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NEWS STREAM

Israel-Hamas Conflict; Shelling of U.N. School in Gaza; Ebola Outbreak; Surrogacy Dispute; Deadly Earthquake Hit China; Building Ties with Africa; Marking the Start of World War I

Aired August 4, 2014 - 08:00   ET

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


KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Developments coming out of the Middle East, an attempted terror attack inside Jerusalem this morning. Israeli police say

a tractor slammed into a passenger bus before the attacker was killed by Israeli police.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: This comes against the backdrop of an Israeli- declared cease-fire. About two hours remain in it, but both sides say it's being violated.

Let's get to Anderson Cooper. He's in Jerusalem this morning, just a few miles from where the attack happened.

Anderson, what's the latest?

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: Good morning, guys. This occurred just in this last hour. You're seeing the video, a heavy piece of earth-moving

equipment basically repeatedly slammed into a passenger bus about six times or so, trying to tip it over, finally tipping it over.

There was a police officer near the scene, responded, shot the driver of this earth-moving equipment vehicle, shot him dead. The driver of the

vehicle now is said to be laying by the side of the vehicle, according to Israeli police. There are conflicting reports about the number of injured.

Right now we believe three people have been injured, but again, these are early reports, but the driver who alleged to take place in what Israeli

police are calling a terror attack, the Israeli police are saying this is a terrorist -- the alleged terrorist has been shot by Israeli police.

That person is laying next to the vehicle. The exact motivation, we do not know much about the driver of the vehicle itself.

Early reports are that the passenger of the bus -- excuse me; the driver of the passenger bus was also injured, was taken to a hospital. The bus

itself that was said to be largely empty, so it certainly could have been a lot worse had there been more people on that bus. We are trying to gather

more details.

But this occurred in Central Jerusalem about three or so miles from our location here in an area near some international hotels.

And I should point out, this is not the first time an incident like this has occurred. Back in 2008 and 2009 there were two incidents, one, I

believe, a police car was crushed, another a civilian vehicle was hit as well.

But again, this obviously adding to the tension here with about two hours until the end of this self-declared cease-fire or pause in the conflict by

Israel, something Hamas has not agreed to. Israel says there have been at least three rockets fired into Israel in the five hours or so that this

cease-fire has been in effect.

All of this, of course, just adds to the dramatic development which we have seen over the last 48 hours here. This is a seven-hour cease-fire agreed

to -- that Israel agreed to. Hamas gave no agreement to hold its fire.

A Palestinian official blamed Israel saying that Israel fired an airstrike shortly after the cease-fire began, some 20 minutes after the cease-fire

began, killing one, injuring 30, hitting a family house.

Israel disputes that and says rockets have been launched from Gaza, as I said, this morning, three rockets in all. And this comes a day after the

U.N. and U.S. have some of their harshest criticism of Israel on record following another deadly airstrike near a U.N. shelter.

We'll want to go to john Vause in Gaza with all the latest.

John, what have you been seeing and hearing there?

JOHN VAUSE, CNN HOST: Yes, hey, Anderson, a different scene here in Gaza City. The streets certainly have come alive over the last couple of hours,

just two hours left now in the humanitarian window, which was declared by the Israelis. The streets have been jammed.

The shops are back open. People are lining up with tanks just simply to get out money. Their children are back out playing on the streets.

It's also a chance for many people to head back to those neighborhoods which were hit hard by the Israeli military offensive. Many homes there

have been leveled and many people are now going through the rubble and they are searching for the bodies of those who were killed.

We understand a number of bodies, at least according to local reports here, have been pulled from beneath the rubble from those schools. Now -- or

from those homes, rather.

Now this is a limited unilateral pause in the fighting that was declared by Israel, but they said the military offensive will continue in parts of Gaza

in particular down south around the southern border town of Rafa. Those military operations are ongoing. That is where that U.N. school was hit

on Sunday. The Israelis firing that missile and at least nine Palestinians were killed there.

And the reason why Hamas did not agree to this cease-fire, or at least one of those stated reasons, they say that this humanitarian window, well, it's

just a diversion by Israel to take away from all of the international condemnation of what happened at that U.N. school in Rafa -- Anderson.

COOPER: All right, John, we'll check in with you throughout the day. I want to go to our Saima Mohsin, who is standing by at the scene what

Israeli police are calling a terror attack in central Jerusalem.

Saima, what's going on? What is the latest?

(CROSSTALK)

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN ANCHOR: -- was hit by a tractor and overturned before Israeli forces shot the driver dead .

Now Israel is calling the incident a, quote, terror attack. It says two people were injured and it happened amidst of a seven-hour cease-fire that

was declared by Israel today. This temporary halt is -- to the fighting it is desperately needed, of course, to bring much needed aid to civilians.

Hamas has not agreed to that truce. Now Palestinian health authorities say that Israeli forces carried out a strike just 20 minutes after the cease-

fire began in the morning, killing at least one child and injuring 30 people.

Israel says that is not true. The IDF's defense forces say that rockets or fire from Gaza, in fact, three rockets were fired since the cease-fire

today began. Each side continues to blame the other for the failure to reach a lasting cease-fire.

Hamas says when Israel ends its, quote, "aggression," Hamas will stop firing its rockets across the border. Now CNN's Nic Robertson spoke

exclusively with the group's political leader, Khaled Mashal in Qatar.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KHALED MESHAL, HAMAS POLITICAL LEADER (through translator): Hamas is a movement of institutions. It has respected leadership. All the members of

Hamas within the political or armed wing are disciplined. The Israelis, the Egyptians and the American administration know this. Otherwise, John

Kerry would not have intervened this time.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: President Obama said it is irresponsible of Hamas to fire their rockets from civilian

neighborhoods. That's what you're doing.

Why do you do it when you know the civilians are going to die?

MESHAL (through translator): Look at the results. How many Israeli civilians were killed? Israel know the number while how many Palestinian

civilians Israel has killed? They killed up to this minute 1,700 martyr while we killed by Israel mission 63 soldiers. We kill soldiers while they

kill Palestinian civilians.

(CROSSTALK)

ROBERTSON: Because you're firing your rockets from civilian neighborhoods. That's where you're firing your rockets from. Your rockets are fired,

Israel says, indiscriminately to civilian areas, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem. President Obama says you're firing your rockets from civilian

neighborhoods.

And you know what that means, that you will have high civilian casualties. Critics are saying that the only reason that you're doing this is so that

you get the international outpouring of international sympathy because of the high civilian casualties.

MESHAL (through translator): It is unfortunate that a U.S. administration and the President Obama have adopted Israeli narrative, which is a lie.

Hamas sacrifices itself for its people and does not use its people as human shield to protect its soldiers.

These are lies and Hamas does not seek international symptom through its own victims.

ROBERTSON: What are you prepared to do to get a cease-fire?

Are you prepared to destroy your tunnels? Are you prepared to stop firing rockets at Israel? Are you prepared to accept the right of Israel as a

state to exist?

MESHAL (through translator): We are ready for a cease-fire. We don't want war. We want the war to end today. We did not attack anyone. It was

Netanyahu who transferred the crisis that took place in the West Bank on June 12th to Gaza. He is responsible for this. We are ready to stop this

war and we want a cease-fire.

ROBERTSON: But are you ready to stop building rockets, are you ready to stop firing rockets?

MESHAL (through translator): I will answer you. I will answer you. Why are -- there are demands only on the Palestinian people to get rid of their

modest and simple weapons, but no similar demands on Israel, the occupying state? We are ready to discuss the removal of weapons.

(CROSSTALK)

ROBERTSON: But you have -- the Israelis say you're firing them indiscriminately at Israeli civilians. That's what you're using those

weapons for when they're not firing at you. You're firing at them. That's how the --

MESHAL (through translator): Israel is the one who started this aggression, and it is Israel who is killing civilians. I explained to you

in detail what Israel is doing in Gaza in killing civilians.

ROBERTSON: But there was stability there. There was a stability. There was a peace. There was (INAUDIBLE) recently when there were no rockets --

(CROSSTALK)

MESHAAL (through translator): Unfortunately, the arch states and the West and the Western media have adopted the Israeli narrative.

ROBERTSON: Are you winning this war?

MESHAL (through translator): Our steadfastness is itself a victory. For us to kill their soldiers while they kill our civilians is also a victory

for the Palestinian cause and for Hamas.

ROBERTSON: How are you having a victory for your resistance for the cause when so many Palestinians are dying? How is that a victory?

Your rockets aren't striking the Israeli cities. You've killed a handful of Israeli soldiers.

How are you winning? How is this a strategic victory?

MESHAL (through translator): Our people are convinced today that the only way to get rid of the occupation and establish their state is through

resistance, like all of the people of the world have done. Just like what the American people did when they got rid of the British occupation, and as

the French did when they got rid of the Nazi occupation.

ROBERTSON: President Obama asked you to be more responsible, to not fire rockets from civilian neighborhoods.

What concessions are you willing to make to get this blockade lifted?

MESHAL (through translator): We are ready to take all the positive steps, and we have done it before. Let me say it. Let the aggression end.

ROBERTSON: Get rid of the tunnels. Stop firing rockets.

MESHAL (through translator): I'll tell you, let the aggression end and the siege lifted and Hamas and resistance will not fire rockets on anybody.

We're defending ourselves here, end of the line.

ROBERTSON: You will stop the rockets?

MESHAL (through translator): When the Israeli aggression ends, we will stop responding to them.

ROBERTSON: So let's define.

What is the aggression that has to stop? Let's be very precise and clear.

MESHAL (through translator): Israel has to stop all forms of aggression, missiles, fighter jets, attacks by air, land and sea. They must open the

border crossings and lift the siege. Beyond that, the main issue is to end the occupation and end the building of settlements because that's the true

root causes of this conflict.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STOUT: Very dynamic discussion there. And of course that was the Hamas political leader, Khaled Meshal, speaking to CNN's Nic Robertson earlier in

Qatar.

Now Israel says it does not want to see a single civilian killed and it accuses Hamas of putting innocent people in harm's way. Israeli government

spokesman Mark Regev spoke earlier to CNN and Errol Barnett began by asking him for his response to Sunday's shelling of a U.N. shelter.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARK REGEV, ISRAELI GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN: Our preliminary reports say that there was no shelling whatsoever of the U.N. facility, that there was a

combat operation outside the U.N. facility. And we'll find out whether or not it was our fault that the bystanders were hit.

Apparently we were going for a specific and legitimate terrorist, targeted three leading activists from the Islamic jihad movement. But we'll look

into it. We don't want to see a single terrorist -- sorry. We don't want to see a single civilian killed in this conflict. That's not our goal. In

this particular case, it must be said that when you talk about U.N. facilities that Hamas has had a deliberate policy of abusing U.N.

neutrality, of abusing U.N. humanitarian work.

There have been three documented cases by the U.N. itself has said of Hamas storing rockets in U.N. facilities. And as the former director of UNRWA,

that's the U.N. agency that deals with these matters, has said Hamas routinely shoots at Israel, shoots at rockets from Israel in immediate

proximity to U.N. facilities.

So if it is Hamas that is turning these areas into combat zones, Hamas must be held accountable.

ERROL BARNETT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: But Mr. Regev, we've heard you say that on -- during previous attacks and it seems as though at the moment the U.S.

State Department just isn't buying it. They said, quote, "The suspicion that militant are operating nearby doesn't justify strikes that put at risk

the lives of so many innocent civilians."

So why is it still permissible for the IDF to attack locations close to U.N. shelters? You admit the Israeli government says there was targets on

a motorcycle who were attacked. The U.N. says they gave the location to you 33 times. Why not wait until the militants are far away from civilian

areas or not attack in the first place?

REGEV: So what actually investigating exactly what happened. But I want to be 100 percent clear. We do not target U.N. institutions. We support

the humanitarian working of the United Nations in Gaza.

We understand it's important work. Today we're cooperating with the United Nations in facilitating maximum input into Gaza of humanitarian support.

Yesterday more than 200 trucks with humanitarian aid entered the Gaza Strip. We're willing to do the same.

We've told all the international agencies and foreign governments that there are no holds barred. We're willing for unprecedented humanitarian

support for the people of Gaza who are ultimately not our enemy. They are oppressed by this terrible Hamas regime.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STOUT: And that was the Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev.

You're watching NEWS STREAM. And still ahead, at Sierra Leone employs troops to help stop the spread of Ebola. We'll look at the precautions

health care workers and others are taking to prevent infection.

Also ahead, difficult story, left behind in Thailand, a surrogate mother accuses an Australian couple of abandoning a baby with Down syndrome and

taking the healthy twin home.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

STOUT: Welcome back.

Now as West Africa continues to battle the Ebola outbreak, Sierra Leone has deployed hundreds of members of the military to help health workers there.

The government has ordered people to stay home and infections have been on the rise in Sierra Leone and Liberia.

But they are dropping in Guinea. Now remember this outbreak started there back in March. Since then, the World Health Organization says that the

virus has killed more than 700 people.

But there is some good news for two American missionaries infected with the disease, Dr. Kent Brantly is said to be improving since returning from

Liberia on Saturday. A plane has been sent back for another American, Nancy Writebol, and she is set to arrive in the U.S. on Tuesday.

There is no vaccine for Ebola, though one is in the works. Our David McKenzie has traveled to Sierra Leone's capital, Freetown, to cover the

outbreak. And he shows us how he prepared to protect himself.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: For many people, heading into the epicenter of an Ebola outbreak would be the nightmare scenario.

So we brought along some kit to help stop the fear factor, which, to be honest, is one of the biggest factors coverage a story like this because

Ebola isn't particularly contagious. It's highly infectious and really it's direct bodily fluid which is the risk.

So we brought along these plastic overalls. Of course, you know, touching things is extremely risky. So we have these inner surgical gloves. And

all of this is a ritual you have to get used to. Of course, boots are really important. One of the risks is any fluid or blood that got on the

floor. You pick it up on the soles of your shoes and that becomes a risk.

This isn't specialized kit. And if we were to go inside the exclusion zone of a hospital with Doctors without Borders, we wouldn't depend on what we

brought here. We would go with their spacesuits and their highly technical knowledge that they've instilled to avoid getting sick when treating those

who are in need.

But frankly, this is more about just having some basic things like chlorine and water and all of this to protect yourself but also just to calm

yourself down in what can be a very emotional and scary reporting trip.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STOUT: David McKenzie there. And David is now heading into the so-called hot zone. If you can get the latest from him on air and also on Twitter.

He shared details like this, nobody shaking hands in Freetown. It's seemingly small but very disconcerting. #ebola.

David also covered an Ebola outbreak two years in Western Uganda. And he posted this perspective on the current epidemic. He said that the outbreak

he went to in 2012 was confined. It was rural. This one spans three countries and has infected three capitals. David McKenzie there.

You're watching NEWS STREAM. And still ahead on the program, rescuers in China. They search for signs of life under heavy concrete on the wake of a

very powerful earthquake.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

STOUT: Coming to you live from Hong Kong, you're back watching NEWS STREAM.

Now disputed surrogacy case in Thailand is raising controversy there and in Australia. Lgami (ph) is now seven months old, a Thai surrogate mother

hired by an Australian couple delivered him and his twin sister back in December. When it came time to take the babies home, the Australian couple

only took one, the girl who was healthy.

Lgami (ph) has Down syndrome and a heart condition.

PATTARAMON JANBUA, THAI SURROGATE MOTHER (through translator): Only the local agency doctors and his parents knew that he had Down syndrome from

the fourth month. During the seventh month of pregnancy, the agency called me and told me that the parents wanted me to terminate the child because he

had Down syndrome.

I told them it's already seven months. I'm not going to. I can't do it.

STOUT (voice-over): Now the surrogate mother is planning to raise the boy and an online campaign has raised more than $200,000. Meanwhile the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation reports that the boy's biological father says he and his wife were never told about the boy. They took the

girl home.

Right now there are no surrogacy laws in Thailand. The Thai cabinet approved draft legislation specifically addressing surrogacy arrangements.

But that was about four years ago. And the country's new military-led government announced plans last month to regulate the industry.

Meanwhile in China rescue workers, they are racing against time. They're hoping to dig out more survivors from Sunday's earthquake as heavy rain is

set to descend in the coming days.

Officials in Southern China are assessing the damage after a deadly quake struck Yunnan province. The 6.1 magnitude earthquake, the biggest in over

a decade, struck at 4:30 pm Sunday afternoon.

Over 380 people died and more than 1,800 were injured. The epicenter of the quake is in a remote and mountainous region of Ludian County. Nearly

30,000 residents have been told to evacuate. In the hardest hit town of Zhaotong, residents fled on foot. Heavy rains and mudslides prevented

rescue vehicles from reaching them. Power and phone outages have further complicated efforts.

According to state television, the quake toppled 12,000 homes and damaged 30,000 structures. Most of the homes in this region are constructed of

bricks, mud and wood. This is the largest quake in Yunnan province since the 7.1 magnitude earthquake in 1974, which killed 1,400 people.

Residents say that the latest quake rocked the region for roughly 30 seconds. Since then, they've experienced over 400 aftershocks.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STOUT: Yunnan is one of the poorest areas of China. Its mountainous terrain means that many of its villages are remote including the city of

Zhaotong, hit very hard this time. But the region is no stranger to disastrous earthquakes. In 2008, a 7.9 quake shook the neighboring Sichuan

province, killing more than 87,000 people.

It has been billed as a cease-fire but an Israeli strike and rocket launches from Gaza have been reported in the past few hours. I'll bring

you a live update on the situation in the Middle East when we return.

Also ahead: signs of program in a landmark medical case. We'll bring you an update on the first patient ever to be treated on U.S. soil for the

Ebola virus.

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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

STOUT: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. You're watching NEWS STREAM and these are your world headlines.

A seven-hour humanitarian cease-fire is underway in Gaza. Hamas has not agreed to the truce. And the Gaza health ministry says Israeli forces

struck a refugee camp shortly after the cease-fire took effect, killing at least one child.

Israel denied that incident; three rockets were fired from Gaza during the truce.

Damaged roads are hampering rescue efforts in China's Yunnan province, leaving some villages cut off. A 6.1 magnitude earthquake hit the remote

mountainous area Sunday afternoon. At least 398 people have been killed. More than 1,800 are injured.

Now a surrogate mother in Thailand says she is grateful for a crowdfunding campaign that has raised more than $200,000 for the baby boy she gave birth

to. He has Down syndrome. An Australian couple hired the woman as a surrogate and she was pregnant with twins but she says that the couple only

took the girl.

Now the couple tell the Australian Broadcasting Corporation they did know about the boy.

Let's return now to our top story this hour, the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

John Vause joins us live now from Gaza and the latest in Gaza today -- John.

VAUSE: Hey, Kristie. Well, we are about two hours left in this temporary lull in the fighting which was announced by Israel and never agreed to by

Hamas. The streets here have been busy; this city has really sprung to life. There hasn't been this long a pause in the fighting, at least for

the Israeli side here in 10 days. There are many people took this opportunity. They've hit the streets. The shops are open. They're in the

marketplaces. They're getting money out of the bank. They're heading home to get medical supplies. In some areas people are heading off those

neighborhoods which were flattened by the Israelis during this military campaign. They're pulling bodies out from under all of the debris. And

there is that accusation from the Palestinians that there was an airstrike 20 minutes into this humanitarian window in what's known as the Shafti

camp. It's the beach camp here. It's a refugee camp claiming that at least 30 people were hurt. And an 8-year old was killed. The Israelis are

saying they're looking into it. They're not entirely sure what may or may not have happened. There is always the possibility that maybe it was a

militant rocket which misfired, landed on the house. Those kind of things have happened before. So certainly there is the accusation and once again

the Israelis are looking into what may or may not have happened.

We're also getting reaction from Hamas to that incident in East Jerusalem, where the tractor-trailer digger (ph) driver attacked a bus in Central

Jerusalem. If I could just have this here, we are asking all people to basically -- oh, I'm sorry. Can we get that.?

Basically, essentially, they are praising the driver who carried out the attack in East Jerusalem. Now the Israelis are calling this a terror

attack. That's from the police. The motivation, though, is yet to be confirmed. But clearly from Hamas, there is praise for the driver who

carried out that attack.

STOUT: So reaction from Hamas, praise from Hamas on the back of that terror attack on a bus in Jerusalem. We just reported the fallout of an

airstrike in Gaza City earlier today.

Meanwhile, John, what is the situation in Rafa? It's a day after a U.N.- run school was hit. I understand that Israel, the ground operation's still underway there.

What's happening?

VAUSE: Yes. This was a limited cease-fire, if you like. The Israelis said it would only apply to those areas where it was no longer operating.

But they are still operating in the south, essentially winding up the last of that operation to destroy all of Hamas' tunnel networks or at least the

tunnels that they've managed to find over the last couple of days, the last week or so. So the ground operation continues in Rafa and the death toll

continues to climb there. There have been a number of fatalities down south as well.

But what is interesting is that we have heard from the Red Cross, Red Crescent. They've been able to get some medical supplies into Rafa

hospital. They've also been able to get some humanitarian supplies into Gaza as well. So that is an indication maybe it's winding up as well, if

you can get the humanitarian trucks down there, then maybe the fighting is easing up.

But certainly the Israelis saying that Rafa is an ongoing military operation and once that's done, those troops will pull back -- Kristie.

STOUT: You know, it's interesting. On the face of it it seems that given the airstrikes and the rocket fire that today's humanitarian truce is

broken. But you're reporting that humanitarian aid is indeed or some of it getting into Rafa, getting into Gaza, much needed aid.

The mood amongst civilians there, John, what is the latest thinking there about whether Hamas should agree and enforce a lasting -- not humanitarian,

but a lasting full-term cease-fire?

VAUSE: Well, look, what the people here want, they don't want a temporary cease-fire. They want that list of demands which Hamas has put out time

and time and time again. And they did it again in Cairo. They were saying that for this fighting to end, for there to be any kind of cease-fire, they

want the borders open. They want Gaza rebuilt. They want the siege, in their words, lifted. And they are adamant. And when you talk to people,

they do want all of this fighting to end. They certainly want this to come to some kind of conclusion. But it seems the more they lose, the more

determined they are that it has to be for something worthwhile. They have to have something to show for it.

What appears to be happening right now, at least from the Israeli point of view, is there is this unilateral withdrawal. If the Israeli government

does not have to agree to any kind of cease-fire, that in the future, it will not be bound by that cease-fire.

So -- which gives them a lot of flexibility or leeway, if you like, to continue these operations. They won't be bound by any agreement that they

have or do not have with Hamas. And that's kind of I think where this is all heading. You have the Israelis on one side, willing to continue with

these operations; Hamas will continue to fire their rockets, maybe try to continue with these attacks out of whatever tunnel, infrastructure is left.

The Israelis are determined to make sure that Hamas has nothing to say to this.

One last thing we have for this, this is from Hamas.

"We are asking people to resist however they can and we praise the Jerusalem attack." -- Kristie.

STOUT: John Vause with the board there from Hamas' reaction to that terror attack on the bus in Jerusalem, praising that attack. John Vause with the

latest from Gaza and across the Middle East, thank you, John.

And in a moment, we will take you live to the U.S. hospital that is treating a known case of Ebola for the first time ever. Two American

missionaries became sick while caring for Ebola patients in Liberia. The virus has killed nearly 730 people in West Africa since March.

Against the backdrop of that Ebola outbreak, the United States is hosting the first-ever U.S.-Africa leaders summit. The outbreak was not officially

on the agenda, though it is expected to be discussed. But the presidents of Sierra Leone and Liberia, they have canceled their trips to Washington

because of the crisis.

More than 40 African heads of state are attending the three-day summit end up boosting trade, investment and develop.

Of course China has been building up its presence in Africa for decades now. And Howard French is the author of "China's Second Continent," how a

million migrants are building a new empire in Africa. He joins me now live from CNN Nairobi.

Howard, welcome to the program. Good to see you. And first, I have to ask you about the headline of the last few weeks or so.

How will the Ebola outbreak be addressed at this U.S.-Africa summit in Washington?

HOWARD FRENCH, AUTHOR: Good to be with you, too, Kristie. I expect that the Obama administration will be among many other things rolling out a lot

of public health assistance to the West African countries that are most directly hit by the Ebola crisis and also there will be a lot of

consultation by African heads of state even beyond that immediate subregion, talking about measures to take to prevent the spread of the

disease and the communication of this sickness from one country to another, to protect countries that haven't so far been affected.

STOUT: And with Ebola dominating the headlines and there will likely be some confrontations, some very tense discussions at the summit over the

issue, do you think this is going to be a setback for the original intention of the summit, a setback for Africa to keep the focus on trade

and on development during this summit?

FRENCH: Well, the timing is very unfortunate. And no one would have wished for this. Having -- this is an unprecedented summit event itself

and having some high-level conversations between United States and Africa about business and investment are infrequent. And so to the extent that

this distracts from that I think it'll be regretted all around.

However, it seems that there's quite a bit of business interest in the United States in this summit and beyond the participation of President

Obama and his Cabinet and various members of Congress. I think behind the scenes there will be a tremendous degree of interaction business wise

between the visiting heads of state and their delegations and American corporations.

STOUT: And this is the point where we have to talk about China. I mean, in terms of trade, the United States has not been as proactive about

pushing into Africa. Definitely that is not the case for China. How has China been economically engaging with Africa?

FRENCH: China identified Africa as a priority area for outward investment and trade beginning in the mid-1990s. And it has been very disciplined

about that.

John Zuman (ph), the president back in the '90s, announced a policy in 1996 called Going Out and he basically set Chinese provinces in competition with

each other to see which ones could drum up the most business with Africa. And this began with infrastructure, lots of Chinese construction companies

going out to African countries striking up Chinese finance project work and sending large teams of workers to build ports, to build airports, highway

systems, railways, et cetera. And these workers who went off to build these initial projects eventually some percentage in each case, these

workers would stay on. And as they began to conduct individual business through their own enterprise in Africa, this sort of unleashed a kind of

emulation effect. The stories of their success went back home to China, circulated and lots of ordinary Chinese, so to speak, discovered Africa for

the first time and have been flowing into the continent ever since then in large numbers.

STOUT: And quite a number of Chinese workers have stayed on in Africa. In fact, you call Africa China's second continent. There's now more than a

million Chinese citizens who have permanently made the move to Africa. At the end of the day, do you think this is a good thing? I mean, will it

lead to more trade development deals, more prosperity or more exploitation?

FRENCH: I think you're going to get a mixture of both of those kinds of outcomes. Chinese people coming to set up shop in Africa, bringing their

own investment money, starting their own enterprises, forming partnerships with Africans will create business on the ground and employment in many

cases.

In other cases, it will create friction with Africans who feel that they are not being given the right kind of employment or advancement

opportunities or that they're not being treated fairly or according to the rules of local labor law, et cetera.

And so you're seeing a very mixed picture in various places.

I have to say overall though, that Africa is in a very particular moment economically speaking, if one can speak so generally.

The continent has been growing very fast, that it has in a demographic moment of a great bulge in terms of its youth population. And Africa needs

partnerships. And so it's on African governments to set the terms with China that are advantageous to African countries and to make sure that

Chinese who come here to do business, just like Americans or Europeans who come here to do business, respect the laws and observe the rules as they're

supposed to.

STOUT: Africa, as you say, needs partnerships. Partnerships of China with the U.S., other nations across the world, Howard French, we'll leave it at

that. Howard French joining me live, thank you very much indeed. Take care.

STOUT: You're watching NEWS STREAM. And still to come on the program, as ceremonies around the world mark 100 years since the start of World War I,

we remember a British family that lost four sons in the conflict.

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STOUT: Welcome back. Time now for your global weather forecast. Downpours are soaking Japan, leading to some significant flooding there.

Details with Samantha Mohr. She joins us from the World Weather Center -- Sam.

SAMANTHA MOHR, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hey, oh, my goodness, this is really going to be something as we head in through this week, because we're going

to see another huge rainmaker in the form of powerful Typhoon Halong, moving in across some already flooded country here, across much of southern

Japan specifically. And that's what's left of Nikri (ph), now just a tropical depression. And you can still see we have some clouds over Japan

and some of these are still dropping some rain, but not like the rain we have had so far. In fact, take a look at this. The heaviest rain we had

was just east of that tropical storm. Then it became a depression and moved over the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula, very, very slowly.

So we had some incredible rainfall amounts coming out of southern Japan and in fact some areas picked up over 400 millimeters of rain and it rained for

38 hours, consecutively here, across Kochi, Japan. Look at that, since Saturday 800 millimeters of rain. The monthly average, 368 millimeters.

So 800 millimeters of rain, that's more than the annual rainfall for places like Paris and Rome.

And San Francisco, all in the course of about 38 hours. And sometimes coming down at around 2 cms per hour, just incredible. So they're dealing

with scenes like this across South Korea. See that guy on the beach? This is Hyundai (ph) Beach in Buson (ph), Korea. And look at all of the debris

that is strewn over the beach there, a lot of cleanup obviously is going to be going on here across the region.

And it is going to continue a slow path across the Korean Peninsula. And we're going to end up seeing more flooding rain here as more accumulations,

about 3-6 additional inches expected here in Kochi over into Osaka. But that 38 consecutive hours of rain has ended. But they'll still the rain

off and on. And then another rainmaker on its way in. This is Halong. It was a supertyphoon. Now it's down a bit with those max sustained winds at

195 kph, gusts to 240. So that would be equivalent to about a category 4 hurricane. And it's going to continue moving off to the north here. It's

going to be heading for Okinawa as we head into the next 72 hours and then towards the end of the week, it's going to be moving over Japan, bringing

in more concerns about flooding, Kristie. So we're going to have to very concerned about this continued flooding situation as we head later on into

the week with the second typhoon moving in.

STOUT: Yes, a lot of concerns about flooding. Samantha Mohr there with the storm warning for us -- thank you. Take care, Sam.

You're watching NEWS STREAM. And still to come, remembering the First World War, a ceremony in Liege (ph), Belgium, marks 100 years since the

start of the war to end all wars.

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STOUT: One hundred years ago today (INAUDIBLE) declared war on Germany. That declaration escalated the existing conflict and led to what is now

generally regarding as the start of World War I. And earlier today, heads of state, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and the king of Belgium all

gathered in Liege, Belgium, for a commemoration ceremony. A minute of silence was observed. Cannons were fired and 9,000 balloons were released.

It's estimated that more than 9 million soldiers were killed in the war.

With so many lives lost, it was not uncommon for people to lose many family members. In fact, in one British family, four sons volunteered to fight

and none of them made it home. A fifth son was spared. Nick Glass has their moving story.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You can see (INAUDIBLE) faces because it's nearly 100 years old. It says here the four sons of Cpl. and Mrs. Shallis (ph) of

Houston, all fallen in action.

NICK GLASS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Just a few treasured relics of the Shallis boys have survived. The tattered, much-fingered old newspaper

cutting, a few vintage photographs and a clutch of their medals from the great war. But altogether, they're enough to tell the saddest of stories

of glorious sacrifice and one mother's unfathomable grief.

(INAUDIBLE) Kate Shallis had 10 children, seven boys, three girls. They lived at a modest corner house, 10 Ranley (ph) Road in Halsden (ph) in

North London. As a boy, George had lied about his age and joined the army at 15 or 16. As a patriotic 53-year-old dad, he reenlisted in 1914. He

encouraged his own lads to join up, too.

His oldest boy, a Naval stoker, also called George, died first, age 26. He went down with his ship when it hit a mine off Northern Ireland.

But Shallis, an Army private, was killed in action at Gallipoli in what is now Turkey. He was 21.

Harry Shallis also with the infantry was killed on the Western Front in France. He was the youngest of the four, just 20.

The last brother killed at Liege, Shallis, like George and Mable Stoker, died in the battle of Jutland (ph). He was 24.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Two of them died within the same week which for my grandmother, you just think how did she cope?

GLASS (voice-over): They had all been dutiful sons, writing postcards back to 10 Ranley Road, always to Mother, not Father. How desolate she must

have been, four sons lost in less than a year and a half. In the National Archives at Cuen (ph), West London, we discovered what happened to the

fifth and oldest surviving boy, John Gordon Shallis, known in the family as Jack, age 19, he was spared military service.

And here's the reason for the exemption. Mother has lost four sons, four underlined, husband away on home defense. He's her only boy left.

In 1927, more than a decade after she lost her four boys, Kate Shallis attended the annual remembrance day at the Senate Half (ph) in London. And

she reflected on the day in her national newspaper. She was by then 60, a faintly shrunken figure in black, proudly wearing her sons' campaign

medals.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I felt that the King and Queen and (INAUDIBLE) and the masses of people were just one big family, thinking together the same

dear thoughts of our (INAUDIBLE) sons that had died for us. I could see the Queen's face quite clearly. I felt she was proud of my four boys, who

gave her lives for king and country and that she was sorry for me. I felt proud of my four sons and their courage. I felt proud that I was their

mother.

GLASS (voice-over): Kate and George Shallis are buried in the local cemetery in Wolsden (ph) near their own home. Their sons' names are

engraved on the gravestone, too, George, Leo, Bert and Harry, the Shallis boys. Their bodies, of course, never came home, lost at sea or buried in

anonymous graves where they fell -- Nick Glass, CNN, in North London.

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STOUT: And before we go, I want to show another way that Britain is remembering the fallen, the Tower of London is being flooded with poppies,

a traditional symbol to honor those who died in battle. The moat will be filled with precisely 888,246 ceramic poppies to represent a British or

colonial military fatality during the so-called Great War.

The last one will be planted on November the 11th, of course, that's Remembrance Day.

And that is NEWS STREAM. But the news continues at CNN. "WORLD BUSINESS TODAY" is next.

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