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U.S. Congress To Grill Military Leaders About Withdrawal; Expert: Military Leaders Can't Get Too Defensive At Hearing; Evacuated Afghan American Recounts Harrowing Escape; British Government Puts Army On Standby Amid Panic Buying. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired September 28, 2021 - 02:00:00   ET

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

[02:00:10]

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR (on camera): Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. You are watching CNN NEWSROOM and I'm Rosemary Church.

Just ahead.

CHURCH (voice-over): Hot seats in Washington, lawmakers prepared to grill top military leaders for the first time since the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Panic at the pump, the U.K. could soon our soldiers to deliver petrol as service stations run dry.

And North Korea launches another missile, a move South Korea was calling regrettable.

CHURCH (on camera): Good to have you with us.

Well, in just a few hours, for the first time in public, America's top military leaders will answer questions from Congress about the evacuation of Afghanistan.

CHURCH (voice-over): The Senate Armed Services Committee is holding a hearing into those chaotic days in August when the military evacuated tens of thousands of people. Lawmakers will get to grill U.S. Joint Chiefs Chairman Mark Milley and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.

Senators are expected to demand answers about the evacuation, the terrorist attack that left 13 U.S. troops dead, and the mistaken drone strike that killed 10 Afghan civilians.

Lieutenant General Mark Hertling is a CNN military analyst and former Army Commanding General for Europe and the seven army.

CHURCH (on camera): And he joins me now from Orlando in Florida. Thank you, General, for talking with us.

LT. GEN. MARK HERTLING (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: It's my pleasure, Rosemary. Thanks.

CHURCH: So, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley will appear and testify in what could potentially be the most significant televised congressional hearing involving senior military leaders in years. What are you expecting to come out of this when he specifically addresses questions regarding the chaos and failings behind the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, of course, the chaos behind the evacuation in August?

HERTLING: Well, I think, first of all, we have to know that it's going to be political theatre. It's going to be both General Milley and his boss, Secretary of Defense Austin, as well as a third party that's General McKenzie, who is the commander of Central Command, the area that's that has Afghanistan and many other countries within it.

But Rosemary, I think we're going to see them discussing four different topics or getting questions on four different topics, the president's decision to leave Afghanistan and the associated problems with that departure, the Afghanistan Noncombatant Evacuation Operation that started in mid-August, and was early on very chaotic.

But actually, I think General Milley will probably tell them that they were able to get more people out than they even plan to get out, so they -- he considers it a success. But he can't beat that drum too hard because of what everyone saw. They're going to talk about over the horizon targeting, which has been something the president has talked about. And then, of course, you've got the wildcard of the recently released Woodward Costa's book.

So, all of those things are going to be topics of discussion, and I'm sure it's going to be interesting questions from both sides.

CHURCH: Yes, absolutely. And I wanted to ask you about that, because it would be interesting to get the advice you would give General Milley and others, when they answer the many questions that they get on what they know, and when they knew it, and more specifically on whether this was an intelligence failure, a military failure, or a leadership failure? And of course, then that tragic mistake behind the drone strike that killed 10 civilians?

HERTLING: Yes, I think you're going to see -- well, I wouldn't be as pertinent as to give advice to the chairman of the sec def, even though I know both of them. What I would say, though, is I'm sure they've been told by those who are preparing them for the testimony, that they better be calm. That they should not talk over one another, they should answer the questions that are addressed to them. And if it's an inappropriate question to the military versus the civilian leadership, they should shift it over that way.

What they can't do is get too defensive, or imply at all, that they had perfect intelligence, perfect plans, and some things, you know, that Congress just doesn't understand. Which, by the way, is true.

I mean, there were some things that occurred during this entire period, first of all, during the first 20 years of the Afghanistan mission, but also during the last two weeks of the (INAUDIBLE), the Noncombatant Evacuation Operation that went wrong.

So, they've got to take the blame for some of these things and take responsibility for them.

[02:05:00]

CHURCH: Yes, as you point out, I mean there's such an array of questions. And we've seen members of Congress bully those who come before them for intensive examination at these types of hearings.

(CROSSTALK)

HERTLING: Yes.

CHURCH: What is the best way for General Milley and others to deal with those moments? Because it's very easy to get baited and to bait.

HERTLING: Yes, I know, I've been there, and it is. When -- you know, you can have a conversation for your listeners, I often went into the Congress, the night before I testified, or the day before, and talked to congressmen and senators, and they were very pleasing when they talk to you one on one.

But as soon as that red light on the C-SPAN camera goes on, they turn into pit bulls, and they only have a certain amount of time to get the answers that they want. Not the answers that they should be given.

So, that's problematic, too. I would -- I would suggest your viewers really take notice of those who really try and want to get the answers as to what occurred versus ones that are just scoring political points.

That's happened consistently over the last couple of years. And it's really unfortunate, because that's not oversight. Like you said, use your word, that's just bullying.

CHURCH: Yes, then it's to get their moment on social media as well, as you say, the scoring those political points.

So, just finally, what do you -- what do hearings like this actually achieve? How likely is it that they do get to the bottom of what went wrong?

HERTLING: Yes, they won't. I mean, they'll get some answers, like you say, they'll get something to put on their Twitter. The congressman will get something to put on their Twitter feed. But because of the openness of it, the wide-open hearing, they can't, and the limits of the amount of time that they have to question, they're not going to get any long or in-depth explanation.

And what I'd say is all of the things they're going to be talking about are extremely complex. And you can't boil those kinds of things down into a three-second sound bite. It's very difficult to do that.

So, there may be some interesting tidbits that come out that could contribute to the oversight of the military. But I would suggest we're just going to see, I'll go back to where we started all this. It's going to be political theatre.

CHURCH: Yes, all right. Lieutenant General Mark Hertling, always great to talk with you. Appreciate it.

HERTLING: Thank you, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Well, we have seen how scary things were at the Kabul airport during the evacuation of Afghanistan, but hearing directly from someone who was part of that chaos is a whole different story.

CNN's Alex Marquardt spoke to an Afghan American about her journey to safety. It's a tale of close calls, CIA secret bases, and a last- second escape.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SHAQAIQ BIRASHK, EVACUATED AFGHAN AMERICAN: You guys book. No more flag.

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): As the Taliban took over Afghanistan's capital, Shaqaiq Birashk was filming their fighters from her balcony.

BIRASHK: OK. So, they are here, trying to get into that person's house.

MARQUARDT (voice-over): She was in a high rise overlooking downtown Kabul, as American and NATO forces were desperately trying to evacuate people just like her: an Afghan American who worked for the Afghan government and on a U.S. funded project.

Birashk was born in Afghanistan and moved to the U.S. at 13 years old. She returned as an adult, spending most of the past four years working with local organizations.

Now, she's back in Denver after taking part in one of the most secretive operations in the entire evacuation, which a U.S. official tells CNN was, in part, run by the CIA.

BIRASHK: The airport was absolute chaos. It was -- it was as if we would have had to gone through a Death Valley in order to make survive.

MARQUARDT: Birashk was in her apartment when she got a call from an American.

BIRASHK: And I said, who is this? He said I'm a government -- U.S. government official.

MARQUARDT (on camera): No details about who he worked for?

BIRASHK: No details, no. No, nothing at all.

MARQUARDT (voice-over): The American wanted Birashk to leave, but she said she wanted to bring Afghans with her.

BIRASHK: He said, well, my priority is you. I understand that you're -- you feel this responsibility towards the people that you have worked with. But unfortunately, my priority is you. MARQUARDT: Hours later, she changed her mind after a friend who was evacuated convinced her.

BIRASHK: I got my passport and then I just head downstairs.

MARQUARDT: A driver in a Toyota Corolla picked her up, but they didn't know exactly where to go. "Just tell me where you are and I will help," the American texted.

Birashk shared her location as they drove through the dark and to Taliban checkpoints.

BIRASHK: The Taliban members came in just smack the front of the car and, you know, kind of waved at us and said don't move. Stop here. And then, our driver was like, I'm not going listen to him.

MARQUARDT: The American official was tracking them. "I see you," he texted. "Just follow the road until you see a gas station. Then, you will see my guys."

BIRASHK: I wasn't scared because I wasn't -- I didn't have the time to be scared. I had no -- I've -- being scared was not an option.

[02:10:00]

MARQUARDT: They went the wrong way the American texted, "You missed the left turn." Around midnight, they finally arrived at Eagle Base, a CIA base just east of Kabul, located by the New York Times, where helicopters were ferrying people inside to the airport.

Birashk was met by Afghan Special Forces, and then, Americans, including the American guiding her.

BIRASHK: I've mentioned his name, and I said, is that you? He said, yes, that's me. And then, there was a sigh of relief at that point that I knew that we have made it, you know, there's no more checkpoints.

MARQUARDT: On the base, their phones were taken away. They were asked not to reveal the base's location. The next day, they were flown to Kabul airport, and out of the country to safety.

MARQUARDT (on camera): What's your friends and colleagues who are still in Kabul, still in Afghanistan telling you about what they think the future is going to look like?

BIRASHK: They continuously say, life -- Afghanistan is now a body without a soul. Seeing the way that everything that they had worked for the past 20 years has been just shattered in front of their own eyes, the promises of the international community, never leaving them behind, and now they're left with nothing.

MARQUARDT (voice-over): Birashk says she and others like her are now suffering from significant survivor's guilt.

BIRASHK: To this day, I'm still processing the information and processing the reality on the ground. I just feels like it's an ongoing nightmare that, you know, I haven't been woken up from.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MARQUARDT (on camera): Birashk tells me that she feels blessed and privileged to have been evacuated the way that she was, as she says without a scratch. She knows that, that is not the case for so many who were evacuated from the airport, and many more who are still trying to get out of Afghanistan.

The State Department said on Monday that there are around 100 American citizens and legal permanent residents who are ready to leave. The biggest obstacle, a senior state department official says is the unpredictability of who the Taliban will allow to leave.

Alex Marquardt, CNN, Washington.

CHURCH: Panic buying and pumps running dry. Britain is facing a major fuel crisis that's grown so bad the government has now put the military on standby. Meaning, army tanker drivers could soon be tapped for petrol deliveries if the situation doesn't improve.

Now, to be clear, the issue is with the supply chain. The U.K. has plenty of fuel but not enough drivers to get it to the station. So, let's bring in CNN's Nina dos Santos. She joins us live from London. Good to see you, Nina.

So, a petrol shortage caused by a lack of truck drivers resulting in panic buying. So, what is the latest on this, and of course, how Britain will solve this problem?

NINA DOS SANTOS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Rosemary. Well, after days of this panic buying that as you can see from the lines behind me at this gas station still hasn't abated.

By the way, it's around about 7:00 a.m. in the morning of the lines go around the block. Here, the government is adding more measures to the policy mix after some confusion earlier on in the week as to whether or not the military would be put on standby. It seems that, that is the latest thing that they have suggested.

That could mean, according to some media reports in U.K. outlets that we could see about 150 military tanker drivers be put on standby to try and intervene and take some of those deliveries to full courts like this one when they get dried.

That hasn't yet happened, but it is something just another thing that the government is adding to the mix, including the extension of people's driver's licenses for these types of heavy goods vehicles.

Sometimes they have to do a reset test, or they're not going to be extending that with the hope that more people who've given up working as truck drivers, but still have a valid license that's about to expire, they could see that extended and, therefore, get back on the roads to help with this short term supply issue.

Yet again, the fuel industry is saying that there is no national shortage of fuel. They're appealing to people to stop panic buying like this. And the government and the fuel industry has been saying they hope that by the time all of these motorists have full fuel tanks by the end of the week that this situation will be alleviated somewhat.

But every day, more Cabinet meetings and more policy answers that are being thrown into the mix here. The latest one, as you said, Rosemary, being that idea of keeping the army on standby. Rosemary?

CHURCH: All right. Nina dos Santos, many thanks. Joining us live from London. Appreciate it.

Well, experts say there are many reasons for the trucker shortage. Some blame Brexit, which prompted thousands of lorry drivers to leave the country. There's also the pandemic, which delayed training new drivers. Then, there's the job itself. Low wages, long hours away from home, and difficult work.

And the shortage isn't just in the U.K. Finding qualified drivers has become a struggle worldwide.

Edwin Atema is the head of research and enforcement at the FNV union which is based in the Netherlands. He joins us now live. Thank you so much for being with us.

EDWIN ATEMA, HEAD, RESEARCH AND ENFORCEMENT, NETHERLANDS: Good morning.

[02:14:57]

CHURCH: So, Britain has army tanker drivers on standby to help with fuel supply chain issues, but eventually hopes to lure thousands of E.U. drivers with these short-term visas to do the deliveries. How is that likely to work out, do you think?

ATEMA: We think that will not work out, because who will quit his job in the E.U. to go for a temporary adventure in the U.K.? We think nobody will do it.

CHURCH: The extra money to make this worthwhile to turn their lives upside down and relocate that.

ATEMA: Yes, (INAUDIBLE) temporary money is never to fix fundamental problem. But the rest of the -- of what's offered is also really uncertain. Workers we speak to, they really say, why would we help the U.K. at the moment if our contracts will be terminated again, at Christmas nights when the work is done?

CHURCH: So, how did the U.K. get itself into this bind? And why didn't they anticipate a lack of truck drivers?

ATEMA: Now, so, the issue as such is not exclusively for the -- for the -- for the U.K., it's appear in all across Europe. And it's a clear signal of a broken industry, an industry where good trained and respected divers left the profession simply because companies put them in competition with cheaper and cheaper and cheaper divers from the east.

This profession became to a profession of survival of the fittest, where driver's exploitation became a business model, where fair companies lose market share, and companies who fundamentally break the law and exploit drivers win market share.

Yes, this all happens because the top of the supply chain, the multinational companies of these worlds never took their responsibility in stable workplace in the road transport industry. So, now they harvest what they have sold for many years.

CHURCH: So, now, in essence, these truck drivers have all the leverage, don't they? I mean, they should be able to basically ask for the amount of money that they require for any relocation, and eventually, they'll have the power with this. Won't they?

ATEMA: Yes, on the short term, they truly have. But we think together with our colleagues in the U.K., that the road transport industry in the U.K. need a collective agreement, which covers the whole industry, because now, you see on daily base, that it's like the stock market.

Today, they pay amount (INAUDIBLE). And tomorrow, they're not needed, they pay less. Yes, this is not a stable way to make an industry attractive for workers. More is need done, and in fact, the industry all across Europe needs some Marshall Plan, where companies on the top of the supply chain take their responsibility, cooperate with unions to get to a sustainable industry again, where workers are willing to join the profession and are happy, and save workers.

CHURCH: Right. So, I can see that happening across Europe. But the problem for Britain, of course, is the English Channel between it.

So, they have to figure out a way to lure people over to Britain and to offer enough money. What would be the advice you would give Prime Minister Boris Johnson to solve this problem that he has? Because he can't rely on the army long-term. Can he?

ATEMA: Now, you know, we agree on that analyze, they cannot rely on the army but something which is broken over 1-1/2 decade already cannot be repaired overnight. So, what Boris Johnson and the British government must do, sit down with trade unions because trade unions and workers have a clear vision on how an industry should look like. And workers' knowledge is really important to attract new workers.

So, the answer is basically simple. They're not the quick fix in something what is broken, long time already.

CHURCH: We'll watch to see how they figured this out. Edwin at Atema in the Netherlands, thank you so much for joining us. We appreciate it.

ATEMA: Thank you.

CHURCH: Well, North Korea is suspected of launching yet another missile just minutes before stressing the need for diplomacy. We'll get reaction to the launch. Plus, the uphill battle facing Germany's new leaders as they try to cobble together a coalition government.

We'll have a details ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:21:28]

CHURCH (voice-over): Well, if they got any sleep at all, people in Spain's Canary Islands have been waking up to this. You're looking at live pictures of the volcano on La Palma. It keeps spewing ash and lava and it's entered a dangerous new stage. Residents on the east shore of the island were ordered into lockdown on Monday as lava nears the ocean.

And experts warned that when the melted rock hits the Atlantic, it could be explosive, triggering enough force to shatter windows. On top of that, it can launch plumes of toxic smoke.

Thousands of people have been evacuated so far, but flights keep getting canceled due to the ash. We'll keep an eye on that.

CHURCH (on camera): Germany's election might be over, but it could be months before we know who the country's next leader will be.

CHURCH: (voice-over): Finance Minister Olaf Scholz is in a good position to be the next chancellor after his center-left social Democratic Party won a quarter of Sunday's votes.

But first, he has to form a new coalition government and stave off the conservative runner ups attempts to do exactly the same thing. In both cases, the kingmakers could be the Green Party and the FDP. But they don't always see eye to eye and negotiations could drag on for some time.

On Monday, Mr. Scholtz reiterated his belief that he will be Germany's next leader, telling CNN's Frederik Pleitgen that his government will offer stability and continuity.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OLAF SCHOLZ, CANDIDATE FOR CHANCELLOR OF GERMANY OF THE SOCIAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY: The first topic for German politics will be to form a stronger and more sovereign European Union. And make -- making this happen will have an influence on the international strategy and the foreign policy of Germany.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): What sort of a partner will Germany be for the United States in NATO and on the international stage, especially as the Biden administration continues to challenge China?

SCHOLZ: It's a transatlantic partnership is of essence for us in Germany, and for a government that will be led by me. And so, you can rely on the continuity in this question. (END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And that promise of continuity and a smooth transition into Germany's post-Merkel future seems like it was the key to Scholz's success in Sunday's election. CNN's Frederik Pleitgen explains.

PLEITGEN: We look at the continuity that he's talking about. Obviously, a lot of it has to do with the fact that Germany has gone through a period of great prosperity over the past 16 years that Angela Merkel has been in office. And obviously, that's something that needs to be or that Germans would like to be preserved.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): But I think at the same time, what you have in Germany right now is that Germany is an economy where people realize that it is in need of reforms, and most pressing reforms that will make it a greener economy.

PLEITGEN (on camera): One of the biggest industrial nations in the world, obviously with a giant auto sector, heavy industry sector that understands that it needs to become more climate-friendly.

And essentially what Olaf Scholz is pitching -- and that's what's -- one of the reasons, of course, why he wants governing coalition that has heavy involvement with the greens is to try and make the economy greener, while not losing that prosperity.

CHURCH: According to the South Korean defense ministry, North Korea has launched what's believed to be a short-range missile.

[02:25:07]

CHURCH (voice-over): It landed in the waters off the east coast of the Korean Peninsula just before the North U.N. envoy addressed the General Assembly.

CNN's Will Ripley is tracking this live was from Taipei. He joins us now. Good to see you, Will. So, what more are you learning about North Korea's latest missile launch, and of course, the timing of this?

WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): It is certainly interesting timing, Rosemary. The fact that the missile launch happened at 6:40 a.m. local time, the U.N. G.A. speech by a North Korean Ambassador Kim Song just 20 or so minutes later,.

Was that deliberate? Did Kim Song know, when he was taken to the podium that this was going to happen? My money would be on no, because they are two completely different departments. The military and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

However, in Pyongyang, they certainly knew the approximate time that Ambassador Kim would be speaking. They knew that part of his message would be North Korea's -- you know, North Korea reiterating what they've been saying all along.

That they feel they have a right to defend themselves, to test the kinds of missiles that their enemies are testing. And we saw an example of that just earlier this month back mid-month, when on the very same day, North Korea launched a ballistic missile from a train, at the same time, South Korea launched a ballistic missile from a submarine.

A submarine launched ballistic missile, and actually one of those subs that's capable of launching that kind of missile is just being put into the water today.

Does that have anything to do with the timing of this? We don't know. We haven't gotten any sort of official statement for North Korea as to why this test is conducted. But obviously, these tests, while giving them, yes, you know, military knowledge every time you conduct a missile test, a ballistic missile tests or any sort of tests, you learn something from it. But there's also a political statement. And there's a lot of things that North Korea is talking about right now.

You have Kim Yo-jong, the sister of the North Korean leader Kim Jong- un talking about possibly returning to diplomacy with South Korea. Saying that they would be open to potentially reopening the Inter- Korean Liaison Office that she actually ordered blown up when the Korean detente was rapidly coming to an end after really -- a really complete ceasing of communications between the United States and North Korea, after the failure of the Hanoi Summit and subsequent, you know, failure of talks.

The face-to-face meetings between former President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un didn't really get the North Koreans anything close to what they wanted, which is sanctions relief.

So, now, if the North is trying to send a message to the South that they're willing to talk, that they're willing to potentially consider another Inter-Korean summit, that could also be laying the groundwork for an eventual attempt at reopening negotiations with the United States to get that those sanctions lifted and to get other things that North Korea wants in exchange for frankly, just talking.

And we're not even really talking about denuclearization at this point, because the North Koreans have basically stated that they need those nuclear weapons as long as other countries like the United States possess them. And use them -- use their nuclear umbrella to protect South Korea.

So, it's an interesting time, you know, there have been at least 10 launches so far this year. This is, as you mentioned, the third North Korean missile tests just this month, Rosemary.

But are these launches leading to some sort of attempt by the North Koreans at diplomacy or do they continue to want to ratchet up the tensions even more? Do they want to push things further with an intercontinental ballistic missile launch or even a nuclear test? The kind of which that we haven't seen in several years.

It is interesting that this particular launch in Jagang province actually happened in an area -- a very mountainous area that straddles the border with China. Famous because in 2017, that is where North Korea launched an ICBM. They haven't done that -- they haven't had ICBM launches in quite some time, but they have had a number of these shorter-range launches, and we'll see what else happens in the coming days and weeks and months ahead, Rosemary.

CHURCH: And you'll be watching very closely. Will Ripley joining us live from Taipei. Many, thanks.

And Will mention there, North Korea, the United Nations on Monday, North Korea's ambassador called on the U.S. to give up its "hostile policy" towards Pyongyang if Washington wants peace and stability.

CNN's Richard Roth has that story and more from the United Nations.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Adjourned.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RICHARD ROTH, CNN SENIOR UNITED NATION CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Another high-level week of Speakers at the United Nations has concluded. Most of the talkers brought up COVID and climate change.

ROTH (voice-over): North Korea picked a familiar third topic, the United States. Pyongyang blasting Washington for those military exercises and not recognizing it as a formal country.

The North Korean ambassador to the United Nations offered this measure as to what the United States could do for better relations.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KIM SONG, NORTH KOREAN AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATION (through translator): If the U.S. shows its bold decision to give up its hostile policy, we are also prepared to respond willingly at any time.

But it is our judgment that there is no prospect at the present stage for the USA to really withdraw it's a hostile policy towards the DPRK.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROTH: More interesting was who didn't speak towards the end of the final day of this general assembly. Myanmar and Afghanistan, after weeks of controversy of who would represent the new forces in power back home.

[02:30:00]

The Myanmar representative to the United Nations telling CNN, he elected not to speak and a U.N. diplomat said in exchange in a power deal that he gets to keep the seat of his country.

For now, Afghanistan representatives, at the last minute, decided to withdraw and not speak. He represents the ousted government in Afghanistan. At the final moments, despite all the talk about peace and conciliation, China, and Canada went at it with the Canadian foreign minister and a representative of its mission saying that the two citizens traded back from prison in China were not treated well. And China said, it was a frameup, disagreeing in its right of reply from the seat in the General Assembly Hall.

At the end, the General Assembly president, thanked the New York City people for an extraordinary hosting job. He shouldn't talk to any of the people who have cars though in the city.

Richard Roth, CNN, United Nations.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And still to come, what China is doing to combat the massive energy shortage in the country and how it is affecting people as winter approaches. We will be back in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone.

Well, China is dealing with an energy crisis that's causing disruptions across the country. Businesses and residents are being asking to limit their use of electricity as the country faces shortages. And some factories have reportedly been forced to cut production due to the new measures.

CNN's Steven Jiang joins me now live from Beijing.

Good to see you, Steven.

So, how is China coping with this energy crisis and what impact does it having across the country, particularly, on individuals?

STEVEN JIANG, CNN BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF: Well, Rosemary, the state grid has now promised to strengthen its power generation and distribution throughout its network. And also, the central government here has pledged to help local authorities secure more coal contracts to stabilize local energy supplies. And this power crunch, of course, is attracting growing attention, as you mentioned, because it is starting to affect people's daily life and livelihood with more and more news reports and social media posts about, for examples, traffic lights stopped working in some cities and also, skyrocketing sales of candles in many places.

But this crisis is really the result of a perfect storm. On the demand side, you have surging demand for electricity because of China's export driven and industry driven economic recovery after the pandemic with many low and manufacturing activities, for example, that our power hungry.

[02:35:00]

And on the supply side, you have many Chinese power plants that are running at very thin margins and sometimes at a loss because of skyrocketing coal crisis. That obviously, helped by China's boycott of Australian coal because of geopolitical tensions. And those Chinese power plants, also, don't have abilities to set or raise prices because of lagging market reforms. That means they cannot pass on higher costs to their users. And then, of course, you have local officials rushing to meet their annual carbon emissions reduction goals because President Xi Jinping has now made this a top priority in terms of peaking the country's emissions by 2030.

So, now, you see this political campaign style efforts to reduce energy consumption before the U.N. So, all of those factors combined leading to this almost unthinkable scenario of the world's emerging superpower seemingly running out of power. Rosemary.

CHURCH: Yes. Incredible, isn't it? Steven Jiang joining us live from Beijing. Many thanks.

Well, regulators in China have issued a new edict to the entertainment industry in particular producers of children's cartoons to uphold truth, goodness, and beauty and remove content which is vulgar and violent. At least one has already been removed from streaming platforms. It is all part of a push to promote what Beijing views as collect values. The move comes nearly one month after a new rule restricting children to just three hours of online video games per week.

Instagram says it is pausing work on a version of the app that is geared for children. The Instagram Kids platform would have given parents the ability to monitor their children's activity on the site. But the plan has been coming under fire, especially on Capitol Hill. The company says, critics of Instagram Kids will see this as an acknowledgment that the project is a bad idea. That is not the case. The reality is that kids are already online, and we believe that developing age-appropriate experiences designed specifically for them is far better for parents than where we are today.

Well, coming up on CNN Newsroom, Emmanuel Macron never saw it coming. How the French president almost wound up with egg on his face. That story when we return.

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CHURCH: French president, Emmanuel Macron, had to duck and cover at a food fair in Lyon. Someone threw an egg at him again. And you see it flying through the air in this video before it bounces off his shoulder. Security escorted a young man away. No word on any motive. Mr. Macron was also targeted (ph) with an egg four years ago when he was running for president. That one hit target and cracked on his head.

A man is pushing its economy forward and boosting investments in tourism. CNN's Eleni Giokos has this look at some of Oman's many natural wonders.

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ELENI GIOKOS, CNN BUSINESS AFRICA CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): One of the best ways to see Oman's natural beauty is on the water. So, we are heading out with an adventure operator, Mark Evans.

GIOKOS (on camera): Good morning.

MARK EVANS: Hello to you.

GIOKOS: What are you looking at?

EVANS: Well, you have chosen a great day.

GIOKOS: Yes.

EVANS: You've chosen a great day. The way is incredibly clear and there's a lot of life down here already.

GIOKOS: That's gorgeous.

EVANS: So, I don't think we need to go out in the boat. You can go snorkeling here.

GIOKOS: Absolutely beautiful. Lovely to meet you.

EVANS: Yes, you too.

GIOKOS: Thanks for taking the time. I'm so excited.

EVANS: Pleasure, pleasure.

GIOKOS: What are you going to show me today?

EVANS: Well, Oman sells itself. I won't need to show you anything. It's just fantastic.

GIOKOS: All right. I'm already sold by the way. But let's go and take a look.

EVANS: Yes. Great.

GIOKOS: Wow. How lucky. Dolphins. Amazing. Look at that. We are surrounded by dolphins. I mean, it's truly spectacular.

GIOKOS (voiceover): With an escort of dolphins, we sailing to an area just off the Coast of Muscat called Bandar al Khairan. It is known as a great place to go snorkeling. So, that is exactly what we're going to do.

EVANS: And if we are lucky, we might see a turtle.

GIOKOS (on camera): Oh, really?

GIOKOS (voiceover): As luck would have it, we see a turtle straight away and lots of other beautiful marine life as well. Mark is originally from the U.K. He's always had a passion for the outdoors and has traveled the world. He came to Oman 17 years ago and decided to stay.

EVANS: It is just such a perfect place to live. It is the size of my own country, Britain, but with only 4 million people. I can have 5G, Wi-Fi in a beautiful coffee shop in a fantastic hotel. And yet, within two hours' drive, I can be a thousand feel in the mountains or a desert the size of Belgium or backpacking into the mountains to a little village where there's no electricity and no water. It is an incredible country and really lock my door. I feel incredibly safe. And the Omani people are very popular for a reason.

GIOKOS (on camera): It feels like I'm in a land of contradiction where on one hand I'm seeing tradition and culture so entrenched in the way of doing things. But on the other end of the spectrum, the country wants to diversify and modernize on all fronts.

EVANS: I think that's what makes Oman so special. It may not be the wealthiest country in the region, but in terms of thinking and wise leadership and a growth at a pace that does not destroy the culture but culture and economic development move forward hand-in-hand Oman's got it pretty bang on, I would say.

GIOKOS (voiceover): The tourism sector is set to be one of the primary beneficiaries of the airport expansion. As of its 2040 vision plan, Oman aims to attract more than 10 million visitors a year.

MOHAMMED AL BARWANI, CHAIRMAN, OMAN AIR: Tourism in Oman has been growing at about 8 percent a year, that is before the pandemic. And we expect that growth to continue. Oman is unique. Oman is Oman.

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CHURCH: Delightful. Thank you so much for joining us. I'm Rosemary Church. I'll be back in 15 minutes. World Sport is next.

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