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Liz Truss Steps Down After 44 Days in Office; Conservative Party Running Out of Leaders; Ukrainians Under Rolling Blackouts; Ukraine Asking More Aid from Western Allies; Iran Undeniably Supplying Russia with Drones; Mass Grave with 146 Bodies Found in Lyman Province; Conservative Party's Division is Palpable; President Biden Change His Tune; Iranian Authorities Beat Women Protesters; Vladimir Putin Makes Another Macho Move; European Struggling to Solve Energy Crisis. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired October 21, 2022 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[03:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Christina Macfarlane outside the Houses of Parliament this Friday morning, where we'll look at what comes next for the U.K. leadership after the shortest serving British Prime Minister in history, Liz Truss resigns after just 44 days in office.
KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Kim Brunhuber in Atlanta.
We're following Vladimir Putin's new show of strength at a military training center, despite dramatic battlefield losses in recent weeks.
MACFARLANE: Hello and welcome. It is 8 a.m. here in London where the race is on to replace Liz Truss as British Prime Minister. She announced her resignation Thursday admitting she could not deliver on the mandate of the conservative party. Truss becomes the shortest serving in British history. On Wednesday, she stood before parliament and declared she was a fighter, not a quitter. But outside Downing Street she struck a more somber tone as she quit.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LIZ TRUSS, OUTGOING BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: And we set out a vision for a low tax, high growth economy that would take advantage of the freedoms of Brexit. I recognize though, given the situation, I cannot deliver the mandate on which I was elected by the conservative party. I have therefore spoken to his Majesty the King, to notify him that I am resigning as leader of the conservative party.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: Former finance minister Rishi Sunak and former Prime Minister Boris Johnson are among those expected to stand for the leadership post. If only one candidate emerges, we could see a new prime minister as soon as Monday.
Sunak is getting support from a senior conservative law maker, Mel Stride, tweeted that Sunak will, quote, "bring us together by uniting talent from right across the party, heal our economy, and bring us back into political contention."
Well, CNN's Scott McLean is live outside 10 Downing Street in London. And Scott, just give us any indication of what you are hearing yet as to which candidates that we've been mentioning there are likely to reach that 100-vote threshold and just how this voting system is going to work. Because as we were saying, this could be all over by Monday.
SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that is true, Christina. If only one candidate reaches that 100 vote or the support of 100 M.P. threshold, then you're right. We could have a new prime minister, not next Friday, but on Monday around the middle of the day. So, this could be a pretty short contest that will happen largely behind closed doors.
Rishi Sunak is the odds-on favor and according, at least according to the bookies in this country. And when you consult the British press and the newspapers, they're really only three names that realistically have a shot of reaching 100 support. And that is, Rishi Sunak, Penny Mordaunt, the leader of the House of Commons. And also, if you can believe it, Boris Johnson.
And all of them come with their pros and their cons. Of course, Rishi Sunak was the only, was the first leadership contender over the summer to reach that 100-vote threshold. He's gotten perhaps newfound credibility when it comes to the economy having foreseen many of the problems that Liz Truss's economic plans brought in terms of jockeying up inflation, but he's also seen as a somewhat of a backs stabber for orchestrating the downfall or being the final nail in Boris Johnson's coffin. And so not exactly loved by Boris Johnson's supporters.
Of course, Boris Johnson himself also comes with plenty of baggage -- baggage. Remember, he was booted from office only earlier on this summer, it has been a matter of weeks since his polling numbers were at an all-time low and he was forced out, and yet his supporters say that he is the only one who can really win a general election.
Though there's also an investigation into whether or not Boris Johnson misled M.P.s, and of course, if they found that he had misled M.P. over the party gate scandal, then of course that would bring a whole new round of chaos.
[03:04:57]
Now Penny Mordaunt is seen as a pretty steady hand on the wheel, but perhaps more untested when it comes to the economy. And it'll be interesting to see how much support she gets. If you -- according to The Telegraph newspaper, they're already starting to take stock of which M.P.s that publicly declared their support for certain candidates. And Rishi Sunak has 29 supporters, Boris Johnson, 24 and Penny Mordaunt with 11, Christina. MACFARLANE: Yes. People appear to have very short memories, don't they? Scott, when it comes to Boris Johnson and how he left office, you know, just what, months ago now. So, let's talk a little bit about the economy, Scott, because this may mean, we have a new prime minister by Monday, but if we have one by Friday, that will come just ahead of a crucial budget announcement set for Monday, October 31st.
How precarious is that timing going to be, and how likely is it that a new prime minister could bring more stability and certainty at this point?
MCLEAN: Yes, stability and certainty seems to be what the conservative party wants. It's also seems to be what ordinary people want as well, given that all of the decisions taking place at Number 10 and in Westminster have had a pretty tangible impact on their bottom line with inflation biting in the grocery store with the cost of mortgages in this country as well.
And so, Jeremy Hunt was brought in to sort of steady the ship under Liz Truss's leadership, but of course, there's a possibility that a new prime minister could also choose a new chancellor, which would bring all of his plans in this economic announcement on October 31st into doubt.
And so, people will be watching closely what exactly Jeremy Hunt does and whether the potential contenders will say early on whether or not they would keep him in place. Just this morning, he's put out a statement saying that he is still preparing for that update on the 31st, and he said that he will do whatever necessary to bring down debt in the medium term, Christina.
MACFARLANE: All right, Scott McLean for us for now outside 10 Downing Street. Thanks very much, Scott.
Well, with me now, I want to bring in Financial Times commentator Quentin Peel, who is also an associate fellow of the Europe Programme at Chatham House. Quentin, thank you for your time this morning.
We were just hearing there from Scott McLean about the front riders, potentially front riders, that we're going to hear from today. Rishi Sunak, potentially Boris Johnson back in the fold. What do you make of Boris Johnson's entry back into this leadership contest and whether or not he will in fact reach that 100-vote threshold that he needs.
QUENTIN PEEL, ASSOCIATE FELLOW, EUROPE PROGRAMME AT CHATHAM HOUSE: Well, I think it's quite extraordinary and I think it really shows the desperation of the conservative party to try and find somebody who might be able to win them another election because the party is in desperate disarray and is deeply divided.
So, I think that that is the fundamental mess that this country is facing. We have a party with a large majority in parliament that up till now seems to be demonstrating that it's incapable of providing steady government, and that's why Liz Trusts has gone. It's why also Boris Johnson went in the first place. Let us not forget that Boris Johnson had 60 members of his government say they did not believe that he was a decent prime minister. So, it really would be extraordinary to see him come back.
MACFARLANE: Yes. And Boris Johnson is also still under investigation for whether or not he misled parliament as we understand it, he is making his way back from holiday in the Caribbean.
How conceivable is it to you, Quentin, that this was potentially the exactly the end game that Boris Johnson envisaged when he endorsed Liz Truss as candidate, a potential weak candidate that a scenario like this might play out?
PEEL: I wouldn't be surprised if there wasn't sort of evil plan like that in the back of his mind. I mean, Boris Johnson seems to be extraordinary self-belief he has that in spite of all the criticism of him for partying during COVID, for misleading parliament and so on, that he believes he's still the right man for the job.
He was actually a very bad prime minister, disorganized and basically deceitful. And I think that his popularity with the electors really slumped. However, at the very end, Liz Truss's popularity was even lower than his.
MACFARLANE: I think for many, Quentin, that the idea that we are now about to have a rerun of a leadership election that would potentially involve the membership once again is farcical, given that that resulted in a Liz Truss government last time around.
[03:09:55]
How do you think all of this will sit, is sitting with the public and can the conservative party avoid a general election forever? We know, obviously, they're not going to call for one right now.
PEEL: Legally, they can avoid it as far as one can see. They cannot be forced out of office as long as they maintain that majority. But having said that, it's very clear that the popular view, ordinary voters on the street want a general election. The Labour Party is clearly demanding a general election.
And even a solid and respectable newspaper like my own Financial Times, came out today and said, we must have a general election. You cannot simply foist upon the country complete change of leadership again and again in the conservative party when they've run out of ideas, they're rid by factionalism and even their economic policy has been in shambles.
MACFARLANE: And speaking of the economy at the economic policy, we know that if a new leader is elected by Friday, at least, there'll be a very short turnaround before we hear that new budget on Monday, 31st -- 31st. In your view, is there any candidate who the markets would rally behind, you know, that could bring stability, that could assure the markets in any way? I mean, Rishi Sunak, for instance. PEEL: I think Rishi Sunak is the one man who could possibly do that. After all, throughout the previous leadership campaign, he was arguing that policies that propose -- were proposed by Liz Truss would have exactly the effect that they did have.
They'd cause interest rates on government borrowing to soar. They would hit the pound and they would be actually a disaster. He said that and he was right. So, he, clearly is the book his favorite. The trouble is he's still quite a divisive figure, and the Tory party's problem is that it is a very deeply divided party between left and right ever since the Brexit vote, the party has been actually in disarray.
MACFARLANE: Yes, Rishi Sunak of course very -- seen by many as responsible for bringing about the demise of Boris Johnson.
Quentin Peel, it's been great to have you on this morning. Thank you for your expert analysis, and we will of course wait to see what the hours ahead hold.
PEEL: Very good.
MACFARLANE: All right. Leaders of the European Union are calling for political stability in the U.K. Their comments come soon after an energy crisis meeting in Brussels on Thursday. The Irish prime minister says he sympathizes with Liz Truss.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHEAL MARTIN, IRISH PRIME MINISTER: Where I think what's important as Britain's nearest neighbor, we have a significant economic and relationship and many other relationships with the United Kingdom. I think stability is very important and we would like to see the U.K. system within its capacity to be in a position to have a successor selected as quickly as possible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: French President Emmanuel Macron also spoke about the need for the U.K. to get back on the right track. Here's what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EMMANUEL MACRON PRESIDENT OF FRANCE (through translator): France as a nation and as a people who are friends of the British people wishes of all for stability in the context that we know which is a context of war, of energy tensions and bigger crisis. It is important that the U.K. quickly regains political stability. This is all I want.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: Well, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte sent a sympathetic message to the outgoing prime minister saying he finds her situation, quote, "annoying for her personally." But London's own mayor had a much more blunt assessment. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SADIQ KHAN, LONDON MAYOR: And we are a laughing stock. Our reputation is being diminished every minute Liz Truss has stayed in office.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: Sadiq Khan telling CNN's Christiane Amanpour the U.K. urgently needs a general election and a chance at a fresh start.
Well, stay with us later this hour. A closer look at the legacy of Liz Truss who will go down in history for having the shortest run ever as British prime minister. We'll look at the short-lived relationship between Truss and the United States and how the White House is keeping a close watch on what comes next.
And a joke becomes a reality as the head of lettuce outlaws by British prime minister's time in office. The story behind the vegetable gag coming up.
Well, I'm Christina Macfarlane in London. We have got much more ahead on British Prime Minister Liz Truss's resignation.
For now, let's go back to Kim in Atlanta with some of our other top stories this hour. Kim.
BRUNHUBER: All right. Thanks so much, Christina. Britain is accusing Iran of profiting from the war in Ukraine by supplying military drones to Moscow. And now the U.K. and the E.U. are moving to make some Iranian generals pay the price. That's ahead.
[03:15:02]
Plus, weeks of Russian airstrikes have severely damaged Ukraine's power grid and left many civilians without electricity. We'll speak with one of President Zelenskyy's advisors about the unfolding crisis.
And Iranians risking their lives to demand freedoms many have never known as authorities cracked down on protestors. One woman explains why she's joined the dangerous fight.
Please do stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: Well, more European sanctions are coming Iran's way over its suspected supply of military drones to Moscow. The U.S. says Tehran sold the so-called kamikaze drones like these to Russia, which Iran denies. Now Britain is slapping new sanctions on three Iranian generals and the military drone command that comes on the heels of similar sanctions agreed by the E.U. earlier on Thursday.
But the U.S. now says Iron isn't the only one supplying the drones, but also sending its military personnel to assist Russians with drone operations in Crimea. Russia has been using drones to a devastating effect in recent strikes across Ukraine, including this one in Kyiv. A top U.S. official says Iran's role can't be denied anymore.
Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN KIRBY, SPOKESMAN, NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL: The fact is this. Tehran is now directly engaged on the ground and through the provision of weapons that are impacting civilians and civilian infrastructure in Ukraine in fact, that are killing civilians and destroying civilian infrastructure.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: The Iranian drones, along with Russian cruise missiles have cut Ukraine's electrical production by 40 percent in recent weeks. Ukraine is again appealing to western allies for more air defenses to shoot them down, as well as emergency generators while repairs are made to the power grid. Ukraine's president says, Moscow's strategy is to both cripple Ukraine's critical infrastructure and trigger a flood of refugees into western Europe as winter sets in. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE (through translator): Russian cruise missile and Iranian drone attacks have destroyed more than a third of our energy infrastructure. Russia is also provoking a new wave of migration of Ukrainians to the E.U. countries. Russia's terror against our energy facilities is aimed at creating as many problems with electricity and heat in Ukraine as possible this autumn and winter, so that as many Ukrainians as possible go to your countries.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: Ukrainian officials warn that more emergency blackouts may be necessary to conserve electricity until the situation improves. Ukraine is appealing to Israel to share some of its air defense capabilities known as the Iron Dome, but Israel has only agreed to help Ukraine with an early warning system.
[03:20:00]
Russian military convoy becoming easy prey for Ukrainian missiles. Ukraine posted this video on Thursday saying it shows a missile strike in the Luhansk region. The footage also shows secondary explosions suggesting the Russian vehicles carried ammunition that blew up.
A short time ago, pro-Russian officials accused Ukraine of missile attacks elsewhere in the region, claiming six people were killed and 10 others injured.
Now in the south, there's similar accusations about an alleged Ukrainian attack on a river crossing in the city of Kherson. Two people were reportedly killed and 10 others wounded in the missile strike. Russia is conducting a mass evacuation of civilians from the city claiming some 15,000 people have already been moved.
Meanwhile, Ukraine is pleading with allies for help with its power infrastructure. As we said, after Russian strikes knocked out up to 40 percent of it in recent days.
For more, Salma Abdelaziz joins us from London. So, Salma, take us through the latest on the attacks, and the aftermath and the response as well.
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN REPORTER: Absolutely. Let's start with those sanctions because that's something that President Zelenskyy has been requesting for some time now. These kamikaze drones have, of course led to devastating loss of life on the ground. It was last week in Kyiv, or just a few days ago, rather, in Kyiv that one of the victims of these kamikaze drone attacks was a pregnant woman and her husband.
So absolutely horrific attacks, particularly on civilians caused by these Iranian made drones. And these sanctions, of course, trying to limit the impact of that. The E.U. and the U.K. imposing these sanctions on three top Iranian generals and a business that they say are involved in providing these drones to the Kremlin.
And now Iran for its part has repeatedly denied despite the evidence that exists. Iran has repeatedly denied providing any weapons to the Kremlin saying it's not party to the conflict. But we also understand from U.S. officials that not only are drones being provided, training is being provided on the ground in Russian occupied Crimea as well by Iranian forces.
So, a significant move there to try to limit that impact of these kamikaze drones that we've seen really over the last couple of weeks. The other thing that President Zelenskyy is of course asking for is help with energy infrastructure. As you mentioned there, up to 40 percent of Ukraine's energy infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed in Russian missile attacks, in Russian attacks just in the last couple of weeks.
That's forced Ukrainian officials to impose rolling blackouts. Those started yesterday, Kim. Up to four-hour long blackouts in cities and towns across Ukraine where officials simply do not have the electricity. They do not have the power grid to meet the demands of the local population.
And we could see more of that through the winter, and you can expect how concerning that is as temperatures drop, of course, for families to be left without power for many hours. So, that's an important issue. Of course, President Zelenskyy appealing to his partners appealing to the E.U. and NATO for emergency assistance. We understand some of that assistance will be arriving as early as next week. Kim?
MACFARLANE: All right. And then Salma, we're getting, a few more details on the mass grave discovered a few weeks ago in Lyman. What more can you tell us about that?
ABDELAZIZ: Yes, terrible, terrible and shocking discovery. This is in the town of Lyman, in the Donetsk region, an area that was recently liberated just at the beginning of this month, recently liberated by Ukrainian forces. Local police in Lyman say they have completed exhumation of the largest mass grave in that de-occupied area of Lyman. They found 146 bodies, Kim, 111 of them were civilians, 35 military.
So overwhelmingly civilians found there. And those remains according to local police there, those remains showed people who had died due to missile attacks, due to shelling, but also people who appear to have died violent deaths. No more details on that.
But in the past, of course, we've seen that people have been tortured under Russian detention. Even civilians in these occupied regions, Kim.
MACFARLANE: All right. Thanks so much, Salma Abdelaziz in London.
And with us with more from Kyiv is economist, Tymofiy Mylovanov He's the president of the Kyiv School of Economics and serves as an adviser to President Zelenskyy.
Thanks so much for being with us.
I just wanted to start with what the mood is like there in Kyiv. I mean, things were relatively peaceful for some time now with these deadly drone attacks, the city very much in the crosshairs again. What more can you tell us about the mood there.
TYMOFIY MYLOVANOV, ADVISER TO PRESIDENT VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY: Correct. For the last two weeks, so in Kyiv here we have been experiencing attacks. It's almost daily. Well, it is daily. We get several air warnings. Air sirens. We're used to it. It goes, you know, throughout the 24 hours. It's stressful, but the mood is defiant.
[03:24:54]
I think it just gets us angry and increases our morale. We know that we're winning on the battlefield and at least how it looks in Kyiv, but we have to prepare for a difficult cold winter. But at the same time, we know our military is winning on the front.
BRUNHUBER: Now though, those deadly attacks is just one way that Russia is targeting civilians. They're targeting the infrastructure there also going after the power grid. What effect is this having for Ukrainians right now? I know you yourself, for instance, are among the many who have lost power for several hours.
MYLOVANOV: Correct. Yesterday, where I am, we had a rolling blackout and we were scheduled for four hours. It's very orderly. We get messages what the time for blackout is and how long it will last, and some recommendations what we should do in case, you know, something happens.
For now, it just, you know, I'm used to it. It was like that in the 90s when I graduated from high school. So, this is in some sense for many of us, it's nothing new and it's not as bad as it was in 90s. But yes, it's unpleasant.
MACFARLANE: So, I mean, you know, people are resilient as you said, people have experience with this. But how are they coping especially as you mentioned with the -- with the weather getting colder. How are they sort of adapting?
MYLOVANOV: Well, you know, it's everyone is doing, you know, different individual things. Some people are moving out of town to suburbs where they can, you know, let's say even have fireplaces. We, for example, we have a lot of power banks and a little batteries.
So, we charge them and we try not to use electricity, like, you know, simple things like washing machine or cooking. We do it at night when the government recommends there are certain period of times where the demand is lower so we can do that.
People are buying thermal blankets. People are buying sleeping bags. People are insulating their windows. You know, doing all kinds of usual thing you would do preparing for winter, but a little bit more extreme, you know?
BRUNHUBER: Yes, I can imagine. Now the attack on the energy infrastructure is just on top of all the extensive damage done by missiles, artillery, and so on across the country. And even while all this is going on, I mean, Ukraine is rebuilding, but there is the race on, as you say, the cold is coming in, winter is coming. So how do you prioritize what needs to be done?
MYLOVANOV: That is correct. We are rebuilding as we speak and even our Kyiv school of economics, a university out of all places, we are rebuilding a clinic which was destroyed by Putin and Makarov. And it should still -- it should soon be operational.
So how do we prioritize? We focus on the housing. So, some people left -- lost houses and they simply don't have a place to live, so that's the highest priority. Then the clinics, medical support, power structure, bomb shelters in schools, but basically the office of the president and then the cabinet of minister prioritizes, puts very strict priority and what should be done first, what should be done second.
BRUNHUBER: Yes, it must be a never-ending cycle as more things get destroyed, you still have to rebuild behind it. We'll have to leave it there, but really appreciate all of your time. Tymofiy Mylovanov in Kyiv. Thanks so much.
Well, President Putin meets with new soldiers training to fight in Ukraine and even gets down in the dirt alongside them at the gun range.
Have a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SUSAN GLASSER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Given how, Russia is suffering, battlefield reverses that Putin is willing to not only take ownership of the war, but appears to double down on it by picking up a gun himself and sort of saying, I'm here fighting with you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: We'll take a closer look at how this moment was tailor made for a man keen on enhancing his tough guy image.
And for weeks protestors in Iran have been demanding civil rights, but dissent there comes the heavy price. Had one woman explains why she's risking everything to make her voice heard.
Plus, we'll head back to London for the fallout of Liz Truss's resignation, including her short-lived relationship with the U.S. president.
But before we go to break, Londoners are reacting to Liz Truss's resignation with chagrin, but not exactly surprise. Some say they're done with the whole lot in parliament and are calling for total change in leadership. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNKNOWN: Right now, I think a lot of people, the public would want a general election and I think that's very fair since there've been, I think six, now seven prime ministers in four years. And they're all conservative. So, I think it's time for a big change.
UNKNOWN: I think they need to look at the whole process because this is, I don't know how many, three or four P.M.s in the last three years or even less than that. So, something is not right and the people of England don't deserve that.
UNKNOWN: It won't be useful if we go to elections because otherwise, I think that is just the same thing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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[03:30:00]
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CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back. I'm Christina Macfarlane, live outside the Houses of Parliament in London this morning where a slate of candidates is emerging to replace Prime Minister Liz Truss.
She resigned on Thursday, saying she could not deliver on the conservative party's mandate. Truss will stay in office until her successor is chosen, possibly as soon as Monday.
Among the possibilities to take over former Finance Minister Rishi Sunak, House of Commons leader, Penny Mordaunt, Prime Minister, or former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Defense Minister Ben Wallace, former Home Secretary Suella Braverman, and M.P. Olukemi Badenoch. Well, resigning on her 45th day in office makes Truss the shortest
serving prime minister in British history. Although, as you can see, she is not the only short timer.
More now from CNN's Bianca Nobilo.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BIANCA NOBILO, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Devastating resignations and fierce criticism. On Thursday afternoon, British Prime Minister Liz Truss gave in to the reality.
LIZ TRUSS, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: I recognize though, given the situation, I cannot deliver the mandate on which I was elected by the conservative party.
UNKNOWN: It's that, Liz Truss is elected as the leader of the conservative and unionist party.
NOBILO: It was just her 45th day in office. There was no time for a honeymoon period. Queen Elizabeth died on her second day. She will have been the shortest serving prime minister in British history.
Parliamentary rules mean the conservatives are still in charge. Its M.P.s can choose the new prime minister.
UNKNOWN: The public must be looking at this thinking, what on earth is going on? This is the governing party.
GRAHAM BRADY, CHAIRMAN, CONSERVATIVE PARTY 1922 COMMITTEE: Absolutely. And absolutely, and I think we're deeply conscious of the imperative and the national interest of resolving this clearly and quickly.
UNKNOWN: Mr. Speaker, last week, the Prime Minister --
NOBILO: The opposition Labour Party says enough is enough.
KEIR STARMER, LEADER, BRITISH LABOUR PARTY: And the public are paying with higher prices, with higher mortgages. So, we can't have a revolving door of chaos. We can't have another experiment at the top of the Tory party. That is an alternative and that's a stable labor government.
NOBILO: Economic issues are at the heart of her downfall.
TRUSS: I have a bold plan to grow the economy through tax cuts and reform.
NOBILO: When she took office this last month, her government announced big energy subsidies, but also massive tax cuts for the rich and lifting a cap on banker's bonuses.
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I wasn't the only one that thought it was a mistake.
[03:34:56]
NOBILO: Markets those traditional Tory allies also disapproved. The pound tanked. The Bank of England tried to prop up the economy and it got worse. She fired her chancellor in charge of the economy, U-turned on promise after promise.
On Wednesday, her home secretary left too, excoriating Truss as pretending not to have made mistakes. Wednesday night M.P.s were allegedly physically manhandled in parliament in an effort to win a government vote. One Tory M.P. called it an absolute disgrace.
CHARLES WALKER, BRITISH CONSERVATIVE M.P.: I've had enough. I've had enough of talentless people putting their tick in the right box, not because it's in the national interest, but because it's in their own personal interest.
NOBILO: The coming days will determine this country's future for years to come. Tory M.P.s openly say Truss has destroyed their party's reputation for fiscal responsibility. Finding a consensus candidate will be no easy task for the conservatives and with some M.P.s voicing support for a return of Boris Johnson, the rifts are wider than ever.
Bianca, Nobilo, CNN, London.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: Well, as you saw in that report, calls for a general election are growing louder. The Labour Party leader has demanded one and Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon says, quote, "there are no words to describe these utter shambles adequately. It's beyond hyperbole and parody. A general election is now a democratic imperative."
While for Prime Minister Teresa May, who led Britain from 2016 to 2019 says, Truss made the right decision, but members of parliament must now be prepared to compromise to provide competent government.
But former leader of the opposition, Jeremy Corbyn tells CNN the government should step aside and let the British people decide.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEREMY CORBYN, FORMER LEADER, LABOUR PARTY: They put forward an economic plan that collapsed. They put forward another one, which they then self-collapsed. It's time that there was an opportunity for the people of this country to make a decision on their own future and an economic plan that dealt with the stress, the mental health crisis, and the poverty and the low levels of wages of so many people in this country.
And it's time that politics got beyond Westminster to the people of this country as a whole. The best way of doing that is a general election.
(END VIDEO CLIP) MACFARLANE: Well, in Washington U.S. President Joe Biden is praising Liz Truss as a good partner in dealing with Russia and the war in Ukraine. This comes just a few days after he criticized her economic plan. Now the White House is keeping a close watch on who might replace her as prime minister.
CNN's Phil Mattingly has this.
PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Six weeks is hardly much time for a president and a prime minister to develop. Solid working relationship, a close relationship or relationship with any intimacy, and that was certainly the case when it came to President Biden and Prime Minister Truss or former Prime Minister Truss at this point in time.
And it is very clear that White House officials were rather candid about their views of Truss's fiscal plan of the way she saw the economy moving for the U.K. A way that very clearly didn't work out, both on the economic side and on the political side.
Several officials actually going public with their criticisms and disagreements over that plan. Among those officials, the president himself. It was a candid reflection of an administration that simply thought Truss was going the wrong direction on the economy. The type of candid response that you don't often see from countries that have such a close relationship.
However, the President somewhat gracious and willing to acknowledge that the two were good partners, particularly on one issue. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: Look, she was a good partner on Russia and on Ukraine. And the British are going to solve their problems. She was a good partner.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MATTINGLY: Now, White House officials over the course of the last several days had grown increasingly skeptical that Truss could survive in the role. They've made one thing clear over and over again. While there's certainly been a swirl of uncertainty related to the leader of the U.K. over the course of the last several months, perhaps even longer to some degree, there's no uncertainty about the relationship between the two countries.
That remains unchanged. They are as close as they've ever been. Whoever ends up becoming the next prime minister, that is the one thing you hear repeatedly from officials, from the president on down that will remain unchanged.
However, U.S. officials very clearly keeping in a close eye on who might be next. Perhaps most importantly, given the fragile global economy at this moment in time where the U.K. heads next on the economy.
Phil Mattingly, CNN, the White House.
MACFARLANE: And no doubt the eyes of the world will be paying close attention to what happens in Westminster today after seeing this economic crisis that we're in. The war in Ukraine, and of course, coming out of the COVID Pandemic. So, we'll have plenty more ahead on British Prime Minister Liz Truss's resignation to come.
But for now, let's hand it back to Kim in Atlanta.
[03:40:00]
KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Thanks so much, Christina. Let's get to some of the other news from around the world.
A legal victory for actor Kevin Spacey as a New York jury finds him not liable for battery in a civil trial. Spacey was accused of touching fellow actor Anthony Rapp inappropriately in 1986 when Rapp was 14 years old. The jury deliberated for about an hour before deciding Rapp failed to prove the allegations.
Spacey still has legal trouble in the U.K., including four charges of sexual assault. He has pleaded not guilty.
The wife of a U.S. diplomat has pleaded guilty to causing the death of British teenager by careless driving. Harry Dunn was struck and killed in a 2019 collision that happened when Anne Sacoolas drove on the wrong side of the road.
Prosecutors say they will not pursue more serious charges against her. The careless driving charge can we punish by up -- by up to five years in prison. But Sacoolas remains in the U.S. and any sentence will likely be unenforceable.
Brazilian voters head back to the polls in little more than a week for a runoff vote in the country's presidential election. New polling shows that current right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro, is closing the gap between himself and his rival former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Lula has a slight lead, but the race is effectively a statistical tie.
The government of Chad has imposed an overnight curfew as deadly clashes rage between police and anti-government protestors. It's thought that some 50 people were killed as demonstrators took to the street around the country on Thursday, marking the date when the country's military had initially promised to hand over power.
Now for weeks, ordinary Iranians have been risking their lives to fight for civil rights. And because Iran's regime is so oppressive and secretive, just seeing videos snuck out of the country and hearing the first-person accounts of what's happening has been astonishing.
Have a look here.
Our Jomana Karadsheh recently spoke to one woman about what she's experienced and why she's risking her safety to make a stand. Now we want to warn you some of the images in this piece are disturbing. But we do feel it's important to show them.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Every day for the past five weeks a little bit of video trickles out of Iran. Giving us a small window into the repressive republic. A snapshot of the bravery of protesters and the ruthlessness of regime forces.
The government's internet restrictions have made it hard for us to speak to those on the front lines of this battle for change. But we got a rare opportunity to speak briefly with a 28-year-old protestor. We're not identifying her for her safety.
UNKNOWN: When I arrived to protest location, I was really scared and I -- and I was like, what am I doing here? Here is the war zone. And I was so scared. I realized that if I want to make a change, I should start with myself.
KARADSHEH: That defiance was met with sheer brutality. Women have been beaten up with batons and shot at. This protester's body riddled with shotgun pellets according to rights group Hengaw. Many have been dragged by their uncovered hair.
And according to human rights groups and Amnesty International, some sexually assaulted in plain sight by the very forces claiming to be the enforcers of morality.
UNKNOWN: Individuals and (Inaudible) forces attacked people and beat them and to scare people. I saw a lady who was coming back from class and the bases (Ph) forces hit her with a baton in her sensitive place, and she couldn't walk.
KARADSHEH: She recounts in terrifying detail what she and others have witnessed firsthand. Security forces roaming the streets on motorbikes attacking people, opening fire on peaceful protesters and chasing them into buildings.
UNKNOWN: When we were attacked, we ran into a store and the salesman closed the -- closed and locked the door so the forces couldn't see inside. My heart was pounding and I was shaking. My friend said, do you want to go home? I said, no, like, home. I didn't come to run away. Nothing has happened to me yet, and I was -- and I was able to escape.
But it is possible at any moment. we are now in the worst time of our life. We do everything we can despite all this stress, even if it costs our lives.
KARADSHEH: Too many lives already lost in a battle they say for women, life, liberty. But that's not stopping the fearless generation rising up to reclaim freedoms they've never known.
[03:45:05]
Jomana Karadsheh, CNN, Istanbul. BRUNHUBER: Thousands of former Russian civilians now find themselves training for combat in Ukraine as part of the Russian army, and there to make sure they're ready to fight the Russian president himself. Well, those details just ahead after short break. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BRUNHUBER: A rare site near Moscow On Thursday. Russian President Vladimir Putin visiting a training ground for new recruits. Have a look here.
Accompanied by Russia's defense minister, Putin's presence at the facility was apparently meant to demonstrate his personal support for the new soldiers. You can see there Putin even got down on his belly at the gun range to fire off a few rounds with a sniper rifle.
The Kremlin has said it's partial mobilization to draft 300,000 Russian civilians into the military is near -- nearly complete. Now, what's not mentioned are the hundreds of thousands of Russian men who fled the country to avoid conscription.
Well, Vladimir Putin has a long history of presenting a macho image to the world. It's a public persona he's carefully crafted over more than 20 years in power.
CNN's Brian Todd explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A made for TV moment Putin style. The Russian president makes a personal hands-on show of force firing a sniper rifle while at a Russian military base.
This video just released by the Russian defense ministry visiting a training ground for newly mobilized soldiers. Vladimir Putin gets a brief. Enters the firing range to observe target practice, then strides out on the range himself. Dons his eye and ear protection, hits the dirt alongside the others, and takes aim. He dust-off his coat. Hugs a soldier then continues his inspection of newly mobilized troops.
SUSAN GLASSER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: What's really remarkable is given how Russia is suffering battlefield reverses that Putin is willing to not only take ownership of the war, but appears to double down on it by picking up a gun himself and sort of saying, I'm here fighting with you.
TODD: Here's an exchange where Putin asks a soldier if he's got everything he needs in training, the soldier responds, no issues, sir. And Putin wraps his knuckle on the table in approval. But one clip from near the front lines recently played by CNN portrays the opposite. Newly mobilized Russian soldiers in the Luhansk region complaining.
UNKNOWN: We've got this (muted) for training 11 days from when we were deployed. We left Moscow 11 days ago. How many times did you shoot already? Once. Three bullet cartridges.
[03:49:58]
TODD: Analysts say Putin's recent order to mobilize 300,000 more troops is beset with problems.
GLASSER: It appears that more Russian men have fled the country than have agreed to go along with Putin's conscription. So, this is at a very delicate moment with the war.
ANDREW WEISS, VICE PRESIDENT FOR STUDIES, CARNEGIE ENDOWMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL PEACE: What we're seeing instead is an airbrushed Kremlin depiction of Russia's mighty army. And we know quite vividly what has happened to that army on the battlefield inside Ukraine, it's being shredded.
TODD: But for Putin, displays like this are a go-to move to galvanize support. In the past, the Kremlin's put out propaganda images of him riding a horse shirtless, on a bear chested fishing expedition, descending in a small submarine, hiking on a hillside, thoughtfully pondering nature on a fallen tree.
We've seen him in organized hockey games magically scoring multiple goals, but one analyst says Putin's strong man act at this point in a grinding war has gotten stale.
WEISS: Putin himself just celebrated his 70th birthday, and I don't think most Russians are taken in by the image of their leader. I think they are scared of the horribleness of the war in Ukraine. They're worried about their family members being sucked into it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TODD (on camera): Part of the irony of Vladimir Putin managing his image and his messaging on the war so carefully, observers say, is that there have been complaints from Russian families that the Russian government hasn't always been very good about giving information to the relatives of Russian soldiers that their sons have been killed or wounded in the war. Some families complaining that they've had to get that information from social media, word of mouth, or other means.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
BRUNHUBER: Well, still no agreement among European leaders on how to tackle a looming energy crisis as they prepare to wrap up a two-day summit in Brussels. Without a last-minute breakthrough, the summit will end today without a plan. The president of the European Parliament warned time is short.
Here she is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTA METSOLA, PRESIDENT, EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: The time for small steps is over. What we need now is giant leaps in order to replace those small steps. We can get our bills under control. We can cushion the social and economic impact of the crisis. We can bring down sky- high energy prices, but we can only manage it if we do it together.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: Now the biggest sticking point is a price cap on imported natural gas this winter. France, Italy, and others want a price cap to fight rampant inflation at home. But to their disappointment, Germany and others who have been a hard no. Listen to the German chancellor here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OLAF SCHOLZ, GERMAN CHANCELLOR (through translator): A politically set price cap always creates the risk that producers will sell their gas elsewhere and that we Europeans will end up with less gas instead of more. That is why the E.U. must coordinate closely with other gas consumers, such as Japan and Korea, so that we do not end up competing with each other.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: Well, that does it for me in Atlanta. Let's go back to Christina outside the Houses of Parliament. Christina?
MACFARLANE: Thanks very much, Kim. Some light relief ahead, thankfully on CNN Newsroom. A party and a story about a shelf life. How a lettuce outlasts its British Prime Minister Liz Truss. Let us explain in just a moment.
Plus, before we go to the break, let's hear what some London pensioners had to say about Truss's resignation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNKNOWN: Well, it's an absolute disgrace. you know, it makes you wonder whether should vote conservative again. But I'm delighted to hear that she's finally gone.
UNKNOWN: I've got mixed feelings, really. I think she's been honed it out and she's not the first one.
UNKNOWN: Well, the fact is, Liz Truss, I think she's made so many mistakes and so many U-turns. I think we need somebody who's strong in politics who can take this concert by the scruff of the neck and get it (Inaudible) out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[03:55:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MACFARLANE: Hello and welcome back. I'm Christina Macfarlane, live outside the Houses of Parliament this morning where we are getting our first look at how the British tabloids are covering the Truss resignation and what comes next, which is always a pretty good temperature gauge.
First, The Independent with the headline, voters demand general election to pick new prime minister, and let's say it's an unlikely scenario with the next vote due to be taking place no sooner than 2025.
Meanwhile, from the Daily Mail, it's Boris versus Rishi, the fight for the soul of the Tories. And yet, of course, another indication that Boris Johnson wants his old job back. And The Daily Telegraph, Boris Johnson tells Tories, I can save the party from election wipe out.
And finally, this from the National Daily I with the headline gone in 44.
Well, to put it more plainly, what we're all talking about here in the U.K. is that Liz Truss lost to the head of a lettuce. The vegetables decay took longer than Truss's troubled tenure as British Prime Minister and as a tabloid put it to the test.
Let's have a look at that now with our Anna Stewart who has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER: Utter chaos broken as Liz Truss's days as Prime Minister became numbered, one British tabloid posed a question that captured a nation. Could she last longer than this lettuce. You may be wondering how it all began. Well, let us explain.
An economist article compared that total days Truss had been in control to roughly the shelf life of a lettuce, which inspired this gem from the Daily Star. Who would perish. First day or night the campaign continued. And despite some tough talk from Truss.
LIZ TRUSS, OUTGOING BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: I am a fighter and not a quitter.
STEWART: It was a resounding victory for the greens.
UNKNOWN: This is just the tip of the iceberg.
STEWART: Officially that lettuce cannot be tossed into the upcoming leadership race, but remains the Caesar of salads.
Anna Stewart, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MACFARLANE: The big question though, was the lettuce leaf all remain. And with that awful pun, I will hand you off to Max Foster who is coming up in the next hour on CNN Newsroom. Thanks for joining us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
