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British PM Starmer To Address Public After Labour Losses; Reform U.K.'s Farage: "Historic Shift" In British Politics; Annual Song Contest Marks 70th Anniversary in Vienna. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired May 11, 2026 - 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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BEN HUNTE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, wherever you are in the world. You are now in the CNN Newsroom with me, Ben Hunte, in Atlanta. And it is so good to have you with me.

Coming up on the show, an unacceptable response. U.S. President Donald Trump is not happy with Iran's counter proposal to end the war. Passengers who were trapped on a Hantavirus hit cruise ship are now headed home. The fight to contain that virus goes on. And the Eurovision Song Contest gets underway in Vienna.

We'll go there and find out why this year's contest is causing so much controversy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN Newsroom with Ben hunte.

HUNTE: Welcome. Let's begin with the latest developments on the Iran war. President Donald Trump is calling Tehran's response to a U.S. proposal to end the war, quote, "totally unacceptable." Iranian state media says the counter proposal included recognition of sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz and a demand for compensation, but no mention of the country's nuclear program.

Meanwhile, Israeli sources say Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with President Trump on Sunday. And here is what Netanyahu told CBS on where the war currently stands.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAJOR GARRETT, CBS HOST: Is the war with Iran over? And if it isn't, who will decide when it is?

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: I think it accomplished a great deal, but it's not over because there's still nuclear material, enriched uranium that has to be taken out of Iran. There's still enrichment sites that have to be dismantled. There are still proxies that Iran supports. There are ballistic missiles that they still want to produce. Now, we've degraded a lot of it, but all of that is still there and there's work to be done. (END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: Also, Iranian state media reports its supreme leader has met with a senior military commander and received a report on the readiness of Iran's armed forces.

Let's bring in CNN's Kristie Lu Stout live from Hong Kong for us. Good to see you again, Kristie. Thank you being with me.

Can you just bring us up to speed again, where do negotiations actually stand right now? And how tense is this moment?

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Ben, there is no imminent peace deal and tension remains very high. Remember what we heard from U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday when he said that he had hopes for a, quote, "serious offer from Iran." The U.S. waited for days for a response to the U.S. peace plan that was sent over to them. U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday reviewed the response. He did not like it.

In fact, he slammed it on social media. This is what he wrote on Truth Social. The U.S. president saying, quote, "I have just read the response from Iran's so called representatives. I don't like it." And that in all caps, "Totally unacceptable."

Now, immediately after that, oil prices spiked some 3 percent and they have been trading higher since then. Let's bring up the price of Brent crude, which is the global oil benchmark, as well as WTI, that's West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. oil benchmark. As you can see, both trading over four and a half percent higher. Brent crude up 4.46 percent. WTI crude in the United States up over 5 percent.

We're all also monitoring U.S. Futures, the NASDAQ S & P and both of them at the last time I took a look at them, the Dow and the S & P trading lower, expecting that they will be trading lower when trading resumes on Monday.

Now let's dig into the details of what was in that Iranian response. This is what we learned from Iranian state media. Iran saying this, that it wanted compensation for war damages, that it wanted an end to sanctions, an end to the U.S. naval blockade, an end to the U.S. ban on Iranian oil sales, guarantee of no further attacks, no mention of its nuclear program there. But we did hear in that interview with CBS News with the Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu, that the war is not over and that more work needs to be done in regards to Iran's nuclear and missile programs.

The U.S. President Donald Trump is under immense pressure to end this war, especially now we're just days away from that critical meeting between President Trump and the Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing at the end of this week. In the meantime, Iran is defiant. We heard this from the Iranian president on his social media platform of choice X, saying, "We will never bow our heads before the enemy, and if talk of dialogue or negotiation arises, it does not mean surrender or retreat. Rather, the goal is to uphold the rights of the Iranian nation and to defend national interests with resolute strength," unquote.

[01:05:14]

The Strait of Hormuz remains effectively closed. That is why we're seeing oil prices continuing and continuing to rise. But we did see a couple vessels pass through recently, a bulk carrier as well as a Qatari oil tanker. That one is significant because that Qatari tanker was the first Qatari vessel holding liquefied Natural Gas, or LNG, and crossing the strait since February 28 when the war broke out. But again, tension remains high.

The Strait of Hormuz remains effectively closed. Ben.

HUNTE: And while all of that is happening, Chinese trade data is also out. How is the world's second largest economy managing the economic impact of this war?

STOUT: It's managing it extremely well. China is very dependent on exports for its economy. It's facing a host of economic challenges like the ongoing property slump, high youth unemployment, et cetera. But its export machine keeps humming despite the war in the Middle East, according to new data just out saying this, that exports rebounded 14.1 percent in April compared to a year ago. But economists are warning as the conflict in the Middle East drags on, that is going to continue to raise prices and that is going to be dragging down on China's exports.

All eyes on that meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and the Chinese leader Xi Jinping. We heard earlier today from official sources in China the meeting has been confirmed, due to take place end of this week, May 13th to the 15th. Ben.

HUNTE: OK. Thank you, Kristie. Kristie Lu Stout. Appreciate it.

STOUT: You got it.

HUNTE: Onwards, 17 Americans who were stuck on a cruise ship hit by a deadly Hantavirus outbreak are now flying back to the U.S. Their plane left Spain's Canary Islands on Sunday night, heading toward a quarantine facility in Nebraska. We have learned that one of them has now tested positive for the virus and another has mild symptoms. The Americans were among 94 people of 19 nationalities who were evacuated off the ship on Sunday. The head of the World Health Organization spoke all about the outbreak.

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DR. TEDROS ADHANOM GHEBREYESUS Of course, there could be symptoms, but it may not be even associated with Hantavirus. Of course, it should be checked. But with age comes many health challenges. That was actually one of the concerns we had with this ship because many of them are elderly and they have many other chronic conditions and there could be symptoms associated with those. So there are symptoms.

It doesn't mean that, you know, it's related to Hantavirus.

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HUNTE: CNN's Melissa Bell is following developments from Tenerife for us.

MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It was at sunset that the operations this Sunday to evacuate passengers from the MV Hondius came to an end. The very last passengers to be disembarked, these 17 Americans who like the others had been stuck on the ship. They were taken to shore as had the French, the Dutch, all the other nationalities over the course of the day by small boats and in batches of five brought ashore, taken through a tent, put on a bus and then taken to the waiting plane ready to carry them back to Omaha, Nebraska. From there they go on to the special quarantine unit where it is, we understand from CDC officials, they will be screened, assessed and then it is hoped, for the most part, allowed to carry out their isolation period back home.

Different protocols for different countries. We have had the news that amongst the French passengers that were evacuated earlier in the day, one of them had begun showing symptoms on the flight home. Special procedures now being put up -- put in place by French authorities around that passenger. But the end of a successful day of operations here at the small port of Grenadier, they will continue on Monday. The very last passengers to be taken off the ship will be the Australians.

And then we understand that the ship itself will head back to Rotterdam for a full disinfection with some 30 crew members still on board.

Melissa Bell, CNN, Tenerife.

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HUNTE: Still to come, Russia's president now says he thinks his so called special military operation in Ukraine could end soon. But what those comments really mean ahead. See you in a moment.

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HUNTE: Welcome back. Today marks the third and final day of the brief cease fire deal between Russia and Ukraine. But both governments are accusing each other of violations over the weekend.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russia has not stopped its attacks on the front. Ukrainian officials say three people were killed in Russian drone strikes near the front lines. Russia says it shut down 57 Ukrainian drones on Sunday and has, quote, responded in kind on the battlefield.

The U.S. brokered peace talks between Russia and Ukraine have long since stalled. But on Saturday, Russia's president said he could speak face to face with Ukraine's president on very specific terms, of course. Zelenskyy says there needs to be a permanent end to the war.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Now Putin himself says that he is finally ready for real meetings. We pushed him a little and we have been prepared for a meeting for a long time. So a format must be found. This war must be ended and security must be reliably guaranteed.

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HUNTE: Well, earlier I spoke with former CNN Moscow bureau chief Jill Dougherty. I asked her about Putin's comments and whether there was a real diplomatic opening or if it was just strategic messaging.

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JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: You do have to look at what President Trump said, and he said, hopefully this, you know, temporary ceasefire is the beginning of the end. But I think accent on the word hopefully. And then as you pointed out, Secretary Rubio said, things are stalled.

And then if you look at what Putin said, I always like to check the bottom line and the fine print. And what he's saying is, yes, things could be coming to an end. But he's saying -- he even said, I would be willing to sit down with Vladimir -- with Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a third country, but not to negotiate, to sign something that already is negotiated. So in other words, the likelihood of that happening very soon is not very great.

So I think at this point, things are stalled. And the question is, can they somehow pull this out and get to some type of agreement, which is a big if.

HUNTE: It is very interesting. Check the small print. Both Russia and Ukraine do accuse each other of violating the victory day cease fire. Was this truce ever really meant to advance negotiations, do you think? Could it hold longer?

DOUGHERTY: You know, I think it was really a temporary measure at a very delicate moment. I mean, that parade was symbolic in so many ways, especially to Vladimir Putin. And to have, you know, drone attacks by Ukrainians on Moscow would be an utter disaster. So I don't think -- you know, really, President Trump certainly, who apparently asked both sides, he says, to have some type of, you know, ceasefire, that it was a request simply to make sure this did not turn into a disaster. But in terms of long term, no, immediately both sides were accusing each other of violating.

And in fact, today I think the Russians were saying that Ukraine violated it 16,000 times. So that's kind of where we are at this point. Again, it didn't really solve much of anything. Although you do have to say then that the fact that they are going to trade prisoners is a very good thing. That would be 1,000 on each side, and that's important.

(END VIDEO CLIP) HUNTE: OK. Still to come, local elections signal a changing tide in British politics. But can Prime Minister Keir Starmer weather another political storm and questions about his leadership? I'll speak with an expert all about it after this break. See in a moment.

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HUNTE: Welcome back. In the coming hours, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is expected to address the public after major losses for the Labour Party. Labour lost more than 1,000 seats in last week's local council elections. At the same time, Reform U.K. gained more than 1,100. It is the latest blow to Starmer during a season of controversy, reigniting concerns over his ability to effectively lead the party.

A leadership challenge would be triggered if 20 percent of the party's members of Parliament supported a challenger and that would require 81 votes. There would then be a contest between Starmer and that challenger.

CNN European affairs commentator Dominic Thomas joins us now. Thank you so much for being with me, sir. Appreciate it.

Labour lost hundreds of council seats into the thousands, while Reform U.K. made major gains across England. Is this just a difficult set of local elections for Keir Starmer or is this evidence of a deeper shift in British politics?

DOMINIC THOMAS, CNN EUROPEAN AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: Well, Ben, I think it's really it's both things are really going on and it's important that you underscored that at the beginning that these were local elections that took place primarily in England with some of votes, and the Scottish and the Welsh Parliament, and this was not a general election. And it's also important to, you know, to remind everybody that Keir Starmer is the head of the Labour Party. The Labour Party won the 2024 general election with a massive majority and any kind of leadership change that would take place would be an internal matter within the Labour Party. So those things are very important.

But I think they do also reveal the pulse today on the British system, on the U.K. system, and provide a very strong indication that there is disinfection with Starmer. Yes, but broadly speaking, more so with this two party system in which voters feel trapped between the Conservative and the Labour Party who do not or no longer reflect their particular views. And that was expressed very clearly in this protest vote. But also this vote that was for something else, for an alternative, which was the politics of reform and the politics of the Greens here then.

HUNTE: Well, Keir Starmer did come into office promising stability and competence and last week we heard him saying that he's not going anywhere. Have a listen to this clip.

[01:25:05] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEIR STARMER, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: We were elected to deal with those challenges and I'm not going to walk away from that and to plunge the country into chaos.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: Very interesting. We are expecting to hear from him again in just a few hours. But how vulnerable does he look right now?

THOMAS: Well, he looks -- he did look vulnerable. I mean, he's clearly, you know, he's on the ropes, but the process of removing him is not a straightforward one, especially if he doesn't resign. And so the fact that they have the majority, the fact that whoever challenges him really has to calculate this very carefully and very strategically because if you back the wrong person here, you're going to end up being on the outside of a Labour government in power for the years to come.

So it's not clear at this moment whether there is a real alternative, whether this person would be able to ride the ship. And I think that obviously with this majority, Starmer has been a target. He has been embroiled in a whole range of issues around Mendelssohn, Epstein, you name it. And of course, this vote is a protest vote that explicitly shows a dissatisfaction with the leader of the Labour Party, who's currently the prime minister here.

Now, there are a range of domestic issues that he's failed to address around the National Health Service, going back on promises to not raise taxes and so on. But all of this also has to be positioned within a broader global context, which is crisis in the Middle east, ongoing issues with Ukraine, Russia and so on and so forth. So on the global political, he's been active, he's been there. And some of the issues impacting economic stagnation and so on and so forth are genuinely out of his hands.

The question of his survivability will really be whether the Labour Party is able to agree on a particular candidate in what is, after all, a deeply fractured party as this lesser recent vote showed and as voters showed by moving towards the Greens and reform, Ben.

HUNTE: To be fair to Nigel Farage and Reform U.K., there is a lot of support independently for that party. What is driving that momentum towards them right now?

THOMAS: Yes, well, that's a -- it's a broader European, if not even global phenomenon where there is a degree of attraction for these far right political parties that are very much driven by emotional appeal and by disaffected voters and including manipulating them and not being afraid of using false information and misinformation and so on and so forth. But I think in the particular case of reform is that the Conservative Party, as it moves towards the right or the far right, is losing voters at the center that are moving to other political kind of options. And so it's been reluctant to go down that road. And, Nigel, Reform has tapped into that disinfection, that anti-immigration question, which, let's not forget, was the major driving force for Brexit and remains an issue and a major question in British politics as it does on the continent. In a broader way, Ben.

HUNTE: Well, as you say, there's still several years until a general election in the U.K. so lots of time for things to change again and again and again. Let's see what happens. Dominic Thomas, for now, thank you so much.

THOMAS: Thank you, Ben.

HUNTE: Fulfilling one of his first campaign promises as Hungary's new prime minister, Peter Magyar helped a group of Roma children achieve their dream of performing a traditional Roma song in the Hungarian Parliament. While on the campaign trail in November, Mr. Magyar visited the children's village where he promised them that if he's elected as Hungary's next leader, he will let them perform for the inaugural session of parliament. Mr. Magyar kept his promise to the delight of those children. This was the first time a Roma song was played at the inaugural session of Parliament.

Eurovision opening festivities kick off the contest 70th anniversary in Vienna. After the break, we'll explore the controversy surrounding this year's competition. See you in a moment.

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BEN HUNTE, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back.

Eurovision week has officially kicked off in Vienna. Representatives from 35 countries will be participating in this year's song competition, with the semifinals set to begin on Tuesday. The annual contest is marking its 70th anniversary under the shadow of a lot of controversy.

Eurovision's decision to allow Israel's participation in the contest sparked months of demonstrations across Europe. Five countries -- Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Spain are boycotting the event over Israel's war in Gaza.

And Austrian police say they have instituted extra security measures in response to heightened tensions.

Let's speak to Dean Vuletic. He's a historian of contemporary Europe focused on Eurovision. Good to see you again, sir.

[01:34:51]

HUNTE: Eurovision is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year, but instead of the music, there is so much attention focused on politics and protest. Does this year's contest feel different from previous controversies?

DEAN VULETIC, HISTORIAN OF CONTEMPORARY EUROPE: Hello from Vienna, Ben. Well, Eurovision has always been mired in political controversies.

Ever since the beginning, we've seen countries send messages through their Eurovision entries. We've seen countries brand themselves through their hosting of Eurovision. And we've seen countries make statements in the way they enter or withdraw from Eurovision.

So this year is really not so different when we look at the history of Eurovision and indeed the recent years of Eurovision.

HUNTE: Five countries are boycotting over Israel's participation and some wider issues as well, making this one of the biggest political dramas Eurovision has faced.

How significant is the fact that they're pulled out for this contest?

VULETIC: Well, this is indeed the biggest political boycott of Eurovision ever. Five countries, as you have said, have withdrawn.

We've never seen a political boycott on this scale. We've seen boycotts in the past. The first was actually in 1969, by this year's host broadcaster, Austria, when Eurovision was staged in Madrid under the dictatorship of Francisco Franco.

So indeed, this is unique in being the largest political boycott. But as I said, political controversies have always surrounded Eurovision. So I imagine that Eurovision will weather this one out as well.

HUNTE: Well, let's keep talking the politics, because Eurovision has long described itself as nonpolitical. But can the contest realistically still make that claim, given the disputes around Israel's participation and the war in Gaza and even Russia and Ukraine?

VULETIC: It certainly can because Eurovision does not have a political agenda. It becomes political because we have countries competing against each other.

The entries represent countries, even though they're submitted by these national public service broadcasters, which make up the European Broadcasting Union.

We have to remember that the European Broadcasting Union is not a political organization, but a technical association of national public service broadcasters. So indeed, Eurovision is also nonpolitical or meant to be, let's say.

HUNTE: I like that addition. There were already protests and huge security around the opening events in Vienna. What has the atmosphere been like on the ground there so far?

VULETIC: Well, indeed, you could see extra security, extra police. The Israeli delegation, when it walked down the turquoise carpet, was also surrounded by extra security personnel. That was indeed rather surreal. Two security personnel were in front of the Israeli singer. They wore masks and carried briefcases.

So that's something I've never seen when I've attended Eurovision and the opening ceremonies in the past.

But there were no security checks to enter the public area to view the turquoise carpet ceremony, the public viewing area, the Eurovision village where concerts are held and people can watch.

The live shows also doesn't have too much extra security. So it is actually a very festive atmosphere, rather relaxed atmosphere considering the security concerns.

HUNTE: And despite all of the controversy, as we've been speaking about millions of fans do remain deeply loyal to Eurovision. Why has this contest continued to resonate so strongly across Europe after seven decades? And also, who are we rooting for?

VULETIC: Well, why has it proven to be so popular for so long? It's anchored itself as a tradition. It's always reflected cultural, social and political changes in Europe, and that's why people like to watch it, because it tells us something about the zeitgeist, the times we're living in.

Every year, it's a showcase of diversity -- cultural diversity, social diversity. And this is why Eurovision is so special in a world today in which we have so many song contests.

When it started in 1956, it was very unique. That's also why it managed to establish itself as a tradition.

These days, though, it exists in a much more -- in a busier landscape of song contests, song competitions. But it has remained special simply because it does showcase so much diversity and it has continued to attract hundreds of millions of viewers a year. So it will go on, it will continue to go on beyond 70 years.

Who is my favorite? There are many. I'm going to the rehearsals today. I'll be able to tell you more after that. It's important to watch the songs being performed on stage.

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VULETIC: The music videos can only tell you so much, but it's really going to come down to how the artists perform on television and how they manage to attract the attention, the support, the engagement of the viewers who will ultimately be voting.

HUNTE: Love that. Dean Vuletic, thank you so much. Appreciate it. Enjoy your week. See you again soon.

VULETIC: Thank you, Ben. Thank you.

HUNTE: The sound of music filled the mountain air over Slovenia's Lake Bled on Sunday as the country hosted its annual accordion festival. More than 450 musicians played traditional Slovenian folk favorites on accordion in a mass performance on the lakefront promenade.

The festival celebrates Slovenia's rich accordion heritage with concerts, AN accordion parade and local food and drink. Ok, that's all I've got for you.

Thanks for joining me and the team. I'm Ben Hunte in Atlanta.

"WORLDSPORT" is next. We will see you very soon.

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