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Extremely Dangerous Wildfire Approaches Athens, Greece; Heat Alerts Across Parts of Europe; Leeward Islands, Puerto Rico Brace for Storm Ernesto; Kim Jong-Un Rejects Foreign Aid; Vladimir Kara-Murza Vows Quicker Than Expected Return to Russia; Pompeii Archaeologists Find Buried Couple and Their Treasure; Van Gogh's 'Starry Night' Recreated in Bosnia. Aired 2-3a ET
Aired August 13, 2024 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[01:59:59]
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. Ukraine's risky counter punch. Vladimir Putin vowing a strong response after Ukrainian troops expand their foothold in Russia. But how long can they hold on? And will Kyiv's gamble ultimately pay off?
Watching and waiting nearly two weeks after the killing of a senior Hamas leader in Tehran, the Middle East is bracing for Iran to strike back.
And hundreds of firefighters are working around the clock as an out of control wildfire closes in on the Greek capital.
ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta. This is CNN NEWSROOM with Rosemary Church.
CHURCH: Good to have you with us. Vladimir Putin is vowing a strong response after accusing Ukraine of trying to destabilize his country and instill fear during its week-long incursion into Southwest Russia. A Ukrainian military chief said his country's troops now control about 1000 square kilometers in Kursk, where tens of thousands of Russians have already been evacuated. None of this going over well with the Russian president who lashed out at the West and accused Ukraine of trying to improve its negotiating position.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin released this footage of tanks and other reinforcements that it says are headed to Kursk. Ukraine's president said Russia brought war to others, and now it's coming home.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy also arguing that the incursion is actually self defense.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE (through translator): It is only fair to destroy Russian terrorists where they are, where they launch their strikes from. Russian military airfields, Russian logistics. We see how useful this can be for bringing peace closer. Russia must be forced into peace if Putin wants to continue waging war so badly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: CNN's Frederik Pleitgen has a closer look at the incursion and Russia's response.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ukrainian troops sweeping through Russian territory.
Dear Ukrainians, this soldier starts, and then says his forces went into a Russian supermarket, but that Ukrainian stores have a better selection.
Videos released of several areas inside Russia showing Ukraine soldiers taking down Russian flags and raising Ukraine's. And while the Kremlin claims its forces have held up Ukraine's advances in some areas, posting videos of bombed out alleged Ukrainian vehicles, the numbers the Kremlin does admit are staggering.
Almost 30 villages under Ukrainian control, more than 120,000 Russian civilians evacuated in the Kursk region alone and more under evacuation orders in Belgorod region to the south.
Russian President Vladimir Putin irate, vowing to respond while ripping into Ukraine and its Western allies.
VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): It appears that the enemy, with the help of its Western masters is fulfilling their will. And the West is fighting us with the hands of the Ukrainians. So, it looks like the enemy is seeking to improve its negotiating position for the future.
The enemy will certainly receive a worthy response and all our objectives will undoubtedly be achieved.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): All this as Russia and Ukraine blame each other for what appears to be a major fire at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant southern Ukraine, an area under Russian control. So far, no increased radiation levels have been detected.
Kyiv has published little information about its offensive into Russian territory, but Ukraine's president justifying the incursion.
ZELENSKYY: From the beginning of this summer, and only from the Kursk region, our Sumy region suffered almost 2,000 strikes. Artillery, mortars, drones. We also monitor every missile strike and each search strikes deserves a fair response.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): And it seems Ukraine's response is not over yet, even as Moscow scrambled to prevent further loss of territory. Frederik Pleitgen, CNN, Berlin.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Two high-ranking U.S. senators have been meeting with top Ukrainian officials in Kyiv, President Zelenskyy thanked them for the United States ongoing military assistance. And Democrat Richard Blumenthal and Republican Lindsey Graham expressed their support for the Ukrainian military's offensive in Russia.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D-CT): We want to convey to the administration a message that it should provide more flexibility and authority to Ukraine in using the weapons that have been provided to strike deeper behind the lines that exist right now.
[02:05:04]
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): What I think about curse, bold, brilliant, beautiful, keep it up. Putin started this, kick his ass. Bottom line is to the administration, I appreciate your support. Let these people fight. Give them weapons they need to win a war they can't afford to lose.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Let's bring in global affairs analyst Michael Bociurkiw who is a senior fellow at The Atlantic Council and a former spokesperson for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Appreciate you being with us.
MICHAEL BOCIURKIW, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Thank you for having me.
CHURCH: So, Ukraine's military chief says his troops are now in control of hundreds of square miles of Russian territory in the Kursk region, resulting in Russia ordering evacuations as Ukraine pushes further into the country. What's Ukraine's end game and can it hold this territory?
BOCIURKIW: Sure, good to be with you, Rosemary. Well, the numbers are pretty stunning, about 1000 square kilometers. For your viewers, Rosemary, to put that in perspective, that's equal to the size of about Dallas, Texas or Brisbane in Australia, 44 settlements, and the Ukrainians have been deploying over 10,000 troops from a few brigades. Now, over the night, I received a bit more clarity from the Ukrainian side as to their rationale.
And what they're saying is that the Kursk region, which they've invaded, is the launch site since the start of this summer, only of more than 2000 strikes into Ukraine. We're talking about multiple launch rocket systems, drones, that sort of thing. In fact, overnight, some 38 Russian drones, many of them built by Iran, have attacked Ukraine. So, I think on the one hand Ukraine wants to attack those launch sites, but on the other hand, it also wants to strengthen its hand in ultimate negotiations with Russia, much easier to negotiate when you have seized Russian territory prisoners of war than without.
CHURCH: Yes, indeed. And I want to get to that in just a moment. But how was Russia caught off guard do you think with this Ukrainian advance on its territory and how and when will it likely counter this incursion do you think?
BOCIURKIW: Well, I think what's happened here is Mr. Putin has revealed himself as the master of the bluff, my friend and colleague at the Atlantic Council, John Herbst, he's a former ambassador to the to Ukraine, has frequently described Mr. Putin as a con man using his ability, or his potential capability to use tactical nuclear weapons to scare the west into forcing Ukraine not to escalate further. So, another big, red line has crossed with very little response from Mr. Putin.
I think it's very, very difficult for him to respond, because Russia has deployed so many resources to the Ukrainian front line. And also, we have to remember that years and years of corruption within the Russian defense ministry has basically hollowed it out. Hence the firing of officials, the replacement of a minister not long ago, they're not in very good shape to handle this.
CHURCH: Now, you mentioned Ukraine strengthening its hand. So, if Ukraine is able to hold this territory, does it plan to negotiate in exchange for Ukrainian land occupied by Russia and for prisoners of war, as you mentioned?
BOCIURKIW: Yes. I'm pretty sure that's the strategy right now, to strengthen their hand and bring Russia to the negotiating table as quickly as possible because there are two things happening in the background. One is the U.S. election, where a Trump administration could still get in, and then growing weariness domestically in Ukraine for this war to end. I mean, you know very well, I've been based in Odessa for so long and I see day by day by day, the deterioration of the economy and that sort of thing.
So, it's very, very important to bring this to end. And finally, as those U.S. politicians you had on indicated, there is strong bipartisan support for Ukraine. Ukraine is showing also that it can fight back and it can operate very strategically getting results.
CHURCH: And of course, even if Ukraine ends up retreating, we don't know if that will be the case, but even if it does, has it won the psychological war with this incursion by humiliating President Putin and making the Russian people feel particularly vulnerable.
BOCIURKIW: Oh, absolutely. You know, it's interesting to watch the reaction of Russians is that you don't see any active resistance, or, you know them, you know, fighting Ukrainian troops or blowing things up. It's this passivity that that is happening which is very interesting. But, you know, I think also at the back of people's minds, whether it's in the White House or on the ground in Ukraine, is that Putin can act very irrationally if he's backed into a corner.
[02:10:01] And the fear there is that he still does have that operation nuclear power plant under Russian control, there could be a stage mistake, so to speak, at that plant and that could have devastating consequences. So, everyone has to keep that in mind as well.
CHURCH: And how are Russians dealing with the news that Ukraine is moving inside their country?
BOCIURKIW: Well, that would be nice to know, because there's such a clamp down on Russian social media and the press and even military bloggers. Now it's difficult to come by, but watching the footage again, we see the Russians are very upset because they don't have the resources necessary to move. They don't have fast evacuations. It's also exposing weaknesses in the Russian emergency services.
CHURCH: Michael Bociurkiw, many thanks for joining us. Appreciate your analysis and perspective on this issue.
BOCIURKIW: My pleasure.
CHURCH: Israel says its military is on high alert as the country prepares for a potential attack from Iran. Both Iran and its most powerful proxy, Hezbollah, have been vowing to retaliate after the recent assassinations of two top Hezbollah and Hamas leaders, and there are fears an Iranian attack could risk disrupting Gaza cease fire talks scheduled for this week. Amid the escalating tensions, the U.S. is strengthening its military forces in the Middle East with a guided missile submarine and Carrier Strike Group expected in the region very soon.
The U.S. has also released previously approved $3.5 billion to Israel to spend on weapons and military equipment. The Israeli military says it's taking the threat seriously and is at the highest level of readiness.
CNN's Paula Hancocks is following developments. She joins me now live from London. Good morning to you, Paula. So how is Israel preparing for this potential attack from Iran and its proxies?
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rosemary, we have been hearing from the Israeli military itself, as you say, they say they are on a very high state of readiness, not just in a defensive posture but also potentially in an offensive posture. We also heard that the Israeli military has suspended vacation flights for some of its permanent personnel, assuming that there could be some kind of retaliation from Iran, making sure that everybody is in country.
They haven't, as of yet given a specific warning, though, to civilians to change their behavior at all, but let's listen to what the IDF spokesperson had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REAR ADMIRAL DANIEL HAGARI, ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES SPOKESPERSON (through translator): We've increased the patrols in the Lebanese skies and are prepared to intercept threats in real time. We take the statements of our enemies seriously and are therefore prepared at the highest level of readiness.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANCOCKS: And the White House on Monday also said that they shared Israel's fears, concerns and expectations that there would be some kind of response to the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, the Hamas political leader on Iranian soil. We also know from the Iranian side, they have been very clear saying that this would go ahead, the Supreme Leader saying that that it's a blood vengeance, which has to happen.
We heard on Monday as well that Iran's President spoke to a Vatican official saying that it is Iran's right to respond given what happened. But we have also heard from Tehran officials at the U.N. that this is unrelated to the efforts for a Gaza cease fire, saying that it's unrelated and it should not affect it. Now that potentially could move forward this week, on Thursday, we are still expecting, as of now, a meeting between we know the mediators, the U.S., Egypt and Qatar will be meeting either in Cairo or Doha, and they are expecting both Israel and Hamas to be in attendance.
We've heard from the Israeli Prime Minister's office that they would be sending a delegation. We've also heard from Hamas that they still agree to the proposal -- that was put forward last month that was vocally supported by the U.S. president, also by the U.N. Security Council, putting some doubt on whether they would physically be there on Thursday, saying that they still agree to that previous deal. But we have heard from many countries around the world just how intense this negotiation is at this point and how key it is that this ceasefire and hostage deal is agreed to when we see still some very intense fighting and loss of civilian life in Gaza just over the weekend.
Israeli military did target a school and a mosque which they say had her mass militants operating from, although giving no specific evidence to support that.
[02:15:05]
And more than 90 people were killed that particular strike, raising some significant international condemnation. Rosemary?
CHURCH: Paula Hancocks bringing us that live report from London. Many thanks.
Joining me now from Cairo is H.A. Hellyer, a Middle East Studies scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and a Senior Associate Fellow for security studies at the Royal United Services Institute. Thank you for joining us.
H.A. HELLYER, MIDDLE EAST STUDIES SCHOLAR AT THE CARNEGIE ENDOWMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL PEACE: Good morning.
CHURCH: So, Israel is still bracing for a potential retaliatory attack from Iran nearly two weeks after the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and the killing of the Hezbollah commander in Beirut. Now we don't know when or where these strikes will take place. So, what's the calibration for Iran as it prepares to retaliate while at the same time trying to avoid triggering a wider conflict in the region?
HELLYER: Thank you for having me on your show. So, I think you said that quite well. Iran needs to retaliate in order to continue in the same sort of "deterrence mode" that it thinks it's getting into. So, I think we have to expect that there will be some sort of reprisal, retaliation. But of course, all of this is very how shall I say, theoretical. When you try to calibrate an escalation, you're assuming that you have control over all the variables.
Of course, you don't. And any strike from Iran or any strike from Israel or any strike from any of these actors in the region over the past 10 months has the potential to spin out of control. And I think we're at that point again at the present moment in time. It's why the continual escalation by the Israelis over the past 10 months has been so concerning, even during these negotiations, assassinating the lead negotiator on the other side Ismail Haniyeh, attacking the school that you reporter mentioned which killed at least 100 Palestinians including many children and injuring 200 others.
And none of this makes for a terribly good environment for deescalation and for the success of ceasefire negotiations even though the notion of a ceasefire where one side promises that they will return to war as soon as they get their hostages back is still quite dubious.
CHURCH: And how likely is it do you think that this will be a coordinated attack between Iran and Hezbollah and perhaps even involving other proxies, and how extensive do you expect these retaliatory strikes to be?
HELLYER: So, I just want to be clear. These other groups in the region, Hezbollah, the Houthis, Iraqi militias, I don't want to describe them all as "proxies" because it implies that they don't have agency of their own, and they're simply a part of Iran's command and control. Of course, they are allied to Iran on particular issues, and in some case extremely strong. Hezbollah for example is much closely related to Iran than for example, the Houthis.
So, they will respond, I think, in concert, in the same way that, you know, France and Germany or the U.K. and so on might engage in one particular action together. But I do think that we have to keep in mind they all have slightly different interests involved here. Hezbollah is literally on the border with the Israelis, and is going to be considering that very strongly, the Houthis are not. The Houthis are very, very far away. The Iraqis are very, very far away.
The Iranians are also very far away. So, I think that there are these quite different calibrations that are going to take place. Are they all going to jump in? I don't know. I don't know if that will be considered to be necessary. Are they all going to look at Israeli targets within Israel? Are they going to be looking at targets that are related to the Israelis outside of Israel? Again, unclear and we don't know that. What we do know is that the Iranians send a pretty clear signal at the U.N. where they prioritize the ceasefire negotiations.
And what we've seen over the last 10 months is that all negotiations that have taken place, they're constantly sabotaged. And the sabotage, as Israeli press and Israeli officials have stated very often, is related to how Netanyahu himself is engaging in those negotiations. And that's happened again on this particular occasion, with the assassination, with the attack on the school, but also the raising of new demands within the negotiation that doesn't -- that don't follow the quote, unquote, Biden plan of last month that everyone assumed to agree -- to have agreed to.
So, if we -- if we want this to calm down as it were, I think we really have to look at the key that unlocks all of this. And that's a ceasefire in Gaza.
[02:20:07]
CHURCH: Right. And we will be watching to see what happens on Thursday, of course. H.A. Hellyer, thank you so much for joining us and sharing your perspective on this issue. Appreciate it.
HELLYER: Thank you.
CHURCH: Still to come. Donald Trump goes on a familiar campaign rant as he does a live interview with Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Details just ahead.
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CHURCH: Former President Donald Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk praised each other during a more than two-hour conversation on Monday. They spoke live on Musk's social media platform X, covering a broad range of topics, including energy policy, climate change and immigration with Trump promising the largest deportation in the history of the country. He also recounted the assassination attempt he survived last month.
Trump also lashed out at Vice President Kamala Harris calling her names and slamming Harris' stance on the economy and immigration.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: They're doing it right now, while this third-rate phony candidate, don't forget, I beat -- I beat Biden, he failed in the debate miserably. We cannot have a Democrat. We cannot have her. She's incompetent. She's as bad as by no tax on tips. And all of a sudden, she's making a speech, and there will be no tax on tips. I said that months ago. All of a sudden, for politics, she says, you know, she comes out with what I said, which I think is terrible, and I think it's also hitting them very hard.
These people are fake. Kamala wouldn't have this conversation. She can't, because she's not smart. You know, she's not a smart person, by the way. (END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: At several points in the interview, it sounded as if Trump was slurring his words, the interview was initially delayed by more than 40 minutes due to technical problems. Musk said they were caused by an attack that overwhelmed the company's service.
Well Earlier, I spoke with Julian Zelizer, a CNN political analyst and a professor at Princeton University, and I asked him for his thoughts as Trump tries to use X, formerly known as Twitter, to get his message out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JULIAN ZELIZER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, some of it appeared like a candidate who is really struggling to get attention, to be honest, and the platform is not primary platform for the former president. And then the delays and the problems all added to the sense this was almost a second-rate operation. So, I'm sure he's not happy with it. And then in terms of the conversation, a lot of it was very familiar, going back to some of the former president's favorite lines of attack, and honing in on issues like immigration and inflation, and then just moving from one sort of insult to the other.
[02:25:04]
So, that part was just very familiar and Musk sometimes tried to guide him to different kinds of conclusions.
CHURCH: Donald Trump has been responding to new polls showing Kamala Harris ahead in key battleground states by making massive ad purchases as he struggles to define her and look at ways to fight back. How worried do you think is Trump that Harris will beat him in 84 days and how possible is that outcome?
ZELIZER: Well, I think he is worried. He sees the same numbers. They're now consistent in different kinds of polls and his register, which involves crowd sizes at, you know, events. It includes how much media attention he can get. All of that is not going his way, and he sees it. So, I'm sure he's worried, and you can hear in an interview like this, he hasn't quite figured out what he wants to say. He always had great clarity with opponents, including Hillary Clinton and President Biden.
He doesn't have that with Harris. And this is coming late because of the nature of the campaign. And so, I think he is concerned and I think obviously it's a neck and neck race, so that means either candidate can win right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: And you can watch my full interview with Julian Zelizer next hour.
The FBI says it's investigating allegations that Donald Trump's campaign was hacked by Iran over the weekend. Sources tell CNN that investigators suspect the hackers got access to Trump ally Roger Stone's e-mail then used Stone's account to try to break into a senior Trump campaign official's account. They apparently plan to send that official a link that, if opened, would give them access to that person's computer.
The Trump campaign has declined to comment on whose account was breached. Iran has denied the allegations.
Coming up. Smoke from an out of control wildfire is tainting the air in Athens, Greece. We will bring you the latest on the fire's rapid progress next.
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[02:30:04]
CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Hundreds of firefighters are working to keep an extremely dangerous wildfire from getting any closer to the Greek capital. The fire started Sunday near a town north of Athens and has spread rapidly. Officials have ordered residents in dozens of areas to evacuate as homes and buildings burn. Some European countries are sending aid in the form of emergency air and ground crews. And the country needs all the help it can get as strong winds, heat, and drought conditions create more fuel.
There's a strong threat of more wildfires popping up in the region. Nearly two dozen countries are under heat alerts, right now, as temperatures soar across Europe. In Italy, 17 cities are under a red level alert until Wednesday including Milan, Rome, and Naples. The extreme heat is also impacting Central Europe, including Germany, which is seeing temperatures in the low-30s. That is around 90-degrees Fahrenheit.
Barbie Latza Nadeau joins us now, live from Rome. Good to see you, Barbie. So, what is the latest on these fires in Greece?
BARBIE LATZA NADEAU, CNN REPORTER: Yeah, you know, these fires are very, very concerning and they're not expecting any relief, especially for these firefighters. You can imagine how difficult it is under that heavy gear to be fighting these fires in these record-high wind and heat conditions. Now, they're expecting the temperatures to reach up to 38-degrees Celsius in the area where they're fighting the fires near Athens. They're, of course, trying to keep them away from the city.
This is a high-tourist concentration right now at this time of year. And so, you've got a mix of residents and tourists and people who are trying (ph) to spend their summer there, being evacuated from those very homes. But they're not expecting any rain. They're not expecting any let up in the temperatures and they're certainly not expecting these high winds that have been pushing these fires to calm down, Rosemary.
CHURCH: And Barbie, what more can you tell us about the heat in Italy and of course, across Southern Europe? LATZA NADEAU: Yeah, you know, as you said, Italy has 17 cities under red alert. That's expected to climb up to 22 cities. Most of these are tourist destination cities, by Thursday. Now, a red alert here means that the temperatures have been extremely high for at least three days. And I can tell you firsthand, it's hot. This is just unrelenting heat and it doesn't cool down at night. They are telling people who are in vulnerable health conditions, elderly people to try to stay indoors.
And not everyone has air conditioning here in Italy, in parts of Southern Europe. So that's also a big concern. If people can't cool down, it just is very strenuous on the health -- on their health and on health care system. We've had people reported going to the emergency room for heat stroke and things of that nature. Authorities are saying stay out of the sun from around ten in the morning until six at night. But even then, I can tell you, Rosemary, it's not any better in the evening.
CHURCH: All right. Thanks to Barbie Nadeau in Rome with that report. Appreciate it.
Well, several Caribbean islands are under warnings and watches for Tropical Storm Ernesto. It's moving toward the Leeward Islands with top sustained winds around 65 kilometers per hour. But, it will likely get stronger in the days ahead. After the Leeward, Ernesto is forecast to impact the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico by late Tuesday.
As North Korea tries to recover from weeks of heavy rain and flooding, leader Kim Jong-Un has been cast as a savior by state media, meeting with displaced families, delivering aid and promising housing to thousands affected. But with a regime shrouded in secrecy and Kim rejecting any foreign assistance, the question now is how much devastation is the world not seeing. CNN's Will Ripley has that report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On his emerald green bulletproof train, loaded with supplies from the capital Pyongyang, North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un is portrayed as a hero on state TV, traveling to areas devastated by flooding. Record rains left entire towns and villages under water, just miles from the Chinese border in the northwest of the country. State media reports thousands of evacuations, but no deaths, a claim impossible to verify with no foreign aid organizations allowed in.
Kim delivering a defiant speech from the railcar carrying his armored limousine, declaring with confidence, North Korea is fully self- reliant, rejecting all offers of international aid, even from allies, China and Russia, at least for now.
Some fear Kim's deepening military partnership with fellow strongman Vladimir Putin could be giving his economy and confidence a boost. Russia effectively vetoed United Nation's sanctions monitoring earlier this year, opening the door for illicit trade, the U.S. says, perhaps emboldening Kim to shut the door on international aid and diplomacy. [02:35:00]
LINDA THOMAS-GREENFIELD, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS: We are prepared to have an open dialog with the North Koreans without preconditions. We want to pursue diplomacy.
RIPLEY (voice-over): U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., Linda Thomas- Greenfield, visited the Korean Demilitarized Zone this spring, telling outfront at the time, any top-level meeting like Former President Trump's summits with Kim would require lots of legwork.
THOMAS-GREENFIELD: Before any meeting like that could happen, we have to have engagements at other levels.
RIPLEY (voice-over): Trump signaling he'd be willing to engage directly with Kim if re-elected.
DONALD TRUMP, (R) FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES AND PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I got along very well with North Korea, Kim Jong-Un -- I get along with him. He'd like to see me back too. I think he misses me.
RIPLEY (voice-over): Vice President Kamala Harris taking a decidedly unfriendly stance during her visit to the DMZ in 2022.
KAMALA HARRIS, (D) VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES AND PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: In the North, we see a brutal dictatorship, rampant human rights violations, and an unlawful weapons program that threatens peace and stability.
RIPLEY (voice-over): Kim blasted South Korean media for speculating about massive flooding casualties, calling it a smear campaign from a dirty, rubbish country. North Korea even tried sending another round of trash balloons, following South Korea's offer of humanitarian aid. South Korean media reports shifting winds blew all, but ten of them, back.
South Korea's unification ministry accuses Kim of trying to shift focus away from the devastating flood damage, visible even in these carefully edited state TV images. This is what North Korea wants the world to see. Kim visiting flood survivors living in tents under the sweltering summer heat, as many wonder what state media is not showing, how many people may be suffering for the sake of self- reliance.
Will Ripley, CNN, Taipei.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: One of the Kremlin's fiercest critics is speaking out after being freed in the largest U.S.-Russia prisoner exchange since the Cold War. Vladimir Kara-Murza and his wife sat down with CNN's Erin Burnett, and he described some of the psychological torture he endured.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) VLADIMIR KARA-MURZA, KREMLIN CRITIC: There's nobody to talk to. There's nothing to do. There's nowhere to go. And you know, when people talk about torture in prisons, usually what most people have in mind is the physical, the physical torture, right, the physical pain inflicted, and there is a lot of that in Russian prison system under Putin. There has a lot of that. Russian prison system is notorious for that.
But for those political prisoners who are sort of better known and on home there is more attention being paid, the tortures are of a different kind, it's psychological. And I can tell you that mental and psychological torture can be no better than physical one. And so primarily, it's this enforced solitude where you just have no one to speak to. And I think it was Aristotle who said that human beings are social creatures. We need communication just as much as we need oxygen of food or water.
And when you have absolutely nobody to like exchange a single word with, I have to say, I mean, it really starts to get on your mind. There is a reason why, according to international law, more specifically the United Nation's Minimal Standard Rules and Prisoners, solitary confinement for more than 15 days is considered a form of torture.
ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST OF "OUTFRONT": Do you think that there will ever be a time when you can or would return to Russia?
KARA-MURZA: Absolutely no doubt. You know, when our plane was taking off from Vnukovo, the government airport in Moscow, the FSB convoy, the man who was sitting next to me, we all had a personal FSB Guard in (inaudible) a little more relaxed there. And as our plane was taken off, he turned to me and said, look out the window, this is the last time you seeing you are your motherland. And I just loved on this guy's face and I said, look, man, I am a historian education. I don't only think, I don't only believe, I know that Russia will change and I will be back in my homeland. And as I told him, it's going to be much quicker than you ever think.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Kara-Murza's wife, Evgenia, said they would keep fighting, what she called, Vladimir Putin's evil. But first, she says their family is going to take it easy for a few weeks and work on processing their trauma.
And we'll be right back.
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[02:41:30]
CHURCH: Archaeologists in the ancient city of Pompeii in Italy have unearthed these skeletal remains of a man and woman buried in the volcanic eruption almost 2,000 years ago. The woman's remains were found on a bed in a small villa surrounded by gold, silver, and bronze coins. The man was laying at the foot of the bed, the once thriving city near Naples was buried by volcanic ash when Mount Vesuvius erupted in the year 79 A.D.
A Bosnian businessman has taken one of Vincent Van Gogh's most famous paintings and turned it into a nature park. Van Gogh's 'The Starry Night' can now be seen amid the green hills and meadows near the town of Visoko. The man behind the park says it's an idea he has been working on for 20 years. It stretches ten hectares or about 24 acres, and features 130,000 lavender bushes, medicinal and aromatic herbs, and 13 lakes created from existing natural streams. The park will focus on art programs and promoting Central Bosnia's cultural heritage.
CHURCH: I want to thank you so much for joining us. I'm Rosemary Church. "World Sport" is coming up next. Then I will be back in about 15 minutes with more "CNN Newsroom." Do stick around.
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