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First Move with Julia Chatterley

Ukraine Resumes Grain Exports under U.N. Deal; Lufthansa Pilot's Union calls for 5.5 percent pay Increase; Fed's Kashkari: Inflation still Surprising to the Upside; Taiwanese, U.S. Official: Pelosi Expected to Visit Taiwan; Space Perspective says Spaceship is fully Reusable; England Celebrates National Team's Historic Win. Aired 9-10a ET

Aired August 01, 2022 - 09:00   ET

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


[09:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ZAIN ASHER, CNNI HOST: A warm welcome to "First Move". I'm Zain Asher coming up on the program, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi kicking off her

closely watched trip to Asia with a visit to Singapore. Sources tell CNN that Pelosi is expected to visit Taiwan despite warnings from China we'll

have the very latest on that.

Plus an important milestone and the ongoing war in Ukraine a ship carrying Ukrainian grain departing the Black Sea port of Odessa under a U.N.

brokered export deal that a more but first, a global check of the market is looking like a cautious start to the trading week on Wall Street.

U.S. futures under intense pressure right now after major averages wrapped up their most profitable month since late 2020. A positive tone to the U.S.

earnings season has boosted sentiment, as well as hopes that the U.S. Federal Reserve will soon begin to slow the pace of rate hikes.

And NASDAQ was the best performing us index in July up more than 12 percent. That's even 100 rising more than 9 percent. Green arrows in Europe

today with banking giant HSBC posting a more than 60 percent Jump in second quarter earnings a positive turn in Asia too despite fresh concerns over

the Chinese economy and a private survey showing manufacturing activity barely an expansion mode last month all this amid deepening concerns about

the scale of China's property market down at 10.

Let's get right now to our top story; Ukraine's grain finally released the first ship to set sail under U.N. broken export deal is now carrying 26,000

tons of Ukrainian corn to Lebanon via Turkey is expected in Istanbul Tuesday afternoon. Let's bring in Clare Sebastian with the very latest.

So Clare, this coming months after intense negotiations as I mentioned 26,000 tons of corn obviously more is needed given the global food crisis

but certainly a step in the right direction at least for now.

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes Zain, a fraction of the 22 million tons that remains blocked in Ukraine thanks to this month's long blockade

by Russia of the Ukrainian Black sea ports.

But this is a delicate but still a hopeful moment, as we see this ship. It's a Sierra Leone flagged vessel called the rezone, which is now in the

Black Sea being escorted by Ukraine through the safe maritime corridor.

It will then arrive in Istanbul, as you say sometime Tuesday afternoon, local time, where it will be inspected by the Joint Coordination Center.

This was part of the Black Sea green initiative that was brokered as part of these talks between the U.N., Turkey, Russia and Ukraine to get this

grain moving, it will be inspected.

And then we'll be able to move through the Bosphorus and onto its final destination, which is Tripoli in Libya. And this is obviously an extremely

welcome move, not just for Lebanon, sorry, Tripoli in Lebanon, previously before the war bought about 66 percent of its wheat from Ukraine.

This is a country basing inflation over 200 percent, but also the rest of the world in particular, the Middle East and Africa. The World Food Program

has warned that if this war drags on without any progress on the grain exports, that 47 million more people could be tipped into acute hunger. So,

it's a very important moment for the world, frankly, and we see the U.N. Secretary General saying that this could bring much needed stability and

relief to global food security.

And Zain, even the Kremlin today, calling this positive, although noting that this is a good opportunity to test the effectiveness of the mechanisms

that were agreed in those talks in Istanbul definitely a major test of what's to come here.

ASHER: I mean, you talk about Africa, and we know that, you know, Somalia right now is on the brink of a catastrophic famine, as you well know, Clare

Sebastian, do we know anything more about the dates and the timings of potential other shipments?

SEBASTIAN: We don't know as of yet Zain, we know that there are that there are others waiting in these ports. There are three ports that are sort of

designated under this agreement to be used for exports where there are safe maritime corridors, but we don't have any dates, yet as to when they will

depart.

This is extremely complicated Ukraine's job in this deal is to escort the ships through the safe maritime corridors. We know that as part of the

agreement, they haven't actually de mined the area. This is because all sides really agreed that it would take too long.

So that they're navigating a sort of a literal and a geopolitical you could say minefield as they go through the Black Sea. And then of course, all

these checks by the Joint Coordination centers are an extremely delicate operation.

[09:05:00]

SEBASTIAN: And this is I say a Major test case for what's to come next. But we do hope and certainly all sides hope that more ships will start coming

through in the next few days because not only are we talking about the 22 million tons that are trapped in grain silos in Ukraine.

But obviously harvest season is underway right now. So there is more that's going to go into those storage facilities. And what's that needed to get

out? It can't remain in storage for very long Zain.

ASHER: Right, Clare Sebastian, live for us there, thank you so much. And later this hour, we're going to be live in Odessa in Ukraine to talk to the

Emergency Coordinator for the World Food Program, so do stay tuned for that.

In Ukraine heavy shelling has been reported in the Southern city of Mykolaiv on Sunday, the mayor tells CNN, it was one of the worst attacks

he's seen since Russia began its invasion. Here's Nic Robertson with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTPAE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR (voice over): With dawn an end to Mykolaiv's heaviest night of shelling so far. But not to the fear

it brings. In the immediate aftermath fires to be put out the only fatalities at this residential mansion multimillionaire businessman Oleksiy

Vadatursky and his wife Raisa was sheltering in the basement when the home took a direct hit. Neighbor's still in shock.

MAXIM, MYKOLAIV, UKRAINE RESIDENT: I don't know what to do. We hate Russia. It's unbelievable that it can in one moment, just destroy everything.

ROBERTSON (voice over): Maxim has lived here almost 20 years, but maybe no more.

MAXIM: Just don't want to stay here, Right now.

ROBERTSON (voice over): This crater here gives you an idea of just how big the blast was debris strewn down here. And the windows of the building blew

out. Other buildings around here also hit those with military links off limits to our cameras Demet concerned Russian sympathizers at work with me.

OLEKSANDR SENKEVYCH, MYKOLAIV, UKRAINE MAYOR: I'm sure that they have spies who are going around the city and they say like I saw the number of

machines is the people, military people. They send this information and Russian attack them.

ROBERTSON (voice over): And do you think those saboteurs might have helped in the attacks last night?

SENKEVYCH: I'm sure they helped.

ROBERTSON (voice over): Within hour's life returning to what passes as normal pensioners and others in line for drinking water. The city's clean

water supply destroyed months ago.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They hit us and they hit us hard from 1am until morning Valentina tells us. We are scared, we want to leave. But that's how

life is for us now.

Where the mansion was hit and residents are richer. Another neighborhood of the dead businessman tells me he can't take it anymore, that he'll leave.

Not clear if high profile businessman Oleksiy Vadatursky was an intended target.

President Zelenskyy held him a hero. His death and the up tempo strike here chilling the city's otherwise resilient mood Nic Robertson, CNN Mykolaiv,

Ukraine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ASHER: Thousands of people came out to protest in Sudan Sunday after an exclusive CNN investigation exposed a Russian operation to plunder the

country's gold the demonstrators called for an end to Sudan's military regime, which has allowed Russia to steal Sudan's gold to fuel its war in

Ukraine. Nima Elbagir joins us live now.

So Nima, as you all know the people of Sudan already had bones to pick with Sudan's Military government, especially after it ousted essentially the

civilian government in 2021. Obviously, this has further inflamed tensions, but just walk us through what the reaction to these protests have been from

Sudan's military.

NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: Well, there has been what Sudan's emergency lawyers group, a pro bono

organization which organizes legal defense funds for pro-democracy activists targeted by the regime. A spike and excess in the repression is

how they termed it. They said protesters were met with diluted chemical solutions. They were met with extremely noxious tear gas. They were beaten

they were followed back to their neighborhoods even after protesters stopped occupying the center of downtown Khartoum in their push towards

Sudan seats of power the Republican Palace.

There is a sense that outrage has once again been renewed by people getting a fuller understanding of the sins of Sudan's military rulers have this

sense of real disgust that not only were Sudan's generals holding on to power.

[09:10:00]

ELBAGIR: But as one activist put it to us that while we were bleeding out that they were making money of handing over Sudan to a foreign power. So

you are absolutely right. These scenes that we're showing our audience are not new in Sudan, but it's really this renewed sense of outrage at Sudan's

military at what it's costing the country saying that we're hearing from people on the ground.

ASHER: I mean, here's the thing, because, you know, in addition to the outrage, there is the fact that Sudan, as you know, is going through a deep

economic crisis right now, the fact that Russia has been siphoning off Sudan's gold, how much does that deprive the country if you will have much

needed revenue at this particular time?

ELBAGIR: That really is the key point that everybody is talking about, that at a time when a third of Sudan, according to the World Food Program, is

going hungry when inflation is at just under 200 percent? It's higher than in Venezuela, or in Zimbabwe, that so much money could be siphoned off

that.

In fact, when you see as we showed the audience in our piece, the conditions the danger that miners are facing the day that we were down in

those artisanal mines, and they were telling us that regularly, mine shafts collapse, right?

Because they're using these very primitive mining means mine shafts collapse, and often they are unable to save miners Pete for people to go to

that extent, to try and feed themselves and their families and to hear that billions of dollars are being misappropriated.

I think that really felt incredibly painful for people to hear. We've been hearing from a lot of the civilian officials, the anti-corruption

officials. And they say that this really was the heart of the fight with their partners as they were in government and the coalition government at

the time with the military, that the military were not allowing the civilians to even fully understand how much money was going a mess?

How much money could be saving Sudan? I mean, we're waiting to see what happens on the ground but so far, the response that we're hearing the way

that former civilian anti-corruption officials and others who are suspected of having been sources for our investigation are being targeted. There is a

real sense as one person put it to us that the authorities are scared Zain. And that they're going to be consequences for people on the ground because

of that.

ASHER: Well, Nima, thank you so much for shining a light on this story and phenomenal reporting by you and your team as usual.

ELBAGIR: Thank you.

ASHER: Nima Elbagir there, thank you so much. Right German airline Lufthansa says negotiations with its pilots are ongoing after the union

that represents them threatened to strike more than 1000 flights were canceled last week. As ground staff walked out disrupting what has already

been a busy and a very challenging summer for travelers.

Anna Stewart joins us live now. So Anna, I think we can all agree that this is the last thing that airlines need right now. Especially this airline

Lufthansa, as we know is already cancelled about 7000 flights this summer alone because of staffing shortages. And you know, perhaps now we will see

even more shortages or strikes rather, because it's the strike of even more cancellations rather, because of these strikes. Just walk us through that.

ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER: Yes, so this latest vote was from the Lufthansa pilots union VC and they voted overwhelmingly nearly 90 percent for

industrial action.

Now at this stage, it doesn't necessarily mean a strike. But it does mean there is so much more pressure now on this airline to reach some sort of

pay agreement because like all the strikes we've seen recently. This is regarding pay this union we'd like to see pilots from Lufthansa be paid 5.5

percent more this year and thereafter to see it go up in terms of inflation.

Now, I think it's important to remember that the pandemic happened pretty recently and in 2020, these pilots reached an agreement with the Lufthansa

Group to accept a massive pay cuts. They had a 45 percent reduction in their pay as a result of the pandemic the fact that no one could work and

the fact that this airline was going to struggle to stay afloat.

However, that agreement or reduction came to an end in June and now these pilots having had two years of severely limited pay want to see more and

also of course, like the rest of us, they are feeling the effects of inflation. They also this union wants to see uniform pay not just for the

Lufthansa airline but across the whole groups. They want to be paid the same as Euro wings and Austrian and Brussels Airlines, the other airlines

within that group.

Now Lufthansa have said that they respect the result of this vote. They say it will continue to hold constructive talks to find a joint solution and

they have added that the next meeting dates have been agreed as you can see there so we will hear more on this. Interestingly, completely separately

pilots at the Lufthansa groups or their airlines, Swiss have rejected a proposal on pay as well.

So potentially if things aren't worked out, we could see pilot striking both from the Lufthansa airline but also the Swiss airline as well in the

weeks ahead.

[09:15:00]

STEWART: Now the Lufthansa airline is already as you say suffering from major strike action last week you and I were talking about it 1000 flights

were canceled it impacted 130,000 passengers they're about.

We spoke to some of those passengers stranded at various airports around the world many using Lufthansa and Frankfurt airport, particularly, as a

big sort of long haul connection. That's what it's really well known for. And people were telling me they were being stranded there for days,

possibly even more than a week because it's so hard to get another flight right now.

And this is all feeding into the same issue a lack of staff, which means a lack of capacity and overstretch staff, which means they go on strike.

They're buying reducing capacity even more. So this summer of discontent just continues, Zain.

ASHER: Yes, hard time for airlines overall, as they really tried to accommodate more passengers who are an increasing sort of bookings that

we're seeing in this post pandemic climate. Anna Stewart live for us there, thanks so much.

Right, these are the stories making headlines around the world. More than 2 million people across parts of the Northwestern U.S. are under high fire

danger alerts. That includes where the massive McKinsey fire in Northern California has burned more than 21,000 hectares of land. Thunderstorms

producing lightning and gusty winds have been forecast. And that could make matters even worse.

Meantime in the state of Kentucky, the death toll from recent heavy rains and flooding now stands at 30. The government says he believes that that

number will rise. The U.S. President Joe Biden is still testing positive for COVID after announcing he had a rebound infection on Saturday, the

White House says but he's feeling well.

And will continue to do his job in isolation. Mr. Biden came into close contact with six people before Saturday, but officials say that they have

all tested negative. Right, this incredible scene happened Sunday in Beirut Lebanon. Two massive grain silos collapsed in the way for others to follow

according to Lebanese media reports, the silos were damaged in the massive 2020 port blast and officials say that soaring temperatures ignited

fermenting grains there have been no reports of injuries.

Alright straight ahead here vessel of hope I speak to the World Food Programs representative in Odessa as the first grain shipment leaves

Ukraine. And space travel powered by hot air the CEO of the Florida from creating the world's first carbon neutral spaceship that's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:20:00]

ASHER: Alright, welcome back to "First Move", U.S. stocks on track for early session losses this Monday as Investors get set to kick off a brand

new month of trading the major averages coming off of two weeks of solid gains despite fresh signs that the U.S. economy is weakening and perhaps

headed for a recession.

Numbers out last week showed the economic economy contracting for a second straight quarter as consumers and businesses pull back on spending amid

rising inflation. New challenges await Investors in the coming days closely watched earnings are on top from firms like Uber for example, Starbucks and

eBay as well. U.S. releases its latest look at the health of the U.S. jobs market on Friday. The base of jobs growth is expected to slow as more

companies begin rethinking hiring plans.

A less robust U.S. labor market would be a welcome development at the Fed the U.S. central bank is raising rates in the hopes of slowing down the

economy, as its preferred measure of inflation remains near 40 year highs.

Neel Kashkari, the President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis mourning over the weekend, and inflation continues to surprise to the

upside, something he fears more than the current risk of a recession.

Kristina Hooper joins us live now; she is the chief Global Market Strategist at Invesco. Kristina, thank you so much for being with us. So

let's just talk about what stocks were doing in July because stocks in July S&P 500 particularly had the best month it's seen since November 2020. Why

is there this disconnect between what the stock market is doing and the fears about a potential recession that the U.S. may be in?

KRISTINA HOOPER, CHIEF GLOBAL MARKET STRATEGIST, INVESCO: Well, I think for two reasons, first of all, typically stocks move in advance of where the

economy is going, they tend to quote unquote, discount, what's going to happen, and there tends to be about a six to nine month lag.

So one could argue that stocks are already anticipating an economic rebound and that's why they have had such a strong performance in July. The other

argument is simpler than that many are assuming that the Fed is going to pivot to a less hawkish stance.

Now, we may recall that this is has been a Fed dominated market environment at the start of the year when the Fed made that very hawkish pivot that

really sent stocks down. So the potential for the Fed to pivot to a less aggressive stance has really fueled a lot of this run up. I would argue

that it's probably a little of both, but more the latter than the former.

ASHER: And just to sort of double down on what you're saying there about the Fed. I mean, what is your anticipation for September? Do you personally

anticipate, you know, a 75 basis point hike? Or do you think that you know that some Investors are right, that will actually slow down its pace of

tightening because of fears about the economy?

HOOPER: Well, you're not going to like my answer. But it depends.

ASHER: Right.

HOOPER: Because the Fed has made it very clear that it is going to be extremely data dependent. And we saw that in June, essentially, the FOMC

reacted to data points that came out within a few days before the meeting. And that's why we got that 75 basis point, hike in June that can work in

the other direction. So if we do see some easing of inflationary pressures. As well as the Fed, noting that the economy is softening quickly, that

could be enough.

And certainly there are already some indicators that suggest the Fed could get less aggressive in longer term inflation expectations, now have at to

handle. That's pretty impressive given where we are, and it's certainly moving in the right direction. So I think we have to wait and see what

happens with the data that comes between now and the meeting.

But if the data suggests that inflation is getting under control, it's easing, somewhat, then I think we could see a pivot and it could even be

signaled in a Jackson Hole's speech. Now, that might be a best case scenario. But I do think that at some point in the fall, we're going to see

a Fed pivot to a less hawkish stance.

ASHER: So that's sort of wait and see what the next seven weeks of data bring us. Let's talk about what certain Fed officials are saying like Neel

Kashkari, for example. He basically said over the weekend that, you know, his focus isn't really on whether or not the U.S. is in recession, his

focus is primarily on bringing down inflation.

Do you think that that is the name of the game right now that it's all about bringing down inflation that is the priority regardless of whether or

not the Fed tactics to do that through monetary policy ends up bringing the U.S. into recession? HOOPER: That's a qualified yes, and certainly, that is

the primary goal for the Fed right now.

[09:25:00]

HOOPER: It needs to restore complete credibility and that's what it's doing. I mean a lot of inflation is about managing inflation expectations.

And it has been able, as I said to bring down longer term inflation expectations. So it needs to keep talking tough.

And I think that Fed officials have been a little surprised that just how significant the rally was just how positive the reaction was last week,

they don't want to see that just yet because they really do want to continue seeing a tightening of financial conditions. They want to get

inflation in control. But at the end of the day, they have a dual mandate.

And so if the economy is softening too quickly, if they start getting really alarmed, and they feel as though inflation is somewhat in check, is

easing somewhat, I think they could pivot to an even slightly less aggressive stance. It's very hard with the dual mandate, but they do have

to talk tough right now. And that's what they're doing. It's not just going to be Neel Kashkari, we're going to hear from a lot of Fed officials that

talked off.

ASHER: I mean, yes, it's interesting, because for a lot of sort of American consumer's wages are going up, but they're not necessarily going up at the

pace of inflation. Just quickly, Kristina, what do you make of the strength of the U.S. consumer right now?

HOOPER: Well, we're getting certainly different reads on the strength of the U.S. consumer. What I would say is it's a mixed bag, but certainly it's

weakening. The key though, is that there is more savings based on the pandemic, there had been a lot of stimulus. So hopefully the U.S. consumer

can ride it out. But lower income Americans really is getting hit hard. And we're already starting to see that.

ASHER: That is always the case. Kristina Hooper, live for us there, thank you so much, the chief Global Market Strategist at Invesco. All right,

we'll have the opening bell after the break you're watching "First Move" don't go away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:30:00]

ASHER: It's the first of the month and there we have Silgan Holdings ringing the opening bell on Wall Street, so it's gone 9.30 in the morning

where U.S. stocks as you can see that are up and running on this first trading day of August.

As expected we are beginning the month with slight losses stocks warning for the first time in four sessions ahead of another busy week of earnings

and economic data.

A new U.S. manufacturing numbers will be released at the top of the hour and the U.S. jobs report will be released on Friday. Boeing helping limit

the downside for the DOW the company reportedly getting the green light from the U.S. to resume deliveries of the 787 Dreamliner after a delay of

more than one year and shares are up about 4 percent in early trading.

Alibaba's U.S. listed shares little change in early trading. The Chinese retailing giant says it will comply with the U.S. accounting rules after a

delisting threat from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The SEC placed the company on a delisting Watch List last week because it had been unable to inspect the firm's financial statements. Alibaba says it

has committed to both its U.S. and Hong Kong Stock listings.

Alright, I want to turn now to Asia where U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is visiting with a congressional delegation, CNN has learned that she is

she is in fact planning to visit Taiwan this week, despite strong warnings from China.

CNN's Will Ripley joins us live now from Taipei. So Will, this could potentially be the higher sort of American official to visit Taiwan in

about 25 years or so? China has warned that those who play with fire will get burned. What sort of confrontation do you think that China is willing

to rescue?

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, the last time, you know, a speaker of the house - visited Taiwan was Newt Gingrich, as you

mentioned a quarter century ago, and back then China's military and GDP was a fraction a small fraction of what it is now.

You have a Chinese president who has stated repeatedly that retaking Taiwan reabsorbing Taiwan, it's not a matter of if but when. And he now commands a

massive military, a huge nuclear arsenal, which also includes these new hypersonic weapons, you know.

And also an evolving space fleet, you know, that could potentially be used as well. You have you have all of this hardware being built up, and you

have one man in charge in China.

You know, obviously, he has advisors, but at the end, he calls the shots. He's the one that said zero COVID. They're the only ones still holding on

to zero COVID and look at how that's impacting their own people's lives.

So what would they do for the 22 million people 25 million people are so here on the island of Taiwan, if they feel that Nancy Pelosi, you know,

that her visit is somehow so insulting to President Xi, that they have to take drastic action.

Now, I will say this in, what I'm seeing in terms of their propaganda, you know, some of this rhetoric, you know, the play with fire going to get

burned, army will never sit idly by China will take resolute response. It's all kind of boilerplate propaganda that we've heard before.

It's not something that seems at least at the moment, like anything more than rhetorical escalation propaganda videos to appear strong, but yet not

to push the situation to regional instability at a time that President Xi needs everything to be stable, you know, months, you know, before his party

congress in potentially unprecedented third presidential term.

He could essentially become president for life. So he doesn't want a conflict. President Biden has stated publicly he doesn't want to conflict.

So I think the biggest risk here is just if something goes wrong if there's some sort of a miscalculation, and that is certainly what I think both

sides hopefully are communicating, or at least trying very hard to make sure they avoid that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RIPLEY (voice over): Taiwan's first line of defense from a Chinese invasion, Taipei port, a crucial river gateway to the Capitol, if China

take support, the presidential office will be next.

For decades, Taiwanese troops have been training to defend this island from the Mainland's massive military. The world's only Chinese speaking

democracy preparing for a David and Goliath scenario, made more credible by Russia's war on Ukraine.

The latest fiery threats from Beijing, which communist rulers regard Taiwan as a breakaway province is reaching fever pitch all over leaked plans of a

potential visit to this self-governing island by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the highest ranking U.S. official to visit Taiwan in 25 years.

Pelosi is leading a congressional delegation to the Indo Pacific region, including Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea and Japan. No official mention

of Taiwan. Analysts say Pelosi could still visit Taiwan, a whirlwind stop lasting hours, not days, and attempt to rein in the rhetoric and team

China's threats to not play with fire by supporting Taiwan independence.

Senator Tammy Duckworth delegation dropped by Taiwan for just a few hours in May, China still flew dozens of warplanes near Taiwan.

[09:35:00]

RIPLEY (voice over): Taipei leaders call Beijing a bully and the new cycle moved on.

TSAI HUAI-CHUNG, TEA SHOP OWNER IN TAIPEI: I don't think they will retaliate. I don't worry about it. Mainland China is just threatening us.

If they really decide to invade Taiwan, they can kill it within two to three days. They don't need to talk much.

RIPLEY (voice over): It's a view shared by many in Taiwan. They've been riding this rhetorical roller coaster for decades. As the latest U.S. China

threats dominated global headlines, they were barely mentioned by the media in Taiwan. The island with the most to lose has lost interest.

MAGGIE LIN, DIRECTOR OF AFTER-SCHOOL CLUB IN TAIPEI: I wasn't interested in finding out more about it. I'm not concerned. China has done the same thing

many times. But exchanges between Taiwan and the U.S. shouldn't be stopped because of this.

RIPLEY (voice over): Many Taiwanese people perceive war with China as a distant threat, a threat some observers say could draw closer with each

escalation. Xi Jinping is China's most powerful leader since Mao is bound to bring Taiwan back to the mainland by force if necessary, is backed by a

massive military and growing nuclear arsenal.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

RIPLEY: Now this stop in Taiwan this overnight stop is still not on Speaker Pelosi's public itinerary. We're being told she might be arriving about 24

hours or so from now, which means evening here in Taiwan morning there in the U.S.

And at that point, we just need to watch and see what happens in terms of China's movements on the Taiwan Strait.

ASHER: Will Ripley live for us there. Thank you so much. Right, we are playing our top story this hour. The first grain ship to leave Ukraine

under a U.N. brokered deal with Russia set sail from the port of Odesa.

This morning it's expected to reach Istanbul on Tuesday before continuing to its final destination of Tripoli in Lebanon resuming exports could be a

crucial first step in easing the Global Food Crisis sparked by the war.

Millions of tons of grain had been trapped inside Ukraine for months. Joining us live now is Matthew Hollingsworth, the World Food Programs

Emergency Coordinator for Ukraine, Matthew, thank you so much for being with us.

The World Food Program has talked about this idea that every single time, food prices increased by 1 percent. That means that 10 million more people

are sort of pushed into poverty.

Just walk us through the significance of this particular shipment in terms of easing the plight of millions people around the world who are either

hungry, starving, or at risk of being sir.

MATTHEW HOLLINGWORTH, WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME EMERGENCY COORDINATOR: Thank you, Zain. Clearly this first person today the MV rezone leaving is a

really incredibly welcome first step in a much bigger and longer process. And it is going to, you know, bring much needed in this case to - maize to

Lebanon.

But it's the first such missile that we see that needs to be increased, 10 fold, 20 fold 30 fold because if we get stability and relief through,

global food insecure approach or so, or many food insecure countries around the globe today, this has just been got a first step.

And why is it important? It's important because there are 345 million people today in 82 countries who are acutely food insecure. Some of those

people, millions of them are living in famine like conditions.

We have to see both the commercial aid increases of foodstuffs from this country, if we're going to mitigate and have any impact on easing the

global market, and the global need for food from this country.

ASHER: And you're on the ground there in Odessa. We know that about 16 ships, 16 other ships are docked in the Black Sea with about 600,000 tons

of grain. Just walk us through what you're hearing on the ground in terms of dates and possible timings of these ships also being allowed to pass as

well.

HOLLINGWORTH: Well, clearly the first one is the big test. And this is why today was so exciting. And I was sitting listening to the MB rezone blow

its funk on four times before it was tucked out of the port.

And we watched it go into the channel on its way to the Bosporus. You know that there are those in other vessels that need to go out. And then of

course, very importantly, we also need to start seeing new vessels come in, and trust and confidence that grow in the market so that commercial

shipping providers can start sending their vessels in.

So this is just the first of many that are required. And again that's important because this country is expecting 45 to 50 million tons or more

in this season's harvest.

[09:40:00]

HOLLINGWORTH: And they're still holding on to 20 million tons from last season's harvest, and they don't have the space to keep holding on to that

food. So it needs to get out if we're going to secure benefits double benefits A for the farming agricultural industry of this country, the

economy of this country, Ukraine, which is suffering tremendously because of the war.

But also b) if we're going to at all be able to alleviate the plight of people living in famine conditions in desperate conditions around the

world.

ASHER: You've got a lot of African countries that are heavily dependent on Russia and Ukraine, Russia and Ukraine, pretty much control about a third

of the global sort of wheat exports.

We know that Somalia, for example, in East Africa right now is on the brink of a catastrophic famine if nothing is done right now. I mean, what happens

to these countries? In the meantime, yes, you've got one ship that has left you talked about 16 others that are waiting to leave right now.

This first shipment is a test. What happens to countries like Somalia, while we're all waiting?

HOLLINGWORTH: We - and that grain is in market. But clearly when you lose more than 10, 15, and 20 percent of the - because of this war, it's kind of

drastic impact on prices --. And that means that those people in those countries are eating less, and they're not able to afford the food that is

available.

And potentially, if the fertilizer is made available for both local production, and an international production elsewhere in the world, we're

facing potential availability crises in the year to come.

So it's very important as well, just to recall, the agreement brokered by Turkey, with Ukraine and Russia with the United Nations sponsorship is a

twofold agreement.

It does enable wheat, other cereals to be moved out of Ukraine but it also enables fertilizer and food to be moved from Russia as well through the

Black Sea. And that's really important because both these countries need to get their food and fertilizer to the world if we are going to have impact

on what is already a massive food inflation crisis in so many countries in the world.

ASHER: Alright, Matthew Hollingsworth, thank you so much for the work that you do. Matthew Hollingsworth, World Food Programs Emergency Coordinator

for Ukraine, Matthew, thank you. Alright, more "First Move" after the break, doesn't go away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:45:00]

ASHER: The future of space tourism may not only be aboard a high speed rocket, a luxury hot air balloon might be more. --Space Perspective a

company based in Florida is building what it calls the world's only carbon neutral spaceship called Spaceship Neptune designed to take passengers to

the edge of space in a pressurized capsule.

The Neptune capsule has what the company describes as the largest windows ever flown to space and will also have Wi-Fi, a bathroom and a fully

stocked bar on board. Space Perspective trips to the edge of space should start by the end of 2024.

Return ticket will cost you a whopping $125,000 bargain compared to the cost of spaceflight with for example, Virgin, Galactic, the company says

900 tickets have actually already been sold.

Taber MacCallum, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Space Perspective joins us now Taber, thank you so much for being with us, so let's talk about this idea

of the first the world's first carbon neutral space flight.

So there are no rockets, and it's propelled by renewable hydrogen, just walk us through that.

TABER MACCALLUM, CO-FOUNDER & CO-CEO, SPACE PERSPECTIVE: So we use hydrogen to inflate the balloon. And so that buoyancy of the balloon takes us up to

the edge of space without emitting any carbon at all. Of course, there are some, you know, emissions from the company's operations. And we use cool

effects as certified offset to take care of those. So the Spaceflight itself and our operations are carbon neutral.

ASHER: It's interesting, because generally, one space ship or space sort of trip emits an entire lifetime's worth of carbon dioxide. And yet there

doesn't really seem to be much discussion and much consideration about the environmental impact of space travel, why was this such an important aspect

of your mission?

MACCALLUM: Well, so much of what we're doing is to give people the space perspective, the view of our Earth from space. And I think, you know, in

large measure, what that does is give people a context of how, you know, we're all in this together, or one pretty small planet in a really big

universe.

And, you know, the environment is something that comes to mind immediately when people see this very, very thin atmosphere that we have. And when you

talk with astronauts, they come back to these environmental issues over and over again. So it seemed really important to us, both in the vision we had

for the company and the message we give to the world, that being carbon neutral was a fundamental part of how we have space tourism moving into the

future.

ASHER: And how important do you think, you know, this idea of being the service you offer is carbon neutral? How important do you think that is, or

that will be for demand?

MACCALLUM: I think it's an important aspect as people choose how they want to go to space. And we hear there's a lot people say, well, you know, I

could go on a rocket. But you know, they look at all the pollution that comes out during the rocket ride and say, you know, I really prefer to go

away that is accessible both in the experience of slowly and gently going up to the edge of space, as well as the emissions surrounding that actual

flight.

ASHER: So one of these trips can basically transport about eight passengers at a time just looking at I know it's a six hour flight. So it takes two

hours to get there. You stay for about two hours, you look around, and then two hours, presumably to get back, just walk us through some of the perks

that are onboard.

And we talked about the Wi-Fi, for example, a fully stocked bar 360 degree panoramic views, just walk us through some of the perks.

MACCALLUM: So I think one of the big perks is actually the room that we provide for people to have interactions with each other and the ground. We

did something like 130 mock ups and designs of the interior with the capsule.

And one of the main things that came out of that were people just sort of sitting in front of a window really really didn't work. People wanted to

interact with each other.

So when you look at the arrangement of the seats inside our space lounge, we call it allows people to interact with each other and share the

experience. And it turned out that sharing the experience with each other on the flight and with people on the ground was really one of the most

important aspects.

And then another aspect was having an interior that seemed inviting and safe and that made people comfortable and calm. And we get that feedback on

the interior a lot that this is really inviting and accessible.

[09:50:00]

ASHER: It certainly is judging by those pictures. Alright, Taber MacCallum live for us, thank you so much, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Space Perspective.

All right, still to come, England's women's team wins the Euro 2022 and a huge victory for women's football. We are live from the celebrations next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ASHER: Oh my gosh, just incredible. Oh my gosh. You see the, you feel the euphoria there in England after the National Women's team beat Germany to

win the Euro final on Sunday, and victory parade to celebrate the lionesses achievement is in full swing in central London. Alex Thomas has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALEX THOMAS, CNN WORLD SPORT (voice over): We've seen many other sporting celebrations here at this iconic London landmark before. But none quite

like this, theme of players taking to the stage with huge cheers from the thousands presents, some wearing shades, maybe not just because of the

bright sunshine.

They did admit they partied hard, and all through the nights. But it was wonderful to see them so happy and celebrating their unique success. Many

of them clearly go pinching themselves.

LEAH WILLIAMSON, ENGLAND CAPTAIN: We pied more than we actually played football in the past 24 hours. It's incredible and to be able to share it

with everybody that came to the game and around the country. We're very grateful for everyone's support, yes.

SARINA WIEGMAN, ENGLAND HEAD COACH: They're very, very good football players. They're very, very good people. Yes. The willingness, the

commitment, the resilience, the behavior towards each other, the support has been so incredible. And most of all, the willingness to want to win so

badly, and they won.

THOMAS: There were people here from all over the country, young and old boys and girls, some kids who are already out of school for the summer

holidays enjoying the fact they were free to come here and share on their new heroes. One day you'd like to play for England?

THOMAS: Who's your favorite player?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Probably the goalkeeper after the tournaments, she's been brilliant, so yes, we've been a really good weekend. So she plays

herself so it's nice to actually gear up and see what they can achieve if they put them on top.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's amazing get me on a winning game. I think those should get a bit more exposure and you know, better access to the

game you know, because there's not much opportunity to go and watch women's game.

THOMAS: How far have you been coming down?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For hours.

THOMAS: And you've been watching the whole tournament?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

THOMAS: If anyone deserves a break now it's certainly the England women's football team and their coach Sarina Wiegman.

[09:55:00]

THOMAS: It's clear that she's made a huge difference to the perception of what English women's football can achieve, and what this particular group

of players can go on to do as a Women's World Cup coming up next, and that's sure to be the next big target, Alex Thomas, CNN, Trafalgar Square.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ASHER: So much jubilation the first time there in 56 years history has been made. Alright, let's take one last look at the markets; U.S. stocks remain

mostly lower in early trading. We are well off session lows, with the NASDAQ turning positive in just the past few minutes.

The NASDAQ last week is rallying almost 5 percent and cutting its 2022 losses to 21 percent.

Energy, the big drag on stocks in early trading is followed by financials Boeing, a big winner in early trading a report that it has been given the

OK to begin delivering the 787 Dreamliners again. Alright, that is it for the show. Thank you so much. "Connect the World" is up next. You're

watching CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:00:00]

END