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Isa Soares Tonight

Desperate Search for Survivors in Greece After a Boat Carrying Hundreds of Migrants Capsized in the Mediterranean Sea; Ukrainian Armed Forces Say They're Taking More Ground in Southeast Ukraine; India and Pakistan Brace for Cyclone Biparjoy; Mass Evacuations In India, Pakistan Ahead Of Storm Arrival; TIP Report Highlights State Of Human Trafficking; 42 Percent Of CEO's Say A.I. Could Soon Destroy Humanity; Asteroid To Pass Near Earth. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired June 15, 2023 - 14:00   ET

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

[14:00:00]

ELENI GIOKOS, HOST, ISA SOARES TONIGHT: A very warm welcome to the show, everyone, I'm Eleni Giokos, I'm in for Isa Soares. Tonight, a desperate

search for survivors in Greece after a boat carrying hundreds of migrants capsized in the Mediterranean Sea. We're live from the ports, that's just

ahead.

Then, heavy fighting reported in southeast Ukraine where Ukrainian armed forces say they're taking more ground. And gale force winds and rain lash

India and Pakistan, as the region braces for a cyclone that started making landfall. Rescuers are now racing to find survivors after a boat carrying

migrants capsized off the coast of Greece.

And the number of people missing could be in the hundreds. The tragedy started on Wednesday when the boat sank in one of the deepest parts of the

Mediterranean. We're seeing reports that the boat set off from Libya, it is unclear how many people were on board, but survivors and the U.N. say there

could have been as many as 750 people.

The Greek coast guard has recovered the bodies of at least 78 people who drowned. Officials also say 104 people have been rescued and brought to

Kalamata in Greece. Melissa Bell is there right now. Melissa, we know that rescue efforts continue. Is there any hope of more survivors?

MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Eleni, we can still hear the helicopters above our heads. The place where the boat sank is about 50 miles off of

this coast. But at this coast at this stage, we will be heading out in just a few hours to the 48-hour mark. And so, it's very unlikely, even if they

continue, their efforts, Eleni, that anyone will be found still alive.

What we have been hearing from the authorities is that they're about to announce several arrests of some of those survivors who happen also to be

people smugglers.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BELL: A dramatic rescue at sea. The Greek coast guard pulls a group of people to safety, the few lucky ones. Survivors of yet another catastrophe

on the deadliest migrant-crossing in the world, the Mediterranean Sea. Somehow, 104 people managed to leave this doomed fishing boat alive, but

hundreds are thought to have perished.

Most still missing in the deepest part of these waters just 50 miles off the Greek coast. Onshore, medics rushed to preserve the lives of those that

survived, all are men. Aid workers tell me, others were unable to get out.

IPPOKRATIS EFSTATHIOU, SOCIAL WORKER: Mostly the kids and the women, they've been locked inside the basement of the boat.

BELL: At least, 40 children were on the vessel, the U.N. says. And as the search for bodies continues today, there are questions about how long it

took to send help. The boat started out from Libya, heading towards Italy, and called for assistance on Tuesday afternoon, one charity has said. It

claims the authorities had hours to reach the vessel, but a rescue operation was, quote, "not launched until it was too late."

Now, the wait is for news. Devastating for families here who think their loved ones might have been on board. This Syrian man spoke to his cousin

last week as he waited across from Libya, and worries that he could have been on the boat.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a risk and he knew it, and everyone on that boat knew it, but they took it anyway. If he's alive, we're lucky, and if he's

not, I'm going to go to bury him and just give him grave.

BELL: At this stage, there's little hope that more survivors will be found. Those that did make it are deeply traumatized, and their future in

Europe far from certain.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BELL: One of the most tragic aspects of seeing what's unfolding here today, Eleni, has been watching the families of those who are either

missing or who survived, turn up here in desperate news of their loved ones. Some have been fortunate.

[14:05:00]

We met one man, a Syrian man who's been living in Germany for years now, who managed to find two of his cousins. His only hope was that he'd be able

to take a photograph of them to send to their mother. But he hadn't been given access. Others, much more tragically had lost their loved ones.

One young Syrian man who says that his young wife and brother-in-law were on the boats and have not been confirmed amongst the list of survivors. As

they have been pointing out to us, the problem for the loved ones trying to find out if their -- if their people, their family, their sons, daughters,

cousins were on the boat or not, is that they themselves may have papers, sometimes don't.

And those that don't will be doubting their very legitimacy in the eyes of the European Union of being here at all. That is another aspect to this

trauma. Also, Eleni, I would add that we might never know the precise number of people who were on that boat nor indeed, their names.

GIOKOS: I mean, one of the most harrowing pieces of information is that the women and children were locked, you know, at the lower level. And it is

absolutely tragic, Melissa, thank you so much for that update. Well, the number of migrants arriving on European shores has skyrocketed this year.

The U.N. says there were about 36,000 people between January and March, the highest number since 2016 during the refugee crisis.

The U.N. refugee agency special envoy for the Western and Central Mediterranean, Vincent Cochetel joins us now via Skype. So great to have

you with us, thank you so very much. It's a difficult story. We've just seen this tragedy unfolding. I want to share tweets that you posted online.

You say "shipwreck off the coast of Greece, the boat was unsea worthy and no matter what some people on board may have said, the notion of distress

cannot be discussed.

A robust and predictable search and rescue regime led by states is needed in the central Mid, everyone to avoid such tragedies to repeat." This one

vital question here. Were there distress calls? To whom were they sent? And were they ignored? What is your assessment of what transpired here?

VINCENT COCHETEL, SPECIAL ENVOY, WESTERN & CENTRAL MEDITERRENEAN, UNHCR: Well, first of all, very saddened by the loss of life of migrants on the

refugees. All the details are not clear at this stage, what we know is that some people on board of -- the ship reported a stress, that, that distress

was communicated to the Greek authorities.

It is also clear that at some stage, some merchant ships on some coast guard ships approached the boat. Allegedly, some people on board that boat

say that they don't want to be assisted. But the circumstances in which the boat has sunk, some testimony suggest that at that time, there was a

maneuver by the coast guard's to take it away from the search and rescue area of Greece in order to allow that boat to continue towards another

country.

And that should be disturbing. That's why we're calling for an independent investigation of what has actually happened.

GIOKOS: Yes, I mean, and as you say, the reports are that some people say they don't want to be assisted, but as you say in your tweet, you say, "a

robust, unpredictable search and rescue regime would be needed", right? This is important. Could this tragedy have been avoided? Do you believe --

COCHETEL: Yes --

GIOKOS: That we could have avoided what we've seen?

COCHETEL: Yes, many tragedies in the central Mediterranean Sea cannot be avoided. We see shipwreck every week happening off the coast of Tunisia or

off the coast of Libya. But that one, I mean, when you look at the evidence that is available, the photographic evidence that is available, it was a

large boat, it cannot have left Libya undetected. So, it could have been seen --

GIOKOS: Yes --

COCHETEL: By the Libyan authorities. And then it obviously was not a crew ship full of tourists. The boat was overcrowded, and we know traffickers

locking people in the lower part of the boat. It was unsea worthy. Regardless of what the people said on board, people should have been

brought to safety and it was possible.

GIOKOS: Yes, you're saying investigation needs to be conducted here, as you said, it was large enough when it disembarked Libya for the Libyan

authorities to have known. Clearly, it was spotted. We know that it was heading to Italy. Some of the reports that we're getting is, as we say, it

probably did send out some kind of distress call, or at least, there was knowledge of its existence.

What kind of intervention do you believe needs to happen here from the moment it disembarks to post-disembarkation? We have the technology to be

able to identify the movement of these kinds of boats, at least, the size of these.

[14:10:00]

COCHETEL: Yes, absolutely. There was no problem of detection. It was detected on time by the AU border agency --

GIOKOS: Yes --

COCHETEL: From one of its AU assets. So the boat was detected. It was clear it was unsea worthy. It was clear that it is part of a trafficking

movement from Libya to Europe. So the authorities had a responsibility to intervene to save lives, because it was clear the boat was not going to go

to its destination.

But that's a practice we've seen in recent months. Some coastal states provide food, provide water, sometimes, life jackets, sometimes even fuel

to allow such boats to continue to only one destination in Italy. And that's not fair. Italy cannot cope with that responsibility alone.

GIOKOS: Yes, well, let's talk about EU policy right now, refugees and migrants. There's a sense that it is getting a lot tougher. What is the

status of humanitarian corridors that exist at this point in time? What is your assessment?

COCHETEL: Well, a few states are working on establishing those humanitarian corridors or resettlement program like it's done in the U.S.

or in Canada. But in Europe, it's still very small. So those corridors in terms of volume are not very credible, are not seen as an existing

alternative for many people on the move.

But now, we need also to work upstream in some countries of transit to make sure people are not forced to engage into those very dangerous journeys. So

we need programs that stabilize the population in dignity in the country where they are.

GIOKOS: Yes, and as we've ascertained, we don't really know how many people were on the boat. I mean, it's above 700 from the estimate. At

least, from the photographic evidence that we've seen. We've also just heard from our reporter Melissa Bell saying that some of the people, some

of the survivors seem to have been smugglers or human traffickers as well.

The value chain that is required to be able to move people like this is quite enormous. The estimates are right now that this is going to be

increasing. And you want to make sure that tragedies like this are averted. Do you believe that we will see more intervention because of what we've

seen transpire this week?

COCHETEL: Oh, we may see for sometime more interception. I know that the problem is not solved. We need --

GIOKOS: Yes --

COCHETEL: Solution on both sides of the Mediterranean Sea. You have the demand, you have an offer, it's an extremely lucrative business, with --

impunity for the people involved in that business in Libya. Sometimes people are arrested, but never tried, never sentenced. So a lot of people

make money out of this trade.

GIOKOS: Vincent, sir, thank you very much for your time, we appreciate it. We wish you all the best, thank you so much.

COCHETEL: Thank you very much.

GIOKOS: As a counteroffensive rolls on, there are reports of heavy combats along the border of Ukraine, Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk region. A defense

official says more than 100 square kilometers have been liberated from the Russians over the last week. And the Ukrainians say they are making

advances around Bakhmut.

Video from Ukraine's military is said to show troops storming Russian-held trenches near Bakhmut. For its part, Russia says its forces have used

airstrikes, artillery, and what it calls heavy-flamed thrower systems to repel attacks. For the latest on Russia's war against Ukraine, CNN's Sam

Kiley is live for us in Kyiv. We're also seeing on the sidelines, of course, NATO meeting about how it can shore up its assistance for Ukraine.

This is a counteroffensive we've been waiting for, for quite some time. Is it gaining momentum? Do you think Ukrainians have what they need to be able

to pursue getting back some of the last territory?

SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Eleni, I think certainly around Bakhmut, there is now a degree of momentum in the land

being recaptured by Ukrainian forces. They've been on the front now for about a week. The deputy defense minister saying that they've captured

another 3 kilometers today, adding to, I think the wider area that they are liberating from the Russians.

Of course, you've got that now conventional warfare going on, on a pretty increasing scale all the time in the southeast of the country, and what

we're calling the Zaporizhzhia front. But all of this is being conducted in the open, if you like. There's a much more -- or in addition to that, I

should say, there are some very important activities going on in the shadows of this war.

[14:15:00]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KILEY (voice-over): A special forces night operation. The objective, to bring a special kind of misery to Russian troops. As they arrive alongside

Ukrainian regulars, the Russians attacked. A night vision recording of a routine assault that the special forces needed to shrug off.

(on camera): How long did you spend under fire like this before you could move?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

KILEY: And then what did you do?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

KILEY (voice-over): Electronic surveillance pinpointed their victims. For us, they killed two power troopers approaching on their left flank to get

to the group's main targets, Russian commanders near Bakhmut. A sterile record of an all too gritty event in March. First, one officer is shot,

then, another down. He says radio intercepts revealed that the Russians lost two officers and five others to their sniper team that night.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

KILEY: Formed when Russia invaded Ukraine last year, this team of experience veterans works in a secret realm under the intelligence

services. Their task, with tactical work seeking strategic effect as Ukraine's counteroffensive takes shape. Here, using a modified heavy

machine gun in a hidden bunker last month close to Bakhmut.

Drone operators more than a mile away, and directing brabus(ph) onto Russian troops.

(on camera): How many Russians have you killed in this war?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lot. A lot of -- a lot of -- for example, here's a lot of Russians.

KILEY: This is when you're on the disc(ph) --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is from --

KILEY: How many more are less there?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know. We didn't calculate, understand?

KILEY (voice-over): It's the Russians they want to do the counting because Ukraine's best hope is that Russian troops run, rather than fight.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KILEY: Yes, Eleni, the NATO allies for -- with Ukraine have just promised additional surface-to-air missiles, both short and medium range. Those are

going to be largely, I would say deployed on the frontlines, because as this counteroffensive builds in momentum and builds in size, the Ukrainians

are ultimately extremely vulnerable, still, to Russian aircraft.

That would give them a little bit capability to defend themselves whiles they wait for what they've been asking for, which are those all important

F-16s that the President Zelenskyy continues to campaign to get out of NATO and her partners. Eleni?

GIOKOS: Yes, I want to talk about IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi taking a tour of Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. He has warned of the

risks. Perhaps we've seen just how bad the infrastructure can be damaged with the breaking of the river in Ukraine. What do we know in terms of the

safety of the nuclear plant right now, the risks that lie here. Have we heard anything as the counteroffensive gains momentum?

KILEY: Well, Mr. Grossi has just been inspecting the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant himself. It is of course, the biggest in Europe. It has six

reactors, five of which are in cool, shut down, one is warm shut down. But they still need cooling. Now, the cooling pond for that dam, Mr. Grossi

said has enough water for some time, for months.

And that is the position that the Ukrainians agree with. The problem is that it needs to be maintained and It needs to be refilled. And --

GIOKOS: Yes --

KILEY: They have to be on their guard against that evaporation, and so on. In other words, it's extremely vulnerable, given that it's a pond that's

controlling -- containing water. They no longer have direct access to water replenishment from the lake above the dam, since the dam down river from

the power station collapsed about a week or so ago, Eleni.

So, that is the immediate problem. Then on top of that, the integrity of the power station and that pond has to be maintained all the way through

increasing level of violence a a result of this counteroffensive. Now, Mr. Grossi has got assurances already from the Ukrainians that they will

protect their asset, this nuclear power station.

[14:20:00]

He's got similar assurances no doubt from the Russians, but it is a frontline position. The Russians have troops inside it, they have had

trucks inside the turbine halls, the Ukrainians have accused them of minding the perimeter, so it is an extremely vulnerable location, and one

that is going to be a very tender issue for the international community as this counteroffensive --

GIOKOS: Yes --

KILEY: Gets underway, Eleni --

GIOKOS: Absolutely. Yes, vulnerable position and then you've got the issue of cooling and maintaining, which has just exacerbated the risks. Sam

Kiley, thank you so much. Well, the fight for Bakhmut has become a grim symbol of Russia's war on Ukraine and a new video said to be from last

month shows the intensity of the battle. This footage was published by the "Wall Street Journal", it shows a Russian soldier fleeing for his life from

Ukrainian bombs, facing near certain death, he signals to a drone he wants to surrender.

And there is some background we need to explain. The journal interviewed the captured soldier on May 19th in the presence of a guard, we don't know

if he was speaking under duress, and the video of his surrender has been edited. All right, NATO defense ministers have been meeting in Brussels

today training the Ukrainians on the F-16 fighter jets, and other weapons.

As a top agenda item, so is keeping them resupplied. Now, the U.S. Defense Secretary is praising Ukrainian troops and pledging long-term support.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LLOYD AUSTIN, DEFENSE SECRETARY, UNITED STATES: Ukraine's fight is a marathon, and not a sprint. So we will continue to provide Ukraine with the

urgent capabilities that it needs to meet this moment, as well as what it needs to keep itself secure for the long term, from Russian aggression. And

make no mistake, we will stand with Ukraine for the long haul.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GIOKOS: All right, well, you can keep up today with everything that's happening in Ukraine online at cnn.com. We have continuing live coverage on

our website. While you're there, be sure to check out this new detailed CNN investigation about an attack in the occupied West Bank town of Huwar(ph)

in February. It raises serious questions about the role Israeli soldiers played in the attack.

And still to come tonight, a damning report says Boris Johnson did mislead parliament over parties during lockdown. His response, coming up next.

Plus, as Tropical Cyclone Biparjoy starts making landfall in India and Pakistan, there has been a change in the storm's strength. You'll get a

full report just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:25:00]

GIOKOS: Welcome back. I'm Eleni Giokos in Dubai. Now, several U.S. federal government agencies have been hit by a global cyber attack. The attack

reportedly exploits the vulnerability and widely-used software. Cybersecurity officials are exclusively telling CNN they are, quote,

"working urgently to understand impacts, and ensure timely remediation."

It's unclear at the moment who is behind the attack, but it is the latest in a string of hacking incidents across the U.S. A Russian-speaking hacking

group has claimed credit for some of those in recent weeks. Boris Johnson deliberately misled lawmakers over parties that took place despite the

U.K.'s COVID lockdowns.

That is according to a highly anticipated and damning parliament investigation. The former prime minister is calling the report a charade,

and a quote, "a political assassination". The committee says it would have recommended suspending Johnson from parliament for 90 days if he was still

an MP, but just last week, Johnson quit after seeing an advance copy of the report.

We've got Scott McLean who is following this from London for us. Political assassination, he says. Look, that has been going on for quite some time in

terms of these parties, you, know, what was going on during the height of COVID. What does this report tell us? And what does it mean for his

political career?

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, so there's a lot to digest, a lot to break down here, Eleni. But basically, you're right.

GIOKOS: Yes.

MCLEAN: We've been talking about these lockdown parties for quite some time. And those investigations and the fact that police have issued fines

show that clearly rules were not followed to a tee at Number 10 Downing Street, as they should have been. This particular report looks at the

statements that Boris Johnson made in relation to those parties and trying to figure out whether or not he misled parliament.

And he made a lot of statements about those parties, they're all detailed here in six pages of this 108-page report. I'll just give you one example

that he made in December of 2021. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEIR STARMER, LEADER, LABOR PARTY: As millions of people were locked down last year, there was a Christmas party thrown in Downing Street for dozens

of people on December the 18th?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Prime Minister?

BORIS JOHNSON, FORMER U.K. PRIME MINISTER: Mr. Speaker, what I can tell the right honorable gentleman is that -- is that all guidance was followed

completely during Number 10.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCLEAN: So Eleni, that Christmas party there was one of six gatherings, six events that this committee actually looked at. These were leaving

drinks for colleagues, were going on to greener pastures, one of them was Boris Johnson's birthday, one of them was an outdoor garden party where 200

odd people were invited to bring their own booze.

And the committee found that Boris Johnson had deliberately misled parliament. They said that he had some unsustainable interpretations of the

very rules that he himself had helped to write. In fact, he continues to insist to this day that some of those gatherings were essential for work

purposes. So the committee found that some of his explanations were so disingenuous that they were by their very nature deliberate attempts to

mislead the committee.

They also wrote this, I'll read part of it, they said, "the contempt was all the more serious because it was committed by the prime minister, the

most senior member of the government. There's no precedent for a prime minister, having been found to have deliberately misled the house. He

misled the house on an issue of the greatest importance to the house and to the public, and did so repeatedly.

He declined our invitation to reconsider his assertions that what he said to the house was truthful." Now, Johnson released his own response to all

this, and was pretty scathing. He wrote, in part, "for the committee now to say that all such events, "thank yous" and birthdays were intrinsically

illegal is ludicrous. Contrary to the intentions of those who made the rules, including me in contrary to the findings of the Met police.

And above all, I did not, for one moment think they were illicit at the time or when I spoke in the comments." Now, you mentioned it already. This

still has to go through the House of Commons, still has to be voted on and approved, but the recommendation here is that, a 90-day suspension would

suffice for Boris Johnson, which would potentially trigger a by-election.

All of this is moot though, because as you said, Eleni, Boris Johnson already resigned his job as a backbench MP. But he has left plenty of hints

that this is not the end of his political career, potentially.

GIOKOS: Yes, well, this is the thing, right? I mean, it's very painful to hear that the very person that was meant to enforce that his government

broke them while people were suffering.

[14:30:02]

What is -- what of his political future of his political career?

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. So, you know, after he was forced out of office last year, I think he found out the hard way what

his popularity was like. His popularity in the polls has remained low since he left office.

Once Liz Truss was forced out of office, he tried to launch his own leadership campaign to get back inside of Number 10, and he found out very

quickly that he simply did not have the support of the majority of his colleagues, M.P.s in the House, though he would have needed to actually

regain his job as the leader of the Conservative Party and the Prime Minister.

And so, the fact is that it is very clear that Boris Johnson still does have loyalists within the parties.

GIOKOS: Yes.

MCLEAN: Both sitting M.P.s and of course, plenty of the rank-and-file as well. It just seems that the majority of the Conservative Party has moved

on from Boris Johnson. That doesn't necessarily mean though that a comeback is potentially in the cards in the future.

GIOKOS: Yes.

All right. Well, Scott McLean, great to have you on. Thank you so much.

Well, the Wall Street Journal reports the U.S. Department of Justice is getting involved in this surprise partnership between two Gulf powerhouses.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GIOKOS (voice over): The department will investigate the recent deal involving the PGA Tour and the Saudi public investment fund PIF, which owns

LIV Golf of anti-trust concerns.

Last week, the PGA Tour shocked the golf world with the announcement that it was joining forces with the D.P. World Tour and the LIV series.

Also, to come tonight, an update on Tropical Cyclone Biparjoy, as it continues to unleash heavy rains and winds.

Plus, parts of the U.S. are gearing up for round two of severe weather. After bad storms and even tornadoes rocked the south.

We'll be back right after this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GIOKOS: Welcome back. Now, India and Pakistan are bearing down as Cyclone Biparjoy is making landfall in northeast India tonight.

[14:35:04]

The slow-moving storm already brought tidal surges to coastal areas. It is expected to cause widespread flooding while devastating local

infrastructures.

Standing by for us at the CNN Weather Center in Atlanta, we've got meteorologist Chad Myers. Chad, take us through it. How bad is this going

to get.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Really this is best case scenario. Many times, when we're talking about hurricanes, typhoons, cyclones making

landfall, we have to go to worst case scenario. But there are three things that we worry about.

Saltwater flooding, which is the storm surge. The water coming from the ocean, or the bay, onto land. And then the wind. And the wind is down now,

I'll tell you why in a second.

But the big threat here will be the fresh water. The rain, water flooding, that could occur. Up to 500 millimeters of rain could occur over the next

three days in some of these places that don't get a lot of rain at all. And so, that could cause flash flooding for sure.

There's a long and winding road of what is Biparjoy. This thing did not want to make landfall, and that's good news because there was so much dry

air up here, and it got sucked into this thing. It almost killed itself.

The hurricane, typhoon, cyclone, they all want warm water and humid air. This had only one, warm water. Did not get the humid air. So, it really,

really fizzled out as it worked its way toward shore, making landfall right now really.

We don't know where the middle of the eye is, because it's really very, very spread out. This does not even have a visible eye that you can see on

the satellite.

And now it's picking up speed a little bit. And that's also good news, because then that won't spread as much rain in one place, maybe spread it

out just a little bit.

Still, good to see two to three meters of saltwater flooding possible. And then here, this rainfall, the heavy rainfall, very humid air still coming

in from the water, even though the air underneath it is dry, it still will be raining.

And some spots here will pick up in these little white spots, that's a computer program saying, 500 millimeters of rainfall in the next three

days. And that is enough to cause significant -- will be called fresh water flooding.

Even though it won't be a wind event, won't be a saltwater event, it could certainly be very deadly to the people if you're in these dry washes in

these areas that don't see a lot of rain.

Don't even know where the river is in some spots. You put that much water down, you're going to get flooding.

GIOKOS: Yes. Yes. Chad Myers, thank you so much.

MYERS: You're welcome.

GIOKOS: Meanwhile, parts of the U.S. are getting slammed with nasty weather. 45 million people across central plains under threat of severe

storms today.

Last night, the South was pummeled with strong winds and tornadoes, leaving more than 135,000 people without power.

Right. This is a bit different for people in the Midwest who are dealing with smoke from the ongoing wildfires in Canada. At last report, there were

63 wildfires burning in Ontario.

Now, a new report is shining the spotlight on the state of human trafficking in the world today. Each year, millions of people are exploited

by working for little or no pay, or as sex workers. This includes children.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken released findings from the annual TIP Report in Washington a short time ago along with Cindy Dyer. She is the

U.S. ambassador-at-large to monitor and combat trafficking in persons.

She told CNN Zain Asher, the climate change is one of the many factors causing human trafficking. Listen in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CINDY DYER, UNITED STATES AMBASSADOR-AT-LARGE TO MONITOR AND COMBAT TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS: We see climate change as a threat multiplier. In

that, it can exacerbate the situation of -- the citizens who are already vulnerable.

But it can also create new vulnerabilities to trafficking, especially individuals whose occupations are weather dependent. These individuals can

be forced out of the job that they have had and they may not have another one lined up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GIOKOS: Well, let's bring in CNN state department producer Jennifer Hansel.

Great to have you on, Jennifer. This report is important and gives you a sense of the data of what is going on. What are the trends, what to avoid,

and importantly, the kind of interventions that are required. What have we learned?

JENNIFER HANSEL, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT PRODUCER: Well, one thing we've learned, Eleni, is another really troubling and growing trend that the

ambassador pointed out, and that is the use of cyber scams to ensnare people into human trafficking.

She said that traffickers had taken advantage of pandemic-related obstacles. The fact that there are travel restrictions around the world and

unemployment for young people to ensnare 1000s of people into these scams over the past two years.

She said what will happen is people will respond to what they think are legitimate job postings, and instead there will be these schemes that are

impossible to fulfill. These victims will become indebted to these traffickers who will then exploit them into forced labor or sex

trafficking. And this is happening to 1000s of adults and children around the world, specifically in Southeast Asia, according to the ambassador.

[14:40:06]

And now, Eleni, this report comes out annually, it points out the worst offenders, and the governments that are doing a good job of trying to

combat human trafficking.

A lot of the countries that are on the worst offender list are repeats from last year. They include places like Russia and China, where Secretary of

State Antony Blinken will be heading off tomorrow. Also, Iran, Syria, North Korea, places like that. Eleni?

GIOKOS: Jennifer Hansel, thank you so much.

What has been two months since conflict erupted between rival factions in Sudan. And a U.N. agency says the humanitarian crisis is getting worse.

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs released a report on Wednesday. It says more than 800 people have been killed since a

ceasefire expired on June 3rd, and clashes between the army and paramilitary rapid support forces have intensified.

In some of the latest violence, the military says the RSF have killed the governor of West Darfur. The governor had just given an interview, accusing

the RSF of genocide.

And still to come tonight, major CEOs are speaking out on the future of artificial intelligence and the big fear many have. We'll be right back.

GIOKOS: Welcome back. Now, top business leaders are speaking out about A.I., with some saying the technology could soon end our very existence.

A Yale University survey, of almost 120 CEOs shared exclusively with CNN found -- listen to this, 42 percent, saying that A.I. could destroy

humanity within five to 10 years. But the other 58 percent don't believe it will happen, and they're not worried at all.

In a separate question, 42 percent said the potential of A.I. catastrophe is overstated, but 58 percent say it is not overstated. Right. So, we've

got a mixed bag here of views.

Joining me now, CNN's Matt Egan, Matt, we've spoken about this quite a few times today. And the more I speak to you, the more concerned I get about,

you know, my life plan for the next five to 10 years and whether they'll even be humans around to, you know, have a decent life. What have we

learned from the survey?

MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Yes, Eleni, it's a pretty wild survey. I mean, it almost feels like a scene out of a sci-fi movie, where the characters are

just now realizing that the machines that they've been building can actually hurt them.

[14:45:07]

Yale surveyed over 100 CEOs and they asked them a simple but kind of scary question. Does A.I. have the potential to wipe out humanity?

And the good news, relatively speaking is that 58 percent said, no. No way, that's not going to happen. But eight percent said, yes, there is the

potential for an existential risk from A.I. after five years, and 34 percent said, yes, after 10 years.

So, you add, that would be a 42 percent talking about A.I. posing an existential risk, not decades from now, but actually in the not-too-distant

future.

Yale Professor Jeff Sonnenfeld, as you mentioned, he said that this was a dark and alarming finding. Now, none of this, of course, means that all of

A.I. is evil, we know that it has so much potential to transform healthcare and education and transportation.

I mean, I think anyone who's used Chat GPT for just a minute can see the potential here.

But we are hearing more and more warnings from business leaders, also from tech leaders. We heard from Geoffrey Hinton, the godfather of A.I. --

(CROSSTALK)

GIOKOS: -- we seen the petitions, right? We've seen the petitions, right? We've seen the tech CEOs. We've seen the ominous warnings. I mean, do we

know how we will be destroyed and extinct? And what is the godfather of A.I. say about the precautions we should take?

I'm smiling, but I I'm also worried at the same time just asking you this question.

EGAN: Right. I think we should -- we should be worried.

The Yale survey doesn't go into exactly how this would play out.

(CROSSTALK)

GIOKOS: Yes.

EGAN: But I think the point and this is what Geoffrey Hinton gets at is that A.I. is getting smarter and smarter, and it could eventually become

smarter than humans.

And at that point, it would have the ability to one, manipulate humans. And two, to actually override any restrictions that humans put in place.

And Geoffrey Hinton makes a really good point, which is that in life, there is very few examples where the thing that is less intelligent, isn't

controlled by the thing that is more intelligent.

And so, that's the concern here, especially, in situations where AI could have any sort of access to weapon systems.

So, you could see how this could get dangerous pretty quickly.

GIOKOS: Yes.

EGAN: And I think the point here, though, is that there needs to be a healthy debate over what kind of guardrails need to be installed.

And we do hear from some business leaders who are worried that Washington is going to over regulate and stifle innovation, perhaps, giving China a

leg up in the A.I. arms race.

But even some A.I. leaders are calling for regulation. We heard that from the Chat GPT founder Sam Altman, who really is pleading with Congress to

install some regulation.

Eleni, it's really important that they get this right, because the stakes here are enormous. While we see all of the potential rewards of round A.I.,

there are obviously some real risks too.

GIOKOS: Yes, because I think, I mean, initially, the conversation was, you know, and still remains, you know, how does that impact jobs? How does it

change the workforce? How does it impact, you know, university students, if you can just use Chat GPT to write up, you know, a project, for example.

But the issue is far greater than that. I mean, then, I mean, not to get too philosophical here. But could regulation be the very thing that will

help temper, the quantum leap that A.I. is already making on so many fronts?

If it is -- if we hypothesize that is this is going to be a far more intelligent entity than humans, will regulation even work? I mean, what is

the frame -- framework that needs to be adopted?

EGAN: Yes. I think that, that is something that business leaders and lawmakers and academics are debating right now. Is what do those guardrails

look like? How do you prevent A.I. from becoming so powerful that it actually manipulates humans?

And I don't really think there's any easy answers right now. When I -- when I talked to Jeff Sonnenfeld, the Yale professor, he said he's seen the

business leaders themselves break out into five different camps of varying degrees about whether or not people should just go full -- fully into A.I.,

just, you know, it's all good, everything's great about it. To the people who want to really have an enormous global crackdown on it, and there's

just a wide variety here.

And I think Eleni, what this shows is that even the leaders of business, even the captains of industry are still trying to wrap their heads around

all the risks and rewards related to A.I.

GIOKOS: Yes. Big conversation, big debates. I think one will be having for many years to come. Matt Egan, great to have you on. Thank you.

An asteroid roughly the size of New York City's Brooklyn Bridge will pass near Earth today. Yes, you heard me. 2.6 million miles away to be exact.

[14:50:00]

So, it's far away. We -- I don't know if we have to worry because as you can see.

While that seems quite far, NASA says it's monitoring the asteroid, labeling it as a potentially hazardous object. But not to fear, it says

there is no risk of the asteroid colliding with our planet.

CNN's. Tom Foreman, joins me now from Washington, D.C. with more.

You know, from one scary story on A.I. to an asteroid passing by earth, what is going on right now? I mean, I've been to Brooklyn Bridge, I don't

think it is -- yes. I'm just -- I'm just going to, hibernates after this show. Tell me, Tom.

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's kind of big. It's kind of big. It's about as big as the central span of the Brooklyn Bridge. To give you a

point of reference on this, the asteroid that is believed to have wiped out the dinosaurs might have been about six miles 10k, wide, something like

that. So, that's a much bigger one.

GIOKOS: OK.

FOREMAN: But if this one were to hit the Earth, we'd know about it, and make a big impact on the earth, that's for sure. Fortunately, doesn't look

like it's going to. It's being tracked by the Jet Propulsion Lab out in California. They track a lot of these things now.

And you can see it's -- the white loop around there, the one that has a little readout on it just coming down from the left, that's the one we're

talking about coming near Earth.

It has come by earth about a half dozen times in the past century or so. So, we've been around this before. And it's not that close, it's coming

about 10 times as far away as the Moon to the Earth. So, that's not close.

But in galactic terms, that's very close. That's why they watch and they considered a possible threat out there.

GIOKOS: Yes.

FOREMAN: Yesterday, we had one about the size of a house that came actually a little bit closer than the Moon that passed by Earth.

On the positive side, my understanding, it was a very nice house, three bedrooms, two baths, and a little yard out back and barbecuing. So, that's

a good point.

But they're tracking these things a lot better now than they once did. And we've actually tested here, a system to try to divert one.

(CROSSTALK)

GIOKOS: Yes.

FOREMAN: -- if they spot it early enough to nudge it out of the way. So, it doesn't hit Earth. So, you should actually be feeling a little bit

better, even though we're hearing more about them.

GIOKOS: I mean, oh, look, great explanation. I'm not so worried anymore. But glad they're monitoring, you know?

(CROSSTALK)

FOREMAN: Yes.

GIOKOS: They could enter (INAUDIBLE).

FOREMAN: If they team up with artificial intelligence, we're in big trouble.

(CROSSTALK)

GIOKOS: Great to have you on --

Well, I mean, please, please don't add another thing for me to worry about it. (INAUDIBLE)

FOREMAN: No, no, no, you can sleep well. Thank you, (INAUDIBLE).

GIOKOS: Thank you so much. Good to see you.

FOREMAN: No problem.

GIOKOS: All right. We will be back right after the short break. Stay with CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:55:12]

GIOKOS: Researchers in the U.S. and U.K. say they've created the world's first synthetic human embryo like structures. They did it using stem cells

and without using any actual eggs or sperm.

What they created doesn't have beating hearts or even a brain and raises legal and ethical questions. But scientists say these embryo models could

someday improve our understanding of genetic diseases or what causes miscarriages.

The embryo-like structures are confined to test tubes, implanting them in a womb would be illegal.

And finally, tonight, could this global superstar be getting the blame for impacting inflation?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BEYONCE, AMERICAN SINGER: Girls. Who run the world? Girls. Who run the world? Girls. Who run the world? Girls. Who run this mutha --

GIOKOS (voice over): The chief economist for a Swedish bank seems to think Beyonce's concert in May explains why Sweden's rate was higher than

expected. He says her two concerts sparked a demand for hotels and restaurants. 10s of 1000s of fans flocked to the country in May to catch

her first solo tour in seven years.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GIOKOS (on camera): She is definitely inflationary. I can believe that.

Well, thanks very much for watching tonight. I'm Eleni Giokos in Dubai. "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS" is up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

END