Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Protesters Try to Break into Hong Kong Legislative Building; Europe is Dealing with Sweltering Temperatures; Women's World Cup. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired July 01, 2019 - 01:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:00:00] NATALIE ALLEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Donald Trump crosses the line with Kim Jong-un. So what is next after the U.S. President's historic steps into North Korea? Pro-democracy protesters gather yet again in Hong Kong and scuffle with police ahead of massive planned protests. We'll take them to the streets there live.

And Japanese ships heading out to officially resume commercial whaling, the first time in decades. We'll have a live report about it and the international reaction. Hello, everyone. Thanks for joining us. I'm Natalie Allen and this is CNN NEWSROOM.

Thanks again for joining us. North Korea is calling Sunday's talks with U.S. President Donald Trump amazing and dramatic. Its state media have released these photos showing history being made, the U.S. President with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in the Demilitarized Zone.

Mr. Trump stepped into the North becoming the first sitting U.S. president to ever do so now comes the hard part, turning a photo-op into real progress. Here was how the unlikely DMZ summit played out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: So we're going to go inside and we're going to talk to a little while about different things and a lot of really positive things are happening. And I'm glad you're here to see it, but tremendous positivity, really great things are happening -- and in a lot of places but we met and we liked each other from day one and that was very important.

Thank you, everybody. Thank you. I would invite him right now to the White House.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Guys, back. Stay behind me.

TRUMP: It's a great day for a lot of people. It's a great day really for the world if you think about this. Beyond North Korea, South Korea, it's a great day for the world and it's an honor for me to be here and thank you both very much.

I have to say that when I first became a president of the United States, there was great conflict in this area, great, great conflict. And now we have just the opposite and it's my honor and it's the Chairman's honor. He said we work well together and Mr. President thank.

KIM JONG-UN, CHAIRMAN, NORTH KOREA: If it were not for our excellent relation between the two of us, it would not have been possible to have this kind of opportunity. So I would like to use this strong relation to create more good news which nobody expects in the past and also to and also to propel the good relations between our countries.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) come down please.

TRUMP: Well, I want to thank you, Chairman. You hear the power of his voice. Nobody has heard that voice before. He doesn't do news conferences, in case you haven't heard. And this was a special moment. This is, I think, really -- as President Moon said, this is a historic moment, the fact that we're meeting.

And I want to thank Chairman Kim for something else. When I put out the social media notification, if he didn't show up, the press was going to make me look very bad. So you made us both look good, and I appreciate it.

But we've developed a great relationship. I really think that, if you go back two and half years, and you look at what was going on prior to my becoming President, it was a very, very bad situation -- a very dangerous situation for South Korea, for North Korea, for the world.

And I think the relationship that we've developed has meant so much to so many people. And it's just an honor to be with you, and it was an honor that you asked me to step over that line. And I was proud to step over the line. I thought you might do that; I wasn't sure. But I was ready to do it. And I want to thank you. It's been great. It's been great.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: Let's talk more about it with CNN's Paula Hancocks. She's near the Demilitarized Zone. And we just heard President Trump there Paula saying that he's developed a great relationship with the North Korean leader. The question is if that is in fact true where does it go from here?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Natalie, I think it's fairly clear for most people to see that the leaders themselves appear to have a good relationship. There is constant flattery from both sides talking the other one out. But the question is, this may be a top-down process but you have to have the working- level talks, you have to have the nitty-gritty sorted out as well. It can't just be summits and meetings and handshake diplomacy.

[01:05:03] So what we heard from President Trump is that he and Kim Jong-un agreed to put these negotiating teams in place. We know the U.S. team is already in place and they were going to -- he said within two or three weeks start to do the hard work, start to actually negotiate once again. So what we've seen here is that the stalled talks apparently are no

longer stalled. We'll have to see what the working-level talks can do though because after Singapore and after Hanoi, the leaders had great agreement although they didn't sign on to anything in Hanoi. But once it got to the working-level talks, that's when it derailed once you had to start talking about details.

So while critics of President Trump will say this is a wrong way to do it. When you have a summit, or when you have a meeting, you have to have the groundwork laid beforehand, and the leaders go in and just sign a piece of paper, it's all organized before.

But those supporters of President Trump say well, those previous attempts didn't work so maybe the top-down approach is the way to go. But of course it is very important what now happens in the coming weeks, Natalie.

ALLEN: Right. And what's been the reaction from North Korea and South Korea?

HANCOCKS: Well, North Korea, the people have now been told about this from KCNA, the state-run media talking about Kim Jong-un calling it a historic meeting saying in 66 years since the armistice was signed after the Korean War, never has such an amazing event being held at the DMZ.

So the sort of language that you would have imagined from North Korean state-run media but that is what the North Korean people are now being told talking about it being a surprise visit. It's the first time that they will have heard about any of this apart from the fact that President Trump had made that tweet and that offer on Saturday.

And when it comes to South Korea, it's rolling coverage really of what's happened. All that the front pages of newspapers, the photos of Trump and Kim stepping across the demarcation line at the DMZ whether or not they support what President Trump and of course President Moon Jae-in did really depends on the political leaning of the newspaper.

They're really toeing the party lines when it comes to whether they -- it was a great step forward as President Moon does or whether they think it was simply a photo-op. Natalie?

ALLEN: All right, Paula Hancocks for us. Paula, thank you. Hong Kong is preparing for another day of massive anti-government protests as the city marks 22 years since its handover from Britain to China. Protesters had been gathering ahead of the March expected to begin in the next few hours.

And there have already been clashes. Police charging demonstrators with pepper spray and batons. Police say 13 of their officers were injured and sent to the hospital. Organizers say millions of people over the past few weeks have marched against the proposed extradition bill. It would make anyone in Hong Kong subject to extradition to mainland China. After weeks of public outcry, Hong Kong's government suspended the

bill. Protesters though demand it be completely scrapped. Our Andrew Stevens is live on the streets there in Hong Kong with this protests not yet underway, we're already seeing issues with police. What can -- do we expect, Andrew?

ANDREW STEVENS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right, Natalie. The main protest, the main July 1st protest, and remember that July 1st always brings a lot of people onto the streets in Hong Kong to complain in recent years mainly about politics and the lack of democracy here.

So that protest which is expect to be significantly bigger than previous years because of what's been happening after three weeks with this extradition bill. That protest actually kicked off in just a couple of hours from now. But there have been protesters on the streets since the very early hours of this morning.

They wanted to initially disrupt the official flag raising ceremony of -- which commemorates the return of Hong Kong to China in 1997 after something like 156 years of British rule here. So there was -- there was a push to try and disrupt that ceremony. The police move in half an hour before that ceremony was due to kick off and the protesters were a long way from where the ceremony is going to be held, and they swept out a section of the protesters, but it was just a section.

And that's where those officers you talked about being injured. That's where that happened. We don't know what happened exactly but the police has said that an unknown liquid was sprayed at the police and the officers who were hit by that liquid were taken to hospital. We don't know the extent of the injuries. We don't think it is serious though.

So the police swept out a large number of the protesters or swept them back from a couple of streets around this Parliament building. And after a two hour standoff they then left and that's where we are at the moment, waiting for the protest. The protesters are here and there's no sign of the police.

Meanwhile, the government's official response to this has been through Carrie Lam the chief executive, the woman who is at the center of this who is reviled widely in Hong Kong these days, who's told the ceremony that she had understood, she got the message from Hong Kong protesters and that she would change the way Hong Kong governance -- when how the Hong Kong government would actually govern. Listen to what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CARRIE LAM, CHIEF EXECUTIVE, HONG KONG (through translator): I will learn the lesson and ensure that the government's future work will be closer and more responsive to the aspirations, sentiments, and opinions of the community. The first and most basic step to take is to change the government's style of governance to make it more open and accommodating.

We also need to reform the way we listen to public views. Such work should be carried out without delay and we'll start from me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEVENS: Now, those words have filtered out through the protest community here, Natalie, and to be honest they're not having any sort of impact at all. They -- the protesters say they will stay until they see this very controversial bill completely scrapped rather -- than rather than suspend it as is the case at the moment.

But I should also say that watching the protesters this morning, there was much more of an edge about there, that there are fixed railings which have been torn up now and being used as barricades. And the protesters did come out very, very well prepared for some sort of confrontation with the police, with the hard hats, with the gas masks, with the goggles with protective clothing.

So there does seem to be changes, hardening of the attitude perhaps by protesters. But at the moment, it's all peaceful and we are waiting for the main protest which may attract another million people, maybe more to come kick off in a couple of hours from now, Natalie.

ALLEN: All right, you'll be covering it for us. Andrew Stevens, thank you. We want to talk more about it with Professor Grenville Cross, the former Director of Public Prosecutions of Hong Kong. He joins me now from there. Thank you so much for talking with us.

We just heard from our reporter there they're expecting so many more people to arrive on this the 22nd anniversary of the handover to China from Britain. Throngs of people are still in the streets. Is this a concern for the future of Hong Kong?

GRENVILLE CROSS, FORMER DIRECTOR, PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS OF HONG KONG: Well, people have the right to protest and as long as they exercise that right peacefully, then this can be a good sign. Obviously violence of any sort must be avoided because if people do indulge in violence, that is a direct challenge to the rule of law. And the rule of law of course is fundamental to Hong Kong's success both now and in the future.

ALLEN: However, though, police just say they can't block the streets. They can't be there so they have pushed back before. So is that fair to the protesters who still believe this extradition law has not gone away, it's just been sidelined temporarily? CROSS: Well, of course, the police will exercise maximum restraint as

they -- as they always do. But the chief executive has made it clear that the extradition bill has been suspended for the foreseeable future. If it is going to come back at any shape or form, I hope there will be far more consultation and far more thought will go into it.

But the -- what has to be clearly understood that Hong Kong does need an extradition law which covers not only mainland China but also Macau, also Taiwan, and also the 174 countries around the world with which there are currently no extradition arrangements.

After all Hong Kong is supposed to be Asia's world city but it has now become China's criminal sanctuary. And I say that because for example, we now know that there are 300 -- over 300 criminal suspects from mainland China who have now sought refuge in Hong Kong.

We know that the people convicted of criminal offences, bribery, money laundering in Macau who've escaped, they just desert by coming to Hong Kong. And we know that least one case where an alleged murderer from Taiwan has come to Hong Kong and has sought sanctuary here and nothing could be done to send them back to face their just deserts.

And I firmly believe -- sorry -- I firmly believe the situation in which for example someone can commit a murder in Beijing, or for example commit a robbery in Shanghai, or kidnap a child in Harbin and then come to Hong Kong and claim safe haven is unacceptable and something must be done to address this situation.

ALLEN: Well, why did this --

CROSS: Hong Kong does -- Hong Kong has clear obligations to other places in terms of criminal justice and these must be discharged.

ALLEN: But why do people then -- why does some of these protesters believe that this will be something that will be unfair to them. They fear that a minor issue could have them extradited to China. Now, the people that are against the protesters would say they're misguided. They don't understand. If that's so, why isn't there more clarity?

CROSS: Well, perhaps the issue, as the chief executive has said, it should be more clearly explained. But the fundamental point is this, that all that is being proposed in the extradition bill, with the creation of a mechanism by which someone in an appropriate case, can be sent back to another jurisdiction.

And in by no means follows that that will happen. Let me give you one example, even though the United Kingdom has an extradition treaty with Russia, in the last 17 years, Russia has requested 67 people to be sent back, but 64 of those requests have been rejected.

So, it's a -- there's a world of difference between having a mechanism in place to send someone back in an appropriate case, and actually sending someone back.

And under the proposals which the government put forward, no one would be sent back without a full court hearing, and if the offense was political or the person to be sent back might be subjected to political persecution or inhumanely treatment, then that would be a ground for not returning the fugitive.

So, I really think that people haven't fully understood what exactly this was meant to achieve, and indeed, many of the people on the protests are actually protesting about other things, for example, about the lack of a good job, the inability to afford the housing that they desire, so there are multitudes of reasons for people protesting.

One person even said he was going because he was concerned about his religion. So, all types of issues are being ventilated in these demonstrations, and they go well beyond the extradition matter. ALLEN: The new generation that they've only known this Hong Kong seems to be -- you know, become quite fearful from this one bill, so there is definitely more communication that is needed. We appreciate your insights. Grenville Cross for us, thank you so much.

CROSS: Thank you very much.

ALLEN: In the next half hour, we'll be joined by Bonnie Leung, she's an organizer of the anti-extradition bill protest, so we'll hear from the other side of this story.

Coming up here, a controversial practice resumes off Japan's coast, whaling ships are back at sea. Why they are defying a decades-long global ban on slaughtering whales, we'll talk about it, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:20:00] (WORLD SPORT HEADLINES)

ALLEN: Japanese whaling ships are back out at sea for the first commercial hunt of whales, in more than 30 years. Last year, Japan withdrew from the International Whaling Commission. A global moratorium on whaling was imposed back in 1986. Critics say Japan worked around it with what it called scientific research whaling.

The ships set off from the port in Kushiro, Japan and that's where Ivan Watson joins us. Ivan, this is so peculiar that Japan has gone back, backwards on this. It's been condemned by other countries, including Australia, and of course, congregation groups as well, so why are they doing it?

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the Japanese government has said that they weren't being treated fairly in the International Whaling Commission, and they've decided to go their own way, as well as two other countries that have previously ignored the whaling band, that was Norway and Iceland.

So, this morning, we witnessed as five whaling ships, armed with harpoon guns, set out from this port, in search of what we were told, were going to be Minke whales. They're one of two fleets of whaling vessels that are heading out for this historic first commercial whaling hunt, in more than 30 years.

There was a departure ceremony attended by lawmakers, the mayor of the city, who was saying this was a really proud moment for the country. The head of the Fishery Association saying that his heart was shaking, he was so happy that this moment was starting yet again.

Despite a considerable amount of controversy and international criticism from animal rights organizations, conservation groups and some western governments, some here in Japan, view whaling, as a symbol of national pride.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

Two brothers on the hunt, searching for the world's largest living creature, whales, Captain Mitsuhiko Maeda, aged 73, and his younger 71-year-old brother, Saburo, lead a whale watch for Japanese tourists.

It's cold, it's windy, and it's wet, but people are paying money because they want to see these whales out in the wild.

They are delighted when we spot a Minke whale.

Here's some saying about the Maeda brothers, more than 30 years ago, they weren't whale watchers. They were whale hunters.

This is Captain Maeda back in the 1960s, when he worked with a team, harpooning whales. That hunt came to an end in 1986. When the International Whaling Commission, of which Japan was a member, imposed a worldwide ban on commercial whaling.

That decision was unacceptable, he tells me, because suddenly, we lost our jobs. But, in fact, some Japanese whalers continued killing hundreds of whales every year, mostly in the Antarctic, under a special permit classifying the hunt as scientific research.

Animal rights groups and some western governments condemned the practice. Last year, Japan announced its abrupt withdrawal from the International Whaling Commission, declaring it would resume commercial whaling again within its own coastal waters, starting July 1st.

KIYOSHI EJIMA, JAPANESE UPPER HOUSE MEMBER: I was waiting for the day, for the commercial whaling to restart again.

[01:25:14] WATSON: Kiyoshi Ejima, a lawmaker and passionate supporter of the whaling industry, applauds the decision.

It's a victory for you?

EJIMA: Well, I shouldn't say victory. It's a start-off kickoff point.

WATSON: Do you eat whale meat?

EJIMA: Sure, of course.

WATSON: They're also celebrating the new whale hunt here, at Taruichi, a Tokyo restaurant that specializes in dishes like whale sashimi, whale steak, and fried whale. The owner inherited this whale meat restaurant from his father.

SHINTARO SATO, OWNER, TARUICHI RESTAURANT (through translator): I hope the young generation that do not eat whale meat, will inherit this culture, and learn to eat it again.

WATSON: After World War II, whale meat was a vital source of protein in Japan, but government statistics show these days, very few Japanese eat any whale meat at all.

PATRICK RAMAGE, DIRECTOR, INTERNATIONAL FUND FOR ANIMAL WELFARE: There are fragile whale populations around Japan that cannot sustain commercial hunting, that cannot feed a meaningful Japanese market, even if there were one, for whale meat. WATSON: Japanese supporters of whaling argue that the hunt is an important part of Japanese culture. Those supporters include Captain Maeda, a whale hunter turned whale watcher.

MITSUHIKO MAEDA, ABASHIRI NATURE CRUISE (through translator): Japan should continue whaling. I will continue whale-watching tourists, but the whale hunters should catch the whales. I want both to coexist.

WATSON: One wonders how long these two completely contradictory impulses can coexist in the waters around Japan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WATSON: Natalie, the whaling industry in Japan is tiny, here in the world's third largest economy, and it's actually been subsidized heavily by the government, to the tune of -- the equivalent of around $50 million, U.S., a year.

There are some questions about this move to commercial whaling, with Japan pulling back its ships from the Antarctic, where we saw some of those encounters with groups like Sea Shepherd and Green Peace, and doing it in coastal waters, that may signal that the government, in the future, will try to remove some of those subsidies to the whaling industry.

In fact, some animal rights group think that this is a good move because it will allow this fading industry to die a natural death, due to market economics. We'll just have to see. In the meantime, the Japanese fisheries and agency has announced its quota for the coming six months.

It says that the hunters will be allowed to hunt 227 whales, among them, 25 Sei whales, which are on the U.S. endangered species list, 52 Minke whales, which are also a population of concern, according to the International Whaling Commission, and a 150 Bryde's whales, those are not believed to be a threatened species of whales. Natalie?

ALLEN: We will continue to see the international reaction to what Japan has resumed today. Ivan Watson, thank you for your thorough reporting on the subject.

The people, who want President Trump's job, think they can do a better job on North Korea, what Democratic candidates are saying about his talks with Kim Jong-un, we'll have that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:32:06] ALLEN: Live now in Hong Kong, you are seeing these protests heat up. And right now, we've seen protestors breaking the glass there. This is the Legislative Council Building, of course. Their anger toward the government over that extradition bill, which has been sidelined. But they say they won't stop protesting until that bill is dead.

Police had warned them to be lawful, but as you can see here now, it appears things are getting much more heated and out of hand. And these protest hasn't officially gotten underway.

Joining us now there on the scene is Andrew Stevens. He has been monitoring how this has been developing, and this is not a hopeful sign here -- Andrew.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

STEVENS: No. That's right -- Natalie. We haven't seen -- we haven't had eyes on of this attempt to storm the Hong Kong parliament building. It is just diagonally opposite from where our (INAUDIBLE).

But we have seen pictures of broken windows at the LegCo Building and of protestors trying to push in. We've also seen some division of police moving in as well.

But at this stage, I can't give you any further updates other than to say that this is happening right now. That the protesters have been trying to storm this building.

Now the police said that the protestors back on June 12th, when we had that major incident involving the police and the protestors, that was also kicked off by these protestors trying to storm the Legislative Council Building. So it would be unlikely if the police do not mount a severe move here to get them away from this building.

So that is where we are with that at the moment.

But we already had seen violence this morning. We saw the police using pepper spray and batons to clear protestors away from encroaching on the area where the official ceremony for the handover -- the commemoration of the handover were taking place.

Police cleared a few hundred meters of road, protestors forced them back to where we are now, and then disappeared, so they have been regrouping since then.

And as you say Natalie -- at this stage the actual official protests haven't started. (INAUDIBLE) of people protests are different animals to what we're seeing now. They have been, through their history, and there is a regular protest out every July the 1st -- they have been peaceful protests.

Now, I'd like to now bring in the convenor of the protest march which is due to kickoff fairly soon -- Bonnie Leung. Bonnie is convenor of the Civil Human Rights Watch here in Hong Kong.

You've organized this march for today -- Bonnie. First of all I just want to ask you, given that we've already had one million people out, two million people out in another march, today what are your expectations?

[01:34:56[ BONNIE LEUNG, ORGANIZER, ANTI-EXTRADITION BILL PROTEST: Well, I really hope that Hong Kong people, all of the two million people and even more, will come out to support this campaign, will take out to the streets again. Because actually after the two million people demonstration, the government actually -- Carrie Lam actually had done nothing, real change. And also our request on independent inquiry still not happening. And without the independent inquiry, trust cannot be rebuilt.

STEVENS: You're talking about the independent inquiry into what people say is an excessive use of police force on June the 12th.

Well, speaking of excessive force, we're getting these pictures right now, just behind where we are standing, the building of protestors trying to break in to this parliament building. Does it worry you that your much bigger protest could also end up in violent confrontations?

LEUNG: Well, I really hope not because as we have shown to the world for so many years, our July 1st protest can be totally peaceful if the police behave themselves.

And I believe today, it will be exactly the same. And I would urge all the protestors, we do not do it violently. We must do it peacefully. Otherwise, we would become more and more like the government. And it -- that is not worth it. And it does not help.

And no sacrifice of such is needed. All we need is to protest peacefully, and let the Hong Kong government, let Beijing and let the world know our demands. We should not give them any excuses to use violence against us.

STEVENS: So, we've already had one protest as I've said with two million people. The government did not move at all after that protest. We have heard Carrie Lam, the chief executive this morning at the commemoration of the handover say that she is going to change the way she governs Hong Kong. She's going to listen more. She's going to be more inclusive.

She has been humbled by the experience so far. She didn't back down on any of you requests though. So first question to you is when you hear Carrie Lam saying she's going to be more inclusive -- she's going to listen to the young, to everyone in society -- what do you say?

LEUNG: Well, I say, it is totally (EXPLETIVE DELETED) because if you really want to listen to the young people, come right here just around LegCo -- just around the building. Youngsters are all around, and they are yelling to be heard.

And if she is really trying to listen, she shouldn't be hiding behind all the (INAUDIBLE), hiding behind the police officers, hiding behind a thick wall.

STEVENS: But she has said that she is going to suspend this bill, which effectively does kill off the bill as most people say, because it only has a shelf life of one year, and she says she won't reintroduce it unless there is agreement in Hong Kong. So technically, that is the end of the bill. So she has moved. LEUNG : Well that's what she wants us to believe, but however we

believe that if the government wants to re-put the bill to the LegCo agenda, they can in just 12 days. So we really need them to really scraping the bill totally.

And also as I said, independent inquiry is very important. Otherwise, we cannot rebuild trust with the government or with the police force and the protests will just continue.

STEVENS: So on that point the protests will continue. Now the protest today which is in all likelihood will be the third, very big protest in a month or so in Hong Kong. How long are you going to keep doing it if the government is not listening to you?

LEUNG: Well, of course we will have to continue. And not --

STEVENS: Every week?

LEUNG: -- I cannot say SO now, but our protest can be all sorts of different forms. It may not be in the form of mass demonstration, but elections are coming later this year. We have different council elections.

And we really hope to transform our protesting force, into something political. We are talking about a whole new generation of protestors. We can be transformed into a whole new generation of politicians to really transform the whole system, within the system.

So we are doing all sorts of different kind of protests. Not only onto the streets but also --

STEVENS: My final --

LEUNG: -- yes.

STEVENS: -- sorry. My final very quick question -- it's all very well to protest, but at the end of the day, in 20 years' time, Hong Kong will be a part of Communist China. Shouldn't the people of Hong Kong just be accepting that now?

LEUNG: Of course not. Because we are living (ph) in the city. This is our home. And if you are saying that we are going to sacrifice our freedom, just to give up, is not going to happen. And, if we can keep our freedom, keep our rule of law, and also if we can demand for real democracy in Hong Kong, we hope it can be a huge influence to China as well, not only for Hong Kong.

STEVENS: Bonnie -- thank you very much --

LEUNG: Thank you.

STEVENS: -- for your time.

[01:40:00] Bonnie Leung there, who is the convenor of the Civil Human Rights Watch here. Sorry -- Civil Human Rights Front here in Hong Kong which organizes, Natalie -- the main protest which is due to kickoff in hour or so now.

And you see behind me, this place is virtually cleared out which suggests to me that those students who were behind me, those young protestors have now moved out of the side of the building where just a couple of minutes ago, they were trying to break in to that Legislative Council Building -- Natalie.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

ALLEN: Andrew, thank you.

Yes, we still have a live picture out. And we are watching it and they still seem to be making that attempt. And we just saw a zoomed in shot. Police are just on the other side inside this building. And these protestors continue to look like they are trying to move in on it.

So we will follow this breaking news story very closely for our viewers in the next few hours. Because again, this protest hasn't officially gotten underway.

And we will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ALLEN: Breaking news we continue to follow here in Hong Kong, as protestors -- some protestors are taking aggressive and violent action against the Legislative Council Building there. Taking a cart, ramming the glass. Police have been using tear gas on some of these protestors.

And it is a situation we continue to monitor very closely, as thousands and thousands more people are expected to take to the streets of Hong Kong shortly, in continued protest against the government and Carrie Lam, the leader that they are so furious with, who they say is ignoring what is important to them and this bill, that many people are concerned about.

So we'll keep our close eye on this developing story.

[01:45:02] Now we turn to Europe where so many people are roasting in the summer heat. But they may get a reprieve, a cold front moving in will drop temperatures and bring rain this week. This is people in Berlin, Germany trying to stay cool. Sunday saw the country's hottest ever June day.

Joining us now to talk more about it is our meteorologist Ivan Cabrera. And that's Germany, but there have been many countries across Europe and there have been --

CABRERA: -- widespread.

ALLEN: -- deaths as well.

CABRERA: Absolutely. No question about it. And we show you the fun part of course of the heat waves here -- folks enjoying themselves at the pool.

But what you don't see is what can happen inside the very hot buildings. Of course, inside cars, we talk about folks leaving children in cars this time of year. Even with the windows rolled down it is a very dangerous thing to do.

So let's talk about, yes, Natalie Allen -- we're finally going to break this. But before we do that, look at what we've done, last few days, and at this point we show temperatures in the upper 30s. these are all-time June records so it has never been this warm on any given day in the month of June since they've been keeping records in Germany, in the Czech Republic, and in Poland.

Now France is the winner here, not only have you never been 45.9 degrees in any month of June. You've never done that anytime. So all the summer months, 45.9. that is the hottest temperature we've ever recorded in France, ever, since we've been keeping records. Of course, were talking about a long time here, right?

So here's the breakdown, as far as the pattern. We had a big ridge of high pressure. You know, what happens with climate change a lot is the jet stream which drives the weather across the planet, essentially can get stuck.

And so that's what happened the last couple weeks. We had this big ridge of high pressure, so nothing can come in as far as clouds and rain. And then in the (INAUDIBLE), we had areas of low pressure. And in the middle, just sinking, warm, compressing air. And that is what caused our heat wave here.

Now finally, of course, things eventually do kind of get unglued, right? And so that's what we have going here, over the arrows, and the wind direction -- that is what we want to see. That is a cold front that's going to be coming and it's going to be doing just that.

But notice the Iberian Peninsula, still rather hot, so I don't think it's going to be dramatically cool for you. It's not going to be the 40s, so there is that.

But mid 30s still from (INAUDIBLE) I think the next couple of days. And then we will keep temperatures in the 20s and 30s, a much improved weather pattern here, no question about it heading into the next few days.

But look at also what Madrid did and I will just leave you with this. Warmest June day 41.2; June 28th, there it is 2019 -- we missed the all-time, thankfully, record high on any given month that was set back in 1995 with 42.2 degrees.

Imagine, it has been a dry heat this time of year. You know we can do that across, essentially this part of the world. But still, when you get temperatures north of 40 degrees, you are in big trouble if you don't have proper cooling. And that we've seen over the last several weeks. So cooler air, some rain on the way. There you go.

ALLEN: All right. Those are dangerous temps. CABRERA: Looking forward to it, yes.

ALLEN: All right. Ivan -- thank you.

CABRERA: Ok.

ALLEN: Well, environmentalists have removed more than 40 tons of plastic from the Pacific Ocean. Ocean Voyages Institute used satellite and drone technology to locate the patch of the (INAUDIBLE) bottles, plastic furniture, children's toys floating -- you name it -- all of our plastic, floating between Hawaii and California.

The group said it was the biggest concentration of floating debris in the world, but removing it barely scratches the surface. It is estimated up two and a half million tons of plastic enter the ocean every year.

We'll be right back.

[01:48:45] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ALLEN: continuing to keep our eye on this scene right here in Hong Kong where protestors are gathered outside the Legislative Council Building. As you can see on the left part of your screen, they have already broken glass to this building and they continue to ram it as well.

Police are just on the other side, and this all happening before the official protest, which should bring hundreds of thousands of people through the streets are about to begin in Hong Kong.

We've got reporters there. We'll continue to stay on top of this story for you as we see it developed.

We turn now to sports, and team USA taking on England on Tuesday in another highly anticipated matchup in the Women's World Cup.

Here is Amanda Davies with the preview.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AMANDA DAVIES, CNN WORLD SPORT: From the quarterfinal billed as a the match to take women's football to the next level, we and the U.S.A. have made it here to Lyon and semifinals time.

Next up for the defending champions looking for a record extending fourth title, it is England, desperate to go one better than they did four years ago in Canada, where they were knocked out at this stage, but they're certainly confident.

PHIL NEVILLE, COACH, ENGLAND WOMEN'S FOOTBALL: The goal of the tournament is to win. I said earlier in the week, about semifinals. Nobody cares who loses in a semifinal. It is all about winning. And my players now want to win. So if we don't get the right result, we will be disappointed or we will feel the disappointment and we'll see that as a failure. That's not me being negative. That's just our expectations and our

belief and our confidence now and our mindset is about winning. We want to (INAUDIBLE) because we wanted to win. We didn't come to (INAUDIBLE) to get four fights, score three goals, keep to clean sheets. It's about winning.

This sport is about winning. Nobody cares who gets the silver or bronze, it is the gold medal that everybody wants. And I've got to say my (INAUDIBLE) got that ruthless streak of wanting to win.

DAVIES: U.S. Coach Jill Ellis was born in England, but having moved the united states as a teenager, she says she feels American these days. Although she does credit her love of football to the country of her birth.

[01:54:53] JILL ELLIS, COACH, U.S. WOMEN'S FOOTBALL: I've been a Man United fan since I was seven, but my whole British culture and growing up you know still I think is with me for sure. I'm very grateful for that because I don't think had I grown up in another country, maybe that the passion for football would be where it is, and where it was.

DAVIES: Like England, the U.S.A. are a camp that thrive on elements of fun. But there's no doubt that come Tuesday night, their game faces will be on.

This of course, is also the venue for Sunday's decider, and standing here, pitch side, you get a real sense of just how close these sides are to the big one -- the World Cup Finals.

Neither will want to be heading out now.

Amanda Davies, CNN -- Lyon, France.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ALLEN: And NBA news for you. one of the biggest stars IN American pro basketball is making a major change. Kevin Durant says he's leaving his current team, the Golden State Warriors, to sign with the Brooklyn Nets. The move comes almost a month after he tore his Achilles tendon in the NBA finals. That injury will likely prevent him from playing with his new team for at least a year.

Fellow all star Kyrie Irving is also expected to sign with the Nets this year.

Thanks for joining us. I'm Natalie Allen.

another hour of news is next with George Howell and Rosemary Church.

And we're keeping an eye on this situation developing on the streets of Hong Kong.

Thanks for staying with us.

[01:56:22] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)