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Source: Rebel Fighters On Outskirts Of Ethiopian Capital Declaring State of Emergency; U.S.: China's Nuclear Capabilities Advancing At Record Pace; Renewed Talk On $100 Billion In Climate Aid For Developing Nations; Austria Shuts Coal-Fired Plants, Focuses On Renewable Energy; China Holds Tight To 'Zero COVID' Strategy; Thai Police Arrest CEO Of Company Selling Used Gloves; Missing Australian Girl Found Alive After 18 Days. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired November 04, 2021 - 00:00   ET

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

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[00:00:20]

JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Wherever you are around the world, thank you for joining us.

Coming up here on CNN NEWSROOM, on the brink, rebel fighters on the outskirts of the Ethiopia's capital, bringing fears the country could be spiraling towards all out Civil War.

How to end a global addiction to coal which will be crucial to cooling a warming planet. One country in Europe has done it.

And new details about the rescue of Cleo Smith, the little Australian girl missing for more than two weeks, but now reunited with mom and dad.

ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM with John Vause.

VAUSE: What was meant to be a swift military offensive a year ago on a defeated political rival at Ethiopia's northern Tigray region could soon erupt into an all-out Civil War.

CNN has been told by a diplomatic source that a combined rebel force is now on the outskirts of Addis Ababa, heavily armed with enough firepower to breach the capital within hours should they so choose.

On Wednesday, the Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed warned the enemies of his government would be buried "With our blood and our bones". While residents of the capital have been told to take up arms and fight the Tigray and rebels.

And from the U.N. Human Rights Commissioner, growing fears and already violent and bloody conflict is only getting worse by the hour.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHELLE BACHELET, U.N. HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS: There has been an escalation in the last days and the last hours of the conflict that could lead to a real Civil War with a lot of bloodshed and with a lot of more pain and suffering for not only for the military forces who are -- who will be fighting but also for the civilians.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: A candlelight vigil in Addis Ababa marked a year anniversary since this conflict began and Tigray has left thousands dead, more than two million displaced and all sides according to the U.N. guilty of appalling levels of brutality amounting to war crimes.

We have more now from CNN's Larry Madowo.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): What a year it has been. Now, a combined rebel force of the Tigray defense forces and the Oromo Liberation Army say to be on the outskirts of the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.

According to regional diplomatic sources telling CNN, whether or not they will take the capital is not clear at this stage. But the African Union is warning that it's concerned about the possibility of a military confrontation.

Addis Ababa is also the seat of the African Union. So, strategically important for the entire African continent.

A joint investigation by the United Nations and the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission says atrocities were committed by all sides in this conflict, but it doesn't go as far as some people expected it to do to say this is a genocide.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANIEL BEKELE, EHRC CHIEF COMMISSIONER: The standard of proof we have adopted for such a human rights investigation is a lower threshold than is normally required in a criminal investigation.

So, on the basis of the collectively gathered and collectively analyzed information and evidence we have, the violations we have identified may amount to crimes against humanity, or war crimes and a number of other violations, but not genocide.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MADOWO: Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has set up an inter- ministerial task force to do its own investigation and bring the perpetrators of those crimes to justice.

But a day before that report came out, he asked Ethiopians to take up arms. His Council of Ministers declared a state of emergency and he's told Ethiopians to prepare to defend themselves, to defend their country.

The U.S. Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa, Jeffrey Feltman is heading into Addis Ababa on Thursday and Friday, it is not clear if he will be meeting with the Prime Minister or members of his government. But this is a crucial moment in this conflict.

What happens next will be critical for stability, not just in the country, but in the Horn of Africa.

Larry Madowo, CNN, Nairobi.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Journalist Samuel Getachew is based in Addis Ababa. He joins us now there from the capital, where it's just gone past 7:00 on a Thursday morning. Samuel, thank you for being with us.

SAMUEL GETACHEW, JOURNALIST: Thank you, John.

VAUSE: OK, so the last we heard from the rebel fighters, it came in a tweet from an advisor to Tigray's president, which said the Tigray forces were conducting joint operations with another rebel group about 300 kilometers from Addis Ababa, and that would continue for the coming days and weeks.

Does that suggest that an offensive on the capital could be a few days away or what is the latest information you have right now?

GETACHEW: John, you know, as of last night, we looked at your -- the CNN story of them being in the outskirts of Addis Ababa, we've been looking at that story. We don't think it's true. We've been checking. I even traveled outside of Addis just to check.

[00:05:11]

GETACHEW: But the fact is the partnership between OLA and TPLF came as a surprise to Ethiopia, it's a milestone for them.

But the fact is, this conflict that has been going on for a year has really, really, really touched on the core of the nation. This comes on the heels of the U.S. government, the Biden administration canceling or wanting to cancel a trade pact that will affect thousands of Ethiopians.

So, we're watching this closely. And we're all surprised where this conflict is heading a year since this begun.

VAUSE: OK, so just to be clear, right now, it's pretty much unknown exactly what the situation is in terms of where these rebel forces are, if there is some kind of imminent offensive on the Capitol there.

But from what we heard from the prime minister on Wednesday, he was warning of a bloodbath. Here he is, listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ABIY AHMED, ETHIOPIAN PRIME MINISTER (through translator): This pit, which is dug very deep, will be where the enemy will be buried, not where Ethiopia disintegrates. We will bury this enemy with our blood and bones and make the glory of Ethiopia high up again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Well, it's unclear exactly what the timing could be for any kind of offensive on the surface at least, that kind of language would rule out any attempt to end this crisis through diplomacy.

GETACHEW: When it doesn't seem like the two actors, the TPLF and the Ethiopian government don't seem to want to sit down and settle this or compromised. They've been sending insults, accusations back and forth.

But what we know for certain is millions of Ethiopians have been displaced, while thousands of Ethiopians have been killed.

The report you mentioned, points at all actors that have been involved in violations of human rights. This is a conflict that has been defined by sexual violence. You know, children being violated sexually.

And this is really a stain on our history, especially on my generation. We wanted to go past the old era of Ethiopia which defined the country as a famine, a nation that was big on foreign aid is gone, we thought we moved from that era, but we're going back and it's really a shock to all of us.

VAUSE: It is tragic and it is also tragic what has been happening as detailed by that U.N. report. I want you to listen to a little bit more about what they found in this investigation, listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BACHELET: People were arbitrarily detained, there were extrajudicial killings, there were terrible amounts of sexual violence and rapes. There were people who had to find refugees and they were having problems as well as internally displaced people.

So, there was many, many violations of human rights and abuses by all parties.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: And on top of that, the current situation, many ethnic Tigrayans living in the capital are reportedly (PH) have been rounded up and detained by police with concerns that this could lead to some kind of ethically motivated attacks.

GETACHEW: You know, John, without discounting or reducing what's been happening in the Tigray region, you know, I was able to travel outside of Addis to Afar and to Amhara region. And what we are hearing is a uniform like accusation that's been going on for now a year -- more than a year.

So, what you're, you know, reflecting on the report that has happened in Amhara region, in Afar region, and that's what's concerning to all of us.

But again, the targets that based on ethnicity, I have felt it. You know, when I go to outside of Addis (INAUDIBLE) an ID, which they look at my name, and they make a determination or of where my tribe is, or who I am.

And, you know, we've -- I have been abused. I've been -- they've pulled weapons on me, they've abused me, they have slapped me, they've done so much to me based on my ethnicity.

So, this has been going on in Ethiopia for many, many years. And we don't want to go to an era of where Rwanda used to be for instance.

And we're very concerned, I spoke on a personal level. It's really, really concerning and the ethnic attack, we're seeing it everywhere in Ethiopia.

VAUSE: It seems that we -- there needs to be some kind of off ramp here. (INAUDIBLE) to defuse the situation.

Samuel, we know you're going to come back and speak with us again next hour. We have a lot more to get to you, so we appreciate that. Thank you so much.

GETACHEW: Thank you.

VAUSE: Well, the Pentagon is warning that China is increasing its nuclear stockpile at an alarming pace on track for a thousand warheads by the end of the decade, much faster than earlier assessments.

U.S. defense officials believe Beijing is aiming to be the world's dominant military force by 2049, which coincides with the 100th anniversary of the communist rise to power and the founding of the People's Republic of China.

CNN's Oren Liebermann reports now from the Pentagon.

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OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (on camera): In the latest China military power report from the Pentagon, the Defense Department focused partially on the rapid modernization of China's nuclear force saying the heavy nascent nuclear triad similar to the United States nuclear triad of air launched, sub launched and ground launched ballistic missiles.

The estimate from last year that they could roughly double their force or stockpile of 200 nukes within 10 years. Well, that's old news now.

Now, the Pentagon says they could have a thousand nuclear warheads by 2030. And that comes from the speed with which they're modernizing and building out their nuclear stockpile and their nuclear options.

But that's just a part of what's concerning here in the short term, in the bigger picture over the long term, the China military power report says that by 2049, so before the midpoint of this century, China aims to supplant U.S. global influence and replace U.S. partnerships and alliances in the region with its own partnerships and alliances in the region. How disturbing is that? Well, Joint Chiefs Chairman General Mark

Milley said it best at the Aspen Security Summit on Wednesday.

GEN. MARK MILLEY, CHAIRMAN, JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF: We're witnessing -- in my view, we're witnessing one of the largest shifts in global geostrategic power that the world has witnessed. And it only happens once in a while.

LIEBERMANN: One of the interim goals laid out in the China military power report is 2027, where China looks to build a system of systems within its military and modernize or at least advanced modernization dramatically over what it is now.

The China military power report, the Defense Department says a lot of that is aimed towards Taiwan and options that would give China when it comes to Taiwan that would include blockading the islands, perhaps an amphibious assault on Taiwan itself, or in some of the outlying islands.

All of this modernization is also meant to build deterrence and essentially act as a warning sign against foreign intervention or any moves by Taiwan towards independence. A lot of that pointed straight at the U.S.

Oren Liebermann, CNN in the Pentagon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Jeffrey Lewis is director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Program at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies. He's with us this hour from Monterey in California.

Jeffrey, thank you for your time.

JEFFREY LEWIS, DIRECTOR EAST ASIA NONPROLIFERATION PROGRAM, MIDDLEBURY INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: My pleasure.

VAUSE: OK, so the headlines we're reading that they're alarming like this one from the Washington Post. China accelerates nuclear weapons expansion since 1,000 warheads or more, Pentagon says.

But context matters and the concern here is over a nuclear buildup, which is moving faster than first thought.

So, instead of 400 nuclear warheads, I think China will have 700 warheads by the end of the decade, with aspirations for at least a thousand.

So, are we talking the difference around 300 warheads here at the end of the day?

LEWIS: Yes, look, I think when we step back, the important thing to keep in mind is the United States has about 3,500 nuclear warheads.

And so, while China's numbers are coming up, and that's something that we obviously have to take some consideration of, their numbers still remain significantly below those of the United States.

And so, it's very hard to point at their numbers and say, well, this is terrible, and not also look at our numbers and wonder like, well, maybe what's good for the goose is good for the gander.

VAUSE: So, China having an extra 300 nuclear missiles, maybe 700 to a thousand. Does that change the balance of power in any way? With the U.S. having close to 4,000? I think the Russians have more than 6,000 warheads.

LEWIS: You know, I don't think it does. If you believe as I do that deterrence works pretty simply, which is to say that no one wants to start a nuclear war, because even a few of these nuclear weapons going off in one's country would be a catastrophe of incredible proportions, then no, I don't really think that there's a fundamental difference between having a hundred nuclear weapons or having a thousand. Because, really, if 10 go off in your country, that's a pretty bad day.

VAUSE: A study a couple of years ago found that if a nuclear armed power fired more than 10 nuclear warheads at an enemy, it would pretty much destroy society.

So, anything over 100 nukes seems kind of like overkill if you like, which raises the question of motive. Why is China doing this?

LEWIS: Well, you know, what tends to happen in a scenario like this is a country sort of looks at its nuclear weapons, and it looks at the countries around it and ask the question of, well, what would happen if one of my enemies attacked me with a surprise attack and the Chinese are very afraid that the United States with a much larger nuclear force might in a crisis try to disarm the Chinese using a combination of offensive missiles to take out many of their missiles, and then using missile defenses to sort of mop up whatever's left over.

And so, this is really the fundamental dynamic of an arms race that we saw in the Cold War, and that we're seeing again, which is as we build, they build, and we just go back and forth, and you get these ever-spiraling higher numbers.

[00:15:02]

VAUSE: Where does China get the plutonium for this?

LEWIS: That's actually a really interesting question. It's not clear to me that China has the plutonium in order to be able to carry out the projections that the Pentagon offered.

We have seen Defense Department officials say, well, China has a really big civil nuclear energy program, but then again, so does Japan really.

What we haven't seen right now is a concerted effort by the Chinese to produce large amounts of plutonium. So, you know, I think this is something that we should be wary of, we should certainly be cognizant of it. But there's a big difference between saying the Chinese might want to do this over 10 years, and then actually watching them do it.

VAUSE: Yes, and while he was in Glasgow, the U.S. President was asked about China's military buildup and the possibility of an armed confrontation. Biden talked about what he plans to make clear when he next talks to China's Xi Jinping. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: As you've heard me say this before, my dad had an expression, he said the only conflict worse than one that's intended, is one that's unintended -- one that's unintended.

And so, in my meetings with him virtually coming up, we haven't set the exact date yet. I want to make sure there's no misunderstanding. It's competition, not conflict.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: So, there's a greater number of nuclear warheads make an unattended confrontation more likely or more of a possibility doesn't make it less likely.

LEWIS: Yes, I think it increases the chance that something just goes wrong. I mean, there are all sorts of reasons that might happen.

You know, one simple reason is, when two countries are engaged in an arms race, they tend to be suspicious of one another.

You know, we saw during the Cold War that the Soviet Union really believed the United States might try to launch a disarming strike against it, which was (AUDIO GAP) get all of these systems together, things get really complex.

You know, you get all these kinds of different advice from military officials about having to go first and how quick (PH) your timelines are.

And so, anytime you take a problem like this, and you just make it more complicated, that doesn't really help.

VAUSE: And when you have something, you tend to use it, I guess.

Jeffrey Lewis, thank you for being with us. We really appreciate it.

LEWIS: My pleasure.

VAUSE: Well, Iran has released footage of last month's alleged confrontation between its Revolutionary Guard and the U.S. Navy in the Gulf of Oman.

The video shows what appears to be two American warships next to a large tanker, and smaller Iranian military vessels.

Iran claims it stopped those U.S. ships from seizing Iranian crude oil onboard the tanker. But Pentagon spokesman Edward John Kirby says those allegations are absolutely false. The only one seizing in the Gulf of Oman was by Iran.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KIRBY, PRESS SECRETARY, PENTAGON: I've seen the Iranian claims, they are absolutely totally false and untrue.

Iran's actions, the ones that are true of them illegally boarding and seizing a merchant vessel, constitute a blatant violation of international law that undermines freedom of navigation in the free flow of commerce.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Kirby added the U.S. sent Navy assets to monitor that situation and at no time was there an attempt to engage with Iranian forces.

Investigation into that U.S. drone strike that killed 10 civilians in Kabul has found execution errors were made but says there was no violation of law. Seven children were among those killed in the August strike.

The review found there was evidence children were at the side two minutes before the missile was launched. But the strike cell was not aware of that at the time.

The deadly strike was only added to concerns over how the U.S. handled its chaotic exit from Afghanistan.

Well, phasing out fossil fuels comes into sharper focus in Glasgow, how the COP26 summit is charting a path to cleaner energy, that's up next.

Also, one European country leading the way towards 100 percent renewable energy, we'll take you why they've gone coal free already.

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[00:21:04]

VAUSE: Well, phasing the use of coal, oil and gas will take center stage Thursday at COP26. The U.K. is expected to announce at least 20 countries have agreed to end financing for all fossil fuel projects abroad. So, those (PH) close to the negotiation says the United States will be part of the agreement.

This comes as big money makes a big promise on achieving net zero emissions. Hundreds of banks and finance firms across dozens of countries have signed on to tackle the climate crisis.

We have more now from CNN's Bill Weir.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Of the four main themes laid out by COP26 host Boris Johnson, coal, cars, cash and trees probably is going to be cash that provides the biggest challenge because unlike any other thing, money represents human wants and needs and systems and they're entrenched in so many ways, so many factors to the economy.

The U.K. tried to set the tone this morning by announcing a landmark pledge from 450 different corporations, insurance companies, pensions to go green essentially by 2023. They have $130 trillion under management. But like most things in finance, there's a lot of fine print. Only about a third of that money will actually go into green projects. And ultimately the goal is to reach net zero.

And Greta Thunberg, the youth activist, really put a fine point on what that meant this week when she went viral for leading a profane chant. She tweeted today, I'm pleased to announce that I've decided to go net zero on swear words, for every profanity, I promise to say something nice.

The head of U.K. Greenpeace responded by saying or you could offset it by paying someone else to say something nice in a few years.

Also, on the financial conversation is the promise to start giving developing nations $100 billion a year from richer nations to help them adapt and mitigate.

But again, the fine print shows us that this promise was first made in 2009 and payments were supposed to start in 2020. That didn't happen. But now they say the check is in the mail for 2023.

Again, really complicated thicket of financial ideas, how best to spend the money, how best to monitor it, how best to protect against graft and corruption and waste. What about loss and damages? Could that end up being a major lever in the future here as well.

But the developing countries here are making the fine point that if these bills are not paid now, they will be much bigger in the future.

If you look at the climate cause famine happening in Madagascar right now, a million people starving, children eating insects to survive. If and when that happens in other parts of the world where migrants can move across borders. The bill will come due in a much more dramatic way they say.

Bill Weir, CNN in Glasgow.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: As difficult as it might sound, ending an addiction to coal is in fact doable.

And CNN's Phil Black reports now from Austria, on how to do it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Two power stations near the Austrian city of Graz. The one on the left is retired, a silent minute monument to a recent time when the country burned coal for some of its electricity. The neighboring shiny new gas field facility now does the work.

The upgrade is significant. Austria is one of only three countries in Europe to shut down all coal fired plants. Replacing coal and natural gas isn't carbon free, but it's a step in the right direction.

CHRISTOF KURZMANN-FRIEDL, OPERATIONS MANAGER, MELLACH POWER PLANT: The CO2 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 side.

Austria wants to be 100 percent renewable by 2030. Does that mean this will close down by 2030?

[00:25:07]

KURZMANN-FRIEDL: I'm not sure.

BLACK: Austria embraced a big renewable energy source decades before the first warnings about climate change. Most of its electricity comes from hydropower.

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 Australia'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: And you don't necessarily have all the answers yet?

STRUGL: Yes.

BLACK: But it's important to try?

STRUGL: We do not have all the answers. We have to do research, we have to put strong efforts on innovation as well.

BLACK: 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, all 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 CENTER AUSTRIA: We have many many questions to solve.

BLACK: Markus Sartory is a project leader at Hydrogen Center Austria. SARTORY: Of course, it's a very complex system, but we have the possibility to incorporate the renewables and to build up a new sustainable green energy system. And this is -- this can be done with actual technologies, but it will cost us.

BLACK: At the power station in Graz, hydrogens potential is being tested with a pilot project. The possibilities are vast, so are the challenges.

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: Because it's just too expensive right now.

KURZMANN-FRIEDL: No, it's too expensive, but we have to do the first steps and this is one of the first step.

BLACK: 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.

Phil Black, CNN, Graz, Austria.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Still to come here, well, most countries in the Asia-Pacific have given up on zero COVID. One major country is still holding out, still hoping the strategy of hitting small outbreaks with a sledgehammer could still work.

Also, an arrest after a CNN investigation exposes a scam selling counterfeit and used medical gloves, details in a moment.

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VAUSE: Welcome back, everyone. I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.

[00:30:33]

We're now one year from the start of the conflict in Ethiopia's Tigray region, and with growing fears of an all-out civil war, we're about to look back at what led up to this moment.

Ethiopia is made up of 10 regions, with Tigray being the most further in the north. And before Abiy Ahmed came to power, the Tigray People's Liberation Front ruled the country with an iron grip. The authoritarian rule sparked a popular uprising, which forced Abiy's predecessor to resign in 2018, and he was appointed prime minister.

Once in office, he created a new Prosperity Party, ostracizing the TPLF. Tensions boiled over in September last year, when Tigray leaders went ahead with regional parliamentary elections.

And then a year ago today, TPLF forces attacked federal army bases in Tigray, and Abiy ordered a military assault, with help from neighboring Eritrea.

Over the past few weeks, Ethiopian government forces have launched airstrikes, targeting the TPLF, as well as its infrastructure. The conflict has since spilled out to the Tigray region into the surrounding areas.

The U.S. is now urging Americans to leave Ethiopia, after Tigrayan forces claimed to have taken control of two key towns close to a main road, which leads directly to the capital. And a diplomatic source says rebel forces are now on the outskirts of Addis Ababa, with enough firepower to breach the capitol at any time.

COVID milestone in the United States, which has surpassed 750,000 COVID deaths, according to John Hopkins University. But even though the U.S. had the most infections and deaths in -- of any nation in the world, the Pan American Health Organization says the U.S., Canada and Mexico reported a drop in cases and deaths over the last week. And there has been an overall decline in cases across the Americas for eight straight weeks.

Meantime in Europe, COVID-related deaths in Romania at a record high, with one person dying every five minutes. Romania has the second lowest vaccination rate in the E.U., with no ICU beds available at this moment.

And health officials in Ireland want the public to cut down on close contact with each other. The country just reported its highest infection numbers since January.

Well, the days of a zero COVID policy are quickly drawing to a close in the Asia-Pacific region, except for in China. The lone holdout still hoping to completely stop the spread of the coronavirus. But is that strategy actually working?

CNN's Kristie Lu Stout has our report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): California dreaming in China. Chinese social media influencers pose at a Costco in Shanghai to pretend they're in Los Angeles, a vivid reminder of how long China has been sealed off from the rest of the world.

For nearly two years, most people in China have been unable to travel abroad, due to harsh and lengthy quarantines upon return, as well as limited flights and some delays in visa processing.

The country is sticking to a zero COVID strategy, determined to eliminate the virus within its borders, despite fully vaccinating more than 75 percent of the population.

(on camera): Hong Kong, with its fate closely tied to China, is also in a sort of coronavirus purgatory, with many of its residents, especially expats, waiting for the city to reopen, just as the rest of the region is opening up.

(voice-over): On Monday, South Korea took its first step to what they're calling a return to normal life. Despite reporting thousands of new cases every week, it's easing restrictions, like lifting curfews and allowing some social gatherings.

In Tokyo, curfews were lifted for bars and restaurants at the end of October, despite hundreds of new cases reported across Japan each day.

Thailand, on Monday, started to welcome fully-vaccinated travelers from low-risk countries without quarantine. Also on Monday, Sydney and Melbourne relaxed its border controls for citizens and permanent residents who are fully vaccinated.

Fiji plans to reopen to fully-vaccinated tourists on December 1. Indonesia's resort island of Bali has reopened for some international revivals, while New Zealand has abandoned its COVID-19 elimination strategy.

And Singapore has also embraced living with the virus. The region's shift away from zero COVID follows generally high vaccination rates. Despite a slow vaccine rollout, countries including Australia, Japan, South Korea and Singapore are now among the most vaccinated in the world, per capita.

China, the country where the virus was first detected, is the only country in the region still chasing zero COVID, and it doesn't appear restrictions will ease anytime soon, as the Beijing Olympic Games edge closer and President Xi Jinping pursues an unprecedented third term in power.

[00:35:12]

YANZHONG HUANG, SENIOR FELLOW FOR GLOBAL HEALTH CONTROL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS: To ensure a smooth transitioning of the leadership, bring with that policy might be sustained through late next year.

STOUT: With most overseas travel no longer viable, Chinese officials have promoted domestic tourism instead. But with the highly infectious Delta variant, that too is risky.

A single confirmed case recently sent Shanghai Disneyland into temporary lockdown, and yet, many Chinese netizens praised the government and Disney for what they see as an effective response.

One writes, "Although a pity, this is Shanghai speed, with timely detection and control." In zero COVID China, Disneyland can go into snap lockdown, and

influencers pretend they're in L.A.

Kristie Lu Stout, CNN, Hong Kong.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Since the start of the pandemic, there have been reports of profiteering from the high demand for medical supplies, which have often been in short supply.

Now, the main suspect in a CNN investigation into fake and used medical gloves is under arrest. Our investigation found millions of substandard gloves being sold to distributors in the United States.

CNN's Scott McLean has more now on the alleged scam and the arrest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The CEO of the Thai medical glove company SkyMed was arrested in Thailand on Wednesday. Kampee Kampeerayannon is facing several fraud-related charges.

Thai police say that the SkyMed website is a facade, meant to attract foreign buyers. One of them was an American company called Rock FinTech, which paid SkyMed more than $6 million for hundreds of thousands of boxes of medical gloves but never received any other U.S. customers, told CNN that the SkyMed gloves they received were substandard, or even second hand.

Thai police also say that in June, a Rock FinTech representative even went to the address where SkyMed said their gloves were made but found no factory there.

We interviewed Kampee last week prior to his arrest, and he gave inconsistent and contradictory explanations as to where its gloves were produced, eventually conceding that it has no Thai factory but instead sources its gloves abroad.

He also claimed that SkyMed was the victim of unauthorized counterfeiting by its former distributor, Paddy the Room, which CNN found exported tens of millions of gloves to the U.S., many of them substandard or even soiled and clearly secondhand.

(on camera): Police say Kampee denies all of the charges against him. CNN is attempting to reach out to him through his lawyer.

Scott McLean, CNN, London.

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VAUSE: Still to come here on CNN, for 18 days, she was missing, a little four-year-old girl. But now she's back with her family. We'll have details on the dramatic rescue when we come back.

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VAUSE: For 18 long days, Chloe [SIC] Smith, 4 years old, was missing. She vanished while on a camping trip with her mum and dad in western Australia. And now, we're learning new details about how she was found and rescued, which ended with police breaking down the door of a locked home and arresting a 36-year-old man.

CNN's Ivan Watson reports.

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IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Australian police call it the miracle they were hoping for. The pre-dawn rescue of 4-year-old Cleo Smith, found safe and sound 18 days after she first went missing, an ordeal that began at this remote camping site on October 16.

Cleo's mother says, on the first morning of the family camping trip, she woke up to find her daughter gone.

ELLIE SMITH, MOTHER OF CLEO SMITH: The tent was completely open. It was about 30 centimeters from being open. And then I turn around to Jake, and I was just like, Cleo's gone.

WATSON: The child's disappearance triggered a manhunt that spread nationwide. The state government offering a million-Australian-dollar reward for information, echoed by desperate appeals from Cleo's family.

SMITH: Really, what we need is our little girl home.

WATSON: Police announced they solved the mystery early Wednesday morning.

CHRIS DAWSON, WESTERN AUSTRALIA POLICE COMMISSIONER: The outcome that was achieved at about 1 a.m. this morning, when four officers went in and broke down the door, and found little Cleo in her room. And as you can see, she's alive, she's safe, and she's back with Mum and Dad.

WATSON: Police found her alone in this house in her family's hometown of Carnarvon, some 30 miles, or 48 kilometers, from the camping site.

CAMERON BLAINE, DETECTIVE SENIOR SERGEANT, WESTERN AUSTRALIA POLICE: You know, I just wanted to be absolutely sure that, you know, I've seen that play out (ph). And I wanted to be absolutely sure that it is her. I said, What's your name? And she didn't answer. I said, What's her name? She didn't answer again. So I asked her a third time, and then she looked at me and she said, My name is Cleo.

WATSON: Police say Cleo was physically unharmed and reunited soon after with her parents.

Police have a 36-year-old man, who is unrelated to Cleo's family, currently in custody. They say they expect to press charges for what they describe as an opportunistic abduction soon.

The rescue, which officials described as the result of a hard police grind involving 140 police officers, is now being celebrated across the country. But most importantly, by her parents. Cleo's mother, Ellie, announcing, "Our family is whole again."

Ivan Watson, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: In Nepal, they celebrated the Day of the Dog as part of a five- day Hindu festival called Tihar.

In the capital, medals were given to police dogs with their trainers, after successfully completing training at the Central Dog Training School. They're also honored for their help in security and police cases.

Today is the third day of Tihar, dedicated to the cow.

Thank you for watching, I'm John Vause. Please stay with us. I'll be back with more CNN NEWSROOM at the top of the hour. In the meantime, WORLD SPORT is up next. See you soon.

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(WORLD SPORT)

[00:57:58]

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