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Court Orders Thaksin Shinawatra To Serve One Year In Prison; Russia Brushes Off Threats Of New U.S. And E.U. Sanctions; Israel's Netanyahu Warns Gaza City Residents To "Leave Now"; French Government Collapses After Prime Minister Loses Confidence Vote; U.S. House Committee Releases Documents From Epstein Estate; Korean Air Flight To Repatriate South Korean ICE Detainees; Maduro: Truth Will Emerge From Video Of U.S. Attack On Boat; Human Trials Approved For Pig Kidney Transplants; Fugitive Father Killed In Shootout With New Zealand Police. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired September 09, 2025 - 01:00   ET

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

[01:00:00]

LYNDA KINKADE, CNN HOST: Hello and welcome. I'm Lynda Kinkade. Ahead here on CNN Newsroom, Thailand's Supreme Court sentences a former prime minister to prison. We'll have a live report.

Plus, get out. Israel's prime minister warning to the residents of Gaza City as the IDF prepares to seize control.

And the French government collapses. With less than nine months in the job, the prime minister loses a confidence vote on over a controversial plan to cut the budget.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN Breaking News.

KINKADE: And we start with the breaking news from Thailand. Former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is going back to jail for one year. The Thailand Supreme Court just ruled that his prolonged hospital stint was unlawful and will not count as time served.

The influential billionaire had returned home in 2023 after 15 years of self-imposed exile, but spent only hours in jail before being transferred to a hospital. CNN's Marc Stewart is tracking all of this live for us from Beijing. Great to have you with us, Marc.

So the court ruled that Thaksin's hospital stay doesn't count as jail time. Just explain this ruling.

MARC STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right, Lynda. It's something we've been following for the last two hours or so. Thaksin was in court when this came down. We are told he is now going to have to serve one year at a facility in Bangkok. And this is a big shift because it was just days ago that he was on social media talking about the fact that he was going to take his private jet and head to Dubai for medical checks.

At the time, there were a lot of people who believed that perhaps he was trying to evade the country, evade this court hearing. But obviously this has come to fruition. There is a lengthy history here.

This all stems from a prison sentence that was handed down in 2023 stemming from a number of charges including conflict of interest and corruption during his time while he was in power many years ago.

But shortly after the king of Thailand reduced the sentence and six months later he was reduced, he was released on parole in 2024. Now we have a court viewing this much differently. In fact, he never served any time in prison.

As you mentioned, he was at a hospital, what's been described as a luxury suite at a hospital in Bangkok after dealing with what he described as a number of health problems. So now this case has come full circle and he will be serving time for this prior case.

Over the last few, though, we have seen a lot of political turbulence in Thailand, most notably his daughter who had been prime minister. She left office over concerns surrounding some ethical charges and ethical conduct. So that's something that happened separately in addition to this latest drama that unfolded at this in this courtroom in Bangkok.

But again, let's just recap for you. The Supreme Court in Thailand has ordered the former prime minister, also a billionaire, Thaksin Shinawatra, to jail, a one year jail sentence in what has been this ongoing case that has certainly been generating headlines in Thailand as well as around the world. Lynda?

KINKADE: Yes, and of course, his family very familiar in the political scene in Thailand. As you mentioned, his daughter just removed as prime minister. And of course, the Shinawatra family backed party lost power there. What does this all mean for the family's political future?

STEWART: Well, this is a family that has been dealing with a lot of ups and downs over the years. In fact, when she left office, it was because of a military coup. And I remember when his daughter was installed as prime minister, she said she was going to do her very best.

But at the time there was just a lot of discussion from outside observers about whether or not would be able to hold firm power. Yet this is a political family, a dynasty, if you will, that has had some power. It has prevailed. But now again, dealing with a big political blow. Lynda?

KINKADE: Yes, absolutely. Marc Stewart first covering this breaking news from Beijing. Thanks very much.

Well, Russia is dismissing Western threats of further sanctions following its largest aerial assault yet on Ukraine on Monday. The Kremlin warned such measures would be absolutely useless in terms of exerting pressure on Russia.

[01:05:00] That's after President Trump said he's ready to expand sanctions against Moscow and as Europe's top sanctions envoy arrived in Washington. Well, Ukrainian officials say the Russian president only understands force and has no intention of stopping the war.

Over the weekend, Russian strikes hit a Kiev government building for the first time. Several people were killed during that onslaught. The targeted multiple Ukrainian cities. CNN's Kevin Liptak reports from the White House on what could come next.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: President Trump says he's ready to move to a new phase of sanctions against Russia. But his previous deadlines and his previous ultimatums have had a tendency to melt away. And it remains unclear at this point what the president is willing to do to punish Moscow for its war in Ukraine.

On Monday, the top European envoy for sanctions was in Washington for discussions with at the Treasury Department with Trump administration officials trying to coordinate a response to Russia's war in Ukraine. What we've heard from President Trump, from the Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, from other administration officials is that Europe needs to do its own part in cutting off its supply of Russian oil, of putting punishment on purchasers of Moscow's energy products, essentially saying that Europe needs to do more if it expects the U.S. to apply its own new sanctions on Russia.

And in fact, President Trump has put sanctions on India, which is a main purchaser of Russian oil and gas. But he has stopped short so far of applying those same measures on China, which is the number one customer of Russian oil and gas. As he works to try and broker a trade deal with Beijing. He has been concerned that, that could potentially stymie those efforts.

But now the president clearly growing more frustrated that Moscow continues its assault on Ukraine. You know, some weeks after his high profile summit with Vladimir Putin in Alaska, he really doesn't have much to show in terms of this conflict coming to any sort of resolution.

And you hear the president saying that he's frustrated with Putin, that he doesn't like what he's seeing on the ground there and offering this new openness to apply sanctions or other measures on Moscow to try and force the conflicts to an end. Although it remains to be seen exactly how far the president at this point is willing to go. Kevin Liptak, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: Israel's prime minister is warning residents of Gaza City to, quote, get out as the offensive there intensifies. On Monday, airstrikes again targeted high rise towers in the densely populated area as the Israeli military moves forward with plans to occupy Gaza's largest city. One building that collapsed after a strike had housed the Palestinian

center for Human Rights. The group says its office had previously been raided by the Israeli Defense Forces and was even used as a military base during previous operations. Benjamin Netanyahu says he's targeting buildings because of the presence of Hamas.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): I promised you a few days ago that we will take down the terror towers in Gaza and this is exactly what we are doing. In the past couple of days, 50 such towers were taken down by the air force.

Now all this is only an introduction, the sifter to the powerful main act, which is a ground maneuver of our forces who are now assembling and organizing into Gaza City. And this is why I say to the residents of Gaza, I take this opportunity. Listen carefully. You have been warned. Leave now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: Amid the intensifying assault, Qatar's Prime Minister is pressing Hamas to, quote, respond positively to a new ceasefire proposal put forward by the United States. Israel said it's giving the proposal serious consideration.

Meantime, a boat that is part of a flotilla headed to Gaza with humanitarian aid has apparently been attacked by a drone in the Tunis port. That's according to a U.N. official. One activist says the attack caused a fire on the boat.

With areas in Gaza now officially declared in a State of Famine, CNN's investigative unit breaks down how parts of Israel's military campaign have led to this famine by choking off food and water. Using satellite imagery, video evidence and data analysis, CNN details the dismantling of Gaza's food and infrastructure throughout the conflict. Katelyn Polantz brings us this in depth report highlighting the scale of destruction to Gaza's support systems and the growing fears that relief may come too late.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATIE POLGLASE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Warning after warning didn't stop famine from gripping Gaza.

[01:10:00]

From aid blockades to attacks, CNN has deconstructed how step by step, parts of Israel's military campaign led to this famine by choking off food and water to the population of Gaza and each finding we've put to the IDF.

POLGLASE: So just to be clear, you're saying there is not famine in Gaza according to the Israeli military?

LT. COL. NADAV SHOSHANI, IDF INTERNATIONAL SPOKESPERSON: But we're understanding there's a difficult situation on the ground.

POLGLASE: But a difficult situation is different from famine.

SHOSHANI: We do not think there is famine.

POLGLASE (voice-over): Let's go back to October 7, 2023, Hamas attacked Israel, killing civilians and taking hostages. Two days later, Israel's then-defense minister ordered this.

YOAV GALLANT, FORMER ISRAELI DEFENSE MINISTER: We are imposing a complete siege on Gaza City. There is no electricity, no food, no water, no fuel. Everything is closed. We are fighting human animals, and we are acting accordingly.

POLGLASE (voice-over): The same day, Israel cuts off these three water pipelines supplying Gaza's main cities for weeks, later reopening some. But they would be damaged for repeatedly. It was one of several attacks on Gaza's water supply.

Israel stopped electricity feeding wastewater treatment plants like this one, leaving them to dry out over the course of the war, a desalination plant making seawater drinkable before and then bombed to pieces. Soldiers even filmed themselves rigging a water reservoir with explosives and blowing it apart. The IDF justified attacks like these, saying Hamas embeds in civilian infrastructure.

POLGLASE: There are some in the international community that have accused you of weaponizing water in this war against civilians. What is your response?

SHOSHANI: Millions of liters of water are entering Gaza daily. We're speaking about Israeli water entering Gaza daily.

POLGLASE: When 90 percent of people in Gaza do not have enough water, according to the U.N., this is a situation that is clearly very, very dire. Are you disputing that situation?

SHOSHANI: I am giving the facts on the ground as they are. Israel is bringing in millions of liters of water to Gaza daily. Israel has made an active decision, one active decision regarding water in Gaza, which is to make sure there's water in Gaza. And we are investing.

POLGLASE: That is not the only decision.

SHOSHANI: There is currently, as we are speaking, millions of leaders going into Gaza daily.

POLGLASE: You have made that point.

SHOSHANI: That is an active decision.

POLGLASE: It's also an active decision on October 9, two days after the start of this war, to shut off water pipelines, three of them, the main water pipelines into the Strip. Is that also an active decision?

SHOSHANI: I'm speaking about the facts on the ground and what happened.

POLGLASE (voice-over): But the Israeli military campaign didn't just impact water. In the first weeks of war, as IDF tanks rolled into Gaza from the north, farmland was bulldozed again. Israel called it a military necessity.

Since then, the U.N. says 90 percent of all cropland has been damaged. Green and fertile lands shown here pre-war, growing fruit and vegetables now in 2025 turned to dust. Israel's military campaign also limited the aid, including food entering the Strip. Gaza relied heavily on this aid before the war, but now needs it even more.

Aid organizations have said at least 500 trucks should enter Gaza daily to stop starvation worsening. Israel has rarely met this number since the war started. We broke it down using their own data. Between October 21, 2023, the first aid delivery into Gaza. In February of this year, an average of 183 aid trucks entered Gaza daily.

Then Israel imposed a three-month blockade. March 2025, no trucks. April 2025, the same. From May until August this year, an average of 115 trucks have entered Gaza every day. That's of the level aid agencies say is needed.

Always vulnerable it pushed Gaza towards Famine very quickly. November 2023, one month into war, experts were already declaring food insecurity for some segments of the population at level four emergency, just one step away from level five, famine. The IDF, however, insists they are and have always done enough.

SHOSHANI: Since day one in this war that began as an existential war, Israel said, and has acted in the same way, we put hundreds of people, hundreds of millions of shekels into making sure that aid is going into Gaza. I'm not saying there is no problem, just saying the problem is complex. It is not Israel preventing aid going into Gaza. The problem is Hamas looting the aid.

POLGLASE: You mentioned Hamas looting this aid. And I think it's worth me bringing up that there was a U.S. government review into this exact question. They reviewed 156 incidents and they found no affiliation with Hamas.

SHOSHANI: Well, I think first of all, the U.S. speaks about almost 90 percent of the aid that they're bringing in being looted.

POLGLASE: They don't say by Hamas.

SHOSHANI: The aid is speaking about almost 90 percent of their aid being looted.

POLGLASE (voice-over): The U.N. review found very little aid is delivered and said it is due in part to peaceful and hungry people intercepting it. When food does make it in Israel's military campaign at times attacked it from bakeries to warehouses and even the aid trucks themselves repeatedly hit by Israeli gunfire.

POLGLASE: They had a pre agreed route and they were attacked before they could deliver that food to northern Gaza.

SHOSHANI: Well, there's been some tragic incidents throughout two years of war that we have investigated. The people were held accountable, that we communicated with the international organizations and learned from them. But I think all in all, throughout the two years, Israel has done everything we can.

POLGLASE (voice-over): But the attacks prompted outrage from humanitarian leaders who pulled out of many deliveries as a result.

PHILIPPE LAZZARINI, UNRWA COMMISSIONER GENERAL: In 30 years of humanitarian work, I have never encountered such blatant disregard for the protected stature of humanitarian workers, facilities and operations under international law.

POLGLASE: Food that was delivered was under Israeli military supervision and collection could be deadly. This gunfire is the IDF firing what they claimed were warning shots in the air while civilians attempted to collect food. More than 100 people would die in this single incident according to Gaza's Health Ministry.

Bodies can be seen strewn amid the crowds. Incidents like these would only grow more frequent as aid sites became harder and harder to reach.

The U.N. previously operated hundreds of distribution centers with partners across Gaza. The IDF told us these all remain in place, but the U.N. said by May this year Israel's siege forced all of them to stop operating. Now only three U.S. backed centers are acting as the main distribution sites, while two more are promised. Currently there are just two in the south and one in central Gaza.

For someone in the north of Gaza, that's roughly a three hour walk to the nearest site. These centers are also in the middle of active combat zones, drawing civilians into further danger. This site, just half a mile from this Israeli military base.

The Israeli military claims they only fire warning shots or when people are viewed as a threat. But in the last three months, nearly 2,000 people have been killed trying to get food, most near these aid sites, according to the UN.

Aid agencies and their truck drivers say Israel is now creating delays and restrictions on the aid allowed to enter Gaza. Israel, however, blames the aid agencies for slowing the process.

POLGLASE: Is Israel accepting any responsibility for the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza right now?

SHOSHANI: Israel has been tracking the situation in Gaza and has been doing everything we can to improve it and to bring aid going into Gaza.

POLGLASE (voice-over): And the IDF continues to insist there is enough food in Gaza even now. SHOSHANI: Been there and seen it with my own eyes. People are picking

up part of the food and leaving the rest of the food on the floor because they're not interested in it.

POLGLASE (voice-over): But the evidence says otherwise. The international body classifying food insecurity now says famine has set in much of Gaza. Katie Polglase, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: In recent weeks, 300 trucks today have been entering Gaza, but many fear this is too little, too late. Countries have also begun airdropping aid, but Israeli officials say that it will stop in Gaza City as the Israeli military tries to force people there to evacuate as a massive assault gets underway.

We're going to take a quick break. We'll be right back. You're watching CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:23:02]

KINKADE: Welcome back. France is facing yet another political crisis after Prime Minister Francois Bayrou was ousted in a landslide confidence vote in parliament on Monday. Bayrou had called the vote in a bid to push through his widely unpopular government state savings plan. He had planned to cut about $51 billion by freezing government spending and slashing to public holidays to address the country's Bologna (ph) debt crisis.

Now President Emmanuel Macron is left with dwindling options as the opposition seeks to further erode his centrist government. CNN's Melissa Bell has the latest from Paris.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President another French prime minister ousted 364 lawmakers voted out Francois Bayrou with 194 for the government, making him the fourth prime minister to lose office in 20 months, despite his pleas just moments before.

FRANCOIS BAYROU, FRENCH PRIME MINISTER (through translator): If we want to save the ship we and our children are on, we have to act immediately.

BELL (voice-over): Just weeks after announcing he wanted to slash 44 billion euros from the budget in 2026.

BAYROU (through translator): Send me 5,000 pounds of additional debt per second. We should call it by its name. It's a mortal danger for our country.

BELL (voice-over): But France's parliament has had no majority ever since the French President Emmanuel Macron dissolved the assembly, triggering elections in 2024 that left his Centre Party weakened and the extremes both left and right much stronger.

Since then, two prime ministers have tried and failed relatively quickly to get the confidence of France's parliament.

BAYROU (through translator): Proposed a budget, a difficult budget where everything was difficult to reduce our deficit. This deficit did not disappear by the magic of a no confidence vote.

[01:25:02]

BELL (voice-over): handing the poisoned chalice to Francois Bayrou, who's faced a far right and far left emboldened by the failures of the center to govern, ruling out any cooperation with him at all.

ANTOINE BRISTIELLE, DIRECTOR OF POLLING, JEAN-JAURES FOUNDATION: Yes, we are maybe in a regime crisis, so it's really complicated. There is no real solution in the current context with the way the French political parties are working together.

BELL: With this latest vote here at the national assembly, the French president is fast running out of options. He said that he will name a new prime minister in the next few days. The question whether he or she will have the numbers behind them to try and govern successfully. And this with the clock ticking and the need to pass a new, smaller budget before the end of the year. And for now, no sense of who might be able to do that. Melissa Bell, CNN in Paris.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: Well, still to come, a release of controversial documents Jeffrey Epstein's personal estate. What we know about, one that reportedly involves the U.S. President.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:31:16]

KINKADE: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Lynda Kinkade.

The U.S. House Oversight Committee released a trove of records Monday evening from Jeffrey Epstein's estate. Among the files released is a controversial note reportedly involving the U.S. President. Donald Trump has repeatedly denied writing that letter.

CNN's Manu Raju reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The House Oversight Committee released 356 pages of documents that it received on Monday afternoon from Jeffrey Epstein's estate that came as a result of a subpoena that was issued by this committee.

This committee receiving information relating to Jeffrey Epsteins bank accounts, his past contacts over a number of years, as well as this plea deal that was reached in 2007 that has now been criticized as far too lenient, given the crimes that Epstein committed.

Now, one big thing, of course, got a lot of attention. That is the birthday book that Epstein received in 2003. That birthday book included, apparently, a letter from Donald Trump himself to Jeffrey Epstein, including a doodle of a woman on that -- that note.

Trump had furiously denied that he had written any such note when "The Wall Street Journal" reported it earlier this summer. In fact, he sued "The Wall Street Journal" on this for defamation. But this note appears to bear his signature.

The White House however now says that that signature is not his. So the question is who is telling the truth and how did they possibly get a document with a forged Trump signature from 2003? Why was it released now? And what do Republicans who have the power to force a vote on this issue -- what do they think about all of this?

That's the question I put to several of them.

REP. TIM BURCHETT (R-TN): That's the first I've heard about it, honestly.

RAJU: This is the letter. Do you want to look at it? You want to look at it?

BURCHETT: Is that the one he said didn't exist?

RAJU: Yes, he said it didn't exist. And is it?

BURCHETT: Yes. Well, I don't know. I mean, anybody can do a signature.

REP. THOMAS MASSIE (R-KY): It doesn't prove anything having a birthday card from Trump. It doesn't help the survivors and the victims. It doesn't name an additional new person who could be indicted. I think it's just a distraction.

The best evidence that my bill will reveal things that their effort does not is the tenacity with which they oppose my bill. If it were merely redundant they wouldn't be working so hard to stop it.

RAJU: And that last comment coming from coming from Congressman Thomas Massie of Kentucky. Of course, he is leading the charge on the GOP side to force a vote on this issue.

But because of Republican leadership's opposition to his plan, which would compel the release of all the Epstein files, he has to go a different route.

He has to get the support of 218 members of the House to put this on the floor. That means he needs six Republicans to sign on to this effort. However, only four have backed his effort so far. They are two votes shy of forcing that vote because, according to Speaker Mike Johnson, he says it is not needed at this moment.

But as you heard from Thomas Massie there, he said if they thought it was not needed, why try to kill this effort altogether, which is one of the big reasons why there's so much tension within the House GOP over how to proceed on this issue, something that has really distracted from the Republican leadership's plans and become an issue, which they have been having a difficult time closing the door on because of the continued demands from a lot of members on both sides for more information about everything that happened in the Epstein scandal.

Manu Raju, CNN -- Capitol Hill.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[01:34:50]

KINKADE: A Korean Air flight will head to the U.S. as soon as Wednesday to bring home more than 300 South Korean citizens detained in an immigration raid last week. They were taken into custody at the Hyundai battery plant that's under construction here in Georgia.

U.S. officials say the raid targeted illegal workers and those with visa violations. South Korea says most of the workers were employed by subcontractors, not Hyundai, and that its working with the U.S. government to eventually allow them to reenter the country.

Well, Venezuelan officials are speaking out about the U.S. Navy attack on a boat that the Trump administration claims was carrying drugs in the Caribbean.

President Nicolas Maduro says the truth will emerge from the video of the incident, which Donald Trump shared on social media. Maduro says the video is an embarrassment for those who released it.

CNN contributor Stefano Pozzebon spoke with another top Venezuelan official about that attack.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: The Venezuelan foreign minister Yvan Gil sat down for an exclusive interview with CNN at a moment where tensions are rising between Washington and Caracas, with at least seven U.S. warships stationed in the southern Caribbean, allegedly to stem off drug trafficking.

The White House accuses the Venezuelan President, Nicolas Maduro, of being personally involved with cocaine trafficking.

At the same time, it's worth noting that reports from both the United Nations and the Drug Enforcement Administration confirmed that Venezuela is not a major drug producing country, nor a trafficking hotspot.

Here is what the foreign minister told us over the prospects of open warfare.

YVAN GIL, VENEZUELAN FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): We trust that will not happen. Our first Line of defense is diplomatic dialog to contain, to avoid these conflicts between us. Right now, we are sure that common sense will prevail.

POZZEBON: President Trump on, I think it was Friday or Saturday, he said he's not interested in a regime change in Caracas. He said that he wants to go after Nicolas Maduro, who is personally, according to the United States, involved in narco trafficking.

Can you imagine a Chavista Venezuela, a revolutionary Venezuela without Maduro in the near future?

GIL: President Maduro is the leader of our revolution. Clearly he has, let's say, a major influence over the Venezuelan people. The Chavista's ranks and the revolutionary ranks across Venezuela.

However, our Bolivarian revolution stands on its own feet.

POZZEBON: One of the most controversial episodes of this confrontation took place last week, when the U.S. Department of Defense announced that it took out a speedboat allegedly carrying Venezuelan drug traffickers and cocaine into the Caribbean Sea. Caracas denounced this incident as a violation of international law.

GIL: We can't explain this and we should ask the U.S. Military how can they degrade themselves by using destructive technology against a defenseless boat?

POZZEBON: Are you calling for an international investigation into that incident?

GIL: We have seen a whole story of violations of international laws, protocols of engagement, the very same protocols of the U.S. Coast Guard and of the U.S. Armed Forces that are being violated.

POZZEBON: We have also covered the many allegations against -- about violations of human rights here in Venezuela from this government, against the Venezuelan population.

GIL: Ok. But we are part of the Human Rights Council, and yet we disagree on how they acted here with a double standard.

POZZEBON: There are no violations of human rights in Venezuela?

GIL: Look, in Venezuela we have exemplary behavior when it comes to human rights.

POZZEBON: Well, my country mate, Alberto Trentini has been detained here since October last year. It's been 11 months. He still hasn't seen a judge nor been able to speak with his family.

GIL: Yes, but his human rights are not being violated. I know this case.

POZZEBON: He should be seeing a judge.

GIL: He has a lawyer. He's on trial. There's a lawsuit going on and it will continue its course. The process must be followed. In Venezuela, there are thousands of courts representing all

nationalities -- Colombians, Peruvians, Italians from many crimes. The most common one is drug trafficking.

POZZEBON: The United States said the European Union and several countries in the Americas have raised issues after Maduro's controversial reelection last year.

According to independent human rights organizations, at least 100 political prisoners have been detained, mostly without charges in the last 12 months in Venezuela. The Venezuelan government denies any allegation of human rights abuse.

For CNN, this is Stefano Pozzebon -- in Caracas, Venezuela.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[01:39:51]

KINKADE: Well, science is finding a way for humans and pigs to be more genetically compatible and that could be good news for those who might need a kidney transplant. We'll have that story next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KINKADE: A breakthrough in transplant medicine that could soon change the odds for thousands of patients.

[01:44:49]

KINKADE: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has given the go-ahead for human trials involving genetically-modified kidneys from a pig engineered to work safely in the human body.

And that could be a game changer for the more than 100,000 people in the U.S. currently waiting for an organ donation. The majority of who, about 86 percent, need a kidney.

The average wait time to get one from a human donor is currently 3 to 5 years, but it can take as long as a decade depending on the recipient.

I'm joined now by Paul Conway, the chair of policy and global affairs for the American Association of Kidney Patients. Great to have you on the program.

PAUL CONWAY, POLICY AND GLOBAL AFFAIRS, AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF KIDNEY PATIENTS: Thank you very much.

KINKADE: Paul, we've now seen multiple patients, including Bill Stewart and Tim Andrews, who've received pig kidneys and live dialysis free. What do these transplants mean for kidney patients across the country?

CONWAY: It's an amazingly optimistic time to be a kidney patient because we're watching history unfold. Your life on dialysis is extremely challenging. It's life-saving but it limits your ability to pursue your aspirations including part-time and full-time work.

What we're seeing with these patients is when they get transplanted, one of the things they want to do is go back to work and be better engaged in society and with family and friends.

KINKADE: Of course. You've lived, Paul, with kidney disease for nearly 48 years. You had a transplant in 1997. How has your personal journey shaped your views on innovations like kidney transplants? And do you view this type of transplant as a potential game changer.

CONWAY: Yes, I think it's 100 percent transformative. There's an equivalent period of time, if you look in the late 1950s and early 1960s, when dialysis became more prominent, and also transplants. We're at that point now.

In my own journey, I wouldn't be alive today if it weren't for the medical advances and innovators of that period of time, 60 and 75 years ago.

But the idea that you can take people who are on the organ waiting list, or people who are on dialysis, who want to work, want to be engaged and let them be independent and pursue the things that they've been dreaming about is just a wonderful, wonderful thing.

Dialysis is a very rugged treatment. And for those who are on hemodialysis, it often leads to dependency and unemployment, because it's just that tough to get through weekly treatments three times a week.

KINKADE: And of course, kidney disease is often called the silent killer because many don't know they have it until it's too late.

How does this impact -- this late diagnosis impact patients, and how might something like a xenotransplantation, a pig transplant, change their potential outlook?

CONWAY: So for context, what's interesting is these transplants are taking place at a period of time when new medicines are arriving in the marketplace also, that slow disease progression and prevent organ failure.

So really what we're doing across the globe is putting an emphasis on early detection, early intervention. You'll have a lot of people that don't even have to go on dialysis or pursue a transplant.

But for those who are on the waiting list around the world, or for parents who have children with kidney disease, and they might be thinking 10 or 15 years from now, that child might need dialysis or might need a human organ transplant, pig organs and xenotransplantation offer another option.

And it's just such an inspiring thing having watched my parents and the challenges and emotions they went through, which were devastating when they found out I had kidney disease. You wouldn't wish that upon anybody. But in this period of time right now, you're looking at a chance to

transform the way medicine and care is done, not just in the U.S. and in Europe, but literally around the world.

KINKADE: Yes, I want to get that global perspective from you, because over 850 million people worldwide are affected by kidney disease, including someone in my immediate family.

How significant is it that the FDA has approved this -- the clinical trials for pig kidney transplants in terms of global impact?

CONWAY: Well, from a global impact standpoint, FDA is the platinum standard for regulatory approvals around the world. They are looked to by many, many countries, and so is the EMA in Europe.

But the significance of it is it's a major green light to other regulators around the world that this is a serious technology that's evolving very quickly. And the pathway for it is important that the FDA shines a light on that.

And then for governments around the world and for major medical societies around the world, it's also a very clear signal that there is a new innovation that is coming into the marketplace that may be able to transform status quo dialysis and kidney care and then bring new kidney care to areas of the world that are poor, that don't have the infrastructure, the water, the power to do standard dialysis.

So it's a really breathtaking moment to think that we've progressed this quickly really driven by people that are committed to innovation, medical experts and very brave and courageous patients.

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KINKADE: Yes. And just from a patient perspective, your survey showed over 70 percent of patients would accept an FDA-approved pig kidney, but with caution. What are the main concerns patients have about this new treatment?

CONWAY: Well, some of the things that they want to know is they want to know how long the kidney will last. They want to know whether or not a pig kidney that is genetically-modified will have less demand for immunosuppressive drugs to keep the organ maintained.

So for example, human kidney, you have to take immunosuppressives the rest of your life. Many of those drugs are 20 or 30 years old, and they can have incredible side effects like cancer, gastrointestinal issues and things like that.

In my lifetime, I've taken over 170,000 pills to maintain my kidney. And so there's a sensitivity with patients. They want to know that these pig kidneys might offer an alternative to rugged immunosuppression.

The other thing that they're taking a look at is what is the comparison and the comparative value of this to them. Will it be an alternative to what their life expectancy is and what they may endure on dialysis and also what they may have to endure by continuing to wait on the waiting list for organs.

KINKADE: Its really such a fascinating development. Really great to get your perspective.

Paul Conway, chair of policy and global affairs for the American Association of Kidney patients. Appreciate your time. We wish you all the very best in health. Thank you so much.

CONWAY: Thank you.

KINKADE: Well, a fugitive father has been killed in a shootout with New Zealand police. Coming up, we'll explain how the armed confrontation led to the discovery of three missing children.

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KINKADE: Well, Monday marked a violent ending to the nearly four-year search for a fugitive father on the run in New Zealand. Thomas Phillips and his three children had been surviving in the wilderness, while the children's mother remained desperate to find them.

That is, until a breakthrough at a farm shop led to a deadly confrontation with police.

CNN's Ivan Watson reports.

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IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is one of the last known images of Tom Phillips, a fugitive father who'd been living off the grid for nearly four years in New Zealand with his three small children until he died in a fatal shootout with police on Monday.

This security camera video released by New Zealand police last month, shows two masked people, one dressed in what appears to be a full camouflage ghillie suit breaking into a convenience store before dawn and then driving off with stolen groceries on a quad motorbike.

Police offered a US$ 52,000 reward for information on Phillips, who was wanted on a number of criminal charges.

After years on the run on New Zealand's North Island, Phillips was reportedly spotted during a suspected pre-dawn break in of a store in the tiny village of Piopio on Monday.

Local police pursued him to this junction, where they lay road spikes to intercept his quad.

JILL ROGERS, POLICE DEPUTY COMMISSIONER: The first attending police officer at that scene has come across that stopped quad bike and been confronted by gunfire at close range.

Our officer has been struck in the head. Soon after a second patrol unit arrived and has engaged the offender. And he has died at the scene. WATSON: Authorities say the dead man is Phillips and said they took

one of his children on the scene into custody.

They choppered the seriously-wounded officer to a hospital.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He, his family and colleagues are in my thoughts and the thoughts of all Kiwis.

WATSON: The incident triggered a massive search for Phillips' remaining two children. Phillips first disappeared with his children, now ages 9, 10 and 12, in December of 2021. Their mother, making a public appeal for their safe return.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm standing here before you today begging you for your help to bring my babies home.

WATSON: Last year, a teenage pig hunter filmed the father and children hiking through rugged countryside, proof they were still alive.

Police also released images of Phillips fleeing a bank robbery in 2023 and appearing masked in a hardware store that same year.

Hours after Mondays shooting, authorities announced they'd found Phillips remaining children at a campsite not far from the scene of the incident.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can confirm that the children are well and uninjured. And they will be taken to a location this evening for medical checks.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's an awful situation when you think about the safe (ph) care and (INAUDIBLE) children that have just lost their father and have been living in the bush for four years.

WATSON: This tightly-knit rural community worried about the trauma three children experienced living for years on the run.

Ivan Watson, CNN.

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KINKADE: Well, British artist Banksy has struck it again, this time with a new mural outside London's High Court. The painting shows a judge holding his gavel over a protester. As is typical, Banksy has not commented, but the work appeared following the arrest of nearly 900 demonstrators supporting the group Palestine Action on Saturday.

This July, the U.K. declared Palestine Action a terror group after members broke into a Royal Air Force base and damaged planes.

The mural was later seen covered and protected by guards. The court says the artwork will be removed.

Thanks so much for joining us. I'm Lynda Kinkade. Do stay with us. CNN NEWSROOM continues with the wonderful Rosemary

Church in just a moment.

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