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First Move with Julia Chatterley
Russia: Ukraine Grain Deal "Has been terminated"; China's Economic Recovery slows Further; U.S. Climate Envoy John Kerry in China for Talks; 40 Killed by Flooding, Landslides in South Korea; Warming Waters Threaten Florida's Coral Reefs; Lionel Messi Officially Unveiled by Inter Miami. Aired 9-10a ET
Aired July 17, 2023 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:00:00]
JULIA CHATTERLEY, CNN HOST, FIRST MOVE: A warm welcome to "First Move", great to have you with us as we begin a whole new week and coming up on
today's show bridge blast, Ukraine attacking the vital bridge connecting the Crimean peninsula to Russia. We've got all the latest on that.
And the Grain Deal gutted just hours after that bridge attack, the Kremlin announcing it will not extend. The crucial Black Sea grain agreement that
provide safe passage for Ukraine's grain exports around the world. We've got a live report on that just ahead.
Plus, China's growth challenge the world's second largest economy growing by 0.8 percent in the second quarter compared to the previous one, watch
the consumer too after retail sales disappointed and youth unemployment hit a record high of 21 percent. And remember, that's what the country's
admitting too.
As you could imagine that provided a serious sentiment dent across the Asia stock market session SHANGHAI falling almost 1 percent, SEOUL finished in
the red as you can see there too. Hong Kong was closed because of a typhoon while Tokyo was closed for a holiday.
So we'll have to see what catch up we see overnight and in Tuesday's session. In the meantime, here in New York, stock market futures are lower
ahead of a busy week for corporate earnings stateside, including guidance from some of the nation's largest banks. It does however though follow a
winning week last week on Wall Street, with the NASDAQ jumping more than 3 percent a busy show ahead as always.
We do begin in Ukraine and keep claiming responsibility for an explosion on the bridge over the Kerch Strait saying it was carried out by its security
services in a joint operation with the Navy that according to a source. The Governor of Russia's Belgorod region says two people lost their lives.
The Kerch Bridge serves as a crucial supply route in Moscow's war effort, as Alex Marquardt reports.
ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: This Bridge was opened back in 2018. Now, Ukraine is rather surprisingly claiming
responsibility often they do not claim responsibility for these types of brazen attacks. But Kyiv was saying that it was its navy in a joint
operation with the SBU that's the domestic security services that carried out this attack.
We believe it was around 3 am local time, according to Russian authorities, which have called this a terrorist attack. It was carried out by sea or
surface drones. In terms of the destruction the roadway from pictures and video that we've seen was severely damaged and traffic came to a halt.
Parallel to that roadway, our train tracks and it appears that the trains have kept running. But with some delay, we have seen images coming from a
train indicating that the trains are still running. This was a deadly attack. At least two adults were killed. That's according to an official in
the Belgorod region.
We believe that they are parents and that their young child was injured but this is extraordinarily significant. This bridge opened in 2018, as I
mentioned, it cost almost $4 billion to build. It was a personal project of President Vladimir Putin's, when the bridge was opened, he drove across it
himself in a truck.
It spans around 12 miles or 19 kilometers. And then the last time there was an attack on this bridge in October, which mind you Ukraine did not claim.
It resulted in a significant series of strikes, the heaviest strikes that we had seen from Russia against Ukraine since the war began.
CHATTERLEY: And now to Russia's termination of the Black Sea Grain Deal under that agreement brokered by the United Nations and Turkey a year ago.
Russia allowed Ukrainian ships carrying exports of grain to pass through its naval blockade. The effects of Moscow's withdrawal will be felt far
beyond Ukraine and could once again have a significant impact on food prices worldwide.
Just to give you a sense of the reaction that we're already seeing the price of wheat up almost 3 percent currently. Anna Stewart joins us now.
Anna, more details on why Russia was pulled out because they have been threatening, let us be clear for many weeks.
And they wanted access to be able to export their own goods in a more comprehensive manner. They didn't get the concessions they were asking for.
And here we are.
ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER: Yes, as you say it's unsurprising and as the Russian government spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said unrelated to the attack
on the bridge yesterday, this was expected for some weeks. The deal was due to expire today. So what Russia would like is to see its exports unhindered
by indirectly by social sanctions, whether it's pay payments, insurance and shipping.
[09:05:00]
But in terms of the exports of their grain, they want to see more on the table for that. So Peskov told reporters today, unfortunately, the part of
these Black Sea agreements concerning Russia has not been implemented so far. So its effect is terminated. Now, that does mean that there is some
room here perhaps for negotiation.
Perhaps the deal can be resurrected if Western allies can find a way to reach an agreement that allows Russia to export more agricultural produce.
Until it does though you I think we will see wheat prices elevated, as you said that already up nearly 3 percent today. And this comes after the U.N.
actually said that food prices had fallen some 20 percent since March of last year from their peak prices.
And of course, this doesn't just impact Ukraine and its ability to export grains, wheat, and so on. It impacts all of those countries that exports to
more than 50 percent are developing countries and global food prices. So if this deal isn't resurrected, we could see an elevated food price for some
time to come. That impacts inflation interest rates the world over, Julia.
CHATTERLEY: Absolutely. I was about to say I'm actually surprised by the lack of reaction in wheat prices at this stage. But I think there's clearly
some inbuilt optimism here that some kind of solution will be found in an extension provided. We'll see Anna, great to have you. Thank you, Anna
Stewart there.
China's economic recovery losing steam the world's second largest economy expanding at an annual rate of 6.3 percent in the second quarter slower
than expected. However compared to the first quarter growth was a sluggish 0.8 percent. Marc Stewart joins us now I think most of us are dazed and
confused by those numbers.
But the key here is the comparisons to what we've got in 2022, which flatter these numbers because that data was so poor. What's the story here
in terms of the degree of slowing, Marc? How worried should we be and what more support from the government can we hope for?
MARC STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Julia, I was thinking about our many conversations over the last few months about all of these different
realities facing China. Well, they are certainly reflected in the data that we have seen today. And yes, these numbers seem to be staggering.
But consider it was one year ago under zero COVID lock downs where everything was pretty flat. So whatever we see, obviously, is going to be
dramatic. But if we're talking about GDP, if we're talking about productivity and growth, in order to achieve that, you have to have money
moving.
That can be through investment by business, it can be through consumer spending. And one way to do that is through stimulus. It's kind of been
that true and tried a tool that we have seen in the pandemic in many economies around the world. So expect to see perhaps some calls here in
China to do that.
I was looking at a memo sent out this morning, a note this morning from Deutsche Bank. And it was saying do not be surprised that these cries get
louder to do stimulus to convince China to engage in stimulus, especially as the Politburo, the legislative body meets later this month.
So stimulus is going to be one key thing to look out for other things that are taking place and may have a bigger role, certainly our interest rate
cut to something that we have seen from the Bank of China, the People's Bank of China, although as we have seen that does take patience.
Interesting to note that there are incentives now to get Chinese consumers to buy electric vehicles. As we've discussed, the EV market is something
that's actually booming right now, in China. Also, we're going to go back to this theme in China about regulation and trying to ease some of the
regulation specifically among tech companies.
We've seen a crackdown, we saw Premier Li Qiang have a meeting with tech companies, including Alibaba, including ByteDance. Also on this list is AI
that is seen as a way to get new business going. There was a draft, as we've reported, have different regulations concerning AI in China.
Some of that has been relaxed. Again, China is really trying to make this environment friendly for both businesses and consumers. But despite
everything that may be tried that is on the table, Julia, as you well know, the world is still facing economic uncertainty. And that could easily seep
into the best made plans by China to try to revive things to get things going up once again.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, I love the concept of providing money and following the financial flows and ultimately reaches the answers. But the problem here is
they juice the economy with loan growth, which is a challenge. You can't go to the property sector now, because it's been a bubble that's essentially
pop.
So looking for those levels of growth is so challenging. I like the technology angle as a way to achieve that. It's going to be interesting to
see. Marc Stewart, thank you. U.S. climate envoy John Kerry landing in China amid searing heat on Sunday. Beijing the venue for crucial climate
talks between the two largest economies and the two biggest polluters in the world.
[09:10:00]
They both say co-operation on climate is, key, but that's more or less been frozen amid severe political tensions. Anna Coren is in Hong Kong with
more.
ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: U.S. Climate Envoy John Kerry held a four hour meeting with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinhua on the first official
day of his trip to Beijing, in the hope to regain momentum on climate talks between the two superpowers.
Before the meeting, Xi said China is seeking substantial dialogue this week that could contribute to "improving our bilateral relations". The world's
two largest economies are the world's two biggest emitters of greenhouse gases, accounting for 40 percent of global emissions.
And both sides realize the need for cooperation if they are to drastically cut fossil fuel production and ease global warming. Almost a year ago,
climate talks between the U.S. and China came to a standstill. After then U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan, Beijing seven talks in
protest.
But there have been a slew of high level meetings in the past month to improve this strained relationship, starting with U.S. Secretary of State,
then the Treasury Secretary. Now U.S. Climate Envoy John Kerry is in Beijing for talks. Kerry and Xi have history and have met more than 50
times.
They worked together in 2021 for COP26 in Glasgow where they made real progress. They then met on the sidelines of COP27 in Egypt of last year.
Then in January of this year, the two talks via video link communications have continued despite strained relations.
This face to face meeting is important. It's about resuming their joint working group on climate cooperation before COP28 in Dubai at the end of
November. Kerry said it was imperative that China and the U.S. make real progress in the next four months.
Kerry also said, in the next three days, we hope we can begin taking big steps that will send a signal to the world about the serious purpose of
China and the U.S. to address a common risk, threat, and challenge to all of humanity created by humans themselves. Kerry will meet with other
Chinese officials over the next few days possibly even Chinese Leader Xi Jinping.
Kerry and Xi met when he was U.S. Secretary of State under President Obama. Experts believe that meeting would send an important signal of Beijing's
commitment to tackling global warming. Anna Coren, CNN, Hong Kong.
CHATTERLEY: And speaking of that extreme floods record breaking temperatures and the risk of more Canadian wildfire smoke. That's the
weather report from the United States where more than 35 temperature records were broken across the nation on Sunday, more than 80 million
people in fact are facing dangerously high temperatures, as what's known as a heat dome remains locked over the western part of the nation.
California, Nevada and Arizona are seeing heat above 100 degrees Fahrenheit, and CNN Rafael Romo joins us now from Las Vegas, Nevada, where
an excessive heat warning is in effect, great to have you with us just explain how people they're managing it and what the authorities are saying.
RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Julia, it's been very hard for people around here the heat wave are definitely not over yet. And excessive heat
warning remains in effect. For parts of the state you just mentioned Arizona, California and Nevada and the National Weather Service says
dangerously hot afternoons was little overnight relief are expected adding that.
This will result in a major to extreme risk of heat related illness for much of the population. Here in Las Vegas, high temperatures were well over
40 degrees Celsius during the weekend and are expected to remain there during the week. Earlier I spoke with the ranger at Death Valley National
Park in California, also known as the hottest place on earth.
And he told us what worries them is that this extreme weather seems to be a trend instead of a single occurrence.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MATT LAMAR, DEATH VALLEY PARK RANGER: What we're seeing here in Death Valley is certainly that things are getting hotter. 7 of our 10 hottest
summers have come in the last 10 years. And that's you know, obviously a global trends.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMO: Here in Las Vegas organizations are trying to make sure nobody goes without water making an effort to take care of people without a home. This
is how a woman who's part of this effort explained their decision to help.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Its life and death. I mean, there's no joking about that. That is literally this water will save a life. They're literally
baking on the streets.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMO: Julia, over the weekend here in Las Vegas, people were wondering if the old time record of 117 degrees Fahrenheit, 47 degrees Celsius was going
to be broken. The temperature fell short yesterday but only by a couple of degrees. The National Weather Service says this heat wave is not typical
there is heat due to its long duration extreme day tight temperatures and warm nights.
[09:15:00]
They also say that everyone needs to take this heat seriously including those who live in places like this one in the desert, back to you.
CHATTERLEY: Wow, I'm just looking at the ashphalt temperature. No bare feet allowed. Don't forget your flip flops, exhausting heat. Great to have you
with us, thank you, Rafael Romo there. Alright, Southern Europe is also sweltering amid a severe heat wave right in the middle of the summer
tourist season in Italy.
At least one person died and several tourists collapse from the extreme heat. Rome is one of 16 Italian cities under a warning of extreme risk to
health due to the severely high temperatures. And La Palma in Spain's Canary Islands and out of control forest fire has forced at least 4000
people to leave their homes. Wow! OK, we'll be back right after this, stay with CNN.
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CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to "First Move", the recovery in the world's second largest economy losing pace. GDP expanded to 6.3 percent in the
second quarter that's on a year on year basis that was well below expectations. And the disappointments continue indicators like record high
youth unemployment to slowing retail sales and faltering business confidence and are raising expectations or further government support.
To give us some context too, joining us now, Derek Scissors, Chief Economist at China Beige Book, he's also a Senior Fellow at the American
Enterprise Institute, Derek good to have you with us. Can you please just start by putting some of these percentages into perspective or as we know
2022 was incredibly weak because China was still in lockdown?
So it flatters the numbers that we're getting this year. But yet everybody's concerned that we're seeing slowing context please.
DEREK SCISSORS, CHIEF ECONOMIST, CHINA BEIGE BOOK: Right 6.3 percent year on year GDP growth sounds great.
CHATTERLEY: Yes.
SCISSORS: But last year, during the second quarter, SHANGHAI was hit with a COVID outbreak. China was essentially in a recession. People thought this
was going to be the quarter that really made all of 2023. They thought we could get 7.5 percent growth on year and we were well below that, which
puts all 2023 in jeopardy because of the rest of the year is going to be more normal.
And we're going to see numbers in the fours and then the kicker there is we actually saw outright deflation in the second quarter real growth was
faster than nominal growth meaning the inflation adjustment was negative.
[09:20:00]
And outright deflation is a very scary thing because it tends to become embedded and that means slow growth going forward.
CHATTERLEY: This caught my attention too. In a world of still excessively high becoming cooling prices, China's price weakness stands out. And it's
not just about consumer prices. It's also in the producer prices, which for me, suggests that they're anticipating demand weakness, which is not just
about China.
But it has implications for the rest of the world too. Just expand on what we're seeing there on that concern?
SCISSORS: Right, consumer prices are basically flat right now, or at least on the latest reading, which is not good. You want mild consumer inflation,
less than we've had around the world recently, but more than we see in China, but then producer prices are outright negative and they have been
for a while.
So the normal story and China there's too much supply. China tends to over build in key industries and have too many firms and then they send their
supply overseas. That's a concern. As you said, we now have inadequate demand, certainly in China. And it appears to be true around the world,
possibly with the exception of the U.S.
So we have a one-two punch too much supply and China weak demand globally and in China, and you get this negative producer price trend.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, it makes the consumption data and the retail sales data all that more important to watch. The other thing that leaps out is the
youth unemployment rate. In fact, jobs in general, quite frankly, vitally important for maintaining confidence in government, local government and
the centralized government in China's jobs growth.
And what was it 12 million jobs, I believe they said last year that they managed to provide what's the expectation this year? And what do you make
of the admission of a record high youth unemployment rate?
SCISSORS: Yes, so that people are focusing on youth unemployment with good reason when anyone says any sort of unemployment is 21 percent, it gets
your attention. A supplement to that is last year when China really underperformed because of zero COVID and everyone thought it was a terrible
year.
They claim they created 12 million new jobs, as you said, and this year, they're not claiming anything, which is very odd. You'd think this year
where things are better. They they're not much better, but they are better, that we get more claims of job creation. So we have a one-two punch,
there's clearly a problem in the new segment of the labor market.
But also the dynamism of the economy, China's gone silent on it, after being perfectly willing to talk about it last year in a bad year, it almost
makes it seem that this year is worse for the labor market.
CHATTERLEY: Do you believe the data? Derek, do you believe if that saying gone?
SCISSORS: No, I mean, I generally don't. I mean, the unemployment figures, the way China counts unemployment, it actually exaggerates youth
unemployment and understates everyone else's unemployment, because you have to be in the labor market for a while, in order to count.
They have a number of problems with other data over time. I don't necessarily believe their price measurements. So I will say the
government's willingness to be realistic. You know, they're not putting out a false jobs number. They're just not telling us that we're willing to
report slower growth, I find that somewhat reassuring.
But it's also the case that when you know, it'll be typically that when the provinces report their own growth, very few of them will be below the
national average. That's a problem China's had for a long time, and they've never even tried to fix it.
CHATTERLEY: I mean, how do you even fix that I just, if I'm thinking about, let's assume we believe the data and it is fairly accurate, a -- of young
people out of jobs that's in this economy. A lot of parents that are supporting an extra person writing checks, that's going to have an impact
on competence.
That's going to have an impact on the consumption concerns that we're talking about, but for the rest of the year, if not beyond. To your point
about hoping for some kind of silver lining in the rest of the year, I sort of struggled to see where it comes from and how they generate that in the
short term, if not through stimulus?
SCISSORS: Well, so before we get into stimulus, you're exactly right. I mean, China's households have disappointed everyone by saving so much. But
if you have a child or a young adult who has, you know, a one in five chance of being unemployed and they're talking about higher unemployment in
July, you have reason to save.
So then everybody, as you said, switches to talking about stimulus. But in fact, China's already tried monetary stimulus, loan growth, the stock of
loans are growing more than twice as fast as GDP. So, you know, you're trying that it's not working. And on the fiscal side, China's fiscal
spending has always been directed at firms and production, especially new buildings, for example, on the construction side.
Those are not the jobs anyone wants and China's already overspent in that area. So you can talk about stimulus but it's not obvious how to make
stimulus work.
[09:25:00]
CHATTERLEY: What's your forecast for this year? I've noticed a number of analysts already this morning cutting their growth forecasts for China this
year. Where do you lie now? And what is the best way in your mind? How can they improve this situation?
SCISSORS: Well, I should say that I expected a better year this year than we've seen. So I have to do what everyone else is doing and revise my
forecasts down. I think they'll make 5 percent because the party when it's close tends to make its targets, as in if it's 4.5 percent they're going to
report 5 percent.
A lot of us including me were expecting something more like seven. In terms of how to make the economy better, we may have seen a step in the last few
weeks of ending the crackdown on private tech firms, such as Alibaba and Tencent, not just them, but certainly including them.
That would be a step in the right direction, it's only one other steps would have to be taken to allow the market a little more play to encourage
consumption. But that would be more useful. That is more useful than saying, oh, you know, we're going to have 12 percent growth, loan growth
instead of 11 percent. So that would be the way for the year to be stronger than expected.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, help address the lack of competence from international investors. And that's something clearly that monetary policy at this stage
can't help address. Yes, Gerek, good to get your perspective, thank you.
SCISSORS: Thank you.
CHATTERLEY: Derek Scissors, the Chief Economist at China Beige Book, thank you. OK, after the break a cash conundrum at Twitter, we'll discuss what
Elon Musk revealed about the company's finances, after the break.
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CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to "First Move", and I can't believe I didn't know this but there you can see it. It's World Emoji Day apparently being
celebrated at the New York Stock Exchange. Imagine being one of those employees that were told they could be on the balcony but had to dress as
an emoji.
Yes. Here's a look at the opening bell and market open this morning. We were expecting quite trade ahead of a series of corporate earnings this
week, including Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, Netflix, and Tesla of course, too. It's a mixed bag but the NASDAQ does seem to be looking to add
to last week's gains too.
Here's a look at Activision Blizzard though and Tesla's shares of Elon Musk's company higher as it rolls out its first cybertruck. And Activision
Blizzard also up as well after Microsoft reached an agreement to keep the Call of Duty series on Sony PlayStation that stock up some 3.5 percent in
early trade.
Now speaking of Elon Musk and Tesla and emojis of course, too, there's a link Elon Musk revealing that Twitter has lost around half of its
advertising revenue and still has a negative cash flow. Because in response to business advice from a follower, the billionaire tweeted, "need to reach
positive cash flow before we have the luxury of anything else".
It's a stark contrast to his tone just a few months ago when he told the BBC that Twitter is roughly breaking even and that most of its advertisers
have returned. Clare Duffy joins us now. That's an interesting one. I guess all those things could be true, because the cash burn could have reduced
and all advertisers may have returned.
They're just giving him half the money. But one has to question. Yes, right. I agree with you, raise hands moment, there's an emoji for that.
CLARE DUFFY, CNN BUSINESS WRITER: Yes. Julia. I mean, it's hard to know what to believe in terms of what Elon Musk is saying about this company,
who has much earlier this year him warning that the company could face bankruptcy than in April. He's telling the BBC that the company is nearly
breakeven and that most advertisers have returned.
And now we're getting this tweet where he says that the company is down about 50 percent in advertising revenue and the cash flow is still
negative. This 50 percent figure does track a bit more with what we understood about the state of the company. We reported in June that about
60 percent of Twitter's top 1000 advertisers before Musk's takeover had stopped their spending on the platform as of April.
The New York Times also reported last month that Twitter's ad revenue was down about 60 percent. So this seems a bit more in line with what we
understood about the state of the company. And I do think this tweet as a reminder of just how important advertising revenue is to, Twitter.
Elon Musk has been trying to grow these other revenue streams, charging for verification charging users to use TweetDeck. And yet unless they can get
advertisers to return to the platform, this company is still going to be struggling. And I also think Julia it's interesting.
That's about a month and a half since Twitter's new CEO, Linda Yaccarino started in the role. She's a Former Advertising Exec, who was hired with
the hope that she could help convince advertisers to return to this platform. And I think this is a reminder that she still has a long way to
go in that respect.
CHATTERLEY: I've met her and she's pretty punchy. So I wonder as well, where there's some of the sort of get real and be honest about the facts.
And the situation here is part of some of the shift. We're seeing this, of course, and the difference between breakeven.
And now, some greater understanding of what's going on with the financials has happened since Threads was launched, of course, by Meta, formerly
Facebook, and you and I have talked about that in the past too. Now one could argue there's even more competition for that advertising money.
DUFFY: Absolutely. I mean, Meta hasn't started allowing advertising on Threads just yet. But I can imagine a lot of advertisers are probably in a
sort of wait and see mode to see if more users leave Twitter. Or Twitter, you know, new people don't join Twitter, they joined Threads instead.
And so, you know, advertisers for a lot of this year had been in sort of a wait and see mode to see what Elon Musk does with this platform. And I
think this is only going to continue that sort of period of waiting to see whether they want to be on Twitter or not.
CHATTERLEY: Very quick question. Did we ever get to the bottom you and I was discussing this terminology of Threads?
DUFFY: Yes. So Instagram CEO, Adam Mosseri, who was running Threads, said that a post on thread is called a post. And if you have multiple posts in a
row, it's a thread but it's not like a tweet where a post is called a thread. So it's still a little confusing to me, but when you post on
Threads, it is supposedly called a post not a thread.
CHATTERLEY: -- posting on everything if you posting so that's ambitious, I think to suggest that they're going to harness the name posting it only
referred to them. Clare Duffy --
DUFFY: I think yes, little sign that things are tricky there.
CHATTERLEY: We think that name too late now. Thank you. OK. Meanwhile, former employees of Twitter's only office in Africa say they never received
severance pay. The layoffs were part of Elon Musk's global cost cutting plan just four days after Twitter opened an office in Ghana's capital of
Accra.
[09:35:00]
As part of the cuts staff has accepted Twitter's offer to pay them three month's severance but seven months later they say they haven't seen a cent.
And CNN has reached out to Twitter for comment. Larry Madowo joins us now. This is great reporting, important to understand how this is all being
handled. What were these people saying to you and what do they think's going on several months later?
LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Julia, CNN has spoken exclusively to several former employees of Twitter's only African office and Ghana's well
as their attorney. And they say the last day at Twitter officially was December 4, we're in July now. And they still have not seen a cent.
Initially Twitter is not even going to negotiate with them until CNN reported on their case. And then Twitter came back and says its fine. We
can negotiate. They believe that to the lowball them and only agreed, offered them three months of severance, no benefits, no stocks vesting,
nothing else compared to what people in Europe and North America received.
But they were tired of this drawn out process. They didn't want to take on the extra burden of a court case. So they agreed to it that was back in
May. So far silence from Twitter. In fact, one of them told me that literally ghosted us and they don't understand why this is happening to
them.
They're a small team of just 11 people there not hundreds of people that work for Twitter in Africa. I want to read a quote for you from their
attorney who has been representing them from the beginning. Carla Olympio, she says, unfortunately, it appears that after having unethically
implemented their terminations in violation of their own promises, and Ghana's laws, dragging the negotiation process out for over half a year.
Now that we have come to the point of almost settlement, there has been complete silence from them for several weeks. And she says they're
considering legal action against Twitter and various jurisdictions, including in Ghana, and we reached out to Twitter, Julia, for a comment
regarding the status of these 11 former employees of Twitter.
It seems unlikely that the world's richest man can pay severance to just 11 people. We got back what is now an automated response for all press
inquiries, a poop emoji.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, and that's been the case since March, any effort to get in contact via the press department at Twitter gets you a poop emoji, which in
this case. And Larry, just to be clear, some of these people has moved to Ghana, from other African nations to take up these jobs. There were no
protections in their contract, or an event like this.
MADOWO: That' right. They did move to the country from Nigeria and other neighboring countries because of their special expertise. And Twitter is
very proud and the Jack Dorsey to have set up this office in Africa. Jack Dorsey talked about potentially moving to Africa for six months.
And so their legal status depended on their employment of Twitter. So they've been left in a lurch for so long. Part of the agreement with the
severance pay for Twitter was for them to get paid repatriation costs, and nothing has happened. And here's the other complication, Julia that you
rightly point out that if Twitter no longer has a presence in Ghana, realistically.
Ghanaian authorities cannot compel it to comply if they don't have a legal entity in the country.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, it's such a great point. Well, we're once again raising a torch or a flashlight for these people to try and get them some kind of
better response than a poop emoji. Yes, Larry, great to have you, thank you. Coming up after the break, Google's been searching for solutions to
build a digital skills gap.
We'll hear about his strive to give job seekers the tools they need to find better jobs, and it's working, that's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:40:00]
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to "First Move", authorities in South Korea say 40 people have now died from flash floods and landslides in the past few days.
13 people died in a flooded underpass in the central part of the country when extreme weather turned an ordinary road journey into a tragedy, as
Michael Holmes reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR (voice over): Working in mud and against the clock, rescue is in South Korea pump water from a flooded tunnel. Acts of
water redirected from the ones clogged underpass, revealing some of the vehicles trapped inside. Dash cam video shows how quickly the tunnel filled
up on Saturday.
Local authorities say a levee broke after days of heavy rain across the country sending a rush of water through the underpass, some cars barely
escaping the deluge. But authorities say 15 vehicles including a bus were trapped in the tunnel along with their drivers and passengers.
Divers have been painstakingly searching for them and have retrieved multiple bodies from the scene. Many family members of those thought to be
missing gathered at a nearby hospital. Their misery compounded by the agony of a long wait for information. One man says he's speechless and says he
hasn't eaten for hours while waiting for authorities to brief him.
The tragedy has shocked South Korea some people saying the government should have been better prepared after last year's torrential rains, which
were the worst in 115 years. One man who lives near the tunnel says authorities should have closed it when flooding was expected.
He says he feels like this could have easily happened to him and he feels like part of himself died too. Heavy monsoon rains, of course, dozens of
deaths not just in the tunnel but across the country. Thousands of people forced to evacuate because of floods and landslides.
In some areas riverbanks completely collapsed because of saturated ground. And meteorologists warn it could get worse, with as much as 300 millimeters
of additional rain forecast to fall in some parts of the country over the next few days. Other parts of Asia are also dealing with intense weather,
Southern China bracing for a powerful storm which is expected to lash the area with strong winds and heavy rains in the next few days.
And parts of New Delhi are still waterlogged, even though water levels in the Yamuna River which flooded the city have receded. But the water hasn't
drained away yet creating very wet and frustrating circumstances for people just trying to move about the city. Michael Holmes, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHATTERLEY: And to Russia now, classrooms are slowly becoming bleak monuments to the country's war dead. It's part of a patriotic program by
the Kremlin and a means to stamp out early seeds of dissent against the war in Ukraine and the Putin regime. Clare Sebastian has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The marching is not perfectly in time. But what the ceremony lacks in military precision, it
makes up for the propaganda value. These children in Central Russia will now get the chance to sit at a new desk. Blazoned with the face of one of
Russia's war dead, a former pupil at this school killed just three days into the invasion.
His grieving mother struggling through, these so called Hero Desks turning classrooms into bleak memorials of a death toll Russia has otherwise tried
to hide are actually part of a government initiative. Russia's ruling party says they now number over 14,000. They were apparently including veterans
of other wars.
DANIIL KEN, HEAD OF ALLIANCE OF TEACHERS UNION: You see as a -- , his name he was our pupil just several years ago.
[09:45:00]
It tried to save our country and for very young people. It's hard not to feel painful.
SEBASTIAN (voice over): Daniil Ken have an openly anti-Kremlin Teachers Union now living outside Russia says the atmosphere in schools changed
overnight when the war started. Information so tightly controlled, he says multiple teachers have been fired, some even fined for speaking up.
A fate that Olga, a teacher in St. Petersburg we've changed her name and disguised her identity for safety reasons, narrowly avoided.
OLGA, TEACHER: I also tried to convince my colleagues that our country has committed a crime. One week later the Director of the School invited me to
talk and she warned me that if I continue then she will have to appeal to special body on the stage. She meant FSB.
SEBASTIAN (voice over): And then there are the not so subtle curriculum changes this video on the Crimean bridge part of a new state controlled
weekly lesson series launched last year called conversations about important things. It's not just a transport crossing, the speaker explains
but a spiritual crossing.
No mention of the huge explosion that caused part of the bridge to collapse a few months earlier. History is being rewritten in the textbooks this one
now includes the so called special military operation. And it's not just recent history.
OLGA: It is an historic fact that Russian state began with the Kyiv. Kyivskaya, Russia, so to say, but nowadays the new textbooks of history are
issued where this idea is removed.
SEBASTIAN (voice over): Scenes like this at a school in Crimea will also likely become much more common. Basic military preparation a throwback to
Soviet times set to officially re-enter the school curriculum for older classes.
KEN: It's a cheap, simple method of reaching a very large audience and to get across the government's position. It is in essence moral violence
against children.
SEBASTIAN (voice over): CNN has reached out to the Russian Ministry of Education for comment on the purpose of these changes and gotten her
response. Sitting at these hero desks in many schools are award for only the best students. A morbid incentive designed to breed a generation
patriotic enough to accept a war whose consequences they are sure to inherit. Clare Sebastian, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHATTERLEY: OK, coming up here on "First Move", Messi in Miami. The iconic Lionel Messi superstar introduction to his adoring fans in South Florida,
that's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:50:00]
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to "First Move", researchers expressing concern due to a sudden heat wave off the coast of Florida. It has water
temperatures soaring to record levels that could put one of the state's most precious resources coral reefs at risk. CNN Meteorologist Derek Van
Dam explains how the extreme heat has triggered coral bleaching.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DEREK VAN DAM, CNN WEATHER ANCHOR (voice over): A heat wave off the coast of Florida is sending water temperatures to unprecedented highs. While
that's not a problem for some swimmers, it is a major concern for coral reefs. Corals thrive with ocean temperatures in the mid-80s but lately they
have been soaring into the 90s.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where in the world are they measuring these off the chart record ocean temperatures?
DAM (voice over): Including this NOAA sensor, one research scientist showed me near Miami. It's broken its daily record the past four days in a row.
South Florida's abnormally warm water could put area corals on the verge of extinction. Dr. Andrew Baker is a Professor of Marine Biology and Ecology
at the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School.
ANDREW BAKER, PROFESSOR OF MARINE BIOLOGY AND ECOLOGY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI: The Marine heat wave is more or less throughout the Caribbean at
this point. Certain parts of the Caribbean like Belize are already bleaching and bleaching pretty severely, and Florida is where Belize was
about a month ago.
DAM (on camera): This is a healthy brown piece of coral. If it was to bleach, it would turn all white and could potentially die. That is what
scientists are concerned about. If this marine heat wave continues to build.
DAM (voice over): Losing coral could be costly. Coral reefs generate billions of dollars for Florida's economy through activities like fishing
and tourism, which wouldn't be possible without reefs to protect the species that rely on them.
BAKER: We've been working for several years on ways to make corals more thermally tolerant.
DAM (voice over): Engineering coral that can withstand even a five degree temperature increase in our oceans will mitigate the effects of stronger
marine heat waves that are expected in the future. Corals are one of the most sensitive ecosystems to the effects of climate change. Without them,
we could lose a natural defense system as healthy corals help protect our coastlines during hurricanes.
BAKER: And so reef restoration efforts that are ongoing right now are really taking steps to plan for climate change to try to make sure that we
restore reefs to be suitable for a future environment. I'm not the victims on it.
DAM (voice over): Ken Nedimyer is the Technical Director at Reef Renewal U.S.A. He works to restore coral reefs in the Florida Keys and is hopeful
about the future.
KEN NEDIMYER, FOUNDER OF REEF RENEWAL USA: There are corals that can live in hotter water, we just have to find them and try to repopulate with them.
DAM (voice over): After one year Dr. Baker's research is hitting its initial milestones already seen results with coral surviving in slightly
warmer temperatures.
BAKER: We've had a few pilot experiments out there on the reefs that we've manipulated to try to make corals more thermally tolerant and this will be
an actual test of that.
DAM (voice over): Not ready to throw the towel in just yet. Optimism amid record breaking weather patterns with no immediate signs of cooling off.
Derek Van Dam, CNN, Miami.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHATTERLEY: Now one of the greatest footballers of all time arriving in Florida. Lionel Messi celebrated at an Inter Milan introductory events
Sunday night which included the team's co-owner David Beckham. Now some tickets for Messi's first match on Friday are changing hands for as much as
$110,000.
Carlos Suarez joins us now. Is that true? That's insane, but he certainly owning his price tag.
[09:55:00]
CARLOS SUAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, apparently some tickets on some real reselling websites are going for that kind of number. It was an incredible
night out here as thousands of Inter Miami CF fans gathered to welcome Lionel Messi to South Florida. Now Messi doesn't make his official debut
with the team until Friday, though he has a team practice that is scheduled for tomorrow.
As I noted, coming out to me here at least, right now some tickets are going for at least about $500 for Friday's match, but as you noted, some
reselling websites have put some tickets at $110,000 just to watch one of the greatest soccer players make his big debut in the U.S. Of course,
Julia, there's a great deal of expectation and hope that Lionel Messi is going to grow U.S. Soccer.
There really hasn't been this big of a name when it comes to American soccer since belay played in New York City back in 1975. But all of this,
of course, is adding to a great deal of hope and frenzy around Lionel Messi as we head into the coming years especially comes the 2026 World Cup. Of
course, the U.S. is one of the host countries for -- Julia.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, of course, and just quickly, you can charge what you like the question is, are people paying for it? Which is the other thing? Are
you going to be there on Friday, very quickly?
SUAREZ: Exactly, yes my hope is to be here on Friday. Go I'm not paying anywhere near even $10 per ticket.
CHATTERLEY: OK, just checking Carlos, I'm being charged up got to go, thank you, Carlos. And that's it for the show. "Connect the World" is up next.
I'll see you tomorrow.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:00:00]
END
