Return to Transcripts main page

NEWS STREAM

Rockets From Syria Land in Southern Turkey; Ted Cruz, John Kasich Team Up In Attempt To Stop Trump; Game of Thrones Season Preview; North Korea Launches Ballistic Missile from Submarine. Aired 8:00a-9:00p ET

Aired April 25, 2016 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:17] KRISTIE LU STOUT, HOST: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. And welcome to News Stream.

Now, the U.S. president promises more troops to battle ISIS in Syria as fighting increases in the wartorn country.

Republican rivals Ted Cruz and John Kasich are now teaming up trying to stop Donald Trump from clinching the Republican nomination.

And the Game of Thrones moves into uncharted territory. The hit TV shows moves ahead of the books for the first time.

And we begin in Syria where the fighting has renewed concern that the truce is falling apart.

Now, deadly fire from Syria struck the Turkish border town of Killis (ph) on Sunday. At least one person was killed and 26 are wounded.

Now, officials in Turkey say since January at least 45 rockets launched from Syria have landed in that town killing more than a dozen

people. And inside Syria, in places like Aleppo, there are signs that the attacks are becoming more and more intense.

Now, the U.S. president has announced plans to boost the effort to counter ISIS in Syria, Barack Obama says he is sending up to 250 more

special operation forces joining the 50 who are already in the country.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: A small number of American

special operation forces are already on the ground in Syria and their expertise has been critical as local forces have driven ISIL out of key

areas. So, given the success, I have approved the deployment of up to 250 additional U.S. personnel in Syria, including special forces to keep up

this momentum.

They are not going to be leading the fight on the ground, but they will be essential in providing the training and assisting local forces they

continue to drive ISIL back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: President Obama now in Germany trying to persuade European leaders to scale up their counterterrorism programs.

Now, governments around the world are now criticizing North Korea after it test-fired a missile

from a submarine on Saturday. Now South Korea and the U.S. have condemned it, France is calling on the EU to impose sanctions. U.S. President Barack

Obama says the test was yet another provocation from Pyongyang.

CNN's Paula Hancocks has more from Seoul.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: From a joke to something serious, that's how one U.S. official describes North Korea's

launch of a ballistic missile from a submarine.

Pyongyang calls it an eye-opening success, Kim Jong-un clearly delighted with the result.

CHARLES ARMSTRONG, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY: All this indicates that North Korea is ramping up its game to be a much more credible force in any kind

of confrontation and to be able to hit far away with nuclear weapons.

HANCOCKS: South Korea's military is on high alert. The Joint Chiefs of Staff saying the missile flew around 30 kilometers, less than 20 miles.

To be considered a success, they say, it needs to fly 300 kilometers, or more than 180 miles.

It fell far short, but officials are not calling it a failure.

U.S. President Barack Obama, traveling in Germany, rejected repeated North Korean offers to halt the nuclear program is the U.S. and South Korea

halt joint military drills.

Mr. Obama called Pyongyang's behavior provocative.

OBAMA: Although, more often than not they fail in many they gain knowledge each time

they engage in these tests, they gain knowledge each time they engage in these tests. And we take it very seriously.

HANCOCKS: The United Nations security council has condemned this weekend's test firing saying it violates numerous resolutions. North

Korea's nuclear and missile testing this year has been relentless, ignoring global condemnation and sanctions.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Let's get more now on this story, we have CNN's Paula Hancocks following developments on the Korean peninsula from Seoul. We

also have Will Ripley in Tokyo. Let's start first with Paula in South Korea.

And Paula, Seoul is now saying that there could be, as you reported, a fifth nuclear test they're fearing by North Korea. Why does Pyongyang

continue to do these missile tests and these nuclear tests despite all the sanctions, the international pressure against it?

HANCOCKS: Well, Kristie, this year has really been quite remarkable when you look at what what Kim Jong-un has tried to achieve so far These

missile and nuclear tests have just been continuing despite these UN sanctions.

Now, we have heard from many officials that the sanctions have only just been passed. It was only the beginning of March. So, you have to

give them several more months before you can see whether or not they do have an impact on the North Korean regime as they're

supposed to.

But from North Korea's point of view, from Kim Jong-un's point of view, he's just a couple weeks away from one of the biggest congress's that

his country has held. It's a very rare Workers' Party congress. It hasn't been held since 1980 and it's a real opportunity for him to tout his

achievements, to show what he has done this year and to try to consolidate power.

So, experts are saying from his point of view, this is quite probably one of the most important dates of the year and quite probably why he has

been so intent on carrying out these tests throughout the year -- Kristie.

[08:05:42] LU STOUT: Absolutely.

And let's dig into that a little bit more with our Will Ripley who joins us from Tokyo. And Will, not long ago you were in Pyongyang after

that failed missile launch on the birthday of Kim il-Song. There was absolutely no public reaction the.

But how do you think Pyongyang is going to capitalize on this successful launch?

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we saw it over the weekend, Kristie, when those photos were released and the triumphant announcement

from North Korea's state media that this submarine ballistic missile launch was a success even though it only went perhaps a tenth of the distance of

what South Korean officials say it would need to be considered a success.

And we've seen those kind of announcements this year. You know, Paula talked about the leadup to the Workers' Party congress, the first since

1980. The last Workers' Party congress, North Korea's founder and president Kim il-Song appointed his son, Kim jong-il, as his successor.

This time around, his grandson, the Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un could reshuffle the party leadership, consolidate his power and look at his list

of achievements that he has announced to his countrymen and to the world this year, that reported H-bomb test in January just a few days before his birthday. Then, in February, that Satellite

launch, now the submarine launch as well as a number of other projectiles that were launched in really outright defiance of the U.S. and South Korean

military drills that are still ongoing scheduled to end this weekend.

LU STOUT: All right. Will Ripley reporting live for us from Tokyo. Paula Hancocks in Seoul,

a big thank you to are both.

Now, let's go back to our top story this hour, the deteriorating situation in Syria. Now, some of those who have escaped the fighting in

Syria are now in Turkey, but have not left the violence behind.

Now, Nick Paton Walsh joins us now from Gaziantep. And Nick, how is the Syrian war spreading into Turkey?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it is small and slight but it has a huge impact on this southern Turkish town of Killis

(ph) where according to officials since January there have been 16 citizens, Turkish citizens, killed by

about a total of 45 rockets that have landed.

Now, that sounds small over a long period of time, but it has got very intense in just the past two weeks or so. And merely -- in fact yesterday

when we were there briefly, three or four rockets slammed in there killing one individual, injuring many others including be five Syrian children.

Here's what we saw there.

So, Kristie, you can see in those images there a town really stricken by that violence, intense to a certain degree and causing a lot of pressure

on the Turkish government as well. They were sending their deputy prime minister down to the town yesterday.

He said that they would do all they could to obliterate the source of these rocket strikes. It appears to be coming from ISIS, as far as we can

tell, but a majority of locals there had very strong criticism of the Erdogan administration, the Turkish government, saying that they had not

done enough to look after them.

In fact, it was shocking to see the sites of those particular attacks. The police were not in evidence merely hours after they had occurred.

But this episode happening across in Turkey. It doesn't really fit in to the broader notion of the cessation of hostilities, but it is an example

of how the war is continuing to expand.

The cessation of hostilities has always been about trying to stop these more moderate rebel opposition fighting with the regime, leaving

aside the terrorist groups as the U.S. and Russia and the Syrian regime call them as well.

So, a complex picture here, but a real sign -- a sense of fear, those living in southern Turkey, that they're dealing with a war spreading into

their once peaceful town -- Kristie.

LU STOUT: Yeah. And as concern and fear about that cessation of hostilities grows, President Obama is in Europe saying that 250 special op

forces are going to Syria.

What impact are they going to have on ISIS?

WALSH: Well, the idea is for them to be closer to the front line in an advise and assist type of mission. They're clear, they're not going to

be involved in the actual fighting that may occur as a result of where they are, perhaps they've gone into conflict. But predominately, their use we

think will be to assist with more accurate airstrikes to try and bind together more cohesively the current militant groups that are fighting

against ISIS there. That's mostly the Kurdish forces, Syrian-Kurdish forces. But most importantly, Sunni Syrian Arab rebel groups as well.

They're vital, because Raqqa, which is the key capital now of the ISIS self-declared caliphate is a Sunni Arab town, and they need Sunni Arab

forces to move into there to clear ISIS out. They can't leave that job to the Kurds, or that will just increase ethnic tension and division in that

area.

The hope is that these special forces can get those Sunni Syrian Arabs more cohesively to work with the Kurds to improve their performance on the

battlefield with better weaponry, better tactics. And I think it's also, given the current precarious state of the peace talks occurring under UN

auspices and the cessation of hostilities, it's a card that the White House are playing saying we do have military options here. We're not simply

beholden to a negotiating process that seems at this point, frankly, to be stalling or not even resulting in that much anymore cessation of hostilies

on the battlefield itself, or loss of civilian life.

So I think the White House perhaps looking at the other options here and above all, remember, this message delivered in Europe was entirely

aimed at a European audience. He was speaking when most of America was asleep to European leaders saying to them you need to do more.

A lot of praise for the European project, but also hidden in that criticism or what he called complacency on behalf of Europe for its own

security -- Kristie.

[08:11:06] LU STOUT: Indeed. Key detail there. Thanks for picking that up. Nick Paton Walsh reporting for us live from Gaziantep in Turkey.

Thank you, Nick.

Now, police in Bangladesh are looking into the brutal killing of this university professor. A student has been detained, but questions remain

why the teacher was stabbed and whether it's related to a string of killings of atheist bloggers. Ivan Watson has more. But a warning, some

of what you're about to see is disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A body lies face down on a road in Bangladesh, the very public aftermath of a brutal murder.

Rezaul Karim Siddique was waiting for a bus to take him back to campus when assailants approached him from behind, stabbing him in the neck.

An English professor at a university, his students described him as a generous teacher and an enthusiastic musician.

ANIMA CHOUDHURY, FORMER STUDENT: If we have any problems with our academic course or any other thing, he helped us in every possible way.

SOLIUL AZAM, FORMER STUDENT: When a very simple person like him can be murdered, it's a very terrifying concept for all of us.

If it is true that he was murdered bythese extremists, then it could be a very terrifying fact.

WATSON: Police detained at least one student in connection with the killing, which they say

was similar in style to the machete murders of at least six of Bangladesh's atheist bloggers and secular publishers in 14 months.

This deadly violence provoking concerns that freedom of speech is under attack in the country.

An ISIS website claimed responsibility for Siddique's death. Bangladesh's government insists

that neither al Qaeda, nor ISIS are at work in the country and that they're doing all they can to crack

down on homegrown extremism.

ANISUL HUQ, BANGLADESH MINISTER FOR LAW, JUSTICE AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS: The government is seriously investigating, and pursuing every

lead that they get to solve these killings, of bring the real culprits to justice.

WATSON: Friends of Professor Siddique say they don't understand why he was targeted. Unlike other victims, he never publicly discussed

religious issues.

ANAND KUMAR SAHA, PROFESSOR, UNIVERSOTY OF RAJSHAHI (through translator): He wasn't an active member of any political party. He played

music and organized cultural events.

WATSON: Outraged students and teachers at his university staged protests over the weekend

demanding immediate justice for their slain colleague and mentor.

Ivan Watson, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: You're watching News Stream. And coming up, an exclusive report as CNN is with Nigerian troops on the front line in the battle

against Boko Haram.

The army says it's getting closer to finding the missing girls from Chibok. That report is straight ahead.

Plus, tragedy turns to hope for one young girl who survived last year's earthquake in Nepal, but with major trauma. Now she's being given

a new life.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:17:54] LU STOUT: Coming to you live in Hong Kong, you're watching News Stream.

Now, CNN has been following the search for the missing Chibok girls, that kidnapping that sparked outrage around the world. Hundreds are still

missing after Boko Haram took them from a Nigerian boarding school two years ago.

And the last time some of them were seen was on this video sent by the terror group to negotiators as proof of life. It was said to be taken on

Christmas Day just over four months ago. And it is renewed calls for the Nigerian government to bring the girls home.

Now, the search and the battle to retake territory from Boko Haram has led the Nigerian army to the Sambisa forest. Now, CNN's Nima Elbagir has

been given unprecedented access to that effort and the troops say sometimes they see children's footprints in the dirt. Here is her exclusive report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Monday market in Maiduguri.

(on camera): Two men sowing absolute panic, both suspected terrorists, quickly they say subdued. Normality returned. But it gives you a sense of

the tension here. As Boko Haram have lost their territorial footprint, or much of it, they're growing increasingly reliant on unleashing waves of

suicide bombers into the heart of Maiduguri and beyond.

(voice-over): In a city on edge no one is above suspicion.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

ELBAGIR: Maiduguri is at the heart of the Nigerian army's campaign to retake Boko Haram territory. Under Operation Lafiodola (ph), "Peace by any

means," spread out across the country's vast northeast, the road to the Sambisa Forest, or what's been cleared so far. Relentless heat bears down

on our heavily armored convoy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: From all the boys, the all boys very vigilant. Over.

ELBAGIR: Soft sand, ideal hiding holes for IEDs. The scout in the lead car directing our convoy on and off the track.

(on camera): Two years ago, when we visited Chibok after the mass abduction of the Chibok schoolgirls, parents described to us how they

followed the trail of their daughters to the front gates, to the entry point of the Sambisa Forest, and were unable to move any further. This is

the Sambisa.

The Nigerian government has been able to start clawing back territory here from Boko Haram. But the Sambisa Forest, the territory right in the

center, that is still what they're moving towards.

[08:20:34] (voice-over): And this is where some of the Chibok girls are believed to still be held.

(on camera): Say, you're out on a patrol like this, what are your scouts looking for? Are they looking for tracks? Are they looking for -- do

they specifically know that this area will have had heat signals or using thermal imaging? What techniques are you using to get you closer?

BRIG. GEN. B.A. RAGI, 28TH TASK FORCE BRIGADE COMMANDER: I will say the possibility of the necessary multipliers like (inaudible), but we rely

a lot on the Americans that have provided the ISR planes, give some information as to a cluster of groups of persons. We try to search out for

footprints. And sometimes we see children, their footprints on the ground.

ELBAGIR (voice-over): As if on cue a surveillance plane flies overhead, one of the eyes in the sky.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here, here.

ELBAGIR: Back in Maiduguri, the operation's commander, Major General Leo Irabor, tells us he's proud of his men but they are in need of more

international support.

(on camera): Why do you think it's taking so long to find the girls?

MAJ. GEN. LEO IRABOR, OPERATION COMMANDER: The quest of Chibok girls remains a sore point in our history. We're seeing that from the

intelligence the remaining areas that we're walking to, moving to, we want to see if we're able to rescue the Chibok girls.

ELBAGIR (voice-over): Irabor is tasked with both following the girls' two-year-old trail and waging war against Boko Haram's brutal insurgency in

the face of heightening frustration.

IRABOR: It is a huge challenge, and the mandate is enormous. But currently, we see them very far.

ELBAGIR (on camera): But the threat remains?

IRABOR: The threat remains. Of course, just like in all other areas.

ELBAGIR (voice-over): The commander allowed us to join his men moving east toward the Boko Haram front lines to see for ourselves.

Boko Haram do, indeed, appear to have been pushed back. But their presence lingers. Everywhere you look, scenes of devastation.

(on camera): All the way through our journey cross-country we've seen village after abandoned village, devastated, destroyed. What Boko Haram

couldn't loot, they attempted to burn to the ground. And people are still too afraid to come back to their homes.

But the hope is that the longer the Nigerian military maintain their hold on the territory up here, the more people's confidence will grow, the

more willing they'll be to return and reclaim their lives and their homes.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: And CNN's Nima Elbagir joins me now live from our London bureau. And Nima, in that report, we see with Nigerian forces infiltrating

the forest that Boko Haram calls home, the forces want to find the missing girls, but do they have the skills, do they have the technology to succeed?

ELBAGIR: Well, I think you saw there that the technology, the multipliers, as the brigadier general called them, the kind of technology

that impacts on what you're seeing on the ground in a way that allows you to extract more information from it, that's what they're lacking. They

have no thermal imaging. The heat signals that most people would be wanting to follow.

They also tell us that they don't have the biometrics of the girls. So, when they do manage to successfully release Boko Haram hostages, which

they have, 2000 so far, apparently, have been released. When they do manage to find these girls, it then is a very painstaking process to try

and find the identities of these girls.

So, all of this, we're told, is what's slowing down the search. But of course, if you are a parent,

if that's your child that's out there, it's very difficult to take on board all the reasons for it.

The major general told us that they would happily accept any help. They welcome any help. And we're hearing from the U.S. that the U.S. is

willing to give them help. So hopefully at some point in the very near future we're going to see a buildup of the capacity and the resources on

the ground, Kristie.

LU STOUT: Yeah, hopefully. And you have been talking to the families of the missing girls. What are they telling you about the government

response and also the fact that they haven't seen their daughters in over two years?

ELBAGIR: Well, this has been a very disconnected response, because it has been spread out

over two administrations.

So the initial response under President Goodluck Jonathan, we saw that for ourselves. That was -- it was late. There was really a sense that the

parents felt they weren't being believed when they described what had happened to their daughters. We went up about a week after the girls were

taken, a week to ten days after the girls were taken. And there still wasn't a heavily armed presence in Chibok, protecting the families.

The school itself is yet to be rebuilt. So, you kind of have a really slow response, and then now since this new operation has come in over the

last six months to a year, there has been a buildup of response and that has resulted in the clearing of the territories that we visited.

But, of course, it means they're dealing with a trail that is now two years old, and that's difficult for any army, any force in the world to try

and follow.

Mistakes were definitely made and the parents feel very resentful of that, but when we asked the major general, the theater commander, what

message he would like to give the girls. He said he would like the girls' parents, he said would like them to trust the Nigerian army. And that's

quite a big ask for families whose have waited this long.

[08:25:58] LU STOUT: Without a doubt. Nima Elbagir reporting for us, thank you so much for your reporting.

Now, Nepal is marking a grim anniversary. Exactly one year ago, a powerful 7.8 magnitude

earthquake rattled the country and several days later another quake strop toppling more homes and toppling more buildings.

Nearly 9,000 people were killed, millions of lives were shattered. Some have managed to find hope among the death and destruction.

Now, Moni Basu has the story of one young survivor.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MAYA GURUNG, EARTHQUAKE SURVIVOR: My name is Maya Gurung. I am 10 years old.

MONI BASU, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Maya Gurung survived the 2015 earthquake in Nepal, but her left leg was crushed. Doctors had to amputate and her

future in a remote mountainous village seemed bleak. But days later, a second quake gave Maya a second

chance at life.

JWALANT GURUNG, CRYSTAL MOUNTAIN TREKS: Immediately after the first earthquake, my friends and I started collecting supplies and taking them to

the villages, and on the way back, then, again, the second earthquake hit, and we were literally running for our lives.

I was ahead, and -- I saw a family walking up, and this girl with a, you know, amputated leg, and she was being carried by her brother.

BASU: Meeting Jwalant was a moment to change the course of her life.

J. GURUNG: The first thing that came into my head was what will she do with an amputated leg in the village? And the hills of Nepal, the hills

and mountains of Nepal, nothing is level, and even the house chores she cannot do.

M. GURUNG (through translator): I would carry water. I would dig the fields.

BASU: Jwalant convincing Maya's father to let her live with him in Kathmandu.

J. GURUNG: In the villages, they have one teacher for maybe 50 students or whatever. In her situation, she doesn't even know the basic

alphabet what Nepali and English.

BASU: At a private school in Kathmandu, Maya now studies with children half her age.

(MUSIC)

J. GURUNG: We brought her to the school and had her evaluated. And the teacher suggested that we would put her in nursery. And so she just

completed her lower K, the lower kindergarten. This is her first report card.

M. GURUNG (through translator): I like studying in Kathmandu.

BASU: With regular access to her doctor, Maya has had no complications with her leg.

J. GURUNG: She is definitely not the same village girl that she was before. She's not as shy. She's still shy, but not as shy. And I think

she's a very positive-minded girl. A child that age to have lost a leg like that and to have gone through all that trauma, she's definitely a

winner in that category.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(HEADLINES)

[08:32:42] LU STOUT: Now two Republican rivals for U.S. president are joining forces in an extraordinary move to block the front-runner Donald

Trump.

The campaigns of Ted Cruz and John Kasich say that they will get out of each other's way and focus on different upcoming contests. Phil

Mattingly takes a look at their new strategy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEN. TED CRUZ (R), TEXAS: I want to ask each and every one of you to come out and vote for me 10 times.

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ted Cruz betting big on Indiana, announcing he's joining forces with John Kasich in an

unprecedented last-ditch effort to stop Donald Trump.

The divide and conquer agreement: Cruz's campaign will, quote, "focus its time and resources in Indiana"...

MATTINGLY (voice-over): -- and, quote, "clear the path" for Kasich in Oregon and New Mexico.

Kasich confirming the campaign collusion in a statement, writing that, quote, "Keeping Trump from a plurality in Indiana is critical to keeping

him from the nomination."

Recent polling shows Cruz trailing Trump by single digits in the Hoosier State. The strategy shift coming despite the fact that Kasich and

Cruz continue to attack each other on the campaign trail.

GOV. JOHN KASICH (R), OHIO, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: A vote for Cruz or Trump, frankly, is a vote for Hillary Clinton.

CRUZ: John Kasich has no path whatsoever to the nomination.

MATTINGLY (voice-over): Trump lashing out on Twitter and issuing a lengthy statement, writing, "Collusion is often illegal in many other

industries.

And yet these two Washington insiders have had to revert to collusion in order to stay alive.

"They are mathematically dead and this act only shows, as puppets of donors and special interests, how truly weak they and their campaigns

are."

The latest GOP bombshell coming ahead of Tuesday's primaries in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island, states

where Trump appears poised to perform well, the Republican front-runner continuing his own attack dog strategy on the trail this weekend.

DONALD TRUMP, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Cruz is working really hard to, I don't want to use the word bribe, but to bribe the

delegates.

MATTINGLY (voice-over): Accusing Cruz of illegal activity and rejecting calls to appear more presidential.

TRUMP: It's so much easier to be presidential, because I don't have to use any energy. You know, I can just walk out -- so much easier.

You think this is easy?

Ranting and raving, I got to entertain 18,000, whatever the hell number of people we have here.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[08:35:11] LU STOUT: And that was our Phil Mattingly reporting.

And remember, you could always find the latest on the U.S. presidential race by heading over to our website CNNpolitics.com. We're

following every twist and turn on the campaign trail and breaking down the numbers that each candidate needs to win.

You're watching News Stream. Still ahead, the wait is over for Game of Thrones fans. The show has returned to television and what the cast is

revealing about this season.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Welcome back.

Now, after nearly a year, a new season of Game of Thrones has returned to television. The

premiere on HBO, which is owned by CNN's parent company Time Warner.

In case you haven't seen it, yet, we're trying to keep this as spoiler-free as possible.

Now, CNN caught up with the stars of the hit show at the premiere in Los Angeles. And they were careful not to give anything away.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OWEN TEALE, ACTOR: It's a new world now that we've killed John Snow and taken the responsibility for that has meant things are quite different

up on the wall without him.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, how was it working with Kit Harrington this season?

(LAUGHTER)

LIAM CUNNINGHAM, ACTOR: Well, it's difficult. Because you talk to him and he's just a corpse.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I thought he was the man to lead us.

JOHN BRADLEY, ACTOR: Another one of those periods, one of the biggest periods in the whole season. He's dead I'm afraid, yeah.

EMILIA CLARKE, ACTRESS: I think this this is the first time you see Denarius like being, like, a part of the conversation.

She's finally having an opportunity to put everything she's learned into place.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can't see.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's your problem, not mine.

MAISIE WILLIAMS: You now see a massive drop for Arya is incredible, because you can't have a character that wins all the time, because that's

not the way it goes in life.

UNIDENITIFIED FEMALE: You swore that you will not speak until all his greatest enemies are dead.

LENA HEADEY, ACTRESS: She's not particularly happy right now, and is feeling like -- she should wreak some havoc on people.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jamie returns to King's Landing. A lot changed while he was gone.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Think how beautiful it will...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shhh. Don't think about it.

UNIDENTIFEID MALE: He promised his sister he was going to bring their daughter back, and he kind of did that, but she's dead.

ISAAC HEMPSTEAD WRIGHT, ACTOR: Some of the things that happen and some of the things you see back in time are like, oh, wow. This is big.

This is -- it's big.

DEAN-CHARLES CHAPMAN, ACTOR: More blood, more fighting, more dragons, more (inaudible).

IWAN RHEON, ACTOR: Oh, it's massive. I think this is -- I think this is going to be the biggest one. It's got so much happened, so many new

characters come in and new, exploring new worlds, and characters that you might not expect to meet each other and do, which is very exciting.

So, yeah, there's so much going on. It really hits the ground running and it starts at 100 miles an hour.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Wow.

And I want to bring in our Frank Pallotta from CNN in New York. Frank, thank you for joining us. We've got to talk about all this. And

first off, you were at a viewing party for the season premiere, so please set the scene for us. What was that like?

FRANK PALLOTTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So, I went to a bar called Professor Tom's in low Manhattan, which is a small Boston sports bar. And

it was packed solid. There was not a seat in the house. It was about five deep at the bar. There were people were dressed in costumes as Denarius

Targarian. They had specialty drinks known as like the White Walker and the West Darosa (ph).

And as soon as the TV came on, every single TV had the show on and no one said a word, but people cheered, people clapped, it was like watching a

sporting event. So, a different type of game, but still a game nonetheless.

[08:40:22] LU STOUT: You know, anecdotically it's huge. What you experienced at that screening party, at that Brooklyn bar, you know, not a

seat in the house. Everyone's there.

But really just how massive is Game of Thrones? You know we know it trends big time. I hope you're hearing me OK and not having IFB issues.

Are we good?

PALLOTTA: Sorry about that.

LU STOUT: Yeah, we're good.

PALLOTTA: Yeah, we're good.

LU STOUT: Yeah, no problems. Good.

I just wanted to ask like how does it compare to, like, all the other great TV shows out there? Because there's a universe of streaming hits and

TV hits out there. How big is Game of Thrones"

PALLOTTA: It's a huge, huge hit. I mean, the last finale of last season brought in around 8.1 million viewers. And I know that doesn't

seem like a big number, but when you account that this is one of the most pirated shows on television, that this also has viewing parties and people

kind of come together to watch it, it's just a huge, huge universe.

And plus the production value is unlike anything on television, and it's by far the biggest thing on HBO right now.

LU STOUT: Yeah. It's beautiful to see the production values, they're just so high.

We know that this is the first season that Game of Thrones has moved entirely beyond the books. So, do you know how much collaboration there is

between the author, George R.R. Martin, and the show runners on HBO?

PALLOTTA: Well, one, terrible for me, someone who read all the books and has been kind of smug about it with all my other friends the last five

seasons. And now I don't know what's happening.

But George R.R. Martin, the author of the books, has written on the show. But lately he's stepped aside because he's currently writing the

next book "The Winds of Winter." So, he's not actually collaborating right now, but been a huge part of the show going forward, and has actually let

the show runners know the end game.

So, they actually know where it's going.

LU STOUT: And finally, the show is going to come to an end soon. Do we know how many seasons it has left? And does HBO have a plan after the

finale?

PALLOTTA: Well, the show runners have said that they are working on the final act of the show right now and there's about 13 more hours,

according to them, after this season.

So we'll see where it goes after this.

LU STOUT: All right. We will see. Frank Pallotta, thank you for joining us. Our apologies for any of the technical issues there.

Frank Pallotta, of course, with CNN Money on Game of Thrones. Thank you. Take care.

That is News Stream. I'm Kristie Lu Stout. But don't go anywhere, World Sport Alex Thomas is next.

END