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One World with Zain Asher

CNN Sits Down with FIFA Halftime Show Performer, Shakira; Angry Voters May Have Cost Trump Leverage in Beijing; Trump's Leverage May Have Been Compromised by Tariff Setbacks; Trump Administration Reaches Out to Cuba Amid Oil Blockade; CIA Director Meets Cuban Officials Amid Rising Tensions; Residents of Apartment Building Raided by I.C.E. Push to Sue DHS. Aired 11a-12p ET

Aired May 15, 2026 - 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)

CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN HOST, ONE WORLD: President Trump is heading back to Washington after a historic trip to China. "One World" starts right now.

Trump says he hasn't made a decision yet about a big arms sale to Taiwan. We'll have the latest from his two-day summit in Beijing from the White

House.

Plus, questions swirl about the leadership of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer after big Labor Party losses in recent elections. We'll discuss.

And CNN sits down with Colombian Superstar Shakira to talk about football, education and bringing the world together with music.

Live from London, I'm Christina Macfarlane, both Zain and Bianna are off today. And this is "One World". The U.S. President is heading home after a

historic trip to China, long on pomp and pageantry, but short on deliverables and specific details on some thorny issues.

Donald Trump said he and Chinese Leader Xi Jinping settled a lot of different problems, and speaking at length to reporters on board Air Force

One. He didn't commit to any future arms sales to Taiwan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What about the arms sales to Taiwan?

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I'll make a determination over the next early spring.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're not necessarily going to go ahead. It was your proposal --

TRUMP: Make a determination. I have to speak to the person that right now is, you know who he is that's running Taiwan.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACFARLANE: Well, President Trump said he did not discuss tariffs with the Chinese Leader. Meanwhile, details of any sweeping trade deals remain

unclear. The president also claimed that she told him America is the hottest country in the world, and what Trump has done with it is, quote,

virtual miracle.

Our CNN's Julia Benbrook is joining us now from the White House. So, Julia, it seems like a lot of what came out this -- out of this trip was more

performative, I think, then substantive, when you look at the details here, really, of what came out of it.

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We are short on details. President Donald Trump, he remains adamant that in these high stakes summit that he

and Chinese Leader Xi Jinping solved a lot of issues, but he's not provided concrete details on exactly what they solved.

Now he made some remarks on Air Force One. He spoke for roughly 30 minutes as he's traveling back here to Washington. I want to get into those top

lines on Taiwan, as well as the conflict in Iran. But let's start with what he says the two did not address during these meetings, tariffs. Take a

listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you agree with President Xi to extend that yearlong truce on tariffs?

TRUMP: We didn't discuss tariffs. They're paying tariffs. They're paying substantial tariffs. But we didn't discuss, you know, before I came along,

it was the opposite. We didn't discuss tariffs. It wasn't brought up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BENBROOK: And we do know that Trump has extended an invitation for Xi to visit the White House in the fall, September 24th to be exact, maybe that

topic comes up then obviously a very important one for this relationship. But on Taiwan, that is where he seemed to make the most news today.

He said that he did not make a commitment during these meetings on Taiwan and on the arms sales specifically, he said he would make that decision at

a later point. This comes after in an interview with NBC, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the U.S. policy toward Taiwan was, quote,

unchanged.

And taking a bit of a step back here the United States acknowledges China's position that Taiwan is a part of China, but has never fully recognized the

Communist Party's claim to the self-governing Island. Washington does have robust relations with Taiwan, but has been intentionally ambiguous when it

comes to if they would intervene militarily if China were to attack Taiwan.

Now Trump was asked about this specifically today as well. He declined to answer. He did confirm, though, that Xi had asked a very similar question.

He said he didn't answer it then either. Now on the topic of Iran and the ongoing conflict there, right before he took off for this trip, that's when

the United States had sent a proposal to Iran.

[11:05:00]

Iran had responded, and Trump called the response totally unacceptable. When he made remarks on that today, he said that even the first sentence

was unacceptable and he could just throw it away. Essentially, he didn't need to read the rest. He was pressed on what was in that first sentence,

and he said that it just overall was not clear that they would fully give up their nuclear ambitions.

Of course, that is a big red line. Now this has been the big topic before this trip. It will be the big topic when he returns as well.

MACFARLANE: Yeah, certainly for many days to come. Julia Benbrook, there. Appreciate it. Thank you. Well, let's bring in Christopher Hill. He's a

former five-time U.S. Ambassador, including to Serbia, Iraq and South Korea, and a former assistant secretary of state.

He also led six party talks on North Korea's nuclear program. Ambassador, thank you so much for joining us.

CHRISTOPHER HILL, FIVE-TIME U.S. AMBASSADOR: Thank you --

MACFARLANE: I just wanted to get ambassador your immediate thoughts on what we were hearing from Julia there and from Donald Trump today on Taiwan that

he has not decided on future sales.

HILL: Yeah.

MACFARLANE: Is this the president considering changing policy on Taiwan? How concerning is this?

HILL: I don't believe it. I don't believe it is. I think it's the president's understanding that this is a major league issue for the

Chinese. This is one they call a core interest, and I don't think he wanted to put himself in the position of answering the question about arms sales.

If he said no, he won't do it. I think that's highly problematic. If he said yes, it would that would have kind of spoiled the whole summit. So, I

think, he kind of kept with the protocol nature of the whole thing, trying to keep the summit on track by showing some good manners and I think the

Chinese tried to kind of roll out the red carpet for him.

But I don't think, I mean, I'm not of the view that this is any big change in Taiwan policy. I would say, I think the Chinese made a big effort on

this to make sure that he understands this is a core issue for them, and that he needs to be careful about that issue and not just say things about

arms sales to China --

MACFARLANE: So, you don't think that there's any concern that the need for China's help on Iran, for instance, could lead the U.S. to concessions on

Taiwan, because that has been discussed today.

HILL: Yeah, my experience dealing with the Chinese is, yes, there's often an implied linkage between issues, but certainly they don't talk about it

that much. I think the problematic part of negotiating with the Chinese is when Americans try to tell the Chinese what their interests are, and the

Chinese often say, hey, we can figure out our own interests.

So, I think what President Trump needed to do with them, with respect to Hormuz, is explain what we are trying to do, why we're trying to do it, and

how we somehow look forward to a calmer region. And I think if -- part but I must say, in dealing with North Korea, even though they the Chinese had

zero interest in North Korea ever having nuclear weapons.

They would never really commit to lead on these things. So, I wouldn't expect them to bail us out of what is pretty tough position that we're in

at Hormuz.

MACFARLANE: Interesting. So that's effectively, you saying you're not entirely certain how far Beijing would go to help Donald Trump out of a

corner here.

HILL: That's correct. I mean, first of all, that is a vast organization that is the Chinese government. And even though Xi Jinping has a very

strong role in it, he would be talking to others. And I'm sure there are Chinese senior officials who are saying, well, the American started this

dance.

Let them figure out how to end it. But I think as long as the atmospherics are improved. And then the third element that is Taiwan, Hormuz. And the

third element, of course, is to get some predictability back into the overall tariff and trade issues. And I think that's very important to the

Chinese.

They don't mind the U.S. being a little unpredictable. What they mind with the U.S. is when we are unreliable. So, I think the president probably

spent some time explaining where we are on tariffs and to reassure the Chinese. So, all three of these issues are kind of linked in a broader

sense.

But I think the Chinese -- that if they're going to get the world economy back together, and it's in their interest to do so. They need to listen up

and think to themselves how they're going to proceed with Hormuz, even if it's not in the spirit of being our partner. But they've got their own

interest to consider.

[11:10:00]

MACFARLANE: So, do you think that there was actually discussion on the subject of tariffs, then, because, you know, in that gavel with the

president on the plane, he said that they had not discussed the issue at all. And you know, that's surprising to many of us onlookers, because we

were expecting perhaps an extension to the truce, or an extension to the tariff -- a tariff extension or even a truce on this. So, what do you make

of that?

HILL: I can just say that my experience dealing with the Chinese is you might not want to go out and say that you've been discussing an issue, but

that the issue hangs over the conference room. I think making the U.S. in the Chinese eye, making the U.S. a reliable partner in terms of tariffs.

I think was very much an elephant in the room. It could be that they felt that this committee, this bilateral effort by our Secretary of the Treasury

who was trying to hammer things like this out in Seoul for a few days. It could be that there is an agreement on how to do that and how to make sure

that we don't have these kinds of clusters shifts in international trade that we've been having.

So, I would be very surprised if this issue, quote, unquote, never came up.

MACFARLANE: Ambassador, always great to have the insider's view on what may have been going on there behind closed doors. Very valuable. Thank you so

much for your time. Now, are the U.S. and China on the same page when it comes to Iran? Well, President Trump appears to think so, but we're not

hearing a lot from Beijing.

In an interview with Fox News, Trump said that President Xi Jinping pledged not to provide military equipment to Iran and offered to help end the war.

Trump also insists America does not need the Strait of Hormuz opened quote at all as we were saying. And in response to the worsening energy crisis,

the UAE now says it plans to build a new oil pipeline that can bypass the strait.

With no firm deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, some investors are not happy with the Xi-Trump Summit. Take a look at where the U.S. markets stand

today. Across the board there, as you can see every, indices DOW, S&P, NASDAQ, all in the red. And as of Thursday, the U.S. national average for a

gallon of gas has climbed to around $4.50.

And this is where the oil market stands right now, trending up, as you can see, just over 108, $104 per barrel. Well, President Trump went into the

talks with Chinese Leader Xi Jinping with less leverage than one might expect. And most of it stems from American voters back home who are angry

about inflation and the economy. CNN's David Goldman breaks it down for us.

DAVID GOLDMAN, CNN BUSINESS SENIOR REPORTER: So, this meeting between Xi and Trump is all about leverage. Who has it and why? Well, if you take a

look, President Trump certainly doesn't have economic leverage at the moment, because 77 percent of folks who were surveyed by CNN said that they

blame President Trump for the high cost of living.

That is not helpful. What's the difference between Xi and Trump? Trump is in an election year, and his Republican Party faces this issue, and so

Trump knows this going in to this meeting with Xi, he's facing this at home, and it limits the amount of economic pressure that he can put on

China.

Now, one of the things that he wants from China is rare earth minerals. Look at this. 93 percent of all rare earths are made in China. Now these

are the things that make everything go beep, right? They are giving you the ability to turn on smartphones and run an EV cancer treatment.

These are really, really important. But the other thing that they do is they help make missiles work, war equipment, armaments, all of that needs

to be stockpiled again in the United States, because we have used so much in the Iran war, those armor intent need to be restocked.

The way to do that is rare earth minerals. Now China is dependent on Iran as well, because look at this, 80 percent of all Iranian oil goes to China.

Now that was before the war. It's probably even higher than that right now. So, the thing is, China needs the Strait of Hormuz open just as much as the

United States and the rest of the world.

[11:15:00]

If not more, and President Trump wants that open to keep prices lower. So, China might agree now it's got a lot of oil stockpiled. This isn't a major

factor in the economy yet, but it might be soon. This is something that they're going to be discussing heavily. The other issue, and this is what

Xi said, is going to be the top issue Taiwan.

Taiwan just approved $25 billion in purchases of U.S. military equipment that is angering Xi. The other thing though, tariffs. This is a huge issue,

not just for China, but for President Trump. A year ago, tariffs on China were 145 percent basically saying, forget it. We're not going to import

anything from China because it is so expensive.

Now, what is it? 10 percent. Only 10 percent and that's because the Supreme Court told President Trump, you can't do this anymore. There's a limit to

the emergency powers that the president has to put tariffs on. Back to you.

MACFARLANE: Now today, Israel and Lebanon resume U.S. mediator talks in Washington. These meetings mark the highest-level contact in decades

between the two nations representing the U.S. delegation, State Department, Councilor Michael Needham, alongside U.S. Ambassadors Mike Huckabee and

Michael Issa.

Well, the goal is to broker long term peace, still and durable ceasefire. The current ceasefire, which is set to expire on Sunday, has been

increasingly violated. Both Israel and Hezbollah continue to exchange cross border strikes. Now Cuba is in the dark, but it may be the end of the road

for the it for the island's energy crisis.

We have details of new talks between U.S. and Cuba coming up. Plus U.S. immigration officials conducting raids in Chicago face a new law seat. More

than a dozen people allege they were targeted and terrorized at the hands of federal agents based on their race and ethnicity.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Does the president of Cuba have his days numbered?

TRUMP: Well, if you they're not doing well, Cuba is not doing well. It's a failed nation, and we'll be talking about Cuba at the right time.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACFARLANE: Well, that time may be upon us. CIA Director John Ratcliffe led a delegation to Cuba on Thursday to meet with the island nation's interior

minister and other officials.

[11:20:00]

Cuba is in the midst of a severe energy crisis since the U.S. has blocked all oil shipments into the country. Now, all the country's fuel, including

a single donated tanker full of Russian oil, is gone. That left Cubans in the dark and angry.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The children don't have food to eat, they can't go to school, we are desperate. The women have lost 20 pounds, we're anxious. We

don't have a way to support our kids.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACFARLANE: Right, she's one of hundreds of Cubans who took to the streets of Havana this week, lighting trash on fire and banging on pots and pans in

protest. CNN Patrick Oppman was there.

PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're in the neighborhood of Havana, where residents say they just had their film of the power cuts -- lit trash

from fire. There are dozens of people around us in the darkness banging up pots and pans. They said it was for the entire day without power.

You can't cook, you can't work, really can't go anywhere because of the gas crisis. Of course, this is a crisis the government blames on the United

States, the energy blockade, the fact that almost no oil is coming to this island. This island has run out of oil, according to its own officials.

But people here a lot of times blame their own government, because they say certain areas of power. Other areas, poor neighborhoods like this one, do

not have power, and that's why people are so indignant, because they simply say, you cannot live this way a whole day, whole sometimes several days

without power.

And so that's why you hear the banging in the pots and pans. People say they have nothing left to lose if the government comes here, if they arrest

people at this point, it would be better, they say, than to continue to live in these circumstances. So, tensions are running high.

The U.S. is negotiating with Cuba, trying to find a compromise of some sort, but one that would require major concessions on the part of this

government. But what people are saying here is that they simply cannot go on living like this.

MACFARLANE: Thanks to CNN's Patrick Oppman for that report. The U.S. has lost another high-ranking immigration official. U.S. Border Patrol Chief

Michael Banks abruptly quit his job Thursday. He's the latest high-profile immigration official to leave or be fired in recent weeks.

Banks tell CNN he wants to spend more time with his family after 37 years of public service. Back in March, Kristi Noem was fired from her job as

Homeland Security Secretary, Border Patrol Commander-at-large, Greg Bovino retired at the end of March and Acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement

Director Todd Lyons announced he was stepping away from his position last month.

There's a new legal complaint stemming from the Trump Administration's immigration crackdown in the Chicago area. Residents of an apartment

building raided a military style operation last September are suing the Department of Homeland Security. More than a dozen people say they were

targeted and terrorized at the hands of federal agents based on their race and ethnicity.

Our Omar Jimenez spoke with one of the civil rights groups filing the complaint on their behalf.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This video was produced by the Department of Homeland Security, like a scene out of a movie, law

enforcement repelling from helicopters and storming a building on the south side of Chicago in September during an immigration raid resulting in the

arrests of 37 people.

Now, 18 people from the building are claiming in new filings they were victims of an unprecedented militarized raid that resulted in emotional

trauma, physical injuries and brutal detention as well as property damage and loss. Specifically, one man, Jose Miguel Jimenez Lopez, claimed an

agent upon pointing his gun at Mr. Jimenez.

One agent said to the other agents, here's another one, and that later, when he presented a City of Chicago ID card, the agents falsely claimed his

identification was not real, and they physically broke the ID card in front of him. Another said, when he was on the floor and zip tied, agents asked

him if he was Tren de Aragua.

Not everyone is identified by name in these claims. One six-year-old idea simply as JM was woken up as the complaint says agents broke down the door

to the apartment and entered the bedroom, pointing large guns at JM's family flashing lights and shouting to get out.

NICOLE HALLETT, ATTORNEY: It looked like something out of a military action abroad.

JIMENEZ (voice-over): Nicole Hallett is one of many attorneys representing these administrative claims, which are required prerequisite to a lawsuit

against the federal government.

HALLETT: What we're trying to do in this lawsuit is hold the federal government accountable for what it did to them, and to try to seek justice

for them and make a point that the federal government cannot do this kind of thing without there being consequences.

JIMENEZ (voice-over): Not long after the raid, federal officials defended their tactics.

[11:25:00]

GREGORY BOVINO, BORDER PATROL OFFICIAL: We had 300 law enforcement officers in and around that five story apartments going after those Tren de Aragua

members that overwhelming force does keep our agents safe.

JIMENEZ (voice-over): The Department of Homeland Security said Thursday, the operation resulted in the arrest of two confirmed Tren de Aragua

members, though no one was ever federally charged in that jurisdiction according to the Northern District of Illinois.

Many were detained and eventually removed from the country, Hallett says. But for her, pushing back on the tactics used to detain people that night

represents more than just their case.

HALLETT: This is not just about this one particular raid, but it's really about standing up to the government and saying, this is not acceptable.

JIMENEZ (on camera): And by the way, the two people we mentioned are not part of Tren de Aragua, as their attorneys tell us. Now he also reached out

to the Department of Homeland Security as part of this who defended this operation, saying, in part, this operation was in full compliance of the

law.

But they also said that the arrest included many with criminal histories, those who were in the country illegally, though we should note, the

attorney Hallett, who you just heard from, told us many of their clients were in active immigration proceedings with court dates scheduled in the

future.

And then on how things unfolded in particular, DHS said that in a building like this, conducting operations is dangerous business, and that people

often act erratically in the face of law enforcement. But then when you zoom out in terms of those that are actually bringing these claims, this is

just the latest in a number of similar legal efforts happening in places across the country tied to immigration enforcement tactics as they try to

get to some form of government accountability. Omar Jimenez, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MACFARLANE: Now Britain's leadership crisis, Keir Starmer faces a new challenge from within his party, following a drubbing in local elections.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MACFARLANE: Welcome back to "One World". I'm Christina Macfarlane in London, and here are some of the headlines we're watching today.

[11:30:00]

U.S. President Donald Trump spoke to reporters on Air Force One on the way home after historic summit in Beijing. The president said he discussed

Taiwan in great detail in his meetings with Chinese Leader Xi Jinping. And he refused to commit to any future arms sale to the island, with any pause

being a win for China.

The Chinese President is set to pay a state visit to the U.S. in the fall. In an interview with Fox News U.S. President Trump said Chinese President

Xi Jinping pledged not to provide military equipment to Iran and offered to help end the war. The U.S. President also insists America does not need the

Strait of Hormuz opened.

Meantime, the UAE now says it plans to build a new oil pipeline that can bypass the strait. Well, U.S. delegation led by CIA Director John

Ratcliffe, held talks with Cuban officials in Havana, Thursday. Cuba faces growing protests over its critical energy crisis due to a U.S. blockade on

oil deliveries.

The island nation has essentially no oil left and faces rolling blackouts for sometimes days at a time. A possible new challenger has entered the

fray to seize the Labor Party leadership from British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, the Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, has announced that

he has plans to return to Parliament, triggering speculation that he will compete against Starmer.

Starmer has been under pressure to resign after heavy losses in local elections last week. Well, Anna Cooban joins us live from downing streets

where she's been watching events. And Anna, this has got to rank, I think, as one of the prime minister's worst weeks in office.

Just bring us up to speed on where things stand for the future of the Labor Party and its leader today.

ANNA COOBAN, CNN BUSINESS & ECONOMICS REPORTER: Well, Christina, is sort of anyone's guess at the moment, although there are lot of talk about Andy

Burnham, who you've mentioned, becoming the next Labor Leader. Now, he is very popular. Where he is the greater, you know, the great the mayor of

Greater Manchester is very, very popular.

He presides currently over the fastest growing city economy in the UK. But the question is, would that be enough for him to beat a potential reform

candidate? Now reform is this hard right party that surged in the local elections last week. In order for Burnham to eventually challenge Starmer,

he needs to become a member of Parliament, which means he would need to battle a parliamentary seat, an election, a by election in the north of

England against many other candidates, including reform candidates.

And so even if that was to happen, he was to win, we're now talking months down the line to see potentially a new Labor Leader. And now what Keir

Starmer has said repeatedly is that he does not want to see what he calls the chaos of the proceeding the previous conservative government, a

revolving door of various leaders.

If there was to be a new leader of Labor in the next few months. That would be the sixth UK Prime Minister in seven years. And what the government is

trying to tout over the past day or so is some positive data coming out about the economy. It's the fastest growing G7 economy in the first

quarter.

NHS waiting list times down the National Health Service. So, they're saying, stay the course -- some more time, but many of Starmer's detractors

are saying, fundamentally, he could not beat reform Nigel Farage in the general election, which is scheduled to happen in 2029, Christina.

MACFARLANE: All right, Anna, will continue to keep eyes on 10 Downing Street for now. Thank you for more on this. Let's bring in Anand Menon.

He's the Professor of European Politics and Foreign Affairs at King's College London. He's also a Director of UK in Changing Europe.

Anand, I'm hoping you can kind of help unpack all of this a little bit for our international viewers, when it comes to the future of Keir Starmer,

look, is it possible for him to survive now in position, now that Streeting and Burnham have essentially set the wheels in motion here to depose him?

ANAND MENON, DIRECTOR OF UK IN A CHANGING EUROPE: I mean, I suppose the first lesson of the last 10 years in Britain is you never rule anything

out. But what I would say is, even though it's possible the prime minister might cling on to office, it is very, very unlikely now, to be honest,

given the level of dissent amongst his own MPs and the fact that Wes Streeting has resigned, and it looks like Andy Burnham is going to try to

get back to Parliament.

So, I would say his odds are very slim of hanging on, to be honest.

MACFARLANE: Yeah, and on that Andy Burnham, and we were hearing there from Anna, that he's now set to run in this by election in Manchester, a by

election, he may not actually win, but if he does, I mean, are we likely to see Keir Starmer sort of step aside or stand against him?

MENON: Well, Keir Starmer, to date, has said that he will compete in any leadership contest. He said that before Andy Burnham had a way back into

parliament, as you intimated, it's not a certain way back. Andy Burnham might lose this by election, but we'll see. It'll be very hard.

I think if Burnham wins this by election, he will be the heir apparent, because he'll have been someone who has beaten reform in an area where

reform performed very, very strongly in recent local elections.

[11:35:00]

And I think, at that point, he'll be hailed as a Messiah by many Labor MPs, and the pressure on Keir Starmer will become unbearable.

MACFARLANE: Yeah. I mean, international viewers watching Britain right now must be wondering, what's wrong with our political system. They're saying a

possible seventh prime minister in, I don't know, 10 years and a decade. Is the UK ungovernable do you think? What's the problem here?

MENON: I don't think so. No. I think what we've had, it's partly a number of contingent circumstances. So, Theresa May had a minority government and

was always looking for votes in the House of Commons, and she was dealing with a particularly difficult issue in the form of Brexit.

Boris Johnson was well. Boris Johnson, Liz Truss took some ridiculous economic decisions that plunged the country into chaos. With Keir Starmer,

it's a different thing. I think, it's I think the frustrations with his MPs is that Keir Starmer doesn't seem capable of elucidating a clear national

story for the country.

He's been timid where he should have been bold, and I think it's still the case. Remember this Labor government, we forget this still has a majority

of 160 and it is still very much the case, I think, with a different leader who is committed to being a little bit bolder and to take sort of slightly

firmer action, a lot can get done under our system.

So, I think Britain is far from ungovernable. We've just been quite unlucky in terms of circumstance and our recent choices for prime minister.

MACFARLANE: Yeah. And we've been hearing a lot this week, you know, warnings from inside the Labor government, from the chancellor that this

leadership is going to be very costly for Britain. It's going to be damaging to the UK economy and also to foreign policy at this time.

And this, if it transpires it is, a leadership contest could be very drawn out. So how concerned should we be about the damage that could come from

this?

MENON: I mean, that is precisely the problem is it will take several weeks to organize the by election for Andy Burnham, and then he has to come back

to Parliament. So, this will all take time, and it's time when, as you quite rightly say, we have the crisis going on in the Gulf.

We have the war still raging in Ukraine, lots of really important international developments. And at the same time, I think here, everyone is

keeping an anxious eye on the bond market, because they have ticked upwards. The return on UK gilts has ticked upwards.

And people are very concerned about the cost of borrowing, because Britain has borrowed up to the max, if you like, and debt repayments are a

significant part of what the state now gives money for. And there is a slight concern that further instability is going to make that situation

even worse.

MACFARLANE: And if we look ahead then on into the coming weeks and consider what this leadership race challenge is going to look like, we should also

note that waiting in the wings is a Former Deputy Leader of the Labor Party, Angela Rayner, as well, who's yet to throw her hat in the ring.

Can you just explain what happens from here if we have these three candidates? Because I understand they will go to a membership vote. Who do

you think is most likely to succeed here?

MENON: Well, that all hinges on who ends up standing at the moment, if you read the resignation letter of the Health Secretary yesterday, you could

read that either as I welcome all composition in a leadership election, or I'd like Andy Burnham to come back. So, it's not we don't have a leadership

contest.

As yet, no one has directly challenged Keir Starmer, and at the moment, we're all holding our breath, waiting for this by election to happen,

waiting for Andy Burnham to come back, and I think only then will it become clear whether Labor actually have a contest where maybe Keir Starmer

stands, maybe he doesn't, maybe people stand against Andy Burnham, maybe they don't.

Or Andy Burnham just faces a coronation because he's the only candidate having challenged Keir Starmer. So, this could go in a number of ways, but

ultimately, if there's more than one candidate, you're absolutely right, the choice goes to Labor members. There's about 200,000 of those, and they

will have the ultimate decision on who becomes our next prime minister.

MACFARLANE: Yeah, but it's a long road ahead, isn't it?

MENON: Yeah.

MACFARLANE: A month at least until we know what we're looking at in terms of a leadership contest.

MENON: Yeah.

MACFARLANE: Anand, great to have your thoughts today. Thank you. Now ahead on the show, a high-risk search is on in the Maldives, after five people

died in a scuba accident. Details on that just ahead this.

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[11:40:00]

MACFARLANE: Authorities in the Maldives are conducting a high-risk search for the bodies of four Italian tourists who died in a scuba diving incident

in an underwater cave. Officials say the body of a fifth diver has been recovered. Local authorities are looking into whether weather warnings and

diving regulations were ignored.

Italian prosecutors, meanwhile, have launched their own investigation. Barbie Latza Nadeau is in Rome and joins me more -- joins me now. Barbie,

this is incredibly sad situation. What more do we know about this investigation and what they're looking into?

BARBIE LATZA NADEAU, CNN REPORTER: Well, you know, what we do understand is that the five Italians, you know, had gone down in what seems to have been

rough weather. There was a yellow weather alert at the time they went down. We also know there are 20 other Italians who were part of this citizen

science excursion who are stuck on that dive boat out there, and they haven't been able to get into safe harbor yet because of the bad weather.

We hear this from an Italian Ambassador to Colombo who's been talking to Italian media, who is on the scene. And you know these people, these five

people that do, but the diving instructor, who we understand, is the body that may have been the one that's recovered.

They were part of the University of Genoa system. There was a woman named Monica Montefalcone, who was a professor there, her 23-year-old daughter

who was a student there. There was a graduate student who just graduated -- marine biology from there.

So, these are people, I think we can be assured that had a great understanding and comprehension of the dangers of the sea, but also a great

interest in it, because one of the things that this professor was quoted as saying in the Italian press was that her research was into the abyss.

That's where she was happiest. And so, you know, the questions at work are going to be asked right now is whether or not any rules were broken. You

know, we're understanding that in the Maldives, in this part of that area, in these caves, that some of these excursions are only supposed to go down

to 30 meters, where this was clearly more than that, 50 meters, 60 meters, where these underground caves were.

We also understand that the rescuers have stopped for the evening. It's about 20 minutes ahead of 09:00 p.m. there right now. They've stopped for

the evening, and they'll have to go back down again tomorrow. But there's so many questions yet that have to be answered, whether it was a

malfunction, whether it was weather related, whether they were too deep, whether there was some problem with their tanks and the mix of oxygen and

nitrogen and things like that.

You know, all those questions will be answered when those bodies are recovered. But you know what little we don't know about the tragedy, I have

to say, you know, the things we do know about these people. These people who love clearly, loved the sea, loved adventure.

You know, we're down there trying to explore nature, and it really is a tragedy. And you know, I think we have to keep in mind how difficult it

must be for those 20 other Italians who were on the boat who realized that their travel partners didn't come back up, someone who had raised the

alarm.

And you know, trying to find these bodies, it's just a tragedy in paradise. And I think, you know, we'll have to wait and see what more we learn.

[11:45:00]

But what we do know is incredibly sad.

MACFARLANE: Yeah, very much. So given that it included a mother and daughter diving together, we'll obviously continue to follow this. Barbie,

thank you. Now it's a feat only a global superstar can pull off. Music icon Shakira tells CNN how she plans to use her World Cup performance to bring

education to those who desperately need it around the world.

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MACFARLANE: Well, that, of course, is Shakira. She'll be the headliner on next month's first ever World Cup halftime show, and she won't be alone.

Madonna and BTS will also take to the stage at the conclusion of next month's tournament. However, Shakira is bringing a little something extra

to her performance.

The Colombian singer is trying to raise $100 million for the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund. Shakira and global citizens Hugh Evans spoke with

CNN's Maria Santana about how they plan to do it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARIA SANTANA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And you in this World Cup, you're combining, you know, the passion for football, music, pop culture, but also

philanthropy. Why do you think joining with FIFA and tying your cause to football, one of the most adored sports in the world?

How do you think that can create a global impact for children's education?

HUGH EVANS, CEO OF THE GLOBAL POVERTY PROJECT: Well, if you look throughout history, music has always been the anthem of movements. If you look, you

know, all the great movements of our generation and the generations before us, music has always been those anthems.

And I think that football inspires that same passion. It's one of those things that people are so passionate about. And I think that the thing that

Shakira and I share in equal measure is a passion for education. I think it's the most urgent issue of our generation, particularly right now with

the rise of AI to making sure that kids have access to the tools that they need to lift themselves out of poverty.

It is the key to eradicating extreme poverty. It's the closest we have to a silver bullet. And so that's why I'm so passionate about what we can

achieve together with FIFA, because we have this once in a generation opportunity. This is only going to be a first ever half time show once, and

it's on this July 19th.

[11:50:00]

And so, we want to use this moment to inspire the whole planet to come together as one raise $100 million for children's education, and as Shakira

said earlier, use this as a stepping stone for generations to come. This is just the beginning.

SANTANA: And I mean, you have Shakira, you have Madonna, you have BTS. I mean, the eyes of the world are going to be on this event and children's

education. Check it. I just want to ask you, in English, I mean, fans now they equate you with the World Cup. They say Shakira is the queen of the

World Cup.

You can't have a World Cup without her. Why do you keep returning to this event? Why is it so special to you and just knowing that your music is

synonymous and just the heart and soul of this event as seen and adored so globally?

SHAKIRA, COLOMBIAN SINGER-SONGWRITER AND DANCER: Well, I think I understand what passion means, passion for football and passion for music.

SANTANA: Yeah.

SHAKIRA: And when those two things combine, it's really powerful recipe to bring the world together. And we live in a very divided world right now,

very fractured world, where the algorithms are manipulating people's opinions, reactions and dividing us even more.

So, this is an excellent opportunity, I think, to bring artists together on that stage that day, to bring the world together, to put at the center of

that stage the most important and the most urgent issue in our society right now, which is providing access to quality education.

And this is what this World Cup is about, and that is the difference with other world cups in the past, we are hopeful that we can raise $100 million

or more that will be directed towards grassroots programs around the World, education programs in many, many different countries and we feel that this

is an opportunity that we cannot miss.

That's why we're all putting all of our efforts together, the artists, the people who are participating in this event to really make the importance of

investing in education the real protagonist that night.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MACFARLANE: And our thanks to CNN's Maria Santana for that interview. Now voices protesting the Eurovision Song Contest are getting louder. The

normally joyful Campi contest is being overshadowed this year because of anger over Israel. For the past two years, many have protested Israel's

participation because of its war in Gaza.

Now, Ireland, Spain, Slovenia and the Netherlands and Iceland are boycotting the event. It is the contest, biggest crisis in its 70-year

history. The televised event was watched by 166 million people last year. A few tickets are still available, apparently, for the final on Saturday.

And finally, before we go, a horde of peacocks are causing chaos in a small Italian seaside town, nearly 150 of them are blocking traffic, waking

residents up with loud mating calls and literally attacking cars when they see their own reflection. Half of the town wants them shipped to a zoo, the

other half wants to protect them and use them to boost tourism.

The onset of mating season this spring has escalated tensions with the males, loud, early morning mating calls, particularly aggravating

residents. Don't know what to say about that. Stay with CNN. I'll have more on "One World" after the break.

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[11:55:00]

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