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Challenges Abound Before Rio Olympics; In India, 120 Killed in Lightning Strikes; European Champions Head to Knockout Round; Japan's Messaging App Line Set to Go Public; The Battle for Fallujah; Kickstarting Myanmar's Aqua Culture. Aired 8:00a-9:00A ET

Aired June 23, 2016 - 08:00   ET

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


[08:00:13] BECKY ANDERSON, HOST: I'm Becky Anderson in London and welcome to News Stream.

Voting underway in the UK as the nation decides whether or not to remain in the EU.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JOHN LEWIS, (D) GEORGIA: We have to occupy the floor of the House in today's action.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Drama in the U.S. congress as Democrats stage a sit-in to demand action on gun control.

And tiny Iceland reached the knockout round of Euro 2016 setting up a clash with England.

Just after 1:00 in the afternoon here in London and right now voters in the UK making a decision that will affect the course of their country's

future. They are deciding whether or not Britain will remain a part of the European Union.

Well, a record number of people, almost 46.5 million, are registered to weigh in. Polling places will close at 10:00 p.m. local time. And we

are expecting to hear a final nationwide result by early Friday.

CNN's Nima Elbagir joins me now. She is at a polling station in north London. What can you tell us at this point?

NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, having been here for much of this rainy morning, the worry is that those that record number

of registered voters might not result in a record turnout. Certainly, we had problems getting out of south London up here to this community center

in north London this morning.

Roads have been closed. Two polling stations have been shuttered. And there's a real disruption to the transport links. But we are seeing

also alongside that we are seeing queues outside of many of those polling stations and a sense that people, this having dominated -- this issue of

Britain's place in the European Union, having dominated so much in the last couple of years people seem very, very keen, Becky, to get out here and be

heard no matter what the weather brings.

Forecasters say, though, in the next few hours a few months' worth of rainfall is expected.

ANDERSON: Nima Elbagir on the story for you and be sure to stay tuned to CNN all day for special coverage of what is this historic referendum.

We'll have key interviews and the latest on the results from Christiane Amanpour and the rest of our London-based reporters.. We've got

correspondents reporting on reaction from across Europe and beyond as you would expect, plus extensive coverage online at CNN.com//UK referendum.

Well, both states on the Korean peninsula agree that the latest missile launch by Pyongyang shows a dramatic advancement in military

hardware. A day after the North said it conducted a successful missile test, Seoul corroborated the claim warning its reclusive neighbor has,

quote, significantly improved its missile engine technology. Paula Hancocks has more from Seoul.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: North Korea is claiming a great success, putting its leader Kim Jong-un front and center.

State-run media is saying that the leader guided a test fire of an intermediate the leader guided a test fire of an intermediate range missile

and they say that it flew about 400 kilometers, that's around 250 miles, the same distance

that U.S. and South Korean officials agree that the second of two Musudan missiles flew on Wednesday morning.

In fact, one U.S. official says it actually entered space before reentering the Earth's atmosphere.

But in these images you can see that there is clearly jubilation in North Korea. Kim Jong-un looks delighted, even hugging one of the men

around him at one point.

And he's quoted as saying he can now attack Americans in the Pacific in an overall and practical way.

The testing has been fast and furious of this missile, six attempts since April. North Korea is trying to perfect a delivery system for a

nuclear weapon that it has already claimed to have miniaturized. Although, how far along exactly he is in this process is not known for sure.

One North Korean official currently in Beijing for a forum also attended by U.S. and South Korean officials conveyed her country's pride in

this missile that they call Hua Son 10 (ph).

CHOE SON HUI, N. KOREAN FOREIGN MNISTRY (through translator): We are extremely

happy that Hua Son 10 (ph) means our delivery method has clearly succeeded. We are very happy. We can now confidently deal with whatever nuclear war

the U.S. forces on us.

HANCOCKS: Washington, Seoul and Tokyo all strongly condemning this missile launch.

South Korean military saying that they have significantly improved on this technology. And it really shows that the leader Kim Jong-un is clearly

undeterred by ongoing condemnation, by the recent sanctions, at least up until this point. And he's staying true to his word that he will continue

to test and improve his nuclear and missile program.

Paula Hancocks, CNN, Seoul.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[08:05:25] ANDERSON: All right. Let's get you to the United States now where Democratic

lawmakers say they will continue an extraordinary sit-in on the House floor. They have been protesting for more than 20 hours demanding a vote

on gun control.

Now, Republicans try to stop the protest hours ago by ending the legislative session early. They cut the camera feed to the chamber, so

Democrats are using a live streaming app to broadcast video. Sunlen Serfaty explains how it all unfolded.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REP. JOHN LEWIS, (D) GEORGIA: I would ask that all of my colleagues join me on the floor.

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It all started around 11:15 Wednesday morning.

REP. JOHN LARSON, (D) CONNECTICUT: We will occupy this floor. We will no longer be denied a right to vote.

SERFATY: Outraged Democrats seizing the House floor, demanding a vote on gun control after the worst mass shooting in U.S. history.

LEWIS: How many more mothers, how many more fathers nee to shed tears of grief before we do something.

SERFATY: Prominent civil rights activist John Lewis leading the sit- in on the House floor. Minutes later House Speaker Paul Ryan called a

recess, shutting off cameras in the chamber. But that didn't stop Democrats from continuing their showdown, streaming live feeds on the House floor

social media.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ...suspected and known to be a terrorist, why, why can you get a gun, a machine gun?

SERFATY: Democratic senators storming the floor in solidarity.

REP. PAUL RYAN, (R) SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES: This is nothing more than a publicity stunt.

SERFATY: Speaker Ryan lambasting the move as political theater.

RYAN: We will not bring a Bill that takes away a person's constitutionally guaranteed rights without their due process. This isn't

trying to come up with a solution to a problem. This is trying to get attention.

SERFATY: In a confrontational move to regain control, Republicans convening a session to vote not on gun control, but to override a

presidential veto, leading to tension exploding in the chamber just after 10:00.

RYAN: The gentlemen from Kentucky seek recognition.

(SHOUTING)

SERFATY: As the Republicans opened the floor to vote, the Democrats pressing against the podium, chanting and holding signs with names and

faces of gun violence victims.

(SINGING)

SERFATY: Democrats yelling "shame" and singing the anthem of the civil rights movement.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The House stands in recess subject to the call of the chair.

SERFATY: One Republican disrupting the sit-in.

(SHOUTING)

SERFATY: Arguing it wasn't guns that led to the Orlando attack.

Just before 1:00 a.m., the House calling a procedural vote to adjourn until 2:30 a.m., scheduling a vote on a funding bill for a Zika virus that

Democrats oppose.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You have no response except to run away in the middle of the night.

SERFATY: After passing that bill, they passed another to adjourn for the July 4th recess.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The House stands adjourned.

SERFATY: Republicans leaving the house indignant, met by angry protesters.

CROWD: Do your job! Do your job!

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SERFATY: ...continues in to today. Just a short time ago on the House floor, Capitol Hill's police officers came out and asked the members

to clear the floor for a regular security sweep. It was then where Nancy Pelosi said she's not going to back down, other members stayed out on the

floor.

Now, right now there are about 10 members out on the floor, they got through the night keeping that sit-in going using spare pillows and

blankets. They brought out extra iPhone batteries. They had pizzas delivered there. One member even telling us that she brought a spare tooth

brush from home to keep it going.

Democrats, as of right now, Becky, they are promising to keep this going in some capacity.

ANDERSON: And Sunlen, is it likely ever that the U.S. and its politics could be split from gun policy, as it were?

SERFATY: Well, I think this is just a remarkable example of how split American politics is over this issue. You have one group that is firmly in

one camp, the other firmly in the other camp.

There were overnight and into this morning and still are right now outside the U.S. Capitol protests in solidarity with what Democrats are

doing sitting in. Many people who have lost some to gun violence over hte years coming out and speaking their mind saying, you know, we are in

support of what the Democrats are doing.

And then you have the other side that are calling this obstructionism. We heard Speaker of the House Paul Ryan saying that he believes that this

is really nothing more than a publicity stunt, making note that Democrats are raising money over this issue, raising money on this sit-in. So, it's

so entrenched in the politics of the moment, it really does put a spotlight on the divide that we have in our culture right now.

[08:10:28] ANDERSON: Sunlen is in Washington for you today. Thank you.

Well, the political battle between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump is getting more intense and more nasty by the day. Trump hit back at Clinton

on Wednesday after she criticized him in a speech the day before.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, 2016 REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Together, she and bill made $153 million giving speeches to lobbyists, CEOs and foreign

governments in the years since 2001. They totally own her, and that will never ever change including if she ever became president, god help us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Clinton wasted no time firing right back at Trump saying he couldn't handle the criticism.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, 2016 DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And I guess my speech yesterday must have gotten under his skin because right away he

lashed out on Twitter with outlandish lies and conspiracy theories and he did the same in his speech today.

Now, think about it, he's going after me personally because he has no answers on the substance.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Both U.S. presidential candidates are taking a break today from the campaign trail.

Well, after our break in this show, the Euro 2016 knockout round is just days away. Just 16 teams left and now there is no margin for error.

And we take you inside the world of Brazil's political elite -- secret recordings, whistle blowers, details of the incendiary tactic coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: Well, the knockout stage awaits at Euro 2016. The lineup includes giants like

Spain, Germany and Italy as well as, well, some surprises like Northern Ireland, Slovakia and tiny

Iceland, the island nation is the smallest country at the tournament by far. Their place was clinched with what was a dramatic goal against

Austria in the last minute of injury time.

And here is how the Icelandic commentator reacted to that late winner.

The passions running high, I think we can say.

Iceland's heroics, mean they'll face England on Monday. Here's the bottom after the knockour round. And as you can see it's full of big names

-- hosts France, world champions Germany, European champion Spain. The tournament favorites will have to face each other just to make the final.

And here's the other half, none of the teams on this other side have ever won this tournament before, but it's still littered with strong sides

like Croatia and Belgium.

Well, let's get more now from World Sport's Christina Macfarlane. She's here with me in London.

Which matches stand out to you?

CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN WORLD SPORT: In the buildup? In the last 16 coming up now?

ANDERSON: No, in what we've got next.

MACFARLANE: In what we've got next? Well, you can't look further I think past Italy and Spain. The biggest matchup of that lower side of the

draw, which is due on Monday. It's a rerun of the 2012 final of course. And I think the biggest talking point now that we know where everyone

stands is that bottom part of the draw, because there are five teams who among them have 20 major tournament titles amidst them.

And no one expected that this was going to be the case. The reason we have all these large teams in the bottom draw, of course, is because of

that expanded format of the tournament. And no team so far has won three straight matches.

So, we've got a situation now where five of the biggest teams in the bottom half of the draw, and then if we look at the other side of the draw,

eight team who, among them, have never won the tournament. And perhaps, you know, we'll be looking at a first-time finalist as well if Portugal

don't go through.

ANDERSON: One of those of course is Iceland, the ultimate underdog against the ultimate underachievers in England. That's a great match to

look forward to.

MACFARLANE: I love just love that commentator. He totally peaked too soon, didn't he, throughout that. But it is one of the, if not the fairy

tale of the tournament so far. And it's interesting, Becky, because that late goal came in the 85th minute -- sorry, the 94th minute in extra time

last night. And that's been one of the themes of this tournament. We've had 17 of the 69 goals coming late in the tournament, that's past the 84th

minute.

But that Iceland game probably the most exciting of them all. If the population, as you say, less than ten million. And actually the city of

London is 26 times the size of Iceland. So they'll be facing England as we say this weekend. And England, I think, would have preferred to see

Portugal in this lineup, because the Portuguese have actually been far worse than Iceland in this competition.

ANDERSON: What about Wales, Northern Ireland? What did you make of that?

MACFARLANE: Well, again, it's another fairytale story, because let's remember...

ANDERSON: Battle of Britain.

MACFARLANE: It is the battle of Britain. And Wales haven't been in this tournament since 1958. Northern Ireland haven't been here since 1986.

So you know, it's really going to be an interesting matchup.

I do expect that Wales will win this one, because they've been incredible form throughout this competition, largely spurred on by their

talisman Gareth Bale, of course. He's got three goals now in three games. And so have no sign of stopping down. He is literally bringing this team

with him as we move through the competition.

ANDERSON: No, it's fantastic to see.

One of the late goals last night was, of course, for the Irish, or Ireland.

Now they were playing against Italy. Italy pretty much fielding a reserve team last night, it has to be said. But I love the idea, the

Italian fans were congratulating Ireland fans because of course they were already through.

We got France versus Ireland. Now, Irish revenge for Thierry Henry's handball way back when do you think?

MACFARLANE: I think that's perhaps what everyone is secretly hoping.

Now, France actually have one of the players of the tournament thus far, Dimitri Payet. His first European championship. He's beginning to

shine now. He hasn't really had, you know, perhaps enough game time to this point to become the player that we all know he is. So he's going to

be a danger man for them.

As is Paul Pogba who hasn't shined yet on an international scale. But he'll be the one that they will need to keep in check, as it were, if

they're going to stand any chance going forward.

I love the story from the sidelines that during that game you know, one of the Ireland fans turned on a kiss cam to try to kiss one of the

Italian female fans and she bluntly turned him down. You know, that is the kind of collision of fans that we're seeing in this competition. It's a

side bar to the play.

ANDERSON: You've just name checked a couple of players on the French side, and you're absolutely right on Payet. I mean, I have to say, I'm a

football fan. I really had missed him in the mix in the leadup to this and he's been absolutely sensational.

Who else should we be watching out for?

MACFARLANE: One player, Ivan Perisic from Croatia. Now Croatia, again, another team who are emerging through this competition to be

absolutely superb. And this player, Perisic, he scored the winner against Spain, if you remember, back on Tuesday night.

And you know, that's what the European championship does, it throws up these players who we've never really think for, never really considered,

and put them on a world platform. And this is this is one player now who people are going to be kicking down the door to get, because he's just been

the standout player of the tournament, the surprise package, if you will, so he's certainly one to keep an eye on.

Who else can we say? There's been -- it's always -- there's been too many to mention here. But also Aaron Ramsey, I'd say for Wales as well,

not just Gareth Bale. You know, Aaron Ramsey has been the perfect sidekick to Bale throughout the competition. So...

[08:20:01] ANDERSON: The last 16. We're on. It's knockout from here on in. Thank you. Wonderfully done.

With just weeks to go then until until the world's top athletes descend on Brazil for the Summer Games, the country remains embroiled in

political crisis. Suspended President Dilma Rousseff faces impeachment. And now CNN Brazil's governing elite have turned vitriolic in their in-

fighting tactics. CNN's Nick Paton Walsh joining me live from Rio de Janiro.

Nick, is there any good news to report in the run-up to these games?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly from this political front, no. As you say, it does seem this elite -- a

matter of years ago, took the country to economic heights and now turning on each other. And is that

impeachment process against now suspended President Dilma Rousseff, that will come to a head during the Olympics themselves underscoring this feeling of uncertainty here as the

country's elite turns on each other.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WALSH: As Brazil's house of cards crumbles, listen carefully. The people are listening aghast to their leaders, devouring each other with

sleaze allegations.

The world listening too, wondering can this tiny clique really run an Olympic Games"? But above all, it's Brazil's elite who are listening in on

each other -- secretly recording sometimes friends and allies, discussing alleged dealings in a bid to get the upper hand.

This is who it began with, former Senator Delcidio do Amaral was the country's former king maker. But he was first to fall because of a secret

taping in a fancy hotel, allegedly arranging for someone's silence over corruption.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's my favorite place.

WALSH: This is his brother's bar. And that's Eric Clapton's old guitar behind him.

DELCIDIO DO AMARAL, FORMER BRAZIL SENATOR (through translator): The taping was a conversation with someone I'd known since childhood, a family

friend. When I found out that I had been taped, it was a big shock for me.

WALSH: He took a plea deal to tell all for his freedom. And he says the house, including then President Rousseff came down.

You knew everything. And you still do.

DO AMARAL: Of course, you're right. I could have come forward earlier, I knew and I know a lot. My collaboration, if not the most important factor

was close to that in the process of ousting President Dilma. After it, the government lost control of the situation.

WALSH: Indeed, they did. But then education minister secretly recorded discussing alleged payments for silence. The planning minister secretly

recorded allegedly plotting to impede an investigation. He resigned.

And adviser to former President Lula secretly recorded calling Amaral part of male genitalia. Where does it stop?

You yourself have been called a traitor, and there's been some very foul language used about you in some of these recordings. But have you

yourself been shocked by the kind and the scale of the treachery in Brazil's elite?

DO AMARAL: This Delcidio is the most dangerous in the world, they say, because I knew too much. I'm not the person they're portraying. I really

explained who was who and who did what. That's why they swear and they use the filthy language about my.

This Delcidio is a son of a...

WALSH: Brazil's elite sliding down the poll of public opinion together --

DO AMARAL: In Brazil, we have an expression, the stick that beats Chico also beats Francisco. It means if the conversation in which it was

taped led me to prison and the loss of my political term, what about the others?

WALSH: Saint, sinners, kingmakers -- all live on -- even halos here are made of gold.

DO AMARAL: Politics is the only art in life in which you can resurrect more than once. You die, you're resurrected. You die, you're resurrected.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALSH: It is that sort of staggering sense of pervasive corruption you see here amongst the political elite, all of whom mostly profess some

degree of innocence, but it is that troubling backdrop really of partial incompetence, perhaps, or at least political instability, which with less

than six weeks away now before the games is deeply troubling I think for those who want to come here for an enjoyable time from August the 5th,

Becky.

ANDERSON: Nick, this is one of many problems Rio is facing as a city. What other issues are worrying folks in the buildup to these games?

WALSH: Where do you start, Becky, really? So we have this political crisis that will come to a head during the games itself, the impeachment

vote against Dilma Rousseff will happen during the actual Olympics. Then we have the economic crisis, GDP crashing by 5 percent. Tthat's caused a

rise in petty crime, which has caused behind us some athletes along the beaches here to be rubbed, an Australian Paralympian just in the last 72

hours or so deprived of a bicycle at gun point.

Then we have the Zika epidemic, which is causing prominent golfers to steer clear of the games

altogether and a debate amongst sports ministers then on top of that too we have the financial crisis acutely affecting Rio state itself. They

declared a financial emergency situation on Friday. They've just got, it seems, a nearly billion dollar bailout from the federal state that itself

is experiencing acute financial problems.

The problems stack up and the time until the games just, obviously, decreases day by day, Becky.

[08:25:25] ANDERSON: Nick Paton Walsh is in Rio for you today.

Well, it could be the biggest tech IPO of the year, Japan's popular messaging app Line is on track for its stock debut. How does it work?

well, CNN Money business correspondent Samuel Burke shows us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SAMUEL BURKE, CNN MONEY: There's nothing unusual about seeing a business journalist outside the New York Stock Exchange, but it is highly

unusual to see one like this. This is all part of Line, a new generation of messaging app taking selfies to a whole other level.

It's a crowded space -- SnapChat, WhatsApp and WeChat are also fighting it out to be the instant messaging king.

Line has a major advantage. It makes tons of money as the most popular messaging app in

Japan with more than 200 million active monthly users.

MAX WOLFF, MANHATTAN VENTURE PARTNERS: The best way to sort of explain it is, it's a suped up version of what SnapChat is to teens in the

U.S., but for a much wider age demographic in the Japanese-speaking world.

BURKE: It's the games, phone and video calls, and increasingly, the stickers that keep them coming back.

Line, which will have dual listings, both in Tokyo and here at the New York Stock Exchange, is the first standalone messaging app to go public.

It will use that cash to expand its service way beyond traditional messaging.

WOLFF: People are used to sending money through these messaging apps. And there's artificial intelligence you can ask and get customer support

and questions. There's e-commerce on these apps. So, we actually think the messaging app for the platform of the future.

BURKE: Critics, though, are messaging their concerns.

Line is way smaller than WhatsApp's with one billion user base.

Line is banned in China, a key market for messaging.

And user growth outside of Line's main markets is falling.

WOLFF: They've been stuck at a little over 200 million monthly active users for quite some time, and there's a question about how successful this

and several other Japanese technology platforms are outside Japan.

BURKE: Those concerns will surely weigh on Wall Street as it tries to rebound from one of the slowest ever years for tech IPOs.

A successful listing for Line, though, could make it into a tech superhero and entice other companies to go public as well.

Samuel Burke, CNN Money, New York.

(END VIDOETAPE)

ANDERSON: Well, the world headlines are after a short break here on News Stream.

Also ahead, a humanitarian crisis is getting worse outside the Iraqi city of Fallujah. Families that just escaped from ISIS now coping with

what is extreme hardship.

We are taking a very short break, back after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(HEADLINES)

[08:31:49]

ANDERSON: Well, Fallujah is another major battleground. Iraqi troops are inside the city, but the fight against ISIS isn't over. Our Ben

Wedeman ventured into the city and has more on desperate families who have fled the violence.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Searing, hot, dusty winds blow through the camp now home to thousands of who escaped Fallujah.

Conditions here are dire. Dozens cram together for a bit of shade.

A sudden influx of tens of thousands fleeing the city has overwhelmed the camp set up by the Iraqi government. More than 80,000 have come and

more are expected. Supplies of water and food are running low. Many are sleeping outside on the desert floor.

"We hope to go home as soon as possible," says this man. "This is a bad place. Tomorrow, there will be sand storms. All the children will

become ill."

It may be awhile before he can return home. Street by street, fighting still rages inside Fallujah.

And while ISIS may have been driven from many areas, the bombs remain.

"All of these houses are booby trapped," says Sergeant Yusuf (ph). "They don't leave any house without first rigging it with explosives."

On the edges of the city, we met head of Iraq's counterterrorism services, he's directing the

battle. And even he qualifies claims the city has been liberated from ISIS.

"If some officials said that Fallujah has been liberated," he says, "they've meant we've reached the city center and the government complex.

The battle of Fallujah has been clinched, but there are still some pockets of resistance."

Through the rubble strewn roads of Fallujah, we went to one of the city's main hospitals. The heavy gun fire nearby, yet another reminder if

one was needed, that the battle isn't over yet.

This is the entrance to Fallujah's teaching hospital. Incidentally, it was also the command and

control center for ISIS. Now, we've come in here. The soldiers say that they've cleared this particular area of IEDs. They said there were ten in

here; however, if you just go down the hall, it's no longer safe.

And it will be some time before Fallujah is safe and even longer before its residents can move

back to the ruins that was their city.

Ben Wedeman, CNN, Fallujah.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Well, in India lightning strikes have now killed at least 120 people. A government official tells CNN there have been more strikes

than usual this year as monsoon rains sweep across much of the country.

Farmers of course depend on those rains to deliver vital water especially after two consecutive years of drought.

For meteorologist Chad Meyers joining me now with more. We have to remind ourselves, of

course, of the sobering fact that lightning is the leading killer among natural disasters in India, which of course doesn't make these latest

statistics any less shocking.

What's the forecast going forward?

[08:35:08] CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: More lightning and more planting, because when you get the monsoon rains it's time to plant, it's

time to get in the fields, it's time to get the seeds in the ground because the ground is like a piece of brick right now before the rains come.

And so what's the worst thing you could possibly do? Go stand in an open field planting while it's raining or thundering. And the thunder is

so long, the rains go on for so long, they can't stand around and wait. And so this is a conundrum we've seen year after year. 2,500 people,

Becky, a year die in India because of lightning.

Now, there are a number of reasons for this and compared to the population density, many more people die in Central Africa, but there

aren't as many people there that live there compared to India.

So these are the lightning strikes across the world. Mainly in the Caribbean and in the tropics and the subtropics because that's where ITCZ

is, the Intertropical Convergence Zone, that where the tropics are. And it rains in the tropics. And when it rains, you get lightning.

And so let's focus right in here on India. Right through here, this is the area where we're talking about the monsoonal rains coming in from

the southeast eventually moving all the way up into those planting lands in the northwestern part of the country.

Here's what the rice fields look like. When it rains, especially because it's been so dry, you have to go out and plant. You have to get

your seeds in because you can't get them in when it is so dry.

This is what a road looks like. A lot of open motorcycles, bicycles, not as many cars as you would see in Europe or Canada or the United States.

Cars protect people from the lightning, a motorcycle, a bicycle absolutely will not.

And even if you are in a building, many of the buildings aren't even that safe from lightning

because they don't have a lot of metal around them. They don't have the pipes from the drains or electrical circuits. And there are so many tent

cities around from migrants trying to get to work or get some work and there's the monsoon season as it moves on up, and the lightning will

continue and the deaths will continue and we just hope that, you know, a little bit of education to turn around, don't drown, getting out of the

water or when thunder roars, go indoors, but some people just don't have indoors to get to.

ANDERSON: Yeah. Chad, thank you for that.

New details out for Rogue One, the Star Wars story. And one dominating character from the original movies is making a grand return.

Who? Well, we're going to you. A bit on that after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: In this month's Road to ASEAN, we are taking you to Myanmar, a country with the resources for a booming fish farming industry.

My colleague David Molko takes a look at one effort to jumpstart production one village at a time.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID MOLKO, CNN CORRESPONDNET: Dr. Manjurul spends most of his week making this journey: trading the hurried pace of Yangon for the small

villages of Myanmar's countryside. His priority is far from modern: fishing.

It's known as aqua culture, the process of farming fish and other sea creatures.

[08:40:07] DR. MANJURUL KARIM, MYANMAR PROJECT LEADER, WORLDFISH: In Myanmar, around 80 percent of fish they're getting from one source. And

around 20 percent that is getting from their farms. And it is completely reverse as compared to Thailand and Bangladesh and other neighboring

countries.

MOLKO: Working with both international and local organizations, Mandurul is hoping to change that by educating villagers to start breeding

fish.

KARIM: There are more than 200,000 small farms and this small farms are linked with similar number of (inaudible).

MOLKO: Start small and scale up, Mandurul says. There's big potential here -- raising living standards, improving nutrition, all by

using local resources.

KARIM: We are not creating additional burden for them and we've developed this (inaudible) also using local available (inaudible). These

machines are rural level.

MOKLO: When it comes to these fish ponds, there's a broader goal. Mandurul says it's about diversifying the rural economy.

BENJAMIN BOLTON, RESEARCHER, USAID: Most important agricultural activity is rice farming, and you have about 70 percent of the population

live in rural areas. Fish can generate really high profits for farmers compared to rice. So maybe ten or more times the rate of profit that you

would get from producing rice.

MOLKO: Zoom out and it becomes clear how a growing Myanmar might benefit from a grassroots initiative like this one.

Vietnam started the same way. Fishing exports there are now a $7 billion industry.

BOLTON: I think if you look at Vietnam, that's a country that in the mid to late 1980s kind of began to open up its economy and saw really very

rapid and dynamic growth led by these same kind of forms of agriculture or aqua culture.

MOLKO: Mandurul's goal: start local and one day compete across the ASEAN region. For him, kickstarting an industry starts with one village at

a time.

David Molko, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Well, Star Wars returned last December with its long awaited sequel, The Force

Awakens, didn't it. But one major character didn't make it to Episode 7: Darth Vader. Now, though, the Dark Lord of the Sith is himself returning

to the big screen.

The latest issue of Entertainment Weekly confirms that Darth Vader will be in Rogue One, a Star Wars Story. Vader, of course, died in Return

of the Jedi so how is he coming back to the series because Rogue One is not a sequel to the Force Awakens, I'm told, it's a stand alone film that deals

with events before the original 1977 movie.

How many of you can remember that one at the time? Rogue One premiers in December. I can.

That's News Stream. I'm Becky Anderson. Don't go anywhere. World Sport with Christina Macfarlane follows. Stay with us.

END