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Kim Jong-un Slammed U.S.'s Hostile Policies; North Korea Tested its High-tech, Hypersonic Missile; Top Generals Grilled by Lawmakers; Drone Strike Went Wrong; U.K. Deploying U.S. Military; Britney Spears Won Her Case; Former Police Officer Facing His Fate in Jail. Aired 3- 4a ET
Aired September 30, 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]
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KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR (on camera): This hour on CNN Newsroom. North Korea's Kim Jong-un is slamming the U.S. and South Korea. His comments come just one day after North Korea said it tested high-tech, hypersonic missile.
Plus, this.
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MARK MILLEY, U.S. CHAIRMAN OF THE JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF: It is clear, it is obvious to all of us that the war in Afghanistan did not end on a term that we wanted. The war was a strategic failure, I just want to note.
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BRUNHUBER: The top U.S. general calls the war in Afghanistan a failure.
And Britney Spears legal victory, a judge's decision had her fans dancing in the streets.
(CROWD CHANTING)
BRUNHUBER (on camera): Welcome to all of you watching us here in the United States, Canada, and around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN Newsroom.
North Korea's leader isn't holding back when it comes to his grievances against the U.S. Kim Jong-un slammed the, quote, "hostile policies" of the Biden administration at the nation's legislative assembly on Wednesday. He claims America's proposal of dialogue without precondition is nothing but a quote, "mere illusion." He also condemned South Korea's joint military drills with the U.S.
CNN's Will Ripley joins us now from Taipei. Will, what do we make of these latest comments? WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well it's certainly part of a pattern
that we've seen repeated before by North Korea, where they're kind of cozy up to the south and almost seem to be trying to drive a wedge between South Korea and its ally the United States. Because North Korea long has felt that the United States has no place on the green peninsula. They don't like that they're almost 30,000 troops there. They hate that there are military drills between South Korea and the U.S.
And so, when they start to talk about diplomacy, and in fact, Kim Jong-un said in state media just, you know, this morning, that he wants to reopen a communication line with the South. The South we've now learned is scrambling to get that line in place. So, we expect that communication channel to be reestablished in a matter of potentially, you know, hours, or even days. He said early October, so really it could be anytime but likely pretty soon.
And yet, at the same time, blasting the U.S., blasting President Biden for what Kim calls hostility. More sly, he says, than the Trump administration. The U.S., responding back saying they have no hostile intent. That their offer of dialogue without preconditions is legitimate, even though Kim Jong-un said he feels that it is deception.
At the same time, though, as North Korea talks about reopening communication, and perhaps the dialogue eventual diplomacy with the South. They are also testing weapons that are increasingly provocative, and some analysts feel could be pushing the region towards a very tense and dangerous moment.
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RIPLEY (voice over): If what North Korea says is true, this may be their most dangerous weapon yet, a hypersonic missile. Analysts say it could change the military equation in East Asia and beyond. Kim Jong- un's arsenal has exploded during his first decade in power. Analysts say the Hwasong-8 could be unlike any missile he has tested before, exact specifications, unknown.
Hypersonic missiles can fly more than five times the speed of sound, roughly 4,000 miles an hour, or about a mile every second. At that speed, a missile could fly from Pyongyang to Washington in less than two hours. Some hypersonic weapons can theoretically fly four times faster, up to 20 times the speed of sound.
Many ballistic missiles already fly at hypersonic speeds, but they follow a set trajectory from point a to point b. North Korea says this new missile has a hypersonic glide vehicle, making it highly maneuverable, descending on a target from a much lower altitude. Experts say almost impossible to shoot down.
GORDON CHANG, AUTHOR, NUCLEAR SHOWDOWN NORTH KOREA TAKES ON THE WORLD: It would mean, for instance, that our ground-based interceptors in Alaska and California would not work against north California's missiles, that means North Korea would be able to intimidate the United States. RIPLEY: South Korea says the North's newly tested hypersonic muscle
is likely in the early stages of development, and can still be detected and intercepted by South Korean and U.S. missile defense systems, at least for now.
JAMIE METZL, FOUNDER, ONE SHARED WORLD: We don't know yet about the full capacity of these hypersonic missiles, but when you connect these new missile capabilities, new launch capabilities, and the miniaturization of nuclear weapons, it leads to the conclusion that North Korea will possibly, or even likely, have an increased strike capability.
[03:05:07]
And that's going to increase the threat that North Korea poses to countries around the world.
RIPLEY: Right now, just two nations have deployed hypersonic missiles, Russia and China. The U.S. is actively testing and developing hypersonic missile technology, three world powers, and now possibly, North Korea, a new global arms race escalating at hypersonic speed.
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RIPLEY (on camera): Of course, Kim Jong-un's wish list doesn't stop of a hypersonic missile and again, it's unknown really how far he's got in the process. South Korea saying it might be quite some time before the weapon they tested on Tuesday could be deployed. But he also wants a nuclear submarine.
He wants a new kind of intercontinental ballistic missile that could travel 15,000 kilometers with a nuclear warhead, putting most of the world, certainly the mainland U.S. in striking range along with new and stronger weapons. He has also announced through state media the promotion of his younger sister Kim Yo-jong.
And so now, you have Kim's inner circle, the highest executive level committee is the state affairs commission in North Korea. It's 10 men, well, I should say, now nine men and one woman. Kim Yo-jong. Kim is 32-year-old, more or less, we don't know her exact age.
Her sister, who's been holding various offices since 2014, she has been slowly rising through the ranks. Her power has been growing. She deals primarily with South Korean U.S. affairs. She is the one who ordered the inter-Korean liaison office blown up last year, and she's the one who over the weekend signaled that they might be willing to resume communication.
So, Kim, and his younger sister, perhaps the 2 most powerful people inside North Korea right now. And given that Kim's health seems to be improving if, you look at the images, he's getting slim and trim, and you know, the heart problems that run in his family, perhaps there was a doctor that got us here.
There are no analyst, Kim, right now that think that there is any threat to Kim's -- to Kim's rule other than possibly a health problem. Because he has all these things lined up, the weapons and the people in place that he trust to go for a long time running that country.
BRUNHUBER: Interesting. All right. Thanks so much, Will Ripley in Hong Kong. I appreciate it.
In Washington, the top U.S. general bluntly stated that the war in Afghanistan was a quote, "strategic failure." Mark Milley, and other top military leaders took part in another contentious hearing with lawmakers who demanded answers on what led to the Taliban takeover.
U.S. joint chiefs chairman said the war wasn't lost in the last 20 days, or even 20 months. And the damaging decisions, quote, "go away back." Many fingers pointed at the Trump administration's deal with the Taliban. The generals were also questioned about the U.S. drone strike in Kabul that missed ISIS-K militants, and devastated a family.
CNN's Anna Coren is tracking that live from Hong Kong. Anna, what more are we learning?
ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, as you say, Kim, those top U.S. defense officials really got a grilling in Congress yesterday. And they made some stunning admissions about the timeline as to when they knew that they killed civilians and also that they've made that terrible mistake.
Remember, they defended the strike for weeks. It was only almost three weeks after they killed 10 people that they admitted that they have got it wrong. For the family, Kim, you know, this has just been an absolutely devastating month. Not only have the -- has a family being destroyed, but they've also had no one from the U.S. government to try to contact them.
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COREN (voice over): Barking dogs and a faint call to prayer are the only sounds that punctuate the silence from this hilltop above Kabul. Yet the serenity and panoramic views do little to ease the souls of those who are being forced to relocate here.
We cannot go inside the old house because of the memories. Our house full of life was turned into a graveyard.
A month ago, their world was destroyed when the U.S. military fired a hellfire missile into the family's compound. The target, a white Toyota Corolla with aid worker and family patriarch Zamarai Ahmadi behind the wheel. Ten family members were killed, including seven children, three of whom were toddlers.
The U.S. had intelligence the 43-year-old was an ISIS facilitator with suspected explosives in the car, posing an imminent threat to U.S. troops in the final days of the airport evacuation. After weeks of defending the strike, the military admitted their intelligence was wrong. And then this admission during yesterday's grueling of defense chiefs in Congress, examining the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan. UNKNOWN: At what point, General McKenzie, and this is for all three
of you. At what point did you know that the strike was bad -- that it hit civilians?
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KENNETH MCKENZIE, COMMANDER, U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND: So, we knew the strike hit civilians within four or five hours after the strike occurred. We did not know, though, that the target of the strike was in fact an error, until -- a mistake until sometime later. It took us a few days to run that down.
COREN: Ahmadi's family says no one in the U.S. government has contacted them.
MCKENZIE: I offer my profound condolences --
COREN: The only apology they've received is by U.S. Central Command General Frank McKenzie before the TV cameras almost two weeks ago.
MCKENZIE: I offer my sincere apology.
COREN: They should have passed on their condolences, asked for forgiveness directly from us, says Ahmadi's brother. For 15 years, Zamarai worked as an engineer for U.S.-based NGO NEI that provided soybeans for Afghanistan's malnourished and poor. NEI, based in California, has had a long history with the U.S. embassy in Kabul. Some of its life-saving programs were funded by the State Department.
SONIA KWON, SENIOR ADVISER, NUTRITION AND EDUCATION INTERNATIONAL: I don't know of any other job in the world where you can accidentally kill someone's entire family, and then just call it a mistake.
COREN: Adding insult to injury, the U.S. military continues to maintain that the chatter they've been monitoring for 36 hours before that fateful day, came from an ISIS-K safehouse.
UNKNOWN: Welcome. Thank you very much.
COREN: CNN can't confirm that the purported ISIS-K safehouse is the family home of NEI's country director, Dr. Walid. A pediatrician and father of three young girls and has lived here for 40 years.
UNKNOWN: So, as you the laptop back --
COREN: Zamarai had stopped at the house that morning to pick up Dr. Walid's computer which he had forgot. It was from that moment the military began following Zamarai's car, and with continued surveillance for the next eight hours before launching the strike.
DR. WALID, COUNTRY DIRECTOR, NUTRITION AND EDUCATION INTERNATIONAL: I'm really shocked. Why this has labeled as a safe house for ISIS? It is absolutely untrue, but I do expect from the U.S. government to clear the name on my house.
COREN: In fact, Dr. Walid was granted a U.S. green card in 2018. It was re-issued a few weeks before the strike. He now feels under threat in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. Exposed as working for U.S.-based NGO, plus being filthy associated with ISIS-K and wants to leave.
The U.S. military says it's looking into reparations for Zamarai's family, but that's little comfort. NEI is engaging legal representation on behalf of the family, and is also demanding their resettlement.
KWON: They just hope the U.S. government has the compassion to grant what they want, which is to resettle, and they can really deserve it.
COREN: For the surviving children, their smiles disguise their daily anguish and pain. Relatives say they often break down in tears, asking why their siblings and cousins had to die.
There isn't a single day where we don't shed tears for where said Zamarai's sister. Nothing is more painful, and nothing can relieve our pain.
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COREN (on camera): Now, Kim, the family tells us that they need help. They need support. Yes, they are seeking compensation. And they are also seeking resettlement. So, they would like to move to the United States. But they are also seeking justice, Kim. This is very important for those 10 lost family members, and they want to ensure that this never ever happens again to another family in Afghanistan.
BRUNHUBER: Yes, let's hope so. What a tragic story. Anna Coren, thank you so much.
Well, during the testimony on Wednesday, the U.S. joint chiefs chairman said he knew up to six years ago that the war in Afghanistan was quote, "unwinnable and that there could be no military solution."
CNN's Alex Marquardt picks up the story.
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ALEXANDER MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): A blunt assessment from the nation's top general opening the second day of congressional hearings on the end of the war in Afghanistan.
MILLEY: It was a tactical operation and logistical success evacuating 124,000 people. The war was a strategic failure.
MARQUARDT: General Mark Milley, making clear that after former President Donald Trump lost the election, he ordered an accelerate withdrawal of all U.S. troops, before President Joe Biden took office, having already agreed with the Taliban to fully withdraw. It was a decision, Milley says, he was cut out of.
MILLEY: That's why I went over to the White House with acting Secretary Miller, and White House chief of staff Kash Patel to discuss that order. So, I wasn't consulted on it. MARQUARDT: Republican lawmakers went after the apparent contradiction
between the generals wanting 2,500 U.S. troops to stay, and President Biden telling ABC News he didn't get that advice.
REP. MIKE ROGERS (R-AL): In January, of this year, were you of the opinion and your professional military judgment that we should have maintained 2,500 troops, U.S. troops?
MILLEY: Yes, my assessment that I read in the opening statement it remained consistent, and --
ROGERS: Did that professional military opinion change over the course of the next few months?
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MILLEY: Not until the presidential decision. I rendered my opinions, and it was a fulsome debate on all of that. And once the decisions are made, then I'm expected to execute lawful orders.
MARQUARDT: Milley was again attacked by Republicans for calls that he made to Chinese counterparts in October and January. Milley said intelligence showed that the Chinese were worried about an American attack, so worried that the intelligence appeared in the president's daily brief, and was shared with top national security officials.
MILLEY: That was significant, and there was a lot of. It wasn't just a singular report, there was a lot of that. I'll be happy to share that with you and go with you line by line.
MARQUARDT: According to the new book, "Peril," Milley told the Chinese that the U.S. would not attack China. Today he said those calls were meant to convey President Trump's intent.
MILLEY: I said (Inaudible) General, I'll give you Kabul, we'll not going to attack you. Trust me, we are not going to attack. These are two great powers, and I am doing my best to transmit the president's intent, President Trump's intent.
MARQUARDT: Milley said he had no regrets about speaking with "Peril" co-author, Bob Woodward, insisting that it's important to speak with the press.
MILLEY: I have done my best to remain personally apolitical, and to try to keep the military out of actual domestic politics.
MARQUARDT: After repeated GOP calls for Milley to resign, Congresswoman Liz Cheney apologized to the general for her Republican colleagues.
REP. LIZ CHENEY (R-WY): For any American to question your loyalty to our nation, to question your understanding of our Constitution, your loyalty to our Constitution, your recognition and understanding of the civilian chain of command is despicable.
(END VIDEO CLIP) MARQUARDT (on camera): General Milley was asked when he knew that the war was lost. He wouldn't use that word himself, but he said that it was five or six years ago that he knew that there was no military solution, and that it was unwinnable, and in his words, stalemate.
The answer he said was a negotiated settlement with the Taliban. Now since the Taliban signed a deal with the Trump administration last year, Milley said that the Taliban has stood by the condition not to attack U.S. troops, but haven't honored any of the other conditions.
Alex Marquardt, CNN, Washington.
BRUNHUBER: The British government will deploy the military in the coming days to deliver fuel and ease a petrol supply crisis. A reserve tanker fleet of civilians is already helping, but there are still long lines at the pump despite the government claiming the situation is stabilizing.
CNN's Nina dos Santos joins me now from London. So, Nina, the government is trying to reassure everybody that everything will be OK. But we've heard stories about, you know, violence at gas lines and so on. What's the reality right now?
NINA DOS SANTOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The reality here in west London, Kim, is that it's a lot calmer than it was a few days ago. But people are seethingly angry across the country at a lack of planning, forward planning for both supply of goods and also shortages in the labor market that at this point leaves Britain with a record number of vacancies in all sorts of jobs, including supply chains that stands at around one million people and counting.
As you hear from some of the people we've been speaking to throughout the course of this week, this is something that's going to take a lot longer to fix, and it will start with vital goods, and also truck drivers that are needed to get those goods from a to b.
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DOS SANTOS: Petrol, fresh produce, and natural gas, shortages of vital items are affecting day to day life in Britain.
UNKNOWN: This shouldn't be happening in a country like ours.
UNKNOWN: We don't have enough skilled workers, and that's going to be the problem.
UNKNOWN: Hindsight is 20-20. So, it's very easy for me to sit and say they should have got the order, but we should do better.
DOS SANTOS: The government says the recent run on the pump results down to panic buying and that there is plenty of fuel. Thanks to the pandemic and Brexit, there is however a lack of truck drivers, making it very difficult to get all sorts of goods to where they need it most.
DRAZEN MILJIC, TRUCK DRIVER: I'm ready to forgive them. DOS SANTOS: Authorities hope to ease pressure on strains supply chains by issuing thousands of temporary visas to people like Drazen Miljic, from Bosnia. He has worked in the U.K. before and would gladly return.
MILJIC: It sounds tempting for me, because salary is good. The pay is good, especially now when they are in crisis, in need of drivers. I know before, before the Brexit, before the crisis, salaries were good also in England, so yes, it sounds OK for me. I would go there.
DOS SANTOS: But others, like these drivers in Slovenia weren't so keen.
UNKNOWN: Problems. Custom. Time.
UNKNOWN: No good.
UNKNOWN: Why.
UNKNOWN: Visa problem, passport problem.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DOS SANTOS: COVID-19 disrupted the examination process for tens of thousands of potential heavy goods operators in the U.K. Now the government has decided to try and ease the backlog by fast tracking the qualification process.
Here at this driving school on the outskirts of London, that means that they're busier than they've ever been.
[03:20:02]
Here you are as a 29-year-old wanting to be a truck driver. Why?
JOE CROOK, TRAINEE DRIVER: Just the opportunity of earning money is the main thing, it's very flexible within my family life. For an English person to be doing that I think it's a big must and big need. I do try to tell people who I've grown up with, you know, do it.
DOS SANTOS: And to Joe and many others like him can get goods around the U.K., customer patience is another thing that's in short supply.
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DOS SANTOS (on camera): Well Kim, the government has been hitting the airwaves all week, saying that they're aware that a lot of Britons need extra training and unique skills like, for instance, a truck driving. Also, the hospitality sector as well is crying out for workers.
Now to alleviate some of these pressures, particularly with the logistics sector, the government has been saying that they're going to issue 5,000 temporary three-month visas for people to come over from places like Europe, where they're already trained to drive these trucks. To drive them around the U.K. before the festive season, with Christmas being the next crisis point in the horizon.
But I've been speaking to industry bodies all week, and they say that that is far, far too less. They need at least six-month long visas, many more to the issued. And what they want to see is much more forward planning in terms of how to restructure these pressure points in both supply and labor in the U.K. for the next year. Kim?
BRUNHUBER: As usual, no easy solution. Nina dos Santos, thank you so much. I appreciate it.
A court ruling years in the making. Ahead, Britney Spears many fans celebrate the latest legal development in her conservatorship fight. Plus, the sentencing hearing in Sarah Everard's murder case gets underway in less than two hours. We'll go live to the courthouse in London where the confessed killer will learn his fate. Stay with us.
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UNKNOWN: What do we want?
CROWD: Free Britney.
UNKNOWN: When do we want it?
CROWD: Now.
UNKNOWN: What do we want?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER (on camera): Britney Spears legion of fans are celebrating her major legal victory. A judge has suspended her father's conservatorship effective immediately. The ruling frees the singer from her father's oversight for the first time in 13 years.
An account will oversee her $60 million estate temporarily. Another hearing is set for November 12th to consider ending her the conservatorship altogether.
Camila Bernal has details from Los Angeles.
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MATHEW ROSENGART, BRITNEY SPEARS ATTORNEY: It's a great day for Britney Spears.
CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): After many calls for freedom --
ROSENGART: I'm so pleased and proud to say, Jamie Spears is no longer a conservator.
(CROWD CHEERING) BERNAL: A Los Angeles superior court judge suspending Jamie Spears from his daughter's conservatorship and designating a certified public accountant to oversee her estate. But not yet ending the 13-year arrangement that has motivated activism and created a movement.
[03:25:04]
LEANNE SIMMONS, FREE BRITNEY ACTIVIST: A long time coming. And I think, you know, we wouldn't be here if we hadn't gotten to hear from Britney directly, publicly.
BERNAL: Since 2008, Jamie Spears has overseen many aspects of his daughter's life, including until 2019, control of her health, medical and financial needs.
But over the summer, the Grammy winner speaking out. During two emotional testimonies, she said she wanted to press charges against her father for conservatorship abuse, calling the arrangement cruelty.
CROWD: Britney's body, Britney's choice.
BERNAL: Jamie Spears has maintained he has always acted in his daughter's best interest. He is seeking nearly $2 million to cover his salary overseeing her business dealings, as well as his legal fees. But Britney's attorney has said that they will not agree to a settlement.
In Los Angeles, I'm Camila Bernal.
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BRUNHUBER: An attorney for Spears father says everything Jamie Spears did was with Britney's interest in mind and that he loves her very much.
The final chapter in the horrific murder of Sarah Everard will play out in a London courtroom in about an hour and a half from now. Former police officer Wayne Couzens is expected to receive a life sentence for murder that outrage the U.K. and renew the debate about violence against women.
Nada Bashir is standing by outside London's Old Bailey courthouse. So, some of the details that came out make this horrific crime even more chilling. Take us through some of those, if you would. And then tell us what we're expecting later today?
NADA BASHIR, CNN PRODUCER: Well, Kim, the details of Wayne Couzens's harrowing crime are disturbing. To say the least, the prosecution was able to reveal new information yesterday, including the worrying fact that Couzens use this police authority to abduct, rape, and kill Sarah Everard on March of last year.
We now know that Couzens presented Everard with his police I.D., and then handcuffed her as a part of a false arrest, potentially under the guise of enforcing coronavirus lockdown restrictions. And we also know in some of the more disturbing details of this case that Couzens used his police belt to strangle Everard and that was how she was actually killed by Couzens.
And these are just some of the more disturbing details from this case that were revealed by the prosecution yesterday, but there's also of course an emotional hearing we did hear from Sarah Everard's parents and her sister giving statements to the courtroom.
Sarah Everard's mother saying that she is disturbed and troubled by thoughts of what her daughter was forced to endure. Her father directly addressing Wayne Couzens, telling him to look up and look at him as he made his statement.
Now of course, many are left questioning whether enough is being done by police authorities, and by the government to stop these sorts of act of violence against women from happening again. And this comes just two weeks from the murder of Sabina Nessa who in a similar scenario was killed as she made the short journey from her home to meet a friend that has reignited that debate and the safety of women on the streets at the U.K. Kim?
BRUNHUBER: All right, we'll be following this story throughout the day. Nada Bashir, thank you so much.
All right. Still to come, as climate change gets worse across the globe, the new generation is taking a step. Just ahead, I'll speak with a young activist who is helping connect thousands of like-minded youth.
And the lingering effects of COVID-19. Ahead, a major study finds patients of any age can experience symptoms for months. Stay with us.
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KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR (on camera): Welcome back to all of you watching us here in the United States, Canada and around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber and this is "CNN Newsroom."
Today is the last day of the Youth for Climate Summit in Milan, Italy where young activists are gathered to battle climate change. Participants are speaking with policy makers to discuss ways to address the effect of the climate crisis. And on Tuesday, activist, Greta Thunberg, called out global leaders for making little progress on their promises to fight global warming.
Now, joining me now from Milan's is Ernest Gibson, a member of the U.N. Secretary General Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change. Thanks so much for being here with us.
There had been point of headlines do far as Swedish environmentalist Greta Thunberg calling out world leaders for their blah, blah, blah, as she put it. France is addressing the summit. What's to note for you so far?
ERNEST GIBSON, MEMBER OF THE U.N. SECRETARY GENERAL YOUTH ADVISORY GROUP: Thanks very much for having me, Kim. It's a pleasure to be here. It's really -- it's an absolute treat to be able to join you from what's been a fantastic two days where young people from around the world are being able to commune and feed of each other's energy but also try and make a stand against the climate crisis but also, as you rightly mentioned, against the inaction of world leaders.
I think something that really stood up to me is really recognizing the importance of indigenous committees in the fight against climate change, specifically around how indigenous community have been the most successful in navigating the relationship with the environment and finding ways of ensuring that we're taking a step back and having a look at indigenous practices and indigenous knowledge and indigenous science as a means of moving forward.
I think for far too long we have kind of treaded that very -- shredded this path of ignoring our indigenous communities and the value and the role that they play in taking us forward. And now is the time that we need to be able to embrace indigenous knowledge and indigenous science together.
So that something that I think has been particularly important to share with indigenous communities from around the world over the last couple of days.
BRUNHUBER: Yeah. Good point there. Everybody at the meeting there, so you'll draft a document for the upcoming U.N. 26 Climate Change Conference. What would a successful document look like to you?
GIBSON: I think a successful document needs to be something that takes into account a just recovery because it's one thing to talk about sustainable recovery and looking at creating a greener future in terms of moving away from fossil fuels.
But again it's an entirely different thing to ensure by bringing people along in that journey. That looks like ensuring that there are jobs that are available for people that are currently stuck in the fossil fuel industry.
It looks like ensuring that there is a level of accountability and responsibility that are placed on polluters and ensuring that they have the onus is on them to be able to support this transition financially and in terms of resources.
But most importantly a successful document will look like a document that which we haven't really seen much of yet from world leaders, that puts people at the center, ensuring that people are not positioned to make this transition in a way that does not jeopardize their livelihoods and is ethical.
BRUNHUBER: So those are great ideas but, you know, do you get the sense people are listening? I mean, we heard Greta Thunberg accused the organizers of only pretending to listen to youth, and others have said the same that your suggestions aren't genuinely welcome.
Do you get that feeling, or if not, do you understand where that sentiment is coming from?
[03:35:00] GIBSON: I think, I understand where the sentiments is coming from.
And I think it's really targeted the world leaders. And I think it's important to differentiate because there are world leaders that have continually misbehaved and had deliberately found ways of finding loopholes to ensure that they can continue to practice really in an unethical way.
But at the other side of this conversation is that there are people who had worked within the movement across U.N. agencies, across the development sector for 30 years, and it actually made significant strike. So, I think it's really important to distinguish between those two groups.
And I would like to say that there is a glimmer of hope and that we're seeing leaders beginning to change. And the fact of the matter is they need to. We don't have a choice. So it's a matter of not necessarily whether or not it's going to happen but how it's going to happen.
And it's important to think that is not just the ethical or the ecological decision to make, it's actually the smartest decision to make because it's an opportunity for us to recurve this past like when you are thinking about building back better or creating this new normal and using -- and using all this jargon. But when we are thinking about that, it's ensuring that we're finding a way of ensuring that we are -- we're designing the future that is the most logical.
BRUNHUBER: Yeah, I mean, you talk about the future but the effects of climate change as we say over and over again are happening right now. I mean here in the U.S. over the last few months we've seen yet more evidence of the effect of climate change and record setting fires and droughts in the West, the deadly flash flooding in the East. I mean, you're from Fiji. How is it concretely impacted your country?
GIBSON: To be perfectly honest, I think Fiji has definitely experienced some of the -- some of the most harsh effects much earlier than other countries around the world when it comes to the climate crisis. Looking at the severity and frequency of tropical cyclones that we are experiencing in the country, there is no way that individual country should be experiencing between five and six category four and five cyclones in a single year.
But Fiji and in the Pacific is not even the worst. There are countries in the northern pacific facing issues that are multi-sectoral and have these nexus issues of a nuclear history with other countries. So, I mean the effects are horrible.
So, it's not just about mitigating, it's also about adapting, but also taking into account the loss and damage, because it's not just about, you know, finding ways of living in the current situation that we have but finding ways of ensuring that there is a reprimand for some of the losses and damages that we are experiencing in terms of culture, in terms of society and in terms of the kind of the socioeconomic issues that we are facing.
BRUNHUBER: Well, listen, so much of the energy around the movement especially around climate change is coming from youth. So, we certainly wish you the best of luck and hope everyone is listening. Ernest Gibson, thank you so much.
GIBSON: Thank you.
BRUNHUBER: Nearly two dozen wildlife species could soon be declared extinct. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services says the ivory billed woodpecker along with some of the birds, mussels, fish, bats and plants will soon be removed from the endangered list.
Well, that's because the agency says it has exhausted their efforts to find them. It says the ivory billed woodpecker's habitat began to disappear because of uncontrolled logging and climate change. Dwindling habitats and other pressures could make more species extinct.
The volcano in the Canary Islands has been erupting for 11 straight days and as lava trail can be seen from space. NASA has highlighted the hardest parts of lava flow which has reached the Atlantic Ocean and formed a small patch of new land that keeps growing.
Al Goodman has the latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
AL GOODMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): It was on the 10nth consecutive day of eruptions from a volcano on Spain's La Palma Island with the red hot lava finally reached the Atlantic Ocean. That was just before midnight, the lava coming down the hill and falling off a steep cliff into the ocean.
Authorities had expected this since the eruptions began back on September 19th. So, an exclusionary zone was set up at sea to keep ships away and also on land, people on the western side of the island told to shelter in place, keep their windows and doors close because of what officials said was the danger of toxic gases coming and explosions when the lava hits the Atlantic Ocean.
By daybreak, by daylight, the extent of the damage could be seen with officials saying the lava, not just going underneath the surface of the ocean, but forming new pieces of land, a kind of a delta sticking out in a triangular fashion from the coastline.
All of this on the western side of the island away from the eastern side where the airport is which has been closed on and off due to the heavy load of volcanic ash. Flights are trying to get through there.
Officials say some 700 buildings had been affected by the lava flow. Hundreds of them destroyed and officials say that this could go on for several weeks, even a few more months.
Al Goodman, CNN, Madrid.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[03:40:06] BRUNHUBER: Now, even though officials say the air in La Palma is safe
to breathe for now, experts warn it needs to be monitored as lava flows into the ocean. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ARNAU FOLCH DURAN, VOLCANOLOGIST (through translator): The gasses will have to be monitored. We have to bear in mind that each liter of seawater contains 35 grams of sodium chloride, which means that large quantities are now evaporating from the sea, sending all these chlorine into the atmosphere forming hydrochloric acid which obviously has harmful effects on people's health.
And we will have to measure the quantities being produced depending on the flow, the amount of lava that will reach the sea. And how quickly it does so. We will have to measure the formation of these compounds.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: Officials have advised local residents to seal their doors and windows with tape and wet towels as a precaution.
Tunisia's president has tapped a woman to be their country's first female Prime Minister. President Kais Saied asked Najla Bouden Romdhane to form a new government. Now, Romdhane appears have little practical experience and has previously been a geophysics professor, but her selection is a watershed moment. She's the first female Prime Minister in the Arab world.
Coming through a new study shows the alarming frequency of long COVID symptoms even among people who have mild cases. We will have details ahead.
And the NBA have a stern message for players refusing to get vaccinated, the cost of not getting the vaccine, when "CNN Newsroom" returns. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BRUNHUBER: The death toll from a prison massacre in Ecuador has reached 116 and counting with at least 80 people hurt. Ecuador's president said that number will most likely rise as authorities struggle to regain control of the prison from warring gangs. Dozens of people have gathered outside of prisons hoping to hear about relatives inside.
Officials say rival gangs had clashed repeatedly in recent days, armed with guns and grenades. We are getting a late word that 400 police officers have now entered the prison to begin with what's being called an intervention and search operation.
There is an alarming spike in new COVID cases in Australia's Victoria State. The number of new cases surge by 50 percent in the last 24 hours. Officials blame the rise on recent social gatherings, especially parties to mark the final of Australian football league last weekend. A new study finds one in three COVID-19 patients still experienced
symptoms three to six months after infection. Scientists said Oxford University and the National Institute For Health Research found the most common symptoms were breathing problems, headaches, abdominal pain, fatigue, anxiety and depression. They investigated cases in over 270,000 people. The study found long term symptoms affect people of all ages and even those who've had mild cases.
[03:45:06]
Paul Harrison is a professor of psychiatry at the University of Oxford and a researcher on that study of long COVID. And he joins us now from Oxford, England. Thank you so much from being with us.
You found symptoms persist to recur months after diagnosis for more than a third of all people who get COVID, which suggests the long COVID problem might be bigger than we thought. Do those results surprise you?
PAUL HARRISON, PROFESSOR, PSYCHIATRY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD (on camera): Good morning. Well, there's' been a range of estimates about the frequency of these symptoms of COVID. I think our results came in a little bit hard than we are expecting, but not greater than some of our estimates that had come from self-report survey in the U.K. and other countries.
BRUNHUBER: Interesting. So you know, there were some differences in who is more likely to come down with long COVID symptoms. So take us through that. Who are they?
HARRISON: Certainly. So when we start to develop that COVID sample according to the factors like age, sex, race and severity of the infection. The biggest influence was severity of how old the person been during their acute infection.
So. the figures for long COVID symptoms were greater in those who needed hospitalization from those who didn't, who's going to most need intensive care from those who didn't, and to those who had raise white cell counts as another mark of severity.
So that was the biggest influence. But we also found some differences between the genders and between age groups, both in the (inaudible) long COVID symptom, but also which particular on COVID symptoms they are almost likely to experience.
BRUNHUBER: Can you elaborate on that a bit more in terms of the gender differences?
HARRISON: Yes. So gender differences were, overall, we collect mild (ph), I think it was like 1 percent or 2 percent difference between men and women overall. But men, for example, are more likely to be reporting COVID difficulties, that what we call the COVID brain fog over here, as well as breathing problems; whereas women will more likely to experience headache, for example, as a symptoms that were differently expressed in two sexes. BRUNHUBER: Alright. So if I read your methodology correctly and
correct me if I'm wrong, but the patients in this study were all infected before vaccines became widespread, right? But since you found that more severe COVID made long COVID more likely. Is it a logical deduction and to assume that if you're vaccinated, you are less likely to suffer from severe COVID, and thus, less likely to suffer from long COVID?
HARRISON: I think that's a really good question. And this is just beginning to get research about that. A big study from the U.K. did look at all the long COVID symptoms but it looked at some persistence symptoms.
And you're right, people who have been vaccinated did tend to not only have less severe acute COVID but also less likely to have long term consequences. We had just repeat analysis of that kind using this big, mostly U.S. state to set -- to explore that question as well.
It could be very reassuring if that is indeed the case.
BRUNHUBER: Yeah, absolutely. Do you have any idea of what's behind this? What's actually causing this long COVID?
HARRISON: I think that's the six million dollar question and research this time can't explore the causality. I think there is a number of possibilities in play. Our study also show that we not only measure people after COVID, we measure people after influenza. And we found that a long (inaudible) even after flu get what you might call long influenza symptoms.
So, I think some of whatever is going on after COVID. It will be shared by other infections and maybe other acute health events. So, there's nothing in that sense when you get out of COVID. However, it's more likely after COVID.
So, I think we may be looking at the combination of general processes but also things that are specific to lead up how COVID virus has infected our bodies or how our bodies have fought off the virus and that -- you know, the battles against COVID might have left some damage in some organs. And that's what we're seeing with some of these symptoms. But the bottom line is we need focus research to explore the causes of long COVID symptoms.
BRUNHUBER: Yeah, we need more research and then we also need more help to help those inflicted by this because the medical system isn't necessarily geared to handle this. What needs to change?
HARRISON: Well, I think, as the key point and as you likely pointed out, we can't wait until we really understand everything before we start putting care systems in place to help the people, whatever the course tends out to be.
In the U.K. we are setting up long COVID clinics and I'm sure you have the same in other countries. But at the moment, those clinics are really about identifying problems and trying to treat symptoms we don't know. We don't have any specific treatments for long COVID. And that's where we come back to the problem until we understand why
some people are still breathless or some people are still in pain after COVID. It would be hard to come up with COVID specific interventions to try to treat those problems. Now potentially to stop people in the future going into the pandemic, developing them in the first place.
[03:50:12]
BRUNHUBER: Awesome. Talking to you is fascinating but also a bit frightening. Hopefully, we'll be able to come up with some more answers with more research like you're doing there.
Paul Harrison, thank you so much for talking to us. I really appreciate it.
HARRISON: Thank you.
BRUNHUBER: YouTube is stepping up its fight against vaccine misinformation. The video platform already banned false information about COVID vaccines. Now, it says any misinformation about any vaccine will be prohibited. Critics say it's about time YouTube took steps to curb the lies that helps the spread. They point out that YouTube, Facebook and other platforms turned huge profits from the anti-vaccine movement.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
IMRAN AHMED, CEO, CENTER FOR COUNTERING DIGITAL HATE: The extraordinary thing is that the anti-vaccine industry which is the profit making industry because once they persuade people not to take vaccines they sell them all sorts of false cures, whether it's nebulized hydrogen peroxide, inhaled bleach or (inaudible) or vitamin D or other supplements. And that's a profit making industry in itself.
But the platforms, gosh, they're making a billion dollars a year from the traffic that's generated by people visiting anti-vax content. And that's because every time you look at a post, there's an ad next to it. So they can keep you on the post, on the site, for as long as possible.
And we found that conspiracies content is highly addictive. So they know that if they give that up, if they throw these people out the platform they're getting rid of a billion dollars a year and that's a lot of money.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: The NBA has a stern warning for basketball players who are refusing to take a COVID vaccine. Get the shots or it will hit your wallet. The NBA says any player who misses a game because of his vaccine status would not be paid for that game. San Francisco and New York both bar unvaccinated players from playing.
The ban could affect vaccine skeptics like Andrew Wiggins of the Golden State Warriors and Brooklyn's Kyrie Irving. Those players could be forced to sit out any home game played by their team. So, in the case of Irving he would forfeit close to half million dollars for any game he missed.
And "CNN Newsroom" continues in a moment. Please do stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BRUNHUBER: The nation of Oman is reinventing itself. One big part of the country's 2040 Vision Plan has increased strategic utilization of its natural resources.
CNN's Eleni Giokos found a unique Omani company that's doing just that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNKNOWN: Welcome Eleni to Amouage.
ELENI GIOKOS, CNN MONEY AFRICA CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Thank you so much. So good to be here. It smells really good in here. It smells really good.
UNKNOWN: Well, I'm glad you're saying that. It should smell good. We are one of the most luxurious fragrance houses in the world.
Amouage is a small company by perfume standards but a giants in Oman. Started in 1983, CEO Marco Parsiegla wants to double his business in the next four years and become the number one independent fragrance house.
MARCO PARSIEGLA, CEO, AMOUAGE: It's all about innovation. We have to innovating and we continue to innovate. And that's our duty for the industry as an authority to bring the innovation to the next boundaries possible.
[03:55:08]
GIOKOS: Economists in Oman say niche companies like Amouage are delivering an important message to the rest of the world.
ADHAM AL SAID, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF ECONOMICS: These are the tugs that we can pour people into Oman and say hang on if you bought yourself a bottle of Amouage, wouldn't you like to visit country? These are not going to be large industries but it's going to be highly valuable, perhaps luxury brands, perhaps highly personalized brands, and I think those are going to be the ones that Oman is going to be remembered for.
GIOKOS: So how many perfumes you have in your (inaudible)?
PARSIEGLA: Well, we have more than 50 different fragrances right now. And all of those are creations really to serve the different desires of our well discerning clients.
GIOKOS: There are three main ingredients used in every Amouage fragrance and they are all sourced right here in Oman; frankincense, which comes from the far region in the south; rock rose, a flower grown in the mountains in the northern part of the country; and Ambergris, a foul smelling substance that is currently used in perfume. It is produced by whale's digestive system and found washed up on the shores of Oman.
PARSIEGLA: It is a long tradition.
(LAUGHTER)
GIOKOS: I feel like a lot more things to smell.
Who spend well digestive was (inaudible).
(LAUGHTER)
Although Amouage is steep in Omani culture and tradition, it is an international brand with China, Italy, and the U.S. among its top 10 markets.
PARSIEGLA: So we are actually having a fairly balanced footprint globally and that gives us the strength to actually expand now internationally.
GIOKOS: Growing beyond Oman's borders but never forgetting its roots.
PARSIEGLA: We believed our world is not just to run a business but also to be an ambassador for Oman in the world. And we are very proud to be an Omani company.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: I'm Kim Brunhuber in Atlanta. Thanks so much for joining me. "CNN Newsroom" continues now with Isa Soares. Please stay with us.
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