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North Korean Rocket Explodes Shortly After Launch; Israel Faces International Outrage Over Deadly Rafah Strike; Ceasefire, Hostage Talks Set To Resume Tuesday In Cairo; Pyongyang Preparing for Visit From Russian President ; North Korean Rocket Carrying Spy Satellite Explodes in Air; Researchers Seek to Understand Hikikomori Phenomenon, a Japanese Term for People Who Cut Themselves Off From Society; Thousands Attend Annual Cheese Chase in England; Elon Musk's Ai Startup Raises $6 Billion, Now Valued at $24 Billion. Aired 2-2:45a ET

Aired May 28, 2024 - 02:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:00:29]

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello, and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world and everyone streaming us on CNN Max. I'm Rosemary Church. Just ahead. A tragic mistake. That's how Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is describing an airstrike on a displacement camp in Gaza that left at least 45 people dead.

A major setback for North Korean leader Kim Jong-un after a rocket carrying a spy satellite exploded in midair shortly after launch.

And a young Ukrainian boy orphaned by a Russian strike that killed his mother and father has one last question he wishes he could ask his parents. What should I do now? How do I live?

ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta. This is CNN NEWSROOM with Rosemary Church.

CHURCH: I appreciate you joining us. Israel is facing growing international outrage over Sunday's airstrikes in Rafah which Gaza officials say killed at least 45 people and injured more than 200. Mostly women and children at a camp for displaced Palestinians. According to a U.S. official, Israel claims and explosion from the strike ignited a fuel tank nearby starting a fire which tore through the camp. Though that explanation has not been confirmed.

The Israeli military says it's investigating the strike which it claims killed two senior Hamas officials. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had this reaction.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, PRIME MINISTER OF ISRAEL (through translator): Despite our best effort not to harm those not involved. Unfortunately, a tragic mistake happened last night. We are investigating the case.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Condemnation from around the world has been swift with protests in a number of cities. U.N. agencies, aid groups and several governments are calling on Israel to respect last week's ruling by the International Court of Justice, which ordered Israel to immediately halt its offensive in refer.

Qatar says the strike could hinder ongoing negotiations over a ceasefire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas as another round of talks is set for the hours ahead in Cairo. CNN's Jeremy Diamond has more now on the Rafah attack. And a warning his report contains graphic images.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Their blood-curdling screams tell the story of the unfolding horror more than words ever could. But, it is only as bodies are pulled out of the inferno that the scale of this attack becomes clear. At least 45 people were killed after an Israeli airstrike targeted this camp for displaced Palestinians in western Rafah, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. Plastic tarps engulfed in flames, sheet metal walls crushed by the blast, a block of makeshift shelters flattened in an instance.

The Israeli military says the strike killed two senior Hamas militants who commanded Hamas' West Bank operations, Yassin Rabia and Khaled Nagar. In a rare move, the Israeli military's top lawyer launching an investigation into the strike, saying civilian casualties had not been expected.

It was assessed that there would be no expected harm to uninvolved civilians. The IDF regrets any harm to uninvolved civilians during combat.

Mohammed Abu Ataiwi (ph) is one of those civilians, so badly burned that he cannot even open his eyes. But there are so many more. So many children writhing in pain. And then, there are the parents desperate to save babies whose cries have been silenced, perhaps forever.

For those who survived, whatever thin sense of safety they still had has now been completely shattered.

We were sitting and suddenly there was a big blast and fire. People started screaming, Ranin (ph) says, describing how they spent the whole night pulling charred bodies out of the embers.

While hundreds of thousands fled eastern Rafah after the military ordered its evacuation, many others like this man displaced from central Gaza came here to western Rafah, told the area would be safe.

[02:05:13]

And then there are the mourners. The occupation army is a liar. There is no security in Gaza, says this man, whose brother was killed in the strike. Here he is with his wife. They were murdered. They are gone. For one man, a brother, for another, his sister. She was the only one, he says, she was the only one and she has gone.

Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: In the coming hours Spain, Ireland and Norway each plan to make a formal declaration recognizing a Palestinian state. The countries announced their plans last week with the three leaders saying their decision is an important step towards peace in the region. Ireland's Foreign Minister alongside his Spanish and Norwegian counterparts in Brussels on Monday, said it's time to change the approach to achieve a two-state solution.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL MARTIN, FOREIGN MINISTER OF IRELAND: Some have framed our decision as a move or decision to recognize the state of Palestine as a move to impose an outcome on the parties are as somehow a reward for terror. Nothing could be further from the truth. We have recognized both the State of Israel and the state of Palestine precisely because we want to see a future of normalized relations between the two peoples.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Aaron David Miller is a former U.S. State Department, Middle East negotiator and a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He joins me now from Washington. Good to have you with us.

AARON DAVID MILLER, FORMER UNITED STATES DEPARMENT MIDDLE EAST NEGOTATIOR: Thanks for having me, Rosemary.

CHURCH: So, Hostage and ceasefire talks are set to resume in the coming hours. But how likely is a deal after Sunday's deadly and controversial Israeli strike on a Rafah tent camp killing women and children. And of course, after Hamas fired rockets at Tel Aviv?

MILLER: You know, if you're Yahya Sinwar, the principal Palestinian decision maker making decisions in (INAUDIBLE) you're looking at a situation and you're thinking to yourself, why should I make a deal? Israel is at odds with the United States, international pressure is rising. The Israelis killed two Hamas officials and yet ended up killing as many as 45 innocent Palestinians.

Right now, Rosemary in view of events over the last week, I'm not sure there's a whole lot of urgency on the part of Hamas to make a deal.

CHURCH: And why exactly?

MILLER: Because I think Sinwar believes that he can use time tone hostages to trade for something better, not an interim deal, which would see the release of 20 or 30 of the women in the elderly in the infirm but a deal that would get thousands of Palestinian prisoners back as well as a ceasefire which is what he wants. And right now, I think the pressure, frankly, is on the Israelis to make a deal.

So, I don't think right now, since urgency is the key factor in any negotiation. I'm not sure that you're going to be able to make quicker as you progress this round this week.

CHURCH: And Aaron, Spain, Ireland and Norway are set to acknowledge a Palestinian state today. How significant is this and how many more countries would need to join to set the world on a path to make this a reality?

MILLER: I don't think well -- now there's 142, 144 countries of the 193 to sit in the U.N. The E.U. may be seriously considering this, as well. But the reality is, Rosemary, you can't create a Palestinian state by (INAUDIBLE) or by declaration or even recognition. The reality is no matter how many countries sign up for this, endorsing a virtual state is not going to bring the Israelis and Palestinians any closer to a comprehensive conflict and a solution of the Israeli Palestinian conflict.

That's going to come only when Israelis and Palestinians believe that they're prepared to make the key decisions on the core issues, border security, refugees, Jerusalem. And right now, in the wake of October 7th we're a very long way aways. From any sort of negotiation that could create a better pathway to state. State of Palestine living alongside of the State of Israel and peace and security.

[02:10:01]

I think right now that's the farthest thing. Certainly, from Israeli minds, we probably the farthest thing from the vast majority of Palestinians in Gaza.

CHURCH: And meantime, domestic and international pressure is growing for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to start making postwar plans for who governs Gaza. What are the viable options that need to be considered when it comes to that issue?

MILLER: You know, I think if you had the Israelis gotten (INAUDIBLE) earlier, maybe they could have begun the very lengthy process of trying to facilitate a Palestinian governing structure, perhaps based on some sort of transformed Palestinian authority. Maybe if he -- the Israelis have been more specific about what their own postwar plans in he could have enticed key Arab states to contribute to some sort of security force.

But the Israelis would have to have agreed that Gaza first cannot be Gaza only. They would have had to signal the fact that they're interested and committed to some more practical pathway based on two states. And with the current Israeli government that Mr. Netanyahu has to extremist ministers, anything that even remotely signals that commitment to a Palestinian state or embracing the Palestinian authority, could easily bring down the -- bring down the Israeli government.

So, I think there's a good bit of magical thinking going on about the day after in Gaza right now.

CHURCH: Aaron David Miller, appreciate your analysis. Thanks for joining us.

MILLER: Always a pleasure, Rosemary. Thank you so much.

CHURCH: Spain is promising Ukraine more than a billion dollars in new military aid. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy was in Madrid on Monday to sign a new security deal with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez before he heads to Portugal to meet with that country's leaders later today. Sanchez says it's crucial to keep supporting Ukraine with Russia not backing down. Spain is now the 10th nation to sign a bilateral security deal with Ukraine since last year. It includes weapons, tanks and air defenses which is a top priority

for Mr. Zelenskyy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE (through translator): Russia is using more than 3000 guided aerial bombs a month against people. We think it could be 3500 next month, 3200 this month, thousands of aerial bombs are raining down on people's heads.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Kharkiv has faced a sharp rise in attacks in recent weeks as Russia continues its advance on Ukraine's Northern Front. Deadly strikes hitting the region again on Sunday and Monday. And on Saturday, Russia targeted a hardware superstore in Ukraine's second largest city. It's now the deadliest attack the country has seen in weeks, with at least 18 people killed and 48 others injured.

Nearly 200 people were inside the building when it was bombed, five are still missing. Ukraine's interior minister said the hours following the strike were hellish. And President Zelenskyy called it a brutal attack.

CNN's Nick Paton Walsh is in Eastern Ukraine where Russian strikes have devastated homes and communities. He spoke to a 10-year-old boy who lost both his parents when their home was destroyed. A warning, his report contains some disturbing video and content.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The fragments of loss and losing so often go unheard, but fast unravel lives all the same. Two missiles hit this comfortable family home just outside Pokrovsk. Now only dust and the smell of a decaying family dog. We're close enough to the Russians. We can pick up their radio station.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (text): The West will not give modern equipment to Kyiv. So, the ordinary Ukrainian soldiers will be the ones to suck it up.

WALSH (on camera) And every time you see destruction like this, it's really hard to work out exactly what Russia must have thought it was hitting with firepower like this. People in the streets say there's no military around at all, but all the same, utter devastation.

WALSH (voice-over): People here know two parents died, but the survivor knows a greater horror. Mykola is 10 and watched his mother, Larissa (ph), die as she lay crushed by the rubble.

MYKOLA GLUSHKO, SURVIVOR OF RUSSIAN ATTACK (text): I heard a whistle through my dream. Then, bang. All the windows were shattered in a second. My eyes were still closed. I felt the windows shattering and I heard it. Then, something fell. My mom was saying, "Kolya, Kolya." I shouted "Mom, I'm alive." I took everything off my face and then I saw my mom crushed down by the ceiling. I tried to pull it away but I couldn't.

Mom was moaning and shaking her legs. I was shouting "Mother, mother, it's just a dream, just a horrible dream." I was screaming, "God, why did you do this to me?" I was running in my underwear, asking for help.

[02:15:36]

WALSH (voice-over): He says he hates himself for not saving his mother.

GLUSHKO (text): I will visit them, take care of their graves. Apologize for not being able to save them. I'll apologize to my father, that I couldn't save my mom, his wife. My biggest dream is to ask my parents at least one question. What should I do now? How do I live? My other dream is to take revenge on who fired the missile.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (text): Enter. Easy, easy. We are in.

WALSH (voice-over): When you hear the words too injured in Ukraine, the agony of survival is rarely heard too. A blast hit four feet from these two soldiers dug out.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (text): So what was it?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (text): I don't know.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (text): Shelling or drone?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (text): Legs, here. Good job.

WALSH (voice-over): It'll take weeks to learn if they'll see again. Now this stabilization point has to just keep them alive.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (text): When I open the eye like this, do you see the light?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (text): Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (text): And people?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (text): No.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (text): Cold?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (text): Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (text): OK for you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (text): Yes.

WALSH (on camera): Well, these two are from a town that Russia's claimed to be seeing progress in the past days, possibly because forces have been withdrawn from there by Ukraine and Russia north towards Kharkiv to stop the new Russian offensive there.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (text): Oleh Mykolayovich, look at the hand.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (text): Something burns on my side.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (text): Where?

WALSH (voice-over): Suddenly he feels pain in his right, internal injuries from the sheer force of the blast. They must quickly intervene.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (text): Is it a short or what?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (text): Just a little shot. A painkiller, it will be unpleasant now. That's all, it's done honey.

WALSH (voice-over): The doctor says last year during Bakhmut was much busier.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (text): Two hundred people a day.

WALSH (voice-over): The beds here are empty now not because the war is getting better, quite the opposite. This unit, the 93rd Mechanized Brigade, say it's because they're running low on infantry.

WALSH (on camera): And that's how they leave, in complete darkness with their headlights off. So worried are they about the Russians spotting this place.

Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Eastern Ukraine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Still to calm. A frantic search for survivors in Papua New Guinea after last week's massive landslide as thousands have been ordered to evacuate the volatile region. We will get a live update just ahead.

Plus, a launch and then an explosion. Details on North Korea's latest attempt to put a satellite into orbit.

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CHURCH: Thousands of people have been ordered to evacuate a remote region in Papua New Guinea where a massive landslide is feared to have buried more than 2,000 people. Officials says the area remains unstable with huge rocks and debris still falling four days after the initial landslide on Friday. Those conditions are making the search for survivors more dangerous and rescuers are struggling to reach the area. It's believed the landslide destroyed more than 150 homes, burying villagers under tons of rock and mud as they slept.

For more we want to go to CNN's Anna Coren, she's standing by live in Hong Kong. Good to see you Anna. So, what is the latest on these evacuation orders as well as recovery and search efforts?

ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well Rosemary as you say more than 7,000 people have been told to evacuate from the area and that is because this landslide is considered to be active, it's alive and it is spreading. So, people need to get out of harms way, there's still rock and debris coming off the ridge. This is the highlands of Papua New Guinea, Enga Province in the north of the country it is known to have landslides.

And it's also known to be very mountainous. This particular hill, it's a large hill, it's not a mountain, it's not that steep which is why people are wondering what has triggered this land slide that happened 3am on Friday. The search and recovery operation, that's what is now Rosemary, to be quite frank, I mean the hope of finding anybody alive is incredible remote. Six bodies have been recovered, two people were miraculously pulled alive but that was days ago. This is now very much a recovery operations.

Funeral processions have begun and some of the images, the pictures that we are seeing coming out of this village, people are mourning, they are suffering. Almost 2,000 people if not more than 2,000 people have perished. And look, that number could be even higher. This was a densely populated village, yes it was remote, and isolated but there were homes, there were shops, there was a gas station, a lodge, a church, a school. So this was a very active and vibrant community and the survivors are really struggling.

Take a listen to this U.N. Development Program Official who we spoke to a few hours ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATE BAGOSSY, UNDP HUMANITARIAN COORDINATION SPECIALIST: We talked to a lot of the population members, affected community , they are in utter shock, they understand (inaudible) and they are mourning their dead and they are looking forward to receive some assistance which is already coming but I think the main question is right now the population is caught between the trauma of what just happened and the uncertainty about the longer-term future.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COREN: This official was on the ground there yesterday. And he said the area, Rosemary, I don't think the pictures in the video really, you know, show that the true scale but it's something like nine hectares covered in Earth rock debris, boulders the size of shipping containers. That's 90,000 square meters. Six to eight meters deep. We understand from a government official that we spoke to this morning that heavy equipment is getting to the area but they can't get on site because the land is just so unstable.

So, people have been using, you know, shovels, their hand sticks whatever they can to look for the bodies but as we say, funeral processions have begun. This is very much looking like one mass grave, Rosemary.

[02:25:06]

CHURCH: Anna Coren, thank you so much for updating us on this story joining us live from Hong Kong.

All right. I want to turn to South Asia. At least 17 people were killed when cyclone Remal lashed coastal India and parts of Bangladesh on Monday. The storm brought heavy winds and dumped several inches of rain leading to flooding in low-lying areas. Downed trees and uprooted power lines left millions without electricity and mobile phone service. In Bangladesh officials say hundreds of thousands of homes were damaged.

Remal is the first major cyclone of the year to hit the region. More than a million people were evacuated in both countries on Sunday ahead of the storm.

Another failed launch for North Korea but this one came with a notification. Just ahead, what the North tried to send into orbit.

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CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Protests are growing outside Taiwan's Parliament as lawmakers are once again debating controversial reforms. Opposition leaders are pushing for tighter scrutiny of the island's new President and his administration. Protesters warned the bill could undermine Taiwan's democratic institutions and lead to greater influence from China. They're also angry about the opposition party's attempt to fast track the bill.

The measure has sparked heated debate inside parliament with a brawl breaking out earlier this month. The bill is expected to pass in the coming hours but it could end up in Taiwan's constitutional court or the Cabinet could demand a revote.

North Korea has once again tried to send an alleged spy satellite into orbit but didn't go so well. State media announced that the rocket carrying the satellite exploded during the first stage of flight. CNN's Will Ripley has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTENATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): North Korea putting the world on edge attempting to launch his suspected military spy satellite for the second time in six months.

[02:30:00]

North Korean state media says the rocket exploded during the first stage of launch, sounding emergency sirens on Okinawa, Japan. That alert later lifted. Footage from Japanese broadcaster NHK appears to show a shining orange dot flying in the sky and bursting into flames. Japan's Coast Guard got advanced warning from Pyongyang of an eight- day launch window ending June 4th. Rocket debris potentially falling in three locations near the Korean Peninsula and the Philippines island of Luzon.

YOON SUK YEOL, SOUTH KOREAN PRESIDENT (through translator): The so- called satellite launch that North Korea announced today is a clear violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions, and the international community should respond firmly.

RIPLEY (voice-over): South Korean and U.S. Intelligence closely monitoring North Korea's satellite launch site. Kim Jong-Un was there in November, when North Korea successfully launched its first spy satellite after two failed attempts last year. Experts warn spy satellites give Pyongyang valuable intelligence on South Korean and U.S. military assets in the region, potentially making missile strikes more accurate.

The latest launch announcement as Japan, South Korea, and China hold their first summit in nearly five years, a meeting overshadowed by North Korea's latest moves. Pyongyang says, Kim is preparing to host Russian President Vladimir Putin soon, a sign of deepening diplomatic and military ties. What analysts call Kim's strategic pivot away from U.S. diplomacy, five years since summit talks with former President Donald Trump fell apart.

JO BEE-YUN, ASSOCIATE RESEARCH FELLOW, KOREA INSTITUTE FOR DEFENSE ANALYSES: North Korea is interested more in engaging the so-called Moscow friendly network of countries. For instance, Iran.

RIPLEY (voice-over): Like Iran, Pyongyang is selling weapons to Putin. Ukraine says North Korean missiles have killed and injured dozens this year, giving North Korea valuable real-world data on the accuracy of its missiles made with recently produced U.S. and European parts, a U.K. think tank says.

At their meeting in Russia last year, Kim said, I will always be standing with Russia. Putin promised to help Kim's satellite program.

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): The leader of North Korea shows great interest in space and rocketry, we'll show them our new objects.

RIPLEY (voice-over): An alliance, the U.S. warns could see Russia providing critical ballistic missile technology to North Korea, further destabilizing the region and the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP) RIPLEY (on camera): North Korean state media is reporting initial analysis suggesting a newly developed liquid fuel rocket motor may be the cause of this mid-air explosion, although other causes are also being investigated. We do know that the North Koreans learn a lot from these failures, sometimes even more than from successful launches and Kim Jong-Un has already announced plans to launch three more military spy satellites this year, part of a military modernization program, which means North Korea is undoubtedly going to try this again.

Will Ripley, CNN, Taipei.

NEWTON: And we'll be right back.

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[02:35:20]

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWSROOM": Welcome back, everyone. Researchers in the U.S. and across Asia are trying to get a better understanding of hikikomori. It's a Japanese term for people who cut themselves off from society, sometimes for months or even years. It affects an estimated 1.5 million people in Hong Kong, Japan, and South Korea, but it's showing up in other countries as well. The rise of the internet, COVID isolation, and financial or academic pressures are often cited as causes.

Joining me now is Hamish McLeod, a Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Glasgow. Appreciate you being with us.

HAMISH J. MCLEOD, PROFESSOR OF CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF GLASGOW: I'm pleased to be here.

CHURCH: So, you were part of a study that examined this hikikomori phenomenon. How widespread is it and who's the most vulnerable to it?

MCLEOD: It's widespread across nations now and increasingly, as more studies are done in a variety of countries, we are finding people having extreme social withdrawal. So, it's not just something that's limited to Japan or other Asian countries. It's been found in Nigeria, in Denmark, Spain, the U.K., and France. So, it's a widespread problem and a source of great suffering to the families that are affected as well as the person who's withdrawn.

CHURCH: And so, what actually triggers this extreme social withdrawal and isolation? What is it?

MCLEOD: I think it's important to realize that there's probably two kinds of withdrawals, so some withdrawal happens as a coping response that people may have in the face of life stresses and that can be an adaptive thing that helps people recover. But for hikikomori with people withdrawn for six months or more, it's often because they've failed to achieve a cherished life goal, sometimes it's a failure to achieve something at university, or to get a job that was sought, or to meet expectations such as the kind of career that you are going in a pursue. And for that kind of person may seem to react by withdrawing and cutting themselves off from society. CHURCH: So, how do you diagnose and of course, more importantly, perhaps a treat a person going through this, this level, this extreme level of isolation?

MCLEOD: Yeah. I mean, it's one of those things that's unfortunately very tricky because the person themselves may not reach out for help. It's often the family members that will be the ones who identify the problem and they sometimes have been waiting for months and in some cases, years before things get bad enough for them to seek help from services. And then the diagnosis usually involves trying to rule out that there's not another explanation. So sometimes there are problems such as anxiety disorders or other kind of mental health conditions.

But basically, if the person has had persistent withdrawal for more six months without contact outside of the home and no other role functioning such as engagement, employment, or work, or training, then that usually would lead to the conclusion that the person is showing that hikikomori pattern.

CHURCH: And is there a particular age group that's more vulnerable to this phenomenon? And what do family and friends need to be looking out for, so they can offer early support and intervention?

MCLEOD: Yeah. I mean it's probably important to think of it not necessarily as something that affects only a particular age group, but the onset certainly affects younger people more, and that makes sense partly because this is when a lot of the initial steps into adult life and attempts to achieve cherished goals like completion of university or getting employment and leaving home, all of these things tend to come on at late adolescence, early adulthood. But in Japan, where hikikomori was first identified in the 1990s after the economic contraction there, some of those people have ended up staying in there withdrawn state sometimes well into their 50s and 60s.

And now, as their elderly parents are passing away, these people are being re-identified in society. So, it affects people across the age range but the onset is younger.

[02:40:00]

MCLEOD: And to your question about how to help, one of the first things I think is that it's the families around the person that may need the first point of contact and help with how to communicate with and reconnect with their family member. They -- helping of people with hikikomori in the longer term tends to involve gradual re-exposure and reintroduction into social roles, things like work and employment, sometimes group therapies that encourage social interaction, and then gradual re-exposure to roles and responsibilities can help people recover.

And it is important that some people do recover very much back to normal functioning with the right support.

CHURCH: Yeah. Well, that is good to know. Hamish McLeod, thank you so much for joining us and explaining it to us. Appreciate it.

MCLEOD: Pleasure.

CHURCH: Elon Musk's AI startup has just raised another $6 billion from Silicon Valley investors and a Saudi prince. Now, xAI is valued at $24 billion. That positions the company as a possible future rival to OpenAI and its famous chatbot, ChatGPT. Musk says xAI will have more to announce in the next few weeks. He appears to be taking the company in a similar direction as X, the social media network, formerly known as Twitter, urging people to join xAI if they believe its mission is understanding the universe without regard to popularity or political correctness.

W ell, Monday was quite a day for foodie thrill-seekers. You're looking at the Annual Cheese Rolling Race in Gloucestershire, England. Hundreds of competitors from around the world barreled down a very steep hill, chasing a wheel of Double Gloucester cheese. The first to the bottom wins the cheese and estimated 5,000 people watched as racers tumbled, flipped and slid down the muddy hill, and despite some bumps and bruises along the way, several of this year's winners say they managed to walk away relatively unscathed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ABBY LAMPE, WINNER, WOMEN'S DOWNHILL RACE: I got some scratches on my face, but that should be expected when you're really rolling down the hill.

DYLAN TWISS, WINNER, MEN'S SECOND DOWNHILL RACE: It's a little bit daunting. I just knew that I had to relax and tango with it, not fight the hill. I had a slight expectation that this is the sort of thing I could win, but I was very surprised when a (inaudible).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: It's one way to fill your day, isn't it? Thanks for joining us. I am Rosemary Church. "World Sport" is next. And I'll be back in about 15 minutes with more "CNN Newsroom." Do stick around.

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[02:45:00]

(WORLD SPORT)