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Liz Truss Vows Action on UK's Economic Challenges; IAEA Calls for Safety Zone Around Zaporizhzhia Plant; At Least 72 Killed, 253 Injured, 15 Missing in China Earthquake; Pakistan's Largest Lake Breaches as Floods Impact Millions. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired September 07, 2022 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: -- a daunting to do list, the U.K.'s New Prime Minister purges her cabinet rewarding key allies with ministerial appointments.
The U.N. nuclear watchdog report on the risks facing the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has found that firing artillery rounds at a nuclear facility is dangerous and all parties should stop.
And even moving countries could not get this woman far enough away from the faceless cowardly internet trolls who stopped and harassed her because of her support for trans rights.
ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Center, this is CNN Newsroom with John Vause.
VAUSE: Even before Britain's fourth Prime Minister in six years begins her first full day in office, Liz Truss has purchased a cabinet of supporters of her opponent rewarded allies with ministerial portfolios and has vowed to bring down record high inflation, deliver relief from soaring energy costs, while reassuring Britain's they can ride out the storm or promising prosperity for all.
On Tuesday during an audience with the Queen, Truss was invited by Her Majesty to form a new government and officially became prime minister, only the third woman in British history to do so.
In the hours ahead comes the rough and tumble of her first parliamentary question time. And this new Prime Minister has no popular mandate, no political capital will be unable to do much about a laundry list of major economic problems without parliamentary support.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LIZ TRUSS, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: Our country was built by people who get things done. We have huge reserves of talent of energy and determination. I am confident that together, we can ride out the storm, we can rebuild our economy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Truss will meet with her new cabinet ahead of question time and for the first time in British history, none of the former senior positions the so-called Great offices of state Prime Minister, Chancellor, Home Secretary and Foreign Secretary are held by a white man.
Liz Truss has been described as Boris in heels, a reference to Boris Johnson, who she replaces as prime minister, but now Johnson says he will support Truss but his shadow looms large over her leadership. CNN's Bianca Nobilo reports out from London.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BIANCA NOBILO, CNN HOST: A final luck with honor for Boris Johnson, flanked by upholding staff and civil servants, Johnson departs at Downing Street as prime minister for the last time. As for what happens next.
BORIS JOHNSON, FORMER BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: I know like one of those booster rockets that has fulfilled its function, and I will now be gently reentering the atmosphere and splashing down invisibly in some remote obscure corner of the Pacific.
NOBILO: A speech outlining his legacy, Brexit, the vaccine rollout and support for Ukraine, many in his party will be sad to see him go ousted following months of scandal. Johnson made no mention the events that ultimately led to his downfall. He concluded by throwing his considerable political heft behind his replacement.
JOHNSON: It's time for politics to be over, folks. It's time for us all to get behind Liz Truss and her team and her program and deliver for the people of this country.
NOBILO: Johnson and Truss then took separate plates for the 1100-mile round trip to Scotland to visit the Queen. Johnson submitting his resignation and Truss being invited to form a new government, meetings which are strictly private.
For Britain's looking on supported amidst the cost-of-living crisis is their top priority. Truss will be expected to lay out a new vision and fast. The leadership contest lasted six long weeks during which the pound slumped to its lowest rate against the dollar since 1985. Returning to London Truss stood where Johnson had stood hours before, Britain can ride out the storm, she said, as thunder cracked and lightning struck over London. Details of how we'll follow this week.
TRUSS: We shouldn't be daunted by the challenges we face. As strong as the storm may be, I know that the British people are stronger.
NOBILO: Bianca Nobilo, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Catherine Renco is a CNN Economics and Political Commentator and Opinion Writer for The Washington Post. Thanks for being with us.
CATHERINE RAMPELL, CNN ECONOMICS AND POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Great to join you. VAUSE: OK, so Liz Truss was very jolly hockey sticks as she addressed the nation on her plans for economic recovery. Here's a little more from the U.K.'s new Prime Minister.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUSS: We will transform Britain into an aspiration nation with high paying jobs, safe streets, and where everyone everywhere has the opportunities, they deserve.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: And you get a new car and you get a new car. OK, so the big picture first up here, from what you heard during the Prime Minister's address, did it give you confidence that Truss at least understands economic problems the country is facing and has the right policy ideas?
[01:05:06]
RAMPELL: Not particularly. Look, I would not want to inherit the set of conditions that this new prime minister is inheriting, right? They include an energy crisis, a broader inflationary crisis, there are some who are projecting as much as 20% inflation in the U.K. in the not so far off future, labor unrest, also related to all of those inflationary problems, as well as a possible recession.
So, no doubt whoever takes over this job has their work cut out for them. But the set of policies that she seems to be honing in on and there are a lot of, you know, question mark still in there involves something like stimulating the country's way out of inflation, which any economist virtually, any economist will tell you is only going to make the problem worse, that if you give people more cash to spend, for example, by cutting their taxes or spending more money, that is going to make demand outrun supply even further, and potentially make the situation worse.
VAUSE: OK, so let's take a closer look at those policies. This is how Liz Truss will bring about an economic revolution. Here she is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUSS: I have a bold plan to grow the economy through tax cuts and reform. I will cut taxes to reward hard work and boost business led growth and investment. I will drive reform in my mission to get the United Kingdom working building and growing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: You know, trickle-down economics isn't exactly bold, you're credible. Her big spending plan to rein in energy prices as well as other spending, which she plans to do, has been met with concerned by the financial markets, notably the U.K.'s 10 year borrowing rate is above 3% on Tuesday, first time since 2014, the pound has been fully against the dollar faster than other major currencies, down 6% against the U.S. dollar since early last month, which is when Truss emerged as the front runner for the top job. Not exactly a vote of confidence about the markets in the Prime Minister. So specifically, what are the major concerns about her policy?
RAMPELL: I think there are a number of things to be concerned about. One of courses, as I just said, the idea of stimulating demand, whether through tax cuts or anything else, or giving people cash in various forms, is unlikely to help with inflation. And in fact, is likely to make it worse. The problem right now is that there just is, you know, as the cliche goes, too much money chasing too few goods. So, giving people more cash to spend is probably going to bid up prices even higher.
Beyond that she also has made some other comments that I think are concerning to markets which are expressing and those numbers that you just read out, their disbelief that she will be able to get inflation under control. So, for example, she suggested that the government should be revisiting the mandate of the central bank. It's not exactly clear what that means. But there's a fair amount of economic research to suggest that central banks are more effective when they are seen as politically independent, that they're not basically under the thumb of politicians who are always eyeing the polls in the next election, they're willing to make hard choices that in the near term might cause a lot of political pain. But over the long run, will lead to more stable prices and a stronger economy.
VAUSE: And concern over the U.K. economy has led to a gloomy outlook, because this has been the concern for some time. The only thing keeping the U.K. from being an emerging market economy is a currency crisis, say analyst. And the factors driving this downgrade, things like high inflation, political instability, trade problems, and the country's central bank expects one of the worst recessions in recent times to begin in the fourth quarter of this year. Just for context, India and Brazil are emerging market economies, which is indicative of just how serious and how grave this economic crisis is for the UK?
RAMPELL: Yes, I mean, I think it's a little bit glib to say that that's the only thing that stands between the U.K. and being a Britain and being an emerging market. I mean, the GDP per capita is still much higher in the U.K. than in most other countries that are generally regarded as emerging markets. But it is a very troubled economy right now. But there is some wiggle room for the new PM who's coming in to try to make things better on the margin. And I think the real risk is that not only will things not get better, but there will be some unforced errors here that in fact, make the inflationary environment worse, make the risk of recession worse, make the risks of the pound, quite a bit worse as well and that's what again, markets are worried about and regular people whose living standards are at stake should be worried about as well.
VAUSE: Catherine, great to have you with us. We really appreciate it. Thank you very much.
[01:10:00]
RAMPELL: Thank you VAUSE: CNN will have live coverage or parliamentary question time, the first with Liz Truss as Prime Minister starting at noon in London that's 7 p.m. in Hong Kong.
With Russia change North Korea for millions of short-range rockets and artillery rounds, the White House says for now there's no evidence those munitions have reached the battlefield in Ukraine. U.S. official tells CNN the arms deal is still at the process stage, delivery it seems, is yet to come from Pyongyang. The Pentagon says it's a sign that Russia is in severe short supply of ammunition.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRIG. GEN. PATRICK RYDER, PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: Certainly, as has been said, we assess that things are not going well on that front for Russia. So, the fact that they're reaching out to North Korea is a sign that that they're having some challenges on the sustainment front.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: This news comes as President Vladimir Putin attended war games in eastern Russia. Moscow says 50,000 troops are taking part in these drills. Western analysts say that number is an exaggeration.
U.N.'s nuclear watchdog has released its findings on the dangers facing the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant currently under Russian control in southern Ukraine. The International Atomic Energy Agency has warned without immediate changes. Ukraine is facing a nuclear emergency. The IAEA was given access to the plant last week, experienced Russian shelling firsthand now recommending a safety zone around the area. Lately, the Russian incoming fire a major threat.
The report also mentions the presence of Russian military equipment and personnel at the plant, as well as a supervising group of Russian nuclear experts. CNN's Christiane Amanpour spoke with IAEA Chief Rafael Grossi about the continued attacks near the plant. Here's part of their exclusive conversation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAFAEL GROSSI, IAEA DIRECTOR-GENERAL: The situation is very worrying, continues to be very worrying. I was there, as you said, last week, I returned and the selling continues. So, we indeed, we are still facing a very grave danger in your question, there were a number of things you mentioned, in terms of meltdown, I doubt it. But the mere fact that there is continuity of attacks and shelling deliberate or not wittingly or unwittingly, people are hitting a nuclear power plant, the largest in Europe. So, I must say that the danger continues.
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: So, when you say people are hitting, can you make a determination as to who is hitting?
GROSSI: I cannot make that determination. We don't have the means to do that. There -- as you know, you would need to be looking or monitoring the military operation in the region acknowledging its vastness, which is not only beyond the mandate of the IAEA, but would require enormous capabilities.
What we know, and that is my responsibility is to look at the safety and the security of the facility to determine what is really going on. And this is why my visit there, the inspection there, and the fact that now I have people who have stayed there. So, the IAEA is staying at the plant was essential, indispensable, then the thing is now, what's next? At the moment, what is urgently needed now, today is that we agree on establishing a protection, if you want, a shield, a bubble, around the perimeter of the facility. This is not something which is impossible to do, not at all. So, the IAEA has the mandate to protect the safety and the security of the plant, has its people there and I hope and this is what I put in my report that I will be able to consult very quickly and establish this as an interim measure, if you want to know and I am calling it that in my report in the hope that there will be further things but let not the best be the enemy of the necessary at this point. And what we need desperately is to protect these nuclear power plant because it's been shelled now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Coming up here on CNN Newsroom, Pakistan's largest like breaches again, threatening to make a dire situation even worse.
Also, the U.N. warns that the world does nothing, famine will hit parts of Somalia within months. What's needed to save millions of lives? Just ahead.
[01:15:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: South Korean officials say at least 10 people have died after Typhoon slammed the South of the country on Tuesday with winds the strength of a category two hurricane. The powerful storm drenched the region for about two and a half hours, hitting many in car parks and damaging 1000s of buildings roads as well as bridges.
Not one but two growing tropical systems to watch in the Atlantic Earl has strokes into a hurricane, the second hurricane of this Atlantic season and in the Pacific watches and warnings in place hours hurricane Kay moves up Mexico's Pacific Coast after leaving at least three people dead. Let's bring in CNN Meteorologist, Pedram Javaheri, for the very latest. It's looking like Kay is the one to watch, right?
PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It is right now, absolutely. And, you know, we're coming off of the holiday weekend across the United States, a lot of folks made their way down across Cabo San Lucas and certainly time to go back home here for them at least with a tropical system on approach. But folks across this region of Cabo, southern tip of the Baja all on alert now with tropical storm warnings and even a couple of hurricane watches that have been prompted across west central areas of the Baja. The storm system has what it takes to strengthen. We do think it will strengthen as it approaches land but right now wants to stay comfortably away from the coast.
Now, it is a broad feature. So, some of those outer bands certainly going to impact this region. And notice the central region of the Baja could see direct impacts with a category one sometime towards the latter portion of this week. But winds away from the center over 300 kilometers away from the center you're still going to feel tropical storm force winds. So even portions of the interior Mexico and mainland Mexico certainly will see impacts with the system and then Southern California could see some impacts. As we approach Thursday, Friday and Saturday, some beneficial rainfall possible here and some gusty winds, certainly as well along portions of California. But really the big story across the Baja is going to be the significant threat for rainfall. Some of these areas can see 150 to 250 millimeters that does come down across this region which looks very much a likelihood. This is going to lead to some significant flash flooding concerns.
Now, the Atlantic getting very busy. We've got a couple of tropical disturbances coming off of the coast of Africa. And a couple of that have already developed into category one hurricanes and for this time of year, we should be somewhere around the letter F which we're getting pretty close to but you'll notice the past couple of years we were four has the letter L by the first of September. Letter O storm by the first of September in 2020. So, it a little slower start the past -- this past month. But notice Hurricane Earl, there it is northwest of areas of the Turks and Caicos. On a beeline here, John, towards Bermuda, this storm is going to be a category three we believe in, could make landfall or at least to get very close to Bermuda as approaches that region some time Thursday. So will follow this and hopefully it continues to veer away from land. But at this point we've been very lucky with the activity's thing mostly offshore, John.
VAUSE: Touchwood, thanks Pedram.
Well, the wake of China's 6.6 magnitude quake, the search and rescue operations continue, hundreds who are stranded in a nature reserve have been rescued. State media reporting the death toll has risen, now standing at 72, more than 250 have been heard. CNN's Kristie Lu Stout reports the quake in region which is no stranger to disaster.
[01:20:06]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The death toll is rising and aftershocks continue in Sichuan, after a magnitude 6.6 earthquake hit the Chinese province on Monday. It threw me directly onto the ground, a survivor says as she receives treatment from rescue workers. Over a million residents and surrounding areas are reported to have felt moderate tremors. Some homes and buildings are destroyed or severely damaged.
And Chinese President Xi Jinping has ordered all out-rescue efforts to save lives. This dash cam video shows the moment the quake struck in Luding, a County near the quake's epicenter. Tall trees and structures are swaying and shaking. At one point the facade of one building just crumbles.
(On camera): It has been a brutal and cruel summer for Sichuan, a landlocked province in southwestern China, that's home to 84 million people who have had to endure multiple trials before the quake.
(Voice-over): Authorities locked down 21 million residents in the Sichuan capital of Chengdu because of rising cases of COVID-19. This social media video underscores the heightened tension among residents who are venting their frustration as they remain in lockdown after the quake. On social media, a man pleads.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): If you understand the situation we are dealing with in Sichuan right now, because of COVID, we can't go out but because of the earthquake we can't stay inside, who can tell us where's the safest for us.
LU STOUT: The region has also endured drought and the worst heatwave on record. And now the aftermath of a deadly earthquake. It's misery upon misery in this afflicted Chinese province, Kristie Lu Stout, CNN, Hong Kong.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Hitting misery upon tragedy in Pakistan with as much of the third of the country underwater, now an unexpected breach in Pakistan's biggest lake, putting hundreds of 1000s of people at risk of more flooding and destruction. It's not clear yet if the breach was natural or manmade authorities breached the lake intentionally earlier this week to try and divert water. But the deluge across the country has already killed more than 1300 people. CNN's Anna Coren has details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNA COREN, CNN ANCHOR: Stretching to the horizon and beyond an expanse of endless brown murky water, dotted with tops of trees and roofs of houses. Never before has Pakistan seen the scale of flooding, as water now covers 1/3 of the country. This climate change induced disaster has been months in the making, with more than double the amount of rain falling since May in what the U.N. has referred to as a monsoon on steroids. Last month deluge unleashing even more misery as violent torrents of water decimated townships, homes and crops, the sheer volume and able to drain away.
CHRIS KAYE, PAKISTAN COUNTRY DIRECTOR, WORLD FOOD PROGRAM: Hundreds of 1000s of families now have absolutely nothing. The land where they had their houses totally flooded. They don't have anything more than what they're wearing.
COREN: 33 million people have been affected. That's around 15% of Pakistan's population. More than 600,000 people have moved into displaced person's camp. But some of the most vulnerable have been left stranded.
On this tiny strip of land or a number of families, their surviving livestock, a few belongings and 24-day old Shomali (ph). Her mother Kenneth (ph) is sick, exhausted and struggling to care for her sixth child. She's marked the baby's forehead to ward off evil spirits.
I want my baby to survive, but it's God's will if she dies, she says. We cannot afford to move from this area. We are at the mercy of nature because we are poor people. Kenneth says she labored with babies Shomali through the rains. The World Health Organization says 1.2 million pregnant women are among those displaced across Pakistan.
A few bags of aid have been dropped off. But it's not enough to sustain the families. According to a 70-year-old grandmother, who's witnessed three floods in her lifetime, but nothing quite like this.
We keep our eyes on our children after sunset, they could fall down into the water and drown. We have one meal a day we have to say food for our kids. God, please help us.
But it's not just a lack of food, they're worried about mosquitoes. Venomous snakes and waterborne diseases are a constant threat. The WHO says cases of typhoid Malaria and diarrheal diseases are rising and will undoubtedly worsen.
[01:25:06]
Foreign aid in, former U.S. ambassador to the U.N., and now head of USAID Samantha Power, and U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres are due to arrive in Pakistan this week in a desperate bid to ramp up international assistance and support.
ANTONIO GUTERRES, UNITED NATIONS SECRETARY-GENERAL: Pakistan looking forward is very dire, we've got to be there for the long term. We've got to be there for three or four months at the minimum in order to save lives.
COREN: But for these people, mere survival is a daily struggle. And these clear blue skies aren't expected to last long, more devastating, monsoonal rains are days away to further terrorizing a traumatized country. Anna Coren, CNN, Hong Kong.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: As you just heard the U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who traveled to Pakistan Wednesday to see up close and firsthand the devastation caused by the flooding. On Tuesday, he warned of more climate driven catastrophes in the future.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GUTERRES: There is a lot of attention on the war of Ukraine. But people tend to forget there is another war. The war we are waging on nature, and nature is striking back. And climate change is supercharging the destruction of our planet. Pakistan shards, the Horn of Africa where the drought is causing famine. All these things represent an enormous threat to all of us. Today, it is Pakistan, tomorrow it can be anywhere else.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Somalia and other regions suffering from the impact of climate change. The U.N. warns that the world does nothing, parts of Somalia just months away from famine, millions of lives our immediate danger as persistent drought, a shattered economy has driven this nation into crisis. CNN's Clarissa Ward has our report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On the edge of the Naim camp just outside Somalia's capital, Zanza Muhammad (ph) shows us the fresh graves of those who have died here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: One, two, three.
WARD (voice-over): There are 30 she says in total, victims of this country's record drought. As the camp administrator Muhammad is tasked with burying the dead.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Baby.
(FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
WARD (voice-over): From that corner to this one she says, this line of graves is all children.
(On-camera): You must weigh on your heart to have to bury these little children.
(FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
WARD (voice-over): You feel such sadness when you bury a baby, she tells us. I'm a mother and I can feel their pain as a parent. Some 500 yards away Norta Alihomi (ph) has yet to visit the graves of her three children. Severely malnourished, they died after contracting measles.
I cannot bear to go she says, the grief I would feel.
Aid agencies warned that Somalia is marching towards another famine. Nearly half the country is hungry. Some 800,000 people have been forced from their homes this year alone.
(On-camera): So, two months ago, this camp didn't even exist. Now, there are more than 870 families living here.
(Voice-over): Conditions are dire. And the world's attention is elsewhere. Thousands of miles from the front lines of the war in Ukraine, the impact of Russia's invasion is being felt here. Food and fuel prices have skyrocketed as Russia's blockade of Ukrainian wheat threatens global supplies.
MOHAMUD MOHAMED HASSAN, COUNTRY DIRECTOR, SAVE THE CHILDREN: The wheat that is consumed in Somalia, 92% of it comes from Russia and Ukraine when you put together. So, the price of wheat has doubled in some areas, you know, 150% increase.
WARD (on-camera): So, you had climate change, COVID, but the war in Ukraine is really threatening to push Somalia over the edge.
HASSAN: Yes, definitely. Yes. Yes.
WARD (on-camera): And what about if the war continues in Ukraine, if that blockade remains in place? What impact will that have here?
HASSAN: I cannot imagine what will be the impact.
WARD (voice-over): The stabilization ward at the Banadir Hospital offers a glimpse of what may be to come. There are no empty beds and many desperately sick children.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's unconscious.
WARD (voice-over): Dr. Hafsa Mohammed Hassan works around the clock. She said her youngest patients alive.
(On-camera): How many years have you been working in this hospital?
HAFSA MOHAMMED HASSAN, BANADIR HOSPITAL: Eight years.
WARD (on-camera): Eight years?
H. HASSAN: Yes.
WARD (on-camera): Have you ever seen so many children being brought in with malnutrition?
H. HASSAN: No, this is the worst situation I'm seeing. And the number of the cases are increasing day by day. The hospital is very occupied with these cases.
WARD (on-camera): Are you overwhelmed?
H. HASSAN: Yes, it's overwhelming, the situation is overwhelming.
WARD (voice-over): In one bed, we meet her Hareda Abdi (ph) and her four-year-old son Mohamed. I already lost three children in this drought, she says softly.
(On-camera): So, you came here to save your son? How do you cope with that kind of loss to lose three children? How do you get through the day?
I can't cope with the situation, she says. I just pray my remaining children will survive.
It's a prayer shared by so many women here, one that the world has yet to hear.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: From Esther and structural losses Somalia's UNICEF representative says more than 700 children -- child death, rather, were reported between January and July of this year.
[01:30:05]
Still ahead on CNN NEWSROOM --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go, go, go, go.
No panic. No panic.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: On the front lines of Ukraine's counteroffensive in the south, a CNN exclusive is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: Welcome back. I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.
Ukraine says its counteroffensive in the south has racked up some of the biggest victories against Russia since the war began. And this offensive has support from U.S. and British military veterans. Despite making early gains, Ukraine though is setting in for a long, drawn out battle.
CNN's Sam Kiley has this exclusive report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not a go? Go, go, go.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go, go, go, go.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No panic. No panic.
This normal. This normal.
SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Among the most forward troops in Ukraine's latest counteroffensive, this really is normal. When the crunch of incoming artillery is this intense, casualties in this reconnaissance unit, which includes three foreigners, are inevitable.
Mark Ayres (ph) of Britain was lightly wounded on day one of the offensive. On day two, he was more seriously injured in the leg by artillery, alongside Michael Zafer, a former U.S. Marine from Kansas. He was hit in the hand, stomach, and head.
They joined Ukraine's army together, but met fighting ISIS in Syria. Zafer is the former U.S. Marine's Kurdish code name.
MICHAEL ZAFER RONIN, FORMER, U.S. MARINE: I am fine, go.
KILEY: As wrecking (ph) troops, they have been at the tip of Ukraine's attacks on its southern front in the fight to recapture Kherson.
ZAFER: And then I just remember looking up to my left, and then pop, I could not see anything for a bit. Everything looked the same, everything came to, look at my left, it looks fine, looked at my right, ok I'm (EXPLETIVE DELETED) there, I'm (EXPLETIVE DELETED) there. To the hole, to the hole.
KILEY: It's going to be a slow, grinding fight, they say, whatever the claims of Ukraine's government.
This counteroffensive is being billed as kind of a quick process. Do you think that that's ok?
MARK AYRES, BRITISH MILITARY: No, definitely not. It won't be quick. I mean, it's hard, slow fought, meter by meter, position by position. Because we haven't got resources to do it automatically (ph).
[01:34:52]
KILEY: U.S. weapons and other NATO equipment have proved useful. But not decisive, as Ukraine has captured a handful of villages since the counteroffensive began.
Here, Russian troops wave a white flag of surrender. Precision artillery strikes by U.S.-supplied Howitzers are monitored by Zafer's wrecking unit with a drone. Russia's motivated its troops with false claims that they are liberating Ukraine from Nazis.
For Ukraine, it's a battle of national survival, attracting help from around the world.
Do you feel sorry for the Russians?
AYRES: No, no. Not at all. It's not like Ukraine is invaded Russia. They've invaded Ukraine. They are here killing civilians. Killing our soldiers. I've got no feelings for them, whatsoever.
KILEY: Ukraine has imposed a news blackout on the southern offensive and keeps its casualty figures secret. But for these men, being wounded isn't the end of combat. It's an interruption.
And are you going to go back?
AYRES: Yes, once everything heals on my body, probably within three to four weeks, I should be right back out there.
KILEY: Sam Kiley, CNN -- Odessa.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Joining me now from Australia's capital, Malcolm Davis is senior analyst of Defense Strategy and Capability of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.
Thank you. Got it out.
Malcolm, it's good to have you with us.
MALCOLM DAVIS, AUSTRALIAN STRATEGIC POLICY INSTITUTE: It's great to be here.
VAUSE: Thanks. Ok. Now after the IAE called for a special safety and security zone around the plant, the U.N. secretary general put those recommendations to the Security Council. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTONIO GUTERRES, U.N. SECRETARY GENERAL: An agreement on a demilitarized perimeter should be secured. Specifically that would include the commitment by Russian forces to withdraw all military personnel and the equipment from that perimeter and the commitment by Ukraine forces not to move into it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Russia's U.N. ambassador welcomed a permanent presence by the IAEA at the plant and Russian troops from preventing a radiation disaster but nothing about withdrawing Russian forces. That's simply indicative that Moscow is not likely to agree to this plan. So no surprise to anybody, really.
DAVIS; Not really. I mean I think it would be extremely unlikely for Russia to withdraw or accept some sort of demilitarized zone around Zaporizhzhia for the simple reason that they want to use that nuclear power station as a potential threat to Ukraine that they can exploit in the future.
The artillery shelling around the plant is a warning sign that they could attack a plant directly, although we've had nuclear engineers state that artillery shells won't necessarily cause a meltdown.
What concerns me more is the potential for the Russians to line demolition charges at key locations around the plant that could then basically destroy the cool off system and cause that meltdown.
So I don't see the Russians essentially withdrawing from the plant. I see them staying in place and continuing to have that, essentially, a nuclear Sword of Damocles hanging over the heads of Ukrainians and indeed the rest of Europe.
VAUSE: And this comes after word that the Kremlin is actually -- the Russian military rather is running short on ammunition, sourcing artillery rounds as well as rockets from North Korea. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRIG. GEN. PATRICK RIDER, PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: It's indicative of the situation that Russia finds itself in end shows, the fact that they're trying to reach out to international actors like Iran and North Korea. They don't have the best record when it comes to international stability.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: If buying weapons from the U.S. is like shopping at Bloomingdales, does that make North Korea the equivalent of the Dollar Store. And what are the implications here for Russia? Not just a short term but the long term as well?
DAVIS: I've never heard it put that way but it's an accurate analogy. Look, I think what it indicates is that the Russians are having real problems in terms of thinking about national mobilization for a wider and longer war.
Maybe Putin is sensing he's not getting the national support to take that step. So as an interim step, in between that option, would be going to other states such as North Korea and Iran and certainly a country like North Korea can provide large amounts of artillery shells, battlefield rockets, small arms, ammunitions -- the sort of things that the Russians would need to essentially wage a brutal war of attrition against the Ukrainians to wear them down over the course of the winter.
And at the same time utilize energy blackmail against Europe to try and erode Europe's support for Ukraine so that in 2023 in the spring, Russia is perhaps better prepared to launch counter offensives to take back territory that -maybe the Ukrainians took in the south and east.
[01:39:48]
VAUSE: Wow. Ok. So we also have this report from Bloomberg that details the internal Kremlin report assessing the impact of economic sanctions. The headline is, "Russia privately warns of deep and prolonged economic damage."
And within this report, Russia may face a longer and deeper recession as the impacts of U.S. and European sanctions spread, handicapping sectors that the country has relied on for years to power its economy.
If you are Russian and you read this report, it is grim. But for Ukraine and the west, there's almost relief that, you know, about the impact this takes on (INAUDIBLE) -- on the economy from Putin on down is just not true.
DAVIS: Well yes. And I think that sanctions, invariably as a weapon take a long time to generate effects. Maybe we're starting to see the edge of that effect beginning now after six months of the sanction being in place.
How long they remain in effect is the key question. As I said earlier, Putin is using energy blackmail against Europe to try and erode west and European support for not only supporting the Ukrainians with military hardware, but also keeping those sanctions in place.
So in part, the damage to the Russian economy will depend on the resolve of western European citizens to bear out what's going to be a brutally cold winter.
And secondly, it does depend on whether Russia can convince China to come in with economic aid of its own that could circumvent the effect of those sanctions. That's still a factor that could play out in 2023. We'll just have to wait and see how Beijing sees that option.
VAUSE: Yes. They are key players. They've been very quiet for the time being.
Malcolm, thanks for being with us. Malcolm Davis there in campus.
DAVIS: Thank you. VAUSE: A man hunt for an alleged mass killer in Canada, stretching
into its fourth day. New details show the suspect has a long and troubled history. That story when we return.
Also, someone call NCIS. The man at the heart of the biggest corruption scandal in the U.S. Navy's history is on the run. (INAUDIBLE) on the hunt for Fat Leonard in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: An update now on last week's assassination attempt on Argentina's vice president. The main suspect has been taken to court and is expected to testify before a judge after refusing to cooperate last week. The 35 year old Brazilian man is accused of pointing a loaded gun directly at the head of Argentina's vice president, when he allegedly pulled the trigger, the gun appears to jam and did not fire.
The suspect's girlfriend has also been arrested and has appeared in court. Police believe she may have played a roll in the attempt to kill the Vice President.
New details have emerged about the remaining suspect in a deadly stabbing spree in Canada's Saskatchewan Province. This as the man hunt for the alleged killer enters it fourth day. Myles Sanderson has been assessed by a psychologist as a moderate risk of violence. He has a prior criminal history.
CNN's Nick Watt has the very latest now on the manhunt.
[01:44:51]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The manhunt goes on. Authorities looking for 30-year-old Myles Sanderson and they are looking pretty much across the entire province of Saskatchewan. That's more than 250,000 square miles.
Sanderson believed to be responsible for that stabbing spree Sunday morning on the James Smith Cree Nation and in a village nearby that left at least ten people dead.
Now, Initially, authorities believed that Myles Sanderson was on the run with his brother, who was also involved in that spree they say. His brother Damian. But Damian's body was found on the reserve. He was found dead. Myles Sanderson is the only suspect that we know of still at large.
Now, on Sunday, there was a report that a car that authorities believe the brothers were driving, was seen in Regina, about 200 miles south. That appears to have led nowhere.
Also on Tuesday, there was a report that Myles Sanderson had been seen back on the reserve. Again, that came to nothing. So the manhunt goes on. Meantime, we're learning a little bit more about Myles Sanderson. He is, as I say, 30 years old, with a rap sheet that goes back nearly 20 years. 59 convictions. Among them, kicking a police officer in the head, stabbing two men with a fork.
We're told he had a troubled childhood, began using drugs and alcohol at age 12. There are allegations of some gang connections. There are domestic violence issues.
He was also jailed in Canada for his part in an armed robbery. But he was released in August, 2021 and then in February of this year, the Canadian parole board confirmed that that statutory release is valid, that he should be out and about. I will quote from their decision, "it is the board's opinion that you will not present an undue risk to society if released.
He is now on the run, the subject of a man hunt, believed to be with his brother, responsible for that stabbing spree and charged, already, with three counts of first-degree murder. So far, evading the authorities.
Nick Watt -- CNN, Los Angeles.
VAUSE: Police in Tennessee say the body of 34-year-old, Eliza Fletcher, who went missing last week has been found behind a vacant building. Surveillance video shows the kindergarten teacher being abducted while out jogging.
The suspect, 38-year-old Cleotha Abston will be arraigned on first degree murder charges in the day ahead. He served time for aggravated kidnapping more than 20 years ago. Prosecutors say they believe it was an isolated attack by a stranger.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHIEF CERELYN DAVIS, MEMPHIS POLICE DEPARTMENT: Today, is a very sad day in the city of Memphis. Yesterday evening, September 5th at approximately 5:07 p.m. the Memphis police department and other law enforcement partners discovered the remains of a body -- a human body.
Further forensic investigation by the MPD traffic unit positively identified, the body was in fact, Eliza Fletcher.
This finding marks the culmination of a four-day intensive investigation, incorporating a robust search and rescue effort and the timely arrest of suspect, Cleotha Abston.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Police say it's too early to determine where and how Fletcher was killed. They're not saying what led them to the site where her body was found on Monday.
The infamous former defense contractor known as Fat Leonard is on the lam. U.S. marshals say Leonard Francis removed his ankle monitor by cutting it off then escaped house arrest in San Diego. He was three weeks away from sentencing.
In 2015 Francis pleaded guilty to charges in the biggest corruption scandal in the history of the U.S. Navy.
And CNN's Oren Lieberman has more now from the Pentagon.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: This is an investigation that's gone on for years and was perhaps nearing its conclusion. Leonard Francis was scheduled to be sentenced this month, after he pleaded guilty to charges of bribery and fraud seven years ago.
In the intervening period he had at times been in federal custody, been under house arrest, cooperated with authorities, until he vanished. Police went to check on him on house arrest over the weekend, but they got no answer. When U.S. marshals went in, all they found was his ankle bracelet in a portable cooler. U.S. marshals say they spoke with neighbors who told them that they've seen moving trucks at the house over the course of the past few days. An indication, they say, that he'd been planning this escape, this leaving of house arrest, for quite some time now.
Again, Francis pleaded guilty back in 2015 to charges of bribery and fraud. The investigation had started two years earlier. Prosecutors say that Francis handed out expensive trips, fancy meals and had parties where Navy officials had the services of prostitutes. In exchange, those Navy officials directed towards Francis the services and the Navy Crafton -- Navy ships which we use as tugboat services, as well as his fuel.
[01:50:00]
LIEBERMANN: Prosecutors say it Francis' goal to bilk the Navy out of millions of dollars. He was then taken into custody as the investigation continued and was scheduled to be sentenced later on this month.
Now, U.S. Marshals say they are looking for him. They have several leads they are trying to follow up. but as of right, now Francis is on the run.
Oren Liebermann, CNN -- in the Pentagon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: A trans activist who was repeatedly harassed online and even lets her own country try to get away from all of this is now fighting back. So far, she's managed to get the hate filled Web site taken off line and shut down at least for now.
CNN's Donie O'Sullivan has her story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLARA SORRENTI, TWITCH STREAMER: I went out into the hallway, they told me to put my hands up. Honestly, in that moment I thought I was going to die. I screamed as soon as I saw the gun.
DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Clara Sorrenti recounts how online trolls called in a fake emergency sending armed police to her home in Canada, a tactic known as swatting. Over the past month, she's been targeted, harassed and stalked around the globe.
SORRENTI: I'm so exhausted of having to constantly run.
O'SULLIVAN: Sorrenti is a trans activist -- and streamer on Twitch, a platform hugely popular among video gamers.
Hello.
SORRENTI: Earlier this year, when Sorrenti began using the platform to talk about trans rights, she caught the attention of Kiwi Farms, a notorious online forum that has been used to organize transphobic harassment campaigns.
SORRENTI: The first thing that they did was find the obituary for my dead father and use it to find his memorialized Facebook page. They were able to find a picture of my dad on the front porch of my childhood home. And from that, they use google maps and figure out where that was located.
O'SULLIVAN: After Sorrenti's home in Ontario was swatted, she moved to a nearby hotel, but her harassers tracked down there. Remarkably, using this photo of her task on her hotel bed.
SORRENTI: They were able to cross reference what they saw on the bed sheets with every other hotel of the city, until they found out the specific bedsheets only had a pattern in this one hotel that I was staying at.
O'SULLIVAN: Eventually, she says, her Uber account was hacked, allowing the online police to track her location. It was then she decided to leave Canada, coming here to Belfast in Northern Ireland to stay with a friend.
SORRENTI: and I thought that if I got far and, went to a different continent, they wouldn't be able to do the same thing. and then it turned out, I was wrong.
O'SULLIVAN: Somehow, her harassers tracked her down in Belfast. One of them even came to the apartment building she was staying at, taking this chilling photo full of trans slurs posted online.
Clara was in the middle of a stream on Twitch and in the middle of, it we find out that on the Website 4chan, somebody had posted a picture taken from right around here.
SORRENTI: People have been trying to get this site off line for nearly a decade.
O'DONNELL: Sorrenti decided to take the trolls on, launching a campaign to get kiwi farms taken off the Internet. SORRENTI: I know there is always a threat against me, as long as I'm
standing up for this. The alternative would've been the site keeps going. Not only me, but the countless other victims of this site, who get harassed relentlessly every single day. We'd have to continue through the nightmare.
O'SULLIVAN; Sorrenti called for Cloud Flare surround -- a major U.S. Internet company to stop providing cyber security services to Kiwi the farms, that allowed the site to say online.
Cloud Flare initially said no. But then reversed track over the weekend, citing imminent threats to human life.
Sorrenti knows getting Kiwi Farms taken off line won't make all her trolls and harassers go away.
What is your message to the people who are doing this to you?
SORRENTI: I don't blame them, really.
O'SULLIVAN: Really?
SORRENTI: Yes. They got roped into a hate group. And once you get deep enough inside one of these things, it's really hard to get out. I want to show them more compassion than they've ever shown me.
O'SULLIVAN: We've heard a lot the few years about what big tech platforms like Facebook and twitter should be doing about hate and violent rhetoric on their platforms.
Now, we're seeing attention turn to this kind of next frontier in this debate. Companies like Cloud Flare.
Donie O'Sullivan, CNN, Belfast, Northern Ireland.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. We'll be back after a very short break.
[01:54:21]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: The Duke and Duchess of Sussex toured sites in (INAUDIBLE) German on Tuesday which is the host city for next year's Invictus games, the multi sport event for wounded soldiers.
Prince Harry says he's impressed with how preparations are going. Harry founded the Invictus Games in 2014, following his own military service. He remains the patron of the event, despite stepping down from official royal duties two years ago.
Well, Twitter has had a few problems sending messages to the new prime minister of Britain, by tagging the account @LizTruss. The problem is that account actually belongs to a woman named Liz Trussell (ph). And in one tweet, she was respectfully (ph) called the best person for the job. Naturally Trussell agreed.
There was also a tweet which criticized her for you know, doing something nasty (INAUDIBLE) when her win was announced.
Trussell's response, "Sorry, I was in the restaurant Nandos". Even Sweden's prime minister got the wrong Liz when she sent this message of congratulations, to that Trussell replied, looking forward to a visit soon. Get the meatballs ready. Trussell has quite the sense of humor.
Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause. CNN NEWSROOM continues with my friend and colleague, Rosemary Church after a short break. I'll see you back here tomorrow.
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