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AUKUS Fallout; U.K. Prime Minister Urges the World to "Grow Up" on Climate; Evergrande Stock Rebounds amid $36 Million Debt Settlement; U.S. Vaccine Sharing; Coronavirus Spreading Rapidly among Unvaccinated American Kids. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired September 23, 2021 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Hello, I'm John Vause, coming up this hour on CNN NEWSROOM. All it took was a phone call and a little conversation. Presidents Biden and Macron, say they are optimistic diplomatic relations are now on the mend.
Emergency use authorization for booster shots in the U.S., new details on who is eligible for a third shot.
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BORIS JOHNSON, U.K. PRIME MINISTER: It is time for humanity to grow up.
VAUSE (voice-over): Boris Johnson, unplugged: the British prime minister, berating world leaders over climate change and has a few harsh words for Kermit the Frog. Yes, the Muppet. We will explain.
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VAUSE: One of the most serious diplomatic spats in U.S.-French relations appears to be improving with word U.S. secretary of state, Antony Blinken, likely, will meet his French counterpart in the coming hours, on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly.
Earlier, France announced its ambassador to the United States, would soon return to Washington. All of, this coming after a Wednesday phone call between Presidents Biden and Macron. The first conversation since a fire storm erupted, last week over a new defense alliance, known as AUKUS.
That, deal resulting in Australia canceling a 65 billion dollar contract with France, for diesel submarines in favor of nuclear powered subs, built with U.S. and British technology.
The White House, releasing this photo, of a smiling Joe Biden and a carefully worded joint statement, declaring optimism. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: In terms of the tone of the call, it was friendly. It was one where we are hopeful and the president is hopeful this is a step in returning to normal, in a long, important, abiding relationship that the United States has, with France.
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VAUSE: CNN's Kylie Atwood has more on Joe Biden's, attempt at damage control.
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KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN U.S. SECURITY ANALYST: After tensions between the United States and France, over a disputed submarine deal, given that a French, deal with Australia, for submarines was canceled, due to a new agreement between the U.S., the U.K. and Australia, to provide the Australians with nuclear powered submarines.
President Biden and President Macron, speaking for the first time. They put out a joint statement, saying, they agree that consultations among allies would have benefited the situation.
Essentially, the United States admitting, they should've said something to the French about this deal, before they did, that they made a mistake in the leadup but it appears, diplomatically, the United States and France, are on better standing right now.
The French ambassador to the U.S., recalled at the end of last week due to these tensions, is going to return to the United States. President Biden and President Macron, saying that they will be meeting, next month.
But I am, told by a senior French diplomat, this is not completely in the rearview mirror. That, is particularly, because the French are still out billions of dollars because of that canceled deal, with the Australians -- Kylie Atwood, CNN, New York.
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VAUSE: Heather Conley is the director of the Europe Russia and Eurasia program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a think-tank based in Washington, D.C.
Good to have you with us. Thank you for your time.
HEATHER CONLEY, DIRECTOR OF THE EUROPE, RUSSIA AND EURASIA PROGRAM, CENTER FOR STRATEGIC AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: Great to be with you.
VAUSE: OK, there are genuine apologies. And then, there are non- apology apologies. It seems the U.S. apologize for how all this played out. As in, sorry, we should have said something earlier. But there was no apology for the end result, this trilateral defense deal and the loss of a multibillion dollar defense contract for France. Is there still a way here before this dispute is put to rest?
CONLEY: There is a way to go. But today was an important first step in the healing process. It's remarkable that it took seven days for President Biden and President Macron to speak. It took the recall of the French ambassador to Washington and real risk of endangering broader strategic objectives for the Biden administration to begin this healing process.
But it's going to take a while, many in Europe see what happened with AUKUS and the lack of providing the French government at least with a pretty significant heads up that this would happen, that this is just a repeated problem.
Rather than relentless diplomacy, we see the Biden administration pursuing relentless surprise of our allies and it's beginning to really shake trust and confidence.
So this is a first step it's got to start rebuilding slowly trust and credibility and this was a good first step. We've got a way to go.
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VAUSE: Yes, as you say, this is not just about a defense contract, it's -- the big -- the big issue here is trust.
So that lack of trust, that message, can Macron now sell that to other E.U. members in a way to convince them that it is now time or at least very soon will be time to move away from NATO toward what he is calling the strategic autonomy becoming less dependent on the United States? And why would that not be welcomed by Washington?
CONLEY: Well, I mean, this desire of a strong European defense identity separate from the United States has always been a feature of French foreign and security policy.
But the more that the U.S. makes these surprise decisions, demonstrates -- in some cases, embarrasses our allies and shows their dependency on the U.S. military. That was certainly the case in this very hasty and chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan. We really give support to those who believe a separate defense identity from the U.S. is the right move.
Look, I mean, I think this is -- we are now shifting, I think you see in Washington a broader sense that a stronger European defense identity is a good thing. But it has to be done in coordination with NATO, not done in any form of competition.
But what's very likely to happen is President Macron will use unfortunately these own goals by the Biden administration to really propel a French vision of this strategic autonomy.
The challenge is Europe is very fragmented, there's a lack of unity and political will. So while this is a lot of rhetoric and we understand that, it's really hard to see where Europe will have that political will to significantly increase defense spending and build those defense capabilities to be truly autonomous from the United States.
VAUSE: Well, we heard from the British Prime Minister on Wednesday in his own very unique way, here's Boris Johnson.
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BORIS JOHNSON, U.K. PRIME MINISTER: I just think it's time for some of our dearest friends around the world to, you know, "prenez un grip" about all this and "donnez-moi un break" because this is fundamentally a great step forward for global security.
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VAUSE: Get a grip, give me a break, a very blunt and direct way of saying, you know, complaining time is over.
The context here is in terms of security and defense, France needs the U.S. more than U.S. needs France. And the only unhappiness out there over AUKUS seems to be coming from Paris and Beijing.
CONLEY: So the Prime Minister always has an incredible way of putting things. What he's getting at is that AUKUS was a pretty bold strategic move and it speaks to the depth of the challenge that Beijing poses to security in the Indo-Pacific.
But, again, the strategic understanding is there but how we go about doing it, the same thing as the withdrawal of Afghanistan. The strategic understanding was there but how you go about doing it sometimes can be as important as the strategic move itself. We shouldn't have surprised France. France has interest in the Indo-
Pacific, they have a security presence, although they never would have been happy about this decision.
If we would have done this better, we could have had Paris as a strong partner working with AUKUS and with the U.S. bringing the E.U. toward a more robust posture. Its new strategy certainly is a great start.
But unfortunately, how we handled this ended up really, you know, masking that the important strategic move that AUKUS represents.
VAUSE: Heather Conley, thank you so much. We really appreciate your time. Thanks for being with us.
CONLEY: Thank you.
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VAUSE: The British prime minister, Boris Johnson, also had a blunt message for world leaders, during his address to the annual U.N. gathering.
Grow up, stop being infantile about climate change. He also called out Kermit the Frog, yes, Kermit, host of "The Muppet Show," a stuffed green hand puppet. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNSON: And when Kermit the Frog -- Kermit the Frog, said, "It's not easy being green," do you remember that one?
I want you to know, he was wrong. He was wrong. It is easy. It's not only easy, it's lucrative and it's a right to be green. He was also unnecessarily rude to Ms. Piggy, I thought.
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VAUSE: The British prime minister, ladies and gentlemen. Nina dos Santos has more, on Johnson's speech.
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NINA DOS SANTOS, CNNMONEY EUROPE EDITOR (voice-over): Six weeks before he's set to host a major climate change summit on his own soil here in the U.K. Boris Johnson, the British prime minister, used his United Nations General Assembly address in New York to rally the cause for more urgent action on climate change with some rather blunt language that you can hear here.
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JOHNSON: My friends, the adolescence of humanity is coming to an end and must come to an end.
We're approaching that critical turning point in less than two months in just over 40 days, when we must show that we are capable of learning and maturing and finally taking responsibility for the destruction we are inflicting not just upon our planet but upon ourselves.
DOS SANTOS: While in Johnson's own inimitable style, he said that essentially the world was behaving at the moment like a bunch of reckless teenagers, not conscious of the damage that they're causing. It was time for the world to wake up, to grow up and also take more responsibility and listen to the warnings of the scientists.
And the backdrop to all of this is that there've also been concerns that the diplomatic effort underway ahead of COP26, which is set to take place in Glasgow in Scotland in just six weeks' time is falling perilously behind.
And there have also been various sets of data that show that when it comes to the targets of climate change, namely limiting global warming to around 1.5 percent of pre-industrialized levels, that is also far off the mark at the moment -- Nina dos Santos, CNN, in London.
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VAUSE: It seems air pollution is right up there with climate change, when it comes to health risks. According to the World Health Organization, air pollution has caused around 7 million premature deaths every year. Now for the first time in more than 15 years, the WHO is revising its air quality guidelines.
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VAUSE: Stocks in the troubled Chinese real estate developer Evergrande are rebounding, after the behemoth released a settlement of a $36 million interest payment, due Thursday. The news sent financial markets higher in Hong Kong and Shanghai.
There we, are we can see Hong Kong up by 1 percent, Shanghai up over a half with 1 percent. In Australia, also in the green. Let's take a look at Dow futures, up by one-third of 1 percent. The Nasdaq futures up, just by a touch. S&P 500 futures, up by a quarter of 1 percent. Let's go now to Beijing. Steven Jiang is standing by.
So Steven, I guess the big question here, when it comes to Evergrande and the federal government, the central government there, will they or will they, not bail this company out at some point?
Or will they sit back and let it fail?
Unfortunately, we have some technical problems.
OK, no we don't, here he is.
STEVEN JIANG, CNN SENIOR PRODUCER, BEIJING BUREAU: OK, I don't know if you can see, me but that is the billion dollar question, obviously. As of now, it seems that most analysts agree, this company is not in any immediate danger of default and, by extension, collapse.
Of course, one challenge for the authorities and investors and even the general public, is they are still having difficulty, assessing the true scale of the company's debts.
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JIANG: Because according to Chinese media reports, Evergrande has been very good at hiding its liabilities in the past years. Sometimes, disguising its debts as equities or acquisitions that have yet to be paid for.
But when you look at the whole picture, even with that, the $300 billion liability, most analysts agree, this is a problem that is manageable under China's economic and political structure.
At this point, at least it is not caused a systemic threat to the Chinese, financial system. That is where most people agree, we will not see a wholesale government bailout. But that means that workouts from the government are not going to happen.
That, of course, is something we're watching for, very closely. That could be, coming in the form of indirect support as well as policies and actions, aimed at softening the blow, for small investors.
That is, of course, something very important because in the past few weeks, we have seen retail investors, whether or not they are buyers of presold apartments or (INAUDIBLE) products, from (INAUDIBLE) staging protests throughout China.
As you know, social stability has always been the top priority for the ruling Communist Party. Then any actions aimed at helping smart investors is, really, in line with this broader them, this broader campaign, of President Xi Jinping, in terms of, so-called common prosperity aimed at wealth redistribution, as well as improvement of social fairness.
So all of this, of course, can be seen in the prism of Xi Jinping's master plan of trying to, really, address what he, probably, considers the fatal flaws of capitalism in this country -- John.
VAUSE: Steven, we could hear you, which was the important thing. Steven Jiang for, us in Beijing.
We'll take a short break and when we come back, the U.S. President, setting an ambitious goal for worldwide vaccinations, with a pledge of 500 million doses, for lower income countries. The U.S. giveth but it also taketh away. Health regulators, in the U.S., giving the green light for limited booster shots.
Later, Angela Merkel, became Germany's first female chancellor, nearly 2 decades ago. She now prepares to leave office and we will look at her place in history, in just a moment.
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JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This is an all-hands- on-deck crisis. And the good news is we know how to beat this pandemic: vaccines.
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VAUSE: The U.S. president was speaking at the COVID-19 virtual summit on the sidelines of the U.N.'s gathering of world leaders. He announced vaccine donations to poorer nations would double, with the U.S. purchasing 500 million additional Pfizer vaccines, on top of the 500 million doses already promised.
The White House says 800 million vaccines will be shipped out, from January, through September, next year, bringing the total number, of vaccine donations, by the U.S., to more than a billion.
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VAUSE: But the United States is not the only nation upping donations. Spain will donate 15 million to Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa and Southern Europe. The country's overall pledge is now, is 30 million.
Japan plans to send 60 million vaccines to other countries and doubling its previous pledge of 30 million.
Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro and his U.N. delegation are, back, in Brazil, where they will remain in isolation and will be retested for COVID, this coming weekend. The health minister, is under quarantine, in New York, after testing positive for the virus, on Tuesday.
He was wearing a mask, when he shook hands with the British prime minister, Boris Johnson, on Monday. He was also in the audience when the U.S. President Joe Biden, made his address to the U.S. General Assembly.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, has now given the green light for a Pfizer booster, shot for people over 65 and those at high risk of severe disease as, well as anyone whose job puts them at risk of infection.
CDC advisers, will discuss boosters in the coming day and will then decide what to recommend, based on this new FDA decision. Third doses, already, approved for the immunocompromised, in more than 2 million Americans, who have already received them. But as CNN's Nick Watt reports, many Americans, still, are resisting their first round of shots.
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NICK WATT, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In North Carolina, dozens of UNC health employees have resigned rather than get a COVID- 19 vaccine.
LAURIE SCHERBEKOW, UNC HEALTH NURSE: But it absolutely is about our freedom. You know, we should have the freedom to choose.
WATT: Meantime, in the 10 least vaccinated states, there they are in red, the COVID-19 death rate was four times higher this past week than in these states.
The 10 most vaccinated. Wyoming just activated the National Guard to help in overcrowded hospitals. In North Dakota, school board member is now facing a recall after winning the push for masks in schools. She's a pediatrician.
DR. TRACIE NEWMAN, SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER AND PEDIATRICIAN: Masks are one way of a layered approach, you know to help us keep kids in school and even if it's unpopular, I'm always going to try to advocate what's best for children.
WATT: A mask war update from down in Texas, a couple with an immunocompromised kid at home, went out for dinner and.
NATALIE WESTER, MOTHER OF IMMUNOCOMPROMISED CHILD: We just came up and she basically said you are going to need -- you pull your mask down, take it off because this is a political situation. But the owner here doesn't believe in masks. And, you know, there's a strict no mass policy here.
WATT: So they had to leave.
TOM BLACKMER, OWNER, HANG TIME SPORTS GRILL AND BAR: I spent my money on this business. I put my blood, sweat and tears in this business. And I don't want any mask in Here.
WATT: In Florida, the mask weary governor just announced his new surgeon general.
GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL): But we feel that that Joe is just the right guy for the job.
WATT: Last week he wrote that the public mask wearing has had at best a modest effect on viral transmission. Not true studies show the effect is significant. Meantime, the nation's average daily death toll just top 2000 lives last a day, hasn't been that high in more than six months.
DR. JORGE RODRIGUEZ, INTERNAL MEDICINE SPECIALIST AND VIRAL RESEARCHER: We are going to be living because of some people's hesitancy to take vaccine at a plateau. Hundreds of people maybe even a thousand dying on a daily basis for the foreseeable future. And by that I mean a year or two.
WATT: And late Wednesday, the FDA in the United States has granted emergency use authorization for a third booster dose of the Pfizer vaccine for people 65 and up. Also people at risk of severe disease and people who have jobs that put them at risk of infection -- Nick Watt, CNN, Los Angeles.
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VAUSE: Joining us now, Dr. Lloyd Minor, the dean of the Stanford University School of Medicine.
Thank you for taking the time to be with us.
DR. LLOYD MINOR, DEAN, SCHOOL OF MEDICINE, STANFORD UNIVERSITY: Thank you, it is a pleasure to be with you.
VAUSE: More than 100,000 school students, missing class last week, in England, because of an infection. The U.K. chief medical adviser, warning parents it's, inevitable, that unvaccinated children will catch COVID. Here he is, listen to this.
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DR. CHRISTOPHER WHITTY, BRITISH CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER: There is definitely substantial transmission happening in this age group. In fact, the age group we are talking, about is the one in which the highest rate of transmission is currently occurring as far as we can tell.
(END VIDEO CLIP) VAUSE: And it is a similar situation, right now, in the U.S. It is looking like emergency authorization for the kids' vaccine, coming just shy of a year after authorization was given for the very first COVID vaccine, in December, last year.
But the spread amongst children of COVID-19 has accelerated dramatically. That does not seem to be reflected in this regulatory process.
I guess the short question here, why is it taking so long?
MINOR: Sure. Well, I think the CDC and the FDA, are both being appropriately diligent and cautious. We know that children are not just little adults or small adults. They have specific metabolisms.
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MINOR: They have very specific health related needs. We are anticipating in the United States, that emergency use authorization for the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine for ages 5 to 11 might come as early as mid to late October. Like you say, that is just shy of a year after emergency use authorization for adults.
VAUSE: This argument, though, that it has to be a slow, meticulous process, because obviously, kids are in a different category, it is failing to win over to a lot of parents who are holding back on the idea of vaccinating their kids.
What is the message to them?
MINOR: I hope the message is, because the regulatory agencies are being so diligent and the data is being collected in a very rigorous and thoughtful way, I hope the message is that, when the FDA and the CDC do give authorization, that people trust and have confidence in those recommendations.
They're based upon an enormous amount of data. We have more data about the efficacy and the safety of these COVID vaccines than almost any other vaccine that has been introduced.
VAUSE: With boosters, now, it's been known for a while, that the effectiveness of the COVID vaccines, it wanes after a period of time. We know that's especially true now, for those 65 and older.
The FDA, in the United States, has given emergency use authorization booster shots, to that age group and other high-risk groups. The CDC ahs yet to weigh in but right now, the decision only covering those who are vaccinated with Pfizer?
It does not include Moderna or Johnson & Johnson.
They have to wait?
Why is that?
What is the distinction? MINOR: I think the distinction is that the Pfizer data was submitted first to the FDA and those trials began a little earlier than Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines. We have seen, covered in the press, that Johnson & Johnson and Moderna have data that is forthcoming, that will be reviewed by the FDA and, assuming that the FDA and CDC find it meets their standards, I would expect that we would see approval along similar lines for boosters for those 2 vaccines.
VAUSE: You can't talk boosters without talking about vaccine equity around the world. The U.S. President, promising another 500 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine, to be distributed globally. That brings the total to around 1 billion from the U.S.
Does this, in a way, address the issue of vaccine inequality?
Does it cancel our concerns that a booster shot in the U.S. would be a vaccination denied in a country with a lower income?
MINOR: Well, I don't think it's either/or. I think the boosters will likely be necessary, as we are seeing in the U.S. and in other places. And, also, we have to be effective at distributing the vaccine around the world.
So we have to have equitable distribution of vaccine and we have to make sure that people are adequately vaccinated. It is also important to remember that the doses that are being deployed, in the U.S., because of a variety of cold chain requirements and other related requirements, those can not be, immediately, repurposed for other parts of the world.
But I think moving forward, with when approved or given emergency use authorization, boosters in the U.S. and, assuring the equitable distribution to the developing world, both will be necessary.
VAUSE: It's a good point to finish on. Dr. Minor, thank you so much for being with us. Very much appreciate it.
MINOR: Thank you.
VAUSE: Take care.
Vaccines will be mandatory for American athletes hoping to compete in the Winter Olympics next year. Coaches and support staff will also need vaccinations. The mandate will extend to all Team USA delegation members. That starts December.
The Beijing Winter Olympics is scheduled to begin February 4th.
Ahead on CNN NEWSROOM, migrants continue to arrive at the U.S.-Mexico border daily, despite hundreds being turned away by authorities.
And a treacherous nighttime journey through the steep hills of eastern Turkey, what Afghan refugees face in the search for (INAUDIBLE).
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JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Well as hundreds of mostly Haitian migrants arrive on the U.S. Southern border, pressure is growing on the Biden administration to end this crisis.
The migrants have been released to southern Texas, the majority though are being sent home. Now an immigration facility is being opened in Laredo, Texas expected to process more than a thousand migrants a day. About 5,000 Haitian migrants remain under the Del Rio International Bridge seeking asylum.
But even with so many being turned away, it appears thousands more could be headed to the border and that could be soon as CNN's Rosa Flores reports.
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ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): As thousands of migrants wait in a makeshift camp under the Del Rio International Bridge to get processed by U.S. immigration authorities, a miles long steel barrier of Texas state trooper vehicles, has gone up to deter the up to 30,000 Haitians, CNN has been told, could be heading towards the border.
GOV. GREG ABBOTT (R-TX): If you are targeting Texas to come to, we're going to show up in force and shut down the border.
FLORES: Tonight the camp, beginning to dwindle in size. The fate of the migrants still there, uncertain. Some are returned to their home countries, others like Rolf Louis from Haiti are allowed to stay.
(on camera): He feels well that he's able to stay. Blessed.
(voice over): One by one, migrants under the bridge, many of whom officials say are Haitian are loaded onto buses and transported to U.S. immigration processing facilities.
ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS, U.S. HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: We do enforce our immigration laws. Those are not only the laws of humanitarian relief but the laws of accountability for those who seek to enter illegally and do not have a claim for relief under law.
FLORES: Some are expelled to Haiti and other countries, under a pandemic health rule. And, nearly a thousand have been dropped off by border patrol at this nonprofit refuge pending their immigration cases in the past three days according to the group's director.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is a tremendous amount, like nothing we have ever seen.
FLORES: That's where we met Louis. A Haitian who says he and his wife waited under the bridge for about a week.
(on camera): What did Immigration tell you?
He said that Immigration told him that if he didn't appear in court that he could get deported. (voice over): His destination is New York.
(on camera): Did anybody tell you why some Haitians can stay and some Haitians have to be deported back to Haiti?
He says that his understanding is that because he had an address, a family member that he could contact in the United States, that he was allowed to stay.
(voice over): CNN has not been able to confirm Louis' experience applies to everyone.
The next stop for many of these migrants a nearby gas station where vans and buses take them to cities across the nation.
(on camera): He is going to Miami.
(voice over): That is where we met Peter Cimarron (ph), who is from Haiti too.
(on camera): Bye Peter, thank you.
(voice over): As he says he's afraid of being deported to Haiti, he has to run. His van has arrived.
It is what life has been like for these migrants recently. A hurry up and wait, into an uncertain future.
(on camera): The Biden administration, ramping up the deportation flights to seven a day. Now, the destinations would not just include Haiti, but also countries like Brazil and Chile.
According to the administration, these are some of the transition countries where Haitian nationals have been living for the past few years.
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FLORES: At last check the Del Rio mayor says, that there are more than 5,000 migrants still waiting to be processed by U.S. immigration authorities.
Rosa Flores, CNN -- Del Rio, Texas.
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VAUSE: On the other side of the border, CNN's Matt Rivers reports on a desperate situation, which has seen some migrants crossing back into Mexico, gather supplies and then return to the U.S. side.
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MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: For a very busy day here at the U.S.- Mexico border, we are in Ciudad Acuna, just across the river there behind me from Del Rio, Texas. That is where thousands and thousands of Haitian migrants have been over the past week. And we saw many of them during the day today actually crossing the Rio Grande behind me, coming here into Mexico. And we asked many of them why were they doing that following this guideline that's been strung across the river. And they came here to Mexico to get supplies.
They say that the conditions inside that encampment on the U.S. side are such that if you come to Mexico it's actually easier to get food, water. We even saw a set of parents picking up diapers and clothes on this side of the border.
That's something we've seen all day long. Essentially these migrants are kind of trapped between both of these countries' law enforcement both in Mexico and the U.S.
If they choose to stay in the United States, some are being let into the U.S. after being processed by law enforcement. Others, though, are being deported to Haiti.
The exact same thing is happening here on the Mexican side. Some are being let into Mexico, if they have the proper paperwork, in terms of asylum claims. Others will eventually be deported back to Haiti, according to government officials.
That is the situation. These Haitian migrants have to choose which side to go to.
We also saw some dramatic scenes earlier today. What happens here along this river is that there are regularly scheduled dam releases. Basically dams upstream that -- where water is released. And the water levels rise pretty dramatically in this river behind.
We saw one man -- and clearly migrants here are not aware of that or are not used to that. We saw one man that you can see here with his daughter on his shoulders going across the river, came here to get her a meal, was going back to the encampment in the U.S.
And they almost went under because of how strong the current was. Three or four other migrants had to jump into the water and actually help save not only that man but the child that was on his shoulders.
And then a little bit later on, we also saw someone trying to swim across. Clearly not a good swimmer and was actually swept downstream. Several other migrants jumped in after him. He was yelling. He was clearly panicking.
And actually border patrol agents from the U.S. side threw him a line that he was actually able to grab onto and pull himself to safety.
So it's just a very dramatic scene here on the U.S. border, a very difficult time for these migrants as they have to decide where do they go from here. Do they stay in Mexico? Do they stay in the U.S.? And do they take the corresponding risk from each side?
Matt Rivers, CNN -- Ciudad Acuna, Mexico.
(END VIDEOTAPE) VAUSE: After living in fear of the Taliban, they've decided to leave almost everything behind -- a desperate efforts to reach Europe where they then climb through steep hills in the middle of the night in a country that desperately tries to catch them and deport them. They then face the prospect of their families being separated as they search for this safe haven.
Arwa Damon reports now on the plight of many Afghan asylum seekers as they journey through Turkey.
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ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Up in the darkness, on the side of a steep hill, dozens of mostly Afghan refugees are picking their way through the thorny, rocky slopes.
They just crossed the Iranian border into eastern Turkey. The handful of Turkish security forces we are with are scattered below. Being guided by others manning a thermal camera.
(on camera): They're telling them to go left and to the front.
(voice over): Turkey does not want refugees here. And their final destination, Europe, does not want them there. The shots are blanks, intended to scare.
For this small group of Afghans, it is over. And yet despite the grueling journey, the sudden evaporation of his dreams, one of the young men realizes I am struggling with a slippery descent and insists on helping me.
He is an athletic student, a sprinter. Another, in the group, a pro mixed martial arts fighter. They don't want to appear on camera. They say it would break their parents hearts to see them captured.
It was dark, so dark, (INAUDIBLE) we met a few days earlier in a deportation center remembers. It was their son, Amir, just 10 years old, who kept them going.
[01:39:54]
DAMON (on camera): What were you thinking, when you know, you were going through all of this? and you are pulling your dad, and carrying the bags?
(voice over): "I was just thinking that we have to reach a country that is safe," he responds.
(on camera): You are very brave.
(voice over): "It was for my future," his sister says. "I can't study in Afghanistan." Zaynab (ph) does not want her daughter to be robbed of her right to learn. Not the way she was 20 plus years ago.
(on camera): So you went to a secret school? One of the secret underground schools? (voice over): "It was under a house," she says. "The door would stay
shot, so no one would know girls were there."
She's broken in more ways than she can put into words. They all are. She doesn't know how long they will be here. Turkey halted deportations to Afghanistan after Kabul fell. Some of those who evade capture hide out in small ravines, waiting for their payment to the smugglers to come through, so they can move on to the next leg (ph).
(on camera): So you were in the military?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, in Afghanistan.
DAMON (voice over): He was part of a local anti-Taliban unit. He sent his wife and three children into hiding after receiving threatening phone calls. He left them behind so they could be reunited in a better place, one day, someday.
Suffering through the humiliation of waiting out here. Many of those who we spoke to said it took them numerous attempts just to get across the border into Turkey.
Turkey has been beefing up its border security, doubling the number of guard towers, infrared cameras, motion sensors, with Europe's support.
Turkey is pushing refugees back at times forcefully and violently. The day after crossing the border, the captured refugees we met had already been forced back into Iran. They say there are no hiding from thieves.
But nothing will stop those that have nothing left but broken promises.
A question that should echo throughout America's halls of power whose policies failed the Afghan people and led to this.
Arwa Damon, CNN -- (INAUDIBLE) Turkey.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Ukraine's president has promised a strong response after an apparent attempt to kill one of his senior aides. At least 10 shots were fired at Sergei Shefir's car Wednesday morning. Police say it was an attempted assassination.
President Zelensky says he does not know who is behind the shooting. He calls it weakness to target his friend.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): This is the price of changes in the country. This is the price of reform.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: While the president aide was not harmed, his driver was treated in hospital for three gunshot wounds.
Next up here on CNN NEWSROOM, repeating cool in the hot Nigerian sun. How one man is helping farmers protect their produce and their profits with cold storage.
[01:42:54]
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VAUSE: Today on "Call to Earth", a Nigerian social entrepreneur and Rolex awards laureate is tackling his country's problem with food waste. He's using solar power for a system of cold storage rooms in markets and farms designed to help save food, energy and livelihoods.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In this busy Nigerian market, the race is on to sell fresh produce early in the day.
NNAEMEKA IKEGWUONU, FOUNDER AND CEO, COLDHUBS: So you sell high quality very early in the morning. Then after 12 noon, under the intensity of the Nigerian sun, spoilage has been accelerated.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Of all the food produced, Nigeria loses and wastes around 40 percent per year, according to the World Bank. While over 80 million people in the country face food insecurity.
It's a burning issue this man is trying to solve. Nnaemeka Ikegwuonu is taking a fresh approach to food waste with ColdHubs, food storage rooms designed for markets and farms that are entirely powered by the sun, using those very rays to cool the food down.
IKEGWUONU: The mission really is to reduce food spoilage due to lack of cold storage at key points along the food supply chain.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Farmers and retailers can store a crate of produce for around 25 cents per day, keeping it fresh for up to 21 days.
IKEGWUONU: This cold room can take and cool down up three tons of food. And it cools down from 30 to 35 degrees at that temperature which is what the food is coming in with to about safe temperature 10 degrees Celsius.
This (INAUDIBLE) stay in the cold room for up to three weeks. Still very fresh.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The U.N. tells us that food waste accounts for up to 10 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. So finding solutions could make a hefty contribution to the fight against climate change in more ways than one.
IKEGWUONU: Each of these cold rooms should run on approximately between 20 to 30 liters of diesel every day. And by using solar energy, we kicked off the diesel completely.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And Ikegwuonu wants the ColdHubs to have social, as well as environmental impact.
IKEGWUONU: We have been able to create about 66 new jobs for women. So many of these women people have become empowered and change agents in their households and communities.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Before Cold Hubs, Ikegwuonu started a radio network, reaching an estimated two million listeners to help farmers share knowledge and learn effective farming practices.
IKEGWUONU: Crop rotation is one of the oldest and most effective (INAUDIBLE) strategies.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Growing up on a farm himself, he knows the cost of losses can be devastating.
IKEGWUONU: A Nigerian (INAUDIBLE) farmer goes through a lot. It's like climbing Kilimanjaro, where it's very difficult. And where you have to produce food.
And when you are unable to sell that commodity or trade with that commodity, number one, the international investment all have been eroded. The environmental resources are all lost. The morale of the farmer is lost.
That is why we need to make sure that if we produce food, we should as much as possible try to get the food on the plate of those people.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ikegwuonu says that there are now 54 ColdHubs in 22 states across Nigeria with more being built.
IKEGWUONU: We were able to store 42,042 tons of food in 2020. That is typically food that would've been thrown away, you know, or sold out at ridiculous prices. We were able to sign up 5,215 small holder farmers, retailers and wholesalers who are presently using ColdHub services.
And the number keeps on increasing every day. But really the big dream for us is to solve the problem of food spoilage in Nigeria. And expand our technology and service to other African countries that have this challenge within their country.
How are you?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Let us know what you're doing to answer the call with the hashtag Call to Earth.
You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. Short break, we'll be right back.
[01:49:50]
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VAUSE: This is a scene right now on Spain's La Palma Island where more evacuations have been ordered because of a volcano which has been erupting since Sunday. So far, no injuries or deaths have been reporting but lava has destroyed or damaged homes, schools, businesses and banana plantations.
Experts say now the lava flow has slowed, it might not reach the ocean which would avoid the chance of a chemical reaction which could cause explosions as well as the release of toxic gases.
In just a few days, Germany heads to the polls in an election that will determine who will succeed Chancellor Angela Merkel and lead the largest economy in Europe.
The Social Democratic Party and the Conservatives are the top contenders in a tightening race. The Green Party has also emerged as a serious contender.
Voters will pick one on Sunday as they decide what a post-Merkel Germany will look like.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's quite a decision to make after 16 years of Merkel about whether things should just carry on as before. I am from north Rhine Westphalia so Armin Laschet is no stranger to me.
Do we want a one on one continuation or someone who was a former vice chancellor and was a participant in many of the decisions with Merkel.
I think it's an important decision, and at 6:00 p.m. on Sunday, we'll see. Either way, it's exciting.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Merkel has served four terms as chancellor, and over those 16 years she stood as a symbol of stability in Europe and outlasted dozens of other world leaders. Italy and Japan have each seen eight prime ministers during the same period.
CNN's Fred Pleitgen takes a look at the legacy Miss Merkel will leave behind.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Back to the roots for one of Germany's longest serving chancellor. Angela Merkel, planting a linden tree in Templin, the east German town she grew up in.
ANGELA MERKEL, GERMAN CHANCELLOR (through translator): It will always be this way. I come from here. My roots are here. And they will always be here.
PLEITGEN: Angela Merkel still calls this place her home. It was from here in Templin that she set out decades ago and eventually became one of the most powerful women in the world.
It was no easy journey often belittled in the male-dominated world of German conservative politics, many rivals failed to take her seriously enough and later regretted it, says Merkel's biographer.
RALPH BOLLMANN, BIOGRAPHER: When they realized that a woman from the east is able to play this game of power, it was too late of course, for them.
PLEITGEN: When Angela Merkel became Germany's first female chancellor in 2005, her style was completely different than previous chancellors -- calm, quiet, and reserved.
But what Merkel lacked in fiery rhetoric, she made up for as a crisis manager. Both during the Lehman collapse in 2008 and the Greek debt crisis in 2012. She took bold action to prop up the German economy and ailing E.U. member states, possibly saving the single currency, the euro.
MERKEL: Europe will fail, if the euro fails. And Europe will win, if the euro wins.
PLEITGEN: Arguably, Angela Merkel's biggest hour came in 2015 as hundreds of thousands of refugees, mostly displaced by the Syrian civil war were literally on the E.U.'s doorstep seeking shelter.
[01:54:57]
PLEITGEN: Angela Merkel led the E.U. as it opened its gates, taking in well over a million people.
MERKEL: We have to chase (ph) the match, we will manage this, and wherever something gets in the way, we will overcome it.
PLEITGEN: But integration of the refugees proved more difficult. Giving rise to nationalist forces in Germany. A slap in the face for Angela Merkel, says the editor in chief of Germany's largest daily "Bild", Julian Reichelt.
JULIAN REICHELT, EDITOR IN CHIEF, "BILD": Praising Angela Merkel for open borders that is much easier when you don't live in a poor neighborhood in Germany, where you live with the direct effects of open borders.
PLEITGEN: While Angela Merkel did manage to win a fourth term in 2017, her popularity was waning. And she announced, she would not seek a fifth one.
Still, the challenges kept coming. With the election of Donald Trump as U.S. president in 2016, and Trump's alienation of many of the U.S. allies, Merkel, a quantum chemist often appeared stunned by some of the U.S. presidents remarks.
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I have German in my blood. I'll be there.
PLEITGEN: Angela Merkel led Germany through the coronavirus pandemic but shortly before she steps down, her party support has been collapsing. Some say because she failed to address many important topics. REICHELT: Zero progress when it comes to huge issues like
digitization, for example. Germany, after 16 years of Merkel, basically hasn't moved at all.
PLEITGEN: Merkel herself says she wants some time off after leaving office. The first female chancellor in the history of the Federal Republic of Germany, now waiting to see how her legacy will be remembered.
Fred Pleitgen, CNN -- berlin.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: CNN will have special live coverage of Germany's elections. Find out who will be the next to lead the country. Hala Gorani, Fred Pleitgen, Salma Abdelaziz will bring us the very latest Sunday 12 p.m. Eastern, 5 p.m. in London right here on CNN.
Thank you for watching. I'm John Vause.
CNN NEWSROOM continues after a short break with Anna Coren live in Hong Kong.
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