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Rishi Sunak Takes Liz Truss' Place; Rishi Sunak's Credibility Will be Put into Test; Russia Accuse Ukraine of Using Dirty Bombs; Hang Seng Tumbles Down Over Xi Jinping's Third Term; U.S. and Saudi Arabia Relationship Sours by the Day. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired October 25, 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]
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ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church.
Just ahead here on CNN Newsroom, it's a brand new day for British politics, or is it? Does Rishi Sunak have what it takes to turn the British economy around.
Ukraine says Russia could be trading nuclear secrets for Iranian drones. We will have the latest from the battlefield.
And remembering Leslie Jordan saying goodbye to the viral sensation who comforted the masses during COVID's darkest times.
UNKNOWN: Live from CNN center, this is CNN Newsroom with Rosemary Church.
CHURCH: It is eight o'clock in the morning in London where Rishi Sunak will soon become the U.K.'s third prime minister in just a matter of weeks. But this time he is set to make history with his appointment. Sunak will be the first person of color in that post, and also, the first Hindu to lead the U.K. And at 42 years old, he will be the youngest person to take the office in more than 200 years.
In the coming hours, outgoing Prime Minister Liz Truss will chair her last cabinet meeting before leaving 10 Downing Street for the last time to meet King Charles III. Later, Sunak will also have an audience with the king where he will officially be appointed to the post.
The incoming prime minister was met with cheers at the Conservative Party headquarters in London on Monday. But Sunak will soon need to address the very serious challenges facing the U.K. including a major economic crisis and political turmoil. His top priorities will be to rescue the economy, tackle inflation, and work on uniting his own party. Sunak says he's ready to face the enormous task ahead.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RISHI SUNAK, INCOMING BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: The United Kingdom is a great country, but there is no doubt we face a profound economic challenge. We now need stability and unity, and I will make it my utmost priority to bring our party and our country together.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: And CNN's Bianca Nobilo joins us now live from Downing Street in London. Good to see you, Bianca.
So, it is an historic moment for the United Kingdom, but also represents new hope for a united and stable future after much chaos with Boris Johnson and Liz Truss. Can Rishi Sunak live up to all those expectations and deliver?
BIANCA NOBILO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm not sure that any politician would be able to live up to every expectation because they are enormous. Not only is his intro full of formidable challenges that the country is facing from the economy, to energy prices, to the war on the continent of Ukraine, and continuing Britain support of that, to reestablishing strong relationships with international partners and allies and charting Britain's place in the world post Brexit after this bumpy period in politics.
But he's also facing a divided party, and that might make governing extremely difficult. So, his first priority will be, and he'll get to it later today, to try and appoint a cabinet with members of the party from all different sides. Because if they can't unite together, then very little will be achieved.
With all of these expectations upon him it seems a good time to take a look about who Rishi -- Rishi Sunak is.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NOBILO (voice-over): After making the runoff in the second leadership contest in his many months, it's second time lucky for Britain's new Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
SUNAK: I will serve you with integrity and humility, and I will work day in day out to deliver for the British people.
NOBILO: But that is where his luck runs out. Sunak inherits a party at its lowest level of popularity in a generation. Changing prime ministers at a pace never seen.
LIZ TRUSS, OUTGOING BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: I am resigning.
NOBILO: The last, Liz Truss became Britain's shortest serving leader ever at a mere six weeks. But the former chancellor has not sugarcoated the challenges Britain faces, assuring that he has the economic credentials to steer the nation through the crisis.
[03:04:59]
SUNAK: Borrowing your way out of inflation isn't a plan. It's a fairytale. NOBILO: Born to parents of Indian descent, Sunak is Britain's first person of color to become prime minister, but his path to power is a tale as old as time. Educated at one of Britain's most exclusive schools, Winchester College, onto Oxford University, like over half of the country's prime ministers, then into the finance industry.
After being praised for slick performances during the pandemic, he was tip to become the next leader. And his wife, Akshata Murthy, the daughter of the Indian billionaire founder of Infosys, came under fire for her non-domicile status, sparing her a huge tax bill.
Sunak ranks among the U.K.'s richest and has been labeled out of touch with ordinary voters.
SUNAK: Also, I have friends who are, you know, working class, but I'm not working class. But I mix and match.
NOBILO: This 2001 BBC documentary clip when he was still at university later went viral and it didn't help. Now Sunak leads Britain at a time when millions fear they won't be able to afford their food and heating this winter. Sunak will be tested and judged immediately.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NOBILO (on camera): Rosemary, adding to the expectations we heard from the leader of a Hindu temple in Southampton that was actually founded in part by Rishi Sunak's grandfather and father, and they called Rishi Sunak's appointment to prime minister their Barack Obama moment.
So, a lot is expected and hoped of Sunak and what he might be able to achieve, but he is up against it. This will be an uphill battle. In many ways, he'll have an easier time than Liz Truss because he was the favorite of the parliamentary party. So, one would imagine that he'll be able to get them on side, and the process of governing might be a little smoother than it was for her.
But he knows that the party is trailing behind in the polls and faces electoral oblivion. So even if he can unite the party, even if he can stabilize the economy, can he go anyway to convincing the country at large that they should reconsider the Conservative Party as an option in the next election?
CHURCH: Yes, multiple challenges ahead there. Bianca Nobilo joining us live from London. Many thanks.
Well, Catherine Haddon is a senior fellow at the Institute for Government and joins me now from London. Thank you so much for being with us.
CATHERINE HADDON, SENIOR FELLOW, INSTITUTE FOR GOVERNMENT: Hi.
CHURCH: So, this, certainly is an historic moment for the U.K. He'll be the first prime minister of color, a Hindu, and of course the youngest in two centuries. But not everyone thinks Rishi Sunak understands the people of Britain, particularly those less privileged than him.
Could this prove to be a problem as he tries to tackle the many challenges he faces and his country faces?
HADDON: I think to be honest, the biggest problem that Rishi Sunak has got immediately is with his own political party. We've seen over the last few weeks, and indeed, the entire two leadership contests we've had since July when Boris Johnson announced he was stepping down, that the party is deeply divided amongst different political factions, supporting different candidates and on all sorts of policy issues.
So, the first thing that he'll have to be thinking about is how to form a government, make various appointments to minister where he is uniting the party, but also bringing in people of talent. But there is definitely a problem about how he speaks to the nation now.
Because this particular leadership contest in particular, it all took place behind closed doors. None of the candidates spoke directly to the public. Rishi Sunak's comments yesterday were the first time that he had done so. So there definitely is a need for him to start connecting with the public given the huge economic crisis facing the country and a lot of people.
CHURCH: Right. And so, we can establish that his big task is to unite his fractured Conservative Party, rescue the economy. But what sort of prime minister do you think he will make going on what we know about him so far?
HADDON: Well, I spoke to one conservative commentator last night who had just been with Rishi Sunak supporters in the House of Commons where they were celebrating, but also where they were saying that it was time for boring government.
And what they mean by that is that they want to put an end to the sort of the crisis and the drama that we've seen in U.K. politics in recent weeks, and in fact, for many years now. So, they'll be wanting a calm number 10. A better grip on the problems of government and on how they, as I say, handle the parliamentary party.
We were -- we were expecting him to bring in some fairly experienced aides with him. But remember Rishi Sunak, he was chancellor for a couple of years, but it was by U.K. standards, quite a meteoric rise.
[03:10:00]
So, he's not had huge experience on domestic agenda, and the job of prime minister is very different from the job of chancellor. So, it really is an unknown quantity how he, you know, he'll operate as prime minister.
CHURCH: Yes, he would definitely be put to the test. And of course, in the end, Sunak's mission is to win a general election whenever that happens. Do you think he can do that.
HADDON: Two years is a reasonable amount of time, given where the conservatives were looking just last week when a crisis was across them and the opposition parties were pushing for a general election.
But again, I know I keep emphasizing it, but that's why controlling the parliamentary party or appeasing the parliamentary party is so important because if they can't do that, if you can't command confidence as the U.K. Constitution puts it, then it is very difficult for to govern and it will be very difficult for the conservatives to avoid the pressure for an earlier election.
And I think most commentators would agree that if he is to improve their poll ratings, he's going to need time because the next few weeks, few months, this winter period is going to be very difficult for the British public and the Liz Truss government has firmly placed it's in the minds of the public. That's the conservatives are in large part responsible for where we are now.
CHURCH: And you mentioned Sunak has very little experience really broadly outside of finance, but we saw Liz Truss. I mean, she was just chaos, wasn't she, had no idea really was incompetent in fact. And we saw that with Boris Johnson. Why is there such a lack of leadership in the Conservative Party, do you think? I mean, where they're really sort of trying to look around desperately for someone who couldn't take the helm.
HADDON: Yes, we saw with Boris Johnson and Liz Truss, two different ways to get it dramatically wrong. With Boris Johnson, he set the tone from the top and his approach to being prime minister was chaotic and therefore his -- his Number 10 operation, the key aides around him also we're all fighting each other or sending out different signals.
So, there wasn't a sort of clear coherence approach across the top of his government. With Liz Truss, she had that clear approach. She had conviction, but as one of my colleagues put it, that clear direction just marched them off the top of a cliff. So, with her, it was too much of that conviction. Not listening to the evidence, not listening to key advisors.
Rishi Sunak has got to learn from both of those examples. Yes, he needs to set a clear direction, but he also needs to be able to listen to advice and to be ready to change if the facts change. And it is a difficult approach, it does need a mature mind, a calm mind. And he certainly has shown that in his time in British politics that he is able to give better direction.
The treasury certainly appreciated him when he was chancellor, so I think he's got a better chance than both of them, but there are still some very choppy waters ahead.
CHURCH: Yes, of course, we'll all be watching to see what happens in the coming weeks and months.
Catherine Haddon joining us from London, many thanks.
Fireworks lit up the skies of Southampton England for Diwali, the Hindu Festival of Lights. But this year's show was extended in honor of Rishi Sunak becoming prime minister. The display was put on by a Hindu temple co-founded by his grandparents. At the White House, the U.S. president hosted a Diwali event and commented on how the holiday coincided with Sunak's win. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: As my brother would say, go figure. And the Conservative Party expected to become the prime minister, I think tomorrow when he goes to see the king. Pretty astounding, a groundbreaking milestone, and it matters. It matters.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: And we will have much more on Britain's new prime minister and what to expect in the day ahead later on this hour.
Ukraine's president warns that Russia could help Iran with its nuclear program in exchange for drones. Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russia has already ordered about 2,000 Iranian UAVs, many of which have been deliberately crashed into Ukrainian targets.
Western officials have condemned such use of drones. And the U.S. House speaker criticized Iran for allegedly supplying them.
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[03:14:56]
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D), UNITED STATES SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: I think Iran is making a big mistake. We've been trying for a while now to have a nuclear agreement with Iran so that we can make the world a safer place.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: According to Reuters, Russia will address the U.N. Security Council in the coming hours about its claim that Ukraine might use a so-called dirty bomb on the battlefield. Russian officials have insisted that Ukraine will detonate an explosive mixed with radioactive material in its own territory as part of a false flag operation.
But NATO and Ukraine are rejecting the claim. And the U.S. has suggested it's actually Russia which might use a dirty bomb and warn of consequences if it does.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NED PRICE, U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESPERSON: We're concerned when we hear this type of patently false disinformation emanating from the Kremlin. We know the Kremlin's track record when it comes to these types of claims.
(END VIDEO CLIP) CHURCH: All of this is happening as Ukraine is trying to retake the southern city of Kherson. The Ukrainian military says Russian forces there are setting up their defenses, but they're also preparing for a potential retreat.
As Fred Pleitgen reports, they've already started to move some people out of the city.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): As Ukrainian forces continue to make gains in the south of the country, Moscow accelerating the evacuation of people from the area around Kherson. Ferries bringing tens of thousands across the Dnipro River. The Russians say to safety, Ukraine says these are essentially deportations.
UNKNOWN (through translator): My mother needs medical treatment. She is ill. And of course, we're afraid for our lives. We live not far from the Antonovsky Bridge. I think everything will be fine. Kherson will hold out.
PLEITGEN: Local officials believe this could be the beginning of a full Russian retreat from this area.
SERHII KHLAN, MEMBER, KHERSON REGIONAL COUNCIL (through translator): The occupiers and collaborators are leaving the west part of the region in quite a dramatic way. This happens along with the total looting of Kherson City and the region west of the river.
PLEITGEN: But Ukraine's military intelligence say they believe Russia is actually building up its forces here for a massive stand rather than readying for a withdrawal. But as Vladimir Putin's troops lose ground, officials in Moscow are making troubling accusations.
In a call with Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, Russia's defense minister Sergei Shoigu alleging without any evidence that Ukraine is planning to detonate a nuclear laced improvised device, a so-called dirty bomb. A Russian General adding to the claims.
IGOR KIRILLOV, RUSSIAN DEFENSE MINISTRY (through translator): The provocation is aimed at accusing Russia of using weapons of mass destruction at the Ukrainian theater of operations that would launch a powerful anti-Russian campaign in order to undermine the confidence in Moscow.
PLEITGEN: Kyiv sharply rejects the allegations, even asking the International Atomic Energy to inspect its civilian nuclear sites. The IAEA already has staff in the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant trying to prevent an atomic disaster there. Ukraine's President hurling the allegations back at Moscow.
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE (through translator): Never again will Russia be able to dictate anything to anyone, it no longer has the potential to dictate. The world sees that. Russian potential is being wasted now in this madness on a war against our state and the entire free world.
PLEITGEN: The Russians continued to hit Ukraine with long distance missiles and drones this weekend in Mykolaiv and elsewhere.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PLEITGEN (on camera): The Russians are continuing their air campaign against the public infrastructure of this country, hitting civilian areas like right here, killing and wounding scores of people. But the air campaign is also taking a massive toll on the energy infrastructure of this country, leaving hundreds of thousands without power.
The Ukrainians say, Russia's airstrikes won't stop their advance. Kyiv's army looking to retake as much of their territory as possible before winter sets in.
Fred Pleitgen, CNN Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine.
CHURCH: And we go live now to Kyiv, and CNN's international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson. Good to see you again, Nic. So, Russian forces are preparing defensive positions and a potential retreat from Kherson. What more are you learning about this?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Well, there's also a belief from Russia's, rather Ukraine's military intelligence chief, that while they're building those defenses, they are also bringing in more forces onto the western bank of the Dnipro River in Kher -- in the city of Kherson while moving the civilians out.
So, it, certainly from the Ukrainian perspective it creates the impression that Russia is both ready to fight for Kherson, but also ready to run at a moment's notice.
[03:19:58]
And it's indicative of what we've seen in the north of the country where Russia doesn't necessarily have full control over the motivation of its forces. In the north of the country a month or so ago, Russia forces fell back very rapidly and it hence, at a potential similar behavior where Russia's commanders want their troops to stay put. But if Ukrainian forces gain momentum on the front line, they could end up falling back very fast.
And that's the assessment of Ukraine's military intelligence chief as well. He says that Russia is readying for the possibility of a rapid pullback from Kherson, but at the same time he's not predicting, when the battle will be over and how quickly it will -- it will go.
At the moment, it's still a long way outside the city of Kherson, so it's very difficult to tell what's happening at the front line on the battlefield, what's happening actually in Kherson. Russian military are not letting independent reporters in, and it's not possible from the Ukrainian side to get access to the front lines to get a firm assessment there. What is very clear is, that's going to be the next major battle and
the first battle for a, an important regional capital city in this invasion.
CHURCH: All right, Nic Robertson joining us live from Kyiv. Many thanks.
And just ahead.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN ANCHOR: The White House has accused Saudi of siding with Russia. Is the kingdom siding with Russia?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: A CNN exclusive. Becky Anderson discusses the United States increasingly rocky relationship with Saudi Arabia with the Kingdom's ambassador to Washington.
Plus, financial markets in Hong Kong did not react well to the reshuffling of Xi Jinping's government. We will see how stocks are faring today. That's ahead.
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CHURCH: Trading is underway this hour and financial markets across Europe, and investors are hoping to carry forward Monday's momentum. You see there the CAC in Paris up 0.59, nearly 0.6 percent to there, and the DAX adding 0.28 percent. The FTSE down slightly.
Hong Kong stocks are trying to recover from their worst day in almost 14 years. It came just one day after Chinese President Xi Jinping secured an unprecedented third term in office. Foreign investors are wary about the lack of economic reformers in his new government.
The Hang Seng plunge nearly six and a half percent on Monday. That is the biggest daily drop since the 2008 financial crisis.
And we want to bring in CNN's Kristie Lu Stout now who joins us live from Hong Kong to talk more about this. What is going on here?
[03:24:56]
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Rosemary, investors are still unnerved, especially after that huge and historic market selloff on Monday. And today, it's the Chinese currency, the yuan that is feeling the pressure. In fact, today, this Tuesday, we've learned that the yuan has tumbled to an all-time low on international markets and the more tightly controlled domestic market, it has weakened to a 15 year low.
Now on Monday, of course, that was when the Hong Kong Hang Seng Index notch its worst performance since the 2008 financial crisis. We saw shares in big tech companies of China, like Tencent, like Alibaba lose more than 11 percent and that as a result, just wiping out about $54 billion U.S. dollars in their combined market value.
U.S. list of shares of Chinese tech companies also fell overnight. And despite the fact that we had that rosier better than expected third quarter GDP report that came out on Monday, investors in the markets have been fixating on Xi Jinping's power play and that power grab that happened over the last week.
As a result of the 20th party Congress, we saw Xi Jinping not only secure the unprecedented third term as party leader, but also we saw him pack his politburo standing committee with loyalists and push out more experienced economic, policy makers.
For example, Liu He, the vice premier, or Li Keqiang, the premier of China, or the head of the People's Bank of China. As a result, investors are on edge. We've been talking to analysts and economists today for more reaction. I want to show you what Justin Tang of United First Partners shared with us just a couple of hours ago.
He said, quote, "the concern is the lack of checks and balances in a partisan committee," of course, making reference to the politburo standing committee now stacked with she loyalist. He goes on to say, "Mr. Xi has never been supportive of consumer tech stocks and the market expects that stands to continue or even more restrictions to arise."
And we also got this response from Michael Every, global strategist at Rabobank who tells CNN, quote, "the Chinese yuan saw dramatically lower fixing today and is hitting fresh cycle lows. If politics is now everything and Chinese tech is nothing, then the Chinese yuan is only going one way."
So far, the Chinese currency has weakened about 15 percent against the U.S. dollar this year. And it's on track to post its worst year in almost three decades.
Back to you, Rosemary.
CHURCH: All right, Kristie Lu Stout joining us live from Hong Kong. Many thanks.
Well, the decision by OPEC+ to cut oil production has further strained Saudi ties with the United States and gas prices and inflation are expected to be huge issues in the U.S. midterm elections.
CNN's Becky Anderson recently spoke with Princess Reema, Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the U.S. about the kingdom's increasingly rocky relationship with Washington. And he's part of that exclusive interview.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
REEMA BINT BANDAR AL SAUD, SAUDI AMBASSADOR TO U.S.: It's here right at the point of this agreement, and many people have tried to politicize this, but you're hearing it from the horse's mouth. This is not political. This is purely economic based on the expertise of 40 or 50 years of mapping and trends. We do not engage in the politics of anyone. We engage simply as a balancer and a stabilizer of the economy through the energy market as we've done historically.
ANDERSON: Well, let me provide as a counter argument to that. The White House perspective. The White House has accused Saudi of siding with Russia. Is the kingdom siding with Russia?
AL SAUD: You know, the Kingdom has a policy of engaging with everybody across the board. Those we agree with and those that we disagree with. The relationship that we had with Russia is what allowed us to free prisoners of war. Two Americans, five Brits, one Croat, and a selection from other countries.
We view our role as a mediator and a communicator. We've supported Ukraine humanitarianly. We have given over 400 million. We collaborated with Ukraine and Poland to give 10 million to allow for the refugees that were coming out of the Ukraine and spilling into Poland a safe landing.
That's what we do. That's the value of our engagement. Is it siding with Russia? No.
ANDERSON: Have you personally spoken to the administration about this? What's the communication?
AL SAUD: I deal very regularly with the administration and frankly, it's an administration that I have profound respect for. I have only had the most gracious and direct communication as we should. That's how partners communicate with each other.
And by the way, it's OK to disagree. We've disagreed in the past and we've agreed in the past, but the important thing is recognizing the value of this relationship.
ANDERSON: Can the kingdom do without a relationship with Washington?
AL SAUD: Becky, the world can't do without a relationship with the United States of America. I have no doubt. The United States is the United States. For 80 years it has been our strategic ally. For 80 years it has been our partner.
[03:29:56]
You know, I hear a lot of people talk about reforming or reviewing the relationship with the kingdom. And I think actually that that's a positive thing. This kingdom is not the kingdom it was five years ago. It's not the kingdom it was 10 years ago.
So, every piece of analysis that existed is no longer relevant. We are a young population, we have young leadership. We have an aspiration and a goal to engage with the world in a way we never did before.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: You can watch the rest of Becky's interview with the ambassador on Connect the World airing at 10 a.m. Eastern Time, 5 p.m. in Riyad. And just ahead, the role of race and the rise of Rishi Sunak. Why some in the South Asian community are thrilled about his appointment and others, not so much.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNKNOWN: Being somebody who's non-white myself, I would've wanted somebody with a few more, you know, few more scruples probably.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Welcome back to CNN Newsroom. I'm Rosemary Church. Let's get you up to date now on our top story.
Rishi Sunak is about to make history in the United Kingdom. The former British finance minister is set to meet with King Charles in the coming hours where he will be appointed prime minister. Sunak is expected to address the public, but he's already said his first priority will be to tackle the economic instability that's gripped the nation in the wake of the COVID pandemic.
At age 42, Sunak will be the youngest British prime minister in more than 200 years. He's also the first Hindu and first person of color to hold the position.
Well, Lord David Howell served as secretary of state for energy under former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and joins us now from Tokyo.
Thank you, sir, for being with us.
DAVID HOWELL, FORMER U.K. SECRETARY OF STATE FOR ENERGY: Good evening.
CHURCH: So how significant is this historic moment as Rishi Sunak prepares to become the next prime Minister of Britain, the first of color, the first Hindu and the youngest in more than two centuries?
HOWELL: Well, it is very significant. Now, in speaking with personnel I'm relieved that we've had a bit of a wobble in our politics and indeed our finance in recent weeks, and I think that he is very well placed and very well equipped to steady the ship, and that's what's needed in the immediate future, well, of course there are huge problems ahead.
CHURCH: Indeed. I mean, Sunak himself has said that his first priority will be to tackle the economic instability facing the nation right now. And how confident are you that he will be able to rescue the economy?
Because, I mean, there's a, a lot of global influences impacting that. A lot of things out of his control.
[03:35:07]
HOWELL: So that's exactly true. Well, short term and immediately I think he will be able to stabilize things a little in the currency markets and in the bond markets.
But you're quite right, that the first need is to recognize that it's also most of the problems affecting the British economy and the world economy, indeed that these are external and they're very deep. And it would, he's got to walk across a quagmire international difficulties and lead the country across it, in the coming months and in the year or two ahead.
So, it is a very, very tricky situation in which, there's a great danger in promising too much and saying, everything will be protected. I'll deliver this, that and the other. The first task is to get through this quagmire. We are sinking into it and we all know where that comes from. Ukraine, OPEC, world oil and gas problem, external forces of every kind. It's too much populism and general instability.
It's a, it needs terrific demands and terrific vision to get us through this.
CHURCH: Yes. Sunak, faces other big challenges, including uniting his fractured Conservative Party and bringing stability to the nation. Do you think he'll be able to get this done? Certainly. I mean, can he unite the conservatives? They are so fractured, aren't they?
HOWELL: The conservatives will be united by successful progress and pro -- the first progress is not that so much progress as halting further deterioration and enabling us to steady ourselves up in this very dangerous world. I mean, you've been running other -- other stories of the dangers, for instance, from Beijing and the huge pressures on the Chinese economy, and there's plenty of other dangers as well.
There's Taiwan in the wings, the Ukraine thing, no one knows the outcome as Putin talking about nuclear weapons. The, you know, you've got a long list of non-economic financial challenges to meet as well. But, you know, he'll keep, he'll get the unity of the party now as long as he seems on the right track.
And that means disappointing a number of popular causes and say you'll just have to wait. The priority now really is in the near war situation, defense and security and all its complicated new forms. That's where the priority has got to be. And I think if he takes that line there not too many promises he can't deliver now, but makes clear that they can be delivered. If successful in a year or two, then he will be respected and get the unity of the party.
CHURCH: And of course, ultimately Sunak's biggest task is to win the next general election. Do you think he can do that?
HOWELL: Well, that, that follows, if you can get, keep the unity of the party. If by the spring as on the mid-summer of next year, we're seeing the mediation of this terrifying inflation of pressure, which is really ruining and frightening millions of people.
If he can indicate that the country is on the recovery path, if he can meet some of the demands, not all of them. For more on this, more on that, more on health, more on education, all the popular causes. If he can meet summer demands for a slightly lower taxation by next year, then he will be in a very strong position and he will be able to challenge a Labour Party, which is well run at the moment or well led, but frankly hasn't got much else to offer on all these terrific problems.
So, he'll be a -- he'll be a good starter for that possibility. But as you know, politics is full of ifs and buts.
CHURCH: Lord David Howell, thank you so much for talking with us. I appreciate it.
HOWELL: Thank you. Thank you.
CHURCH: Well, meanwhile, within the U.K.'s large South Asian community, there are mixed feelings about Sunak's big win. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNKNOWN: Yes, it's a proud feeling as an Indian. I'm -- so like him, if he is -- he become a prime minister of U.K. it's good.
UNKNOWN: Non-white or white doesn't make any difference because he is born in England and he's born and bought up here only. So, I don't think so there is any, any difference.
UNKNOWN: Being somebody who's non-white myself, I would've wanted somebody with a few more, I don't know, few more scruples probably. Being a bit more left-leaning maybe, especially coming from, you know, a minority and having suffered certain things, you know, you would want somebody to understand that. And I feel like he doesn't, I might be wrong. Let's see.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: And stay with CNN for all the latest on Britain's new Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. We will have special extended coverage in the 10 and 11 a.m. hours in London.
Well, much more ahead this hour on CNN Newsroom, including criminal charges from the U.S. Justice Department for six people accused of spying for China.
Plus, with public protests Almost unheard of, Chinese activists are turning to a more private way of expressing themselves. Back with that in just a moment.
[03:40:05]
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CHURCH: University students are not letting up on the anti-government protests in Iran. This recent rally was held in the western city of Ahvaz.
Meanwhile, an Iranian court has charged more than 300 people with conspiracy and collusion to damage national security according to state aligned media. And this comes after more than five weeks of protest following the death of a young woman detained by Iran so- called morality police.
Meanwhile, at least 40 journalists are among those who have been arrested by Iranian authorities. That is according to the Committee to Protect journalists.
CNN's Nada Bashir picks up the story.
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NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER: Women, life, freedom, a rallying cry that is only growing stronger as protests in Iran enter their sixth week, sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Zhina Amini, who died in the custody of Iran's notorious morality police in September.
But as the regime intensifies its brutal and deadly crackdown on protesters, it's also scrambling to control the narrative, jailing at least 40 journalists since protests first began. According to the CPJ.
YEGANEH REZAIAN, SENIOR RESEARCHER, COMMITTEE TO PROTECT JOURNALISTS: These are just estimation, I'm sure the correct tallies over 400, several of the cases of these journalists that we have covered as soon as they reported about those news on their Twitter channels, the next day they were arrested.
BASHIR: And just walk me, walk me through the tactics being used by the Iranian regime. How are journalists in Iran being repressed?
REZAIAN: Security forces usually raid the homes of journalists after midnight in order to create an environment of scare and fear. They usually transfer these journalists immediately to solitary confinement. In most cases, they don't let the journalists have access to lawyer.
BASHIR: Much of Iran's media is under state control, with journalists who reject the state's narrative facing harsh penalties. Among them, Niloofar Hamedi. One of the first journalists to break the story of Amini's death in Iranian media.
UNKNOWN: We know that Nilo Hamedi has been held in a solitary confinement. We know --
BASHIR: Here in London, journalists at the pro-reform news outlet, Iran Wire, which has been working with CNN to cover the ongoing protests, are meticulously documenting the detention of journalists in Iran.
UNKNOWN: One of them needs to be confirmed.
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BASHIR: It's a growing list with a concerning lack of clarity on where many of these journalists are being held. Among them are citizen journalists bravely documenting the regime's crackdown on their phones and on social media.
MAZIAR BAHARI, JOURNALIST, IRANWIRE: So, for us citizen journalists inside the country are the most important colleagues we have, and without them we would not be able to operate. These are the peoples who risk their lives in order to report.
BASHIR: With internet blackouts being used by the Iranian authorities as a tool to stem the spread of information, the role of journalists on the ground bearing witness to atrocities perpetrated by the Iranian regime is growing more important and more dangerous.
Nada Bashir, CNN, London.
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CHURCH: As many as 50 people are dead after a military airstrike in northern Myanmar on Sunday. That is according to local media. CNN cannot independently verify the number of deaths. This video was shared by a rebel group in the region, and they claim it shows the aftermath of the attack.
According to Reuters, the strike hit a concert organized by an ethnic minority group opposed to the ruling military.
The ambassadors of 14 countries signed a joint statement criticizing the military authorities, saying this attack underscores the military regime's responsibility for crisis and instability, and its disregard for its obligation to protect civilians and respect the principles and rules of international humanitarian law.
In China, speaking out publicly against the government and its strict zero COVID policies is rare, so protestors are turning to a more private venue to vent their anger.
CNN's Selina Wang has our report.
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SELINA WANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Graffiti with angry messages scribbled all over bathroom stalls might be a common sight in much of the world, but not in China. The Chinese character crawled in this Beijing bathroom reads, anti-dictatorship, anti-COVID tests.
Messages like this are spreading in bathrooms in several Chinese cities. It's because public restrooms are one of the only places in tightly surveilled China without security cameras. This graffiti says, remove dictator and national traitor Xi Jinping.
Some of them even written in English. No to COVID test, yes to food, no to lockdown, yes to freedom. No to great leader. Yes, to vote. Don't be a slave. Be a citizen. Their messages copy the slogans written on two banners hung on a busy overpass in Beijing, a rare protest in the capital just days before the start of the Communist Party Congress. The banners cleaned up then quickly censored from Chinese social
media, but it didn't stop people from replicating the act around the world. The same slogans hung on London's Westminster Bridge and draped over the Chinese embassy in London. But inside China, public displays of dissent towards Xi are extremely rare. It can lead to long prison sentences, or even worse.
We spoke to one man who graffiti in a bathroom. We're shielding his identity because of fears of retribution.
UNKNOWN (through translator): I had to wear a mask and when I was writing, I was worried someone might catch me. We can only write slogans in places like bathrooms to express our political views. It's so pathetic. We've been suppressed to this degree.
WANG: In another Chinese city, a person wrote the same slogans with a picture of Winnie the Pooh in a crown canceled.
China has censored any images of the cartoon character being compared to Xi. The author texted CNN, I hope people who see my slogan can start changing their minds, realizing they've been brainwashed. We have no way to independently verify all of the graffiti, and it's unclear how widely held these views are in a police state.
But frustrations in China over the country's zero COVID measures are growing. Harsh lockdowns over a handful of COVID cases, constant COVID testing, mass quarantine facilities. The anti Xi slogans are rapidly spreading from China to campuses in America and around the world.
And in Paris, an outdoor play to parody Xing ping's rule. Xi dressed up in the emperor's clothes, then being dragged down by COVID enforcers.
CHIANG SEETA, CHINESE STUDENT IN PARIS (through translator): If we don't do anything, it means we are willing to be ruled by the CCP. When I saw the graffiti in that bathroom, I started crying. It shows that some of the Chinese people want democracy and freedom of speech and are willing to pay a price for it.
WANG: Yet Xi's power is ironclad. The public's anger reduced to scribbles in bathroom stalls, and even those will be quickly painted over.
Selina Wang, CNN. Hong Kong.
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CHURCH: The U.S. Justice Department is cracking down on alleged Chinese spies. Attorney General Merrick Garland has announced charges against six people. Four are accused of working under the cover of a fake think tank to recruit Americans to work as assets for the Chinese government.
Prosecutors say they tried to bribe their targets with lavish gifts, including all expenses pay trips to China.
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MERRICK GARLAND, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: The indictment alleges that between 2008 and 2018, the defendants used the cover of a purported Chinese academic institute to target, co-opt, and direct individuals in the United States to further the PRC's intelligence mission.
Those directors included attempts to procure technology and equipment from the United States and to have it shipped to China. They also included attempts to stop protected first amendment activities. Protests here in the United States, which would've been embarrassing to the Chinese government.
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CHURCH: Two are those who are accused of trying to undermine the U.S. government's case against a Chinese telecommunications company. A person familiar with the investigation tell CNN that company is Huawei.
Well, still to come, NASA begins a new search for answers, how they hope to uncover the secrets of UFOs, when we return.
Also ahead, we remember the late actor and comedian Leslie Jordan, the man who entertained millions on social media at the height of the pandemic.
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CHURCH: Well, you may call them UFOs, but the U.S. government calls them unidentified aerial phenomena, and now NASA is gathering a team of experts for a new study on the mysterious objects. The group started their investigation on Monday, and they'll attempt to piece together what we already know to see if the truth really is out there.
CNN's Kristin Fisher filed this report.
KRISTIN FISHER, CNN SPACE AND DEFENSE CORRESPONDENT: NASA has assembled a team of 16 people to take part in its independent study on unidentified Aerial Phenomena, or UAPs, or UFOs as it's more commonly called. This is a study that was announced back in June and these 16 people are going to spend the next nine months or so really going over all of the data, the unclassified data on UAPs. And they're also going to be looking at ways to better catalog and identify and track all of these reports that have been pouring in, not just from people in the military, but from civilians and commercial entities as well.
So that's sort of their scope. That's what they're looking at. Again, they are not touching any of the classified stuff. They're saving that for the Pentagon and for Congress, which of course, last summer held the first hearing on UFOs in more than half a century.
So that really was part of the reason that UFOs and UAPs have been thrust back into the spotlight over recent months. That combined with the fact that the Office of the Director of National Intelligence released that report in the summer of 2021, saying that they had studied more than 140 incidences of UAPs, but they could explain only one of them. Really just fueling this mystery even more.
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And so, now these 16 people involved in the NASA study are going to lend their expertise to the effort. And these are people like astronomers, astrophysicists, biologists, oceanographers. There's one journalist and there's also a very famous former NASA astronaut Scott Kelly, who famously spent a year in space.
They're going to be studying this for about nine months, and hopefully they will be able to produce a report that will be released to the public sometime in mid-2020.
Kristin Fisher, CNN, Washington.
CHURCH: Family, friends and fans are remembering actor and comedian Leslie Jordan. He died in a car crash in Hollywood early Monday at the age of 67.
Jordan was small in stature, but became a giant on social media in the last couple of years, bringing laughs to millions of followers at the height of the COVID Pandemic.
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LESLIE JORDAN, ACTOR & COMEDIAN: Well, hello fellow hunker downer. Well, just having to make up things to do to pass the time. I came up with a good one today, though. I painted my toenails.
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CHURCH: As an actor, Jordan was probably best known as Karen Walker's friend Beverly Leslie on the groundbreaking sitcom Will and Grace. In his autobiography called My Trip Down the Pink Carpet, Jordan described what it was like growing up gay in the southern U.S. He also talked about his childhood and his Instagram post.
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JORDAN: I have come up with a better exercise today than yesterday. Yesterday we used the backs scratcher to a great effect. Today we're going to make the backs stretcher a baton. Because when I was little, my daddy took me to my very first football game. He said, this is the offense, this is the defense.
And I said, but when did the majorettes come out? My dad said, son. As if he was in deep piping. He loved me. He just didn't know what to make of me. But he would come home from work and I'd be in the front yard. He'd be with all of his army buddies. He was a career army man. Daddy. Daddy. Watch me, twirl. Daddy. What? My dad said, son. son. So, won't you throw that baton in the house?
The trumpets the Lord shall sound in touch.
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CHURCH: Jordan also recorded a gospel album during the pandemic singing with different artists. He once joked he had been baptized 14 times because he wasn't sure it took. Actor Leslie Jordan dead at the age of 67.
And thank you so much for your company. I'm Rosemary Church. Do enjoy the rest of your day. CNN Newsroom continues with Max Foster, next. And I'll see you next
week. Take care.
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