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Ukraine Warns on Russia and North Korea Ties; Prince Harry, Others Ordered to Pay the Daily Mail $13 Million; Reliance on Migrant Workers Polarizes Opinions in Spain; Iranian Photojournalist Facing 15 Years in Prison Speaks Out; Murder Trial of Lindsay Clancy Continues; Trump Administration Designates Hezbollah an Iranian Proxy; Space Becomes Part of Earth's Infrastructure Through A.I.; Esports World Cup Wraps Up in Paris. Aired 10a-11a ET
Aired August 21, 2026 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[10:00:30]
CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Welcome to the second hour of the show. I'm Christina Macfarlane in London where the time is just
after 3:00 in the afternoon.
Breaking news this last hour, Prince Harry, Elton John and five other public figures are ordered to pay the "Daily Mail's" legal costs, with an
initial payment of $13 million in the coming days.
A warning from Kyiv, Russia could be asking for tens of thousands of North Korean troops to help fight its war with Ukraine.
And migrants who've been sleeping in the open in Spain's territory of Ceuta are being moved to temporary shelters. We look at how mass immigration is
polarizing politics.
And jurors in the Lindsay Clancy trial returned to court today after hearing just one witness on Thursday, as the case looks to wrap up early
next week.
But we begin with what Ukraine says is a new threat to its people as it endures yet another wave of Russian attacks. A senior Ukrainian official
says Vladimir Putin may ask North Koreas Kim Jong-un for up to 50,000 more troops to boost the Russian war effort. Well, that's on top of the 8500
already in Russia. The official says the current North Korean contingent includes a drone unit that could play a role in attacks inside Ukraine.
Nick Paton Walsh is back with us this hour.
So, Nic, obviously this warning from Ukraine coming as Donald Trump has been making new overtures towards Kim Jong-un. So tell us more.
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes. I mean, obviously that broad familiarity now between Washington and Pyongyang
not helping Ukraine here, who are seeing Russia resilient in terms of its military industrial complex and seemingly constantly able to fill new
troops to the front line despite horrific casualty rates, still turning to North Korea for extra assistance.
Now, these 8500 troops currently on Russian soil are part of 25,000 that have been rotated since October 2024, when indeed we first had the signs of
North Korea sending troops to assist Russia's war. They were on the territory of Kursk inside Russia used to ultimately repel a Ukrainian
invasion of Russian territory in Kursk. We understand from a senior Ukrainian official that new troops, as they arrive, will likely stay on
Russian territory.
But they'll come with capabilities that could be very damaging for Ukraine. One of those, ballistic missiles, 90 personnel, this Ukrainian senior
intelligence official told me, have been sent to Voronezh already to assist with dozens of missiles, potentially KN-23, KN-24 ballistic missiles, some
of which are already being fired into Ukraine seeking to exploit the big gap in their air defenses.
Separately, 400 North Korean personnel are now part of a drone unit that the Ukrainian intelligence official says are flying recon unit over
Ukrainian territory and possibly may be involved in attack missions as well. There was a hint of that in October last year, too. But a sign of
this growing North Korean assistance and the official tells me that in their meeting in September, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-
un are likely to discuss future cooperation and the Kremlin are going to ask for 50,000 more potentially in total.
That's a huge contribution. In return, we understand, according to this Ukrainian official, that North Korea has already got the Pantsir one air
defense system and is asking for the S-400 sophisticated missile system. So a sign here of a burgeoning relationship between these two states, perhaps
a sign of how Russia is still in need of whatever help it can possibly get. Not at all self-sufficient.
And also, too, how North Korea is using this particular war, the horrific advances in drone technology, the violence that's never been seen before on
the front line to educate its troops in ways that are, frankly not, to the knowledge of any other Asian army at this particular point, giving them
some kind of edge. And that too will leave South Korea concerned, as well as this continued friendship, it seems, between Washington and Pyongyang.
MACFARLANE: And Nick, as you mentioned, I mean, the numbers here are staggering. That tells us it gives us a picture of what this means for
Russia at this point in the war. But when it comes to the North Korean drone attack units themselves, have we seen that kind of deployment already
from North Korea being used in Ukraine?
PATON WALSH: Yes. There was a suggestion in October of last year that in the Sumy region, North Korean troops may have been used to deploy in that
kind of way.
[10:05:02]
But the official we spoke to said, look, you know, you just don't know who's flying the drone. The actual model of the drone is often the same,
but this is the intelligence that they've been gathering as the likely capabilities of these North Korean troops as they are deployed. And they
will be deployed, we understand, around the Kursk area as well as to Voronezh, where that particular missile unit is being used.
In fact, in Voronezh, too, the Ukrainian official said that there have been signs of significant -- 10 significant airlift deliveries to an airdrome
near there, too, possibly new missiles coming in. That will leave Ukrainians deeply concerned because of that ballistic missile threat being
something because of the lack of U.S. made supplied Patriot interceptors almost zero that Ukraine has. That leaves them deeply vulnerable to these
missile attacks.
MACFARLANE: All right. Nick Paton Walsh, appreciate it. Thank you.
We have some breaking news to report now. Prince Harry, Elton John and five other public figures must pay the "Daily Mail's" massive legal costs after
losing their privacy lawsuit against the publisher. A high court judge just ruled that they must make an initial payment of $13 million in the coming
days. This comes after a judge threw out the claimants' joint lawsuit. He said they had failed to prove allegations that the "Mail's" reporters had
hacked their phones and used other unlawful methods to get stories.
CNN's Max Foster has more from London.
MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's a high figure. It's only an initial figure because actually the ANL, which runs the "Daily Mail," that
won this case, are actually asking for something like $50 million in damages. So this is the first $13 million. We'll wait to hear what more the
judge awards.
This $13 million will be covered by insurance that the claimants, including Prince Harry took out. But depending on how much more that they will have
to pay, they would have to pay that themselves, which would be a huge sum, not necessarily for Elton John or even Prince Harry, but for some of the
other claimants like Doreen Lawrence, who doesn't have that sort of resource. So we'll wait for the next tranche of payment. But initially they
had offered eight million pounds. ANL had asked for 9.9 million pounds. They got 9.5 million pounds. So the judge is falling on the side of ANL,
Associated Newspapers, on this one.
So it's looking pretty damaging against the claimants here who lost on all their counts. They had accused this newspaper group of illegal news
gathering, and they didn't win on any of the cases. There were more than 50 counts effectively in this case because they were using 50 news stories
also to try to hinge this whole case on. And Prince Harry and that whole team lost that. They did actually call this a whitewash after we got the
judgment, initial judgment.
I'm not expecting a comment from Prince Harry today, but we may hear something from the legal team today or possibly when they hear about the
rest of the payment.
MACFARLANE: Yes. And the timing of this is pretty unfortunate in many ways, Max, because it comes just a day after we had that bombshell announcement
yesterday that Meghan and Harry would be relocating and moving back to the U.K.. I mean, I know there's a lot of privacy and, you know, secrecy around
how and when this might be happening, but are you hear anything new or anything more yet on that move?
FOSTER: Well, their team is very much now concerned that the story is out, that the children will be protected. So they've written to British
newspaper editors asking for them not to name the school that the children will be attending. They've also asked them not to locate the house where
they'll be living in. So this does all sort of tie together because one of the pressures that Harry and Meghan felt in the U.K. was from the British
media and unfair treatment from them.
That's partly why Prince Harry took the tabloids to the courts. He's lost that case, but he is appealing to the British media more generally for
around their return to the U.K. to respect their privacy, and they're very much pinning this on the children who are out of any sort of controversy or
tension between the British media and the couple, and they should have their childhood protected, their safety protected, and asking the British
media not to name where they live or indeed where they go to school.
We'll wait to see what comes out of that because if something leaks, it's a big question for the newspaper editors about whether or not they decide to
locate the family because this isn't so much about the parents or the newspapers, but they will have concerns about the welfare of the children.
MACFARLANE: Yes. Max Foster there.
Now Spanish police are helping to move hundreds of migrants into temporary shelters from a makeshift camp on the beach in the tiny North African
territory of Ceuta. This comes three weeks after migrants surged across the border from Morocco into the Spanish enclave.
[10:10:03]
Images of those crossing set off outrage across parts of Europe, even though many of those same areas rely heavily on migrant labor.
CNN's Jomana Karadsheh traveled to southern Spain to meet some of the migrants.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Chaos and utter human despair at Spain's doors, scenes that fast became fuel for the far-right
and growing anti-immigration voices on both sides of the Atlantic. But behind these images lies a more complex reality, as we found on our journey
to try to understand Europe's immigration debate and what drives so many to risk everything to get here.
We are in the middle of a sea of plastic so vast it's visible from space. Greenhouses everywhere you look. This is Almeria in southern Spain. It is
often described as Europe's vegetable garden because of this concentration of greenhouses. It produces millions of tons of fresh fruit and vegetables
every year, enough to feed half a billion people.
(Voice-over): In the shadow of one of Europe's agricultural heartlands exists a darker side rarely seen. Slums like this one that have been around
for years, home to part of the massive African workforce helping feed this continent. In a scene of squalor in modern-day Europe, we find migrants
from North and West Africa.
In his previous life, Amoateng Foster was a math teacher in Ghana. Two years ago, he left it all behind, saying he paid smugglers about $2,300 for
a perilous journey through Libya and across the Mediterranean, eventually making it to Spain.
AMOATENG FOSTER, GHANAIAN MIGRANT WORKER: I'm not going to recommend anybody to do so. Very dangerous.
KARADSHEH (voice-over): He shows us around this rundown shack he shares with another worker.
A. FOSTER: So this is my place.
KARADSHEH (voice-over): Amoateng's story is that of so many parents enduring these subhuman conditions all for the future of his kids, he says,
to save enough to put them through college.
A lot of people are saying, we don't want any migrants. Close the borders. I mean, how does it make you feel?
A. FOSTER: It becomes a little bit worrying. Everything that they are doing here is farming. And the workers that they are using, it's all of us were
immigrants. This white people, they can't do it. The government saw that we are helping them, they also helping us. It's a mutual benefit.
KARADSHEH (voice-over): The Spanish economy relies on migrant workers so heavily that the government announced an amnesty in April, offering legal
status to hundreds of thousands already in the country. Amoateng hopes being here legally would bring him rights and respect.
A. FOSTER: If you are outside the fence, you may think that it's rosy here. It's not rosy here. Look at the environment that we live in. But when you
are outside, you may think that, oh, Europe is Europe. No, no, no, no, there's no roses here because you suffer before you can get a cent. Do you
know how much they are giving us -- how much they give us here? To work in this farm for one hour, they give you five euros.
This hot environment like this, you kneel down like this, work continuously just like that, and they give you five euro.
KARADSHEH (voice-over): We get a glimpse into that grueling reality Amoateng described inside one of the countless greenhouses. These men spend
hours delicately planting tomatoes. Their hard labor will soon fill the shelves of European supermarkets. In the sweltering summer heat,
temperatures must remain constant in here.
We've been here for a few minutes, and this heat is intense. I'm sweating, and I can't begin to imagine what it's like for these guys working in these
conditions, in this heat. Apparently, it hit 44 degrees or 111 Fahrenheit earlier today, and they have to do this for hours and hours.
(Voice-over): The owner of this greenhouse told us he only hires documented workers and pays the legal minimum wage. But across Almeria, you find so
many who are undocumented, vulnerable to exploitation, some of it happening in plain sight. At roundabouts and street corners, they wait to be picked
up for off-the-book jobs that pay well below the minimum wage. Off-camera, business owners told us they pay what they can afford to still make a
profit.
The arrival of foreign labor helped revive a region that was once in decline. All around here, you find thriving migrant communities that have
left their mark on this place. And the far-right has seized on that. In suburbs like La Canada, that overwhelmingly voted for the populist radical
right party Vox in the last election, we find pensioners echoing the rhetoric of these parties.
[10:15:05]
"If they can work and have papers, great. The rest is an invasion," they tell us. "They are people who don't want to integrate."
It's a narrative that's been gaining traction across Europe. Fears of demographic change and migrants being blamed for the rise in the cost of
living. Scattered graffiti hints at brewing tensions. This one reads, "no Muslims, no NGOs." Perhaps a message for the groups on the front line of
this crisis, like the Mercedarian Sisters of Charity. The calls for help to this Catholic NGO helping migrants get back on their feet seem non-stop
during our visit.
SISTER FRANCISCA, MERCEDARIAN SISTERS OF CHARITY (through text translation): No, I'm sorry, my boy.
KARADSHEH (voice-over): Sister Francisca turned 80 this month, but there's no rest for this woman on a mission.
SISTER FRANCISCA (through text translation): The most common thing is that ask us for is a sandwich, and they tell us, I'm hungry.
KARADSHEH: So they come saying we're hungry, we want a sandwich.
SISTER FRANCISCA (through text translation): Of course, they come here asking for something to eat.
KARADSHEH (voice-over): At their food distribution center, the hungry queue for donations from local supermarkets. Amal tells us she hasn't eaten
today. Sometimes she doesn't have money to buy water and bread. She had to leave her 6- and 4-year-old children in Morocco, she tells us, and came
here on a contract to pick strawberries. After a dispute with her employer, she found herself on the street begging for any work.
"It was poverty that brought me here," she says. "If I had something back home, I wouldn't have come."
Sister Francisca remembers a time when there were no migrants here, then the greenhouses came. The road to a better life has led so many to this
miserable place. It is in this land of plastic and shattered dreams where Europe's paradox is laid bare.
Jomana Karadsheh, CNN, Almeria, Spain.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MACFARLANE: An important report there from Jomana Karadsheh.
Now let's turn to an extraordinary interview with an Iranian photojournalist who refuses to be silenced. My colleague Jim Sciutto spoke
with Yalda Moaiery, who has spent more than two decades documenting life under the Islamic regime with images like these. Last month, she herself
became a target when an Iranian court sentenced her to 15 years in prison. But as she appeals, she refuses to stop telling the story of what's
happening in her country. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
YALDA MOAIERY, IRANIAN PHOTOJOURNALIST: All of my interviews, all of my photos, all the things that I did as a photojournalist is like crime for
them. And these are all of my charges, including talking with you.
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: That's Yalda Moaiery, a photojournalist I've spoken to over the course of the last year, as she has documented life
under the Iranian regime. She now faces a sentence of 15 years in prison for her work. Her sentence was handed down under a law passed after last
year's 12-day war between Iran and the U.S. and Israel that Iranian authorities say targets cooperation with hostile states. Back in January,
we talked about the crackdown on protests against the regime.
MOAIERY: I've never been such a hopeless person in my life, and all the people that I'm talking to them, people in the streets, my friends,
everyone, people are so hopeless, so sad. The main question is what can we do?
SCIUTTO: We spoke again with some difficulty due to government restrictions on internet access after the U.S. and Israel launched another broader war
against her country.
MOAIERY: People want the war to be continued because they tried many peaceful ways to change this regime, and they (INAUDIBLE).
SCIUTTO: When I spoke to her yesterday, however, she was far less optimistic.
Do you believe that the war ultimately and people that you interview, do they believe the war has made the Iranian regime weaker or stronger?
MOAIERY: Stronger? Unfortunately, we are facing the most worst version of the Islamic republic that I haven't seen. I mean, I am the child of the
Islamic republic. I was born some years just after the regime took power. But I've never seen such a thing in my life.
SCIUTTO: Just hours before our conversation, she told me that Iranian authorities had threatened to raid her home if she spoke to the
international media again, but she was defiant, telling me that an interview would help her situation.
MOAIERY: As an independent journalist, we do not have any kind of beacon. We have only the media and truth.
[10:20:03]
And this is the thing that I always try to keep. And I think when I inform the people about what is happening in my country, what is happening about
me or my case.
SCIUTTO: I asked her more than once if speaking to me again would put her in greater danger, but she believes it could help not just her, but other
journalists living under regimes like Iran's.
MOAIERY: It will help to the other journalists are all around the world who are living under the authoritarian, you know, dictatorial regime and
countries. I think it's like a global solution for all of us. And of course, it will help. Don't forget. Thank you.
SCIUTTO: We won't forget you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MACFARLANE: And this just in to CNN, several people have been wounded in Sweden in a sword attack at a school. It happened in central Sweden about
170 kilometers from Stockholm. We'll bring you more information as it comes in here to CNN.
And when we come back, the murder trial of a woman accused of killing her three young children continues in a court in Massachusetts. We'll have the
latest.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MACFARLANE: The murder trial of Lindsay Clancy accused of killing her three young children in 2023 continues today in a Massachusetts court. Her
defense team has argued she was suffering from postpartum psychosis. The jury was sent home Thursday after hearing from one witness as the case
nears its conclusion.
CNN's Brynn Gingras is across the latest from New York.
So, Brynn, just bring us up to date with what we heard and learned yesterday in court.
BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. First, Christina, let's get you today because court has started actually here on the East Coast in
Boston. Essentially, what's happened so far is that they're having a little bit of technical difficulties, but they are trying to bring up a witness
via Zoom. This is expected to be the last defense witness before it rests its case. And it's a key one. It is a forensic psychiatrist named Philip
Resnick.
Now, he was key in the Andrea Yates murder trial. If you remember, she was a woman who killed or drowned her five children back in 2001 and their
defense at that time was pleading similar to what Lindsay Clancy has been pleading is that it was an insanity case, and she actually won that case
and was sent to a psychiatric hospital. So we are expecting this Resnick -- this witness, rather, to be extremely key to the defense as they draw
parallels between that case, Andrea Yates and Lindsay Clancy. So we're going to keep an eye out for that.
But as far as yesterday, it was a big day in court for the defense. They only called one witness, but it was key. It was a chaplain who met with
Lindsay a week after the killings happened back in 2023, has since met with Lindsay hundreds of times, and has formed somewhat of a relationship with
her.
[10:25:04]
And she is the second person that we have seen on the stand talk about how Lindsay expressed to her that she did hear voices before she committed the
acts. Take a listen to the exchange here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHEILA CAVANAUGH, HOSPITAL CHAPLAIN: She said to me as I held her hand to comfort her, I am so glad my children are safe.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did she make any other statements to you?
CAVANAUGH: She did. She alluded to having heard a voice and the voice, according to Lindsay, told her that if she did not follow the command,
neither she nor her children would be safe.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GINGRAS: Now, when the prosecution could cross-examine that witness, they basically were trying to poke holes into what she was saying, asking why
she and her dozens and dozens of times have met with Lindsay never wrote down that she heard voices, and her answer to that was essentially we meet
in the faith based way. So I wouldn't be writing down privileged conversations like that.
So we'll see how that lands with the jury. But again, on the witness or on the stand, rather soon, as soon as they can get these technical
difficulties figured out, we're going to hear from Philip Resnick. And again, well-known in this forensic psychiatry world, has testified in some
major cases, Scott Peterson, Ted Kaczynski, I mean, built a career really doing this sort of testimony.
So this is going to be a good day for the -- it's going to be a good day for it to listen to this testimony and I'm sure a key witness for the
defenses case before it rests.
MACFARLANE: Yes, it could be, by the sound of it, quite a pivotal day.
Brynn, appreciate you bringing up to us -- us up to date. Thank you.
GINGRAS: Yes.
MACFARLANE: All right. Still to come on CONNECT THE WORLD, new U.S. sanctions on Hezbollah and a new warning from the Trump administration.
We'll take a closer look at that.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MACFARLANE: Welcome back. I'm Christina Macfarlane in London and you are watching CONNECT THE WORLD. These are your headlines this hour.
A senior Ukrainian official says Russian President Vladimir Putin may ask North Korea's Kim Jong-un for up to 50,000 more troops to boost the Russia
war effort. That's on top of the 8500 already in Russia. The official says the current North Korean contingent includes a drone unit that could play a
role in attacks inside Ukraine.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is urging China, Iran's number one trading partner, to, quote, "get with the program." President Trump is
demanding that other countries stop doing business with Tehran, threatening unspecified consequences if they defy him. Beijing is pushing back, saying
pressure tactics are not the solution.
Prince Harry, Elton John and five other public figures have been told to pay massive legal costs after losing their privacy lawsuit against British
newspaper publisher.
[10:30:08]
A judge just ordered them to make an initial payment of $13 million to the owner of the "Daily Mail." He said they had failed to prove allegations
that reporters used unlawful methods to get stories.
Now the Trump administration has imposed new sanctions on Hezbollah in Lebanon and redesignated the group as an Iranian proxy. It is meant to
signal that militant group is an extension of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and not a standalone Lebanese resistance movement. Over recent
weeks, the White House has been working to broker peace talks between Israel and Lebanon.
For more on this, I want to bring in Firas Maksad. He's the managing director for the Middle East at the Eurasia Group.
Firas, great to have you with us this Friday. I just want to start there on that point. Would you please explain to our viewers the significance here
of the U.S. formally redesignating Hezbollah as an Iranian proxy?
FIRAS MAKSAD, MANAGING DIRECTOR FOR MIDDLE EAST, EURASIA GROUP: Thank you, Christina. I think the point of emphasis here is the importance of
Hezbollah's continuing use of a financial network in order to rejuvenate itself and rebuild and rearm in Lebanon. This is a result of an
investigation that has been ongoing for almost a year and a half.
While Hezbollah has lost its ability to veto the decisions of the Lebanese government, it continues to be able to smuggle money into Lebanon, a
support from Iran. And this courier network, utilizing flights coming in from Turkey was key. The U.S. undersecretary for Treasury, John Hurley,
believed about $1 billion was funneled through from Iran to Hezbollah last year.
And so this is a U.S. effort to tackle that problem as part of tightening the noose not only around Iran, which we now see the Trump administration
engaged in economic warfare against, but also Iran's proxies throughout the region. Hezbollah being key among them.
MACFARLANE: Yes. So, look, we've heard Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent threatening tough sanctions, the toughest sanctions ever, in fact, on Iran,
warning countries that continue doing business with Tehran of tremendous economic consequences. We've also seen the UAE this week suspend trade and
financial transactions with Iran.
What do you think this level of economic pressure is going to mean for Iran's ability to project power across the region, when obviously it's very
much facing financial problems internally at home?
MAKSAD: You know, Christina, a lot has been said about Iran's resilience in this war taking on the U.S., the global superpower, and Israel combined.
Surviving a decapitation strike against its leadership and continuing to be able to stand up and fight against the U.S. and Israel. Economically,
however, it is much more vulnerable and I think the Trump administration has realized that the economic tools, economic warfare is likely much more
-- is much more likely, I should say, to yield results with Iran rather than the military options or lack thereof, I should say.
The U.S., through the southern Omani channel in the Strait of Hormuz, is currently being able to get quite a big number of oil, a significant number
of oil, Gulf oil, out to markets, while Iran right now is being -- its exports of oil are nearly zero. So this is not a sustainable situation for
Iran. And I do believe that things are likely to come to a head. There's a fork in the road in the next couple of months where Iran will have to
either settle and accept a compromise, or perhaps expand the conflict and intensify the military confrontation with the U.S. throughout the region
and perhaps even beyond.
MACFARLANE: Well, given that, Firas, as you're saying, you know, fork in the road that could escalate really from this point, what can we expect
other countries in the region to do next? What might their next steps be?
MAKSAD: Yes, of course, a point of concern here is the energy facilities in the GCC countries like Saudi Arabia, the UAE, which you mentioned, Qatar,
Kuwait, Bahrain, others, a significant portion of the expected Iranian retaliation should in fact we witness military escalation in the weeks and
months ahead will target these energy facilities and even civilian facilities, desalination and power plants in these countries.
So these regional actors right now are busy standing up their defenses, investing in anti-drone technology, in surface, I should say anti-missile
air defenses. And so standing up that deterrence is going to be key as we approach that fork in the road.
[10:35:01]
There's also obviously the conflict in Yemen, a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran. And that's something that can also heat up as a result in
the weeks and months ahead.
MACFARLANE: Just a quick word on Syria while we have you. I mean, you'll have seen the Syrian foreign minister, Assad Hassan al-Shaibani, visiting
Pakistan. How significant do you think that visit is? And does it signal Syria is now, you know, being drawn more firmly into a new sort of regional
alignment as we consider that -- the Mecca Agreement?
MAKSAD: Christina, you're absolutely right. Two emerging blocks are forming in the Middle East. One is much more closely aligned with Israel, the
Abrahamic Coalition, part of the Abraham Accords. The UAE, Bahrain, Israel and others are part of that. The other one is looking to balance against
sort of what they view as unchecked Israeli power in the region and a seemingly lack of willingness in Washington to do anything about it. And so
we saw this coming together.
You referenced the Mecca Agreement, a defensive alliance ostensibly against Iran, as part of the deterrence I just mentioned to stand up their
deterrence against any Iranian escalation, but also, longer term, it's well-understood that this is meant to balance against Israel. And so as
Israel continues to conduct military strikes within Syria, the latest only two days ago against what they believe to be Turkish presence on Syrian
territory, we see Syria now moving closer and signaling that it's more likely to join Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey in that coalition to try
and balance against unchecked Israeli power as they see it.
MACFARLANE: Firas, it's so important to understand the maneuvering going on in the background, you know, on the face of this war. We appreciate you
breaking it down for us this Friday. Thank you very much.
And next on CONNECT THE WORLD, how satellite technology combined with artificial intelligence in space could reshape life here on Earth.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MACFARLANE: Space is no longer just about exploration. It is increasingly becoming part of the critical infrastructure we rely on here on Earth. From
connecting billions of devices to using A.I. powered satellites to monitor disasters, infrastructure and cities, the industry is expanding rapidly.
And in this episode of "Intelligent Future," Becky Anderson spoke to Space42 managing director Karim Michel Sabbagh about how satellite
technology and artificial intelligence could reshape life on the ground.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KARIM MICHEL SABBAGH, MANAGING DIRECTOR, SPACE42: Super excited would be an understatement because we don't really grasp how far we can go.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Larger, more powerful rockets.
[10:40:01]
SABBAGH: You get to see the impact that what you're doing in space is really moving the needle for societies and economies. So it's not a science
experiment. It's not a theoretical thought. It's really making a difference in day-to-day's life.
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Thanks for being with us on "Intelligent Future." Let's just start by placing ourselves here on Earth
in the story that is space and space investment. In 2026 it does feel as if it's one of the most exciting sectors globally. So how have we got here?
SABBAGH: Well, we can think about space today as part of the critical infrastructure that is embedded in modern life. The first domain is
connectivity. So allowing us to connect from point A to point B on anywhere on Earth or in the air or at sea. The second domain covers geospatial
intelligence, i.e. the ability to understand what's happening on Earth through observation and sensing using assets in space.
And the third domain that is navigation and timing or PNT. And this is what you and I use in our everyday practices to understand on a map where we are
located, how we get from point A to point B.
ANDERSON: It feels to me as if we've moved from a world where it was a sort of government-run sector into a world which is ripe for investment, and
that investment is being made by commercial companies these days. What does that mean in 2026?
SABBAGH: In most recent years, governments paid more attention to the space domain by recognizing that it's one of the five sovereign domains, land,
sea, air, cyberspace, and space. But nevertheless, notwithstanding the sovereign value or the sovereign importance of space, it is indeed where
the private sector can make the biggest difference.
And so for us at Space42, bringing together satellite communication, Earth observation, and A.I. is a first in our industry because by design these
three domains were distinct and remain distinct. And here we are supporting the government sector as well as private -- or private sector applications.
ANDERSON: There's broadband connectivity, and I've read that something like two and half billion people are still, you know, not served as well as they
might be. How big a market is that for you guys?
SABBAGH: So the Direct-to-Device historically existed through our legacy, Thuraya product, which effectively meant that you could use technology and
spectrum in space and provide connectivity to modify devices. So the satellite phones that are available in the marketplace. And what happened
in recent years is that there was a coalescing of the standards between space based or satellite based technologies and terrestrial technologies.
And for the first time in the history of the satellite industry, we have now a common standard, which effectively means that by the end of this
decade, a satellite signal for the purpose of communication will be able to connect directly to an unmodified device. The device that you and I use in
everyday life, which, you know, moves us from serving a few hundred thousand or a few single-digit million users to now being able to serve
billions of users, billions of cars, billions of IOT devices. And if you want to put a number to this, it will be in tens of billions in terms of
yearly revenues.
Space42 is positioned front and center in that particular revolution in tandem with Viasat. So, in fact, recently we've announced Equitas because,
you know, from the idea of an equitable and accessible network, and it will be the first time that there is a shared infrastructure between two private
satellite operators with the idea that by the end of the decade, we'll be able to deliver communication services to billions of users.
ANDERSON: Morgan Stanley suggested that the space economy is worth or could be worth as much as $2 trillion by 2040. A significant part of that sort of
economy will be, as I understand it, in what's known as Earth observation opportunities, data A.I. powered these days that can drive significant
savings for governments and other organizations.
So can we talk about what you're doing at Space42 when it comes to Earth observation?
[10:45:04]
SABBAGH: There is a number of service providers today who would make available to you sensing data from space. So these are private companies
based in Europe, based in Asia, based in the U.S., where you can task their satellites to take a picture, to take a radar measurement of a certain
location on Earth, either because you are managing agricultural fields or for defense security applications. Whatever is the case.
And increasingly in recent years, there has been an emphasis that, notwithstanding the availability of these commercial services that nations
should also have the ability to have sovereign access to such services. And therefore Space42, under the guidance of the UAE leadership, launched the
project, which today is known as the Foresight Constellation, which is comprised of seven SAR based satellites.
SAR is the acronym for synthetic aperture radio, which effectively means that the satellite will take a radar measurement of a certain point on
Earth, so it will send a radar signal. You will receive the reflection of that signal and through the aggregation and the analysis of these
reflections, you can recreate an image with a level of -- a precision of 25 centimeters, i.e. that glass of water in front of us can be detected from
space.
ANDERSON: That is amazing.
SABBAGH: The benefit of radar-based technologies is that they will work at night. They will work through any weather conditions. So you're not
constrained by an optical lens that requires daylight, that requires clear view.
ANDERSON: So use case scenario. Turkey earthquake 2023. Concerned by the Turkish government that the dam that has suffered some shake could be in
trouble.
Is this a good example of what the foresight constellation can provide as far as services to that Turkish government?
SABBAGH: You're absolutely right. So what you could do is the following. If you have historical observations of the same point and gauge using A.I.,
the level of damages and sort of run predictive analysis, whether there are further risks that we could expect or if this situation could be
stabilized.
ANDERSON: So I can see the value there, and I can see how billions could be saved by just having that kind of observation opportunity.
Does this take us into a world where you can actually predict things going forward?
SABBAGH: You could, and this is where you want, in a sense, the intelligence to go for certain use cases. So in a sense, let's say you're
developing a city and you're building infrastructure and you start generating sensing analysis about how population is building up, how
traffic is building up, you can then start predicting whether this infrastructure is going to be enough to sustain this level of development,
or you need to go much further.
ANDERSON: It's a head exploding stuff, isn't it? If we were to sit here five years from now, what would be different?
SABBAGH: We would need another session for that. So the short answer is I think we will continue to see a shortening of the technology development
cycles. And because of that, I think the democratization of space-based services on Earth will be more and more prevalent.
ANDERSON: Great way to close this out. It's been an absolute joy, Karim. Thank you very much indeed. Fascinating.
SABBAGH: My pleasure.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MACFARLANE: Mind boggling technology with Becky Anderson there.
You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD. We've got a little bit more news ahead. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:50:43]
MACFARLANE: Welcome back. This summer, gamers are descending on Paris for the final week of the Esports World Cup. The world cup first started in
2024 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and it claims to be the largest global event of its kind. Yet players are still fighting to be taken seriously in the
multibillion dollar industry.
CNN Creator Charline Bou Mansour takes us to the games in Paris.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHARLINE BOU MANSOUR, CNN CREATOR (voice-over): Counter-Strike 2 is among the biggest competitions taking place at this year's Esports World Cup.
Sixteen teams have advanced to the playoffs, battling for a $2 million prize pool all building towards a best of five grand final.
Nikola Kovac, who goes by the name Niko, plays for Team Falcons. He's one of the world's best at Counter-Strike. His prowess at competitions like
this has earned him millions of dollars.
What would you say to people who say that Esports isn't a real sport? I'm sure you've heard that question many times before.
NIKOLA "NIKO" KOVAC, TEAM FALCONS COUNTER-STRIKE 2 TEAM: Yes. I mean, I think I understand why people say it or I understood it before. I think if
you are not from part of this world, from the Esports, it is a bit difficult to explain how much it's put in as a player. For us, we dedicate
our whole lives to becoming professional players. And I think we are players. I think we work even harder than the majority of the athletes, the
sports players.
You know, we have performance coaches, multiple coaches out there as well, psychologists. It's really great how far it has become.
MANSOUR (voice-over): Over the past seven weeks, 2,000 players from 200 clubs in over 100 countries have come to Paris. The players have become
sporting celebrities in their own rights. But the fame and fortune hasn't come without serious work.
How many hours do you have on Counter-Strike 2?
DANIL "DONK" KRYSHKOVETS, TEAM SPIRIT COUNTER-STRIKE 2 TEAM: Around 40K.
MANSOUR: 40K?
KRYSHKOVETS: Yes.
MANSOUR: Wow.
KRYSHKOVETS: I think people think that this is super easy and that you all what you need to do is just play computer and press buttons. Sometimes the
pressure that you have is doing a lot of damage to your mind.
MANSOUR (voice-over): Women make up roughly half of video game players globally. An audience of about 1.4 billion female gamers. But the majority
of competitors here are men.
How do you feel about being here at the Esports World Cup and seeing more men than women?
PAYAL DHARE, ESPORTS STREAMER AND CONTENT CREATOR: I'm not very happy about it, to be honest, because there are so many female gamers in India. But I
think most of the females are scared of stepping into the competitive games because they don't really get a huge platform to prove themselves. I really
want more female gamers to be here and compete along with the boys because gaming is for everyone.
MANSOUR (voice-over): Less than a decade ago, competitive gaming was still fighting to be taken seriously as a sport.
Comfy set up.
(Voice-over): Today, it's a multibillion dollar industry with its own global championship, professional teams, superstar players, and millions of
fans.
For the developers and the publishers behind these video games, being here at the Esports World Cup is more than about just the competition. Video
game revenue is forecast to grow from $224 billion in 2024 to $300 billion in 2029. Now that's more than the film and the music industry combined.
RALF REICHERT, CEO, ESPORTS FOUNDATION: It's really tough to see it not as a mainstream entertainment format, and with Esports, it's almost like a
delayed thing, right? So there's traditional sports with all its history and legacy, and Esports is just 25 years old. So, you know, it just takes
time to manifest in people's head. And ultimately the price, the outcome of it is how much these players earn, right?
And in Esports, we're not in the tens or hundreds of millions yet, but we're in the millions. And with $75 million of prize money, the Esports
World Cup, right, is one of the main contributors to it.
[10:55:10]
MANSOUR (voice-over): After years of fighting to be established in the world of professional sport, it looks from being here as though Esports no
longer needs to prove it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MACFARLANE: And a quick financial update before we go. Bond yields showed a slight but temporary reprieve after the U.S. Treasury said it would double
its repurchase of long-term treasuries, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNN the government could go even further to clear out older
long-term bonds. The Treasury would issue short-term bills. A managing director at JPMorgan likened the move to paying a mortgage with your credit
card, essentially kicking the can down the road.
And as you can see here with a quick check of the markets what they're doing on their last day of the trading week. They are all in the green
there, but not significantly rather close to flat. Investors just holding tight now despite the bond news we've been seeing this week.
And with that I will say goodbye from our team at CONNECT THE WORLD. Do stay with us, though. "ONE WORLD" is coming up after this short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
