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U.S. and European Leaders Press Russia to Accept 30-Day Ceasefire; Putin's Proposal for Direct Talks with Kyiv; India and Pakistan's Fragile Ceasefire; Tehran Ready for Nuclear Talks; U.S. and China Trade Talks; Detained Student Speaks Out After Release; Zelenskyy Reacts to Putin's Proposal; Fighting Malnutrition from War and Conflict. Aired 4-5a ET

Aired May 11, 2025 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:00]

KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to all you watching us here in the United States, Canada, and all around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN Newsroom.

The U.S. joins European countries in pressing Russia to accept a 30- day ceasefire in Ukraine. But Vladimir Putin has a proposal of his own. A ceasefire between India and Pakistan appears to hold even as both sides accuse each other of violations. We have reports from both sides of their contested border. And the White House is touting what it calls early success in trade talks with China. We're live in Hong Kong with details of what Beijing is saying.

ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN Newsroom with Kim Brunhuber.

BRUNHUBER: We're getting reaction from Donald Trump following Russia's proposal for peace talks with Kyiv. Hours ago, the U.S. president posted on social media that it's potentially a great day for Russia and Ukraine and that he'll continue to work with both sides to make sure it happens.

Now, earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed sitting down with Ukrainians face-to-face without any conditions on Thursday. Now, the proposal came hours after top European leaders turned up the pressure on Russia during their joint visit to Kyiv on Saturday. They told Putin to agree to a 30-day ceasefire by Monday or face massive new sanctions.

CNN's Sebastian Shukla has been keeping an eye on those developments and joins us from London. So, Sebastian, take us through what Putin's saying now and the reaction.

SEBASTIAN SHUKLA, CNN PRODUCER: Yes. Well, good morning, Kim. What we've heard from the Russian president overnight is that he's now prepared to go into direct talks with Ukraine to be -- and for these talks to take place in Istanbul starting next week, May 15th, where this will represent the first time that the two warring parties here have spoken since the early days of the invasion, where in 2022, where the two of them came together again in Turkey to be able to try to talk and mediate about the war that was unfolding in Ukraine after President Putin launched that invasion.

What we are starting to see now, potentially, is a change to the rhetoric that is coming from the Kremlin as vis-a-vis a ceasefire without condition, as President Putin put it yesterday, and hot on the heels of this ultimatum by European partners on the Kremlin saying, if you do not agree to a ceasefire by Monday, we are going to impose some huge sweeping sanctions on your economy.

And so, President Putin took the moment again and appears to have pulled the rug from under European and U.S. partners to change the narrative and to drive the conversation Now, saying, OK, I've noted your ceasefire proposals, but I'll better you, I'll go one further. Let's talk directly. Take a listen to what he said last night.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): We are committed to holding serious talks with Ukraine in order to eliminate the root causes of the conflict to arrive at an enduring, long lasting piece for the -- in the long run, in the long historical run.

Ceasefires or truces, real ones that would be respected not only by Russia, but the Ukrainian side, and would be a first step to a long- lasting enduring piece, not a prologue.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHUKLA: A long and enduring piece, not a prologue as President Putin put it there. And then, immediately after that we saw the U.S. president, Donald Trump, take to Truth Social to post, a potentially great day for Ukraine and Russia. Think of the hundreds of thousands of lives that will be saved in this never-ending blood bath. I will work to continue with both sides to make sure that it happens.

The U.S. president, Kim, as we are all aware, has been heavily involved in all of the negotiations around this, trying to reach a ceasefire. And in recent weeks, we've actually seen the administration lose patience with Russia. It will be interesting to see as the days go forward now to the 15th of May, whether, A, the Ukrainians agree, they have yet to say so, and whether, B, also Turkey will agree to host these talks. Kim.

BRUNHUBER: All right. So, President Trump enthusiastic about Putin's proposal, do you think that means Russia is any more serious now about actually ending this war?

SHUKLA: Well, the old idiom is action speak louder than words, don't they, Kim? And I think what we've seen over time is that that is key when it comes to President Putin's negotiating tactics. It's significant that he's prepared to sit down with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. What will be key is whether President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is prepared to sit down with the Russians.

[04:05:00]

But we've also seen before in the weeks and months that have preceded this, Kim, lots of demands that come from Russia that seem unrealistic, particularly when it comes to things like Ukraine's territorial integrity, the issue, the thorny issue of the illegally annexed peninsula of Crimea, the ultimatums put on Kyiv as well about no military intelligence sharing, Ukraine not being able to join NATO. All of those things are things that would be very, very difficult to see Russia backtracking on, but also would be even more even harder for Ukraine to agree to.

So, we will have to wait to see about whether these talks are able to bridge any of those divides and what the outcomes of them will be. But what we couldn't say -- should say, certainly, is that it is at least one step forward potentially in these negotiations and in this war.

But the devil, as always, in all ceasefire negotiations, will be in the detail and there is only one man who knows whether he's serious about ending this war, Kim, and he lives in the Kremlin.

BRUNHUBER: Exactly right. Well put. Sebastian Shukla, thank you so much. So, while Russia says it wants to talk peace, it's been making a very different statement in the skies above Ukraine, specifically by ramping up its drone strikes which have skyrocketed in recent months. Clare Sebastian has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This was a first for Russia's Victory Day parade, amid the tanks and armored vehicles, drones rumbling across Red Square, a measure of their increasingly prominent role in Russia's war in Ukraine.

SEBASTIAN: We've been looking into the data and it's really stark. In the first four months of this year, Russia fired more attack drones at Ukraine than it did in the whole of 2024.

Now, we had already started to see a rise last summer, but since January, we've seen another significant increase, and that's even as the U.S. offered Moscow incentives like this --

MARCO RUBIO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Extraordinary opportunities that --

SEBASTIAN: -- and its push for a peace deal. And when things weren't going so well between the U.S. and Ukraine --

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: You're gambling with World War III.

SEBASTIAN: -- that's when we see a peak in Russian attacks. That's here in late February and March.

SEBASTIAN (voice-over): In March USA to Ukraine was suspended. Then Kyiv agreed to a U.S. proposed 30-day ceasefire, which Russia rejected. And Ukrainian civilians are paying the price. Casualties rising in March and April, the U.N. says.

SEBASTIAN: This is, of course, a drone war on both sides, and Ukraine has also been ramping up attacks on Russia on just one day in March. Russia says it shot down nearly 350 drones and three people were killed in Moscow. But civilian casualties are rare.

SEBASTIAN (voice-over): So, while the U.S. wants Russia to --

TRUMP: Stop shooting. Sit down and sign a deal/

SEBASTIAN (voice-over): -- Russia's strategy is to pressure and weaken Ukraine into making a deal on its terms.

Clare Sebastian, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: India and Pakistan are accusing each other of violating their tense ceasefire. But so far, that ceasefire seems to be holding. We have a live report from Delhi in a moment. But first, CNN International Diplomatic Editor Nic Robertson reports from Islamabad.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes. I think when you look at the big picture of what's happening in the ceasefire, the big guns, the big missiles that were being launched by Pakistan this morning, the fighter jet attacks and the missiles that both sides were raining onto each other in the early hours of this morning, less than 24 hours ago, that has stopped. And I think that's pretty clear where the friction continues is along, as Matthew was saying, that disputed border area, the so-called line of control between Pakistan- administered Kashmir and Indian-administered Kashmir.

And that's where, you know, both sides are saying they are -- we're getting reports from our from our local journalists along the line there that the violations, if you will, are going both ways. But this what we've got, just a statement that's come in the last hour or so from the ministry of foreign affairs here.

Now, let me just give you some of the highlights here. It's pushing back pretty strongly, as you would expect, against the Indian accusations. It says, Pakistan remains committed to the faithful implementation of the ceasefire brokered between Pakistan and India, notwithstanding, it says, notwithstanding the violations committed by India in some areas, our forces, it says, Pakistan's forces are handling the situation with responsibility and restraint. So, I think you get the sense there, the differing narrative from both sides.

Look, as Matthew says, there are deep underlying issues. And the core issue around Kashmir has always been not just the religious issue there, but the fact that these mountains of Kashmir and the foothills of the Himalayas provide the water source for both countries, and that India has decided to turn off the water supplies from that region, the three main rivers that supply Pakistan's agriculture and power generation is one of the massive underlying issues.

[04:10:00]

It's the historic issue, the water about Kashmir is what all this has been about since 1947, and that remains just as true today. In fact, officials I've talked to here see it as an existential issue.

Now, what I got from sources who were very, very close to the negotiations was just how this teetered on a knife edge, that there was almost a deal last night that was blown up by India's attack. Pakistan responded in a far bigger way than they had originally planned to do. India, according to Pakistan, backed down Marco Rubio, got directly hands-on involved. There was a violation by India. Pakistan responded. The talks continued. Another violation by India. Pakistan responded again.

And it wasn't until late afternoon that there was a two-hour pause and that was space to call that a ceasefire had been arrived at. But speaking to people involved in this, you can see the tiredness. They have been up for almost 24 hours and they knew if they didn't nail it down today, then an escalation would happen. And that was very real for both sides. It was deep tiredness on both sides, but the negotiations by the U.S. have been going on for a number of days, deeply engaged here in Pakistan, the White House coming in to add the heft over the last sort of 48 hours and a huge appreciation, frankly, by Pakistani officials here for the role of United States in achieving this.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: All right. I want to bring in Journalist Vedika Sud who is live in Delhi with more. So, Vedika, much has changed since you and I spoke yesterday. So, take us through the developments and explain for us where things stand right now.

VEDIKA SUD, JOURNALIST: It is been a highly dramatic 24 hours, Kim, from what we spoke about yesterday to what we're going to talk about today. Well, it seemed at that point on Saturday that the tit for tat military offensive launched by both countries was spiraling out of control. But at that point in the evening, local time Saturday here in India, we heard of an announcement being made by the U.S. president, Donald Trump, on Truth Social, where he did say that India and Pakistan have decided on an immediate ceasefire, and he took credit for that breakthrough.

Moments later, secretary state put out a statement as well where he detailed the talks that have happened through him and through the vice president of the United States of America. Both of them had reached out to the top leadership of both India and Pakistan, is what he said, and along with acknowledging and admitting, or rather coming out with a statement stating that there was a ceasefire that both the countries had agreed to, there was one more important statement that he made where he said that both countries have also decided to start talks on a broad set of issues at a neutral site.

A minute later, there was an acknowledgement from the Pakistani side that ceasefire had been agreed upon by the country, and then later, even India had put out a statement.

Here's what's interesting. While the U.S. has taken credit for the breakthrough, India has said it was talks with Pakistan that led to the ceasefire. No mention of the U.S. there. While Pakistan has hailed D.C. for this breakthrough.

Meanwhile, back around the border, the line of control that we've been talking about, there has been a fragile truth at best. Both India and Pakistan on late Saturday local time accused each other of violating the ceasefire. Here's what India's foreign secretary had to say in a late-night press conference.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VIKRAM MISRI, INDIAN FOREIGN SECRETARY: This is a breach of the understanding arrived at earlier today. The armed forces are giving an adequate and appropriate response to these violations, and we take very, very serious notice of these violations. We call upon Pakistan to take appropriate steps to address these violations and deal with the situation with seriousness and responsibility.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SUD: Just sometime back, U.S. President Donald Trump on Truth Social put out another statement where he called this decision historic and heroic. Now, talking about that fragile truce on the border, for now, both India and Pakistan have stepped back from the brink, but we don't know how long the ceasefire will last and if it'll hold, only time will tell. Back to you.

BRUNHUBER: All right. Appreciate that update. Vedika Sud in Delhi, thanks so much.

The U.S. ambassador to Israel says the Trump administration has left no stone unturned in its goal to secure a ceasefire in Gaza. The conflict is no closer to ending, and Israel is threatening to expand its war in Gaza. Still, ambassador Mike Huckabee says the administration is putting enormous pressure on Hamas to get them to release the hostages, saying it's the Trump administration's highest priority.

Israeli protestors marched in Tel Aviv Saturday demanding that the U.S. president pressure Israel's leaders to end the war and secure the hostages' release. Now, all this comes as Donald Trump prepares for a visit to the Middle East next week, but he won't be stopping in Israel.

Iran says it's ready for another round of talks with the U.S. on its nuclear program, that's according to the Iranian foreign minister who reportedly has notified mediators in Oman that they're prepared to resume discussions today.

Now, Oman, for its part, hasn't commented, but Tehran says it must be allowed to keep enriching uranium, and an Iranian official told CNN that the recent talks were, quote, "not genuine" from the American side.

[04:15:00]

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, he said, the talks were likely designed as a trap to draw the situation toward tension. Well, we may soon see some relief in President Trump's trade war. Round two of crucial talks between the U.S. and China are expected today. We'll have those details just ahead.

Plus, the latest in the case of Rumeysa Ozturk, the doctoral student who spent six weeks in ICE detention after co-writing an op-ed against the war in Gaza.

This is CNN newsroom. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRUNHUBER: A source tells CNN that U.S. and Chinese officials are preparing for a second day of trade talks in Geneva, U.S. President Donald Trump says great progress was made on Saturday. He projected optimism about the meeting on Truth Social saying the two countries are negotiating a total reset on trade. The president said, many things were discussed and agreed to, but he didn't get into any specifics yet. He added that he wants to see Chinese markets opening up for American businesses.

Well, for more on how China is reacting, let's go to Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. So, Kristie , according to President Trump, there's been great progress. Do the Chinese share his optimism?

[04:20:00]

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Not quite, Kim. You know, U.S. President Donald Trump called these talks underway in Geneva, quote, "a total reset." China not quite going there. You know, according to the official Chinese news agency, Xinhua, they are calling the talks instead, quote, "an important step."

Now, on Saturday, we saw the Chinese premier. He spoke for about eight hours with the U.S. treasury secretary, along with the U.S. trade representative. These talks will continue shortly today in Geneva, and these talks are significant. They represent the first time we're seeing the U.S. and China engage in high-level face-to-face conversations since the launch of the latest Donald Trump trade war, which kicked off in March.

Now, on Saturday, there was an interesting commentary that was published in Xinhua that caught our eye, and we want to share an excerpt of it with you, and this is our translation of it, and it said the important step comment. It said this, engagement in Switzerland is an important step toward resolving the issue. However, an ultimate solution requires sufficient strategic patience and determination, as well as the just support of the International Community.

Now, earlier this year, U.S. President Donald Trump raised tariffs on China to up to an eye watering 145 percent. China in turn hit back with retaliatory tariffs of an unprecedented 125 percent. It also introduced a range of retaliatory measures, including a limit on U.S. film imports and a limit on the exports of rare earths. These very critical components that are used in U.S. defense manufacturing as well as the U.S. tech sector. Now, before these talks in Geneva kicked off, we did hear from

President Trump on Truth Social, where he floated the idea of possibly lowering the tariffs on China to 80 percent. That got a lot of attention, but as many -- if it needs to be pointed out, even though 80 percent is far lower than 145 percent tariffs on China, it still represents a major drag on this critical trade relationship. A lot is riding on these weekend talks in Switzerland.

The ongoing U.S. trade war with China has roiled global financial markets, has roiled the U.S. bond market. It has roiled the global supply chain. It has increased the risk of recession. Analysts are not quite expecting an immediate resolution, but one commentator based in Shanghai did offer kind of a note of optimism about these talks. I want to share with you what Bo Zhengyuan shared. He's a partner at Plenum. Again, he's based in Shanghai. And he says this, if there is a temporary truce or symmetrical rollback of terror, that would be conducive to future potential holistic negotiation efforts.

But keep in mind, any trade talks between the U.S. and China will also involve non-trade issues, including and not limited to cooperation on fentanyl, including technology restrictions, including geopolitical issues like the war in Ukraine. So, that's the reason why that even though the stakes are very, very high here, Kim, the expectations for an immediate breakthrough are low. Back to you.

BRUNHUBER: Yes. You were, Kristie, talking about the stakes and how much economically is riding on this. We know unless there's some kind of deal, this will have a huge effect on consumer prices here in the U.S. and the economy in China as well.

STOUT: Yes, and the damage has already been done. We saw the data out of the United States in the first quarter reporting a contraction, the first time in three years. There was that recent factory data from China where factory activity fell sharply for the month of April. And already, trade between these two giants is grinding to a halt with reports of cargo shipments from China to the United States falling some, I want to get this right, 60 percent in the month of April.

But despite the economic turmoil here, there is still no deal between the U.S. and China. The trade war is still underway. But guess what? At least they're talking right now. Back to you.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, absolutely. All right. Thanks so much. Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. Appreciate that.

STOUT: Thank you.

BRUNHUBER: A doctoral student from Turkey says she still has faith in American democracy after she spent six weeks in federal detention. CNN's Gloria Pazmino has the latest on the case that sparked national outrage.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's right. Rumeysa Ozturk, the Turkish national and Tufts University student who was detained more than six weeks ago by federal immigration officers, not far from her home in Somerville, Massachusetts, is back in Boston as she landed shortly after at 7:00 and was welcomed there by members of Massachusetts Congressional delegation.

Rumeysa was ordered released by a judge in Vermont yesterday. She was being held at an ICE detention facility in Louisiana and has been traveling in the past day, finally making her way back to Boston, where Tufts University, the school, where she is pursuing a doctoral degree is expected to provide a campus housing for her.

[04:25:00]

This came up during the bail hearing yesterday. She said that her apartment lease would soon be expiring and that the school would be helping her make sure that she has a place to live now that she has been released. It's important to note that the legal case against Ozturk is still ongoing. She's still pursuing litigation against the Trump administration, challenging the legality of her arrest. Her lawyers say that she was detained simply for helping to co-write an op-ed that was published in the school newspaper, which was critical of the university's treatment and reaction to the war in Gaza.

The judge in Vermont agreed that it raises serious questions about the First Amendment, and we are expecting him to hold a hearing on her habeas petition in the next few days. Take a listen to Ozturk and her attorneys reacting today shortly after her arrival.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUMEYSA OZTURK, DOCTORAL STUDENT, TUFTS UNIVERSITY: America is the greatest democracy in the world, and I believe in those values that we share. I have faith in the American system of justice. This has been very difficult time, for me, for my community, for my community at Tufts, at Turkey (ph). But I'm so grateful for all the support, kindness and care.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAZMINO: Now, as I mentioned, there is a federal case that's still unfolding, that's the habeas case where she is challenging the legality of her detention, but at the same time, the immigration proceedings against her are also continuing to play out in immigration court.

As you might remember, the Department of Homeland Security had revoked her visa and she is going to need that in order to maintain her international student status as she tries to complete the degree that she has been pursuing for the past several months, and which was interrupted as a result of her detention over the past 45 days.

So, we'll see what happens in the immigration case. That's another thing to follow here because those proceedings are expected to continue.

Gloria Pazmino, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: India and Pakistan are in the middle of a fragile ceasefire. Each says the other has already violated the agreement. So, how long might it last? I'll ask an expert ahead on CNN Newsroom. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:30:00]

BRUNHUBER: We are getting reaction from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after Russia proposed direct peace talks with Kyiv. A short time ago, he posted that it is, quote, "A positive sign that the Russians have finally begun to consider ending the war." But he expects that Moscow will, quote, "confirm a full lasting and reliable ceasefire starting on Monday."

Now, he reacted after Vladimir Putin proposed direct talks with Kyiv without any conditions. The Russian president said Moscow is ready to start the negotiations in Istanbul on Thursday, and he tried to portray Russia as a peacemaker. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PUTIN (through translator): As you know, Russia has repeatedly proposed initiatives for a ceasefire. However, they were repeatedly sabotaged by the Ukrainian side. For example, the key regime brazenly violated about 130 times the 30-day. I want to emphasize this, 30-day moratorium on strikes on energy facilities from March 18th to April 17th, which was declared in accordance with our agreement with the president of the United States of America, Donald Trump.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: And President Trump also touted the development as a great day for Russia and Ukraine, and that he'll continue to work with both sides to make sure it happens. Now, the proposal came hours after top European leaders gave Russia a new deadline during their joint visit to Kyiv on Saturday, they told Putin to agree to a 30-day ceasefire by Monday or face massive news sanctions.

All right. More now on another one of our top stories, the temp ceasefire between India and Pakistan. There are signs that the agreement is fragile in India-administered Kashmir. Witnesses say they've heard explosions and seen flashes in the night sky. India says it's evidence that Pakistan is violating the ceasefire. In Pakistan- administered Kashmir, local government source told CNN that explosions there were attacked from the Indian side of the line of control.

For more on this, I want to bring in Bobby Ghosh, who's a geopolitics analyst and former editor in chief of the Hindustan Times, and he join us live from New York. Thank you so much for being here early with us. Really appreciate it.

So, from what you're seeing right now, is this actually a ceasefire given the accusations made on both sides? And if so, how long do you expect it to hold?

BOBBY GHOSH, GEOPOLITICS ANALYST AND FORMER EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, HINDUSTAN TIMES: Well, ceasefires usually take some time to take effect. It's not unusual for there to be some lingering violence. That does not seem to be a major military operation from either side. So, you cling to the glass half full as much as you can and you think that, you know, perhaps this will hold.

Both countries have said that they will respect the ceasefire, although each has complained that the other has broken some of the terms. Neither is saying that we are going to call it -- call the whole thing off. So, while that remains the case, for the sake of civilian populations on both sides, you have to hope that this does indeed hold.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, that is significant. What do you make of the fact that President Trump is claiming credit for this? Pakistan has acknowledged the U.S. role, but India has kind of downplayed that. Is that surprising at all given the warm relationship between Modi and Trump? Explain the dynamics for us.

GHOSH: Well, Trump seems to have jumped the gun and claimed sort of complete credit for engineering the ceasefire. The Indians say that this is something that they worked out with the Pakistanis. The Pakistanis are saying that three dozen countries were involved in the diplomacy. Three dozen countries. In diplomatic terms, that is the equivalent of saying everybody and their uncle. So, for the U.S. to claim that it was responsible seems a little bit exaggerated. We'll find out more in the days ahead exactly what happened and how this came to be.

BRUNHUBER: Yes.

GHOSH: Trump is also now offering to go a step farther and mediate the underlying dispute, the reason for these spasms of violence between these two countries, which is the issue of Kashmir. But he does not seem to understand some of the fundamental issues around Kashmir. India's consistent position has always been that there's no room for international mediation, that Kashmir is an internal issue between itself and Pakistan, and no outside help is necessary or will be indulged.

[04:35:00]

The Pakistani view is that they will be happy to have mediation, but if -- as long as India says, we won't allow that, there does not seem to be any move -- any room for forward movement.

BRUNHUBER: Yes. I'm wondering about the U.S. role there, because traditionally, of course, we know the U.S. has been the single most important player in mediating these crises in the past. You talked about how Trump has offered to mediate here, but given the president's preference for quick deals, and this is certainly that seems to resist any quick resolution, do you expect him to engage in this or possibly to quietly disengage and move on? GHOSH: I suspect he will disengage. I think he is probably going to spend more attention and time on Ukraine. That is something that his voter base cares about much more. He genuinely believes that he has some sort of a special bond with Vladimir Putin, Ukraine, and sort of securing a deal there, a peace deal there. It has been a big part of Trump's rhetoric.

This violence, this conflict in India and Pakistan came out of left field. And remember, Trump's initial response was to stay away from it. To say -- to just simply wish that the two parties would resolve the matter amongst themselves. He does not seem to be particularly enthusiastic about putting himself in there.

He also is hampered by the fact that the United States doesn't have ambassadors in either of those two countries, and Trump administration hasn't gotten round to appointing and having their appointments cleared by Congress across the board and many, many places. So, he has quite a lot on his plate, does the American president. I think he would probably prefer that this problem now that a ceasefire has been established and he has taken some credit for it, he would prefer that this problem simply go away. We know from history that is not how things turned out between India and Pakistan.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, absolutely right. Really appreciate getting your analysis on all this. Bobby Ghosh, thank you so much.

GHOSH: Thanks for having me.

BRUNHUBER: Well, Leo XIV is settling into his new role and setting the tone for his papacy. In just a couple of hours, he'll read the Regina Caeli Prayer in St. Peter's Square where more than 150,000 faithful are expected to take part. And the crowds, you see there, have been gathering to hear that all morning as we show those huge crowds there.

Now, the new pontiff visited the tomb of Pope Francis on Saturday and had a first formal meeting with the cardinals. And among other things, he explained how he'd follow in the footsteps of Pope Francis. He also described artificial intelligence as a challenge for working people. His installation mass is next Sunday.

Now, before he came became the pontiff, Pope Leo was Bishop Prevost of the city of Chicago in -- or Chiclayo in Peru where he's warmly remembered and widely celebrated. Stefano Pozzebon has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR (voice-over): A new pope is unveiled 6,000 miles away from Rome. Welcome to Chiclayo, where Robert Prevost lived much of his above life and where virtually everyone seems to have a story about the new pontiff.

I interviewed him once. One of those people that light you up just by talking says Antoinia Bravo (ph), a local journalist proudly holding today's newspaper in her hands.

POZZEBON: Here you can see the title says We have a Pope from Chiclayo.

POZZEBON (voice-over): Leo XIV first moved to Peru in 1985 as a missionary. By 2014, he was the bishop of this city. His dedication to the poor and the most vulnerable, still evident among those who knew him best, like Noelia Ayala.

A plant for oxygen that we have, thanks to Cardinal Prevost, she says.

POZZEBON: He's probably saved many lives.

POZZEBON (voice-over): A lot. We had to work three shifts because there were so many people that needed oxygen during the pandemic. Some of the gas tanks still have the names of the patients.

Prevost made an impact on the lives of many. Peruvians and migrants too.

And he should have puts the first American pope at odds with a current U.S. administration.

POZZEBON: Do you remember when you first met him? So, this is you. This is him. The Venezuelan flag. Definitely a pope that would speak to the migrant community.

Lizbeth who came to Chiclayo in 2018 was one of the beneficiaries of the Programs for Migrants, the Prevost established.

POZZEBON: Do you think that now that he's in Rome, he can become a voice for all the migrants as migration has become such a controversial topic in our society?

[04:40:00]

POZZEBON (voice-over): He advocated for migrants so much here, I'm sure he will keep doing that and will work towards that peace where we can all have a place in the countries where we are, she says.

Stefano Pozzebon, CNN, Chiclayo, Peru.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: All right. Still to come, humanitarian groups are desperately trying to bring food aid to starving people in Sudan and South Sudan with conflict and war making it nearly impossible. We'll look at the complex situation on the ground next. Stay with us.

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BRUNHUBER: Brutal conflicts in East Africa, specifically in Sudan and South Sudan are driving millions of people to starvation. In South Sudan, government forces have been fighting a militia known as the White Army since March. U.N. humanitarian organizations say recent skirmishes near the Nile River have kept them from reaching more than 60,000 malnourished children in the region. The Upper Nile State is now facing some of the highest malnutrition rates in the country, and aid is due to run out by the end of the month. Now, to the north in Sudan, two years of civil War have created what the U.N. says is the world's worst humanitarian crisis. Officials say it's the only place in the world is currently experiencing famine. 25 million people, half of the country's population are suffering from extreme levels of hunger.

I want to bring in Alan Boswell, who's the International Crisis Group's project director for the Horn of Africa, and joins me now from Doha in Qatar. Thank you so much for being here with us.

So, according to UNICEF, we're some two weeks away from food supplies to South Sudan running out. How dire is the situation for thousands of people there, including so many children?

ALAN BOSWELL, PROJECT DIRECTOR, HORN OF AFRICA, INTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP: Yes, the situation in South Sudan is bad and getting worse sometimes it's hard to believe that the situation in South Sudan can get much worse.

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Much of the population of South Sudan has faced near starvation levels of hunger on almost a chronic basis now for years. But like you said, on top of the cuts of humanitarian assistance that we saw from this new U.S. administration, which has severely hurt South Sudan, we're now seeing this new outbreak of violence, which in some ways is a slide to a new civil war. And we're seeing that also now start to displace communities and then also block assistance from reaching those communities at the same time.

BRUNHUBER: Yes. And that Nile route is so important because it's even harder to get supplies in overland. The situation in South Sudan, as you say, seems to be deteriorating. You alluded to this, I want to ask you directly, the civil war in that country ended some five years ago, but how close are we now to another one?

BOSWELL: Yes. I think South Sudan's entering something of a new civil war. I'm hesitant to just call it the civil -- you know, sliding back into the same civil war because much has changed in the past five years. But what is clear is that the president of South Sudan has made a number of moves to dismember, basically the 2018 peace deal. He arrested the former rebel leader who was his vice president, and he's under house arrest in Juba.

And we're basically seeing widespread mobilization in the rural areas, especially in Upper Nile. You have many youth going into the bush basically looking for arms and plan on fighting the government. But both sides are actually quite weak. The South Sudanese government has lost most of its state revenues due to the war in Sudan. Its main oil export pipeline burst and it hasn't been able to resume oil export.

So, we're seeing something like a slide into civil war, something like a slow implosion in state maps. And the government's, frankly, just losing control of a lot of areas. The opposition though is also not very strong either. So, it's quite a worrying situation. BRUNHUBER: Yes, absolutely. So, South Sudan hoping to avoid a civil war. Meanwhile, it's larger neighbor to the North Sudan, which is currently in a civil war. Things there also getting worse with those recent attacks on Port Sudan, a city where so many civilians had been fleeing to from violence elsewhere in the country. I mean, both countries, seemingly inflames here. How much effect is the instability in one country having on the other?

BOSWELL: Yes. The two countries are very closely linked. Obviously, South Sudan only seceded from Sudan about a decade and a half ago, and they're really joined at the hips financially. But also, the different politicians and political lead and security lead, they're all have close connections with each other. So, we are seeing some spillover.

Part of this violence that has afflicted South Sudan is definitely related to what's going on in Sudan. And these strikes that you mentioned, which expanded the war to Port Sudan, these dramatic basically weak of drone strikes there has made it much more difficult for South Sudan now to export oil, which is one of the reasons that the countries going towards state collapse.

So, we've seen South Sudan basically stuck in the middle here, trying not to aggregate either of the two main warring sides in Sudan. But it's an almost impossible task. And like you said, the situation in Sudan just keeps getting worse and we're worried the war there just keeps escalating and eventually will destabilize more of the region.

BRUNHUBER: Yes. Finally, you mentioned earlier the Trump administration cutting international aids. So, you know, making a humanitarian argument might fall on deaf ears, but if you were to make the case for why the U.S. should care about this crisis, why they should be engaging in helping to stop all this war, from a self- interest point of view, what argument would you make?

BOSWELL: Well, Sudan sits on the Red Sea. This is hardly an unstrategic area and it actually involves a number of U.S. allies. Egypt and UAE are on opposite sides of this war. Saudi Arabia is increasingly involved as well and has tried to act as mediator.

I mean, frankly, with this Trump administration, I think if you just framed Sudan as not an African conflict, but as a Middle East conflict, you might go along ways towards getting them to be more interested. I frankly think one of the reasons we've seen a lack of interest is just this idea that it's an African conflict, but actually it's turning into a Middle Eastern war.

BRUNHUBER: Yes. Sad that framing it as an African conflict would just have bureaucrats dismissing it in this administration. But that's the world we're living in. We'll have to leave it there. Alan Boswell, thank you so much. I really appreciate getting your insights.

BOSWELL: Thank you, Kim.

BRUNHUBER: Well, the president's trade war is impacting the cost of nearly everything here in the U.S., including the price of Mother's Day Flowers. We'll that story much more straight ahead here on CNN Newsroom. Stay with us.

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BRUNHUBER: Well, not even Mother's Day remains unaffected by the Trump administration's sweeping tariff. This year the cost of imported flowers is skyrocketing, and demand is cratering, not just because of higher prices, but because of fear of a larger economic downturn. Julia Vargas Jones shows us.

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JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I am in the largest flower district in the United States here in Los Angeles, where we are seeing prices of flowers be almost double where they were last year for Mother's Day. That's in part because about 80 percent of the flowers that are sold in the United States come from overseas. Over here, it is no exception.

Colombia is the top importing country where we get our flowers. 60 percent of the flowers sold here come from Colombia, and that is a country that has been slapped with a 10 percent tariff across the board by the Trump administration.

Of course, 10 percent doesn't quite account for a double price, right? So, what some of the vendors here are saying is that the tariffs themselves, yes, they're one factor, but then there's the uncertainty about these tariffs, kind of a secondary effect of them where business owners can't really plan accordingly, even for the largest day of the year for them. Take a listen.

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JONES: Are you hoping that these tariffs will eventually go away?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think we all are. Yes. I think we all are. Because this country consumes a lot of import goods and that's definitely something that is part of our daily life. Yes.

JONES: How much are they hurting your business?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is a percentage because now people doesn't get prepared as they used to. They kind of, wait for the movement flow and then everybody's kind of like last-minute.

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JONES: And it's not just the flour themselves, it's the materials, the packaging, the teddy bears, all of that's also coming from overseas, but it has not stopped shoppers from coming here and spending their money, which is good for the economy and also for moms everywhere.

Julia Vargas Jones, CNN, Los Angeles.

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BRUNHUBER: No more than the 3,000 people gathered in Bolivia on Saturday. A Quest to break a world record. They're playing traditional and Indian flutes called tarkas. The instruments are associated with one of Bolivia's indigenous cultures. They're used in traditional musical gatherings called Tarkitaras (ph). Now, organizers say they're hoping to set a new record for the world's largest tarkiata.

A Soviet spacecraft launched in 1972 likely fell from the sky early Saturday morning, that's according to the European Space Agency. Cosmos 482 was intended to make a soft landing on Venus and take scientific measurements, but it never escaped Earth's orbit. It ended up circling our planet for decades as earthly gravity slowly kept pulling it back down. The Russian Space Agency believes the spacecraft, about the size of a kitchen stove, likely splashed down in the Indian ocean west of Indonesia.

All right. That wraps this hour of CNN News. I'm Kim Brunhuber. Be back with more news in just a moment.

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