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High Stakes Negotiations in Pakistan over Iran War; China to Ship Weapons to Iran; Artemis II Astronauts Return to Earth; Russia Pounds Odessa ahead of Possible Easter Truce; Voters Could End Viktor Orban's Government; Near Collision Avoided at LAX; Rory McIlroy Ahead at Masters. Aired 4-5a ET

Aired April 11, 2026 - 04:00   ET

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

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BEN HUNTE, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Hello and welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. I'm Ben Hunte in Atlanta

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST (voice-over): I'm Becky Anderson, live from our headquarters here in Abu Dhabi, where the time is midday.

Negotiators are in place now for crucial peace talks between the United States and Iran. President Donald Trump is warning the U.S. will hit Iran again if they don't agree to a deal.

HUNTE (voice-over): Even as the deal is being negotiated, sources tell us China is planning on sending Iran a shipment of weapons.

And the Artemis II crew splashes down in the Pacific Ocean after a journey that took the astronauts further away from Earth than any humans in history

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ANDERSON: Peace talks between the U.S. and Iran are set to start soon in Islamabad in Pakistan. The negotiations come during a fragile two- week ceasefire. President Trump has warned he will renew and intensify military action in Iran if a deal isn't reached.

Well, just a little while ago, vice president JD Vance touched down in Islamabad for these talks. He is leading the U.S. delegation with special envoy Steve Witkoff and the president's son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

The speaker of Iran's parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, is leading the Iranian delegation, which includes the foreign minister. Let's get you to Islamabad now, where CNN international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson is standing by.

Good to have you, Nic, this morning.

What's the very latest that you are getting from your sources on the ground?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, look, the meetings are due to begin very, very soon. We get the indications from here that the talks can be both indirect and then moving to a direct phase. I think that clearly depends on what level of trust can be built.

Can some of the bridges that are massive and fundamental be gotten over, at least a pathway toward it, painted out so that both Iran and the U.S. can feel that there's some progress being made here?

And I think there's a huge sort of, you know, difference in the way both sides are approaching this. JD Vance, before he got on his flight to come here, essentially said he reckons pretty quickly a litmus test, if you like, that he can figure out if the Iranians are serious here and has come pretty much by himself.

He's got Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner here on the ground to support his negotiation efforts. But the Iranians have come with a massive delegation and a number of different experts in a number of different areas.

As you say, the speaker of the parliament is leading the delegation. The foreign minister is there. But so many experts. And Iran is coming into this with a 10-point plan. So it creates the impression that Iran, you know, has a lot on its agenda to achieve.

And there's certainly a view that it has actually the leverage to be able to do that at the moment. Clearly JD Vance is going to want to see if there really can be a ceasefire, if the Strait of Hormuz really can be opened.

But I think it's a tale of two different delegations and the Pakistanis have said they're honored to do this. A make-or-break moment is how Pakistan's prime minister addressed this on a national broadcast last night, a lot of praise given to JD Vance for really -- from Pakistani officials to how much he is bringing to this to these negotiations.

But it is that moment -- we're not quite at the talking moment but everyone's here and they're coming together. So this afternoon, this is when we're really looking to it to begin to build momentum either in a positive direction or not.

ANDERSON: So the size and depth of expertise of this Iranian delegation, certainly, Nic, suggests that they are serious.

What more can you tell us about their messages and their demands going into these talks?

ROBERTSON: They've had a number of demands.

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I mean, I think if you take the principal picture, which is they've put forward a 10-point plan, which calls for the lifting of sanctions, the lifting of U.N. Security Council resolutions, the lifting of controls by the International Atomic Energy Agency.

And specifically, just in the last hours before the delegation arrived, talking about the absolute need to have Israel stop attacking their proxy, Hezbollah in Lebanon, that there should be a ceasefire on that front as part of the bigger U.S.-Israel-Iran ceasefire.

That that is a key point that they want; frozen assets to be unfrozen so that they can get -- they can get -- see some financial relief there as well. So you know, from Iran's perspective, there's a lot that they're bringing into this.

And the assessment is that they still have a significant amount of their weaponry. You know, what I've been hearing from sources is that Iran is believed to have perhaps 30-odd percent of its drone capability left, more than 50 percent of its ballistic missile capability left.

It still has the leverage over the Strait of Hormuz. And indeed, after the ceasefire, when Iran struck a number of Gulf states, the signaling was very strong. Hitting the East-West highway, pipeline -- oil pipeline in Saudi Arabia was a key message that they -- that they retained the capability to upscale.

And I get the sense as well that Iran could -- feels it could tough out another round of fighting.

ANDERSON: Yes. Good to have you, Nic. Thank you.

We are some hours then away from the beginning of these talks, somewhat delayed because of the delay in these parties getting into Islamabad. So let's see and get back to Nic in the next couple (INAUDIBLE) those talks to begin.

For more, I want to bring in Sanam Vakil, who is the director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme at Chatham House.

You and I have spoken regularly over the past six weeks. It's good to have you back on this morning.

The stakes couldn't be higher here. Picking up on the cues from the Iranians so far, Ghalibaf's message, for example, of goodwill but not trust, this massive -- I think it's a 71-person delegation from Iran. The positivity, it seems, toward JD Vance.

What do you read into the thinking going into these talks?

SANAM VAKIL, DIRECTOR, MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA PROGRAMME, CHATHAM HOUSE: Well, good to be with you again, Becky. I think that, for the Iranian side, these talks are really important.

Of all the rounds of negotiations they've had with Steve Witkoff and the Trump administration, these are the most consequential. The size of the delegation and the signaling suggests that they're really feeling that they have an upper hand.

But they're looking for a grand bargain. They're not looking for a freeze or a temporary pause. They want everything resolved. And this is the moment they have to do it, because they've come out of these 40 days with leverage.

The Strait of Hormuz remains closed effectively and they still have what president Trump wants, which is their highly enriched uranium, which is buried supposedly after the U.S. strikes last summer. So those are the sticking points from the U.S. side.

But we'll have to see what they can resolve and the timeframe to get this deal resolved, if that's even possible.

ANDERSON: Yes.

What is that grand bargain, then, as far as you are concerned?

And what chance that Iran and U.S. can get anywhere close to its details, if not its parameters?

VAKIL: Well, what -- the grand bargain has been on the table for so long, it effectively requires Iran to downgrade and commit to, you know, not pursuing a nuclear weapon, downgrade its enrichment, allow inspectors back in the country. Those are important wins for the Trump administration, for the U.S.

Obviously reduced commitments from Iran to support the proxy groups around the region. That is very important for Gulf Arab states. Coming out of this war, they have been very angry about Iran's ballistic missile program but also the proxy support. So those are two areas there.

What does Iran need?

Iran needs a permanent commitment that they won't be struck again. So that's really key for the regime's resilience and security. They need, obviously, a lifting of sanctions at the U.N. and from the United States. They want their economy to thrive. And that will be very important for the regime's domestic legitimacy coming out of this war.

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We've seen protests, particularly the brutal ones in January. So this sanctions relief and access to Iran's frozen funds abroad would send strong messages to the Iranian people that these -- this regime cannot be unseated.

ANDERSON: Sanam, this Strait of Hormuz has become a massive opportunity for the Iranians. Let's face it. I mean, they're using that for significant leverage, which is a real problem, not least to the Gulf region where I am.

I want to get your thoughts on "The New York Times" reporting, citing U.S. officials, that Iran has been unable to let more traffic through because it can't find all the mines it laid and doesn't have capacity to remove them.

What do you make of that and how much do you believe that is a complicating factor here?

VAKIL: I mean, it could very much be a fudge or an excuse. Iran did send out messages, showing that the center of the strait was a no-go area because of the potential mines. And it's, to me, quite striking how this only emerged as an issue 40 days in.

But it could be very much a pressure point or an excuse to justify to the Trump administration why the Strait of Hormuz is not fully opened, which was the condition to negotiations as well.

I do think that if there is an accident or if something goes wrong there, you know, that the optics for Iran would be very bad. And so there're about 600 ships stuck in the Persian Gulf. And it will take, regardless of even if the strait is open tomorrow, quite some time for these ships to get out.

And you know, Iran has understood that it can inflict huge amount of harm just by threatening. So, you know, this is where we stand and I don't really know what creative solutions the Trump administration are going to offer on the Strait of Hormuz, because this is the Islamic Republic's trump card, if you will.

ANDERSON: Absolutely. It's good to have you, Sanam. Thank you.

Ben, Lebanon's president, of course, has said Lebanese and Israeli diplomats are planning to meet next week, quote, "to discuss the declaration of a ceasefire and the date for the start of negotiations under U.S. sponsorship."

This, of course, is a twin track; Lebanon and the U.S. looking to cut some deal with Israel after their historic phone call yesterday. Look, the Iranians have put this as a precondition of Iran's path forward. We will have to watch that as it develops alongside what is happening, of course, in Islamabad this weekend.

Much to discuss. A lot of developments. We will, of course, be across them all here from the Middle East. For the time being, let me hand it back to you in Atlanta for more news.

HUNTE: Thank you so much.

Now to a CNN exclusive. According to sources familiar with recent U.S. intelligence assessments, China is preparing to send a shipment of weapons to Iran. That is despite the ongoing fragile ceasefire, which it helped to broker.

China says these claims are untrue and that they have never provided weapons to any country party to the current conflict. Two sources say the weapons China is sending include shoulder-fired anti-air missile systems.

These types of weapons pose a major threat to low-flying aircraft. Let's keep talking about it. I'm going to bring in CNN's Will Ripley, live in Taipei, Taiwan, for us.

Will, what more are you learning about this intelligence and how seriously is it being taken right now?

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, these weapons that we're talking about here -- and I have to say, this intelligence comes from sources, from my talented colleagues at CNN Washington bureau -- and they have been speaking with people familiar with this U.S. intelligence.

Claiming that China may be preparing an air defense shipment to Iran, possibly within weeks. And the systems, according to this intelligence, are these shoulder-fired anti-air missiles known as Man Portable Air Defense System or MANPADS.

These things, for a price of several hundred thousand dollars, can be operated by one or maybe two people. They point it up at a low-flying aircraft, like a helicopter or fighter jet, and then they wait until there's a lock-on tone that says, OK, it's now locked on the heat signature from this.

They pull the trigger and then that's all they have to do. The heat- seeking missile follows. And if maybe the plane can shoot a flare and try to -- try to cause the heat-seeking missile to veer away -- but the newer, more advanced MANPADS apparently have missiles that just ignore the flare and hit the aircraft.

And then you're taking down an aircraft system that costs millions and millions of dollars with a much less expensive weapon. And so that's why this is incredibly alarming. If Iran is able to procure these devices, similar weapons likely used to shoot down the F-15 last week, according to president Trump.

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Now Iran claimed at that time that it had used a new air defense system to take down that F-15.

Now how could China be doing this while at the same time claiming to be working the phones across the region to mediate a peace deal?

Well, what this intelligence gathered by my D.C. colleagues indicates is that the shipments may be routed through third countries to hide their origin, because China certainly doesn't want to be seen as assisting Iran.

Yet China also relies very much on Iranian oil. They want to stay in good graces with Iran. Russia, as we've reported extensively, has been providing significant military intelligence support throughout this conflict, telling Iran where they can find targets across the Middle East.

And if this intelligence is true, then this would be a pretty dramatic and major escalation in terms of China's support, military support, tangible support for Iran's war effort.

And this is at a time, of course, where these peace talks are underway in a matter of hours in Pakistan. Could Iran be working with countries like China allegedly to restock

its supplies and get more of these MANPADS and other weapons so they can wage an asymmetric warfare against a far more expensive and complex and advanced weapon system from the United States but be able to take down jets?

It's a pretty significant development. But let me read you this, Ben. This is from a spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington. And they're saying very clearly that they deny this reporting. Let me read you this.

Quote, "China has never provided weapons to any party to the conflict. The information in question is untrue."

It goes on to say, "As a responsible major country, China consistently fulfills its international obligations. We urge the U.S. side to refrain from making baseless allegations, maliciously drawing connections and engaging in sensationalism.

"We hope that relevant parties will do more to help de-escalate tensions."

So a very firm denial from China, Ben. But this reporting tells a different story. Very interesting, to say the least.

HUNTE: Oh, yes, the unprecedented times continue. Will Ripley live in Taipei, thanks.

We'll be right back.

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HOWARD HU, ORION PROGRAM MANAGER, NASA: This mission has been historic and has demonstrated new capabilities for Orion spacecraft, has taken our crew farther than any crews that have ever gone to the moon and packed safely 252,756 miles and that is a fantastic feat. We got a lot more to do.

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HUNTE: NASA officials are looking to the future of space exploration now that the astronauts of the Artemis II mission have returned to Earth from their historic journey all around the moon.

The crew splashed down off the coast of San Diego, California, shortly after 8 pm Eastern time. That's 5 pm on the West Coast.

After flying around the moon and traveling farther from Earth than any human ever has before, they will reunite with their families in the coming days. We do expect to hear from them directly within the next week or two.

Can't wait for that.

One senior official says this mission paves the way for returning to the surface of the moon and eventually a permanent lunar base. In the meantime, NASA will be evaluating the data and technology from this mission as they gear up for the next phase with Artemis III set to launch next year.

But before Artemis III, let's talk more about Artemis II. Let's bring in former NASA astronaut and mission specialist David Wolf.

Thank you so much for being up so late -- or early for me, sir. I appreciate it.

How are you doing?

DAVID WOLF, FORMER NASA ASTRONAUT AND MISSION SPECIALIST: It's an honor to be here.

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HUNTE: I love that. Thank you.

Well, let's get into it. With Artemis II now successfully back and the crew safe and smiling on Earth -- I love those photos earlier -- what stands out to you the most about how the mission actually performed?

WOLF: Well, it's so exciting that we're back in space. We're a planetary society that has the capability to go to the moon. And our intention is to go to Mars, to bring the other countries of the world with us and do what humans are inherently need to do. And that's explore and understand where we came from and where we are going.

HUNTE: From what we are learning so far, how did the actual spacecraft and its life support systems perform with the astronauts on board in deep space?

WOLF: Really, really well. I haven't seen the actual numbers but you can just tell they exceeded performance, minimum requirements and probably much higher, really performed well. I've flown, I've been in six or maybe seven separate spacecraft and you can just see that these, this one, they were very comfortable in there.

HUNTE: Tell me about how you feel that this mission was actually received.

Do you think it got the attention that they were expecting, maybe more, maybe less?

WOLF: Well, how could it get too much more attention?

There are some distracting news items happening at the same time. And this happens to be an apolitical item that everybody's behind. We love advancing our culture and our human culture together. This is an area we all agree on, I'm pretty sure.

HUNTE: Well, there is a little bit of drama in there, of course. There's been a lot of talk about public versus private space flight.

Do you think the success of this mission could change anything that we've seen about NASA's upcoming budget cuts?

WOLF: Well, the issue of private versus public is somewhat semantic because, even in the early days of Mercury, Gemini and Apollo, it was Rockwell and aerospace companies doing the actual hardware under contract to NASA. And NASA had high capability in engineering design.

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So it's always been a public-private partnership.

HUNTE: You have lived through long-duration missions and high-risk moments in orbit.

What do you think would have been the toughest part of this mission for the crew?

WOLF: Well, asset (ph) certainly gets your attention. You're like on a football being punted into orbit. It's very dynamic. But the game's not over until we'll stop as people, as we say.

And reentry is very exciting at mach 25, mach 24 or so -- or mach 27, I believe they got up to, the fastest ever. They had to -- they knew they had some heat shield imperfections from the first Artemis mission.

They adjusted the reentry trajectory slightly to put a little less load or a little less heat load on, actually reduce the load on that heat shield. And it performed just fine. And that heat shield will be redesigned in the future.

It just shows the adaptability of the system. The system worked well, for example, during manual flying flight characteristics, doing manual flying in orbit. They did degraded operations where they would turn off thrusters and see how well the control laws operated. And they operated beautifully.

HUNTE: Awesome stuff. Well, thank you so much for the update. I could talk about this forever but for now we are done there. David Wolf, thank you so much for now.

WOLF: Thank you

HUNTE: OK, I'm Ben Hunte in Atlanta. For our viewers in North America, Becky Anderson and I will be back with more CNN NEWSROOM after this quick break. And for our international viewers, it's "CNN CREATORS." See you in a moment.

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ANDERSON: Right. Welcome back. It is just after half past midday here at our Middle East headquarters in Abu Dhabi. I'm Becky Anderson for you. Back to our top story.

The high-stakes peace talks between the U.S. and Iran are happening soon in Islamabad, in Pakistan. Vice president JD Vance arrived in the capital just a short while ago. A senior Pakistani source has praised Vance for his role in pushing for a diplomatic solution to this war.

Meanwhile, president Trump has warned that he will renew and intensify U.S. strikes if a deal cannot be reached. He said his focus for these talks is ensuring Iran cannot obtain a nuclear weapon.

Well, his other main issue is reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Trump has vowed that will happen with or without Iran's cooperation.

Meantime, the Israeli military has instructed people in southern Lebanon to leave the area as its operation against Iran-backed Hezbollah group grinds on. As it does, the death toll continues to rise. The Lebanese health ministry now says at least 1,800 people have been killed. About 6,000 have been injured and more than a million are displaced.

Civilians are paying a heavy price as CNN's Nada Bashir reports from Beirut for you.

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NADA BASHIR, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The pained cries of one of Lebanon's youngest casualties. She was injured after an Israeli

airstrike hit a college in Beirut, where she and her family had been sheltering. We're not identifying them as they've requested privacy.

BASHIR: This little girl is one of the hundreds of wounded patients that were brought into hospitals across Beirut following Wednesday's devastating

attack on the city but her mother considers her one of the lucky ones. She was able to survive the attack but there were more than 300 who were

killed.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): When I heard the first strike, I ran out screaming, my daughter, my daughter. I couldn't see anything. Just

Black everywhere, I could hear her voice. She was calling for me, "Mama, mama." I was digging through the debris with my hands. I could just see her face, her head. I pulled her out with my hands and carried her. I was in shock.

BASHIR (voice-over): At just three years old, her daughter has now lived through two wars between Israel and Lebanon. Israel claims it is targeting

Hezbollah forces.

But across the country, civilians are paying a heavy price.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): What have our children done to deserve this?

What have they done?

Why should my daughter have to cover her

ears for fear of the sound when she goes to sleep?

BASHIR (voice-over): Doctors and nurses here at the Makassed Hospital say they were inundated with casualties. Civilians, they tell us, poured into

the hospital, many of them in a critical condition.

SABEEN ABOU AWDEH, EMERGENCY ROOM MANAGER, MAKASSED GENERAL HOSPITAL: There were like very, very bad injuries. And, of course, our own psychological

needs were not met as well. We had no time to see if our parents are OK. We didn't know where the blasts were. It was all over Lebanon.

There's no place safe anymore. Like the last war, there were no targets. Now we don't know where -- where there's going to be a bombing.

BASHIR (voice-over): Nurse Sabeen Abou Awdeh has reason to be fearful. The military has accused Hezbollah forces of using ambulances for cover,

warning that they too could be targeted.

And now an expanded evacuation warning in southern Beirut has placed the nearby Rafik Hariri University Hospital in the line of fire. Doctors here

say they have received dozens of bodies, many of them still waiting to be identified by their inconsolable families.

Mohammed Nasreddine (ph) tells me his friend Abbas was killed in a strike which hit a local grocery store. He was just 19.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We pulled him out from beneath the rubble. We only found him today. He was under the rubble since Wednesday.

Now he's a martyr. What can we do?

BASHIR (voice-over): Nada Bashir, CNN, in Beirut.

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ANDERSON: Well, a reminder for you. Lebanon's president says that Lebanese and Israeli diplomats are now planning to meet next week.

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Quote, "to discuss a ceasefire" and the date for the start of what could be these peace negotiations under U.S. sponsorship.

We'll have more on that and the latest from the Middle East next hour. For now, though, let's get you back to my colleague, Ben, in Atlanta.

HUNTE: Thank you so much.

Ukraine's third largest city is taking fire from Russia just hours ahead of a possible ceasefire for orthodox Easter.

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HUNTE (voice-over): That was the sound of Russian drones hitting Odessa ahead of a 32-hour truce declared by Russian leader Vladimir Putin. Earlier, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy proposed an Easter ceasefire, saying he was hoping it could lead to a real movement toward peace.

That's all happening as U.S. efforts to broker a peace deal are taking a back seat to diplomacy in the Middle East. Putin also declared an Easter ceasefire last year but each side accused the other of breaking that.

For more, we're joined by Oleksiy Sorokin, the deputy chief editor of "The Kyiv Independent." He's in Ukraine's capital.

Thank you so much for being with us. Let's get up to speed with what is happening in Kyiv.

What's the mood right now as people do head toward this proposed orthodox Easter ceasefire?

OLEKSIY SOROKIN, POLITICAL EDITOR AND CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, "THE KYIV INDEPENDENT": Well, in Kyiv, nobody cares what Putin said. We know last year he said the same thing. It didn't happen.

We know that 160 drones hit Ukraine this night. Ukraine also responded by hitting oil refineries in Russia. Nobody expects there to be peace over the Easter and people are just carrying on with their lives.

HUNTE: We have seen ceasefires come and go throughout this war.

How much faith is there that this one will actually hold? SOROKIN: I think zero at this point, because there was definitely fade (ph) early on in Trump's presidency when he said that he wants to finish the war, he wants to find a reasonable solution.

That didn't happen. Over a year passed. There were multiple ceasefires, there were multiple proposals. None of them actually took place.

And people, I think, after this horrible winter that Ukraine had, I think people are just now used to war and they think that the war is going to continue indefinitely and they just have to amend their lives to continue living in a war zone.

HUNTE: If it does hold, let's say it does, even briefly, how much does that change daily life for people?

Or is there always that sense that it could break at any moment, I'm guessing?

SOROKIN: Well, again, I'm going to -- I can bet my money on everything that there's not going to be a ceasefire. Hopefully, hopefully I'm wrong. Hopefully, hopefully I'm wrong. But if there's a ceasefire, obviously, it will dramatically change the country. Right.

Everybody right now lost a friend, a relative; their friends and family are fighting, bombs are falling on their heads.

You, if you look at my neighborhood, every second building was either hit by a drone or debris from a downed drone or missile. So obviously people would stop being afraid of being killed by Russians every day. That'll have a dramatic effect on the country.

Unfortunately, there is no real reason for Russia to stop. We know that the Americans right now are busy with the Middle East. And even when the U.S. was involved in so-called peace talks, they were mostly siding with the Russians, not with the Ukrainians. Right.

So Russia expects it can get -- it can have more gains, it can get more territory. It can impose its will on Ukraine and the United States. And as long as Mr. Putin will think that way, I don't think he has any reasonable idea of a ceasefire in place.

HUNTE: Well, let's talk a bit more about that because there is a concern on the ground there. The global attention is shifting, particularly with tensions involving Iran.

Is there a feeling in Ukraine that the world is just looking away, people don't care anymore?

SOROKIN: Yes. Yes, that's precisely the feeling that Ukraine has. And this is definitely beneficial to Russia. When nobody's looking at the war crimes Russia is committing or the attacks Russia is launching on Kyiv and other major cities -- Odessa, for example, as you showed then, they can continue doing this, right?

A lot of the people, I think in the West, think that this war either stopped or it's less intense than it was. It actually isn't. More Russians have died over the past few months than they died almost through the entire last year.

[04:40:02]

Because Russia is increasing waves of attacks. Its infantry is attacking the east and south. And so that's something that Russia is using right now.

And if we're talking about the American side, then it looks like the Americans lost interest in this particular war. There're now peace talks in Pakistan with Iran. And obviously, they don't really care what's happening in Ukraine and Russia. And that's a reason why I think this war will continue indefinitely.

HUNTE: I know it's so easy to talk so factually about this and it has been going on for so long now. But we kind of just avoid the humanitarian situations that are affecting people on the ground.

Can you just tell me, how does it feel to know that this is still going on, on a human level for Ukrainians right now?

What are people going through?

SOROKIN: I think the weird part here is that, because this war, the full-scale war, is going for so long, for over four years, people are actually now seeing this as part of their life. It's been so long. So people know that, yes, there's drones, there's missiles, there's curfew, there's friends and family who are fighting.

And you're always worried about receiving a message from them because they can get killed at any moment. So this is so part of Ukrainians life now that it's actually scary, right?

And also, I spoke to my colleagues who have children. And it's so weird to understand that if the kid, for example, is 6-10 years old, then everything he knew is war. Right? Before that it was COVID and now it's war. And if you're 10 or even 15 years old, you didn't have a normal life. Your entire life is misery, right?

And it's really -- it's really hard to understand how, like what kind of effect this will have on generations of Ukrainian children.

HUNTE: That's real. It's absolutely awful. We're just looking at pictures while you were speaking. They're so, so scary. Thank you so much, Oleksiy Sorokin. We appreciate it. I'm sure I'll speak to you again very soon. Thank you.

SOROKIN: Thank you.

HUNTE: Onwards. Hungarians are preparing to go to the polls with Ukraine.

What are the key issues for voters there?

We will go live to Budapest to see why the prime minister's political future hangs in the balance. See you in a moment.

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HUNTE: Welcome back.

There's one day to go before Hungarians go to the polls to vote in crucial elections. The vote is being closely watched from abroad, with the election threatening to bring Viktor Orban's 16 years in power to an end.

The populist leader is facing stiff competition from the center right candidate, Peter Magyar. That is despite messages of support from president Trump. Melissa Bell joins us now from Budapest.

Melissa, good to see you.

Just how close are people expecting this result to be as Hungarians do head to the polls?

MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly Ben, what the latest polls have shown is this widening gap between the two leading candidates.

Several points ahead is Peter Magyar. Now what he's been saying on his -- at his campaign meetings is that he wants to get not just a majority but a supermajority. That is two-thirds of the parliamentary seats, in order that he can then change the constitution and return Hungary, he says, to the rule of law.

The constitutional norms, the democratic standards that had been chipped away at over the last 16 years by Viktor Orban, that's been one of his big campaign messages. There isn't that much difference politically between the two men.

Peter Magyar was until two years ago a member of Viktor Orban's Fidesz party, leaving it quite spectacularly because he denounced the corruption now at the heart of the Orban system.

But he's run this really effective campaign, holding six or seven meetings a day, speaking to people, going deep inside the Hungarian countryside to try and get his vote out.

And there is a feeling amongst Hungarians who'd had enough with Viktor Orban that their time has finally come, that they might just see him out of power.

And you're quite right to point to the intervention of not just the American vice president but the secretary of state. He's had the support, Viktor Orban, of president Trump himself, of the European far right. Moscow as well, keeping a very close eye on this. This is one of Moscow's great allies in Europe that's continued to be

a thorn in the side of the European Union, benefiting from Russian gas and oil.

So all of these outside countries are looking in at this election and this tiny, little landlocked European country of some 10 million. It is a fascinating election. And the polls certainly show question suggests that Peter Magyar might just be about to do it.

HUNTE: Very interesting stuff.

And what are the key issues that could ultimately decide this election for voters on the ground?

BELL: Well, look, we were at that Viktor Orban rally last night about an hour outside of Budapest and he really went on about his typical campaign themes, the fact, he says, that he's brought prosperity to Hungarians, the fact of the war in Ukraine.

It is in just neighboring Ukraine, it's had a huge impact here, not just on things like prices but it is something that Viktor Orban has used fairly successfully these last couple of election cycles to scare people into believing that, if his regime goes, another one might allow Hungarians to take a greater part in this war.

It might become more implicated in this war. There's a substantial Hungarian minority that lives just across the border in Ukraine, to whom he's extended the right to vote in citizenship. That has all played into his support.

On the other side, Peter Magyar, beyond the energy that he's brought to the campaign, has also run a very clever campaign by not focusing on things like Europe and Russia and Ukraine and even Washington for fear of stepping into the kinds of traps that Viktor Orban would have pounced upon.

Instead, he's spoken to Hungarians about what they really care about -- the cost of living, the stagnating economy and their very difficult social services; the fact that health care, for instance, has become either very poor or very expensive. And that appears to have spoken to the electorate. Ben.

HUNTE: OK. Thank you so much for that. We appreciate it.

And we will be right back.

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HUNTE: Welcome back. A powerful storm is lashing Hawaii, bringing over a month's worth of rain to parts of the islands. The storm has lasted for several days and flash flood watches are in effect for most of the Hawaiian islands through Saturday morning local time.

CNN affiliate Hawaii News Now reports one community on Oahu's North Shore was forced to evacuate due to the rising waters. Of course, this all comes as the Hawaiian islands are still recovering from major storms just last month. Those storms triggered the state's worst flooding in 20 years.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, ground.

Do you see this?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We had two trucks just cut us off. We had to slam on the brakes not to hit them. It happened so fast both of us were just like, holy shit, and we slammed on the brakes. I'm going to have to call the flight attendants to make sure everybody is all right in the back. It was real close. Closest I've ever seen.

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HUNTE: The FAA is investigating a close call at Los Angeles International Airport after a passenger jet almost crashed into two trucks near the runway. It happened late on Thursday night as a Frontier flight was preparing for takeoff.

According to the pilot, who you just heard from, the plane was on a nearby taxiway when the trucks drove out in front of the jet. The FAA says vehicles are supposed to give way to the planes.

But air traffic controllers don't communicate with drivers to warn them of when planes take off. No one was injured, luckily, and the flight took off normally.

It was another dominant display for Rory McIlroy during round two of the Masters at the halfway point of the tournament. He has a historic lead over the field. CNN's Don Riddell has the latest on McIlroy's pursuit of back-to-back Masters titles.

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DON RIDDELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It took Rory McIlroy 17 attempts to win his first Masters title.

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But this year, he's making it look easy. At the halfway stage of the tournament, McIlroy is utterly dominant and he goes into the weekend with an extraordinary six stroke lead.

On Friday at Augusta, the 36-year-old McIlroy was back to the swaggering golfer of his earlier days, building on his five under par score of Thursday and posting a breathless round of 65. On the second nine, he was just exceptional, birdying six of his last

seven holes for a tournament score of 12 under par and nobody has ever been so far ahead after 36 holes in the history of this tournament.

What for you would be more fun, eking out a victory by the skin of your teeth or potentially running away with it and lapping the field?

RORY MCILROY, 2025 MASTERS WINNER: What do you think?

Look, I've built up a nice cushion at this point. And I guess my mindset is just trying to keep playing well and keeping my foot on the gas.

RIDDELL: And having secured the rare feet of winning the career Grand Slam last year, McIlroy has now put himself in pole position for another very rare feat. If he can see this through until Sunday, he would join only Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods as the only men to have won back to back green jackets. Back to you.

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HUNTE: Winnie-the-Pooh is turning 100 years old and Disney is celebrating with a free exhibition in London. The interactive popup called Winnie-the-Pooh: The Lost Balloon, opened on Friday, letting people step into the lovable bear's world.

The three-day popup features displays that allow visitors to follow a trail to help Christopher Robin find his lost balloon. It also has a bridge with Poohsticks games and picnic-themed installations. Author A.A. Milne published his first Pooh story in 1926 and still relevant today.

That's all I've got for you for this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. But let's do it all again. I'm Ben Hunte in Atlanta. I'll be back with Becky Anderson in Abu Dhabi right after this break. See you in a moment.