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Greeks Vote Against Austerity; Greek Finance Minister Steps Down; Turks Protest Against Perceived Anti-Muslim Policies in China; American Women Win World Cup; Pope Greeted by Tens of Thousands During His Visit to Ecuador. Aired 8:00a-9:00p ET

Aired July 06, 2015 - 8:00   ET

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


[08:00:31] MANISHA TANK, HOST: Hi, I'm Manisha Tank in Hong Kong. A warm welcome to News Stream.

Greeks push back and vote against austerity and Europe's bailout. We're following the referendum repercussions.

Plus, Pope Francis visits three of the poorest nations in South America. We're live from his first stop Ecuador.

And American women win the World Cup for an unprecedented third time, but defending champions Japan went down fighting.

Now that Greek voters have said a firm no to the terms of its international bailout, Athens is looking for a way forward, and for a new

finance minister as well. Despite overwhelming support for his anti- austerity policies, the Greek finance minister resigned a few hours ago saying the government would find it easier to negotiate a way out of the

debt crisis without him.

And a short time ago, the Greek prime minister wrapped up a strategy meeting with leaders of the political opposition.

Well, on the streets of Athens, crowds cheered the referendum result. The government had campaigned hard for that no vote, and surprisingly

managed to get it by a wide margin.

But outside of banks, we have seen in the last week absolutely heartbreaking scenes like this one, for example. And Greeks have started

this week like the last, queuing up from dawn at ATMs desperate to get their hands on some cash.

The big fear now that banks could soon run out of euros if Europe doesn't turn the tap back on.

Well, the president of the euro group of finance ministers has called the referendum result regrettable for the future of Greece.

So, let's gauge the mood on the streets of the capital. Isa Soares joins us now live from Athens. Isa, just a moment ago, we saw a fairly

heartbreaking photograph of an older gentlemen lying on the floor outside a bank clearly really disheartened by what's been happening.

But that was before this resounding no on Sunday. What's the mood like now?

ISA SOARES, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think there is definitely a feeling of triumph as well as trepidation, Manisha. Many

people pleased they were able to to vote in a referendum that would dictate the future of their countries. They see as themselves having control of

the way they want their country to go.

At the same time, many fears about what the next days will bring, because like you said very clearly, people like that gentleman that was on

the floor, people queuing, some of them can get access to the 60 euros, but you can see the queue behind me, there's another ATM just on the corner.

And people have been queuing from early morning to late in the evening trying to get their 60 euros. We just do not know, Manisha, how much money

there is left in the Greek banking system. We just don't know.

We know that the deep freeze, we know that they're running out of money like three days ago when there was 1.5 billion euros, according to

one source, that was -- that Greek money -- that Greek banks had in the system.

We just don't know how much longer it can last. And the fear is now that if ECB, which is meeting today, doesn't up, doesn't keep increasing

the cash, doesn't push more money into the Greek banking system, well those 60 euros, well that could potentially could down to 20 euros. And that is

the fear.

And if it goes down that way, Manisha, if it goes down that route, then we can see the mood on the street change dramatically in the next

couple of days.

TANK: But what was also very interesting, Isa, was we spoke to you a lot last week. And, you know, we spoke to so many economists and so-called

experts on everything that's been happening in Greece. And I don't think there were many, and even the opinion polls showed it, who thought that

there would be a no vote at the end of the day.

So despite the fact that people had to queue up like this, clearly they've been really upset by what's gone on. And what they've been asked

to do by the euro group. Would you say that's true?

SOARES: Well, I think to a certain extent. And I think the rhetoric we've had from both sides hasn't helped. As I was talking to Greeks

yesterday, Manisha, as the results were coming in, one lady was saying to me that she felt like she had a gun against her head in terms of the

options.

The minute that she said that she said that she heard from Europe that this was a referendum about euro versus the drachma, she said I think that

Europe lost a lot of support and I think a lot of people went into the no cam, because they didn't like fear, this feeling of feeling threatened by

Europe that why should they be frightened. This is their own country. Sure, they need help, but they don't need pity. And I think that is the

voice that we're getting from the Greek people.

We want to be part of Europe. 75 percent of people want to be in the euro, want to be part of Europe, but that doesn't mean they should accept

every single term that is put to them, and that is the concern with five years of austerity they're saying, look, the austerity here hasn't worked.

So, yes, we want a bigger bailout, yes we want better terms, but we need also some debt reduction in order to grow once more, Manisha.

[08:05:36] TANK: Well, of course we're already seeing the political repercussions with the finance minister resigning. But we have to leave it

there for now. Isa, thank you very much. Very much getting the mood, gauging the mood there of the Greek people in the wake of this referendum.

Well, tomorrow, is when we expect to hear more from the continents key negotiators about Greece's fate in the euro. The euro group plans to

convene a summit on Tuesday to map out its next steps.

So, let's check in with CNN's Nina Dos Santos in London with the details on that.

And we very much covered the mood in Athens right now, Nina, but what can we expect on the other side of this big -- well, it's not really a

debate, but this big -- what feels like a contest almost that's going on?

NINA DOS SANTOS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You're right, it almost does. At least one of the main protagonists of that contest will be

changing with Yanis Varoufakis now being replaced, we're not quite sure by whom, but again that should alleviate some of the difficult discussions

that are being had with Greece's European creditors.

But, you're right here. We're starting to see in some form the European response starting to gather shape. What we've seen already today

is the vice president of the European Commission Valdis Dombrovskis, the former prime minister of Latvia, a country which itself had to go through

difficult times, albeit no bailouts for that particular nation, he was at pains to stress in a press conference earlier today that Europe does -- is

a continent where Greece belongs, but on the hand Europe should not be held to ransom, if you like, by the outcome of this particular referendum.

Why? Well, largely because after five years of crises and eight years of difficult times for Greece, well, Europe has taken a number of steps to

reinforce its banking system, to try and make sure it's got a structural solid, permanent bailout fund to cope with these kind of issues. So, he's

very much trying to send the message that contagion hopefully shouldn't be an issue.

Now what are the meetings do we have coming up that are important today? The European Central Bank is going to be deciding yet again on the

emergency liquidity for those Greek banks. That'll be another crucial test. And then as we head into tomorrow, that's when the big political

talking starts with the euro group of euro zone finance ministers meeting happening in the morning and then that will head us into a big crisis

summit with the leaders of Europe tomorrow evening in Brussels.

So, lots of decisions. And hopefully Europe will be able to this time speak with one clear voice just as the Greek people themselves have done,

Manisha.

TANK: Of course. So, we'll wait to see about that ECB decision that's of course going to be very important.

But aside from that Nina, this has been going on for some time, the debt problem. So, would you say that the markets have to some extent been

insulated from the no vote?

DOS SANTOS: Well, you've got to remember that what we're talking about here is the final embers of a second bailout for Greece, and that

second bailout included an enormous write down for the private sector creditors. So, a lot of the private Greek debt that was held by big

financial institutions, banks and so on and so forth, has been written down and the pain of that decision was swallowed about three or four years ago

in a very, very fraught set of negotiations that almost -- were almost as fraught as these negotiations, because I covered them firsthand in Brussels

myself.

And what we're seeing now is if indeed Greece does manage to ask for another third bailout, as in deed the country did last week, as Isa was

mentioning before, one of the key things that could position Greece for growth, many economists in the Syriza Party say, is the issue of debt

relief.

What we need to see, they say, written down is not just the private sector debt, which is one of the reasons, as you point out, where the

market losses are limited, but the public sector debt.

Now that's not a popular argument for Europe. Why? Because Europe owns 60 percent of that outstanding debt. And countries like Germany own

the lion's share of that particular 60 percent. So, it's going to be a very unpopular argument for on the one hand Angela Merkel of Germany to

sell to her taxpayers writing off a portion of that debt when German banks themselves have already had to write off a portion of that debt years ago.

And then we've got countries on the fringe of Europe, on the periphery here, Spain and Portugal, heading towards elections towards the end of this

year when they've got their own anti-austerity parties that they've got to watch out for.

So, for all sorts of reasons and ramifications, this no resounding message is going to go down very, very difficulty over the next few days.

And in deed everybody here is still talking about the possibility of that dreaded Grexit.

[08:10:08] TANK: Yeah, but so far the market is down slightly, we saw a glimpse there, but by not too much. OK, Nina, thank you very much.

We'll leave it there. Nina Dos Santos in London.

Well, there has been that uncertainty playing in the markets to some extent. And it did play out in some of the Asia-Pacific stock markets as

well. In this region, as the major markets ended the session lower, the Hong Kong Hang Seng was one of them. It was the biggest loser.

But China finished the day higher, this after Beijing unleashed a series of support measures over the weekend. The question, though, is

whether the impact of those rescues will actually last. Joining me with more on that is CNN's Asia-Pacific editor Andrew Stevens. He's here with

me in Hong Kong.

Andrew, what a rollercoaster of a few weeks it's been since I think mid -- around about mid-June for the Shanghai market in particular.

ANDREW STEVENS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, the rollercoaster is something of an understatement. It really is of a nature.

China marching very much to a different tune, and has been for several months now. About the only key market globally, which really has been

ignoring what's been happening in Europe, because they have problems of their own.

And over the last three weeks, we've seen that massive selloff, a rout, 30 percent down for the Shanghai Composite Index, this is the

benchmark index that we watch. That equates to $2.8 trillion -- that's trillion with a T -- dollars that have been wiped off the value of China's

stocks.

Now, the Chinese government is increasing its efforts to try to put a floor under this fall. Over the weekend, there were new measures

announced. It came in the form of a market stabilization fund, which would be worth about $20 billion. And also the fact that all IPOs will be

banned, at least temporarily, to stop people selling their stocks to cash up to buy into IPOs.

So, these are the measures that are being taken. That comes on top, of course, of interest rate cuts, of moves to make it easier for those with

-- who borrowed money onto buy stocks. So, there's a whole raft of measures coming in.

And what we saw today, Manisha, was the market finishing up 2.4 percent, which will come as a relief, but you've got to temper that with

the fact that the market was up 8 percent at the start of the day. So it came off by 6 percentage points during the course of the day's trade.

So, it really shows that there is still an awful lot of volatility in this market and some way to go before we start seeing things settling down

in China.

TANK: Yeah, a lot of volatility, but of course this is index that is up year to date. Many people are asking, though, you know, are we going to

see is -- are we going to see the end of all of this volatility or are we actually seeing the air come out of a possible bubble?

STEVENS: It's -- well, I think it certainly is coming out of a bubble. I think very few people would argue against the bubble scenario

given that the market was up 150 percent in the course of less than a year. So, yes, the air is coming out of this bubble.

Is it now over? Are we getting close to the bottom? Listen to what one analyst had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK KONYN, CEO, CATHAY CONNING ASSET MANAGEMENT: Short-term, financial markets have been relatively relaxed about this outcome. It's

clearly very significant in an EU and euro zone context, but short-term we've seen some flight to quality. We've seen a pick up in gold price, but

not significantly so.

In Asia, we have the safe haven of a currency, the Yen, which has picked up a little bit. But again, not significantly so.

And we've seen a selloff, a small selloff really in equities.

So, I think markets are waiting to see the political response before we see anyone really pull the trigger.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEVENS: I've got to apologize there. The Gremlins getting into the system Manisha. That was mark Konyn talking about Greece, of course.

What he was also saying, though, in that interview was that he thought that we were starting to get close to the bottom, but there was still a

long way to go.

And to your point that the markets are still ahead overall, he was saying that, yes, people have lost money, but there may be some way to go,

because over the year these markets are still very much in the black.

TANK: OK. Andrew, thanks very much for that. Andrew Stevens there - - well, with us here in Hong Kong.

You're watching News Stream. And coming up, running out of time: Iran and six other world powers have just hours to go before that deadline for a

nuclear deal expires. We have an update just ahead.

And China is the target of furious protests in Istanbul. We'll update you on the anti-China demonstrations in Turkey later in the show.

Also, a historic victory for the United States. The national team dominated the world -- the women's World Cup and set records along the way.

We'll give you the highlights next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:16:44] TANK: You're watching News Stream. And you're looking at a visual version of all the news that we're covering.

We've already told you about the next steps for Greece after the finance minister's resignation. A little later, the pope returns to his

native South America for a week long trip.

But first, after 16 years, the U.S. has regained the women's football title and made history, becoming the first country ever to win three

women's World Cups.

Well, you can't blame them for being happy. The cheers ringing out after the United States scored. They ended up winning 5-2 over defending

champions Japan.

Midfielder Carly Lloyd was the star of the match, leading her team to victory with a spectacular hat trick in the first half.

One of those goals was a stunning shot from midfield.

Well, the match was a huge affair for both American and Japanese football fans. In Japan, the game meant more than just defending their

2011 title. And the loss was a heartbreaking one. Kathy Novak has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATHY NOVAK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Seven-thirty am would ordinarily be a bit early to be hitting a bar. But this was not an ordinary

morning.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a special day today.

NOVAK: Should you be at work right now?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'll get there eventually. But this was important.

NOVAK (voice-over): This Japanese American family wasn't going to miss it. It was basically a win-win situation for them, though they were

cheering for Team USA.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The World Cup only happens once every four years, right? So you can miss one day of school -- or actually only a half-day.

They're going back to school.

NOVAK: Does your teacher know where you are?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. No. No.

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Maybe now she does.

NOVAK (voice-over): The 2011 win lifted spirits in this country, which had been hit earlier that year by the devastating earthquake and tsunami.

These fans were hoping for back-to-back victories. It didn't take long before it was clear just how hard that would be.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Four down in the first half. It's really hard to come back from that, sorry to say. The U.S. team came out. They came out

ready.

NOVAK (voice-over): Plenty of cheers from the small American contingent here. And by halftime, one young fan was predicting the outcome.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's going to be 5-2, maybe.

NOVAK (voice-over): Unfortunately, for Nadeshiko Japan, Ethan (ph) was right.

So a few cheers for the Japan side on the screen behind me and that sentiment shared here at this bar in Tokyo. It cleared out pretty quickly

and not surprising, really. People of course disappointed. And they have to go to work.

But one person I spoke to said that Japan should remain proud of their team.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's not an easy thing to come second place in the World Cup.

NOVAK (voice-over): So much better, of course, to come first, giving these young fans something to celebrate as they headed off to school,

leaving others at the bar to drown their sorrows -- Kathy Novak, CNN, Tokyo.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TANK: Still pretty impressive, they got to the final.

Now the European Union's foreign policy chief says negotiators are very close to a deal with Iran over its nuclear program. The new deadline

for a final agreement is Tuesday. Foreign ministers had been meeting in Vienna to try to resolve the remaining sticking points.

Well, our senior international correspondent Atika Shubert joins us now live from Vienna to talk a bit more about this. Perhaps she can update

us on the latest, Atika.

[08:20:13] ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. It's not quite there yet, clearly. A senior Iranian official told

the press today that this deadline of July 7 is an artificial one and talks could go longer, although is in everyone's interest to actually clinch a

deal here in Vienna.

There is still the possibility, he also said, the foreign minister is going back, but they are here essentially to make those hard choices that

will hopefully, ultimately end in an agreement.

Now, as you can imagine, there are still critics overseas that don't see these talks as the way forward. Prime -- first among them is Israel's

President -- prime minister, excuse me, Benjamin Netanyahu. Take a listen to what he had to say earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, PRIME MINISTER OF ISRAEL: Today we face the possibility that a deal will be signed with Iran, which is the foremost

state sponsor of terrorism in the world. This deal, as far as we can see, comes on almost daily concessions from the P5+1 to growing Iranian demands.

Every day, more concessions are made. And every day, the deal becomes worse and worse.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHUBERT: Well, for many others, of course, it's the alternative that seems worse, which is Iran with nuclear weapons. This deal is designed to

make sure that doesn't happen. And that's why it's taking so long is drilling down on those details of exactly how Iran will comply to any

agreement, and how those sanctions will ultimately be lifted with that compliance, and what happens, if, for example, that compliance is broken.

Are those sanctions put back in place?

So, these are all the kinds of issues that they're trying to nail down. Foreign ministers are here and they will hopefully make a deal soon.

TANK: Yeah, well they have that self-imposed 24 hour deadline from now. But let's see. We'll be checking in with you for sure. Atika, thank

you so much.

Now officials in Iraq say an Iraqi military plane accidentally dropped a bomb on a neighborhood in eastern Baghdad. A security official tells CNN

at least two people were killed and eight were wounded.

Military officials say the bomb fell from a plane due to a technical error.

Still to come here on News Stream, a message of hope from the Holy See. Pope Francis is touring his native continent. He's on a mission for

the poor and for the planet.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:26:25] TANK: The leader of the Roman Catholic Church is set to visit a port city in Ecuador today as he continues his week long tour of

South America. Pope Francis arrived to a window Quito on Sunday, welcomed by massive crowds, a youth orchestra, and government officials, including

Ecuador's President Rafael Correa.

This is the pontiff's first visit to his native continent since 2013.

And after Ecuador, the pope will also visit Bolivia and Paraguay, among the poorest countries in South America.

The Vatican says the pope plans to bring a message of hope.

Well, CNN's Rosa Flores joins us now from Quito in Ecuador to talk a bit more about this significant trip.

I think on two parts, really, he's coming home in a sense. And also he'll bring that very famous diplomacy that he has with him.

ROSA FLORES, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Definitely so. This is a homecoming of sorts for Pope Francis, because this is his home continent.

He was born in Argentina. He's the first Latin American pope, the first Jesuit pope, the first pope to take the name Francis, which is a very

important message for all of these countries that he's visiting. First of all, these countries had large indigenous populations. They have high

poverty rates. They have environmental degradation, all very much in line with his recent encyclical.

But just to give you a little preview of coming attractions, what we're going to see and hear from the pope. Today, like you mentioned, he

heads over to (inaudible) and he celebrates mass with tens of thousands of faithful. In fact, organizers there are already posting pictures on

Twitter. There are faithful there already waiting for him to arrive to celebrate mass with them.

While he's there, he also stops by a Jesuit college where he has an old friend. He's going to visit with that old friend. Then he comes back

here to Quito where he will visit with the president once again this time in private in the presidential palace. The presidential palace is actually

to my left. And it is dressed in white and yellow, the colors of the Vatican. And he will also visit the cathedral that's behind me.

Now there are banners there that say Bienvenido a la Familia, which means Welcome to our Family, the family here in Ecuador, all Ecuadorians

welcoming the pope with open arms -- Manisha.

TANK: OK, Rosa, we're looking forward to more from that trip. Rosa Flores there covering the pontiff's visit to Ecuador, the beginning of that

trip to South America.

Still to come here on News Stream, the Greeks have voted no. Critics say it's irresponsible, but supporters say it's the only way Greece can

grow again. We'll explore both sides as leaders plan the way forward.

Plus, anger simmers on the streets of Istanbul. Protesters demanding the China show respect to Muslims. Details coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TANK: Hi, I'm Manisha Tank in Hong Kong. You're watching News Stream. And these are your world headlines.

European leaders are already reacting to Greeks voting no to the terms of an international bailout. The European Central Bank meets in a few

hours as Greek banks risk running out of cash. Also, in a few hours, the German chancellor is to speak with the French president. The euro group

leaders meet on Tuesday to talk over Greece's fate in the euro.

European Union's foreign policy chief says negotiators are very close to a deal with Iran over its nuclear program. Talks have been talking

place in Vienna to try to finalize an agreement before Tuesday's deadline.

Deadly bombings kill at least 28 people in Nigeria. Two of the attacks happened in Jos. One targeted a mosque. And in Potiskum, a

suicide bomber blew himself up in a church killing at least five people. No group has claimed responsibility.

Officials in Iraq say an Iraqi military plane accidentally dropped a bomb on a neighborhood in eastern Baghdad. A security official tells CNN

at least two people were killed and eight were wounded. Military officials say a technical error caused the bomb to fall from the plane.

So, now let's return to the top news today: what is happening in Greece after voters rejected the latest terms of it international bailout.

Iain Begg is a professor at the London School of Economics and he wrote a recent op-ed for CNN.com called "If Greece leaves the euro, and

melts down, who would really care?"

So, let's pick it up with him now.

Ian, who would really care?

IAIN BEGG, LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS: Well, the Greeks themselves would care, because it would be quite calamitous for them to have a

continuing bank crisis to be forced out of international markets, to have the risk that they would be cut adrift by their European partners, all of

that is bad news for them.

For the rest of the world, there is some threats which might arise from Greece causing financial contagion, but I think that would be quite

limited.

And there is also a geopolitical concern that Greece will be pushed into the arms of Vladimir Putin and away from the embrace of the more

liberal European economies. But there, too, I think that's unrealistic, because what really happens is that Russia is out of money. It's bankrupt

in its own right and doesn't have the capacity to deal with Greek debts.

So that tells us the only people who would really care might be other European citizens who say we like the Greeks, we have solidarity with the

Greeks. We don't want the Greek people, as opposed to their politicians, to suffer. And we will back them for that reason.

TANK; But part of the -- this is the feedback that certainly our teams on the ground in Athens seem to be getting today is that there was

that overwhelming no vote on Sunday. And it crept up on a lot of us. I was certainly quite surprised, because all of the opinion polls pointed to

a yes vote.

So, what do you think went on there?

BEGG: Well, I think it's exasperation on the part of the Greek people. They've been subject to this austerity program now for six years.

They've seen their economy decline by 25 percent and they're saying enough. We need a solution to this.

I think it's revealing that the major outcome of this was that the Greek finance minister has gone. He was seen by many in the rest of Europe

as one of the biggest problems to finding a solution. And I think his time is really up, because he was the great difficulty that had to be overcome.

It now is going to be intriguing to see whether it's going to lead to a new approach from Greece and a greater receptiveness on the part of other

European countries.

[08:35:26] TANK: Though the IMF has pretty much confirmed that Greece can't really pay its debts. So is there now a stronger argument for saying

perhaps it is time to give up on the euro, perhaps it is time that the Greeks had the drachma back, even though that would then mean a lot more

pain. They might recover.

BEGG: Well, it's a solution that sounds appealing, but it has to be separated from defaulting on the debt, which is what's under discussion

now. You can default on the debt and still in the theory remain part of the euro, after all nobody says why didn't Detroit or California leave the

dollar when they had fiscal difficulties.

But devaluing, and introducing a new currency, would bring instant inflation to Greece, which is hardly a recipe for recovery or for economic

stability that is going to bring in foreign investment.

So, I think the solution now is going to come in the way of trying to find a way of easing the Greek debt burden, which is not that great if you

look at the numbers on it. Their debt service charge is only about 3 percent of GDP, even though the debt figure is enormous.

So, I think that there will be an attempt in Brussels to find a way of easing the debt service charge to enable the Greek economy to recover. And

now that Varoufakis is gone, that's going to be an easier exercise to conduct.

TANK: Yeah, well we're in new territory now, aren't we? We have to leave it there, though, love to speak to you more about this, perhaps

another time. Iain Begg there of the London School of Economics. And -- great -- and of course everyone can check out that opinion piece that you

wrote for us. It's on CNN.com. Thanks again.

ANDERSON: Now, let's turn to New Zealand. The nation has just made cyber bullying illegal. The new harmful digital communications bill means

anyone who sends threatening, harmful, or racist messages can be fined or jailed.

If the harmful messages are serious enough, for example, inciting suicide, the offender can be jailed for up to three years.

Also, companies like Facebook and Twitter now have to work with an approved agency to remove offensive posts. Critics say the terms used in

the new law are too broad, and worry it could lead to restriction of free speech.

Still to come on News Stream, the Chinese flag is burned on the streets of Istanbul as protesters vent their anger on Beijing. Find out

what's happening in just a minute.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TANK; Anger is boiling over in Turkey over concerns that Muslims are being mistreated in China. Protesters in Istanbul took to the streets and

some burned the Chinese flag. They're reacting to reports that authorities in western China have banned Muslims from fasting during Ramadan.

Well, China denies it is stepping on religious freedom and accuses Turkish protesters of attacking Chinese tourists.

CNN's Ivan Watson has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[08:39:58] IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Beijing is urging Chinese tourists visiting Turkey not to go out alone. This is part of a safety

warning sent out by the Chinese government after it says that a number of Chinese tourists were harassed and attacked during anti-Chinese protests

that erupted in several Turkish cities over the course of the weekend.

In some of these demonstrations, which were quite small, you did see demonstrators in some cases setting fire to Chinese flags, and in one case,

pursuing east Asian visitors in a tourist magnet part of Istanbul. Turkish riot police stepping in to protect those visitors, and one of them then

turned as she was fleeing to cameras and listen to what she had to say.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm not Chinese. I'm not Chinese, I'm Korean.

WATSON: Some Turks have been objecting to what they claim is China's mistreatment and discriminating policies against China's ethnic Uighur

minority which also happens to be Muslim.

The Turkish government last week, its foreign ministry sent a statement to the Chinese authorities expressing concern over reports of an

alleged ban on Ramadan, the Muslim month of Ramadan in China's western Xinjiang Province that the Uighurs come from.

Now the Chinese government have vehemently denied that there are any policies against Ramadan. It claims that there is freedom of religion

enshrined in China's constitution. However, we've seen on some local government websites in Xinjiang instructions to local administrators to

prevent students, to prevent civil servants and Communist Party members from fasting during the Muslim month of Ramadan.

And this is creating a buildup in tensions between Turkey and China, because many Turks have close cultural, religious and ethnic links to

China's Uighur minority.

Ivan Watson, CNN, Beijing

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TANK: Well, I haven't got much time left, but I want to leave you with this story. The daughter of Britain's duke and duchess of Cambridge

has been christened at a royal country estate.

It was a private service for close family and friends, but well wishers gathered through the day to try to catch a glimpse of Princess

Charlotte who is fourth in line to the British throne.

This was the princess's second public outing since she was born in May.

She's a very busy little girl.

And that is New Stream for you. I'm Manisha Tank, but please don't go anywhere. World Sport with Alex Thomas is up next. So stay right there.

END