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CNN NEWSROOM

Protests in Gaza-Israel Border Killed 59 People; Iran's Foreign Minister Convincing Europeans to Stay on Iran Deal; Trade Talks with China 2.0; North Korea to Reap Benefits if U.S. Terms on Denuclearization are Met; More Protest Expected Along Israel And Gaza Border; Trump Wants To Ease Sanctions On Chinese Phone Maker; WHO Trying To Contain Spread Of Disease; TMZ, Meghan Markle's Father Won't Attend Wedding; Lava, Ash And Magma Bombs; Legendary Blue Diamond Up For Sale. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired May 15, 2018 - 03:00   ET

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


[03:00:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROSEMARY CHURCH, HOST, CNN: Dozens are dead and thousands more wounded in Gaza's deadliest day in years as the U.S. Moves its embassy to Jerusalem. We have reporters on both sides of the border for a live update on the tensions there.

And Iran's foreign minister is on a world tour in a last ditch effort to save the nuclear deal for his country.

Plus, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are just days away from tying the knot, but even a dream wedding can bring out family drama. We have the details for you.

Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church and this is CNN Newsroom.

Palestinian leaders are calling for a general strike and more protests after the deadliest violence along the Israeli-Gaza border since 2014. Israeli forces killed 58 Palestinians according to the group's health ministry, they were protesting the U.S. embassy move from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and the founding of Israel 70 years ago.

Israel's government and the Trump administration say recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital has been a long time coming.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JARED KUSHNER, SENIOR ADVISER TO PRESIDENT TRUMP: As we have seen from the protests of the last month and even today, those provoking violence are part of the problem and not part of the solution.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Well, Palestinians say moving the embassy to Jerusalem disqualifies the U.S. from being an impartial broker in the Middle East peace process, but Israel is blaming the Palestinians for the lack of progress.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NAFTALI BENNETT, ISRAELI MINISTER OF EDUCATION: Any peace that was predicated on dividing Jerusalem was never going to succeed. Have you ever asked yourself, why is it always failing? Because Jerusalem was going to be divided, and it's not going to work. It's just not going to work.

By taking Jerusalem off the table, effectively all sides face reality and now we can talk peace.

MUSTAFA BARGHOUTI, PALESTINIAN PHYSICIAN: If Israel is ready to end its occupation, if they are ready to accept that we will also have a capital in east Jerusalem and that there is a solution that provides two states which can coexist with each other, there is possibility for a solution.

But when Israel continues settlements and kills every agreement that exists and tries to impose on us unilateral actions like annexation of Jerusalem and now moving the embassy, the American embassy to Jerusalem, this will not lead to peace.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: CNN international correspondent Ian Lee is live in Gaza, and our diplomatic editor Nic Robertson joins us from Jerusalem. Good to see you both. So, Ian, let's go to you first to get the very latest from the Gaza-Israel border where 58 Palestinians have been killed in these clashes with Israeli forces. What is the theme there now and what's expected in the next few hours?

IAN LEE, INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT, CNN: Well, Rosemary, just this morning we have an update to that death toll. It now stands at 59 people who died from yesterday's violence along the border, including eight children. There was also in those eight children one infant who has died. This infant dying from tear gas.

And that's because you have these protests like this camp where I am right now. While there's not many people here, yesterday there was 10, over 10,000 people -- tens of thousands of people up and down this border, many thousands of people here.

And while you have protesters pushing close to that fence, you also have people who are in the back, in this camp where they bring their families, their kids. It's honestly it's more of a carnival atmosphere in the back away from the fence. And Israeli drones have, we've seen them, fly over these camps and drop tear gas. And that's what we're hearing killed that infant.

But for today, we are expecting funerals. There were 59 people killed so we are expecting the funerals of these people to place a lot of protests at those funerals. And then later in the day, we're expecting people to come to camps like this one. There are camps all up and down this border and we're expecting those people to come here.

You know, it could be another bloody day because when you were speaking with people, they say they're not going to let up. There is a lot of anger about this embassy move and people say that it's not right.

Hamas yesterday said the blood of all those people were killed is on the hands of the United States, and there has been condemnation about the violence we saw yesterday. The U.N. secretary-general said he was profoundly alarmed by the level of violence and urged Israel to use massive restraint when it came to engaging these protesters.

[03:05:02] For the Israeli side, though, they say that border, which is about 500 meters behind me, they say that is their red line. They're not going to allow anyone cross over it. They say they reserve the right to use whatever means necessary to make sure that their security remains intact, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Right. Our Ian Lee bringing us up to date on what the situation is there at the Israeli-Gaza border and updating that death toll to 59. We thank you for bringing us up to date on that.

Let's turn now to Nic Robertson. He joins us from Jerusalem with analysis on all of this. And, Nic, these clashes triggered by the opening of the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem after the Trump administration moved it there from Tel Aviv and declared Jerusalem Israel's capital.

The Palestinian this in itself proves the U.S. is not a neutral broker in any effort to find peace in the Middle East. Are they right? And if they are, where does this leave any effort for peace in the region? Who might fill that vacuum perhaps?

NIC ROBERTSON, INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR, CNN: Well, one of the things that's happening here is that the United States is becoming more isolated from its traditional allies, let's say in Europe, if we look at the way Britain and France and Germany responded to the death of Palestinians in the protests in Gaza yesterday.

It was compared to the way that the United States -- President Trump's administration responded completely blaming Hamas for instigating these acts along the fence and instigating what could have been peaceful protests into an event where a number of people could be killed.

European position was different and of course, the European position was very different on the United States recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and with the opening of the embassy.

So, when the United States becomes isolated from its allies its traditional allies, therefore, Israel also becomes isolated, more isolated in that way. It has a staunch ally in the United States and that was something that was celebrated yesterday at the opening of the embassy.

For the Palestinian part, they've turned their back on offers of U.S. mediation since President Trump announced Jerusalem to be the capital of Israel in December. And there's been nothing forthcoming from President Trump's administration that would induce the Palestinians to come back to the negotiating table. In Davos this year in February, when President Trump met with Israeli

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, at that time he spoke to the Palestinians saying that there is money on the table. Come to the table. Negotiate for peace. And that money is available.

But if that -- if that was President Trump's plan of how the deal should work, it should be a financial transaction that hasn't proven attractive to the Palestinian leadership. And the more United States and Israel become or the more United States is seen to be entirely partial by the Palestinians towards the Israelis, the less likelihood there is that the United States can offer itself up and be accepted as a common broker between the two sides.

But at the moment, the Palestinian leadership rejecting the U.S. in a mediate -- in a mediation capacity, no one yet credibly is stepping in to fill that vacuum. So, at the moment, it's an impasse.

CHURCH: And, Nic, that number is disturbing, 59 people dead, including eight children. The problem going forward here is that the United States immediately blames Hamas. Is that fair in this instance where you've got people there, really, it's their right to assemble and show how they feel about this sort of thing.

So, you know, we talk about this vacuum yet to be filled because the United States can't move forward given what has happened in the last day or so and be a part of this surely.

ROBERTSON: What we heard, for example, from the British government yesterday, from the foreign office was that they believe that Palestinians have the right to protest, to have peaceful protests within their territory.

They also say that they fundamentally understand that Hamas is using that situation; the Israeli position has been very clear going into these protests. They began over six weeks ago. More than 16 or 17 people were killed on that first day of protests, and Friday about six and half weeks ago, now the 30th of March, in very similar circumstances.

The Israeli government has been clear. Anyone that tries to get across the fence, they will stop them doing that. They say there are terrorist activities going on by the fence, and this is their justification.

[03:10:04] The two positions are poles and poles apart at the moment. So, what may or may not transpire day, the course is already set. The fundamental understanding on the Israeli side, is that Hamas is encouraging people to put themselves in danger.

From the Palestinian perspective, they feel they have the right for that peaceful protests. These protests as we see are not peaceful. There are a huge number, for example, of tires brought in to burn so is that young men can throw rocks and stones from behind a smoke screen. That would not be a European understanding of a peaceful protest. CHURCH: Yes. All right. Our Nic Robertson bringing us up to date on the situation and bringing us analysis from Jerusalem. We appreciate that.

Well, Iran's foreign minister is crisscrossing Europe in his country's bid to save the Iran nuclear deal in the wake of the U.S. withdrawal from the agreement. Mohammad Javad Zarif is in Brussels today to meet with European Union officials and he has also appeals to the United Nations secretary-general to officially report the U.S. for non- compliance with the nuclear pact.

On Monday, Zarif met with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov in Moscow. The Russian president has reaffirmed his strong support for the deal despite the U.S. pull out.

Well, CNN's Frederik Pleitgen is in Tehran and our Erin McLaughlin is in Brussels. They joined us both now live. Good to see you both. And, Fred, let's start with you. In the wake of the U.S. withdrawal from the Iran nuclear agreement, Iran's foreign minister as we see, continues his diplomatic tour of Europe, Russia and China in his last- ditch effort to save the deal. How will it be possible for him to do this given the U.S. threat to apply sanctions against any European company that dares to deal with Iran?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT, CNN: Yes, well, you know, Rosemary, I think it's going to be exceptionally for Javad Zarif to pull that off. At the same time, that meeting today in Brussels is by far the most important one that he has on that trip that you just mentioned that he is doing right now to China, Russia and then Brussels to try and maintain that deal.

The Iranians are essentially saying that the Europeans need to go up against the United States. They're saying, look, if a company wants to do business here in Iran it has to be able to do so without fearing retribution from the U.S.

There are several concerns there or several instances why the Iranians are saying that. On the one hand, of course, they have a domestic political situation.

But they do have a lot of hard liners here who are saying look, with this nuclear agreement, the Iranians did destroy a large parts of their nuclear program. They (Inaudible) to a heavy water reactor. They destroyed a lot of lot of their centrifuges. They got rid of a lot of their enriched uranium.

So they said, look, we've been abiding by the deal. We haven't been reaped a lot of the benefits yet because they say the U.S. had already been piling pressure on European companies even before they pulled out of the deal. And now they say look, the U.S. has pulled out altogether.

So they're putting it squarely on the Europeans to say, if you want to save this deal, you need to make sure that the Iranians can reap the benefits and that the companies won't have to fear American retribution. Now, of course, for European governments that is going to be an

exceptionally difficult thing to do because a lot of these companies from Europe quite frankly, are transnational companies. They do business in so many countries, and often their big business in the United States.

There is a really interesting article on CNN Money with the head of Siemens, the German company saying, look, right now he can't imagine how he could do business in Iran with the threat of then having to take a hit in America, Rosemary.

CHURCH: I mean, this is the problem. Frederik Pleitgen bringing us up to date on the situation from Tehran. So Erin, let's go to you on that very point. You're in Brussels. And of course we know Germany, France, the United Kingdom have indicated they want to save this Iran nuclear deal.

So how do those countries plan to overcome the threat of U.S. sanctions? Because if they deal with Iran, they're shut out themselves and they have a lot of problems. So, what is the answer here?

ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT, CNN: I think that remains to be seen. It will be the subject of the discussions expected here in Brussels later today. Keep in mind the numbers in all of this, last year, the E.U. exported some $13 billion worth of goods to Iran. That's about roughly 100 times that was exported by the United States.

So, those secondary sanctions the prospect of those secondary sanctions, which are expected at the end of this so-called winding down period by the United States really at the heart of the matter.

And in terms of that meeting, you know, E.U officials, E.U. diplomats I've been talking to say, they're being very tight lipped at the moment in terms of what could be put on the table.

[03:15:03] Iran's ambassador to the United Kingdom tweeting out that he expects a packet of initiatives to be put forward by the E.U. in terms of salvage this deal to soften, perhaps, those sanctions. All of that is yet to be discussed but it does remain very much an open question at this point, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Yes, and of course, Iran is pushing for some sort of punishment for the U.S.'s noncompliance. Let's look at that and where all of this leaves the relationship between the E.U. and the U.S.

MCLAUGHLIN: Yes. Well, you know, from conversations I've been having the relationship between the E.U. and the United States at this point is not in a good place.

We heard just last week from German Chancellor Angela Merkel saying that the United States pulling out of the Iran nuclear agreement undermines, quote, "trust in the international order," saying that Europe now must fend for itself.

We have from Carl Bildt, the former Swedish Prime Minister, in searing op-ed that appeared in the Washington Post, essentially say, this amounts to a, quote, "massive attack on Europe." He said, quote, "It would be most unwise to underestimate the long-term damage to the Trans Atlantic relationship caused by Washington's assault on Europe, Rosemary.

CHURCH: All right. Our Erin McLaughlin reporting live from Brussels with some reaction there, many thanks to you.

We'll take a very short break. But still to come, Melania Trump will be spending the next few days covering the medical condition that landed her in hospital and her prognosis. We'll have that for you next.

Plus, they were pretty much put out of business by U.S. sanctions, now President Trump is coming to phone maker ZTE's rescue. We'll find out why.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone.

Well, Melania Trump is expected to spend the rest of the week in the hospital after what her office describes as a medical procedure for a benign kidney condition. The U.S. first lady is expected to make a full recovery.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[03:19:59] SANJAY GUPTA, CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT, CNN: It's basically threading this catheter near this -- near the kidney and injecting a glue-type a glue-like substance to try and stop blood flow to an area of the kidney where this abnormality is.

Sometimes a procedure like that can even be done as an outpatient or an overnight stay. You worry about someone developing pain or having infection, and you want to make sure that the procedure did the job--

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: President Trump was at the White House during the procedure, but he went to Walter Reed Medical Center Monday afternoon and he says the procedure was a success and his wife is in good spirits.

With a second round of trade talks starting Tuesday between the United States and China, President Trump is suddenly softening his stance toward one of China's major telecom companies. He wrote this on Twitter. "ZTE, the large Chinese phone company, buys a big percentage of individual parts from U.S. companies." And he says easing sanctions on ZTE is part of a larger trade deal the U.S. is negotiating with China.

Last month, the U.S. blocked American companies from doing business with ZTE, saying the Chinese firm evaded U.S. sanctions on Iran and North Korea. But now Donald Trump says too many jobs are at risk. A sentiment welcomed by the Chinese.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) LU KANG, CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESPERSON (through translator):

We appreciate the positive attitude of the U.S. towards the ZTE issue. China is willing to make joint efforts with the United States for a positive and constructive outcome of the upcoming consultations on economic and trade issues.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: So, let's go to our Matt Rivers who joins us live from Beijing. Good to see you, Matt. So what triggered President Trump's major turnaround on this issue?

MATT RIVERS, CORRESPONDENT, CNN: Well, we don't know exactly what caused that very unexpected tweet that came out, you know, when the president put it out over the last couple days, but what we do know is what China has made a priority.

China has made ZTE and the issues surrounding this move by the United States a key part of these ongoing negotiations and the larger trade deal that is hopefully being worked on between China and the United States.

What you saw a couple of weeks ago, the United States deletion trade, a delegation led by secretary of the treasury, Steve Mnuchin. He came here to China, they didn't make too much progress, and now a couple weeks later, just today in fact, Yu-ho, the head of economic negotiator for China is on his way to the United States for round two of those talks.

You've got a situation where tens of billions of dollars in tariffs have already been threatened against either side, both from the Chinese and from the United States. And ZTE is clearly a pawn in all of this that is going on.

And so what you saw President Trump do there is what appears to be throwing the Chinese a concession of sorts of directing his Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to take a look at this and to try and solve the ZTE issue, and you heard the commerce secretary himself say that they are going to be looking to alternatives rather than the current remedy which was banning American companies from working with ZTE.

He said he would do that in a prompt way. So, I think what you're seeing here is, Rosemary, is this is happening in a much broader context of a trade deal and he's trying to be worked out a very difficult negotiations between China and the U.S.

CHURCH: Yes. And of course, the world has been very concerned about the possibility of a trade war between the U.S. and China. Could this possibly help avert that threat, and what about concerns regarding the security risks posed by ZTE?

RIVERS: Yes, well, an official with the Commerce Department did tell CNN that a deal, some sort of deal or striking of a deal with ZTE would be viewed as a confidence building measure and that kind of an offer before these negotiations. So, presumably, if China is happy about that it might set a tone for

better negotiations or at least negotiations with the Chinese side more happy to begin with. But, you know, in terms of national security, there are very big concerns amongst the intelligence community that ZTE can easily be controlled by the Chinese government to conduct espionage.

And it's something that you heard the FBI director say earlier this year when testifying to Congress, and something that Marco Rubio actually, the senator from Florida, he said that it would be crazy to allow ZTE to operate in the U.S. without tighter restrictions. He quotes that in a tweet not long ago.

So despite the fact and there might be a deal with ZTE on the table, you're not -- you're going to have a lot of skeptics that remain in the U.S.

CHURCH: All right. Our Matt Rivers for that live report from Beijing. Many thanks to you.

Well, Mr. Trump is also offering a helping hand to North Korea. Both he and his top diplomat are heaping praise and making promises to the North if the North cooperates and dismantles its nuclear program. But could this new era of diplomacy backfire on the U.S.?

[03:25:03] Brian Todd takes a look.

BRIAN TODD, CORRESPONDENT, CNN: Mike Pompeo says after meeting with Kim Jong-un in recent days that he and President Trump have their eyes wide open on the risk of making a deal with the dictator.

But the secretary of state is otherwise bringing with optimism over what can be accomplished in their planned summit next month.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE POMPEO, UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF STATE: It is o fervent hope that Chairman Kim wants to make a strategic change.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: That title Pompeo is giving Kim these days is raising eyebrows.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

POMPEO: It is Chairman, in this case interacting with me directly. If Chairman Kim chooses the right path there is a future brimming with peace and prosperity for North Korea, the North Korean people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: Pompeo's compliments come after President Trump had offered his own positive view of Kim in recent days.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: He really has been very open and I think very honorable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JAMIE METZL, FORMER NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL OFFICIAL: President Trump and Secretary Pompeo are gushing over Kim Jong-un. President Trump called him honorable. Secretary Pompeo called him Chairman Kim. This is a guy who has up to 100,000 people in terrible conditions in prison camps.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: It was only a few months ago that President Trump was calling Kim something less than chairman.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Little rocket man.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: Now experts stress that it's a positive development that the Trump team and the North Koreans are talking, but they also warn of promises like those Pompeo made over the weekend. That if North Korea dismantles its nuclear weapons, it could receive American investment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

POMPEOP: What Chairman Kim will get from America is our finest, our entrepreneurs, our risk takers, our capital provider not our taxpayers. They'll get --

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Private capital?

POMPEO: They'll get private capital that comes in. North Korea is desperately in need of energy support, electricity for their people. They are in great need of agricultural equipment and technology.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: Analysts say if all that western investment flows in, there could be blow back to the regime that the Trump administration and the North Koreans aren't prepared for.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

METZL: Because the primary goal of the North Korean regime is to stay in power, we don't know how much economic opening is even possible without threatening the underpinnings of that regime.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: But now there is also concern about the sincerity of North Korea's promise to shut down its main nuclear bomb test site Punggye- ri. Trump recently tweeted "So great for world. Site closure and no more testing."

But geologists in China said at least part of that site has already collapsed from North Korea's massive thermonuclear bomb test in September.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: Is it functional at all?

DAVID ALBRIGHT, FOUNDER, INSTITUTE FOR SCIENCE AND INTERNATIONAL SECURITY: I think part of the site would be functional, another mountain could be used. But I think that test site it seems like it was -- that particular mountain seems to not be usable any more.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: Still, weapons experts believe that Kim could simply decide to go elsewhere to test his bombs or that he may have already concluded that he has refined his nuclear bombs enough and manufactured enough of them that he doesn't believe he needs to test any more at all.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

CHURCH: And we'll take a short break here. But when we come back, Doctors Without Borders is calling on the Israeli army to stop using deadly force against Palestinian protesters. There are fears of more deadly clashes in the hours ahead. We will talk with the Doctors Without Borders representative in Gaza city. That is next.

And an emergency team is in Central Africa trying to keep Ebola from spreading. We will have a look at what they are up against with a live report.

Back in a moment.

[03:30:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN NEWSROOM HOST: Welcome back, everyone. I'm Rosemary Church. I want to update you now on the main stories we have been following this hour. More protests are expected in the hours ahead along the Israeli Gaza border. Palestinian officials say at least 59 people were killed Monday in clashes with Israeli forces. And this latest wave of protests comes as the U.S. opened its new embassy in Jerusalem.

Iran foreign minister is on a tour to try to save the Iran nuclear deal after the U.S. announced its withdrawal last week. Muhammad Javad Zarif is in Brussels and will meet with E.U. officials. He has also asked the U.N. Secretary General, to official report the U.S. for non-compliance with the nuclear pact.

Donald Trump now, wants to rescue Chinese phone maker ZTE. A company the U.S. recently penalized for violating sanctions on Iran and North Korea. The president say, helping ZTE would part of a larger trade deal with China. The two countries sit-down for trade talks in Washington starting Tuesday. Well, it's not just the relocation of the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv

to Jerusalem that is inflaming tensions between Israel and the Palestinians. Tuesday is what Palestinians call Al-Naqba, or the catastrophe. The 70th anniversary of the creation of the state of Israel and the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their homes. The U.N. Agency responsible for the welfare of Palestinian refugees spoke out on Monday's clashes saying it's, quote, dismayed by the deaths and injuries in Gaza today of dozens of civilians, including children.

The agency unreservedly condemns the excessive use of force employed against demonstrators who have the right to peaceful assembly and expression. Behind the numbers, there are shattered lives, destinies and limbs. In many cases, the injuries sustained are very severe, unlikely to result in life-long disabilities.

Well, Medecins Sans Frontieres, also known as doctor without borders is urging the Israeli army to stop using deadly force against protesters calling Monday's deaths unacceptable and inhumane. Marie Elisabeth Ingres is the organization's representative in Gaza and she joins us now on the phone. Thank you so much for being with us.

MARIE ELISABETH INGRES, DOCTOR WITHOUT BORDERS, GAZA: Thank you.

CHURCH: So, your organization in there on the front line witnessing firsthand the deaths and injuries resulting from these clashes. What are the doctors and their teams saying about the types of injuries they're dealing with in the midst of these clashes?

INGRES: Well, the doctors are observing gunshots injuries, and the measure of injury -- more than one Gaza of gunshot injuries in Gaza and (inaudible) a number of people.

CHURCH: Of course, we updated that the number of dead is 59, and so many more injured what are the doctors saying about the children, who also who had been caught up in these clashes and the injuries they have sustained? We know, of course, that eight children were killed including an infant.

INGRES: Yes, there were men, there were teenagers, and there were children. The big problem is malnutrition. We have children (inaudible) more than 800 people and more than eight people -- children who are under 18 and the youngest is eight years old.

CHURCH: It is shocking. And, of course, for the most part these protesters are exercising their right to peaceful assembly. And in some instances throwing stones and we heard from our live report there that tires are being burned. There is a smoke screen being used. But those stones are being met by gunfire. What are the doctors saying about that?

[03:35:00] INGRES: Excuse me. I didn't understand your question.

CHURCH: We're just talking that these, for the most part, these are peaceful demonstration although there are instances where demonstrators have thrown stones. And -- but it's being met by gunfire. What are the doctors saying about that?

INGRES: There is a disproportion use of (inaudible), because you have gunshots injuries against protesters and the injuries are so important that we know all of these -- that they are patient, (inaudible). Many of them will be for life. We have a new generation (inaudible) they are still existing and they just want to go out because (inaudible).

CHURCH: And what sort of impact does this have on your doctors and on their teams?

INGRES: What we -- we have scheduled our activities in (inaudible), we have mobile in there, eight structure in that, but also the children (inaudible) we don't have enough doctors, we need a lot of medical people, because it is too much. (inaudible) and surely today will be also worse. So everybody is exhausted. There was a shock case of drug, or the equipment, so we do what we can, but it may not be enough.

CHURCH: We understand. Marie Elizabeth Ingres of Medecins Sans Frontieres, also referred to as doctor without borders. Thank you so much for talking with us. We appreciate that.

Well, four years after Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin, is officially opening a bridge that runs from the Russian main land to the Crimean peninsula. Putin has called the bridge construction and historic mission. It solidifies the ties between Russia and the territory. Putin inspected the bridge in March, it stretches 19 kilometers, making it the longest bridge in Russia. The U.S. imposed sanctions on companies building the bridge, saying Moscow's seizure of Crimea is not internationally recognized.

The World Health Organization has dispatched emergency crews to the Democratic Republic of Congo to help control an Ebola outbreak. The agency says it is preparing for the worst case scenario and health workers are now scrambling to get people in the remote region vaccinated. Let's turn now to our David McKenzie. He joins us live from Johannesburg in South Africa. David, what is the latest information that you have on this Ebola outbreak and why is this particular outbreak causing so much concern?

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rosemary, as the emergency head of the World Health Organization in Africa told us, every outbreak like this should be worrying they always have to take it seriously. But this one in particular is certainly something to watch very closely indeed. The outbreak is centered in the Northwest of the country, now the reason that more worrying is that it is in a region that is very close to between the DRC the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Republic of Congo, and the Central Republic also the epicenter of that outbreak is in a village quite close to the Congo river, a major system of the transport, of course, and moving of people in that area.

Now, 39 suspected cases, 19 deaths they believe at this stage, the outbreak was confirmed in the beginning of May. And what we learned from when our teams were on the ground in West Africa in that huge outbreak in 2014 and onwards where 11,000-odd people died, is that, when an outbreak happens in those border regions, it's both a difficult logistical problem to try and stand out the deadly Ebola virus and also an issue of trying to trace those contacts with suspected patients. And I think that is what the World Health Organization and others are trying to do right now is really that detective work, to trace the people and the contacts.

The most worrying aspect though is that two suspected cases are in the city of some 1 million people that have been isolated. And when Ebola, when viral hemorrhagic fevers hit urban centers, that is when it is very difficult to contain indeed, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Yes. Most certainly, of course, the key seems to be getting vaccine quickly. Why is that proving to be so challenging?

MCKENZIE: Well, it's challenging both, because the type of vaccine, it is an experimental vaccine, and more than 4,000 vaccines are kept in emergency in Geneva.

[03:40:08] They are being shipped as we speak to Kinshasa, the capital of the DRC. Then they will have to get it to the epicenter in the Northwest. Now this vaccine which was develop during that last outbreak and it is still experimental. It hasn't been finally approved. It has to be stored in a very, very cold temperatures, minus 60 to minus 80 centigrade. There has to be a cold chain through the entire process.

They have to somehow figure out an air bridge to get those vaccines by plane, then helicopter, then right on the ground to the patients to try to stamp out this outbreak. And now, the way the vaccine will work by the doctors and epidemiologists on the ground is to target the suspected patients, give them the vaccines, then those contacts of those patients and the contacts of the contacts. It could be more than several thousand people who will need to be vaccinated, traced and tracked down and then monitored. This is a big challenge, but also an opportunity for the WHO to show that it can stamp out an Ebola outbreak before it gets completely out of control. Rosemary?

CHURCH: And of course we all remember the challenges previously, and we hope that it will be a smoother ride for people this time around. We will keep a very close eye on that. David McKenzie, bringing us up-to-date form Johannesburg in South Africa. Many thanks.

Let's take a very short break. But still to come, Hawaii's big island is not out of danger yet. New fissures cause by the Kilauea Volcano, are belching toxic gas, lava and boulders of magma.

And it wouldn't be a wedding without some bump in the road. A change in plans after certain photos of Markle's father appeared. We'll have a live report on that.

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CHURCH: Love that open. And with just days to go before a worldwide audience watches Prince Harry and Meghan Markle marry, there appears to be a last minute glitch in the plan. TMZ says Markle's father has decided not to attend after it was reported he staged photos of himself preparing for the ceremony. And for more on this, let's bring in CNN's Anna Stewart who is in Windsor for us.

[03:45:00] So, Anna, what is the latest on this new drama, what is the palace saying about it and how is Meghan's family responding?

ANNA STEWART, CNN PRODUCER: Yes, I mean, every royal -- well, I was going to say every wedding really has family drama. Unfortunately for the Markle's this is really paying out on a world stage, online, on social media, across the tabloid. I mean, CNN has heeded the palace's warnings many months ago to really give privacy to the Markle family. So we really haven't been reporting much on this sort of story. Of course the tabloids have. Now, this obviously shifted from a tabloid story to a main headline yesterday, particularly after Thomas Markle's eldest daughter, the half-sister of Meghan Markle confirmed that it was true. Here's what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAMANTHA MARKLE, HALF-SISTER OF MEGHAN MARKLE: I have to say I am entirely the culprit, and I said, you know, the world has no idea that you're getting in shape, you're doing healthy things. They don't photograph you buying vegetables and ph water. They photograph you in as unflattering ways as they can, so I said, really, you know, you need to show the world that you're getting in shape and doing great healthy things. So I suggested it and it was --there's a lot of scrutiny that it was money motivated. It was not.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEWART: And following this TMZ report that they spoke to Mr. Markle, Thomas Markle, Meghan Markle's father, and he said he is no longer going to be attending the wedding. Of course, we haven't been able to verify that. But in all the tabloids today, it is all about Meghan not attending the wedding. It is running really across the papers, a major distraction, of course, with just a few days to go. But, you know, we've had a statement from the palace. They really want respect and understanding to be extended, not just to the couple, but to Thomas Markle as well at the difficult time. You know, Rosemary, CNN understands that Meghan Markle was still keen for her father to walk her down the aisle despite all these stories. So, we'll have to see whether we get any more news out of this today.

CHURCH: Why is so much being made of this? Why is it such a big deal? He didn't really do anything dreadful, did he?

STEWART: I know. When you listen to the Samantha Markle's reasoning behind it you feel rather sorry for him. He really wanted to show himself in the best light possible perhaps. But unfortunately, I think a lot of it is to do with the fact the palace really told the media not to push into the lives of the Markle family. And that is a very tricky thing to say, it is the Markle family are pushing themselves into the media spotlight. So, I guess it's this hypocrisy that we might be seeing here.

CHURCH: It's the beginning of a very steep learning curve for her family and, of course, we will see. We are all very excited as we do the big count down. Anna Stewart, thank you so much. Well, now, if you can't be in Windsor like our Anna or you don't want

to deal with the expected crowds and the big day, there will be live coverage of the royal wedding across the world's media and our own Tom Foreman has a preview of what you can expect.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Let's look at some crucial questions about the royal wedding. And we start with where is it? Windsor Castle will be home to the nuptials at noon. It's about 20 miles outside of London or 32 kilometers. Most days you can visit this structure built in the 11th century for about $29 or 21 pounds. But it's a big place so exactly where will the wedding be? Well, if you want to get in, go up the steps on the west. That is where Meghan Markle is going to go as she walks into Saint George's Chapel and oh, what an amazing sight will greet her when she goes inside.

This is what 600 guests will see, including members of the royal family, foreign dignitaries and various celebrities. What else happens here? Well, this is home to what's called the order of the guarder. This is one of the most prestigious groups you can belong to in the whole country. The queen is the sovereign. She picks the people who are members of the group. And the group's slogan is, shame on him who thinks this evil.

Who will officiate? The archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby. And the right Reverend David Connor, the Dean of Windsor. How old are these kids anyway? Well, Prince Harry is 33 years old, Meghan Markle is 36 and the Queen, by the way is 92. Will she be the first American to marry a member of the British royal family?

No, now this is a very deal and she could be given a royal title before everything said and done. But it has happened before, King Edward VIII marry the American devour Wallace Simpson after he abdicated.

So as Markle's divorce or nationality a problem? No, but her religion could have been. That box up there is where the Queen's used to sit long ago. Now she sits down here on the floor with everybody else. But she is still the head of the protestant church of England and Markle was raised catholic. The rule forbidding such a marriage was overturned only three years ago and Markle converted anyway.

[03:50:04] Will Markle wear anything from Princess Diana? Yes. We know that her engagement ring holds two diamonds that originally belonged to the Prince's late mother. How can normal folks see all of this? Well, you can watch on TV or the internet. But right after the service, the happy couple is going to take off on a carriage ride, through the nearby town of Windsor, where they will be greeted by thousands of well-wishers before coming back to the palace for the reception.

Actually there will be two. The second one will be smaller and more private. But the first will be in this magnificent space, and will there be a band? We don't know, but we do know that Elton John has been invite and so have members of the Spice Girls, who are at a very least, we might hear some royally entertaining karaoke.

(END VIDEO)

CHURCH: Tom Foreman with that great report and CNN, of course invites you to part of our special coverage of Harry and Meghan's big day from the I do's to the dress, we have got it all covered. That is Saturday, right here on CNN. Don't miss it.

And we'll take a short break here. But still to come, more volcanic threats in Hawaii. Lava, ash and now magma bombs. We will have the latest from the big island coming up next.

Plus, how blue diamond owned by generations of European royalty could be yours for the right price. Back in a moment.

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CHURCH: That is the sound of the Kilauea volcano spewing balls of magma known as spatter bombs. More than 150 meters or 500 feet into the air, black lava has been flowing through neighborhoods and near a geothermal plant. The 19 fissure opened Monday, two others opened over the weekend. Nearly 2000 people have evacuated their homes since that eruption began. We're keeping a close eye on that.

And severe thunderstorms are threatening parts of Europe while all eyes are on London's weather ahead of the royal wedding this weekend. So, our meteorologist, Pedram Javaheri is our royal weather reporter. So, how is it looking?

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I like the sound of that. Can we keep that title year round?

CHURCH: Sure.

JAVAHERI: You know, it's an interesting setup here Rosemary, because the eastern periphery of the continent here has a lot of active weather right now. The western side is quiet and you notice some severe weather certainly across portions of the southeast here. The storm spinning across this region will produce some strong thunderstorms. Maybe even some isolated concerns of potentially damaging winds, large hail wouldn't be surprised, if we see a few tornadoes across this region, just west of the Bucharest.

Perhaps some water spouts on the immediate coast as well. To the north, yes, some active weather possible in the eastern portion of France, Zurich, certainly South of Berlin. So the pattern is active. Of course, it is the middle of May, and not unusual to see this sort of set up. But the heaviest rain flow is this place of toward the east.

Notice we've had very warm weather in place going to the next couple of days. It drops into a little bit cooler as we approach Saturday, and then Sunday back into a milder trend.

So, things, of course, looking a little better. Climatologically speaking, the mother may, their uniform trend is far as wet weather is concerned, not a significant threat typically, nine days in the month of may do we see rainfall in London, climatologically speaking. Now about some recent royal weddings? The weather back in November of 1947, Princess Elizabeth, Prince Philip, the conditions 14 degrees, it was cloudy.

[03:55:05] It was once again very nice across in July of 1981. This was Prince Charles and Princess Diana's wedding. 24 degrees and sunny skies, among the warmest we've had on record. And just a few years ago, of course, Prince William and Kathryn, her royal duchess there of Cambridge had conditions that were about 20 degrees or so, but it was cloudy.

Now, looking what is instore here going into Saturday, if you were to ask me, I think it would be among the nicest perhaps, the nicest weather pattern in store. Looks once again to be right around 20 degrees which is just a degree or above what is normal for this time of year. But at this point looks partly cloudy to mostly sunny. So a very nice trend set up here across parts of the U.K. going into the Windsor area.

So, again, you're seeing a little bit of a cooling trend and just in time for Saturday it goes back up to what I call really perfect temperature. The lower 20's. So, at this point it looks like one of the better set ups for weather there for Saturday.

CHURCH: Wow. Well, how about that? That is good timing, isn't it, for a change, the weather? Thank you very much, Pedram, I appreciate it.

Well, how would you like to own glittering blue diamond which has been passed down through generations of European royalty? For the first time ever, the legendary blue diamond is going in the market, today in fact. So bidders expect the more than 6 karat stone will fetch between 3 and 5 million dollars. It was first given to the Queen of Spain, Elizabeth, in the 18th century. It said it was kept secretly in a casket and besides its royal owners, no one knew of its existence. So, if you have the money that could be yours.

A 69-year-old Chinese man who lost his feet on Mount Everest, more than 40 years ago, has at last go to the summit in an historic climb. Xia Boyu was or has become the first double amputee to scale Everest from the Nepal side. Sure, lost his feet on Everest back in 1975 after giving his sleeping bag to a sick teammate. He later developed a rare form of blood cancer and his legs were amputated. But none of that stopped Xia from finally summiting Mount Everest on his 5th attempt. How about that?

Thanks so much for your company this hour. I'm Rosemary Church. Remember to connect with me anytime on Twitter. Love to hear from you. The news continues now with Hannah Vaughn Jones in London. You're watching CNN. Have a great day.

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