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South Korean Source: Pyongyang's ICBM Test Likely Failed; Ethiopia & Tigray Rebels Agree To End Two Years Of Civil War; U.S. Federal Reserve Raises Interest Rates By .75 Percent; Biden Slams Political Violence, Intimidation, Election Lies; Russia Reverse Course, Resumes Participation In Grain Deal; Russian Strikes Leave Kyiv Hospitals Without Water. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired November 03, 2022 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Coming up here on CNN Newsroom, an unprecedented 24 hours in an already unprecedented year. No let up in a barrage of missile tests by North Korea, including a suspected launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile.
First, he was in, then he was out. Now Vladimir Putin's back in for joining a U.N.-Turkish broker deal for Ukrainian grain exports. So what was that all about?
Also ahead this hour.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: In typical year, we're often not faced with questions of whether the vote we cast will preserve democracy or put us at risk. This year, we are.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Democracy is on the ballot. Joe Biden's warning just days before the midterm elections, which will determine which party controls the U.S. Congress.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from CNN Center, this is CNN Newsroom with John Vause.
VAUSE: The U.S. has strongly condemned North Korea's suspected launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile just hours ago. A South Korean government official tells us that the latest test is believed to have failed in flight crashing into the waters east of the Korean Peninsula. Pyongyang also firing off to short range ballistic missiles.
By CNN's count, that marks North Korea's 30th missile test this year, follows an unprecedented barrage of 23 short range missiles launched on Wednesday.
CNN's Blake Essig is live in Tokyo following all the developments. He joins us now. So Blake, where things stand right now?
BLAKE ESSIG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, tensions on the Korean peninsula continue to escalate and really show no signs of easing after Pyongyang again fired three ballistic missiles earlier this morning. That likely included two short range ballistic missiles.
And according to a South Korean government source, one intercontinental ballistic missile that's believed to have failed mid- flight. And as a result, warning sirens were heard and residents were told to evacuate inside a building or underground on one South Korean Island and in three Japanese prefectures.
Now in response to today's weapons test, the United States, Japan, and South Korea have all come out and condemned the launch, with the U.S. releasing this statement, saying, "The United States condemns the DPRK's intercontinental ballistic missile launch. This launch is a clear violation of multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions and demonstrates the threat the DPRK's unlawful weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs pose to its neighbors, the region, international peace and security, and the global non- proliferation regime."
The United States State Department has also released a recent statement that said all attempts to talk to North Korea have failed. Now this most recent launch comes just one day after North Korea set a new record for the most missiles fired in a day when they launched nearly two dozen missiles, a combination of short-range ballistic missiles as well as surface-to-air missiles, along with 100 artillery shells that all fell into the waters around the Korean Peninsula.
Now, today's recent tests marks the 30th time this year that North Korea has launched missiles. That is the most missile tests conducted in a single year in the country's history. And really, North Korea shows no signs of slowing down and a statement before Wednesday's flurry of missile launches Pyongyang once again warned that if the U.S. and South Korea attempt to use armed forces against the North, that they would carry out a strategic mission without delay and that the U.S. and South Korea would pay the most horrible price in history.
And earlier this week, North Korea's foreign ministry warned of more powerful follow up measures if the United States doesn't stop its war exercises around the Korean peninsula. And the U.S. is most recent military exercises are ongoing. It's called Vigilant Storm and started on Monday and will continue through Friday.
It's worth noting that this large-scale drill between the United States and South Korea was previously scheduled, John, and involves hundreds of aircraft and thousands of service members from each country with the U.S. recent releasing video of its fighter squadrons performing night operations. John?
VAUSE: Blake, thank you. Blake Essig there live for us in Tokyo.
For two years, a bit of civil war in Ethiopia appears to be coming to an end with a surprise ceasefire announcement on Wednesday. Well, it's not a final peace agreement. The U.S. calls it an important step towards stability. That is if the ceasefire holds.
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NED PRICE, U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESPERSON: Today, we had an announcement. What we will have to see is follow through. Today's agreement is, in fact, able to set the stage for a durable, cessation of hostilities, set the stage for a -- an end to the human rights abuses and atrocities that we've noted, to set the stage for -- and to provocations by the TPLF and the Ethiopian government. That would be a very good thing.
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[01:05:19]
VAUSE: More details now from CNN's Larry Madowo.
LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: These docks (ph) in South Africa achieved a lot more than was expected, and in a much shorter period. It's a new dawn in Ethiopia, a silencing of the guns after exactly two years of a Tigray conflict.
But there's a big if, if it can be implemented because it's a big one, a permanent cessation of hostilities, and also a smooth, orderly disarmament. This means, every single member of the Tigray People's Liberation Front has to down their tools, down their guns. They have to agree to reintegrate into Ethiopian society.
There was a greater restoration of services, unhindered access for humanitarian supplies and protection for everybody who's been involved in this conflict. So essentially, letting bygones be bygones. So far, the mood music is promising.
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OLUSEGUN OBASANJO, HEAD OF AFRICAN UNION MEDIATION TEAM: This moment is not the end of peace process, but the beginning of it. Implementation of the peace agreement signed today is critical to the success of the process.
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MADOWO: This is not the first cessation hostilities announcement from Ethiopia this year. Another one, early in the year collapsed in August and led to more fighting. The other big elephant in the room is Eritrea. That country was not part of these talks and was not explicitly mentioned in the announcement. But the Tigray People's Liberation Front has complained consistently about the presence of Eritrean troops in their territory, saying it was against international law.
And at this announcement event, Gitaj Yurida (ph) from the TPLF said there were people within their ranks or in the neighborhood who would want to sabotage this peace deal and ask him that international community be vigilant. So in the weeks and month ahead, the implementation of this peace deal will be so critical to making sure that it can be some semblance of normalcy in Tigray, that the people have suffered so much can finally have some peace.
And the Tigray People's Liberation Front says now because the warrior (ph) fighting is because the people deserve peace.
Larry Madowo, CNN, Nairobi.
VAUSE: A day after the U.S. Fed hiked interest rates by 75 basis points, the Bank of England is widely expected to do the same in the coming hours taking official rates to 3 percent.
The cheering at the end of the day, but they weren't too happy when the Chair Jerome Powell was actually delivering the news that increases in rates to be expected. Although he did say there will be a slowing in the frequency of rate hikes. That set U.S. markets down with the Dow tumbling more than 500 points by the close of trade.
This has been the worst year for stocks since 2008. The aggressive rate hikes have driven mortgage rates above 7 percent. Credit card rates well over 18 percent. All this driving fears of a recession, which some economists say is inevitable.
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JEROME POWELL, CHAIR, U.S. FEDERAL RESERVE: No one knows whether there's going to be a recession or not. And if so, how bad that recession would be. And, you know, our job is to restore price stability so that we can have a strong labor market that benefits all over time. And that's what we're going to do.
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VAUSE: Ryan Patel is a Senior Fellow at the Drucker School of Management at Claremont Graduate University. He's standing by live for us in Los Angeles with more on the Feds move. Ryan, good to see you.
RYAN PATEL, SENIOR FELLOW, DRUCKER SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT: It's great to see you, John.
VAUSE: OK. Here's a little more from the Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, and what the next few months will look like in terms of interest rate hikes, and why.
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POWELL: We continue to anticipate that ongoing increases will be appropriate. We are moving our policy stance purposefully to a level that will be sufficiently restrictive to return inflation to 2 percent. In addition, we're continuing the process of significantly reducing the size of our balance sheet. Restoring price stability will likely require maintaining a restrictive stance of policy for some time.
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VAUSE: OK, so the interest rate hikes also no more juicing the economy with free money, right? That's what reducing our balance sheet means. Explain the fixation, you know, on 2 percent beyond the fact is part of the mandate of the Federal Reserve. But, you know, wouldn't 3 percent and no recession be far better outcome and all of this?
PATEL: I don't know rumor, the market in the last week thinking it was only going to be 50 basis points. And then the market reacts the way it does thinking that it wasn't going to happen. And this is where the 2 to 3 percent kind of echoing to that degree. I think part of also too with Jerome Powell, I want to be clear on this when he said the labor market, he doesn't believe it's softening.
And because of that -- and he doesn't believe that the rates price is going to be spiral. So they are trying to keep more ammo into the pilot not really pushing the recession but also ensuring that they can still go pretty hard at it.
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VAUSE: Yes. We also have a similar situation in the U.K. and the new prime minister, they always knew, he won that tough times will mean some hard choices. Here he is last week.
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RISHI SUNAK, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: Mr. Speaker, I have been, as we will have to take difficult decisions to restore economic stability and confidence.
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VAUSE: And so, it shall be with the Bank of England announcing an increase in interest rates in the coming hours. What's the expectation here, and why?
PATEL: Yes, they're actually going to fight inflation in further. I think it's going to be north of 10 percent. They're not there yet. They're going to -- I don't see they're lagging behind the U.S., but we've seen that in Europe. I'm glad that you brought up the U.K., because Europe and the U.S. aren't -- are tying it together.
And looking at what the Fed did today, even with the midterm elections coming up, the rest of the world is watching when you talk about the top economy in the world. So -- but Jerome Powell said, I think it's also the Bank of England could probably say too, we will stay the course is until the job is done. That's pretty sharp words coming from the Fed. And I think other banks are going to be doing the same thing.
And that just means, John, that there's going to be volatility. You cannot ignore that and getting people to be prepared for that, I think it's clear. If they could have taken the pedal off the gas right now, just to go into the holiday season to provide some momentum, this will probably would have been the moment but wouldn't have been the right move. And this is the move that they're talking about.
VAUSE: And, you know, you talked about the reaction to -- of the Dow as Jerome Powell was speaking. Let's take a look at the actual graph, because it's quite amazing. Look at that green spike there. That's from about 2:00 p.m. At 2:30, it shoots right up. And then towards the end of the day, you see that it just goes back into the red.
But that was, you know, the expectation and the disappointment, as Powell was laying out that, yes, there was more to come. But what that says to me is that this is reaction in real time to everything, you know, the federal chairman is saying, which seems ludicrous.
PATEL: Well, I mean, John, I think part of this and I don't know if I even got put into it, even though I thought it was saying five basis point, there's this hope. I think people will try and look for anything in the light at the end of the tunnel, even though -- I mean, you and I both know, pretty much that this was going to happen yet logic told you that maybe there's going to be something better and looking for anything.
And I think that tells you the situation economy is actually too, right? When you have data that's not pointing at a full global recovery, and there's data that's kind of misleading in other places, and there isn't this clear cut, hey, we are recovering -- people are looking for -- we're looking for answers. They're looking at any kind of data point that they can provide to say everything's going to be OK.
VAUSE: You know, at Water (ph) School, they teach us that you should never be described as good or bad inflation, bad for ordinary families. It's good for shameless greedy corporations making record profits. In other news, the cost of Pepsi has risen 17 percent in the last three months. The third quarter profits up 20 percent. Coca-Cola profits up 14 percent year on year, restaurant chain Chipotle prices to increase by more than 14 percent by the end of the year.
Third quarter profit, up a switch over a quarter of $1 billion more than 25 percent. This is happening across the economy. But the cost of food is something else entirely different. If an airline ticket is outrageously expensive, don't fly. Making hard choices --
PATEL: Yes.
VAUSE: -- on what you can and cannot feed your family. That's when this starts hurt. And we're just at the beginning of that process right now.
PATEL: We most definitely are. And I hate to say it, you know, those prices revenue is also an increase in prices per item. We've seen it even with Chipotle, I hate to call them out, but they've increased their role based on supply chain costs. So that price is passing the consumer.
Obviously, there's some margin that they're being made by many of these companies. You mentioned the consumer-packaged goods, that's easily passed on to the consumer. So they're just starting to see this, right? I mean, if inflation continued to go, that passed of price is going to the consumer, John, do you think all of a sudden any major retailer is going to go, oh, 50 cents cheaper now since inflation came down.
VAUSE: Yes. PATEL: No.
VAUSE: Well --
PATEL: Not happening.
VAUSE: Ryan, thanks for being with us. Appreciate it.
PATEL: Thanks, John.
VAUSE: Brazilian authorities are investigating video showing crowds making what appears to be a Nazi salute during the National Anthem.
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VAUSE: The video is circulating online, set to show crowds and a rally in the state of Santa Catarina on Wednesday. On a civil rallies across the country held in front of military bases where supporters of outgoing President Jair Bolsonaro had gathered in protest of the results of the election. It's unclear who posted the video and CNN cannot verify its authenticity.
Nazi incitement is a crime in Brazil, state prosecutor says. Those identified will be held accountable.
Meantime, outgoing President Bolsonaro has told his supporters who are blocking traffic on highways nationwide, it's over. Time to go home. His supporters have been in the streets since Bolsonaro lost his reelection bid on Sunday.
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JAIR BOLSONARO, OUTGOING BRAZILIAN PRESIDENT (through translation): I know you're upset, you're sad, you expected something else, so did I. I'm just as upset as sad as you. But we have to keep our head in place. The protests, the demonstrations are very welcome. They're part of the democratic game. And over the years, much of this has been done by Brazil.
I'm with you, and I'm sure you're with me. The request is highways. Let's clear them for the good of our nation, and so that we can continue fighting for democracy and freedom.
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VAUSE: Just days before the U.S. midterm elections, President Joe Biden is wanting democracy is on the ballot with a slate of Republican candidates who refuse to accept the outcome of the legitimacy of the 2020 election -- legitimacy of the 2020 election. Joe Biden rallied against what he called lies told for power and profit, said the future of the country depends on voters' ability to confront those lies, legitimacy.
CNN's Phil Mattingly has details.
PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Just six days out from the moment votes start to be counted, most Democrats around the country are talking about the economy or talking about healthcare, trying to find some way to hold back what increasingly looks like a red wave in these midterm elections. President Biden taking a very different approach on Wednesday night, it was something that was driven. According to several advisers, by several weeks of the President grappling with the moment the country currently finds itself in.
It was really crystallized in the wake of the attack on Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband, Paul. Now, the President is obviously very close with the Speaker knows her husband, Paul Pelosi, but it was the broader repercussions of what that attack meant and what it could portend in the future that will really the driving factor that drove the President to give these remarks that he'd been considering for several weeks.
They were sharper than very similar remarks he gave back in September 1. They were more urgent, and they were more clear that this is a decision for voters to make a decisive one, according to the President. For him, the stakes couldn't be higher.
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BIDEN: This is no ordinary year. So we're asking you to think long and hard about the moment we're in. In a typical year, we're often not faced with questions of whether the vote we cast will preserve democracy or put us at risk. But this year, we are.
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MATTINGLY: Now the reality here is this, as you look towards those midterm elections, White House officials know this is not the issue that is driving voters, that is the economy, that is inflation. The President, however, still felt it was critically important to make these remarks and cast them in a very political light.
They do say though, when you talk to the White House advisers, that Democrats will pay attention to these remarks. This does breakthrough for the Democratic base, a Democratic base that has seen in enthusiasm (ph) drop over the course of the last several weeks. Perhaps, electorally, that has an impact.
For the President, the broader message was what was important, the message he delivered and very stark terms, very urgent terms. And terms that make very clear is very concerned about the direction of the country.
Phil Mattingly, CNN, Washington.
VAUSE: Please join us on Tuesday for in-depth special coverage for the crucial U.S. midterm elections, which will determine control of Congress. All starts 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time, 9:00 in the evening, if you happen to be in London.
Still to come, thousands of migrants and nowhere to house them. Why the new British Prime Minister under fire for his handling of this migrant crisis. That's later this hour.
But first, the cost of Russian airstrikes on Ukraine civilian infrastructure, the biggest hospital in the capital Kyiv without running water. Find out what medical stuff are now facing as they move forward.
Plus, the Parkland School shooter sentenced for the 2018 massacre, reaction from the victim's family.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You shouldn't be sitting there with a mask on your face. It's disrespectful.
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VAUSE: Russia has rejoined a U.S.-Turkish broker deal on Ukrainian grain exports just days after suspending participation. Moscow has accused Ukraine of launching drone attacks on Russian shipping in the Black Sea.
The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked his Turkish counterpart for his help in preserving the deal. All this guarantees safe passage for the ships carrying grain export from Ukraine.
Russia's President, in the meantime, says the country still reserves the right to pull out if Ukraine uses those corridors, once again, this is the accusation for military purposes. Here's the response from Zelenskyy.
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VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translation): You've probably heard today that the Kremlin is saying that they have demanded security guarantees from Ukraine. It is worth pausing for a moment to consider such statements. 252 days ago, Russia demanded security guarantees from the United States of America.
After eight months of the Russian so-called special operation, the Kremlin is demanding security guarantees from Ukraine. This is indeed a striking change. It shows both the failure of Russian aggression and how strong we are when we remain united.
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VAUSE: Jill Dougherty is an adjunct professor at Georgetown University. As a former CNN Correspondent and Moscow Bureau Chief, she covered Russia and the former Soviet Union for three decades. Good to see you again.
JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Hey, John.
VAUSE: So Vladimir Putin, he suspended Russian involvement in this humanitarian agreement on grain exports three days ago, four days ago. And every day since, Turkey, the U.N. and Ukraine have been committed to the deal. They've stayed in it trying to make it work with or without Russia. Is that something which maybe Putin didn't see coming, which is why this flashpoint was resolved in days instead of maybe weeks or months?
DOUGHERTY: You know, I'd have to think that's the case. Because if you look at this, it looks extremely clumsy, diplomatically by Putin. I mean, as you said, they pull out of the deal. They say they were attacked by the Ukrainians. There's no confirmation to that, nobody's taking responsibility. Details are murky.
And then four days later, he backtracks. And the reason I think, you know, if you look at what did it gain Putin? Not a lot. He looked vindictive, certainly, and even vindictive when it comes to, you know, developing countries that really need that food. He also exacerbated the world food crisis, that a lot of criticism, a wave of criticism all over the world.
And then, as you pointed out, the United Nations and Turkey continued to remove the grain and to ship it off. So that was in effect, ignoring what Vladimir Putin had said. So I think it really ends up as a true diplomatic blunder.
VAUSE: And well, now Russia is back in, but there's often a catch. And so it is with this decision by Putin to resume participation in the Grain Export agreement. And here it is.
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VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translation): I have instructed the Defense Ministry to resume our participation in this work. However, Russia reserves the right to withdraw from these agreements if these guarantees are breached by Ukraine. In any case, even if Russia pulls out of this deal.
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VAUSE: That was the case before this dispute. It remains the case today. So essentially, well, it kind of sounds menacing, or intimidating. Does that threat to, you know, reserve the right to withdraw actually change or mean anything?
DOUGHERTY: I don't think it does. I mean, they have been threatening weeks ago to pull out anyway. And so then they finally did it. And unfortunately, this agreement, it's a temporary agreement that expires November 19th. So I don't think it really does anything for Putin.
And then he -- I think it was important though, that he said, even if we pull out of the deal again, we will continue to supply this food to these developing countries once it really needed poor countries in Africa, the Middle East, South America.
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And I think what he's doing is he made a very big point that a lot of that grain was going to Europe, and he wants to put himself on the side of developing countries. So hence, I think it was important for Putin to say, but don't worry, even if we do this again, we'll take care of you.
VAUSE: Yes, with that in mind, Turkey's President, who was one of the mediators here, he received a shout out from Putin, for mediating this latest dispute. And in parliament on Wednesday, there are big tears for Tayyip Erdogan, who announced that Russia was back in. And then he added this, to your point what you just said, listen to this.
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RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN, PRESIDENT OF TURKEY (through translation): As we agreed with Mr. Putin, we will run this corridor for the poor and underdeveloped countries and Africa, such as Somalia, Djibouti, and Sudan. He advised this to us, and we will do it.
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VAUSE: And that's really quite significant, because much of the grain, which has been exported since this deal was struck back in July, it's been sent to the wealthy countries or mostly wealthy countries. So by Putin focusing on nations poor nations to now get the food which they need, not only does it seem kind of, oddly out of character, but it's also fairly smart, global diplomacy.
DOUGHERTY: Well, it is. But don't forget that Russia has been, let's say, lobbying and trying to improve its relationship with the developing world, especially Africa. I mean, I was in Moscow two years ago, when, at the same time that we were there, they had a big conference with African countries coming to Russia, et cetera.
So I think that's their diplomacy has been that way they are. And this is the message that they want to put out. We are a friend of the developing world, not those rich, you know, imperial countries of Europe. So it's all part of the messaging that Putin has.
VAUSE: Please stay on message if nothing else. Jill, thanks for being with us.
DOUGHERTY: Sure.
VAUSE: Iranian-made Russian combat drones continue to inflict heavy damage on Ukraine's power grid. Ballistic strike in the Dnipro region has knocked out electricity and water supplies. The capital Kyiv came under sustained attack on Monday. Millions were left in the dark without electricity and running water. And for the first time, the biggest hospital in the capital also went dark.
CNN's Salma Abdelaziz has our report.
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SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Dialysis patients like this need running water for their treatment. So when Russia targeted Kyiv's infrastructure Monday, lives hung in the balance.
VITALIY VLASYUK, VICE GOVERNOR, KYIV REGION: One patient here needs at least four hours and almost 300 liters of water.
ABDELAZIZ (on-camera): 300 liters --
VLASYUK: For one procedure.
ABDELAZIZ (on-camera): -- of water.
VLASYUK: Of running water. For one day, we had no water at all in this unit. This is just very danger to their health.
ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): For the first time since the start of the conflict, four of the capital's biggest hospitals were left without running water for most of the day. The Kyiv Regional Clinical Center was among the facilities impacted. Doctors and nurses here scrambled to transfer the most urgent cases.
VLASYUK: So we must be prepared to face even the most difficult jobs.
ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): Four weeks, Moscow has pounded Ukraine's critical infrastructure, but medical facilities had so far been spared, relying on backup generators during blackouts. These weak strikes were so severe, Kyiv's keeps water pumps stopped working, leaving some 1,500 hospital patients across the city in limbo.
(on-camera): This is one of the hospital's sterilization rooms, it's here that staff come to clean surgical equipment. But once the water was cut off, they could no longer do that. That means all non- emergency operations had to be canceled.
(voice-over): Hospitals require an enormous amount of water. This one it's official say, uses some 15 tons per day. The medical director here says it created a huge challenge for her staff.
We're ready for emergency situations every day. We can handle power cuts, but the lack of water was absolutely catastrophic for us, she tells me. We had to act quickly.
(on-camera): Do you worry that the water system could be cut off again by Russian missiles?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We worry every day.
ABDELAZIZ (on-camera): You worry every day.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Every day and every morning.
ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): For now, the city's water services are restored. But it's a matter of if not when Moscow will strike Kyiv's lifelines again. Salma Abdelaziz, CNN, Kyiv.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: The gunman who killed 17 people during a mass shooting in Florida in 2018 has received life in prison without parole. Nikolas Cruz opened fire at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida on Valentine's Day, more than four years ago.
[01:29:45]
He pleaded guilty to murder last year. The jury failed to unanimously recommend the death penalty last month angering many of the victims' families.
Here's more from one victim's mother.
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JENNIFER GUTTENBERG, PARKLAND SHOOTING VICTIM'S MOTHER: You shouldn't be sitting there with a mask on your face. It's disrespectful to be hiding your expressions under your mask when we the families are sitting here, talking to you.
Lowered down in your seat, hunched over. Trying to make yourself look innocent when you are not.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: 14 students were killed, while three staff members died trying to get the students to safety.
Back in a moment.
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VAUSE: Welcome back everyone. I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.
With the votes almost all counted in Israel, official results now expected in the coming hours. The latest projection show Israel's longest serving prime minister making an incredible comeback. Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud Party and his Ultra Nationalist allies, look to have expanded their lead, now expected to hold 65 seats in the 120 seat Knesset or parliament.
But concerns are mounting over how much power those allies might wield in what will be Israel's most far-right wing government ever.
CNN's Hadas Gold reports now from Jerusalem.
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HADAS GOLD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Benjamin Netanyahu is poised for a big comeback with as many as 65 seats in the Israeli parliament, far more than the 61 seats he would've needed to have a ruling majority and become prime minister. Far better than the opinion polls showed which in the leading days leading up to the Israeli election, showed him at just around 60 to 61 seats at best for him and his allies. Their result was much better than really anybody expected at 65.
But one of the biggest stories from election day this week in Israel is the rise of the far-right. Part of Netanyahu's allies for his next coalition will be made up of a far-right wing bloc of parties called Religious Zionism and Jewish Power. And this party could gain as many as 14 seats in the next Israeli parliament. That would make them the third largest party in parliament just behind Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud Party and the current caretaker prime minister, Yair Lapid's Yesh Atid Party.
Now this group of parties, they're made up of people who were once considered the far right fringe extreme of Israeli politics, one of the leaders was in the past convicted for inciting racism and supporting terrorism.
[01:34:58]
GOLD: Another one of their leaders once from Israeli parliament told other Arab-Israeli members of the Israeli parliament that they don't belong there and that they should have been kicked out in 1948 when Israel was created.
But now, these type of people will have potentially quite a bit of power in the next government because of their numbers in the parliament.
The question will become what sort of ministerial positions might they get? They made public demands for things like public security or even minister of defense, but Benjamin Netanyahu when he'd been asked about this, he says that he will become the prime minister, that he will have the largest party, and they will set the policy and make the decisions.
But there also is a big question about how Israel's allies around the world, especially the United States and newer allies like those from the Abraham Accords, the United Arab Emirates. How -- what their relationship will be like with the Israeli government if these new right-wing politicians have positions of power.
Hadas Gold, CNN -- Jerusalem.
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VAUSE: It seems the honeymoon period may be over for British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. He spent much of Wednesday defending the government's response to an increase in migrants who were then forced into overcrowded processing centers.
A conservative lawmaker referred to the conditions of (INAUDIBLE) a breach of human conditions.
Sunak is also taking backlash after reappointing Home Secretary Suella Braverman, who likened the surge of asylum seekers to be like an invasion.
Here's part of the prime minister's comments.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KIER STARMER, BRITISH LABOUR PARTY LEADER: 4,000 people at Manston Air Force Base, massively overcrowded. All sorts of diseases breaking out.
So did the home secretary receive legal advice that she should move people out? Yes or no.
RISHI SUNAK, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: He knows the government's policy on commenting on legal advice. But what I can say is that significant action that the home secretary has taken to fix the issue. Since September, 30 more hotels with 4,500 new beds.
Appointing a senior general to control the situation at Manston and indeed, increasing the number of staff there by almost a half, Mr. Speaker.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: And then there is a record high inflation which Sunak has to deal with. It's sending prices for everything, food and energy, sky- high amid a cost of living crisis.
CNN's Scott McLean has our report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: At this senior center in south London, the hot topic isn't about what's on the menu but it is about food.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Food is a big issue.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would say food.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's food. When you go to the shops.
MCLEAN: It's precisely why Kenneth Bedford this year, with the price of groceries, you can get a hot meal and a coffee here for less than the cost to make at home.
KENNETH BEDFORD, PENSIONER: We pick and choose a lot more than you get before. It was just all in the basket.
MCLEAN: You don't really think a lot about money a year ago.
BEDFORD: No.
MCLEAN: Bedford, who lives off a state pension, spent part of his career working for the circus. Now he walks a tightrope to balance his monthly budget.
BEDFORD: Seriously today, I still got 200 quid of my money. MCLEAN: Yes.
BEDFORD: Because I've been really careful. Annual inflation in the U.K. hit more than 10 percent in September with food inflation hitting almost 15 percent.
Now former prime minister Liz Truss announced state subsidies to help with soaring energy costs this winter but even with that, 70 year old Susan Tune (ph) says she can't afford to heat her whole house on her state pension of just over $700 per month.
SUSAN TUNE, PENSIONER: I've got a little electric fan heater. If we're in one room, that's where we'll have the heating on. Instead of doing the whole house.
MCLEAN: How does that make you feel?
TUNE: You've just got to get on with it, don't you?
MCLEAN: Across the river in Westminster, newly-chosen Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is trying to patch a massive hole in public finances. He will soon have to decide if the state can afford to raise state pensions in line with inflation.
Meanwhile, across the table at the seniors' center, 67 year old Wendy Garwood is pondering what her own budget will allow.
WENDY GARWOOD, PENSIONER: You know, at one time you could afford to buy a pair of new shoes. Now, you have to think about over the week. I just think that somebody at the top needs to come down and see the grassroots level of what's going on, you know.
MCLEAN: They don't understand how real people --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.
MCLEAN: Back in the kitchen, the center's manager Katrina Jinadu (ph) is asking about dessert. But lately, she is also getting a lot of questions about the basics.
KATRINA JINADU, MANAGER: They're asking about food banks, they're asking us if they can pay for their food later. And everything is spiraling around them. But their income is not spiraling in line with it. So it is sad.
We hope that people traveling up and down on the bus because a bus is free as opposed to staying at home because keeping on the heating at home was too expensive.
[01:39:52]
JINADU: So (INAUDIBLE) the free bus, to go traveling around London. And not that I'm doing anything, but I'm traveling on the bus where it's warmer than staying in my house.
How did we get here in 2022? MCLEAN: Scott McLean, CNN -- London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: One of India's most sacred rivers is also one of the most polluted on the planet. And now one man on a massive upcycling process is bringing hope of cleaning up the Ganges. His story, part of CNN's "Call to Earth" day coverage, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: Fishing, pollution, or climate change -- the world's oceans and water habitats are under threat by us. Across the globe, inspiring (ph) men and women are fighting to prevent and even reverse the damage which might change our waterways forever and for the worse.
Today CNN hosting our second annual Call to Earth Day focusing on those efforts.
So stay with CNN for the coming hours, we go from Cape Town to Mexico. We have reporters covering the story all around the globe, all day long. A lot of people out there.
Right now, CNN's Vedika Sud is at Mumbai's Versova Beach. Steven Jiang is at British School of Beijing. So let's start with you, Steven. What are they doing there at the good old British School of Beijing?
STEVEN JIANG, CNN BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF: John, you know, this is one of Beijing's leading international schools so they do have a very diverse student body but there is a common theme running through their curriculum which is helping our planet.
So let's check out this Year Six classroom. Hi guys.
So can you tell me what you are talking about here?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are talking about climate change and how that affects our ocean and marine life.
JIANG: Ok, so I saw the topic on the board. So how does pollution of the oceans affect climate change?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Plastic pollution kills. And there are major parts of decreasing carbon dioxide (INAUDIBLE). And the average lifetime decreases about the same amount of carbon dioxide as a thousand trees.
JIANG: Wow, so that's a lot of things that I didn't even know about. So they're obviously learning a lot about this topic. But they're also trying to get more involved through some hands on experience. I think that's what these kids here are doing.
Hey, so could you tell me what you're doing here?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're painting our coral models.
JIANG: Ok, and why are corals important for the health of oceans?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because coral reefs are homes and habitats for many marine creatures. And they help suck up the carbon dioxide in the ocean.
JIANG: Right. And what about here? What are you guys doing here?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're (INAUDIBLE) from blue whales (ph) to humans?
JIANG: Ok. So what does your whale want to say to humans?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That there is just too many plastic and rubbish inside the ocean. And if they eat too many plastic. Then they can die. And they could stop breathing.
[01:44:52]
JIANG: Right, so I think the message here is clear. The oceans are the planet's carbon sink. The lungs of the world. So these kids here they are learning even though they live in a landlocked city like Beijing.
But the choices they make in their daily life does make a difference, affect the oceans which in turn affects climate change. So I think the takeaway here is it doesn't matter where they live. Whatever they do makes a difference. So they're trying to make a more positive impact through their actions, John.
VAUSE: Yes. I know that your son went there. Just a quick disclaimer. Many thanks Steven.
Let's go to Kristie Lu Stout in the Hong Kong at the Harrow International School. So Kristie what are the kids doing for this big day around the world.
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey John. on. Yes I'm here at Harrow International School Hong Kong, one of hundreds of schools around the world marking Call to Earth Day.
And this is the primary leadership council. You have students from age 6 to age 10, all creating Call to Earth posters and messaging. And they are taking that message of Call to Earth Day this day of action to protect the planet with a focus on ocean conservation. Back to their home rooms to spread the message and the mantra of this day.
Let me show you. This poster, by Esther, she's 9 years old. Esther, thank you very much. She said "Call to Earth, fish have lives too. Be sustainable by eating less meat, no single use plastic, empty (INAUDIBLE). Well done, Esther. Great posters all around here and you're going to see them in just a second.
But earlier today, I spoke to some secondary school leaders here at Harrow International School about their Call to Earth.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) LULU, HARROW INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL: We support various different charities that are related to ocean protection. And each house has designed a specific initiative to raise awareness and raise money for each specific charity.
KATE, HARROW INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL: We believe that our actions can make a difference, it can actually make a difference to our ocean protection.
JUNE, HARROW INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL: My Call to Earth is to promote using less plastic and wasting less. And I also want people to be able to imagine a world, like a sea without plastic in it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STOUT: And you too can also be part of the Call to Earth community by using the hashtag Call to Earth.
I want to show you all the posters that these primary school students here at Harrow are doing. Because they are fantastic. Bring them up. Let's show them off. They're great. And what is your Call to Earth? It's to --
CHILDREN: Save our oceans.
STOUT: Such good messaging. I love these kids. John, back to you.
VAUSE: Kristie, appreciate that. Appreciate the kids there at the Harrow International School.
Let's go to Vedika Sud. So Vedika, what's happening behind you right now?
VEDIKA SUD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's a hotter day here in Mumbai, the financial capital of India, John. And we have with us a team of almost 40 volunteers and we've approached who's allowed by profession. But he is the man and the face behind keeping this beat and Mumbai clean since October 2015.
It's been a very difficult task. He tells me that they have to lecture about the seaside, millions (INAUDIBLE) of plastic ever since they undertook this initiative.
Right behind me, you see these volunteers, every week for two hours. This is what they do. A beach cleanup. Because Beach Versova, this is one of the cleanest in Mumbai.
Now he's not the only person that we've been tracking over the last month. In terms of this initiative. There's another person call (INAUDIBLE),about 1,300 kilometers away from Mumbai. And this (INAUDIBLE) -- and here's what he's been doing to keep one of the most sacred rivers in India, the Ganges, clean.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUD: Dusk in (INAUDIBLE). The sacred city located on the banks of India's holiest river, the Ganges.
Every evening here, an (INAUDIBLE) Hindu ritual. Those seeking salvation and blessings from the goddess, Ganga. With a dip in the water and flowers.
Millions get released in the river each year. A daily offering that is now choking this vital waterway. And not just with rotting stems and petals, but toxins from the chemicals that they are often covered with.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Every year, we put about 8 million tons of these flowers. Flowers that are loaded with pesticides. Flowers that rot. Flowers that created havoc in the fragile ecosystem of the world. Causing irreversible damage.
SUD: That damage affects the water source for some 400 million Indians. Making matters worse, temples dump even more floor waste into the river. Sometimes in large quantities.
[01:49:53]
SUD: But (INAUDIBLE) says he has a solution.
Collecting the (INAUDIBLE) flower from the temple father before they're discarded. He is from camp fort. Some 300 kilometers to the northwest. One of the most polluted stretches of the river.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sometimes we collect from 2.8 to 3.5 sun flowers every single day. And on the festive days it goes up to seven times.
SUD: That waste is then taken to this factory, where it is cleaned, dried, and pulverized into thick, gel-like paste mixed with water.
What are they doing out here?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Over here they are rolling the incense. Just completely carbon free.
SUD: The resulting product can then be sold.
It all starts with (INAUDIBLE) being converted into eco friendly products, such as this. Incense coals. And it doesn't stop here. The company called pool of flour also makes an eco friendly alternative to leather. They call it fleather (ph). And the byproduct is much more sustainable than the traditional tannery he says.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This material is exactly like animal leather in terms of the same face friends (INAUDIBLE).
SUD: Agraval (ph) started the pool backed by mostly Indian investors in 2017. Upcycling is very profitable, he says. But the 31-year-old's real goal is to keep this clean.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The ultimate dream would be that one day, anyone can take a glass and drink the water of the Ganges across the country. SUD: Doing that now is not advisable. The Ganges as one of the most
polluted waterways in the world, clogged with human, animal, and industrial waste.
The river, along with Mekong, contributes about 200,000 tons of plastic into our oceans each year according to the U.N. But Agraval says history proves that change is possible.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At a certain point in time, the river was dirtier then the Ganges is during the world war. And the British where able to clean it. same --
Why can't we do it?
SUD: Especially for the country's most sacred body of water.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SUD: Eco friendly products is what they are trying to make. Ankhit Agraval making incense, speaking sense, calls. As well as an alternative to leather, John. And out here, you have the scene, making these tiles believe it or not from marine debris. Fascinating isn't it?
VAUSE: Indeed. Marine debris -- love to say in a house somewhere. It would be great. Vedika, thank you. Vedica Sud there along the Ganges with the very latest on this -- save the earth.
And you can follow along coming out of that global day of action. Log on to our web site. Cnn.com/Follow on our website, CNN.com slash Call to Earth Day. And there you'll see other people answering the call. What are you doing to answer the call?
You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. We'll be back, right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:54:39]
VAUSE: Temperatures in Europe have risen faster than any other country over the past 30 years according to the World Meteorological Organization in a new report issued ahead of the U.N.'s International Climate Summit in Egypt starting Sunday.
Then it shows a gradual increase since the early 1900 but at a rate more than twice the global average in the last 3 decades. That's half a degree every 10 years.
The trend is fueling extreme weather as well with more than $50 billion of damages in 2021 alone.
A new British study which has shown the mind altering substance found in magic mushrooms to help people suffering from depression. Researchers found that a single, synthetic dose of the psychedelic drug called Psilocybin improved the condition of people who received other treatment. A study in the "New England Journal of Medicine" found an immediate
fast rapid acting sustained response to just one dose. Researchers explains the benefits to those taking a trip on the drug and then monitored and they received therapy as well.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. JAMES RUCKER, KINGS COLLEGE LONDON: You get strange sensations going through your body and strange experiences -- emotions, bodily sensations, or memories from the past you may have long forgotten.
All of these things can come up and the idea, with psilocybin therapy is to be curious about these. Be open to those. Be willing to go to the dark places in your mind where you might find a little gem of insight about why you might be feeling the way you are feeling.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Experts caution more research is needed before the drug is available for clinical use.
One issue, the effects of the drug seam to wear off after three months for those who's taking it.
I'm John Vause. CNN NEWSROOM continues with my friend and colleague Anna Coren in Hong Kong after a very short break.
See you tomorrow, maybe.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:59:59]
ANNA COREN, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Anna Coren, live from Hong Kong.
