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Aid on Its Way to Afghanistan Quake Region; E.U. Leaders Set to Accept Ukraine as Candidate; Russia Rerouting Trade to BRICS; British Prime Minister Defends Controversial Deportation Policy; Australian Armored Vehicles en Route to Ukraine; Britain's Inflation Hit 40-Year High. Aired 10-11a ET

Aired June 23, 2022 - 10:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If this convoy is departing Kabul today we will immediately support 4,000 people with shelter, tents, blankets, water and

other relief items.

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST (voice-over): After a devastating earthquake, the latest on the humanitarian efforts to support the thousands of victims.

Another hurdle crossed in Ukraine's bid to join the E.U. nearly four months after Russia's invasion began.

The British prime minister is in Kigali, his policy on sending refugees to Rwanda continues to stoke anger at home and abroad.

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ANDERSON: I'm Becky Anderson in Abu Dhabi and welcome to CONNECT THE WORLD.

With picks, shovels and, bare hands people in the mountainous eastern Afghanistan, rescuers are digging for survivors in the powerful earthquake

that struck 1.5 day ago. Over 1,000 fatalities are confirmed.

As one searchers says, many bodies are stuck under the rubble. Rain is intermittently complicating the search. Tents, blankets and medical

supplies are on their way but much more is needed.

The quake compounds the misery for a country already dealing with massive poverty and hunger.

Hsiao-Wei Lee says misery, first-hand, she sees it every day. She's in Afghanistan with the World Food Programme and she's working on the

emergency response.

We really appreciate your time. I know you must be very busy. Just talk us through some of the logistical challenges facing your agency, the WFP and

other aid agencies right now in getting relief to people who need it most.

HSIAO-WEI LEE, DEPUTY DIRECTOR FOR AFGHANISTAN, WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME: Sure, thank you for having me. As you mentioned, what's really happening in

Afghanistan is compounded catastrophes that have hits Afghanistan and most recently, with this earthquake.

What we saw yesterday in the early morning is we woke up after the earthquake had hit is just extreme challenges and getting to the location.

The roads are very narrow, very poor and, with rain, it was very hard to get rescue efforts underway.

So yesterday, we had a team on the ground already to conduct the assessments. We also deployed another team from Kabul. They are now on the

ground. We've also been able to deploy 18 fleet trucks with 107 metric tons of food. It will arrive tomorrow to serve the very needy.

ANDERSON: All right. Let's talk about your team on the ground, who has already arrived, what they've witnessed. What are they telling you?

LEE: The situation is very bleak. About six districts are heavily affected, three of which are pretty much fully affected. Some of the

villages that they have seen are completely decimated, 70 percent are collapsed.

Also, because of what we've seen again, it's the earthquake and also the rains. So that's more landslides. A lot of people have nothing at this

point. They've lost, with very little to begin with, what we see in Afghanistan, even before this disaster was that 19 million people are in

acute food insecurity.

That means they're very, very hungry and there's very little to work with. Over the past three days, we've seen flash floods across the country. We've

seen snow in the middle of June that's probably decimated the crops.

And now, this earthquake. On top of that, which you've already mentioned, the economic crisis and three years of draught over the past five years. So

a lot of different shocks to the population.

ANDERSON: The numbers reported to date are awful, 1,000 dead, many more injured. I just wonder whether your sense is that those numbers could go

significantly higher at this point.

LEE: Yes, I think those numbers are really difficult to pinpoint down at the moment. For WFP, we take a no regrets approach. First, we send out food

that can serve the general population as we conduct rolling vulnerability assessments to pinpoint the number of people in need.

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LEE: So what we sent across will serve initially 5,000 households. That's around 35,000 people. Then, that will give them at least something to eat

in the meantime and as we look at providing additional assistance.

ANDERSON: What kind of response or assistance is being provided by the government?

What have you asked for, in terms of help from that Taliban government?

LEE: The current regime has, yesterday, they did respond quite quickly. They responded with ambulances, helicopters to be able to take out the

injured. They've also provided a little bit of food assistance, as well as shelter.

But the needs are so much more massive. What will be useful for the humanitarian community is also some facilitation. There's many generous

donors willing to help bring in relief efforts. This is not limited to just food. It could be shelter, for example.

And to be able to facilitate the movement of that food, as well as the customs clearance, things that are -- just purely logistics would also be

helpful. And at the end of the day, for us to be able to work with the de facto authorities and the community on the ground to really identify what

are the immediate needs but then also there will be months and potentially even years of building back.

For WFP, we look at the needs for the country as a whole and we have at, the moment, $1.15 billion dollar shortfalls to really serve what is

required for the rest of the year. That includes also winter prepositioning.

I talked about how difficult the roads are to these locations. But really, for the rest of the country, there are, across the board, we've identified

over 100 districts across the country, where, in the winter, it will be very difficult to access. And we need to preposition that. The cost for

doing that would be $150 million.

ANDERSON: We wish you the best of luck in what is already a very, very difficult situation for that country. We will stay on the story for. You

thank you.

International agencies like the World Food Programme and the Red Cross/Red Crescent helping quake survivors. The Taliban say Qatar, Iran and Pakistan

have already sent food and other supplies.

Turkiye says it has also sent provisions. In fact, the U.N. representative says the Turkiye is in, quote, "the best position" to help. Atika Shubert

is in Istanbul with more.

Just describe what sort of help Turkiye has been able to provide at this, point and how Afghanistan's neighbors are also stepping in.

ATIKA SHUBERT, JOURNALIST: Well, Turkiye has a team on the ground. The Turkish Red Crescent has been cooperating with the Afghanistan Red Crescent

for some time. So they were actually able to mobilize fairly quickly yesterday, giving food aid to more than 500 people in some of the most

affected areas.

While the Afghanistan Red Crescent takes care of a lot of the shelter, getting people tents and other immediate ways to stay dry. Remember, it is

also monsoon season there. This is exacerbating efforts there.

But it is still very difficult to get to the area. Turkiye may be one of the best places is because they still maintain an embassy in Kabul. Because

they are able to keep that relationship with the de facto government of the Taliban that is there, they are able to get some of those logistics going a

little bit better than other countries may be able to.

But it is still tough going. We spoke to the Turkish Red Crescent about their efforts but also the Turkish foreign ministry. Turkiye says that it

is willing to provide more aid and also search and recovery or search and rescue efforts, if needed.

But Turkiye says they have not had that official request from the Taliban government, yet. So there are still some roadblocks there. I think the

difficulty here is not just in the remoteness of the area and the weather conditions that are hampering efforts but also just diplomacy.

The fact that the Taliban just does not have those kinds of relationships with the countries that it needs, to get emergency aid to the people who

needed the most.

ANDERSON: Atika Shubert on the ground in Turkiye. Thank you.

This, folks, is going to be a very long road ahead for Afghanistan. For more on how you can, help go to cnn.com/impact. You will find a list of

some of the aid groups that are taking part in the effort. It is just one button that makes it easy to donate.

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ANDERSON: That is at cnn.com/impact. Taking a very short break, back after this.

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ANDERSON: We are nearing the four month mark since Russia's war on Ukraine began. And Vladimir Putin could be within striking distance of a major goal

in his military campaign, taking over the entire region of Luhansk.

An adviser from the Ukrainian president's office says that the battle for Lysychansk in Sievierodonetsk, where some Ukrainian resistance remains,

has, and I quote here, "entered its climax."

The Ukrainian military released this video showing damage from intense shelling in Lysychansk. Video shows the city is half destroyed by Russian

artillery. Ukrainian officials say Russia has captured two more settlements around the city.

To the south, Ukraine is making some headway on what is known as Snake Island, which has been occupied by the Russian navy since the early days of

the conflict. Ukrainian forces say they have struck several Russian positions and weapons there.

For more on Ukraine looming large, the European Union summit in Brussels. Leaders there are set to formally accept Ukraine and Moldova's bids for

candidate status into the E.U. And they will discuss Georgia's application for the very same candidate status.

They will also talk about continued support for Ukraine and the war's impact on global food security. Participants, as you see them there,

looking to strengthen security and stability, right across the European continent.

Our international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson. Connecting us from Brussels.

Let's start with this candidacy. These bids for E.U. membership, by Ukraine and, let's remind ourselves, Moldova as well. What's said today?

Where are we with that?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: What has been said is that it seems to be almost certain that it is going to happen, as you said,

talks are going underway right now. Charles Michel, the European Council president, really set the tone when he came in, today saying it is a

decisive moment.

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CHARLES MICHEL, EUROPEAN COUNCIL PRESIDENT: This is a decisive moment for the European Union, so (INAUDIBLE) choice that you will make today and

(INAUDIBLE) today. We will grant the candidates that's used to Ukraine and to Moldova and (INAUDIBLE) clear and strong perspective for European

perspective for Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova.

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ROBERTSON: These are the sentiments that we have heard exactly from the European Commission president, the European Parliament president.

[10:15:00]

ROBERTSON: So it really sets the scene here that, short of anything really unexpected and out of left field, Ukraine can expect to receive that

candidate status. You have to look at the process so far and say that Ukraine has got to this moment, very, very quickly, from putting in the

application the 28th of February, four days after the war started, to this moment now.

But leaders like Francois Macron -- Emmanuel Macron and France, rather, have been very clear and said there is no fast-track in this process. So

the remainder of the process, particularly as Ukraine's war could take a long time.

ANDERSON: Yes, absolutely. One of the first steps, let's call it, but only a step in the right direction as far as Ukraine and Moldova are concerned,

at this point, particularly, did the E.U. offer any further support in terms of either military hardware or in terms of the food security issues,

that of grain, effectively getting out of Ukraine at this point?

ROBERTSON: European Union's high representative and vice president, Josep Borrell, has made it very clear that European Union's view is Russia is

using food as a tool of war, that it is stealing, destroying grain supplies, wheat supplies, stopping Ukraine exporting its wheat to the world

markets, particularly in the third world that need it.

What additional support comes out of today and candidate status, is technical support for the process of integrating what are estimated to be

200,000 pages of European lore into Ukrainian lore. That is a very lengthy and difficult and slow process and costly process. There is support there.

But yes, there is continuing commitments to try to find a way to ease back the Russian pressure, stopping Ukraine from getting its food to the world

markets, driving up global food prices. There are efforts there. And also to make sure that they commit the financial commitments that have been made

already, militarily, as well as humanitarian needs, that are followed through and kept going through the long term as well, Becky.

ANDERSON: Nic Robertson is in Brussels.

Russia blames Ukraine for stopping the flow of grain to global destinations. At a news conference in Tehran, Russia's foreign minister

urged Ukraine to demine Black Sea ports in order to allow the passage of that grain.

Sergey Lavrov was in Iran for two days of talks. His camps aid the Ukraine crisis can only be resolved through diplomacy. He hopes to see both sides

return to negotiations. He also said that Iran is prepared to resume nuclear talks in Vienna but only if the United States adopts what he alls a

realistic approach.

These talks, of course, have been stalled since March. Chinese president Xi Jinping says that the world is that a, quote, critical juncture recovering

from the pandemic. And tackling what he calls new security challenges.

Mr. Xi was speaking ahead of a virtual summit for emerging economies, including Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa, known as the BRICS.

Russian president Vladimir Putin says that his country's is rerouting trade to those BRICS countries. Selina Wang is in Beijing.

Presidents Xi and Putin had strong words yesterday for the West. Get us up to speed on what we have heard today and a, sense if you will, of the

overall mood this summit.

SELINA WANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We have seen both Putin and Xi Jinping use the summit as an opportunity to expand their vision of this new global

order when both of these countries are increasingly isolated from the West.

We heard from Putin, saying that he is rerouting trade from Russia to what he is calling, quote, "reliable international partners." Putin claims that

trade between Russia and the other BRICS countries has increased by 38 percent, reaching $45 billion in the first three months of the year.

And to see Putin alongside the leaders of these other major economies, even if it is virtually, that symbolically sends the message that, well Russia

is not entirely alone.

Putin also said in his speech, quote, "Contacts between Russian business circles in the business community of the BRICS country have intensified.

For example, negotiations are underway to open Indian chain stores in Russia and increase the share of Chinese, cars equipment and hardware on

our market."

Becky, Russia has also been ramping up exports of oil to both China and India. They are snapping up these cheaper prices.

[10:20:00]

WANG: And this somewhat blunts the effect of Western sanctions on Russia. We also heard Xi Jinping's keynote speech echo some of the points that

Putin made, condemning Western sanctions on Russia, calling, them quote, "weaponizing the global economy."

Also made veiled criticisms of the U.S. and NATO, which Beijing has repeatedly criticized for antagonizing and provoking Russia.

We also interestingly heard Putin say that the BRICS countries are talking about the possibility of getting an international reserve currency based

off the basket of BRICS countries' currencies, a system outside of the U.S. dollar system. But it has some added urgency given Western sanctions on

Russia.

But how wholeheartedly do these BRICS nations embrace this messaging, this strong tone and these initiatives?

That remains to be seen because even though these BRICS nations have not outright condemned Russia for the invasion of Ukraine, some of them do not

want to be seen aligning too closely with Russia. They want to not anger their Western allies. But these BRICS nations comprise more than 41 percent

of the world's population and a quarter of the world GDP.

ANDERSON: Yes, fascinating. Selina, thank you.

Let's get you up to speed on some of the other stories on our radar.

Right now, officials say 124 people have died from monsoon rains and floods across India and Bangladesh. That's after 12 people lost their lives in

India's northeastern state of Assam in the past day. In that same time, 270,000 people were displaced there.

Firefighters are battling a raging wildfire that erupted this week in southwestern Turkiye near the resort of Magris (ph). Scenes of burning

woodland are sparking fears of a repeat of last year's fires that devastated the region.

In South Africa's eastern Cape region, they're facing a water shortage crisis. People in one town are two weeks away from completely running out

of tap water. Dams have been drying up for months due to drought and poor maintenance.

A bit further north, leaders are gathering in Rwanda for a Commonwealth Summit that was twice postponed by the pandemic. British prime minister

Boris Johnson visited schools in Kigali after arriving there today. This comes amid a row over the U.K.'s plan to deport asylum seekers from the

U.K. to Rwanda.

Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, are also in Rwanda. They began their visit with a somber tour of the Kigali genocide memorial.

Larry Madowo joins us now live.

The timing of this is interesting and significant. Boris Johnson visiting during a politically charged time. His plan to send migrants to Kigali,

currently in tatters, quite frankly. It's not being received well in the U.K. and in other parts of the world.

How are Rwandans reacting?

What's the welcome been for Boris Johnson?

LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So Becky, Boris Johnson was hoping that by the time he arrived for Rwanda for this, that the first flight of

migrants in the U.K. should have arrived. But that didn't happen, because last, week the European Court of Human Rights blocked that.

And the last migrants from the plane pulled out. There have been murmurs about accepting so many migrants from a rich country, when the U.K. has the

money and the capacity to deal with their obligations.

There has been criticism, even within Rwanda, within some of the politicians, ordinary citizens who are uncomfortable about the lack of a

cap on these migrants coming into their country for the next five years. There could be thousands of them. No telling when the next flight will take

off.

But prime minister Boris Johnson has been defending this controversial asylum policy and he says it's going to keep going even after reports

emerged that Prince Charles himself has called this policy appalling.

Officially, Charles has not commented, saying he's neutral and it's policy for the U.K. governments. But he's due to have tea with Boris Johnson

tomorrow and the prime minister already knows what they're going to be telling. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BORIS JOHNSON, U.K. PRIME MINISTER: People need to keep an open mind about the policy. The critics need to keep an open mind. I think a lot of people

can see its obvious merits. Of course, if I'm seeing the prince tomorrow, I'm going to bring up that point.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MADOWO: So Becky, prime minister Boris Johnson really has to sell the obvious merits of this migrant policy, that's been called migrant

offshoring.

[10:25:00]

MADOWO: Rwanda accepting migrants that rich countries don't want and both Rwanda and the U.K. stands by it.

ANDERSON: Larry Madowo on the story for you.

And if you want to know or with the commonwealth, which is why Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, are there, it's member states country that

we see joined those that left, go to cnn.com.

Here, you see the Duchess of Cornwall with the first lady of Rwanda, visiting the Kigali public library today. More on that at cnn.com.

This is a royal trip. Find out about the links between the British royal family and the Commonwealth.

Right, all this week, we are running a series called "Mission: Ahead." What that does is it explores big, bold missions in science and technology,

missions to change the way that we move.

Well, today, we meet a former creative director of Windows XP, who went on to help design the original Xbox and build some of HTC's earliest

smartphones. Now that innovator has turned his hand to another industry, looking to make polluted city streets a lot greener. CNN's Rachel Crane has

his story.

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RACHEL CRANE, CNN BUSINESS INNOVATION AND SPACE CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): It's a gloomy day in Taiwan's capital, Taipei. But according to

Horace Luke, it's not just the rain to blame.

HORACE LUKE, CHAIRMAN AND CEO, GOGORO (voice-over): You know, if you think about all the, noise all the dirty, air all of the heat, these are muggy.

Every vehicle on the side of the street is not washed are different shades of gray.

CRANE (voice-over): The former designer is on a mission to add some color. His company, Gogoro, has developed a range of electric smart scooters with

swappable batteries. So when riders are running low, they could turn up to a swapping station like this one and change to a fully charged battery.

While electric tubulars have been around for decades, in many cities in Asia, you are more likely to come across their gas and diesel fuels

counterparts. You'll probably see a lot of them.

LUKE: Most people in the West don't realize how essential two wheelers are for Asia. Where we are today in Taiwan, there are 14 million two wheelers

rolling around. The amount of dependency these people really have on these two wheelers for everyday life to taking their kids to school, going to the

supermarket, running to work.

CRANE (voice-over): For riders strapped for time, battery swapping offers some valuable advantages. It's faster than filling up the tank and Gogoro

stations actually outnumber gas stations in major cities in Taiwan. But more electric scooters on the road doesn't come without risk.

CAO ZHEJING, TONGA UNIVERSITY: The safety concern comes largely from the exposure of batteries. It's very dangerous in public space.

CRANE (voice-over): Luke says battery swapping can make e-scooters safer.

LUKE: We have a lot of safety measurements, I would say. Almost 14 different layers of safety precautions that allows us to manage the

network, anything from overheating issue to a functionality issue. Those are caught by our system of servers. They're always monitoring every

battery on the grid.

CRANE (voice-over): This system could even give back to the grid, according to Luke.

LUKE: Another project we're working on is being able to now push back the energy, taking those batteries and put it in things like, for example, into

traffic lights that we can back up the traffic light for three hours during a brownout.

CRANE (voice-over): This grid isn't entirely green, though. Most electricity in Taiwan is still generated by fossil fuels, according to 2020

figures.

LUKE: Later on, hopefully, the demand size is big enough, we can influence the supply cycle for energy.

CRANE (voice-over): Gogoro is also expanding into larger scooter markets like China, India, each with its own complex energy infrastructure. For

Luke, it's another chance to go back to the drawing board.

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Welcome, back I am Becky Anderson in Abu Dhabi with -- you are watching CONNECT THE WORLD.

This is the E.U. ways bringing Ukraine into the fold. Member states also trying to find solutions to dwindling energy supplies. Germany says it now

faces a gas crisis after Russia cut flows through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline by 60 percent last week.

The E.U.'s climate chief says that 12 member countries are now feeling the effects of Russia's supply cuts. CNN's Anna Stewart is joining me now from

London.

Germany raising alarm bells here.

What does this mean for Europe's gas supplies going forward?

And what is the significance here?

ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We've seen a heavy flow of Russian gas to Europe for a variety of different reasons. Explaining what it was doing to

gas prices, not enough for Europe. Quite extraordinary.

In this month alone, gas futures are 50 percent higher. Last week, as you mentioned, Germany supplies by Nord Stream 1 was reduced by 60, percent

which is absolutely huge, devastating for the industry if it were to continue for a long time.

At this point, Russia says it is for a technical reason regarding some equipment. They say it is not political. Germany say there's a pretext to

push of those prices. Other European nations have no Russian gas at all at this stage, because they refused to obey a Kremlin demand to pay for their

gas in Russian rubles, by a ruble account.

Generally, those are countries that could afford to go without any Russian gas. As you, say 12 member states are impacted by this. The E.U. is under

no illusions. They say this is political. Listen to the climate policy chief speaking earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FRANS TIMMERMANS, EUROPEAN COMMISSION VICE PRESIDENT: Russia has weaponized energy. We have seen further gas disruptions announced in recent

days. All of this is part of Russia's strategy to undermine our unity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEWART: And, unfortunately, Europe's unity is really being tested. And it has been for weeks now. So they are calling for a total ban on Russian oil,

which became a partial ban. And of, course at this stage, there's no suggestion of banned Russian gas. Particularly in Germany, which you can

see from today from this decision to call the crisis are so reliant on Russian gas, specifically, in that case.

ANDERSON: Well, what Mr. Timmermans didn't say but it is certainly true is that at this point Russia is certainly undermining the E.U.'s climate

policy at least in the short term. It is an energy transition, we will discuss that next hour. Thank you.

Germany is one of the nations helping Ukraine beef its weapons on the battlefield. An official tells us that the U.S. could announce today that

it is sending more rocket systems and artillery ammunition.

And any day now, Ukraine is set to receive the first batch of armored vehicles donated by Australia. But despite the help from the West and

others, Ukraine remains far outgunned by Russia. More now from CNN's Ben Wedeman, who is on the front lines in Eastern Ukraine.

[10:35:00]

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BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): New rounds soon to be loaded into the breach. These Ukrainian troops wait for

the order.

They're preparing to fire this gun. Ukraine has received more than 100 M777 howitzers but we've seen steadily the Russians are gaining more and more

ground. This helps but it may not be enough.

With sophisticated U.S.-made and supplied 155 millimeter howitzers like this, Ukraine hopes to counter Russia's massive superiority in firepower.

That superiority has allowed Russian forces to push forward, subjecting cities like Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk to intense bombardment.

This drone footage shows Russian tanks entering the town of Toshkivka just outside Sievierodonetsk. Outnumbered and outgunned in the east, Ukraine has

warned Russian forces may soon intensify their attack.

This artillery is firing rounds with a range of around 20 kilometers or 12.5 miles. The target, we're told, Russian armored personnel carriers.

"Thanks to the Americans, I think we can win this war," says Bogdan. "The only problem is we need more barrels, more artillery and more ammunition."

Or in plain English --

BOGDAN, UKRAINIAN ARMED FORCES: We need your help.

WEDEMAN (voice-over): His comrade Grach puts a number to it.

"We need at least 500 of these guns," he says.

This has become an artillery war and victory in this war will come from the barrel of a gun -- Ben Wedeman, CNN, Eastern Ukraine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD, I'm Becky Anderson. Up ahead, a swim competition that could have turned into a tragedy, if not for the

heroic actions of a swimmer's coach. The moment captured and startling underwater photos. That after this.

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ANDERSON: Most of the trains across England, Scotland and Wales are sitting idle once again as travelers grapple with a second day of rail

strikes in Great Britain.

A third walkout is added on Saturday for working conditions. Talks about ending the strikes collapsed on Wednesday with British media, describing

them as, quote, "bitter." The unions say they want pay to keep up with the soaring inflation. Last, month consumer inflation hits the highest in four

decades.

[10:40:00]

ANDERSON: CNN's Clare Sebastian joins the lunchtime crowd in the sunny London, where only the weather seemed upbeat.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Here at this east London food market where people are on their lunch breaks, it is not immediately obvious that

the U.K. is facing 40-year highs in inflation and a cost of living crisis.

But inflation is here. Food prices were the biggest contributing factor to the latest rise in inflation. Add to that, the cost of energy, motor fuels

are up around 33 percent in the past 12 months.

And you have a situation where pretty much everyone here is feeling the pressure.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think food shops, especially, are just ridiculous. You can't get anything on for -- yes, it's up too much. But yes,

unfortunately, money doesn't go so far.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have also been busy trying to fix my mortgage, because we are facing significantly rising mortgage rates as well.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The oil has gone up. The vegetable oil and the price of the chickens have gone up basically. But we've not passed it down yet,

because frankly, to the absolute minimum until we can.

SEBASTIAN: Well, that business may not be passing on the costs to its customers but data shows more and more businesses. Are add to that the fact

that we've already seen disruption this week from rail strikes.

These latest inflation numbers could lead unions to increase their demands for more pay rises in line with inflation. And then you have another worry,

the U.K. economy is actually shrinking. It shrank in both April and March, data shows.

If inflation keeps rising and the economy keeps shrinking, the risk of recession keeps going up. And that means a whole new set of challenges for

the businesses hoping to make a living on people's lunch breaks -- Clare Sebastian, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: A terrifying moment and a lifesaving rescue. A swimming competition in Hungary. These are the images of the American swimmer Anita

Alvarez, after she lost consciousness in the pool at the end of her solo artistic routine.

Her coach jumped in and lifted her to safety. That is an image of the coach swimming toward her.

[10:45:00]

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