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Ukraine IDs Russian Commander Accused Of Bucha Atrocities; Russia Claims To Stop Ukrainian Attacks On Crimea Bridge; Pope Francis' Historic Visit To Mongolia; Florida Governor Not Meeting President During Today's Visit; Child Dies In CBP Custody; French President Reaffirms Ban On Muslim Clothing In Schools; Syrian Protesters Call For President To Resign; India Launches Mission To Study Sun; Spanish Sports Court Opens Rubiales Probe; Chinese Plan To Limit Kids' Mobile Device Time. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired September 02, 2023 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A warm welcome to our viewers. I'm Paula Newton.
Russia claims it has stopped an attack by Ukraine, this comes as Russia also says that its new nuclear weapons system is now operational.
Pope Francis makes his first ever visit to Mongolia, predominately a Buddhist country. We'll go into some of the reasons for the trip.
And India launches a mission to study the sun, right after successfully landing on the moon.
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NEWTON: And we do begin in Crimea, where Russia says it foiled three attacks on a vital bridge on the last few hours. The ministry of defense claims they destroyed three Ukrainian sea drones loaded with explosives, launched at the Crimean Bridge, also known as the Kerch Bridge.
It's just the latest attempt at an attack on the bridge, which is a critical lifeline for Russian forces. Meanwhile, Ukraine security service has identified a Russian commander that's been accused of participating in the atrocities in Bucha last year.
The SBU says Vadym Ovchinnikov ordered his subordinates to open fire on two cars carrying civilians. A man, his wife and their 15-year-old daughter were killed instantly. Only the youngest daughter, who was 9 at the time, survived. Ukrainian forces say they have in fact penetrated Russian defenses in
the Zaporizhzhya region in the southeast but they are being hampered by Russian trenches and barriers on those front lines. CNN's Melissa Bell has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MELISSA BELL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The scars of war, Russia's sprawling network of fortified defenses, including the infamous dragon's teeth, clamping into Ukrainian ground.
These pictures, shot by Ukraine security service and shared exclusively with CNN, a reminder of all that lies before Kyiv's advancing troops. The counteroffensive gain so far slow but steady.
DMYTRO KULEBA, UKRAINIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: We are not failing. We are moving forward. We liberated thousands of square kilometers of land through minefields with no air coverage.
BELL: The Ukrainian military says it is consolidating positions on the southern front lines and looking into the next layer of Russian defenses, with the country's foreign minister, reassuring impatient allies.
KULEBA: Our partners who are helping us, including the United States, they understand that things are moving in the right direction and they understand that there is no tragedy or no kind of slowdown.
BELL: Meanwhile, Russia renewing nuclear fears. The country's space agency announcing that it's put the Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile on combat alert.
As attacks on Russian soil increase, drone strikes, once shocking, now routine. Moscow's mayor announcing on Friday the foiling of yet another attack by Ukrainian drones on the capital as well as surrounding regions.
Russia's defense ministry spokesperson also praising Russia's air defenses.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Two hundred eighty-one Ukrainian uncrewed aerial vehicles were destroyed, including one Tu- 141 Strizh jet, as well as 29 Ukrainian aircraft type UAVs in western regions of the Russian federation.
BELL: But some drones did get through this week. These new satellite images show the damage to planes at the airbase in Russia's western Pskov region, an attack launched from inside Russia, according to Kyiv. The burned remains of the aircrafts, Russia's own scars of war -- Melissa Bell, CNN, Ukraine.
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NEWTON: Katie Polglase joins me now from London with more.
You noted the foreign minister there, quite vehement about how well Ukraine is doing through the counteroffensive.
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NEWTON: And to that point we now see what has been happening with the latest drone attacks. Ukraine is very proud of being able to develop that program.
What more do we know about the latest alleged attempt on the bridge in Crimea?
KATIE POLGLASE, CNN INVESTIGATIVE RESEARCHER: Well, Paula this time we are looking at sea drones rather than aerial drones, which is what we have been talking about a lot of this week.
Sea drones are really unmanned boats with explosives on board. That's what hit the Kerch Bridge overnight and in the early morning hours. There are two stages to this attack, according to the Russian ministry of defense.
There was one around 11 pm last night and then two in the early hours this morning. They claimed they intercepted all but there was clearly damage as traffic moving across the bridge has been stopped temporarily.
Sea drones, if they are coming from Ukraine and they are widely are expected to be so, would have had to travel hundreds of miles to get there. The nearest Ukrainian controlled territory, probably around Odessa, is quite a way away from the Kerch Bridge.
And, of course, the bridge links the Russian mainland as well as occupied Crimea. This is part of the tactic that we have been seeing with these drone attacks, going far into Russian territory, really quite far away from the front line.
They come within a week of other drone assaults, many different attacks deep into Russian territory, as far north as Moscow, even beyond Pskov and the airport there. These drones in particular, the sea drones, while Ukraine hasn't commented whether they're behind them.
But they have spoken to CNN about their pride in this weaponry. We have spoken to Ukraine's head of the secret security service on this before. And he said this was a unique invention by the Ukraine.
It's not private companies that have developed this; it is Ukrainians themselves. And that is part of what we are seeing here with Ukraine's domestic weapon capability.
They are developing these weapons themselves, as part of an aim to show Russia and Western allies that they are able to continue this counteroffensive, to continue this war with their own domestic weapons capability.
That could be a significant turning point and taking the world forward. Paula.
NEWTON: We'll continue to watch those developments, we appreciate your input from London.
Ukraine's foreign minister attended a roundtable meaning with foreign ministers from the E.U. on Thursday. And upon his return to Kyiv, Dmytro Kuleba did in fact speak to CNN's Christiane Amanpour about the promised weapons from allies. Here is part of that interview.
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DMYTRO KULEBA, UKRAINIAN MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS: I wish some things happened and arrived in Ukraine some time ago. But things happen as they happen. Countries need time to go through their reflection process, decision-making process.
And we're not criticizing anyone for being too slow in providing weapons because we understand that there's a certainly reality. So, please, again, governments, do not criticize our counteroffensive for being slow.
But then I ask experts and commentators also to respect that we are fighting with what we have against an enemy who is strong.
But the most important, of course, decision of recent months is the agreement reached between President Zelenskyy, President Biden, prime minister of Netherlands, Denmark and Norway on providing Ukraine with F-16s and we are deeply grateful to the United States for giving green light for these deliveries.
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm just going to read what you said in Paris.
"The number of minefields and fortifications is unprecedented. Russian drones, helicopters and planes dominate the air."
So we talked a little bit about that and what you need.
But can we talk about then what actually your forces seem to be doing?
And that is really deploying drones. And we saw an attack inside Russia, very far inside Russia this week, the first such attack; took out their troop-carrying planes and damaged an airfield.
And attacks on Moscow and the like, now I know you never normally talk about this stuff but, actually, one of your generals did and did confirm it and did confirm that those planes were deliberately targeted. I don't know what you can say about that.
But what are your allies saying about you attacking inside Russia?
First of all, can you confirm that for us?
KULEBA: Well, when I'm asked this question, my answer is always the same. I -- as foreign minister, I do commend what happens in other countries. But in the case of the Russian aggression against Ukraine, I do not
commend what happened -- on what happens in Russia. This is their business. I think it's President Putin who --
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AMANPOUR: No, no; meant to the Ukrainians attacking inside Russia.
KULEBA: Yes. But I don't know who exactly is and what is doing that and why it is happening.
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KULEBA: I think the question should be different. And it's the question that the people of Russia should ask President Putin.
Why, instead of protecting us and our lives, you are sending our men to the war in Ukraine, making them die in thousands?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: That was, of course, Ukraine's foreign minister talking to Christiane Amanpour.
Ukrainian children started the new school year on Friday. This is in fact the third academic year disrupted by the war. It is tradition that students began on September 1st.
And you see them there because many parents prepare their children with two backpacks, one for school supplies and another to take with them into the bomb shelter.
Ukraine has invested heavily in making schools safer, including on those building shelters. The government says about 85 percent of schools are equipped with bunkers, which is a requirement for any school that wants to bring students back to the classroom.
UNICEF reports many students are falling behind in their schooling and struggle with mental health issues because of the war.
Pope Francis is making one of the most unusual foreign trips in his papacy with a first ever trip to Mongolia. That country is predominantly Buddhist. It is landlocked between Russia and China and has a very small Catholic population.
The pope began his first full day by meeting with the Mongolian president and delivering an address at the state palace. Pope Francis will be in Mongolia until Monday.
Joining us from Singapore with more is Michel Chambon. He's a research fellow at the National University of Singapore and a scholar on Catholicism in Asia.
It's good to have you weigh in on what is quite a peculiar trip. When I first heard of it, it did not make a lot of sense to me. He is not a young man; his health is not the best and yet he has chosen to highlight Mongolia, population nearly 3.5 million people. But with just a few thousand Catholics.
Why is he there?
MICHEL CHAMBON, NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE: What it's even less than a few thousand; it's only 1,400 Catholics.
So why is he there?
Well, Francis has a strong call in giving a priority to populations that he described as being marginalized. And yes, Mongolia is a country that is kind of stuck between two superpowers.
And a year ago when he received formal invitation from the Mongolian government, he immediately accepted and publicized it. So yes, he clearly gave priority to this country.
NEWTON: And again, though, in terms of what he hopes to achieve there, seeing some of what you've written, you described it to me as almost if he wants to further democracy there. In your words, he chooses to underscore values that underpin virtues that lead to civic -- go ahead -- lead to civic development. Go ahead.
CHAMBON: Yes, so the country has got out of China about 100 years ago, out of the (INAUDIBLE) 30 years ago and embrace (ph) a part of political reaching that gave priority to democratic values and inclusion and freedom.
And after 30 years, some elites have some doubts about this, especially when you see what is going on in the world today and the rise of new forms of authoritarian regime. So by accepting the visit, the pope is also trying to support and give all kinds of encouragement to this country, to the work to stand on democratic values.
It's a bit like what he did last year in Kazakhstan. However, this meeting he gave this formal speech to the city (ph) authorities and observers were surprised (ph) how loud (ph) that (INAUDIBLE) was.
We were expecting something more like a sermon or something like a push, a strong encouragement for political reform and (INAUDIBLE) and so on. But instead he really emphasized a great cultural tradition and legacy of the Mongol civilization.
NEWTON: Yes, indeed, and as you point out, in terms of what has gone on in the civic sense in Mongolia, they've had their issues in the last decade. I also want to point out, on the sidelines of this trip, who's watching.
China and Russia are watching. They likely will not see this as outreach but interference.
What do you think China and Russia will make of this visit?
CHAMBON: Very hard to say. What we know at this point after -- during what is already the second day of his visit.
[03:15:00] CHAMBON: So the aircraft of the pope yesterday crossed Chinese airspace. To get to Mongolia, you have to cross (INAUDIBLE) Old China (ph). And the pope went through China and sends a traditional telegram for greeting to Xi Jinping and the population of China.
And the response was fairly formal and polite from China. That's all we see. So my feeling is that on the Chinese side it is going to be very cautious. Over the past years, Xi Jinping has demonstrated his lack of interest to discuss and push the good dialogue and (INAUDIBLE) to the (INAUDIBLE).
So Pope Francis is clearly inviting himself or showing up at the door to remind him that he is not stuck in Rome. And he's -- to say autonomy and sovereignty reach all the corners of the world. And even China's footstep (sic).
NEWTON: And I said, that can be seen as contentious and even provocative. You also know that Christianity has deep roots in central Asia but if we go to Asia in more of a general sense, I know in July it was controversial in Vietnam.
The Vatican now has a special representative in that country. But I do want to point out, Vietnam, just to take one country, there are double the amount of Catholics in Vietnam than there are people in Mongolia.
And yet we just saw pictures of the pope. He is aging; he looked a little better there than when I saw him last in Canada, not quite as frail. Perhaps his health is improving.
But again, when we look at the length of this visit and what his aims are, why do you think he wants this to be a part of his legacy?
CHAMBON: Well, going to Mongolia, for sure, attracts a lot of attention. And in the current international situation, being right between Russia and China, is full of meaning for sure.
But he's also reconnecting with a multisecular nation, that has a very strong record on being resilient and surviving and have a long-term (INAUDIBLE) when it comes to international politics. So it does make sense, that he gives a priority to Mongolia.
And so we know that there are many states in Southeast Asia that are trying to invite him and he can't go everywhere at the same time. So yes, we got the headlines on Vietnam but for those who follow those questions, we knew it was coming. The scenes (ph) between the Vietnam and Vatican are going fairly well.
And it was not, I think --
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CHAMBON: -- relationship had been concerned.
NEWTON: OK, we will continue to watch the pope's travels with an interest. I want to thank you for your insights there. Michel Chambon from Singapore, thanks very much. CHAMBON: Thank you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: Still ahead for us, storm warnings across Asia after one typhoon barrels past Hong Kong, another one threatens Taiwan with even more wind and rain. Our Chad Myers has the forecast.
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NEWTON: North Korea fired more missiles Saturday. South Korea's joint chiefs of staff says it detected several cruise missiles around 4 am local time, adding they were fired into the Yellow Sea. Military officials are analyzing details. The U.S. and South Korea just wrapped up joint military exercises on Thursday.
Typhoon Saola has slammed into the southern coast of Mainland China after lashing Hong Kong with fierce wind and rain. Its threat level has been downgraded as it moves away from that city.
But officials say gale force winds are still affecting many places. Meantime, other parts of Asia are being threatened by more -- by two more storms in the Pacific. To the east you see there it is Kirogi. It has been upgraded now to a tropical storm and could graze southern Japan next week.
Meantime, Typhoon Haikui is strengthening and is expected to hit Taiwan this weekend.
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NEWTON: CNN's Ivan Watson was on the streets of Hong Kong as Typhoon Saola skirted past that city.
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IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is super Typhoon Saola. It's currently pounding Hong Kong. It has been classified as a T-10 storm, that's only the fourth time since the year 2000 that Hong Kong has seen a storm of this strength come through.
The authorities have issued a warning for people to take cover, stay away from windows and now as it skirts past this port city, we can see downed tree branches, we've seen some street signs come down.
And right here, where we are right now, this is called Causeway Bay. So it's one of the busiest normally shopping districts in the city. And as you can see on a Friday night, there are handful of people walking around but it's almost completely deserted.
Schools were closed, hundreds of flights canceled. And this storm is also impacting the broader Pearl Delta, a very densely popular area, not far from here of the city of Shenzhen, with a population more than 13 million people.
The airport was closed there on Friday and the authorities are predicting a storm surge several meters above the usual high tide mark which is approaching in the coming hours. So a very serious storm in a city that is no stranger to very powerful tropical typhoons -- Ivan Watson, CNN, Hong Kong.
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NEWTON: U.S. President Joe Biden says he plans to meet with Florida's governor when he tours the hurricane damage later today. But the office of Ron DeSantis has no plans to meet with the president.
[03:25:00]
NEWTON: On Friday, DeSantis said he told Biden in a phone call that he was concerned the president's security entourage might interfere with recovery efforts. But the White House says no such concerns were raised in the call.
It added every effort was being made not to impede emergency workers. DeSantis is, of course, running for the Republican nomination for president hoping to replace President Biden.
An 8 year old migrant girl dies in the custody of U.S. Border Patrol. Her parents say authorities did almost nothing to help their struggling child when she fell ill shortly after crossing the border. Their story coming up on CNN NEWSROOM.
Plus days after a military junta seized control in Gabon, the coup's leader is promising an eventual return to democracy. We will have the latest in a live report.
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NEWTON: A warm welcome back to our viewers right around the world. I'm Paula Newton and you are watching CNN NEWSROOM.
Rudy Giuliani pleaded not guilty to charges in Georgia on Friday related to efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. The former mayor of New York also waived his right to appear in person at a court hearing next week.
Giuliani is charged with 13 state crimes, more than any other defendant besides former president Donald Trump, who also faces 13 counts in Georgia. Giuliani is now the 11th defendant of 19 to formally enter a plea. New figures show that more than 10,000 unaccompanied -- 10,000 --
unaccompanied migrant children were in U.S. government custody at the end of August and that number spiked by 30 percent in just one month.
Now this staggering increase comes as we're learning more about the death this spring of an 8 year old girl in Customs and Border Protection custody. CNN's Rosa Flores has that report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Eight-year-old Anadith Danay Reyes Alvarez loved pink, hugs and hearts.
What dreams did she have?
She wanted to be a doctor.
But her dreams were cut short. She died in U.S. Customs and Border Protection custody this spring.
MABEL ALVAREZ, ANADITH'S MOTHER: They killed her little by little.
ROSSEL REYES, ANADITH'S FATHER: They should have called an ambulance. They should have taken her to the hospital. They didn't do any of that.
FLORES: Her Honduran parents say they migrated to the U.S. for the family's safety and say their daughter and sickle cell anemia and a heart condition.
She was running around, she was happy?
She was fine when they entered immigration custody in South Texas.
[03:30:00]
FLORES: Their nightmare started a few days later when they said she was diagnosed with the flu.
She says that they were all transferred immediately to another location, a border patrol station.
In Harlingen, Texas, where they say they were kept in cold jail cells and given old sleeping pads and milder blankets to sleep on the floor.
So it was there that she says that her daughter started feeling sick.
That's when you started asking for medical attention for your daughter.
These parents say their daughter developed a fever and started vomiting. According to CBP, the agency investigating the death, between May 14th and May 17th, Anadith contracted medical personnel three times and was prescribed Tamiflu, ice packs, fever reducing medications and a cold shower. But her parents say their daughter needed hospital level care. She would have to lose consciousness for them to call an ambulance. What cross through your mind?
She says she felt helpless.
On May 17th, eight days into their immigration detention and the day their daughter died, CBP says a nurse practitioner reported denying three or four request for an ambulance to be called or for Anadith to be taken to the hospital. Anadith's parents say one of the pleas came directly from their daughter.
She says that her daughter told Border Patrol, I can't breathe, I can't breathe through my nose, I can't breathe from my mouth.
What did you think that point?
She says she felt devastated and the only thing she could do. Carry her daughter in her arms and ask for help again.
She says that she was told go back to yourself, take your daughter back to your cell, give her electrolytes and everything is fine.
Anadith's dad said he knew the end was near when his daughter locked eyes with him.
REYES: She gave me her last look.
FLORES: And he saw the life in her eyes go out.
REYES: When my daughter saw me, she just did this. Dad, they killed me, is what she made me understand.
FLORES: And it was that they ask for an ambulance.
ALVAREZ: Why didn't they seek help before, 20 minutes before, one day before?
Why?
FLORES: After the ambulance arrived, they say all they wanted was in a little compassion. But that was denied, too.
They didn't let you go in the ambulance with your daughter?
How did you go to the hospital?
So you are in a border patrol van. So you couldn't see the medical attention that they were providing to her.
These parents say they felt humiliated and discriminated against throughout the entire process.
According to CBP, Anadith died at the hospital but her parents believed Anadith died inside the jail-like border patrol station.
You think your daughter died in your arms? A Harlingen fire department incident report obtained by CNN stated Anadith was unconscious and unresponsive when paramedics arrived.
Anadith's casket was covered with ribbons, roses and balloons in her favorite color. And while these parents say they forgive those who didn't save their daughter, they can't forget.
ALVAREZ: When I see children playing, I remember my daughter.
FLORES: Everything reminds them of their little piece of joy taken too soon.
The family has been struggling since they were released from detention. Their spokesperson says that they have not been able to find housing in New York. Their attorney says that they're in removal proceedings, which means that they could get deported.
Now CBP denied our request for comment regarding the allegations by this family in our story. But the agency does say that it has taken steps to correct the deficiencies that have been identified through the ongoing investigation.
As for a cause of death, according to the death certificate, she had an extreme response to a bacterial infection, with acute sickle cell crisis -- Rosa Flores, CNN, Houston.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: France's president is making no apologies for banning certain types of Muslim dress during the upcoming school year. Now the latest ban targets abayas, a long, robelike garment, from being worn anywhere in the classroom. Despite sharp criticism over the decision --
[03:35:00]
NEWTON: -- President Emmanuel Macron reaffirmed that abayas and other religious symbols would not be allowed in France's schools. And he said teachers would have additional help to enforce the new rules.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EMMANUEL MACRON, PRESIDENT OF FRANCE (through translator): In the most difficult high schools, special staff will be seconded to work alongside head teachers and teachers to support them and to engage in the necessary dialogue with families and pupils.
But we won't let anything get past us. At the start of the new school year, I'm going to be frank with you, we know that there will be cases, because we know that there will be, some through negligence, perhaps, but many to try to defy the republican system. We must be uncompromising.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Now critics have in fact denounced the latest ban as a new Islamophobic campaign. But Mr. Macron said displaying religious symbols in schools is contrary to France's secular education policies.
Days after a coup in Gabon swept the president from power, the new military leader promised a return to democracy -- eventually. In a televised address,
Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema said he does not want to rush into new elections that make, quote, "the same mistakes as the previous regime."
A recent vote that gave President Ali Bongo a third term was marked by irregularities and internet shutdown. In his remarks, Nguema said the break with democratic norms would not be permanent. For more on all this, CNN international correspondent Jim Bittermann joins us now.
Good to see you and have you on the story, Jim. People have been watching carefully to see how long this would last and of course, to listen to what the military leaders are saying here. They are in no hurry, obviously, to try and hold elections and, basically give up power that they seized by force.
JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SR. INTL. CORRESPONDENT: Well, exactly and I think people on the streets here in Gabon have mixed feelings about this because the opposition in Gabon has actually said they're in favor of the coup d'etat because they did not like the results of the election.
A questionable election that was held that reelected the longtime dictator there, Omar Ali Bongo. He's part of the dynasty, the Bongo dynasty, that has been in power for 55 years.
In any case, you've got the military taking power and they're making some very positive (INAUDIBLE) about exactly how they're going to return the country to democracy.
The question is, exactly when?
Here is the way that General Brice Oligui Nguema put it in a televised address.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEN. BRICE OLIGUI NGUEMA (through translator): The dissolution of the institutions of the republic is temporary. The aim is to reorganize them, to make them more democratic tools, more in line with international standards in terms of the respect for human rights, fundamental freedoms, democracy and the rule of law.
But also in the fight against corruption, which has become commonplace in our country, money laundering and above all, the preservation of the environment, which is a battle dear to our country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BITTERMANN: All this has put France in quite a difficult position. President Macron was in Gabon just back in March, shaking hands with the deposed leader. And now the deposed leader is under house arrest.
The question is, what happens next?
There are about 7,500 French citizens at the moment -- nobody is ordering an evacuation or anything like that. There are 80 subsidiaries of French companies there and putting some big ones like Total Energy and others.
And as a consequence, the French have got a vested interest in making sure things turn out right here.
On the other hand, if they seem to be meddling too much, there's going to be a reaction on the ground, no doubt about it. There's about 400 French soldiers there, a permanent base, who could assist in any kind of evacuation. But at the moment, that hasn't been ordered. Paula.
NEWTON: It will be interesting to see if there is any diplomatic involvement from African leaders and to see what they say in the coming days and weeks. Jim Bittermann, thanks for your reporting, I appreciate it.
Inmates in six prisons across Ecuador have released their hostages. Authorities say the 57 guards and police officers are undergoing medical evaluation. The unrest in the prisons is a result of clashes between rival drug gangs. That's according to officials.
The violence comes just weeks after the assassination of a presidential candidate. He was killed after threats from drug gangs. Runoff elections for the presidency are scheduled for October 15th.
Demonstrators in southwestern Syria are calling on president Bashar al-Assad to resign. The rare protests have been happening for two weeks now. Syrians are demanding regime change and decrying poor living conditions as the economy continues in freefall.
So far, the protests are showing no signs of stopping. And in an unusual move, Syrian security forces --
[03:40:00]
NEWTON: -- have done little to crack down on the demonstrations, even as hundreds of people took to the streets.
Billionaire Mohamed Al-Fayed, whose son, Dodi, died with Princess Diana in a car crash in Paris in 1997, has passed away. His family says he died peacefully due to old age at 94.
For decades, Al-Fayed insisted the Princess of Wales and Dodi were murdered. Investigations showed otherwise. After landing in the U.K. in the 1970s, the Egyptian-born Al-Fayed invested in lavish real estate, transforming Harrods department store into what he called his pyramid.
Scorned often by the British establishment, he failed twice to become a British citizen. His foundation helps impoverished children and those with life-threatening illnesses. Al-Fayed also turned the lowly Fulham Football Club into a real contender. Its fans still sing his praises.
Still to come for us, here comes the sun. India launches its first solar observation mission. More on what it hopes to find next.
Plus, Spain's sports court opens a case against Luis Rubiales over that unwanted kiss. Why the top football official has avoided immediate suspension from the federation. We'll have those details next.
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NEWTON: India has launched its first observation mission to the sun.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two, one, zero; plus five seconds. Liftoff normal.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are ready. (INAUDIBLE) ready. Magnificent liftoff of the Aditya 57 (ph) with --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- everyone on board.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: It looks sweet. You heard the word "normal" there. India's space agency is sending the probe to a region about 1.5 million kilometers from our planet. The mission is carrying scientific instruments to observe the sun's outermost layers in a four-month journey.
It was just over a week ago that India became the first nation to land a spacecraft near the moon's south pole.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: Joining me now is Manish Purohit. He is a former scientist at the Indian Space Research Organization.
I thank you on what is obviously a celebratory day yet again for many of the scientists that you work with. This is not a world first but it is important for India.
Given now that it looks to be successful, what do you think the world, not just India but the world, will learn from this mission?
MANISH PUROHIT, FORMER SCIENTIST, ISRO: See, actually, the whole world wants to know the deep secrets of the sun. The sun drives our space travel and space travel directly impacts the lower Earth orbit constellations. And lower Earth orbit are -- those are which the --
[03:45:00] PUROHIT: -- most of the satellites are right now focusing. If we talk about the global space economy, if we talk about the new things that are going to come up in the space sector, then most of the agencies are focusing to take every bit possible out from the lower Earth orbits and they are (INAUDIBLE) if the sun gets angry.
And (INAUDIBLE) sun, so sun, every second there are millions of powerful (INAUDIBLE) hydrogen bombs, powerful than that. Every second, millions of such explosions are happening on the sun. So we have to understand what actually goes on there.
We have to understand the whole big picture, what happens that results in those solar flares, sunspots, why that magnetic field goes awry, why the things happen that happen on the sun.
Because when sun throw the high energy particles, high energy magnetic fields, we have to. We have to picturize (ph) the whole thing and prepare a mode (INAUDIBLE) we can have a prediction.
Because that, in the future, will help us in safeguarding our technology in that orbit around the Earth, where most of the (INAUDIBLE), it is going to do the most --
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PUROHIT: -- after that, there are maximum manmade stuff will be there.
So what's going to happen?
(INAUDIBLE) seven payloads out of four will be studying the sun in the possible spectrums that we have visible, (INAUDIBLE) and X-ray, soft and hard X-ray. So we're going to picture everything that happens on the sun.
We're going to talk about the discrepancies, that why there is a vague (ph) temperature defense, surface is at 6,000, why the outer corona is at some million degrees. Why that happens, why the processes that are happening there.
Why the sun gets angry, why the magnetic fields just switch back, What happens there when the particles are --
(CROSSTALK)
PUROHIT: -- around the sun --
NEWTON: Yes, when you talk about getting angry, I want to make it clear what we're talking about here. The technology by which you and I are speaking to each other right now, anything that you need for the internet, a lot of our electrical grids, they really can be impacted.
There can be potential for disruption from the solar system, right?
PUROHIT: Yes, yes, yes, because the grids can do if -- in 1859, on Earth, we witnessed the (INAUDIBLE) the sun was really angry, two of all those high energy particles, solar flares and storm magnetic fields and (INAUDIBLE).
And if that thing happens now, if we are unable to predict something that's going to happen (INAUDIBLE) all over the world (INAUDIBLE) simply (INAUDIBLE), we go back to the Stone Age. It's like --
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PUROHIT: -- nothing can be saved.
NEWTON: So it makes sense that many would welcome India coming into this field as well. We noted, of course, their success with their moon shot, as we'll call it, a couple weeks ago.
But why do you think that India has become successful in these ambitions?
And why has it become such a goal for India?
PUROHIT: See, actually, recently as a country, we adopted new space policy. And that says that all of the (INAUDIBLE), fosters need-based launches, means we are launching for our necessity, our communication channels, our remote (ph) sensing requirements, our (INAUDIBLE) as a country.
For resources, for our landscape, for our communication needs. Second is the commercial aspect of it when we are launching for business. We are launching for (INAUDIBLE) for Singaporean customers, (INAUDIBLE) space exploration.
So as an entity, we have three different aspects given to the space exploration and we want to excel in all of the three because we want to project ourselves. India wants to project itself as a big promise to the whole world for the upcoming possibilities in the space exploration.
NEWTON: Well, we certainly know your enthusiasm and we all sat on the sidelines as the space agency there celebrated what happened on the moon. They will now celebrate this mission, which will take obviously several months to actually come to fruition. But Manish Purohit, we thank you for explaining it to us. We appreciate it.
PUROHIT: Thank you. It's my pleasure.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: People took to the streets in southern Spain on Friday to rally in support of Jenni Hermoso. She is the footballer who was forcibly kissed by federation president Luis Rubiales at the Women's World Cup final last month.
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NEWTON (voice-over): The rally comes as Spain's sports tribunal opens a probe into Rubiales' conduct at the event in Sydney. Journalist Atika Shubert has the latest now from Madrid.
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ATIKA SHUBERT, JOURNALIST: Protesters have been demanding that Luis Rubiales, the disgraced president of Spain's football federation, be sacked immediately. Doesn't look like it's going to happen anytime soon.
On Friday, Spain's independent sports tribunal accepted the government's request to start an official investigation. But only because it considers the unwanted kiss and other complaints to be, quote, "serious offenses."
That is an important legal distinction here because the government cannot interfere with sports disputes like this --
[03:50:00]
SHUBERT: -- unless they are considered very serious or very grave. So the tribunal by ruling needs to be lesser offenses, had effectively saved Rubiales from being immediately suspended by the government.
The minister for culture and sport has said the only thing the government can do now is urge the tribunal to suspend Rubiales immediately.
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MIQUEL ICETA, SPANISH CULTURE AND SPORT MINISTER (through translator): The superior sports council is going to request the court to proceed to temporarily suspend Luis Rubiales from his functions until the issue that affects him is definitively resolved.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SHUBERT: In the meantime, rallies like this will be keeping the pressure on Rubiales -- Atika Shubert for CNN, in Madrid, Spain.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: Still to come for us, China has come up with a way to help kids and teens get off those mobile phones for a certain amount of time. We'll explain, stay with us.
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NEWTON: In China, the public has until Saturday to weigh in on a plan that would help limit how much time children and teens can spend on their mobile phones.
Now the country's top internet regulator says putting a so-called minor mode on all mobile devices could help kick internet addiction and encourage good morals, in its words. CNN's Ivan Watson has more now on the proposal and its mixed reviews.
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WATSON (voice-over): It's an all too familiar scene: a child begs his mom for one more minute on her phone, a daily battle over devices.
China's answer: minor mode, a proposed law to order tech giants to limit children's screen time and shut off apps. For one tired parent, the proposed rules would be a relief.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): This would be wonderful if it were true. There would be less anger between us, mother and son. He just can't keep his phone out of his hands.
WATSON (voice-over): Under the new mode, children under 18 will get a maximum of two hours on smartphones per day and will be locked out overnight. But Beijing's top-down approach has its critics.
ANDREW COLLIER, MANAGING DIRECTOR, ORIENT CAPITAL RESEARCH: The broader worry I have is that China, under the current leadership, is imposing a very strict cultural moralism on their citizens, which is not going to be necessarily helpful for their personal growth or for the future of the Chinese economy.
WATSON (voice-over): As part of China's broader digital crackdown, minors are already banned from gaming on weekdays. Social media apps have time limits and some parents ship their children off to boot camps to kick internet addiction.
Mengtai Zhang, who was sent to one of these camps at 16, says Beijing's latest rules won't work.
MENGTAI ZHANG, INTERNET ADDICTION CAMP ATTENDEE: With all those structural changes, limiting children's time on video games won't change anything for the addiction. We need to find a way to create a more meaningful space for children to spend their time together and have their parents relax from the work.
The situation would be much better.
WATSON (voice-over): Children are also finding ways around Beijing's rules.
[03:55:00]
WATSON (voice-over): This 10-year-old explains.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Some kids use their parents' ID to log in. They never put their phones down. They will look at it until the battery runs out.
WATSON (voice-over): The new guidelines order internet providers to highlight socialist and patriotic content and promote family values. This mom hopes the rules will also mean more outdoor play.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): It takes away from your time to play, exercise and read. It takes away from your time to do more interesting things.
WATSON (voice-over): But her son says parents need to lead by example.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): It's not easy to control myself but adults can't, either.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Don't speak us about adults. Speak about yourself.
WATSON (voice-over): A battle over screen time is far from over -- Ivan Watson, CNN, Hong Kong.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: Yes, that young man might have a point.
OK, India is preparing to welcome dignitaries for the G20 summit next week. So it's taking unusual steps to stop, we'll call them, uninvited guests, like rhesus monkeys that regularly roam the streets of New Delhi, trashing gardens and sometimes attacking people for food.
Organizers fear the floral arrangements on display will look like a free lunch. That's funny.
So cutouts of larger langur monkeys, you see one there, the natural enemy of the rhesus variety, have been placed around the city to try and scare off those party crashers. They've also hired people to mimic the hoots of those larger primates.
The rhesus monkeys aren't being fooled, though. I could've guessed this. When a large, plastic langur was recorded, sounds was deployed and the rhesus monkeys took just three days to figure it out and -- I like this part -- tear it to pieces. That's funny.
Now a 100-year-old African tortoise is back with its human family in Louisiana at this hour. Biscuit is his name. The sheriff's office in the Parish of Asuncion found the 80-pound tortoise in a canal. Look at it. He apparently can't swim.
Animal control took him to a shelter. Biscuit's owners say he escaped after wind and rain blew open the gate in his backyard and they thanked the animal shelter for helping "return our Biscuit home." That is pretty adorable.
I am Paula Newton, I want to thank you for your company. Kim Brunhuber picks things up from here with more CNN NEWSROOM.
