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The French President's Triumphs and Challenges; Former Manchester United Coach Recovering after Surgery; 16-Year-Old Girl Allegedly Gang-Raped and Burned to Death in India; River of Lava Rips Apart Homes in Hawaii; Sinkhole Gives View of 60,000-Year-Old Volcanic History; Claudia Schiffer Reflects on What it Means to be Iconic; Pyongyang: U.S. Deliberately Provoking North Korea; British Foreign Secretary Warns U.S. Not to Scuttle Iran Nuclear Deal; Rudy Giuliani Speaks About His Newest Client, Donald Trump; Arsene Wenger, Presides Over His Last Home Match; Barcelona Trying to Remain Unbeaten for Season; Results Expected Monday in Lebanon's Parliamentary Election. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired May 07, 2018 - 01:00   ET

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


(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[01:00:10] CYRIL VANIER, CNN ANCHOR: A warning from North Korea, why Pyongyang is accusing the U.S. of misleading public opinion about upcoming talks.

NATALIE ALLEN, CNN ANCHOR: Also, France's youngest president is marking one year in office, but the enthusiasm that brought Emmanuel Macron to power might be fading.

VANIER: And, molten lava, ash and toxic gas, Hawaii is dealing with all of it as a major volcano erupts.

ALLEN: Look at that aerial view right there.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VANIER: Thank you for joining us, I'm Cyril Vanier.

ALLEN: I'm Natalie Allen, we're live from CNN Center in Atlanta. Thanks for joining us.

Our top story, with just weeks to go before a possible U.S.-North Korean summit, Pyongyang is warning Washington recent peace efforts could return to square one.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

North Korea accuses the U.S. of deliberately provoking the country and misleading public opinion by claiming sanctions have led to the recent diplomatic breakthroughs.

VANIER: North Korea's state run news agency says the country's vow to denuclearize was because of the summit between North and South Korea, not because of U.S. pressure. (END VIDEOTAPE)

ALLEN: For more on this development Alexandra Field joins us from Seoul. And, Alexandra, North Korea going out of its way to say who did and who didn't bring them to the table - - the thaw (ph).

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Certainly, and no surprise that they are taking credit for the change in the atmosphere on the peninsula, this sort of cascade of diplomatic developments that we've seen in the run-up of course to an incredibly historic sit-down between Kim Jong-un and President Trump himself.

Look, we have certainly seen far more incendiary rhetoric from North Korean state news in the past, but it's worth noting that they've been rather muted in their criticism of Washington, in their criticism of U.S. and the administration.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

As we have seen this thaw happen on the peninsula, as we did see that inter-Korean summit, these pledges for denuclearization, these pledges to establish a lasting peace treaty on the peninsula.

That said, North Korea is certainly going to sell to its people its version of the narrative of what's going on here, and certainly that would be that North Korea is moving into this summit with President Trump in a position of power.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

Consider this North Korea flexing its muscle both internally and also externally. This is certainly meant to stand in stark contrast to the kind of language that you would hear from the administration in the U.S., which is that sanctions have brought North Korea to this point.

That this international campaign of maximum pressure has accomplished what it was intended to by bringing North Korea to a position where they would be willing to come to the table to talk about the all- important subject of denuclearization.

So, while you will have both sides standing firm, insisting that they are the ones who are leading this effort, certainly doesn't appear in any way that this kind of rhetoric would derail efforts.

You have Kim Jong-un himself, who met with the Chinese foreign minister just last week, again reaffirming his commitment to these discussions about denuclearization.

You have President Trump who has spoken repeatedly about the progress that he feels is being made with North Korea. Going so far as to say that a date and a time has been set for that all important summit, of course, those key details haven't yet been revealed.

Natalie.

ALLEN: Yes. We'll wait for that. Is anyone there in the region, or in South Korea, is there any talk of what this North Korea statement might - - how it might impact the summit with the United States?

FIELD: You know, people here in South Korea are used to seeing this kind of rhetoric, which comes from North Korea. And of course, we've pointed out that we've all seen their much more fiery language in the past. So, I think what's happening here on the peninsula is the fact that actions are simply speaking louder than words.

People are very much remembering that incredible image that we saw just a little more than a week ago of Kim Jong-un shaking hands with President Moon Jae-in.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

the two leaders of North Korea and South Korea walking over that line of demarcation and one of the important outcomes of that inter-Korean summit, which was an agreement from both sides to put an end to any hostile acts in order to preserve this climate of peace in advance of that summit.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

And, you have seen both of these sides living up to their end of the bargain. They've both put an end to propaganda that would play across the border. You've also seen North Korea take some other significant steps, they're moving forward with their request to open up an air route that would go from Pyongyang to Incheon, that's certainly a major step forward.

And, another symbolic step forward over the weekend, when North Korea adjusted their clocks to be in-line with time here in Seoul, South Korea. That was supposed to send a message of unity, another step closer for North Korea and South Korea.

Natalie.

ALLEN: Alright. We'll wait and hear what's next. Thank you so much Alexandra Field, for us in Seoul.

VANIER: And, as we keep an eye on what's going on in the Korean peninsula, we're also looking at another nuclear issue. This one has a deadline just days away, Iran.

Britain's foreign secretary is urging President Trump not to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal.

ALLEN: In a New York Times opinion piece, Boris Johnson wrote this,

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

"At this delicate juncture, it would be a mistake to walk away from the nuclear agreement and remove the restraints that it places on Iran. I am sure of one thing", he wrote, "Every available alternative is worse. The wisest course would be to improve the handcuffs rather than break them."

[01:05:45] VANIER: Iran's president, for his part, warned that the U.S. would come to regret it, if it chooses to quit the deal.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HASSAN ROUHANI, PRESIDENT OF IRAN: If America leaves the nuclear accord, it will soon see that this will entail historic remorse.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VANIER: Mr. Trump is said to decide by Saturday, whether or not to waive sanctions against Iran again. If he does not, he will be effectively pulling the U.S. out of this nuclear agreement.

And, Mr. Trump's newest lawyer tells CNN he is still getting up to speed on the Stormy Daniels controversy.

ALLEN: Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani says he does not believe Mr. Trump, or any president for that matter, should be indicted. He also says if Mr. Trump is called to testify, then he would advise him to invoke the Fifth Amendment and exercise his right not to speak.

For more on this, here's CNN's Boris Sanchez.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The president's newly minted attorney, Rudy Giuliani, making some news on Sunday, on the Sunday morning talk shows, and also speaking to my colleague Dana Bash.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

Shortly after a meeting that he had with the president at his golf club in Virginia on Sunday. Giuliani telling Dana Bash that he believes that the founding fathers wanted the president to have a sort of special executive privilege that would keep him from being indicted.

That's part of the reason that Giuliani said on the Sunday morning talk shows that he believes that the president would not have to comply with a subpoena coming from the special counsel. Listen to this.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, HOST OF ABC'S THIS WEEK: What happens if Robert Mueller subpoenas the president? Will you comply?

RUDY GIULIANI, ATTORNEY FOR PRESIDENT TRUMP: Well, we don't have to. He's the President of the United States, we can assert the same privileges other presidents have.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Giuliani also saying that if indeed the president were forced to comply, then he would advise him to plead the Fifth Amendment.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

He believes that the special counsel is trying to lay a trap for the president. Giuliani also told Dana Bash that he and the president have come to an agreement when it comes to dealing with the special counsel, depending on what Robert Mueller does moving forward and that they had also reached an agreement about what the president's focus should be.

Giuliani saying that he wants President Trump to focus on the big picture.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

On denuclearization talks with North Korea, trade with China and the Iran nuclear deal, and to let Giuliani focus specifically on the president's legal woes. Dana also asked Giuliani about what the president said earlier this week about him not having all the facts when he went on Fox News, and contradicted some of what the president had previously said about the Stormy Daniels saga.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

Giuliani saying that he is still getting up to speed, that there are some 1.2 million documents that he has yet to sort through and to look at. Unclear, if in any of those documents, there is any indication of when the president knew of that hush money payment to Stormy Daniels and what he was reimbursing his attorney, Michael Cohen, for after the campaign ended.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

Boris Sanchez, CNN, at the White House.

ALLEN: Let's take a closer look at some of these issues and the issue of Giuliani's role, so far, as one of President Trump's attorneys and what he's been saying. We're joined by political analyst Peter Mathews, a Political Science Professor at Cypress College in Los Angeles.

Peter, good to see you. Let's begin with Rudy Giuliani.

PETER MATHEWS, POLITICAL SCIENCE PROFESSOR, CYPRESS COLLEGE: Good to see you.

ALLEN: As he continues to speak out on the Stormy Daniels story. So, the Trump legal team mustn't think this puts the president in any legal trouble, which was the first thought when he started to speak out and made the admission that Mr. Trump had paid the $130,000 back.

What are your thoughts about where this is? And, what Mr. Giuliani's role is?

MATHEWS: I think that they may be misreading the situation entirely, and that is that this president - - since Giuliani said the president did reimburse that money.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

That becomes an in-kind expenditure on the part of the president on his own campaign, which has to be reported. It could also be seen as a loan, because don't forget that Cohen made that payment before the president gave the money back later.

That's considered a loan period and when someone that's a candidate lends his campaign a certain amount of money - - this is above the limit, by the way, the limit is only $2,700 for each individual donation, but the person can lend his own campaign unlimited amounts.

Still, he has to report that - - the loan has to be reported, as does an expenditure, and it looks like President Trump violated (ph) both of those, if I'm reading it correct. I think those guys are reading it wrong - - the legal team.

ALLEN: So, Mr. Giuliani, though, continues to be out there. He made the rounds on the morning news shows here in the U.S. over the weekend. So, clearly, this is someone that Mr. Trump seems to like putting out there for him.

MATHEWS: Yes. I think there's a reason for that and that is that they're going to start fighting this battle on the political level now. They might figure out the legal side of it, you know, it may go one way or the other, but the political side, is that President Trump's top priority now is to make sure that the Democrats do not win the House back in the fall.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

If they do win the House back, his chance of getting impeached are really, really high, even higher than getting indicted by Mueller. The chances of him losing his presidency based on impeachment are must higher if Democrats take over the House.

That's their top priority. They're going to whip up their support by going out and saying these things to get their own loyal followers to vote. And say, "You better vote for us and get out there, folks, because otherwise the presidency's threatened by impeachment". I think they're playing a political tactic.

ALLEN: Yes. Follow the mid-terms.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

Let's pivot to major international issues we just mentioned on the president's plate. First, North Korea put out a statement indicating emphatically it wasn't sanctions or pressure by the U.S. that got them to the agreement with South Korea. Is that specifically directed at this White House?

MATHEWS: Absolutely, because the White House was insinuating - - it actually came out and said it was President Trump's tough actions with North Korea's rhetoric, and the sanctions that he encouraged other countries in the U.N. to put on North Korea, that's what brought them to the table.

And North Korea says, no, this is not what brought it to the table. We are a free agent, we're deciding to come to the table because it's for our mutual advantage. (inaudible) respect us as an equal in negotiations, that's fine, but if you don't do that and you say that we came only out of threats, that really denigrates our position and North Korea took offense to this and try to get President Trump on our side would be more equitable and you know, fair to North Korea and more respectful in this sense.

ALLEN: Do you think that that could negatively impact the upcoming meeting?

MATHEWS: It really could. If Kim Jong-un wants to let that impact it, it really could impact it. That's why I really warn the President of the United States, as well as the North Korean leader to be more measured and careful in their words right now.

Because the political juncture is leading up to the possible solution here, you know, where both sides - - and the third side, South Korea and North Korea get together, and the United States and the United Nations, sign a peace treaty ending the Korean War, finally.

It's going to be a very major accomplishment, if that step could be taken, then the nuclear issue can then be negotiated after that, or during the same time, step by step. So, it's a critical period.

If the president uses rhetoric that would turn off the North Korean leadership, or push them in the corner - - and don't forget in that culture, they're a society of saving face, not be in any way denigrated publically by your opponent.

So, I hope President Trump understands the cultural differences and actually uses more diplomatic language when he's working with North Korea right now.

ALLEN: Well, another issue is Iran nuclear deal. The U.S. still hinting it will pull out. The British foreign minister said this, writing in the New York Times, as we just mentioned.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

"I'm sure of one thing; every available alternative is worse. The wisest course would be to improve the handcuffs, rather than break them."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

Why is the U.S., Peter, threatening to pull out, rather than working with our allies to improve the plan that's in place?

MATHEWS: Natalie, it's actually not just the U.S. It's President Trump and his administration basically, but even there are people in his administration saying let's stay in the deal, such as Defense Secretary Mattis. There are many, many American leaders in the Congress and in the

foreign policy establishment that believe - - like Mr. Johnson does - - Foreign Minister Johnson, that we have to stay in this deal, because it does get Iran to give up about 15,000 centrifuges, which will help them enrich low-grade uranium to build bombs.

They're giving up most of them and they're keeping only the old centrifuges. There are step-by-step requirements for Iran to denuclearize in the sense that at least stops the production of weapons or stop moving toward producing them and that way, in exchange the Western powers - - the United Nations, we lift sanctions on them and that's a very good incentive for them.

So, there is a really mutual benefit here and most of the world, especially the European allies of ours, say to Mr. Trump, do not pull out of this (inaudible) - - shouldn't pull out at all. In fact, take the deal now and strengthen it. Mend it, don't end it.

ALLEN: Because many of them have said it would likely create a more dangerous situation with Iran if the United States pulls out of the deal. How's that?

MATHEWS: Absolutely, because then Iran will have free hand to go out and start up its nuclear weapons production program completely with no restrictions, and we'll have another North Korea situation on our hands. And, that would be untenable, because right now we're trying to prevent Iran from getting to the point where North Korea got to.

After North Korea actually built many, many nuclear bombs and also missiles to deliver them. Right now Iran has the brakes put on as far as developing nuclear weapons - - the bombs itself and the missile technology is still being developed, but we can work on getting them to give that up, as well.

And there's one more thing, Natalie, this Article VI of the NPT, the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which requires that the countries that have nuclear weapons right now - - and back when it was signed in 1970, the five nations that had the weapons were supposed to set themselves a timetable to work toward a long-reach disarmament program, until the whole world would be free of nuclear weapons with international, state and private inspections.

That never took place on the part of the country that had nuclear weapons. It encouraged more countries to actually get them and now we have at least nine countries that have them, either acknowledge fully, or otherwise not acknowledged like Israel.

It's very interesting to see that we have to have fairness and equity in deciding how to rid the world of these buttons, or at least bring them under control or they will be used one of these days, unfortunately, as all weapons have been.

[01:15:18] ALLEN: Exactly, and we're coming up - - this week will be pivotal as we're just days away from the deadline where the United States has to make its decision.

Peter Mathews, as always, we appreciate your professional input. Thank you, Peter.

MATHEWS: Thank you, Natalie.

VANIER: Still to come on the show, a vote that's been almost a decade in the making.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

What we know about the outcome of Lebanon's parliamentary election ahead.

ALLEN: Also, in Hawaii, some nervous evacuees head home for the first time since volcanic eruptions have been threatening their homes. The question is, is the danger over yet?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PATRICK SNELL, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Hi there, I'm Patrick Snell, with your CNN World Sport Headlines.

Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger, has presided over his last ever home match in charge of the Gunners. This after 22 years in charge and he did it in style with a 5-0 win over Burnley.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

Around 60,000 people saying, "Merci, Arsene", to the Frenchman. Thanks, indeed for overseeing one of the most successful periods in club history, during which time he won 3 premier league titles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

Manchester City celebrating their third Premier League title in six years on Sunday.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

Despite being held to a goalless draw by relegation threatened Huddersfield. The celebrations in full swing, though, after that result against the Yorkshire club. Pep Guardiola's team increasing their lead to top the standings for 17 points, they still need one more goal, though, to equal Chelsea's total of 103. That's the highest ever tally in Premier League history.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

In Spain, Barcelona and (inaudible) clashing in the latest edition of el Clasico. The (inaudible) have already wrapped up the La Liga title. So, now their focus is on what no team has ever done in Spain's top play, can Barce (ph) go the whole season unbeaten?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

Well, Luis Suarez put Barce (ph) one up in that game, only for Cristiano Ronaldo to equalize and that was just the start of it. Then Messi making it 2-1, Barce (ph), with his team already down to 10 men, before Welsh star Gareth Bale made it 2-2, that's how it would end, Barce (ph) remain unbeaten.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

That's the world sport headlines. I'm Patrick Snell.

ALLEN: Welcome back to CNN Newsroom, we're still watching and waiting for the outcome of Lebanon's parliamentary election, results are expected in the coming hours.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

Voting wrapped up Sunday and the interior minister says turnout was low, just under 50 percent. That compares to 54 percent in the last election nine years ago.

VANIER: Elections in Lebanon usually come down to sectarian and regional politics, but there were some X factors this year.

[01:20] The new election law allowed more independent candidates and hundreds of thousands of people under the age of 30 got their very first chance to vote, in fact 800,000 new voters.

Let's take a closer look at this with Randa slim, she's the director of the Middle East Institute, a fellow at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies. She's speaking to us from Ohio today.

Randa, we are waiting for the results. I know you've been keeping your ear to the ground. I know you have some numbers already. We don't want to give numbers, we're going to wait until the official results are announced, but just broad picture.

Where does the political landscape stand right now?

RANDA SLIM, DIRECTOR, THE MIDDLE EAST INSTITUTE: Well, I do not expect the result to do a major change to the existing power balance in the country, but I think we can talk about at least two winners.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

Meaning, parties that have improved on the current number of seats that they have in the parliament today, and one of them is Hezbollah allied coalition and the second is Lebanese forces.

And, a big loser is going to be the future movement of Hariri, because it's expected that they will lose, you know, quite a few number of seats compared to what they have right now in the parliament.

VANIER: What would be the reason for this trend? Say, Hezbollah up, Hariri and Sunnis down. What would explain that?

SLIM: I think one explanation for the results - - meaning the wins that I expect to see for the Lebanese forces of Hezbollah is their ground game. They have an excellent ground game to start with.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

And, I don't think Hariri had as good a ground game as - - as - - as these two parties, and I think the result reflect that you know elections are won by, you know, strong ground games.

But, I think, also there is a problem with the Sunni vote, especially with the Sunni traditional vote that has gone in the past to Hariri. There is a discontent with the Hariri, particularly in terms of his alliance with (inaudible), in terms of his stand on Hezbollah's weapons.

But also, there is some kind of a distancing that has been established inside the Sunni community due to Hariri's financials (ph).

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VANIER: But, is there an alternative for Sunnis in Lebanon? I mean, we have to remind our viewers who - - those who might not be very familiar with the way Lebanese politics, is that for such a long time essentially people have voted within their community, right?

Sunnis voting for Sunnis, et cetera, you have to factor in alliances, of course, but that tends to be broad picture, how things happen. So, for Sunnis wanting to vote for a Sunni, is there an alternative to Saad Hariri?

SLIM: Right now, among the Sunni leaders, at least at the national level, I think he remains the national leader. Although what I have seen as a result of this election, is a fragmentation of the Sunni vote.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

Some of the Sunni vote that traditionally went to Hariri is going to other independents, Sunni independents who are in fact pro-Saad and who are allied with Hezbollah. We have seen that kind of trend in some areas of the country.

But, in terms of national Sunni leadership, I think Hariri's still maintained that kind of gravitas. Building very much on a base of good will toward (inaudible).

VANIER: So, if the Shiite Hezbollah party does increase its number of seats, then how will the power sharing work? Given that the job of prime minister will once again go to a Sunni? You know, that's how power has been divided in this country for decades.

SLIM: I mean, the Hezbollah alliance will increase its number of seats compared to the 2009 - - what they had in 2009 parliament. But, it's not going to be enough of a majority to be able to secure you know a - - a - - a veto power, or to secure a, you know, strong majority that can govern the country.

There was, as you said, the prime minister will need, you know, a Sunni and in a way Hezbollah will prefer to deal with a weaker Hariri than a strong Hariri.

VANIER: One quick last thing. There's been another novelty in this election, which have been candidates from civil society, right? These civil society lists that don't come from one of the traditional political parties.

Do you think that's a trend that you need to watch going forward? A trend that's going to last? Or, is that just a flash in the pan?

SLIM: And, that was one of the intent of this new electoral law.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

Which was introduced with this elections, which is to open the space for smaller parties that are ran by independents and civil society. To be able to break through the monopoly that has been so far enjoyed by traditional parties and we have seen that happening.

So, the preliminary results are indicating that the civil society list in one of the electoral districts in Beirut has two seats and that is a first.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[01:25:26] I mean, that could pave the way for similar developments in the past, but it all depends on how these two candidates will perform in this next parliament.

VANIER: Alright. We await the official results of Lebanon's first parliamentary elections in nine years. That should be in a couple of hours from now.

Randa Slim, thank you very much for joining us today.

SLIM: Thank you very much.

ALLEN: Well, it has been a year since Emmanuel Macron made history as France's youngest president.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

But, the challenges he is facing aren't getting any easier. We look back at his first 12 months and see what lies ahead coming up, here, on CNN Newsroom.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ALLEN: Welcome back to CNN Newsroom. I'm Natalie Allen.

VANIER: I'm Cyril Vanier. Let's look at your headlines this hour.

Starting with this one, North Korea says the U.S. deliberately provoking the country by saying it will not ease sanctions until the North gives up its nuclear weapons. According to state run TV, Pyongyang claims it is willing to denuclearize because of the North- South summit, not because of American pressure. ALLEN: Donald Trump's new lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, tells CNN he's still learning the facts about the U.S. president's legal situation. The former federal prosecutor and ex New York mayor, also says he may advise Mr. Trump to use his right to remain silent, if he's questioned by the special counsel.

VANIER: An attack by armed bandits has left at least 45 people dead in Nigeria. It happened Saturday in a remote village in the north of the country. Local media say most

[01:30]

ALLEN: Donald Trump's new lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, tells CNN he's still learning the facts about the U.S. President's legal situation. The former federal prosecutor and ex-New York mayor also says he may advise Mr. Trump to use his right to remain silent if he is questioned by the special counsel.

VANIER: An attack by armed bandits has left at least 45 people dead in Nigeria. It happened Saturday in a remote village in the north of the country. Local media say multiple women and children are among the victims. Nigerian military forces have been deployed to the area to stop the recent spate of armed attacks against villages.

ALLEN: One year ago Emmanuel Macron became the youngest president in French history, a centrist who promised to liberalize the labor market and revitalize the country's economy.

VANIER: But 12 months later, Mr. Macron faces stiff opposition from the left and angry labor unions which could prove to be the toughest challenge of all.

Here's Melissa Bell.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It was to Beethoven's Ode to Joy that Emmanuel Macron completed his march to power. In less than a year he'd founded a new party and seen off (ph) the old ones. Now he had won the presidency and could take his vision to the world stage.

He began with Vladimir Putin receiving him grandly at Versailles but speaking plainly alongside the Russian president of human rights abuses and allegations of meddling in foreign elections including his own.

EMMANUEL MACRON, PRESIDENT OF FRANCE (through translator): Politicians have the responsibility to make decisions, to say things and when press organs spread infamous counter-truths they are no longer journalists. They're organs of influence.

BELL: With Donald Trump, the exchanges would be warmer but the strategy the same; the building, whether in Paris or in Washington, of a solid relationship combined with tough talk and plain speaking.

MACRON: I do not share the fast nation for new strong powers -- the abandonment of freedom and the illusion of nationalism.

BELL: Emmanuel Macron has been determined to represent and forcefully the world view based on common values and multilateralism that used to be fashionable in London and in Washington. And domestically, he has been equally determined to liberalize France.

Last autumn he saw protests to reform France's labor code, among other things, giving companies more flexibility to hire and fire. Now he's in the middle of a battle with rail unions and despite strikes protests and popular discontent he says he won't back down.

There are those in France who remain skeptical of the spin accusing Macron of being more style than substance and those on the left who worry about the liberalizing of the economy and the direction in which Emmanuel Macron's march is taking them.

Melissa Bell, CNN -- Paris.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VANIER: Ok. We are joined by CNN European affairs commentator Dominic Thomas, who chairs the Department of French and Francophone Studies at UCLA. He's a friend of the show.

Dominic -- one year into this presidency are the French happy with their president?

DOMINIC THOMAS, CNN EUROPEAN AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: Well, that's an excellent question. I think that you have to go back to the elections to sort of understand how those polls have shifted.

The French electoral system is really a system in which one votes less for a particular candidate than against one. And it's important to remember that in the first round when Emmanuel Macron came through ahead 76 percent of the French people have not actually voted for him. And the fact that he did get such high turnout and votes in the second round was because he was facing a far-right candidate Marine Le Pen.

So having said that, now that he's in power, has a presidential majority, controls the parliament. It is obvious that his votes are going to go down as he tries to go by implementing policies. The interesting thing is to look at what those policies have been and how they have galvanized folks around different issues and established a growing kind of opposition to some of his positions.

VANIER: So what is his biggest achievement so far?

THOMAS: I think that when one looks at the past two years on the European landscape at least with discussions around Brexit and how every single European election has been shaped around far right issues, agendas, radical right policies, populist policies.

The fact that a European leader has been speaking out for the past year unambiguously in favor of the European Union and that that defense of the European Union has taken place in a broader context of empathizing the crucial importance of multilateral policies over the Middle East, over climate control and in many ways positioning France in a way that the United Kingdom is no longer able to situate itself and how the United States under the Trump presidency is struggling to articulate that. I think that those are achievements that we can point to.

VANIER: He ran as this unidentified political object right -- neither totally from the left nor from the right. Do we have a better handle a year on as to what he is politically?

[01:35:00] THOMAS: Well, this is interesting because of course he had a movement and not even a political party. And for the past 60 years, power in France has shifted from the right to the left and back and so on. And clearly other political leaders going back to Bill Clinton, Tony Blair, even President Obama began to really blur this kind of right and left politics, right, where it became increasingly difficult to sort of really pinpoint where people stood.

I think the important thing is to look at public opinion and perception of this presidency. Very few people on the left or on the far left in France identify with his policies. Roughly 30 percent at the center identify to a certain degree.

But what is so interesting is that with the labor reform, the wealth tax and so on it is folks on the right that are identifying with him. And one could even argue that the most controversial policies of his presidency that pertains to immigration and asylum policy are actually positioning him closer to the far right. So I think that the verdict is out on where he really stands here.

VANIER: so look, you were just referencing how Mr. Macron is perceived in France. I know he's perceived very much as the president of the elite. I want to put up on screen just one of the many posters at a protest this past weekend.

All right. You see his face -- Macron is king or is emperor. Why is he seen as the president of the rich and the privileged?

THOMAS: Right. Well, I think that first of all how he has very much sort of positioned himself as a sort of a strong and presidential figure and has reinforced that. But I think that obviously his policies specifically those that have to do with labor reform, providing greater flexibility in the workplace to employers, and corporate tax reform, wealth tax reform are perceived middle and lower-middle class French people are somehow not speaking to them.

Even though unemployment is down and there are signs, strong signs of economic growth I think that the marketing of his political agenda has not got through to people in those respect and when you add on to that sort of the disillusionment with the striking and so on what we really have is Emmanuel Macron advocating for a kind of a different kind of France -- one that is no longer a state protectionist organization. And that in order to launch his economic reforms and open up the French economy he's going to have to go off of these institutions that are long ingrained in the French labor markets and I think that is what is fueling this perception. VANIER: And look, he has been very active in foreign policy. You

talked about the European Union. But one the signatures of his foreign policy beyond that is his very close personal relationship with the U.S. President Donald Trump and this -- you know, all this talk of a bromance and so on. What has that relationship got him in the end?

THOMAS: Well, I think it's -- this is really, you know, the great question is of course. And so much on discussion was around the personal interrelationship with Donald Trump. But of course, that takes us nowhere unless that this leads to concrete reforms on important crucial issues such as climate, such as the Iran deal and so on.

And so except for the suspension of tariffs on the European Union, which of course, is really quite troublesome to European countries that are eager to sort focus on their economies as a way of combating the far right and the radical right very little has come out of this thus far.

If not the simple fact of meeting with President Trump and persistently reminding him that their own personal relationship is to be inscribed in a much longer historical relationship and so much of that symbolism around the state visit to the United States was around that. That the importance of allies and of western allies and in this climate of global uncertainty is absolutely key and that maybe the most important thing that potentially came out of this visit.

VANIER: Yes. Dominic Thomas on the first year of Emmanuel Macron in power -- thank you very much.

By the way, the verdict is still out on whether the French president has managed to influence Donald Trump on the Iran nuclear deal. The deadline for that hasn't passed yet -- May 12, a week from now. So we will see then.

Dominic -- thank you very much.

THOMAS: Thank you.

ALLEN: Well, we are following the recovery of one of the most successful managers in the history of football. The former coach of Manchester United, Sir Alex Ferguson, is in intensive care after having emergency surgery for a brain hemorrhage.

VANIER: Now, the club says the surgery went very wall and messages of support have been pouring in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just heard about the news and it's really sad because well, Sir Alex is like one of the most memorable like yes, persons in football. And that's really sad. We all hope he'll be better soon and we wish him all the best, of course.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am actually devastated. It's sudden. I just hope he gets better soon and we're all praying for him and hope he makes a speedy recovery.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[01:40:00] VANIER: Ferguson managed Manchester United for more than a quarter century and retired almost five years ago but you see how he is remembered. He won more than 30 trophies at the helm of one of the world's biggest football clubs.

ALLEN: Another horrific sexual attack in India sparking outrage as protesters demand justice. A teenage girl in a rural village was allegedly gang-raped last Thursday.

VANIER: Then the girl was burned to death in her own home after her family sought justice from a local village council. Earlier we spoke with CNN's Nikhil Kumar from New Delhi.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIKHIL KUMAR, CNN INDIA BUREAU CHIEF: The family alleges that on Thursday evening when they were attending a wedding the girl, the 16- year-old was kidnapped, brutally gang-raped. And on Friday the family then approaches the local village council in this village, as you said, in the northeastern state of Jharkhand, one of the poorest parts of the country. The village itself is in a remote -- remote section of the state quite far away from the nearest urban center.

They approached their village council seeking justice as you said. These village councils don't have legal authorities. They tend to be made up of local elders. But in the existing parts of the country they can sometimes wield enormous influence. So the family goes to them demanding justice narrating what happened the night before.

The village council imposes punishment on these men but listen to what it is. They imposed a fine of about 50,000 rupees -- that's about $750 -- and they ask the men to do 100 sit-ups. That's it.

Then the case takes another very disturbing turn. The men, the accused men, in retribution -- in a chilling retribution for the family going to the village council to report this, attack the family. They attack the family home, they burned the house down. The girl is inside and the family says that that's when she died. She was burned to death.

The case is now with the local police. They've arrested more than a dozen men including the head of the village council and the body has been sent for an autopsy as we wait.

And we're waiting for more details to see how the investigation unfolds. But it has again these very horrific details that once again turn the spotlight on the problem of sexual violence in this country.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VANIER: Our bureau chief in New Delhi, CNN's Nikhil Kumar there reporting. And we will bring you the latest from Hawaii in just a moment -- fountains of lava bursting from the ground. Just look at that -- eruptions and earthquakes. We'll be on the ground.

ALLEN: We will also tell you why some people in New Zealand want to get as close as they can to this right here. It's a huge sinkhole and it has a volcanic past. We'll tell you about it.

[01:42:44] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VANIER: And welcome back. I want you to look at this and look at that. That is the current view of a tropical paradise now engulfed in molten lava. Geologists say ten volcanic fissures have opened up in this residential area of Hawaii, pushing out lava and toxic gas. At least 26 houses have been destroyed.

ALLEN: You've got to feel for the people that don't know about their houses, too. Authorities had been letting some people go back but only to collect belongings they left behind. That's because they don't know when they will be able to return for good.

For more now, Stephanie Elam is in Hawaii for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: For people who live in the areas affected by these fissures in Leilani Estates, many of them were able to get back in to retrieve anything they weren't able to evacuate with the first go-round. But still officials do not want them to stay there. They are saying these fissures continue to open and they don't know when these fissures are going to stop opening. They don't know when the Kilauea eruption will finish.

So they want people to get out of there not just because of the lava that is bubbling up out of the earth and shooting up into the sky some 6,200 based on what some residents have told us.

They don't want people to stay there also because of the toxic gases. You are talking about sulfur dioxide. That is also very dangerous so that's why they've widened the perimeter around where these fissures are opening.

I want to show you where I'm standing right now. This is a lava flow from 2014. And as you can see it came down and cascaded around, threatening some buildings right here nearby.

There's no way to stop a lava flow when it's coming down -- hot, molten lava -- so you just have to let it go. And that is the danger here for the people who have built their homes in these communities.

If lava comes in and takes the homes like it has done to several homes at this point they may never be able to go back to their neighborhoods. And for many of them that is the most devastating news.

(END VIDEOTAPE) VANIER: All right. Just for the very latest on this let's go to meteorologist Pedram Javaheri, find out where this is heading. Pedram -- what can you tell us?

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: You know, we know lava likes to flow the past of least resistance, right. So just like water where it's going -- it's very easy a geologist to begin to map once you see new fissures forming. Of course you've got ten of these now in the works across this region.

But typically you have a volcanic activity and then you have lava flow whether it be right at the summit of places such as Mauna Loa, Mauna Kea and in this case Kilauea or along its rift zone essentially fractures along the rocks that are relatively weak, allow more gases, allow more lava to come to the surface across this region.

But here's the Leilani Estates region on the eastern periphery of the Eastern Rift Zone this particular region has had a tremendous history. In fact, just the past 35 years is when we have the activity along the zone and the particular events taking place are part of this 35-year cycle.

We know back in January of 1983, we saw the initial eruptions here. You had new vents forming the rift a couple of years later. In 1992 additional eruptions along the identical rift there, you know, resembling what happened in 1983. And then you saw what Stephanie was talking about with some of the damage from 2012 to 2014. Some 200 hectares of land across that period were built -- were essentially created by the volcanic eruptions at that point.

So this is a multidecadal (ph) period. You get quiet conditions, you get busier conditions. Of course, now in 2018 we're beginning another period that could last several months -- guys.

VANIER: Yikes.

ALLEN: Right. I know.

JAVAHERI: Yes.

VANIER: Pedram -- thank you very much.

ALLEN: Well now, we turn to some geological turmoil that actually got people excited. Scientists in New Zealand are clamoring to get a look at a new giant sinkhole.

Here's Sam Kelway of TVNZ with the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SAM KELWAY, TVNZ REPORTER: A few days this was pristine pasture but this huge crack is what Colin Tremain discovered early Monday morning after the region was hit by record-breaking rainfall.

COLIN TREMAIN, FARMER: The only thing (INAUDIBLE) close to was in the (INAUDIBLE) with the famous cow that was on the spur (ph) which we are contemplating on how we're going to rate that one.

KELWAY: The sinkhole runs along a fault line on this Tumunui farm and it has revealed thousands of years of Rotorua's volcanic past.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All I see in the bottom of the hole is the original 60,000 year old volcanic deposit that came out of this crater.

[01:49:59] KELWAY: The walls are made of stacks of sediment 10 to 12 meters deep from lakes formed in the crater. The gray layers are nearly three meters of ash from volcanic eruptions including Tarawera, Haruharu (ph) and Taupo.

And while sinkholes in this area are common, it's the sheer scale that has scientists excited. It's about 200 meters long, 20 meters wide and 20 meters deep. The equivalent of four Olympic swimming pools.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is pretty spectacular. It's a lot bigger than the ones I normally see.

KELWAY: This would have started as a small crack underground, spreading out as rain water seeped in.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is an erosion process. It's been going on geologically for a long time. It's when high intensity rain falls. It's not a new process. It's been happening for a long time and we can expect it to happen again in the future.

KELWAY: Meanwhile, it's back to business for this farm. The first job -- fencing off this new feature.

Sam Kelway, One News.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ALLEN: Stories like this.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JAVAHERI: Good Monday to you. Meteorologist Pedram Javaheri here for CNN Weather Watch. And we're tracking what's been happening across parts of eastern Canada in the last couple of days. We know the Canadian Maritimes here have been getting really battered with some strong storms and still some gusty winds. But notice it does clear up and once it does big blue, high pressure takes over and we get a very nice mild spring setup across portions of this region in particular around Montreal 14 degrees, sunny skies; Chicago just a spectacular early spring day at 21. While the middle 20s down from Atlanta up towards areas around New York City at 23 degrees.

Notice the cool air, it does eventually pull out and we get pretty nice widespread warmth here in the next couple of days potentially the warmest days of 2018 upon us for some cities at least. We know New York was a little warmer about a week ago but portions of the south will begin to make their first push into the lower 30s over the next several days.

Chicago up to 24 degrees, back down for Friday and Saturday. But notice, pretty nice weekend there at least into the middle teens.

And something interesting to tell you about -- into the tropics we go there is an area of disturbed weather we're watching carefully. Low probability this will turn into anything but still watching some thunderstorms develop. Of course, we know just a couple months away here -- a month away actually from hurricane season officially getting under way.

Kingston 28 degrees, some thunderstorms possible. Havana into the upper 20s. And we will leave you with conditions across South America.

ALLEN: So you might be wondering what does it mean to be an icon? What is the difference between being iconic and being famous?

[01:55:01] VANIER: Well, here's somebody who should know. Supermodel legend Claudia Schiffer -- she gives us her take on those questions in CNN's new series "ICONS".

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLAUDIA SCHIFFER, MODEL: I'm always very careful using the word iconic because I think it's not something of today. You have to be able to look back and realize the impact of that moment in time.

Before modeling I was so shy. I would be rolling myself into the curtain if anyone came into the room. When I first started and met Karl Lagerfeld, he said like trust your instincts. Watch your back. I could do that.

When you say the word supermodel I would say it defines that time in the 90s because fashion changed then. On one of my fashion shows we were celebrating our dolce vita. Thousands of people would follow, almost like as if we were on a movie set.

You will even have Giancarlo Giammetti, Valentino (INAUDIBLE) in the big show going with the security chain (ph).

We shouldn't confuse the word iconic with fame because fame is instant and could be short-lived. Iconic moments they last, they're timeless.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ALLEN: And that's CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Natalie Allen.

VANIER: I'm Cyril Vanier. You've got the iconic Rosemary Church up next. Stay with us.

ALLEN: A legend.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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