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Trump Threatens More Countries With Tariffs Up To 30 Percent; Trump Pushes "Reciprocal" Tariff Deadline To August 1; White House: Still Time For Trade Partners To Strike Deals; FEMA's Flood Response Slowed by Noem's Cost Controls; At Least 120 Dead, 160 plus Missing after Texas Floods; All Residents Accounted for After Deadly New Mexico Floods; Mexico's "Bat Man" On Why We Need to Protect Bats; Buckingham Palace Display Features Art From King's Travels; Thousands in Tuvalu Seek Visas to Relocate to Australia; Interview with Australian Minister for Pacific Island Affairs Pat Conroy. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired July 10, 2025 - 01:00   ET

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

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[01:00:29]

PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello. I'm Paula Newton, the head right here on CNN Newsroom. Russia unleashes another flurry of drone attacks on Kyiv as world leaders gather for the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Rome. President Trump sets his tariff sights on Brazil, but not for economic reasons. And why thousands of people living in a tiny Pacific Island Nation now want to relocate to Australia.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from New York, this is CNN Newsroom with Paula Newton.

NEWTON: Russia is carrying out yet another intense aerial assault on Kyiv just hours before world leaders are set to meet for the 4th Ukraine Recovery Conference in Rome. Authorities in Kyiv say at least two people were killed and more than a dozen were wounded as Russia launched drones and missiles on the Ukrainian capital overnight. CNN staff in Kyiv reported hearing strong explosions around the capital. Officials are urging residents to stay in their shelters. Now this assault comes less than 24 hours after Russia launched its largest drone attack on Ukraine since the start of the full scale invasion.

More than 700 drones and missiles were fired in total. Ukraine's air force says the assault was largely repelled, though one person was killed by debris. Meantime, Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he discussed weapons supplies, air defenses and joint defense production with the Trump administration's envoy to Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, at that meeting in Rome.

Pop Leo, meantime, is offering the Vatican to host peace talks between Russia and Ukraine. He met with President Zelenskyy near Rome on Wednesday. It's the second time they've met since Leo's papacy began two months ago. The Vatican says they discussed the urgent need for peace. Mr. Zelenskyy also met with the Italian president in Rome. Sergio Mattarella confirmed his country's support for Ukraine.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SERGIO MATTARELLA, ITALIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Our closeness is deep and concrete. Our position is and remains absolutely firm. And I would like to express our admiration for the conduct of the Ukrainian people, which strengthens our conviction to offer full support and assistance to your country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: Now CNN's Ben Wedeman has more on the international efforts to help Ukraine rebuild and recover from the war.

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Italy is hosting this Thursday and Friday the 4th Ukraine Recovery Conference. What's different this time is that one of the major participants, the United States, is under new management, a Trump administration that is highly unpredictable. It recently announced, for instance, it was suspending the supply of weapons to Ukraine. But then, as multiple sources have told CNN, the Defense Department had not informed the White House of the suspension. And President Trump came out on Tuesday and insisted the U.S. will continue to provide defensive weapons to Kyiv.

The American president, who vowed to negotiate an end to the Ukraine war on the -- his first day in office, appears to be increasingly frustrated with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Overnight Tuesday, Russia fired more than 700 drones at Ukraine, the biggest such attack since the start of the war. This spring, the Trump administration briefly suspended the provision of weapons and intelligence to Ukraine shortly after that stormy Oval Office meeting between President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance. Almost six months into the second Trump administration, it's clear European leaders aren't confident of the kind of U.S. support they've taken for granted since the end of World War II. This week, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen put it bluntly, we cannot, she said, rely on others to defend Europe.

I'm Ben Wedeman, CNN, reporting from Rome.

NEWTON: Now, earlier I spoke with Mick Ryan, a retired major general in the Australian army and senior fellow for military studies at the Lowy Institute. I asked him about Ukraine's ability to defend itself in the Trump administration if the Trump administration does not approve more military aid in the coming weeks. Listen to the conversation.

[01:05:09]

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MAJ. GEN. MICK RYAN (RET.), SENIOR FELLOW FOR MILITARY STUDIES, LOWY INSTITUTE: First and foremost, President Trump is starting to realize the real predicament that Ukraine's in, but also the fact that his reach out of diplomatic ties to Russia since he's been inaugurated just has not worked. And I think he's coming to the realization that other measures besides sending special negotiators might be required here. The massive drone strike of over 700 drones the other night is a very big step up by the Russians. One, it indicates, I don't think America will respond. But two, I think it might indicate some desperation on the part of Putin, whose ground forces are not achieving on the eastern front what he hoped they would by this point in time.

NEWTON: You make a good point there, and in fact, even Ukraine has had some success, even though Russia's put a lot into this summer offensive. I want to get back to that issue of drones. They have, of course, been a prominent feature of this war for both Russia and Ukraine, right? How is the use of drones contributing to the continuation of this war? I mean, of course, it's been reported that China is definitely helping Russia to be able to keep up with this drone production.

RYAN: Yes, I mean, they're used pretty much everywhere on the -- on the battlefield for casualty evacuation. But these Shahed drones in particular, the Russians are now manufacturing them at about $50,000 a pop, which means they can produce a lot of them and they can use them to saturate Ukraine's air defenses. Now, fortunately, Ukraine is able to use indigenous solutions to shoot down these Shahed drones. Where the problems lie are with the more sophisticated hypersonic missiles and ballistic missiles, which require Patriot missiles to shoot down, and that's what Ukraine really needs.

NEWTON: Yes. And it is clear that Donald Trump says that he is at least going to entertain whether or not he will provide a more missile defense to Ukraine. And President Zelenskyy has, in fact, been quite optimistic about that.

There has been some confusion, though, between the Defense Secretary in the United States about who ordered any kind of pause to military aid to Ukraine and why. I want to point out that CNN's Jake Tapper interviewed Republican Senator Thom Tillis, you know, he was really blunt, saying, look, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's behavior has been amateurish and that the secretary might be, and I'm using his words here, out of his depth, if even a fraction of what he says is true, how do you believe that could impact the next few months in Ukraine?

RYAN: Well, I think from a Ukrainian perspective, they don't quite know what's going on. They see dysfunction in U.S. policy towards Ukraine, where the Secretary of Defense, since the beginning of the year has three times unilaterally cut off aid, whereas this time the president has had to come in and say, no, we're not cutting off aid, we're going to help you. So the Ukrainians want a bit of consistency out of the United States and they're just not getting it at the moment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: Our thanks to Mick Ryan there. Now, the U.S. president has threatened Brazil with a crippling 50 percent tariff set to kick in next month, not because of a trade deficit, the U.S. actually had a trade surplus with Brazil of nearly $7 billion last year. Now, Donald Trump is going after Brazil in part because of what he calls a witch hunt against Jair Bolsonaro. The right wing former president who has bragged about his closeness to President Trump, is on trial for allegedly trying to stage a coup. Current Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is not bowing to the White House pressure. He's vowed to slap a 50 percent tariff on American goods if the Trump administration follows through with the threat.

Meantime, President Trump sent out another round of tariff letters to countries on Wednesday with rates of up to 30 percent on goods they export to the United States. The latest recipients include the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Moldova, Brunei, Algeria, Libya and Iraq. New tariffs go into effect on August 1 unless trade deals are reached.

Ryan Patel is a senior fellow at the Drucker School of Management at Claremont Graduate University and he joins us now from Los Angeles. Good to see you again on what has been an incredibly busy week already for tariffs. It's not over yet, right? How significant are the president's actions this week in terms of how you believe it will affect the global economy?

RYAN PATEL, SR. FELLOW, DRUCKER SCHOOL OF MGMT., CAREMONT GRAD UNIV.: Great point right there, Paula. You said the word believe, and so the belief, why I call that out is because it's August 1st now. July 8th is the, you know, we've seen over 21 letters, not the 200 that we've seen, so you can't kind of guess what's going to happen and kind of bake it in into a GDP number. You see early projections that this economic impact for consumers and jobs could be a 0.7 percent job drop, over 500,000 jobs. I even saw numbers of like $2,000 in cut in household income. But you can't go there yet until you actually know what is actually being taxed. What does it look like about putting what a tariff looks like, 100 percent tariff, is it in phases, is it not?

[01:10:13]

And so there's so many things going on. And then, you know, for me, trying to keep up with what country gets what percent and what industry, it is a puzzle piece, as were trying to figure out but then it goes back to the deadline, what is actually going to be in plan on August 1st? And to me, that's not something that President Trump can push back at that point.

NEWTON: So if I understand you correctly, you're going back to the taco of all of this. Trump always chickens out, meaning that the stock markets have been taking us in stride and you kind of lean to where they're going, right? That this isn't a complete reordering of global trade, that it's just bluster.

PATEL: Well, listen, the market reacted like nothing was going to happen today. Like, to me, we should have been to that degree. I think also that President Trump is also understanding in the administration it is pretty hard to do a bilateral trade deal with over 200 countries. And you've heard some of this rhetoric from there. And so of the countries that are being, I think of the 21 plus you mentioned earlier, Brazil is the first one that ran a $7 billion deficit with the U.S. last year.

And so which countries are going to be getting letters tomorrow, the next week, is it the E.U., is it India? When you start getting with the bigger economies, Paula, then we're starting to get to a certain place where maybe there's a little bit more foresight to see what makes an impact for the rest of the U.S. on a larger scale.

NEWTON: I do point out that it seems like the Trump administration may get a deal with the E.U. by week's end. But you know, it still leaves two countries, the largest trading partners, China, Mexico, Canada, still hanging in the balance here. And so I want to get to the impact here on the real economy. The Trump administration seems ever confident that, look, the U.S. economy is just fine, thank you very much. We are not going to get a third quarter or fourth quarter slowdown. Where do you see things going from here?

PATEL: I mean, listen, if I had a crystal ball and tell you, as of today, I just tell you, I don't know. How can we say today that -- with confidence that if we don't -- if we need stability -- so if you're telling me that we will get these letters, we know what businesses are going to be able to understand what their cost is and then they can pass it on to the consumer, sure. Then I feel really confident in knowing what the consumers are going to pay. But we're seeing consumers, we're seeing businesses stay on the sideline with cash because they just don't know. They can't operate in an ability where supply chain cost 20 percent more.

We saw over Amazon Prime Day over the last four days the people that were buying stuff was more, you know, cheaper items, daily good items, things that they get on sale. It wasn't big purchase ticket items out of that. So I mean that's really telling to see where the economy is going. And like I said, I still think it's a wait and see. I think where it plays out and I think that's where the market is just -- again, I think it's in waiting. I think market is waiting to see what's going to happen when the actual deal gets done.

NEWTON: Yes, waiting and yet either close to record highs or at them like the NASDAQ is right now. It -- we'll wait and see because the Fed chair, Jerome Powell, does not believe that it's going to be smooth sailing. He would have lowered interest rates, he's not because he sees some stickiness to the inflation. I think getting to the overall pattern here though, if you are the E.U, if you are a country in South America right now, if you are in Asia, do you see this as bluster or a reordering completely of global trade? Because the United States can certainly affect a lot of that change.

PATEL: Yes. Listen, if you're the E.U., you kind of want to get a deal done at a deal that's close to the deal that you have, because you don't want to be pulled into what could be a sticky conversation that gets pulled out of policy trade at the beginning. You need some stability. And I think that's the leverage that the U.S. is doing. That's where these countries that are smaller that are doing some of these deals, not to say the larger economies won't, but it's just, do you want to be in this, I don't say the word mess, but do you want to be in this -- in the news every day about holding an economy that needs to, you know, grow to that degree?

And you saw the U.K. make it. You know, you see certain countries just go, I don't want to really be a part of this. I want to have some stability toward what we're doing on investments and not with a major trade partner. And that's what the U.S. is doing, right? They're changing the way you do bilateral deals, and they're doing on a massive scale.

And we haven't seen something like this at this size. And it's not easy, Paula. And the U.S. is finding that out of how do you choose, what percent do you do with certain countries and what goods? And I think that's pretty difficult.

NEWTON: Yes. And as you point out, difficult to know the effects, even if we go out, you know, 12 to 18 months. Ryan Patel, we will leave it there for now. Thanks so much.

PATEL: Appreciate you.

NEWTON: Now, tensions over tariffs are looming over a summit of the association of Southeast Asian Nations. Donald Trump's top diplomat, Marco Rubio, is expected to face many questions and frustrations during meetings with his Asian partners. Eight of the 10 countries represented will face U.S. tariffs on August 1st if no trade deals are reached. And if the deadline holds, some of the countries just found out about the tariffs this week.

[01:15:14]

Now a powerful picture now, we turn to Gaza and we look at the crisis that they are facing there, four babies share an incubator meant for only one. More on that story and the ongoing talks to reach a temporary ceasefire.

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NEWTON: Key players are indicating they are making headway as they try to bring at least a temporary end to the brutal war in Gaza. Hamas says it's working, quote, "diligently and positively" to overcome obstacles at the ceasefire talks in Qatar and confirms a potential deal would include the release of 10 living hostages. U.S. President Donald Trump says Israel and Hamas are very close to a deal for a 60 day ceasefire. In Washington, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday after two meetings with Mr. Trump just this week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: President Trump and I have a common goal. We want to achieve the release of our hostages. We want to end Hamas rule in Gaza, we want to make sure that Gaza does not pose a threat to Israel anymore.

In pursuing this common goal, we have a common strategy. Not only do we have a common strategy, we have common tactics. This doesn't involve pressure, doesn't involve coercion, it involves full coordination.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: Now the reported diplomatic progress is doing nothing to alleviate the suffering inside Gaza. Hospitals are so short of fuel to run their generators and other vital services that it's become a life or death issue for some patients. As Paula Hancocks reports, doctors are resorting to desperate measures to keep their youngest patients alive.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Four babies crammed into one ICU cot. The stark reality of trying to keep preterm babies alive in a war zone where formula, medicine and fuel have virtually run out.

DR. NASSER BULBUL, HEAD OF ICU, AL-HELOU HOSPITAL: But we have no incubators to keep this baby inside the incubator. So put the baby for more than one week in the (inaudible). Also, this keeps baby in risk of complications because of the temperature control and the risk of getting infection.

HANCOCKS (voice-over): Twelve incubators in this ICU with 22 cases of extreme preterm babies. Dr. Bulbul says they have lost babies when the generators break down. Baby Aseel (ph) was born three months early weighing half a kilo. She needed two months in an incubator.

We all want our children to be safe, the mother says. If the power is cut off, these children will be in a dire situation. We need electricity to power the incubators.

Hospitals across Gaza and the United Nations warn fuel shortages are at a critical point. NASA Medical Complex warns it is 24 hours away from disaster. If the power goes out, it says dozens of patients face certain deaths.

This kidney dialysis center has been closed at Al-Shifa Hospital. It can only reopen once more fuel is delivered.

We have asked COGAT, the Israeli agency in charge of coordinating aid deliveries into Gaza about the acute shortage of fuel for hospitals. And the daily fight for food becomes ever more desperate.

JAMAL ABU HASIRA, GAZA CITY RESIDENT: Daily I am fighting this kind of starvation and I will barely get one meal per two days.

HANCOCKS (voice-over): Chaos and desperation is clear to see at this Gaza City soup kitchen, fear another day may pass with no food for themselves and their families. In the struggle, one girl spills boiling soup on her hands. Screams of shock and pain as she nurses the burns. Beyond her injury, she has lost her food.

As ceasefire talks continue in Doha, dozens continue to be killed daily across Gaza. This the aftermath of a strike on a tent city in Gaza City. Talk of progress in Qatar has no impact on life in Gaza.

ABU HASIRA: More than miserable, more than starvation, more than genocide, we are really living in hell. Really.

HANCOCKS (voice-over): Paula Hancocks, CNN, Abu Dhabi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[01:24:51]

NEWTON: Still to come for us, rescue teams continue the search for the missing in Texas after the weekend's deadly floods. We'll have the latest on their recovery efforts.

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[01:30:08]

NEWTON: Multiple officials within FEMA tell CNN they were ready to deploy search and rescue teams and other life-saving resources to Texas over the weekend. But new protocols forced them to wait more than three days after the flooding began.

Now, those officials point to a new internal policy enacted by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, requiring her personal approval on any expense above $100,000.

Now flags meantime, are flying at half-staff in Kerrville in honor of the flooding victims. The death toll has climbed to at least 120, with more than 160 people still reported missing.

CNN's Ed Lavandera is in Texas with the latest on recovery efforts.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The Guadalupe River has turned into a graveyard of despair. The river stretches for roughly 35 miles through Kerr County alone, and most of it is now a daunting search area for the missing, which brought us to this riverfront spot along Rowland Road under cypress trees which was once the home to popular RV parks. The river took families into its grip and didn't let go.

LORENA GUILLEN, RESCUED PEOPLE FROM FLOODS: Dozens of vehicles just getting washed away. You can see the windows of the campers with people banging against the windows and the screams. The screams is what haunts me every time I close my eyes.

LAVANDERA: Lorena Guillen said the cars and cabins would get sucked into the water and the screaming would stop.

This is what the search for victims in the Guadalupe River flooding has come to. We're downstream from where there was an RV park. Hundreds of people filled it for the July 4th weekend. The trailers and cars were swept away and mangled. It all rushed downstream.

You can see here as crews and volunteers have been trying to clean up this mess, several of the volunteers who were out here looking for victims have said that they're worried that many of the victims still might be submerged under water, and that in many cases, they're simply finding body parts.

And I know that's difficult to hear, but that is the reality of what many of these volunteers and search and rescue teams are dealing with right now.

We found Joe Rigelsky, leading a volunteer search team, sifting through mounds of thick mud and debris on their hands and knees, looking to bring the missing home, meticulously searching the devastation with dogs trained to find human remains.

JOE RIGELSKY, UPSTREAM INTERNATIONAL: You walk the banks, you got divers in the water swimming upstream. This area was riddled, First day was probably 20 plus Vehicles pulled just out of this three-block stretch. So breaking windows, searching first for anything that's in there, then a cadaver dog comes.

LAVANDERA: These people over here are looking for the missing.

RIGELSKY: So this right now -- we're days into this so there's foul odors. So you've got a lot of livestock. You got deer. You got everything else. But you also don't know if it's --

LAVANDERA: Human.

RIGELSKY: -- part of the missing.

LAVANDERA: Officials in central Texas are managing multiple agencies and more than 2,100 volunteers in Kerr County from across the United States and even Mexico. They're asking search teams to take a delicate approach.

SGT. JONATHAN LAMB, KERVILLE POLICE DEPARTMENT: We have large debris piles, and we asked them not to use heavy equipment to take down those debris piles until they've been checked by a search party because it's possible there are victims in that debris pile. And we don't want to disturb that.

LAVANDERA: The rubble is piling up from roadways, homes and the immense countryside here.

This is just staggering. The river's over here, this entire bed leading up to the river was filled with water. And you look up into the into the tree limbs and you see debris, parts of vehicles, clothing, tents -- 20, 30, almost 40 feet high up in the trees.

Gives you a sense -- you can actually see, in some places you can actually see the water line about 30 feet high up into the trees here. Trees ripped from their roots, mangled cars and trucks left submerged in the Guadalupe River's path. These search teams know a victim could be anywhere waiting to be found.

Texas officials say that the search for the missing now extends some 200 miles from Kerr County to the east. And as we walk the banks of the Guadalupe River, you could really sense the gravity of this moment among the search teams and the volunteers that are out there. And that they know that this search could very well take days, if not weeks, to complete.

Ed Lavandera, CNN -- Kerrville, Texas.

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[01:34:50]

NEWTON: Now, further west in the state of New Mexico, officials say everyone is accounted for after deadly floods that killed three people on Tuesday. The area has gone through forest fires and flooding in the past year, and residents have hardly had any time to recover.

Natasha Chen has more.

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NATASHA CHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: These terrifying images emerged in New Mexico as the Rio Ruidoso swelled from under two feet to over 20 feet in less than one hour. It came on the heels of devastatingly deadly floods in Texas.

This one claimed at least three lives, including two children.

CHIEF STEVEN MINNER, RUIDOSO POLICE: All three victims were reported missing from the same area which was an RV park. And they were all found downriver anywhere from a quarter mile to two miles down the river.

CHEN: Emergency crews made dozens of swift water rescues. Businesses like this trading post were destroyed.

Kaitlyn Carpenter was on her motorcycle and says she pulled over to take shelter when the intense downpour started.

KAITLYN CARPENTER, WITNESSED FLOODING: It kind of just went from bad to worse. The flood started and then a really big flood just came like a wall of flood.

Oh my gosh. You all look. Oh, no.

CHEN: She started filming the devastation, then saw a close friend's house being whisked away by the rushing river.

CARPENTER: She's actually out of town right now, so it was kind of heartbreaking to be filming and then to see my best friend's house that I have memories in. CHEN: The catastrophic flooding occurred in an area scorched by

wildfires last summer.

CARPENTER: There's no trees anymore to soak up all the water running off of the mountain.

CHEN: Since June of last year, there have been at least 12 separate flash flood emergencies like this one in the area, putting residents in extreme swings from fires to floods.

CARPENTER: It just got worse because there's nothing to soak up any of the water.

CHEN: Natasha Chen, CNN -- Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: Just ahead for us, we get up close and personal with vampire bats and snakes hanging IN caves, all in the name of bat conservation. Stay with us.

[01:36:53]

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NEWTON: So it's the stuff of nightmares, certainly my nightmares -- vampire bats and snakes and dark caves. But for one Mexican ecologist, it's all just another day in the field.

Today on Call to Earth, we visit with Rodrigo Medellin, who as part of the Rolex Perpetual Planet Initiative, has spent the last four decades campaigning to save bats in his home country.

Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RODRIGO MEDELLIN, NATIONAL AUTONOMOUS UNIVERSITY OF MEXICO: This is an area of tropical forest, but this is the dry season, so you can see that the ecosystem is very, very dry. It's very, very hot.

So bats are not going to be very active tonight. But this is going to help us hopefully catch two, maybe three bats. Crossing fingers.

ZAIN ASHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Mexican ecologist Rodrigo Medellin has spent more than 40 years studying, educating and campaigning to protect bats in his country.

MEDELLIN: My dedication to bats is very tightly linked to convincing other people that bats are incredibly important for your everyday well-being.

ASHER: On this trip, he's accompanied by two of his own teammates and a group of local students, educators and farmers who he aims to inspire through up close interactions with his favorite winged mammal. MEDELLIN: This is the mustached bat. This is a very common

insectivorous species from all of tropical Mexico, Central America, and South America. As you can see, it has really beautiful wings.

ASHER: Globally, bat populations are declining because of a number of threats including habitat loss, climate change and disease. But Rodrigo believes their biggest problem is a bad reputation.

MEDELLIN: Bats are very mysterious. Many people fear them. Many people attack them, despise them.

Where did it come from? Why do they have that negative public image? Very likely it has something to do with an incredible novel called "Dracula", written by Bram Stoker in the 1800s.

It's the furry-legged vampire bat. Look at his hairy legs. Can you see the furry-legged vampire bat?

Bats are certainly not more full of diseases than your dog or your cat. So that has been horribly exaggerated. And the bats are the losing end of this equation.

So what we do many times is just to explain to people that bats are not dangerous.

This is a baby nectar feeding bat. For the moment, it's safe. But there's more than 100 snakes around it. Any second one of them can come and grab it.

[01:44:56]

MEDELLIN: One of my projects is to document the ecosystem services provided by bats all around the world. This time, we're surrounded by many thousands of bats that feed on insects, nectar and pollen from flowers, and fruit. Those three provide incredible ecosystem services for all of us.

ASHER: In other words, bats help control pests, disperse seeds, and pollinate key crops here and across the planet.

MEDELLIN: Mexico is a very lucky country. We are one of the very few mega diversity countries. That is an incredible privilege, but also an amazing responsibility for all of Mexicans.

We need to defend our nature, our biodiversity and our bats. They are amazing and they give you benefits every day of our lives.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: Fascinating story there. Let us know what you're doing to answer the call with the #CalltoEarth.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) NEWTON: French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte wrapped up the second day of their state visit to the U.K. with a banquet hosted by the mayor of London.

The event came hours after Prime Minister Keir Starmer hosted a lunch for Mr. Macron at 10 Downing Street. The leaders discussed issues from Ukraine to immigration, ahead of a bilateral summit on Thursday.

Now, starting Thursday, the public will get an unprecedented look at unique artwork, capturing a lifetime of King Charles' royal travels. For more than 40 years, Charles took an artist with him as he visited countries around the world. And now those works are on display at Buckingham Palace.

CNN's Christina Macfarlane gives us a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN ANCHOR: While most of us rely on our phones to take holiday snaps or remind us of the good times, King Charles does things slightly differently.

For the past 40 years, he has personally commissioned an artist to join him on 70 official visits across 95 countries and regions. The collection is going on display to the public inside Buckingham Palace for the first time starting Thursday.

And we've been given an early look, starting with a scene from the royal yacht, painted by the king himself alongside artist John Ward.

KATE HEARD, CURATOR, THE KING'S TOUR ARTISTS: It's a view from the Britannia. Looking back out over the sea on that 1985 tour to Italy. And you can see the king's own watercolor there. His majesty is also an artist himself.

We know that on the earlier tours, his majesty was able to paint alongside those tour artists often. As the pace of tours has increased, there's been less chance to do that.

MACFARLANE: So when you talk about the challenges for a touring artist, what do you mean by that exactly?

HEARD: Well, a royal tour moves very fast. It's very carefully choreographed and it moves at real pace. And an artist needs time to create their work of art.

This is by an artist called Luke Allsbrook, who had 30 minutes to capture the scene. He didn't create this wonderful large canvas in that 30 minutes, but he set up his easel. You see, he's chosen that really wide view.

[01:49:49]

HEARD: This is Washington State. You can see the royal party in the field. They're just going to visit that farmhouse. MACFARLANE: I've heard the king say that his own works of art for

himself serve as a sort of photo album of his own life. Do you think the reason behind doing this is something similar?

HEARD: Well, certainly these works provide a record, but they also provide an interpretation of the tours. Each of them is the artist's response to the place that they visited.

MACFARLANE: What's your favorite?

HEARD: I have a favorite. I do have a favorite, but I think everybody will have a favorite. So I think that in some ways my favorite isn't important because

everybody will take a different favorite away. Everybody will react to a different work of art.

MACFARLANE: For me personally, it's this one. A couple on a beach in a rare moment of calm amidst the chaos of royal life on tour.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: So more than a third of the population of Tuvalu, a tiny island nation in the South Pacific, has applied for visas to relocate to Australia. The reason -- they want to escape the dangers of rising sea levels caused by global warming.

Now more than 4,000 people are applying, but Australia will only accept 280 visa winners from a random ballot in this one-of-a-kind offer. They will get permanent residency with the right to work and access to public health care and education.

The plan is part of a broader pact that Australia and Tuvalu signed two years ago. It requires Australia to defend the island against military aggression and rising seas.

Canberra considers Tuvalu a crucial player in its ongoing struggle with China for regional influence.

We want to learn more, though, about this visa plan from Pat Conroy. He is Australia's minister for the Defense Industry and the minister for Pacific Island Affairs.

I want to thank you for being with us as we all try and really parse this plan. So climate change has been certainly transformative for many, but for Tuvalu, it has been extreme.

What are you hearing from the residents there who are really, at times afraid they will become climate refugees?

PAT CONROY, AUSTRALIAN MINISTER FOR PACIFIC ISLAND AFFAIRS: Well, Tuvalu, like much of the Pacific, climate change is an existential threat. And on current projections, by 2040, 50 percent of the capital island will be underwater at high tide.

So one of the aspects of the Farley Pillay Treaty that Australia and Tuvalu signed last year was what's called "migration with dignity", where we commit to offering permanent residence to every single citizen of Tuvalu. That's part of our efforts to bring the two countries closer.

We're also investing in climate adaptation so that were raising the land in many of the islands, so they will deal with climate change better. We're investing in more infrastructure.

We're also committing to come to their assistance should they be threatened by natural disaster or military aggression, as well as recognizing the current borders of Tuvalu should even some of the islands be lost to climate change and recognizing their ambitions to be recognized as a (INAUDIBLE) nation.

So this is a world's first treaty, and the "migration with dignity" aspect is one part of a much broader approach of bringing the two countries closer together.

NEWTON: Yes. In fact, and you have written this, that you have said that the climate impact's worse and Tuvaluans need to be able to guarantee their safety and prosperity. And I get that and you just explained it.

I guess the confusing part is that, you know, you obviously committed to have people on the island continue to live with dignity. I'm wondering how migration works into that, right. Because it could, especially given the uptake that you've had on it. It is not a blow or could be a blow to their way of life, their culture.

CONROY: Well, it's a balance for the government and people of Tuvalu. Some will want to stay, some will want to migrate.

Importantly, the ballot is random so that we don't see a brain drain where the best and brightest leave for Australia. It will be a random selection of the just over 5,000 applications for the 280 spots, and that's 280 spots annually.

So for example, in the first four years, the equivalent of 10 percent of the island Tuvaluan citizens could migrate to Australia.

But in another innovative approach, normally when someone is granted permanent residence in Australia, they lose it if they travel overseas in a certain amount of time.

This visa will allow complete freedom of movement between Tuvalu and Australia, so a Tuvaluan might go to Australia to undertake their education, and then they may go back to Tuvalu to start a business or to raise a family.

So this is about free movement that's unlimited in nature. And this is just one part of bringing the two countries closer together.

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NEWTON: And I hear you that it is a new pact, it's transformative and really one of the first of its kind. You have spoken as well about China's influence. How does a closer

relationship with Tuvalu offer some defensive protection against a rising China?

CONROY: Well, we've been very open with the Australian people that there is a permanent contest in the Pacific to be the partner of choice for the nations of that region. And that's something Australia strives to do, because we're part of the region.

We're a proud member of the Pacific family. We're a foundation member of the Pacific Islands Forum, and we want to be the economic, the development and the security partner of choice for as many Pacific nations as possible.

So this treaty is one way of doing that. It obviously brings our countries closer together. There's people to people links, and we're providing commitments to come to the aid of Tuvalu should they suffer a natural disaster, a global health pandemic or military aggression.

So we've also signed a treaty with Nauru, and we've signed a bilateral security agreement with Papua New Guinea. So we're committed to being the partner of choice for as many Pacific countries as possible. We take our obligations seriously, and that ranges from economic to security and everything in between.

NEWTON: We have about 30 seconds left, but were you surprised that so many people applied for this visa, even though there are only 280?

CONROY: Not really. It's very popular. It's in line with the Pacific Engagement Visa that's open to the whole Pacific region who are independent countries where for 3,000 spots we had 56,000 applications.

Australia is a very attractive place to live. But the important thing is we want to build the Pacific family. We want to build the diaspora. We want to bring the region closer together because Australia's peace and prosperity depends on the peace and prosperity and stability of the broader Pacific.

NEWTON: Pat Conroy, thank you so much. Really appreciate you being with us today.

CONROY: My pleasure.

NEWTON: And I want to thank all of you for watching. I'm Paula Newton.

CNN NEWSROOM continues with my friend and colleague Rosemary Church. She'll be right here after a break.

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