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EgyptAir Search Continues; President Obama Announces Lifting Military Equipment Ban on Vietnam; Prince Tribute at Billboard Music Awards; New Polls in US Election; Iraqi New Operation to Recapture Fallujah; South China Sea Island Dispute. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired May 23, 2016 - 03:00   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:00:00] ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN NEWSROOM SHOW HOST: The search for answers. A submarine joins the hunt for the wreckage of EgyptAir flight 804 in the Mediterranean.

ERROL BARNETT, CNN NEWSROOM SHOW HOST: Barack Obama in Vietnam. The U.S. President announces the lifting of the arms embargo with an old enemy.

Also coming up.

CHURCH: Madonna and Stevie Wonder pay an emotional tribute to Prince at the Billboard Music Awards.

BARNETT: Now big reaction online to that. A big welcome to our viewers watching here in the States and those of you tuned in all around the world. Thanks for kicking off your week with us. I'm Errol Barnett.

CHURCH: And I'm Rosemary Church. Thanks for joining us This is CNN Newsroom.

Investigators are hoping a submarine will be able to find the so- called black boxes from EgyptAir flight 804.

BARNETT: Though some wreckage and personal items have been recovered about 290 kilometers north of Alexandria, Egypt, the flight data and cockpit voice recorders are considered key to providing answers to what went wrong.

CHURCH: Ian Lee joins us from Cairo with the very latest. Ian, this is the new development, of course the submarine. What are the chances that it will find something? Everyone wants to find the fuselage at this point, and of course those black boxes.

IAN LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Rosemary. And they are searching for those. Those black boxes have a signal that goes out to help locate them. Once they're able to pin that location, this submarine will go down. There's cameras on it, there's claws on it. It will be able to manipulate the area around it to get to those black boxes. And that is crucial in determining what exactly happened, what caused

that plane to go down. This is a submarine we are told that is on loan from the ministry of petroleum here in Egypt and it should be starting its search very soon.

But talking to the minister of civil aviation, he said yes, it is important to get to these black boxes. It's important to get to the fuselage, but he said their number one priority is also getting to the bodies to get them back to their loved ones. And so there is a lot to go through here, a lot to do out there on the Mediterranean.

CHURCH: And Ian, I wanted you also to talk to this story. We know at this point that this plane was vandalized two years ago. Vandals wrote on it "We will bring this plane down." Talk to us about what authorities there in Egypt are saying about that. And also, so many people are asking if this was terrorism, why has there been no claim of responsibility at this point? What's being said about that?

LEE: So, we got to remember, two years ago was right after the 2013 -- the July 3rd, 2013, overthrow of then President Muhammad Morsi by the military. It was a time of turmoil here in Egypt, which pitted the supporters of President Muhammad Morsi, which a lot of them come from the Muslim brotherhood, against the security services.

And hundreds of people have died in the clashes between the two. More so on the side of the Muslim brotherhood, and there was a lot of tension there.

And so, people were vandalizing -- you know, this is the report where they vandalized this plane which express the frustration after all of that. Security has been stepped up at Egypt's airports, especially after last October when the Metrojet plane was blown up by ISIS over the Sinai Peninsula.

And so, if this was a terrorist attack, if this was a bomb, there are a lot of questions to be answered. There hasn't been a claim or responsibility which makes a lot of analyst and terror experts believe that it most likely wasn't a terrorist attack, but we can't rule that out.

But if it was one, they would have to look at the origin of the flight, and that goes to Paris, and was it possible that a bomb was put on the plane? There we do know Paris has had some recent attacks. And so, that would probably be where the focus would go.

[03:04:58] Absolutely. And we need to emphasize here, we don't know what the cause was. It's still possible it could either be terrorism, possible mechanical problems, or fire. We don't know at this point.

Our Ian Lee reporting there live from Cairo. Many thanks to you.

BARNETT: Austria's presidential run-up election is to close, absentee votes could decide who wins the race.

CHURCH: Yes, the contenders are a far right anti-immigrant party leader and a pro-European Union independent candidate. BARNETT: And despite that almost even split so far in the vote count, nationalist Norbert Hofer is promising victory.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NORBERT HOFER, AUSTRIAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE (TRANSLATED): I want to tell you what I have learned in my life. Man must go on and on and on along his path. And when basic values are right, when it is clear to you regardless of what you do, regardless of the outcome, that Austria is our greatest concern, then success will come on its own.

Maybe today, maybe tomorrow. Maybe the day after that. Life is short. But long enough to serve Austria.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: A victory for Hofer would make Austria the first country in the E.U. with a far right head of state.

Well, sources in Al Qaeda and the Taliban now confirmed the Taliban leader Mullah Mansour was killed by a U.S. air strike. Pakistani officials expressed anger at only learning of the strike only after it happened.

BARNETT: Now take a look at this video. It reportedly shows the aftermath of that strike in Pakistan. This is near the Afghan border.

Speaking to reporters in Jordan, the head of U.S. central command emphasize how bigger blow this was to the terror group. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSEPH VOTEL, U.S. CENRAL COMMAND HEAD: Well, he's the leader of the Taliban. Mansour played a key leadership role in not only orchestrating the Taliban, but orchestrating a variety of other organizations to include the Hakani network and Al Qaeda, who were perpetrating operations against not only U.S., but coalition forces and Afghan forces for a long period of time.

He's an individual that's been in that structure a long time. I'm glad he's gone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Pakistani officials called the strike a violation of their country's sovereignty.

BARNETT: Meantime in Iraq, the government says an extensive operation is underway right now to retake Fallujah from ISIS.

CHURCH: The key city is in Anbar providence, just under 60 kilometers from Baghdad. Regular security forces along with pro government militias are expected to take part in the offensive.

BARNETT: For more on Fallujah and what's happening in Iraq, CNN's Jomana Karadsheh joins us from Oman. This is a neighboring Jordan of course. Jomana, how much danger are the residents of Fallujah in during this very difficult operation?

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Errol, there's a lot of concern when it comes to the civilians inside Fallujah. As you mentioned, over the past couple of days we have been hearing from the Iraqi military, telling people that they should leave the city ahead of this operation.

As you mentioned, it's underway right now, saying that they've created safe corridors to leave through and that there are hotlines they can call into if they need to leave, but it's not as simple as picking up their belongings, Errol, and leaving the city.

We have heard from groups like human rights watch, we have from the United Nations, all in recent weeks, saying that the population of Fallujah, tens of thousands, are estimate are still inside that city. Their besieged fight government forces and pro-government militias, in addition, they are also trapped inside the city by ISIS.

Reports that people trying to flee in the past have been executed. So a lot of concern about these civilians and how they will manage to get out of the city if they can, Errol.

BARNETT: And also, Jomana, just explain the sectarian dimension to this and the major risks the Iraqi government is taking by going in with Shiite militias.

KARADSHEH: It's a huge risk. We've seen this in other cities like Tikrit, for example, last year. Fallujah is a predominant in the Sunni city in the Sunni heartland Anbar province. And the forces that are lining up to go into Fallujah that have been amassing around the city for weeks now are predominantly Shia forces.

And a lot of concern here, Errol, if you recall over the past year, so we have been hearing accusations when it comes to these Iranian backed Shia militias. They've been accused of human right violations. They've been accused of reprisal attacks against some of the populations in these Sunni cities after they are liberated from ISIS.

So, a lot of concern about these forces how they will act if and when they go into Fallujah and what is expected to be a very bloody fight. So, a lot of concern about what will happen. Of course, the Iraqi forces are trying to reassure people with reports that it will be the Iraqi security forces who go inside the city with the militias on the outside.

[03:10:00] But we will have to wait and see how this plays out and of course, the concern is that this could inflame sectarian tensions. Something that Iraq cannot afford right now.

BARNETT: Yes. And, Jomana, meantime, as ISIS has been placed on its back foot in Fallujah and other areas, what's been happening back in the capital of Baghdad?

KARADSHEH: Well, as we've seen in the past three weeks, Errol, it would seem that ISIS has kind changed its tactics or reverted back to what used to be the style of its predecessor, Al Qaeda in Iraq. The kind of suicide bombings, the stepped up violence, the attacks against soft targets, if you will, when it comes to the Shia population.

It is that old tactic of this Sunni extremist groups that tried to reignite the sectarian tensions in the country to try and reignite the sectarian war that engulfed the country. It would seem that if you look at Anbar province, for example, ISIS has lost significant territory there.

We were talking about a year ago, ISIS controlled more than 70 percent of Anbar. And they have lost a lot of territory there to the Iraqi forces, Iraqi militias backed by the U.S.-led coalition air strikes.

And so, of course, now the concern is what will ISIS do as it's losing all this territory in western Iraq? The concern is the stepped up attacks as we have seen them taking place in and around Baghdad and what this could mean and what the outcome of these attacks could be, Errol. A lot of concern about that.

BARNETT: Yes. But in any case, the fight against ISIS continues. Jomana Karadsheh watching all of this for us from Oman, Jordan; 11 minutes past 10 a.m. there. Jomana, Thanks.

CHURCH: Another story we were watching very closely. Eighteen schoolgirls are dead after a fire swept through a boarding school in northern Thailand. The blaze broke out in the middle of the night with 38 children asleep in the dormitory.

BARNETT: Now police managed to rescue 20 of the girls bu still don't know cause this fire. All of the victims were between the ages of 5 and 12.

CHURCH: New polls show it's currently almost a dead heat in the race for the White House. But that might be because most people say they don't like the candidates. The latest coming up.

BARNETT: Also, the U.S. has just lifted a decades-long ban on arms sales to Vietnam. You watched this happen live on CNN last hour. We'll talk about what this decision means for relations between the two countries and the region after the short break.

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PATRICK SNELL, CNN WORLD SPORT REPORTER: Hi there. I'm Patrick Snell with your World Sport headlines.

[03:15:00] Starting off with the continuing speculation now surrounding Louis van Gaal's managerial position at Manchester United. Just the day after overseeing the Red Devils FA Cup trial for the Crystal Palace, it's been widely reported that the 64-year-old Dutchman will be replaced by the former Chelsea, Real Madrid and Inter Milan head coach, Jose Mourinho.

As of late Sunday evening, Manchester United remaining silent.

And Man United won the FA Cup with just 10 men on Saturday. And Barcelona have done exactly the same thing on Sunday in final the Copa del Rey and Sevilla, Catalans seeing red towards the end of the first half when Javier Mascherano, the Argentine was given his marching orders with Barce battling on with strike twice and injury time through to Jordi Alba and the young Brazilian name on.

Former number one golfer Rory Mcllroy finally with a confidence boosting win under his belt after doing something he never have done before tasting victory at the Irish Open. He didn't have all things though, at the K Club in the double in on Sunday.

The Scotsman Russel Knox for the one shot lead with three holes to play but Knox could not have seen the blistering finish that Rory would produce here to see on his first success of the year. A birdie at 16 and superb eagle at the very last actually seeing a four shots wing, that means that Mcllroy wins the tournament by three shots in the end.

Thanks for joining us. That's a look at your CNN World Sport headlines. I'm Patrick Snell.

CHURCH: U.S. President Barack Obama says the U.S. and Vietnam have agreed to strengthen ties. Both countries have agreed to deepen their commitment to regional security and trade.

BARNETT: And Mr. Obama announced that the U.S. is lifting the decades old ban on lethal arms sales to Vietnam.

CHURCH: CNN White House correspondent Michelle Kosinski joins us live again from Hanoi, Vietnam. Michelle, great to talk with you again. Now when we spoke last hour, you explained the surprise of most reporters attending the news conference to that announcement, that the U.S. will lift its decades all arms embargo on Vietnam.

Tell us more about that reaction in the room and also what the lifting of this weapons embargo will mean for the region.

MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: This is mainly based on how White House officials talked about this ahead of this trip and they were asked plenty of questions about it. This is kind of one of those big issues that was overshadowing this visit.

But officials would always say it's something that it will be brought up, it will be discussed, kind of indicating that that was down the road; that it's a work in progress so to speak.

So, everybody was pretty stunned that it was announced right off the bat by President Quang of Vietnam during this press conference. In fact, because there is a translator, there was a question as to whether that was even accurate. I mean, nobody was too eager to tweet it out or to report it out immediately.

We wanted to get some confirmation from the U.S. side at the very least it was this true, was this really being announced right here and right now? And it took President Obama several minutes in what he said too in his opening remarks before he finally got to that. He kind of buried the lead here.

But he did confirm that, yes, the embargo now on selling arms to Vietnam is fully lifted. And to be fair, this is something that has been discussed for a long time. The U.S. partially lifted the embargo two years ago, and now it's really complete. And both sides they're saying, you know, that kind of takes away the tension. This is really a big gesture in deepening and strengthening the ties between these two countries.

I mean, lifting that embargo is something that would have been unheard of a few decades ago, and now it's a reality. So, you know, the White House said that it has been worked on for quite a long time. Clearly they had intended to announce on this trip, they didn't want to let on , though, that it was anything more than a discussion. Maybe they wanted to leave kind of the element of surprise in that there for us, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Yes, interesting. And Michelle, as well as forging this closer and deeper relations with Vietnam, President Obama said the U.S. will play a long-term role in the Asia Pacific region and be more engaged than ever before.

What does that mean exactly and how much does that have to do with increasing the strength of China in the region?

KOSINSKI: Well, the White House never says that this is a direct result of China. And clearly, there are many influences involved. You look at trade, I mean, obviously the U.S. wants to be a part of emerging countries trade, especially here in Vietnam, they have this booming middle class.

The U.S. doesn't want to miss out on these opportunities, but a big part of that is China. And the White House often says that if the U.S. doesn't get in now while these trade deals are developing, while middle classes are growing, and there are so many new opportunities, and China will be the one to really shape the rules of the road moving forward.

So, this has been the big intent of President Obama's pivot to Asia. You know, something that he's been trying to deepen for many years now. That he wants the U.S. to be a constructive force in this region, to work with China but also to counter China's influence in both trade and security, Rosemary.

[03:20:11] CHURCH: All right. It is 3.20 -- 2.20 I should say in the afternoon there in Hanoi, Vietnam. Our Michelle Kosinski following President Obama on his trip to Vietnam. Many thanks to you.

BARNETT: A few fresh new polls are out and they show the 2016 race for the White House is in a statistical dead heat.

CHURCH: Yes. But they also reveal some very unfavorable numbers for both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.

Andrew Spencer has the details.

ANDREW SPENCER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The political attacks go both ways.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Crooked Hillary Clinton is the most anti-gun, anti-second amendment candidate ever to run for office.

HILLARY CLINTON, (D) U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I find what he says, the kind of candidacy he's presenting to pose a danger to our country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SPENCER: And the attacks seem to be working. Two new polls out on Sunday show more than half of likely voters have an unfavorable view of both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.

Both The Washington Post/ABC News polls and the NBC/Wall Street Journal poll also show the two candidates in a statistical tie against each other, their respective leads both within the margins of error. A fact Clinton brushed aside on NBC's Meet the Press.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLINTON: You know, polls this far out mean nothing. They certainly mean nothing to me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SPENCER: Senator Bernie Sanders admitted to CNN's State of the Union he's a long-shot candidate at this point.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BERNIE SANDERS, (D) U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It is a very, very uphill fight to go from 46 percent where we are today to 50 percent in the nine remaining contests.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SPENCER: But his numbers heads up against Trump are much better than Clinton's.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SANDERS: I'm not saying she cannot beat Donald Trump, I think she can. I think it's a good chance she can. I am the stronger candidate because we appeal to independents, people who are not in love with either the Democratic or the Republican Party.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SPENCER: For now, trump is happy to play up the democratic divide.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I think Bernie should run as an independent, OK? Let him run

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SPENCER: I'm Andrew Spencer, reporting.

BARNETT: For more on all of this, we're joined by CNN commentator and contributor to the Atlantic, Peter Beinart. Peter, Senator Sanders says he's more popular with independents than Hillary Clinton. How much though will that really matter come November?

PETER BEINART, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, it's probably not going to matter very much to Bernie Sanders, because he's not likely to be the democratic nominee on the ballot in November.

When one talks about independents in American politics, it's a bit of a misnomer. What sort of scientist have shown is that the vast majority of so-called independents actually vote very steadily either for the Democratic or the Republican Party.

They are really democrats or republicans in disguise. Which is part of why the elections these days in the United States really come down less to turning out truly independent -- less convincing truly undecided voters and really more turning out people who have already made up their mind.

BARNETT: Like the ability to fire up the base is more substantial. Well, on that point, Hillary Clinton now is statistically tied with Donald Trump. This has been found in a number of new polls out over the weekend.

Why is that, though? Do you think it's a result of the republicans finally coalescing around Trump, now that he's the only one left, or is it because the Clinton/Sanders battle is showing to do real damage?

BEINART: Look, historically polls this early on don't mean very much. I think that what we've seen is that there has been -- since Trump won the fact that he won the nomination, there's been a coalescing around him among partisan republicans.

And because there's still a race going on between Sanders and Hillary, she's not quite benefitted from quite that same consolidation. I think the likelihood will be by the time he get to the convention, when Sanders actually essentially drops out and Hillary is the presumptive nominee, that you will see that the democratic coalescing gives Hillary an advantage again in the polls.

But it's also important to remember that you can only do a poll when you model the electorate, when you make certain assumptions about who is likely to turn out. So, a great deal depends on whether the Democratic Party can get the same turnout among African-Americans and Latinos and young people that Barack Obama got.

If he can do that, it becomes almost impossible for Donald Trump to win. If he can't do that, then Donald Trump is at least has some chance.

BARNETT: Now, both Clinton and Trump have very high unfavorables. In one poll taken, 64 percent of Americans say both of them are not honest and trustworthy. Do you think then that makes the V.P. selection process even more important for the both of them?

[03:25:01] BEINART: There's not a lot of historical evidence that vice presidential choices really matter very much in how people actually vote. It may matter a little more for Trump because people know less about him.

He hasn't been -- he has made a lot of consequential decisions on the national stage obviously since he's never run for office before. But I suspect at the end of the day that those things will not be decisive. I think the debates will probably matter.

BARNETT: There was an interesting article put out by Politico over the weekend noting that politics have really shifted permanently, both the democrats and republicans, because of the leading candidates, specifically for Donald Trump and what he's done to the republican base and how much it differs from the republican establishment.

Do you think that republican politics at least have certainly changed forever with Trump as the nominee?

BEINART: You know, it's hard to know. One of the things that makes American politics quite different than, you know, parliamentary systems is that essentially a presidential candidate, once they win the nomination they recast the party in their image. But then if they lose the election, in some ways it's all up for grabs again once you have a new presidential candidate.

So, it certainly looks right now that the Republican Party has been fundamentally irrevocably changed. But can you -- if Donald Trump lost badly and that created an environment in which, let's say Marco Rubio ran again and ultimately ended up winning because people felt like the trump Ticket had been tried and failed, then the Republican Party might end up with quite different four years from now.

So, I think it's a little bit too early to tell.

BARNETT: All of it really is just so highly unpredictable. But that's what makes it that much more fascinating. CNN political commentator Peter Beinart, thanks for your time today.

BEINART: Thank you.

BARNETT: Now for those of you tuned in to CNN international, you'll be able to get an inside look at America's remarkable race for the White House with our new program State of the Race with Kate Bolduan, weeknights at 7.30 p.m.in London and Tuesday through Friday at 2.30 p.m. in Hong Kong right here on CNN.

CHURCH: U.S. President Barack Obama says the U.S. and Vietnam are dedicated to regional order in the South China Sea, but those who make their living in the disputed waters find themselves caught up in a high stakes political tug of war.

We'll take a look at that when we come back. Stay with us.

[03:30:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK) CHURCH: Welcome back to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church.

BARNETT: And I'm Errol Barnett. Let's update you on our top stories this hour.

Austria's presidential run off this two close to call the race between a far right anti-immigrant candidate and a pro-European Union independent has become a dead heat.

Europe's migrant crisis and a huge influx of migrants into Austria has been a key issue in the campaign.

U.S. President Barack Obama says the U.S. and Vietnam have agreed to strengthen ties. In the last hour, Mr. Obama announced that the U.S. is lifting the ban on weapons sales to Vietnam. Both countries have also agreed to deepen their commitment to regional security and trade.

BARNETT: The Iraqi government says a military operation is underway to retake Fallujah. Pro-government militias and Iraqi security forces have taken part in this offensive. ISIS has held a key city in Anbar province since early 2014.

CHURCH: A submarine is joining the search for the wreckage of EgyptAir flight 804 in the Mediterranean. Debris and personal items have been spotted about 290 kilometers north of Alexandria, but the all-important flight data and cockpit voice recorders are still missing.

BARNETT: Now with more on the investigation at the origin of the flight that's Charles de Gaulle airport, Max Foster joins us from our Paris bureau, as you see on your screens.

Max, how much confidence is there among Europeans official that the lead Egyptian investigator will be transparent with all of his results considering terrorism is a positive motive and he was the lead on the Metrojet investigation?

MAX FOSTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I just want to bring you some information we just had, Errol, and that's the French patrol ship has actually arrived over there in the Egyptian search zone. Because what the Egyptians really need is this expertise in this under sea search for the body of this aircraft.

So on this patrol ship you have experts from the coast guard, also from the military as well. Experts in undersea search. So, that's going to help possibly boost this effort. It's a huge frustration here amongst the families. We've been -- there's a meeting amongst the families and officials here in Paris, so definitely a huge frustration, of course, is that there's no information out there.

We still haven't had confirmation of the cause of the downing of this aircraft and families just want any information they need and just to express how they're feeling. They want to know, you know, one of the big questions they had on Saturday was that do their family members suffer on the aircraft. And that's a huge frustration not to have any information.

Also difficult for the French officials because the Egyptians are leading on this, so they can't really give French victims' families the information that they're looking for.

So, that's the latest situation how France is offering what resources it can to this situation, also the U.S. is liaising and the U.K. as well offering their expertise. But a huge amount of frustration, Errol, there's point that there's not much more that the families can be told.

BARNETT: And that frustration, Max, understandable. We are days after this plane going missing now. Debris has been found. Egyptian officials say they have sent a new robotic submarine to where they think the plane may be.

If we all remember the autonomous underwater vehicle used to try to find MH-370 turned up empty in the end. What can you tell us about that angle of this search, considering a French vessel is also there?

FOSTER: Well, also the priority at the moment apart from picking up human remains, is to find those black boxes, which would -- which were expected to be in the main part of the aircraft as it lies on the bottom of the ocean.

So, once they have those black boxes and they can analyze them and they can find the cause of this accident. Or if it was an accident. So that's the priority really, finding the bulk of the plane to find the black boxes and bring them back to the surface.

[03:35:00] And Egypt may not have the expertise to analyze them. That decision will be made by the Egyptian authorities so those black boxes might have to come to France or to the U.K. to be analyzed.

So, again, more frustration for the families. They have to wait if they want fully confirmed information for the results of those black boxes.

BARNETT: All right. Max Foster live in Paris for us, just past 9.30 in the morning there with the news that a French vessel has joined the search for the missing Egyptian airliner. Thanks, Max.

CHURCH: And while relatives wait for official word on what happened to flight 804, they're grieving for the family members they've lost.

BARNETT: That's right. The family of the plane's pilot is sharing memories of a man who loved flying from an early age.

Ian Lee has the story.

IAN LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Mohammed Shoukair first love was flying. The pilot of EgyptAir flight 804 received a flight simulator at age 18. He was hooked.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAMESH SHOUKAIR, PILOT'S COUSIN: he loved to be a pilot. This is a major part of his life. He loved to be in EgpytAir.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEE: Shoukair's cousin hoped maybe he could introduce him to his second love. They spoke before his fight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHOUKAIR: He ask me to give me some time sleep and he will come with me to see the girl that he was -- I was planning for him to marry.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEE: The 36-year-old was known as the family comedian and having a bit of a baby face. His last contact with Greek aircraft control was described as light hearted. But when it came to flying, he was serious.

According to EgyptAir show, he racked up over 5,000 hours in the air, including over 2,000 on the Airbus A320. And even though he's missing, the mourning has begun.

It's tradition in Egypt to offer your condolences to a family immediately after someone has died. And that's what you're seeing here tonight. But what makes this more painful for them is that once the body is found, if it's found, they'll go through these raw emotions all over again.

These emotions reflected in his father who said "Whoever took away my only son, may God take the light of their eyes."

As search crews scour the Mediterranean for wreckage, they'll focus on recovering Shoukair and the 65 other passenger and crew on board EgyptAir flight 804.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIF FATHY, EGYPTAIR CHIEF AVIATION MINISTER: Actually it is a priority especially in our part of the world, it is the number one priority.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEE: And even though Shoukair is gone, his legacy will live on.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHOUKAIR: My kids also they want to be a pilot like him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEE: Shoukair's love of flying passed down to the next generation.

Ian Lee, CNN, Cairo.

BARNETT: Still to come this hour, both Indonesia and Costa Rica were hit by major volcanic eruptions over the weekend and the danger there is far from over. We'll bring you details coming up.

CHURCH: Plus, Vietnamese fishermen say they're being bullied by Chinese ships trying to stay their claim in the disputed waters of the South China Sea. Their story next.

[03:40:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA PRESIDENT: The United States and Vietnam are united in our support for a regional order, including in the South China Sea, where international norms and rules are upheld, where there's freedom of navigation and over flight, where lawful commerce is not impeded, and where disputes are resolved peacefully.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: That was U.S. President Barack Obama indirectly addressing the U.S. and Vietnam's dispute with China over territorial rights in the South China Sea.

BARNETT: Now for Vietnamese fishermen who rely on the disputed water for their livelihood, there is no steering clear of the turmoil.

Saima Mohsin has that story.

SAIMA MOHSIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Like his father before him, Le Tan makes his living from the sea. He's fished these waters for 31 years. But lately, his job has become a lot more dangerous.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LE TAN, VIETNAMESE FISHERMAN (TRANSLATED): First they took our fish, then the essential equipment. If they liked it, they took it. If they didn't, they threw it away.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MOHSIN: Tan describes a day when Chinese men boarded his boat, stole his equipment and threatened him and his sons. This happened last year, but he says his boat has been targeted four or five times over the past decade.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TAN (TRANSLATED): Once they tased my son three times in his spine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MOHSIN: Tan says he's being targeted because he fishes in the Paracel, the China violence claimed by Vietnam, China and Taiwan. Vietnamese authorities says hundreds of fishermen from Ly Son, small island of this coast of Vietnam report being intimidated, beaten, or robbed by men on Chinese flag boats within the Paracel. Yet, despite the danger, the local government says it's encouraging

men to keep fishing these waters, calling them defenders of Vietnamese territory.

The Chinese foreign ministry says it has no knowledge about Vietnamese fishermen being beaten or chased away and the Paracel Islands are its sovereign territory along with most of the South China Sea.

China is building manmade islands, laying down airstrips, deploying surface-to-air missiles in defiance of competing claims by other regional players. And the U.S. has waded into the fight, challenging China by running freedom of navigation operations in the region and calling for an end for the militarization of the area.

Washington's message seems to have done little to sway local opinion.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PHAM THI HUONG, LY SON DISTRICT PEOPLE'S COMMITTEE VICE CHAIR (TRANSLATED): Concerning America's idea of a peaceful solution between Vietnam and China, even with this peaceful solution, the rights of Vietnam to these islands are undeniable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MOHSIN: CNN wasn't allowed to speak to the Ly Son fishermen without a government minder present. But Vietnamese officials are keen to show them off as victims of China's aggression.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TAN (TRANSLATED): We protect our country for the next generation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MOHSIN: It's an elevated calling for the fishermen of the remote island night Ly Son. In its ongoing dispute with China, Vietnam is mustering defenders wherever they can find them.

Saima Mohsin, CNN.

BARNETT: Indonesia's Mt. Sinabung erupted on Saturday, killing at least seven people. Nearby villages are now covered with ash.

Just look at this. And officials say more eruptions could be coming.

CHURCH: Meanwhile, Costa Rica's Turrialba Volcano registered two major eruptions. The resulting ash is triggering health warnings in the country's capital of San Jose.

[03:45:03] BARNETT: Let's get more on all this volcanic activity with our meteorologist Pedram Javaheri who joins us now. Those pictures are pretty incredible.

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes.

BARNETT: They are frightening to think that more activity is coming.

JAVAHERI: They're on high alert across the Indonesia absolutely. And you know, Indonesia is one of those places that volcanologist will tell you when you, for them, when they hear Indonesia they think of the most active place on our planet for volcanoes.

There was Tambora erupted that particular volcano, just to put in perspective, sole explosive, guys, that in Europe it went on 1816, a year later became the year without a summer. So, the ash geared into the upper atmosphere traveled around the world and the parts of the world that clouds were literally hazed over for months across that region from ash.

So, again, the potential there is very high for this part of the world. So, the picture there really show you what occurred. This is out of Karo in Indonesia where we had Mt. Sinabung erupt in the past several case.

And what's fascinating about what has occurred here, just in recent days when you take a look at the precise location, this northern Sumatra, as you work your way towards this region where we've had of course multiple eruptions in recent weeks and recent months across this region.

But when you look at the broad perspective over this, only eight eruptions have occurred since the year 1600. Now from the year 1600 to the year 2010, there were zero eruptions on Mt. Sinabung. From April 2010 to this past weekend, we had of course eight eruptions take place.

So again, this kind of shows you the incredible nature of the activity as peak across this region. And of course, you know you're entering an active period if you go silent for 400 years and then picked up for the last six years.

But look at this. The red triangle top corner of your screen there, that is exactly where the mountain is located. Notice the rainfall around the mountain. Not much in the way of weather in their direction in the couple of days. But closer perspective shows this something fascinating.

As we know in October of 2014, this volcano erupted again. It was actually four-kilometer 2.5 mile perimeter that officials put in place there. They took 5,000 people out of this region to say, hey the threats is on way too high to reside here. You have to permanently move out of this area for the forcible future.

Unfortunately, people went back in recent months and recent years since October of 2014. People work their way right back to attend their belongings and their properties nearby the mountain.

And officials are saying some of these fatalities that occurred potentially could have actually been in line this region for people that had come back into the danger zone.

But notice how many volcanoes are across Indonesia, 147. Seventy six of which are active, again out of the highest number in the world of active volcanoes for any country in the world. So this is something they're used to, but again, it is very scary, very dangerous.

BARNETT: Yes. We see that.

CHURCH: Thanks so much, Pedram. I appreciate it.

JAVAHERI: Yes.

BARNETT: Thanks, Pedram.

CHURCH: All right. Well, still ahead, a night marked by tribute and triumph of the Billboard Music Awards. And one winner who had trouble holding all his trophies at one time. We'll take a look at that. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JAVAHERI: It's 23rd of May, 2016. Pedram Javaheri with you on Weather Watch.

Tracking a light of storms across the Central United States, very active pattern right there, really cutting the U.S. in half when it comes to the storms in its progression farther to the east.

And one area we're watching careful for the line of active weather to really picked up an intensity through the morning hours. So this will be this particular complex of storms just around western areas of Oklahoma City. We'll begin to see this really begin to build towards the afternoon hours as it migrates to the south.

A little towards the east, and notice the bowing that takes place tremendous wind expected with this as we go towards this afternoon and this evening. So, the severe weather threat across this general area is going to be very high in Northern Texas, portions of Oklahoma certainly Kansas, as well.

About 10 million people in line for the largest threat for severe weather which is going to be for hail and winds put together across that region.

Look at this. This is a massive ridge that's building that really push temperatures into record territory for portions of the northern U.S., even Southern Canada.

[03:50:04] And by the time we get done with the map here when it comes to the next five days, look how widespread the yellow and oranges. That is a great sign if you like warm weather for just every one across parts of North America at least the next couple of days.

And notice this Winnipeg, 28 degrees, and towards Denver to the 20s. Atlanta, also 28 degrees with partly cloudy skies. And notice to the south we go, thunderstorms to this time of the year, generally in the afternoon around Havana high temperatures there around 32.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BARNETT: Welcome back. Veteran British director Ken Loach took home the top honor of the Cannes Festival on Sunday. He won the Palme D'OR for his latest social realist drama "I, Daniel Blake." here's the big moment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE MILLER, CANNES FILMS FESTIVAL JURY PRESIDENT: This year, the Palme D'OR goes to "I, Daniel Blake."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: The filmmaker noted it was strange to receive an award in such opulent surroundings given the miserable living conditions featured in his movie.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEN LOACH, PALME D'OR WINNER: So, we must give a message of hope. We must say another world is possible and necessary.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: The winning film showcases the struggles of the downtrodden carpenter and a single mother trying to obtain government assistance and scrape by in Britain.

Well, from film awards to music honors, Britney Spears kicked off the Billboard Music Awards Sunday with a provocative medley of her hits. But the evening came to a close with an emotional tribute to Prince led by Madonna.

BARNETT: The weekend was the big winner of the night. He sent this picture of himself with count them eight awards.

CHURCH: So, let's hear more about the Billboard Music Awards. Kim Serafin, senior editor of In Touch Weekly joins us now from Los Angeles bureau. Hi, there. Always good to talk with you. So, who were the biggest winners at this year's Billboard Music Awards, do you think?

KIM SERAFIN, IN TOUCH WEEKLY SENIOR EDITOR: Yes, this is a big night for so many artists, so many great performances and so many amazing winners. Justin Bieber had some of the biggest nominations of the night. He had I think 12 nominations. He won top male artist. So that was fantastic. It was nice to see him perform. He did a fantastic performance.

Adele won a couple of awards, including top artist, but she wasn't there. Unfortunately, she's on her tour, so she wasn't there to actually get her award. The weekend -- but one of the first awards of the night and it was nice to see him get up there and kind of dedicate his award to Prince. Which you can see a lot of the similarities between the two of them.

So I think that made sense. You also had some of the awards that were given out to some of the performers who were noted in advance, like Britney Spears, for example, opened the show and she was receiving the millennium award. She did a fantastic performance of a medley of her hits.

And then Celine Dion received the icon award and she got up there and performed an amazing performance. This was her first televised performance since she lost her husband. So, it was nice to see her get this award. She received it, stood there with her son who presented the award to her. She was holding her son's hand. It was really emotional. So, an amazing night for her as well.

CHURCH: Very powerful. And then, right at the end of the show, talking about emotional, a tribute to Prince from Madonna, despite many of his fans not wanting her to be the one to do it. And then Stevie Wonder making an appearance. How was that tribute received?

SERAFIN: This is an amazing tribute. I don't see how they could have done a better tribute to Prince. There was the announcement that Madonna would be doing this tribute. A lot of people were not happy with that. There was a lot if controversy.

In fact, some of Prince's fans started a change.org petition because they did not want Madonna doing this tribute. The producer had to come out and say don't worry, this is going to be very respectful and tribute to Prince and it really was.

Madonna came out there that the whole stage was lit up with kind of a purple light, she twirled around on a crushed velvet purple seat dressed in kind of a lavender suit, sang "Nothing Compares To You."

[03:55:05] There were nice images in the background of Prince. Some amazing words like hope, immortality. And then Stevie Wonder came out and the two of them finished with "Purple Rain," people in the audience holding up a little purple lights.

It was really, really emotional I think for anyone watching this and it was a perfect way. Madonna, who really had a parallel career in so many ways to Prince, I think it was a perfect tribute to him.

CHURCH: Yes. I thought it was powerful, as well. And then Keisha got to performed, that was after Dr. Luke's label gave her permission to so long as she not use to stay to the platform to talk about her sex abuse lawsuit. So, how did that go?

SERAFIN: yes. This is an amazing performance I think by Keisha. She paid tribute to Bob Dylan. Now this was interesting because you're right. She was initially not going to be allowed to perform, because there were rumors that she was going to use this to talk about or to address this issue, the ongoing saga, the legal saga with Dr. Luke, but then she was assuring everyone this would not happen.

The label gave her permission to do this performance. I think so many people were still happy to get out there and perform. She looked grown up. She looked very different. She looked like she was in control and she got I think some of the biggest applause of the night because everyone knew about everything that's been going on with her. And it was great to see her get out there and be able to perform and

she really -- she really showed people why she is such a great performer and why she deserves all the attention.

CHURCH: Yes. Certainly very symbolic. And what a night. It was quite a show in fact. Kim Serafin, always a pleasure to chat with you. Thank you so much.

SERAFIN: great. Thanks so much.

CHURCH: And thanks to all of you for joining us. I'm Rosemary Church.

BARNETT: And I'm Errol Barnett. Thanks for kicking up your week with us. We always appreciated it. You connect with us -- you can connect with us any time on Twitter.

Early Start is next for those of you in the States.

CHURCH: And for everyone else, stay tuned for another edition of CNN Newsroom live from Paris with Max Foster. Have a great day.

BARNETT: See you.

[04:00:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)