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U.S. and Iran Prepare for Talks in Pakistan; Artemis II Astronauts on the Way Home; First Lady Melania Trump Speaks Out; Hungarians To Vote In Parliamentary Election This Weekend; U.K. Says It Deterred Russian Submarines In North Atlantic; Taiwan's Opposition Leader Takes Rare Trip To China; BTS Returns With Chart-Topping Music And Sold-Out Tour Date. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired April 10, 2026 - 02:00   ET

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

[02:00:00]

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BEN HUNTE, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Hello wherever you are in the world. You are now in the "CNN Newsroom" with me, Ben Hunte, in Atlanta. It is so good to have you with me.

Coming up on the show, the first days of a two-week ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran already marked by claims of violations on both sides. Details on the points of contention that could cause that fragile truce to unravel. We are just hours away from the Artemis II crews splashing down after a historic trip to space. Why the most dangerous part of the mission may just be ahead, though. And the world's biggest K-pop group is kicking off their global comeback tour.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): From Atlanta, this is "CNN Newsroom with Ben Hunte."

HUNTE: Welcome. We begin with the fast approaching ceasefire talks between the U.S. and Iran. The Trump administration is sending Vice President J.D. Vance, special envoy Steve Witkoff, and the president's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, to Pakistan. Iran's foreign ministry says the talks are contingent on the U.S. adhering to its ceasefire commitments.

Among the key issues, of course, the Strait of Hormuz. President Trump says Iran is doing a very poor, dishonorable job of allowing oil to go through the vital waterway. He also warned Tehran against charging tolls to allow ships to pass.

Another sticking point is Lebanon. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says it is not part of the ceasefire, although he does want to begin direct talks aimed at disarming Hezbollah. The Israeli military struck again on Thursday after another evacuation warning. The death toll from Wednesday's massive strikes has now risen to more than 300. President Trump says he asked the Israeli leader to be more low-key, low-key in Lebanon.

CNN's Eleni Giokos is live this hour in Dubai, but we begin with our Paula Hancocks in Abu Dhabi. Paula, thank you being with me. Israel's prime minister says Lebanon is not part of this ceasefire. We're still seeing strikes. We're talking about possible negotiations. What's the latest that you're hearing?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Ben, at this point, there are concerns that what is happening in Lebanon is threatening to derail this already fragile truce. We've heard that both Iran and Pakistan believed that Lebanon was part of the ceasefire. The U.S. and Israel made it very clear that it is not part of this deal. And that will come up on Saturday at these talks in Islamabad.

We've heard from Iran, the foreign minister, for example, Abbas Araghchi, saying that -- he is demanding that the massacres in Lebanon end, saying the U.S. must choose ceasefire or continued war with Israel. It cannot have both. So, it is, at this point, undermining efforts to sustain this ongoing truce.

Now, what we have heard from the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is that he is willing to open talks with the Lebanese government. This is something that the Lebanese government has been offering for weeks to talk about how they can ensure Hezbollah does not pose a threat to Israel in the future. We heard from two Lebanese officials though that they haven't actually had the official notification to their government from the Israeli government that these talks would be open.

And that's one of the problems. A lot of what we're seeing at the moment, this diplomacy is being played out on social media. It's not documents that are written down. It's not talking directly to the other party. It is effectively being posted on social media, and that is a difficult way to really pinpoint the exact facts.

So, at this point, we know that the Lebanese prime minister has said that his cabinet has ordered the military forces to ensure that all arms within Beirut are under state control. So, trying to push Hezbollah out from Beirut, certainly following that very deadly coordinated strikes that Israel carried out on Wednesday.

[02:04:55]

More than 300 people being killed in those strikes that lasted effectively 10 minutes on about a hundred command and control centers across the country, according to -- according to health officials and according to the Israeli military.

So, a lot now depends on the diplomatic path, whether or not this can be pushed forward between the U.S. and Iran on Saturday. And, of course, there are a number of quite significant gaps between the two parties that would have to be rectified and sorted out before they can really get down to the nitty gritty of exactly what the peace going forward might look like. Ben?

HUNTE: OK. Thank you so much for that update. We appreciate that. Eleni, from a market's perspective, how are investors reacting to the risk of escalation or indeed de-escalation over the next few days? We're seeing that reflected in oil and gas prices. ELENI GIOKOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, exactly. So, WTI, the U.S. benchmark, and Brent crude are telling a very different story to what we've been seeing in markets. And I think market participants breathing a sigh of relief with this two-week ceasefire that's in place.

But, of course, a lot of hesitation, might I say cautious optimism leading into these very pivotal discussions that will, of course, determine what happens in the next two weeks. Importantly here, it all comes around the Strait of Hormuz and whether it's going to sort of remain de facto under Iranian control.

Now, I want you to take a listen to what President Trump posted on social media yesterday. He says there are reports that Iran is charging fees to tankers going through the strait. They better not be. And if they are, they better stop now.

Iran has maintained that any movement through the Strait of Hormuz needs to be coordinated with Iranian forces directly. They talk about technical issues that might arise, and they're alluding to the mines that were placed in parts of the strait.

In the meantime, we have fresh comment from the CEO of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, Sultan Al Jaber, that has been very vocal, frankly, since the start of the war. And he says this: Let's be clear, the Strait of Hormuz is not open, access being restricted, conditioned, and controlled.

And this is a very stark warning in terms of where we stand right now because Iran has this bargaining chip, this lever that it can press on, inflicting pain on the global economy, which we've already heard of, that, you know, fuel shortages, fuel price increases around the world, and even impacting consumers in the United States. In fact, I'm going to be looking very closely later on in the day. We're waiting for March CPI numbers, inflation numbers in the United States for the month of March, which is going to be very indicative of the feed through.

And then we've also just had news coming through from Saudi press agency. I'm quoting an official source at the Ministry of Energy. This is the only sort of second time we've heard about capacity that is taken out in key oil-producing countries. Saudi Arabia has been impacted to this extent. Production capacity losses, amount total, 600,000 barrels per day.

And then importantly, we've also heard about that East-West pipeline. We reported on strikes earlier this week, in fact, just as the ceasefire came into effect, and there's approximately a 700,000 barrel per day loss in throughput. Now, this East-West pipeline was a release valve for Saudi Arabia that was able to transport some of the oil produced and then taken to the Red Sea through the Yanbu Port. Now, we're seeing an impact of 700,000 barrels per day, keeping in mind that they were able to increase production and movement of oil through that East-West pipeline to around 7 million barrels per day. So, it's a lot of numbers here. But at the end of the day, we're looking at energy supply constraints

that is sort of being, you know, added on to what we're seeing in the Strait of Hormuz in terms of supply losses. So, at the end of the day, when the International Energy Agency is talking about the largest energy supply shock in history, this is going to exacerbate the issue even further because it remains to be seen how long it's going to take these countries to get supplied back up to full capacity.

HUNTE: Well, thank you for being across that for us. We appreciate it, of course. Paula Hancocks in Abu Dhabi and Eleni Giokos in Dubai, thank you both.

Onwards, the World Health Organization is warning that hospitals in Lebanon could run out of life-saving supplies within days. That includes trauma kits with antibiotics as well as medicines to treat chronic diseases. The WHO chief says it's operationally unfeasible to move patients from hospitals that are under evacuation orders. And the Health Ministry complex is home to five shelters, accommodating more than 5,000 people. Here's more from the group's representative in Lebanon.

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ABDINASIR ABUBAKAR, WHO REPRESENTATIVE IN LEBANON: There are some shortages, some of those essential chronic medications, the insulin, but also some of the, you know, dialysis supplies.

[02:10:00]

If the current situation, the current demand actually continues, and the current escalation continue, probably, the country may be facing a very real risk of critical shortage, including trauma supplies, surgical materials, blood product, chronic medications, and any other further disruption could seriously hinder the ability of providing timely adequate care for both emergency and ongoing health needs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: Joining me now from Lebanon, Paul Salem is a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute. Thank you for being with me, sir. I appreciate it. Just how fragile is this ceasefire right now? Are we looking at something that could actually collapse within days rather than hold?

PAUL SALEM, SENIOR FELLOW, MIDDLE EAST INSTITUTE: Well, obviously, there's the bigger ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran, which was mentioned in your -- in your report. My understanding is, most likely, the U.S. agreed initially that the Israel-Lebanon front would be part of that ceasefire, but then there were complaints from the Israelis that they did not want to link the two, and the U.S. backtracked. So, right now, there is a ceasefire between the U.S., Israel, and Iran, but there is not a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon.

I think the overall ceasefire is a fragile one. It is already being, you know, threatened by the open war between Israel and Hezbollah and Lebanon. But also, the negotiation task between the Americans and the Iranians is going to be a very, very difficult one. They're on very different pages as they assemble in Islamabad to negotiate.

HUNTE: We have just lost our guest. We're going to bring Paul back as soon as we can. Onwards for now, Palestinian officials are calling on the international community to step in after Israel secretly legalized the establishment of more than 30 new Jewish settler outposts in the West Bank. Sources say the decision was made last month and kept quiet to avoid triggering international criticism.

Settler violence toward Palestinians in the West Bank has been surging since the start of the Iran War. Outposts are illegal under both Israeli and international law. But the Netanyahu government has been pushing to expand settlements and what some see as an effort to destroy the possibility of a future Palestinian state.

Russia has announced a ceasefire in its war against Ukraine for the Orthodox Easter holiday. It will start Saturday afternoon and will expire at the end of the day on Sunday. A statement from the Kremlin said that President Vladimir Putin will -- quote -- "proceed from the assumption that the Ukrainian side will follow the example of the Russian Federation." For its part, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has previously said that he forwarded the offer of an Easter ceasefire to Russia through U.S. negotiators.

OK, the astronauts of the Artemis II mission are making the long journey back to Earth, less than 24 hours until the re-entry and splashdown off the coast of California. We're going to have a look at the preparations and the risks next. See you in a moment.

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[02:15:00]

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HUNTE: Welcome back. OK, let's go back to Lebanon, and Paul Salem, the senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, is with us again. Thank you for being with me again. So, I appreciate that. There appears to have been confusion from the outset about whether Lebanon was even included in this deal. Where does that stand now? Did that confusion effectively give Israel space to escalate against Hezbollah, do you think?

SALEM: Regarding the confusion, I think the U.S. initially agreed to a ceasefire on both fronts, but then Israel pushed back very vigorously. And there were calls between the Americans and the Israelis, I think, then the Americans backtracked. On the other hand, the Israelis did agree to direct talks between Israel and Lebanon, which is something the U.S. asked the Israelis to do. So, I think that was the scenario that played out.

Israel in general is not enthusiastic about the overall talks between the U.S. and Iran. It's afraid that President Trump might accept a limited deal and leave Iran quite influential and powerful in the region. Israel would prefer that the war and the campaign continue. Israel also, even if they're the ceasefire between -- with Iran, Israel does want to continue its military campaign against Hezbollah. On the Iranian side, they're in a bind as well. The Iranians did agree to a ceasefire, but they are now basically blocking the Strait of Hormuz to put pressure on Israel to stop its attacks on its proxy in Lebanon. But Iranian public opinion accepted that Iran was fighting a war to protect Iran. But to keep the war ongoing in order to protect the proxy in another country is a different matter. So, I think it's a bit of a test of wills.

HUNTE: Talks are expected to begin on Saturday, but the two sides do seem miles apart. Are these real negotiations or more of a diplomatic holding pattern while both sides pair for the possibility of war resuming?

SALEM: I think there are three parties here. I think two of them want an end to this war, and those are President Trump on the U.S. side and I think the Iranian government or the Iranian regime. The U.S., for obvious reasons, because of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and enormous economic pressure that impacts President Trump at home. The Iranians, for obvious reasons as well. They've been hit, the hardest they've ever been hit since the revolution of 1979, so they want a way out.

[02:20:03]

The third party is Israel, and Israel does not want this war to end unless Iran sort of surrenders in a big way. So, I think the way the talks are going, I think they're going in the direction of finding a way to end the war, even though I don't think they're going to come to some sweeping meeting of minds and some, you know, sweeping agreement.

I expect maybe a very limited agreement, maybe on the nuclear issue and on the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for the U.S. stopping its attacks on Iran, a sort of a limited thing that allows both sides, the Iranians and the Americans, to declare victory and stop. That leaves the Israelis at war in Lebanon and potentially resuming war on Iran itself.

HUNTE: Hypothetically, if the fighting were to more or less stop right now, who actually comes out ahead strategically and who has lost ground?

SALEM: Well, that's an interesting question. I think it's a, you know, multi-layered answer. Iran as a state and a military force has been the biggest loser in terms of enormous net losses to itself, its navy, its air force, much of its military industrial base, a decimation of its ballistic -- missile launch capacity and production capacity. Its nuclear program was hit really hard and frozen last year. It entered this war already with almost, you know, a wide uprising on its hands and a very, very desperate internal political situation. Things are only going to be worse when this war ends. So, I think Iran definitely has massive losses.

At the same time, in the region, it has not backtracked despite its, in a sense, domestic net losses. It has had, on the other hand, a net gain that it now clearly controls the Strait of Hormuz and can control it at any time that it wants, apparently. And it also has made clear that it can hold the economies of the Arab Gulf countries hostage and can do so again. It has shown that U.S. Military power in the Gulf neither can bring Iran to its knees nor can it defend partners in the Gulf.

So, you know, a mixed bag there for the U.S. I think if it stops here, a net strategic loss, that this campaign had different goals. It did degrade Iranian capacities, but it left Iran in control of the Strait of Hormuz and dominating the economies of the Gulf. For Israel as well, a very mixed bag of yes, decimating Iran in general, but not weakening it in the region and leaving it, you know, alive and angry to fight another day.

HUNTE: Well, thank you so much for your perspective there, Paul Salem. We appreciate it. We will speak to you again very soon, indeed. Thank you.

SALEM: Thank you.

HUNTE: NASA and the astronauts of the Artemis II mission are getting ready for their return to Earth. The astronauts are more than halfway home now. But perhaps the most daunting and precarious part of the mission is still ahead, re-entry into Earth's atmosphere. The Orion capsule is on track to splash down off the coast of San Diego, California in less than 24 hours now, shortly after 8 p.m. Eastern Time.

CNN's Ed Lavandera is at the NASA Space Center in Houston, Texas with more on the preparations and risks for these astronauts returning home.

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ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The Artemis II astronauts inside the Orion capsule and the Artemis II team here on the ground of Johnson Space Center Mission Control are preparing to go through the final preparations to bring this mission to an end. It all culminates Friday night around 8 p.m. Eastern time, 5 p.m. Pacific time when the Artemis II capsule, the Orion capsule, will land several hundred miles off the coast of San Diego, California.

And these are some of the most tensed moments of this mission. This capsule will be put through a rigorous test coming through the Earth's atmosphere. Temperatures near 5,000 degrees, traveling at a speed of almost 24,000 miles per hour.

There's a great deal of concern because the heat shield in the first Artemis mission, which did not carry a crew, came back severely damaged through the re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere. And there have been a small group of heat shield experts led by a former astronaut who have been very critical about this mission and questioned whether or not it should have happened to begin with.

But NASA officials insist they have gone through all of the analysis, all of the testing that they've had signed off from the astronauts, on this crew themselves, that they have everything in place to return this crew safely back to Earth. [02:24:58]

But given all of that, there is still a great deal of anxiety that the teams here on the ground are dealing with.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEFF RADIGAN, LEAD FLIGHT DIRECTOR, ARTEMIS II: It's 13 minutes of things that have to go right, is the way I think about it. I have a whole checklist in my head that we -- you know, we're going through of all the things that have to happen. You know, forward bay cover has to come off, the drogues have to come out, the chameleon chutes have to deploy, the reefing systems have to cut, we have to get the touchdown angle alignment correct, and then hit the water correctly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AMIT KSHATRIYA, ASSOCIATE ADMINISTRATOR, NASA: It's impossible to say you don't have irrational fears left, right? But I would tell you, I don't have any rational fears about what's going to happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAVANDERA: Re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere for the Orion capsule and the Artemis II astronauts will take about 13 minutes. And for six minutes, that crew will be in a communication blackout. There will be no way to talk or find out exactly how those astronauts are doing and how the capsule is holding up in those extreme conditions. And here at mission control, that will be a very tense time.

And to make it even more dramatic, we know that -- we've been told that family members of the astronauts will be in the viewing area behind mission control, desperately waiting to hear their voices come back on the communication system once they break through back into the Earth's atmosphere and start falling to the ocean for that dramatic splashdown off the coast of San Diego, California Friday night.

Ed Lavandera, CNN at Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.

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HUNTE: First Lady Melania Trump is blasting what she calls lies, linking her to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. She made remarks in a rare address on Thursday at the White House. She called on Congress to allow his victims to testify.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MELANIA TRUMP, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I call on Congress to provide the women, who have been victimized by Epstein, with a public hearing specifically centered around the survivors. Give these victims their opportunity to testify under oath in front of Congress with the power of sworn testimony.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: Well, some of the Epstein survivors have pushed back on the first lady's comments. They said calling on victims to testify was a deflection of responsibility.

CNN's Kristen Holmes has more for us from the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I'm told by a number of White House officials that they were just absolutely stunned, particularly by the timing of these remarks. In fact, it sparked rumors all across the White House campus that she was trying to get ahead of something that most people must not know about. That's the only way she would get out there and do this now.

Now, I am told by people who are close to her that they were a little bit less surprised because in private, Melania Trump has been growing increasingly frustrated with the online chatter about her relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, and she has never actually come out and flat out denied it, and she wanted an on-the-record denial.

And I was told that, even within the sources that are close to Melania Trump who were talking to the team about this, there were some concerns about the timing of this, particularly in the fact that this story had all but died down. The White House had spent months trying to get away from this narrative on Epstein. They've only been able to really do so in the last month and a half as we've been at war with Iran. So, the timing would bring this all to the forefront.

But some sources said that for Melania, this was on the forefront, that she'd been seeing this online chatter, she'd been seeing these stories circulating in various online news reports about her relationship with Epstein, much of it or most of it all speculation, but that she wanted to have this denial.

Now, of course, Donald Trump did a quick interview with MSNOW in which he told a reporter he had no idea what she was going to say. A senior White House official told me that as well, although we do have one source in the West Wing saying Donald Trump was aware of these statements.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: Hungary's populist prime minister is facing his toughest political challenge yet in his 16 years in power. But he is getting some support from the Trump administration ahead of elections this weekend. CNN reports from Hungary, next. See you in a moment.

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[02:33:36]

HUNTE: Welcome back.

This weekend could be a pivotal moment in Hungary as voters head to the polls for parliamentary elections that could see a new leader for the country.

Right wing prime minister Viktor Orban has been trailing in most polls for some time now, ahead of the vote. He is facing his toughest challenge yet in his 16 years in power, this time from Peter Magyar, who was once an Orban supporter, before turning to the opposition.

The election is being closely watched by the Trump administration, which sees Orban as a darling of the MAGA movement. U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance even rallied for Orban in Budapest earlier this week.

CNN's Melissa Bell is in Hungary with this report for us.

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MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The American vice president left nothing to chance or to doubt, explaining that he was here in Budapest this week to help his friend Viktor Orban win this election. Just days from the poll. What we'd seen in February was Marco Rubio come here to do the same, explaining that Viktor Orban's success was our success, meaning MAGA's.

They really see American officials, their fate tied with that of the man who really championed the way showed them the way. How do to turn a western democracy into a liberal one. Now, there are those diehard supporters of Viktor Orban who believe that that's great, that the support that he's had from Washington, that his proximity to Moscow are things to be celebrated.

[02:35:04]

One of the interesting things about this campaign is that the campaign posters for Viktor Orban show President Zelenskyy's face, because he's really used the war in neighboring Ukraine as a way of frightening people into voting for Fidesz, explaining that if there's a change of power to Tisza, the movement that's been led by Peter Magyar, will then all kinds of things will happen, not least a change when it comes to Ukraine. And that could mean more involvement in the war for Hungarians, which worries them a great deal.

Peter Magyar, on the other hand, has run a really remarkable campaign on very domestic issues. The fact that Hungarians look around them and in this part of Europe, their neighbors seem to be doing better economically. He's run on bread and butter issues, on the fact of the health care system not being where it should be, and that appears to have made the difference, even in what had been Fidesz bastions like this one. Traditionally, Budapest is more liberal leaning than the rest of Hungary, and here to the southwest, this town had long been very much in the hands of Viktor Orban's party.

Even here, the polls suggest Peter Magyar might make inroads, roads and end up having the town fall to Tisza. And that really is remarkable.

So, everyone very much looking to Sunday, many Hungarians who are hoping for change after 16 years with a great deal of hope. But this is also an election, of course, that is being so closely watched from outside by Washington, by Moscow and of course, by brussels. Remember that Viktor Orban's rule of Hungary has also been marked by a distancing from Brussels. And he's really sort of become the arch blocker of the European Union.

So, there will be many in Brussels who heave a sigh of relief if he does fall. They have tried very hard, however, to stay entirely out of this election, and it is the United States representatives, its officials. Both Marco Rubio and J.D., who have had no such qualms making their way here. Really, in the days ahead of the election, a remarkable show of force by Washington to try and sway an election because it looks so tight.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: A prominent Russian journalist is under arrest following raids on his home and office in Moscow. State media reports, Oleg Roldugin was being questioned over alleged misuse of personal data. He published an article on Thursday in the leading independent Russian newspaper, questioning how an aide linked to a top Chechen leader was able to acquire one of Russia's priciest penthouses.

Roldugin previously ran a weekly newspaper that was forced to shut down after running front page stories about the death of dissident Alexei Navalny in a Russian penal colony.

Britain is accusing Moscow of using the Iran war as a distraction to ramp up its spy activities in the North Atlantic. The U.K. defense chief says that Britain, Norway and other countries conducted a weeks long military operation to deter Russian spy submarines from possibly trying to sabotage undersea cables. Russia is dismissing those claims.

CNN's Clare Sebastian has more on the story for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The British defense secretary's announcement of suspicious Russian submarine activity comes amid concerns in Europe that Russia could seek to take advantage of the spotlight being on the Middle East and the fact that the us Israel war with Iran has widened rifts in the NATO alliance to not only continue its attacks on Ukraine, but also its alleged sabotage activity in Europe.

And so, this was the message from the British defense minister.

JOHN HEALEY, BRITISH DEFENSE SECRETARY: I'm pretty clear that Putin would want us to be distracted by the Middle East. And what I'm setting out today demonstrates that we are not just exposing his covert operation, but we are saying to him that we recognize Russia as the primary threat to the U.K. and to NATO, and that we will not take our eyes off Putin.

SEBASTIAN: Well, the U.K. says it tracked a Russian attack submarine entering international waters several weeks ago, and it determined that this was a decoy, then coordinating with Norway and other allies. It spotted other submarines operating close to undersea critical infrastructure elsewhere, submarines that they say are part of a secretive Russian defense ministry unit believed to be involved in undersea sabotage activity.

This is a satellite image the U.K. ministry of defense released Thursday of a Russian naval base on the Barents Sea, linked to this unit. There's no evidence of damage to undersea cables at this point, the defense minister said.

This is not a new threat for the U.K. It's seen a 30 percent increase in Russian ships threatening British waters in the past two years, according to the ministry of defense. And this comes a day after a Russian navy frigate escorted sanctioned oil tankers through the English Channel, according to Britain's telegraph newspaper. The Kremlin didn't deny this, saying it would act to protect its shipping from piracy in international waters.

Clare Sebastian, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[02:40:02]

HUNTE: An American man has been arrested by Royal Bahamas police after he said his wife fell from their small boat and was swept away by rough waters about five days ago. The U.S. Coast Guard has opened a criminal investigation into Lynette Hooker's disappearance. Brian Hooker has not yet been charged and he has denied any wrongdoing.

CNN's Dianne Gallagher has an update for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KARLI AYLESWORTH, LYNETTE HOOKER'S DAUGHTER: It's been hard. I let go through texts and I start crying.

DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Karli Aylesworth is struggling to cope with her new reality. Her mother, 55- year-old Lynette Hooker, missing at sea since Saturday night. Her stepfather Brian Hooker, now under arrest just days after reporting his wife fell overboard from their dinghy in rough water in the Bahamas.

AYLESWORTH: I just hope this was a freak accident, but I don't want it to just be swept under the rug. So, I would like to just know, and I don't want anything bad to happen to him. I don't want anything bad happen to my mom. But I just want, you know, answers.

GALLAGHER (voice-over): He was taken into custody Wednesday night, and police say he's being questioned. His attorney saying in part, Brian, "Categorically and unequivocally denies any wrongdoing. He has been cooperating with the relevant authorities as part of an ongoing investigation."

LYNETTE HOOKER, AVID SWIMMER: We're finally leaving Kima (ph). GALLAGHER (voice-over): An avid swimmer and sailor, Lynette loved to

share their sailing adventures on social media under the playful username the Sailing Hookers.

According to police, her husband told investigators the couple left in an eight-foot hard bottomed dinghy around 7:30 Saturday night for Elbow Cay, trying to reach their yacht "Soulmate". He reported her missing around 4:00 a.m. Sunday when he says he washed up miles away in Marsh Harbour, he said. Lynette not wearing a life jacket, bounced off the boat during a rough current and was carried away. She was wearing the keys, causing the dinghy to lose power, so he drifted through the night.

Karli says her stepfather did not inform her Lynette was missing until Sunday night. He left her this voicemail Tuesday.

BRIAN HOOKER, HUSBAND: Hello, honey. I just got a call from Hope Town search and rescue, and they have found a flotation device that I threw to mom when she fell overboard. And so, they're -- that's a -- they haven't found her yet, but they can now focus all of their efforts in a smaller area. So, I just wanted to update you and let you know I love you. I'll talk to you later. Bye, bye.

GALLAGHER (voice-over): Karli told CNN the couple married around 25 years had passed marital disputes. She was skeptical of Brian's story about the night of the incident.

AYLESWORTH: Why wouldn't he drop anchor and look for her? Why did he paddle the other way? If my significant other fell into the water, I'd be freaking out and going after him.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GALLAGHER (on camera): Now, it's very important to note that at this time, Brian Hooker has not been charged with anything, and we do not know exactly what led Bahamian officials to take him into custody for questioning. His attorney says that he denies any allegations from Lynette's daughter. The U.S. Coast Guard has also opened a criminal investigation into Lynette's disappearance.

Back to you

HUNTE: All right. A high stakes meeting in Beijing as Taiwan's opposition leader sits down with China's Xi Jinping. When we return, how this impacts relations between the self-governing island and China, next. See you in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:48:09]

HUNTE: China's foreign minister is holding talks with his North Korean counterpart in Pyongyang. According to state media, Wang Yi complemented the North on its, quote, "remarkable accomplishments," which he said came despite attempts by the U.S. and other Western forces to isolate and oppress North Korea. Wang's visit comes as China and the North try to rebuild their strong ties that cooled with the COVID 19 pandemic.

Taiwan opposition leader Cheng Li-Wun is in China on a rare visit. Chinese state media reports she met with top leader Xi Jinping in Beijing. This is the first time in a decade that a sitting leader of a major party in Taiwan met with Xi. Cheng says her visit is to promote peace in the region. The meeting is closely watched as China considers the self-ruled island as its own territory, and has refused to engage with Taiwan's democratically elected president.

For more on all of this, let's bring in CNN's Beijing bureau chief Steven Jiang.

Thank you so much for being with me, Steven. What more can you tell us about this moment?

STEVEN JIANG, CNN BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF: Yeah, Ben, as we speak, Cheng Li-Wun is actually holding a press conference about her meeting with Xi. And the Chinese have also put out their own readout, given Taiwan's, you know, importance and how extremely sensitive this issue is in the eyes of the Beijing leadership, every word they put out is carefully chosen.

During their opening remarks inside the Great Hall of the People, Xi, unsurprisingly, of course, emphasized the shared historical and cultural roots of people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. He reinforced -- he reinforced this message about the inevitability and also his confidence on the unification of the two sides and, of course, also making a point about this process should not involve any outside forces.

Now, interestingly, Cheng, who is known to be a firebrand within Taiwan politics, very much sticking to her script as well at times, seems to be trying to speak Xi's language, perhaps trying to strike a chord with him, using some of his favorite phrases like the rejuvenation of the great Chinese nation.

[02:50:12]

Now, it is important to note that the reason she was able to meet with Xi Jinping is because both her party and Xi's Chinese communist party actually both acknowledged that one China concept, even though that may be open to different interpretations. But that's something not accepted by Taiwan's current ruling party, and the Taiwan president. That's why he has been shunned, with Beijing calling him a diehard separatist.

But this meeting, of course, the timing is very interesting because Taiwan is facing pressure not only from Beijing with ramped up military pressure, but also from Washington as it tries to push the island to pass a $40 billion defense spending bill. A lot of the money obviously going to buying U.S. weaponry. It is precisely the opposition led by Cheng's party that's been blocking the passage of this bill in the Taiwan legislature. Obviously, politics involved, but also there's growing genuine fear in Taiwan that Trump views Taiwan nothing more than a pawn in this bigger U.S.-China relationship and really doesn't care about the island's long-term future. So, this, of course, is also happening just a little over a month

before Trump himself comes to Beijing for that highly anticipated summit with Xi Jinping, where Taiwan is also expected to feature prominently on the agenda, at least from the Beijing's perspective. So, there is actually concern, and there's also chatter about Trump may potentially make concessions to Beijing on this issue. For example, tweaking the long standing U.S. government language on Taiwan in exchange for better economic and trade deals.

So, all of that is why this issue remains one of the most delicate in this very complex, but also delicate triangular relationship between Beijing and Washington and Taipei, even though the visit itself by Cheng is largely symbolic, Ben.

HUNTE: Okay. Steven Jiang in Beijing, thank you. Speak to you again in the next hour. Appreciate it.

A multi-day storm is once again escalating the threat of flooding in Hawaii. The powerful storm has the potential of dropping multiple months worth of rainfall over just a few days. A flood watch is in place for all of Hawaii until Friday afternoon, local time.

Honolulu's mayor warned residents to be prepared for potential evacuations. This all comes as the Hawaiian islands are still recovering from major storms. Just two weeks ago. Those storms triggered the state's worst flooding in 20 years, prompting numerous rescues and damaging hundreds of properties.

It is the night that K-pop fans have waited to see. BTS kicks off its first world tour in four years. We have a report from South Korea coming up next. See you in a moment.

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[02:55:20]

HUNTE: Welcome back.

The BTS army turned out in the thousands to be there for the kickoff of the K-pop group's new world tour. Their comeback from a four-year hiatus has been a success, topping billboard charts with a new album and a new single, too. The tour is poised to be just as successful.

CNN's Paula Newton reports.

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PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's the world tour that's taking the world by storm. BTS is back, and not even the pouring rain could dampen the excitement of thousands of fans eager to see the kickoff of their global concert tour.

CASEY MURRIHY, BTS FAN: I'm absolutely elated that they're finally coming back. It's been a long wait, but I was a little bit worried that they weren't going to come back. NEWTON (voice-over): The opening concert sold out in pre-sales for

all three nights in Goyang, South Korea. That's according to the group's management agency.

Outside of the show on Thursday, a sea of umbrellas and raincoats, many fans dressed in purple, the signature color of the band's fan base, the BTS Army.

O YOON-SUN, BTS (through translator): I will go to BTS concerts until they're grandpas and I will be Army my whole life.

NEWTON (voice-over): The tour is just beginning, but it's expected to be a global sensation, stopping in 34 cities right around the world and spanning five continents. Total tour earnings are expected to reach nearly $2 billion. Fans filling the hole in their hearts with tickets, merchandise and new music, after the band went on a nearly four-year hiatus during which all seven members completed their mandatory South Korean military service.

But BTS is back in familiar territory, topping the charts. The band's new album, "Arirang", was released in March, and it debuted at number one on the billboard 200 chart. Its lead single, "Swim", also hit the top spot of the Billboard Hot 100.

The tour is scheduled to head to Tokyo next and wrap up in the Philippines in March of next year, with stops crisscrossing the globe in between.

BTS is even returning to Australia after nearly a decade since its last concert there.

BARBARA DELA PENA, BTS FAN: We're happy that after -- I guess all the efforts that we're doing, the BTS are finally coming back to Australia. They're going to be there next year. So, we're so happy.

NEWTON (voice-over): Paula Newton, CNN.

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HUNTE: How exciting. We love good news.

That's all I've got for you. Thanks for joining me this hour. I'm Ben Hunte in Atlanta and I'll be right back after this very quick break.

You are watching CNN. See you in a moment.

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