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Pelosi Shows U.S. Support With Taiwan Visit, Defying China; Grain Ship From Ukraine Passes Turkish Inspection; OPEC Plus To Produce Slightly More Oil Amid Recession Fears; Zelenskyy Calls For Mandatory Evacuation Of Donetsk; Inside Ukraine's High-Tech Drone Combat Against Russia; Pelosi Departs Taiwan As China Launches Military Drills; Planning For Strike On Al-Zawahiri Went On For Months; Volcano Spewed Unprecedented Amount Of Water Vapor. Aired 10-10:45a ET

Aired August 03, 2022 - 10:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:00:41]

ELENI GIOKOS, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Nancy Pelosi ends her controversial trip to Taiwan as China begins military drills around the island.

And halfway through, the first grain ship to leave Ukraine clears inspection in Istanbul. Plus, fresh attacks in eastern Ukraine as President

Zelenskyy announces mandatory evacuation from the Donetsk Region.

This is Connect the Word live from Abu Dhabi. All right, so the U.S. House Speaker's visit lasted less than 24 hours but the message was clear,

America stands with Taiwan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. NANCY PELOSI, (D) HOUSE SPEAKER: Today, our delegation, which I'm very proud, came to Taiwan to make unequivocally clear, we will not abandon our

commitment to Taiwan, and we were proud of our enduring friendship.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GIOKOS: Well, Nancy Pelosi there, speaking alongside Taiwan's president after receiving the islands highest civilian honor, it was a visit steeped

in solidarity but surrounded by animosity. Beijing deploying ships and planes for military exercises around Taiwan. After repeatedly warning there

would be retribution if this trip went ahead. The Chinese Defense Ministry says those exercises are now underway.

Pelosi's plane took off from Taipei just a few hours ago returning to her scheduled trip through Asia. Following all of this for us, we've got CNN's

U.S. Security Correspondent Kylie Atwood in New York, and we've got Selina Wang standing by in Beijing.

Kylie, I want to start with you. I mean, in the lead up to this is very controversial trip, the big question was, what would her endgame be? What -

- who would she be meeting with? And what would the messaging amount you, what did we learned in this 24-hour trip?

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, well, the Speaker didn't mince words, she was very clear, as you were saying and

expressing U.S. commitment, support, solidarity with Taiwan, and Taiwan's democracy. And I do think it's important to note that this is a

continuation of where Pelosi has been as a politician throughout her entire career. She has demonstrated ardent support for Taiwan.

She has been a vocal opponent of human rights abuses in China. And so I think that this visit for her was really the pinnacle of that. And there

were concerns about the timing of this visit, with China coming up on its Party Congress. But for her, this timing was actually necessary for a

number of reasons. She had COVID earlier this year when she was supposed to visit Taiwan, so she had to push the visit back. She is also not going to

be the Speaker of the House for forever. And so politically speaking, this was an important trip for her.

And then the other factor to consider is just the continued bellicose nature of China's treatment towards Taiwan. And that is one of the reasons

that folks said, she shouldn't go now because they could respond even more escalatory than their actions towards Taiwan in the past. And we are

watching that play out now. We'll see, you know, how that all turns out. But for Pelosi, she said, because of that rhetoric and because of those

actions that is why it's important to demonstrate this support for the U.S., for Taiwan at this moment in time.

GIOKOS: Yeah. And Selina Wang perhaps could offer a bit of insight into Beijing now deploying ships and planes, who these military exercises after

she has now left Taiwan. And we knew that Xi Jinping would want to respond aggressively, but we don't know how this is going to end. What are you

hearing?

SELINA WANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Now, look, Eleni, there are essentially two things that are a little bit conflicting that China is trying to

accomplish. On the one hand, they're saying there is a price to be paid for this kind of high level engagement for what Beijing is calling this

reckless acts of provocation that is sparking this crisis, so that is why we are seeing this strong show of military force.

[10:05:09]

But on the other hand, they're also trying to keep stability, especially given all of the problems at home in China. This is not a time when Xi

Jinping wants a real conflict. So those are a very fine line, then that means that Xi Jinping is trying to walk. However, we are seeing in terms of

the military response, this is an extreme provocation. If you just pull up the map that Beijing has announced of the military exercises, it is

literally surrounding Taiwan. Taiwan is calling it a blockade. And it does appear to be a practice for blockade and China is signaling that it could

shut off the airspace and the sea lanes around Taiwan anytime it wants. It's a strong show of force.

And in fact, if you look at that map, in some cases, it is actually encroaching into Taiwan's territorial airspace, territorial sea. That is a

very, very big deal. And we'll have to watch and see how that plays out in the coming days. But what that means is that this drill is getting as close

as 14 miles from Taiwan shore.

But Eleni, it's not just the military response, we're also seeing economic blowback. Beijing has already banned some imports and exports as well. And,

of course, there are knock on effects if this military drill escalates in the sense that this is a key shipping lane, this could have further snags

for the global supply chain, but it is now going to be Pelosi has gone already. But even though her trip has coming ended, the backlash on Taiwan

is going to last for much longer.

China is not punishing really the U.S. for it. They're punishing Taiwan for this. And many experts I speak to say this is actually leading to a new era

of even more pressure, even more coercion, militarily, politically and economically on Taiwan. So as we look at the legacy of this trip from

Pelosi, that is something that's going to have to be weighed in with the counterbalance of what her trip accomplished in terms of showing the

support for Taiwan, Eleni.

GIOKOS: Yeah, it's extremely interesting. And Kylie, very quickly, is the U.S. right now, and one would assume, they're watching very closely, these

military drills, and as Selina just said, 14 miles away from Taiwan shores. This is a clear provocation towards Taiwan. And as Selina also clarified,

this isn't so much a fight with the U.S., but that Taiwan is now stuck in the middle of this.

ATWOOD: Yeah, that's right. And I do think we should expect to hear some clear condemnation from the Biden administration. We haven't heard that

yet. I think because these military exercises are still underway. It's yet to be seen exactly how close in they go towards Taiwan, how much further

they go than they have in the past. And that will be critical to watch here, as Selina was pointing out.

But in addition to condemnation, does the Biden administration, does the United States feel like they need to demonstrate any military show of force

in the region, you know, potentially surrounding these exercises in response, it's unlikely that they will do that, given they have said to

China, they don't want them to escalate things. So in response for the United States to escalate things, would be quite something. But that is

always an option that is on the table here. So of course, we're watching to see what the Biden ministration does in the days and hours to come.

GIOKOS: Kylie Atwood and Selina Wang, thank you so much for your insight.

Now, you often hear about these Chinese military entering Taiwan's airspace, but since its territory claimed by China, what does that even

mean? For the answers head to our website, we take a deep dive into Taiwan's disputed status and how the rules shift depending on who you ask.

You can find that article@cnn.com or on the CNN app.

The first shipment of grain to leave Ukraine since Russia's invasion has passed a high stakes inspection of Istanbul, that's according to Ukrainian

and Turkish officials, a delegation from Turkey, Russia, Ukraine and the U.N. boarded the ship to make sure it's only transporting goods approved

under the Black Sea initiative.

Turkey helps Russia and Ukraine brokered the deal last month allowing the grain shipments from Ukraine's Black Sea ports to resume after Russia

blockaded them for months. CNN Reporter, Nada Bashir, is following those developments for us from Istanbul. And we've been, you know, over the last

few days watching the shipment very closely because the hope is, this is the start of many more to come. I want you to take me through the

inspection process and now the fact that it's already headed to Lebanon which is of course quite encouraging.

NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER: Look, this has been a moment that many have been waiting for, for weeks now. As you said that really hard one deal mediated,

brokered by Turkey and the United Nations with Russia and Ukraine to really carry out this breakthrough deal to get that grain out of Ukraine southern

Black Sea ports.

[10:10:11]

Now, today, it's always just a week after we saw the opening of a Joint Coordination Center here in Istanbul, we saw a delegation from that center,

as you said there, including representatives from Turkey, the United Nations, but crucially also from Ukraine and Russia boarding. There was

only ship earlier today just off the coast of Istanbul to carry out thorough checks of the cargo on board.

Now, as you understand it, around 26,000 metric tons of corn is being transported by the ship from Ukraine's port of Odessa through the Black

Sea, through the Bosphorus and onwards, it plans to go to Tripoli in Lebanon. But these checks were carried out under the framework of the Black

Sea Grain Initiative Deal, which was signed, of course, in Istanbul over a week ago, in order to ensure that, as you said, it's carrying the

agricultural goods established in that framework, namely as well that it's not carrying weapons.

Now, that has been a key concern for the Russian Federation, but appears now that that ship has passed those checks as carried out by the inspection

team. We were able to have a little look at that earlier today. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BASHIR: A moment weeks in the making, this is the first grain shipment to have left Ukraine in months, charting a carefully identified safe corridor

through the Black Sea before reaching Turkish waters. At the port of Rumeli Feneri in Istanbul, a delegation from the newly established Joint

Coordination Center carried out its first ever inspection, setting sail to board the nearby rezone to inspect its cargo. The Sierra Leone flagged ship

is transporting around 27,000 metric tons of corn to Tripoli in Lebanon. But that's only a fraction of the near 20 million metric tons of grain

still stuck at Ukraine southern Black Sea ports.

(On camera): This first shipment is the culmination of weeks and weeks of negotiations between Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the United Nations. And

this really is a critical test of how well this new Black Sea Grain Initiative can work in practice. The hope now is that this will give

commercial shipping companies the confidence to send more ships to Ukraine.

(Voice-over): A welcome sign of progress for those countries most dependent on Ukraine's grain export. The U.N. has warned that an additional 47

million people have been pushed into a stage of acute hunger as a consequence of the war in Ukraine. And despite positive signs, there is

still a real sense of urgency around alleviating the pressures of the global food security crisis. But with at least 17 ships now awaiting

permission to depart from Ukraine, there is cautious optimism that this hard one deal will prove to be a success.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASHIR: Look, Eleni, well, this has been welcomed as a positive development over the course of these negotiations. There is still concern around

whether or not this will be a success. We've heard from U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in just the last few hours describing this as a

significant step but crucially highlighting that this is only a first step. President Zelenskyy as well responding to this, welcoming of the first

shipment but also saying that this shows the consequences of the war on Ukraine not only how they impact Ukrainian people, but also how it impacts

the rest of the world.

And this ship is heading to Tripoli in Lebanon. Lebanon has long been highly dependent on Ukraine's grain exports and it's already dealing with a

crippling economic crisis. So this will come as a welcome development for Lebanon. And of course the rest of the world where there are many countries

so desperately dependent on Ukraine's grain exports. Eleni.

GIOKOS: Definitely a feed getting everyone together to agree on the shipments. So another hopefully many more of these to come.

Right, so rising oil prices, another effects of Russia's war on Ukraine with increased pressure on other countries to pump more oil. OPEC Plus is

making some moves towards doing that announcing a short time ago, it will increase oil production slightly, just slightly from September. The

announcement follows the group's first meeting since the U.S. President Joe Biden visited Saudi Arabia last month. And that's when he made global

headlines with his first -- hit with his fist pump rather with the Saudi Crown Prince. Now, you can see a picture of that.

Right now, U.S. oil prices are off the highs of a few months ago as fears of a possible global recession threatened to slash demand for crude as you

can see, we're down slightly on WTI and Brent Crude is down 0.2%. Of course, our Clare Sebastian follows OPEC Plus closely and joins us now live

from London, 100,000 barrels after all that efforts that is what we're seeing being pumped into the market as excess or extra capacity. And I

wonder, is this a result of lot of the diplomacy that's been occurring or did OPEC Plus countries certain way of supply demand factors and settle on

this figure?

[10:15:10]

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Eleni, all of the above I think isn't the answer to that question. The U.S. has international

energy envoy, Amos Hochstein on our air a few moments ago, call this a step in the right direction, pointed out that OPEC has been increasing

production over the summer, but others are saying this was really just a token gesture, and barely even that, one analyst told me that this is so

small, an increase that it appears to disregard European and American concerns over high energy prices, especially when you factor in the fact

that OPEC and OPEC Plus have actually been undershooting their production their planned production increases for the last few months.

This does though, of course, provide a mechanism for which those that can increase production, namely Saudi Arabia, and the UAE can actually do so

under this agreement and through the framework of OPEC Plus. Why is it so small? I think is the key question. Look, OPEC is clearly balancing the

demands politically between the thought of in between Saudi Arabia and the U.S. that we've seen. And of course, its partnership with Russia, which

continues to be a key player within OPEC Plus, and will of course struggle to increase production too much because of sanctions and its difficulty in

selling its oil, particularly as we approached that phase then E.U. embargo on Russian oil and also their economic concerns.

The reason why we've seen oil prices coming down in recent weeks is really more to do with worries about demand than supply. There are recession

concerns throughout much of the developed world, Europe, in particular, if those come to pass, we could see demand crater, and then you need to be

very careful by how much you increase supply. So a lot of factors at play when it comes to this OPEC decision. But I think there are certainly those

who are disappointed to see how small that increase was.

GIOKOS: Yeah. So you're saying this is almost like a gesture, because it's quite small. And I was looking at what the Brent Crude and WTI price is

doing today. And it's -- I mean, it's basically flat. We're down, you know, naught point two percent, which is quite marginal. But, you know, here's

the question, just how much capacity is there in the market?

And I'm sure when they're talking about oil supply and demand, they know when oil prices are too high, the consumer comes under pressure, you see

demand destruction. So it's sort of like a negative feedback loop. If we allow prices to remain at these elevated levels. Did they say anything on

what they think on the demand scenarios might be?

SEBASTIAN: Not so much on that, Eleni, but I think that, that suddenly is a factor to consider if OPEC has the power to bring down prices that could be

in their interest given that high as you say, high energy prices are contributing to inflation that we see around the world, which is a key

factor in those fears that economies could tip into recession. And of course, if economies dip into recession, as I said, demand destruction,

that's less money for OPEC members, but they did warn, Eleni, about global emergency oil stocks being at around a 30 year low and making it clear that

perhaps they couldn't even bring up production and us enough to bring down prices.

GIOKOS: Yeah. Well, thank you so very much for that. CLARE, good to see you.

Billions of dollars in U.S. weapons could be heading to this region. The Biden White House has approved potential arms deals with both Saudi Arabia

and the UAE and that's according to the U.S. State Department, which has informed Congress on those proposed sales. The announcement comes less than

three weeks after President Joe Biden's heavily scrutinized trip to Saudi Arabia. For more on OPEC and that possible arms deal, you can check out our

Middle East newsletter. It's where we bring you all the biggest stories and trends in this region and what they mean for all of us around the world.

And you can sign up at cnn.com/MiddleeastNewsletter.

And coming up on Connect the World, Ukraine's leader is telling his people to flee an embattled region but a surprising act of nature is stopping them

from reaching safety. That story in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:21:14]

GIOKOS: Let's turn now to the fighting in Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called for the evacuation of all remaining

civilians in the Donetsk Region. He said the more people who live Donetsk now, the fewer people, the Russian army (inaudible) is being held up by

flooding in the region, one of the only roads out of Russian held territory has turned it into a giant puddle of mud that cause simply cannot get

through.

Now, fighting in Donetsk has been particularly fierce recently, especially around the city of Bakhmut, the Russian -- but Russia has thus far failed

to make significant gains. Our Jason Carroll is on the ground in key for us. And hearing the urgency, Jason, from Volodymyr Zelenskyy to leave

Donetsk. And saying that the Russians would probably kill people that are left behind. It is a stark warning, as we start to hear that the battle is

becoming a lot more fierce than what we've seen in the last few days?

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right. And, you know, when you think about the sheer number of people that have to get out of that part of the

country numbering in the hundreds of thousands, who need to get out and, of course, Zelenskyy is saying that the time to get out is now because he, of

course, is right when he says that the temperatures are going to drop, it is going to get very, very cold. There is not going to be electricity.

There is not going to be gas. That is why you've got this order for people to get out now, while they can.

In terms of fighting, there is still fierce fighting going on in the East, fierce fighting going on in the South as well, especially down in the area

around Mykolaiv, continuing to see heavy shelling in that part of the country as well. Ukrainian forces really putting the pressure on Russian

forces down there in the south. But according to the Ukrainian military, they were able to take out three Russian targets in that particular part.

They say they were able to do that by using Ukrainian planes to take out that target, those targets in addition to that, they say they were also

able to take out a Russian ammunition depot.

So that's what's happening down there in the south. But when you look at what's happening in the east where again, fierce fighting in the East as

well in the area of Donbas. Russian troops say that they were able to take over several settlements. But Ukrainians pushing back on that saying that

any gains that the Russians made there were incremental, and that they were actually able to push them back. You were talking before about President

Zelenskyy. He also weighed in on this topic, saying that at this point, Ukrainian military is just no match for the Russian military forces.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE (through translator): We cannot overcome yet, the advantage of the Russian army has in artillery and troop

numbers, and this is very much felt in combat, especially in the Donbas. It is just hell there, words cannot describe it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARROLL: Of course, the United States has put together that additional $550 million aid package, U.S. officials saying that that will do something to

help the Ukrainians in terms of trying to meet the Russian military might. Back to you.

GIOKOS: Yeah, Jason, thank you so much for that updates. And hopefully those weapons go in quickly to be able to fight back as we sees on Russia's

current advantage. Good to see you.

As Ukraine southern fronts gets bombarded by Russia, the war is also proving to be a faceoff between the two countries over who has more

advanced technology. Nic Robertson shows us more about the drone warfare taking place on the battlefield. Let's take a look.

[10:25:00]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: At Ukraine Southern front, a reconnaissance team leads us towards Russian lines.

(On camera): We're walking through the trees because we're afraid that we might be spotted from above by Russian drones. That's the way they do their

work out here. Hidden by the trees.

(Voice-over): Our destination, a drone team shrouded from the skies. Their mission find Russian forces and pull in artillery strikes. A problem

though, on their first flight of the day, Russian countermeasures mess with their drone, they need to switch out parts before the next launch.

It's nearly impossible to fight off the Russian jamming signal, the commander says, but we have special devices to combat it.

But as the drone launches, it lurches the wrong way, hits the trees, not clear what causes the malfunction.

(On camera): There's a war within the war here, a high tech war, a software dogfight in the skies above the battlefield. And a mistake by these drone

operators can cost them their lives.

(Voice-over): Back at base on a big screen, they scoured the first flights video.

(On camera): The detail is incredible. I mean, you can see exactly where the vehicles are in the trees.

(Voice-over): The operator, a 24-year-old foreman news cameraman.

(On camera): So you're looking at the Russians, but they can be looking at you when you're in the field?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah.

ROBERTSON: How does that feel?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's scary.

ROBERTSON: How scary.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Very scary.

ROBERTSON: Very scary but you keep doing it?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah.

ROBERTSON: Why?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, because we must do it.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Life or death decisions, which targets to hit to save his fellow countrymen.

(On camera): Who's driving along way has no idea your drone is following him here?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah.

ROBERTSON: No idea.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No idea.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Previous days when they've avoided Russian countermeasures, they've had better luck. A Russian tank position hit in

the past week, when they called in an artillery strike as they watched, who wins these drone wars will help determine who dominates the battle space.

And that depends on who has the smartest technology and who has the best traditional frontline skills to hide from it. Nic Robertson, CNN at

Ukraine's southern front.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GIOKOS: As Ukraine defends itself against Russia, many Ukrainians haven't forgotten their battle for same-sex marriage. President Zelenskyy has

opened the door to legalizing same-sex civil partnerships. He responded to a petition calling for same-sex marriage to be legalized, saying all people

are free and equal in their dignity and rights. But he said Ukraine's constitution defines marriage between a man and a woman and it can't be

changed while the country is at war.

Now, still ahead, new images of the safe house hit by U.S. drone killing al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri and the warning from the U.S. State

Department about possible retaliation. Stay with CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:30:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GIOKOS: Welcome back, I'm Eleni Giokos in Abu Dhabi, and you're watching CONNECT THE WORLD. China's Ministry of Defense says military drills around

Taiwan have started. The exercises are in response to a visit by the U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to the islands. She is leading a Congressional

Delegation through Asia this week, and departed Taipei for Seoul, South Korea earlier. The Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry slammed Pelosi's visit

to Taipei as wrong, stupid, and crazy. China is warning ships and aircraft to stay away out of the areas where it's conducting the drills which extend

well into Taiwan's air defense identification zone.

The U.S. is cautioning Americans around the world after the killing of al- Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri. The State Department says there's a higher potential for violence and terrorist attacks in retaliation. Meanwhile, CNN

has identified the house in Kabul, Afghanistan where al-Zawahiri was killed. CNN's Alex Marquardt has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AYMAN AL-ZAWAHIRI, LEADER OF AL-QAEDA: We want to speak to the whole world.

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): New revelations into the counter-terrorism operation that killed the world's

most wanted terrorist. Smoke billowing over Kabul following the pinpoint strike on Ayman al-Zawahiri's house. The windows of that house blown out,

but the structure intact, evidence of the care that was taken to avoid collateral damage.

Aside from Zawahiri, U.S. officials say, no one was hurt or killed. The BBC visited the house now draped in a green covering. The al-Qaeda leader, the

White House said, was killed on the third-floor balcony.

JOHN KIRBY, U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL COMMUNICATION COORDINATOR: In this case, we used an unmanned aerial vehicle with missiles obviously, and

two of those missiles were fired at Mr. Zawahiri while he was outside on that third-floor balcony. The President made it very clear when he made the

decision, but he wanted to make sure we avoided civilian casualties, and we know we did.

MARQUARDT (voiceover): Visual and other kinds of intelligence confirmed that the White House as John Kirby said, but there is no DNA evidence of

Zawahiri's death. The intelligence gathering and planning took place for most of the year. This situation room meeting with top national security

officials was in early July, when President Biden was shown a model of Zawahiri's building.

Confidence had grown that the al-Qaeda leader who had a $25 million bounty on his head had moved into downtown Kabul with his family. He never left

the house officials say, but his family's movements were tracked, and he was spotted on the balcony where he was eventually killed early Sunday

morning Kabul Time with two missiles launched by a drone overhead known as Hellfires, a U.S.-made air-to-ground missile that allows for precision

strikes.

Zawahiri's last recorded message was just three weeks ago. He had become more of a spiritual figurehead than an operational leader of al-Qaeda. But

his presence in the Afghan capital is evidence, the U.S. says, that the Taliban reneging on the deal known as the Doha Agreement, that they would

not harbor terrorists in Afghanistan.

JAKE SULIVAN, U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: There were senior members of the Haqqani Network, who are affiliated with the Taliban, who did know that

Zawahiri was in Kabul. There may have been other members of the Taliban who did not know. We have already been engaged with the Taliban, and I'm not

going to preview any further actions that we will take to ensure that the Taliban lives up to its commitments.

MARQUARDT (voiceover): The Taliban has condemned the strike, but the Biden Administration immediately held it up as proof that terrorists can

effectively be targeted inside Afghanistan with no U.S. boots on the ground.

PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: If you are a threat to our people, the United States will find you and take you out.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MARQUARDT (on camera): There's no doubt this was a sophisticated well- executed strike, but it does remain to be seen whether this over-the- horizon capability, as it's known. Striking from outside Afghanistan can be scaled up and replicated against terrorists who may be less prominent and

live in more remote areas. As for who may be the successor to Ayman al- Zawahiri at the top of Al-Qaeda, experts believe that the leading candidate is a fellow Egyptian named Saif al-Adel.

[10:35:03]

He is believed to have been living in Iran. He has been on the FBI most wanted terrorist list for years, and there is a reward for up to $10

million for information on him. Alex Marquardt, CNN, Washington.

GIOKOS: And let's get you up to speed on some other stories that are on our radar right now. Police in China's Jiangxi province are looking for the

attacker who stabbed several people at a kindergarten. At least three people have died, and six others are injured. China has grappled with mass

stabbings as access to guns is strictly controlled.

A top E.U. official is hoping to revive an Iran nuclear deal while in Vienna today. Iran is sending its chief negotiator there as well. Multiple

rounds of indirect talks between the U.S. and Iran have yet lead to an agreement, but Secretary of State Antony Blinken is backing a proposal put

forward by the E.U. Meanwhile, Iran says, it's continuing to enrich uranium in response to a new tranche of U.S. sanctions.

Public health leaders in the United States want the Biden Administration to declare a public health emergency of arising Monkeypox cases. The WHO and

several states have already declared public health emergencies, but doctors are struggling to access the limited supply of an experimental drug for

their patients. And still to come on CONNECT THE WORLD, a powerful symbol, a powerful statement, so why have the most famous footballers in the world

decided to stop taking a knee before Premier League matches? The answer when we return. And you're looking at enough water vapor to fill 58,000

swimming pools. Coming up, find out what that much water does to our atmosphere.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GIOKOS: We're learning more about one of the most powerful volcanic eruptions on the planet. The undersea eruption happened back in January,

about 65 kilometers from Tonga's capital in the south of Pacific. It sent so much water vapor into the atmosphere, it created an umbrella cloud,

which researchers believed could temporarily warm the earth. Bill Weir joins me now to talk about why scientists were taken aback by the eruption.

I have to say these images are extraordinary. I was also taken aback, you don't have to be a scientist to appreciate what you see but tell me what

happened here.

BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: Oh, it's so awesome, you know, underscore the word --

GIOKOS: Yes.

WEIR: -- awesome on every level, not only just the sheer natural power but the modern scientific equipment that could measure this. This was the most

powerful volcano in 140 years. It was as big as Krakatoa, you can hear it in Alaska 10,000 kilometers away, it sent these pressure waves around the

Earth five times.

[10:40:07]

And now because of this special satellite that can see through the ash cloud, we know that it also put enough seawater in the air that would fill

58,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools to create this umbrella of moisture now, which they think will warm up the earth temporarily, thankfully. This

is a -- it will dissipate but there's four times more moisture in the air than --

GIOKOS: Wow.

WEIR: -- the Pinatubo eruption in '91 there because the depth of the caldera of the volcano was just at the right, it wasn't too deep that the

ocean squelched it, but it was deep enough, about 150 meters that it sent all that water into the stratosphere.

GIOKOS: What a sight. You know, here's the question, I'm sure scientists now are trying to use some of the data from this eruption. What are we

learning?

WEIR: Well, the most interesting thing is something that we haven't really started talking about as a society yet, which is solar geoengineering. This

is the idea that as --

GIOKOS: Oh.

WEIR: -- the planet heats up due to climate change, in order to buy time, scientists are thinking we could mimic a volcano by spraying droplets of

seawater or some other material in the stratosphere using planes or balloons, or rockets. It's hugely controversial. Some scientists say we

shouldn't even talk about it because once you start messing with the earth on that scale, who knows what you'll do to monsoon patterns or whatnot, but

the United States government now has 10 different agencies looking into this.

They just completed their first report on the feasibility of solar geoengineering. There's only about six planes in the world that can go that

high and do the tests but the idea was so controversial, a Harvard study shut down just a small little test that was going to happen in Sweden.

GIOKOS: Wow.

WEIR: The public sentiment is so forced against it but that's where we are now, where very smart, earnest scientists think that this is maybe one of

those in case of emergency break-glass ideas, that we may have to spray sunscreen in the sky. But again, early days on that discussion, but this

volcano will provide some really valuable data to that end.

GIOKOS: Absolutely fascinating. Yes, it's going to be interesting to see how the scientific community responds to this one. But thank you so much,

Bill, for that insight. That was super interesting.

WEIR: You bet.

GIOKOS: All right, something that has become a familiar sight at English Premier League matches is going away. The league captains have decided to

stop kneeling before every game this season. But that doesn't mean they're no longer supporting the quest for social justice. We've got Alex Thomas

with us to explain a little bit more. Tell us why and what does this mean for the game going forward.

ALEX THOMAS, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: So, that was really important when Premier League players started kneeling before games at the height of the anti-

racism movement following the death of George Floyd in the U.S. So, it's been happening for the last two seasons, at every round of fixtures.

The captains of the 20 Premier League teams all got together after discussing it with their players, and said they're not going to do it every

game, they're going to do it in the opening round of fixtures later this week, the last day of the season, and other select matches, including in

October when there's already a kind of scheduled anti-racism campaign in place each season. So, that's caused a big debate, and we're going to tell

you more in "WORLD SPORT" in just a moment.

GIOKOS: Yes. I'm curious to find out why. Thank you so much, Alex. We'll see you right after the break and more CONNECT THE WORLD will continue at

the top of the hour, stay with CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WORLD SPORT)

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