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welcome back. i'm errol barnett. >> and i'm rosemary church. the cease-fire between israel and hamas has just passed the 24-hour mark. many gaza residents got a chance to return to their neighborhoods tuesday, only to find scenes of utter devastation. the u.n. estimates it could take 4 to $6 billion to rebuild. a second american is now being treated for ebola in the u.s. nancy writebol arrived from liberia tuesday and joins dr. kent brantly in a highly secured treatment area. meanwhile, the outbreak has british airways suspending flights to liberia and sierra leone through august. the top u.s. military officer said his forces serve where they are often at risk after hearing of the shooting death of an american general in afghanistan. major general harold greene was

killed and 15 coalition troops wounded when an afghan soldier opened fire at a training base in afghanistan. the shooter was killed by return fire. you've got to hear this incredible story out of china. an 88-year-old woman has been rescued after being buried under earthquake rubble for more than two days. sunday's powerful quake killed at least 589 people, but crews are still searching for survivors. officials say nine people are missing. israeli and palestinian negotiators are in cairo today for what are being called indirect talks to bring a lasting peace, hopefully, to israel and gaza. >> egyptian officials are expected to act as go between. and that's because israel and hamas refuse to talk face-to-face. >> meantime, israel says it's withdrawn all of its ground forces from gaza after destroying the network of tunnels used to launch attacks on israel. now both sides are come together negotiating table with dands

moving forward. >> it's crucial that hamas is not allowed to rearm. there's a signed palestinian commitment that gaza should be demilitarized. it's time the international community got behind and insisting that palestinians meet their own commitments. and it's crucial as a first step that we don't allow hamas to import more rockets from iran, that we don't seek money building hamas military machine again and we don't see hamas dig more tunnels so they can send those death squads into israel. >> i see this as really blackmail. i don't think there should be any trade between reconstructions of gaza and humanitarian aid, relief aid and demilitarization of gaza. the demilitarization of gaza should be part of a final status negotiations. the problem is not the armament of hamas or disarmament of hamas. the most serious problem that the palestinians are fighting, whether it is in jerusalem, in the west bank, in gaza is occupation.

we have not to deal with the symptoms. we have to deal with the roots of the problem. >> let's talk a bill more about this now with our matthew chance live for us in jerusalem. we heard a bit there, matthew, what each sides are looking to gain out of going into these it's talks. but really into a time when rockets and missiles aren't flying. but what is this worth? what does israel want to accomplish in cairo? >> reporter: well, you heard mark regev there, the government spokesman, saying what he wants from these negotiations in cairo, a demilitarization of the gaza strip. and then to the rocket attacks, ability to prevent hamas and the other militant groups that operate inside the gaza strip from rearming themselves after their abilities have been severely battered by this four-week campaign by the israeli military. that's what israel has sent its delegation to cairo to try and extract from these negotiations.

on the other side, we then heard from the hamas spokesman there saying that what hamas is looking for is a kind of easing of the israeli occupation of the gaza strip. and an end to what they call the siege of gaza, the opening up of borders to allow the free flow of people and goods in and out of the gaza strip. plus they want that situation the damaged infrastructure to be rebuilt. and so very different positions these two parties are going to these negotiations from. and that means it's difficult to see how both sides or either side is going to come away with what they want, errol. >> i thought what you said to me last hour was interesting when i asked about the israeli mood. i want to touch on that again. after this most recent battle, do you get the sense that the opinions there have changed at all as far as what people are willing to see done to maintain

the peace? >> reporter: as i mentioned, i'm not really getting the sense that this conflict and the terrible bloodshed that we've seen on the palestinian side, and indeed the loss of israeli lives as well, has led to a sort of new way of thinking in israel. i think it's led to a certain amount of support for the israeli government and their policy of striking hard at palestinian militants in gaza in response to their rocket attacks. and the message from israel that if they do that again, the same scenario will be repeated. there'll be more strikes. there'll be more military action. israel will return fire if it's fired upon. you don't get the sense, speaking toizlys, reading the newspapers here, watching the television here, that this conflict has led to a renewed debate in israel about the need to implement a two-state solution, the need to go back to serious negotiations to end the

israeli occupation of the palestinian territories. which is a shame, of course. but at the same time, that's not the feeling you get seeing the media here and seeing people speak on television. >> yes. that's also concerning too, matthew. because without a change of thinking on either side, it's highly likely we could find ourselves in this situation once again sometime soon. matthew chance, live for us in jerusalem. thanks. all right. we want to turn now to the crisis in ukraine. a nato official tells cnn there are now about 20,000 russian troops massed along ukraine's eastern border. that is 8,000 more than last week. meanwhile, ukrainian forces are making steady gains around the city of donetsk. a stronghold of pro-russia

separatists. and there are fears the military's advance could spark a wider conflict. our nick paton walsh is covering the conflict from the center of donetsk. just a short time ago he spoke to anderson cooper about gun shots ringing out just a few meters away. >> reporter: it's so quiet here in central donetsk. we have to keep our voices down. but intermittently we've heard heavy gun fire now in what looks like the very center of donetsk. it seems like an exchange of fire. rpgs being used, too. that comes after a day in which the ukrainian military have been advancing toward the city center. the last few hours explosions have been on the skyline to the distance over there. but the key change just in the last half an hour, we've heard sustained automatic gun fire here in central donetsk. a real sign i think the militants must be extraordinarily edgy or perhaps in the worst situation, an

exchange of gun fire with the ukrainian military if they are in fact this close to the city center, anderson. >> how close is the firing to you, nick? >> reporter: i'd say two, three blocks away maximum. pretty close indeed. we are pretty much in the very center of donetsk here. the militants have been filling now the past few days. we drove in yesterday it was clear they were advancing -- retreating back down one of the main highways here into central donetsk. and that matches with what we've seen about ukrainian military positions moving fast towards the city center. the question really is, anderson, as we know there's been a doubling in the number of russian troops on the border here to about 20,000 in just the last week. does that suggest moscow wants to intervene, to assist the separatist militants it's backed thus far here? or are we looking at a separatist movement here which is in its last stages of the ukrainian military advances. anderson. >> nick paton walsh there. the west blames russia for supporting ukraine's separatists and fomenting the unrest.

the u.s. and european countries have imposed sanctions on moscow. now russia is considering retaliation. one possibility closing some of its air space to western airlines. now, if it follows through, it would dramatically raise fuel costs and travel time for flights going from europe to asia. sunni militants gain more ground in northern iraq. coming up, thousands of people flee the fighting and religious persecution. also u.s. president barack obama welcomes african leaders to washington, d.c. why the west is trying to catch up to china when it comes to business ties on the african continent. stay with cnn. owners won't have a claim. that's why allstate claim free rewards gives you money back for every year you don't have one. and why if you're part of the other 5%, allstate offers claim rateguard. so your rates won't go up just because of a claim.

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i want to turn to iraq now and isis militants there continue to force thousands to flee their homes. unicef officials say 40 yazidi

children that's part of a religious minority in the northern city of sinja have died. >> unicef says they died as a direct consequence of violence, displacement and dehydration. all of this over the past few days. the group says up to 25,000 children are now stranded in the mountains around sinja and are in dire need of humanitarian aid. iraqi christians are also being threatened by isis militants. >> yes. such a serious situation for so many different groups, everybody really in iraq right now. the islamic state's sweep into northern iraq has driven many to flee or go might hoog after threats on their lives. our michael holmes has more. >> reporter: an ancient mosque said to be the burial site of the prophet jonah gone in a cloud of dust. one of iraq's holiest sites revered by multiple faiths, including christians, destroyed by isis militants. since taking over iraq's

northern city of mosul in june, the sunni extremist group has targeted a number of shia mosques, religious shrines, and cracked down on minorities including christians. this flyer orders them to convert to islam, pay a religious tax, or face death by the sword. the threat prompted thousands of christians to flee mosul in june. some left with little more than the clothes on their backs. >> these families were expelled from their homes on very short notice. they were told to get into their cars and leave. on their way, they were stopped. they were stripped of their possessions. many had their i.d.s taken. and they were told to simply walk away with the clothes they were wearing. >> reporter: thousands of displaced christians have sought refuge in iraq's semiautonomous kurdish region, many receiving aid from u.n. sites like this church in urbel.

iraq's christians once numbered more than a million. but since the u.s.-led invasion of 2003, most have fled the country. and isis's arrival in mosul has effectively ended a presence there. one dating back to the earliest days of christianity. the head of iraq's largest church calls the prospects for christians frightening. >> translator: the future of christians is uncertain. if practical solutions are not realized, then the number of christians will go down. >> reporter: hundreds of iraqi christians carrying banners and chanting slogans recently marched to the u.n. office in urbil demanding a stop to what they saw the genocide targeting their faith. >> translator: this is a crime against iraq. christians and muslims, we live together as brothers for a long time. we just want the peace and love. >> reporter: from baghdad to washington, isis's persecutions

of christians has been internationally condemned. >> this humanitarian situation is extremely serious and heart-breaking particularly when it comes to christian minorities and other vulnerable groups. >> reporter: but little is being done. and iraqi christians who have said mass in mosul for more than 1800 years are now gone, forced to observe their faith elsewhere now. michael holmes, cnn. >> all right. we've talked a lot lately about the ebola virus and that crisis. in a way it's kind of overshadowed an important summit of african leaders in washington. but u.s. president barack obama closed out the three-day meeting tuesday with a promise of billions of dollars in investment >> yes. earlier, former u.s. president bill clinton said that american businesses have barely scratched the surface of opportunities in africa. and the ceo of global constructions company, caterpillar, agrees. listen. >> there's lots of reasons until

the past. 50 some countries very tough to do business with, bureaucratic. suddenly africa is finding their way. most countries there have emerging nicely. i think at this point in time the americans better wake up, all of us, and do all we can to make sure we're invested there, we're partners there. there's great business opportunities. there's great individuals there. i've met a number of them this morning. an the opportunities are endless, i think, for the next 10 to 20 years. >> the fact is, the u.s. and europe are really trailing far behind china when it comes to investment in africa. i definitely saw this during my travels in every single country. many people saying where is the u.s.? they certainly do need to catch up. >> china very much front and center there. we break down the numbers. >> washington maybe on a charm offensive with the leading u.s. companies supporting the obama administration's effort to make africa a priority, but it's fair to say china has led this foray to the cons nent a decade ago.

premiere continued beijing's high profile outreach in may on this four-country eight-day tour of africa which included the large markets of nigeria and ethiopia. on that visit he promised another $12 billion of aid, taking the money pledged by china to $30 billion. a global emerging markets there's talk of an african renaissance. here's evidence of that in terms of for direct investment. that's the figure going back to 2000. it was nearly $35 billion. but look at where it zoomed up in the last 12 to 14 years. the latest figure for 2012, $246 billion of overall foreign direct investment. china leads the way at $18 billion. but you can see it is below 10%. so there's space to grow here. here are the top five destinations for chinese investment into africa. led by south africa. the most mature economy. the large consumer market of nigeria, 170 million consumers. this is the so-called ex traction belt. congo, zambia, zimbabwe.

ethiopia a very large market as well. china has spaced criticism for practicing neocolonialism. its effort to export goods and extract natural resources, especially oil and the strategic minerals i was talking about. a handful of countries from milawi to zambia have introduced -- realizing there will be more competition as the continent continues to grow about 6% a year. cnn, abu dhabi. all right. a short break now. but just ahead it was billed as one of the biggest mergers in american media history. but now the deal is off. we will tell you why time warner and 21st century fox are not coming together now. now, do you have a trip planned for hawaii? if so, listen up. two storms threatening the islands as we speak. we'll get the forecast for you after the break.

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well, it could have been the biggest media merger in recent history, but 21st century fox has now withdrawn its offer to acquire time warner, the parent company of cnn. >> we've all been talking about this, everyone throughout the network of course watching this closely. but we're not sure what to make of this. the news of this merger not happening, this bid being withdrawn, sent 21st century fox shares surging in after-hours trading. just the opposite for time warner. alison kosik has more. >> reporter: two media heavy weights delivered their corporate report cards to wall street on wednesday. but the numbers from 21st

century fox and time warner are likely to take a backseat to the real drama, rupert murdoch's thirst for time warner, parent of cnn. murdoch's 21st century fox has offered $85 a share for time warner. time warner rejected the bid saying it could deliver better shareholder value by standing alone. now both sides could make their case as they report quarterly results. 21st century fox is expected to post profits of 38 cents a share on nearly $8 billion in revenue. but one large fox investor tells us the market is worried about murdoch's discipline when it comes to deal making, pointing to the $5 billion purchase of dow jones and the "wall street journal." that deal ultimately led to a $2.8 billion writedown in profits. investors have punished fox shares since the offer was announced on july 16th. they're down about 9%. shares of time warner have surged up about 20%. the company is expected to post 84 cents a share on revenues of

$6.9 billion. the big question for those shareholders? can time warner step growing its business without a merger partner. look for the company to make that case especially since no one expects rupert murdoch to go away. shareholders are expecting him to come back with a sweetened bid. and if it's high enough, time warner may have to open the door to talks. in new york, i'm alison kosik. egypt says it is planning to build a new suez canal. the move is an attempt to expand trade on the busy shipping route between europe and asia. the proposed canal is to run along the existing waterway which opened back in 1869. the suez canal is said to earn egypt about $5 billion per year. president insisi is hoping this massive project will be completed in one year. today is a big day for scientists at the european space agency. they're hoping the rosetta

spacecraft will finally catch up with the comet it's been chasing for the past ten years. it's a love story, really. the mission is to put the spacecraft in the comet as orbit. come november send a robotic lander to its surface. that would of course be a huge first space exploration. next hour we'll be joined by a writer for space.com to talk more about why this is such a significant achievement and what we can all hope to learn from the mission. hawaii is a holiday destination, a tropical paradise. >> but not over the next few days. we've got these two massive storms on their way. pedram if i've got my trip booked should i cancel? >> it might be a good bet if you don't want to spend it with a lot of rainfall. an unusual set of circumstances here bringing these storms in very close proximity to hawaii. looks like at least one of them could be directly impacting the islands. quite unusual to see this sort

of a setup. last time we had a tropical storm or hurricane make landfall in the hawaiian islands was iniki back in 1992789 you've got to go back 24 years. prior to that it was 1959. these lines here indicative of all tropical storms in history and hurricanes that have impacted the islands. 11 named storms have come within 60 miles of 100 kilometers of the islands but only two being hurricane dot and hurricane iniki have made landfall there across portions of hawaii, way on the western side across this region. very unusual to see this. you look at the current satellite perspective, iselle sitting in place. we have julio right behind it. don't see that too often. one good thing to note is the cool waters on the eastern side of the hawaiian islands typically weaken storms. part of the reason why they don't get impacted as frequently. the hawaiian islands make up 1.0% of the surface area of the pacific ocean which is 64 million square miles across. very unusual for the two to come together. but you take a look at this point, zoom out the perspective, look about 800 miles to the east

of the islands and you have what was a very symmetrical, incredibly beautiful storm system when it comes to the rarity of all quadrants of the storm system very symmetrical in place. we call an annular hurricane. 4% of all hurricanes are this organized with a lot of thunderstorm activity right around the eye wall as impressive as this one. this particular storm beginning to maintain a little bit of strength. we have seen some weakening take place because of the cooler waters we just touched on. wind down to about 100 miles per hour which would be a category -- a weak category 2 equivalent storm system. it will begin to push in toward the islands friday into saturday. officials there saying we don't want to scare you but if you're vacationing, you've got to make the proper precautions, having a seven-day preparation kit in place. perhaps putting up boards around your property if you do the not want to take on water and flooding. julio sits behind it. julio has a very similar track to iselle right towards the islands, potentially a little to the north of it.

but we've never seen this before with two storms coming in one after another for this part of the world, guys >> yes, amazing, isn't it? >> absolutely. >> thanks, pedram. all right. we bring such bad news for the most part. we thought we might close out this hour at least with something a little cheery. two surfers were joined this week by a very special guest off the northeastern coast of england. >> take a look at this. a young seal! not the singer, the animal. crashed their surf session and climbed onto their boards. they caught the whole thing on a go pro camera as everybody does these days. the seal reportedly hung out with them for over an hour. according to one of the men was surfing like a pro. some say it's a bad idea. seals can bite you and all sorts of stuff in their mouths. but a quite cool guest there. >> it could work the other way. but lucky to meet pretty good guys there. >> have you hit the waves, rose snaer. >> -- rosemary? >> oh, yes. all the time.

>> don't think she's serious about that. >> that does it for this hour of cnn's special coverage. i'm rosemary church. >> i'm errol barnett. we're back after the break with the day's biggest stories. to combine solar and natural gas at the same location. during the day, we generate as much electricity as we can using solar. at night and when it's cloudy, we use more natural gas. this ensures we can produce clean electricity whenever our customers need it. ♪

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