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President Obama Addresses African Union in Landmark Speech; Chinese Stocks Slump for Second Straight Day; Brazil's Drug Smuggling Problem; U.S. Woman Kills Suspected Serial Killer; House of Lords Conduct Committee Head Resigns Over Video. Aired 8-9a ET
Aired July 28, 2015 - 8:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[08:00:21] KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. And welcome to News Stream.
Now NATO says it stands by Turkey as Ankara moves on two fronts against ISIS in Syria and Kurdish militants in Iraq.
The U.S. president speaks to the African Union, calling for more democracy, an end to corruption and bolstering economies.
And South Korea declares it has turned the corner in the deadly MERS outbreak.
NATO is standing firmly behind Turkey as the country ramps up its two pronged offensive against ISIS in Syria and Kurdish militants in northern
Iraq.
Now the military alliance wrapped up emergency talks a short time ago. Ankara, once reluctant to get involved, reversed its stance after violent
attacks along its borders with Iraq and Syria.
Now the rise of ISIS in Syria poses one threat to Turkey, but Ankara has also had a longstanding fight with the Kurdistan Workers Party, or the PKK.
They are in northern Iraq. And they have been fighting for independence for more than 30 years. And that campaign is a complicating factor.
Now CNN spoke to the Turkish prime minister about the offensive against the Kurdish group, and he explained to our Christiane Amanpour why the attacks
on the PKK are happening now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AHMET DAVUTOGLU, PRIME MINISTER OF TURKEY: This fight is against PKK, yes, but not against Kurds. In last four days, in the early days of this week,
PKK killed several police, several soldiers and civilians. So in a high- level secretive meeting, we instructed our security forces that there should be a synchronized fight against terror. Whoever is committing
terrorist activity in Turkey, we must be active against them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: Now, the U.S. calls the new Turkish offensive a gamechanger in the struggle with ISIS.
And meanwhile, Turkey is beefing up its defenses at its borders. Arwa Damon has the latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The sidelines are no longer an option.
Turkey cannot afford to maintain its controversial, albeit cautious approach to the Syrian war raging next door.
SINAN ULGEN, CARNEGIE EUROPE: There has been a reassessment in Ankara that this policy cannot continue. And in order for Turkey to be able to
persevere and to maintain its own regional influence, it had to be part in a much more visible concrete way in the entire ISIS coalition.
DAMON: Turkey is now bombing ISIS targets. And after lengthy negotiations with Washington, conceded on some of its positions such as, demanding
strikes on the Assad regime and agreed to open Turkish bases and air space to the U.S. aircraft to create, not a no-fly zone, but a so-called ISIS-
Free Zone.
ULGEN: And the weakness of the span is essentially about who is going to be on the ground to protect us, this zone of the zone free of ISIS.
DAMON: And can Turkey protect its own population against ISIS retaliation?
Some people even stopped taking the Istanbul metro, after unsubstantiated reports that certain stations would be targeted.
Turkey also reopened the front with its domestic battle against the PKK, the Kurdistan workers party, which it deems a terrorist organization, a
move that severely heightened tensions between the Turks and Kurds, tensions that, in the past three decades, have claimed some 40,000 lives.
Turkey needs to ensure that it has the capital to launch this multi- pronged contentious anti-terrorism campaign, calling on fellow NATO members
to convene, a special meeting of the Alliance on Tuesday.
ULGEN: What turkey wants to do with this is essentially two things.
One is to communicate to its allies, the new security environment, its new threat assessment, after its decision to become a much more visible and
active player in the anti-ISIS coalition.
And secondly, it wants to get the political backing within NATO, for what it's called its campaign against terrorism, which on the one hand includes
ISIS and, on the other hand, the PKK.
DAMON: These are all very intricate maneuvers when it comes to the regional game of chess, not necessarily ones that will lead to the defeat, the
ultimate defeat, the ultimate defeat of ISIS, but ones that would perhaps potentially diminish its capabilities.
This may not change the game for ISIS, but it most certainly is changing Turkey's role in the game -- Kristie.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: Arwa Damon there. Thank you.
Now North Korea is saluting its veterans of the Korean War. Fighting came to an end 62 years ago this week. And Kim Jong un is paying tribute to
those who fought.
The top North Korean military official, meanwhile, the U.S. would, quote, "wiped out if is fails to remember what he described as the lessons of its
defeat." That's not the only tough rhetoric we're hearing.
Now CNN's Will Ripley reports, North Korea's ambassador to China also had a message to convey.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: When North Korea holds a news conference, it's such a rare event it's almost news worthy in itself. But journalists
who turned up were hard pressed to find any new headlines from Pyongyang's ambassador China Ji Jae-ryong.
The diplomat ran through the usual litany of anti-American rhetoric, blaming the U.S. for what he calls and increasingly violent situation on
the Korean peninsula, expressing outrage over next month's annual joint military drills between South Korea and the U.S., insisting North Korea is
a nuclear power under constant threat of attack from the United States with no plans to disarm.
"The DPRK is not interested at all in a dialogue to discuss the issue of making us freeze or dismantle our nukes unilaterally first," the ambassador
says, a clear reference to the nuclear agreement with North Korean ally Iran, the deal only adding to Pyongyang's isolation as sanctions cripple
its economy.
On Monday, North Korea celebrated what it calls victory day, the 62nd anniversary of the truce ending the Korean war. Supreme leader Kim Jong
un, seen on state media, thanking veterans for defeating the U.S. aggressors, standing under a huge portrait of his grandfather Kim il-Sung,
the founder of North Korea, bearing a remarkable, and many say, deliberately cultivated resemblance, to the young leader.
Portraits of his father and grandfather line the walls of the embassy in Beijing just like every North Korean government building.
You may notice the ambassador was sitting directly under the portraits of the late supreme leaders. And that's no accident, that is protocol in
North Korea whenever an official or dignitary is speaking.
Our press conference lasts less than 30 minutes, a 22 minute statement followed by three questions, of which only one is answered. Then it's time
to go.
We're certainly being watched very closely as we film inside the embassy. And that's very similar to what it's like when you're actually reporting in
North Korea as well. Clearly, the idea of any media being here, especially western media, makes government leaders a bit uncomfortable. And so
they're watching our every move. And they carefully guard the kind of access that we get.
But just being able to go through these gates, being able to see the inside of the embassy, is still quite rare.
We leave the North Korean embassy just as we came: with no new insight, no new answers, no wiser as to what exactly is going on in one of the most
opaque nations on Earth.
Will Ripley, CNN, Beijing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: Now Chinese stocks dropped again this session, a day after the steepest fall in share prices in years. The Shanghai composite closed down
almost 2 percent. Earlier, it was down as much as 4 percent. And the losses, they build on Monday's 8.5 percent decline. That was the worst
performance in eight years for the benchmark Shanghai Index. And it came after weeks of relative calm as government regulators intervened to shore
up the market.
The tech heavy Shenzhen market lost more than 2 percent.
Now U.S. President Barack Obama, he is just closed out his five day trip to Africa by making history. A short time ago, he addressed the African
Union, a first for U.S. president. Now Mr. Obama said Africa would have no better partner and friend than the U.S., but he also pressed for African
leaders to address concerns over human rights and democracy.
Mr. Obama delivered the speech at AU headquarters in the capital of Ethiopia. And CNN's Robyn Kriel joins me now live from Addis Ababa. And
Robyn, in that speech the U.S. president addressed human rights, democracy and governance in Africa head on.
ROBYN KRIEL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONENT: Well, hi there, Kristie. The president has just wrapped up his speech. And as he finished, heavens
opened over Addis Ababa and a massive hail storm ensured.
He will be leaving -- he'll be leaving the African Union now heading for the airport signaling the end of his trip. And everyone was in awe of his
speech. The entire African Union (inaudible) applauding, specifically, Kristie of what he was saying about term limits, specifically referencing
Burundi which just underwent its most recent election where President Nkurunziza won a very controversial third term despite his country's
constitution which only limited him to two terms.
Let's now take a listen to what President Obama had to say that had that audience so enthralled.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: When a leader tries to change the rules in the middle of the game just to stay in office, it risks
instability and strife as we've seen in Burundi. And this is often -- and this is often just a first step down a perilous path. And sometimes you'll
hear a leader say, well, I'm the only person who can hold this nation together. If that's true, then that leader has failed to truly build their
nation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KRIEL: President Obama has been criticized over being quite measured with his responses (inaudible) Kristie a very rousing speech before leaving
Kenya, but when arriving in Ethiopia talking to Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, he was very measured, not speaking specifically as strongly out
on democratic rights as many people thought he would.
But I feel today's speech, Kristie, really made up for that. And he really took some almighty swings at some of the negative aspects of this
continent, but also a very inspiring, very positive about other things such as gay rights, such as the rights of women, and such as the future of
Africa, where he believes the future is, really.
LU STOUT: Yeah, a rousing speech and a rousing response when he talked about term limits. The U.S. president also adding that no one is above the
law.
Robyn Kriel reporting live for us, thank you Robyn.
Now, from politicians to pop stars, people are getting the message. If you have something to say Twitter is the place to say it. Now next, we'll show
you what a powerful tool it's become, perhaps too powerful in some cases.
Plus...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When he laid the gun down to get the rake out of my hands, I shot it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: Now, U.S. police say the woman you just heard may have stopped a serial killer in his tracks. That also ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LU STOUT: Coming to you live from Hong Kong, you're back watching News Stream.
Now roughly 950 million Android phones around the world are at risk of being hacked as Imperium, it's a cyber security firm that specializes in
mobile devices, says it has found a security flaw in the software.
Now phones can become infected simply by receiving a picture via text message. And you can't stop it. Android phones, they begin processing
incoming media files even before they are opened.
Now this flaw was discovered months ago, but a fix is not widely available yet. While Apple can push out updates to all its iPhones, Google can't, it
needs cooperation from service providers and device makers. Google says it has sent the fix to its partners.
Now, meanwhile, Pakistan is putting a ban on BlackBerry. News reports say the country's telecoms authority is telling operators that they must shut
down BlackBerry enterprise services by November 30, citing security concerns.
Now part of BlackBerry's appeal to businesses is its strong encryption and privacy settings. Now BlackBerry faced bans in the United Arab Emirtes and
Saudi Arabia back in 2010.
Twitter is less than 10 years old, but it has had a big impact. It has more than 300 million active montly users, a massive number, but far behind
Facebook's massive user base.
But what Twitter lacks in numbers, it makes up for with influential users.
Claire Sebastian has more on Twitter's impact.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
[11:15:33] CLAIRE SEBASTIAN, CNN PRODUCER: From politics to popular culture, over the past few months Twitter has been at the center of it all.
Athens June 27: the Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras announcing a shock referendum on the bailout terms set by Europe.
It didn't end there. Throughout that day, he tweeted 23 times, each more defiant than the last.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We don't need to ask permission from Mr. Schauble or Mr. Djisselbloam to let the voice of hte Greek people to be heard.
SEBASTIAN: As the crisis escalated, parallel protests unfolded on the streets and on Twitter. The Greek finance minister even tweeting out his
resignation.
MARK SHULER, SOCIAL MEDIA CONSULTANT: Today, there's an expectation of transparency. There's a lot of politics that take place on Twitter. And
it can be perilous, because some of these negotiations are extremely complex.
SEBASTIAN: And they don't come much more complex than a nuclear deal with Iran.
To say key parts of this historic moment played out on Twitter would be an understatement. On the day the deal was reached @HassanRouhani, the
Iranian president's Twitter account, sent out 21 tweets.
And the White House faced with the task of selling the deal to a skeptical congress, well, they went one step further.
They set up a brand new account @TheIranDeal.
SETH MEYERS, HOST, LATE NIGHT WITH SETH MEYERS: Finally using Twitter what it was designed for: explaining complex international nuclear agreements
involving several nations
SEBASTIAN: Jokes aside, Twitter has become a powerful tool. And no one knows that better than Taylor Swift.
On June 21, the pop star tweeted "to Apple, Love Taylor" to her 61 million followers. It was an open letter saying she would not release her album on
Apple's new music service, because the company wasn't paying artists during its three month free trial.
Her protest worked, Apple reversing its policy.
SHULER: I think that's an amazing example of how influence and authority has really been democratized today. And here we have this performer who
stopped one of the most powerful companies in the world in their tracks really within 24 hours.
SEBASTIAN: User growth at Twitter is slowing. Yet the power those users can wield seems to be greater than ever.
Claire Sebastian, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: All right, coming up right here on News Stream, the U.S. issues a report on the tragedy of human trafficking. But there's controversy over
Washington's rating of two countries in Southeast Asia.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:20:51] LU STOUT: Now millions of people around the world are being denied basic human rights and being used as slaves.
Now the U.S. is trying to expose that injustice through its annual report on the state of global human trafficking. Elise Labott has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELISE LABOTT, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: There are between 20 and 36 million slaves in the world today right now, in 2015. And human trafficking
generates more than $150 billion in illegal profits each year.
The U.S. state department's annual Trafficking in Persons, or TIP report rates countries on their efforts to bring those numbers down and to
ultimately eradicate modern day slavery.
JOHN KERRY, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: This report is important because it really is one of the best means that we have as individuals to speak up for
adults and children who lack any effective platform or whatsoever through which they are able to speak for themselves.
LABOTT: The 2015 report shows 18 countries, including Cuba, Kenya, and Saudi Arabia, have made big improvements. However, 18 others like Egypt and
Bulgaria have been downgraded.
Among the biggest controversies, evaluations for Malaysia and Thailand. Last year, the two countries were rated tier three, the worst rating
possible. They're both part of a widely used people smuggling route for Rohingya Muslims, a minority group fleeing persecution in Myanmar.
Mass graves filled with the bodies of dozens of migrants were found in Malaysia earlier this year after the report's cut off date.
Similar, macabre scenes were discovered in Thailand. The report citing Malaysia's, "Significant effort towards meeting minimum standards,"
upgraded that country to the tier two watch list.
Thailand, on the other hand, remains at tier three.
KERRY: Today, we recognize your steadfast efforts.
LABOTT: The U.S. state department also recognized eight champions to the cause, people who have made substantial contributions to ending modern-day
slavery, among them CNN International's Executive Vice President and Managing Director, Tony Maddox.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What does this mean to you, Tony?
LABOTT: That spearheaded CNN's Freedom Project aimed at raising awareness of human slavery by telling victim stories.
TONY MADDOX, CNN INTERNATIONAL EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, MANAGING DIRECTOR: And I'm very proud of how across the news organization, we've embraced this
cause and we've highlighted these stories. And we will continue to do so.
LABOTT: Overall, the 2015 report highlights great accomplishments towards eliminating modern-day slavery. But it makes it clear there is substantial
works still to be done.
Elise Labott, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: Now Thailand's prime minister has responded to the human trafficking report. Prayut Chan-o-cha says there were a lot of problems in
the past, which we are solving step by step.
As you just heard, Thailand received the lowest status for a second straight year. Prime Minister Prayut says Thailand has made progress in
looking after its nearly 4 million migrant workers.
Now, Brazil has become a major gateway for cocaine headed to Europe, Africa and Asia. It is hand carried by mostly women who are willing to take on
risk for what they think will be a big payoff.
Now Shasta Darlington brings us this story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And odyssey repeated again and again: men and women from around the globe flown in to Sao Paulo
with the promise of big rewards waiting in dingy locations, finally handed a packed suit case and sent back to the airport. That's where many of them
get caught with cocaine.
Galina Sanie Mdakane was a mother and six months pregnant when she agreed to smuggle drugs to South Africa.
GALINA SANIE MDAKANE, FORMER DRUG MULE: To be a mother, you're support to fight for your children, you're supposed to protect your children, but me,
I didn't do all those things.
DARLINGTON: She says she needed the cash. Now she's completing a near five year sentence.
Her baby was born in jail, flown to South Africa when he was just eight months old.
[08:25:05] MDAKANE: It's really painful to be here. I regret every day, especially when it's time for -- time it's Christmas time I miss my family.
I can't. Last time I was with my baby. It was special (inaudible). This time, I'll be here. I miss my children. It's really painful.
DARLINGTON: Just one of hundreds of the female penitentiary of the capital from 50 different countries.
CNN is allowed in to film a multicultural celebration. The vast majority of the women here convicted of drug smuggling.
In fact, drug busts are a daily occurrence at the Guarulhos International Airport of Sao Paulo, a major gateway for cocaine headed to Europe, Africa
and Asia.
Here, federal police say they've seized 14 tons of it in the last decade.
"It's the airport that seizes more drugs in the world," he says, "Because our neighbors produce it -- Peru, Bolivia, Colombia."
On the night we're there, they stop a passenger and search his bag full of clothes, souvenirs, and small tubes of clothing dye. Inside, tightly
wrapped pellets.
So, they've called in the forensic expert. He's found these baggies of a white substance inside some other packaging. They've done the test. It's
come back blue. That means we got cocaine.
In total, a kilo of the white powder headed to Nigeria with a man who says he was on vacation in Brazil.
"A few years ago, seizures varied between 20 or 30 kilos," he says. "Today, it's one kilo, two kilos, but they use a lot more people."
For the most part, officials say, the drug mules don't have previous criminal records. About half of them women, poor and vulnerable, easy
targets, and completely dispensable for the drug traffickers who recruit them.
Shasta Darlington, CNN, Sao Paulo.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: Now you're watching News Stream. And still to come, in a brave act of self-defense, an American woman may have unknowingly taken a serial
killer off the streets.
Also ahead, South Korea finally has the upper hand against an outbreak of MERS. We trace the deadly impact of the virus.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:54:56] LU STOUT: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong, you're watching News Stream and these are your world headlines.
Now U.S. President Barack Obama wrapped up his five day trip to Africa by becoming the first U.S. president to address the African Union. He praised
the economic progress made in many African nations, but he also pressed African leaders to address concerns over human rights and democracy.
A Libyan court has sentenced the son of the late Moammar Gadhafi to death. It ordered Saif al-Islam to face a firing squad for his role in suppressing
the 2011 revolution that led to his father's ouster. But it is not clear what happens next.
Gadhafi is being held by a militia that is not cooperating with the Tripoli court or governments.
NATO's Secretary-General says members of the alliance stand united behind their ally Turkey. An emergency meeting on Turkey's two-pronged offensive
against ISIS and Kurdish militants wrapped up a short time ago. Ankara ramped up its military after the violence at its borders with Iraq and
Syria.
And this just in to CNN. The head of European football is expected to announce that he will run for president of FIFA. UEFA President Michel
Platini aims to replace Sepp Blatter at the head of world football's governing body. FIFA will vote for a new president in February after
Blatter announced in June that he will step down.
Now in the U.S., one woman's act of self-defense, has uncovered evidence suggesting that she was about to become a suspected serial killer's next
victim. Now the woman says that she was attacked, but managed to shoot her attacker with his own gun. What police found after they arrived at the
scene is chilling.
Boris Sanchez reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
"HEATHER", FATALLY SHOT SUSPECTED SERIAL KILLER: I knew he was there to kill me. I could tell that he had already done something, because he said
he was going to prison for a long time.
BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After opening her door to a stranger who answered her escort ad on backpage.com, a West Virginia woman
who police only call Heather says the man became aggressive, wrapping his hands around her throat.
"HEATHER": He was saying you're going to be quiet. I'm going to call the orders.
SANCHEZ: Moments later, she runs from her Charleston home, pleading for help and chasing down a neighbor who calls 911.
CALLER: There's a lady in the alley here. She's saying that some guy tried to rape her and she had to defend herself. She's got cuts and stuff all
over her.
"HEATHER": When he strangled me, he just wouldn't let me get any air, and when he laid the gun down to get the rake out of my hands, I shot him.
SANCHEZ: The attacker, Neil Falls, a 45-year-old man police believe could be a serial killer. A kill kit inside his Subaru has led investigators to a
string of murders. Items inside included a machete, axes, knives, a shovel, a large container of bleach, and trash bags.
LT. STEVE COOPER, CHARLESTON, WEST VIRGINIA POLICE: We also found four sets of handcuffs in Mr. Falls' pockets, and the brutality of the attack that
took place in the house where the victim was able to defend herself and survive, all those things together lead us to believe that Mr. Falls has
been involved in similar crimes. He's 45 years old. It's unlikely that this is his first violent crime.
SANCHEZ: The case now extending far beyond West Virginia. Investigators in Nevada, Oregon, and Illinois all looking at potential clues that may reveal
insights into his past. Authorities tell CNN an item found in Falls' car is believed to be linked to evidence discovered on several dismembered bodies
in Las Vegas back in 2005 where Falls lived at the time, their remains were found in trash bags.
All of the victims escorts. One of the cases, Lindsey Marie Harris, whose dismembered legs were recovered in Illinois three weeks after she
disappeared. Investigators also looking at any potential cases in Eugene, Oregon, where Falls lived in 2010.
PAULINE, NEAL FALLS' FORMER LANDLORD: A little creepy, very kind of tight- lipped and not a chummy guy definitely. Not a chummy guy. Somebody who doesn't want to be exposed.
SANCHEZ: His former landlord describes his behavior as odd. She had him evicted a year after he moved in. While sources tell CNN that no evidence
has yet pointed to a direct link, Heather believes she stopped Falls from hurting others.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you feel like you possibly saved other women's lives?
"HEATHER": I know I did.
SANCHEZ: Boris Sanchez, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: Wow. Chilling details in that report.
Now, Britain's upper house of parliament has been rocked by the resignation of a senior member. Lord John Sewel stepped down after a shocking video
emerged over the weekend. It appears to show him taking drugs in the company of prostitutes.
Now Lord Sewel was once head of the conduct committee for Britain's House of Lords. Now he's apologizing for his behavior. And Frederik Pleitgen
joins us now from London with more on the story. And Fred, he apologized in the form of a resignation letter. What did he say?
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it was also interesting, Kristie, that of course he was the head of the committee for
the conduct rules, and he also tightened those conduct rules in the House of Lords just recently. And as you said, he has now resigned early this
morning after yesterday saying he would only take a leave of absence. And he did apologize for his actions, and also said that he wanted to prevent
further damage for the institution of the House of Lords.
Now, part of his resignation said "I can best serve the house by leaving it. I hope my decision will limit and help repair the damage I've done to
an institution I hold dear. Finally, I want to apologize for the pain and embarrassment I have caused."
Lord Sewel is, of course, married. He has four children, two of them step children, two of them his own. And one of the things that came out very
early today is -- was not only his resignation, but also the head of the House of Lords coming out and saying that they welcomed this resignation
and also saying that at this point in time it was important to keep damage from the institution of the House of Lords. And that certainly when
somebody acts against the rules of the conduct of the House of Lords, that action needs to be taken very swiftly, Kristie.
[08:35:06] LU STOUT: And that's right, he apologized for the pain and embarrassment he caused, those are his words.
Now, Fred, what has been the public reaction there to the resignation and to that damning footage that appears to show him using drugs with
prostitutes? Is there shock or is there kind of a cynical shrug to yet another political scandal?
PLEITGEN: Well, I think about many people it was -- they were quite surprised to hear about all of this. I'm not sure that people were
necessarily shocked in many ways. Certainly one of the things that Britain has been dealing with, like many other countries, of course, as well is
that there is a lot of cynicism about public institutions, about the parliament, about the government. This is something that politicians here
have been dealing with for a very long time.
And so certainly this is something where the people here -- I wouldn't necessarily say are shocked. They were quite surprised to see all of this.
And also so much of it come out in such a very short time.
As you said, this video that came out in the photos that came out were certainly something that was well above what you would have seen in other
scandals of this sort. The video apparently is 45 minutes long and so certainly -- and there were obviously some scenes that many people found
not only awkward, but quite troubling as well. So this is certainly something that has caused a big debate here in this country, Kristie.
LU STOUT: All right. Fred Pleitgen reporting live from CNN London. Thank you, Fred.
You're watching News Stream. And still to come on the program, relief in South Korea as the country announces the end of a deadly outbreak of MERS.
We got the details just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LU STOUT: Coming to you live from Hong Kong, you're back watching News Stream.
Now South Korean officials are reporting the danger from MERS has passed there. Now the country just lifted its Middle East Respiratory Syndrome
quarantine after the last patient suspected of having the virus was released.
But the two month outbreak hit South Korea hard. As CNN's Kathy Novak looks back at the viruses deadly impact.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KATHY NOVAK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It was the biggest outbreak of MERS outside of Saudi Arabia, 186 people were infected, 36 of them died.
More than 16,000 people were quarantined. Now that the last of those people has been released from isolation, the government is declaring the
outbreak is over.
It all started with one man who traveled back from the Middle East in May and checked into hospital. By the time he was properly diagnosed and
isolated, other patients, visitors and staff at the hospital had been infected. And they went on to spread the virus to others.
Health authorities here acknowledge that the early response was insufficient. But eventually strict controls were put in place to prevent
the further spread. And there have been no new cases in more than three weeks.
The World Health Organization won't declare the country officially MERS free until next month, but the government here is keen to spread the word
that it is business as usual in South Korea.
The outbreak hit the economy hard as citizens stayed away from public places, and tourists canceled their trips.
The Bank of Korea cut interest rates and its growth forecast. Now the message from the prime minister is that South Korea is once against safe
and open for business.
Kathy Novak, CNN, Seoul.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[08:41:06] LU STOUT: And finally you probably have seen these before: Converse's Chuck Taylor sneakers are iconic. And now, they're getting a
redesign for the first time in 98 years. And, let's bring it up, this is it. And if they look similar, Converse says that's the point.
Now, the sneaker has been rebuilt on the inside using technology from Nike, which bought Converse in 2003. The new Chuck Taylors are on sale now.
And that is News Stream. I'm Kristie Lu Stout. But don't go anywhere. World Sport with Alex Thomas is next.
END
