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Hala Gorani Tonight
Chinese Propaganda Warns Taiwan: Prepare For War; Anti-Semitism On The Rise In Europe; Economy Adds 850,000 Jobs In June. Aired 2-3p EST
Aired July 02, 2021 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[14:00:00]
HALA GORANI, CNNI HOST: Hello everyone, live from CNN London on this Friday, I'm HALA GORANI TONIGHT. Twenty years and now just like that, the
U.S. leaves Bagram Air Base. We ask, has Afghanistan been left to fend for itself? Also ahead, sure, it's been fun for fans, but are massive sporting
events like Euro 2020 a good idea as the Delta variant rips around the world?
Ad this Canadian town destroyed in minutes by wild fires, the likes of which residents have never seen before. A closer look at the climate change
that is happening right now. A chapter that has defined America's foreign policy and shaped global geopolitics for nearly 20 years is coming to an
end. U.S. troops have pulled out of Bagram Air Base, their main headquarters in Afghanistan as a full withdrawal from the country draws
near.
The handover to Afghan forces took place without much fanfare, despite the significance of the base. Through the years, Bagram became home to
thousands of service members who saw three U.S. presidents visit and countless military operations launched from there, all in the wake of the
9/11 attacks and with the aim of defeating the Taliban militants. But as another empire fails at imposing its will on Afghanistan, just like the
Soviets did in the 1980s, a terrifying new chapter potentially begins for Afghans with the Taliban once again making sweeping gains across the
country. Anna Coren looks back at the 20-year war with Bagram at the heart of American operations.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNA COREN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The vast might of the U.S. military transformed this dusty airstrip into a miniature city
and the nucleus of America's longest war. Ultimately, that might could not transform Afghanistan. Friday morning, nearly 20 years after U.S. soldiers
captured Bagram Air Base as a launch pad for the war on terror, the last U.S. servicemen and women departed Afghanistan.
A nation not left strong, prosperous or secure despite the sacrifice of more than 2,400 American lives and over 100,000 Afghan civilians, according
to the United Nations. Many of those fallen soldiers repatriated from these runways. Now in the position of Afghan government forces, as they continue
their lonely fight with the Taliban. They are the only ones who will consider Friday's U.S. departure a victory.
AUSTIN SCOTT MILLER, COMMANDER OF U.S. FORCES, AFGHANISTAN: The security situation is not good right now. That's something that's recognized by the
Afghan security forces, and they're making the appropriate adjustments as we move forward.
COREN: Taliban fighters have seized back sways of the country Americans fought and died to liberate. After once boasting a force of over 100,000 in
Afghanistan, there will remain as few as 600 U.S. troops here to provide security for American diplomats.
EDWARD PRICE, SPOKESPERSON, U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT: We intend to maintain a diplomatic presence in Kabul. That is something that is important to us,
given our enduring desire to have a continued partnership with the Afghan government and crucially with the Afghan people.
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm speaking to you today --
COREN: The forever war will continue as Joe Biden wades out of the mire. A mire that trapped his predecessors in a brutal and bloody stalemate. Bush,
Obama and Trump each bouncing in and out of Bagram, pledging Afghanistan will never be a haven for terrorists, as it was when Al Qaeda plotted the
tragedy of 9/11. Those terrorists long since rooted out and destroyed. Now, no guarantee that violent extremists won't re-enter the vacuum left by the
United States as the last American soldiers out of Afghanistan return to a nation that has long waited to welcome them home. Anna Coren, CNN, Kabul.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Well, for more on President Biden's rationale, he made the announcement in April that troops should withdraw by September. Let's go to
Oren Liebermann, who is at the Pentagon in Washington. Talk to us first about the logistics of vacating an air base like Bagram. I mean, people
imagine an air base maybe in their mind as one thing, but really on the ground, you're talking like, you know, thousands of people and fast-food
restaurants and shops and that kind of thing.
[14:05:00]
I mean, this is a huge operation.
OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: An enormous operation. This wasn't the dilapidated runway from 20 years ago that was what U.S. troops
came to. This was a miniature city. As you point out, shops, gyms, classrooms, it covered dozens of square miles, and was the entry point for
the tens of thousands of troops and the exit point for many of them as well. This really was an enormous undertaking to empty out this base, and
many here view it as surreal, that it actually happened. They can't really picture Bagram Air Base without a U.S. presence.
But that's where we stand today nearly 20 years after 9/11, and just a few months after President Joe Biden made clear his intentions. And Biden's
position on this has effectively always been clear. He never approved or wanted a large troop presence in Afghanistan. He didn't approve of and
tried to push back against the troop surge under President Barack Obama. And now that he's dealt with this for years, decades even, and it was his
time to make a decision, he felt the mission was accomplished. Kill Osama bin Laden, that happened a decade ago, and make sure that Afghanistan
couldn't be used as a base to attack the U.S.
One other key point here is the Biden administration says it felt boxed in by the agreement between the Trump administration and the Taliban from last
February. An agreement that effectively committed the U.S. to leave and risked severe Taliban attacks if they didn't. Biden has made it clear it
was not a good agreement, in his opinion, but one that he had to maneuver within in making his decision, Hala.
GORANI: Yes, and Joe Biden's decision, by the way, is not popular with everybody. There are military officials who have spoken to journalists, not
necessarily named in some of the reports, who are worried that a pullout of U.S. forces, a complete pullout, will lead to a collapse of Afghanistan,
and a complete takeover by the Taliban. And Joe Biden was asked about his decision. This is how he responded today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: I think they have capacity to be able to sustain the government. We can be value-added. But the Afghans are going to have to be able to do it
themselves with the Air Force they have which we helped them to maintain.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sir, is Afghanistan --
BIDEN: I'm not going to answer any more questions about Afghanistan. Look, 4th of July, we're bringing our -- we're bringing our troops home. We have
All across America, people are going to ball games and doing good things. This is a good -- I'll be -- I'll answer all your negative questions -- not
negative, but your general questions --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: He was defensive there when asked about Afghanistan, Oren.
LIEBERMANN: He absolutely was. But you also got a sense of for Biden, this is just about done and dusted. His decision has been made and he's not
going back on it, even with the Afghan President Ashraf Ghani visiting just a few days ago. Biden made it clear, yes, the road ahead for you is
difficult, but we'll be there over the horizon, which is the term used here in the Pentagon, helping with support from the outside the country. We'll
have an embassy there, but in terms of fighting the Taliban, that's pretty much on you. The administration is ready for blowback.
Republicans are pinning this on Biden and whatever comes here, and military officials have warned a civil war in Afghanistan, the renewal of factional
fighting, the takeover of the Taliban, these are all possibilities. For Democrats, there is a risk there as well. Biden has weighed all of that.
He's spoken with all of the key leaders here both in the military and in other agencies, and decided, there is simply no way that it's -- there's an
achievement of the broader goal of eliminating the Taliban, ISIS and al Qaeda from Afghanistan. He doesn't want to get dragged into years, decades
even of trying to accomplish that goal. And for him, it was the time.
GORANI: All right, Oren Liebermann live at the Pentagon. Thanks very much. Let's hear from someone who works with the Afghan government, Gaisu Yari is
the head of the country's Civil Service Commission. She joins me now from the capital Kabul. Thanks for being with us, what are your thoughts today
as American troops withdraw from Bagram Air Base, and as the complete withdrawal of American troops nears from your country. What are your
thoughts on this day?
GAISU YARI, COMMISSIONER FOR CIVIL SERVICE, AFGHANISTAN: Thank you. It is a pleasure to speak with you. There are, I think, mixed thoughts, not only
me working with the government of Afghanistan, but I think a lot of people in the youth who are living in this country, there are different kind of
feelings. But I believe that the Afghan government was ready as well as the Afghan people are ready that the U.S. troops are going to finally withdraw
from Afghanistan. But the question remains is that, did they really withdraw responsibly? The question is -- the answer is, no. They basically
left in a position where the Afghan government has to deal with the Taliban right now, and the Afghan government, including me living in this country
right now, are receiving different narratives from the U.S. government as well as from the Taliban.
The fact that we are going into a different phase of war in the country --
GORANI: Yes --
YARI: In one hand, you receive the comments and the feedback that we are receiving the budget and the support at the same time we are not pushing
for the peace process to succeed.
[14:10:00]
That is the wish of the people, including me in this country.
GORANI: What you're saying is that, the U.S., if I'm hearing you correctly, you knew they were going to leave, that, that was not the
question, but you don't believe that the withdrawal was done responsibly. As in, you believe it was too quick that it is leaving your government too
vulnerable to the Taliban. Is that a fair representation of your position?
YARI: I am not sure if we are vulnerable to the Taliban right now or in the whole scenario at all. I think the military of Afghanistan and the
security forces are going to fight. The fact that we are losing a lot of districts right now, and different stories are coming from those districts
under the Taliban control. So, the question at least remains is that they irresponsibly left this too quick. And I think the Afghan government
including the people of Afghanistan already knew this. But the problem is that the narrative now changed, that the Afghan government is pushing for
the peace process to succeed.
But the narrative that is coming from the U.S. and the U.S. government is the opposite. Basically the narrative is about what the support that is
coming to sort of support the military of Afghanistan or the security forces are totally the opposite, which I think at the end of the day, the
story in Afghanistan right now is about war, about conflict, but not the peace process and the peace results in the country.
GORANI: Yes, do you worry then about a civil war in your country that would lead to essentially a collapse of the country and potentially of the
government?
YARI: I don't believe in that. I think a lot of people don't believe in that because we do have a huge support of the people across different
provinces that are supporting the security forces. And the battle -- and people did not lose their moral in a way that we do believe in the security
forces if they receive enough resources to fight. If the story is about war, the continuation of the war, we still don't believe in the collapse of
the government because I think we did develop --
GORANI: Right --
YARI: Institutions that we think are going to sustain. But the problem is that, we -- there isn't any commitment in the peace process. That is the
most concern that my generation and the government of Afghanistan may have.
GORANI: And lastly, I want to ask you about the rights of women. So many women who are in high-profile positions, whether in academia or TV
journalists are being targeted and murdered on the streets sometimes in broad daylight by either the Taliban --
YARI: Right --
GORANI: Or supporters of the Taliban. So, how --
YARI: All right --
GORANI: Worried are you -- as a woman, you yourself fled Afghanistan. You went to Columbia University, you came back five years ago, and you
heroically came back and are working in the government. How concerned are you that some of these rights that women have clawed back are going to be
taken away again?
YARI: Let me tell you, there's a story. I think a week ago, the Taliban came to club house to have a conversation with the people of Afghanistan,
to talk about the peace negotiation and what is their input to come to lead this government. I think that discussion was very important. The first
question, the woman in my generation asked about the Taliban directly was that, do you believe in women's rights and woman -- and the right to work?
Their question was, no. If necessary, then women can be doctors, nothing -- their response was that, their mission is --
GORANI: I believe --
YARI: Democracy, and democracy --
GORANI: Oh, she's back --
YARI: We don't believe in that. So, my last concern is that, yes, I'm concerned that we do have 29 percent of women in the civil service of
Afghanistan right now. And we do have women working in leadership positions right now. And no woman agree and believe that they should be removed from
the peace process as well as the work that they have invested in the past 20 years. We do --
GORANI: Yes --
YARI: I personally, I'm scared that I can be targeted, but I think the Afghan women are still ready to fight.
GORANI: Well, you -- you're very brave in the work that you do --
YARI: Thank you --
GORANI: Given the risks. Thank you very much for joining us, and I wish you good luck. Gaisu Yari joining us --
YARI: Thank you, it was a pleasure --
GORANI: Live from Kabul. Next hour, the U.N. Security Council will discuss the horrifying violence in Ethiopia's Tigray region. For the past eight
months, the region has been scarred by brutal fighting and reports of atrocities by the Eritrean and Ethiopian military.
[14:15:00]
It has plunged the people of Tigray into a humanitarian crisis with hundreds of thousands threatened by famine. And now, a key bridge used to
deliver aid to Tigray has been destroyed. The U.N. says forces aligned with the Ethiopian government are reportedly responsible. Still to come tonight,
COVID cases are exploding at Euro 2020. Hardly surprising when you see scenes like this. More from Rome after the break.
Plus, the Canadian town that became a casualty of the intense heat wave boiling North America up in flames, literally. We'll be right back. Stay
with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: COVID cases in Europe are starting to rise again as the dangerous Delta variant spreads quickly. The W.H.O. says infections went up by 10
percent last week after the region saw more than two months of declining cases. The spike has been fuelled in part by large crowds at Euro 2020,
travel and fewer restrictions. Russia, meantime, has reported its highest daily death toll from COVID for the fourth straight day. Moscow and St.
Petersburg are seeing some of the worst outbreaks in the country.
And officials there are urging people to get vaccinated. There's little pickup in Russia. German researchers say mixing certain types of vaccine
doses can offer strong protection against the virus. They say people who get the AstraZeneca shot as a first dose should follow that up with an MRNA
vaccine, like the ones from Pfizer or Moderna. The studies show that the immune response of a mixed dose vaccination is, quote, "clearly superior",
which is good to know.
Germany's chancellor has spoken with the British Prime Minister about the need to vaccinate more people. Angela Merkel met with Boris Johnson today
and in London and England earlier today and discussed strategies to recover from the pandemic. And during a press conference, she shared her concerns
about all those large crowds at the Euro 2020 football tournament.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANGELA MERKEL, CHANCELLOR, GERMANY: I can only say this on my behalf, that I see this with grave concern. I've also said this to the Prime Minister,
we in Germany as you know, decided to have less people attend games in the Munich stadium, but the British government obviously, will take its own
decision. But I'm very much concern whether it's not a bit too much, yes.
[14:20:00]
BORIS JOHNSON, PRIME MINISTER, UNITED KINGDOM: The position is very clear in the U.K., which is that we have certain events which we can put on in a
careful and controlled manner with testing of everybody who goes there. And the crucial point is that, as I said earlier on, here in the U.K., we have
now built up a very considerable wall of immunity against the disease by our vaccination program.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Well, Mrs. Merkel is not the only one concerned about Euro 2020 matches contributing to the spread of COVID. UEFA is cancelling tickets for
British residents to Saturday's England-Ukraine match at the Italian government's request. CNN contributor Barbie Nadeau joins me now live from
Rome with more. So, Italy is saying we don't want British fans. That's -- I presume, because of the rapidly spreading Delta variant, Barbie.
BARBIE NADEAU, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: That's right. Because of the Delta variant and because of the low vaccination rate here in Italy. Less than 50 percent
of the Italian population has had two doses. And that's very concerning when you've got the variants going around. Now, U.K. residents are required
to quarantine for five days if they come into this country. And they just couldn't be sure that these football fans would be able to do that. That's
one of the reasons they cancelled these tickets.
It's become an opportunity for U.K. residents and ex-pats who live in this country -- of course, they gobbled those tickets up and they will be
filling the stadiums -- won't be the usual crowd, hardly the same energy with teachers and academics and people like that filling the stadium. There
will be a crowd for England, but it just won't be the usual fans. Hala.
GORANI: What is the vaccination rate in Italy?
NADEAU: We're less than 50 percent for both doses, and it's around 30 percent for the first dose. Now, a lot of that comes from the fact that
AstraZeneca was suspended to a certain age group. So, a lot of people that got their first AstraZeneca dose then, have been given a Pfizer just like
the study in Germany recommends. And so, but you've got hesitancy because of that, because there was a lot of mixed messaging about who it's safe for
-- who it's safe for, and a lot of people just didn't show up for their second doses. So, the government and the health ministry are doing their
best to try to convince people that the only way out of this is to get everyone fully vaccinated and get to get herd immunity in place.
Of course, that falls into a big problem here in Italy in the Summer, everybody goes on holiday in August. Those who were supposed to get their
second dose in August, well, they have to come back to their hometowns, will they just skip it? All these sorts of things are what the health
ministry and the Italian government is fighting against, to try to get people vaccinated so we all have an Autumn and another wave like we did
last year.
GORANI: Yes, let's hope not. I think the vaccine cocktails are in our future this Winter. hanks very much, Barbie. After seeing what's happening
at the Euro 2020 matches, there's even more pressure in Japan as it gets ready to host the Olympics in less than one month. The country is seeing a
new increase in cases as more nations send their athletes to Tokyo. Selina Wang is there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SELINA WANG, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We're just three weeks away from the Olympics, and COVID-19 cases are surging again in Tokyo. The host
city is reporting hundreds of new COVID cases a day, topping 700 others this week, the highest daily tally in more than a month. Samoa has
withdrawn its weight-lifting team from the Olympics, citing Japan's rising rate of infections. People here in Japan are also anxious about the games
with just 12 percent of the population fully vaccinated. But the Olympics are still a go with more and more international teams arriving.
Officials said more than 500 participants arrived on Thursday. But organizers are also running into challenges. Two positive COVID-19 cases
have been confirmed among the Ugandan Olympic delegation that arrived last month. This is even though the entire team was fully vaccinated and tested
negative before departure. Since then, organizers have tightened restrictions for participants coming from 12 countries that have been hit
hard by the Delta variant. This includes India, Indonesia and Uganda.
All athletes are tested daily and contact-traced. But athletes from those 12 countries are required to test every day, 7 days before arriving in
Japan. Medical experts also continue to warn that these games could further spread more contagious variants around Japan and around the world. Despite
that, organizers have said spectators will be allowed at the games with the maximum of 10,000 people per venue. But amid growing pressure, the prime
minister has said that decision could still be changed. The games could still be held without any spectators, depending on the COVID-19 situation
in Japan. The country's top COVID-19 adviser has already recommended the Olympics be held with no spectators. Selina Wang, CNN, Tokyo.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[14:25:00]
GORANI: And in Australia, the Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced a quote, "change of mindset", in how the country will get out of the COVID-
19 pandemic. He's unveiled a four-phase plan to manage the disease, quote, "like the flu". And that comes as tougher restrictions ease in some parts
of the country. So, what is this all about? Here is Angus Watson.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANGUS WATSON, CNN PRODUCER: Much of Australia either in or coming out of lockdown as the country battles a fresh outbreak of COVID-19 fueled by the
Delta variant. The city of Sydney, some 5 million people told to stay home until July 9th in an effort to keep out the virus. The Australian
government announced Friday that it would have the number of its own citizens that it allows into the country each week from around 6,000 to
around 3,000 people. Some good news though on Friday, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announcing a plan out of COVID-19. He says that by the end of the
year hopefully, Australians will all have had a chance to get vaccinated. And by then, we might be able to look at more freedoms for vaccinated
people. Here is what he had to say on Friday.
SCOTT MORRISON, PRIME MINISTER, AUSTRALIA: See, a lot of people say, well, why should I get vaccinated? I go, there's not much COVID around in
Australia, I've got more chance of, I don't know, getting run over by a car than I have of catching COVID in this country. And to a sense, we're
prisoners of our own success in this. If you get vaccinated, you get to change how we live as a country. You get to change how you live in
Australia. And I think this is a very powerful message.
WATSON: The Australian government has come under fire for its sluggish vaccine rollout that has been plagued by both supply and hesitancy issues.
Australia is relying on both imported doses of the Pfizer vaccine and locally-produced doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine. That AstraZeneca vaccine
has of course been linked to the very rare chance of getting a blood clot for patients who receive it. That has pushed the Australian vaccine
regulators to say that it should only be given to people over 60, unless someone's GP recommends that they should get that vaccine. That's held up
the vaccine rollout even further. Angus Watson, CNN, Sydney, Australia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Still to come, as Chinese propaganda threatens Taiwan with war if it attempts formal independence, experts say the biggest actual threat
could be a different type of attack. And the painful evidence that climate change is transforming the world and the weather not in some distant
future, but right now.
[14:30:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: China is vowing to "smash" any of Taiwan's attempts at formal independence, warning it to "prepare for war." But is it possible that the
real threat from Beijing doesn't involve bullets and bombs? Will Ripley has this story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: "Prepare for war," the menacing message of Mainland Chinese propaganda aimed at the islands of Taiwan. Military
intimidation in real-time, 28 Chinese warplanes entered Taiwan's Air Defense Identification Zone. Taiwan calls it the largest air incursion ever
recorded. In this exclusive interview, Taiwan's Foreign Minister, Joseph Wu, tells CNN China is engaging in psychological warfare.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOSEPH WU, TAIWANESE FOREIGN MINISTER: They want to shape the Taiwanese people's cognition that Taiwan is very dangerous and Taiwan cannot do
without China.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RIPLEY: More than 23 million people caught in the crossfire, a battle between Beijing and Taipei, a fight for their hearts and minds. I'm flying
to the front lines across the Taiwan Strait to the small island of Kinmen more than 200 miles from the Taiwanese capital, just six miles from
Mainland China.
Kinmen is the only place in Taiwan that saw actual combat during China's Civil War ending in 1949. Many buildings bear the scars. The fighting,
ferocious. Nationalist forces fended off communist troops, effectively shielding Taiwan's main island, warding off a Chinese invasion.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Kinmen people often say only those who experienced war can understand its horror. We have the right to say
loudly we want peace.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a place we call Dal-dong.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RIPLEY: Longtime tour guide Robin Young takes me underground to one of the island's massive military bunkers, once top secret now abandoned. He also
shows me how China's relentless artillery barrage left the island with mountains of old shells. When the battle ended, the shells kept flying.
Local historians say half a million of these landed on Kinmen between 1958 and 1978. But this was not artillery. These shells were full of communist
propaganda. The beginning of what experts call a decades-long disinformation and war, a war supercharged by social media.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RIPLEY: How dangerous is disinformation?
PUMA SHEN, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF CRIMINOLOGY, NATIONAL TAIPEI UNIVERSITY: The danger here is that because I think the main goal of all this
disinformation in the campaign is to create chaos and create distrust.
RIPLEY: Is China doing this exact same thing in the United States?
SHEN: Yes. , definitely. And also in Australia, Canada, also Europe.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RIPLEY: Beijing denies disinformation warfare. China's Taiwan Affairs Office has previously called Taipei's accusations imaginary. Experts say
the threat goes well beyond disinformation. The Taiwanese government says it's hit by 20 million cyber attacks every month. Targets include defense,
computer systems, finance, communications, even critical infrastructure.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): In information security, we believe World War III will happen over the internet.
RIPLEY: Basically, every aspect of our life from which we rely on computers could immediately be turned off.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RIPLEY: Taiwan's major gas company, CPC, was hit by a major malware attack, a ransomware attack on the Colonial Pipeline, which U.S. intel believes
came from Russia, paralyzed the U.S. East Coast.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just imagine what just happened in United States. You could do nothing.
RIPLEY: Cyber is a bigger threat than nuclear weapons.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, yes, from my point of view, because it is happening every day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RIPLEY: Taiwan's president, Tsai Ing-wen when named cyber attacks a matter of national security. Back on Kinmen Island, this 30-foot loudspeaker spent
decades, blasting anti-communist propaganda to the mainland. A supersized reminder of how much things have changed. Will Ripley, CNN, Kinmen, Taiwan.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[14:35:00]
GORANI: The Chinese government has not commented on the accusations of cyber warfare in CNN's report. We've requested a response from China's
Taiwan Affairs Office and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but have not heard back.
Hundreds of people have died as an intense heatwave pummels parts of North America. Now a village that just set an all-time temperature record for
Canada has been destroyed by wildfires. You see some of the dramatic footage there. The small town of Lytton was engulfed within minutes. Most
homes and structures within the town have been destroyed and several residents are still unaccounted for. The fate of Lytton is a visceral
reminder of the dangers of climate change, terrorists we're watching unfold in real time.
Joining me now is CNN's Chief Climate Correspondent, Bill Weir. Bill, thanks for being with us. This heat in the North East and the fires in
Lytton, can we make a direct link with those disasters and climate change?
BILL WEIR, CNN'S CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I think the science is pretty sound behind that. Yes, these are the predictions that were made 10
years ago, even these weren't the extreme, they were more conservative. If you would try to pick a climate change haven a week ago, you might have
picked a town like Lytton. It's in a temperate rain forest, plenty of freshwater, it set a record, 121 degrees Fahrenheit, 49.6 Celsius, that is
higher than the all-time record in South America set in Argentina like over a century ago, or one that the European records out in Athens in the 70s.
And what they're seeing here is a paper that came out in 2018 that says, as the planet warms, you're seeing these sort of wave systems that just sit
and squat and torture communities. You saw the winter version of that in Texas last, you know, few months back, and that's what's really troubling,
is that you -- then that throws off the modeling. And this one is much worse than anything anyone had modeled before.
GORANI: Because usually this time of year, I mean the temperature in a place like Lytton -- and by the way, the British Columbia coroner's service
has just announced that two people so far have tragically lost their lives in the fire in Lytton. Usually, what would the climate be? What would the
weather be in a place like British Columbia, Lytton, this time of year?
WEIR: Yes, mild, you know, in the 70s Fahrenheit, and very moist air up there, again, and plenty of fresh water. But this -- it's -- what's
interesting is my stepmother lives on the Oregon Coast five miles inland from her, the temperature goes up 30, 40 degrees. So it's -- that's what a
changing climate, you know, the earth we grew up on is gone. And we don't really know how this new one works. And so these bizarre anomalies, we're
seeing more and more.
GORANI: And we're seeing rising sea levels everywhere. And these rising sea levels are threatening manmade structures in coastal areas, including
outside Miami, where structures are vulnerable then to being damaged, to being eroded by some of those rising sea levels. Talk to us a little bit
about how much of a threat that is also to humanity.
WEIR: So this story is directly related to the ones that's happening in Canada, because we're paying attention to a hot Arctic because people
tragically are being lost there and suffering. But so much of the Arctic Circle is uninhabited and much more extreme things are happening. And as
that -- those ice caps melt, it's affecting coastal communities like South Florida twice a day, the tides push into that porous limestone. Miami's
built on a dead coral reef. So, the water comes up under into basements, into parking garages. And then that exacerbates the problem, which was --
happened in the '80s when money was cheap and there was a housing boom with really no building inspection.
They used beach sand to make concrete. Well, that's salty, and that erodes the steel rebar inside. So there are countless buildings in Miami that are
really kind of rotting from the inside. And then we have hurricane Elsa, that's headed right towards Florida, maybe early next week. And that's a
punishment. So, we need to get into the, I think, conversation that involves adaptation as much as mitigation, as much as we need to wind down
the problem, communities like this are seeing the results that they need to batten down the hatches.
GORANI: Yes. The other topic I wanted to discuss with you, because you were there not too long ago, is Madagascar. So there is a famine -- there is a
major famine issue there. And the World Food Program is linking this mass famine to climate change. What's -- how does that -- what's that about?
Because I mean so many people -- and we're seeing by the way more migratory waves into Europe, from parts of Africa, where droughts are causing major
issues with food supply, talk to us about Madagascar in particular.
WEIR: So this is the sixth rainy season with no rain.
[14:40:02]
And so they believe the science that more data comes in is that the patterns have shifted off the east coast of Africa there and it is such a
stunning place. I've been reporting there a couple of times. It's -- most of the life there is singular and threatened. And in the best of times,
it's hard to convince a subsistence farmer to leave a lemur in the tree and not feed his family with it. But now there's at risk, 400,000 people I
believe, of immediate starvation because of the drought. There's locust, dust storms in the south air. And again, the sad irony of this is the
carbon footprint of a place like Madagascar is what my neighborhood probably consumes in a day.
GORANI: Yes, but I mean, I remember 10 years ago when we were talking about climate change, we were talking about a distant future for your kids. This
will be difficult but it's come faster. I mean, am I imagining this? But it seems like all these disasters have come at us much faster than we
expected.
WEIR: Yes, and I think that if you, you know, just subscribe to it, fill your Twitter stream with climate scientists and they're gobsmacked at the
speed of this, you know, it's like waking up in the middle of the night when the smoke alarm is going off. You were dreaming. There was a sound in
your dream and then you wake up and realize how loud it is.
It's -- and that's the thing, is this is going to take preparation for communities to realize this is not a passing thing. And things will get
better in Madagascar and Canada in coming years. This is the new reality and the sooner folks think about that, the longer you can push back any
kind of expiration date for life as we know it.
GORANI: Bill Weir, our Chief Climate Correspondent. Thanks very much for joining us. Really appreciate the discussion this evening. A lot more to
come tonight including this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELIE ROSEN, PRESIDENT, GRAZ JEWISH COMMUNITY: After this attack, those warnings of my grandparents have kind of flashback. And this made me very,
very sorry and it brought tears into my heart.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: One man's disturbing story is part of a much larger trend across Europe. We'll look at the rise in anti-Semitism ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: From Germany, to France, to the U.K., anti-Semitism is on the rise across Europe.
[14:45:01]
The disturbing trend is being fueled in part by the spread of conspiracy theories over COVID lockdowns. Our Melissa Bell has that story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Elie Rosen knows all about where hate can lead. His grandparents survived the Holocaust. They always warned him to
keep his head down because there might be more to come. Last August, they were proved right. Rosen was targeted along with his synagogue in the
Austrian city of Graz. Its walls made from the bricks of the synagogue destroyed in 1938 defaced.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROSEN: After this attack, those warnings of my grandparents had kind of flashback and this made me very, very sorry and brought tears into my heart
and face.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BELL: A few days later, just outside the synagogue, Rosen was chased by a man wielding a baseball bat, but managed to get back into his car just in
time.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BELL: Certainly I was scared being physically attacked is a dimension that's different than being verbal attacked, which I'm used to because
anti-Semitism has arisen within the last year.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BELL: In 2020, anti-Semitic incidents in Austria reached their highest level since the country began keeping records 19 years ago. And in Germany,
incidents rose as much as 30 percent according to a German watchdog. Much of the rise in both countries is being blamed on harsh COVID-19 lockdown
restrictions. Protesters demonstrating against the restrictions held signs depicting forced vaccination by Jews. And two people in Berlin were shouted
out by a man who they believed blamed Jews for the pandemic.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KATHARINA VON SCHNURBEIN, EUROPEAN COMMISSION, ANTI-SEMITISM COORDINATOR: I think that anti-Semitic conspiracy myths have been there for centuries. And
in fact, whenever there is a pandemic, they have come to the fore again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BELL: Across Europe, anti-Semitic attacks have been rising for years. From a deadly standoff in 2015 at a kosher supermarket in Paris, to Vienna,
where four people were killed in a rampage outside the Stadttempel synagogue last year. And then there is the desecration of Jewish graves,
like these in eastern France.
In Brussels, Rabbi Alberghighi now wears a baseball cap when he goes out to hide his very identity. "Of course I wear a yarmulke at home," he says,
"But outside, I prefer to cover my head less conspicuously." "It's not healthy," he explains, "to live in an atmosphere of fear and where you feel
hunted. I think that as well as being vigilant, we must tackle the evil at the root of the problem. And that is about being different."
The Holocaust killed an estimated six million Jews in Europe, but as living memory gives way to fading footage, so denial grows and hate speech
returns. As well as the tension around COVID lockdowns, the violence between Israel and Hamas in the Middle East may also drove hate towards
Jews across Europe like here in Berlin, or in Brussels where the chants spoke of ancient battles between Jews and Muslims.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN WARD, DEPUTY DIRECTOR, HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH EUROPE: You see a cyclical increase in expressions of anti-Semitism and alternative Semitic
violence linked to events in the Middle East. But if we look more broadly at the phenomenon of anti-Semitism in Europe, we see that it's much older
and also much wider, and it's really a European issue.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BELL: The hate is also spreading online. According to Human Rights Watch, horrific cartoons like this one, depicting Jews with a big-hooked nose, or
this one in France of a conspiracy theory blaming Jews for the pandemic, and shared, he says mistakenly, by a candidate in recent regional
elections.
The European Commission has a deal with tech companies to remove offensive content within 24 hours, but only once it's been alerted. This is the
memorial in the very heart of Vienna to the 65,000 Austrian Jews who were deported during World War II, most did not survive. It's a reminder of
where words and conspiracy theories can lead. But it's also a reminder of Europe's own very violent homegrown history of anti-Semitism, an anti-
Semitism that has never quite disappeared.
Prayers continue to be heard all over Europe, from the center of Paris, to the old Stadttempel Synagogue in Vienna. Elie Rosen says that his
grandparents' approach of keeping a low profile after the Holocaust was understandable, but ultimately misguided.
[14:50:07]
European Jews keeping their heads down, he says, has not prevented anti- Semitism from rearing its head once again.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROSEN: Contrary to my grandparents, I will tell my son or I would tell young Jewish people to be proud of being Jewish.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BELL: Melissa Bell, CNN, Vienna.
GORANI: Still to come this evening, Virgin Galactic founder, Richard Branson, makes a surprising announcement as he tries to launch his
company's first passenger spaceflight. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: In the U.S., the labor market continues to improve, 850,000 new U.S. jobs were created in June. And that is better than expected and the
strongest gain in 10 months. Lots of hospitality jobs have come back. Now that the economy is reopening a bit, unemployment inched slightly higher,
rising to 5.9 percent from 5.8 percent in May. There'll be a lot more on this on "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS" in a few minutes.
Also, what do you do when you have more money than time and you're a billionaire with an itch to try something new? Well, you launch a space
race with your billionaire friends. And that is what is going on. It is a sprint to the finish. The rivalry took a surprising turn after Richard
Branson announced he would be on a Virgin Galactic test flight on July 11th. That is nine days before Jeff Bezos heads to space. Rachel crane has
more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RACHEL CRANE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: While it certainly seems like a billionaire race to space from the outside, Richard Branson telling me he
does not see this as a race. And that his addition to the flight manifest of this upcoming space flight in just 10 days is not dictated by hubris or
a desire to be first. Branson saying this flight of his is 17 years in the making. And that a successful test flight just six weeks ago coupled with
an updated FAA license allowing Virgin Galactic to now fly space participants, not just crew.
In addition to his engineers going through their paces and giving them the all-clear, have enabled his updated timeline. Branson will be joining three
Mission Specialists in addition to two pilots on this fourth crewed spaceflight for the company.
[14:55:00]
They will travel more than three times the speed of sound to an apogee of over 80 kilometers above Earth, experiencing a few amazing minutes of
weightlessness before gliding back to Earth and earning their astronaut wings according to the company.
The announcement that Branson will be on this flight is a departure from the company's earlier plans to fly four Mission Specialists on this
upcoming test flight. Branson was to be on the next flight, and many have speculated that Galactic's timeline was accelerated following Jeff Bezos's
announcement that he would be flying on July 20th on his space company, Blue Origin's manned and crewed flight of their suborbital system at New
Shepard.
When I asked him if Bezos' plans influenced his own, Branson maintained no, that the seat on this flight to test the astronaut experience was open, and
he wasn't going to let anyone else fill it. He even invited Bezos to his flight, take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICHARD BRANSON, FOUNDER, VIRGIN GALACTIC: I would love Jeff to come and see our flight off whenever it takes place. Now I would love to go and
watch him go on his flight. And I think both of us will wish each other well. And it really doesn't matter whether one of us goes a few days before
the other.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CRANE: Whether Bezos will take him up on the offer remains to be seen. Virgin Galactic intends to conduct two more test flights before opening up
their commercial operations in early 2022 to the more than 600 people that have paid upwards of $200,000 a ticket to ride to space on their system.
The company's saying that they also have a waitlist of people waiting to sign up. Back to you.
GORANI: All right, Rachel Crane, thanks very much. I'd pay not to be on a flight to space frankly. While we're on the subject of space, we're going
to end the show tonight with some breathtaking images from our planet and beyond. They're on the shortlist for this year's Astronomy Photographer of
the Year Competition. Here you see a lavender field lit up by the Milky Way in southeastern France.
This one shows the Aurora Borealis over Kola Bay in Murmansk, Russia. And here is a comet passing over Stonehenge here in the U.K. More than 4,500
images across 75 countries were submitted by amateur and professional photographers and winners will be announced in September. Thanks for
watching tonight, everybody, and I hope you have a great weekend, if it is your weekend. I'm Hala Gorani. I'll be back with more next week but do stay
with CNN after a quick break. It is "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
