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Democratic Debate Reviewed; Earthquake in Japan; Video of Kidnapped Nigerian School Girls; South Korea Says North Korean Missile Launch Failed; Brexit Vote Set for June. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired April 15, 2016 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[03:00:00] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON, (D) U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You know, we are in vigorous agreement here, senator.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NATALIE ALLEN, CNN NEWSROOM SHOW HOST: More like vigorous disagreement. The democratic candidates go on the attack in Brooklyn as the New York primary nears.
Also ahead this hour, a 6.2 magnitude earthquake strikes Japan. At least nine are dead, hundreds more injured.
And later, the world reacts to CNN's report showing proof of life of some of the missing Chibok girls from Nigeria.
Hello and welcome to our viewers around the world. We're live in Atlanta. This is CNN Newsroom. I'm Natalie Allen.
And we begin with the U.S. presidential race and the battle in Brooklyn between democrats Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders.
Sparks flew Thursday night at the CNN debate with several tense and loud exchanges. At one point, Wolf Blitzer, our moderator, had to silence them saying, no one could hear when they shouted over each other. They questioned each other's judgment and qualifications to be president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BERNIE SANDERS, (D) U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Does Secretary Clinton have the experience and the intelligence to be a president? Of course she does.
(CROWD CHEERING)
But I do question her judgment. I question a judgment which voted for the war in Iraq. The worst foreign policy blunder in the history of this country voted for virtually every disastrous trade agreement, which cost us millions of decent-paying jobs.
(APPLAUSE) And I question her judgment about running super PACs which are collecting tens of millions of dollars from special interests, including $15 million from Wall Street.
HILLARY CLINTON, (D) U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Senator Sanders did call me unqualified. I've been called a lot of things in my life. That was a first.
(APPLAUSE)
And then he did say that he had to question my judgment. Well, the people of New York voted for me twice to be their senator from New York.
(APPLAUSE)
And President Obama trusted my judgment enough to ask me to be secretary of state for the United States.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ALLEN: We also saw glaring differences between their approaches to climate change. Sanders want sweeping reform while Clinton favors incremental change.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SANDERS: Their short-term profits are not more important than the future of this planet.
(APPLAUSE)
And that means -- and I would ask you to respond. Are you in favor of a tax on carbon so that we can transit away from fossil fuel to energy efficiency and sustainable energy at the level and speed we need to do?
(APPLAUSE)
CLINTON: You know, I have laid out a set of actions that build on what President Obama was able to accomplish, building on the clean power plant, which is currently under attack by fossil fuels and the right in the Supreme Court, which is one of the reasons why we need to get the Supreme Court justice that President Obama has nominated to be confirmed so that we can actually continue to make progress.
(APPLAUSE)
I don't take a back seat to your legislation that you've introduced, that you haven't been able to get passed. I want to do what we can do to actually make progress in dealing with the crisis.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ALLEN: The debate's second hour exposed a major policy disagreement over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Here's that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLINTON: You have a right to defend yourself. That does not mean -- that does not mean that you don't take appropriate precautions.
(APPLAUSE)
SANDERS: I don't think that anybody would suggest that Israel invites or welcomes missiles flying into their country. That is not the issue. And you evaded the answer. You evaded the question. The question is not does Israel has a right to respond, not does Israel have a right to go after terrorists and destroy terrorism.
That's not the debate. Was their response disproportionate? I believe that it was.
(APPLAUSE)
There comes a time -- there comes a time when if we pursue justice and peace, we are going to have to say that Netanyahu is not right all of the time.
(APPLAUSE)
ALLEN: So, let's look at the numbers here. The latest Quinnipiac University poll shows Clinton with broad support in New York ahead of Tuesday's primary. She beat sanders 53 percent to 40 percent.
[03:05:01] According to the poll, among likely democratic primary voters in the state. This poll was similar to others which have seen Clinton maintaining a double-digit lead over her rival.
Joining me now is Larry Sabato. He's the director of the Center of Politics at the University of Virginia. Thanks for being with us. So, let's talk another debate here.
It always seems that they have the same energy. Bernie is the guy who's all riled up, always has that finger up ready to dispute anything she says. And Hillary is just the, you know, stay the course, make my point and let him get riled up. What did you think?
LARRY SABATO, VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY CENTER FOR POLITICS DIRECTOR: Well, you know, this was the ninth debate between Clinton and Sanders, and I have to say it was by far the liveliest. You can tell that the resentments have been building up on both sides, and they let it all hang out.
This was their most negative debate. They attacked one another from the very first minute, and while I don't think it changed many votes because we've heard all these arguments, I think it might well have stimulated turnout for the New York primary.
ALLEN: Ah, OK. So, did you think either of them, in their negativity, had the edge? SABATO: I didn't detect any major gaffe, which is about the only way
at this late stage you're going to shift a lot of votes, and you might not even be able to do it with a gaffe. So, I think we're beyond the stage where you declare winners in a debate.
They both made their points. They were cheered lustily by their sections in the audience, and I don't think it changed all that much. But they did make a clear case for their candidacies, so that helps voters and probably made a lot of voters decide to vote next Tuesday.
ALLEN: I want to talk about the New York voters. Are there any particular issues that either one of the candidates used that would resonate to New Yorkers?
SABATO: You can tell that they know the issues that play in New York. On Hillary Clinton's side, she went after Bernie Sanders, as she has so many times, for gun control or the lack of support for it. And Bernie Sanders went after Hillary Clinton, as he has done so many times, on her relationship with Goldman Sachs and the money she took for a speech to Goldman Sachs.
A lot of this, as I say, we've heard before. But there was a special edge to it tonight. They have developed, as candidates often do, an intense dislike for one another.
ALLEN: Yes, they're having a fight to the finish here, it seems. She would probably counter that. But what about the fact that Hillary brought up Donald Trump? She took that turn a few times.
SABATO: Clinton believes and her camp believes that she is the inevitable nominee, and she does have the math behind her. It's hard to see how Sanders catches up in delegates, pledged or unpledged, by the convention. So, she wants to turn toward the general election.
I was surprised she did not include Ted Cruz in those attacks because after all, he's the alternate nominee. It may be Trump. It may be Cruz. She didn't really touch him. But she decided to tell democrats she's already focusing on November.
ALLEN: Larry Sabato, we'll talk again, OK? We'll have a chance to, I'm sure. Thanks so much.
SABATO: Thank you, Natalie.
ALLEN: And in case you missed it, CNN will replay highlights from the democratic debate in Brooklyn. Be sure to tune in Friday at 7 p.m. in Hong Kong and at noon in London.
We turn now to North Korea. U.S. and South Korean defense officials say Pyongyang tried to fire a missile from its Eastern Coast on Friday, but the launch failed. South Korean media report it could have been an intermediate range missile which could reach the Island of Guam where the U.S. has military bases.
CNN has correspondents in capital cities on both sides of the Korean peninsula and is the only U.S.-based network in North Korea at the moment. Paula Hancocks is in Seoul for us. But let's start with Will Ripley. He is in North Korea's capital, Pyongyang. What have you been hearing about this launch, Will?
WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Natalie, everything that we've been hearing about the launch is coming from either South Korean officials or the United States because as of now, there has been no official announcement by the North Korean government, by state media or any other means about what the U.S. and South Korea claim was a failed launch attempt at 5 a.m. this morning Pyongyang time.
The timing of this especially a surprise considering that U.S. officials have been talking about this for days as well as South Korean officials, who from spy satellites monitored this mobile launch equipment moving into place.
[03:10:03] If this launch would have been successful, it really would have been unprecedented because it would be the first time that North Korea has attempted to use technology like this which would allow them to effectively launch missiles from different locations around the country very quickly without spy satellites being able to detect very much activity ahead of time its stationary launch sites.
Because of course, the North has launched the number of different rockets and missiles from stationary launch site. This would have been the first time from a mobile launch site. Had the launch been a success, it would have come on a significant day.
The most important national holiday here in North Korea, which is the day of the Sun, the birthday of North Korea's founder, Kim il-Sung. A lot of times the regime times this major military tests with national holidays. The nuclear test, the purported H-bomb test earlier this year in January was right around the birthday of the current supreme leader, Kim Jong-un.
But given that this was not successful apparently according to the U.S. and South Korea, we may hear nothing from the regime about this or there may be an announcement or different spin about what happened later on.
But for now, we just don't know officially the word on the ground here in Pyongyang other than that the celebration goes on for the birthday of the nation's president.
ALLEN: Just as you've said, it's a huge holiday there. That's, I guess, what they're going to focus on at this point.
Will Ripley for us there in the capital of North Korea. Thank you, Will.
The U.S. is reacting to North Korea's failed missile launch. A U.S. State Department official tells CNN, quote, "We call again on North Korea to refrain from actions and rhetoric that further raise tensions in the region and focus instead on taking concrete steps toward fulfilling its international commitments and obligations."
Our Paula Hancocks joins us now live from Seoul, South Korea. Paula, what's the reaction there?
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Natalie, we just had a statement from the unification ministry here in the site, and they say that Kim Jong-un by going ahead with this attempted missile launch despite the U.N. sanctions passed in March shows that he's trying to split international opinion.
That's what the South Korean government say. They also believe that he's trying to build up his achievements ahead of this workers' party Congress in May, and certainly that is a key Congress for North Korea. It hasn't happened for almost 36 years, and so it's a very significant time for Kim Jong-un.
And experts say it's probably why he has been doing so much this year, the nuclear tests, the satellite launch, and then of course saying that he has miniaturized a nuclear weapon, publishing photos to prove that.
And then this missile launch, which although it was failed, considered a failure, will still teach him and his scientists something. They will always learn something from a failure as well as a success. Natalie.
ALLEN: The people there, as you've reported, Paula, have gotten accustomed to this, and they tolerate it as far as going on with their everyday lives. But at this point with this continuous stream of launches, is that changing attitudes there?
HANCOCKS: Not really. Most South Koreans are going on their daily lives as normal. This is something that has been around for decades. This Peninsula has been split for decades, and certainly it's not something that the average South Korean is concerned about on a daily basis.
There was a little earlier today a different kind of birthday present for Kim il-Sung, the founder of North Korea, by one defected turned activist here in South Korea. He fired some propaganda balloons over the border, firing about 300,000 leaflets he hoped into North Korea, damning the region, calling Kim il-Sung a traitor. Also dollar bills were sent over.
So, certainly on a smaller scale, there's concern and there are people trying to do something to educate the North Koreans and to try and tell them what they say is truly going on. But on a daily basis, there's really very little reaction in South Korea when it comes to the people on the streets. Natalie?
ALLEN: As you say, North Korea been going on for decades. Thank you, Paula Hancocks, for us there in Seoul.
Urgent search efforts are underway in southern Japan after a powerful earthquake and dozens of aftershocks sent buildings tumbling. Disaster management officials say at least nine people were killed in Kumamoto prefecture in the magnitude 6.2 tremor.
Nearly 800 people were injured. Look at that road there. Fifty of them severely and more aftershocks are expected. For more on the deadly quake, let's go to journalist Mike Firn. He joins us live from Tokyo. We just saw the picture of that road that is torn up. Still many dangers for the people, Mike, there in the region.
MIKE FIRN, JOURNALIST: Yes. Aftershocks are continuing. There have been more than 120 since the initial quake, and the meteorological agency there's a 50 percent chance of an intensity 5 aftershock over the next three days and a 20 percent chance of aftershocks up to a minor 6 on the Japanese scale which goes up to 7.
[03:15:15] It's also forecasting heavy rains Saturday night which it says may trigger landslides further hampering the rescue operations. We do have, as you say, nearly 800 injured, 15,000 people being evacuated and told not to return to unsafe buildings.
The prime minister, Shinzo Abe, calling this a race against time. He says the government will send more self-defense force troops and emergency workers to help the 3,000 already involved in the operation if they're need.
Another problem, though, that the emergency operation is facing is damage to roads and rail links. The Shinkensen has been suspended. Five train lines in the region have been suspended. Two highways in the region have been closed. Delays and possible closures at Kumamoto Airport as well.
ALLEN: Mike Firn for us there in Tokyo. Thank you very much, Mike. And coming up for our viewers, we'll have more on the threat of aftershocks. Thanks, Mike.
Next here on CNN Newsroom, how people around the world are responding to the second anniversary of the abduction of hundreds of school girls in Nigeria by Boko Haram.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
RHIANNON JONES, CNN WORLD SPORTS ANCHOR: I'm Rhiannon Jones with your CNN World Sports headlines.
There's been another famous European night on either side as Liverpool completed a stunning comeback to defeat Borussia Dortmund in the quarterfinals of the Europa League.
Remembering the victims of held for a far outweighing the importance of the match but what a game it was. Trailing 3-1 on the night with a little over half an hour to play, Liverpool scored the three goals they needed to knock out Jurgen Klopps form a club. Dejan Lovren with the winner in injury time.
At the Monte Carlo Masters, Roger Federer had no difficulty getting far for (Inaudible), but the same could not be said for Andy Murray. The second seed had to fight back to beat the 16th seed. He dropped the first set and then risked losing the second before equaling the four at a set apiece.
For the match of 5-4 in the final set but Murray dug deep and drove fast to complete a Tuesday 7-5, 7-5 victory.
Good news. Fernando Alonso it looks as though he will be allowed to return to Formula One competition at the Chinese Grand Prix this weekend. The double world champion has been provisionally cleared to race.
[03:20:00] That's subject to further tests after official practice on Friday. Alonso was left in cut and fractured a rib in a spectacular crash at the season opener in Australia in March.
That's a look at your sports headlines. I'm Rhiannon Jones.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ALLEN: CNN continues to following this compelling and heartbreaking story out of Nigeria. There is sadness and at the same time, a glimmer of hope for hundreds of school girls kidnapped by Boko Haram gunmen.
No one really knows if they're alive, but this newly obtained video indicates at least 15 of the girls could be.
CNN's Nima Elbagir brings us reaction to this footage in another exclusive report.
NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's the glimmer of home parents have been waiting for. A video showing 15 of the Chibok girls, sent to negotiators by their captors as proof of life.
CNN obtained the video from a person close to the negotiations to get the girls released, and we shared it with parents of the missing girls. But these young women in the video are only a handful of those girls abducted now two years ago.
April 14th, 2014, 276 school girls taken in the night by Boko Haram gunmen. A few dozen escaped. But since then, there's been only silence. Despite a global campaign to bring back our girls, two years later, they remain missing.
Facing heavy criticism, Nigeria's government remains under pressure to bring them home.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KASHIM SHETTIMA, BORNO STATE GOVERNOR: I We believe the girls are alive, but probably based on security analysis, there might not be, you cannot get them in one group. They might have been dispersed into several cells.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ELBAGIR: in Nigeria's capital, supporters and families of the missing march to mark the solemn anniversary. Among the demonstrators, Esther Yakubu, her daughter Giuliana was one of those kidnapped. Another news clue showed her our story. She broke down in tears saying she recognized the girls. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ESTHER YAKUBU, MOTHER OF ABDUCTED GIRL IN NIGERIA: I saw the girls. I recognized some of them because we are in the same area with them. I recognize they are the Chibok girls.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ELBAGIR: It's the first sighting of the girls in nearly two years, and after an agonizing wait, families of the missing hope the video is not yet another false lead.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHETTIMA: We believe that these girls will be found and very soon too and be returned to their families.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ELBAGIR: Two long years and counting. For the families of these missing young women, their return can't come soon enough.
Nima Elbagir, CNN, Abuja.
ALLEN: People are responding to the plight of the missing Nigerian girls from all corners of the world, including social media.
Here's CNN's Isha Sesay with that part of the story.
ISHA SESAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's really hard to believe the world is marking the second anniversary of the Chibok girls' abduction. As someone who has covered this story from the very beginning, I'm filled with a sense of profound disappointment and great sadness, especially after seeing that proof of life video uncovered by CNN.
The kidnapping of the hundreds of school girls gave birth to the hash tag Bring Back Our Girls. It has been re-tweeted millions and millions of times since. One of the most widely spread social media campaigns of its kinds. Yet two years have gone by, and the girls are still missing.
And on this grim anniversary, world leaders are once again expressing outrage and calling for the safe return of the Chibok girls. The U.S. State Department issued a statement and it reads in part, "The United States again calls for the immediate release without preconditions of all hostages held by Boko Haram. The kidnapping of these young women along with the kidnappings of countless others by Boko Haram epitomizes this terrorist groups depravity."
A statement also from the U.N. special representative of the secretary general for children in armed conflict. The statement reads in part, "We cannot tolerate the abduction of children. We cannot forget the girls from Chibok. The children of Nigeria and the region deserve to grow up in peace. It is up to us to be their voice and give them back the life they deserve." [03:25:01] The hash tag Bring Back Our Girls is once again in the
spotlight in support of getting the girls home and in frustration this tweet from the U.S. mission in Nigeria.
Ambassador Entwistle meets Oby Ezekwesili and Bring Back our Girls group in Abuja, U.S. committed to the safe return of Chibok girls. This from Gordon Brown, the former British Prime Minister and his wife Sarah Brown. "The Chibok girls are now a symbol of our apparent weakness to protect young lives."
Action aide U.K., a non-profit organization tweeted this. "Until every girl is home safely, we must continue to call on the Nigerian government to bring back our girls."
You know, following CNN's discovery of that proof of life video, now more than ever, the world is looking to the Nigerian government and the international community to move beyond statements and actually bring these girls home where they belong.
Isha Sesay, CNN, Los Angeles.
ALLEN: We so hope that happens somehow.
Well, we have heard a lot of verbal attacks in CNN's democratic debate, but are they on target or off the mark? Coming up, we give the claims made by both candidates a reality check.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ALLEN: And welcome back to our viewers from around the world. This is CNN Newsroom. I'm Natalie Allen. Let's check our top stories for you.
U.S. officials say North Korea attempted to fire a missile from its Eastern Coast Friday, but the launch failed.
South Korean media report the attempt involved an intermediate range missile. A weapon like that could reach the Island of Guam, where the U.S. has military bases.
[03:30:06] Secretary of State John Kerry says the U.S. could have shot down that Russian warplane that buzzed a navy Destroyer in the Baltic Sea. One of the jets came within about 23 meters of the USS Donald Cook on Tuesday. Russia says it acted in accordance with international rules.
Verbal fireworks at the CNN democratic presidential debate in New York ahead of next Tuesday's primary there. Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders attacking each other over Wall Street, gun control, and their qualifications. Their race had been relatively tame until now.
So, were the claims made in the New York democratic debate fact or fiction? As always, our Tom Foreman calls out the nominees truths, half-truths, and flat-out fabrications in CNN's reality check.
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton sparred with each other over who is the bigger champion of a $15 an hour minimum wage.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SANDERS: When this campaign began, I said that we've got to end this starvation minimum wage of 7.25, raise it to 15. Secretary Clinton said, let's raise it to $12. There's a difference.
CLINTON: I have said from the very beginning that I supported the fight for $15. I supported those on the front lines of the fight for -- it happens to be true.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: Well, who's telling the truth here? If you look at what Senator Sanders has said, yes, all along he said this has to go from 7.25 an hour to $15 an hour. Federal standard. He's fought for it a long time. He's never wavered on that.
She does say on her own web site that it should go to $12 an hour, and some states and cities should on their own raise it to $15 an hour. So, technically she's for the idea but not backing the federal legislation like he would.
We're going to say what he said was true, and what she said about it was true but misleading. She went after Bernie Sanders on gun laws, saying basically because states like his, Vermont, have lax gun laws, New York has a high crime rate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLINTON: The facts are that most of the guns that end up committing crimes in New York come from out of state. They come from the states that don't have the kind of serious efforts to control guns that we do in New York.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: The federal numbers paint a more complicated picture. In 2014, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms said that about 7,700 guns were recovered in New York after crimes. Out of that number, the ones that could be traced to some original point of registration, about 4,600.
So, right away we know that 40 percent, we don't know where they came from. On top of which, authorities say many guns used in crimes are never recovered and never traced anywhere. So, her numbers seem a little squishy already for this big claim that she's making.
And if you try to link it to Vermont as she has before, then it becomes a mess because out of this number, the number traced back to Vermont, only 55.
In the end, Bernie Sanders may be vulnerable on the question of gun regulation in his state, but her claim about all of this, she just doesn't have the data to back that up, nor is there clear data to refute what she is saying. So all we can say is it's complicated. You can find out more about all of our reality checks. Go to
cnn.com/realitycheck.
ALLEN: Well, just a few miles from the debate, Donald Trump touted his New York values as protesters chanted against him. The group picketed Thursday night as republican candidates attended an annual gala for the party.
A law enforcement source tells CNN police arrested about 30 of the protesters.
At the event, candidate John Kasich, who just secured the endorsement of former New York governor George Pataki, pitched his eligibility. Ted Cruz gave enemies of the U.S. a warning, and Trump attacked Cruz's remarks about the Empire State's values.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, (R) U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What are New York values? Number one, honesty and straight talking. Honesty, you better believe it. It's a work ethic. Hard-working people. It's about family. New York, believe it, is about family. So important. It's the energy to get things done. We're builders. We make things happen. It's so important. We make things happen, and it's courage and community service.
TED CRUZ, (R) U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If you wage war against the United States of America, if you seek to murder innocent Americans, we are coming to get you. We are not coming to interrogate you. We are not coming to read you your rights. We are coming to kill you.
[03:35:04] JOHN KASICH, (R) U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Do you know what will happen if we nominate people who have high negatives and cannot beat Hillary? We're not just going to lose the White House. We're not just going to lose the Supreme Court.
But I'll tell you what. There's a very good chance your Senate majority leader will be the Senate minority leader because we risk losing everything from the White House to the courthouse to the state house if we don't advance a positive, uplifting, unifying message to this country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ALLEN: New York holds its primary election on Tuesday. So, please tune in to CNN and watch how it goes. It will be interesting.
China's economy is still growing, just not as fast as it had been. The government says the gross domestic product grew at an annualized rate of 6.7 percent in the first quarter of this year. That's the weakest rate of growth since early 2009.
Let's see how the Asia Pacific markets are reacting. Japan's Nikkei finished the day down .37 percent. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng up, .02 percent. The Shanghai Composite down .14 percent. And Australia ASX 200 finished higher, up .76 percent.
Well, let's talk more about China's first quarter, the effect on the markets. What it all means. CNN money's Asia Pacific editor, Andrew Stevens joins us live from Hong Kong. Hi, there, Andrew.
ANDREW STEVENS, CNN MONEY ASIA PACIFIC EDITOR: Hi, Natalie. Yes. Looking at those numbers on the markets here, that shows a complete lack of reaction to the China GDP number, which really is the biggest number of the China economic data because it does give that snapshot of where the world's second biggest economy is.
And you don't have to go back that far to early January this year, in fact, when China and what was going on in the Chinese economy and the currency markets and the stock markets was roiling not just China but right across the world.
Stock markets were reacting badly to what's happening in China. Investors were reacting badly. This number, this GDP number we see, this 6.7 percent does show the likelihood which we were talking about not that long ago of a hard landing in China, a hard economic landing is very, very unlikely.
Yes, the economy is slowing. It is not falling off a cliff by any means. So, that is the takeaway from this. It is in the range that the Chinese government wants it to be or says it will be, between 6.5 percent and 7 percent, and it is holding up.
The reason, though, it is holding up mainly is because the Chinese government is pumping a lot of stimulus into the markets. Interest rates have been cut something like six times since November of 2014.
There's a lot more money washing through the system. Lending, bank lending to individuals, is huge now. The property market in many of the big cities of Beijing, Shanghai, is red hot again. So, all of this is helping to keep that economy at this level. It's not a strong level, but certainly compared to what a lot of people were expecting, it's a lot stronger than they were thinking.
ALLEN: So, does this mean that the economy is more stable in the long run?
STEVENS: Well, it's definitely stabilizing at the moment, having fallen or weakened over the last half of last year. Whether this is a long-run thing, Natalie, we can't say at the moment because as I was saying, the government is doing a lot to help this economy. There's a lot of stimulus measures going on, and what the government needs to do really, it needs to bite the bullet and carry out some pretty painful reforms.
It needs to get to these massive state-owned enterprises. The SLE is there and these are huge companies employing tens of thousands of people. And some of those companies are pretty much useless. They're producing things that people don't want to buy. They're employing people because people need jobs and that's about the size of it.
They need -- the government needs to get rid of these so-called zombie companies, to get the economy working much more efficiently. And what we're seeing at the moment is a lack of political will from Beijing to actually tackle these big issues.
And until it does, they can go along as they are, but this is still not a sustainable way of keeping the economy going over the next 5, 10, 15 years, Natalie.
ALLEN: So, doesn't sound like it. The zombie companies. Interesting. Andrew Stevens, always a pleasure. Thank you for breaking it down for us.
STEVENS: Thanks, Natalie.
ALLEN: We want to turn back to Japan now and that earthquake that killed at least nine people. Hundreds are injured.
Meteorologist Derek Van Dam is tracking the aftershocks for us. There could be numerous, and they could last for some time. Hi there, Derek.
[03:40:00] DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hi, Natalie. That's right. We've already had the upwards of 100 aftershocks according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. This is what we would expect after a magnitude 6.2 earthquake. Devastating, and unfortunately there was loss of life.
But another aspect to consider is that with further aftershocks like this, we already have severely compromised buildings and households and dwellings that any further aftershocks could easily bring down those already damaged buildings.
So people will want to take that into consideration as the search and recovery efforts are continuing and are under way at this very moment in time.
Now, there are several reasons why earthquakes form across the world. But it's all about the fault lines. It's all about the tectonic plates. You hear geologists talk about that quite often.
Here's an example. We have a normal fault line. That would be the separation of two tectonic plates, for instance. This is going to cause almost a seduction in the earth. The other is kind of the exact opposite of this, it's the reversal of fault lines actually pushing toward each other, actually thrusting the ground up and creating an earthquake.
Well, what happened in Japan was slightly different than this. Let me show you an example of what actually took place. This is actually called a strike-slip fault. This is when these fault lines actually move parallel to each other, and they send ripples of energy across the surface of the earth, and that causes the earthquake and subsequent aftershocks that take place.
But it is all about the depth of these earthquakes; how far underneath the surface of the earth did this earthquake actually occur. According to the geological survey, we had this particular earthquake at about 10 kilometers below the surface of the earth. This is a relatively shallow earthquake, and that has major
ramifications on how much damage can actually take place, especially when you couple that with an increasingly densely populated area like southern Japan.
Take, for instance, this USGS map. This really just indicates the amount of people that felt the severe to violent shaking that took place. Upwards of three-quarters of a million people felt that severe shaking, Natalie.
ALLEN: You've got to feel for them too.
DAM: Absolutely.
ALLEN: Moving forward, they have to have a lot of anxiety. Thank you, Derek.
DAM: Thanks.
ALLEN: Should they stay, or should they go?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Have you read this?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, yes, I'm a fervent believer we should get out of the E.U.?
ROBERTSON: Why is that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why? Because we pay far too much money for too much bureaucracy that we don't need.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ALLEN: Well, there is one who's made up his mind. British voters prepare to have their say on the country's economic future. That's just ahead here on CNN Newsroom.
[03:45:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ALLEN: Welcome back. British voters will decide this june whether to stay in the European Union. The campaign officially kicks off Friday, but it's already mired in controversy. Thanks to an expensive mailer from the British government.
International diplomatic editor Nic Robertson shopped it around with some Londoners.
ROBERTSON: Here it is, the new government handbook on why British people should vote to stay in the European Union. The Brexit battle. The future of the U.K. in Europe is just beginning to heat up two months to voting.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ROBERTSON: Have you guys read this yet?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, yes, about politics.
ROBERTSON: Have you read this yet?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.
ROBERTSON: Are you going to read it?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If I had a copy of it, I would read it.
ROBERTSON: Have you read this from the government yet?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, we have.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTSON: Polls have the in and out campaigns more or less neck and neck, with the outs edging ahead. But so close to such a momentous event, there is confusion.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEBASTIAN PAYNE, FINANCIAL TIMES COMMENT EDITOR: I think people are confused because the arguments about numbers and immigration and what have you are very technically. And you turn on the radio and you hear about fishing quotas or trade tariffs. Ordinary voters have no idea what this means or whether it's good or whether it's bad.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTSON: As Churchill might have said, never before in the field of referendums have so many known so little about something so important.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTSON: Undecided, why is that?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Undecided because basically there's not enough information out there for me to actually make up my mind and there's too much fear mongering. It's very confusing.
ROBERTSON: Confusing. And now they're asking me for help? Do I think it will help?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
(OFF-MIKE)
ROBERTSON: Well, let's read it and have a look. It tells you which day, the 23rd.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. That's fine. ROBERTSON: Yes. OK. Over 3 million jobs are linked to the exports in
the E.U. Do you believe this stuff when you read it?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, it depends. I mean is it evidence-based? Where is the evidence from?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTSON: They're not the only ones doubting the government.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The government says about how many jobs the U.K. is dependent on.
ROBERTSON: Three million.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. But I mean the assumption is that all those jobs would go last if we leave the E.U. and that's rubbish because we would renegotiate the deal.
ROBERTSON: When will you make your mind up?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Probably when I have more information from the other side.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTSON: The other side, that's flamboyant London mayor Boris Johnson. When he came out for the outs, he was promptly pummeled for playing politics, a gamble, his critics said, to get Cameron's job, Prime Minister. For his part, the P.M. says even if he loses, he'll stay on to negotiate the exit. The drama is building.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAYNE: The biggest decision that British voters are going to take for a generation. The last referendum was in 1975. So, unless you're nearing pensionable age, you haven't had a chance to vote on Britain's membership.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTSON: For some, we found, that day can't come soon enough.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTSON: Have you read this?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I'm a fervent believer that we should get out of the E.U.
ROBERTSON: Why is that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why? Because we're paying far too much money for far too much bureaucracy that we don't need. (END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTSON: It won't be the last word. That's for sure.
Nic Robertson, CNN, London.
ALLEN: And of course, Nic will continue to follow that one for us. Long way to go there.
The Duke and Duchess will wrap up their India trip by following in the footsteps of Prince William's late mother. How their visit to the Taj Mahal brings back memories of Princess Diana. That is next.
[03:50:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DAM: We've got a big weather-maker taking shape across the central and western United States. Here it is on our water vapor satellite imagery. You can see it starting to move into the Pacific Northwest, but it's pulling in moisture from the Pacific Ocean as well as the Gulf of Mexico.
And it's going to stall out over the four corners region, allowing for heavy snow throughout the Colorado Rockies, the potential for severe weather over the plains states and heavy rain from the Texas Panhandle through Oklahoma and parts of Nebraska and points northward.
This storm system is going to slowly evolve across this region. And believe it or not, they'll be measuring snowfall in the Colorado Rockies upwards of a meter in some locations possible, especially those high mountaintops.
But we also have impressive rainfall totals just east of that. That would be east of Denver. The potential exists for 100 millimeters or more by the time the storm system is all said and done. It will finally move out by late Monday into Tuesday.
Here's your forecast for Denver, 15 degrees. Rain and wind. That will transition to snowfall. Chicago stays dry. Atlanta mostly cloudy, 18. New York, lots of sunshine overhead. Temperatures in the upper teens for you.
Here's our severe threat on Friday. Large hail, isolated tornadoes. Again, Amarillo, Texas and points northward. Let's travel into Central America. Still warm and Sunny into Mexico City.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ALLEN: Well, after a whirlwind tour of India, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are in Bhutan. The duchess tried her hand at archery as the couple worked to build a personal relationship with the kingdom's royal family.
The king and queen of the secluded Himalayan country are often compared to William and Catherine. It looked like she did all right there. Well, the Duke and Duchess will wrap up their India trip with a visit to the Taj Mahal Saturday. It's a place princess Diana visited many years ago when she sat alone
on a bench in front of the famed monument.
Max Foster spoke with the photographer who captured that moment.
MAX FOSTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Countless VIP have been pictured on this bench, but this shot became iconic because of the story behind it. It came to symbolize the breakdown of what was meant to be a fairy tale marriage. Anwar Hossain was in the royal press pack that day.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANWAR HOSSAIN, PHOTOGRAPHER: It's iconic because she looks very smart against the big expanse of Taj Mahal, which is a big, imposing building. And this way we can more and the way she was sitting down there looked maybe lonely. Nobody in the background. It looked as if she was the only person in the Taj Mahal. The place belonged to her.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: The shoot was organized by then royal press secretary Dickie Arbiter.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DICKIE ARBITER, FORMER BIRMINGHAM PALACE SPOKESMAN: It was left to everybody else to decide what the state of the marriage was in, and I think she gave that impression by the way that she looked at the camera and what she said to one of the cameramen.
[03:55:01] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In what way?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: That was interpreted by those who were there as confirmation that the marriage was in trouble.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ARBITER: It is recognized as a temple of love, and Diana was there in front of it, all alone. Her husband having been there 12 years beforehand, who incidentally said one day I would like to bring my wife here. Well, she was there, and he wasn't.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: This wasn't the fun-loving Diana that the photographers had pictured before.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HOSSAIN: Her mood change all of them. For example, like when she was still very friendly with Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, they used to like skiing. They went there and pushing each other and joking. And like in Ascot, they were walking with an umbrella, and then you can see Diana giggling like little girls. So, many times they were doing, they are near camera but they wouldn't mind being like that, you know, like little girls.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: It was within a matter of months after the Indian tour that Diana and Charles announced their separation. Now their son, William, is making a return visit to India with his wife, Kate.
They too will sit on that same bench at the Taj Mahal but with a very different story to tell. One of a happy and secure marriage, which the media is rarely allowed into. William's obsession with privacy in sharp contrast to his mother's openness.
Max Foster, CNN, London.
ALLEN: We'll of course be covering that part of their trip.
Well, Max Foster picks it up from here live from London. Thanks for watching. I'm Natalie Allen in Atlanta.
[04:00:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
