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Act Now or Pay the Brunt Later; China Promise to Stop Coal- Fired Projects Abroad; Brazil Health Minister Positive of COVID; U.N. Secretary General Gave Blunt Warning; Magnitude 5.9 Earthquake Felt in Melbourne, Australia; Horrible Images Seen at the U.S. Southern Border; Prince Andrew's Case Moving. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired September 22, 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 (on camera): Hello, and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church.
Just ahead here on CNN Newsroom, pledges and warnings at the UNGA, world leaders address climate change, COVID and much more.
Bracing for aftershocks, a rare powerful earthquake has rattled Melbourne, Australia, so strong it was felt almost 1,000 kilometers away.
Plus, the civil sexual assault case against Prince Andrew's moving forward in the U.S. after the accuser's lawyer take a key step.
Good to have you with us.
Well critics warn the United Nations General Assembly it could turn into a superspreader event and already we are hearing of the first high-profile COVID case. Brazil's health minister tells our affiliates CNN Brazil, he was tested positive and will quarantine in New York for the next 14 days.
Marcelo Queiroga is part of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro's entourage, and he says he has been vaccinated with the CoronaVac vaccine, he came under fire Monday night for making obscene gestures at anti-Bolsonaro protesters, the video was widely shared on social media.
U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres addressed the general assembly with stern warning on the climate crisis and vaccine inequity around the globe.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTONIO GUTERRES, U.N. SECRETARY-GENERAL: The majority of the world is vaccinated, over 90 percent of Africans are still waiting for the first dose. This is a moral indictment of the state of our world, it is an obscenity, we best the science test but we are getting an F in ethics. Excellencies, the climate alarm bells are also ringing at fever pitch.
Climate scientists tell us it is not too late to keep alive the 1.5- degree goal of the Paris climate agreements. But the window is rapidly closing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH (on camera): And U.S. President Joe Biden used his speech to make an appeal for diplomacy not military might to solve the world's problems.
CNN's Richard Roth has details.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICHARD ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): President Joe Biden leading the way after eight years of walking into the U.N. behind President Obama. But his debut on the world stage comes after bitter blows to his credibility globally.
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We've ended 20 years of conflict in Afghanistan, and as we close this period of relentless war, we're opening a new era of relentless diplomacy.
ROTH: The U.S.'s faithful departure noted by one adversary, another president making his own debut.
EBRAHIM RAISI, IRANIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): This year two scenes made history, one was on January the 6th when the U.S. Congress was attacked by the people, and two, when the people of Afghanistan were dropped down from the U.S. planes in August. From the capital to Kabul, one clear message was sent to the world. The United States hegemonic system has no credibility, whether inside or outside the country.
CROWD: They allowed say it clear. Refugees are welcomed here.
ROTH: Outside the U.N., homegrown opposition demanding more Afghan refugees be allowed into the United States.
Inside the U.N., the Taliban now that the war is over has officially requested the government seat in order to address this year's general assembly. A fight with the ousted government ambassador is on, he may speak to the assembly next Monday as the current account holder, the international community may not want to give the Taliban, still under sanctions, the seal of approval by turning the prestigious U.N. chair over to the group.
GUTERRES: The world must wake up.
ROTH: Reducing global warning, a major priority here also, two major pollution emitters made promises to the U.N., President Biden offered $11.4 billion dollars in international climate financing, and China --
XI JINPING, PRESIDENT OF China (through translator): China will step up support for other developing countries, in developing green and low carbon energy. And will not build new coal-fired power projects abroad.
ROTH: And the pandemic, staff rushed to the assembly microphones to clean the podium between the VIP appearances. One country could really bring in only three people to hear the addresses.
[03:05:06]
New Peruvian President Castillo did not come hat in hand but led a charge that vaccines must be available to all, rich or poor. And then, would he or wouldn't he, COVID skeptic Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro did come in mask but violated U.N. protocols by entering the assembly hall despite not being vaccinated.
JAIR BOLSONARO, PRESIDENT OF BRAZIL (through translator): We cannot understand why many countries together with a large portion of the media took a stance against early treatment measures. History and science will certainly be wise enough to hold everyone accountable.
ROTH: The U.N. couldn't keep up Bolsonaro, leader of the U.N. nation, but New York City could, restaurants and bars in New York must block any guest without proof of vaccination, so Bolsonaro settled on Sunday for a slice on a sidewalk.
Richard Roth, CNN, United Nations.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH (on camera): And as Richard Roth reported, China is vowing to stop building new coal-fired power projects abroad in a major step to address climate change. President Xi Jinping also said that China will increase financial support for green and low carbon energy projects in developing countries.
So, let's bring in CNN's Steven Jiang, he joins us live from Beijing. Good to see you, Steven.
So how committed is China to this major policy shift toward addressing the climate crisis, particularly given it is the biggest emitter of greenhouse gases?
STEVEN JIANG, CNN SENIOR PRODUCER: Well, Rosemary, publicly they are very committed, that one-line announcement from President Xi about stopping funding overseas coal projects is encouraging news, already welcomed by experts as well as the U.N. secretary general.
Now, it is likely to provide some momentum going into that very important COP26 global climate change conference in Glasgow in November. This is a big deal because before this announcement, China was the only major funder of overseas coal-projects that left, and with this announcement of course, with this new policy, it could potentially shut dozens of planned coal projects in 20 developing countries around the world.
So, this is something a lot of people have been waiting for a long time, it is sending a very strong signal to the international community and the global economy. But of course, the devil is always in the details, and details are lacking here. We don't know when this new policy will take effect, or if it's going to apply to private funding as well as public funding.
And the much bigger issue here is we don't know if and when China is going to stop building a coal-fired power plant domestically and start shutting down old ones. Because according to experts, last year alone, China actually added as much new coal power as what they have just announced to cancel, potentially cancel overseas, so that's the scale of coal production and consumption in this country we are talking about, very much still relying on fossil fuel to power its economy with coal accounting for almost 60 percent of its energy mix.
So this contradiction of course has long been pointed out by experts as well as officials from other countries, including John Kerry, the U.S. climate envoy who was here recently. Telling us it's simply counterintuitive and counterproductive for China to continue this building spree of a new coal plants while insisting they're sticking to their very ambitious climate goals, including peeking its emissions before 2030 and then becoming carbon neutral before 2060.
So that's why Beijing is likely to come under growing pressure, not only from Washington but also from other countries to do something on the domestic front about coal, not only during the COP26 conference but also likely during the G20 meeting next month in Italy. Rosemary?
CHURCH: All right. Steven Jiang, many thanks, joining us live from Beijing.
Well joining me now from London, Natalie Samarasinghe is the CEO of the United Nations Association U.K. Thank you so much for being with us.
NATALIE SAMARASINGHE, CEO, UNITED NATIONS ASSOCIATION U.K.: Hello, good morning.
CHURCH: So, in the middle of this pandemic it's easy to get distracted by sideshows like the Brazilian president flaunting his unvaccinated status, apparently proud of it, while his health minister tests positive for COVID, proving to critics this UNGA could very well become a superspreader event. But all this aside, what needs to be achieved when it comes to COVID vaccine equity and what is actually possible.
SAMARASINGHE: I think, you know, it's easy to look at what's happening at the general assembly as a bit of sideshow, you know, warm words, et cetera. But I think the value really that I took from the day yesterday's that the international community is united at least in its diagnosis of the problem. And I think that is very acutely evident when it comes to vaccine equity.
The secretary general did not mince his words. He evokes a very stark joke, you know, discarded vaccines in beans, whilst 90 percent of people in Africa are still waiting for their first dose.
[03:10:03] So I think what we need to see is some very concrete commitments to funding COVAX, to donating vaccines, but also to enabling other countries to produce their own vaccines, removing patents and making this, you know, a global public good which it needs to be because it's a moral imperative and because it's in our own self-interest. The situation will not end until we get this right.
CHURCH: Yes, exactly. And of course, the other big issue is climate change. And that's already received a lot of attention. As we were talking, China making a major policy shift, focusing on doing its part. But how far will Beijing likely go and what about other nations when it comes to making concrete commitments?
SAMARASINGHE: I think what really struck me from the speeches yesterday was the way in which both China and the U.S. position there sort of, pitch for power as it were around these issues of COVID and climate change.
Now this isn't to say that the traditional, you know, elements of power military and so on are going away, but I think it's fascinating that the struggle is framed now around actually leadership on those two issues.
I think that's actually quite an important step -- step forward. The key I think will be whether we can in both of those issues overcome inequality. So, there's a huge divide between those who are bearing the brunt of climate change and those who are historically most responsible, those who have the resources and those who haven't.
We've seen these pledges before, again, can we turn this into some concrete actions in the next six weeks, I think that's hugely challenging. But let's hope.
CHURCH: Yes, indeed. We hold a lot of hope, don't we, with all of this. And U.S. President Joe Biden told the world he favors diplomacy over military might, and said America is back. But many people are saying what does that mean exactly, especially in the wake of his new defense pact with the U.K. and Australia that France calls a breach of trust.
And then there is the U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan that caught allies by surprise. What are France European allies and others to make of all this? And can Biden win back that trust that he's clearly lost?
SAMARASINGHE: I think he gave it a good go yesterday but he would, you know, he did not have the hero's welcome that we might have expected him to have had he addressed the general assembly, you know, six months ago.
I mean, at a very basic level it's great to have a U.S. president send these positive signals on diplomacy give a coherent speech, you know, raise human rights issues, as well as, you know, make some clear commitments on climate and COVID.
But I think, you know, the trust really does need to be earned and the same goes, I think for the U.K. as well in lead up to Glasgow. It is really up to them to use the informal spaces in the general assembly to reconnect with allies, as well as the sort of theatrical set piece speeches.
CHURCH: And, you know, just to end on that, because, you know, the UNGA and other meetings of global leaders there are usually lots of talk fest, the difference here is this is happening in the middle of a pandemic and we talk about those sideshows. In the end, what does get achieved, very much?
SAMARASINGHE: I think there is great value in having a talk show. I know, it's you know, the criticism people level against the U.N. but this is the chance for countries to come together formally and informally to create solutions and resolve their differences. And if they cannot do that at least they're channeling that energy diplomatically as opposed to a, you know, conflict in military confrontation.
So, I think there is the base level value. But I also think if you look particularly at the speech of the secretary general, this was not an airy-fairy speech, he did a lot more than just sound the alarm. He laid down some very, very clear policy prescriptions, you know, on everything from COVID to climate, but also governance of the digital space, and some of the challenges we need to address for the future.
So, I think there is a clear blueprint on what we need to do, the proof will be whether we can muster the political will to get there.
CHURCH: Natalie Samarasinghe, a pleasure to talk with you. Thank you so much for joining us.
SAMARASINGHE: Thank you.
CHURCH: Well, France is getting strong support from the E.U. as it fumes over Australia's decision to cancel a multibillion submarine contract. But the Australian prime minister is defending his country's new defense partnership with the U.S. and Britain saying it represents freedom.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCOTT MORRISON, AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER: They're pursuing that freedom or the course to our security interest. But more than that it goes to global prosperity, it goes to global freedom, the freedom of our seas, the freedom of our region. It goes to addressing the global challenges of climate change, a new energy economy, and a very, very challenging future, but one that our partnership I have no doubt will be able to address.
[22:15:00]
CHURCH (on camera): And the British prime minister also speaking at the U.N. tried to put a more positive spin on the pact and on the U.K.'s relationship with France.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: The U.K. and France have, I
believe, a very, very important and indestructible relationship, and of course, we'll be talking to all our friends about how to make the AUKUS pact work so that it's not exclusionary, it's not divisive, and it really doesn't have to be that way.
This is just a way of the U.K., the U.S. and Australia sharing certain technologies, because that is the sensible thing to do in the world in which we find ourselves. But that does not, in any way, mean that we wish to be adversarial towards anybody else or exclusive or crowding anybody else.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: But the E.U. has been quick to condemn how member state France has been treated.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL ROTH, GERMAN EUROPEAN AFFAIRS MINISTER (through translator): Of course, this is a difficult situation for France, and that's why you should be able to rely to us, to help you find a sensible solution. We have to sit down around the table, lost trust has to be rebuilt, and this will obviously not be easy. We want to make a constructive contribution.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH (on camera): A rare and powerful earthquake has rocked Australia's second largest city damaging buildings and power lines in Melbourne, almost 200 kilometers from the epicenter. The tremors were felt as far away as Adelaide in South Australia and Sydney in New South Wales. So far, no reports of serious injuries.
The 5.9 magnitude quake is one of the strongest on record in Australia. A strong aftershock was felt shortly after the quake and Australians are bracing for more.
So, let's bring in CNN meteorologist, Pedram Javaheri. Good to see you, Pedram. Unusual but not unheard of, I experienced three in the time that I lived in various parts of Australia. So, what more are you learning about this particular earthquake and how far reaching was it?
PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You know, Rosemary, when you're looking at a 10-kilometer in depth earthquake, a close proximity of course, to some of the most densely populated cities of the continent here, certainly going to have a lot of feel -- a lot of people feeling the impacts.
And we know of at least 14 million Australians that according to the calculations here done by the USGS that at least felt light to some weak shaking associated with this quake, and you kind of come up the chart up towards the moderate to strong shaking. And in the moderate category nearly a million people were feeling that shaking.
But really wide-reaching impacts. As you noted here, you kind of look at the numbers and kind of you calculate the south, 800 kilometers towards the west in Adelaide that is where some felt -- some felt the shaking there. And off towards the northeastern Sydney nearly 900 kilometers away and the impact even far south into Hobart.
As you noted here, certainly not unheard of but it is rather unusual, you look at earthquake frequency in Australia and when you get anywhere above 3.0 on average, you see 100 in Australia per year.
Keep in mind, the state of California sees 250 per year. There are 16 times smaller than Australia. So, it kind of speaks to the seismic activity or the lack thereof here across the continent. And when you get to magnitude 5.0 or greater, it happens on average once every couple of years. So, it is again, less significant, less than more rare, I should say.
But notice, this one comes in shy of 6.0. That happens once every 10 years. So, the event is rather where, and then 13 6.0's have happened in recorded history scattered about Australia.
Based on USGS calculations the estimates are that, this could be a $10 million U.S. dollar impact as far as the damages that were observed across the country in that region. So, it is worth noting of its significance there.
And anytime you have a 5.9, Rosemary, on average, you do see one at least 5.0, we have yet to see that aftershock. We have seen at least one aftershock around 4.1 and could see another 9 or so, again based on previous quakes in this region.
So, this is something worth following in the next couple of days for people in this region that really were a bit rattled early in the day as far as potentially getting people off guard.
CHURCH: I mean, it does surprise people, a lot of people thought it was some sort of prank. Pedram, many thanks bringing us up to date on the situation there. I appreciate it.
Well, the volcano on the Spanish island of La Palma is still very active. These incredible images show plumes of smoke and streams of lava spewing westward toward the sea. The lava has destroyed numerous properties along its path including a school. The volcano began erupting Sunday, forcing the evacuation of thousands of people. Just listen to one resident's story.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LORENA, RESIDENT FORCED TO EVACUATE (through translator): We are very nervous. We are taking the essentials, mattresses, the fridge, some other things just to have something. They evacuated us yesterday but they gave us two hours, an hour and a half to take our essentials.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[22:20:04]
CHURCH (on camera): Officials fear clouds of toxic gasses may form once the lava reaches the sea and cools the molten rock.
And still to come here on CNN Newsroom, the humanitarian crisis on the U.S. border with Mexico. America's illegal immigration challenges are once again in the spotlight amid outrage over these images from the U.S.-Mexico border.
And Britain's Prince Andrew is officially served with a sex abuse lawsuit. We will have details on the case including when his legal team must respond.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHURCH (on camera): The U.S. says it has moved thousands of migrants from the southern border with Mexico. And these images show the crowds waiting under a bridge for the asylum request to be processed. Migrants describe the conditions as horrible. An aid group says it is inhumane.
The head of U.S. Homeland Security says they are moving very quickly to address the situation, and he expects dramatic change within a few days. Meanwhile, the Biden administration is denouncing the actions of some border patrol agents who were seen aggressively confronting some of the migrants.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: I was horrified by what I saw, I am going to let the investigation run its course, but the pictures that I observed troubled me profoundly. That defies all of the values that we seek to instill in our people.
KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: What I saw depicted about those individuals on horseback treating human beings the way they were is horrible. And I fully support what is happening right now, which is a thorough investigation into exactly what is going on there, but human beings should never be treated that way. And I'm deeply troubled about it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH (on camera): The U.S. border patrol agents involved in that confrontation with the migrants have been placed on administrative duties while the incident is investigated. Results are expected by the end of next week. Many of the migrants removed from the border this week are Haitian nationals.
CNN Patrick Oppmann reports on their plight.
PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: White House officials said they were horrified by images that showed border patrol agents on horseback forcing Haitian migrants back into Mexico. But the problem doesn't appear to be getting any better as teams at CNN has on the southern border between Mexico and Guatemala report seen an increasing number of Haitians crossing the river into Mexico.
[03:25:02] And CNN talking with activists and immigration officials who report a threefold increase since last year, nearly 19,000 Haitian immigrants asking for asylum in Mexico. Many of these migrants left Haiti years ago after the 2010 earthquake, and have been going on this dangerous and lengthy journey, sometimes through South America into Central America to the United States border with Mexico.
Currently, what the United States is doing is as these migrants have come across and are camping underneath the bridge inside the United States, they are being put on planes and sent back to Haiti. Some of these Haitian migrants are reportedly said that they did not know they were being sent home, and that they have no interest in being returned to Haiti where there is still political uncertainty, where there is widespread gang violence and a recent earthquake this summer has created even more of a desperate situation there.
So, many of these migrants telling CNN that they have no interest in being sent back home, that they have now risked everything, spent all their savings to try and reach the United States.
Patrick Oppmann, CNN, Havana.
CHURCH: The U.N. is calling out the U.S. to do better in addressing the migrant crisis. The high commissioner for refugees says he was shocked by the scenes at the border adding, quote, "the summary, mass expulsions of individuals currently underway without screening for protection, for protection needs is inconsistent with international norms and may constitute refoulement.
I reiterate UNHCR's call for the U.S. government immediately and fully to lift its title 42 restrictions in effect since March of 2020."
He is referencing the COVID pandemic restrictions put in place under the Trump administration.
Well, the civil sexual assault case against Britain's Prince Andrew is moving forward. Legal papers were sent to his lawyer in Los Angeles this week, and his legal team has about three weeks to respond. His accuser says that she was forced to have sex with the prince when she was under age.
CNN's royal correspondent Max Foster joins us now live. Good to see you, Max.
So, what more are you learning about this and how is Prince Andrew likely to respond?
MAX FOSTER, CNN LONDON CORRESPONDENT: Well, he's always denied any of the allegations made by Giuffre but what he hasn't done is engage with this case from Giuffre's point of view, the specific case. They were trying to get the case to proceed, the charge proceeds by serving Prince Andrew papers. They say they did that via e-mail, via post and to his address here in the United Kingdom.
But Prince Andrew's side challenge whether or not those papers are being served. And Prince Andrew actually sent a lawyer into the pre- trial hearing in New York. But that actually opened up an opportunity for Giuffre's lawyers because they then asked the judge if they could serve the lawyer instead. The judge said yes.
And that's where we are right now. Giuffre's team say they have served papers to Prince Andrew's lawyer therefore, the charge can proceed. And he has 21 days either to respond or they go to a default judgment. Now, that won't necessarily happen because you can assume that Prince Andrew's side will challenge whether or not they've been served.
And also, Rosemary, there are other grounds on which they can challenge this case even the jurisdiction of the U.S. court in this case. So, we're waiting to hear from the judge and Prince Andrew's team on this.
CHURCH: We'll continue to watch this very closely. Max Foster joining us live there. Many thanks.
Well for years, it was the center of U.S. operations for the war in Afghanistan, a sprawling base with a notorious prison.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: This looks like the place, they're putting shackles on, handcuffs, food here. How many prisoners are in here? How many?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH (on camera): Coming up, CNN goes inside Bagram Air Base now under the Taliban's control. We're back in just a moment with that and more.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back everyone. Well, the U.S. president wants to focus on diplomacy in the global arena instead of military might.
Joe Biden made his first speech to the U.N. General Assembly in the midst of criticism over the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and a strain in relations with France. He says the challenges of the next decade must be met with technological innovation and global cooperation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We've ended 20 years of conflict in Afghanistan and as we close this period of relentless war were opening a new era of relentless diplomacy. U.S. military power must be our tool of last resort, not our first and should not be used as an answer to every problem we see around the world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: And the Taliban want their own representation at the U.N. General Assembly this week. The move is expected to launch a diplomatic battle with the existing envoy. Afghanistan is currently represented by an appointee of the former government. The U.N.'s Credentials Committee will make the final decision on the rival request to represent the country. It's unclear when that will happen.
Anna Coren is following developments from Hong Kong. She joins us now. So, Anna, how is this likely to play out do you think?
ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Well, that committee, Rosemary, is made up of United States, Russia and China. And as you say it will take some time. But really the Taliban, they have some goal to make these demands. I mean, they want recognition from the United Nations, they've been saying that now for weeks.
They want an ambassador to have a seat at the table and they want their foreign minister, there acting foreign minister to address the United Nations General Assembly before it wraps up next week. What have the Taliban brought to the table. What's sort of compromises have they made since being in power for the last month.
You know, when they came in they say that they would be inclusive that they would respect women's right and that women would play an integral part of society. Instead they've ordered women to remain at home to not come to work. They've told girls to stay at home as well and not attend secondary school.
And they're making up a whole list of excuses as to why this can't play out right this moment. But at the end of the day, what we are seeing is a repressive Taliban government governing the way that they did back in the 90s.
Let me read to you something that the U.N. human rights chief, Michelle Bachelet said yesterday at the U.N. which was quite alarming. She said, "There is real and palpable fear among Afghan women of a return to the Taliban brutal and systemic repression of women and girls during the 90s."
So really, Rosemary, you know, is the United Nations going to reward this bad behavior when so far they have proved that they have not change, they have not evolved and they are certainly not -- the tolerant government that they had promised they would be.
CHURCH: We will have to watch to see and they are struggling to govern the country right now. Anna Coren joining us live from Hong Kong. Many thanks.
[03:35:05]
Well, for almost 20 years, Afghanistan's massive Bagram Air Base was the hub of U.S. military operations in the country. Two months ago, American forces abandoned it in the blink of an eye, slipping away under the cover of darkness much to the surprise of their Afghan allies. Now Bagram and all that was left behind belongs to the Taliban, including the prison were so many Taliban fighters were kept.
CNN's Nic Robertson takes a look inside. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Behind Bagram's gates, a wasteland. Military hardware abandoned.
It's like driving through a ghost town here, completely deserted the old Taliban vehicle and everything just the way that it was.
But eerily different, a mini city, hospitals, shops, cafes, restaurants, power plants.
This was Disney, the main road through the base. Those are the hangers at the side of the runway over here.
Where presidents and defense chief once landed America's multibillion dollar Afghan hub is in the Taliban's hands. Its dark secrets are being revealed.
Is it the handcuffed for the prisoners?
Bagram's jail once feared by the Taliban that the U.S. handed to Afghan security forces in 2014 vast sprawling and trashed.
Prisoner identification -- cover his face. So this is an I.D. photograph of what came out of the prison here, just lying on the ground. The Taliban's victory freed the prisoners, not all of them were Taliban. They want us to see the harsh conditions.
Even they were confused about how to find their way around this place. They really don't know it.
We are going in?
The way the prisoners got out.
These are the cages inside here. These are the cages. Huge cages, they're just been left as they are. Look at this. Take a look, take a look. Prisoner's food, this bread is still hanging on the plate here. It looks like the place for putting shackles on, handcuffs, food here.
How many prisoners in here? How many?
Thousands he tells me.
UNKNOWN: He says the -- prisoners escaped. And they left everything behind.
ROBERTSON: Yeah. They got out?
So this is everyone's shoes hanging here? Blankets? Towels? Books? Koran? Phone numbers scribbled on the wall. You really get an idea of just how many people were crammed in these cells. One mattress, another one, another one, another one. It looks like at least 30 in each of these (inaudible).
Look. Conditions in here were so tight the prisoners are hanging their possessions and there's not much in this bag hanging them from this little ropes from the wire cage. And this -- this was it. This piece of mattress that was their personal space.
Some prisoners were locked up here for years. And like Abu Gray prison in Iraq, infamous for torture. So we've passed one cage, two, three, number four, five, six, seven cages I can see here.
What we don't realize until later, this cavernous cell block, just one of many. When you look at all this now, how do you feel about the situation for the people that were held here?
It was harsh he says. They were beaten. There was torture. The U.S. Department of Defense said it investigated all credible allegations of abused by its soldiers, some were convicted.
So here are the rules, no (inaudible) or assaulting guards. No fighting or escaping, no damaging of the cells, no disobedience. You will not touch my guards. No spitting in my house. Those are the rules.
They are not the only ones getting a look. The Taliban are bringing their friends in, wandering on the top of the cages too.
What do you think, sir?
It should be destroyed he says. So brutal people can't use it again.
This is a staircase to the platform above the cells. And when you get up here, you get a sense of the sheer scale of this detention facility. How many people must have been in here? Just huge. This is where they say the guards patrol so that they could look down in the different cells.
They sprayed it on the prisoners.
The Taliban commander says the guards use water to break up fights or keep the prisoners awake at night.
[03:39:58]
What I find a little surprising is that everyone here has come look. Some of the guards here are familiar with this. But none of them seem angry, angry at us, at least. And that's something I would have expected. Do you want revenge for this?
We forced the Americans out he says. That's revenge. The other Talibs says, but it doesn't mean we will forget them.
Can you shine a light on this so we can just have a look in here?
Room after room, documents scattered. And over here, a board with all of the prisoners numbers on look.
The remnants of an occupation in overdrive years and years of jailing Afghans.
Look at this this must be the control room. Look at all the LCD monitors around the wall here.
Around the corner the psychiatric ward.
Some medical center. But it's still got cages inside smaller cages.
OK. So he's showing us here the isolation. So I don't know if you can see, if you put your camera up, right next to me were this torch shining. There -- isolations hub.
The writing on the wall tells us two prisoners crammed in here. And there is this net which I can't figure out what it's for unless it's for putting on somebody to restrain them. Just lying on the floor.
What is clear here, individual trauma, collective anger and from what we've been told, an unpaid score to settle with America.
Nic Robertson, CNN, Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: The British have already said the Kremlin did it. But now, a top European court is weighing in on the death of this Kremlin critic who it says is really responsible? That's ahead.
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CHURCH: The family of a British teenager killed by an American woman driving on the wrong side of the road in the U.K. has reached a resolution in a civil suit. A spokesman for Harry Dunn's family says the agreement marks a real milestone in their campaign for justice. And they are now turning their attention to criminal proceedings.
The driver, Anne Sacoolas, is the wife of a U.S. diplomat and fled the country after the 2019 crash claiming diplomatic immunity. She was charged in the U.K. but the U.S. has refused to extradite her.
A third suspect has been publicly named in the poisoning of a former Russian spy and his daughter in the U.K. British police say Denis Sergeev is a Russian agent tied to the attempted assassination of Sergei and Yulia Skripal in 2018.
[03:45:04]
Police have also confirmed the names of two other suspects, Anatoliy Chepiga and Alexander Mishkin, their alleged victims, the Skripals were poisoned by an internationally banned chemical weapon. Both survived but this woman did not. Dawn Sturgees died after handling a toxic substance she thought was perfume. Her partner was also poisoned but recovered.
The Skripals weren't the last targets of an alleged poison attack by Russia and they weren't the first. The European Court of Human Rights has just issued a ruling on the 2006 killing of Alexander Litvinenko and like earlier findings by the British, the courts says Russia is responsible.
CNN's Matthew Chance is in Moscow and has more on the Putin critic's deaths.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Well, Alexander Litvinenko was a former Russian intelligence official turned Kremlin critic. He was living in London but in 2006 he was poisoned with a rare radioactive substance called Polonium 210.
Now British investigators at the time said the prime suspects were two former Russian colleagues of his that he had met for cup of tea in a hotel lobby. Now later a British (inaudible) Inquiry into the incident found that the Russian security services were responsible. So it's no surprise that the European Court of Human Rights has reached the same conclusion.
Of course, the Kremlin categorically denies any connection with the killing calling the allegation a state involvement politically motivated. At the time, the incident soured relations between London and Moscow leading to diplomatic expulsions and a freezing of intelligence cooperation. But it's unclear what consequences there may be if any of the latest ruling.
What it does do however is remind us of how the agonizing death of Alexander Litvinenko was perhaps an early sign of the kind of brutal state the critics say Russia has become under Vladimir Putin since the Litvinenko killing. A prominent Russian opposition leader, Boris Nemtsov was gunned down outside the Kremlin.
In 2018 another former Russian intelligence officer along with his daughter who defected to Britain was poisoned with Novichok, a powerful nerve agent. And just last year Russia's leading anti- corruption campaigner and a Kremlin critic, Alexei Navalny fell seriously ill on a plane with suspected Novichok poisoning and nearly died. It all aligned, the lengths that have been gone too to silence the Kremlin's critic.
Matthew Chance, CNN, Moscow.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Two new government officials in Sudan say dozens have been arrested after a failed military coup attempt. The Prime Minister is blaming those loyal to ousted President Omar al-Bashir.
CNN's David McKenzie has the latest from Johannesburg.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Government officials in Sudan say that they have the country fully under their control, under the control of the transitional government after what they say was an attempted coup in the early hours of the morning on Tuesday.
Now a senior government official telling CNN that at least 40 officers from the military were arrested while attempting to take over the state broadcaster, as well as a key military facility. The Prime Minister got on state TV to allay fears. He blamed this on loyalist to the former dictator of Sudan, Omar al-Bashir who was in power for 30 years.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ABDALLA HAMDOCK, SUDANESE PRIME MINISTER (through translator): What happened was an orchestrated coup from parties inside and outside the armed forces which is an extension of the attempts of the remnants of the old regime's fall in order to avoid the civil democratic transition. We will take immediate measures to fortify the transition and dismantle the June 30 system which still poses a threat to the transition.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCKENZIE (on camera): The Prime Minister said that the coup attempt was preceded by a significant preparations by those involved including stoking lawlessness in the cities, exploiting some of the volatility in the east of the country and disrupting Sudan's oil supply.
There is a growing sense of frustration by some in Sudan that the transition out of the three decade rule of Omar al-Bashir has taken this long after he was pushed out by populous street protests in 2019. The government has said that Omar al-Bashir and some senior former government leaders need to go to the (inaudible) to face war crimes charges.
David McKenzie, CNN, Johannesburg.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Actor Willie Garson has died at the age of 57. He was best known for playing Stanford Blatch, Carrie Bradshaw's friend on the hit series "Sex and the City." Garson also appeared in both "Sex and the City" films at the premiere of the second movie. He shared with CNN why viewers continue to love the series after so many years.
[03:50:15]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WILLIE GARSON ACTOR: It's about love. Finding love, keeping love, looking for love, staying in love, falling out of love. It's about loved. That's all it's ever been about.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Garson's friends and former colleagues are paying their respects. Mario Cantone who played Garson's on-screen partner in "Sex and the City" tweeted, "I couldn't have had a more brilliant TV partner. I am devastated and just overwhelmed with sadness."
And still ahead, it's been almost two weeks since Denmark lifted the last of its COVID rules. We will talk to a Danish business owner about how she has weathered the pandemic and where things stand today.
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CHURCH: Well, the streets are bustling again in Denmark. Now the only E.U. country without COVID restrictions. They were dropped earlier this month with nearly three quarters of the population fully vaccinated. The news was a welcomed relief for many small businesses.
Last year, CNN's Richard Quest spoke with a Danish hair salon owner whose business all but disappeared when Copenhagen shutdown. And he caught up with her recently to see what's changed.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS ANCHOR (voice over): The urge to actually just say do your wildest.
SIDSEL RIISBERG, HAIRDRESSER, ZENZ SALON: I mean, do you dare?
QUEST: No.
(LAUGHTER)
Don't strangled me.
RIISBERG: I don't want you to feel uncomfortable. Do you want your legs up and the back massage chair? Yes?
QUEST: When we spoke in May of last year --
RIISBERG: Yeah.
QUEST: The solemn -- you had been closed for a month and it was the week after you had just opened.
RIISBERG: Yeah.
QUEST: You are very enthusiastic.
RIISBERG: I was super happy. It was nerve-racking to be on a lockdown for a month for us and for some people longer. And so when finally coming back to your clients and even though it was a little bit of a hassle to get everyone rebooked and figuring out how do we make time for everyone, it was a pure joy to welcome clients again.
Everything was so new but you know, we couldn't believe that Denmark could closed. I mean, we were so safe here. So it was -- yeah, surprising that everything like got very serious.
QUEST: So, then you go through major in July and August -- I mean, you go through the year and things get worse in December and you have to close again.
RIISBERG: Yes. So we suddenly have to close again. We're very worried about this. But in the beginning we think OK, it's just a month. It's just until to New Year. Maybe it is, maybe we can open again and everyone is kind of like this is just 2020. Next year everything is going to be better. We were living in oblivion
then back then. And then its next year and we are still closed. And we are still closed all the way until April. So very long period of time.
[03:55:04]
QUEST: How difficult was it to stay in business for the four months even with government help?
RIISBERG: It was tough and I think especially for smaller salons since they cry to help your company, but for smaller salons, I think it has been almost impossible. I think a lot of salons have had to close down or change the way they do things.
QUEST: So you've reopened now what's the situation now?
RIISBERG: Now we are in a little bit more relaxed. The face mask has gone off. Everyone still needs the Corona passport, everyone has gotten one already and I had got used to it. So, its way more relaxed and we are almost back to normal.
QUEST: How many customers do you think you lost or gained?
RIISBERG: I don't know how many we lost. I don't think we lost any really. I think everyone really started to value us a little bit more and become very popular supporting your local hairdresser and showing you know showing everyone that you have showed up.
I feel like our company has really dealt with this in the best possible way. I do lot of our social media and I've really been happy that we had the time that we had.
QUEST: You told people come and get your color.
RIISBERG: Yeah.
QUEST: You did tutorials, how to cut your own hair. And people responded.
RIISBERG: Yeah, there was a great response and yes, especially for the color they can take (inaudible) instead of going to some drugstore and get a (inaudible), and then we have to fix it after which -- trust me we do have a lot to fix after a five months lockdown in the first place. So for someone to have come in with green hair, they dyed themselves or whatever. I mean, that's just tough.
It's good isn't it?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Richard Quest there. Well, thank you so much for joining us. I'm Rosemary Church. I'll be back with more news in just a moment. Do stay with us.
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