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Voting Underway in South Africa's General Election, ANC Faces Its Stiffest Challenge Yet to Its 30-year Majority; North Korea Sends Floating Bags of Garbage Into South Korea; Colombian Congress Approves Nationwide Ban on Bullfights; Rescued & Restored Caravaggio Painting on Display in Madrid; Wu-Tang Clan's "Once Upon a Time in Shaolin" Album to Be Part of Private Listening Exhibit in Tasmania. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired May 29, 2024 - 02:00   ET

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

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[02:00:31]

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world and everyone streaming us on CNN Max. I'm Rosemary Church.

Just ahead, no shelter, no life, no future. The despair deepens for many Palestinians in Gaza, forced to flee yet again as Israeli forces move deeper into Rafah.

The time has come, calls are growing for Ukraine's allies to ease the rules and allow Kyiv to strike inside Russia with Western weapons.

And Donald Trump prepares to be judged by a jury, which deliberations in the hush money trial getting underway in the hours ahead.

ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta, This is CNN NEWSROOM with Rosemary Church.

CHURCH: Thanks for joining us. The U.N. Security Council will meet in the coming hours and one diplomat tells CNN Algeria is circulating a draft resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the release of all hostages.

It comes as Israel says it's looking into the deadly fire that killed at least 45 people in a displacement camp in Rafah on Sunday.

The IDF says its strike targeting two senior Hamas officials may have unintentionally set off weapons stored in a nearby compound, which then caused the fire.

A CNN analysis of video from the scene shows Israel used U.S. made munitions.

Two more strikes in Gaza have killed at least 29 people according to the Gaza health ministry, and witnesses report seeing Israeli tanks deep inside Rafah city center for the first time in this war. But these latest developments apparently not enough to change U.S.

policy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How does this not violate the red line the president laid out JOHN KIRBY, WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY COMMUNICATIONS ADVISOR: We don't want to see a major ground operation. We haven't seen that at this point.

As a result of this strike on Sunday, I have no policy changes to speak to. It just happened. The Israelis are going to investigate it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: The latest Israeli strikes in southern Gaza are forcing more people to flee for what they hope will be safer areas. The U.N. says nearly a million people have been displaced from Rafah alone over the past three weeks. Hospitals and medical facilities are short on supplies and humanitarian groups are having a hard time getting aid into the region.

One woman in Khan Yunis says she has been displaced four times and no matter where she goes, there's no shelter, no life and no future.

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ANSAR MAHDI, DISPLACED FROM RAFAH (through translator): They told us to move from the north to the south. We did, we stayed in tents in abysmal conditions. No words can convey what we went through.

Then, we went from Rafah to Khan Yunis, intense like you see, see how it looks. See the type of life we are living. Where else can we go? Where would the next displacement be?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: More now from CNN's Jeremy Diamond and a warning, his report contains graphic video.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Makeshift shelters housing displaced Palestinians engulfed in flames. The screams of women pierced the smoke filled air as bodies are pulled from the blaze.

The Israeli military says it did not expect carnage on this scale when it dropped two small precision guided munitions here targeting two senior Hamas militants.

REAR ADM. DANIEL HAGARI, ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES SPOKESPERSON: Our munition alone could not have ignited a fire of this size. I want to repeat it, Our ammunition alone could not have ignited a fire of this size. DIAMOND (voice over): The Israeli military says it is still investigating what else could have ignited the inferno, floating the possibility of a secondary explosion caused by ammunition stored nearby.

It provided no verifiable evidence to back up that theory. What is clear how close the strike was to container like shelters housing hundreds of displaced Palestinian civilians.

These two container like structures were targeted in the attack according to this Israeli drone footage. At least three people can be seen on the road outside those structures moments before the strike.

[02:05:00]

These are the two structures identified as targets by the Israeli military as seen in satellite imagery. adjacent structures were also destroyed in the explosion or the subsequent fire.

Displaced civilians were living in some or all of these structures. At least 45 people were killed according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

Amid growing international outrage and condemnation, the Israeli military isn't slowing down its Rafah offensive. With tanks spotted in central Rafah for the first time, as the Israeli military investigates one strike. It is carrying out others also in camps for displaced Palestinians.

Just 500 feet from Sunday night's strike, Hamza (ph) holds a piece of the projectile that killed his sister overnight in the Tal Al Sultan camp. She was sleeping when shrapnel hit her in the face, he says, one of eight people killed in the same strike. CNN has reached out to the Israeli military for comment.

The walls of the U.N. warehouse next door are now scarred with shrapnel assigned to many in this camp that the area is no longer safe. Hundreds are now cocking up what little they can still claim as their own and fleeing once again. Desperate for refuge from the violence that surrounds them.

Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Jerusalem.

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CHURCH: A temporary pier constructed by the U.S. military to transport much needed aid into Gaza has broken apart and sustained damage in heavy seas.

The Pentagon says sections of the pier need rebuilding and repairing. The pier will be removed from its location on the Gaza Coast over the next 48 hours and sent to the Israeli port of Ashdod for repairs.

That process will take more than a week. The Pentagon says the pier will be put back in place once it's fixed.

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SABRINA SINGH, PENTAGON DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY: The pier proved highly valuable in delivering aid to the people of Gaza. Thus, upon completion of the pier, repair and reassembly. The intention is to re anchor the temporary pier to the coast of Gaza and resume humanitarian aid to the people who need it most.

To date, over 1,000 metric tons have been delivered from the pier to the marshalling area for onward delivery by humanitarian organizations and into the hands of Palestinians.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Ireland raised the Palestinian flag just hours after officially recognizing Palestinian statehood. The flag was flying outside the Irish parliament on Tuesday. Spain and Norway have also officially recognized a Palestinian state, a move which could bolster the global Palestinian cause, but further strained relations between Europe and Israel.

Meantime, Denmark's parliament has rejected a proposal to recognize a Palestinian state. The Danish government has said the necessary conditions were not in place.

Closing arguments have wrapped up in the historic Donald Trump hush money trial, the first criminal trial of a former U.S. president. The New York jury is expected to begin deliberations in the coming hours weighing everything they've heard over 21 days, which includes the testimony from nearly two dozen witnesses.

CNN's Paula Reid has details on the closing arguments.

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DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT & 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This is a dark day in America we had a rigged court case that you should have never been brought.

PAULA REID, CNN SENIOR LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Donald Trump's hush money trial entering its final phase today with closing arguments. Attorney Todd Blanche telling the jury, the district attorney has not met their burden of proof, period, maintaining Trump's innocence, saying it's a paper case, not about an encounter with Stormy Daniels 18 years ago that Trump has unequivocally and repeatedly denied.

Blanche saying the hush money payments were not illegal, and Trump was unaware. There's no evidence at all, not even a little bit of evidence that President Trump knew anything about these false filings.

Zeroing in on the prosecution's key witness, Michael Cohen sharply saying Cohen lied to you.

He's literally like an MVP of liars, Blanche remarked. Telling the jury: he lied to you, make no mistake about it. And later calling Cohen the GLOAT, greatest liar of all time. Blanche claiming Cohen was the human embodiment of reasonable doubt, and that the jury should not convict based on his testimony. Blanche concluded his argument by telling the jury you cannot send someone to prison, you cannot convict somebody based on the words of Michael Cohen.

[02:10:01]

But that comment angered Judge Juan Merchan, who immediately admonished that comment as outrageous and highly inappropriate, later instructing the jury to disregard it, saying they could not discuss, consider, or even speculate as to matters related to a sentence or punishment. That is a job for the judge.

Then prosecutors kicked off their closing arguments, playing clean up. We didn't choose Michael Cohen to be our witness. We didn't pick him up at the witness store, Joshua Steinglass, told the jury. Mr. Trump chose Mr. Cohen for the same qualities that his attorneys now urge you to reject his testimony, insisting it's a deflection for the defense to make the case about Cohen.

Steinglass explained, Cohen's role was just to be a tour guide through the physical evidence. But those documents don't lie and they don't forget.

The prosecution then accused Trump and the publisher of the "National Enquirer" of trying to pull the wool over voters' eyes in a coordinated fashion. They didn't use the term catch and kill, but that's exactly what it was, Steinglass said.

And that's the illegal part because once money starts changing hands on behalf of the campaign, that's federal election campaign finance violations.

This is not normal legitimate press functions, Steinglass remarked, calling it overt election fraud.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

REID (on camera): The jury is expected to begin deliberations on Wednesday and former President Trump is actually required to be inside the courthouse during those deliberations. He can't leave.

Now, this is something that will likely make him unhappy as he has made it clear he does not like this courthouse. And of course, he does not like this case. It's unclear though, how long it will take the jury to reach their verdict.

Paula Reid, CNN, New York.

CHURCH: Areva Martin is an attorney and Legal Affairs commentator. She joins me now from Los Angeles. Good to have you with us.

AREVA MARTIN, ATTORNEY AND LEGAL AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: Thank you, good to be with you. CHURCH: So, closing arguments are now over. It's up to the jury now to deliberate and determine the fate of Donald Trump. Which side did a better job do you think of arguing their case? The defense or the prosecution?

MARTIN: Well, Rosemary, I think the first thing that probably struck everyone was the length of time that these closing summations took, the defense took just slightly under three hours and the prosecution took around four hours. That was a low court day for these jurors.

But when I look at what's been reported out by the reporters that were inside that courtroom, because as you know, there haven't been cameras in the courtroom, it appears that the prosecution made a more cogent and a more persuasive argument tying in all of this essential evidence that they presented during this trial.

Some of the comments from folks who heard the argument by the defense team is that it was a scattershot that Todd Blanche was all over the place, that he made inconsistent arguments, and that at times, he seemed to be making the prosecution's case.

So, again, based on everything that's been reported out, I would have to go with what the pundits are saying, which is that the prosecution made a more cohesive and perhaps more compelling argument.

CHURCH: So, given that, what do you think the jury will decide? Acquittal conviction, a hung jury, or perhaps mixed outcomes for 34 charges against Trump?

MARTIN: That's the million dollar question, Rosemary, no one ever knows what a jury will do. What we do know, though, is that juries take their jobs very seriously. They listen very attentively to the evidence that's been presented to the law that will be read to them tomorrow when the judge gives them the jury instructions.

So, I expect whatever the outcome of this case to be that it will be one that is made with a lot of thoughtfulness on the part of this jury, based on the evidence that I had been falling to date, based on the amount of evidence presented during the prosecution's case, I'm inclined to believe that there will be a conviction on some of the charges.

Some of the evidence is just overwhelming. And Trump's defense team quite frankly didn't address during its closing arguments some of the most compelling evidence that would suggest that Trump is guilty of these charges.

CHURCH: So, what happens if there's a hung jury? Is that good or bad for Trump? And how likely is it do you think?

MARTIN: Well, I think if there is a hung jury, which means that there hasn't been a unanimous decision on guilt or acquittal, that Trump will, of course, then that is a -- that is a victory for him, but a hung jury just means that the jurors could not come to a unanimous decision. The prosecutor has an opportunity to retry a case if there is in fact, a hung jury. So, it's not a victory. By the defenses, as I said, we can expect

Donald Trump to spin it as such if there is one, but it just simply means the prosecution has to decide whether or not it will try that case again.

And we know there are lots of cases where there's a hung jury on the first go round, but then a prosecution comes back and gets a conviction.

[02:15:10]

CHURCH: And now, with the luxury of hindsight, what mistakes do you think were made on each side? What could they have done better perhaps?

MARTIN: Well, one of the things that Donald Trump's team did, which is still somewhat of a mystery is during the opening statements, the defense team made a big deal out of saying that Donald Trump did not have a sexual relationship with Stormy Daniels.

And no one is going to believe that, the testimony that stormy Daniels gave was so compelling, she had details, the details of which would be almost impossible to make up.

So, if you as a lawyer tell the jury that you're going to prove something in your opening statement, and you're not able to prove it, you will be held to account for that.

So, I think that was a huge mistake and unnecessary mistake on the part of Trump's team. I think as it relates to the prosecution, the prosecution had to deal with Michael Cohen. And Michael Cohen is, you know, is a liar. He's a convicted felon.

But I think the prosecution did a very good job in his summation of dealing with that, saying, look, we didn't choose him. We didn't go to like, you know, witness row and pick him out. He is a key witness in this case, because Donald Trump chose him. And he chose him for the very same reason that the Trump team is attacking him.

He chose Michael Cohen because he was pretty ruthless that he would do anything to prove his loyalty to Donald Trump.

So, again, prosecutors don't always choose their witnesses. And of course, anyone would have preferred a witness that didn't have the kind of baggage that Michael Cohen had.

But I think jurors are smart enough to recognize that this case isn't just about Michael Cohen. It's about all of the other evidence, the testimony from Hope Hicks, the testimony from David Pecker, the written documentation that was submitted, all very compelling evidence that the jurors can rely on despite what they may think of Michael Cohen.

CHURCH: Areva Martin, many thanks for your legal analysis. Appreciate it.

MARTIN: Thank you.

CHURCH: The Biden campaign used Donald Trump's criminal trial as a backdrop to criticize the former president and presumptive Republican nominee in this year's election.

The Biden team deployed an Academy Award winning actor Robert De Niro and two police officers who defended the U.S. Capitol during the January 6th insurrection. They warned that a second Trump term would be disastrous for civil freedoms and democracy.

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ROBERT DE NIRO, ACTOR: I love this city. I don't want to destroy it. Donald Trump wants to destroy not only the city, but the country. And eventually he could destroy the world.

That's the tyrant he's telling us he'll be. And believe me, he means it. I don't mean to scare you. No, no, wait, maybe I do mean to scare you. If Trump returns to the White House, you can kiss these freedoms goodbye, that we all take for granted. And the elections forget about it. That's over. That's done.

If he gets in, I can tell you right now, he will never leave.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Meanwhile, top Trump adviser Jason Miller called the two time Oscar winner washed up and went after the judge in the hush money trial as well as President Biden.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JASON MILLER, DONALD TRUMP CAMPAIGN ADVISER: Why is Joe Biden now making this a campaign event after months of weaponizing the legal system against President Trump? Because Joe Biden's numbers are in the tank. The headline for today in Politico, very simply said Dems in freak out over Joe Biden.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Coming up, more of Ukraine's European allies say Kyiv should be able to strike inside Russia, before Moscow launches more deadly attacks like these inside Ukraine.

Plus, the party of Nelson Mandela has been in power for three decades in South Africa. But today's election could change that, we'll take a look.

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CHURCH: Ukraine's president is urging Western allies to speed up delivery of F-16 fighter jets as well as getting Ukrainian pilots trained to use them. Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a new security agreement with Belgium on

Tuesday, which will provide Ukraine with 30 F-16s by 2028, the first of which will be delivered this year. Ukraine's defense minister says the faster, the better.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUSTEM UMEROV, UKRAINIAN DEFENSE MINISTER: The enemy are using up to 300 jets, 300 helicopters, let's say on a daily attack to us. So, we need as much as we may get.

We are withstanding, of course, we need more weapons, we need more firing power. We need long range missiles, not to allow them to enter to our state.

And they are hearing that the supply of weapons are not arriving on time and they are taking the advantage of it. Time is super crucial and to repel the attacks, we need to have them on time in place.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: President Zelenskyy was also in Portugal Tuesday, which became the 12th country to sign a bilateral security deal with Ukraine under the Joint Declaration adopted by the G7 last July.

France and Germany say Ukraine should be able to defend itself fully from Russian attacks, even if it means striking military targets inside Russian territory. Russia warns that could lead to a global conflict, but German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron say Ukraine is well within its rights to do so under international law.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EMMANUEL MACRON, FRENCH PRESIDENT (through translator): Some Ukrainian soil is being attacked from bases in Russia. So, how do we explain to the Ukrainians that we're going to have to protect these towns, and basically everything we're seeing around Kharkiv at the moment, if we tell them you are not allowed to hit the point from which the missiles are fired.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Ukraine and some of its NATO and E.U. allies are urging Washington to change its policy regarding strikes on Russian territory. Here is how the U.S. is responding.

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KIRBY: We're aware of the interest that President Zelenskyy has expressed in this regard, I would tell you that there's no change to our policy at this point. We don't encourage or enable the use of U.S. supplied weapons to strike inside Russia.

I would note that the -- that the Ukrainians have in the past defeated imminent air attacks, such as some of the ones that have occurred in the last few days on their own since the war began.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: David Sanger is a CNN Political and National Security Analyst and White House National Security Correspondent at the New York Times. He's also the author of New Cold Wars: China's Rise, Russia's Invasion And America's Struggle to Defend the West. He joins me now from Washington. Always good to have you with us.

DAVID SANGER, CNN POLITICAL AND NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Great to be with you again, Rosemary.

CHURCH: So, President Joe Biden has always insisted that Ukraine never fire American weapons into Russian territory for fear of triggering World War III.

But you just wrote about a debate that's taking place inside the White House over whether to allow Ukraine to shoot U.S. weapons into Russia. After Secretary of State Antony Blinken returned from a trip to Kyiv, what changed Blinken's mind and what might the final decision on this be?

[02:25:04]

SANGER: Well, what changed his mind, Rosemary, was this new front that has opened up near Kharkiv, it's right along the Russian border and the Russians knowing about President Biden's mandate have put a number of their gun emplacements, artillery, missile launching sites all just inside Russian territory, knowing that the Ukrainians would be prohibited from firing many of their weapons into that that area.

So, when Blinken came back from this trip to Ukraine, after having heard the complaints, which we've all heard now from President Zelenskyy, he said, I'm not sure we've got the right policy here, because it's being exploited by the Russians.

And it's not clear that in fact, letting them fire into Russian territory would start World War III. After all, the British had been allowing this now for some number of months.

CHURCH: And we did see France and Germany on Tuesday saying Ukraine should be allowed to strike military targets inside Russia with Western weapons. NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg has made a similar argument.

But what would the ramifications be, especially if the U.S. makes the decision to relax its ban. You say wouldn't necessarily trigger World War III, which is a big issue, of course for everybody. What would it do then?

SANGER: Well, good question. So, one of the concerns that you're frequently among President Biden's aides is that the Russians view the United States differently. And that if the U.S. allowed this, even if the Russians would tolerate it from Britain or others, it would be a different thing. Now, we don't know yet if that's the case, President Biden was

hesitant to give them ATACMS. The long range artillery firing equipment for the same reason, he was hesitant to give them F-16 for the same reason, tanks for the same reason.

But over time, the administration has discovered that the tolerance that Putin has for these kinds of American weapons has been higher than they initially thought.

CHURCH: And what targets would Ukraine be allowed to hit inside Russia if this ban is relaxed?

SANGER: Presumably, Rosemary, they would only be allowed to hit military targets those that are firing into Ukraine.

In other words, the American rules would say, you can't use this just to hit an oil refinery 50 or 75 miles into Russian territory. Now, how well that's enforced, we don't know.

CHURCH: And of course, this proposal hasn't yet been formally presented to President Biden, how will he likely respond given his previous caution on this issue?

SANGER: It's difficult to tell. My instinct is that with so many different voices coming together to say that he should change his mind, that he may well do so.

He did change his mind in those previous cases I mentioned. And so, in each of those, he sort of reassess from what he thought the risk level was.

But this is a hard case, because this involves one nuclear superpower, allowing its conventional weapons to be fired into the territory of another nuclear superpower. It's really an unusual situation. And I would have to say not without risk.

CHURCH: All right. We'll be watching very closely to see what does happen on this very issue. David Sanger, many thanks for joining us. Appreciate it.

SANGER: Thank you.

CHURCH: Anger and frustration once again boiling over into the streets of Tbilisi.

Crowds of demonstrators marched through the city Tuesday night, protesting the Georgian parliament's vote to override the president's veto against the Moscow style foreign agents bill, clearing the way for it to be signed into law.

The bill requires organizations receiving more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad to register as foreign agents or face massive fines.

A similar law in Russia has been used to stifle dissent and crackdown on civil society. The E.U. and U.S. have both condemned the Georgia bill. Its introduction more than a year ago led to these massive protests we're still seeing today.

Voting is underway in South Africa. The country's president says his party will do better and wants voters to choose the ANC again. Why his promises may be too little too late. We'll have a live report.

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Plus, a controversial spectacle, bull fighting is still allowed in eight countries worldwide. But an approved bill could soon bring that number down to seven. We'll take a look at that as well, and more.

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CHURCH: South Africans are going to the polls today for a general election that could upend the 30-year rule of the African National Congress. The party of late President Nelson Mandela is facing serious challenges with the country suffering from years of corruption, stark inequality, and violent crime. David McKenzie is covering this live from Johannesburg. He joins us now.

Good to see you, David. So, polls have been open for more than an hour now. You're at one polling station. What are you seeing? And what are people telling you about their voting intentions?

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rosemary, it's a very busy polling station here, right in the middle of downtown Jo'burg. I think it's one of the biggest in the city and a lot of people I've been speaking to this morning are expressing their frustration, saying they want change. After 30 years of democracy here in South Africa, strikingly, this is an election where more young people have registered to vote than the rest of the population.

I'm here with Newton. You know, Newton, it's pretty early.

NEWTON UGBOH, FIRST-TIME VOTER: Yeah.

MCKENZIE: I'm impressed that you are here already. Why did you come out to vote today?

UGBOH: I'm looking for change. That's why. So, I came early in the morning because it's the perfect time, because that's sort of time it ends around nine, but I'm like, nah, let me just do it in the morning.

MCKENZIE: Some of your friends don't want to vote today you told me.

UGBOH: Yeah.

MCKENZIE: Why do you think that is?

UGBOH: They've seen what is happening and they don't like it. So, they thinking (inaudible) change at all, but then I don't believe that. So that's why I came here to vote.

MCKENZIE: What are some of the big issues you're dealing with as a young person in South Africa? UGBOH: The unemployment rate is crazy, it's high as ever. And also, if you've seen the couple of weeks in (inaudible), it's been dirty as hell. They haven't been working and stuff. So, if that gets cleared, it's a better chance for us to think, I guess, and that's why.

MCKENZIE: You do have work here and there.

UGBOH: Yeah.

MCKENZIE: Is that a struggle for young people to find jobs in this country?

[02:35:00]

UGBOH: It is a big time struggle. Most of my friends are employed and they don't -- they still don't want to vote. Then I don't know what's wrong (ph).

MCKENZIE: Well, good luck today. And thank you for speaking to us. You know, Rosemary, this is something I'm hearing from all sorts of South Africans. But the ANC is a powerful party with a powerful ground game as we've been reporting. They are out trying to mobilize their voters, particularly in rural areas, and the older generations that might still have a strong connection to the legacy of the ruling ANC and it's transition to democracy 30 years ago.

But I have to say, I've covered a number of elections here in South Africa. I am South African, and this feels like one of the most important elections since the dawn of democracy. It's going to be interesting to see at the end of the day whether the ANC does lose is that majority and might have to form a coalition to stay in power. Rosemary?

CHURCH: Yeah, we'll be watching very closely. David McKenzie, joining us live from Johannesburg. Many thanks.

North Korea's latest attempt at tormenting South Korea is sending trash over the border. As of today, the hermit kingdom has deployed more than 150 floating bags of garbage. According to the South Korean officials, the waste is attached to giant balloons with some broken packages spilling scraps of plastic sheets of paper and what appears to be dirt onto roads and sidewalks. North Korean state media says the move is to retaliate against South Korean activists who send banned materials into the north, such as propaganda leaflets, food, medicine, and USB sticks with news and TV shows.

Colombia's Congress has approved a nationwide ban on bullfighting in a significant victory for animal rights activists. The bill will now be sent to Colombian President Gustavo Petro to be signed into law. Stefano Pozzebon has the details now from Bogota.

STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN JOURNALIST: Colombia has become the latest country in the world to effectively ban bullfights, marking a significant victory for animal rights activists and progressives in the Andean Nation. The bill was passed by the Colombian Chamber of Representatives on Tuesday evening with 93 votes in favor and two against. According to (inaudible), bullfights will still be allowed until 2027 as a transition period for the bullfighting industry. Nevertheless, the supporters of the ban celebrating the results which came after years of failed votes in Congress.

ALEJANDRO GARCIA, COLOMBIAN CONGRESSMAN (through translator): To the country, we say we are prioritizing the protection and welfare of animals, and to the world, that Colombia is going through a cultural transformation where all beings are treated with dignity.

POZZEBON (voice-over): Until now, Colombia was one of only eight countries around the world to still allow the practice of bullfights, which is known as corrida in Spanish. Spain and Mexico are the countries that see most of corridas or bullfights around the world these days. The bill will now pass to the Colombian President Gustavo Petro to be signed into law, and Petro himself has long been a supporter of the ban.

He took to (ph) X, formerly known as Twitter, to celebrate the results in Congress on Tuesday, saying, congratulations to those who managed that death will no longer be a show.

For CNN, this is Stefano Pozzebon, Bogota.

CHURCH: And we'll be right back.

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CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. A lost Caravaggio painting which was almost mistakenly auctioned at a bargain price, is now on display at a museum in Madrid after being rescued and restored. The "Ecce Homo" painted by the Italian master in the early 17th century is one of about 60 known Caravaggio works in existence according to the museum. The work was once part of King Philip IV's art collection. It changed hands over the years and went unnoticed, until it surfaced at an auction house as the work of an unknown painter with a starting price of just $1,600. Experts caught the mistake and kept it from being sold.

Well, some lucky fans of the legendary hip hop group, Wu-Tang Clan, may get a chance to listen to the group's mysterious album, 'Once Upon a Time in Shaolin.' Fans would have to go to the Australian island state of Tasmania, and snag one of the limited free tickets for a private listening session at the Museum of Old and New Art next month. Wu-Tang Clan secretly recorded the album and made only one copy, kept in a hand-carved box. It was sold in 2015 for about $2 million to a former CEO, later convicted for defrauding investors. The justice department seized the album and reportedly sold it to a digital art collection or collective for about $4 million.

CHURCH: Well, thanks for joining us. I am Rosemary Church. "World Sport" is coming up next. Then, I'll be back in about 15 minutes with more "CNN Newsroom." Do stick around.

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