Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Western Nations Condemn Israel's Drip Feeding into Gaza; Kenyan Activist Freed on Terror Charges; Mexican Protesters Demand Rise of Cost of Living. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired July 22, 2025 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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

The U.N. warns that lifelines keeping people alive in Gaza are collapsing. We will speak with a U.N. official about the dire humanitarian conditions.

Plus, the ex-wife of a slain U.C. Berkeley professor made her appearance in court along with four others. What we learned, just ahead.

And we dive into the data on how smartphones are impacting the mental health of children across the globe.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from Atlanta, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Rosemary Church.

CHURCH: Thanks for joining us.

It is 10 a.m. in Gaza where the Palestinian Health Ministry reports more than a thousand people have been killed while seeking basic humanitarian relief in less than two months.

Foreign ministers from 25 countries say the suffering of civilians has reached new depths. They're condemning what they call the drip feeding of aid to starving Palestinians.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN (translated): Is this even edible? Is this edible? Is this edible? This people (inaudible) to feed my children.

Is this edible? People, is this edible?

People. Have mercy on us, have mercy on us, have mercy on our children.

Like you feed your children, feed us. Look at us. (END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And still, the Israeli military campaign rolls on after ordering civilians to evacuate from Deir al-Balah on Sunday. Israeli tanks have now entered the area in a new ground operation. Israeli media report the IDF had stayed out of the area since the war started for fear of endangering surviving hostages who may be held there.

A four-year-old girl clung to life in a Gaza hospital for weeks before succumbing to hunger and malnutrition, that's according to a medical source. Paula Hancocks has her story. First, though, a warning, the images in this report are disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Four-year-old Razan Abu Sahar was hospitalized with malnutrition more than one month ago.

Malnutrition has caused her to suffer from a mobility disability, her mother says. Her health was good before the war, but there is nothing to strengthen her. No milk in the hospitals or pharmacies.

Sunday, Razan became the latest child in Gaza to die of hunger. Her skeletal body laid out on a slab of stone, painful proof of the famine the U.N. and others have long warned about. It is shocking, but should not be surprising.

In the space of 24 hours, 18 deaths were caused by famine, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza.

Yasser Ahmad was waiting at this soup kitchen since 6 a.m., desperate to take something home to his family of 12.

Flour is expensive, he says, everything is expensive. Where can we get food from? We don't know what we'll do in the end. Eat each other?

When his turn comes, the amount poured into his bowl is minimal. He walks the four kilometers back home. When his wife sees how little is in the pot, she starts crying.

Is this enough for 12 people, she asks. Is it enough for a woman who is seven months pregnant? Even a one-year-old child wouldn't be satisfied by this.

Pouring the watery soup into one bowl, the family eats together. The father allows himself just one spoonful, leaving the rest for his children and grandchildren. After this, he says he will go to another soup kitchen to see if he can keep starvation at bay for one more day.

Israel says the military is working to allow and facilitate the transfer of humanitarian aid into Gaza, including food, adding there are trucks yet to be picked up by aid groups. The U.N. says Israel often denies permission to move aid or approves routes too dangerous to travel.

Thousands across Gaza risk their lives every day in the search for food. At least 73 people were killed Sunday by Israeli gunfire while trying to access aid, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

[03:05:05]

The IDF says it, quote, "fired warning shots in order to remove an immediate threat posed to them. It cast doubt on the death toll."

The U.N. says accessing aid has become a death trap. The U.N. World Food Program says Gaza's hunger crisis has now reached new levels of desperation.

Hospital officials say they're seeing an unprecedented number of starving citizens arriving at emergency departments. A man-made catastrophe that has been continuously warned about, no one can say they didn't see this coming.

Paula Hancocks, CNN, Abu Dhabi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: We want to go live to Amman, Jordan now. Ajith Sunghay is the head of the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in the occupied Palestinian Territory. Thank you so much for talking with us.

AJIT SUNGHAY, HEAD OF THE U.N. OFFICE OF THE HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS, OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY: Thank you for having me.

CHURCH: So according to the Palestinian Health Ministry, more than a thousand people have been killed trying to get food at aid distribution sites since May. And while Israel disputes that number, it does not deny people are dying at these sites, as Western nations condemn what they call Israel's drip-feeding of aid and the killing of civilians. So what needs to be done to stop the deaths and increase the aid?

SUNGHAY: I mean, thanks.

First of all, I mean, there are several aspects here for us to look back. I mean, this has been 21 months of assault on Gaza, and Gaza has been strangled when it comes to the desperately needed humanitarian aid and every life-saving necessity that we've been talking about, whether it's water, food, shelter, medicine, and so forth.

We need that in massive quantity. From the 27th of May, when the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation started distributing food, the number of food distribution points reduced from nearly 400 in different parts of Gaza to about three or four in specific places in the south of Gaza.

And then there were major hurdles placed before the U.N. that was already providing humanitarian aid, and that created massive shortage, further shortage, of humanitarian aid. And that's why chaos. People were exhausted, who've been tossed from the north to south, east to west, about 15 to 16 times.

They are hungry, starving, angry. So chaos is going to be there until we make sure there is massive humanitarian aid pumped into Gaza at this point in time.

Allow us, allow the U.N. to do our job, and we can do this. We have done this for the last 21 months.

CHURCH: Yes, and of course, we saw in Paula Hancock's story and in images there while you were speaking to our viewers, the desperate need for this aid. So what more are you learning about what's happening at these aid distribution sites, and why desperate Palestinians are being killed just trying to feed themselves and their children?

SUNGHAY: That's a very good question. And I think that's a question that we should ask the Israeli Defense Force and we have been asking unless there is a threat to life or limb of a soldier, there should not be use of lethal force.

And what we have seen is contrary. People are of course jumping on trucks and food aid because they're desperate. They're starving.

And this is natural. There is chaos. There is lawlessness.

We have alerted about the possibility of an anarchy situation many months ago. That does not justify using lethal weapons, like you rightly pointed out, and GHF, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, might want to dispute that.

But the numbers that we have of people who have been killed are over a thousand. And this is not just coming from the Ministry of Health. This is coming from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

We have independently collected this data, and we are further verifying that. So as much as the denial, this is happening. We have to understand we are in there inside Gaza, we know the dynamics, we have facts. We are collecting data.

Others in the periphery, including the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. The other way of putting an end to these questions are by allowing journalists to go inside Gaza. You will see how difficult the situation is.

So one last point as well. We welcome member state statement that you mentioned, 25 member states, you know, voicing their serious concerns. We need actions, we welcome this.

But at this point in time, we really need strong actions. People are dying of starvation. This doesn't happen anywhere else.

CHURCH: And of course, meantime, Israeli tanks have rolled into parts of central Gaza for the first time in the 21-month war. And evacuation orders have also been issued in that area.

[03:10:09]

What will that mean for Palestinians there when it comes to finding alternative shelter? And of course, access to any aid supplies? SUNGHAY: Sorry, but where is the alternative shelter? I mean, that's

about 2.2 million people are expected now to squeeze to about 13 percent of Gaza.

Gaza Strip was already one of the most densest part in the world. Now we're trying to squeeze them in 13 percent of Gaza. That's not going to happen, that's not going to work.

We have to also remember Deir al-Balah was one of the very few places within Gaza that was standing. There was some infrastructure also for the U.N. and other humanitarian entities to be based and to provide a proper response.

If that's it, and that's what's happening now, we hear of strikes, we hear of shells, we hear of, you know, bullets flying. If that's destroyed, the meager humanitarian response that we and other humanitarian entities are trying to provide will also be disrupted. And that's exactly what we're facing at this stage.

So people are again asked to move. They're displaced forcibly, they don't have the necessity, life-saving necessity. Then we are also further displaced and disrupted in trying to provide, you know, help for the people.

CHURCH: Ajith Sunghay, I appreciate you joining us. Thank you.

SUNGHAY: Thank you.

CHURCH: At least 27 people, mostly children, were killed when a Bangladesh Air Force jet crashed into a school on Monday. Students were attending afternoon classes when the jet hit the two-story building.

Officials say the pilot, teacher and 25 children were killed in that crash. The incident occurred in the northern part of the country's capital, Dhaka.

Journalist Vedika Sud has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VEDIKA SUD, JOURNALIST: A devastating tragedy has unfolded in Bangladesh's capital, Dhaka.

A military training jet crashed into a school in the city's northern suburbs Monday afternoon local time, what appears to be the country's deadliest air incident in recent memory. The impact sparked a massive fire, with thick black smoke billowing over the area as seen in dramatic footage emerging from the crash site.

Authorities say the pilot was among those killed. The aircraft reportedly slammed into a two-story building housing the school that caters to children between the ages of four and 18. Emergency crews were rushed to the scene within minutes, battling the blaze and attempting to rescue those in the wreckage. According to eyewitnesses, a loud explosion was followed by huge

plumes of ash and smoke rising from the site. The country's interim leader, Mohammed Yunus, has issued a couple of statements. In one of them, he says, the bodies identified so far will be handed over to their families promptly, while DNA testing will be carried out on those that are yet to be identified.

It's unclear at this point what caused the crash, but a detailed investigation is underway.

Vedika Sud, for CNN, in New Delhi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Still to come, some House Republicans want to force a vote to release more Jeffrey Epstein files, but hear why it could be months before anything happens, if at all.

Plus, the five suspects accused in the murder of an American professor in Greece made their first court appearance. The latest on that just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:15:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson is shutting down any chance of a House vote on releasing additional files on the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein before September. Lawmakers will soon begin their August recess, and Johnson says he doesn't think further action is needed right now on the Epstein case, but others disagree.

A bipartisan group of House members, led by Republican Thomas Massey, are trying to force a vote on their own bill to release more Epstein files, but that too would have to wait until after their recess. President Trump, meanwhile, just wants all the Epstein talk to go away, as CNN's Kristen Holmes reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Trump and the White House on Monday trying to do anything but talk about Jeffrey Epstein and the Epstein files. President Trump on True Social posting about a number of topics, many of them unrelated to current events, talking about a great new book by Mark Levin at one point.

Another point, he wanted to celebrate the six-month anniversary of him being in office. That is very newsworthy.

Again, way over the weekend, weighing in on the Washington, what he called whatever, is essentially trying to get the Washington Commanders to change their name back to the Washington Redskins. And on Monday, he even weighed in on the plea deal struck by the Idaho murderer. We did catch up with Karoline Leavitt, who was doing an interview. We

asked her a few questions about the Epstein files, and she punted to the Department of Justice and to the FBI, saying that President Trump has directed them to release anything that they deem credible, which, of course, still raises the question, what exactly is credible and who gets to determine what that looks like. And answers like this are not appealing and not appeasing President Trump's base and these MAGA loyalists who say they want more information.

[03:20:07]

Even on Monday night, Republican Senator Josh Hawley told our Manu Raju that constituents had been calling him and that he was of the mind they should just release whatever they could, anything that was unrelated to the case, any kind of evidence or any part of the investigation, because that is what his constituents were calling and telling him they wanted to see.

Kristen Holmes, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: The five suspects charged in the murder of an American university professor in Athens, Greece, will remain in custody while they await trial. Przemyslav Jeziorski was shot and killed at close range outside his ex-wife's home early this month.

Elinda Labropoulou brings us the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELINDA LABROPOULOU, JOURNALIST: It's been a remarkable day in the courthouse behind me in Athens today, where all five of those charged in connection with the murder of an American professor in Greece have been remanded in custody. This includes his ex-wife and her current partner, who has also confessed to actually being the shooter, the murderer of the professor.

The crime took place in Greece earlier this month, and it was a complete shock to the Greek public. It took place in broad daylight in just a quiet neighborhood of Athens while he was on his way to pick up his children during visitation rides as he was in the middle of a custody battle with his wife.

The previous day, he had won a court hearing, enabling him to take the children for a month, a year. And we understand that this was very much what led the shooter to this decision. He said that he had to do this for his partner, that you could not bear the idea of the children being taken away from her.

The U.S. professor and the children all had dual citizenship, both U.S. and Polish. The ex-wife was a Greek citizen.

What remains to be decided now is what actually happens with the custody of the children. Until now, the mother had sole custody, but now that she has been remanded in custody, the Polish side of the victim's family is asking for full custody as well.

We will follow this case closely. A trial date has not yet been set, but it is likely the lawyers are here telling us that the Polish family may be getting custody after all.

Elinda Labropoulou, CNN, Athens, Greece.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: A U.S.-based Wells Fargo banker who recently travelled to China is now being prevented from leaving. Chinese authorities say the exit ban was ordered amid a criminal investigation, but details about the case and how the executive is linked to it remain unclear.

A U.S. Commerce Department employee has also been banned from leaving China. This after he reportedly failed to disclose he worked for the U.S. government on his visa application. When asked about the incidents, the U.S. State Department said there is, quote, "no higher priority than the safety and security of U.S. citizens overseas."

Kenya's leading human rights activist has been freed on bail and authorities are backing off their most serious legal threats against him. Police arrested Boniface Mwangi on Saturday after they found a tear gas canister and a single rifle round in his office.

Larry Madowo has more now from Nairobi.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Boniface Mwangi is the most prominent Kenyan activist yet to be accused of facilitating terrorism in relation to recent protests against the government of President William Ruto, but there is a trend here. In fact, civil society groups say more than 100 Kenyan protesters have been charged with terrorism, money laundering and arson in what they see and many in the legal community and in the human rights community say is a weaponization of the criminal justice system to punish dissent and to make protesting too expensive in Kenya.

Boniface Mwangi finally appeared in court on Monday and the charges have been downgraded to illegal possession of ammunition in connection to tear gas canisters and a spent round, there are found at his office Mageuzi Hub. Mageuzi means revolution in Swahili and he told CNN he will not be intimidated, he will not stop.

BONIFACE MWANGI, ACTIVIST: If you look at the search warrants that they have information that I use my gifts to distribute money to goons. I have never worked with goons my entire life. The people that I've worked with my entire life are actually present here. The guys who are singing in court, I know every single one of them.

MADOWO: The Law Society of Kenya says the government is undermining the right to protest in the country and they pointed out something that many have raised concerns about.

[03:24:53] The recent protests have been infiltrated by armed hired goons who have rained terror both on protesters and other members of the public through assault, robbery, looting and damage to property and they said this is not sporadic, these appear to be people who are sponsored or at least facilitated by the government because they have been filmed working alongside police and police have so far not charged any of them.

But the charge of terrorism is a serious one which carries long prison sentences in the country. I have covered actual terrorist attacks in this country at the Westgate Mall, at the Dosset attack, at Garissa University where tens of Kenyans were killed by terrorists affiliated with Al-Qaeda and using a terror charge on mostly peaceful protesters trivializes what terrorism means and rubbishes the losses of real Kenyans who have suffered at the hands of real terrorists.

And that is why there's so much outrage in the country about the use of these charges against people who are just speaking out against the government of President William Ruto.

Larry Madowo, CNN, Nairobi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Kenyan authorities defended the terror charges against protesters on Monday. Public prosecutor's office said in a statement that all charges were strictly based on available evidence and the interior minister maintained to prevent that the offenses met the legal definition of terrorism in Kenya.

Still to come Ukraine's president urges Russia to come to the table for peace talks and pleads for more missile defense systems to stave off Russian attacks. Plus --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We just got this presidential alert says missile attack. Seek immediate shelter.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: A dress rehearsal for war. Taiwan's largest ever military drill sending a clear message to mainland China.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:30:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: Welcome back to "CNN Newsroom." I'm Rosemary Church. I want to check today's top stories for you.

Foreign ministers from 25 Western countries are condemning what they called the drip feeding of aid from Israel into Gaza. Their statement says the suffering of civilians has reached new depths. The Palestinian Health Ministry reports more than a thousand people have been killed seeking aid since late May.

Ten U.S. House Republicans want to force a vote for the release of all federal files related to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The effort is being led by Kentucky lawmaker Thomas Massey, but House Speaker Mike Johnson says there are currently no plans to hold a floor vote before Congress adjourns for summer recess.

The Venezuelan government says it's investigating several El Salvador officials, including the country's President, over allegations of abuse. They're coming from Venezuelans who had been imprisoned at the notorious CECOT Megaprison before returning to their home country last week.

Ukraine's President says the next round of direct talks with Russia will take place Wednesday in Turkey. Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been pushing for Russian negotiators to return to the table. The Kremlin says it's in favor of a new round of peace talks, but the two sides are very far apart on their demands.

Meantime, Moscow continues to bombard Ukrainian cities, including the capital Kyiv, where a subway station being used as a shelter was damaged in a strike early Monday. Ukraine's European allies are discussing what more they can do to help. On Monday, the Ukraine Defense Contact Group held a virtual meeting where they discussed providing more defense systems for Kyiv, something President Zelenskyy knows is sorely needed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Every such wave of Russian strikes reminds us of two things. Air defense. We need more systems, more coverage across our country.

And also, our long-range strikes on Russia. If Putin is off the deep end with this Shahed obsession and terror, they must be left without logistics.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: For more on this, let's bring in CNN military analyst and retired U.S. Air Force Colonel Cedric Leighton. Good to have you with us.

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Great to be with you, Rosemary.

CHURCH: So Colonel, what is your assessment of what came out of Monday's 29th meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, with Germany's Defense Minister announcing a major aid package for Ukraine? And how will it help the war-torn nation, do you think?

LEIGHTON: Yes, I think the German package is actually really significant, Rosemary. And when you add that to packages like the Norwegian package, which is also over a billion dollars, that really shows that the Europeans are stepping up to aid Ukraine.

[03:35:00]

And the German package, I think, contains many different aspects to it. Five Patriot batteries. It also has some other munitions that are destined to go to the front lines.

We're talking munitions for artillery, talking munitions for anti- aircraft weapons. So, this German package is a very significant addition to the Ukrainian arsenal. And that, in and of itself, means that not only is Europe stepping up, but if it can sustain this level of support for Ukraine, it can then keep Ukraine in a position of relative strength compared to where it was just a few months ago.

CHURCH: And Colonel, U.S. President Donald Trump's posture toward President Vladimir Putin has changed significantly in recent days, from previously appearing to take the side of the Russian leader, to now feeling frustrated by Putin's reluctance to strike a peace deal.

So, now Trump has approved the sale of U.S. defensive weapons to NATO countries that will then transfer those weapons to Ukraine. What is the status of that arrangement? And when will Ukraine be putting those weapons into use?

LEIGHTON: Well, it could be very soon that the Ukrainians put these weapons into use, Rosemary. And one of the key things about this is that a lot of the weapons are already pre-positioned in Europe.

So, there are already movements of such weapons, such as the HIMARS system, that have been spotted on roads in Eastern Europe on their way to Ukraine. So, that means the status is a pretty advanced one. They are actually in the supply chain. And, of course, the idea would be that those European systems that are being sent to Ukraine would then be backfilled by production from U.S. factories.

So, if that works out the way it's supposed to work out, then there should be a relatively robust exchange of resources between the U.S. and Europe on one hand, and Europe and Ukraine on the other. So, if that happens as planned, it could be a fairly good system that allows for the transfer of these weapons.

However, there is the possibility that there will be delays in production in the U.S., and those delays in production could then hamper the war effort in Ukraine, let alone the defense of Europe and allowing the Europeans to maintain their stockpiles. That could be somewhat of a, they could fall into, you know, a bit of a disadvantage there, if production is slowed or if there are any perturbations in the supply chain.

CHURCH: And, Colonel, how would you assess the latest battleground operations in Ukraine right now?

LEIGHTON: The key problem that we see, of course, on our television screens includes the drone attacks that the Ukrainians are suffering from when it comes to their major cities. The Russians have launched massive drone attacks against Kyiv, against Kharkiv, against the Sumy region and other regions within Ukraine. So, this has put a bit of a strain on the Ukrainians. However, the other aspect of this is that the Ukrainians have been

able to advance in certain areas along the front lines. So, they've been able to move forward in and around the Pokrovsk area in eastern Ukraine. There are Russian advances in other parts of the east, but there also are Ukrainian advances in part of the Sumy region, but in another part of the Sumy region, and the Russians are advancing.

So, in essence, what we see is a war of attrition that is basically a stalemate at this particular point in time, and that stalemate, of course, means that, well, on the one hand, Ukraine is maintaining its sovereignty, but on the other hand, Ukraine is under a great deal of pressure from a numerically superior Russian force.

CHURCH: Colonel Cedric Leighton, always a pleasure to talk with you and get your military analysis. Thank you.

LEIGHTON: Thank you so much, Rosemary. Great to be with you.

CHURCH: Military drills are nothing new in Taiwan, where the fear of a possible invasion from mainland China is ever present. But this month's exercises have been unprecedented in their size and scope, with public spaces like subway stations and grocery stores turned into simulated combat zones.

CNN's Will Ripley reports from Taipei.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RIPLEY (voice-over): Welcome to Taiwan in 2025, where military police hold midnight drills on the subway, as folks watch from the soybean milk shop next door.

Armed convoys get a friendly welcome from kids leaving the pool. U.S.- supplied military hardware showing up in places civilians never expected.

JASON LIAO, TAIPEI RESIDENT: And I just bumped into the missile.

RIPLEY: Patriot missile battery.

LIAO: Yes. And at first, it's quite shocking. It's also a really great reminder that war is really close.

[03:40:04]

RIPLEY (voice-over): Ten days of war games all over this island democracy, imagining how a Chinese invasion might unfold.

Taiwan holds military drills every year, but this year, they're twice as long, largely unscripted for the first time in a long time happening in crowded everyday spaces, not just remote areas like 10 years ago when Lin Jingdao was a full time soldier. He says military drills then were out of sight and heavily scripted.

RIPLEY: Do you think the government by putting the drills so close to everyday people is trying to prepare Taiwanese for the possibility of war with China soon?

RIPLEY (voice-over): We need to let the citizens know about the possibility of war and prepare them for it, he says.

Because China is getting ready, too. These are believed to be PLA landing barges designed to rapidly offload tanks, soldiers and equipment onto a hostile beach. Analysts say they're built for one job, taking Taiwan.

Top U.S. officials now say Chinese leader Xi Jinping told PLA leaders be ready to invade Taiwan by 2027. This is the island's dress rehearsal for war.

RIPLEY: We just got this presidential alert says missile attack. Seek immediate shelter.

RIPLEY (voice-over): When the sirens go off, everyone takes cover.

RIPLEY: This busy street in the middle of a work day, totally empty, except for the police making sure that people are not out on the sidewalks.

RIPLEY (voice-over): Even the local supermarket joins in, guiding shoppers to a basement bomb shelter.

I think people would feel nervous when they're down there, she says.

Taiwanese leaders say that's the point.

LIN FEI-FAN, DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL, TAIWAN NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL: I think we need to be more prepared in any kind of situation.

RIPLEY (voice-over): Taiwan is proudly displaying its U.S. made arsenal. HIMARS, Avengers, HESCO barriers, billions of dollars spent on full display, a message aimed far beyond Taipei.

But not everyone believes the U.S. will come to Taiwan's aid.

RIPLEY: What do you think President Trump would do if Taiwan were attacked?

LIAO: I personally think that Trump will only do things that will benefit himself. Once he got a deal with China that is more appealing, then he might just abandon us.

RIPLEY: You think he could abandon Taiwan?

LIAO: Yes.

RIPLEY (voice-over): Taiwan's leaders say they cannot afford to wait for help. They're making war feel real because it could be. And they want the world and their own people to be ready.

Will Ripley, CNN, Taipei.

(END VIDEOTAPE) CHURCH: A new study is making the case for kids to unplug. When we come back, I'll speak to an expert on the impact smartphones can have on the mental health of young children.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:45:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone.

A new study will have parents thinking twice before giving their child a smartphone. The research found that using smartphones before the age of 13 could damage the mental health of children and possibly lead to suicidal thoughts, lower self-worth and detachment from reality, especially among girls.

The data is based on surveys of nearly 2 million people in 163 countries. The results were so alarming that the researchers are calling for global restrictions to prevent children younger than 13 from using smartphones and social media.

And earlier, I spoke with clinical psychologist Melissa Greenberg about the pressure on preteens to get a smartphone and onto social media at a younger age and what their parents can do to protect them from being too plugged in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MELISSA GREENBERG, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: My best advice is to reach out to your community, to other parents, especially parents of your child's friends, and try to come together as a community to make some decisions together about when you will be giving your preteens and teens smartphones and allowing them to use social media.

Of course, you can't prevent all exposure to social media or what kids might see on the internet, but in coming together as a community and making decisions together, then you have a situation where you're doing the best that you can to limit your preteens' exposure to what they might experience with using a smartphone or with social media, and you're also creating a community for them and a peer group for them where there will be other kids and preteens who also don't have access to their own devices or their own social media accounts.

So that can help both limit the exposure that your preteen has and also prevent that feeling of being completely left out. Of course, there will always be some people who still do have these devices, but it only takes a few to help someone feel not completely left out.

[03:50:10]

CHURCH: And clearly the biggest risk posed by smartphones and social media use for kids under 13 is suicidal thoughts caused by a lowering of a sense of self-worth and by cyberbullying. So why isn't more being done to fight this and ban the use of smartphones and social media for kids under 13, which would certainly help the parents too?

GREENBERG: I think that's a really tough question. I think that we are in many ways just learning about all of these effects. I know that I wasn't, even as an informed person, I wasn't so aware of all of these data points as of a few years ago.

I think a lot of parents at that point had already given teens and preteens smartphones and access to social media accounts. And I think it's very hard to turn back once you've already given your child access to those things. I do think though that it's possible and I think parents should consider it.

I also think it's really important for parents to know their own child and know how these devices and the social media platforms are impacting their children. Not every child is going to have the same reaction. And so knowing your child, tracking the kind of impact it's having on them is really important.

I also think that adults themselves are really attached to their technology and it's very hard to figure out ways to pull back on technology.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Still to come, protesters in Mexico City say the cost of living is skyrocketing and they're being pushed out of their own homes. But some are turning to violence as the frustration grows. We'll explain.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: Welcome back everyone.

Mexico's President is condemning protesters who entered a university and torched books over the weekend. Crowds in Mexico City have been protesting gentrification and housing inequality. But President Claudia Sheinbaum compared burning books to fascists, saying acts of violence will not be tolerated.

CNN's Valero Leon has more.

[03:54:56]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VALERIA LEON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In Mexico City, anger over housing costs spilled into the streets again Sunday.

It was the second protest in less than a month, part of a growing movement against gentrification that's been building in the past year. Many came with signs pledging foreign money for driving up rents and pushing locals out of their own neighborhoods.

They suddenly can't afford to live in the area anymore, this man tells me. They have to move farther away to places that are even more vulnerable. With housing out of reach for many Mexico City residents and a visible influx of tourists and digital nomads in some of the capital's most desirable neighborhoods, foreigners have found themselves in the eye of the storm.

We demand a law to defend our streets, a law that defends housing as a common good.

Protesters insisted the march was peaceful.

We just want to express how we feel. We're not here to do anything wrong. We're here to prevent that.

But the Contemporary Art Museum, inside Mexico's most prestigious public university, was vandalized.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum condemned the violence.

For some actions we don't agree with and we will never agree with, Sheinbaum said.

A small group, just a tiny part of one of the demonstrations, entered University City, broke the windows of a bookstore and burned books.

But these protests reflect more than a single march. The city's housing tensions have been escalating for years. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, thousands of foreign remote workers or digital nomads have relocated to Mexico City, pushing up demand for housing in some of the city's most attractive areas. And where demand is high, prices soar.

EDY NAVA, MEXICO CITY RESIDENT: The price of rentals gone really high in the last couple of years since the pandemic started. We have seen that a lot of our green areas or parks or natural reserves have started to be destroyed because people are willing to build these big condominiums with a lot of apartments.

LEON (voice-over): And as Mexico City prepares to co-host the 2026 World Cup, officials promise an inclusive event for all. But for many locals, the worry is that the event's global attention and investment could speed up the very changes they're protesting.

Valeria Leon, CNN, Mexico City.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Thanks for your company, I'm Rosemary Church. Have yourselves a wonderful day. "Amanpour" is next, then stay tuned for "Early Start" with M.J. Lee, at 5 a.m. in New York, 10 a.m. in London.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)