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Ukraine Continues Making Gradual Gains In Counteroffensive Against Russia; Gabon Becomes The Latest African Country To Catch A Coup Contagion; Climate Change Fuel Disasters Due To Get Even Worse This Week; Mexico's Supreme Court Rules The Federal Government's Ban On Abortion Is Unconstitutional. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired September 07, 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 a warm welcome everyone. I'm Paula Newton in New York. Ahead right here on CNN Newsroom, Ukraine calls a deadly Russian missile strike on a public market a wicked and brazen act of terrorism. A manhunt is underway for a terror suspect to escape from a London prison while dressed as a chef. And the U.S. wants to know how an advanced microchip ended up in a Chinese smartphone despite sweeping efforts to keep such technology out of Russia's hands.
The audacity of evil and utter inhumanity is how the Ukrainian president is describing a deadly strike on an open market area in the Donetsk region. You'll see it here, the surveillance video showing the explosion that killed at least 17 people and wounded dozens more. Everyday people just going about their day.
The U.N. humanitarian coordinator for Ukraine says it's another example of the suffering Russia's invasion inflicts on civilians. Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian terrorists destroyed shops, a pharmacy, and people who were just doing nothing wrong.
The attack came as the Ukrainian counter-offensive moves into its fourth month now, and as the top U.S. diplomat began his third visit to Kyiv since the start of the Russian invasion. Antony Blinken announced a new infusion of aid worth more than a billion dollars. CNN's Melissa Bell reports from Kyiv.
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MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The moment a peaceful market was flattened. The CCTV footage posted by the Ukrainian president, even as he prepared to meet with Washington's top diplomat. The Russian missile killed at least 17 people, including a child, in an industrial town just 19 miles from Bakhmut.
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): We know that area very well. We understand that they delivered a deliberate strike. BELL (through translator): One of the deadliest attacks in months
came just hours after the Kremlin warned that the United States was intent on keeping the war going until the last Ukrainian.
UNKNOWN (through translator): They are essentially going to continue to keep Ukraine in a state of war and wage and continue this war until the last Ukrainian without sparing any money for it.
BELL (through translator): Moscow's reaction as Secretary of State Blinken arrived in Kyiv, his third visit to the city since the war began.
ANTONY BLINKEN, SECRETARY OF STATE: We are determined for the United States to continue to walk side by side with people.
BELL: The aim of Blinken's trip to align Washington and Kyiv's message ahead of the United Nations General Assembly in New York next week, but also to announce fresh support that will now include depleted uranium munitions, a controversial addition to Ukraine's arsenal that's expected this fall.
BLINKEN: In the ongoing counteroffensive, progress has accelerated in the past few weeks. This new assistance will help sustain it and build further momentum.
BELL: The boots on the ground, meanwhile, turning their focus to expanding their recent gains in the south after breaching Russian defenses in the Zaporizhzhia village of Robotyne. A tactical retreat claims Moscow to do with withdrawing to nearby hills for a height advantage. In the east, the situation is more difficult for Ukrainian forces.
A Ukrainian commander saying the enemy is not abandoning its plans and is stubbornly preparing to take revenge. A warning that President Zelenskyy is likely to take to New York as he calls on Western allies to stand not only firm, but ever firmer. Melissa Bell, CNN, Kyiv, Ukraine.
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NEWTON: CNN's Katie Polglase is live for us in London and has been following the latest developments. Katie, a new Ukrainian defense minister, same defiance there, right? We've had more updates, as well, on all-important counter offensive. And that's just with the new defense minister being hours on the job. What more is he saying?
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KATIE POLGLASE, CNN INVESTIGATIVE PRODUCER: Well, Paula, it's clear this counteroffensive has been making some headway in the past few weeks. We've been seeing them recapture Robotyne and then some areas to the south, as well. They've been continuing making some gains, some gradual gains, albeit but some gains nonetheless.
And this is difficult terrain as we've been discussing. This is areas that are heavily fortified, heavily defended by the Russians. They've built these trenches over months, really, and they have the air support above, as well. Ukraine, really, has not had the upper hand in this area and yet they have made these gains, made these successes.
And this is why there is this confidence, this new energy here that they are making these gains and what will this now lead to? Is this the turning point? And really this new defense minister that you mentioned, Rustam Umarov, reflects this new energy as well. There's new leadership taking this counter-offensive into the next stage and he's mentioned already, Rustam Umarov that he's going to vow to take every centimeter back from the Russians that they've taken from the Ukrainians. That is the level of ambition here, really.
But it's notable, as well, he's mentioned, that he also vows to take back all the civilians, all the captives from the Russians and that is referring of course to the prisoners of war, the children and the civilians that have been taken into Russian territory during this conflict. A reminder that the civilian toll is not just the horrendous injuries and the casualties but also the disappeared and the missing that have gone through this conflict, as well.
NEWTON: Yeah, which there are absolutely thousands now. We were talking about the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. He did of course announce a billion-dollar package. It's pretty unclear whether this is old money or repackaged money but it does include 175 million to replenish Ukrainian forces with military equipment. I mean have they been more specific about what that might include?
POLGLASE: Yes, it's quite a shopping list really of different kinds of military equipment. We're talking ammunition, we're talking artillery rounds mortar rounds. There's a whole variety, really, of different types of military equipment and ammunition, as well as training that they're going to be giving the Ukrainians. One of the key features that has come out already and caused controversy, the Russians already reacting to it, are these depleted uranium tank ammunition. You can see on your screen there. This is controversial because they are slightly radioactive.
Now, the U.S. insists they are not radioactive to a level that would cause any kind of civilian harm and they are perfectly safe to use in this conflict. Of course, Russia disputes this. They've called this already, the ministry --the foreign ministry coming out this morning saying this is an escalatory step by the United States and that this is a criminal act.
Now, this kind of language used by the Russians against the United States in this conflict is something we've seen before and perhaps unsurprising given that this kind of assistance to the Ukrainians is crucial at this point for continuing to build and sustain momentum. That is according to Secretary Blinken and that is, of course, any kind of assistance, something that is going to be very concerning to the Russian side.
NEWTON: Yeah, absolutely. Katie Polglase for us in London. Appreciate that update. Now, meantime, U.S. military officials say they have successfully tested an unarmed nuclear capable missile on Wednesday. The intercontinental ballistic missile was launched from California and traveled 6700 kilometers to the Marshall Islands. The U.S. stresses that it was just a regular test, not a reaction to current world events. The Pentagon notified Russia, it says, well, in advance.
Gabon's military junta says the country's ousted president is now free to move around. In a statement on Wednesday, military leaders also said ousted leader Ali Bongo can travel abroad for medical treatment if he so wishes. He had been under house arrest since the military ousted him last week. On Wednesday, state television released images of him greeting the head of a U.N. regional office at Bongo's residence in Libreville.
Now, Gabon is just the latest African country to catch what some are now calling a coup contagion. Over the past three years there have been nine military coups in former French colonies in Africa and as David McKenzie reports, some experts believe there will be more military takeovers to come.
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ALI BONGO ONDIMBA: I'm Ali Bongo Ondimba, President of Gabon.
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): An extraordinary plea for international help. The ousted president of Gabon, Ali Bongo, under house arrest.
BONGO ONDIMBA: --to tell them to make noise -- to make noise for the people here have arrested me.
MCKENZIE (voice-over): The noise was not enough. On Monday, the new military leader, sworn in. I solemnly undertake on my honor to do my utmost to achieve national unity, says Gabon's junta leader.
MCKENZIE: Is there a fear that there is contagion happening here?
CAMERON HUDSON, SENIOR ASSOCIATE, CSIS: Well, I don't think it's a fear of contagion. There is contagion.
MCKENZIE (voice-over): It's just the latest domino to fall. In just three years, a cascade of military takeovers spreading across West and now Central Africa. Most of them former French colonies, but each with a specific cocktail of grievances over security, corruption, and a lack of opportunity.
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HUDSON: This is a wave whose time has not yet crested. I think we're going to see several more of these in the coming months and years before we see a kind of return to what we thought was a normal state in the kind of post-Cold War era.
MCKENZIE (voice-over): The condemnations have been universal. The impact, minimal. African and Western powers face a dilemma. In Niger, there is apparent popular support for the coup and deep anger towards France. Plans for regional military intervention have stalled. French counter-terror forces have withdrawn from two of the countries. Their position in Niger is tenuous at best. At stake in Niger for the U.S., multi-million-dollar drone bases critical in fighting extremist groups. The State Department is treading carefully.
VEDANT PATEL, U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESPERSON: We continue to advocate for a diplomatic solution that respects the constitutional order in Niger.
MCKENZIE (voice-over): In Gabon, state media showed off bags of cash. They say they were found at the son of the president's home and at the home of another official. CNN couldn't independently verify these images. For more than 50 years, Omar Bango and his son Ali Bango ran this oil-rich nation. Much of their wealth was kept in France.
Most Gabonese, young and old, had only known the rule of the Bongo family and its cronies. So, for them, the military coup in the short term looks much better than anything that they've been living through. And one can understand that boost of immediate support. And what the military and various missionary groups bring to the continent is less opportunities for freedom, for democracy than more. David McKenzie, CNN, Johannesburg.
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NEWTON: A manhunt is underway for a British soldier who escaped from a London prison disguised in a chef's uniform. Daniel Abed Khalif was awaiting trial on terror charges, which he denies. Garrett Vincent from ITV News has our report.
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GERAINT VINCENT, ITV NEWS (voice-over): Daniel Abed Khalife was awaiting trial on remand at His Majesty's Prison, Wandsworth. He is reported to have escaped from the prison kitchen where he was working by clinging to a delivery van. He was last seen wearing a white T- shirt and red and white checkered trousers.
DOMINIC MURPHY, COMMANDER, COUNTER TERRORISM COMMAND METROPOLITAN POLICE: We have a focus of our effort in London at the moment. We have counter-terrorism command officers now leading the investigation, supportive officers from across the Metropolitan Police and our partners. But we also have notifications out to every force in the country.
We're working really closely with borders colleagues to try and understand any risks that might be posed by him leaving the country. And so, at the moment, you could describe this as a nationwide manhunt involving every force in the country.
MURPHY: Mr. Khalife is a soldier who was based at these barracks in Stafford. He was arrested after allegedly leaving fake devices at the base. Magistrates in Westminster were told that he had done so with the intention of inducing the belief in others that the items were likely to explode. He is charged with terrorism offenses and is accused of gathering information which could be useful to an enemy.
Wandsworth Prison was famously escaped from 60 years ago by one of the great train robbers. Ronnie Biggs put a ladder over one of the walls. More recently, problems at the Category B jail persist. There was another escape four years ago, and the chief inspector of Prisons has described HMP Wandsworth as crumbling, overcrowded, and vermin infested.
IAN ACHESON, FORMER HEAD OF SECURITY, WANDSWORTH PRISON: I find it rather odd that this is a prisoner who's been charged under terrorism legislation and the Official Secrets Act, that he is in Wandsworth. But I find it completely inconceivable that somebody who is, you know, a potential national security risk has been allowed, as we believe, to work in Wadsworth's kitchen.
MURPHY: The police think that Daniel Khalife is most likely still somewhere in London. They say the threat he poses to the public is low, but that he shouldn't be approached. They describe their search for him as urgent and extensive. Geraint Vincent, ITV News.
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NEWTON: Coming up for us, Mexico takes a leap forward to ensure reproductive access to women in that country. That's next. Plus, a severe drought is drying up the water levels at the Panama Canal. How this could disrupt the supply chain and your holiday shopping season, details after the break.
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NEWTON: African leaders called for urgent action to cut carbon emissions at the end of their three-day climate summit. They say many countries on the continent face disproportionate burdens and risks from climate change. And they're urging major polluters to contribute more to help fund climate change action in that region.
They also issued the so-called Nairobi Declaration. It says in part, Africa is not historically responsible for global warming but bears the brunt of its effect impacting lives, livelihoods and economies. CNN's Larry Madowo covered the summit for CNN and has more details now from Nairobi.
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LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: African leaders speaking with one voice at the conclusion of the first Africa Climate Summit. Even though the Nairobi Declaration, as it is called, involves some compromises, this is their unified approach going to COP28 on the socio-economic transformation and climate action agenda for the continent.
UNKNOWN: We demand a fair playing ground for our countries to access the investment needed to unlock the potential and translate it into opportunities. We further demand adjust multilateral development finance architecture to liberate our economies from odious debt and onerous barriers to necessary financial resources. MADOWO: The Africa Climate Summit acknowledges that Africa bears the
brunt of the climate crisis, that regular people here on the continent suffer the worst effects of the climate changing. But those who attended disagree on what exactly was accomplished here.
DAVID ARINZE, RENEWABLE ENERGY SPECIALIST, NIGERIA: I am very optimistic. Of course, a lot more action needs to be taken. And so, for me, this is the formula. While we have already identified what we need to achieve, we have been able to trickle it down to what actions need to be taken meaningfully. Going forward, we need to begin to measure our progress.
GEOFREY MUTABAZI, CO-FOUNDER KARAA ELECTRIC BIKES UGANDA: We need to double down on action and yes, talking is important, but action, action, action on what is available now, double down on that and then you can look at all the future solutions. I feel like -- I feel like we need to adopt already existing solutions and scale them up massively. We can definitely fix this climate crisis.
MADOWO: One of the achievements of the African Climate Summit has got to be the convening power here, not just of global heavyweights like Ursula von der Leyen, the E.U. Commission president, or the U.N. Secretary General, or John Kerry, the -- President Biden's climate envoy, but also even leaders from the continent, such as Mahamat Idris Deby Itno from Chad, a military appointed ruler, and Isaias Afwerki from Eritrea. They're not the most democratic countries, but they all accept that climate change poses an existential threat to all of them. Larry Madowo, CNN, Nairobi.
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NEWTON: The climate crisis appears to be impacting the Panama Canal and potentially international supply chains. Now, Panama is experiencing a severe drought during what should be its rainy season. That is leading to lower water levels and causing longer wait times in the critical international shipping artery. So far, key U.S. ports haven't seen any major impacts from restrictions and delays, but the potential for wider disruption is growing, especially of course as that holiday season approaches.
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Now, a powerful storm is unleashing deadly flooding on Turkey, Greece and Bulgaria. At least eight people have been killed after days of heavy rain. Flash flooding turned the streets, you see them there, of Istanbul, into a river. A subway station, in fact, was partially submerged and dozens of people had to be evacuated at a library. The severe weather has shut down Volos in Greece which got 10 times its monthly rainfall in less than 14 hours, Tuesday.
Bulgaria and Greece are also dealing with tornado reports and rescue crews are scrambling to save lives with more rain in the forecast. We get more now from Katie Polglase.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) POLGLASE (voice-over): A road in the city of Volos, Greece, ripped apart by floodwaters. These cables are makeshift system and the only way to carry this man across the chasm to safety. Hard and delicate work in this endless summer of climate emergencies in Greece. For the past day and night, torrential rain from storm Daniel has fallen on Volos and the surrounding area. The impact on residents has been disastrous.
UNKNOWN: The roof fell in from the rain. It's a huge damage. They should help us. I have a family and kids. How are we going to sleep? Last night we slept here and there. It's unbelievable.
POLGLASE (voice-over): The flooding follows a devastating summer wildfire season which ravaged the same area. The barren ground unable to absorb the water when the flooding came. In northern Greece, meanwhile, wildfires killed nearly two dozen people in recent weeks.
Storm Daniel is now crawling slowly across Greece towards the southwest. As it enters the Mediterranean Sea, meteorologists fear it will pick up strength from the unusually high sea surface temperatures and develop into a medicane, a weather event with hurricane-like effects.
Greece is not alone. Neighboring Bulgaria and Istanbul in Turkey have also faced intense flooding. As wildfires and flooding impact parts of Europe, Typhoon Haikui made landfall Sunday in Taiwan, before bringing heavy rain to southwestern China. And the Atlantic hurricane season is reaching its peak, with tropical storm Li expected to intensify into an extremely dangerous hurricane by this weekend, after Idalia battered the U.S. Gulf Coast a week ago.
MIKE BOYLAN, STORM CHASER: We're getting some intense winds and rains, currently protected by a building. Trees are going down.
POLGLASE (voice-over): Events like this are becoming more extreme, part of a global trend, according to a new report from Copernicus, the E.U.'s climate change service. 2023 saw the hottest air and sea temperatures since records began in the 1940s, the report says, and they're clear that humans are to blame, with the deputy director warning that we will continue to see extreme weather events until we stop emitting greenhouse gases. In the meantime, the world continues to see more chaos and disruption from climate catastrophes. Katie Polglase, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: Now, some of those climate change fuel disasters are due to get even worse this week. CNN Meteorologist Chad Myers has the latest forecast.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Devastating pictures coming out of parts of Greece here where there have been almost three quarters of a meter of rainfall -- a meter of rainfall there in some of these areas that have been so hard hit where the rain simply will not stop and it will not stop again today. Another level three for media alarm. Heavy, heavy rainfall, flash
flooding and the rain that comes down just isn't going to soak in. There's no place for it to soak in when you're looking at 754 millimeters in the past three days even for Volos where those pictures were 375 millimeters. It's been stuck there for a bit.
I would suspect that many of the -- even the rain gauges aren't even working at this point. There's your low to the southwest, making the rainfall come up in the same places that we've had rainfall for day after day after day. Here's what it looks like right now. This is still that convective purple heavy rainfall coming down there, especially on the eastern coast here of central Greece. The rainfall finally moves away. It will go away finally for Friday and Saturday. but it's going to take some more time. Still another 100 millimeters possible there along that same coast.
And then there's Hurricane Lee in the middle of the Atlantic, going to be a very hefty storm. Very, very big storm here. What we call a category four hurricane at this point in time, somewhere in the ballpark of 240 kilometers per hour. Missing all of the islands so far, all the models taking it to the north, and then eventually even a turn to the right and maybe away from land but it's too early to tell.
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I think, really, we won't even see any landfall for seven to ten more days and that could be anywhere from the Carolinas in the U.S., all the way up toward Nova Scotia. We simply don't know where this thing's going. It's just too far out there. It's in very warm water right now, rapidly intensifying.
But look at this blue. This is the wake of what was Hurricane Franklin. Hurricane Franklin was also a 240 kilometer per hour storm out here in the Atlantic churning up the water, using the energy and the heat from the water. And that's where this storm is going. There may be some time where this storm stops intensifying. So, that is some of the good news.
NEWTON: And thank you, Chad. Now, Mexico's Supreme Court has ruled the federal government's ban on abortion is unconstitutional. And that has reproductive rights activists celebrating. CNN's Rafael Romo has details.
RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The effort to decriminalize abortion in Mexico has been going on for years, especially in Mexico City, where abortion rights groups have taken to the streets to say, my body, my decision. In fact, by the time the Mexican Supreme Court issued a ruling Wednesday decriminalizing abortion at the federal level, 12 out of 32 states had already invalidated laws banning abortion.
MARIA ANTONIETA ALCALDE, IPAS MEXICO AND CENTRAL AMERICA: Our reaction was of pure joy and celebration but also of being very proud of being part of this Green Wave, this movement that have been working to advance the abortion agenda. ROMO: In a statement, the court said that banning an abortion is
unconstitutional because it violates the human rights of women and people with the capacity to gestate. Anti-abortion groups in Mexico blasted the ruling.
ALICIA GALVAN, PRESIDENT AND FOUNDER, PATRIA UNIDA FOUNDATION: There are millions more Mexicans who are in favor of life, from the moment of conception until natural death.
ROMO: The Supreme Court first ruled that it was unconstitutional to criminalize abortion in 2021. On the same day, the ground shook in Mexico. The earthquake was felt for about a minute, but the shockwaves sent across the nation by that court's ruling are still being felt.
GALVAN: It is a black day for Mexico. The country is mourning the Supreme Court of Justice. The highest legal institution in the country, the one in charge of watching over justice and human rights, both betrayed the first human right, without which no other human right can exist life. Back in 2021, the court issued a decision on a law enacted in the northern state of Coahuila, which said that women who get an abortion may get punished with up to three years in prison and a fine.
Exactly a week before Wednesday's ruling, Aguascalientes had decriminalized abortion, becoming the 12th state to do so. Mexico City was the first jurisdiction to end the ban on abortion in the country back in 2007, starting a trend in the still mostly conservative country, where more than three quarters of the population identify as Catholic. Abortion rights groups say even before the ruling, Mexico had already become a destination for some American women seeking an abortion.
ALCALDE: Before, Mexican women used to go to the U.S. to look for abortion services, and now, Mexico. More and more American women are coming to Mexico for services.
ROMO: And while no woman can be prosecuted any longer for having an abortion in Mexico, there are still 20 states where the procedure remains illegal. But the ruling paves the way for the federal health care system to start providing abortions. Rafael Romo, CNN, Atlanta.
NEWTON: Russia's Vladimir Putin and China's Xi Jinping plan to skip the G20 summit in New Delhi. We'll have analysis about the fallout from that and what else we can expect at that meeting of world leaders.
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NEWTON: A top U.S. diplomat has announced more than a billion dollars in additional aid for Ukraine's war effort. The aid will be include -- pardon me -- the aid will include depleted uranium munitions which can pierce Russian tanks. Now, Russia's foreign ministry called the U.S. supply of depleted uranium, quote, "a criminal act." But Antony Blinken says it will help sustain the counteroffensive and build further momentum. And the U.S. nuclear watchdog has, in fact, downplayed the risk.
Blinken also said the Biden administration has no illusions that the counteroffensive will be easy, but he says the U.S. is pleased by the progress Ukrainian forces have made. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Since I was last here almost exactly one year ago, Ukrainian forces have taken back more than 50 percent of the territory seized by Russian forces since February of 2022. In the ongoing counteroffensive, progress has accelerated in the past few weeks. This new assistance will help sustain it and build further momentum.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Now, the praise and that new cash from the United States comes as Ukraine fields criticism that its counter-offensive is going too slowly. Sam Kiley breaks down what Ukraine has accomplished and where Russians are pushing back.
SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Antony Blinken has just been in Kyiv with another check for a billion dollars' worth of American military aid for the Ukrainian war effort. Very significant increase upon the already massive levels of donations coming from the United States and others, but the Americans are way ahead in terms of their support for the Ukrainian war effort.
But the critics in the United States are pointing to these very small yellow and white dots here on the map. These are the very small incremental gains that the Ukrainians have been making. Now, their critics are saying they're not getting through the Russian front lines hard enough or fast enough.
The Ukrainians are response to that, and indeed more sensible voices, frankly, within NATO, are saying, well, this whole front line here has been a long anticipated, and indeed all of this stuff down in the South too. The Russians have had plenty of time, many months to reinforce. They've got at least three lines of defense in some areas, possibly five, that includes minefields, tank traps. It's now up to infantry to infiltrate these areas, clear the mines by hand, and then get that armor that the United States and others have been donating into the battle space.
This is going to be where the concentration at the moment of the future operations of the Ukrainians are likely to be, and that is because they want to expand this area so they can use that as a bridgehead to go forward into Crimea and indeed cut the Russian supply lines to the east and west. But the Russians get a vote in this.
If we take a look at what's going on the eastern front, we'll be able to see much more closely first of all where these Russian gains have been made, but also where the Ukrainians have been pushing them back, particularly here south of Bakhmut. But of course, just in the last 24 hours, the Russians have struck back, killing a large number of civilians and others here in Kostiantynivka in a missile attack with at least 16 killed, more than 20 injured.
Now, that is part of the steady state of this war. The constant attacks on civilians behind the front lines is part of the Russian effort to try to drain the energy out of the Ukrainian war effort.
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Now, of course, the new Ukrainian commander is saying that every single inch of Ukrainian territory, as far as they're concerned, will be liberated as part of that campaign. But again, the Russians are counterattacking, particularly here up near Kupiansk and all along this northern front here. They've actually made some minor gains there, the Russians have, but they've been assaulting with very severe and heavy numbers of armor, tanks in particular being put to use there.
They are being held by the Ukrainians, but all of this is adding up to a degree of frustration among the Ukrainians, allies in the West, very often derived from a lack of understanding of what this battle space really is like. A0nd speaking of somebody who's been on the ground here, the NATO doctrine is you need three to one advantage in terms of troops from the Ukrainian perspective.
Indeed, the troop numbers are actually the other way around. So, any kind of Ukrainian advance under those circumstances particularly without air cover and they have none so far is nothing short of something close to a miracle.
NEWTON: He makes a very good point about the issue of air cover. Our thanks to Sam Kiley for that report from London. Now, India's foreign minister is downplaying the absence of Russia and China's leaders at the G20 meeting. And although Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping will be skipping the summit, other G20 leaders are expected to be there, and that includes U.S. President Joe Biden. He'll be meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Biden's trip to India comes on the heels of Modi's state visit to Washington in June when Biden called the U.S.-India relationship, quote, "one of the defining relationships of the 21st century."
Joining me now is Josh Lipsky, a senior director of the Atlantic Council's Geoeconomics Center. And thanks so much for joining us in this lead up to this G20 meeting. You know, you argue that Xi not going to this summit changes the very character of the gathering and possibly jeopardizes its effectiveness. Why?
JOSH LIPSKY, SENIOR DIRECTOR, ATLANTIC COUNCIL'S GEOECONOMICS CENTER: It's a very significant decision for President Xi to not attend. Not only is it his first time skipping a G20 summit, it's the first time any Chinese leader has skipped a G20 summit since it became a leader summit in 2008. So, Xi and his predecessor, Hu Jintao, had attended every summit. And it goes beyond just India's G20 presidency.
I think it speaks to what China believes is the future of the G20 and whether they are deeply invested in that future. And that's why I think it raises so many questions. This is incredibly important coordinating body, one of the most important in the world. If the world's second largest economy is changing its posture towards it, we all need to take note of that.
NEWTON: You know, some analysts argue the opposite, that this could be an opportunity for greater unity on key issues among those world leaders still attending, especially notably that obviously the Russian president will be missing as well. What do you think?
LIPSKY: Well, I do think it's a strategic mistake for China to not attend if their goal was to weaken the G20. Because the next host of the G20 after India are Brazil and South Africa. So, the BRICS nations are hosting the G20. Being inside that room, and let's be clear, China will still be there, the premier will be there, it's just Xi, the president who's not there.
But China could do a lot more by influencing that conversation from the inside than trying to weaken it by not having Xi attend. So, it could be a strategic mistake, but the U.S. and others have to capitalize on that opportunity. They have to bring a lot of these emerging markets around the table, and there's a lot of divisions around those tables, even with Russia and China not represented by their leaders.
NEWTON: Yeah, and as you're speaking, we're looking at the attendees now. And we had been speaking about that BRICS summit in South Africa. China was front and center there. That grouping now looking seriously at expansion. But the G20 is also looking to expand. Are these groupings complementary? Are they competitive? And I add, are they now useless? They've just spread their wings, you know, far too much.
LIPSKY: No, I do not think they're useless. The BRICS and the G20 are very different in so many ways because the BRICS are this really conglomeration of different countries with, I think, very little in common in terms of their economic situations and their policy priorities. Why the G20 has been effective, when it has been effective, it is because these economies have spoken with one voice. And we think back to the global financial crisis, coordinated fiscal stimulus of $5 trillion.
We think about COVID and the coordinated health actions that happened in that time. When there's a crisis, the G20 has been the body that acted. So, it plays an important role, but it's also not a self- fulfilling prophecy. It has to modernize too. It's a 20-year-old institution. And that's why I and others have advocated for expansion of the G20 and also rethinking the membership. The global economy changes over 20 years and the membership of the G20 should reflect that.
[03:40:00]
Yes, certainly in terms of economic have to -- the G20 is still quite viable when we look at what they can get done. And I do want to talk about a couple of the priorities. Clearly, the environment, which is top of mind for everyone, and of course, inequality. I mean, what are the prospects for actually making any kind of progress there? LIPSKY: Well, one silver lining of President Xi not attending is I
think India can re-focus this G20 on its priorities. And they have made climate, inequality, and reform of the multilateral development makes including the World Bank top priorities. And so, some of the focus can get back to those policy priorities.
I actually do think you're going to see progress. We've already seen some commitments on new capitalization for the World Bank. We've seen some pre-meeting commitments on combating climate change and climate adaptation funding. So, this is where I actually think you're going to see the meat of the G20 come forward, the policy goals of the G20 come forward.
Not everything people want to see. We won't get the deals on debt restructuring so many are looking for, but you will see some progress and that will be to India's credit during their G20 presidency.
NEWTON: Yeah, certainly. And again, as you point out, despite China's absence, still, a lot on the table and perhaps a lot of progress to be made. Josh Lipsky, we'll leave it there for now. Really appreciate it.
LIPSKY: Thanks so much.
NEWTON: Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Saudi Crown Prince say recent agreements on oil supply cuts have ensured stability in global energy markets. That word from the Kremlin. After the two leaders spoke by phone Wednesday, the leaders cheered their cooperation one day after they announced they would expand those production cuts through the end of the year. Now that move, as Goldman Sachs warns, oil prices could climb then to triple-digit territory by next year if Russia and Saudi Arabia don't unwind their supply cuts.
Now the bank had forecast Brent oil to be $93 at the end of 2024. Now it expects Saudi oil supply to be about 500,000 barrels per day smaller than previously anticipated. And analysts say if cuts are kept in place and Saudi Arabia only gradually raises production, Brent oil prices could climb to $107 a barrel by December of next year. They are currently now, as you see it there, standing at about $90 and 87 respectively, off a little bit so far in trade, but these are some of the highest prices we've seen in 2023.
Still ahead for us, the fallout from an unwanted kiss at the Women's World Cup is growing with a formal complaint now filed over the incident.
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NEWTON: Spanish prosecutors can now move forward with a case against the country's Football Federation Chief after a star player on the women's national team filed a formal complaint over an unwanted kiss after the Women's World Cup final last month. Now the fallout has led to a major shakeup in Spanish football.
[03:45:00]
CNN's Patrick Schnell picks up the story from there. PATRICK SNELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: Well on Wednesday we learned that the
player that Luis Rubiales kissed after last month's World Cup final in Australia, Jenny Hermoso, has now filed an official complaint with prosecutors against Rubiales himself. And this is highly significant because this legal complaint is the next step required for the Spanish justice system to proceed with a case against Rubiales.
Spanish prosecutors had opened an investigation into him late last month saying they would contact Hermoso within two weeks to inform her of her rights as a victim of an alleged crime of sexual aggression. And now they've issued a statement which reads in part, "Yesterday, Miss Jennifer Hermoso submitted a complaint for the events that you all know. The national court's prosecutors office will file a complaint as soon as possible which will be sent to you as well as the press release. The statement took place at the State Attorney General's Office to protect the privacy of the victim."
That comes after a series of key developments earlier in the week which saw the appointment of a new Spanish women's team head coach following Jorge Vila's sacking with Montse Tome succeeding him, though former Spain captain Veronica Boquete saying that replacing Vilda as head coach of the team wasn't enough, quote, "the change we're talking about isn't about changing one president for another. It isn't changing one coach for another. It's about making a much deeper change."
Tome on Tuesday becoming the first woman ever to be appointed head coach of the Spanish national team. The 41-year-old former player has been working for the Spanish Federation since 2018 and did work under Vilda whose team went on to win the World Cup last month in Sydney after beating England's Lionesses.
Meantime Vilda himself saying he feels his sacking was unfair. Vilda has long been considered a close ally of Rubiales and was seen applauding his defiant speech where he refused to resign nearly two weeks ago. Vilda was the man in charge of Spain winning their first ever Women's World Cup crown, but it does now bring to an end an eight-year tenure that's been steeped in controversy and complaints from some of the players about the structures and management in place.
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JORGE VILDA, FORMER HEAD COACH, SPANISH WOMEN'S NATIONAL TEAM (through translation): I'm as good as one can be after being named world champion 16 days ago, then 10 days ago getting a 4-year contract extension, plus the year I had left, and then after today being fired, what I believe to be unfairly.
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SNELL: Well for now, the scrutiny on Rubiales remaining as intense as ever. He's refusing to resign and says that kiss was mutual and consensual, though Hermoso herself says there was absolutely no consent on her part. And with that, it's right back to you.
NEWTON: Thanks to Patrick there. Now, a school in France banned a student from class on Wednesday for wearing a kimono. Now this comes amid France's ban on abayas, a long robe-like garment often worn by Muslim women. CNN's Anna Stewart has more on the fallout (ph) of the controversial ban.
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ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER (voice-over): A daily ritual for some students in France. You can attach it to your bag, that's the rule inside. Put the headscarf in the bag, this teacher tells a student at the school gates. Removing any sign of their Muslim faith before entering the classroom. But as summer vacation ends, France's 2004 law, banning conspicuous religious symbols and state-run schools, will be applied to loose-fitting, full-length dresses known as abayas for the first time.
GABRIEL ATTAL, FRENCH EDUCATION MINISTER (through translation): The abaya has no place in our schools and neither do religious symbols.
STEWART (voice-over): The free-flowing garments worn by some Muslim women and girls, now prohibited in the name of French laicite or secularism. This policy is a new interpretation of the controversial 2004 law from France's ambitious new education minister. Nearly 300 students wore an abaya to school on Monday, 67 were sent home for refusing to take it off.
UNKNOWN (through translation): They say that the abaya is a religious dress, but it's not at all. It's not a religious dress. It's a traditional dress.
STEWART (voice-over): A Muslim rights group has already brought an appeal against the ban to the country's highest court, with their lawyer saying the ban doesn't legally define what an abaya looks like.
VINCENT BRENGARTH, LAWYER (through translation): The ban is not based on any legal text. It's purely a political announcement.
STEWART (voice-over): Another lawsuit is being prepared after a student wearing a kimono and jeans was exposed dispelled from class. Disproportionate is how one teaching union described the abaya debate when issues like funding and bullying also need to be addressed. At least one other major union has supported the government's ban. And that division gets to the heart of the secularism debate in France.
Laicite, a principle upheld by many across the political spectrum as France's blind defense against religious discrimination.
[03:50:02]
But critics condemn it as a veiled attack on Muslims in France. Hijabs, bikinis, now abayas, falling under the glare of an unyielding French state. Exactly what Macron asked of his teachers faced with resistance students this month.
EMMANUEL MACRON, PRESIDENT OF FRANCE (through translation): We know that there will be cases because we know that there will be some through negligence perhaps, that many to try to defy the republican system. We must be uncompromising.
STEWART (voice-over): France remains an outlier among Western nations, moving into wider acceptance of civil liberties around religious dress. With the hijab embraced elsewhere by Muslim politicians and major brands like Nike, for schools in France though, a new year means new rules. Anna Stewart, CNN.
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NEWTON: So, after several delays because of bad weather, Japan launches a rocket with a double mission to study our universe and to attempt a precise moon landing.
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NEWTON: The Biden administration is stumped by the newest smartphone from Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei and says it wants more information about how the Huawei Mate 60 Pro came to be. Huawei unveiled it last month, supposedly powered by an advanced Chinese-made microchip. But the U.S. is skeptical the phone is entirely homegrown. The administration is looking into whether Huawei evaded U.S. restrictions to obtain the necessary chip technology and other components. Huawei has not responded to CNN's request for comment.
"The Wall Street Journal" reports Chinese government officials are now officially banned from using Apple iPhones. Now, the move is seen as official recognition of an informal policy that's been in place for some time now. CNN's Mark Stewart explains from Beijing.
MARC STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is important to stress this reported ban surrounding iPhones involves central government officials and not Chinese consumers. A source who deals with these government agencies told CNN that for months there's been an unwritten rule of shutting iPhones despite the absence of a formal policy. We should note this source asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the subject.
It was just last March we saw Apple CEO Tim Cook here in Beijing. Last quarter, nearly a fifth of Apple's revenue came from China. It's also a manufacturing center. We've seen a lot of back and forth between these two economic forces in recent months. As we reported last June, some Chinese ministers banned Tesla's from entering their premises over security fears.
And looking back to November 2022, the Biden administration banned approvals of equipment from Chinese companies Huawei and ZTE over security concerns. CNN has reached out to China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but we have not received a response. Marc Stewart, CNN, Beijing.
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NEWTON: Just hours ago, the successful liftoff of a rocket carrying Japan's so-called Moon Sniper lunar lander and a new X-ray satellite.
[03:55:02] The satellite is already in Earth's orbit and will study galaxy clusters, black holes and the chemical makeup of the universe. Japan's Smart Lander for Investigating the Moon, or SLIM, will arrive in lunar orbit in a few months and attempt a soft landing on the moon using high-precision vision-based navigation landing technology, hence, yup, you guessed it, the nickname, Moon Sniper.
NASA says it is on track to launch a spacecraft next month to study a metallic asteroid known as the Psyche Mission. The launch window opens on October 5th aboard a SpaceX Falcon heavy rocket. It will travel more than three billion kilometers and reach the asteroid Psyche by 2029, then spend some 26 months orbiting the asteroid.
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LORI GLAZE, DIRECTOR, NASA PLANETARY SCIENCE DIVISION: The Psyche asteroid is representative of one type of asteroid, but in fact there are several types of asteroids, some with different chemical or physical properties, some that are found in distinct locations within the solar system. And each of those asteroids is a remnant of the earliest building blocks that made up all the planets and moons.
So, by studying these small bodies, we can learn about the origin and evolution of our solar system as well as the active processes that are still at work today.
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NEWTON: Okay, so the metal on Psyche is estimated to be worth ten quintillion dollars. The scientist who came up with that value points out, yeah, the number really doesn't mean anything.
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LINDY ELKINS-TANTON, PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR OF PSYCHE: We have zero technology as a species to bring Psyche back to Earth. And if we did, it would likely be a catastrophic mistake, could we say. But say we were able to actually bring Psyche back, then it would flood the metals market and it would literally be worth nothing. And so, calculating the value of it is a fun intellectual exercise with no truth to it. We are not going there to mine an asteroid. NASA does not mine asteroids. There are other metal objects in the solar system for humans to think about in the future, but that's not our mission.
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NEWTON: Okay, and we leave you with this. Even at 80-years-old, Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones, they just can't quit. Listen.
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NEWTON: "Angry" is the featured single from their upcoming album Hackney Diamonds and it marks the Stones 24th studio album and their first new music in 18 years. Hackney Diamonds goes on sale next month. And we will wait for that. I am Paula Newton. I want to thank you for your company. More "CNN Newsroom" is straight ahead with Max Foster and Bianca Nobilo.
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