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Vance Arrives In Switzerland For U.S.-Iran Peace Talks; Iran: Closing Hormuz After Israel Attacks In Lebanon; Trump Claims Vandals Damaged Washington's Reflecting Pool; U.S. Eyes Deep Tournament Run After Back-To-Back Wins; What China Stands To Gain From The U.S.-Iran War; Expert Divers Use Experience Saying Thai Soccer Team To Help. Aired 5-6a ET

Aired June 21, 2026 - 05:00   ET

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

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[05:00:32]

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello and a very warm welcome to our viewers all around the world and in the U.S. I'm Salma Abdelaziz in London.

Let's get into the headlines. Vice President Vance is now in Switzerland for U.S.-Iran talks, but it is another country that will be first up on the agenda. We're going to go live to Switzerland with the latest.

And the saga of the algae-plagued Reflecting Pool deepens. President Trump now says arrests have been made over what he claims is vandalism.

Plus, we're going to take you inside last month's intense international efforts to save the men trapped inside a flooded cave system in Laos.

ANNOUNCER: Live from London, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Salma Abdelaziz.

ABDELAZIZ: U.S. and Iranian negotiators are right now descending on Switzerland to kick off the next phase of high-stakes peace talks. That includes U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance, who landed there just a short time ago. Washington and Tehran agreed to a 60-day negotiating window to finalize a peace deal that the vice president laid out his top priorities for the talks before leaving for Switzerland.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

J.D. VANCE (R), U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: I can only be there for a day or two. I think we're hopefully making progress on the nuclear issue. Making progress on the Lebanon ceasefire issue. Those are the two big things that I think we're to be focused on. I'm sure the Iranians are going to have issues they'd like to discuss as well.

(END VIDEO CLIP) ABDELAZIZ: A delegation from Iran is also on the ground in Switzerland, and officials from both Pakistan and Qatar are set to mediate. A source tells CNN that the talks will begin with an emergency session on Lebanon.

Now, Tehran is accusing Israel of violating a ceasefire in Lebanon after a new round of deadly strikes. That led to Iran claiming to close the Strait of Hormuz just days after signing this agreement with the United States. For more on all of this, I want to bring in CNN's international diplomatic editor, Nic Robertson. He is in Lucerne, Switzerland.

Good morning, Nic. Look, the 60-day timeline was already very tight, as it was, to go through all of the issues from Iran's nuclear program to the lifting of sanctions. But now, Tehran is saying these talks are not going to go any further until the issue in Lebanon is resolved. What's actually going to be discussed here today? Are they even going to get to the major sticking points?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: J.D. Vance says they want to get to the major sticking points, and I think this is going to be a real test of whether they can begin to work through that 14-point memorandum of understanding. It's taking place behind high security up in the mountains in that hotel, Bergenstock over my shoulder there.

This is the first time that J.D. Vance will have met with his Iranian counterpart, the head of their negotiating team, Mohammad Ghalibaf. And this is happening -- well, first time they have met in two months. The last time they met was back in Islamabad, when the talks didn't work out. It's taken two months since then to get this memorandum of understanding.

It's all been done through the Pakistani and Qatari mediators. It's all very tenuous. But I think both sides genuinely believe that when the signatures went down by the Iranian president and President Trump late Wednesday night, that at least this was sort of locked in and they could get down the road to that really thorny issue that President Trump wants to make sure that Iran is not going to have a nuclear weapon, that the highly enriched uranium is diluted, that all of that is controlled.

But of course, Lebanon is the number one point on the first clause in that memorandum of understanding. And Iran is saying, very simply, President Trump, if there isn't a ceasefire in Lebanon, how can we know that you can push through and give guarantees for the rest of the memorandum of understanding? And to that point, they're saying one of the things we guaranteed was opening the Strait of Hormuz.

Well, we are taking that away, a diplomatic stick, closing the Strait of Hormuz, and the quid pro quo appears to be ensure that there is a much fuller ceasefire in Lebanon. So, that is the first topic of conversation. It's not the only topic today. It will begin in a sort of four-way discussion, the U.S., the Iranians, the Qataris and the Pakistanis around the table together. It's going to consume a lot of time, and the outcome of that will be a

test of how realistic the rest of the timeline is, which, as you say, was already very, very stretched.

[05:05:07]

I think there is a lot of diplomacy going on in the background on Lebanon. We certainly know Secretary of State Marco Rubio has been very heavily engaged, the Lebanese side and the Israeli side, to try to tamp down the escalating tensions and violence in the Israeli airstrikes, the killing of IDF soldiers, the killing of many Lebanese civilians. Front and center, this is a test today.

ABDELAZIZ: And, as you said, this is -- this is point one of the memorandum that we are struggling with here, that is the initial hurdle in these talks. You discussed some of those behind-the-scenes efforts to try to contain that situation in Lebanon. But very realistically here, Nic, neither Israel or Hezbollah are party to this deal. They are not in Switzerland. what can actually take place to resolve that conflict when they're not even in the room?

ROBERTSON: So, yeah, I mean, I think this is the perfect question, because Israel, if it's dissatisfied with the memorandum of understanding, which appears that it is, and Prime Minister Netanyahu has been heavily criticized for being beholden to the United States and signing up to the ceasefire and being in this position.

So, there's huge political pressure domestically in an election year for Prime Minister Netanyahu to continue to aggressively go after Hezbollah. And on the flip side of that, one can understand that, in these talks, it's important for Iran to be able to get money, and they're getting that right now with the waivers that are in place for them to sell their international oil products. It's been front-loaded. The deal has been front-loaded so that they make money.

So, in a way, the longer the talks go without conclusion, it's also relatively to a point in Iran's favor. So, it is not beyond the possibilities. Iran can tell Hezbollah, create disturbance in Lebanon. Israel will strike you. Things will escalate. The talks will go slow. So, the main power points here are really simple, I think. Iran tells Hezbollah, cease and desist. That's not on our agenda. We want to get everything that we want out of this locked in. You fighting isn't going to help. And President Trump to the Israelis, to the prime minister there, do not do this. This isn't contributing to the bigger picture of what we want, ultimately, which is a bigger, comprehensive Middle East peace deal.

President Trump's talked about that. Sounds highly aspirational. But if anyone wants to achieve that, the only way at the moment does seem to be through a ceasefire in Lebanon.

And everyone who's been there and knows the situation on the ground knows how difficult that is to achieve. One of the principles there is the Lebanese army comes in and secures locations where Hezbollah is at. The Lebanese army is nowhere strong enough and in a position to do that. They will need a lot more international support to make that possible. It will require restraint on all sides.

ABDELAZIZ: Restraint from all sides. But is that in anyone's interest, as you pointed out there? Or is more conflict in their interest?

Nic Robertson from Lucerne, Switzerland, thank you so much for that breakdown.

Forecasters are keeping an eye on a weather system that could worsen flooding along the Gulf Coast on Sunday. There have been days of severe weather linked to remnants of Tropical Storm Arthur, which left communities in Louisiana, Texas and Mississippi underwater.

The heaviest rain has moved out, but saturated ground means even a couple of more inches could trigger additional flooding. Meanwhile, strong to severe storms are pushing across parts of the Midwest, bringing the threat of damaging winds, large hail and possibly tornadoes. Those storms are expected to weaken today as they head towards parts of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic.

President Trump is now claiming, without evidence, that vandals are responsible for damaging Washington, D.C.'s Reflecting Pool on the National Mall. Mr. Trump said some arrests have been made and that the algae-filled pool will need to be drained. One of those arrests is a three-time U.S. Olympian, David Hearn. Hearn told CNN that he only reached into the pool just out of curiosity to touch a piece of blue material. He denies damaging anything.

The Reflecting Pool is part of Mr. Trump's wider efforts to beautify the Capitol as America's 250th anniversary approaches. However, the recent renovation of the pool cost at least 14 million dollars, and now crews are attempting to clear away the algae.

Saturday's World Cup matches saw plenty of drama on the pitch, and there is more action on tap later today. A lot of eyes will be on the match between Spain and Saudi Arabia. Spain looks to regain their footing after an unexpected draw in their opener. Afterwards, Iran's national team is going to return to California to face Belgium. Uruguay will take on Cape Verde, and New Zealand goes toe-to-toe with Egypt.

[05:10:11]

The U.S. team has clinched a ticket to the next round following back- to-back wins against Paraguay and Australia. The dominant performance has seen fans hoping for a deep tournament run. CNN's Andy Scholes brings us a closer look from Seattle.

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ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Well, Team USA is leaving Seattle after another amazing performance, and now for the first time ever in modern World Cup history, the U.S. has won their group after just two games. So, now for Thursday's last group stage game against Turkey, the U.S., there's no stakes. They can rest all of their players if they choose to do so, which is great for Christian Pulisic as he continues to deal with that calf injury. Now, Mauricio Pochettino's squad, they just completely controlled the first half against Australia on Friday here in Seattle, and they did so without Pulisic, who wasn't able to make it back for this game. The U.S., they got two goals in that first half. Folarin Balogun, he didn't score, but he created the opportunity that led to an own goal.

And get this, the U.S. is the first team in World Cup history to benefit from own goals in consecutive games. The team then later got a header from Alex Freeman, the 21-year-old son of former Packers wide receiver Antonio Freeman, really turning into a rising star.

Australia had some chances in the second half, but Team USA able to put up a clean sheet and win 2-0.

And check out the fan zone in Atlanta watching the U.S. get the win. It was just pure chaos after the first goal. They actually had to stop letting people in, it got so packed. In Centennial Olympic Park there in downtown Atlanta, it's pretty big, so that's an impressive crowd.

And the atmosphere here in Seattle, it was also electric. And afterwards, I talked to the fans who are more confident than ever about a deep U.S. run.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That was unbelievable. They look -- they're looking so good.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Man, they came out great today. They hit it, and Australia didn't know what had it coming.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm starting to believe. I think we're pretty dominant. I think we're dangerous.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think they have a really good chance of winning this whole thing.

SCHOLES: The whole thing?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The whole thing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Quarterfinals for sure, and then we'll see.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I got to say all the way.

SCHOLES: All the way?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, all the way.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: USA all the way. Red, white, and blue, you know what I'm saying? No matter what, let's go.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: Now, Balogun has become one of the breakout stars of this World Cup, and how he came to play for Team USA, it's rather amazing. So, Balogun's Nigerian parents, who lived in London, were visiting New York some 24 years ago, and Balogun's mother was seven months pregnant at the time. And when it came time to get on the plane and go back to London, an airline employee would not let her board because of health concerns due to how pregnant she was.

So, Balogun ended up being born in Brooklyn before heading back to the U.K. when he was two months old, and Balogun could have chose to play for England or Nigeria, but he chose the USA after fans flooded him with messages.

Now, we don't know what the future holds here at the World Cup, but that one airline employee could very well have changed the course of history for Team USA.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ABDELAZIZ: Still to come, the controversy over a photo request at the G7 continues. We're going to have the latest exchange between President Trump and Georgia Maloney. And a warehouse in a small Georgia town was set to become a massive immigration detention center, but that plan is now changing. That story and more right after the break.

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[05:17:16]

ABDELAZIZ: The diplomatic grift between the U.S. and Italy is not healing, and it's all over a photo at the G7 summit. Italian media first reported that President Donald Trump said Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni begged him for a photo with her. Now President Trump is making the same claim in a post on social media.

He also suggested her popularity is down in Italy for not supporting the U.S. against Iran. Prime Minister Meloni previously posted a video vehemently denying this claim, and now she's responding to Mr. Trump's latest social media post saying, "President Trump, these constant and gratuitous attacks are senseless. In any case, my popularity is none of your concern. I suggest that you focus on yours." CNN has reached out to the White House for comment.

The Trump administration is backtracking on plans to convert a warehouse in Georgia into a very large immigration detention center. The federal government originally bought this property in Social Circle, Georgia, for more than $128 million. The facility was intended to house up to 10,000 migrant detainees. That would have nearly doubled the population of the town. The plan to convert the warehouse drew significant pushback from residents and local leaders. CNN's Rafael Romo has the latest from Social Circle, Georgia.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Officials here in Social Circle told me that they first learned about the Department of Homeland Security's plans to build a detention center for migrants the day after Christmas. Social Circle is a town of fewer than 6,000, about 45 miles east of Atlanta. The plan called for Immigration and Customs Enforcement to open the detention center in a local 1 million square foot warehouse to hold as many as 10,000 migrants, nearly tripling the population. And that's without counting 2,000 to 2,500 employees. The plan drew fierce opposition in Walton County, where President Donald Trump won more than 72 percent of the vote in 2024. Social Circle leaders said their main concern was the potential impact to their water and sewer infrastructure, which lacks capacity the concern, they say, they tried to convey multiple times to federal officials.

And then, unexpectedly, the city of Social Circle learned only two days ago the Trump administration is now backing away from its plans, and they learned that not from DHS officials, they say, but from Congressman Mike Collins.

And apparently this is not happening only here in Georgia. "The New York Times," citing documents it has obtained, reports that DHS is scrapping plans for conversion of a total of seven of 11 recently purchased warehouses into detention facilities from Roxbury, New Jersey, to Salt Lake City, Utah. What changed? Well, this is what Social Circle city manager Eric Taylor told me earlier.

[05:20:06]

ERIC TAYLOR, SOCIAL CIRCLE CITY MANAGER: I just have to believe that they came to the same conclusion that what we've been trying to tell them all along that Social Circle is not the right place for this type of facility. And, you know, they went in and looked at it with a fresh eye under the new administration and came to the same conclusion.

GLENDA BROWN, SOCIAL CIRCLE RESIDENT: Relief, pure relief, because we love our town just like it is.

ROMO: What was your main concern?

BROWN: The water mainly in the bathrooms. If you only have maybe 5,000 people, how can you accommodate 10,000 more?

ROMO: DHS told CNN in a statement that it is still focused on removing what it calls the worst of the worst criminal, illegal aliens. These heinous criminals, once arrested, the statement says, should be removed at lightning speed and not housed on American soil at the taxpayer's expense. DHS is moving swiftly to utilize existing detention space with our state and county partners.

Several crucial questions remain. The deed shows that the federal government paid more than $128.5 million for the Social Circle property, more than four times the 29.4 million it sold for in 2023. A source told CNN in April that DHS began rethinking the more than 700 million program to expand immigration detention after Markwayne Mullin succeeded Kristi Noem as Homeland Security secretary. But the administration is still not publicly giving specifics on where the program goes from here.

Rafael Romo, CNN, Social Circle, Georgia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ABDELAZIZ: Aviation authorities in the U.S. are investigating an apparent close call between two passenger jets at Boston's Logan International Airport. The tracking data shows a Delta flight yesterday aborted its landing just as an American Airlines jet accelerated for takeoff on an intersecting runway. The Delta flight was forced to perform an evasive go-around maneuver, climbing quickly to circle the airport before it landed safely.

The planes came within several hundred feet of each other during this incident. Experts say flying remains incredibly safe, but the close call is the latest in a recent spate of aviation-related incidences and accidents in the U.S.

Still to come, how China has leveraged the war between the U.S. and Iran into some diplomatic wins for itself. That's ahead.

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[05:25:54]

ABDELAZIZ: Welcome back. I'm Salma Abdulaziz in London. Let's check some of today's top stories.

U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance has arrived in Switzerland where peace talks with Iran are set to take place. A source says the talks will begin with an emergency session on Lebanon. Tehran is accusing Israel of violating a ceasefire in Lebanon after a new round of deadly strikes.

President Trump is threatening to impose tolls on the Strait of Hormuz if a final deal with Iran is not reached. Mr. Trump claims the fees would be, quote, "for services rendered as the guardian angel to the Middle East."

President Trump says police have arrested suspects accused of vandalizing the Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C. The president had previously claimed without evidence that vandals were responsible for the damage to the iconic pool. More than $14 million has already been spent to renovate that pool.

And as the U.S. and Iran continue negotiations, China is walking a careful diplomatic line. Beijing is offering to play an active role in peace talks. It's positioning itself as a stable diplomatic power working to assert its influence with a friendly Iranian regime and an unpredictable Trump administration. Just last month, Chinese leader Xi Jinping hosted the U.S. president for a friendly state visit. The trip went ahead even as the U.S. accused Chinese companies of supporting Iran's weapons procurement and purchasing Iranian oil.

Still, this week, Donald Trump thanked Mr. Xi for being, quote, "totally neutral" and for helping in the peace negotiations. For more on all of this, we're going to be joined by Steve Tsang. He is the Director of the SOAS China Institute. He joins us from Nottingham, England. Good morning, first of all, to you.

STEVE TSANG, DIRECTOR, SOAS CHINA INSTITUTE: Good morning.

ABDELAZIZ: Look, Beijing has played a very impressive balancing act here, right? It's posed itself as a mediator of the conflict. It's even gained praise from President Trump for that role. But it's also continued to foster its allyship with Iran. Has China ultimately won out here? Can you count their gains for me?

TSANG: Well, China has done very well out of the war in Iran, not only in terms of the two points that you have flagged up, but also in terms of China being able to establish its credibility in the global south community as a reliable source of stability, in contrast to the United States as a force of disruption, causing damages to the economy. And China also needed to divide the United States from its democratic allies. And the war has delivered that in bucket full because of what President Trump has done.

So, China has done very well out of it. And its offers to mediate is really nothing more than that. It's an offer. The real issue is what will they be prepared to do in reality.

ABDELAZIZ: And I know that Iran continued -- China, rather, continued to buy Iranian oil during this conflict, despite the sanctions that were in place. How did it get away with that? And does it mean that it avoided the economic fallout from this conflict, which has been felt globally, even in some parts of Asia, of course? Were they able to avoid that?

TSANG: I think they have, by and large, avoided that. The pressure on energy shortage in China was being cushioned by China having the world's largest strategic oil reserve, and therefore they were not facing immediate shortage anyway. And they also make the most of President Trump's unwillingness to see U.S.-China relations deteriorate at this particular point, particularly before Trump went to China. They need to make sure that the condition for Trump's visits to Xi Jinping in Beijing would be all very, very good. And having done that, he was sufficiently charmed by Xi Jinping to make sure that he won't want to do anything that will upset Xi Jinping very much.

[05:30:23]

So yes, the Chinese call it head of state diplomacy, and they have used it very effectively to get Donald Trump to do what Donald Trump does, but in China's way.

ABDELAZIZ: And just moments ago, we saw Vice President J.D. Vance, the envoy Steve Witkoff, President Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner. They were going into some of the first talks, some of the first meetings here in negotiations in Switzerland.

Now, I know, of course, China's not there, but is China playing an invisible hand here in this diplomacy? We heard President Trump thank Beijing. Are they playing a role, even if they're not on the ground?

TSANG: I don't know whether they are actually doing anything on the ground. I think what the Chinese do want is for the Strait of Hormuz to be reopened. But they are not all that bothered about continuating problems between the United States and Iran in the negotiations. They are more inclined to make sure that Iran does not lose out.

At the moment, the Iranians have grounds to believe that they are on top in their engagements with the United States, that the war has done more damage to American interests than it has done to Iranians. And that works well for China.

ABDELAZIZ: Steve Tsang there, bringing us that very delicate balancing act that China has been playing during the course of this conflict, and in your mind, ultimately winning out. Thank you so much.

Still to come, we'll take a close look at the monumental search and rescue efforts for a group of missing minors in Laos. Then, their ordeal led to this moment of surprise and joy. That's next.

Plus, many Albanians say their country is not for sale. Just ahead, how a controversial real estate deal linked to President Trump's family is fueling Albania's flamingo revolution.

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ABDELAZIZ: Last month, the world watched transfixed as expert divers searched for seven men who were trapped inside a flooded cave system in Laos. After days of round-the-clock excavations and rescue efforts, five of the men made it out alive to reunite with their families, but the families of two other missing men have not been so fortunate. CNN's Will Ripley was there from the very beginning and walks us through the massive search and rescue mission.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In a cave deep in the mountains, in the remote jungles of Laos, a group of villagers panning for gold trapped underground. The cave floods with monsoon rains. CNN on the ground to document a daring rescue mission by a team that flies in from all over the world.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was very worried this morning because I don't think they would make it alive.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translation): I'd be happy to see my husband again.

RIPLEY (voice-over): Relief comes for some of the families as others are still waiting with hopes fading.

We're taking off.

RIPLEY (voice-over): From 2,500 feet in the air, these mountains of central Laos are stunning in the sunshine, but they're also dangerous, even deadly when the weather turns.

We're flying directly over the cave system right now where the rescue is unfolding and you can just see how treacherous this terrain is. RIPLEY (voice-over): From above, we can see the rescue site and the

pit they dug to pump out the water from the cave. This remote area of central Laos in Southeast Asia is around 80 miles from the capital, Vientiane, deep in the mountains of Xaisomboun Province. To launch the rescue operation, workers even had to bulldoze a road through the trees to help heavy machinery get to the cave.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's go.

RIPLEY: Crawling through a tiny tunnel that seems unbearably narrow, this dark underground labyrinth is not for the fainthearted. Thai diver Norrased Palasing, who goes by Benz, captures his journey as he tries to find the trapped men.

Finally, the light from the head torch emerges from the murky water.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's OK. It's OK. Well, done. Well, done. Don't cry. Don't cry.

RIPLEY (voice-over): The sounds of relief and emotion fill the cave, a moment these men feared may never come.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello, my name is Mued. Don't worry mom and dad. I'm still strong.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: now the rescue team has arrived. We are safe now.

RIPLEY (voice-over): That was May 27th. They've been huddled on this rock in the freezing cold for more than a week. With no food, breathing toxic air, only sipping cave water to survive.

NORRASED "BENZ" PALASING, THAI RESCUE DIVER: The first time that I was seeing him, seeing them. So they so glad they cray a lot. Let me cry also because like super emotional at that moment. And then, I tried to calm myself and I tried to calm themselves also because we have to calm and then keep warn, keep like don't spend so much power.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is anyone there?

RIPLEY (voice-over): That relief coming after these divers spent days searching for the men.

They were in the cave hunting for gold, an age-old process of finding hope beneath the soil. Mee Singfamalai is a 23-year-old barber. He says he went in there with friends from his village his first time searching for gold.

MEE SINGFAMALAI, TRAPPED GOLD HUNTER: I'm OK, mom. I'm still strong. Tomorrow or the day after I should be able to get out. Don't worry, I'm still strong.

RIPLEY (voice-over): Informal gold panning is illegal in Laos, but it's still common in rural areas of the country.

[05:40:10] Above ground, celebrations. As word arrives, the five are found alive. But tracking them down is only the first step. Getting them out of there is a much bigger challenge.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): If we're still here after another two days we'll be dead.

RIPLEY (voice-over): Now rescuers race to stay ahead of the weather, to get them all out before the next rains come. And every step of the rescue is made harder by this unforgiving terrain. With the new reinforcements arriving on Friday, the first rescue operation gets underway.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Firstly, it's very narrow. It's very small. We have to climb out, which is we cannot do like that we have to do it like just a little bit, just a little bit there like a cave 200 meter. We spend 50 minutes.

RIPLEY: 50.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 50, five-zero.

RIPLEY: Wow.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fifty minutes to crawl in. So that was very small. And then some water trapped around. We have to like climb in water. We have to like submerge in water sometime.

RIPLEY (voice-over): The five men are in a chamber nearly 1,000 feet inside the cave, a dangerous journey when dry, but potentially deadly after a flood.

The rescuers have to crawl down a steep entrance, drag themselves through a tunnel measuring just 23 inches around the width of a hubcap. The passage then drops into a 45-degree incline that's steeper than a Black Diamond ski run. Then they hit two vertical drops, the second ending right in the chamber with the men.

It's a perilous path, which takes a couple of hours for a fit, experienced diver. And then they have to do that in reverse with a beginner after giving a crash course in diving. And they can only go in one at a time.

MIKKO PAASI, FINNISH RESCUE DIVER: We had a little system, a pulley system that we do and then we like sandwich the guy between us and I was holding that navigating out and Benz was keeping the rear untangling and what not whatever happened on the way.

RIPLEY (voice-over): Mikko Paasi and Gengar Bongkawong are the lead divers from the international team, and they also helped rescue the Wild Boars Thai soccer team back in 2018. As the divers head into the cave above ground, the families wait anxiously for news on the rescue operation.

LEUN MEETHONG, SISTER OF TRAPPED MINER (through translation): We have hope. We hope it will happen soon. RIPLEY: What's it like walking up that road to go to the cave every

day and waiting?

SAMORN IAN, WIFE OF TRAPPEND MINER (through translation): It's exhausting. I haven't slept a single night.

RIPLEY: What's the first thing you're going to say to him when you see him?

IAN (through translation): What could I say? I'd just be so happy to see my husband again.

RIPLEY (voice-over): A few hours later, a miraculous moment as the first survivor, 23-year-old Mued, emerges safely. His face appears through the small opening in the cave. Limping as his bare feet hit the rocks.

MUED: I'm alright. I'm still strong.

RIPLEY: He's then rushed to hospital to recover. What was that moment like when you guys got the first villager out?

PAASI: Wow, it was -- I don't know how to describe. It was full of action, it was full of emotion, full of everything. It's a very tight spot where we bring them out, so it was kind of a relief that at least we could prove that the system that we have works.

RIPLEY (voice-over): As night falls, the water levels are too high to re-enter the cave, so they ramp up efforts to pump out the water overnight. On Saturday, they prepare to go back in to try to bring out the other four men. But then the unthinkable happens.

The men appear out of the depths. They manage to crawl out themselves. The pumping meant the water levels dropped enough for them to breathe without diving equipment. Emotional scenes unfold.

[05:45:04]

For the brave men who took a shot and claimed a new chance at life. Carried on stretchers, villagers bring the men down the hill from the cave. Weak and exhausted after 11 days underground.

RIPLEY: We just want to get you a little bit closer. Come on in here. They've just loaded two of the men, I believe, into these ambulances which are on standby. You can see they're carrying a third villager down now. So, you can see the entire village is coming out here. People are recording with their phones. This is the mother of one of the men. How are you feeling? Congratulations.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translation): Thank you. Thank you so much. thank you for helping me.

RIPLEY (voice-over): For the rescue diving team, it was nothing short of a miracle. Can I just -- can I just -- Joshua from Australia, Mikko, Robin. Holy moly. Congratulations.

RIPLEY: Relieved?

ROBIN CUESTA, FRANCE RESCUE DIVER: Yeah, relived. I'm really happy that they made it alive. I think that's a strong guy.

PAASI: The fact that they actually crawled, they crawled out by themselves. That talks a lot about it. It's not, it's quite physical.

RIPLEY: When you see the timing of this and the fact that now the storm clouds have moved in, we can feel the wind blow, we hear the thunder, the rain drops. I mean, if it was now or never, wasn't it?

AUDITA HARSONO, INDONESIA RESCUE DIVER: Yeah, yeah. In fact, we have to go down now with the rain and everything. It can be like tricky because like we cannot breathe. It's like, just need a little bit of water. Scary for us as well.

RIPLEY: It's rainy season. This is the exact kind of storm that caused the cave to flood 11 days ago. This is why they got stuck down there. And now the storm is coming up again after an extraordinary two-day almost pause.

The survivors recover in nearby Long Cheng Hospital. They have fevers and infections from the damp conditions and drinking that cave water. But for now, they are simply overjoyed.

SINGFAMALAI, SURVIVOR OF FLOODED CAVE (through translation): It felt like I had been given a new life. It was overwhelming. I suddenly had hope for so many things.

RIPLEY: Tell me what that was like. What happened?

SINGFAMALAI (through translation): Sometimes we had to dive. Sometimes we had to crawl. We crawled slowly. The passage was just about the size of a person.

RIPLEY: Tell me what those days were like in the cave before they were rescued.

SINGFAMALAI (through translation): We mostly just slept. We prated for someone to come help us. When it was cold we slept hugging each other. Four or five of us would sleep.

RIPLEY: Did you always believe that you were going to get out?

SINGFAMALAI (through translation): At first I believed there had to be a way to survive. I wanted to see my father, mother, and younger sibling again.

RIPLEY (voice-over): He and the other four survivors got lucky, forever grateful to the rescue team who helped them.

But two other men are still missing in this subterranean system, as the cave refills with rain, halting rescue efforts. But after one month underground, their wives' fears are growing that they may have paid the ultimate price.

Will Ripley, CNN, in the mountains of central Laos.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ABDELAZIZ: A paraglider in China found themselves in a very precarious position. You can see it there on that dramatic video. After becoming entangled on a construction crane, they were stuck dangling midair until rescuers could reach them.

Those rescue efforts continued into the night, requiring firefighters to climb a fully extended ladder to reach them. But local officials have confirmed that the paraglider was safely brought back down to Earth.

Still to come, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy responds after having Poland's highest honor revoked.

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[05:53:03]

ABDELAZIZ: Five people were killed in Russian attacks on Saturday. That's according to Ukrainian officials. Russia targeted the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia with glide bombs, according to the region's governor. Four people died and at least six were wounded, and some residents may still be trapped in the rubble of buildings.

Officials in Kharkiv say a Russian guided bomb struck a residential building early Saturday. One person was killed and nine more were injured, among them two children.

And relations remain strained between Poland and Ukraine. The president of Poland has stripped Volodymyr Zelenskyy of the country's top honor. President Zelenskyy posted on social media that he has returned the Order of the White Eagle back to Poland. He explained that Ukrainians believe the order was meant for the people and its army. Mr. Zelenskyy had been given the award in 2023 by the former Polish Prime Minister Duda. However, it was revoked after Zelenskyy renamed a military group after nationalists that are accused of murdering Poles in World War II.

Now, Poland's president, Karol Nawrocki, explained why he made that decision.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAROL NAWROCKI, POLISH PRESIDENT (through translator): I have decided to revoke the Order of the White Eagle from the president of Ukraine. At this point, I would like to emphasize, this decision is not directed against the Ukrainian people. It does not signify a change in the strategic direction of Polish security policy. We have supported and continue to support Ukraine because we know that Russian aggression poses a threat to the security of Poland and all of Europe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABDELAZIZ: I want to go to Colombia next, where voters will head to the polls in the coming hours to cast their votes in a presidential runoff election. The race has narrowed to just two candidates, the Trump-endorsed Abelardo de la Espriella, who you see on the right, and the leftist Senator Ivan Cepeda, who you see there on the left. The candidates offer competing visions for their country, especially on how to tackle Colombia's internal armed conflict.

[05:55:04]

They also differ on diplomacy, with de la Espriella favoring closer ties with the United States, while Cepeda insists his country must remain independent.

And Bolivia is now under a state of emergency. This comes after weeks of anti-government demonstrations. The nationwide declaration went into effect on Saturday. Now, the military and police are patrolling the streets and clearing blocked roads. At least 14 people have been killed since May 1st. Demonstrations first started after President Rodrigo Paz ended fuel subsidies to try to reduce the budget deficit. And for 50 days, people took to the streets over the rising cost of living and demanded that Paz resign. The roadblock just caused shortages of food, fuel and medical supplies.

A very controversial real estate deal in Albania has brought thousands to the streets of the capital, Tirane, yesterday to demand government change. The demonstrations initially were against a luxury real estate resort project linked to President Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner. It is set to be built on a protected wetland area where flamingos nest.

As a result, the protests are now called the Flamingo Revolution. Protesters say it's now about corruption. Once again, once one accused the government of being, quote, "the most corrupt in Europe." Insisting their country is not for sale.

Thank you so much for watching. I'm Salma Abdelaziz. For our audience in North America, "CNN This Morning" is coming up after a quick break. For the rest of the world, it's "Mission Tiger."

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