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Quest Means Business

IMF Chief Sounds Warning on Growing Risks of Recession; Biden Looks to Mitigate OPEC+ Oil Cut Implications; Teen Iranian Protester Found Dead after Days Missing; Massacre at Thailand Child Care Center. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired October 06, 2022 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:24]

ISA SOARES, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: Optimism as you can see is fading on Wall Street as a Dow dips below 30,000 since losses accelerate, of course

in the final hours of trade. These are the markets and these are the main events.

The IMF issues a stark warning to Central Banks around the world. Swift interest rate hikes could trigger a global recession.

The Biden administration says all options are on the table as it seeks to counter OPEC's oil cuts.

And EU leaders strike a deal with Norway to lower Europe's natural gas prices.

Live from London, it is Thursday, October the 6th. I'm Isa Soares, in for Richard Quest and I too mean business.

Good evening, everyone.

Tonight, the head of the IMF is sounding the alarm about economic instability and is warning the world Central Banks not to trigger a deep

recession.

IMF chief, Kristalina Georgieva said the fund will downgrade its next global growth forecast. She also warned Central Banks against overreacting

to inflation by raising interest rates too high, as well as too quickly.

Speaking in Washington, DC, Georgieva likened the global economy to a ship against choppy waters. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KRISTALINA GEORGIEVA, MANAGING DIRECTOR, INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND: We are experiencing a fundamental shift in the world economy from one of

relative predictability to a world with more fragility, greater uncertainty, higher economic volatility, geopolitical confrontations, and

more frequent and devastating natural disasters; a world in which any country can be thrown off course, more easily and more often.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: Volatility and more uncertainty.

Matt Egan is at the New York Stock Exchange with more. Matt, I think it's fair to say we don't need any more gloom in what relates to the economic

picture, but what's the reality? Break it down from us from the IMF's point of view here.

MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Yes, Isa, another day another warning on the economy. You know, the IMF is just the latest group to come out and say the

obvious, which is that the outlook is getting gloomier. The IMF says that countries representing a third of the world's economy are going to suffer

back-to-back quarters of negative growth between this year or next.

They say that the world economy is going to lose $4 trillion in economic output. That is a lot of money that is the equivalent of the size of

Germany's economy. And you know, the big fear remains the same one that has been rocking markets around the world, including here at the New York Stock

Exchange and that is that central bankers are going to overdo it in their war on inflation.

Here is the key line from the head of the IMF, she said: "Tightening monetary policy too much and too fast and doing so in a synchronized manner

across countries could push many economies into prolonged recession." But the IMF had also conceded that this is not a one-sided risk. There is also

the risk that central bankers don't do enough and that inflation becomes entrenched in the world economy, and that would harm people as well.

And you know, this is not just about this tug of war between central bankers and inflation. The IMF also called out all these other problems out

there. Obviously, the war in Ukraine, skyrocketing energy prices in Europe, China's collapsing real estate market, and extreme weather.

I think if you put it all together, it is obvious why people are concerned about the outlook going forward.

But, you know, hopefully, some of this gloom and doom is overdone. I mean, in hindsight, people were probably a little bit too bullish, too optimistic

in late 2020 and 2021. About the world economy. Maybe the pendulum is swinging way too much in the opposite direction right now. I don't know,

but clearly, there is just a lot of negativity out there right now -- Isa.

SOARES: There is indeed. You said that right. Thanks very much, Matt Egan. Appreciate it, Matt.

Well, an international flight of oil production is clouding that very economic picture. White House officials say the US is weighing its options

after OPEC nations agreed to slash their output.

Speaking earlier, President Biden once again called the move disappointing. It could also be politically embarrassing. Mr. Biden has staked his

reputation on lowering oil prices, he even made a controversial trip as you can see there to Saudi Arabia to meet with its leaders.

[15:05:10]

SOARES: Well, he downplayed that effort while speaking to reporters outside the White House. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There are a lot of alternatives. The trip was not essentially for oil. The trip was about the Middle East

and about Israel and rationalization of position, but it is a disappointment and it says that they're a problem.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: Phil Mattingly is in New York Fed where President Biden just spoke, and Phil, you know, President Biden and other within his administration

have made it quite clear in the last 24 hours as we just heard there really how disappointed they are with OPEC+ decision. Did that decision to

decrease oil production by two million barrels per day catch the administration by surprise?

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: You know, I think you mentioned the potential for political embarrassment. There's also the

potential for political losses based on everything that's happened over the course of the last 24 hours and I think when you look at the effort the

President put in, obviously, you mentioned the controversial trip to Jeddah, the work behind the scenes, which most people didn't even see for

months and months from some of his top advisers to try and clear the way to recalibrate the relationship with Saudi Arabia, in large part to try and

ensure that OPEC+ would continue to open the taps or at least not dramatically drop output targets like they did over the course of the last

day or two. This is a big problem.

And I think when I talk to administration officials, there's a combination of frustration, some outrage to some degree, but also just real surprised.

They got wind of it and kind of like everybody else did via reports a couple of days beforehand, were even surprised that they were thinking

maybe one million would be the target for barrels per day, two million was the higher element of that.

And right now, what they're doing when I talk to these officials is grappling with kind of a convergence of multiple dynamics, obviously

geopolitical, the bilateral relationship with the Saudis, the domestic political issues as well. But the economy, the international economy, when

you look at issues like the war in Ukraine, obviously the price cap that they've been painstakingly trying to put together with European countries,

but also gas prices at home, you can really see a direct correlation between gas prices and consumer sentiment in the US, gas prices and the

President's popularity in the US. Any increase, which they almost certainly will see over the course of the coming weeks is a major problem and we are

just a tad over 30 days out from Election Day.

SOARES: Yes, and that's really important putting that in perspective.

I want to leave OPEC+ for just a second, Phil, because in the last few moments, we've gotten a major announcement from the White House, I believe,

on drug legislation. What more can you tell us?

MATTINGLY: Yes, it is a remarkable moment in the sense that President Biden has always been cool. Unlike many of his party, in the full-scale push

towards decriminalizing marijuana in the United States, it has become a much more popular issue, really almost crosses party lines to some degree,

but the President has not been there. He is taking the first steps to go there.

Today, the administration announcing that he will pardon any simple offenses related to marijuana -- related to possession of marijuana on the

Federal level that will encompass up ten to fifteen people in total, roughly. So not a huge number, but a significant number. He will encourage

Governors to do the same on State laws.

But the most important piece of this is he is asking his administration to expeditiously put together a report and put marijuana is actually scheduled

in the United States. What that means is, if he drops the scheduling down, that would make it a less problematic, a less illegal type of offense. That

should be happening quickly according to administration officials.

This is a big step, and one I would note that several Democrats have asked him to make, not just since the beginning of the administration, but also

over the course of the last several weeks as they look towards those midterm elections.

SOARES: Phil Mattingly there for us. Appreciate it. Phil, thank you very much.

I want to get back to OPEC if I could because the US has already taken some action to boost oil supply. But the Biden administration is on track to do

even more.

The President has already directed the US Energy Department to release 10 million barrels of oil next month from the Strategic Reserve. He said

yesterday that the US would make it a priority to increase domestic production.

The Biden administration could also push for congressional action to reduce Middle Eastern influence on oil prices. The Biden administration says

nothing is off the table.

Kaushik Deb is the former lead economist at BP. He joins me now from New York.

Kaushik, great to have you on the show.

So the Biden administration, as we have heard in the last 24 hours clearly looking to mitigate the effect of these production cuts. How do you think

they can do that and how effective do you think it could be?

KAUSHIK DEB, FORMER LEAD ECONOMIST AT BP: Good afternoon, Isa. It's great to be here.

The option that the administration has in fact to anyone else in the world has are very limited right now. We've seen US oil production pretty much

stagnating over the last three years or so with very little effort in terms of increasing production, and that I think is the key to this problem.

The key is increasing production on the North American continent and making sure that the supplies come to the market much more quickly. Unfortunately,

we don't see this happening by very much and there has been very little action over the last few months and years that kind of give confidence to

any increase -- substantial increase in production in this part of the world.

[15:10:20]

SOARES: And of course, the cut as we were hearing from our correspondent comes after President Biden visited the Saudi Crown Prince over the summer

to try and really help shore up global oil supplies.

How would this reversal impact kind of the US-Saudi relationship here?

DEB: It's important to kind of also recognize that the Saudis have been talking about a production cut, or it is not increasing production by very

much for a very long time now. I guess, since the beginning of summer, it said. Now that they have kind of taken note of slowing down of economic

activity, all OPEC press releases kind of note that a lower economic activity means lower oil consumption and hence the need to reduce

production.

That at least is true in part, too, but also important is the fact that these countries have benefited enormously from higher prices over the last

few months. In fact, the Saudi expenditure -- budget expenditure is slated to go up by almost 20 percent next year, just on the back of these higher

oil prices.

So, I think it's important for the coalition, the OPEC+ coalition to kind of stay together and keep prices high at the current levels.

SOARES: And Kaushik, I mean, just talk us through the consequences for Saudi Arabia, what they could be and other oil producers, let's say, if US

passes this so-called No OPEC legislation to put pressure on the OPEC+ oil group, what would the impact of that be?

DEB: In many ways, the OPEC+ group has kind of stayed the course just round on its six-year anniversary and the Saudis are -- the OPEC+ coalition

itself has kind of talked about keeping group coalition as a number one priority.

In many ways, the production curve that's happened now kind of normalizes the decline in production that we've seen coming from Russia, and a lot of

this increase in production that was projected to come from OPEC+ hasn't really materialized.

So in many ways, kind of this decline in the production target essentially is kind of normalizing what the coalition hasn't been able to achieve over

the last year or so.

SOARES: Kaushik Deb joining us live from New York. Thanks very much, Kaushik. Really appreciate it.

Now, Russia launches a deadly missile attack on residents in the Ukrainian region it illegally annexed just days ago. But on the battlefield, Ukraine

continues to make new gains. We have a story after a short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:15:24]

SOARES: Russia has launched a deadly missile attack on Ukrainian territory as it illegally claims it owned. Officials in Zaporizhzhia say at least

three people were killed in a pre-dawn barrage, which struck a residential neighborhood. The attack came just hours after Russia declared ownership of

the nearby Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant. The head of the UN's nuclear watchdog refutes that claim.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAFAEL GROSSI, INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY DIRECTOR GENERAL: We are here in a conflict. We are here in a war. We want this war to stop. The war

should stop immediately. And of course, the position of the IEA is that this facility is a Ukrainian facility.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: Well, Ukraine meanwhile, says it has retaken 400 square kilometers of territory in the Kherson region.

Nick Paton Walsh is further north from there in Kryvyi Rih and he joins me now.

And Nick what we have been seeing, what you have been telling us for the past few weeks, in fact, are these two kind of large scale, as well as

simultaneous operations in the East and South by Ukrainian forces.

Today, we are seeing a further push in Luhansk. How do you assess these gains, Nick?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I mean, the push into Luhansk is part of the slow incremental work that Ukrainian

forces have been doing there. They seem to build pressure and then intermittently that has an effect and Russian lines collapse.

We don't know exactly what the results and what the pace of this moment of pressure heading east is going to be, but we do know that in the south

there, over the past four days now has been extraordinary series of changes across an area that is very strategically important to Russia.

They have had a lot of forces on the west bank of the Dnipro River cut off from the rest of their occupying force by that river itself, perilous

situation, poorly supplied, and it does appear that because of Ukrainian assaults over the past days since the weekend, just before it, I would say,

roughly about when Russia was experiencing a collapse of positions in Donetsk. They've also been seeing significant retreats down here in the

south.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WALSH (voice over): "We don't leave our own behind," a Russian war slogan, you hear less these days, especially along the road south by the Dnipro

River where the Russians seem to be collapsing since the weekend on yet a third front.

WALSH (on camera): The pace of Ukraine's advance, you can feel on the roads here that is hour by hour, they move forwards this road lined with Russian

bodies, abandoned Russian positions. It is clear people left here in a hurry.

WALSH (voice over): In just the last three days, they've swept along the west bank of the river through Russian positions, the shallow shabby

foxholes of an army with almost nothing at hand. Even what little they had was abandoned, especially this tank, a model that first came into service

60 years ago when Vladimir Putin was nine.

Here, the village of Mykolaivka right on the river is getting cell phone service for the first time in six months and aid. Shells slammed into here

90 minutes ago from the Russians still across the water. It's the price of their freedom.

(UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE speaking in foreign language.)

WALSH (voice over): "The Russians would check on us," she says, "Try to make us vote in the referendum, but we didn't, still we survived. We old

people always have food supplies."

Outside the village are more of the short-lived occupation. Left in the tree line was a sleeping mat and shells.

In nearby Liubymivka, there was heavy fighting Saturday and then Sunday, the Russians just vanished.

Gratitude for aid and liberation going spare to almost anyone.

(UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE speaking in foreign language.)

TRANSLATION: I cry because two of mine are fighting, too. I am crying as I am happy you are here.

WALSH (voice over): Smiles that it is over and shock of how fast.

(UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE speaking in foreign language.)

WALSH (voice over): "It was very scary. We were afraid," she says, "Hiding. They were bombing, robbing. We survived. They ran, the rain came and they

ran."

Signs all-around of how their unwanted guests just did not know what to do when they got here, or have food or beds. So they filled that gap with

cruelty.

Andrei (ph) had a generator and would charge locals' phones so the Russians decided he was Ukrainian informer and beat him.

(ANDREI speaking in foreign language.)

[15:20:10]

WALSH (voice over): "They brought me from here and they put a hood on my head and taped it up," he says, "Then we walked a few steps up and down."

They beat him so badly, his arms turned blue from defending his head, still there months later.

Stalemate had torn these huge expanses up for months. Now, it's broken, as has the fear of the Kremlin's Army here -- bereft, abandoned, filthy, and

vanishing down the road.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALSH (on camera): We are in a very strange time here for Russia's military and its political elite. There are open calls by leading Russian officials

that they need to stop telling lies internally about how badly their progress on the frontline or their retreat, frankly of the frontline is

going, at the same time, oddly, in this parallel reality, Vladimir Putin is signing decrees that suggests that the power station in Zaporizhzhia, the

nuclear power station is somehow now owned by Russia while it's still in the crossfire of the frontlines.

The UN tried to navigate that incredibly difficult safety situation that could impact all of Europe, and also possibly a large amount of Russia as

well.

And so Ukraine is continually moving forward here. There is very little change in that over the past months or so, and nothing that Russia does at

this stage seems able to slow that. And it is extraordinary to observe now what was quiet dissent initially, now bubbling out into the open with even

one official in one of the Russian-occupied areas here in Ukraine suggesting that the Defense Minister, I'm paraphrasing here, but under the

performance like they've seen recently, anyone in the position of Defense Minister should think about taking their own life, quite extraordinary to

hear this kind of rhetoric -- Isa.

SOARES: Important work there from our Nick Paton Walsh and team, in Kryvyi Rih. Thanks very much, Nick.

Well, the EU and Norway say they will work together to lower Europe's natural gas prices. They made the announcement at a Summit in Prague

attended by 44 European countries, but not Russia. Norway has replaced Russia as the EU's top supply of natural gas.

French President Emmanuel Macron said the continent is working hard to solve its energy crisis.

EMMANUEL MACRON, FRENCH PRESIDENT (through translator): I think we are all rolling out economic strategies for our countries that is important. But we

have today, above all, a European strategy that is a strategy for lowering the price of gas.

We are behind the decisions of the Commission and we will talk about this tomorrow, but it is a strategy to lower prices, to have a cap on the gas

that is used to produce electricity. The strategy also for reducing electricity prices and to reform the electricity market.

But at the same time, we will also have to accompany our utility companies. To do that, we get to have European solidarity. That is where the priority

is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: Amid the bitter battle between Europe and Russia over energy supply, Sweden says its investigation into the Nord Stream gas leaks

strengthen really the EU's suspicions of sabotage.

The Swedish Security Service found there had been detonations that caused extensive damage to the pipelines that connect Russia to Germany.

Our Clare Sebastian joins me now for more.

So Clare, talk to me about what Sweden is saying regarding these investigations into Nord Stream.

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So, they have now concluded they say, the crime scene investigations essentially looking at the damage to the

pipelines that is in their exclusive economic zone. They say this concerns Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2, and they say that what they discovered was

that it was detonations that caused extensive damage, and that that strengthens their suspicion of what they call gross sabotage.

Now, this is the end of the crime scene investigation. It will continue. They say, there were certain seizures. They took some things from these

locations and are now going to evaluate them and at a later date, decide whether anyone needs to be implicated and whether anyone can be prosecuted

over this. So that continues.

Meanwhile, Russia today is furious over this because they say that they haven't been invited to be involved in either the Swedish or the Danish

investigations. Don't forget the other leaks were discovered in the Danish exclusive economic zone in the Baltic that their Foreign Ministry

spokeswoman saying that it's unthinkable that this could be done without Russia.

They're trying to discredit the investigation as well saying that, you know, it can't be trusted in the words of the Kremlin's spokesperson today.

So Russia says it is not invited. It is saying that the investigation can't be trusted as a result. That sort of paves the way that if the findings do

implicate Russia, they can deny it.

SOARES: Yes. I mean, we had been hearing for some time since it happened, in fact, this idea of sabotage, right? That we had it from the west, from

various voices and leaders in the West.

Do we know when we're going to have more details or the finger pointing at who that might be directed at?

SEBASTIAN: We don't know. Honestly, the investigation is still ongoing. As I say, it took a little time for it to even really get started because, you

know, at least a few days after the leaks were first discovered, the gas was still leaking out of Nord Stream 1, so they couldn't even get down

there to have a look. So now, they're doing that.

The Swedes have concluded that, but as I say they've taken something out of the -- a few things out of that location and they are now going to look --

[15:25:10]

SOARES: So, the question of who was behind it still very much up here up in the air. Let's talk about what we heard President Macron talk about, this

EU strategy -- EU-Norway plan to try and stabilize gas prices. Do we know what that strategy is? What that plan looks like?

SEBASTIAN: So, they said they are going to jointly develop tools to try to stabilize the market. This is interesting, because --

SOARES: What's that? Tools?

SEBASTIAN: We don't know. We don't know what those tools are. But it's interesting, because what the EU -- I mean, Macron listed all of these

things that the EU is trying to do to bring down gas prices, to bring down electricity prices. It's incredibly difficult because consensus on these

issues is very elusive so far. Things like capping the price, people are worried that that will send suppliers elsewhere where they can get higher

prices, things like that.

When it comes to Norway, I think it's less controversial because Norway has already overtaken as you noted Russia as Europe's top energy supplier. It

has now committed today in this joint statement with the EU to keep doing that and in addition to jointly develop these tools, we don't know what

they are, but it is much less controversial if you're looking at simply going somewhere else for your supplier. Norway has proven itself to be a

reliable supplier.

SOARES: And do we have a timeline how quickly they want to put this strategy into action?

SEBASTIAN: No.

SOARES: Okay, well, we shall see. Lots of -- great plan.

SEBASTIAN: Yes.

SOARES: We have a plan, we shall wait for the rest.

Clare Sebastian, thank you very much.

Now after the break, really, truly heartbreaking story of shock, as well as horror in Thailand, after a massacre at a child care center.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SOARES: Hello, I'm Isa Soares. There will be more QUEST MEANS BUSINESS in a moment when we'll be on the streets of Iran where protesters' death is

fueling more outrage.

[15:30:00]

And Rome's airport is finding a new way to bypass the city's notorious traffic. The airport CEO will tell us about the experimental Volocopter.

Before that, this is CNN, where the news always comes first.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

SOARES (voice-over): The U.S., South Korea and Japan are responding to North Korea's latest ballistic missile test with their own show of force.

The U.S. Defense Department released these images of the American warships taking part in trilateral exercises in the Sea of Japan.

This comes after North Korea's six missile test in less than two weeks.

Greek Coast Guard officials have rescued 18 migrants from a shipwreck near the island of Kythira. This is one of two migrant boats that wrecked

Wednesday. The other was near Lesbos. The death toll from the shipwreck has now climbed to 18.

Starting on Friday, air travelers arriving in the U.S. from Uganda will be sent to one of five airports for Ebola screening. Uganda's racing to

contain an outbreak of the virus. The World Health Organization has confirmed 44 cases in the East African country; nearly 2 dozen more are

suspected.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

SOARES: Now to a truly awful story out of Thailand. At least 36 people were killed in a massacre at a child care center yesterday. Most of them are

young children. Thailand's central investigation bureau says the attacker was a 34 year old former policeman.

One teacher said he used multiple firearms and a knife during his assault. The attacker then killed his wife and stepson before taking his own life.

For those who witnessed the massacre, there is shock and there is disbelief. CNN's Selina Wang hears from a teacher, who describes how this

horrific event unfolded.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SELINA WANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A daycare center teacher describes the moment a former police officer storms the nursery and pulls a

gun from his waist and aimed it at her face.

More than 20 children killed during their lunchtime map. A massacre inside a nursery in a small and peaceful town around 450 kilometers northeast of

Bangkok.

"I didn't expect he would also kill the kids," she says.

Describing how he repeatedly used a knife to kill the children and a pregnant teacher, who she says died inside the room.

By the roadside, the body of the women allegedly run down by the shooter as he drove away in his car. Officials identifying him as 34-year-old Panya

Kamrab, a former police officer, who had been fired and was in court earlier Thursday on a drug charge just hours before the shooting.

Police say that he went to the child care center looking for his 2-year-old stepson. Discovering the boy was not there, the man began shooting and

stabbing people at the nursery; later driving home, killing his wife and stepson before taking his own life.

Ambulances and medical workers rushed to the nursery. Family members of the victims were weeping outside of the building.

Thailand's prime minister wrote in a statement, I would like to express my deepest condolences to the families and the injured. I've instructed the

national police chief to quickly enforce the law and all concerned parties to give help and rehabilitate those who were affected urgently.

The prime minister has ordered an urgent investigation into what is now the country's deadliest ever massacre, carried out by a lone perpetrator. The

country left in shock and horror -- Selina Wang, CNN, Tokyo.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOARES: Blake Essig has following the story.

Blake, this is viewers watching, just incredibly distressing. What

more can you tell us at this hour about the victims?

BLAKE ESSIG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There were dozens of victims, the majority of them children. This heartbreaking story played out in the early

afternoon on Thursday in a province located in the northeast of Thailand.

This is a peaceful, quiet area. It is not known for violence. It is now believed to be the scene of Thailand's deadliest massacre ever carried out

by a single person. According to officials with Thailand's criminal investigation bureau, the attacker armed with multiple guns and a knife

entered the nursery while these kids were asleep.

Out of the 24 kids inside the, nursery police say 23 of them, some as young as 2 years old, were killed. According to the police, chief most of the

victims were killed with the attacker's knife.

[15:35:00]

ESSIG: He said that it seems if the victim was a kid, the attacker would have used a knife. One of the school teachers said that she was eating

lunch with coworkers when the attack started, said she heard what sounded like fireworks and described the moment the attacker shot and kicked in the

door before entering the nursery.

She said what she saw next was the attacker using his knife to hit the dead bodies of these kids over and over again.

Police say the suspect shot and stabbed his victims before he fled the nursery, trying to kill everyone he could on his way out, whether it was

with, guns, knives or trying to hit people with his car in the process of leaving.

Investigators immediately launched a manhunt for the suspect who returned home. He ended up killing his wife and 2-year-old stepson before taking his

own life. In the end, at least 36 people are dead, including 24 children and another 10 people are injured, six of them seriously injured.

SOARES: My heart breaks for all of these families. You have just outlined the horrific details. We know the attacker was a 34-year-old former

policeman.

Do you know about the motive?

What do we know about this man?

ESSIG: I think we're going to learn a lot more about potential motive in the days and weeks to come. What we do know about this man, he is a former

police officer who was dismissed from duty. He was charged with a drug related offense last year.

His police chief said the possession charge is a result of confessing to taking and possessing crystal meth and "crazy medicine," a combination of

meth and caffeine. The police say the attacker appeared in court on a drug charge just a few hours before the massacre took place, with a verdict

expected just a day later today on Friday.

Police say that the attacker's 2-year-old stepson was also enrolled in the child care center that was attacked. Officials say this 34-year old went

there looking for the child who wasn't there at the time. It was then that this horrific attack played out. Isa, it is absolutely heartbreaking.

SOARES: It is incredibly distressing as well. Blake, thank you very much for bringing us up to speed on what's happening. Thank you.

Now an Iranian teen who posted a video on social media burning her headscarf has been found dead 10 days after she disappeared while

protesting in Tehran. Iranian authorities say eight people have been arrested in relation to her death. Even so, it appears to be fueling fresh

anger. CNN's Jomana Karadsheh has the story for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is Nika Shahkarami, one of the thousands of young Iranians who took to the streets on September

20th. But Nika never made it back home. She disappeared.

10 days later, her parents found her, a lifeless body at the morgue of a detention center in Tehran. Nika's aunt spoke out in a BBC Persia

interview.

ATASH SHAHKARAMI, NIKA'S AUNT (through translator): I was in contact with her until 7:00 p.m. on September 20th, her friend said Nika put a story on

Instagram to show she had burned her headscarf and she said to her friend, she was running away because security agents were after her. That was the

last contact from her.

KARADSHEH (voice-over): According to her aunt, Nika's phone was switched off and her social media accounts deactivated.

SHAHKARAMI (through translator): At the morgue, they showed the body. They only allowed her mother and her brother to identify the face. They were not

allowed to unzip the cover to see the torso.

KARADSHEH: While the circumstances of her death remain unclear, human rights groups have documented the brutal force used against protesters.

Iranian security forces have dragged unveiled women by their hair, with some also reportedly sexually assaulted according to Amnesty International,

Iranian state media released the CCTV video that investigators say shows Nika going into a building, possibly falling from it later. They say

they've arrested eight workers who were there.

Authorities say there is no evidence the teenager was killed by police. Prosecutors say they've launched an investigation into her death. That

comes just weeks after Mahsa Amini collapsed and died in morality police custody.

Amini's family say doctors told them she had head trauma and believe she was beaten to death. Police said the 22-year-old died of a heart attack,

they deny any wrongdoing. And it's been nearly three weeks since that investigation was announced.

Nika's funeral, this mourner cries, today was your birthday. Congratulations on your martyrdom.

Nika Shahkarami was buried on what would have been her 17th birthday -- Jomana Karadsheh, CNN, Istanbul.

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[15:40:00]

SOARES: We will continue to stay on top of that story for you.

Still to come on "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS," skip the traffic gridlock and take an air taxi to and from the airport. Rome is testing to see if it could be

a viable option for passengers in the near future. That story after this break.

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SOARES: Every year at least 14 million tons of plastic find its way into the oceans, threatening marine life, contributing to climate change and

even impacting human health. Today on Call to Earth, an organizations in South Africa is tackling the problem with a unique multi-pronged approach.

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BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: Lush vegetation flanks this peaceful South African river, water flowing smooth and unhindered. But a

bird's-eye view reveals a grim detail. Plastic waste threatening its beauty and all forms of life that depend on this water to survive.

FABIAN LEBRON, THE LITTERBOOM PROJECT (voice-over): There's so much stuff that it is really mind-boggling. And even the community also, they will

tell us like what it looked like before and what it looks like now. This makes me glad because we are all making a difference in our world.

WEIR (voice-over): That is exactly what Cameron Service (ph) had in mind when he created The Litterboom Project, devoted to river cleaning because

80 percent to 90 percent of the plastic in the oceans comes from river systems.

CAMERON SERVICE, THE LITTERBOOM PROJECT (voice-over): For us it's always been with the intention of trying to remove all the plastic from the ocean,

to restore the pristine beauty of the oceans and rivers back to their original state.

WEIR (voice-over): Formed in 2017, the young nonprofit took an innovative approach to cleaning rivers.

SERVICE (voice-over): We set up a black HTP path across the river, that sits on top of the water. We tension it in such a way that the floating

plastic pollution gets caught in the Litterboom.

[15:45:00]

SERVICE (voice-over): And our teams who collect daily will remove the plastic from the rivers and sort it.

We are in six rivers in (INAUDIBLE) and three rivers in Cape Town. We've collected over 350,000 kilograms of plastic from the rivers. And we've

offset about 250,000 kilograms of plastic through cycling in innovation initiatives.

WEIR (voice-over): Amid the success, the company continues to improve on this process.

KYLE MACLEAN, THE LITTERBOOM PROJECT (voice-over): We installed two time lapse cameras here on the river. And they take pictures every 30 minutes.

Using algorithm software, we (INAUDIBLE) the amount of plastics that are intercepted by the booms.

It's not just useful for the amounts or the compositions. If we know a lot of the product is coming from the food and beverage industry, that puts

pressure.

Then we know where to channel our efforts and litigation measures.

WEIR (voice-over): Not all the plastic they collect is recyclable. But they strive to repurpose as many items as they can.

SERVICE (voice-over): One of the challenges we face is that no one is taking the non-recyclable plastics and we have a partnership with a company

in Cape Town, CRDC, which is one of the many projects that are really focusing on postconsumer innovation. Taking the plastic and putting it into

building bricks that are approved so that they can be used commercially in South Africa.

ABRAHAM AVENANT, CRDC (voice-over): We have tested over 60 different sample of plastic feedstock. It has very high success rates which makes this a new

game-changer within the industry.

WEIR (voice-over): While the potential of these new products is promising, the founder of this project believes so much more needs to be done.

SERVICE (voice-over): It's important we don't see this as a stand-alone solution. There's still needs to be responsibility to reducing the amount

of plastic being created in the first place.

WEIR (voice-over): Cameron dreams of a day when Litterbooms are cleaning rivers around the world but right now he's focused on the water and the

people that he knows best.

SERVICE (voice-over): We want to take a deep dive into the communities where a lot of the plastic is accumulating because it's insufficient to

waste infrastructure. We've been working really hard to establish land based interception programs.

WEIR (voice-over): An upstream approach to a cleaner and healthier ocean.

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SOARES: We have much more news after the short break.

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[15:50:00]

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SOARES: We have some breaking news through this, Las Vegas police say that one person is dead and several are hurt in a stabbing attack on the city's

famous Strip. The instance occurred outside the Wynn Hotel and Casino. Josh Campbell is in Los Angeles with more.

Josh, what more are you learning?

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, the situation is still very much developing. Police have an incident involving multiple people

stabbed. This in the U.S. state of Nevada. The city of Las Vegas is obviously a global tourist and entertainment district.

And where this took place was near the Wynn Hotel complex. This area was also surrounded by shops. Of course, the Las Vegas Strip is an area where

we often see tourists go to for entertainment, concerts, shows, to take part in gambling in casinos. So popular destination.

The police say around 11:42 this morning the police received a report with multiple victims in front of the casino. They say at least six victims have

been located. One has been declared deceased.

Additional information saying the suspect has been taken into custody. No information yet on whether it's a man or woman. It is certainly too soon to

know the motive it is. But they have a lockdown, massive police presence they say, as they continue to investigate the incident. A stabbing

involving multiple people here in the city of Las Vegas.

SOARES: Josh, I know you'll keep us posted on all the developments and details of course and the extent, of course, of these injuries. Appreciate

it, Josh.

Now still to come air taxes might soon be the answer to the bypass of Rome's infamous traffic congestion. Today, they conducted the first public

test flight of a German made . electric Volocopter. The vertical takeoff and landing aircraft is designed for quick zero emission trips in urban

areas.

Marco Troncone is the CEO of Aeroporti di Roma.

Great to be on the show here. Thank you very much. Talk to us and explain to our viewers how exactly this is going to work.

MARCO TRONCONE, CEO, AEROPORTI DI ROMA: Yes, this is going to work quite simply said. It's a great day because we had for the first time ever a

person up in the air on a flying taxi, taking off from the first airport built in Italy.

It's just like an airport for normal aircraft. It's where these are carried out. And this is right on track in our plan. It aims at having services

commercially available by 2024. It is in two years time, just in time for the jubilee year. It is a key event for Rome and the world and will be a

global attraction.

This is a great project because it gives an idea on how the future will really look and the two key words are technology and innovation and

sustainability. This really looks like a helicopter but it's much more silent and more cost efficient. It's much safer and most importantly being

electrical, more sustainable as it produces no emission whatsoever.

So it's perfect.

SOARES: Just explain to us, is this a two seater air taxi?

TRONCONE: Yes, it starts with a two seater, one will be for the pilot and one for the passenger, so it starts with this configuration. But it's due

to be accomplished by other versions which is a four-seater. And then other products from other manufacturers will enter the market.

But this promises to be the first vehicle to be certified by the European safety agency by 2024. Rome aims at being the first city in Europe to

provide such services.

SOARES: How much would it cost?

TRONCONE: The price everyone is looking at is to start with $150 per trip. But that cost is due down rapidly. The new versions will be entering the

market. Then all the operations will become more cost efficient. So this would be a service that would be available to all.

[15:55:00]

SOARES: And Marco, what type of investment will it take to make these types of aircraft practical?

What type of investment are you making?

TRONCONE: The investment is not very high. It's really with research and development. But concretely to have this up and running it's depending on

the size. As I mention, it's very significantly the largest here in the airport but also it's small enough to be accommodated, for example.

So the amount of investment is not that high.

SOARES: Very quickly, traveling this summer has been quite chaotic and miserable. I think it's fair to say. Your airport escaped the worst of it

but higher passenger numbers, airport worker strikes, is everything handled on your end?

TRONCONE: Yes, the operations went nicely and smoothly. Working times in our airport where we are measured in minutes. So we had no problems in Rome

and we see experience very strongly by September, this is a big month.

We are looking at summer 2023 as a very strong summer, especially from the U.S., the squares of Roma packed with American tourists and we think this

will be the same next summer.

SOARES: Thank you very much Marco, we appreciate it. Best of luck with your project.

We're just moments away from to left trade on Wall Street. The final numbers for you as well as the closing bell. It's right after this.

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SOARES: Just moments left to trade on Wall Street. The Dow as you can see is set to close for a second straight day down below 30,000. Just under 1

percent or so. Still up on the week.

Tomorrow's job report might give investors some clarity and some more direction. Let's look at the Dow 30, you see the effect of OPEC's declining

production and cuts in the Dow 30.

You can see Chevron is up 2 percent. Everything else is much lower. IBM is right here on this corner, down almost 3 percent; 3M, 3.4 percent. And on

IBM, Biden actually visited New York to praising up in his plan to invest $20 billion there. I'm Isa Soares in London.

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