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A 6.2 Magnitude Earthquake Strikes Albania; Landslide Victory for Hong Kong Pro-Democracy Parties; Federal Judge Ordered Don McGahn to Testify; Prosecutors May Be Looking into Giuliani's Business; Priceless German Jewels Stolen. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired November 26, 2019 - 02:00   ET

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

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ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Hello, welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world, I'm Rosemary Church.

And coming up on CNN NEWSROOM, in denial: Hong Kong chief Carrie Lam called Sunday's election results "quite diverse" despite a landslide victory for pro democracy candidates.

A big win for House Democrats investigating Trump. A judge ruled White House staffers can't ignore congressional subpoenas and that doesn't mean they'll actually show up

. In Dresden, a race against time as police hurry to recover stolen jewels before they disappear forever.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): This is CNN breaking news.

CHURCH: We will have those more stories in just a moment but we begin with more breaking news. Officials say at least three people are dead and 140 are injured after a 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck Albania that hit not far from the capital of Tirana.

Journalist Blendi Salaj joins me live on the line from the capital.

Blendi, what is the latest that you have on this devastating earthquake?

BLENDI SALAJ, CNN AFFILIATE CORRESPONDENT: Well, four have now been confirmed dead, Rosemary, so we expect that number to rise because you can tell from the wreckage that there are people underneath,

There's a race against time, trying to pull them out from where they are and you can hear the screams from children and adults stuck here. There's a great deal of solidarity being shown. People are trying to help any way they can.

You have the armed forces and other special units that are trying to help as best they can. They have got some equipment as well and removing the rubble where they can.

And I have some information for you. . At least 300 people have been confirmed injured and are being treated. Over 100 safe this morning so three or four them had been causing all the events but the aftershocks continue.

On top of the hour we had another major earthquake, a 5.5. On the tenth floor on a 21 story building you can see it's still going on and people are afraid. And you can tell that it's a strange kind of day.

People had plan for today; the schools have been called off and authorities are on that scene trying to help people any way they can. Two apartment buildings collapsed in a small town about 30 miles northwest of Tirana. And one of them is six stories and the other is five stories.

About 15 families are expected to be under the rubble. Three people have been pulled out alive there and there is a lot of work is going on at that scene this morning. We had two of our reporters live there covering this.

And another hotel collapsed; about five or six people were expected to be inside the hotel. We're trying to find out more but information is coming fast and changing all the time and the death toll is expected to rise, unfortunately.

CHURCH: Absolutely, it's very unfortunate and a real concern for people there and Blendi Salaj, journalist on the line from Tirana, many thanks to you, confirming that four people are now dead and 140 are injured but we are expecting those numbers to rise.

And there's been an aftershock of 5.5 after that 6.4 earthquake. We'll continue to follow this breaking news and give you the details as they come into us.

Hong Kong's chief executive acknowledges the outcome of the local elections reflects the satisfaction with the current government.

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CHURCH: Carrie Lam held her weekly briefing a day after results showed pro democracy candidates won almost 90 percent of the district council seat. The outcome is viewed as a referendum on the anti government protests and on the Beijing backed leader. Nick Paton Walsh is in Hong Kong and with us now live.

So Nick, Hong Kong's chief executive playing down the landslide victory achieved by pro democracy candidates.

What's the likeliest move when it comes to protesters getting out on the streets?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Possibly not very much. It's entirely possible that the pro Beijing authorities will let this extraordinary mandate for the pro democracy movement slowly ebb over time. And there has been absence possibly of a plan from the pro democracy

movement in the last 48 hours or so. We've seen sporadic protests here and there; some mildly testy last night outside the PolyU campus but there hasn't been an immediate platform or strategy.

There are still the five demands that they've wanted, four of which could be granted and one, universal suffrage, would be an extraordinary stretch for pro Beijing authorities to give. But Carrie Lam is trying to bend the numbers in her favor.

No doubt the results were an extraordinary indictment with 90 percent of the local council seats going to pro democracy candidates and a 71 percent turnout. There's no way any democracy in the world would consider that in dispute.

What is possibly in her favor is 57 percent of the actual votes were cast for pro democratic candidates and 40 or so for pro Beijing. Some here chose this first parcel post system that seem to be backing the other direction.

But these council elections have been an extraordinary moment in what she's done so far. She's said quite a diverse sense of results and the possibility of a negotiation going forward.

What we see on the grounds here though is a flavor of that today, the PolyU campus a scene of intense clashes a week ago but now members of staff are trying to get out the remaining very few protesters that are surrounded by police and possibly a police safety team may go in and coax them out.

What we've saw last night suggesting potential for tension going forward. But an extraordinary win for the pro democratic movement and one Carrie Lam seems to be struggling to find the words possibly to accept -- Rosemary.

CHURCH: What has China been saying with these election results?

WALSH: Initially China said Hong Kong will remain part of it no matter what. And that's the reality going forward and they asked the United States and other countries to stay out of China's internal affairs.

It's entirely possible that the local council elections don't change very much here in terms of the levers of power in Hong Kong, councilors deciding local matters. It's possible that Beijing will see how this plays out.

Some pro Beijing analysts have suggested allowing the pro democracy movement into the fold may allow them to have a legitimate platform that's not on the streets to express their grievances but the reality is that there are many pro democratic protesters waking up to the fact that they have won this extraordinary victory at the polls in the most open elections Hong Kong has.

The next elections will not be anything like as open. And even if they were, Beijing still has hands on the lever of power and that's the ultimate collision course in Hong Kong. It seems like this weekend's elections haven't done anything but give the protesters a sense that they have Hong Kong still phenomenally behind them.

CHURCH: Nick Paton Walsh, many thanks to you live from Hong Kong, we appreciate it.

We turn to Washington now. A Supreme Court ruling will keep Donald Trump's financial records private for now. The justices blocked lawmakers from getting a hold of documents from the president's accounting firm until they decide whether to take up the case.

House Democrats say one of the main reasons they need the records is to see if the president has any conflicts of interest. Mr. Trump's attorneys must file their opening brief by December 5th.

The U.S. Justice Department will appeal a federal judge's ruling that the former White House counsel Don McGahn must testify in the impeachment inquiry. House Democrats have been trying since April to get him to answer questions about Donald Trump's handling of the Russia investigation.

Like many other White House officials, McGahn defied a subpoena.

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CHURCH: The judge served up some harsh criticism of the administration's stern warning.

When it comes to presidential aides, she said, the president does not have the power to excuse him or her from taking an action that the law requires. Stated simply, the primary takeaway from the past 250 years of recorded American history is that presidents are not kings.

Donald Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani hasn't formally been accused of any wrongdoing but that could change, based on a subpoena against one of his associates. It describes a range of potential charges against Giuliani, including conspiracy and obstruction of justice, money laundering and campaign violations and more now from Boris Sanchez.

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BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: As the subpoena reveals prosecutors are considering some very serious charges against the president's personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani. President Trump has been nothing but effusive in his praise, considering that in recent weeks he was relatively mum when it came to talking about Giuliani.

As allies, Republicans in Congress, tried to create some space between the White House and Giuliani, Mark Meadows suggesting that Giuliani may have been acting as a rogue agent on Ukraine policy, doing things with Ukrainians that the president wasn't aware of.

Giuliani this week was asked if he was concerned if Trump and other Republicans would want to throw him under the bus and he joked about an insurance policy against the president that would prevent that. Trump was asked about what Giuliani mentioned and he said he doesn't

know what he's talking about and then he added this.

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TRUMP: Rudy is the best mayor of New York and the best mayor. Rudy is a great crime fighter, is a great person.

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SANCHEZ: After that joke from Giuliani about having insurance against Trump, he backtracked on the statement, saying clearly that he was being sarcastic. He said that his insurance policy is a trove of negative information that he has about Trump's 2020 rival, Joe Biden.

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CHURCH: Joining me now is CNN political analyst and congressional reporter for "The Washington Post," Karoun Demirjian.

Good to have you with us.

KAROUN DEMIRJIAN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Good to be with you.

CHURCH: A lot to work through. Let's start with the Supreme Court ruling that allows President Trump to hang onto his tax returns and financial records for now. A big win obviously for the president.

But for how long?

DEMIRJIAN: That's the operative term for now. We're not sure. There's a pretty swift timetable for motions to be filed in order to continue this level of the appeal at the Supreme Court. And it suggests that we're going to see developments in the next few weeks, although the ruling is not going to have to come down until the end of term.

But it suggests that there is questions and it's unclear what those questions are and why they decided to grant this stay. It's fairly commonplace to grant this kind of a pause but whether that indicates some sort of preference on the bench of the Supreme Court right now to rule in Trump's favor, that is not clear.

He's lost at every level thus far of the appeals court and initial rulings to this point. So it is not clear if this is a temporary hold or indicative of some sort of overturning of that ruling to come.

CHURCH: We'll continue to watch that but also a federal judge said Monday that former White House counsel Don McGahn must testify before the House impeachment probe and that "presidents are not kings."

An appeal will slow this down but what impact might this ruling potentially have on resistant witnesses, John Bolton and Mike Pompeo and Mick Mulvaney?

DEMIRJIAN: For the purposes of the House's probe I think this is a more significant ruling, even if it's not going to last if it's appealed. The fact that the ruling was for Don McGahn to comply with the congressional subpoena sets a benchmark for everyone else that is raising questions about occurring presidential subpoenas in the White House to not comply with this impeachment probe.

The critical one here is Charles Kupperman who is the former deputy national security adviser who raised this question with the courts that is really very similar and John Bolton may following. There is no pending subpoena right now for Bolton's testimony but it's almost obviously to come next because they share the same lawyer and it appears that their cases are the same. A former official served with a subpoena has to honor when the White House says please don't.

CHURCH: To the president's personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani.

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CHURCH: A federal grand jury subpoena indicates that prosecutors are interested in Giuliani's business dealings. This investigation could include criminal charges ranging from conspiracy, obstruction of justice and more.

What does it signal to you?

DEMIRJIAN: It's interesting to see this range of potential charges be on the table for Giuliani. What it suggests is he's in big trouble. Giuliani has been going around saying he's been doing has been on behalf of the president.

Certainly he's been doing things beyond Ukraine but it does raise questions as to what he's doing with Trump's blessing and what was he doing on his own and is there something that he may try to deal in terms of the information he has in return for what he was doing for the president.

Is the president potentially in trouble?

Those will be very interesting points to shake out and could emphatically impact at least the cloud that surrounds the president and his inner team at a point where their actions are being questioned.

Timing is everything because the House is moving very fast with its process and we will see what charges come forward with Giuliani but that court procedure will likely take much longer than the House before it gets to its final vote on impeachment.

CHURCH: Giuliani insists that he has some insurance policy, should he be tossed under the bus. The president doesn't seem to know what he's talking about.

Any light to shed on that?

DEMIRJIAN: Trump said he doesn't know what he's talking about; Giuliani said he was just being sarcastic. But it does raise questions because people in Trump's inner circle have gotten in trouble with the law because of the actions they took before they were on Trump's team or the actions they took while they were part of his orbit.

The president has not been dishing out the pardons lately so given the proximity and close relationship with Trump and his personal lawyer, he has been the most forward loyal footsoldier for the president on television, offering sometimes conflicting defenses but saying he's doing what he's doing to protect the president.

There are questions if there is trouble in paradise and how that will shake out as we go forward with all of the scrutiny of the president and the impeachment question in Congress.

CHURCH: According to House Intelligence Committee chair Adam Schiff, a report summarizing the findings will be transmitted to the Judiciary Committee after Congress returns from Thanksgiving recess. Of course coming before Christmas.

What does that indicate you?

DEMIRJIAN: That they're trying to seize the momentum and go forward quickly with the articles of impeachment and the Judiciary Committee and transfer those to the full House for a vote. They are trying to seize the political moment.

And the fact that they're doing this and we have so many open questions about the different court proceedings and the potential for those proceedings and the witnesses to be part of the impeachment process to go a little slower, we will see if there's competing objectives here.

Do you seize the momentum or do you wait for court proceedings to resolve themselves for more people to depose and testify in public?

And the decision the House is making is to go with the flow and make sure they don't stop things dead in their tracks while the public is engaged with the impeachment question. Whether there are cards left on the table, that remains to be seen.

CHURCH: We'll see what happens, Karoun Demirjian, thank you so much for joining us we, appreciate it.

DEMIRJIAN: Thank you.

CHURCH: We'll take a short break here, still to come. A pair of brazen burglars and a collection of priceless jewels, when we come back we'll tell you why a Dresden museum heist reads like the plot of a Hollywood movie.

London puts the brakes on Uber. Why the city is shutting down the ridesharing service this time around.

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CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone.

A manhunt is underway in Germany after thieves made off with a priceless haul of jewelry. The brazen heist took place early Monday morning and surveillance footage shows two burglars smashing their way into the Green Vault in Dresden Castle and stealing 100 pieces of historic treasure.

A local politician called this loss immeasurable and said it was an attack on the cultural identity of the region. For the latest on the heist I'm joined by Melissa Bell in Dresden.

Do authorities have any leads on who might be behind this?

MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Rosemary, it's been more than 24 hours since this attack on the castle behind me and no sign of thieves that were involved and no signs of the treasure. The manhunt continues and a special police operation to try to find out who was behind this and most importantly where that valuable treasure is.

So many questions still, given what happened at 5:00 am yesterday morning and it was well prepared. It took just a matter of minutes for the thieves to make their way into the building and out with that treasure.

The question is, having gone to the trouble to get into it and carry out the robbery, what was their plan after?

It's difficult to see, according to a number of experts we reached out to, what they could do could with those treasures. This photograph tweeted by the police yesterday showing those 100 pieces that were stolen and how intricate they are and how instantly recognizable.

Art experts said they fear that they could be dismantled to be sold. The director of the state art collection in Dresden said it was almost too horrible to contemplate.

CHURCH: It is sad to think that these will be sold as separate jewels.

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CHURCH: It seems to me that this was a rather easy task of getting in and out of this museum.

What is being said about that?

BELL: Absolutely Rosemary. This is sometimes referred to as the treasure chest of Europe and one of the largest treasures and it is Europe's oldest public museum. They shouldn't have been able to make their way smashing through just one safety grille before getting past the safety glass inside the Green Vault and taking an ax as you can see on that CCTV footage to the window of one of those glass boxes where the jewelry was kept.

It's extraordinary that it's been possible at all. We understand that at 5:00 am security guards were watching the CCTV records saw it in real-time and they raised the alarm and this is standard procedure.

No one expected them to get involved because they were unarmed at that point, Rosemary. They called the police as protocol told them to but by then it was too late. The security breach is also been at the heart of the investigation.

But at the moment, all eyes are on the manhunt to figure out exactly where the men left and -- there was an Audi that the police believe used to escape -- later found burnt out in Dresden.

Have they managed to leave the city?

More than 24 hours after the event.

CHURCH: It is just confounding, isn't it?

You wonder whether the people involved had some sort of understanding of how the building was locked down. Melissa Bell bringing us the latest on this and it's just extraordinary.

It's a homecoming of sorts for a Chinese technology star. Coming up, Alibaba's soaring debut on Hong Kong's stock exchange. Back in just a minute.

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CHURCH: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM, I'm Rosemary Church. I want to check the main stories we've been following right now.

The U.S. Justice Department will appeal a federal judge's ruling that former White House Counsel Don McGahn, must testify in the impeachment inquiry. The judge says presidents are not kings and can't keep aides from taking an action, the law requires.

Albania is dealing with a strong earthquake, officials say at least 4 people are dead and 140 injured, after a 6.4 magnitude quake struck near the capital Tirana. It shook buildings and homes in the middle of the night, local time, and comes just two months after September's tremor injured dozens of people in the same area.

So, let's turn to meteorologist Karen Maginnis, who joins us now. And, of course, the concern as we're seeing is, the possibility of the number of casualties rising, and the problem being that people were in their beds when this hit.

KAREN MAGINNIS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, this was about 4:00 in the morning, Rosemary, a very difficult time, people cannot anticipate that this is coming, whatsoever. You just wake up to a strong earthquake at 6.4 magnitude.

There, you can see people wearing orange vests and they are obviously the first responders, looks like they are hand-digging through the rubble here, where they may be looking for people who are trapped, maybe they are getting to other vital things across the area.

Also, they are reporting, as Rosemary just said, four fatalities, but we really do believe that that number is going to be going up, considering the magnitude of this, at 6.4. The depths of this which was about 20 kilometers deep.

Here are the aftershocks, only three aftershocks. I mentioned only three, only three at 5.0 or above. And you see they're just kind of dotted around this, will continue for weeks, maybe months. The odd thing about this is, we were looking for any kind of seismic activity that's fairly continuous across this region, we just don't see any.

It's not a place that typically sees a lot of activity, as far as earthquake activity goes. But nonetheless, there are still roughly 15,000 people that live in this area. I took a look at the topography here, is a rather steep grade that the houses are built on, so when you get this kind of seismic activity, it very easily shakes what goes on and can crumble and be destroyed very easily.

And you can imagine just kind of the tremendous fear that takes place when you're in your bed, everything is safe, you're asleep at night, and there's something like this takes place. Would you feel a 5.3 or 5.4 magnitude aftershock? Maybe if you're standing out on the street and you're trying to think about how you're going to recover from this. You will probably feel some shaking.

And this is the kind of thing as I mentioned, Rosemary, this is going to continue for weeks or months, but definitely, with something like this, we are strongly anticipating that that fatality number is going to go up sharply, especially as the day continues. Back to you.

CHURCH: Yes, sadly, that is the case. Karen Maginnis, many thanks to you for bringing us up-to-date on the situation there in Albania. Appreciate it.

Well, a committee from the World Anti-Doping Agency wants to slap Russia with a four-year Olympics ban. The recommendation comes from what is, Compliance Review Committee, it also covers world championships and major events.

Russia has been accused of state-sponsored doping before, and WADA investigators think it's still a problem. The committee says Russian athletes who want to compete have to show they're not involved in noncompliance. And athletes cleared during the ban, cannot represent the Russian federation. WADA's executive council will meet to discuss the recommendations on December 9th.

Well, coming up on CNN NEWSROOM, the head of Britain's Liberal Democrats are speaking out on why she thinks canceling Brexit would not be a slap in the face to democracy. Back with that in just a moment. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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CHURCH: German police are searching for at least two suspects, they say, pulled off a brazen heist. Thieves mashed their way into the Green Vault museum at Dresden Castle, early Monday morning. Investigators believe around 100 pieces of priceless jewels were stolen.

With more on this, we're joined by Scott Selby in Los Angeles, he is the co-author of Flawless: Inside the Largest Diamond Heist in History. Good have you with us.

SCOTT SELBY, CO-AUTHOR, FLAWLESS: INSIDE THE LARGEST DIAMOND HEIST IN HISTORY: Thank you very much. Good to be here.

CHURCH: So, what were your thoughts when you saw that surveillance footage of two thieves smashing their way into this jewelry display case with an ax?

SELBY: It's pretty amazing, I mean, normally, these heists are very intricate. And this is a smash and grab, you know, like somebody in your neighborhood smashes a local retail store and grabs stuff. All they did here is they pry to open some iron bars, smashed a window, two of them climbed in, took the ax and then, as you see, they smashed and grabbed everything and got out of there.

They were smart, they set a fire beforehand, they messed with the street lamps, they burned their getaway car, but ultimately, it's a smash and grab.

CHURCH: It seemed very easy for them to get in, then get the jewelry, and get out, didn't it?

SELBY: It really does, I mean, that's the thing, is this exhibit -- this is one of the oldest museums in Europe. They have an argument they are the oldest. And so, maybe that's why the security just wasn't up to snuff.

Normally, if you have, you know, hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of precious stones, you'd have incredible security. But in this case, the thieves saw an opportunity and they took it.

CHURCH: Yes, of course. And, of course, in their original form, these jewels are priceless and easily recognizable, so they can't be sold on the open market. So, what's likely to happen to them next? And how will they likely be sold, do you think, separated, sold in individual portions?

[02:40:08] SELBY: Yes, I mean, it's -- we're going to get quite individual. It's a tragedy, it's really -- it is a cultural tragedy for the people of Sax and the people of the world. It's an artistic tragedy. These are beautiful pieces that, together, are so much more than some of their parts.

But the thing is, there's nothing you can do with them as they are. If you have a diamond-encrusted scabbard for a beautiful sword, you know, anybody would recognize it. So, what you're going to have to do is take it all apart and then probably melt down the precious metals, take these individual stones and transform what they look like.

Because even the smaller ones are very distinguishable as they were cut very differently back then. And the big ones could take some serious, you know, changes. It's really a sad loss to all of us, and we're just lucky that the big green stone was safe in the net.

CHURCH: Yes. That was incredible, isn't it? And now, so we're talking about the three sets of jewelry, containing the 100 individual diamonds, pearls and rubies, and when separated, and re-cut, the stones, of course, that would lose considerable value.

But, I guess, at this point, the burglars don't care about that, all that they are wanting, the smash and grab is the resell, and they're going to do well, aren't they? But can any of these potentially be traced, even when they're re-cut?

SELBY: It depends what they do with them. But, you know, if they're very careful, if they're aggressive, it's going to be difficult. The biggest thing is, if there are new huge stones that come on the market, people might be able to figure this out.

And for instance, the hope diamond was part of a larger diamond for the French kings before the revolution, so it's always possible. But the sad thing is, the more time that time passes, the less likely it is we're going to get these things intact. And once they have been through a process, they could appear in your neighborhood jewelry store in a few years and you would never know it.

CHURCH: Right. And, presumably, they will sit tight for a little bit until people -- well, the memory fades of this. We'll see what happens. We'll continue to follow it. Scott Selby, thank you so much for joining us.

SELBY: Thank you for having me.

CHURCH: And while the Dresden Green Vault robbery may be one of the biggest, there have been a number of daring heists in recent history, and here are some of the costliest, in 2003, robbers stole an estimated $100 million worth of jewels from the Antwerp Diamond Center, after bypassing layers of high-tech security.

They were arrested when police found a half-eaten sandwich containing their DNA. But the jewels, they were never recovered.

Then in 2005, thieves dressed as security workers at the Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, hijacked a cargo truck loaded with uncut diamonds, reportedly worth about $99 million and it wasn't until 12 years later, in 2017, that arrests were made in that robbery.

Then, in 2008, four gunmen, two disguised as women, robbed the Harry Winston jewelry store in Paris. They're made off with more than $100 million in jewels. Eight men were later jailed. And some of those gems were found hidden in a rain sewer in the Parisian suburbs.

And one of the costliest heists came in 2013, when a lone gunman walked into the Carlton Hotel in Cannes, France in broad daylight, and stole jewels on display worth around $136 million. Neither the thief nor the jewels have ever been found.

Remainers versus leavers, Brexit has divided Britain for more than three years, now the U.K. and Europe are in suspense, waiting for the December 12th general election. The results will decide who runs the British government and what happens next in the Brexit mess. The head of the Liberal Democrats says if her party gains power, Brexit disappears.

CNN's Scott McLean looks at how Jo Swinson is hitting back at accusations she doesn't respect the will of the people.

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SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Jo Swinson may be a boxing novice, but she's taking a big swing at Brexit. Despite the unmistakable message voters sent to Westminster in 2016.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 52 percent to 48 percent, nationwide, in favor of Brexit.

MCLEAN: Swinson, the fresh-faced leader of the Centrist Liberal Democrats, is aiming to capitalize on the central issue of the election campaign, Brexit. She's courting the 48 percent who voted to remain, by pledging to cancel Brexit altogether, revoking the Article 50 process, no debate, no vote.

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JO SWINSON, PARTY LEADER, BRITISH LIBERAL DEMOCRATS: This is Democratic election now, and people can make a choice. And if they want to stop Brexit, as Liberal Democrats. We are standing up for what we believe is the right decision.

MCLEAN: Do you not respect the 52 percent of people who voted to leave the E.U.? Or do you just think that you know better than them?

SWINSON: I respect them, and I respectfully disagree with them.

MCLEAN: Swinson's party is polling a distant third nationally, but hopes to do better after making a pack with two smaller pro-remain parties. They've agreed not to stand against each other in 60 constituencies, all at to consolidate the remaining vote.

The Green Party is part of the pact, but candidate Caroline Lucas is no fan of Swinson's plan to cancel Brexit without a vote.

IAIN DALE, RADIO PRESENTER, LBC: I just want to put you had fans on the second, I want to play you a clip. CAROLINE LUCAS, MEMBER, PARLIAMENT OF THE UNITED KINGDOM: You wanted to send a message to something put for many people, but you don't give a -- about what I just said. Why that you just say so?

DALE: Well, Caroline Lucas, you're a potty mouth.

LUCAS: Well, in my defense, I didn't realize that bit was being recorded. So, although I stand by the sentiment.

MCLEAN: On his call-in radio show, host Iain Dale regularly gets an earful from voters who feel like it's the political establishment and the countries elites calling the shots not them.

DALE: There reason to center-left party that hasn't betrayed the vote that the referendum campaign called for.

The people who lost the referendum cannot really bear it. They think the people who voted for Brexit was stupid, sick, racist, whatever. And they just can't -- having come to terms with that result. And I'm afraid. I'm trying to think they ever will.

MCLEAN: And it's not just Swinson, Dale thinks politicians of all stripes have spent the last three years only pretending to move ahead on Brexit.

DALE: What they're doing is subverting democracy and some very dangerous game that they're playing.

MCLEAN: But they're not very subtle anymore.

DALE: Some are more subtle than others.

MCLEAN: Subtlety, it seems is no longer required. Only one major party, Conservative, has promised to follow through with Brexit. The Scottish National Party is vowed to remain and the opposition Labour Party wants a second referendum.

So, while Swinson's odds of becoming prime minister are long, he doesn't need to win outright to derail Brexit.

I wonder what kind of a president you think that sets for democracy.

DALE: There will be a lot of people that withdraw from the democratic process altogether. They will think what is the point of voting if the politicians and the elites of Westminster don't respect that vote?

MCLEAN: Scott McLean, CNN, London.

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CHURCH: And we'll take a short break here. It's on track to be the largest IPO of the year. CNN's Alibaba -- China's Alibaba makes a winning debut in Hong Kong.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) VINCE CELLINI, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: I'm Vince Cellini with your CNN "WORLD SPORT" headlines. Europe stop football competition, the champion's league returns this week, and so thus, Jose Mourinho.

Mourinho, who has won the competition twice will be overseeing his first European match since taking over at Tottenham, less than a week ago. The Premier League club faces Olympiakos on Tuesday. And if Spurs win, they will book a place in the knockout round.

Young cricket star Jofra Archer, says he suffered racist abuse on the final day of the first test between England and New Zealand. The incident supposedly happened after Archer was dismissed for 30, then, walked off the field.

The 24-year-old took to social media after the final innings to claim one guy had targeted him. Both England and New Zealand's cricket bodies have responded. The Kiwi, say they will apologize to Archer and are vowing to use CCTV to try track down the individual accused of racism.

The World Anti-Doping Agency said on Monday at recommending Russia be have with a four-year ban from the sporting competition after falsifying laboratory data handed over to their investigators.

[02:50:02]

CELLINI: In a statement, WADA, said its compliance review committee had called for the sanction which would see Russia ban from next year's Olympics. The agency said, its executive committee will consider the recommendation and propose consequences on December ninth.

And that's a look at your sports headlines. I'm Vince Cellini.

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CHURCH: Welcome back. Alibaba's stock soared on its debut in Hong Kong. The Chinese e-commerce company jumped seven percent in its initial public offering. The listing could race as much as $12.9 billion that would make it the largest IPO this year.

Sherisse Pham joins us now from Hong Kong with the very latest. Good to see you again, Sherisse. So, that's a great start. What are the expectations?

SHERISSE PHAM, CNN INTERNATIONAL TECH AND BUSINESS REPORTER: It is a great start, Rosemary. The expectations were very high. And so far, Alibaba has met them. The stock was expected to pop on the open. Not only has it popped, it has maintained a very high percentage there.

It popped at seven percent as we're heading into the closing of trading day here, it's still up just shy of seven percent. I think the last time I check here, it's about 6.6 percent. So, a really great debut for Alibaba here in Hong Kong. And it is really also a big win for Beijing. Alibaba is one of the crown jewels of China. China wants to no longer be known as the world's manufacturing hub, it wants to be known as a high tech place. A place where high-tech innovation forces and Alibaba represents that.

And the other thing too is that this is also a huge win for Hong Kong. This financial hub has been rocked by months of protests. So, having Alibaba come here have the spectacular debut not only raising -- you know, up to $12.9 billion with this public listing in Hong Kong, having the shares pop on the open, but also just a boost of confidence to the city that has really -- you know, had some tough times over the last few months.

And so, everybody really cheering -- investors cheering to this homecoming, if you will. CEO Daniel Zhang, cheering the homecoming as well because, let's not forget, Alibaba is listed in New York. It's been trading there since 2014 when they had a huge blockbuster debut, and they are still the world's biggest IPO at $25 billion. And today's listing here in Hong Kong makes it this year's biggest public debut to date.

Until, of course, Saudi Aramco IPO's in a couple of weeks. Rosemary.

CHURCH: Yes, a lot of smiles -- no doubt. Sherisse Pham, many thanks to you for bringing us up to date on that.

Well, Uber has once again lost its license to operate in one of its biggest markets, London.

The city is putting the brakes on the ride-sharing service. Saying the company can't even guarantee that all drivers legitimately work for Uber. The company can keep operating for 21 days while it appeals.

More now from CNN's Hadas Gold.

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HADAS GOLD, CNN POLITICS, MEDIA AND BUSINESS REPORTER: Red buses, black cabs, and Uber drivers are familiar sight on London's road. But that could soon come to an end as the regular transport for London says it will not renew Uber's license after an independent assessment found a pattern of regulatory breaches.

London authorities, say unauthorized Uber drivers were able to drive around using other's accounts simply by uploading their own photos. Others they say were able to create accounts even after they had been dismissed or suspended.

As a result, Transport for London says as many as 14,000 trips were uninsured.

SADIQ KHAN, MAYOR OF LONDON: TfL show was the regulator. It's to make sure operators and drivers are fit and proper. And I stand by TfL because our priority is got to be the safety and security of London. And as what is clear to me, is that's been compromised, by the way, Uber's operation.

[02:54:56]

GOLD: It's been a years-long battle between the city and the ride- hailing platform. In 2017, TfL revoked the license over safety concerns but granted the company a 15-month extension.

Uber is important to the millions of passengers, who rely on the service every year.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It will definitely be damage on our fair if there was no Uber. This is such a great service -- you know I mean.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Like, all over the world, you can use on this. It is just like, like click of the button, you know, I mean. So, that be terrible if it did not exist.

GOLD: But in a city renowned for its black cabs, some are pleased with the crackdown.

DOMINIC, BLACK CAB DRIVER, LONDON: I spent three years studying in London to become a taxi driver. To (INAUDIBLE) this, to be a public servant. Perhaps, transport for London. They've come in on the back of Uber and pay 300 for a license. But it's not enough, (INAUDIBLE).

GOLD: Losing London would cost the company. It's one of the top five revenue-generating cities for Uber and the biggest outside of the Americas. Uber called Monday's decision extraordinary and wrong.

JAMIE HEYWOOD, REGIONAL GENERAL MANAGER, UBER: Uber has been on a process of change. We've changed very fundamentally since Dara came in the CEO as a company.

And if I look at the way that we are prioritizing safety, the way that we're making our processes and systems better, today's decision by TfL isn't taking on the basis of an Uber that I recognize.

GOLD: London transport, says Uber has made some positive changes. The company now has 21 days to appeal the decision, during which they can operate as normal. For now, it looks like Uber will have, at least, one more Christmas in London. Hadas Gold, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: And thanks for your company, I'm Rosemary Church. Remember to connect with me any time on Twitter, CNN NEWSROOM continues now with Max Foster. That's next hour. Stay with us.

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