukrainian grain because it said it was severely undercutting its own farmers leading to a glut on the market. Of course it also comes as Ukraine is facing a real uphill battle trying to export its grain because of the now-defunct Black Sea grain deal.

So this then escalated, the Ukrainians summons the Polish ambassador to make it clear that the comments about Ukrainian ingratitude did not, and I quote, "reflect reality." Poland then summoned the Ukrainian ambassador to, for sort of nonspecific reasons and connection, they say, with statements made by Ukrainian government officials.

It escalated even further with the Polish prime minister on Twitter saying that the Polish ambassador should never have been summoned in the first place, that this was a mistake given the level of Polish support for Ukraine since the war started.

So when in a situation where essentially President Zelenskyy is having to wait in here and conduct some damage control. He in a statement on Twitter said, we will not allow any political instance to spoil the relations between the Ukrainian and Polish peoples and emotions should definitely cool down. The freedom and well-being of our nations, he says, the values of our Europe and the victory over the common Russian enemy are above all.

So, look, this may now die down, but it reflects this very delicate reality for Ukraine that there are in some political circles a sort of creeping fatigue around what seems like unending support for the war in Ukraine, even from some of its most staunch allies. I think that's why you see that damage control for President Zelenskyy.

It comes also after Russia tried to stir up tensions between Ukraine and Poland. So any kind of discord between Ukraine and its allies is, of course, exactly what Russia wants. Rosemary.

CHURCH: Most certainly is. Clare Sebastian, joining us from London. Many thanks.

Well, Poland says it's beefing up its forces along its border with Belarus as it accuses its neighbor of violating its airspace. Poland's defense minister says additional troops as well as equipment including combat helicopters are being deployed to the border region.

It comes after Poland says two Belarusian helicopters flew into Poland low enough to evade radar. Belarus denies it happened. Poland is also verily watching Wagner mercenary fighters who are training Belarus's military near the Polish border. There's concern some might try to cross into Poland disguised as migrants but Belarus's president says that's ridiculous.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEXANDER LUKASHENKO, BELARUSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Suddenly, I hear recently, Poland went berserk, that allegedly some detachment is coming here, as many as 100 people. No Wagner detachments of 100 people moved here.

And if they did, then only to transfer their military experience to Belarusian brigades concentrated in Brest and Grodno. I have to teach my units, because an army that does not fight is half an army. You also understand this very well. I don't want to go to war. I don't want our guys to die.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Poland says it informed NATO of the helicopter incursion and it's calling in Belarus' top diplomat in Poland to explain it.

Well, still to come. Record rainfall is creating big problems for China. Typhoons may have come and gone, but now dangerous floods are causing the most damage.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: Beijing has recorded its heaviest rainfall since records began 140 years ago thanks to the remnants of Typhoon Doksuri. It's one of the strongest storms to hit China's mainland in recent times. Doksuri left a path of destruction in its wake. Now crews are mounting rescue missions like you see here where a driver is saved from powerful floodwaters by a helicopter team.

CNN's Anna Coren joins me now live from Hong Kong. So Anna, Typhoon Khanun lashing Okinawa, Typhoon Doksuri battling China. What is the latest on rescue and evacuation efforts?

ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Rosemary, we have an update on the death toll in China as a result of former super typhoon Doksuri. Twenty-one people are now dead according to authorities, including 12 in Beijing. Another dozen are still missing.

That storm, Rosemary, has dumped the heaviest rainfall over the capital ever recorded in 140 years. Heavy rains began pummeling the capital and surrounding areas last Saturday with the average rainfall for the month of July falling on Beijing in just 40 hours, extraordinary amount of water.

As a result, we see that severe flooding, washing away cars, damaging buildings, roads. Many residents, thousands, had to be evacuated. In neighboring Hubei province, over 800,000 people were evacuated. Authorities say that nine people were killed there, six are still missing. State media reports the maximum rainfall was recorded in 10 weather stations in Hubei province, also breaking historical records.

Now, we understand that the rainfall in Beijing and Hubei is expected to ease while the storm moves towards northeastern China today. The leader of China, Xi Jinping, has called for every effort to rescue those lost or trapped by the rains, as we have been following. You know, China has experienced extreme weather and posting record temperatures this summer, which scientists believe is definitely linked to climate change.

The bad news that we are getting from authorities is that another typhoon is now heading towards China, Typhoon Khanun, which you mentioned, Rosemary. That's the sixth storm this year. It is powerful and slow moving. [03:35:06]

Now, it is currently hitting Japan, although authorities say that it has weakened slightly in the last few hours. Winds of 185 kilometers an hour, that's 115 miles per hour, the equivalent of a category three Atlantic hurricane.

One person so far has been killed. It has knocked out power to a third of homes in Okinawa. Phone and internet connections have been disrupted. The airport in Okinawa's capital city has been closed for a second day.

Okinawa, as we know, home to the majority of U.S. forces based in Japan. Now, this typhoon, Rosemary, is expected to move towards China and Taiwan later in the week.

CHURCH: All right, Anna Coren, joining us live from Hong Kong. Many thanks for that report.

We're now to Syria, where wildfires are causing destruction in areas already decimated by war and the massive earthquake earlier this year. As CNN's Eleni Giokos reports, some Syrians are now dealing with a triple tragedy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELENI GIOKOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A war, an earthquake and now a wildfire.

Syrian farmer Izzadin Zuhaira has faced every one of these disasters. His home, as he told Reuters, already damaged by war and also by February's earthquake. Now the orchids, his only source of livelihood, are burnt to ashes.

IZZADIN ZUHAIRA, SYRIAN FARMER (through translator): It left us with nothing at all. Now we need everything. We even need bread because we don't even have trees anymore and nothing to spend.

GIOKOS (voice-over): Like many parts of the Mediterranean region, Syria's Latakia province has been severely affected by wildfires in recent weeks. Syria's agriculture minister says fires here burned for over five days before firefighters could get them under control.

MOHAMMAD HASSAN QATANA, SYRIAN AGRICULTURE MINISTER (through translator): Most of the fires have been well-controlled. There are two to three locations. We dealt with them with all available capabilities.

GIOKOS (voice-over): Firefighters also struggled to put out the fires in Syria's Homs and Hama provinces earlier this month. And Syria's White Helmet, a volunteer rescue and emergency group, also battled fires in Idlib province last week.

As for the culprit, Zahara says extreme heat is to blame for the destruction of these olive, pomegranate and walnut trees. ZUHAIRA (through translator): I have never witnessed such weather, the

temperature has been very high during the past 15-20 days. And because trees and land are exposed to high temperatures for a long time, they burned very quickly.

GIOKOS (voice-over): A spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross told Reuters, Syria's war-torn population is among the most vulnerable to climate change.

SUHAIR ZAKKOUT, SPOKESPERSON, INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE OF THE RED CROSS: Over a decade of conflict has made everything weak, either infrastructure or the resilience of people. If we mention that 50 percent of the food production of agriculture production is less due to the conflict and climate change combined. But these countries are unfortunately, as mentioned, forgotten by when it comes to climate coping and adaptation and to climate action.

GIOKOS (voice-over): Besides erratic rainfall and rising heat, the ICRC says dust storms, desertification and land loss have been impacting Syrian farmers for years.

Eleni Giokos, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: The British government has formally acknowledged acts of genocide were committed by the terror group ISIS against the Yazidi people in Iraq in 2014. This is only the fifth time Britain has recognized genocide. The Holocaust is on that list.

Britain says the acknowledgement strengthens their commitment to ensure the Yazidis receive compensation owed to them and have access to meaningful justice. ISIS killed or enslaved thousands of Yazidis in an assault on Northern Iraq nine years ago, then home to more than half a million members of the minority group.

Drug maker Pfizer expects that its newly updated COVID-19 vaccine will be approved by regulators by the end of the month. The company's CEO says they are ready with the product and hope to roll out the vaccine in September. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommended in June that new vaccines going out in the coming months should target an Omicron sub-variant. But before anyone can get the shots, the FDA and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will have to sign off on it.

Well, Artificial Intelligence could soon help doctors more effectively detect breast cancer. A study in the journal, The Lancet Oncology, shows scans read by a radiologist, along with help from A.I. found 20 percent more cancers.

[03:40:09]

The combination could cut in half the workload for doctors reading mammograms. Researchers admit there's still a lot of work to be done, but the study shows A.I. is safe to use in breast cancer detection. Well, it has been nearly 100 days since the Writers Guild of America

went on strike, but now Hollywood studios have invited them back to the negotiating table. A tentative meeting is set for Friday for the two sides to try to reach a new deal on royalties, health benefits, pay and more. No word yet on whether the studios have also reached out to the Screen Actors Guild, which is also on strike seeking a similar agreement.

The Women's World Cup Final Group Stage Matches get underway as teams try to seal a spot in the knockouts. We'll take a look.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: Now to the Women's World Cup, where two matches are underway right now. Argentina are playing Sweden, who have already clinched their place in the knockouts. But Argentina must win to have any chance of advancing. The match is so far scoreless.

Meanwhile, Italy and South Africa are tied one-all as they fight for a spot in the round of 16. Later today in Group F, Brazil must win against Jamaica to stay alive. And France will face Panama. But is expected to go through with a draw.

Well meanwhile, the U.S. limped into the next round after a tense draw with Portugal while European champs England roared into the round of 16. CNN's Don Riddell has the highlights from Tuesday's matches.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DON RIDDELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: The U.S. team arrived as the favorites for the World Cup and they set off in pursuit of what would be an unprecedented feat, a third consecutive World title.

So far, there is good news and there is also bad news. Here's the good news, they're unbeaten, they're through to the knockout stage. Here's the bad news, they were this close from being knocked out and their fans are starting to wonder if this team is capable of going much further.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): I think if you're a U.S. soccer fan right now, it is time to panic. Panic.

(on-camera): U.S. soccer fans, it is time to panic.

RIDDELL: And that's CNN's John Berman earlier today.

Tuesday's action in New Zealand was dramatic. We'll start with the 2019 finalists, the Netherlands, who thrashed Vietnam in Group E. This game really was illuminated by a couple of goals from Esmee Brute. She scored twice. Both goals were brilliant. And you're not seeing double.

Her goals seem to be almost identical, both perfectly curled into the top corner. With that, the Dutch ease to a seven-nil win, meaning they finish top of the group with seven points.

[03:45:06] That is the kind of performance that the USA were hoping for against Portugal, but they really labored to their second consecutive draw, and it could have been so much worse. That was Portugal's Ana Capeta hitting the post in injury time a couple of inches just to the left, and Portugal would have gone through at the Americans' expense. These players know how lucky they are to have survived.

England are comfortably through to the last 16 thanks to a six-one thrashing of China. Lesia Russo's control and quick feet there gave the Lionesses an early lead and they never looked back. Lauren James is rapidly emerging as a major star in this tournament. China perhaps unwise to give us so much space to score England's third goal and she was on target again in the second half with a brilliant volley.

Two stunning goals for Lauren James. She also had three assists as England become only the second team to win all three games so far. The European champions are flying into the next round.

Elsewhere in Group D, Denmark confirmed their onward progress with a two-nil win against Haiti. Their captain Pernille Harder scored a penalty midway through the first half, but it wasn't until the 10th minute of injury time at the end of the game that they could be sure of the win.

That's when Sanne Trollsgaard-Nielsen made it two-nil, meaning that Denmark were able to celebrate for 28 years. Having finished second in the group, Denmark will now have a massive challenge against the co- host Australia in Sydney on Monday, whilst England's Lionesses will play Nigeria for a place in the quarterfinals. Back to you.

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CHURCH: Pope Francis is set to begin a five-day trip to Portugal for World Youth Day, though the Catholic Church's sexual abuse scandal is casting a shadow over the gathering.

The Pope departed Rome a couple of hours ago for Lisbon. He is scheduled to meet with Portugal's president, prime minister, and civil society leaders later today. Hundreds of thousands of young people from around the world are expected to gather for masses, vigils, and other events.

This will be the first World Youth Day since 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Looming over the event a report by a Portuguese Commission that says more than 4,800 minors were sexually abused by clergy over 70 years. Pope Francis is expected to meet privately with abuse victims.

And still to come, Why UNESCO says Australia's Great Barrier Reef is not in danger, at least not yet. I'll ask a Greenpeace executive about that.

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CHURCH: In a surprise move, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee has decided not to add Australia's Great Barrier Reef to its list of sites in danger. That's despite overwhelming scientific evidence that suggests the world's biggest coral reef ecosystem is at risk of another mass bleaching in the months ahead.

The U.N. agency says the Australian government has made significant progress but asked for an update by February. Scientists warned there's little chance of radical improvement in just six months, especially since the arrival of El Nino, which typically makes oceans hotter.

[03:50:01]

And joining me now from Suva, Fiji, is David Ritter. He is the CEO of Greenpeace Australia Pacific. Appreciate you joining us.

DAVID RITTER, CEO, GREENPEACE AUSTRALIA PACIFIC: Good to be with you.

CHURCH: So yet again, Australia's Great Barrier Reef will not be added to the list of World Heritage sites deemed in danger by UNESCO after this panel selected Venice instead for that list. What's your reaction to that decision?

RITTER: Well I think fundamentally the point is that there is overwhelming scientific evidence that the Great Barrier Reef is in danger and the really significant thing about what UNESCO has done today is that they have focused on the primary threat to the Great Barrier Reef which is climate change.

We know that climate change is driven primarily by coal, oil and gas, the extraction and burning of coal, oil and gas. And what UNESCO has done is said that the Australian government needs to change its regulatory and policy settings so that Australia is in line with what is necessary to keep global warming to under 1.5 degrees to give the great barrier for fighting chance. Now that's a really significant statement by UNESCO.

CHURCH: Interesting, because of course we know that the Australian government has previously lobbied hard against UNESCO, including the Great Barrier Reef on its endangered list because they didn't want the listing to impact tourism to that destination. That's worth a lot of money for Australia. So how much did that play a part in the decision this time around, do you think? And was UNESCO just taking the word of the government here?

RITER: Well, look, I think we have seen that UNESCO is a political process at times, but the really significant opportunity for the Australian government here is to be good to its word and to have policies in place to introduce a framework where there is a commitment to doing what is necessary to give the Great Barrier Reef a fighting chance. And that's really no more expansion of coal, oil or gas, no more billions of dollars of subsidies to coal and gas.

Now, projects like for example, the massive Woodside proposal that would be the largest greenhouse gas emitting project to come forward in Australia simply cannot go ahead if we're going to be consistent with what is necessary to keep global warming under 1.5 degrees and give the Great Barrier Reef a fighting chance. And let's remember here that what Australia does really matters on the world scale because Australia is the third largest exporter of fossil fuels.

So really what's significant here is there is an opportunity for this government to distance itself from the appalling record of Australian governments' past in not acting and to do the right thing by our Great Barrier Reef. That means no more expansion of coal, oil and gas.

CHURCH: And why is it so important for UNESCO to put Australia's Great Barrier Reef on that in-danger list? And why do you say the reef's dangers are more important than perhaps what the Italian city of Venice is facing right now?

RITTER: Oh well there should be no trading off of the world's treasures, all of the world's treasures should be protected. But the truth is that all of the treasures of the world, and that includes all the reefs of the world, are in jeopardy from climate change. It is the meta threat.

And I suppose what's really significant is not the words but the actions. And what UNESCO has called for here, really fundamentally, is action by the Australian government action to not expand coal, oil and gas is what is necessary.

This is implicit in what UNESCO has said, which is that the Australian government needs to have policies in line with what is necessary to keep global warming under 1.5 degrees. That is what is needed here and that action is far more significant than any words on the page.

CHURCH: So what do you think will happen come February?

RITTER: Well, I think it's very difficult to predict what will happen, but we know what should happen. And what should happen is that the Australian government should seize the moment. I mean, we love in this, in the country of Australia, the Great Barrier Reef, and people the world over love reefs. A billion people live near reefs.

Hundreds of millions of people depend on reefs for their livelihood. I'm in the Pacific at the moment where Pacific people have had some of the least to do with what the causes of global warming are now most on the sharp end of the climate emergency.

[03:55:01]

So, you know, what should happen is that the Australian Government should do the right thing by the Great Barrier Reef, the right thing by the Australian people, the right thing by our Pacific neighborhood. And that is to bring in policies and laws to ensure that Australia is aligned with what is necessary to keep global warming under 1.5 degrees. That means no terrible new mega projects like Woodside's massive new gas mines and it means no new coal, oil and gas. That is the opportunity that is there.

CHURCH: David Ritter, thank you so much for joining us. I Appreciate it.

RITTER: Thanks for your time. CHURCH: Well the mystery surrounding a large metallic cylinder that

washed up on a beach in Western Australia has been solved. The Australian Space Agency says it belongs to India, and officials there confirmed it is debris from a polar satellite vehicle it launched in the past. Curious residents and online sleuths had a host of theories about what the object might be when it was found last month. Indian officials say they have no plans to get it back.

Well, NASA says it's basically shouting into the cosmos to reestablish contact with the Voyager 2 spacecraft. The space agency says it can hear Voyager's heartbeat, thanks to help from the Deep Space Network and radio science groups, but commands from NASA last month accidentally caused the craft's antenna to point away from Earth, meaning no communication to or from Voyager. Well, NASA hopes new commands can reposition the antenna, although it admits the possibility is low.

TikTok's Song of the Summer has a new music video featuring a familiar scene from supermodel Cindy Crawford.

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All right, that is the opening scene of "One Margarita" by That Chick Angel. And we can't show the rest of the racy video, but it is a recreation of Crawford's iconic 1992 Pepsi Super Bowl commercial. Crawford has revived the white tank top and cut off shorts look before. She parodied the ad on the "Late Late Show with James Corden" in 2016. And she recreated the look in a photo shoot to raise money for a children's hospital in 2021.

And thank you so much for your company. I'm Rosemary Church. Have yourselves a wonderful day. CNN NEWSROOM continues with Max Foster, next.

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