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U.S. Ends Its 20-Year War; Taliban Faces a Gigantic Challenge; U.S. Laying Out Conditions Before Negotiating with Taliban; Afghan Refugees Waiting to be Processed; E.U. Removes U.S. from Tourist Travel List; Hurricane Ida Left Louisiana in the Dark; U.S. Says Taliban Must Honor Their Commitments; ISIS-K Members Posing As Taliban Fighters; Afghan Interpreter Recounts Family's Harrowing Escape; U.S. Air Base Housing Thousands Of Afghan Evacuees; Researchers Studying Variant Detected In South Africa; China Places Time Limit On Video Games; Brazil Bank Robberies. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired August 31, 2021 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[03:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church.
Just ahead here on CNN Newsroom. Afghanistan's new rulers take control after the last of American troops exit, the Taliban say they want good relations with the rest of the world.
A powerful hurricane's devastating aftermath. More than a million without power and countless homes lost to powerful winds and floods.
And later, new restrictions from the Chinese government will limit video game time for kids to just three hours a week. All the details from Beijing.
Good to have you with us.
Well, the Taliban once again rule Afghanistan virtually unchecked after the U.S. ended its longest war a nearly 20-year military presence in the country. Just hours after the last American troops left, the Taliban spokesman congratulated the people of Afghanistan, saying quote, "this victory, belongs to us all." And he said the Taliban want good diplomatic relations with the U.S. and the world.
The commander of the U.S. Central Command says the Taliban were helpful to American forces ahead of their departure.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KENNETH MCKENZIE, COMMANDER, U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND: They established a firm perimeter outside of the airfield to prevent people from coming on the airfield during our departure, and we work that with them for a number of days. They did not have direct knowledge of our time of departure, we choose to keep that -- we chose to keep that very information very restricted. But they were actually very helpful and useful to us as we close down operations.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: The U.S. State Department has now suspended its diplomatic operations in Kabul and will instead operate out of Qatar. In the coming hours, President Joe Biden will address the nation but ahead of that, the secretary of state spoke about the withdrawal and what's needed now from the Taliban.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: The Taliban seeks international legitimacy and support. Our message is, any legitimacy and any support will have to be earned. The Taliban can do that by meeting commitments and obligations and freedom of travel, respecting the basic rights of the Afghan people, including women and minorities, upholding its commitments on counter-terrorism, not carrying out reprisal violence against those who choose to stay in Afghanistan, informing an inclusive government that can meet the needs and reflect the aspirations of the Afghan people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: The U.S. departure left the Taliban to celebrate their victory, but they faced governing a country without desperately needed foreign aid and a humanitarian crisis made worse by a severe drought.
Sam Kiley has our report.
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SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): A C- 17 taking the last American boots off Afghan ground. The end of America's longest war celebrated in Kabul with live ammunition blasted into the sky.
MCKENZIE: I'm here to announce the completion of our withdrawal in Afghanistan and the end of the military mission to evacuate American citizens, third country nationals and vulnerable Afghans.
KILEY: Two thousand four hundred sixty-two U.S. servicemembers and civilians have been killed over the last 20 years. And Brown University's cost of war project estimates that tens of thousands Afghan civilians have died since the U.S. led coalition invaded the country. The financial cost of the U.S. estimated at two and a half trillion dollars, also according to Brown.
The Taliban now in control of the last U.S. footprint, Kabul International Airport. The death toll was still climbing as the clock tick down towards the end of the war. Ten members of the same family were killed in an earlier U.S. drone strike, against an alleged ISIS terror team, it had been posing an imminent threat to the airport. Six of them were children.
The Pentagon saying that there were significant secondary explosions, indicating a substantial amount of explosives in a vehicle hit by the drone. With just hours left ahead of the withdrawal deadline, evacuations totaled over 123,000 down to 1,200 in the final 24 hours before the U.S. left.
The Taliban, for 20 years, just a militant force must now figure out how to govern. In central Kabul the economy is ground to a halt and Afghans are struggling to withdraw money from banks, many of them are still trying to leave.
[03:05:06]
The Taliban pledge this week that even after the coalition is gone, anyone with a passport will be able to go. And the U.N. says that more than half a million Afghans have been displaced this year alone and warns of a mass movement of refugees out of the country by land. And that desire to leave is unlikely to wane even with promises of moderation from Taliban leaders.
For now, the Taliban focus will inevitably shift to fighting terrorists from the more radical ISIS-K. For America, this war is over. For Afghans, another may have already begun.
Sam Kiley, CNN, Doha.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: And CNN's Anna Coren has covered Afghanistan for years and has recently returned from Kabul. She joins me now live. Good to see you, Anna.
So, now that the Taliban are fully in control of Afghanistan, we are already seeing their brutal approach to ruling the country and their struggle to control ISIS-K. What is the latest on all of this and what might a future Afghanistan look like?
ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's a really good question, Rosemary. I guess it's playing out in real-time. We know that the Taliban spokesperson, Zabiullah Mujahid and a group of his supporters, if you like, entered the airport, Hamid Karzai International Airport for the first time a few hours ago. News agency AFP were there with them filming these leaders looking at what was, you know, hours beforehand controlled by the Americans until they flew out.
You know, basically, ending America's 20-year war in Afghanistan. But for the Taliban, he said that this is a victory, a victory to be shared by all Afghans. And that the Taliban want -- wants to have a positive diplomatic relationship with the west, with the United States, in particular.
And you know, at the end of the day, Rosemary, they are going to need to have some sort of relationship with the United States. Whilst these evacuations were going on these last two weeks, the United States was working with the Taliban as far as security was concerned. But now, you know, the Taliban has to govern, it has to govern for 38
million people. You know, they spent the last 20 years on the battlefield, now they have to represent the people. Half of the country is malnourished, that is just one of the issues facing this new leadership. That's according to the United Nations.
We know that Afghanistan has been going through a particularly tough drought. We know that there is a humanitarian crisis underway. We know that tens of thousands of Afghans, you know, want to flee the country. The Taliban was referring to this brain drain.
And then, of course, you have the issue of aid. Before the Taliban, the government that was in power was always propped up by foreign aid. More than 60 percent of the funding for the Afghan, former Afghan government was from foreign aid, whether it be from the Americans or the international community.
So, perhaps this is the only leverage that the United States, Rosemary, has with the Taliban. We heard from the U.N. Security Council that they want a safe passage zone set up to ensure that those thousands of Afghans that want to flee and remembering, too, that there still is probably 200.
Antony Blinken, the secretary of state, says it's less than 200, but there are still American citizens who want to get out along with those SIV holders who weren't able to be airlifted. Taliban yet to agree to that, Rosemary. So, you know, huge challenges ahead for the Taliban and we are going to just have to see what sort of government they will eventually form.
CHURCH: Yes, absolutely. Anna Coren joining us here, many thanks.
So, let's talk about this with CNN military analyst Colonel Cedric Leighton. Always good have you with us.
CEDRIC LEIGHTON, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Thank you, Rosemary. Always good to be with you.
CHURCH: So, after 20 years, the war in Afghanistan, the longest in U.S. history is finally over. But up to 250 Americans are still trying to get out along with thousands of Afghan allies after this chaotic and deadly exit that has been criticized by many.
Could this evacuation have been done earlier, better, and smoother, or was the chaos inevitable? And how will the U.S. get those left behind out of country without a U.S. presence in Afghanistan?
[03:09:50]
LEIGHTON: Well, I think that's going to be a really tough thing for them to do. I know that Secretary Blinken in his remarks made it very clear that they were going to continue to work this from the State Department perspective.
But it's kind of hard to do these kinds of very delicate, diplomatic moves from a country like Qatar, which it forces not Afghanistan and once they have those things set up, those things set up there in Qatar I think a positive development.
However, I think it's also going to be a very difficult logistical thing to manage. And I'm suspicious that it may not be as robust an effort as many of us would like.
In terms of whether or not it could have been an evacuation without chaos, probably not. I think that the way in which this went down it certainly could have been managed better in many respects but it would never be completely devoid of chaos. Chaos basically will be part of any type of evacuation of this type.
CHURCH: And Colonel, it is up to the Taliban now to secure Kabul, and of course the rest of the country. They'll have to maintain stability and security in the country and operate the airport in the capital. How can any of this be done given we've already learned that members of ISIS-K are now posing as Taliban fighters in an effort to continue their insurgency and create chaos in the country?
LEIGHTON: I think Afghanistan is going to go through a very difficult period, Rosemary. I think it'd be, you know, kind of manifestation of that will be the infiltration by (Inaudible) into the ranks of the Taliban.
As far as the airport is concerned, that will have to be managed by another country, I believe, a country like Turkey perhaps, perhaps one of the other countries in the Middle East that has a relationship with the Taliban like Qatar as an example. One of those two countries could do that and help with the logistical issues and the air traffic control issues that inevitably are going to be a factor for the airport because, as you well know, that is the one way into and out of the country. And once that goes away, the country becomes even more isolated and truly -- truly landlock in this case.
CHURCH: And Colonel, the Pentagon says the U.S. demilitarized equipment left behind, but that wasn't the case when they left Bagram Air Base. Will the premature abandonment of that critical airbase go down in history as one of the biggest failures in this bungled exit? And why didn't they use it to help provide a smoother exit?
LEIGHTON: Well, that is something that I have been very concerned about. Now, one reason to not use Bagram Air Bases because it's so far away from Kabul, it's 40 miles or so away from the city center of Kabul.
However, I do believe it would've made sense to have Bagram Air Base as the onward movement point, in other words, you would gather people up at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, move them to Bagram and then move them out from there. Of course, they didn't do that, and as a result, we not only had a much smaller timeframe in which to operate, but also, a much smaller area from which to operate. And that, I think was a significant limitation on the air lift.
The air lift itself was an extraordinary effort. However, in many respects I think some of the planning aspects of it could have been handled better, it could have been a bit smoother and it could also have gotten more people out, especially with the Afghan allies that, you know, are now in very grave danger.
CHURCH: Colonel Cedric Leighton, always a pleasure to talk with you. Thank you so much for your perspective.
LEIGHTON: Thank you, Rosemary. Good to be with you.
CHURCH: And still to come, we will hear from people who lived through Hurricane Ida but lost their homes to the monster storm.
And the E.U. sends a message to travelers from countries with high COVID rates. Get vaccinated or stay away. A live report from Paris, that's next.
[03:15:00]
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CHURCH: Hurricane Ida is now a tropical depression moving north from the U.S. Gulf Coast, but the monster storm has left behind untold devastation. More than a million homes and businesses in Louisiana are facing another night without power along with tens of thousands more in Mississippi. And officials in St. Charles Parish, Louisiana say it's likely a likely be a month before the lights come back on.
At least two people were killed in the storm, but Louisiana's governor says that number will surely rise. The National Guard is helping with search and rescue efforts. And President Joe Biden says federal aid is on the way.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: The people of Louisiana and Mississippi are resilient. But it's in moments like these that where we can certainly see the power of government to respond to the needs of the people if the government is prepared and if they respond. That's our job. If we work together, the folks who get knocked down we're there to help you get back on your feet.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: And now victims of the hurricane are trying to assess the damage to their homes.
CNN's Jason Carroll spoke to some of them.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Throughout much of downtown Houma, Louisiana, one can see the damage from Hurricane Ida in nearly every direction. This was once was the childhood home of Harrison Short, his great grandmother lived here. Now it's all gone.
HARRISON SHORT, RESIDENT, HOUMA, LOUISIANA: My whole childhood is gone now. All of my memories left from the one storm. CARROLL: Across the street the barbershop destroyed the home next
door is still standing barely. Lionel Hawkins says part of the roof is damaged, his car port gone. He waited out the storm with his wife at their home, and at one moment he says the wind was so bad they thought they would not survive.
LIONEL HAWKINS, RESIDENT, HOUMA, LOUISIANA: We were scared of it, you know. Me and my old lady prayed (Inaudible) to take care of its power and protect us and give us another -- give us opportunity to breathe.
CARROLL: You got down on your knees and prayed?
HAWKINS: Yes, sir.
CARROLL: Now what do you think next time a category four comes through here, will you evacuate?
HAWKINS: I'm getting out of here.
CARROLL: Winds topping more than 100 miles per hour. We're all around Houma for hours as Ida crawled across the southwestern section of the state. Portions of the Houma, Terrebonne airport destroyed. Countless numbers of homes damaged under Ida's crushing wind gusts.
Tim Fakier came out and found someone else's roof had landed on his car crushing it. Thankfully, it missed most of his home.
TIM FAKIER, RESIDENT, HOUMA, LOUISIANA: I heard a bit come on the top of my house and (Inaudible) stab me.
CARROLL: Can you try to figure whose roof is this?
FAKIER: From (Inaudible) --
(CROSSTALK)
CARROLL: I mean, it could be from this building over here that went over there.
FAKIER: It could. Yes, we have across from the bank.
CARROLL: Yes.
FAKIER: I mean, a restaurant in the backyard. So, when that (Inaudible) roof, then the roof is all gone.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Well, the U.S. plans to move its diplomatic presence in Afghanistan to Doha, Qatar for now. And that is where our international security editor Nick Paton Walsh is standing by at the Al Udeid Air Base.
Good to see you, Nick. So, now that America's longest war is over where does this leave future relations between the U.S. and a Taliban- led government? And of course, continuing efforts to get Americans and Afghan allies safely out of the country?
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR: Yes. In Doha, it seems that what remains of America's diplomatic relations with Afghanistan with the Taliban will essentially be base for now. But that still has to take its final form.
[03:20:06]
What's clear about America's presence here in Qatar are the tens of thousands of evacuees that they brought through. Fifty-five thousand in total we understand up until now. Thirty-nine thousand of whom have since been moved on in this extraordinary multi-week effort which some 122,000 people have been flown out of the country, an awful lot as they say landing on the airfield just over there distant to me.
But many of the people now addressing the next phase of their lives are behind me here. They essentially have to be part of the SIV applicant program or some sort of future vetting to enable them to be moved to the United States or other possible host countries.
This is some of the better accommodation which they've been provided here. I was just in a larger hanger with a large number of beds there. A lot of concern, I think amongst the Afghans we spoke to about when their next phase of their lives could begin and how fast the paperwork would possibly be done.
And also, interesting to note that we asked here the ambassador quite what precise number they could give us in terms of how many SIV applicants had arrived out of that 55,000 and the 39,000 have since been vetted and moved on. And we weren't able to get a figure for that.
So, a lot of scrutiny of course (Technical difficulty) on precisely who was taken out of Afghanistan, their eligibility, how official that may have been, and quite where they end up now in the pipeline as they move towards the United States.
But the work behind me here of giving people immediate accommodation and food continues. It's an extraordinary effort here in the baking desert sun and one that simply didn't exist as little as a month ago. This was simply a place into which aircraft C-17s, hundreds of them flew continually.
And now it suddenly had to turn itself like many bases across the U.S. infrastructure globally into a place to house some of the most desperate refugees. But you could say, obviously the people here have had the luckier experience have managed to find a place now sometimes in the shade and a place where they don't at least get some degree of vetting or future hope.
It's not clear, for example, what happens to those who don't necessarily meet the vetting process, but certainly here we've seen a relatively orderly picture. There have been reports in the past that the conditions had worsened here. Understandably you might say frankly when this completely unequipped base air base was suddenly dealt with tens of thousands of desperate refugees overnight. But it's pretty hard not to admit the effort being made now to turn
this around to provide accommodation and to give people something of a chance here. But the numbers do appear to be dwindling, certainly if you do the math properly, we're talking about 16,000 who should be here. I've also heard the number could even be slightly less.
So, a significant effort being made to move people on, but still this kind of the sort of, strange legacy of America's presence in Afghanistan it's quite hard today to sort of stand here and come to terms with the fact that this 20-year war ended in the way in which it did. And I'm sure many American families will be coming to terms where the scenes they've seen over the past weeks and quite hard to digest that over the 20-year presence U.S. had in Afghanistan. Rosemary?
CHURCH: Yes, absolutely. Nick Paton Walsh bringing us the very latest there from Qatar, many thanks.
Well, some U.S. hospitals are buckling under the pressure of a new wave of COVID patients. This chart shows the seven-day average of cases climbing sharply. Many hospitals in the south say they are running out of oxygen, a key component in treating those with the virus.
On Monday, an adviser to the CDC presented data showing the unvaccinated are 16 times more likely to be hospitalized than those who have received the shot.
America's COVID crisis has alarmed Europe. The European Union is removing the U.S. and other countries from the safe travel list due to these rising cases.
CNN's Melissa Bell joins me now live from Paris. Good to see you, Melissa. So how will this work exactly and what will it mean for those Americans who did get vaccinated?
MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, for the time being this is advice from the European Council and what it does is every couple of weeks it re-look, it looks once again, Rosemary, at that list of safe countries and looks at where the situation is there.
And what they say is that if there is a country where the incidents rate is above 75,000 new cases -- 75 cases -- I'm sorry, per 100,000 people then that country is remove from the safe list. That is the case in the United States and that is why the European Union is telling its member states look, we need to stop allowing nonessential travel from the U.S.
Still, this is just guidance. It is now up to European countries to decide what they do. But I think it's important to note, Rosemary, that there has been a fair amount of disappointment in Europe at the fact that there was no reciprocity on this.
[03:24:55]
Over the last few weeks and last few months, the summer period, those European countries the most dependent on tourism it really fought for American tourists and other tourists to be able to come back. But the United States never offered that reciprocity to Europeans.
So, it is still impossible for Europeans to get to the United States. Still this is about the COVID situation in respective countries, each member state now will make certain decisions on what to do about the vaccinated and whether they should have some special system to be able to get in or not. But so far, Rosemary, what the European Council has said has tended to go on this front.
CHURCH: All right. Melissa Bell, many thanks bringing us up to date on that situation.
And time for a short break now. Just ahead, the Taliban move into Kabul's airport. And what they do with a facility may be the first major test of how they will govern Afghanistan.
Plus, a former interpreter who worked with the U.S. recounts his family's harrowing escape from Afghanistan.
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UNKNOWN: We are heading to the airport. We hope to make it and survive.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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CHURCH: That is the sound of celebratory gunfire at the international airport in Kabul now that the U.S. military has left and the Taliban are in control. Video shot by an L.A. Times correspondent shows Taliban fighters examining CH-46 C night helicopters left behind.
U.S. Central Command says some military equipment was removed from Afghanistan and other assets were disabled. The main Taliban spokesman arrived at the airport earlier today. He congratulated the Afghan people for driving out U.S. forces but he said the Taliban want to have good relations with the U.S. and the rest of the world.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says coalition partners are working to reopen Kabul's airport as quickly as possible. He is promising a relentless effort to help Americans and Afghans who want to leave and laying out conditions for working with the Taliban.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BLINKEN: Going forward, any engagement with the Taliban-led government, Kabul, will be driven by one thing only, our vital national interest. If we can work with the new Afghan government in a way that help secure those interest, including the safe return of Mark Frerichs, a U.S. citizen who' been held hostage in the region since early last year, and in a way that brings greater stability to the country and region and protects the gains of the past two decades, we will do it. But we will not do it on the basis of trust or faith.
[03:29:57]
Every step that we take will be based not on what the Taliban-led government says, but what it does to live up to its commitments.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Joining me now from London, Bobby Ghosh is a columnist, an editorial board member with "Bloomberg". Great to have you with us.
BOBBY GHOSH, COLUMNIST AND EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBER FOR BLOOMBERG: Hi Rosemary.
CHURCH: So, America's longest war has ended, and now Afghanistan is at the mercy of the Taliban to govern the country, but we've already seen some questionable behavior. The U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, says, and we just heard him there, any engagement with the Taliban-led government will be driven by U.S. national interest and led only by their actions not their words. How is that going to work?
GHOSH: Well, we will have to find out. It is striking that he should use that language. The U.S. national interest. It is a fairly cynical coinage, it suggest that what Taliban due to their own people, to the Afghan people matters less now to Washington, then Americas defined -- narrowly defined interests in the region.
For my own part, I don't think the Taliban can be trusted, until such time they've won the trust of their own people, of Afghan people. The fact that Afghans, themselves, in such large numbers would like to leave the country rather than stay on, suggest that the Taliban have not earned that trust.
Secretary Blinken talked about the Taliban, keeping their commitments, but what are those commitments? What are the commitments that the Taliban is willing to make to ensure good governance and what are the commitments that they are willing to make to observe international norms, of human rights and proper behavior of the state and the government?
Those are things that if you go by Taliban's previous records, as also the record of its recent behavior, in parts of the country that they were running, before the fall of Kabul, it does not inspire a lot of confidence. I am not yet seeing enough signs to suggest that the Taliban can be trusted to do anything that they say.
CHURCH: Yeah, that is the problem, isn't it? Secretary Blinken, also, talked about engaging with the Taliban led government, only if they can bring greater stability to Afghanistan and the region and protect the gains of the past 20 years. But how possible is that? And what real leverage does the U.S. have to make sure that happens?
GHOSH: Those are the right questions. Again, that were stability. This is a disturbing word. American governments in the past are dealing with regimes that are unpalatable to the American sense of decency to American values have used language like stability, and like America's national interest, to overlook some of the more, sort, of unpalatable behaviors that those governments show, particularly towards their own country.
So, when an American Secretary of State uses those words, it gives me pause, it makes me wonder whether they are preparing this stage to look past the Taliban's behavior in Afghanistan as long as it is willing to participate or collaborate with the United States in this very narrowly defined counter-terrorism area.
CHURCH: And the Taliban sworn enemy, ISIS-K, are already melting into the crowd, posing as Taliban fighters in an effort to continue their insurgency. How bigger threat could they pose to the Taliban and their pledge -- supposed pledge not to give safe haven to terrorists, who would carry out attacks abroad.
GHOSH: Well, we heard these pledges before. I'm skeptical about the notion that ISIS and Taliban are irrevocably enemies of each other in (inaudible). Let's leave aside the whole question of al-Qaeda, which remains. And Taliban is making no commitments on that score. But even with Islamic State, there are lots of linkages between the Taliban and some of its allies and the Islamic State.
Yes, at the top leadership level, the Taliban and the Islamic State may regard each other as rivals, but, lower down, at the foot soldiers level, at the level of mid-level commanders, there's a lot of overlap. There is a lot of history of having fought together against common enemies, and that history is not so easily erased by the top leadership.
CHURCH: And what do you think a future Afghanistan govern by the Taliban will look like in the end?
GHOSH: Well, my fear is they would look very much like the past Afghanistan ruled by the Taliban government. It is distressing and depressing to think this, but I am not alone. So many Afghans, all of those who have been thronging the airport for the last couple of weeks, trying to get out, feel the same way. And it behooves us to listen to them and gauge what is likely to happen on their reaction and their behavior. Rather than what it might look like from the comfort of our safe homes, in the west.
[03:35:06]
CHURCH: Bobby Ghosh, always a pleasure to get your analysis and perspective on these issues. I appreciate it.
GHOSH: Thanks for having me.
CHURCH: Well, CNN's Anna Coren spends several weeks in Afghanistan, earlier this month. She has an exclusive report now on one of the people she met, and his journey out of the country.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): His family piled into a taxi with just a bag of belongings. Abdul Rashid Shirzad hopes this was farewell to Kabul's dust covered streets.
ABDUL RASHID SHIRZAD, FORMER AFGHAN INTERPRETER: We are heading to the airport, hope to make it and survive.
COREN: The 34-year-old, former Afghan interpreter, knew their chance for escape was slim.
RASHID SHIRZAD: That is a Taliban vehicle right there. With the white flag.
COREN: But, as the father of three young boys, the alternative was not an option. That's my Ali Akbar, that's my wife, right there, this is me, this is Ali Abbas, and that's Ali Omid, right there.
COREN: Once at the airport, Rashid realized that he had made a mistake. His eldest child, nearly trampled in a chaotic sea of humanity, also desperate for a way out.
RASHID SHIRZAD: That's the marine gate right there. There is no way to get inside.
COREN: This was the family's second attempt at the airport within days. And as darkness fell, reality set in.
RASHID SHIRZAD: With this crowd, it's impossible.
We met Rashid last month in Kabul, while doing a story on Afghan interpreters who had worked with the U.S. military, only to be left behind. A number of them had recently been executed by the Taliban and Rashid, among others, feared that they would also be killed. Rashid had spent five years, working for the U.S. Special Forces. Seal commanders, describing him as a valuable and necessary asset, who braved enemy fire, and undoubtedly saved the lives of Americans and Afghans, alike.
These guys were your American brothers.
RASHID SHIRZAD: American brothers, yeah.
COREN: But at the end of 2013, his contract was terminated after he failed a polygraph test. So, when he later applied for an SIV to the United States, his application was automatically denied. Rashid and I kept in touch after I left Afghanistan. And in a matter of weeks, the country had collapsed, and was now under Taliban rule.
RASHID SHIRZAD: I don't want to be killed by the Taliban. They are going to cut our heads off if they find my location. Please, help.
COREN: CNN evacuated staff from Kabul with the help of a security team on the ground working with British paratroopers inside the airport. The channel established was now an opportunity for Rashid.
Before dawn, on Sunday, 22nd of August, Rashid, his family, and another nine people were picked up at a location near the airport. They were driven close to a Taliban checkpoint, near the Baron Hotel back gate manned by the British.
We are at the back gate of Camp Baron. We are so close to the gate. If I can just come to the gate, they can see us, they can see us from the tower.
COREN: In less than an hour, British paratroopers let them in. RASHID SHIRZAD: Hey Anna, we are good, we are inside now. Thank you
so much.
COREN: But celebrations were short lived. U.S. Marines, would not allow Rashid and his family past the checkpoint. Because, they did not have a visa.
RASHID SHIRZAD: The Americans asked just for U.S. visa, and U.S. passports. That is it.
COREN: A frantic seven hours ensued, as messages and phone calls between London, Hong Kong, Atlanta, Virginia and Kabul were made. Coordinating with security on the ground. Once his identity was confirmed, they were through.
RASHID SHIRZAD: We are at the airport terminal, we made it. We are really excited.
COREN: For almost two days, they waited patiently at the airport, as thousands of fellow Afghans were airlifted to a new life.
RASHID SHIRZAD: Another aircraft, about to take off. Lots of marines there.
COREN: Then, it was their turn. Exhausted, but happy. Aboard a C-130 to the U.S. Base in Bahrain.
RASHID SHIRZAD: We are in Bahrain.
COREN: Less than 24 hours later they were on the move again.
RASHID SHIRZAD: Somebody knocked on the door and said, pack your stuff now. We got a flight now. We were so excited and we still don't know where we were heading to. So, hopefully, it's the U.S.
COREN: And sure enough, their wish had come true.
RASHID SHIRZAD: Our aircraft is landing in D.C. That's Washington. We are this close. Everybody is excited.
COREN: In the space of four days, they were on U.S. soil.
How does it feel to be in America?
RASHID SHIRZAD: We are so lucky that we are safe. It's beautiful to be here. We are the luckiest people, you know.
[03:40:09]
COREN: Housed at Fort Lee military base Virginia while his SIV is processed, Rashid was reunited with a SEAL team member, who he had not seen for nine years. A second chance at life, for an eternally grateful family. Whose hearts may remain in Afghanistan, but's his future now lies a world away.
Anna Coren, CNN, Hong Kong. (END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Well, they escaped Afghanistan, but that was only the first step for thousands of evacuees now waiting in limbo at the airbase in Germany. A live report, on the other side of the break.
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CHURCH: The U.N. Security Council has passed a resolution calling on the Taliban to allow safe passage for anyone trying to leave the country. Notably, China and Russia, abstained. Beijing's delegate, didn't mentioning the U.S., but blamed other countries for trying to impose their will on others. The British representative argued, world powers need to hold the Taliban to account.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARBARA WOODWARD, U.K. PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE TO THE UNITED NATIONS: This resolution shows that there is a minimum standard that the international community expect the Taliban to abide by. And the Taliban will be judged, by their actions on the ground, not the words coming out of the presidential palace. And the Security Council, of course, has tools at its disposal to hold them to account for those actions.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: The U.S. is defending its decision to get out of Afghanistan by the August 31st deadline. The head of U.S. Central Command, says staying longer would not have made much of a difference.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KENNETH MCKENZIE, COMMANDER, U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND: We did not get everybody out that we wanted to get out. But, I think if we stay another 10 days, we wouldn't have gotten everybody out that we wanted to get out. And they're still would have been people who would have been disappointed with that. It's a tough situation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Over the last 18 days, the U.S. says, it has evacuated 79,000 people from Afghanistan. It is the largest civilian airlift in U.S. history. Thousands of those evacuees are Afghan citizens, forced to flee amid chaos and now facing an uncertain future. And for many, one of their first stops is a U.S. Airbase in Germany, where some are now living in tents. It is an agonizing and frustrating wait for the next leg of their journey.
Atika Shubert, is in Ramstein, and joins us now. So, Atika, talk to us about some of the stories, some of the families that they are waiting for their next destination?
[03:45:00]
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. It is a frustrating way for them. It is such a mix of emotions, because so many evacuees are relieved to be out, especially before the deadline but they are still very worried about family back home, and at the same time they are stuck in a kind of limbo here. Some have waited here for two days, others, it is much longer.
Now there is a maximum of 10 days that evacuees can wait here. That is according to the agreement with Germany. But 10 days is a long time, living inside of a tent and not being able to communicate with family back home. So, it's a very frustrating process for them. It is also frustrating for the people on the base, who are trying to provide them the best shelter they can.
We had a chance to speak with Brigadier General, Joshua Olson over the weekend and he took us around the camp. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SHUBERT (voice over): As we get into his car, Brigadier General Joshua Olson, commander of the 86th Airlift Wing, and installation commander of Ramstein Airbase, grapples with the sheer number of new arrivals.
JOSHUA OLSON, COMMANDER OF THE 86TH AIRLIFT WING: This is now my family. At least until they get off the air patch. You know, we'll have to put them somewhere else, but it's my family and I got to figure out how to protect them.
SHUBERT: More than 20,000 men, women, and children, had passed through here since August 20th. Fleeing Afghanistan, after the Taliban took over. That is more than double the population of the German municipality that holds the base and so many children. Olson says about 6,000, including at least three born on the base. Something never encountered here before.
OLSON: We had airplane stacked up, and they are like, we don't have enough diapers, we didn't have enough -- oh my gosh, who would have thought that, right?
SHUBERT: Ramstein airbase has always been a gateway for those in uniform. A place to heal for wounded service members. To prepare for what the military calls, a dignified transfer, for those who gave their lives. Now, Olson wants the base to provide the warmest welcome it can. An army of civilian volunteers is also helping out, sorting donations from the wider community.
OLSON: It's the kid that puts them all back over. It's a kid that plays the ukulele. It's the -- back, you know, when we get out of the way, and you watch just the pure humanity, and love of people, and the connection to little kids and kinder.
SHUBERT: But as it passed more and more tense, it is clear the numbers coming in from Kabul, far outpace, the number of flying out. And the strain is showing.
Do you think it would get this big? OLSON: Not even close. I knew, I mean, I knew what we could build,
and we are like, OK, we had thought it through, but the chaos and the mayhem of, you know, we were like, we can get to 10 right away, and we had that capability. But when we were at 10, there was 15 coming in. It is like, the math doesn't work out so well.
SHUBERT: The delays are frustrating to all. Olson says, he wants to get this new family off to a fresh start, as soon as possible.
OLSON: We think about our, you know, parents and grandparents that got on a boat that they came across and went to America for that. And all of the things that they sacrificed, and you look at all the things, we have forgotten that in a lot of ways, and the sacrifices, not only you know, for the last 20 years, the military is born for a lot of these new Afghan American freedoms.
SHUBERT: That freedom will have to wait a few more days. Until then, Olson says he's doing the best he can.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SHUBERT (on camera): Now the good news is, some of those commercial flights are taking evacuees to the U.S. have picked up. But there are also delays on the U.S. and the processing evacuees coming in. So it is a very long and painstaking process for many of them. One of the interesting things that I found when I was talking to Brigadier General, Joshua Olson, was all the challenges he faced, that he never had to face before, such as having unaccompanied minors.
There are now dozens of children who are separated from their families in the chaos of evacuation. So he has created a sort of child friendly space, a kinder pod, he called it, which has a play area for them. But you know, as he pointed out to me, this is a military base that is used to moving troops in and out. It is not used to bringing in whole family, so it's really something that the whole base is had to adopt to, Rosemary.
CHURCH: Yes, incredible. Atika Shubert, bringing us that report from Ramstein, base in Germany, many thanks.
Well, to find out how you can help Afghan refugees, or if you are a veteran troubled by advance in Afghanistan, just go to CNN.com/impact, for more resources that can help.
[03:49:56]
Researchers in South Africa, are closely watching a new COVID variant. First detected back in May, which has now spread to seven other countries. They are calling it C12. And scientists are not sure how dangerous its mutations could become. So far, the variant has shown of increased transmissibility, and the ability to evade some immune system responses. For now, it is too early for C12 to be designated a variant of interest.
Well, Israel says it's the first country to offer COVID booster shots to anyone 12 or older. More than two million Israelis had already received their 3rd vaccine dose. Israelis battling a resurgent wave of COVID infections, but numbers show, the new round of shots seem to be working. The virus transmission rate has been declining as the booster rollout ramps up.
The World Health Organization says, Europe could see an additional 236,000 deaths, from COVID by December. The group's director for Europe said Monday, that's just one projection. Vaccination rates have slowed. And the Delta variant is now reported in nearly every country in the block. The World Health Organization said several countries are seeing an increased burden on hospitals, complicating matters restrictions vary across the region, while seasonal travel is picking up.
Well, children in China will have to find a new hobby. Now that Beijing is putting a time limit on video games. But can the drastic measure really be enforced? We'll take a look.
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CHURCH: Welcome back everyone. Well kids in China will have their video game time greatly reduced. Not by mom and dad, but by the Chinese government. Anyone under 18 is now limited to just an hour of online gaming per gay on weekends and holidays, between 8:00 and 9:00 p.m. It is all part of Beijing's crackdown on gaming addiction.
CNN senior producer, Steven Jiang, joins us live from Beijing. Good to see you Steven. So, how unusual is it for the Chinese government to take this role of parent in a situation like this? And just how bad is gaming addiction in the country?
STEVEN JIANG, CNN SENIOR PRODUCER: Well, Rosemary, we sort of saw this coming. Remember just a few weeks ago, a major state media outlet described video games as spiritual opium. And as a result, wiping out billions of dollars in market value for some of the country's biggest gaming companies. So, these latest rules are almost just the other shoe dropping.
Now this not even the government's first attempt to limit playtime for minors. Back in 2019, they actually already limited people under 18 to playtime of only 90 minutes a day, and up to three hours during public holidays. They have also long required, real name registrations and log in for all video games.
But all of these restrictions apparently are not enough according to officials, because they have received so many complaints from parents who say that gaming addiction has, severely affected their children's ability to learn, to study, their physical, and mental health, as well as causing social problems. So the authorities here are trying to flame their decision as addressing people's concerns and protecting children's welfare.
[03:55:04]
Now, the enforcement is mostly going to be carried out by gaming companies, which have all pledged to, strictly implement these new regulations. But also, adding that minors account for only a small fraction of their user base and revenues. Now of course, there are plenty of supportive and cheering voices online saying this is a long overdue, even from parents who are from outside of China.
But this kind of nanny state approach, as you can imagine, is very much controversial. South Korea, for example, is in the process of getting rid of its gaming curfew for teenagers because of the lack of effectiveness. And some also say, this latest move is another sign of the ruling Communist Party here, trying to reasserting itself into every aspect of people's private life, for political and ideological reasons especially, for the younger generation. Rosemary?
CHURCH: All right. Steven Jiang, bringing us the latest on that from Beijing. Many thanks.
A group of heavily armed bank robbers, terrorized a small city in Brazil on Monday, strapping people to the tops of their getaway cars, after raiding several banks. At least one suspect and two local residents were killed, were shot in shoot outs with police. Officials say, the group also left a trail of explosives across the city. People were warned to stay inside until they could be deactivated. This is the latest in a series of increasingly violent bank heists in Brazil.
And thank you so much for joining us, I'm Rosemary Church. I will be back with more news in just a moment.
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