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Clinton Prepares For Thursday's Debate in New York; A Look Behind Boko Haram's Suicide Bomber Girls; Defectors Helping Afghan Government Fight ISIS; Transgender Community Questions Thailand's Compulsory Military Process. Aired 8-9a ET

Aired April 12, 2016 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:14] KRISTIE LU STOUT, HOST: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong and welcome to News Stream.

Now, too brutal even for Taliban fighters -- now two men who joined ISIS reveal the horrors they witnessed and explain why they fled.

Taiwan accuses China of abducting a group of its citizens on the other side of the world. What's behind this fresh diplomatic row just ahead.

And Facebook's next big thing. We'll delve into the social network's ambitious plans ahead of its major developer event.

The Taliban are vowing fresh bloodshed on Afghan soil and say their annual spring offensive is now under way. It is a deadly campaign they waged year

after year since 9/11. And the group is once again promising jihad against the so-called American invasion.

Now, the Taliban pledge to continue fighting comes just one day after they claimed responsibility for a deadly bus bombing targeting Afghan army

recruits. They killed 12 people and marked the latest setback for the Afghan military and NATOs efforts to stabilize the country.

Now, despite the Taliban's relentless campaign, for some the brutality of ISIS is an even bigger threat to Afghanistan.

Now, senior international correspondent Nick Paton Walsh spoke to two men who were part of the Taliban, joined ISIS, and then defected after witnessing their savagery firsthand.

Now, Nick, joins me now live from Kabul. And Nick, what more have you learned about ISIS in Afghanistan?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, ISIS emerged early last year trying to get a foothold in the country's east and were hit

eventually by American air power, but also by a wave of anger from some Afghans who rejected their harsh ideology.

Remarkably, though, two Taliban originally I think fair to say pressured, they say, into joining ISIS as part of a bid to get the upper hand in a

power struggle between various different parts of the Taliban that they were stuck in found their savagery so brutal that they quickly defected and

are now helping the government to fight them.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WALSH (voice-over): Looking for ISIS. In Afghanistan's east, ISIS' radio broadcast of hate was bombed off air recently by the U.S. But here it's

been coming back in the past week.

"It was there three days ago, and it's gone again," says one man. "They were talking nonsense," says another. "They're asking people to pledge

allegiance and march on Kabul," he adds.

This is one broadcast they recorded earlier. ISIS is trying to put down roots here. But every day, more Afghans want to tear them up. And that

starts here. Two months ago, we wouldn't have sat like this. Then they were commanders in ISIS.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): They just like beheadings. Think they are good to do.

WALSH: ISIS, they say, came from Pakistan, not Iraq, and promised guns and money to their struggling group of Taliban. Their agenda, black flags,

killing and looting, which they did go along with at first.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): They knew who was to take their money. The poor, they would arm to fight for them or kill them.

WALSH: It went south fast. And they both remember the moment when.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): I remember when they beheaded seven people in the bazaar, including government workers and Taliban. I saw

the long strip of wood they did it on covered in blood. They just threw the bodies away and buried. It was very Islamic.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): The worst memory is if you were killed fighting for them they wouldn't hand your wife and children to a

relative but put them in a camp.

WALSH: ISIS recruit children here. Their own videos show another reason the two men work with Afghan intelligence who set up our interview, to get

other locals to join an uprising program against ISIS. But they say they've lacked government protection and money and that's put potential defectors

off. The fight is now left just to American drones, they say.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): Drones are doing a good job killing is. They target them as soon as they leave their houses.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): The government hasn't made any progress in those areas. It's only the bombing that's effective.

WALSH (voice-over): You were in the Taliban, then in ISIS and now the American drones are bombing your own village but you're pleased about this

because it's killing ISIS. Is that a strange feeling for you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): It makes us happy. We want them wiped out.

WALSH: They are killers themselves who know what they're talking about. He holds up his cloak. Holes from an American helicopter attack not long ago

when he was Taliban.

ISIS has shattered ordinary lives, too. Across town and in a luxury village built for rich people who never came, are hundreds of families who fled

ISIS.

(on camera): Afghanistan, like many nations, basically has to battle an idea that appeals to minds warped after decades of war. They don't see the

Taliban as radical enough. An idea that no matter how hard you battle or bomb it, it's difficult to completely extinguish.

(voice-over): Many of their homes are still occupied and much damage is irreversible.

They killed this man's brother and then shot him in the waist as he helped his family escape. He's left unable to provide for them. And ISIS still

live in their home.

ISIS savagery was first glimpsed in Afghanistan in this video where they lined up opponents and detonated a bomb below them. The man who speaks is

survived by his brother.

[08:06:21] UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): My brother called my father to tell him the death was on Facebook. We couldn't bury him if we

didn't have a body. Its pieces are probably still lying where it was blown up.

WALSH: Decade of trauma here, yet somehow it gets worse.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALSH: And you get an idea really of quite how savage ISIS have been here, but also how chaotic and pragmatic, frankly, so many fighters in

Afghanistan are. Those men you heard Taliban fought against the Americans, but now want that same American air power that once targeted them to be

directed towards their own village, because ISIS are inside it and they want ISIS gone.

Remarkable, Kristie.

LU STOUT: And Nick, and if these ex-Taliban militants you talked to are afraid of ISIS, what do the people of Afghanistan make of this additional

threat?

WALSH: Well, so far most of what we've heard that ISIS they came from Pakistan predominantly, that's what many people suggest. Radicals from

there who sought to use the vacuum of in-fighting between the Taliban to get a foothold.

And they did that initially, it seems, through violence, but also potentially through some as you saw there, disenfranchised Taliban going

along with them or feeling muscled into being subservient to them.

Most people we speak to say that when they moved into towns, a lot of people actually fled and that may be the reason why it's been easy for

drones to target them, because in fact, the population centers where they remain, there's only really ISIS necessarily left there.

But the positive piece of news, I think it's fair to say here, is that most of the message we're getting is a rejection of ISIS's ideology in the east

of Afghanistan. I'm sure they do have some sympathizers there, that's not exclusive entirely. But negatively on the other side as well.

This enormous security effort by U.S. fire power, but also by the Afghan military who have tried to get into the mix but are already heavily

overstrained anyway fighting the Taliban, that bid to combat ISIS has taken resource away from the more urgent, frankly, and larger fight, which is

pushing back the Taliban insurgency which today announced the beginning of what they call their summer

fighting season, Krsitie.

ANDERSON: All right, Nick Paton Walsh reporting live from Kabul. And ISIS in Afghanistan, efforts to fight it as well as the Taliban thank you, Nick.

Now there are new arrests in the Brussels terror attacks. The Belgian prosecutor has announced two more suspects are now in custody on terror

charges. Officials say there are indications the men can be linked to an address in the Brussels district of Ederbaek, which

authorities suspect was a safe house for the subway and airport bombers.

Now meanwhile, captured terror suspect Mohamed Abrini has told investigators the same terror

cells that carried out attacks in Brussels and Paris was seeking to target the upcoming Euro 2016 football championships in France. That's all

according to a source close to the investigation.

Now, Taiwan is demanding China return eight of its citizens. They were deported from Kenya to mainland China after they were acquitted of fraud

charges. And Taiwan calls that an extra judicial abduction.

Now, China has been defending the actions citing the One China policy. And Matt Rivers joins me now from Beijing with more on the story.

And Mat, first of all, what do we know so far?

MATT RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Kristie, this is just a bizarre, diplomatic situation that centers on a telecoms fraud case in the

country of Kenya involving both people from China and from Taiwan.

Now, that group of people was charged in connection to this case, though ultimately acquitted of any charges in Kenya.

But the government of Taiwan this week has said that eight of its citizens were forcibly deported from Kenya to here in mainland China. Now, there

were also reports during the day today on Tuesday that there was another group of citizens from Taiwan in Kenya that were set to be deported, though

that is not yet confirmed. It's unclear if that group was actually deported from the country. so, this is an ongoing situation that is

certainly stirred up some tension in cross strait relations, Kristie.

[08:10:12] LU STOUT: Yeah, tensions has been stirred. Taiwan is accusing China of an

illegal extra judicial abduction. What is China saying to respond to that?

RIVERS: Well, it this all centers on the One China policy. And so the Chinese government is not specifically commenting on this case. The only

thing they would do is praise the Kenyan government for recognizing the one China policy.

Now, according to the Beijing government, that policy means that Taiwan is a renegade province, and that anyone that lives in Taiwan is actually a

Chinese citizen. So in Beijing's view, it makes sense then that anyone who was forcibly deported from country like Kenya, if that person was deported,

they would be deported home, that would mean to Mainland China.

Now, that is something that the government of Taiwan rejects, saying that it goes against norms

that have been established over the past several decades. And so because of that, because of

that tension, that makes a very complicated situation between Beijing and Taipei that much more tense and complicated, Kristie.

LU STOUT: Yeah, Matt Rivers reporting on a new point of tension between Taipei and Beijing joining us live from the Chinese capital. Thank you.

Now, in southern India, another five people have been detained in the investigation into a fire, the fire that killed 109 people.

The temple was celebrating the Hindu new year with fireworks when one went astray, hitting

and igniting an entire stockpile. And the five people detained today all worked at the temple authority.

Police say the temple did not have permission for Sunday's fireworks celebration.

And firefighters in Mumbai say no deaths have been reported from this fire that tore through

a building on Tuesday. Now a local fire station says the building was used for both residential and commercial purposes and had textile materials

stored at the bottom.

And official says more than 50 people made it up to the terrace and were rescued.

Brazil's president suffers a new blow as the country's political crisis deepens. Up we have gor the latest on impeachment proceedings against

Dilma Rousseff.

And we are just a few hours away from learning about Facebook and its big plans for the future.

And we have got some clues straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:16:09] LU STOUT: All right. Coming to you live from Hong Kong. You're back watching News Stream.

A critical new phase in Brazil's political crisis.

A congressional committee has voted in favor of impeaching President Dilma Rousseff. And, as you can see here, the debate it was lively.

Now the measure now moves to the full lower house, which could vote on Sunday.

Now, Rousseff is accused of trying to hide budget shortfalls while running for reelection 2014. Let's get more now from Shasta Darlington, She joins

us now live from Rio. And Shasta, this impeachment proposal is on the move through congress. hat's happening now? What happens next?

SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kristie, it's cleared really the first hurdle with this committee voting 38-27 in favor

of impeachment in that very rowdy session. It lasted all day long and into the night with lawmakers screaming at each other.

And while their recommendation isn't binding, what it shows is the tendencies that we can expect as they go to the vote in the full lower

house of congress is that will likely happen on Sunday. That's when the opposition will need to muster a full two-thirds votes from lawmakers for

this impeachment trial to go forward, to go on to the senate.

And while, if you look at the numbers from last night, that's not what they are getting. At this point, what we've seen in that the allies and parties

inside the governing coalition are dropping off. So they could build that momentum before the vote on Sunday. And we are certainly seeing political

tensions just getting higher as we get closer to that, Kristie.

LU STOUT: Shasta, what happened to President Rousseff? I mean, what has undermined her

popularity and her political authority there in Brazil?

DARLINGTON: It's a great question, Kristie. She was re-elected in 2014. And from there it's all been downhill. She has presided over the worst

recession in literally decades. We're in the second year already, while at the same time, many members of her governing party and coalition have been

ensnared in a massive corruption scandal, accused of bribery.

Now, the president herself hasn't been was implicated in that, but she was the chairwoman of the state run oil company that's really at the heart of

that corruption scandal. So, her critics say she should be held responsible.

Of course, the problem is that her supporters are calling this an institutional coup d'etat. They say they are trying to get her out of

office, this democratically elected leader, on a technicality when exactly so many other politicians have been accused of corruption and money laundering. And they say they're going to stand up for her until the very

end.

But it is a smaller percentage of the population, Kristie.

LU STOUT: And Shasta, meanwhile, the scene on the streets of Brazil are major pro and anti-government protests expected?

DARLINGTON: Absolutely, Kristie. In fact, police are already preparing for that. They have set up this one kilometer long fence right in front of

congress. They're hoping to sort of divide the anti-government protesters and the pro-government protesters, keep them from clashing.

Many groups are already showing up in Brasilia. This is going to be a showdown and it is really going to be an effort on the part of not only the

police but the protesters to keep this from going to a new level to try to avoid violence, Kristie.

All right, CNN's Shasta Darlington reporting live from Rio. Thank you, shasta.

Accusations are flying among U.S. republican presidential candidates. Donald Trump told a crowd in New York that the nomination process is rigged

and the way the delegates are awarded is unfair.

Now, Ted Cruz's campaign claimed over the weekend that it was double- crossed by the John Kasich camp in Michigan. And Kasich told Anderson Cooper at CNN's town hall on Monday all the negativity will cost the

Republican Party next November.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KASICH: If I'm the only one that can win in the fall, how do you pick somebody else? And let me tell you what the other...

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: But why would a delegate pick you if the only state you've actually won is Ohio, your home state?

KASICH: Well, let's see how many delegates we accumulate. But why would you pick someone who can't win in the fall?

Let me tell you what the stakes are. I believe if you pick these other guys you're not only going to lose the White House, you'll lose the court, you

will lose the United States Senate, and you're going to lose a lot of seats...

COOPER: Why can't Ted Cruz win?

KASICH: Because they're too divisive, they're too negative.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: John Kasich there.

Now, Donald Trump won't be enjoying the support from two of his children in the upcoming New York primary because they can't vote. Now, apparently

Eric and Ivanka Trump, they missed the state's voter registration deadline. And Trump told Fox News they have a long time to register and they

feel very guilty and they weren't aware of the rules.

Now, they will certainly have some questions to answer when they join the rest of the family on

stage for CNN's Republican town hall on Wednesday. It is part of a three- night series featuring each of the remaining Republican candidates in New York hosted by Anderson Cooper.

Now, Trump and his family will be on 9:00 a.m. Wednesday in Hong Kong.

The Democrats are preparing to meet face-to-face on CNN this week. A new poll shows Hillary Clinton leading Bernie Sanders ahead of the New York

primary.

And Jason Carroll has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hillary Clinton says she's ready for Thursday's debate on CNN, but she casts doubt about whether Bernie Sanders

is.

CLINTON: I have noticed that under the bright spotlight and scrutiny here in New York, Senator Sanders has had trouble answering questions.

CARROLL: And hitting her opponent on his immigration record.

CLINTON: I think our records are very clear. I started co-sponsoring the DREAM Act back in 2002 or '03. And I consistently did that. Senator

Sanders, by contrast, was supporting vigilantes, so-called Minutemen on the border.

CARROLL: On CNN's State of the Union, Sanders turning from Clinton's qualifications to her

judgment.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS, 2016 DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I have my doubts about what kind of president she would make.

CARROLL: But Clinton not responding in kind.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR; But do you have doubts about what kind of president he might be?

CLINTON: No, I don't. I mean, I don't have anything negative to say about him.

CARROLL: Despite polls showing Clinton with a commanding lead in the Empire State, Sanders telling New York voters today he can win with their

help.

SANDERS: If we can win here in New York state, I believe we are on our way to the White House.

CARROLL: Sanders taking his fight to the airways with a new ad voiced by actress Susan Sarandon. It's focused on fracking, a key issue for upstate

New York voters.

SUSAN SARANDON, ACTRESS: Bernie Sanders is the only candidate for president who opposes fracking everywhere.

CARROLL: Looking ahead, Clinton sees the path to the nomination and says her team isn't making plans for a contested convention.

CILNTON: I intend to have the number of delegates that are required to be nominated.

CARROLL: Clinton is out with a new ad, too, focused on Donald Trump.

CLINTON: And it goes against everything New York and America stand for.

CARROLL: Telling reporters today she can take on Trump while still fighting sanders.

CLINTON: I think I can both walk and chew gum at the same time.

CARROLL: And that she wants to draw the starkest distinction between herself and Trump.

CLINTON: Trump's rhetoric, his divisiveness, his incitement of aggressive behavior, even

violence, is absolutely unacceptable and needs to be called out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: And that was Jason Carroll reporting. And don't miss the Democratic presidential debate as Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders face

off live from Brooklyn. That's Friday, 9:00 a.m. in Hong Kong, 10:00 a.m. in Tokyo, only on CNN.

Now, it is the final day of a military draft lottery in Thailand. Now, every year thousands of the

country's young man are conscripted into military service. Now, it's a process that raises some serious concerns for the transgender community.

Saima Mohsin reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SAIMA MOHSIN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's conscription day. If there aren't enough volunteers to join the military ,there's a compulsory

lottery.

Family members wait as nervous as their sons, some jeering, hoping someone else's son is picked.

Not everyone wants to join the military. Others say they don't even belong here. Born male, they now identifying as women.

All men over 21 have to go through this process. Women can apply to be in the military by taking an exam, leaving transgender people in limbo.

Conscription law applies to a person's gender at birth, not their personal gender identity. 23-year-old Cassica Tepitak (ph) has been taking hormones

to become a woman four years.

UNIDENITIFIED FEMALE: People look at me and just stare at me. But I just get used to it.

MOHSIN: I in this sea of faces, a few stand out. Cassica (ph) is not alone.

"I was going to run away and leave the country, but my father said I have to face up to my responsibilities."

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's some violence that happens in the camp, or something like that. And it makes me a little scared.

MOHSIN: Those born men that became women used to be conscripted regardless, facing abuse in the army. Transgender women used to be labeled

severely and permanently insane or psychos by the military but are now considered to have gender identity disorder.

JETSADA TAESOMBAT, THAI TRANSGENDER ALLIANCE (through translator): Trangender people used to be forced to take off their shirts even if they

had breast implants. But we have been working with the military to create understanding about how to treat us with dignity.

MOHSIN: Transgender woman don't have to serve in the military anymore, but they still have to go through this process.

The Thai Transgender Alliance has been released a video explaining the proscription process for the trans community to try to make it easier.

They've also been working closely with the military.

The military wasn't available for an interview, but it has developed guidelines for soldiers to become more sensitive towards transgender

people. And treatment has improved.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The staff (inaudible) they treat me well, give me information. Two years ago they didn't offer me a chair, but this year

they did.

MOHSIN: But.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm a woman. I shouldn't be here.

MOHSIN: Saima Mohsin, CNN, Bangkok.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: You're watching News Stream. And still to come on the program, we hear from a child bride forced to wed a Boko Haram fighter. And she

tells us why hundreds of girls in her position are volunteering to be human bombs.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(HEADLINES)

[08:31:08] LU STOUT: Now, terrifying new reality for children -- UNICEF says the number involved in suicide attacks in northern Nigeria and

neighboring countries has jumped dramatically, and that is where Boko Haram has waged its campaign of terror over the past two years.

The place with the most young suicide bombers: Cameroon.

Of all the suicide bombings involving children, three out of four involved girls.

Now, in one remote area of Cameroon, hundreds of young girls are living this nightmare. now, they have been abducted by Boko Haram and used as sex

slaves. And now Boko Haram has given them a choice, live in fear or become a martyr.

As our David McKenzie reports, many are choosing to go strap on a bomb.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Fati wears the jewelry given to her by her mother and the wedding dress from her

rapist, the terrorist from Boko Haram.

FATI, ABDUCTED BY BOKO HARAM (through translator): They came to our village with guns and told us they wanted to marry us.

We said, "No, we are too small."

So they married us by force.

MCKENZIE (voice-over): Fati isn't her real name. We must hide her identity for her safety. She was just 14. And her nightmare was just beginning.

Boko Haram took her to Sambisa Forest but their stronghold was under attack.

FATI (through translator): The jets dropped bombs and bullets on us in the forest all the time. All of the girls were so frightened. All of them. They

always cried. And the men raped us.

MCKENZIE (voice-over): It was full of abducted girls, she says, many from Chibok, living the nightmare with her.

FATI (through translator): Boko Haram leaders would come to us and ask, "Who wants to do the suicide bomb?"

And the girls would say, "Me, me, me."

They were shouting. They were even fighting to do the suicide bombs.

MCKENZIE (voice-over): At first, Fati thought that the girls were brainwashed, buying into Boko Haram's brutal jihad.

FATI (through translator): But it was just because they want to run away from Boko Haram. If they give them a suicide bomb, then maybe they would

meet soldiers and tell them, "I have a bomb on me," and they would remove the bomb. Perhaps they can run away.

MCKENZIE (voice-over): We find Fati in Minawao refugee camp in far north Cameroon.

As Boko Haram swept through their villages, Nigerians fled here in the thousands. Now the camp is at more than double capacity.

Just beyond those hills is Boko Haram territory. Security officials say the group has infiltrated the camp. Boko Haram often uses abducted children in

their attacks so many here fear young girls the most.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If they see somebody escape from Boko Haram, they feel like they are together with the Boko Haram, is the Boko Haram that free you

to go and do suicide bombs.

MCKENZIE (voice-over): Fati never volunteered. Her captor defected and got arrested near the border.

FATI (through translator): I was free.

MCKENZIE (voice-over): Now she's reunited with her mother, who traveled days to get here. But Fati says many others like her are still held captive

in Sambisa so desperate to flee the forest they will volunteer to die so perhaps they can live.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Wow, a heartbreaking and infuriating report there.

Now, observers are scrambling to interpret a string of defections by North Koreans to the south. Now, the most recent case we've learned about, it

involves a kernel who South Korean officials say worked in espionage. And he may be the most senior military official ever to have fled North Korea.

Paula Hancocks has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The most senior military official ever known to have defected from North Korea, not a headline Kim

Jong-un wants to read.

This defector, a senior colonel in the reconnaissance general bureau, in charge of espionage against the south might well have a lot to say.

ANDREI LANKOV, PROFESSOR: Even if his duties are not related to any kind of clandestine operations, even if this is the case, he must know a lot of

dangerous stuff.

HANCOCKS: A South Korean source tells us that a North Korean diplomat also defected, but couldn't give us any details in who or when.

Some experts say that they have been expecting an increase in members of the elite escaping the

north for a couple of years now, ever since Kim Jong-un executed his own uncle for treason at the end of 2013.

And that defection seemed last week seemed more of a surprise -- 13 workers at a North Korean restaurant presumed to be in China arrived in South Korea

Thursday.

North Korea's Red Cross, which has criticized the South in the past, has called it an act of unprecedented group kidnapping by South Korea and an

atrocious scheme and plot against our state around the world.

Kim Kwang-jin used to handle the overseas banking operations of the late leader Kim Jong-il before defecting in 2003. He says keeping a group

escape like this secret from Pyongyang is a miracle.

KIM KWANG-JIN, INSTITUTE FOR NATIONAL SECURITY STRATEGY: It couldn't happen in the past. And even the people who decide to defect, they cannot

tell it to their family members, because it is so serious, you know. The punishment is serious.

So, it's life and death problem.

HANCOCKS: The number of defectors had fallen since Kim Jong-un took power. Stricter border controls, harsher punishments for families left behind both

played a part.

But the number of North Koreans arriving in the South so far this year has jumped 17 percnet,

according to officials.

Experts say watch those numbers over coming months to see if recent UN sanctions are having an effect.

Paula Hancocks, CNN, Seoul.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Facebook has some big ideas as it plans for the future. And we will delve into what it may have in store next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: All right. Facebook's biggest annual event kicks off in just a few hours. And all eyes on what it will offer next.

It recently announced its answer to live streaming with Facebook Live. The feature is similar to Periscope or Twitch, but it keeps users inside the

Facebook app.

Now, another thing we could expect are chat bots. Now Facebook Messanger already lets you send money, call Uber, and soon it looks like you can chat

with bots to book flights or make a dinner reservation.

And then you have Facebook's instant articles platform. It let's publishers like news organizations and blogs put their content directly on

Facebook. And the service is opening to all publishers today.

And these are just a number of ways that Facebook is trying to keep users inside their network. And Joshua Topolsky, a columnist at The New Yorker

and wrote about Facebook's strategy recently, he joins us now live from New York.

Joshua, good to see you. As mentioned, we know Facebook has updates, it has Instagram messaging, live streaming, also VR, don't forget about that.

Is this all part of Facebook's plan to keep people inside its walled garden?

[08:40:04] JOSHUA TOPOLSKY, COLUMNIST, THE NEW YORKER: Yeah. I mean, if you look at their -- the foundation really the goal is to get you to stay

inside of Facebook doing whatever you're going to do, whether it's connecting with family, sharing photos, messaging, you know, eventually

going into virtual reality experiences. What Facebook needs from you is data, and they need your eyeballs on advertisements, which is how they make

their money.

So, anything they can do to keep you inside their platform, you are going to see big moves to do that.

LU STOUT: Let's talk about chat bots. We are expecting Facebook to make a major announcement about bots for Facebook Messanger. The idea is if I want

to book a flight, for example, with an airline, I chat with the Facebook Messenger bot from that airline.

But, Joshua, is chat really the best -- is it really the most efficient way to do something like that?

TOPOLSKY: I mean, for certain tasks, we're going to find increasingly bots are going to come to dominate in certain areas. I mean, booking a flight

might be a place where there is such a prescribed and obvious set of conversations or set of answers and questions that you would have that a

bot makes a lot of sense.

Right now I think the big question about the bots that Facebook might be working on, and that a lot of people working on, is how much complexity and

variety can those AIs or you know sort of quasi-AIs actually handle at this point?

LU STOUT: I also wanted to ask you about instant articles. It's been around for a while now. It's a way for publishers to put content directly

on Facebook.

So, for example, Buzzfeed can have a Facebook instant article and you can read it without ever leaving Facebook. Is this a good thing for

journalism?

TOPOLSKY: You know, I think increasingly we have to accept in the world of journalism that our stories are going to be in a lot of different places.

I think the place where a journalist or media organization might question a little bit around Facebook's strategy is in what they're able to do and

what kind of stories they're able to tell within that structure.

Instant articles are very limited in what they can do right now. And so I think Facebook needs to expand the palette for publishers to really let

them have the kind of space and area to do the work that they do best.

LU STOUT: Absolutely.

And one more question for you. If Facebook's dream is to, as you put it, to be the internet, will

it be the internet for the next generation? Because already it's kind of been dissed as a legacy social

platform for older users. Is it still going to be relevant?

TOPOLSKY: I mean, this is a big question I think that a lot of people are thinking about. I certainly have been thinking about it.

The realty is technology moves forward, and audiences are looking for different things. The audience that's following the Facebook generation

may be looking for something different. They are clearly responding to things like SnapChat.

So, you know, Facebook has to keep playing this game where they try to stay relevant, but the reality is, is that upgrades happen. And old services

die or they wither. And I think that that's something that they're going to be thinking about right now and for the next, you know, several decades.

LU STOUT: All right. Joshua Topolsky joining me live from new York. Thank you. Take care.

And that is News Stream. I'm Kristie Lu Stout. And World Sport with Alex Thomas is up next.

END