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European Migrant Crisis; Wisconsin Primary Preview; Amercian Idol Comes to an End; Deadly Storms Hit Northwest Pakistan; Amtrak Crash in Pennsylvania; UK Anti-doping Scandal; Latest on US Campaign Trail

Aired April 04, 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: Pushed to their limits. Physically, mentally, and now geographically. A controversial deal now forcing thousands of migrants to return from Greece to Turkey.

And as we count down the hours to the Wisconsin presidential primary, we visit the county that has correctly picked the last nine commanders in chief.

Plus, from girl next door to singing for the president. As "American Idol" ends its 15-season run. We look back at how the show offered Jennifer Hudson and many others the chance to fulfill a dream.

Hello and welcome to our viewers here in the United States and all round the world. I'm Rosemary Church at CNN global headquarters. This is CNN Newsroom.

And we begin with the migrant crisis. Many have risked their lives in flimsy rafts and boats to reach the shores of Greece in search of a better life. Looking at live pictures here as some are being returned to an even more uncertain future.

The first of three Turkish ships ferrying migrants and refugees back to Turkey from Greece has just arrived in the Turkish down of Dikili. This is part of a controversial deal between the European Union and Ankara, one that's being denounced by human rights organizations.

And we want to look at the key points of the deal between the E.U. and Turkey on handling refugees. Turkey will now take back all migrants who arrive in Greece from Turkey without asylum status. The E.U. will resettle one Syrian asylum seeker from Turkey for every Syrian returned to the country.

The E.U. will also speed up payment of some $3.3 billion already promised to Turkey to help deal with the refugee crisis. And the E.U. will waive visa requirements for Turkish citizens by the end of June. Now, both sides will also continue to negotiate Turkey's possible accession to the E.U.

Now we are following the story from Greece and Turkey. CNN's Erin McLaughlin is in the port of Lesbos where the migrants boarded the ship. And our Phil Black is in Dikili, the Turkish coastal town where the ships are docking. One of the three has certainly docked at this point.

Phil black, let's go to you first and talk to you and talk to us about this processing procedure. We watched this first ship arrive there in Dikili and we watched the men on board and those who are accompanying them disembark. So, talk to us about what happens to them now. What do we know about that process?

PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Rosemary, you could see the first of the vessels, as we mentioned there, has docked behind us. We're going to take you in and show a little bit more closely what's going on. Some Turkish officials have gone on board. They've set up that top hole and that barrier, if you like, on the bow of the vessel to try and conceal from the assembled media here just precisely what's happening there.

But what we can see is one at a time, fairly sparsely; the migrants are being escort off the vessel with one person escorting each of the migrants. They're then being taken into an area where they're being registered and processed.

Again, tarpaulins and barriers have been set up so we can't see you or show you what's going on there either. Now most of the people that have been sent back from Greece this morning are Pakistanis. Some Afghans as well. And we are told two Syrians who have agreed to return voluntarily.

The Syrians it is likely will be allowed to stay here in the vast camps mostly in the south of the country with the millions of other Syrians that are being granted protection here. People who have fled the conflict from across the border. The fate and the future of people from other countries is less clear.

What we're hearing from the Turkish interior ministry this morning is that people who are not Syrians will not automatically be deported but their cases will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

But what we expect is that from here just the registration, the processing, they'll be moved somewhere else nearby temporarily before being dispersed more broadly to the sorts of camps or centers that the Turkish authorities consider of greatly residence.

CHURCH: Phil, for any of those migrants from Pakistan or Afghanistan, as you say, how long would we expect them to stay in Turkey before they're perhaps returned to their homeland?

[03:05:03] BLACK: We really have no idea at this stage, Rosemary. It's that unclear, their futures are that uncertain. We know that they are making this return journey this morning, one they never hoped or wanted to make. Think about it. Whenever they crossed this body of water heading in the opposite direction, they did so with the absolute hope, the belief, the desire to establish a new life in Europe.

They're now returning from that, those dreams really a total failure. Now that they're here in Turkey, we are told by the interior ministry that their cases will be considered. But we're not sure what that means. We know that in most countries this is a long, slow process. It's not something that happened quickly. But what it means is that for these people here really their lives are now just under the cloud, really, of tremendous uncertainty. Rosemary.

CHURCH: All right. Our phil black joining us there live from Dikili. As we watch those people who have disembarked from that first ship.

Let's go to Erin McLaughlin now, who, as we mentioned is there at the port city of Lesbos. So, Erin, we are learning as we heard from Phil there, learning more about the men who were on board that boat. Talk to us about that. We understand they're Pakistanis, they're from Afghanistan. Also some Syrians. But what do we know about the numbers of those men on board?

ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN CORRESONDENT: Rosemary, the Greek police just confirming to CNN that some 202 migrants in total were sent to Turkey today. A 136 returned from the island of Lesbos. This island. And then 66 from the island of Hios. Of those on Lesbos predominantly sent back, Pakistani, a two Syrians voluntarily returned. There were also Indians, Sri Lankans, and Bangladeshi. From the island of hios some 42 Afghans among those returned.

These individuals, we understand, from Greek authorities have not applied for asylum in Greece. They're seeming to be more economic migrants. And they're peaceful deportations which happened today, seeming to send a very strong message to other would-be migrants in Turkey not to risk their treasure, not to risk their lives in making that perilous journey to Greece that there is a strong possibility that they could be sent back to Turkey.

Now, the key question is are people, are would-be migrants in Greece listening -- sorry, in Turkey listening to that message? It was interesting. As the buses arrived earlier this morning to load onto those ships, the migrants, a coast guard vessel also arrived towing behind it a gray dinghy.

On board that coast guard vessel more migrants from Turkey. No doubt being sent to the very same detention center that the migrants that were being sent back to Turkey originated from. So, authorities here saying in the past few days since this deal was signed they have seen a dip in numbers here.

Less migrants arriving from Greece -- from Turkey, rather, to Greece. But they're saying time simply will tell if that message is reaching would-be migrants or simply did those numbers dip due to weather?

It's still unclear. But again, a very strong message being sent from E.U. officials this morning to not -- especially to economic migrants, do not risk that perilous journey from Turkey to Greece.

CHURCH: All right. Just after 10 in the morning there in Lesbos and in Dikili. Many thanks to Erin McLaughlin there in Lesbos and to our Phil Black in Dikili. Well, as Erin mentioned, there are concerns Turkey is not a safe

country for the migrants. Amnesty International says Turkey is forcibly returning some to Syria. And we will speak with a top official at Amnesty International about that in just a few minutes.

Want to turn now to Pakistan, where memorial services have been held across the country one week after an Easter bombing after a crowded amusement park. More than 70 people were killed and hundreds wounded. A splinter group of the Pakistani Taliban said it targeted Christians in the attack and this is not a first. Churches have been bombed before.

CNN's Saima Mohsin joins us now from the Sacred Heart Cathedral of Lahore with more on the dangers Christians face throughout Pakistan. So, Saima, let's talk about these terrorists targeting minorities.

SAIMA MOHSIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Rosemary, it's not just Christians. Amnesty has Shias, Hazaras in Baluchistan and even certain sex of Muslims have been targeted by terrorist groups.

[03:10:02] This is very much a part of the divide and rule policy that the Taliban and splinter groups of the Taliban have tried to divide society in Pakistan. I look at daily life in Pakistan and many of the minorities, particularly Christians, feel very isolated from the rest of society.

Let's take a look.

Gunmen guarding the church. I meet pastor Shakeel and say it's strange to see gunmen outside a place of worship. "we have 20 to guard us on a Sunday," he says. Jahanabad is the most densely populate Christian area in Pakistan. It was attacked last year.

Inside the free church school there are usually 40 children in this class, but many are too scared to attend since the Lahore park bombing. Pastor Shakeel has buried six of his flock in one day.

(FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

SHAKEEL ANJUM, CHILDREN'S CHAPEL CHURCH MINISTER (TRANSLATED): Our people are very poor. They can't afford the time to protest the attack. We really need the support of the Muslims or Pakistan and the government. As Christian citizens we love and pray for Pakistan.

MOHSIN: In a national address, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said each and every drop of blood is being counted, the score will be settled. It's being settled apparently by the military and police in raids on terrorist hideouts across the country.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CECIL S. CHAUDHRY, NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR JUSTICE & PEACE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: What about the beast within us? What about the beast that is within our houses and our society? If we do not address those problems, this military operation will be a waste.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MOHSIN: Minority rights workers Cecil Chaudhry says successive governments have made space for extremists. The roots of radicalization of Pakistan are in its biased laws.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHAUDHRY: When you exclude the role of religious minorities from your textbooks, when you start putting material that is biased towards or discriminatory towards other faiths, how will they actually respect minorities when they grow up?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MOHSIN: Cecil's father, a decorated war veteran and pilot in two wars, has been removed from the history books. And this ad clearly says it's looking for non-Muslims to clean toilets. The ad was later retracted but exposed the institutionalized discrimination. In Jahanabad we found the Christian community feels isolated and neglected.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (TRANSLATED): My husband is a day laborer but sometimes just find work. I only get cleaning jobs. It's clear our area is neglected because we're Christians. No roads or payments. No running water.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (TRANSLATED): If our voices aren't being heard how can we live here? We are under attack.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MOHSIN: Blasphemy law has often been manipulated to persecute minorities including Christians. In a highly publicized case, Asya Bini, a Christian mother of five was sentenced to death for blasphemy.

Salmaan Taseer, the Muslim governor of Punjab called for the death penalty to be revoked. He was gunned down by his own guard. At Sunday service a special song praying not just for Christians but for citizens of all faiths in Pakistan, we should be seen as equals in the eyes of the state.

Rosemary, this really is a battle for mindset here in Pakistan. When the Peshawar church bombing happened I was in Islamabad where people of all faith came together to form a human chain to protect churches on the following Sunday. That's the kind of solidarity that activists from all religious say is needed in this country.

And by the way, those discriminatory laws include the fact that Christians or any religious minority can't even become prime minister or president in Pakistan. And as we heard there, until laws like that are changed things won't get better here. Rosemary?

CHURCH: Indeed. And the best weapon against these attackers is this form of unity. Saima Mohsin, many thanks to you. Joining us live from Lahore.

A British doctor is denying allegations that he's been doping about 150 elite athletes. And the U.K.'s anti-doping agency is also under scrutiny. It has known about the case since 2014, but apparently, failed to take action.

Let's bring in Fred Pleitgen live from London. So, Fred, what all do we know about this case? And what is likely to happen to the doctor involved and the U.K.'s anti-doping agency?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's still pretty early on in this investigation, Rosemary, but it certainly is some serious allegations both against this doctor and against the U.K.'s anti-doping agency as well.

If you look at the Dr. Mark Boehner, he apparently over years admitted to giving athletes, professional athlete's substances like hGh and IPO, which are pretty high-level doping substances.

Now, apparently, he said he did this in some undercover interviews given to the Sunday Times newspaper here in the United Kingdom where he said that they were athletes from the English Premier League, Tour de France athletes, to others as well.

[03:15:09] Of course track and field athletes also that received some of this doping treatment. On top of all this apparently, he doesn't even have a license to practice medicine in the United Kingdom currently. So, it certainly is a flurry of allegations that are out there.

None of them at this point, however, appear to have any sort of criminal repercussions because at this point in time all this is a journalistic investigation by this newspaper. However, it does shed quite a light also on the U.K. anti-doping agency, where it apparently has known about this case since 2014.

Because there was a whistleblower who came with information to UKAD and said listen, this is going on, this man admitted to this, you need to check this out. Apparently, they did but said that they didn't have anything to substantiate that this was some sort of wider spread doping operation that was going on.

So, these are certainly very serious allegations, both against this doctor and against the U.K. anti-doping agency. And of course, they're made even more serious by the fact that we are in an Olympic year. We're very close to the Rio Olympics. So certainly this is the last thing that sports here in Britain and generally sports worldwide needs at this point in time, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Indeed. And of course there has been a lot about this type of story. What's interesting is this anti-doping agency, not actually initiating a further investigation.

PLEITGEN: Yes. Yes, that is -- it is quite interesting that they would get information from this whistleblower and then say that they had nothing that would further substantiate any sort of allegation against this doctor.

Look, at this point in time we don't know how closely they actually looked into these investigations. Maybe the information that they got was not strong enough to further some sort of investigation into the practices of this doctor. Maybe they feel like they didn't have jurisdiction at this point in time. Those are things that are still going to be found out.

Of course, English politics at this point is involved as well. They want to look into this. Not only because it's bad for the U.K. anti- doping agency but also because the U.K. anti-doping agency is also very important in the world of anti-doping agencies.

On the one hand, it's tasked with testing Russian athletes after they had their doping scandal in Russia in late 2015. And also it's going to play a big role in the run-up to the Rio Olympics worldwide to coordinate anti-doping efforts.

And certainly if they have any sort of thing, any sort of thing like this investigation that sheds a bad light on the U.K. anti-doping agency, it's going to make things very difficult in the run-up to the efforts to stop doping at the Olympics in Rio this year.

CHURCH: Indeed. And I know, Fred Pleitgen, you will stay on top of this story and bring us more details as they come in to you. Many thanks.

Well, a decades-long conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan has flared up again. And we will have the latest on reported violations of a declared cease-fire. That's just ahead.

Plus, the U.S. presidential hopefuls are gearing up for the next round of primaries. The latest from the State of Wisconsin.

And after 15 seasons the hit show "American Idol" is fading into TV history. A look at this week's finale coming up later in the show.

[03:20:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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

Starting off with Sunday's thrilling finish to cricket's World T20 final in India by the West Indies who made history by becoming the first team to win the tournament for a second time.

Chasing 156 for the win, Darren Sammy's men needed 19 runs from the very last over. Carlos Brathwaite making England bowler Ben Stokes pay in a big way smashing not just one but four consecutive sixes to win it in swashbuckling style. West Indies win by four wickets.

And in another huge success for Caribbean cricket there, women's team also winning their final by beating the Australians by a wicket.

Leicester City are now seven points clear atop the Premier League summit after a fourth consecutive 1-0 victory over Southampton at their own King Power stadium. The solitary goal of the game coming from Leicester skipper Wes Morgan. His first goal of the season. In fact, they now on they're now on five of the last six by the very same score line.

Let's switch the focus now. Sunday's Bahrain Grand Prix where the German Nico Rosberg is celebrating a fifth straight win to take early control of this year's race for the drivers' championship. Rosberg has started the new season superbly.

Clearly motivated by playing second fiddle to his Mercedes teammate for so much of last season. Nico eases to the victory leading throughout to triumph by 10.2 seconds at the circuit. To recap, a fifth straight win for him.

That is a look at your World Sport headlines. I'm Patrick Snell.

CHURCH: Right now the U.S. presidential hopefuls are focused on one state. Wisconsin. Its key primary is just one day away. And republican front-runner Donald Trump is trailing in polls there behind Senator Ted Cruz.

The billionaire businessman said his other rival Governor John Kasich, who is far behind in the delegate count, should pull out of the race altogether.

Meanwhile, democrats Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are accusing each other of taking significant donations from the petroleum industry. And when the democratic contenders are not attacking each other, they're railing against republican front-runner Donald Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BERNIE SANDERS, (D) U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: So let me mention to you, a CNN poll came out a little while ago. We were beating Donald Trump by 20 points.

(APPLAUSE)

And here in the great State of Wisconsin the last poll that I saw had us beating in Wisconsin Trump by 19 points.

(APPLAUSE)

HILLARY CLINTON, (D) U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Now, a lot of republicans may be wringing their hands over the rise of Donald Trump, but look at Wisconsin. And it's clear Mr. Trump is just saying what many other republican politicians have long believed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Well, Donald Trump may be firmly on the minds of Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, but among Wisconsin republicans Ted Cruz leads the polls. Here's what some people who turned up to see the Texas senator had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think Senator Cruz is the man who can do the

job. You know, I like everything he has to say so far. I get -- I get a good passion and a good feeling when I listen to him speak. I don't get that from any other candidate.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I like his biblical views. What his plan to do for us as a family. Where he wants to take our country. Not just politically but biblically.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Wanted to see Cruz speak in person because I think that makes a difference. He comes across as a little remote sometimes on television.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Well, it's still way too soon to say who will win either party's nomination, let alone the general election that's on November 8th. But there is one county in Wisconsin that has a long history of picking the winning presidential candidate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAYLE QUIGLEY, SAWYER COUNTY VOTER: But I heard that we had predicted the outcome since 1964. I was actually amazed because I would not necessarily call us a microcosm of the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[03:25:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I support Bernie Sanders.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Probably Cruz.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm going to vote for Donald Trump.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I probably will vote for Kasich.

NANCY MCDOWELL, HILLARY CLINTON SUPPORTER: I will vote for Hillary. And I will do so happily and proudly. My name is Nancy McDowell, and right now I live in Winter, Wisconsin. If I were going to be one of those pure ideology people and just vote my conscience, of course I'd vote for Bernie Sanders. But Bernie sanders, even if he became president, I don't think would accomplish very much.

KATHY OVERMAN, DONALD TRUMP SUPPORTER: Trump has a very good chance to become president. My name's Kathy Overman and I'm the business manager of Fishing has no Boundaries, a national organization. And we're based right here in Heyward, Wisconsin where it started 30 years ago.

To have every single other person running for the president's position jump on him and pounce on him instead of addressing issues that they feel are important. They're not any better. The free education that Bernie Sanders has commented on, I do question that. Where is the money going to come from? And where do we place a value on education if there is no cost?

ELIZABETH RILEY, BERNIE SANDERS SUPORTER: What to -- I think of the republican side, I've heard it referred to as a clown car more than once. I did not come up with that expression. I support Bernie Sanders. I think he genuinely cares about people succeeding in this country. And I don't get that sense from our other candidates.

BILL ANALA, TED CRUZ SUPPORTER: They're so busy attacking each other that they're not saying what's going -- what they're going to do about anything that goes on. I think it's a case of the least evil is my way of looking at it. Because none of them in my opinion are worth a damn.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Inaudible) Can I help you?

JEFF HOMUTH, TED CRUZ SUPPORTER: I was kind of thinking Trump but I'm not so sure I like all the conflict and negativism that's coming out of things and kind of volatile I guess would be a good word for it.

SHIRL LABARRE, DONALD TRUMP SUPPORTER: You have to stand up for what you want in a president. I want a businessman. I own a business. My husband and I own a business. And I want someone who understands what our needs are.

It doesn't mean I support every single thing that Donald Trump has said. But I don't support every single thing that most politicians have said.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Only two that I think aren't really owned are probably Trump and Bernie Sanders. And Trump scares me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: It looks like Sawyer County is the one to watch. And remember to join us here on CNN all day Tuesday for complete coverage of the critical Wisconsin primary.

Dozens of migrants are arriving in Turkey this hour, but will some of them be sent on to Syria, the very country they fled? We will talk with a top Amnesty International official about that. Back in a moment.

[03:30:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: A warm welcome back to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. You are watching CNN Newsroom. I'm Rosemary Church.

I want to bring you up to date on the main stories we have been watching this hour.

In Northwest Pakistan, residents are dealing with deadly storms. At least 45 people are dead and 34 injured after heavy rains caused landslides and made the roofs on dozens of homes collapse. Eighty one people died during last summer's rainy season in Pakistan. An investigation is underway now after a deadly train crash Sunday in

the U.S. State of Pennsylvania. Officials say this Amtrak train partially derailed after hitting a piece of construction equipment on the track. Two Amtrak construction workers died. Dozens of passengers were injured.

The first of three ships carrying dozens of migrants has arrived now in the port of the Turkish town of Dikili. Looking at live pictures here. The migrants are being sent back from Greece as part of a controversial deal between the European Union and Ankara to stem the migrant influx. It's expected thousands more will make that same journey in the days ahead.

Human rights organizations have denounced the E.U. Turkey migrant deal. Amnesty International's director for Europe and Central Asia, John Dalhuisen, says Turkey is not a safe country for Syrians who have fled their homeland and is getting less safe by the day.

He joins us now from London. Thank you, sir, for being with us.

Now, we have learned just in the last hour, in fact, that these are men on board the three ships bound for Turkey, and these men are from Pakistan apparently, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, mostly economic migrants, but some are Syrian. And those are the ones that worry you. What are your main (AUDIO GAP) with them returning to Turkey?

JOHN DALHUISEN, AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIA DIRECTOR: Well, what we documented in the course of the week before last in Hatay province in the eastern Syrian border provinces of Turkey are a number of very specific incidents.

We spoke to individuals involved being detained in cities like Antakya, rounded up, herded back to Syria in groups of between 100 and 200. We documented a number of cases of this kind in great detail. And in the region it's an open secret that this is happening on a more frequent basis.

So, we would estimate with some confidence that comfortably over the last few weeks as this deal has been looming comfortably one, two, perhaps even a few more, thousand Syrians have been returned to the conflict that they're fleeing from, rendering Turkey a fairly unsafe place now to be returning more unregistered Syrian refugees back to.

CHURCH: So, what is likely to happen to these men at the moment? And it could be women and children further down the line here. But what is likely to happen to these Syrian men once they are returned to Syria?

DALHUISEN: It's very difficult to say. I mean, there is some hope that Turkey under pressure will refrain from practices of what will more return to Syria. In principle, the Syrians return and possibly others as well claiming asylum or other protection status in Turkey.

[03:35:00] Will go through a process that will grant them that and they'll be able to get on with their lives. But we've seen, we've seen Afghans involuntarily return to Afghanistan from Turkey. Syrians picked up even in the western border provinces, particularly those who were not registered already in Turkey, again being detained and shipped back.

So there is a very real risk that Syrians being returned currently under the E.U. Turkey deal will slip into a system that sees them forcibly returned to Syria. Unless Turkey gets its act together very quickly.

CHURCH: When you look at this European Union deal with Turkey, is there anything worth saving in that deal? Anything redeeming at all?

DALHUISEN: Well, some of the essence of the deal is not structurally unsound. I mean, the idea of bringing Turkey up to a level to which it would be indeed a safe country to return asylum seekers, other economic migrants, is sound in principle if coupled by the other virtue of this deal, which is a large-scale resettlement program, an organized transfer of refugees, Syrian primarily but possibly we'll say others, from Turkey to the E.U.

So, there is somewhere in this deal a construct that is potentially sound. However, right now it depends on two fallacies. One, that there will be orderly procedures in Greece to determine asylum protection needs in Greece. These are not in place.

And two, that Turkey is a safe country for refugees and migrants, which it isn't for Syrians. It isn't for Afghans. And it isn't for others seeking refugee status in Turkey. Both these things being in place, it will take a long time. There's something salvageable in this deal.

CHURCH: John Dalhuisen, thank you so much for joining us and sharing your perspective with us. We appreciate it.

DALHUISEN: Thank you.

CHURCH: Azerbaijan says it will stop fighting Armenian troops after a long-running territorial dispute heated up again. The unilateral cease-fire was declared Sunday, but Armenia says Azerbaijan is still firing artillery and blames the country for inciting the latest violence.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SERZH SARGSYAN, ARMENIAN PRESIDENT (TRANSLATED): this is the most wide-scale fighting that Azerbaijan has attempted since restoring the cease-fire regime in 1994.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: CNN's Becky Anderson has more on the renewed hostilities.

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A decades-long conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia flares again over the past couple of days. Heavy fighting in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region has left dozens dead as deep tensions tip to military escalations.

An Azeri helicopter shot down. Armenian artillery pieces destroyed. Both sides accuse each other of breaking a cease-fire that had brought calm to the region for years.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID BABAYAN, NAGORNO-KARABAKH REPUBLIC SPOKESMAN: It was a violation of the cease-fire regime the international law, international humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions. Because whatever official Baku has done in the zone of Azerbaijan, Nagorno- Karabakh conflict was a conspicuous manifestation of terrorism and anti-Armenian policy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: But the Azeri foreign ministry says Armenia is to blame. Quote, "Armenian armed forces shelled the settlements near the frontline where civilians closely live. The acts intentionally committed by the Armenian side killed and injured several civilians, damaged personal property. As an aggressive country Armenia bears responsibility for the current situation." End quote.

It's a region that's been in dispute for years. Nagorno-Karabakh is land locked, surrounded and claimed by Azerbaijan. But it's controlled by ethnic Armenians, who are backed (AUDIO GAP) and financially by Armenia.

A fragile 1994 cease-fire ended an armed conflict that had lasted six years. Leaving tens of thousands dead. Sporadic fighting has marred the truce ever since. Calls to stop the violence came swiftly amid fears it could quickly escalate.

The U.S. and Russia have called for restraint. And closer to the region Iran, an ally of Armenia, and Turkey, a close supporter of Azerbaijan, have both pushed for a diplomatic solution. Calls that if not heeded could potentially open up another proxy war with deadly consequences for the region.

Becky Anderson, CNN, Abu Dhabi.

CHURCH: We'll take a short break right here. But coming up next, flooding hits Pakistan, killing dozens of people. How much longer the torrential rain will last. We'll take a look at that. We're back in a moment.

[03:40:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: Torrential rain and flooding in northwest Pakistan has caused at least 45 deaths and left dozens of people injured. The storm has led to landslides and damaged dozens of homes, causing roofs to collapse.

We want to turn to our meteorologist Karen Maginnis who has been keeping a very close eye on this deadly flooding. So, Karen, any end in sight to this?

KAREN MAGINNIS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: The computer models are suggesting that this is going to ease up. But this is referred to as pre- monsoonal moisture. Here's some of the reporting stations that we've seen. In excess of 100 millimeters it is probably more than they see the entire month.

But it just depends. It is going to be in a very isolated area. Northern Pakistan, Northern Afghanistan. That's where we saw these big clusters of thunderstorms. And there you can see the impact as that water comes sweeping through.

Now, this is out of Kabul, where it looks like several men are trying to move the car out of the flood waters there. Another view as we look near Peshawar, Pakistan, where they're saying that even some of the farmlands, the water, the flood water has pushed some of that rich farmland away.

Well, in the forecast there you can see a little bit of that moisture still making its way into Northern Afghanistan and Pakistan, with primarily snowfall across the mountains. But some of these can become a little bit more enhanced. And so, you might see still some isolated areas where those rainfall totals are going to be more substantial than others but very isolated.

Across Europe we've got what is going to be a slight risk for severe weather across the Iberian Peninsula. But look at that long stretch of moisture that's going to feed into across France, also into Germany and the lowlands. There's another system that's going to push on in across Ireland and Northern Ireland.

[03:45:00] Take a look at the precipitation amounts that we're expecting over the next 48 hours, and even this over the last few hours since I've been looking at it has changed. We were looking at southern Spain and southern Portugal to see the most precipitation.

Now it looks like it's going to remain a little bit further toward the east, then up along the Spain and France border and pushing into eastern France as well. Showery weather expected for Paris as well. And then extending up toward Brussels and maybe towards Frankfurt and Stuttgart looking at some scattered showers and storms there.

Just the usual pattern of showers expected from Dublin and into Edinburgh as well as into London. Back to you, Rosemary.

CHURCH: All right. Thanks so much, Karen. I appreciate it. It is time to say thank you for the music.

Coming up, we look at the legacy of "American Idol" as the show waves good-bye after 15 seasons. And the West Indies beat England for the T20 World Cricket championship. We will tell you all about the stunning end to an instant classic. Back in a moment.

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MAGINNIS: This is your CNN weather watch. I'm meteorologist Karen Maginnis. Much of the Central United States looking pretty good. But you go to either coast and it's quite unsettled. As a clipper system reinforces that cold air and the snowfall into the northeast and New England. And a storm system moves out of the Gulf of Alaska and for the Pacific Northwest spells out some rainy and cool temperatures. But look at this. All the way from the U.P. of Michigan. Extending

into the Eastern Great Lakes and then toward Boston. Here comes the snow. Yes, April snowfall. Not those spring showers that we often talk about.

Look at the weather forecast. Showers for Vancouver, San Francisco 18. Nice day in Los Angeles, 20 degrees. Dallas, sunny getting up there. It's going to be close to that 30 degree mark. But rainfall expected in New York. The temperature only climbing to around 12 degrees.

Let's move a little further toward the south. In Havana look for showers and thunderstorms likely there, 27 degrees. In Nassau, the Bahamas, thunderstorms and 29 expected there as well. Cartagena mostly sunny and just about 32.

And if you are traveling to Kingston, Jamaica look for some showers. High temperature forecast at 30 degrees in the forecast there. We'll keep you updated.

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[03:50:01] CHURCH: It's the show that launched the careers of some of music's biggest stars. Now after 15 seasons "American Idol" is coming to an end.

That is Kelly Clarkson, who won the very first season of the show back in 2002. She is scheduled to appear on the show's finale along with country superstar and fellow "Idol" winner, Carrie Underwood. "American Idol's" final week begins Tuesday.

And joining me now from Los Angeles to reflect on the end of a television era is Kim Serafin, senior editor for In Touch Weekly. Thanks for being with us again.

So, Kim, as "American Idol" fans try to digest this news, let's talk about why the show is ending at this time, what legacy it leaves behind, and how it plans to mark the end of an era.

KIM SERAFIN, IN TOUCH WEEKLY SENIOR EDITOR: Yes, it really is. We say the end of an era all the time, but really it is for "American Idol" because it really did start this trend of all of these voice singing competition shows. And even though some of them are really popular and "American Idol's" rating have dropped over the years, it's not kind of the death star that it once was where no one wanted to put programming against it.

It really is the one competition show who really has produced some really amazing talent like Carrie Underwood, like Kelly Clarkson, like Chris Daughtry, like Jennifer Hudson. So, you have these some of these huge names that came out "American Idol" and you really did not see that with a lot of these other competition shows which maybe still are doing well on the ratings like "The Voice," for example.

But "American Idol" really just set itself apart is that it really did produced this amazing talent and made stars of out of even people like Simon Cowell and Ryan Seacrest, for example. So, even the judges became stars because of "American Idol."

So, I think that's its legacy, that it really actually produced talent. It wasn't so much about the judges like, for example, on "The Voice" you care a lot more about the judges and their antics and their cross-talk and what they think of each other more so than you think about the contestants. In "American Idol" you care about the contestants and they went on to huge success.

CHURCH: Yes. And of course it helped to be the first, didn't it? Now, another story creating a lot of buzz, Caitlyn Jenner it's making appearance on the TV show "Transparent." And she also took on her Glaad award. How's that all being received?

SERAFIN: Yes. You know, Caitlyn Jenner really has been such a voice for the transgender community. So to go on, she's going to appear now on an episode or maybe more episodes of "Transparent," which is such a great show.

It's a show that obviously has won I think two Golden Globes, five Emmys and it's really just been a force in the world of transgender talk and what people talk about and what people know about and making it relatable to a lot of people.

And I think that's what Caitlyn Jenner has done as well. Even just her persona but also her show "I am Cait" which she received this Glaad award for. So, it's interesting to see. We don't know what she's playing on the show yet, the creator Jill Soloway said she was thrilled to have her with the dream come true.

I think that's what she have to have Caitlyn Jenner to be appearing on the show. But they're not giving any information on what she will be playing on her character.

CHURCH: Yes. And a dream come true for her. No doubt. And just finally very quickly, the "Batman versus Superman: Dawn of Justice" movie appears t be losing some sale in the United States and even suffering a little in China. What's going on here and will it make enough to cover costs?

SERAFIN: It opened one of the biggest openings of all time last weekend and then it's been one of the biggest drops really that you can imagine. Sixty seven percent drop down to 52 million this past weekend in the United States. It's also dropped internationally. I mean, it still has made over 600 million internationally.

So it's still doing OK. But not to what people expected. And it did have bad reviews, not great reviews I should say. So, I think people expected it, though, to do better this weekend because it really is the start of this new Justice League franchise.

So, I think people are looking now how will this affect the franchise, the Justice League movies that are coming out? "Suicide Squad" that's opening this summer. And you did mention a lot of the international Box Office. In China it didn't do as well, although it did open bigger last weekend than "Man of Steel" opened. But a lot of the Chinese movies are doing well in Chinese language.

So, I think that's also affecting movies like "Batman versus Superman." But we'll have to see. We'll have to see how it does the third weekend. It is interesting, though, because it really didn't open against anything big this weekend. So, to take such a huge drop, 67 percent, was a surprise to a lot of people.

CHURCH: Yes. A lot of competition out there. Kim Serafin, always a pleasure. Thanks so much.

SERAFIN: Thanks so much.

The West Indies are champions of the cricketing world. Our Sumnima Udas was in India. Their team, the Indies eliminated on the way to Sunday's final. And she was there to see who the fans there were pulling for.

SUMNIMA UDAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: England versus West Indies. Few would have predicted this lineup for the final at Kolkata's historic Eden Gardens. Both were underdogs coming in.

[03:55:06] And for Indians who are still mourning the exist of their team from the T20 semifinals, a bit divided as to who to support.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I really expected India to q qualify for the finals. But yes, I'm sure that West Indies is going to take both the World Cups.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My country is India but I love England.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

UDAS: At this local bar in Kolkata, many were expecting a low-key final. India didn't make it. So there was a lot of disappointment. But perhaps most importantly, this city is still reeling after that tragic highway overpass collapse.

But still, as we know, cricket is the religion here. So, full house at the stadium and pretty good crowd here.

(CROWD CANTING)

UDAS: After a series of 6s in the very last over, West Indies have won the final, becoming the first to win the T20 World Cup prize for a second time. As you can imagine, Indians are ecstatic even though West Indies is the team that knocked India out in the semifinals. Many Indian fans are saying, well, at least they can say they lost to the winning team.

Sumnima Udas, CNN, college Kolkata, India.

CHURCH: And thank you so much for watching CNN Newsroom. I'm Rosemary Church. Do remember, you can always follow me on Twitter anytime @rosemarycnn. Early Start is up next for our viewers here in the United States. For

everyone else, there's another edition of CNN Newsroom. Have a great day.

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