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World Leaders Gathering in Glasgow for COP26 Meeting; Austria: Target of 100% Renewable Energy by 2030; World Leaders Point to Signs of Progress and Shortfalls at G-20; International Borders Reopen in Parts of Australia; Two-Thirds of U.S. Has Received 1 Vaccine Dose; FDA to Consider Vaccinations for Children 5-12; Japanese Police: Knife Attack Injures at Least 17 People; Shanghai Disneyland Temporarily Closes Amid COVID Probe. Aired 12-1a ET
Aired November 01, 2021 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANNA COREN, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello, and welcome to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Anna Coren, live from Hong Kong.
[00:00:24]
Coming up, on the heels of the G-20 summit, world leaders now head to Glasgow for a climate summit. The future of the planet is on the line.
COVID vaccines for children as young as 5 could be approved as early as Tuesday. I'll discuss with my guest what some of the obstacles could be.
Plus, new details on the Tokyo train attack that's left more than a dozen injured. We're live outside the train station with the very latest.
In just a matter of hours, leaders from around the world will gather in Glasgow for a critical climate summit as a new report warns the earth is now in uncharted territory.
The COP26 kicking off just as the G-20 meeting wrapped up in Rome on Sunday. Leaders there ended their summit with an agreement on climate but no firm pledges.
Several key climate goals included ending coal financing by the end of the year and containing global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, above pre-industrial levels.
Well, climate will, again, be in focus with at COP26 climate summit in Scotland Monday. The British prime minister is expected to tell world leaders that it's time to move from aspiration to action, to limit rising temperatures and take concrete steps to phase out coal.
Among the key goals for COP26: securing global net zero by mid- century, keeping 1.5 degrees, within reach. They also want countries to commit to phasing out coal and deliver on their promise of $100 billion a year to help developing nations fight the climate crisis.
Well, CNN's Phil Black is following developments and joins us now, live from Edinburgh, Scotland. Phil, so much is at stake. Tell us more.
PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, indeed. And I think the G-20 conference has just wrapped up in Rome shows the huge challenges in making significant progress at an international level.
On one hand, the science has never been clearer. We are living in a climate crisis. The window of time available to prevent the worst of it is narrowing rapidly. The situation is perilous.
The host of the G-20, the Italian prime minister said, somewhat proudly, that only now, finally, for the first time, do all G-20 member states accept the science that says we have to restrict global average temperature increase to 1.5 degrees, in order to avoid catastrophic climate change.
So, perhaps no surprise, those G-20 member states, which collectively make up 80 percent of global emissions, did not, could not, agree on a final date for phasing out coal-fired electricity.
It's going to be one of the key themes going into the Glasgow talks, but giving up coal is hard, as we saw, even for countries that are ambitious, and don't have a significant dependency. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLACK (voice-over): Two power stations near the Austrian city of Graz. The one on the left is retired, a silent monument to a recent time when the country burned coal for some of its electricity.
The neighboring, shiny, new gas-fueled facility now does the work. The upgrade is significant. Austria is one of only three countries in Europe to they shut down all coal-fired plants. Replacing coal with natural gas isn't carbon free, but it's a step in the right direction.
CHRISTOF KURZMANN-FRIEDL, MANAGES POWER PLANT: The footprint of this power plant is much lower than this footprint.
BLACK: About 60 percent lower. But gas can only be an interim move if Austria is to achieve its green power ambitions. Christof Kurzmann- Friedl manages this site.
(on camera): Austria wants to be one hunted percent renewable by 2030. Does that mean this will close down by 2030?
KURZMANN-FRIEDL: I'm not sure.
BLACK (voice-over): Austria embraced a big renewable energy source decades before the first warnings about climate change. Most of its electricity comes from hydro power.
MICHAEL STRUGL, CEO, VERBUND: We also have to build new capacity in solar power and wind power, as well.
BLACK: Michael Strugl, the CEO of Austria's largest energy company, says even with a big head start from hydro, getting to 100 percent renewables in under a decade won't be easy. STRUGL: It's ambitious, for sure.
BLACK (on camera): And you don't necessarily have all the answers yet?
STRUGL: Yes.
BLACK: But it's important to try.
[00:05:03]
STRUGL: We do not have all the answers. We have to do research. We have to put strong efforts on innovation, as well.
BLACK (voice-over): Much of the research, innovation, and hope in Austria is focused on green hydrogen. The basic idea is on windy or sunny days, you use excess electricity to make hydrogen gas, which can be stored or transported.
Then, when it's cloudy, or the turbines aren't spinning, you turn the hydrogen back into electricity, using a clean chemical reaction.
MARKUS SARTORY, RESEARCH AND PROJECT MANAGER, HYCENTA HYDROGEN CENTRE AUSTRIA: We have many questions to solve.
BLACK: Markus Sartory is a project leader at Hydrogen Centre Austria.
SARTORY: Of course, it's a very complex system, but we have the possibility to incorporate the -- the renewables and to build up new, sustainable, green energy system. And this -- this can be done with actual technologies, but it will cost us.
BLACK: At the power station in Graz, hydrogen's potential is being tested with a pilot project. The possibilities are vast. So are the challenges.
(on camera): It's a potential game-changer. Do you think?
KURZMANN-FRIEDL: I do think, yes.
BLACK: And, crucially, there's still so much work that needs to be done --
KURZMANN-FRIEDL: Yes, you're right.
BLACK: -- if it's to arrive at scale, because it's just too expensive right now.
KURZMANN-FRIEDL: It's too expensive. But we have to do the first steps. And this is one of the first steps.
BLACK (voice-over): Austria's coal habit was pretty modest, compared to some other European countries. Poland, for example, still mines and burns it for around 80 percent of its electricity.
And, yet, even with Austria's strong starting position, early commitment, and willingness to innovate, the ultimate success of its low carbon transition is still uncertain.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLACK: So Anna, going into the Glasgow conference, I think it is fair to say that expectations are pretty low. No one is expecting climate change to be solved in the next two weeks. No one is forecasting significant breakthroughs.
In many ways, the best-case scenario would be a situation that simply keeps the process alive, where you have enough progress so that that goal of restricting global average temperature increase to 1.5 degrees is still, theoretically, attainable at some point in the near future -- Anna.
COREN: Let's hope there is the political will to continue with that progress. Phil Black, great to see you. Many thanks for your report.
Well, joining me now with her perspective is Katharine Hayhoe, the chief scientist at the Nature Conservancy. She's also the author of "Saving Us: A Climate Scientist's Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World."
Katharine, great to have you with us.
Averting a climate catastrophe. That is the threat facing the world. How effective will the COP26 be at bringing about concrete action to tackle climate change?
KATHARINE HAYHOE, CHIEF SCIENTIST, NATURE CONSERVANCY: Well, it's not about saving the planet. The planet will be orbiting the sun long after we're gone.
We are the ones most at risk. And that's what we all have to recognize, from world leaders down to every single one of the rest of us.
So, what's on the line at the conference? Two things. First of all, the high-emitting countries need to bring more to the table, in terms of their emission reductions. We have enough to keep warming to 2.7 degrees Celsius, a 66 percent chance of it, but we need to be lower, below 2, preferably 1.5.
The other half of it, though, is something called climate finance. The poorest countries, who have contributed the least to the problem, the poorest 50 percent of people in the world, are responsible to 7 percent of carbon emissions. They need help developing without producing more carbon and dealing with the impacts of climate change.
So, again, the high-emitting countries need to ramp up their climate finance ambition, too, contributing to those countries, as well.
COREN: Yes, Katharine, there's obviously that talk, and the United States says it's interested in looking at reparations for those vulnerable countries. But, obviously, the push to phase out the world's reliance on fossil fuels.
And yet, there is so much resistance, especially from emerging economies. I mean, how can this be addressed?
HAYHOE: There's resistance everywhere. I don't think you would call Australia an emerging economy. Even in my own home country of Canada, there's resistance. Where I live in the United States, there is. Everywhere, there is.
Why? Because we've been using fossil fuels since before the dawn of the industrial era. And we are talking about changing how we get the fundamental energy that powers our society in a matter of a decade or two, not a century. But we need to do it. Because what's at stake, again, is literally us. And if we do not fix climate change, it will fix us.
COREN: Katharine, "The Economist" said that world leaders, like India's Narendra Modi and Australia's Scott Morrison, who refuse to talk and plan regarding transitioning from fossil fuels, is, quote, "rank cowardice." I mean, it's going to take courage, and collective political will seems to be lacking.
[00:10:05]
HAYHOE: It does take courage. And, underneath, to be totally honest, I think it takes love. Love, not only of our families and the places that we love, and the things that we love; love of each other, as well. Recognizing what's at stake here, again. It's us. It's every living thing on this planet that depends on this home. The only home we have.
For the air that we breathe and the water we drink, the food we eat, and all the resources we have, I don't think many of us have fully recognized what is yet at stake.
COREN: Europe and the United States were the largest emitters of greenhouse gas emissions in the past. That mantle has now been handed to China, the world's largest polluter. We know that China, certainly, has the capacity for action, and yet, the will is lacking. What can be done?
HAYHOE: Well, I just want to be clear that climate is changing in response to cumulative emissions. Those are all the emissions that have built up in the atmosphere over time, and there, the United States is still far and away No. 1 in terms of cumulative emissions.
But what this highlights is, no matter which way we slice it or dice it, whether we look at per person emissions, whether we look at annual emissions today, cumulative emissions over the history of this problem, it is all of our problems. And we all have to fix it together. We sink or we swim together. We're not in individual ships. We are all sharing the same ship.
COREN: Katharine, if the Earth's temperatures continue to rise, what part of the world is most at risk. Can you -- can you spell it out to us?
HAYHOE: I absolutely can. It's the same part of the world where people live below the poverty line, where they don't have enough food to feed their families, where consistent water is -- is something that they don't have, where people lack that basic sanitation or a safe place to live.
Since the 1960s, climate change has already increased the gap, the economic gap between the richest and poorest countries in the world by as much as 25 percent, in some cases. We are already seeing the impacts today on the poorest and most vulnerable, and that is true right here in big urban cities, and high-emitting countries, as it is on the other side of the world. It's those who have the least who are are being harmed first and foremost.
COREN: Katharine, we hope the world leaders at the COP26 are listening. Katharine Hayhoe, many thanks for your time.
The Australian prime minister is denying he lied to the French president over the cancellation of a multi-billion-dollar submarine deal. Scott Morrison told reporters on the sidelines of the G-20 summit, France knew Australia was considering other options and that he does not regret his decision.
But the French president told reporters that he knows Mr. Morrison lied to him.
Last month, Australia, the U.S., and the U.K. announced a new security alliance to help Australia develop nuclear-powered submarines. France was left out and lost a lucrative contract for diesel-powered subs.
Well, here's one Emmanuel Macron told Australian media.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EMMANUEL MACRON, FRENCH PRESIDENT: I think you can have disagreements. I do respect sovereign choices. But you have to respect alliance and partners. And it was not the case with this deal. And I think this is detrimental to the reputation of --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And what did you say -- what did you say to Scott --
MACRON: We will see what you do. I have a lot of respect for your country. I have a lot of respect, and a lot of friendship, for your people. I just say, when we have respect, you have to be true, and you have to behave in line and consistently with this value.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You think he lied to you?
MACRON: I don't think. I know.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COREN: But at least the U.S. and French presidents appeared to be mending fences over the deal. Joe Biden admitted his administration was clumsy in its handling of the agreement, and said he thought France had been informed earlier that its own deal was not going through.
Mr. Macron said a situation like this cannot happen again.
Well, President Macron says, despite the tensions, the G-20 summit, on the whole, helped recreate convergences and a sense of hope. CNN's Nic Robertson explains where progress was made, and where it's lacking.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR (voice-over): A coin toss for good luck in Rome's fabled Trevi Fountain. So daunting, their task, combatting COVID and climate change, leaders at this G-20 summit open for all help.
Some successes coming on the sidelines. U.S. and E.U. reducing friction on aluminum and steel tariffs.
URSULA VON DER LEYEN, PRESIDENT, EUROPEAN COMMISSION: This marks a milestone in the renewed E.U.-U.S. partnership.
ROBERTSON: American-French friendship put back on track after a scuppered submarine deal soured relations. Even British-French tempers, frayed over fish, tamped down, temporarily, at least.
[00:15:08]
Perhaps President Joe Biden, who missed the coin toss at the Trevi Fountain and arrived beset by doubts about his, and America's, leadership, gained most.
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We have to take action now.
ROBERTSON: Hosting a global supply chain event, pushing leaders to ease bottlenecks, and getting sign-off on a global minimum for corporate tax.
BIDEN: Well, I'm proud that the G-20 endorsed the global minimum tax, and this is an incredible win for all our countries.
ROBERTSON: But, on the big-ticket items -- COVID and climate -- gains harder to see. Commitments on COVID vaccines roll-out renewed. At least 40 percent global population by year's end, 70 percent by mid- 2022.
On climate, committing to reduce emission intensity but not fully eradicate, agreeing only to end international financing for coal- fueled power generation by the end of the year.
MARIO DRAGHI, ITALIAN PRIME MINISTER: Do we know, exactly, what the final goal posts of this transition are going to be? We don't. So we go step by step.
ROBERTSON: And no specific date set for global carbon neutrality. No later than 2060, falling short of a hoped-for 2050 hard deadline. Not a glowing report card.
BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: We've made some progress at this G-20. We've had a reasonable G-20. But there is a huge way, still, to go.
ROBERTSON: Johnson not the only leader disappointed.
(on camera): The U.N. secretary general voicing his frustrations in a tweet, saying, "While I welcome the G-20's recommitment to global solutions, I leave Rome with my hopes unfulfilled. But at least they're not buried."
(voice-over): Leaders now on their way to COP26, the climate summit in Glasgow, with this ominous warning from the U.K.'s Prince Charles.
PRINCE CHARLES, UNITED KINGDOM: It is the last chance saloon. We must now translate fine words into still finer actions.
ROBERTSON: Nic Robertson, CNN, Rome.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COREN: Well, straight ahead on CNN NEWSROOM, quarantine-free international travel returns to parts of Australia, as long as you're fully vaccinated. We'll go live to Sydney after the break.
And the U.S. could see a pivotal week in the pandemic, as children as young as 5 could start getting the vaccine.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COREN: Emotional reunions in Australia, as parts of the country have reopened to international travel for the first time in this pandemic.
The states of Victoria and New South Wales, home to Australia's largest cities, have ended quarantine rules for fully-vaccinated travelers, thanks to soaring vaccination rates.
[00:20:02]
Until now, thousands of Australians living abroad had been unable to return home because of the country's strict lockdown measures. Well, let's bring in CNN's Angus Watson at Sydney International Airport.
And Angus, finally, fortress Australia has been breached, at least in Sydney and Melbourne. Tell us more.
ANGUS WATSON, CNN PRODUCER: Absolutely. And a fortress Australia, these strictures that Australia put in place to try to protect itself from the coronavirus pandemic, to try to ride it out the best it could, not allowing its own citizens, its own residents, back in the country. Limiting the number of those people that it was allowing in each week to just between 1,500 and 2,000 people just as of last week.
Now, tearful reunions, a lot of emotion here, as those rules were finally relaxed. Here, at Sydney airport, people reunited once again.
And as you say, it's because of those vaccination rates that the country, the state of New South Wales, the state of Victoria, as well, is able to open up again to the rest of the world and begin to live with the virus, here in Sydney, in the Australian capital territory in Canberra, and in Melbourne, Victoria, as well.
They're expected to hit over 90 percent of the adult population fully vaccinated, making scenes like this one possible for the first time since March 2020, when those tough border rules came into force.
Some 40,000 Australians, stranded around the world as the pandemic raged, are now no need to quarantine for 14 days on arrival, and no caps on the number of people that can come in.
But it did take its toll. There was a lot of emotion and a lot of mixed feelings here. Here's what one person had to say. He'd missed the death of his father. He'd been trying to get back to say his final goodbyes. He couldn't because of these strict border measures. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NICK COSTELLO, TRAVELER; I've got really mixed emotions to be back in Australia. I live in the U.S., and I'm just here now for a way to attend my father's funeral. He passed away last week. I've been trying to get back for the last couple of months to see my dad.
I feel like there's -- there's been a massive human cost that's been paid for a lot of Australian citizens that live in other places or travel overseas.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATSON: So, it's not a free-for-all, Anna, by any means. As we said, it's just Sydney and Melbourne at the moment, Australia's two busiest airports that are welcoming back international travelers again. You have to be doubly vaccinated, and you have to be an Australian permanent resident, or a relative of either of those people.
So tourism is still a little way off, business travel way off, students coming internationally to study here, still a little way off. And, even stranger, Anna, we're in this situation where there's a real divide between the states that are living with COVID-19 and have higher vaccination rates, like New South Wales and Victoria, and other states, which have lived without COVID for much of the pandemic, like Queensland in western Australia.
Their vaccination rates are much lower. Their governments want to keep domestic borders closed to the states that do have COVID-19, to allow those vaccination rates to get up.
So in this strange situation, where you could be flying into Sydney today, but not be able to travel around the country for some weeks or months, even though you've just traveled around the world, Anna.
COREN: Yes. It's been a long, almost two years away from home. Angus Watson, we certainly look forward to seeing you on home soil very soon. Angus Watson, good to see you. Thank you.
Well, coronavirus pandemic restrictions are relaxing in South Korea as so-called living with COVID measures begin to go into effect. Curfews are lifted for all businesses as of Monday, except for dance gloves and karaoke bars.
And private gatherings of up to 10 people are allowed in greater Seoul, regardless of vaccination status.
The government plans to continue easing rules in phases with an evaluation period in between.
Well, Thailand is now welcoming fully-vaccinated tourists from dozens of countries considered low risk for the coronavirus, and they won't be required to quarantine.
Bangkok and Phuket have welcomed the first visitors, with the rest of the country soon to follow. Well, this should give a much-needed boost to Thailand's vital tourism industry, which has taken a massive hit during the pandemic.
Well, just hours ago, White House press secretary Jen Psaki revealed she's tested positive for COVID-19. The news comes as U.S. President Joe Biden is overseas for the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland.
Psaki says she last saw the president on Tuesday, two days before he left. She was outside, and masked, at the time. She dropped off the foreign trip shortly before President Biden departed after members of her household tested positive.
Well, there's promising new data about America's fight against COVID- 19. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports two-thirds of the country's population has received at least one dose of vaccine, more than 220 million Americans.
[00:25:08]
And more than 18 million people have received a third dose, or booster shot, since mid-August.
The progress comes, as this week could mark a turning point in the pandemic. On Tuesday, the CDC's vaccine advisers will consider whether to OK the Pfizer vaccine for children as young as 5 after the Food and Drug Administration signed off on Friday.
If the CDC's panel and the agency's director approve, vaccinations could begin immediately.
Well, Dr. Eric Topol is a cardiologist and professor of molecular medicine at Scripps Research and joins us now from California. Doctor, great to have you with us.
You obviously welcome this news. Is this a game-changer in the fight against COVID-19?
DR. ERIC TOPOL, PROFESSOR OF MOLECULAR MEDICINE, SCRIPPS RESEARCH: Good to be with you, Anna.
The approval, which is forthcoming this week with CDC, already from FDA, is a big step for the 5- to 11-year-olds. These children have been known to be the driver of the recent surge in the U.K., and they clearly are an important group to get vaccinated, not only to protect themselves but their fellow kids, the people that -- in their network, in schools, and of course, the adults.
So this is another major frontier in trying to prevail over the pandemic.
COREN: If the CDC approves this week that 5- to 11-year-olds can receive, what, a third of the dose of Pfizer, I mean, considering COVID was the eighth highest killer of kids in this age group, are you expecting a strong take-up?
TOPOL: Well, that's unclear, because there is a lot of concern regarding the low risk of children. And so, why would you use a vaccine? That's what some people are asking.
But there is -- there is a significant risk, Anna, that isn't emphasized enough, and that's long COVID. So even though children, it's unusual for them to wind up in the hospital, and even more unusual for there to be a fatal event, long COVID occurs not infrequently. Not as much as in adults, but, it can be debilitating. It can have cognitive impairment.
A very large study from Germany, recently, of 150,000 children, and teens, and adults, with matched control showed this unequivocally.
So there's concerns here that the vaccination of children will protect them from long COVID, and that's something that really needs to be emphasized.
COREN: You mention that reluctance from parents, and of course, many of these parents are people who believe in science. I mean, it's one thing to inoculate yourself. It's another thing to vaccinate your children with a relatively new vaccine. What would you say to these parents?
TOPOL: Well, there is a trial that was placebo-controlled, in children, 5 to 11, and it had 90 percent-plus efficacy. And there was no concern about safety in this trial of over 2,200 children.
So the fact is, they had symptomatic infections that were markedly suppressed without a safety concern. And so, while nothing is perfect, this is as good as we can get.
And the dose, Anna, that's being used and will be approved this week by the CDC, is only 10 micrograms. It's a very low dose. It's one 10th of the adults that was given, equivalent in the Moderna trials, or 100 micrograms. And it's one-third of the dose that Pfizer used in its previous trials of the mRNA.
So I think it's really a nice compromise. Maximizing safety, and getting the 90 percent plus efficacy.
COREN: There is, of course, the risk -- and although it's rare -- of myocarditis, the inflammation of the heart muscle. How do you, I guess, counter these fears? TOPOL: Right. Well, that's important that we underscore that, so far,
in both the Pfizer trial and the Moderna, we haven't seen myocarditis in these young children, aged 5 to 11. That doesn't mean it won't occur, or can't occur. As you know, we saw that in teens. More so in Moderna, than Pfizer. Again, using a higher dose. And especially in boys, and especially with the second dose.
So it was self-limiting, for the most part. It wasn't -- turned out to be a serious matter. But the fact that it hasn't yet occurred in children, and we'll know more in the weeks ahead, as it goes forward in hundreds of thousands of children. But it looks very encouraging that this should not be an issue.
COREN: Doctor, the United States will, obviously, be the first country to vaccinate this -- this young age group. Are you expecting the rest of the world will take your lead?
TOPOL: Well, that's the hope. We can't really control the pandemic with a strain like Delta without getting over 90 percent of our populations around the world vaccinated or having very solid prior COVID immunity.
[00:30:09]
So, in order to do that, we have to extend the vaccination protection to children, and we have to avoid these surges that are occurring, driven by children. So it will protect them, and ideally, if we had enough vaccines produced for the world, this is the next step, is to get the entire population protected from this very hyper-contagious strain of Delta.
COREN: Dr. Eric Topol, always great to get your perspective and insight. Thanks so much for joining us.
TOPOL: Thank you, Anna.
COREN: A man with a knife sent people running for their lives on a Japanese train on Sunday. What we're learning about the attack that injured more than a dozen people.
Plus, closed until further notice. What caused park officials to shutter one of China's most popular amusement parks.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COREN: Welcome back to our viewers all around the world. I'm Anna Coren, live from Hong Kong. You are watching CNN NEWSROOM.
We're following reports of a knife attack in Japan, where at least 17 people are hurt after a man tried to stab people on a Tokyo train line.
Police say a suspect is in custody, and that he told investigators he wanted to kill people.
Let's go to Blake Essig, who is live outside the train station near where this happened. Blake, what are we learning?
BLAKE ESSIG, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, Anna, what we know right now is that a knife-wielding man that witnesses say was dressed as the Joker from "Batman," or potentially a different character, wearing a dark green jacket, green shirt and purple pants, vest and tie, has injured at least 17 people on a train and tried to set it on fire as it was heading into Tokyo on Sunday night.
At least one of those injured people, a 70-year-old man, who police say was stabbed in the chest, is in serious condition.
Passengers' cellphone video captured the horrific and chaotic scene from inside the train as it was happening. Now, in the video, you can hear long bangs and people screaming, as they're seemingly running for their lives to get away from the attacker.
You could also see a large ball of flames, coming from one of the other cars, which filled the train with smoke. According to public broadcaster NHK, they say that the suspect used cigarette lighter fluid to try and set the train on fire.
Now, the train made an emergency stop, allowing passengers to evacuate by any means necessary, including climbing out of the train's windows onto a platform right in the station behind me, to get to safety.
[00:35:05]
Now, this happened around 8 p.m. on Sunday night, local time, as large amounts of people were streaming into the city center to celebrate Halloween.
And as you mentioned, police say that they've arrested a 24-year-old man at the scene on suspicion of attempted murder. Investigators say that the suspect told them he wanted to kill at least two people, and then receive the death penalty -- Anna.
COREN: How terrifying for those commuters on board. Blake Essig, we appreciate the update. Please let us know if you learn of any more news.
Stay with CNN. We'll be right back after this short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COREN: Well, COVID concerns have temporarily shuttered a major amusement park in China. Shanghai Disneyland announced Sunday the park will be closed for at least the next few days, after reports someone with a confirmed case of COVID-19 visited.
Well, this video from Sunday shows medical workers and police officers inside the park. Officials say guests were required to take a COVID test before they left.
CNN's Steven Jiang is in Beijing with the latest. Steven, what are we learning? STEVEN JIANG, CNN SENIOR PRODUCER: Well, Anna, you know, the story
itself is not surprising, given China is now the only major country in the world that sticks to this zero COVID policy, which is why, with the emergence of new local cases again, we are seeing a return of some of the harshest measures we have previously only seen in the height of the pandemic last year, including locking down cities with millions of residents, and more recently, stopping high-speed trains midway through their journeys, when close contact of a confirmed case is to be found on board.
But this Disney episode is going viral here, I think, because of the extraordinary setting and visuals. Because imagine, you have a large group of people in hazmat suits, descending on the park on the night of Halloween celebrations, and those people, of course, were not even in costume.
And then, of course, you see this image of, you know, spectacular fireworks exploding into the night sky above the iconic Disney castle, with thousands of people down below being tested for COVID.
And now, of course, we learn the reason for all of this is because a nearby resident from a nearby province visited this park on Saturday, and then she tested positive for COVID. And the authorities only found out on Sunday afternoon, where she was already on the train on her way back home.
That's when Shanghai -- Shanghai officials closed down the park and its adjacent shopping districts, as well as a subway station connected to the resort, really forcing thousands of people inside to go in through this COVID test, as you mentioned, but also they have to self- isolate for two days now, and going to need more rounds of testing.
But of course, officials and state media are now spinning this episode as an illustration of the efficiency and effectiveness of the policy. And probably with Disney's help, a dash of humanity and creativity here -- Anna.
[00:40:00]
COREN: Steven, as we know, Delta is so hard to contain. Is there concerned that this could now lead to another outbreak in China?
JIANG: Well, I think that's why you are saying they are greatly tightening their rules across the country, especially travel restrictions, especially entry into Beijing, as we are fast approaching several major events here, including a Communist Party leadership here -- meeting here, starting in a week, and not to mention the Winter Olympics happening several months down the road.
We've already seen growing complaints from people, even local residents from Beijing, being trapped outside of town, when they were traveling for business, because of these greatly tightened travel restrictions -- Anna.
COREN: Steven Jiang in Beijing. Thank you for the update. We appreciate it. And this new just in. Japan's ruling coalition has reportedly won the general election and will maintain its majority. This, according to Japanese public broadcaster NHK.
But to be clear, the votes are still being counted and the final results have not been released. If the results are confirmed, it means Japan's newly-elected prime minister, Fumio Kishida, will remain in power.
He ran on a promise of new capitalism, and pledged to raise salaries for the middle class, as well as revive the world's third largest economy.
Well, baseball World Series is headed for a game six. The Houston Astros battled from behind in game five to beat the Atlanta Braves 9 to 5 on Sunday night.
It was a wild slug fest. The Astros came back from a 4-1 deficit in the first inning, denying Atlanta a chance to clinch the title in front of their fans.
The Braves still hold a 3-2 series lead. Well, now we turn to Houston for game six on Tuesday night.
And before we go, rock 'n' roll superstar, Jon Bon Jovi has tested positive for COVID. Bon Jovi had been scheduled to perform in Miami but had to pull out at the last minute after his rapid test turned out positive.
The 59-year-old is fully vaccinated. A representative telling "Variety" he's doing well.
And one quick programming note. We'll bring you extensive coverage of the COP26 conference through the final day on November 12. Tune into CNN each day for that.
And for all the latest climate news and COP26 developments, head to CNN.com/climate.
Well, thank you so much for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Anna Coren. I will be back with more news at the top of the hour. WORLD SPORT is next.
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COREN: Leaders from around the world will gather in Glasgow in the coming hours for a critical climate summit.
