Return to Transcripts main page

One World with Zain Asher

CNN International: Russian And Ukraine Hold Direct Peace Talks In Istanbul; Trump Leaves The Middle East With Billions Of Deals; Trump: U.S. Is Close To Nuclear Deal With Iran. Aired 11a-12p ET

Aired May 16, 2025 - 11:00   ET

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

[11:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BIANNA GOLODRYGA, HOST, "ONE WORLD": Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has just spoken to U.S. President Donald Trump and several

European leaders. One World starts right now.

The call is on the heels for the first face-to-face talks between Russia and Ukraine in three years. But, no world leaders were present. Plus,

President Trump wraps up his Middle East trip, hinting that Iran has received a proposal for a new nuclear deal with the U.S. And President

Trump suggesting a new phase in his tariff plans, as we approach his July deadline for deals.

Hello, everyone. Live from New York, I'm Bianna Golodryga. Zain is off today. You are watching One World.

Ukraine is ready to take the fastest possible steps for peace. Those remarks from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, after he and the

leaders of France, Germany, Britain and Poland held a phone call with the U.S. President. Now, it came after the conclusion of Russia-Ukraine peace

talks in Istanbul. The two countries agreed to a large-scale prisoner swap at that meeting, which lasted a little under two hours. Key players, the

leaders of both Russia and Ukraine, did not attend. Also not there, Donald Trump, who said earlier, nothing will happen until he meets Vladimir Putin.

The U.S. President is heading home after his four-day trip to the Middle East.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I think it's time for us to just do it. I said, you know, they all said Putin was going and

Zelenskyy was going. And I said, if I don't go, I guarantee Putin is not going, and he didn't go, and I understand that. But, we're going to get it

-- we're going to get it done. So --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When do you think you'll meet the President?

TRUMP: As soon as we can set it up. I was going to -- I would actually leave here and go. I do want to see my beautiful grandson.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio echoed that, saying a breakthrough could only happen after presidents Trump and Putin meet. He

and other officials met separately with both Russia and Ukraine before the direct talks began. And one more note, in an unexpected move, the Vatican

is being offered as a venue for any potential meeting between Kyiv and Moscow. Now, this according to an Italian media outlet.

CNN's Clare Sebastian is in Istanbul. But, let's begin with Kristen Holmes, who joins us from the White House. Kristen, you heard the President there

saying that he would have flown to Turkey, though he wants to get home to meet his new grandson. We should note his daughter, Tiffany, just gave

birth to a baby boy this week. So, congratulations are in order for them. But, as far as this breaking news of a phone call between President Trump

and President Zelenskyy and other European leaders here on board Air Force One, as he has been flying home, any indication as to what was said on that

call? Has the White House released a readout yet?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: They haven't been, Bianna. We're waiting to see some kind of readout. As you noted, this is

all happening in real time, as Donald Trump is flying back to the United States after that trip to the Middle East. So, we've reached out, trying to

hear if there is anything they can give us on how those conversations went. So far, all we've heard is the information from the Ukrainian delegation,

when it comes to those talks in particular.

But, one thing to note is that Donald Trump and really all the U.S. officials who are involved in these talks, or at least around these talks,

have really tried to temper expectations coming out of them, particularly as it became clear that no real -- not one of the world leaders were going

to be there. Donald Trump himself continued to kind of float this idea during his trip to the Middle East that he would serve as some kind of

mediator, if necessary, between Putin and Zelenskyy in Turkey, if both were to show up. Obviously, we know that Putin rejected that invitation to come

to these talks.

So, now you're hearing Donald Trump saying repeatedly that he wants to meet down, meet with, sit down with Vladimir Putin. Here is some of what he

said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: It's time for us to just do it. I said, you know, they all said Putin was going and Zelenskyy was going. And I said, if I don't go, I

guarantee Putin is not going, and he didn't go. And I understand that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When do you think you'll meet the President?

TRUMP: As soon as we can set it up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: He was also asked about this on his flight home, when he was talking to reporters. He said that he may set up a call with Putin. He also

said that once -- when he sits down with Putin, that he believes that things will be solved, but maybe not, but then at least we'll see

indicating that at least they can move forward, because Donald Trump, of course, has been saying since the campaign trail that he could solve this

and relatively quickly. Obviously, it's been much more difficult than expected.

[11:05:00]

GOLODRYGA: All right. Kristen Holmes, stand by for us.

I do want to bring in Clare Sebastian, who has been covering this meeting for us as well. As we've noted, Clare, no world leaders of the parties

involved here were part of these discussions. You had the defense minister from Ukraine there, Mr. Umerov, as well as lower-level officials from

Russia. We noted that there was a prisoner exchange that was agreed upon, but other than that, nothing concrete in terms of bringing this war to an

end. And President Zelenskyy continues to put pressure on European leaders, and the President of the United States saying he is ready for a ceasefire.

Russian President Putin does not appear to be ready, and he is urging all sides to increase sanctions. What more are we hearing?

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Bianna. That's absolutely right. There were three key things, right, that seem to have been discussed, the

prisoner swap, which, as we know, has been the only open channel of diplomacy that has continued to function throughout these three plus years

of war. This is likely to be a very large one, a thousand on each side, but still, this is already a functioning channel. This is something that both

sides have kept doing.

The second thing is working towards a leaders meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy. Unclear the sort of effectiveness of that, given that President

Trump has said nothing will happen until he personally meets with Putin, but certainly they are trying to raise the level of seniority of people

taking part in the talks. Obviously, that was a key issue going into these talks.

And finally, the issue of a ceasefire. Ukraine, as you remember, had wanted one in place before any talks had happened last weekend with European

leaders and briefly with Trump. They had essentially presented an ultimatum to Putin to sign on to a ceasefire or face major sanctions. He didn't. He

announced these talks, and has still not faced any consequences. And we heard from a source familiar with the negotiations, that the Russian side

had said that it essentially expected Ukraine to withdraw from territory that Russia does not even occupy before a ceasefire. We assume that means

the entirety of those four regions, Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson, that Russia partially occupies and has illegally annexed. So, that

not only a red line for Ukraine, but also we know for the American side as well.

So, take a listen to what President Zelenskyy said in Albania today off the back of these negotiations.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: All of you know that this week we had a real chance to take important steps toward ending this war, if only

Putin had not been afraid to come to Turkey, and I was ready for a direct meeting with Putin, whether in Ankara or in Istanbul, and not just for a

meeting, but to resolve all the important issues to my mind. But, he didn't agree to anything, I mean, Putin. And you can also see that the Russian

delegation that came to Istanbul is of a very low level. None of them are people who actually make decisions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SEBASTIAN: So, I think the big question as you pointed out, Bianna, coming out of this is, what will the Trump administration do next? Dangling the

prospect of a Trump-Putin meeting is not the same as putting pressure on Russia. It's not the same as ramping up sanctions, as they have threatened,

but not yet done. They've even threatened to walk away from the whole process, which is also something that Russia would not want. So, we see

President Zelenskyy today with this call to Trump, involving the European leaders that he is trying to get back to that point of having his allies

coalesce around this idea of getting tough on Russia. But, even though we see that the U.S. side is not happy about how today went, there is no sign

yet that they're going to take any serious action yet.

GOLODRYGA: Yeah, and it was President Zelenskyy who yesterday described Putin not showing up as an insult to the President of the United States and

to the delegation. We didn't hear those types of words, though, from President Trump, just saying that nothing would happen until the two of

them met in person. We'll continue to follow that story.

Kristen Holmes, I know you'll bring us a readout as soon as you get one as well. Thank you both.

And we'll have more on the peace talks and the implications for Ukraine's future in our next hour. We'll talk to Ukrainian parliament member Oleksiy

Goncharenko. That's coming up on One World in the next hour.

But, still ahead this hour, Donald Trump is on his way back to the U.S. from the Middle East, and he is bringing a whole lot of deals with him.

We'll have the highlights after the break. Plus, we'll go inside Gaza, where starvation and water shortages tighten its grip amid Israeli

blockades and bombardments.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:10:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GOLODRYGA: At this hour, President Trump is on his way back to the U.S. after his whirlwind tour of the Middle East. He left Abu Dhabi earlier on

Friday, his third stop, after Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Each of his stops included pomp and circumstance and of course, business deals. Among them, a

$600 billion commitment from Saudi Arabia to invest in the U.S., involving energy, defense and technology, a $96 billion Qatari agreement to buy

Boeing planes. The White House says it's Boeing's largest ever wide-body jet order, and $200 billion in deals with the UAE, including a partnership

to build a massive AI data center complex in Abu Dhabi.

On Air Force One, President Trump appeared to confirm a significant development, and that is that Iran had received a U.S. proposal for a new

nuclear deal. On Thursday, the President said the two sides are very close to an agreement after Iran, and his words, sort of agreed to the terms.

Iran hasn't publicly commented. You'll recall, Trump ripped up the last Iran nuclear deal during his first term.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOICE OF TRUMP: They have a proposal, but more importantly, they know they have to move quickly or something bad is going to happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: As you can see, the trip included more than just business deals, as Jeff Zeleny takes a look at the diplomatic side of Trump's visit.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF ZELENY, CNN U.S. CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: U.S. President Donald Trump is making his way back to Washington after attending one more

series of meetings with business leaders here in Abu Dhabi on Friday morning. It really was capping off something of a whirlwind week with the

President traveling from Saudi Arabia to Doha, Qatar, to Abu Dhabi.

The President clearly was focused on deals and diplomacy all along the way, but near the end of the trip, clearly, the Russia-Ukraine talks took center

stage with the American President teasing the idea of going to join. That clearly was not followed by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who declined

to go to the meeting at all, leaving the White House in something of a lurch and giving Putin a pass as well. But, Donald Trump now saying nothing

will happen until he talks with Putin directly.

TRUMP: I think it's time for us to just do it. I said, you know, they all said Putin was going and Zelenskyy was going. And I said, if I don't go, I

guarantee Putin is not going, and he didn't go, and I understand that. But, we're going to get it done.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When do you think you'll meet the President?

TRUMP: As soon as we can set it up. I was going to -- I would actually leave here and go. I do want to see my beautiful grandson.

ZELENY: So, yet another example of Russia moving the goalposts and Trump giving Putin a pass on this, even as the U.S. is putting a renewed focus on

talks with Iran. The American President confirming that a proposal has been submitted to Iran.

[11:15:00]

Talks are ongoing. Both sides have said they are eager to reach some type of an agreement. The question, of course, is what? Secretary of State Marco

Rubio, who is also traveling in the region, calls this a critical moment for discussions with Iran. The American envoy, Steve Witkoff, has been

meeting with the Iranian foreign minister, working on details that are not quite clear. But, the President, the American President, has also been

offering threats. He said the time is now for Iran to come to this deal, or else. That language has been not sitting very well with the Iranian

President, who said the U.S. President is naive to believe he can come here and make threats.

The bottom line to all of this, even though there is a proposal in the works, as we all saw during the Iran nuclear discussions several years ago,

in the Obama administration, this takes a long time to develop. The devil certainly is in the details here. But, there is no doubt this is one more

priority for the Trump administration, as he heads back to Washington to continue so many domestic challenges there.

Jeff Zeleny, CNN, Abu Dhabi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GOLODRYGA: Our thanks to Jeff Zeleny for that report.

Let's get some more perspective on the trip. We're joined by CNN Senior Military Analyst Admiral James Stavridis. He is a former NATO Supreme

Allied Commander and now a partner at The Carlyle Group, a global investment firm. Admiral Stavridis, great to see you. A lot to unpack here,

quite a number of developments for the President on this three-legged trip, multiple countries, greeted with pomp and circumstance by all three

leaders. He does feel, or seem to feel, quite comfortable in the Gulf region and is quite invested in the relationship and partnerships with

these nations.

I'm wondering what your view is, the takeaways that you've had from this trip, in addition to the business deals being made, a lot of diplomacy as

well, and some firsts, especially meeting with the Syrian President, the first time we've seen that between the U.S. leader and the Syrian leader in

some 25 years, and in addition to that, lifting sanctions that had been leveled against the country for a number of years since the Civil War.

JAMES STAVRIDIS, CNN SENIOR MILITARY ANALYST: Yeah. The thing that leaps out at anybody is three big things on the trip, business, business, and

business. Clearly, the White House agenda going into this was to put up big numbers, and they did, by my count, well over a trillion dollars of

promised investment, purchases and deals in the United States. That's very significant. Let's follow it. Let's make sure, as the saying goes, follow

the money. Let's make sure it actually flows. But, I think that was the beating heart of this trip.

Now, Bianna, you are absolutely correct. There is always going to be a kind of diplomatic, geopolitical underpinning to it, and in that regard, what

really struck me was the split screen, if you will. You just mentioned one of the screens, President Trump in a effectively a direct meeting with a

former terrorist. We had a $10 million bounty on the current head of Syria, and the nation was under every sanction imaginable. Now, President Trump

met with him. This was brokered by the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. That's one screen. What's the other screen? It's an empty screen. No meeting in

Israel. The President of the United States made no effort to go there, pretty significant evidence of real disagreements between the Trump

administration and Prime Minister Netanyahu.

And personally, to close here, I think President Trump is on the right side of these issues. He is trying to reset the table in the Middle East,

meeting with the Syrian, the opening to Iran that Jeff just talked about, creating at least a ceasefire between the U.S. and the Houthis, and getting

a hostage home from Hamas, an American citizen. None of those involved Israel. To me, that's quite striking. That's the big diplomatic and

geopolitical takeaway, Bianna.

GOLODRYGA: Yeah, quite fascinating that Prime Minister Netanyahu was watching all of this sort of marginalized from the sidelines there. But,

you mentioned the ceasefire deal with the Houthis. It is worth noting that I believe the Houthis launched not one but two missiles against Israel over

the territory where the President had been at one point, over Saudi Arabia during this time. Obviously, that ceasefire deal caught Israel by surprise,

and also the fact that the President not only met with the Syrian leader, but also lifted sanctions unilaterally.

STAVRIDIS: Right.

GOLODRYGA: Even some European allies had said, maybe this should be done incrementally.

And then to top things off, there is the push for a nuclear deal with Iran. And I'm wondering, from your perspective, we know all of these things take

time.

[11:20:00]

They take investment. They take, obviously, getting to know and trust some of these figures and getting into the nitty-gritty details. The President

seems very antsy to get any sort of deal on the table. And I'm wondering if, in your view, especially as it relates to Iran, if he is too anxious

for a deal at this point.

STAVRIDIS: I think you have to be very careful that you don't create a scenario that in two years or four years or eight years, you look back and

say, Boy, we missed a turn, and the Iranians somehow end up with a nuclear weapon. What you have to do is go into this with one bedrock fact, and that

is that Iran will never have a nuclear weapon. Why? Because they have promised to use it to obliterate Israel, our strongest ally, partner and

friend in the region. So, if you go into it with that as a bedrock, then you can have some flexible arrangements. And I think it is a good thing to

put pressure on them by saying, look, let's talk now. Otherwise something bad will happen. Clearly, the bad thing would be strikes on the Iranian

nuclear program, as it exists today, presumably combined by Israel and the United States.

So, I think the Trump administration is holding a big stick there. Iran has never been in a weaker position. As long as you hew to that bedrock

principle, whatever we do, it's kind of physician do no harm. Whatever we do here, Iran will never have a nuclear weapon. I think going in eyes wide

open, now is the time to press hard.

GOLODRYGA: Yeah. And the question over whether Iran will be allowed to enrich uranium, even for civilian purposes, is the big sticking point right

now.

I do want to ask you about these negotiations, the talks happening in Turkey with lower-level Ukrainian and Russian officials, without President

Trump, without President Putin, without President Zelenskyy. Zelenskyy was the only one who really showed up, and President Trump, unlike what you're

hearing from President Zelenskyy and some of the other European allies, seems to be again allowing Vladimir Putin to move the goalpost. As we heard

from Jeff Zeleny, instead of calling him out for not attending this meeting, he now says, oh, but he has always just wanted to have a one-on-

one with me first. You even have the United States' former Ambassador to Ukraine penning an OpEd this morning, suggesting that the President seemed

to be placating Vladimir Putin. What do you make of this dynamic?

STAVRIDIS: To switch metaphors from goal posts to the boxing ring. I think Putin is playing rope a dope. He is just kind of leaning back on those

ropes. And what Putin wants is the other boxer, Ukraine, not to be allowed to raise his arms at all. So, it's an untenable situation, and I think it

is hopefully about to hit a point where President Trump says three things to Vladimir Putin pretty directly. He can do it with a smile on his face.

He can do it at a direct one-on-one meeting.

But, here is what the President needs to say. Number one, we're going to continue to supply arms to Ukraine. Number two, we're going to stand with

our major European partners here and use secondary sanctions if necessary. Number three, you know that $300 billion in Russian money that's in banks

in Brussels? That's at risk for you too, Vladimir. And again, you can do all that with a smile on your face and push at him hard and tell him, now

is the time. You're out of cards. Let's go ahead and get a ceasefire. Let's start with that. Then let's get real negotiators to the table.

Final thought, the team that Putin said, sent to the talks, it's certainly not him. It's not the B team. That would be the Minister of Foreign

Affairs, Sergey Lavrov, Shoigu, the defense minister, etc. That would be the B team. This isn't even the C team. I've never heard of these people. I

spent a lot of time studying Russia. It looks to me like an almost calculated insult to Zelenskyy and also to the United States of America.

President Trump ought to register that as well with Vladimir Putin.

GOLODRYGA: Yeah. That's exactly how President Zelenskyy described it as well. We'll see if the President follows your advice there instituting

those three points. We'll be following it all. Admiral James Stavridis, thank you, as always.

STAVRIDIS: Thanks, Bianna.

GOLODRYGA: Well, our coverage of Trump's Middle East trip continues in the next hour, when we'll talk with Fareed Zakaria, host of CNN's Fareed

Zakaria GPS.

It is another day of cross-examination for Cassie Ventura. Just ahead, we'll bring you the latest from the Sean 'Diddy' Combs trial.

[11:25:00]

And later, when Hollywood travels back in time, this is where it goes to shop for clothes. Look at how Donald Trump's tariffs could impact this

British business.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GOLODRYGA: Welcome back to One World. I'm Bianna Golodryga in New York. Here are some of the international headlines we're watching today.

U.S. President Donald Trump has wrapped up his trip to the Middle East, which included stops in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.

The trip yielded several deals, including a partnership with the UAE to build a massive AI data complex in Abu Dhabi.

Officials from Russia and Ukraine have concluded peace talks in Turkey. They agreed to a prisoner swap and also discussed a potential ceasefire.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Zelenskyy did not attend. U.S. President Donald Trump says there won't be any breakthrough

until he meets with Putin himself.

Well, Cassie Ventura is back on the witness stand for another day of cross- examination in the Sean 'Diddy' Combs trial. The court is hoping to wrap up the pregnant pop singer's testimony before the weekend. Combs has pleaded

not guilty to charges that include racketeering and sex trafficking.

Heavy Israeli airstrikes and artillery fire bombarded northern Gaza overnight. Local officials say more than 50 people were killed, many women

and children. Israeli Defense Forces says it struck down dozens of what it called terror targets over a span of 36 hours. 250 people have been killed

across the territory.

CNN's Jeremy Diamond joins me now live from Tel Aviv. And Jeremy, the timing of this renewed strike is notable, just as President Trump has left

the region from his week-long trip. What more are we learning?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, Bianna, all week, as President Trump has been in the region, as U.S. and Israeli officials have

been meeting to discuss potentially a new ceasefire and hostage release deal with Hamas, Israel has seriously intensified its airstrikes on the

Gaza Strip, killing hundreds just this week alone.

[11:30:00]

In fact, in just the last 24 hours, updated numbers from the Palestinian Ministry of Health indicate that more than 100 people have been killed over

the last day. We saw particularly heavy Israeli air and artillery strikes in northern Gaza, including in the Jabalia refugee camp just north of Gaza

City. Among them, there were indeed civilians. One man named Rafiq al Tatari (ph) said that his sister and 14 members of her family, all

civilians, including several baby grandchildren, were killed in a strike on a home in northern Gaza. We've also seen Israeli troop movement in northern

Gaza as well. The Israeli military, for its part, says that it has struck more than 150 targets throughout Gaza, including anti-tank missile posts

and militant command centers.

The Israeli Prime Minister, of course, has made very clear this week that this is just the beginning of an intensification that is going to go into a

completely new degree next week with the expectation of this massive military offensive, which ultimately will aim to occupy large swaths of the

Gaza Strip. Of course, that is if Israel and Hamas cannot reach a ceasefire deal. Those negotiations still ongoing, but no real indications of any

concrete progress at this point.

GOLODRYGA: Yeah. And as you've noted, hundreds of civilians there killed, and we're also hearing from the Hostage Family Forum there saying that they

are extremely worried too about what this renewed violence would mean for the hostages, any hostage ceasefire deal.

President Trump was asked aboard Air Force One, Jeremy, about the blockade that's now entering its third month of humanitarian aid into Gaza, and here

is what he said. He said that there is a lot of people starving, a lot of bad things going on. There had been some reporting that the United States

may actually be involved in the delivery of some of this aid. What more are we learning?

DIAMOND: Well, the United States has indeed helped to stand up this Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which is going to be an independent foundation set

up to get aid into Gaza in a way that the Israeli and American governments are agreeing to, and that is in a way that would be very tightly controlled

in -- with the aim of preventing Hamas from diverting that aid, although we should, of course, note that humanitarian aid organizations dispute this

notion of Hamas diverting large quantities of humanitarian aid getting into Gaza. But, the bottom line is that people in Gaza right now are suffering

immensely, and they are rapidly running out of time

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) DIAMOND (voice-over): Amid the crush of bodies clamoring for food --

(VIDEO PLAYING)

DIAMOND (voice-over): -- children are being put to an unthinkable test, who will manage to fill their family pot and who will have to wait another day

to eat? This is how Gaza's children are being forced to live, as Israel continues to block the entry of food --

(VIDEO PLAYING)

DIAMOND (voice-over): -- a total siege that is now in its 11th week --

(VIDEO PLAYING)

DIAMOND (voice-over): -- a boy burnt by the small prize of lentil soup he has managed to win --

(VIDEO PLAYING)

DIAMOND (voice-over): -- a girl scooping what remains with her bare hands. But, before it all, a search for food for them and their families with no

guarantee of success. I wake up every day, then we go find a kitchen. If we don't find food, then we go to another kitchen and another kitchen,

Mohammed explains. If we don't find anything, we go all day without food.

Nearly all of Gaza's population now experiencing crisis levels of food insecurity or worse, with 56 percent at the emergency or catastrophic

level, meaning very high rates of acute malnutrition and large gaps in food consumption. Unless aid gets in, more than three quarters of the population

are projected to fall to those emergency levels.

TOM FLETCHER, U.N. UNDER-SECRETARY GENERAL FOR HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS: Every single one of the 2.1 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip face the risk

of famine. One in five face starvation.

DIAMOND (voice-over): As this man-made crisis worsens, Israel and the United States approving a new, tightly controlled mechanism to get aid into

some parts of Gaza. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation says it plans to launch its operations within two weeks. Until then, it called on Israel to

allow aid in through existing mechanisms. Israel has yet to publicly agree. A person involved in the planning said Israel has agreed to allow some aid

into Gaza in the coming days, but Israel has yet to say so publicly. The UN says it won't participate, saying the new plan will make things worse,

facilitating forced displacement and putting civilians at risk.

In Gaza, people are running out of time, as charity kitchens like this run out of food. 14 pots were not enough. The manager of this kitchen says

those who didn't get food will not eat anything today.

[11:35:00]

14 pots were not enough, the manager of this kitchen says. Those who didn't get food will not eat anything today and will come back tomorrow and might

not get anything again. Cases of acute malnutrition are spiking, and people are being pushed to the brink, like Raida Ahmed (ph), who fainted yesterday

from a lack of food. I swear I can't walk anymore. There is nothing to eat, she says.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

DIAMOND (voice-over): As for the children who stand waiting for a chance to be fed, too many are now learning what it means to go hungry.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DIAMOND: And indeed, a person familiar with the planning of this Gaza Humanitarian Foundation tells me that Israel has quietly agreed to allow

some aid into Gaza in the coming days. We have yet to actually hear that from Israeli officials directly, despite having asked numerous times for

requests for comment on that situation. The question then, if Israel does allow aid in, is how soon will that happen? How much aid will get in, and

to what parts of the Gaza Strip will this aid be allowed to enter, and will it be enough of a bridge until this new foundation is expected to get up

and running by the end of the month? Bianna.

GOLODRYGA: Always so difficult and yet so important to bring to light, especially the suffering among those young children looking for food.

Jeremy Diamond, thank you so much.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GOLODRYGA: Americans are very worried about the direction of the economy. That's according to Consumer Sentiment Index, a closely watched indicator

of how people feel about their economic prospects, which has fallen to a near-record low. The survey finds Americans across all income groups

worried about unemployment and tariffs and how all of this will impact their personal finances.

Speaking of tariffs, Donald Trump says there just isn't enough time for his trade negotiators to cut individual deals with all of the countries that

want special tariff arrangements. He said most countries will be sent a letter, telling them what the tariff will be if they want to do business in

the U.S., and the result of all of this tariff will be higher prices. Walmart, the largest retailer in the U.S., has announced that it will be

hiking prices on many products in the coming weeks, and its CEO says Trump's tariffs are the reason.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOICE OF DOUG MCMILLON, CEO, WALMART: We will do our best to keep our prices as low as possible, but given the magnitude of the tariffs, even at

the reduced levels announced this week, we aren't able to absorb all the pressure given the reality of narrow retail margins.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[11:40:00]

GOLODRYGA: With more on where the U.S. economy is going, we're joined by University of Michigan Professor and our friend, Betsey Stevenson. She was

a member of the White House Council of Economic Advisors during President Obama's administration. Betsey, always good to see you. So, we also heard

from the Walmart CFO, who said, quote, "The magnitude and speed at which these prices are coming to us is somewhat unprecedented in history", and we

should note that Walmart counts 90 percent of Americans as consumers. We're going to be hearing earnings reports from other major U.S. companies next

week, Lowe's, Home Depot as well. These are the same executives who had warned the President of the United States just weeks ago that if a trade

deal wasn't made soon, that prices would go up and store shelves would be empty.

What do you make of the current dynamic and these numbers coming in from consumer sentiment to CPI to PPI this week?

BETSEY STEVENSON, ECONOMICS PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN: Well, there is a lot to dig into there, because if you look at the hard data, that CPI

and PPI, it sort of looks like everything is fine. Price inflation is coming down. We're not seeing big price gains right now. But, I want you to

think about it as the calm before the storm. And Walmart is telling us the storm is definitely coming. They have no choice but to raise prices.

If we look around the economy, it's not like we import a few things. Almost everything we consume, some bit of it is imported, right? We have a very

globally interconnected economy. It is how we've been able to achieve very high living standards compared to say where we were 30 years ago or 50

years ago. That globally connected economy means that input prices for almost everybody around the country, they're going up because there are

tariffs on so many of the things they use to produce their -- whatever it is they sell.

GOLODRYGA: And as far as any trade deals go, let's just take a step back and reset, because there has only been one that's announced, and that was

with the UK. There had been a 90-day pause announced, which was greeted with a lot of fanfare with China, but everything else still is under the

same umbrella of the initial 90-day pause. And we heard from President Trump saying that 150 countries want to make a deal, but you're not going

to be able to see that many countries. We're going to send a letter out in the next two or three weeks telling people what they'll be paying to do

business in the United States. That doesn't sound like there are tangible deals on the table right now. So, what should we be expecting in the next

few weeks? That July date for the 90-day pause is coming quickly, Betsey.

STEVENSON: I think what we're -- we should expect is uncertainty is going to continue. Basically, companies need to figure out how they're going to

maintain their flexibility and their ability to adapt quickly, because I don't think we're going to get any certainty. A 90-day pause is going to

come to an end. Maybe we get another one. There aren't deals. There aren't real deals coming. What we might see is some reduction in the kind of

tariffs like we saw with China. But, even there, that's only for 90 days. I think that these negotiations are going to be ongoing.

What most companies are starting to grapple with and realize is that they are going to be facing these higher prices, and they can't absorb them

forever. Luckily, a lot of companies got ahead by increasing the amount of things they brought into the country before the tariffs hit. But, this

summer, that's going to run out as well. So, it's not just that these deadlines are going to approach, but inventories are going to start to get

depleted. I don't think there is any other time in history when we've been able to see this far in advance that price hikes are coming, and they're

definitely coming. This isn't a guess. This is something that companies are planning and will be implementing in the coming months.

GOLODRYGA: Well, one thing that appears to be certain in an age of uncertainty, at least from the Commerce Secretary and other officials in

this administration, is this President is dead set on the baseline 10 percent tariffs across the board for every country. So, at a bare minimum,

a 10 percent, can you talk to us about what that means for businesses and for consumers, and the position this enviably puts the Federal Reserve in?

STEVENSON: Well, we saw consumer confidence is plummeting. It's down 30 percent since January, and we're also seeing consumer expectation of

inflation in the coming year hit a high of 7.3 percent.

[11:45:00]

But, it's not just inflation in the coming year. We're also seeing inflation in the expectations for the outer years ticking up. This is the

problem for the Fed, is we're going to see higher prices, and that's going to mean that inflation is higher than they'd like, but we're also going to

see a slowing economy. The challenge for the Fed is, what they do when they see a slowing economy is they try to get people just to get out there and

spend more. But, that doesn't help if there is not things to buy, and if we're already facing higher prices, and that's sort of what's causing the

contraction.

So, the Fed has got to battle between, can they juice the economy if it's - - if it is starting to slow? But, they also need to make sure that we have stable prices. And personally, I think that the Fed has got to keep their

eye right now on bringing those inflation expectations down and getting us back down to their expected -- their desired inflation target. So, I don't

think there is any help from the Fed coming in terms of supporting ongoing economic growth. And in fact, we heard Raphael Bostic today say, one rate

cut this year.

GOLODRYGA: One rate cut, and you have many people warning that their dual mandate, given that they want to keep inflation in check and employment

maximum as high as it can be, that they may be pulled in diametrically different directions at a certain point. And of course, you know how the

President feels about this Federal Reserve Chair as well. So, we'll be following all of this. Economist Betsey Stevenson, always good to see you.

Thank you.

STEVENSON: Great.

GOLODRYGA: Well, one of Trump's tariff threats that has gotten a lot of attention lately is his desire to put a tax on movies made outside of the

United States. Though it isn't even clear exactly how that would work, the way films are made all over the globe these days.

CNN's Anna Stewart has a look at how all of this could impact a British company with a long tradition of working with Hollywood.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, this looks (inaudible) already.

STEWART (voice-over): We're stepping into another world, certainly a different era.

(VIDEO PLAYING)

OLIVIER STOCKMAN, MANAGING DIRECTOR, SANDS FILMS: This is the Marie Antoinette, used the famous pink dress in the Marie Antoinette.

STEWART (on camera): Wow. That's beautiful.

STEWART (voice-over): From Marie Antoinette --

(VIDEO PLAYING)

STEWART (voice-over): -- to Les Miserables --

(VIDEO PLAYING)

STEWART (voice-over): -- and more recently, Snow White.

(VIDEO PLAYING)

STEWART (voice-over): British company Sands Films has been making period costumes for films like these for some 50 years.

STEWART (on camera): OK. Well, looking through the endless rows of costumes, this is one you may recognize. This was in the movie Little

Women. Now, clearly, this is based on an American novel. It was produced by an American company, Columbia Pictures, and it was largely filmed in

Massachusetts, but the costumes were designed and made here in South East London.

STEWART (voice-over): Some of Hollywood's biggest blockbusters are made in Britain, like the latest Mission Impossible --

(VIDEO PLAYING)

STEWART (voice-over): -- whether it's The Location or in the case of Barbie --

(VIDEO PLAYING)

STEWART (voice-over): -- the Warner Bros. Studio in Leavesden, Hertfordshire. Last year, Hollywood spent more than $1.8 billion in the UK,

employing hundreds of thousands of people in the industry, and President Trump isn't happy about it.

TRUMP: They have the nice sign and everything is good, but they don't do very much.

STEWART (voice-over): His threat to slap tariffs on foreign-made films has its skeptics.

STOCKMAN: I would say it's impossible to put a tariff on the film because the film is a non-tangible asset. That is the -- that's the issue at stake.

That's what they want to do, is to bring back employment in Hollywood. Now, to do that, they would have to make the financial environment for the film

production to find it more attractive to do in Hollywood than to do it in Pinewood or in Hungary or in Australia, for that matter.

STEWART (voice-over): Businesses like Sands Films aren't worried. They plan to be making costumes for all the eras and sizes for decades to come.

Anna Stewart, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GOLODRYGA: The Cannes Film Festival is in full swing. The stars are out, but some say new rules are taking the fun out of the red carpet. We'll look

at film festival fashion after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:50:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GOLODRYGA: This year's Cannes Film Festival is getting attention not for what's on the silver screen, but what's on the red carpet. Organizers have

banned nudity in what they call voluminous outfits. It's not the first time the film festival's fashion has caused a stir.

Nicholas Blatt has more.

(VIDEO PLAYING)

GOLODRYGA: All right. A document that Harvard University purchased in the 1940s is apparently an original copy of the Magna Carta. A pair of British

historians were combing through Harvard's online archives when they saw the faded parchment. They quickly realized that it might be a copy of the Magna

Carta, one of the most important legal and political documents in history.

[11:55:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID CARPENTER, PROFESSOR, KING'S COLLEGE LONDON: I worked through the Harvard text, word for word, back-breaking, eye-breaking work, comparing it

to the authorized version, a jolly nerve-wracking, actually, because I kept thinking, Oh God, it's going to fail. But, actually, no. It did fly in

colors, and its text is virtually identical to what's found in these six other originals, and that persuaded me more than anything else, that this

was absolutely genuine and authentic.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: Unbelievable. Well, the document is thought to be one of just seven original copies of the Magna Carta that still survived. It was

written more than 800 years ago. It had mostly been collecting dust in Harvard's archives since the university bought it at auction in 1946 for

just $27. Well, now, it is thought to be worth tens of millions of dollars.

Well, stay with CNN. We'll have more One World after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

END