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Americans Fleeing Sudan Arrive In Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; Saudi Arabia Playing Large Role In Mediating Conflict In Sudan; U.S. Marine Veteran, Firefighter Killed In Ukraine; 108 Police Injured And 291 Protesters Detained In In May Day Protest In France; U.S. Stocks Dip After J.P. Morgan Buys First Republic's Assets; Taiwan's Kinmen Islands Push to Become a DMZ; Spain's Reservoirs Drying Up, Threatening Towns and Crops. Aired 12-12:45a ET

Aired May 02, 2023 - 00:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:00:28]

JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Ahead on CNN NEWSROOM, mass exodus with no lead up in the fighting, U.N. prepares for close to a million refugees fleeing from Sudan.

International Workers Day turns violent across France with protesters throwing Molotov cocktails setting fires, clashing with riot police.

And here we go again, the U.S. Treasury warns the federal government could be out of cash within weeks unless Republicans in Congress agree to increase the debt ceiling.

ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM with John Vause.

VAUSE: The sixth ceasefire in Sudan in just over two weeks appears to have gone the same way as the previous five. With ongoing daily clashes between the two military factions locked in a power struggle for control of the country.

Heavy smoke was seen rising north of the capital Khartoum, where residents have reported loud explosions. The head of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces told an Arabic language T.V. channel he sees no reason to negotiate with his rival, the leader of Sudan's armed forces.

The official death toll has now passed 500. And the Sudanese doctors union says almost 100 people were killed in West Darfur with health facilities and in camp for those who have been displaced were attacked and looted, forcing humanitarian organizations to evacuate.

So far, more than 70,000 people have left Sudan from neighboring countries. According to the U.N. Refugee agency, which warns that figure could balloon to more than 800,000.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ABDOU DIENG, U.N. HUMANITARIAN COORDINATOR FOR SUDAN: As you know, it has been more than two weeks of devastating fighting in Sudan. A conflict that is turning Sudan humanitarian crisis into a full, blown, catastrophe. The original spillover effect of the crisis is of a serious concern.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: The U.S. Secretary of State says evacuation convoys for Americans trying to leave Sudan will continue for as long as needed.

Third convoy arrived up by road at the city of Port Sudan Monday. The evacuees were then taken to Saudi Arabia by the USNS Brunswick, a high-speed transport vessel.

CNN's Larry Madowo picks up the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LARRY MADOWO, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): These are the first Americans to arrive in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on the U.S. Naval ship Brunswick. Its small comfort after an anxious two weeks of conflict in Africa's third-largest nation.

MOHAMED KHALED, SUDANESE-AMERICAN EVACUEE: I'm not going to lie to you, I didn't really like it. If it was up to me, I would have stayed to see things out. But unfortunately, it just got too bad, you know. The situation got worse and worse by the minute, you know what I mean? There was no water, there was no electricity.

MADOWO: The sport city has become the main route out of Port Sudan. Several broken ceasefire later, people are desperate to escape.

REEM, AMERICAN GRADUATE STUDENT AT OXFORD UNIVERSITY: I'm basically doing a masters, and so I was in the Sudan to like to research ironically on these very same topics.

MADOWO: How's your family? Do you have family back in Sudan who cannot leave because maybe they don't have dual nationality in other places?

REEM: Yes, of course, I mean, that's the reality for most people that are currently in Sudan, is that because of the hierarchy of citizenship, the way that it works, obviously, a lot of people couldn't even afford to leave Khartoum because of the prices of bus tickets.

MADOWO: U.S. officials say about 1,000 Americans have been evacuated since the conflict began by land, sea or air after initially saying it was too dangerous to get private citizens out.

This operation only brought a hundred U.S. citizens across the Red Sea, but there are so many more still stuck in Port Sudan hoping for transport like this to get them to Jeddah.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've been working very closely with international partners around the world and here in Saudi Arabia with our Saudi partners.

MADOWO: Will there be more U.S. ships today or in the next few days?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not that I know of.

MADOWO: As families escape the fighting, there are lighter moments, as even in war, kids will still tease their parents.

How do you feel about having left Sudan?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Very good.

MADOWO: How was it? Was it scary?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I wasn't scared, but she was scared.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She absolutely handled herself 100 percent.

Larry Madowo, CNN, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Cameron Hudson is a senior associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies Africa Center. Thanks for coming back. It's good to see you again.

CAMERON HUDSON, SENIOR ASSOCIATE AFRICA PROGRAM, CENTER FOR STRATEGIC AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES (on camera): Thank you.

VAUSE: OK, so the longer the fighting continues in Sudan, it seems the greater the concern that the violence will spill across the border.

Foreign Policy Magazine put it this way, events in Sudan might have stirred the greater region's hornet nest. Indeed, there is a strong likelihood that the war could have a domino effect across the already troubled Chad Basin and the Sahel.

So, explain what is this hornet nest that they're talking about? What's the secrets of events here, which takes this from a war within Sudan to a much wider regional conflict?

[00:05:08]

HUDSON: Well, I think the first thing we have to recognize is that most all of the countries that borders Sudan are themselves very fragile states. Many of them have recently experienced some kind of civil conflict or insurgency, whether that's Libya, Chad, the Central African Republic. These are countries that are battling rebellion and insurgencies internally where the aggressor in the case of Sudan, the Rapid Support Forces, is reaching out to those militia groups and rebel groups in those countries, trying to draw them into this.

If they are drawn into this fight, you can imagine that the governments of those countries might follow suit coming in after the rebels in their own country using Sudan as a place to do battle with internal rebellions. So, that's the first set of issues that I think we have to grapple

with.

And then secondarily, those regions are also facing growing insurgency threats from the Islamic State and al-Qaeda affiliates in that part of the world.

So, the late Chad Basin has the Boko Haram militia group as well as ISIS affiliates.

So, it's a very dangerous area that borders Sudan very closely and where you see a lot of tribal linkages cutting across all of these countries that you could, you know, see drawn into the fight in Sudan.

So, that's I think the hornet nest that they're talking about.

VAUSE: And so far, the number of Sudanese who have actually been able to flee the country has counted the tens of thousands, but the United Nations is preparing for hundreds of thousands of refugees tweeting this, UNHCR with governments and partners preparing for the possibility that over 800,000 people may flee the fighting in Sudan for neighboring countries. We hope it doesn't come to that, but if violence does not stop, we will see many more people forced to flee Sudan seeking safety.

And to your point, let's take a look at the map because Sudan is bordered by Egypt to the north, Chad and Libya to the west, the Central African Republic to the southwest, South Sudan and Ethiopia to the south, Eritrea in the east, and just across the Red Sea is Saudi Arabia.

So, given what you've just told us about the state of play within the region, where do you expect most of those 800,000 people to go?

HUDSON: Well, that's a great question. So far, we've seen them headed mostly towards Egypt, although many are now fleeing into Chad, especially those who are in the Darfur area, which is, you know, continues to have a high degree of instability and new violence emerging every day.

Let's not forget that in the long civil war that Sudan had with now, South Sudan, there are more than two million people displaced by that conflict. There were two million people displaced by the conflict in Darfur. So this is already an area that is prone to heavy displacement, where there are refugee camps already existing in both South Sudan and in Chad and in the Central African Republic.

So, those are going to have a very strong, I think, pull factor for many people fleeing violence.

And then, of course, Egypt, I think, is the next place where I think we're going to see a lot of people trying to get to. It's an overland border. Egypt, obviously, more stable than some of these other countries.

But once you cross into Egypt, again, it's a very inhospitable environment. It's a remote area. The nearest city, Aswan, is still several hours drive from the border. It's a more expensive country. So refugees are going to have a harder time, you know, getting their feet under them there.

So, there's really no good options right now that the region is facing.

VAUSE: And New York Times is reporting on this crucial role at Saudi Arabia is now playing in the evacuations, reporting that Saudi Arabia has played a central role, extricating more than 5,000 foreigners from Sudan since the fighting erupted. Saudi officials have relationships with both the Sudan's warring generals. Saudi Arabia is a member of the four country group that tried and failed to steer Sudan to civilian-led rule.

So, clearly, Egypt has a very big influence in the region. But the Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, wants to be this global mediator, play the peacemaker here. How much influence does he have in trying to make that happen?

HUDSON: Well, this is certainly, I think, part of his overall strategy to be viewed as a peacemaker, as a post-war maker, right? I mean, cleaning up this image that he had in Yemen, for example.

And so, obviously, there's a big P.R. push around the rescue. But also, you know, it's fair to say that Saudi Arabia has major interests, national security interests and national interests in Sudan. They're very heavily invested in Sudan. Sudan is seen as the potential for being the Saudi breadbasket.

So, in terms of arable land, in terms of livestock, Saudi Arabia is getting the majority of its imports in those categories from Sudan. So, there's a real food security issue here at play as well for the Saudis. So they want to see not only stability, but they want to see a government that they can do business with in the future. And so that's why I think they have a lot of leverage to bring to this situation.

[00:10:02]

VAUSE: Cameron, as always, it's good to have you insights. It's good to speak with you. Thank you.

HUDSON: Thanks.

VAUSE: Moscow appears to be increasing its long-range missile strikes on Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reports two people were killed, 40 wounded in the city of Povlohrad where residential buildings and six schools were hit by missiles. The city is 100 kilometers from the front line. Russia says it was targeting ammunition and weapons facilities.

Meantime, in the Russian province of Bryansk, the governor blames an explosive device for a train derailment and fire, no one was killed in that incident.

Newly declassified U.S. intelligence has some staggering numbers on Russian losses. More than 100,000 Russian soldiers killed since December, 20,000 alone in the fight for the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut.

CNN's Nick Paton Walsh reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): It was hard to get much uglier, but each dawn, still the battle for Bakhmut grinds on.

Ukraine Monday said it had pushed Russian forces back who had abandoned positions. Months of agonizing fighting for about a football field every day, say analysts, leaving little standing and Russian injured, the soldiers here said abandoned.

There was a guy laying there in the reeds, he says, yelling, guys, come and help me for three days, only 100 yards from the Russians.

Also emerging too on this, the road of life, the last way in and out of the city, news of the death of Cooper Harris Andrews, age 26, a former U.S. Marine and firefighter from Cleveland, Ohio, who felt compelled to join Ukraine's fight.

WILLOW ANDREWS, OTHER OF COOPER HARRIS ANDREWS: Cooper wanted to correct things. We had a lot of conversations about fashion. I used to say, Cooper, so that means you're just going over there to drive an ambulance. And that -- you just don't believe in stuff, you do something about it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Harris, let's make a picture for history.

WALSH: Here he is, near the front line in January as part of the foreign legion, described as ideological to the core and anti- authoritarian, his body has yet to be recovered from Bakhmut as the fighting is too intense. His mother recalled the last time they spoke.

ANDREWS: I asked Cooper, because I'm like Cooper's mom, like, is there anything I can try and get to you or send any? Cooper said, yes. Can you send me hot sauce and chopsticks?

So, I have like a thousand chopsticks in my house because I was trying to get chopsticks for everyone. I figured people use chopsticks. And I have all these little packets of hot sauce that I was going to send to Cooper.

WALSH: Over the past weeks, graphic battle footage has emerged showing what it's like when Russians get into a Ukrainian trench network.

Here are soldier races into cover. But soon a shell hit. They are all miraculously OK, but the attack has started. Watch and you see a Russian approach and throw a grenade. He misses. And they go on to shoot down Russians advancing meters from them. Shells continue to land. The attack persists for over ten minutes. But the brutal fight for Bakhmut goes on and on.

Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: May Day protests in France turn violent. Clashes between demonstrators and police across the nation as many protests are still furious over changes to the retirement system, a report from Paris in a moment.

Also ahead, payday for J.P. Morgan Chase with its purchase of First Republic, what that could mean for the U.S. banking system and more.

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[00:16:35]

VAUSE: May Day protests in France have left more than 100 police wounded and nearly 300 demonstrators in custody.

CNN's Paris Correspondent Melissa Bell has more now on Mondays of violent demonstrations.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Even after months of protests, it was a day of remarkable violence. Anger, not just at pension reform, but at the government itself.

Clashes erupted within the first half hour of demonstrations in Paris.

May Day is a traditional day of marches for workers' rights in France, but this year with the raising of the retirement age from 62 to 64, protestors were out in droves in Marseilles, Rennes, Toulouse, and in the capital.

SOPHIE BINET, SECRETARY GENERAL, CGT UNION (through translator): You just have to look at the processions behind, you can see that today is a historic May Day and we can see that this day of mobilization is a stinging denial of all the bets made by the government.

BELL (voice over): From September, the French will start working longer than they had after the government pushed through the reform without a vote in Parliament.

But the unions have vowed to fight on nonetheless.

This May the first was always expected to be an important barometer of the popular anger that is out there, but it is likely also an important measure of just how difficult the next four years of governing are likely to be for the French president.

All the more so because despite the many months of strikes and sporadic violence, more than 62 percent of the French are sympathetic to the movement, according to polling from April.

THIERRY CAMUSSO, UNION REPRESENTATIVE, CGT VITROLLES (through translator): We are going to show Mr. Macron, that the country, we are not happy with this reform, and it will not do. BELL (voice over): The government says the current pension system is simply not affordable, its deficit at risk of spiraling out of control.

But that line hasn't dampened the popular anger so far, with frustration against Emmanuel Macron and his manner of governing, showing no signs of letting up.

Melissa Bell, CNN, Paris.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Negotiations between writers in Hollywood and production studios have broken down with the writers now on strike, who had came via a tweet from the Writers Union. Most television and film productions in the U.S. would likely to be shut down.

The writers say their contracts need to be reworked in an era of streaming to make up for loss of income due to dramatic decrease in residuals from reruns on cable television and syndication.

They also want limits on the use of artificial intelligence in the industry. The studios are pushing back, saying falling stock prices are forcing deep cuts and also causing layoffs.

The last writers' strike in 2007 lasted a hundred days, causing an estimated $2 billion in economic damage.

In the U.S., Wall Street closed lower off the back of the J.P. Morgan takeover of the failed First Republic bank, the Dow and NASDAQ, S&P 500 all down on Monday, just a touch.

J.P. Morgan will pay $10.6 billion for the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation for most of the failed bank's assets. First Republic's collapse is the second largest banking failure in U.S. history. But J.P. Morgan Chase CEO says the crisis is over. The American banking system is stable.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMIE DIMON, CEO, J.P. MORGAN CHASE: This is getting near the end of it and hopefully this helps stabilize everything. The American banking system is extraordinarily sound.

You know and obviously, if going forward you have recessions and you know, rates going up and stuff like that, you will see other cracks in the system. But that's to be expected, the system is very, very sound.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[00:20:12]

VAUSE: Ryan Patel, Senior Fellow at the Drucker School of Management, Claremont Graduate University joins us now from Los Angeles.

Boy, Jamie Dimon, sounding like the Treasury Secretary there for a minute, didn't he? Let's take a look at the numbers though. This is from J.P. Morgan Chase's press release, OK.

So, for just over $10.5 billion paid to the federal regulators, Jamie Morgan takes over $173 billion of loans, $30 billion in securities, more than $90 billion in deposits. The FDIC covering losses on private mortgages and commercial loans up to 80 percent for five years, seven years.

All that, they get a post-text gain of $2.6 billion, less $2 billion in restructuring over the next year and a half.

Jamie Dimon quoted and impressed by saying our government invited us and others to step up and we did. He stepped up and made $600 million. I mean, that's like spare change for Jamie Dimon, but you know, this is a selfless man. I mean, it's just an act of patriotism, right?

RYAN PATEL, SENIOR FELLOW AT THE DRUCKER SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT, CLAREMONT GRADUATE UNIVERSITY: Yes, he made himself look good. I mean, he was a part of the bailout when Janet Yellen made the call, he was there. He bailed out the first round.

And if you know, J.P. Morgan also was a special advisor to the First Republic before they make him the bid (PH). So they're very familiar with the operations. So the acquisitions, yes. In advances, they're well strategy. It's a seamlessly fit and they make money. And guess what? He looks like the hero in this and to keep the banking system, he's become the -- he's become the face to ensure the systems there, right?

Everyone's looking at him and you just saw, you just played the clip that, you know, he's kind of calm. He's trying to calm the fears down.

VAUSE: So, he gets to be the advisor to the failed bank and then they get to buy it out for like pennies on the dollar with guarantees. They don't have any losses to worry about for the next seven years. No wonder.

PATEL: To be clear, he came off being an advisor to make the bid. I'm just telling you what I -- what I'm seeing.

VAUSE: Technicalities, my friend. Technicalities and the timing. Listen to Jamie Dimon, you know, talking to those who would be critical of those too big to fail banks, you know, like J.P. Morgan Chase, here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DIMON: You need large, successful banks. And anyone who thinks that it would be good for the United States of America not to have that should call me directly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Jamie Dimon, I have Elizabeth Warren set on the line for you who tweeted this Monday. The failure of First Republic bank shows how deregulation has made the too big to fail problem even worse. A poorly supervised bank was snapped up by an even bigger bank. Ultimately taxpayers will be on the hook. Congress needs to make major reforms to fix a broken banking system.

I mean, that last part is sweet, you know, Congress should do something, right? Yes.

OK. So, explain what's wrong with this totally ad hoc system in place. What's wrong with having a total lack of consistency when it comes to bank failings?

PATEL: Well, I mean, you have this functional banking system which actually builds on trust as well, right? When you have these big banks, what Jamie's saying is that if they go away, you're going to cause more havoc, right?

Now, obviously he's in that game of the big banks, but also, you know, that trust aspect of why the system doesn't work is, well, it doesn't work for that big bank was bad leadership.

I just want to be really clear, John. First Republic, Silicon Valley bank managed the risk incorrectly. It was equal to poor leadership.

And so, is that for all the banks? No. Are we going to see that because interest rates are coming up and see what leadership has? I think we're going to see a little more cracks through the system as Jamie Dimon said, because people are catching his quote saying, oh, the worst is gone or we won't see any big banks. But he's also saying that we're going to see some more issues because of poor leadership in the banking industry.

VAUSE: You know, forget about First Republic. The real dumpster fire though is a debt ceiling because the time is here once again, Republicans play chicken with the global economy because they refuse to raise the debt ceiling because there's a Democrat president.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen wrote to Republican Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy warning him, "Our best estimate is that we will be unable to continue to satisfy all government obligations by early June, potentially as early as June 1 if Congress does not raise or suspend the debt limit before." Blah, blah, blah, blah.

You know, this is just getting so old. If it wasn't so serious that, you know, Trump blew out the deficit. They didn't say buried it for three years before the pandemic. W. Bush turned the surplus into massive deficit. Why does this insanity keep happening with the Republicans?

PATEL: Well, if you remember, last time you and I were in L.A. together in studio going down to the wire and I think it's going to happen the same thing. It becomes a political issue, right? Because you can try to get things out of it.

And unfortunately, the U.S. citizens and the way this managing a balance sheet doesn't happen in this threatening aspect.

And I just hope, John, because we're already fra -- the U.S. economy banking system is already fragile now. I don't think we can expect what we have in the last time where you get to the deadline or we're counting days when are we going to run money out?

I just don't hope -- we can't do that. I think we got to work -- we got to work together to be able to get to that. But you know, people have different agendas and I hope both sides will realize that this is not something that's good for anybody.

[00:25:05]

VAUSE: Just quickly, if you get down to counting days before the money runs out, how much damage does that do in all the self to the economy?

PATEL: 100 percent, it will because consumers and those right now, we're looking at consumer spending already starting to slow down. It gives us confidence that -- a lack of confidence that we don't need with the economy already slowing down and with bank turmoil. We just need -- we don't need one more thing to be added to this further fragile trust issues that we have right now.

VAUSE: The dumpster fire. Ryan, thank you. Ryan Patel, as always. Thank you, sir.

PATEL: Thanks, John.

VAUSE: Here's how speaker Kevin McCarthy is pushing back on criticism from the Department of Veteran Affairs that the newly passed Republican bill to raise the debt ceiling along with a bunch of other cuts would actually cut veterans' benefits.

Covering this CNN's Hadas Gold during his visit to Jerusalem.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HADAS GOLD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Do you have any regrets about how the bill was written considering we're hearing some critics -- criticism from the V.A. and those that might threaten veterans' health care?

REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA): Can you tell me where in the bill it cuts the V.A.? It doesn't.

See, this is the damage that when people do not tell the truth about the bill, it actually goes to the funding where we were four months ago.

If you look at back to the Obama-Biden budget that they passed for the next 10 years, this actually spends more than what they proposed at this time.

And the work of Congress gets to decide where spending is just like every family household. I'm very sad that the Democrats would think about cutting the veterans because we would not.

GOLD: And then, also, on your meetings with the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, do you feel as though he's in control of this government considering some of the statements we've heard from some of his ministers?

MCCARTHY: Yes, he's the Prime Minister. He's in control.

GOLD: Now, do you think though that he will bring this judicial overhaul plan back on the table?

MCCARTHY: Look, there's a work. But I think what's happening now, what he's told me is they're working with both sides to come together to a compromise to try to solve the problem.

I've heard from both sides and both sides says there need to have some reform.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: McCarthy addressed the Israeli parliament, the Knesset on Monday. He hailed Israel as the greatest ally of the United States, so much for Britain.

McCarthy said that President Biden won't invite Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House. He will invite him to address Congress instead.

White House says it expects a visit from Netanyahu at some point, but there's nothing scheduled as of now.

Well, it's a small island in a tough spot. Coming up, we'll take you to a part of Taiwan, just six kilometers from mainland China on the very front line of a very intense standoff.

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VAUSE: Welcome back, you're watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause.

A small island less than seven kilometer off Mainland China is hoping that peace will prevail. The Kinmen Islands are part of Taiwan, and some residents there still remember the war with the Communist mainland.

[00:30:09]

CNN's Will Ripley reports from there. Many now are pushing to be part of East Asia's new demilitarized zone.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: As the sun sets on the Taiwan Strait, the neon lights of Xiamen (ph) in Southeastern China dazzle and the dusk. CNN cameras close enough to read the glowing signs. A glimpse of mainland China, on the inside.

RIPLEY: But you may be surprised to learn, I'm not standing in mainland China. I'm here in Taiwan, on a small island sitting surprisingly close to that bustling metropolis behind me. Less than four miles of water. That is all that divides this democracy from communist China. RIPLEY (voice-over): Our 200-mile flight from Taipei to the Kinmen

Islands takes about an hour. A boat can reach the mainland in minutes. Some islanders feel like sitting ducks, at the mercy of China's People's Liberation Army.

The PLA launched massive military drills near Taiwan twice in the last nine months. China calls the drills a response to Taiwan President Tsai Ing-Wen's high-profile meetings with two U.S. House speakers, Nancy Pelosi in Taipei last year, Kevin McCarthy in California last month.

Just off the coast of Kinmen, we see Chinese sand dredgers China is reclaiming land to build a new airport, the mainland coast getting closer every day.

"We all hope war doesn't break out here," says the chairman of the visitors association. "We think it's basically impossible for our military to defend Kinmen."

But they did defend the islands more than 70 years ago. Tens of thousands of nationalist troops from Taiwan repelled the mainland's communist forces.

Thins are very different today. Only a few thousand Taiwanese soldiers remain.

China now has the world's largest navy. Taiwan's outlying islands are no longer strategically valuable, and almost defenseless, if the PLA decides to make a move.

Many here are calling for Taiwan's military to pull out completely.

"We don't want Kinmen to become a battlefield again," Wu (ph) says. "If there are no soldiers or military installations, we can become a demilitarized zone, and attract more tourists."

He says the handful of remaining military sites are shockingly vulnerable. Last year, civilian drones from China hover over several island outposts. This video shows startled soldiers throwing rocks, raising questions about the military's readiness.

Taiwan says it shot down at least one unidentified civilian drone.

RIPLEY: In so many ways, the local culture on this side and that side, almost the same. Politics, of course, the big exception.

But many who grew up here are calling for closer ties with communist China. They lived with the alternative. Decades of ferocious fighting, right here on the front line.

RIPLEY (voice-over): These battle-scarred outlying islands bore the brunt of damage during the worst decades of the cross-strait conflict. From the late 1940s through the 1970s, relentless artillery attacks left behind mountains of metal.

"We worry history might repeat itself," says Mai-Sta Wu (ph), who makes knives from old artillery. "If that happens, it will change our way of life."

Bullet-riddled buildings, bomb shelters, beaches lined with anti- landing spikes. Rusty relics, waiting for the waves of change to come crashing in.

Will Ripley, CNN, Kinmen, Taiwan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: A realignment of sorts at the White House Monday. U.S. President Joe Biden welcomed the president of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcus Jr. The topic there, China's increasing assertiveness in the Asia-Pacific region.

The U.S. wants to improve relations with the Philippines after Marcus's predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte, warmed to Beijing.

Biden assured President Marcos that the two nations' military, economic, and social ties stand strong.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The United States also remains ironclad in our commitment to the defense of the Philippines, including the South China Sea, and we're going to continue to support the Philippines' military modernization tunnels.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: As a senator, Joe Biden said he was always opposed to the regime of Ferdinand Marcos, the current -- the father of the current president.

He also said the two countries, though, are moving forward on a new military cooperation. The U.S. providing $200 million to boost the Philippines' armed forces and improve military bases.

The leader (Ph) has granted the U.S. access to form more bases, including three close to Taiwan.

When we come back, Hollywood and high society turn out for the 2023 Met Gala. A look at the craziest fashions, right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:37:16]

VAUSE: Spain is sweltering through a summer-like heat wave, with some areas recently shattering their record highs for April. There's also a nationwide drive after three straight years of below average rainfall.

Well, as well as the drying up, farmers are suffering, as CNN's Fred Pleitgen reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-

over): From afar, even a natural disaster can look majestic. But up close, the full impact of the global climate emergency is clear to see.

This is the Sau reservoir near Barcelona, normally one of the largest bodies of fresh water in this part of Spain. But months of drought, and the water levels are so low, an entire medieval village, usually underwater, has come to light.

PLEITGEN: The folks here say normally, he barely be able to see even the tip of the medieval church, because it would be almost fully submerged. But now, as you can see, the church is very much on land, and the authorities here fear things will get much worse once the summer's heat really sets in.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): The Sau reservoir is already at less than 10 percent capacity. And that's causing hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland to dry up. All of this wheat is probably lost. Farmer Santi Kaldidiwa (ph) shows me why.

"The grain (ph) should be milky," he says. "We're in a critical moment. If it doesn't rain, this will end up empty. We should be seeing the grain come up to here. But it's only like this. If it doesn't rain in the coming week, the crop will be zero."

But there is no rain in sight, and temperatures in Spain have skyrocketed.

Scientists at the Institute of Agrifood Research and Technology are trying to find ways to make very little water go a longer way.

Chief scientist Joan Girona says efficiency needs to be maximized.

JOAN GIRONA GOMIS, RESEARCHER, IRTA: It's our goal. Making the most of every drop of water.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): Just like the crops, the people in this area are also in survival moaned. Dozens of towns are without water, and need to get it trucked in.

The village Castasilla (ph) hasn't had any for about a year, and residents say they can't even remember the last time it rained.

"I don't recall," Juan (ph) tells me. "It's been a long time, a year more, without proper rain. Nothing."

This region of Spain is a bread basket for all of Europe. And while the authorities say they're building desalination plants to combat the water crisis, the head of the region's water authority says life here might change dramatically soon.

SAMUEL REYES, DIRECTOR, CATALAN WATER AGENCY: Sometimes, I think about the capacity of the territory. I mean, is this a country where we can handle the increase of citizens, tourists, industry, farmers, agriculture? Or we should stop? PLEITGEN (voice-over): That point might be closer than some believe.

Back at the Sau reservoir, authorities are actually draining most of the remaining water to prevent this precious and every scarcer resource from getting contaminated by the sludge of the bottom of this once-mighty lake.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Barcelona, Spain.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Now, to New York, where the excitement seemed to be off the charts at the 2023 Met Gala. This's dress code was in honor of Karl. That would be the late designer, Karl Lagerfeld.

And that brought on a number of dress-ups, like his beloved cat, Choupette. Like that, there, with the big trail.

Tennis legend Serena Williams announced just before the event she's pregnant with her second child.

The gala is a fundraiser for New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute. What a night.

Four days and counting until the coronation of Britain's King Charles III. Buckingham Palace says more than 2,200 people will attend the service this Saturday at Westminster Abbey. That includes representatives from over 200 countries, about 100 heads of state. U.S. President Joe Biden will not be there.

The guest list also includes Nobel Prize winners and religious leaders, as well as community and charity workers.

King Charles wore clothing worn by previous monarchs at past coronations, including a sword, belt, and glove worn by his grandfather, King George VI.

The palace says the items are being re-used in the interest of sustainability and efficiency. Something old, something borrowed, something blue.

The king's sister, Princess Anne, says the British public should not expect any surprises from her brother's reign. She addressed the monarchy's relevance in modern Britain in an interview with Canada's CBC News.

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PRINCESS ANNE, UNITED KINGDOM: You know what you're getting, because he's been practicing for a bit. And I don't think he'll change. You know, he has committed to his -- his own level of service. And that -- that will remain true.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Special live coverage of the coronation of King Charles this Saturday, May 6, starting at 10 am in London, 5 a.m. Eastern in the United States. Set your DVRs. Historic event. All that sort of stuff. Don't want to miss it.

I'm John Vause, back at the top of the hour with CNN NEWSROOM, but first, WORLD SPORT starts after a short break.

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