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CNN International: Brexit Creating Opportunities, Problems for Northern Ireland firms; Israeli Forces and Palestinians Clash in the West Bank; Italy Working to Rescue Hundreds of Migrants on Boats. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired April 11, 2023 - 04:30   ET

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

[04:30:00]

BIANCA NOBILO, CNN ANCHOR: And could find himself in middle of a battle over Brexit.

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NOBILO: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Bianca Nobilo. If you're just joining us, let me bring up to date with our top stories this hour.

At least five people are dead and eight others injured after a gunman opened fire inside a bank in Louisville, Kentucky. The 25-year-old suspect was an employee who officials say was told that he was going to lose his job. He left behind a note for his parents and friends informing them of his plans.

And later today, U.S. Presidential Biden will head to Northern Ireland to celebrate 25 years of the landmark Good Friday Agreement that mostly ended decades of sectarian violence. And I say, mostly because some of it is still going on. On Monday agitators with a fringe Republican faction attacked police during a parade that they staged to mark the 1916 uprising against British rule. And from the Unionist side, its largest political party is boycotting the legislature that the agreement set up over Brexit trade rules that they say would separate Northern Ireland from the rest of the U.K.

But some Northern Ireland businesses say that they're now seeing a bonanza from those same rules. CNN's Nic Robertson is in Belfast, Northern Ireland, for us on that part of the story. And Nic tell us more about the political challenges but also opportunities that Brexit has caused there.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, Brexit has given real opportunities to Northern Ireland. Some would argue these were opportunities that the whole of the U.K. had before the vote for Brexit.

[04:35:00]

The majority of people in Northern Ireland didn't vote for Brexit. But the British government has been trying to patch up the difficulties that it's caused here. The Windsor framework agreement is the most recent way that the British government with the EU's trying to fix that. And the British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was over in Northern Ireland within the past month or so. And he said look, Northern Ireland is a great place to do business because but it now means that businesses can trade into the U.K. market and to the EU market in a way that businesses in mainland U.K. can't.

And as you were talking about there, these fringe elements that try to sort of use the political dead space, the political dead space created by the abstention of the main Unionist party from joining the power sharing government here because of their concerns over Brexit. It creates that sort of vacuum and void that these fringe groups can feed into.

But when you talk to business leaders here, as we have been over the past few days, you get that sense that there's there is, and they feel that great sense of opportunity here.

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ROBERTSON (voice-over): Blinds maker Bloc and its boss, Cormac Diamond, are at the cutting edge of their business.

CORMAC DIAMOND, DIRECTOR, BLOC BLINDS: We'll take orders up to 4:30 of any day and they'll be turned around the same day.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): And are an object lesson on beating Brexit's impact on Northern Ireland.

DIAMOND: And there's going to Holla (ph). This one is going to Zululand.

ROBERTSON: In the Netherlands.

DIAMOND: In the Netherlands. And then there is --

ROBERTSON: So, this whole palette is going to places in the E.U.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): He can sell direct to the E.U. without the Brexit problems mainland U.K. companies have.

DIAMOND: You're a third country within the European market, so there's additional paperwork and tariffs associated with selling products directly to consumers.

ROBERTSON: So, this is your advantage.

DIAMOND: Absolutely.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The problem with getting plants from England is that the colliers don't want to do groupage.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): But Brexit isn't working for everyone, even with the new U.K.-E.U.-Windsor framework deal.

BETH LUNNEY, SAINTFIELD NURSERIES: It doesn't say that it's going to get any easier. We're now not only have we the border down in the Irish Sea, we also have to adhere to all these European rules.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Beth Lunney runs Saintfield Nurseries. Says she'll still face a near impossible challenge to get some plants from mainland U.K.

LUNNEY: There's just all of the strings are being cut and we're being cast adrift, and that's how it feels.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): In pro-British communities, the issue is totemic, the power-sharing government here is stalled over it. Yet business here is somehow powering ahead.

STEPHEN KELLY, CEO, MANUFACTURING NORTHERN IRELAND: A miraculous thing has happened. Our exports to the U.K., the E.U. and the rest of the world are all increased whilst the rest of the U.K. market has decreased.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): But political sensitivities are not Brexit's only challenge here. Better business is putting a squeeze on labor.

U.S. mining giant Terex, which first invested here right after the Good Friday Peace Agreement and now has eight sites, turning close to a billion dollars in sales last year, needs to grow their 2,000-person workforce and is taking untraditional steps.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're on a massive recruitment drive. We are actively trying to recruit females into our business. So, when we actually actively went out under a female academy, we were very successful in attracting women into the workforce.

DIAMOND: So, this is the next generation of blind production.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Blind maker Cormac Diamond has a solution too.

ROBERTSON: Or robots.

DIAMOND: Yes largely robots and the type of employee that we would see in the future state will have the skills relating to advanced manufacturing techniques.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): So successful breaking into the U.S. blinds market selling the robots, not the blinds.

ROBERTSON: So, this is where the future is going to be for you more --

DIAMOND: Absolutely.

ROBERTSON: -- automated system.

DIAMOND: Replica systems of this here deployed around the world. We might help manage it on a day-to-day basis.

ROBERTSON: Business groups estimate that for every job generated in advanced manufacturing another three are created in the wider economy. And right now, in Northern Ireland, one in every four families is estimated to rely on manufacturing for their income. ROBERTSON (voice-over): The political issue in play is business delivering more Brexit winners than losers? The answer to that likely seen at the ballot box next month.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTSON (on camera): And I think that's a message that we're going to hear. President Biden echo when is here doing a ribbon cutting at university here in Belfast. That business can make the difference. That it can help heal some of those political divisions. And that's going to be the thrust of his message.

[04:40:00]

NOBILO: Nic Robertson live for us in bedfast. Thank you so much.

President Biden has signed legislation on Monday to end the National Emergency for COVID 19. The White House says the move does not affect a separate public health emergency, which will end on May 11th. But when both emergencies are formally over next month that will end government funded tests, treatments and vaccines, as well as some other social safety net programs designed to help the U.S. deal with the pandemic.

West Virginia has settled a lawsuit with e-cigarette maker Juul Labs for $7.9 million. That is, according to the state's Attorney General. The state accused the company of unfair and deceptive advertising that was aimed at teenagers. Juul says the settlement is another step in its ongoing commitment to resolve issues from the company's past.

A new study warns that weight loss in older adults can come with the risk of early death. The study published Monday examined 17,000 adults in Australia who were 70 and up and 2,000 in the U.S. who are at least 65. And found that even a 5 percent weight loss increases the risk of mortality particular -- particularly in older men. One of the researchers said that dropping weight can be an early symptom of conditions like cancer and dementia.

Still ahead, new surveillance footage shows the moment an Imam was stabbed inside a New Jersey Mosque.

And several Israeli ministers joined settlers for a march in the West Bank as tensions escalate nearby. We'll have the details just ahead.

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NOBILO: New video shows the moment an Iman was stabbed during morning prayers at a mosque in New Jersey on Sunday. You can see the suspect among the other worshippers. When they kneel down to pray, he quickly moves to the front of the room and appears to stab the Imam in the back. Members of the congregation held the attacker until police arrived.

[04:45:00]

The suspect is a 32-year-old from Istanbul. He's pleaded not guilty to an attempted murder charge.

The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles says it will immediately start investigating a potential pardon for Daniel Perry, the man recently convicted of killing a Black Lives Matter protester three years ago. The pardon request came straight from the state's Governor Greg Abbott, a move that's causing controversy and putting the victim's loved ones through new trauma. The local district attorney says the governor's request undermines the rule of law and has made the community less safe.

Simmering tensions in the Middle East boiling over as clashes break out between Israeli forces and Palestinians in the West Bank. The Palestinian Red Crescent says more than 200 people were injured near the town of Beita. The Israeli defense forces say they were responding to a riot. Meantime, police have issued a statement after a video appeared to show their forces throwing tear gas canisters at journalists. They say it appears the police failed to adhere to established rules and guidelines in ensuring freedom of the press.

The latest unrest happening as Israel's national security minister joined thousands of settlers Monday in a march to an abandoned Israeli outpost in the West Bank. The crowd called on Israel to legalize the outpost, which is on the land they say that the Palestinians say they own.

And in Tel Aviv, hundreds of anti-government protesters gathered after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered an address amid heightened tensions across the region. The crowds briefly blocked a major highway causing traffic disruptions.

Let's go live now to Jerusalem -- to Jerusalem and journalist Elliott Gotkine. Elliott, Benjamin Netanyahu is facing criticism and crises on numerous fronts.

ELLIOTT GOTKINE, JOURNALIST: He is Bianca. He's fighting on many fronts, just as Israel is. And he gave this rare news conference on Monday evening against the backdrop of plummeting poll numbers, which show that he is not only no longer Israelis first choice for Prime Minister. He's not even the second choice. And that if an election were to be held tomorrow, he and his far-right allies in his governing coalition would be turfed out of office. That's according to a poll held by channel 13.

Now Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu brushed off this poll, saying he's kind of opinion polls come and go. But he gave this new conference rarely to try to reassure his supporters and also to warn his enemies, particularly Palestinian militants in the West Bank, in the Gaza Strip, in Lebanon and Syria, that despite Israel's internal divisions that have seen hundreds of thousands of protesters against his judicial overhaul plans over the past three months, that Israel is still capable and willing to act when it feels the need to do so.

He also used the opportunity to blame the deteriorating security situation on the previous government, which was in office for one year. The previous Prime Minister, one of the previous prime ministers in that government, Naftali Bennett, tweeting that Netanyahu's comments were un-leader like and shameful.

And I suppose the final reason -- and this is an important one. That Netanyahu held this news conference was to officially rescind his firing of his defense minister, Yoav Gallant. And you may recall that it was his firing of Gallant who had the temerity to call for a pause to Netanyahu's judicial overhaul plans that brought hundreds of thousands of Israelis onto the streets, prompted a general strike and ultimately lead to Netanyahu, pausing those judicial overhaul plans -- Bianca.

NOBILO: Elliot Gotkine live for us in Jerusalem. Thank you.

The Italian Coast Guard is working to rescue more than 1,000 migrants adrift on separate vessels in the Mediterranean. Crews are now escorting two boats to shore. One with around 400 people on board and the other with about 800. So, for more, let's bring in Barbie Nadeau live for us from Rome. Barbie give us the latest on this rescue of around 1,200 migrants and also the political and operational challenges that are present in rescue situations like this.

BARBIE NADEAU, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Yes, you know, it really is dangerous out there. And one of the reasons that the Coast Guard is escorting these boats back to shore to safety to Italian ports is because it's just too dangerous to try to transfer so many people onto a ship. Even a rescue ship like a Coast Guard ship during rough weather, or even during calm weather, for that matter. Because people panic, everybody moves to the one side of the boat where the rescue vehicle is. We've seen this so many times. These boats then tend to capsize.

And so, the Italian Coast Guard has found it safer for the people on board to try to just bring them to shore this way. Of course, they're present in case something goes wrong.

But this has been a very, very busy weekend across Italy on the island of Lampedusa, close to Tunisia. More than 1,700 people arrived in small boats in the course of 48 hours. Now we've seen numbers here in Italy, the Italian interior ministry says more than 28,000 people have arrived by boat so far this year.

[04:50:00]

That's almost five times more than previous years. And that's a problem for this government. Georgia Meloni won in September on an anti-immigration platform. And so, she's asking all of Europe to try to help both in stopping the people from leaving the countries Tunisia or Libya and to take them once they arrive in Italy -- Bianca.

NOBILO: Barbie Nadeau for us in Rome. Thank you.

A search in ocean levels is posing a much greater threat to the U.S. southeastern coast then previously thought. Which cities are facing the highest risk coming up next?

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NOBILO: Two new studies show water levels are rising much faster than previously thought in cities along the southeastern U.S. coast. Experts say that's fueling more powerful hurricanes and stronger storm surges. One analysis shows an increase of almost five inches or more than 12 centimeters over the past decade, and the cities that are most at risk include Houston, New Orleans, Tampa and Miami. The author of one of the studies says the entire southeastern coast and the Gulf Coast are feeling the impact.

[04:55:00]

And let's take a look at the stories trending this hour. Plastic container maker Tupperware is warning that it could go out of business. The company says that it's looking for financing to stay afloat as it may not have enough to fund its operations. Following this bleak warning, the company shares fell nearly 50 percent on Monday. The 77-year-old business has been struggling in recent years to maintain its relevance against its rivals. As you can see.

Reality TV star Kim Kardashian will soon be able to add scream queen to her list of accomplishments. She'll be joining the new season of the horror anthology show "American Horror Story," along with Emma Roberts, a veteran of the series. The new season doesn't premiere until later this year. But the show's creator says that Kardashian's role is, quote, fun, stylish and ultimately terrifying. Kardashian has also hosted "Saturday Night Live" and voiced a character in "PAW Patrol," the movie.

Playing legendary singer and songwriter Bob Dylan in a biopic is daunting enough, but actor Timothy Salome will also be singing Dylan's classics in his own voice. Director James Mangold told the online publication Collider, the film star would not be lip sinking his performance. The movie with the working title, "A Complete Unknown" begins filming in August.

That does it here on CNN NEWSROOM I'm Bianca Nobilo in London. "EARLY START" with Christine Romans is up for you next.

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CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN HOST: Right now, on EARLY START, why did a man gun down five coworkers without warning at a Louisville bank?

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you believe it's an ongoing threat?

[05:00:00]