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More than 104,000 People Displaced in the Thailand-Cambodia Border Tensions; Five Canadian Hockey Players Not Guilty in Sexual Assault Case; Wrestling Legend Hulk Hogan Dies. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired July 25, 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]

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KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to all of you watching us around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is "CNN Newsroom."

One European nation proposes officially recognizing the Palestinian state. How that move is being felt in Israel.

Tensions reaching a boiling point between neighboring Asian countries. We'll have the latest on the deadly border battle between Thailand and Cambodia that's already displaced more than 100,000 people.

And Ukraine's Prime Minister deals with the political situation at home while the war with Russia rages on.

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

BRUNHUBER: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer says the humanitarian crisis in Gaza has reached new depths, calling the suffering and starvation, quote, "unspeakable and indefensible." He's planning to hold an emergency call with France and Germany today.

That follows French President Emmanuel Macron announcing a plan to support a Palestinian state at the U.N. General Assembly meeting in September. In a post on X, Macron added, quote, "The urgent priority today is to end the war in Gaza and bring relief to the civilian population."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the decision, saying on X it, quote, "rewards terror." U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio calls the decision a slap in the face of the victims of the October 7th.

Meanwhile, ceasefire talks in Qatar have ended with the U.S. and Israel withdrawing their teams. U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff says Hamas clearly shows a lack of desire to reach a truce. Hamas calls Witkoff's remarks malicious, biased and dishonest.

UNICEF reports more than 100 people in Gaza have died from starvation since the start of the war, and most of them children. In the hand of the U.N. Relief Agency in Gaza says, starving residents look like walking corpses.

CNN's Paula Hancocks has our report, and we just want to warn you, some of her report does contain disturbing video.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Fadiya Abu Namous waits in the midday heat at a community kitchen. She's been here since 6 a.m.

I have nine family members I can't find food for, she says. They've only eaten her little lentil soup since yesterday.

Tears fill her eyes as she says they are surviving on water.

Every face shows desperation here in Gaza City. Every man, woman and child clutching precious pots that they hope will be filled enough to help them survive another day.

But then this happens.

Some men and boys break through the barrier and start helping themselves. Some kitchen workers have to step back to protect themselves from the chaos. Some can only watch from behind the barrier, helpless.

It is the strongest and the fittest who will go home with food today.

Judy is six months old, emaciated limbs, and gaunt features evidence of her malnutrition. Her mother says she also has a chest infection and fever.

When I gave birth to her, she says she weighed two kilos. She is now 2.3 kilos, so over six months she has barely gained any weight.

Rantisi Hospital is filled with cases of malnutrition. Doctors say they can no longer give their patients one meal a day and barely have clean water or medicine.

We have reached a very acute malnutrition phase, this doctor says. It is dangerous. Deaths across Gaza are increasing at an astronomical rate due to malnutrition and the bad water people are drinking.

It's a hospital scene replicated at every medical center still functioning in Gaza.

Back at the soup kitchen, crowds jostle for position or just to keep hold of their pots. A boy who managed to secure some soup makes sure he does not leave even a drop.

This is not just famine, this woman says, it is indescribable. Hunger on one side, airstrikes on the other.

She is not even hoping for a ceasefire anymore, just the opening of the crossings as people die of hunger.

[03:05:09]

Paula Hancocks, CNN, Abu Dhabi.

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BRUNHUBER: I want to bring in CNN's Salma Abdelaziz in London. So Salma, a horrific humanitarian situation for civilians in Gaza finally seems to be galvanizing the world's attention.

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Unimaginable suffering on the ground. When you hear that mother, Kim, saying we have airstrikes on one side, hunger on the other, you begin to get a small understanding of what the two million people locked in that enclave are facing every single day.

One in five children in Gaza City, this is according to the United Nations, one in five children suffers from malnutrition with those cases rising every single day. A hundred people have died of malnutrition.

Again, according to the United Nations, 80 percent of them children. Families are struggling just to find that bit of food and the places that are distributing that food are places that have been described as death traps by rights groups. A thousand people have been killed, shot and killed trying to get food to their families. And all of this can be prevented.

That's what rights groups are saying, and that's what the Palestinian Authority told our Christiane Amanpour yesterday. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MOHAMMAD MUSTAFA, PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY PRIME MINISTER: Things are extremely difficult. Action is needed, especially in terms of opening the border crossings. This is the first thing that needs to be done so that aid can come in as soon as possible.

There's a lot of aid waiting at the gates. Gates are closed by the Israeli government. This has got to change, this is the first priority.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABDELAZIZ: And hearing that, Kim, that explains French President Emmanuel Macron's decision, a unilateral decision to recognize the Palestinian state. There had been a plan to hold a summit jointly with Saudi Arabia in June, but when war broke out between Israel and Iran, that two-week conflict broke out, those plans were upended.

So France is taking this very bold step, Kim, in recognizing the Palestinian state. And the intention behind it is to put pressure on other countries to do the same.

There's going to be a big formal announcement at the U.N. General Assembly on Saturday. But today, France will be speaking, or French President Emmanuel Macron, rather, will be speaking to his counterparts in the U.K. and in Germany to discuss that humanitarian crisis.

It is very clear that for the French government right now, it is about trying to rally that support and build a coalition through Europe to try to push to get that aid into the Gaza Strip. You're going to hear over and over from rights groups, Kim, that this is a man-made crisis, one that can be resolved by just opening those borders and allowing that aid in.

And that is what this decision, this call for French recognition of Palestinian statehood is doing, is putting that pressure, ramping that pressure up, Kim.

BRUNHUBER: All right. I really appreciate that. Salma Abdelaziz in London.

A second day of border clashes between Thailand and Cambodia is prompting evacuations and raising tensions in Southeast Asia. The Thai military says fighting resumed early Friday morning with an exchange of small arms fire, heavy weaponry, and artillery. The Thai army warned clashes were happening in several areas along the disputed border.

I want to go live to Hong Kong now and CNN's Kristie Lu Stout. So, Kristie, this conflict continues to escalate. Take us through the latest.

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kim, the fighting has indeed continued along the Thai-Cambodian border with over 100,000 people displaced in Thailand and 4000 more people displaced in Cambodia.

Tension is certainly rising between these two Southeast Asian nations after deadly clashes. On Thursday, Thailand launched these airstrikes targeting military targets inside Cambodia using F-16 fighter jets and using drones. This after a series of deadly clashes along several areas along their shared border which resulted in the deaths of at least 15 people in Thailand, including 14 civilians, and at least one death in Cambodia.

We've been monitoring video of the displaced people who have been scrambling to evacuate amid these deadly clashes. And I want to share with you this video that has been going viral on social media showing scores of people.

These are civilians. And you could hear the sound of gunfire above their heads that they are scrambling along, waiting in line, a chance to evacuate along the Thai-Cambodian border.

Thai border patrol police are also there. They're present on site. Now, we know that the Thai military has responded to these deadly clashes with air power, with F-16 fighter jets, as well as drones.

[03:10:05]

And let's bring up this video for you which shows the examples of the drones that the Thai military is using. In this case, they're dropping it on a munitions cache in Cambodia. We also heard from the Cambodian military today accusing Thailand of

using banned cluster bombs. And we're awaiting confirmation on that allegation.

Now, villagers on both sides of the border are very afraid for their lives. And I want you to listen to this account from a 45-year-old mother of four who lives in Cambodia who witnessed one of these clashes. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN (through translator): It was about 8:00 this morning. Suddenly, I heard a loud noise. My son told me it might be thunder, and I thought, is it thunder or is it loud, more like a gun?

At that time, I was very scared.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Now Thailand and Cambodia, they have a long and very complicated relationship, one built on both rivalry and cooperation. They have a shared land border that's some 800 kilometers long that has been a source of military friction, as we've seen in the last couple of days, and also a political upheaval. Back to you.

BRUNHUBER: Alright. I appreciate those updates. Kristie Lu Stout, thanks so much.

Ukrainian cities under fire from Russia, fresh on the heels of the latest peace talks. Still ahead, Russian drones and missiles are coming down the day after the two countries tried to talk ceasefire.

Plus, Ukraine's President Putin has detained the first anti-government protest since Russia invaded. More of those stories and more coming up. Stay with us.

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BRUNHUBER: Venezuelans deported from the U.S. are speaking out about their experience inside El Salvador's notorious mega prison. Some say they were beaten by prison guards, shot with pellets, and deprived of proper medical care for months.

CNN's Stefano Pozzebon has the harrowing story of one of the 252 migrants released last week.

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STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR (voice-over): A homecoming fit for a star, Jerce Reyes left Venezuela last year alone, and this is how he returned. Welcome back after being deported from the United States and spending four months in El Salvador's notorious CECOT prison. He was returned last week with 251 other Venezuelan migrants in

exchange for 10 U.S. nationals and permanent residents, plus dozens of political prisoners held in Venezuela. Reyes told CNN that his stay in the prison was agony.

JERCE REYES, DEPORTED TO CECOT (through translator): After they shaved our heads, we had to walk about 100 feet, crouching like this. They beat us. When we got to the cells, people were screaming.

There was blood on the floor, vomit. Then the director spoke and said, Welcome to the Center for the Confinement of Terrorism. Welcome to hell on earth.

POZZEBON (voice-over): On one occasion, he claims he was sent to solitary confinement for hours as a punishment because he tried to shower outside the allocated time. At times, he says, he contemplated suicide.

The Salvadoran government denies these allegations, saying it respects the human rights of those in custody, quote, "without distinction of nationality."

A former professional soccer player, Reyes crossed the U.S. southern border last September for an appointment with migration authorities. He was accused of being a gang member and immediately detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. In December, he applied for asylum, citing Venezuela's economic crisis.

But in March, U.S. Homeland Security accused him of belonging to the infamous gang Tren de Aragua, an assessment DHS confirmed to CNN in a statement then and reiterated Thursday.

Reyes says this is a misunderstanding.

POZZEBON: This is the incriminating tattoo. He's saying that it represents his favorite soccer club, Real Madrid, from Madrid in Spain, a crown and a soccer ball. And he's saying that that's why he spent four months in a maximum security prison.

POZZEBON (voice-over): His tattoo artist told us he inked him in 2018, when Tren de Aragua was barely known inside Venezuela, let alone abroad. CNN verified Reyes has no criminal record in his own country.

What is your message for President Trump?

REYES (through translator): As the Bible says, do not judge by appearances, but by justice.

POZZEBON (voice-over): This week, Venezuela opened an investigation into several Salvadoran officials, including President Nayib Bukele, for the alleged abuses at the prison. Reyes says that he won't be leaving this place anytime soon, simply glad to be back on the field.

Stefano Pozzebon, CNN, Machiques, Venezuela.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BRUNHUBER: As calls continue for the Trump administration to be more transparent about the Jeffrey Epstein files, Epstein's sex trafficking co-conspirator is facing a second day of questions from the U.S. Justice Department.

Plus, courtroom gasps of both shock and relief after a group of Canadian hockey players accused of sexual assault learn their fate.

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BRUNHUBER: Welcome back to all of you watching us around the world, I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is "CNN Newsroom." Let's check today's top stories.

[03:25:01]

The latest Gaza ceasefire talks have come to a halt in Qatar. The U.S. and Israel withdrew their teams after rejecting the latest response from Hamas. U.S. Envoy Steve Witkoff says the group has shown a lack of desire to reach a truce. Hamas calls his remarks biased and malicious.

UNICEF reports malnutrition-related deaths among children in Gaza are up 54 percent since April. The group says more than 100 people have died from malnutrition, 80 percent of them children. And the head of the U.N. Relief Agency says starving people look like walking corpses.

A second day of border clashes between Thailand and Cambodia are prompting evacuations. More than 100,000 people have moved into shelters in Thailand, while more than 4000 people have been displaced in Cambodia. The fight has killed at least 15 people in Thailand and one person in Cambodia.

Jeffrey Epstein's co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell faces a second day of questioning by the U.S. Deputy Attorney General in the coming hours. Maxwell is serving 20 years for trafficking and grooming underage girls for Epstein. The meeting comes as pressure builds on the Trump administration to deliver on promises of transparency with regards to the Epstein case.

Here's Paula Reid.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA REID, CNN CHIEF LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: The Trump Justice Department's high-profile discussions with Ghislaine Maxwell will continue into a second day Friday. Attorney for Maxwell said that his client answered all the questions that she was asked truthfully and to the best of her ability and did not invoke any privileges when she was talking to Justice Department lawyers on Thursday. He did not get into the substance of what was discussed, nor did Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche when he tweeted following their meeting. But the fact that this is headed into a second day is pretty surprising here, and there's still a lot of outstanding questions. The first is, what is the administration willing to offer her? A pardon? A commutation? All things that President Trump has the power to do for Maxwell?

But there are a lot of questions about what exactly she would have to offer, because this is someone who has long had an incentive to cooperate with the government. She's currently serving a 20-year prison sentence, and the time to reveal valuable information would be before you are facing a sentence like that.

But we know the Trump administration is under enormous pressure to make it look like they are moving the ball on this Epstein matter after they've been facing a firestorm following the attorney general's declaration that she would not be releasing any additional material.

So what we're looking for is any sign that this is more than just political theater, and there is potentially something of substance happening between the Justice Department and Maxwell. But even if she has some sort of material, some sort of information that she wants to share with the government, she does come with credibility issues.

She has been charged in the past related to her truthfulness, and she is a convicted sex trafficker. And any effort to strike a deal with her or give her some leniency will result in backlash from victims and victim advocates.

Paula Reid, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: The creators of "South Park" are skewering Donald Trump and their parent company, Paramount. The show's season premiere aired on Wednesday and at one point depicted Donald Trump in bed with the devil. Have a look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN: I'm not in the mood right now. Another random (expletive) comment on my Instagram that you're on the Epstein list.

UNKNOWN: The Epstein list? Are we still talking about that?

UNKNOWN: Well, are you on the list or not? It's weird that whenever it comes up, you just tell everyone to relax.

UNKNOWN: I'm not telling everyone to relax. Relax, eh?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: The Trump character is portrayed as a sensitive bully who threatens to tariff or sue people who disagree with him, even Jesus. "South Park's" creators just signed a $1.5 billion deal with Paramount for new episodes and to stream all seasons of "South Park" on Paramount Plus. The White House is criticizing "South Park" as a fourth-rate show and describing the episode as a desperate attempt for attention.

In the hours ahead, President Trump will take off for a golf getaway in Scotland and talks with the British Prime Minister, but there's no indication he'll get away from the Epstein firestorm. A recent poll from Quinnipiac University found 63 percent of American voters disapprove of how the Trump administration has handled the Epstein files, just 17 percent approve.

Last hour, I asked Essex University professor Natasha Lindstaedt about how much support President Trump is losing over the Epstein controversy. Here she is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NATASHA LINDSTAEDT, PROF. OF GOVERNMENT, UNIVERSITY OF ESSEX: It definitely is costing him some support. How much? We don't know yet.

It's too early to tell because we're still in the early stages of dealing with this Epstein crisis. And you cited the Quinnipiac poll. We have a few other polls showing that most Americans disapprove.

[03:30:02]

In fact, there's only, according to a recent YouGov poll, 22 percent of Americans that think he had been handling the crisis well, echoing what was revealed in that Quinnipiac poll. So people are pretty dissatisfied with the way he's handling things.

Now, has it affected his overall approval rating? Well, there have been a lot of things going on that could have caused a dip in his approval ratings, which have been trending downwards. And somewhere it's around 40 percent at the moment.

But what we've seen with Trump, which is really amazing about his approval rating, it doesn't move that much up or down. It tends to be around high 30s to mid-40s. And that's a really big contrast with, say, Bush Jr. or Bush Sr., whose approval ratings reach somewhere around 90 percent at their height and lows of somewhere between 25 and 29 percent.

So we haven't seen that type of dip yet affect him. But I want to point to a recent YouGov poll that shows that amongst those that consider themselves conservatives, we're starting to see him dropping in support.

So this YouGov poll looked at conservatives in May and found that he had 88 percent support. This has now dropped to 81 percent support as of July.

So while we don't see him hemorrhaging support from Republicans, all of these different things, whether it be the Big, Beautiful bill, the tariffs, the looming tariffs, and this Epstein scandal seem to be chipping away a little bit at his overall support from the general public, of course, and Republicans more generally.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BRUNHUBER: Now to a high-stakes legal ruling in a Canadian sexual assault case that sent shockwaves through the world of ice hockey and far beyond. Five former Canadian junior players were found not guilty of sexual assault, assaulting a woman, rather, in a hotel room in 2018. A female judge rendered the verdict, saying she didn't find the alleged victims' evidence credible or reliable.

CNN's Paula Newton has the details on the case and the fallout.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The words of the judge in this verdict really resonated within the first few minutes, even though she went on for about five hours to detail the evidence and explain her reasons for finding all five hockey players, the defendants here, not guilty of sexual assault.

And it was what she said about the evidence of E.M. She is the alleged victim here, she cannot be identified and has been known in court as E.M. The justice actually saying that she found that woman's testimony to be not credible or reliable.

Now, given that all five players were completely exonerated, I want you to listen now to a lawyer representing E.M. and what she said about the alleged victims' reaction. Listen.

KAREN BELLEHUMEUR, LAWYER FOR "E.M.": She's obviously very disappointed with the verdict and very disappointed with her honor's assessment of her honesty and reliability.

NEWTON: You heard her there reacting, you know, to what the judge had said about her evidence, not about her, but said about her evidence. And further, E.M., through her lawyer, communicated that the trial was obviously difficult and that at times she found that the cross examination by the defense teams and there were five defense teams was actually mocking and she found disrespectful.

Now, to counter that, the lawyer for Michael McLeod, one of the accused here who was found not guilty and the gentleman who did admit to having consensual sex with E.M. I want you to listen now to what his lawyer said about what he says he claims led to all this. And this was a Hockey Canada settlement, a civil settlement with E.M. that was apparently negotiated in 2022, listen.

DAVID HUMPHREY, LAWYER FOR MICHAEL MCLEOD: The players were only told that the lawsuit and the settlement after the fact, had they been consulted, they would have refused to settle and they would have vigorously contested E.M.'s allegations. That version of events dominated headlines and created the lasting and a false impression of guilt.

NEWTON: The contentious details of this case and the following verdicts will continue to insert itself in what is a highly charged debate in Canada, not just about consent and what that actually means when it refers to sexual activity, but also about the culture of hockey and whether or not it is still toxic. [03:34:54]

Some people had commented that although Hockey Canada, the organization involved here, had taken steps, actually has an action plan that started in 2022, that by its own admission, Hockey Canada says it still has much work to do.

Paula Newton, CNN, Ottawa.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Russian drones and missiles rained down on Ukraine a day after peace talks failed to get much traction. The targets included the city of Odessa, where reports say one person was killed and at least four others injured on Thursday. The attack damaged the city's downtown, which is a UNESCO heritage site.

Ukraine says its second largest city, Kharkiv, also took a hit, which set cars on fire in a residential neighborhood. Officials say two people were killed and at least 33 others injured.

Russia and Ukraine agreed on future prisoner swaps at their third round of talks in Istanbul on Wednesday, but they made no apparent progress on a possible ceasefire. Russia is also moving to improve its navy.

President Vladimir Putin attended an inauguration ceremony for a new nuclear submarine. You can see the Prince Pozharskiy there in the background with sailors on the boat's hull. It's described as a fourth-generation sub with modern weapons and navigation systems and is reportedly highly maneuverable and stealthy.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is trying to weather a political firestorm at home. He says he approved a new bill on Thursday that will strengthen the independence of anti-corruption agencies. The President faced his first major anti-government protest since the war with Russia began over a separate bill he signed earlier this week.

Critics said that bill would have made those agencies less independent. Zelenskyy pledged on Wednesday to change that, even though he originally accused the agencies of being influenced by Russia. He says his latest bill will take serious steps to prevent that. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): It's designed for the law enforcement and anti-corruption bodies to get valid guarantees of independence of anti-corruption bodies, real possibilities of verification that there is no possible Russian interference. Everyone who has access to state secrets, and this goes not only for NABU and SAP, but also for the State Bureau of Investigations, our national police, have to undergo lie detector tests, and these tests must happen on an ongoing basis.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: All right. For more, we're joined by Robert English, the director of Central European Studies at the University of Southern California, and he is in Lerici, Italy. Thank you so much for being here with us, I really appreciate it.

So opposition lawmakers and civil society activists have been warning about democratic backsliding in the country for a while now. So how does Zelenskyy's latest move to centralize control over those anti- corruption agencies sort of confirm concerns you've had about the dangers of corruption in Ukraine during wartime?

ROBERT ENGLISH, DIRECTOR OF CENTRAL EUROPEAN STUDIES, UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: Yes, we're getting a foretaste with this battle of just how vicious and cutthroat Ukrainian politics will be once democracy is restored, once martial law is lifted, whenever a ceasefire is agreed.

Under martial law, as often happens in wartime, the possibilities of corruption, of abuse of power grow tremendously. And this public backlash and eventually European Union criticism were the result of Zelenskyy and his team just overreaching a little bit too far.

BRUNHUBER: Yes. Now, those agencies were investigating more than 200 cases, some of them involving Zelenskyy allies and backers. So building on what you were talking about there, what concerns do you have about the oligarchy networks that were there before the war and still being influential now?

ENGLISH: Yes, they haven't gone away, right. Zelenskyy came to power chiefly as an anti-corruption activist, right. He was not a career politician, he was not part of the oligarchic clan system and promised to clean that up.

But inevitably, not because of Zelenskyy per se, but because all around him, people are corrupt. They're on the take. They're exploiting their official positions for profit.

We've seen it creep back in. And the reason wartime is especially difficult is the money is pouring in from abroad. The scrutiny of the media, of watchdogs, of NGOs is restricted because the media is controlled by the state.

And that is simply multiply the opportunities for, you know, stealing from government contracts, for taking bribes. Millions of war age, right, of draft eligible young Ukrainian men are abroad because they pay bribes willingly taken by border officials, by deferment agencies to allow them to go.

[03:40:04]

That's hurt the country's war effort and it's hurt the country's reputation all around Europe.

BRUNHUBER: Yes. And you talk about the media. I mean, also Western media are sort of have been, you know, to this point, fairly reticent to criticize Zelenskyy during wartime for many of the reasons you state there.

But we did see in the country significant opposition to Zelenskyy's move. He's now promised to restore their independence. But do you think this has damaged him with the Ukrainian public?

ENGLISH: It has damaged him. And I think another window into what's been going on and what we can expect once normal democratic politics are restored is Zelenskyy's battle with Vitaly Klitschko, the popular mayor of Kyiv, right.

Klitschko was elected overwhelmingly and his party dominates the city council and local politics. But Zelenskyy has used martial law and wartime appointment powers to stack local positions in Kyiv city council administrators with people from his party such that it's completely out of balance. And the two of them have become bitter enemies, Klitschko and Zelenskyy.

And we can expect that to burst into the open once again, politics becomes normal. Klitschko could indeed challenge for the presidency and win. He is very popular.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, that's right. You touched a little bit on sort of the international reaction here. Drill in on the U.S.

I mean, it looked as though Zelenskyy had finally kind of smoothed things over with Donald Trump, who had previously called Zelenskyy a dictator. Do you think this will put that relationship in jeopardy again, given -- giving maybe Trump a pretext to pull what little support his administration is offering?

ENGLISH: Yes, good question. With Europe, it's clear cut. They are opposed to corruption and the European Union criticized these measures right away.

With Donald Trump in the U.S. administration, it's more complicated because on the one hand, precisely this kind of authoritarian behavior has become more commonplace in the U.S.

But there are those, you know, backing Trump on his team that have always been suspicious of Ukraine. And they will seize on any hint of corruption or malfeasance to, again, attack American aid, say that this country is not worth, or defending, or investing in. So it cuts both ways with Donald Trump.

And we can't be sure how he'll react. We'll see in the coming weeks.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, we shall see. In the meantime, I'm curious. We've talked about the problems and the problems of trying to achieve transparency.

What does proper transparency actually look like in Ukraine, do you think?

ENGLISH: It doesn't exist now. Again, everything's been tightened under martial law for wartime for understandable reasons. But transparency would mean that, first of all, a free press returns, not one where everything's filtered through government censors to make sure it doesn't help the enemy or it doesn't weaken Ukraine's image. It's understandable how that can be abused immediately to go after one's enemies. The charge of you're helping Russia or you're sympathetic to Putin is flung around wildly in Ukraine simply because people are fighting political or business battles.

So that would have to go away. Normal free media, civil society, nongovernmental organizations would have to be restored to full power. And this overwhelming hand of government would have to retreat and let these democratic institutions operate.

Right now they aren't, and it won't happen overnight, and it'll take a lot of pressure from the European Union and, yes, from the United States as Ukraine's main benefactor. If we're not committed to democracy's restoral in Ukraine, it won't happen because the corruption is widespread and deep-rooted.

BRUNHUBER: We'll have to leave it there, I really appreciate getting your analysis on this. Robert English in Lerici, Italy, thank you so much.

ENGLISH: My pleasure.

BRUNHUBER: All right, still ahead, what would a Chinese invasion of Taiwan look like? We visit the set of a provocative new drama that explores this scenario on the eve of a pivotal vote that could reshape Taiwan's political landscape. Stay with us.

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[03:45:00]

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BRUNHUBER: Taiwan is facing a landmark vote that could reshape its political landscape. On Saturday, 20 percent of Taiwan's legislature face a recall vote. It comes as worries rise over the threat of invasion from China and whether the U.S. would abide by pledges to defend Taiwan.

CNN's Will Ripley visits the set of a Taiwanese drama which explores that very scenario.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A cyber attack, a blockade, political chaos, deep division. That's the premise of Taiwan's provocative new drama, "Zero Day."

I visited the set with showrunner Cheng Hsin-mei.

Why are we in a temple with a table full of money?

CHENG HSIN-MEI, SHOWRUNNER, "ZERO DAY" (through translator): Many Taiwanese temples have close relationships with China, so these money illustrate bribery in local elections.

RIPLEY: Set in the days after a presidential election, "Zero Day" imagines what could happen in the lead up to a Chinese invasion of Taiwan.

[03:50:05]

The show is fiction, but the fear it taps into, very real. And the timing, no coincidence.

Taiwan just held its largest ever military and civil defense drills. Thousands of reservists trained with U.S.-supplied weapons. A lot of the training was in populated urban areas, deliberately showing the public what a war could look like.

Taiwan is also on the verge of a record-breaking recall vote. It's the culmination of months of political tension. We've seen lawmakers literally brawling in parliament.

And massive protests erupting across this island. Even a giant yellow truck playing political attack ads.

This fight is between Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party, closely aligned with the U.S., and the opposition, which is seen as friendlier towards Beijing.

The DPP controls the presidency. The opposition KMT and Taiwan People's Party control parliament. And that power split has paralyzed the government.

LEV NACHMAN, ASSISTANT PROF., NATIONAL TAIWAN UNIVERSITY: Taiwan has never felt this divided, where half of the country feels that the other half are anti-democratic and their moral enemy.

And this isn't a Taiwan story. This is an every-democracy story. And it's definitely a concern of what could happen here in Taiwan if things remain so divided.

RIPLEY: Now, 24 KMT lawmakers, nearly one in five overall, face recall votes. Supporters of the vote say it's about defending democracy. The KMT calls it a DPP power grab, and tensions are at a boiling point.

If enough lawmakers are ousted, President Lai Ching-te's party could flip parliament, giving him control of the legislative agenda. But if the recalls fail, Lai could become a lame duck, unable to govern effectively as Taiwan's political crisis deepens.

Will Ripley, CNN, Taipei.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Alright, we're off to London after the break for a look at the new Carbon Garden, how the creators are hoping to raise awareness about the role of plants in protecting the environment. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BRUNHUBER: Pro wrestling legend Hulk Hogan has died at the age of 71. He was pronounced dead in hospital after emergency crews responded to his home in Florida on reports of someone having a cardiac arrest.

Born Terry Bollea, Hulk was known for his powerful body, larger-than- life personality, and shirt-splitting routine. He was widely recognized as the biggest wrestling star of all time. In the 80s and 90s, he helped shape world wrestling entertainment into the behemoth it is today.

[03:55:03]

Hogan is also known for his politics. A Donald Trump supporter, he even appeared on the last night of last year's Republican National Convention. Police say his death isn't considered suspicious, but an investigation is ongoing.

On a new development in the Coldplay kiss cam controversy. The chief people officer for the tech company Astronomer has resigned after she and the company's CEO were caught embracing on a kisscam at a Coldplay concert. They're both married, just not to each other.

The video went viral, prompting the CEO to resign last week. The data operations firm founded in 2018 says, while awareness of the company may have changed overnight, its mission to address data and artificial intelligence problems will continue.

London's famous Kew Gardens is hoping to educate people about the vital role that plants play in protecting the Earth's environment. The new carbon garden is now open, filled with 6500 plants and 35 new trees.

It also has a central pavilion inspired by fungi and a dry garden with plants like lavender that are better equipped to cope in the heat. The project took four and a half years to create. It's meant to encourage people to be more thoughtful about what they plant in their own gardens.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICHARD WILFORD, MANAGER OF GARDEN DESIGN, ROYAL BOTANICAL GARDENS, KEW: The aim of this garden is to inform people about what carbon is and what they can do to adapt to a changing climate. So the dry garden is really inspired by the fact that by 2050 we're predicted to have the climate of Barcelona in London.

So that means hotter, drier, longer summers, but also much more unpredictable weather events. So storms, you know, downpours as well. So plants got to cope with those changes.

And the dry garden is choosing plants that cope with those Mediterranean conditions really. So hotter, drier summers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: San Diego Comic-Con opened its doors Thursday to tens of thousands of self-professed nerds, some dressed in costumes. Have a look here.

It is considered the world's number one pop culture convention. Comic- Con attracts large crowds to see A-list celebrities speak on panels.

Now, this year Hollywood's star power is notably absent, but fans aren't deterred. This convention's lineup includes panels for movies "Predator: Badlands," and "Tron: Ares." The "King of the Hill" revival will host its world premiere along with a panel of the show's creators.

And, this is kind of cool, "Star Wars" creator George Lucas will make his Comic-Con debut as well. The convention runs through Thursday.

All right. Thank you so much for joining me here in "CNN Newsroom," I'm Kim Brunhuber in Atlanta. "Amanpour" is next, and then there's "Early Start" with M.J. Lee in New York.

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