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Tropical Storm Hilary Slams Southern California; Ecuador Elections Move to Runoff; Spain Win Historic FIFA Women's World Cup Final Against England; Canadian PM: Federal Aid and Military Help for BC Wildfires; Denmark & the Netherlands to Send F-16 Jets to Ukraine; BRICS Summit in Johannesburg; India's Electric Revolution; A.I. Reads Minds; New DNA Tech Reveals More on Oldest Intact Mummy. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired August 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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[01:00:22]

LAILA HARRAK, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from the United States and all around the world. I'm Laila Harrak. Tracking Tropical Storm Hilary, nine million people under flood alerts in Los Angeles, as the center of the storm is just 16 kilometers south of the city. We'll have a live weather update and down to a runoff in Ecuador between an ex-president's ally and the son of a banana tycoon.

And fans go wild. Spain wins the Women's World Cup for the first time despite a tumultuous here for the team.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from CNN Center. This is CNN Newsroom with Laila Harrak.

HARRAK: We began here in the United States as Southern California is facing the first tropical storm to hit the state in more than two decades. Tropical Storm Hilary has been lashing San Diego and Los Angeles with powerful winds and record breaking rainfall.

More than 9 million people in downtown L.A. and surrounding areas are under flash flood warnings and thousands of flights were canceled or delayed in the U.S. on Sunday many due to the storm. Some residents say they've never seen anything like this.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But unprecedented. We've had storms before but never anything quite this windy and rainy at the same time. I have a friend who just saw a 60 foot carport get blown off of his neighbor's house and carried four houses up. And there are also a few very large downed trees around the area.

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HARRAK: There there's also a state of emergency in Nevada, which is feeling the effects of Hilary as the storm moves north. It made landfall in Mexico at the Baja California Peninsula early Sunday causing widespread flooding and power outages. At least one person there was killed when their vehicle was swept away in the floodwaters.

For the latest, let's go over now to CNN meteorologist Karen Mcginnis standing by. Karen, how much longer will this last?

KAREN MAGINNIS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, I'm glad that you asked that because this was a brutal 24 hours where Southern California was lashed with rainfall that is unprecedented and has produced catastrophic flooding in a number of areas all the way from San Diego northward. The mountains were hit the hardest. The video that you're looking at behind me from Rancho Mirage, which is just to the south of Palm Springs area.

All right, for all intents and purposes, tropical storm Hilary. Now 24 hours ago this hurricane is lashing the north and south Baja region. But now it is moving across Southern California still capable of producing catastrophic wind and rainfall. And it looks like it's going to linger into Monday and then gradually taper off throughout the day.

But in the meantime, look at the staggering rainfall totals. The heaviest being in the mountains, this Mount San Jacinto with more than 200 millimeters of rainfall. And I have to hand it to the computer models because they really focused in on just how much rainfall some of these areas would get. And they're nearly perfect. Some of the coastal areas between one to three inches of rainfall or 25 to about 75 millimeters of rainfall, a record amount of rainfall in Los Angeles where typically, Los Angeles would see almost none.

But now we've got flash flood warnings out across a good portion of Southern California from Los Angeles, these densely populated areas extending all the way over into the border of Nevada. The rainfall continues tonight.

So what we've already seen with these record rainfall amounts, there's going to be more so this is in fact, epic. They've already closed some schools. We've seen power outages just about 70,000 people in the state of California, reportedly without power. Also we've seen road damage. We've seen mudslides. We've seen debris flows. It is just widespread and epic.

That rainfall is going to continue to move towards the north in the vicinity of Washington, Oregon, also into Idaho, but it's going to be a remnant area of low pressure as we go into the next 24 hours. There you can see it still tapping in the moisture even though this is just a tropical storm. It is still capable of producing that catastrophic flooding and we'll have some gusty winds.

One other thing and that is Franklin now Tropical Storm. Its impact is going to be across Puerto Rico, and Hispaniola but it's going to make a rather dramatic turn toward The North as we go into the next 24 hours but we'll keep you updated on that. Laila.

[01:05:02] HARRAK: Thank you so much Karen. Thank you for that. Well, meantime at least a nine people were rescued from a riverbed in San Diego. Officials say they're looking for any more residents who may need help and as CNN's Kyung Lah reports the city has never seen a storm like this before.

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KYING LAH, CNN SENIOR U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): San Diego's mayor says the city is simply not built to handle a tropical storm, Hilary. So what the city has been doing is trying to prepare the best that it can.

What you're seeing throughout this area of Mission Valley is main thoroughfares like this one completely shut down. The reason for these barriers is because the street behind me, this is an area if you're familiar with San Diego, Mission Valley, that is a known flood zone. There's a San Diego river over there. And then all of the hills you see some of the desert area, all of that that funnels down here into the water and the infrastructure needs to hold.

What the mayor has said is that there's approximately three to four inches that have already come down and expected over the next 24 hours three to four times that much. That's why the San Diego Unified Public School District has delayed the start of school by a full 24 hours. It was scheduled to start on Monday. That will push by one day.

The Navy in fact has moved 10 of his ships out of the bay further into the sea to try to protect those 10 vessels just in case the storm were to create any sort of damage but what the city has seen so far is that it has been able to withstand Tropical Storm Hilary. The rain still coming down. It will be very much what happens in the overnight hours. Kyung Lah, CNN, San Diego.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRAK: Well, further north in the Palm Springs, police say they've made at least three swift water rescues to so far due to unprecedented rainfall and flooding. Many roads are washed out making it impossible for vehicles like this fire truck to cross safely. Pulling water is also creeping dangerously close to homes.

Residents have been asked to stay home and avoid driving after incidents like this where rushing waters have inundated vehicles like this pickup truck.

Joining me with more is the mayor of Palm Springs Grace Garner. Mayor, thank you so much for joining us at this critical moment for your community. What is the situation in Palm Springs right now?

GRACE GARNER, PALM SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA MAYOR: Well, at the moment, we've been having rain since about 1:00 pm. It's been very steady there at times. It was quite dramatic. But right now it's mostly to drizzle.

I think we've gone through the worst of it at this point. But all of our roads in and out of Palm Springs are closed and throughout the entire Coachella Valley. So that's the biggest concern for us right now. Thankfully, we have not had too many rescues, as you noted, residents really are staying put, but we will see you know the extent of the damage in the morning.

HARRAK: So mayor, I found you're saying you correctly some respite from the rain. But you know, we've all seen pretty shocking footage of areas completely submerged roads that look like rivers. How are you as a community managing this much precipitation in a desert city.

GARNER: It's really tough to manage even two inches of rain, and we're looking at four, possibly five inches at this time. In 2019, we also had about four inches of rain which we were completely blindsided by. So we're actually in a much better shape this time around. We know where the weak points are. We were clearing debris from our wash areas earlier this week.

So really, once we see the damage tomorrow, we'll be able to get those roads cleared as quickly as possible. We have state and county services also working with us. So we feel like this is more manageable this time around.

HARRAK: What are you most worried about in the hours ahead? What's the outlook?

GARNER: Well, I think the biggest concern for me is getting those roads open. We're hearing reports of minor damage to homes but nothing too severe at this time. I spoke with the CEO of our level one trauma center, Desert Regional Medical Center and she said that things were moving well there and that they were handling any emergencies that came through.

So where we are very fortunate that there hasn't been anything too severe. But those roads really are going to be a problem as we try to get people in and out and try to go back to our normal lives.

HARRAK: Right, because I mean that was going to be my follow up question in terms of, you know, are many people stranded that you know, have are they heeding your warnings, whatever is it is contending with right now?

[01:10:00]

GARNER: Residents have been staying home. We really have seen very few people on the street in Palm Springs proper. I'm not sure about the rest of the Coachella Valley. But in Palm Springs people have stayed home. They really have been working hard to prepare this week. They were filling sandbags yesterday and the day before.

So I feel very fortunate that we have such a strong community and an engaged community that is really listening to the warnings and our public safety have been absolutely incredible in their response.

HARRAK: And are there places to take shelter for those who need a safe place? GARNER: Yes, absolutely. We do have shelter spaces available throughout the Coachella Valley. There's been spaces set aside. And there's transportation that's being provided.

HARRAK: Now Palm Springs, I understand a declared a local emergency. What were some of the preparations that have been put in place as the storm was forecast?

GARNER: We've had about 60,000 sandbags that have been distributed to residents and 300 tons of sand. And I was out there myself helping yesterday with filling sandbags. We also have the swift water rescue teams that have been at the ready, including Oakland swift water rescue teams helping us out as well. Everyone from the county in the state to the federal level has been helping us and making sure that we have all of the resources that we need.

HARRAK: And mayor, my final question. So you know, as a community not accustomed to these types of storms, what are the some of the challenges ahead? Do you think you need to start preparing for more of these to come?

GARNER: I think we will know climate change is a very real threat in our country. And we're going to have to continue to plan for all sorts of weather emergencies that we're not used to not just here in Palm Springs, but across the country across the world. And that's really the biggest problem. We need to be able to do preventative measures so that we don't have severe climate crisis as we are in right now.

HARRAK: Mayor Grace Garner, thank you so much for speaking to us and all the best.

GARNER: Thank you.

HARRAK: After a political campaign racked by one candidate assassination, Ecuador's presidential election is heading for a runoff. Leftist Luisa Gonzalez and businessman Daniel Noboa will face off in the second round on October 15. They comes after legislator and former investigative journalist Fernando Villavicencio was gunned down as he left a campaign rally earlier this month while Ecuador is in the grip of murderous drug gangs that have carried out brazen killings, extortion and other crimes, and a country that was heralded for its stability not so long ago.

While polls predicted Luisa Gonzalez would finish strongly in Sunday's election, but Danielle Naboa is a big surprise. It all comes as the nation struggles against waves of extreme violence that only seem to be getting worse. CNN's Rafael Romo has that part of the story.

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RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Pollsters didn't see it coming Daniel Naboa was not among the leading candidates in the weeks before Sunday's first round. But after a solid performance during the presidential debate held exactly a week before the election, voters gave the 35-year-old businessman and former member of the Ecuadorian National Assembly, the right to go to the second round. Daniel Naboa was the son of Alvaro Naboa who was also a member of the

assembly and ran unsuccessfully for President three times. He will face Luisa Gonzalez, the protege of former Ecuadorian firebrand President Rafael Correa, a leftist who governed the South American country for 10 years starting in 2007.

After her win, Gonzalez said Ecuador urgently needs peace, jobs and security, and repeated what she has said during her campaign that our return to the policies of Correa would allow the country to get out of a wave of insecurity that has made it one of the most violent in the region.

In his first remarks after winning the chance to go to the second round, Naboa emphasized his platform focuses on security for Ecuador and employment. He's hoping to rule a country that has been shaken by multiple acts of political violence.

On August 9, Fernando Villavicencio, a 59-year-old investigative journalist and former lawmaker was gunned down when he was leaving on rally in Quito, the capital and then on Thursday, Naboa himself said his own campaign was attacked as the candidate traveled with his entourage in the city of Duran in Guayas province.

Hundreds of inmates have died in the last year during clashes inside prisons between local drug gangs with the government's seemingly unable to put an end to the violence. Ecuadorians will again go to the polls on October 15 to choose a precedent between the two winners of this Sunday's presidential election. Rafael Romo, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRAK: Grace Jaramillo, she is a professor of Public Policy and Global Affairs at the University of British Columbia. Professor, a very warm welcome. Security obviously paramount in this Presidential election. What does violence -- what is the role that violence plays in Ecuador?

[01:15:05]

GRACE JARAMILLO, PROFESSOR, PUBLIC POLICY AND GLOBAL AFFAIRS, UNIV. OF BRITISH COLUMBIA: Well, in the last probably 15 years, Jon Acuff, and then different governments across the country have is a big, huge network, I would say. And that really started to spread around gang violence across the streets, not only between gangs, but across the population as a whole.

They control some areas of the country such as Esmeraldas, some parts of Manabi, some parts of Guayas, three of the most populous provinces in Ecuador, and there has been an increasing risk to the general population.

What is new in this year, in this upcoming election year is the fact that widespread violence really touch politics, with the ultimate that have an assassination of Mr. Fernando Villavicencio, presidential candidate that was shot dead last week on August 9. HARRAK: That has been very shocking. And I imagined Ecuador is still reeling from that political assassination. I understand that you knew Fernando Villavicencio. Can you share with us who he was and something about his work as well and what made him a target that led ultimately to his assassination?

GRACE JARAMILLO: Well, in the 90s, I met him because we went to undergrad together, and we even ran for election at the school -- undergrad school of social communication together back in the 90s, 1991 or so. So I know him -- I knew him since that point in time.

But the most important aspect why he became a target is because he was always a whistleblower, and an investigative journalist who really show up around and confront corruption from his early years as a unionized leader for Petroecuador, the national state owned enterprise oil company.

So he was really at the forefront of the combat against corruption, just presenting new cases. And he was especially important for the prosecution of the former President Rafael Correa, and also former president and former vice president, Jorge Glas in the other big case.

HARRAK: Now I understand obviously, you know, his assassination is something that has shocked the nation, how has it impacted the election in Ecuador?

GRACE JARAMILLO: I would say that it does. That was a turning point. It was a game changer. The political assassination of Fernando Villavicencio was something to recommend and really provoked widespread change in the mood of the population for a complete and radical start over for the country.

So much so that Mr. Fernando Villavicencio ticket will start to rise again, just in the three days or so of the previous election campaign. And then all of a sudden, also the presidential debate and his absence was something really important to change -- that change the mood of the population is especially the preference for the voters.

HARRAK: What's at stake for Ecuador, what needs to happen now?

GRACE JARAMILLO: Well, we are witnessing in the withering away of state not only of democracy, but also of a state that is really falling fast in the so called failed state situation, where you have a deep penetration of drug trafficking links or an illegal forces links to the security forces, and the state lacks capacity to prevent more widespread violence.

And especially, it is important the fact that there is no similar situation to Colombia during the 90s with the united front against terrorism and drug trafficking. We have fragmentation of the general policy in Ecuador that cannot really get together into an agreement on how to combat corruption, how to really prevent more crime of violence across the country.

We need also international community. The international communities should help Ecuador to find a way and have a plan to stop widespread violence in the future, but that everything is at stake with the second round, because something that we know is that the second round is secure. And without with the second round, we will see that a minimum consensus to combat violence to prevent more difficult than tragic moments for Ecuadorian democracy will come or not to fruition.

[01:20:06]

HARRAK: Grace Jaramillo is Professor of Public Policy and Global Affairs at the University of British Columbia. Thank you, Professor for speaking to us.

GRACE JARAMILLO: Thank you. You too.

HARRAK: And to Guatemala's presidential election now and progressive candidate, Bernardo Arevalo appears to have won Sunday's runoff, with more than 95 percent of the ballots counted. Arevalo's supporters gathered in the streets of Guatemala City to celebrate his win.

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JOSUE, STUDENT (through translator): I didn't come to celebrate Arevalo. I came to celebrate the respect to Guatemala sovereignty and the maximum right that people have in a democracy, which is to elect their leaders and to have the popular election respected above any other thing and above any other interest.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRAK: Arevalo campaigns on curbing corruption and tackling malnutrition. The former diplomat to beat former first lady Sandra Torres by 59 percent to 36 percent of votes cast. Guatemala's current presidents congratulated Arevalo and called for a smooth transition of power.

Still to come this hour. Huge celebrations in Spain as the country captures the World Cup. How the women's football team beat the odds to win its first title.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): This is for women's soccer for women's history. They deserve it. We must keep pushing and giving visibility.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): For those of us that have been playing soccer for years. It can be hard for us to fill up stadiums now. It's going to be crazy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): We are just a step away from men now.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): It's a double success. We managed to be world champions but this is going to motivate a lot of young women to play soccer and other sports. It's wonderful. Spanish football fans they're feeling inspired after their team won the Women's World Cup for the first time. Spain defeated England one nil in the final on Sunday, capping off a remarkable run in a tournament full of record breaking performances. CNN's Amanda Davies has more.

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AMANDA DAVIES, CNN WORLD SPORT (on camera): A tournament that has rocked the world has come to a close, a few weeks that has signaled the start of a new world order not only for women's football, but women's sport as a whole and has crowned a new world champion in Spain.

It was a final a showpiece event that had everything you would have asked for a magical atmosphere, some moments of sheer brilliance and ultimately, tears of joy and heartbreak.

Spain did deserve the win they had the better of possession the better of the chances.

[01:25:05]

They stuck to their game plan and it was that single goal from Olga Carmona that made the difference, it could have been two had England's Mary Earps not say from Jenny Hermoso on the penalty spot.

England's had only been down for seven minutes in this tournament before that goal like their opponents, they have overcome some adversity and some battles to get to this point they were not going to give up their best chance of getting their hands on that trophy easily.

Alex Greenwood was left bloodied, both sets of players many of them were left strewn on the pitch having given it their all but Spain are the side who have scored more goals than any other in this tournament. It's their players who have been stealing the headlines dominating in their domestic and European leagues.

In the last 12 months, they have been crowned under 17 Women's World Cup champions, under 20 Women's World Cup champions and now they have the biggest prize of all. You suspect this victory will not end the questions about the unrest in the camp. The disquiet over the coaching methods of hog a builder if anything, it might well make them louder. But for now, for Spain and their fans, it is their celebrations that will be heard louder than all and boy do they deserve this moment. Amanda Davies in Sydney, Australia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRAK: After they're lost to Spain, England received an uplifting message from King Charles III. The monarch told the Lionesses not to feel defeated because in his words reaching the final is an immense tribute to their skill and determination. He also said the team will inspire generations to come and that their place in the history books is already assured. Tennis superstar Novak Djokovic has made a triumphant return to the United States playing in his first American tournament since 2021. The 36-year-old has won the Cincinnati Open after a marathon final against Carlos Alcaraz. He rallied from a set down and saved a champion point to beat the world number one just a month after losing to him and Wimbledon. Djokovic called Sunday's match one of the toughest and most exciting of his career.

For months, Ukraine has begged Western allies to send fighter jets saying they'll make a huge difference on the battlefield against Russia. Their request will soon be granted. That's next.

And the heads of state of China, India, Brazil and South Africa will lead the 15th BRICS Summit this week in South Africa. Vladimir Putin won't be there. We'll explain why.

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LAILA HARRAK, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to our viewers all around the world. I'm Laila Harrak. And you're watching CNN NEWSROOM.

Turning now to Canada's devastating wildfires. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he signed off on federal help for British Columbia. He's also deploying Canadian armed forces to the western province to help with evacuations and logistics, stressing it will take a combined effort to keep people and property safe.

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JUSTIN TRUDEAU, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER: The federal government is continuing to step up. We're there with Canadian armed forces resources. We're active in coordinating with regional and local governments to make sure people are safe, make sure we're doing everything to protect lives and property. But there's a lot more to do.

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HARRAK: Officials say hundreds of firefighters have made great progress battling the fires in the region, including the McDougal Creek wildfire, which has burned very close to the city of Kelowna.

Ukraine's urgent pleas for F-16 fighter jets are finally being answered. Denmark is pledging to donate 19 of the U.S.-made jets and the Netherlands, offering some from its fleet though we don't know yet how many.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy praised the decision as historic. He says the planes will not only provide air cover for troops fighting in the counteroffensive but they'll also provide a much-needed emotional boost.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): F-16 will certainly give a new boost of confidence and motivation for both our warriors and civilians. I'm sure they will give new results for Ukraine and the whole of Europe.

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HARRAK: CNN chief international security correspondent Nick Paton Walsh has more on when Ukraine can expect to see those jets.

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NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: It seems like the last 48 hours of an open discussion as to when exactly Ukraine will get F-16s maybe yielding some increase in public commitments by NATO allies here.

Remember, we heard in the last few days how Ukraine's air force spokesperson says they would not be receiving F-16s until next year.

Now, in a trip to Denmark and the Netherlands, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been receiving fairly watertight pledges from leaders there as to what he will get. Denmark have said they will supply 19 F-16s. That's kind of the clearest indication we've had yet from a NATO member that they will deliver these high tech U.S.- supplied jets to Ukraine.

Likely six this year, potentially on the back end of this year, and then more in the years to come. Not everything they need right now, but the ambition of this project is extraordinary.

And the Netherland also as Zelenskyy visited, they have said they have 42 F-16s, but they haven't said how many of those they will hand over to Ukraine. Ukraine obviously would like to have all of them.

But this is a marked change from 48 hours ago where frankly, it wasn't clear at all when F-16s would arrive in Ukraine. A reminder, why they need them -- their troops on the frontlines in the southern counteroffensive are suffering from Russian air superiority, from half metric ton bombs that Russians drop at will on their advancing troops from their troop positions. And that is really slowing down the capacity of Ukraine to achieve gains in this counteroffensive.

Indeed, what F-16s might be able to do is to interdict those Russian jets, but more widely for Ukrainians here in Zaporizhzhia, we've heard four or five air sirens so far today. The ability to perhaps challenge Russian superiority in the air to deliver missiles and hit civilian targets on a nightly basis that we're currently seeing.

So no doubt at all in Ukraine's mind they urgently need F-16s right now. But they aren't going to get it. They're going to have to wait probably until January, maybe the back end of this year, to see the first trickle in.

That is because the complex mechanism requires Ukrainian pilots to be trained by European allies with U.S. sign off, and the jets, which you heard from Denmark and the Netherlands now, are coming their way, would also require U.S. approval to be passed on.

That is because they are good stuff. They are high technology. They will be useful for Ukraine indeed, but they will require a lot of maintenance and a lot of support to keep going.

But still, likely so with the supply of Leopard armor tanks in the past months, when NATO puts its mind to answering a very direct and public and at times angry Ukrainian demand, they're able to do that.

[01:34:56]

WALSH: And so we are perhaps seeing this possibly formulating with the F-16s. But their arrival will be way later than Ukrainian troops on the frontlines dying daily would like to see.

Nick Paton Walsh, CNN -- Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRAK: The 15th annual BRICS summit is set for this week in Johannesburg, but it's who won't be there that is getting a lion's share of attention.

The heads of state of China, India, Brazil and South Africa are set to attend along with 30 African leaders, but Russian President Vladimir Putin won't be there in person, because the International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for him.

Meantime, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said Sunday that more than 20 countries have applied for BRICS membership, which he says he supports. He said that would bring together a diverse group of nations that want to create what he called a more balanced world order.

Daniel Bradlow is a professor at the Center for Advancement of Scholarship at the University of Pretoria, and he joins us now via skype from Johannesburg.

Professor, so good to have you with us. President Xi will be the center of attention at this summit. Why is BRICS relevant to China?

DANIEL BRADLOW, PROFESSOR, CENTER FOR ADVANCEMENT OF SCHOLARSHIP, UNIVERSITY OF PRETORIA: So, BRICS is relevant to China because it's a grouping of countries that are leading countries in their regions in the global south. China is interested in developing more alliances and more groupings which has influence and can counterbalance the west. And he sees BRICS as an important player in that regard.

HARRAK: Now, China wants the alliance to become a geopolitical rival to the G7. And also on the agenda in the summit is expansion, something that China backs but also other members of BRICS as well.

How might expanding BRICS help it achieve its declared goal of becoming a so-called counter weight to western-dominated global institutions? BRADLOW: Well, I think the world is changing. Everybody recognizes

that there's need for reform in global governance and most countries are trying to repositions themselves and hedge their bets.

And so they see joining the BRICS as a possible one option that they would like in order to have alternatives in terms of international relations. They see having access to China as important. Many of them also would like access to the West. South Africa, for example, is hosting the BRICS summit this year, but it's also hosting the meeting of AGOA, the African Growth and Opportunity Act with the U.S. and African countries, and then the E.U.-Africa summit.

So, it's nonaligned. It's trying to position itself to keep its options open in a very quickly changing world.

HARRAK: Can it keep its options open though?

BRADLOW: It's going to be difficult and it's going to require a lot of skill. But hopefully some countries will succeed. Hopefully we're not heading to a cold war where countries will be forced to choose, either to be in one camp or the other.

The push to nonaligned countries is great. And the BRICS have an opportunity to do that because it's not just China in the grouping. There are counter weights to China as well, like India in particular is an important counter weight.

HARRAK: Now, one of the challenges that the summit wants to tackle, BRICS want to take on the U.S. dollar, and potentially introduce their own currency. Can you explain why and how do you respond to the argument that decoupling from the U.S. dollar will be very difficult?

BRADLOW: I think everybody acknowledges that decoupling completely from the U.S. Dollar is a very long-term project. It's not likely to happen soon, even within the BRICS countries.

But that doesn't mean countries wouldn't like more options on what they can trade in. So that for example, if South Africa is buying goods from China, that it could pay Chinese renminbi or with the Brazilian real when it's trading with Brazil.

And so that gives countries more options. But it doesn't mean that they're delinking ultimately from the dollar.

It's important to remember that BRICS accounts for about 18 percent of world trade so that countries are still buying many of their goods and services from countries in the West that want to use, you know, want them to use the dollar.

So improving payments arrangements between the BRICS countries, whether it expands or not, make sense. But that shouldn't be seen as promoting de-dollarization in any significant way.

[01:39:49]

HARRAK: Now sir, you alluded to it earlier at the start of our conversation. South Africa is walking a tightrope, carefully managing its ties with countries like the United States, Russia, and China.

Ukraine is a source of tension. Do you think that during the summit they will avoid discussing the war in Ukraine again? Or will they address it, especially as it impacts food insecurities in the global south?

BRADLOW: I think no matter what, it's going to be the elephant in the room. Whether it's discussed explicitly or just there in the background remains to be seen.

But as you said, on the question of food security, the war is obviously an important issue. The grain deal in the Black Sea is an important issue, particularly for African countries, but also for the world.

And in addition, there are other aspects to the food security issue which should not be forgotten. So for example, India has put restrictions on exports of basmati rice, which also has an impact on African countries and other countries in the world.

And so the food security issue definitely is connected to the Ukrainian situation. But it's not only about that. And so, I think, and I hope that they'll address these issues directly rather than through the lens of the Ukraine crisis.

HARRAK: All right. Daniel Bradlow, thank you so much for talking to us.

BRADLOW: Thank you.

Now, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has reportedly overseen a naval test of strategic cruise missiles. That's according to state media which made the announcement as the U.S. And South Korea began large scale military drills Monday.

North Korea says Kim expected a patrol ship which he praised for maintaining, quote, "high mobility and mighty striking power". He also watched as the ship staged a drill to test its missile system and combat function. But state media did not specify when the test took place.

Still to come, India's future is electric. CNN takes you to an electric scooter manufacturer seeing a surge in demand as more people are going green.

Plus, scientists learning more about a man who lived thousands of years ago. Just ahead, what they discovered by examining the mummies remains with new DNA technology.

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HARRAK: Russia's first lunar mission in decades has ended with a lunar crash. Russia's space agency says the Luna-25 spacecraft collided with the moon's surface after communications were lost Saturday afternoon.

A special commission will investigate what happened, though officials say preliminary calculations indicate that the lander switched its orbits before the collision. This was supposed to be Russia's first moon landing in 47 years.

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HARRAK: And India is trying to radically change its environmental footprint and they're doing it two wheels at a time. Thanks to government subsidies and local production, electric scooters are quickly becoming more popular in the country. And some analysts say it could do wonders to help India move away from fossil fuels.

CNN's Ivan Watson reports.

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IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Even on a good day, the traffic in New Delhi can be pretty overwhelming. But here in the capital of the world's most populous country, dramatic change is in the air and on busy streets.

Seemingly overnight, iconic Indian vehicles like the humble rickshaw, has suddenly gone electric.

India is in the midst of a revolution, a transition towards adopting electric vehicles. This transformation is being led by small vehicles -- scooters, motorcycles, and vehicles like this.

Two-wheeled vehicles vastly outnumber cars on India's roads. With more than 15 million units sold last year, experts say this country is home to one of the biggest two-wheel vehicle markets in the world.

TARUN MEHTA, CEO AND CO-FOUNDER, ATHER ENERGY: In Indian country (ph), the largest use of petrol is two-wheelers in India. The largest emissions are two-wheelers in India.

WATSON: Tarun Mehta is the CEO of Ather Energy. He and Swapnil Jain launched a start-up in 2013. At this factory outside Bangalore, they manufacture electric scooters.

SWAPNIL JAIN, CO-FOUNDER, ATHER ENERGY: One scooter is sold every 90 seconds.

WATSON: This is one of at least ten companies producing two-wheel electric vehicles in India today. The management here say they're not selling any of their scooters overseas for export yet because they just don't need to.

Ather says its sales have skyrocketed from just 200 scooters a month in 2020 to more than 15,000 a month today.

Electric scooters can cost 30 percent more than traditional gas- powered scooters says Ather Energy. And yet it looks like Indian consumers are flocking to this new technology.

BRAJESH CHHIBBER, PARTNER, MCKINSEY & COMPANY: We predict that (INAUDIBLE) will be the market by the year 2030 would be around 25 million units. And out of that, close to 60 to 70 percent of units sold will be electric.

WATSON: India is home to many of the world's most polluted cities but experts agree that the mass electrification of India's vehicles could be a game-changer for the environment.

ANUMITA ROYCHOWDHURY, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, CENTRE FOR SCIENCE AND ENVIRONMENT: If we can marry the two, combine the EV transition and decarbonization of electricity, that is really a win-win. And we are going to have enormous environmental and health benefits.

WATSON: India is on the road to monumental change in its transport industry, a process that will hopefully take pressure off of our planet's embattled climate.

Ivan Watson, CNN -- New Delhi.

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HARRAK: And electric vehicle sales are also booming in the United States. The data from the automotive software company Cox shows U.S. consumers bought nearly 300,000 electric vehicles in the second quarter of this year. That's a new record.

Some states have also set a future date to outlaw the purchase of new gasoline-powered vehicles by 2035.

But even with tax cuts, price cuts, and excess supply, experts say electric cars probably won't overtake traditional vehicles anytime soon.

According to Cox, one big concern is access to a charger. And right now, nearly 30 percent of all public charging stations are in just one state, California.

More than 1,050 people are still unaccounted for after the wildfire disaster on Maui. That's the latest estimates from Hawaii governor Josh Green.

He says it will take search and rescue teams several weeks to go through all of the rubble. And he's warning families to brace themselves, saying the fires burn so hot and the damage was so extensive the remains of some victims may never be found.

Later today, U.S. President Joe Biden will travel to Maui to survey the devastation for himself.

Japan's prime minister visited the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant to inspect preparations for the release of treated wastewater into the sea. Public broadcaster NHK said Fumio Kishida urged officials to ensure appropriate safety measures were in place. That's as space runs out to contain the contaminated material.

There have been protests in Japan against the move, and China and South Korea have also voiced opposition over safety concerns.

[01:49:56] HARRAK: Still to come, researchers say they developed technology to recreate what you see by looking at scans of your brain. More on A.I. mind reading ahead.

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HARRAK: Researchers in Singapore are using artificial intelligence to look at brain scans and recreate the images that are seen, essentially like reading a person's mind.

CNN's Lynda Kinkade reports.

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LYNDA KINKADE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Artificial intelligence can write an essay, create a work of art, and now say researchers in Singapore, essentially read your mind.

These researchers have developed a technology that aims to recreate what you see by looking at scans of your brain.

Here's how it works. Study participants receive an MRI brain scan while looking at a series of images.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So the participant is presented with a series of images. Each last for nine seconds, with nine seconds breaking the chain.

And then now, you can see this is the functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging data.

KINKADE: Researchers say the A.I. program learns which images corresponds to which brain scans. It translates your brain activity into a language that it can understand, using a program called "stable diffusion" (ph).

JIAXIN QING, PHD STUDENT, CHINESE UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG: So next time you come in, you do the scan. And in the scan, you will see the visual stimuli like this. And that will record your brain activities at the same time. And your brain activities will go into our A.I. translator. And this translator will translate your brain activities into a special language that a stable diffusion can understand. And then it will generate the images you are seeing at that point.

So that's basically how we can read your mind in this instance, and we can see the generated images on the side.

KINKADE: Not quite a perfect match, you can see it is a baseball scene. The technology is modeled to the brain scans of individual participants. And researchers say it has a long way to go before it can read the minds of the general public.

But if mind reading does one day become a reality, they want to make sure private thoughts are protected.

JUAN HELEN ZHOU, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE: People might be worried, right, whether the information provided here might be assessed or shared without prior consent.

So the thing to address this is we should have very strict guidelines, ethical and in law, in terms of how to protect the privacy.

KINKADE: Still, the scientists are optimistic that mind reading A.I. Can be used for good to help people control artificial limbs, or if they're unable to speak, communicate using only their thoughts.

CHEN ZIJIAO, PHD STUDENT, NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE: Maybe we can help them (INAUDIBLE) to like control their thoughts robots, and their phone, communicate with others just using their thoughts instead of speech.

KINKADE: Studies all over the world are looking into the implications of stable diffusion. Scientists in Japan, the United States, and the Netherlands are learning how A.I. can make sense of our brains.

The research is the new frontier as artificial intelligence starts to turn science fiction into reality.

Lynda Kinkade, CNN.

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HARRAK: Now, he's considered to be the oldest human mummy found intact, and scientists believe he died more than 5,000 years ago. Because of new DNA technology, their reimagining what he actually looked like.

CNN's Michael Holmes has more.

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MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Utsi (ph) was a man who lived more than 5,000 years ago. Until now, he was thought to be light skinned and hairy. But new research finds he was more likely dark skinned and balding.

ALBERT ZINK, HEAD OF THE INSTITUTE FOR MUMMY STUDIES, EURAC RESEARCH: We found out that these skin color is much darker than we thought. He had very dark skin color, even darker than today's South Europeans, like people from Andalusia or Cicely (INAUDIBLE). But not as dark as people from sub-Saharan Africa.

And on the other hand, we found out that he was most likely bald. So he had a genetic predisposition to lose his hair.

Utsi is the world's oldest human corpse to be discovered intact. A hiking couple found him in 1991 in a mountain range along the Austrian-Italian border. Scientists have long known how he died.

He actually was killed on the mountainside at the height of 2,210 meters by an arrow shot that hit his left shoulder. And we also know that he died quite quickly at that place. HOLMES: But they're now learning more about how he lived, using

advanced technology to study DNA extracted from his pelvis. Utsi was previously thought to have descended from people who lived in the (INAUDIBLE) Caspian steppe, stretching from southeastern Europe into Kazakhstan.

But genome sequencing date places his ancestral origins elsewhere in modern day Turkey.

ZINK: (INAUDIBLE) Anatolian hunter-gatherer ancestry.

HOLMES: These developments shatter previous findings about the iceman, but Zink says it's an expected turn in the world of science.

ZINK: This is an enormous progress in science. You get new results, new information, then you adapt the reconstruction.

HOLMES: Utsi's reconstruction has been at the South Tyrrell Museum of Archaeology since 1998. It's expected to soon be upgraded or replaced to fit his new identity.

Michael Holmes, CNN.

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HARRAK: And that wraps up this hour of CNN NEWSROOM.

I'm Laila Harrak.

Rosemary Church picks up our coverage after a quick break. Stay with us.

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