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NEWS STREAM

Meeting Canceled Between Presidents of Philippines, U.S.; Excitement Growing for Paralympics in Rio; Singapore's Zika Reaction. Aired 8-9a ET

Aired September 06, 2016 - 08:00   ET

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

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

Now President Obama cancels a meeting with The Philippines president over crude remarks, but now Rodrigo Duterte says he was not talking about Mr.

Obama, after all. We'll have the latest on the controversy.

Zika in Singapore. We'll take you live to the city-state to show you how it's dealing with a surge in cases.

And breaking down barriers. News Stream speaks with Prianka Yoshikawa, only the second biracial contestant to be crowned Miss Japan.

A diplomatic stir between the U.S. and Philippines has taken a new turn. In a statement released a short time ago, Manila now says that President

Rodrigo Duterte directed a crude insult at a journalist, not U.S. President Barack Obama as has been widely reported.

Now, the two leaders were expected to meet on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit in Laos but the White House canceled the meeting after Duterte's

remarks in a news conference on Monday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RODRIGO DUTERTE, PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINES: Who is he? I am a president of a sovereign state. And we have long ceased to be a colony. I

do not have any muster except the Filipino people. Nobody but nobody.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: All right, for more on the row and a promise from President Obama to help clean up unexemployed bombs in Laos, CNNs Andrew Stevens

joins me now live from Vientiane. And, Andrew, a day after talking tough, Rodrigo Duterte has expressed regret and his government offered further

clarification about who he was directing one part of his comments towards. Can you walk us through just this entire unusual diplomatic incident?

ANDREW STEVENS, CNN MONEY: Unusual is putting it mildly. It's been an extraordinary past 24 hours, Kristie, diplomatically speaking.

The new president of the Philippines had his first chance to have a sit- down bilateral meeting with the president of the United States. These two countries are

treaty allies. They are very, very close. They have much, much more in common than they do have differences.

But when the Philippine president was asked just before he was about to head to Vientiane in Laos what he would say if the subject of extra

judicial killings came up he launched what was effectively a tirade. We heard a little bit of it there.

But it was also much bluer (ph) than that, effectively calling the U.S. president a son of a bitch and saying he would cuss him if that subject was

brought up during the bilateral meeting.

Some interpretations said it wasn't son of a bitch it was actually much worse than that.

The president, the U.S. responded by saying if we can't have a constructive meeting with

The Philippines we're not going to have a meeting at all and they pulled the plug on that. As you say, we've now seen this -- The Philippines

walking this back, although it's very hard to see how the president of The Philippines was aiming his -- his rhetoric at a journalist when he was

talking about anyone bringing this up at a bilateral meeting with the president.

He said, or The Philippines said that they expressed regrets, and they said that it seemed to --

it appears that it was a personal attack on the president. This was not the case.

But, very, very difficult to see it any other way, Kristie. I've actually just come from a briefing from U.S. officials and they now say that there's

no plan on the horizon for any formal bilateral meeting now between these two countries. President Obama and Rodrigo Duterte will no doubt be in the

same room over the next couple of days here at the ASEAN summit. That's got to be a very interesting situation to see how the two do deal with each

other after such an extraordinary outburst from The Philippines.

LU STOUT: Yeah, and quite a cost for The Philippines after Duterte made those comments.

And separately, Andrew, the White House announced this aid package, $90 million to go

towards cleaning up just deadly remnants of the war, the Vietnam War. How is that going to affect

people there in Laos?

STEVENS: Well, many people here would say it is long overdue. The U.S. president actually made a speech about it in Vientiane today including not

only people from the governing party, the ruling party, but also civil society as well. And he sort of spelled out chapter and verse exactly what

sort of damage the U.S. has called Laos during what was effectively nine years of bombing of this country during the Vietnam War right up until the

end of that war in 1973.

He's going to -- he announced that there will be $90 million spent over the next three years

on both cleaning up this unexploded ordnance and also mapping out exactly a plan, and where the ordnance is, and how to deal with it, which is very

important having that network so they can deal with it.

But, you know, you see the horrific results that, the legacy of that secret war as it's known, as you drive around Laos.

I met a farmer who lived in the up country Laos and I spoke to him, take a look at this story, Kristie, and I should say that it is a very graphic

representation of what it is to be a victim of the secret war, and viewer discretion is advised. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDOETAPE)

STEVENS (voice-over): Ya Yang wasn't born when the Secret War in Laos ended four decades ago but he carries its horrific legacy.

In 2008, life was good. He was 22, engaged, and had a job. Until an undetected bomb tore it all apart, exploding as he was burning trash.

"I don't remember anything until I woke up in hospital two weeks later," he says. "When I saw what had happened I didn't want to live any more."

Ya is one of an estimated 20,000 victims, many of them children, who have been killed or maimed by unexploded ordinance since the end of the war. For

nine years, until 1973, the U.S. carpet-bombed Laos trying to stop a Communist insurgency and smash North Vietnamese supply lines.

It was known as the Secret War. No American boots on the ground, just American bombs. More than two million tons of them rained down. More

explosives were dropped here than on any other country in history.

(SHOUTING)

(EXPLOSION)

STEVENS: And they're still exploding today.

This is a controlled detonation by the Mine's Advisory Group which works in Laos to clear the bombs a few square yards at a time. Every patch of land

has to be mapped and swept.

Once detected, they zero in on the object and uncover it. And this is what they usually find, clustered munitions.

Up to 80 million of these failed to detonate and 1 percent have been cleared.

(on camera): How long realistically with the resources at the country's disposal is it going to take to make this country safe?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Currently with the resources, I'd say decades.

STEVENS: Decades?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah.

(EXPLOSION)

STEVENS: And that is one more explosive device taken out, but across these plains and valleys and mountains, there are still tens of millions of

threats remaining.

(voice-over): Those threats are what worries Ya Yang man more than anything else, that his own children, born after the accident, could suffer the same

fate that he did.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STEVENS: So the U.S. will spend $90 million over the next three years. Just to put that in context, Kristie, over the past 20 years, the U.S. has

spent about $100 million on clearing these mines.

It is going to be a very long, painful process. It's not just the threats to the next generation, it's also the threat to the economic growth here.

You can't develop when you have so much unexploded ordnance still like around this country. And you see it in the -- in the economic development

here. It is falling way, way behind any of its Asian neighbors. Purely for that reason -- there are other reasons but that is also a very key

reason, Kristie.

LU STOUT: Well, such a moving report on a bitter legacy of the war in Southeast Asia.

Andrew Stevens reporting for us live. Thank you, Andrew.

And some breaking news coming in to us right now. A criminal court in London has just handed down a sentence of a Muslim preacher found guilty of

inviting support for ISIS. Let's go straight to CNN's Phil Black who is outside the Old Bailey Court.

And Phil, what did the court hear today during the hearing, and what was the ultimate decision reached?

[08:10:01] PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT; So, this is a final

sentencing, Kristie, on a charge that he was found guilty of last month, that is as you say inviting support for a prescribed organization, in this

case ISIS. It carries a potential sentence of 10 years. We are now told that he will serve five years and six months. That is the sentence the

judge says that he will serve at least half of that.

That total figure, 5 years and 6 months does take into account and give credit for the time that he has already served in custody over the course

of his trial, as well.

So a significant sentence, but still some way short of the ten year maximum that was possible here now.

Now, all of this matters, because Anjem Choudary is, without doubt I think to say one of the most high profile advocates of radical Islam really

anywhere in the world. He is someone who has grown to considerable fame both here in the UK, and to a lesser extent internationally, as well,

during the course of which he has gained considerable notoriety for walking, arguing a very awkward line. That is not being willing to condemn

specific terrorist acts, he has also said there is sometimes justification for them, and at the same time he has not encouraged people overtly to go

out and act violently himself.

That really goes to the nub of what has been his defense both through the course of this

trial, and as he has tried to walk on the right side of the law for some decades now, espousing these very controversial views.

His view has always been, and it was mentioned again throughout his trial, that he argues in

favor of an ideology, the idea of universal Sharia Law, or the idea of an Islamic State, not necessarily supporting the terrorism or violence

committed by an individual organization.

Now, for a long time now, anti-terror police in this country have really disagreed with that, they have long believed that he is, in fact, a

dangerous man, someone who while skirting the very edges of the law publicly, in private was very influential, a key figure in recruiting

people to go on, either commit terrorist acts, to be willing to commit terrorist acts, or to travel to Syria and Iraq, in

order to join ISIS and fight there, as well.

And in summing up a lot of his reasons for determining that a serious punishment was necessary for this charge today, the judge has spoken about

how freedom of speech is not an absolute, that he believes that there was more than enough evidence to suggest that these -- that this man Anjem

Choudary and another man hewas on trial with, that both of them were clearly supporters of ISIS, and although they argued through their trial

this complicated legal line, if you like, that they were in support of an ideology, an idea, an intellectual argument, if you like, in favor of an

Islamic State, not the terrorism itself, the judge has said that he believes that that is not the case. He was convinced that they were

supporting terrorism and inviting others to do so, that is the key line.

Now, the reason why these men were drawn, or considered to have fallen just on the wrong side of the law, finally, well it came down to some videos

that they posted online in which they swore allegiance to the Islamic State or to ISIS and its leader and encouraged others to do so as well. That

gave police the evidence they needed to finally arrest Anjem Choudary, bring him to trial. And now we have the result we have here today, and

that is that he has been sentenced to a sentence of more than 5 years of which the judge says he will serve more than half of

certainly, Kristie.

LU STOUT: Phil, earlier this year Choudary was found guilty of drumming up support from is. Just moments ago you heard the sentencing. He's been

sentenced to five-and-a-half years in prison. Is there concern and fear that he could still be a key figure in ISIS recruitment while serving out

his sentence in prison?

BLACK: It certainly is a sensitive point both here and a lot of countries that deal with

radicalized cases. And that is how do you ensure that these people are held in custody in such a way that they cannot continue to influence

others.

His lawyer, in submitting and calling for a lenient sentence today, argued that isolation, being held alone in prison, had been detrimental to his

health so far and it's important to note, as I mentioned that the sentence was lessened because he has served some time in custody over the course of

his trial. He has also been out on bail as well.

But clearly he's been held in solitary confinement for some of that time. We now to wait precisely what the circumstances are -- will be -- of those

circumstances will be of his custody. And I think that in the event that he is not held, very to hear precisely what the circumstances are, will be,

the circumstances will be of his custody.

Now I think that in the event that he is not held very carefully, or alone, or in a situation where it is deemed that he's not able to influence

others, there will be concern here.

So I think we can expect some careful scrutiny of just what those specific circumstances

will be, just how will he be held for the duration of his prison sentence, Kristie.

[08:15:31] LU STOUT: All right. CNN's Phil Black reporting for us live in London. Thank you, Phil.

You're watching News Stream. And still ahead in the program, a new poll is offering a different

picture of the U.S. presidential race. What it reveals about where the candidates now stand. You'll find out next.

Also ahead, China is tamping down the celebration over Hong Kong's legislative election. Why Beijing isn't happy about some newly elected

lawmakers next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT; Coming to you live from Hong Kong, you're b ack watching News Stream.

Now across Asia there are growing concerns about the rapid surge in Zika cases. Singapore now has 275 confirmed infections, all identified in the

past week and a half. Now, cases have also been reported in Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam as well as several South Pacific islands.

A recent study says around 2.6 billion people in Asia as well as Africa could be at risk of contracting the virus.

Now, let's go straight to Singapore. Manisha Tank is there. And joins us now live.

Manisha, what is Singapore doing to monitor and to try to stop the spread of the virus?

MANISHA TANK CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Singapore will tell you, and it will try to be very reassuring about the measures that it's

taking, Kristie. It has been out in communities educating the public. In fact, it's been training tens of thousands of volunteers to actually go out

into their local neighborhoods and teach people about the dangers of the Aedes aegypti mosquito.

But that wasn't necessarily because of Zika. This year, Singapore was expecting increased cases of dengue fever. And this mosquito that we're

talking about is also the one that carries dengue fever.

As a result, they have been -- or they would like us to think that they have been slightly ahead of the game when it comes to fighting Zika, which

is why it might seem even more alarming that just in this last week we've seen this surge in cases. And as you say, we've now seen 275 of them.

But to put a bit of context around that, Kristie, though there has been this public outreach, what you've also seen is that the health authorities

are now very switched on. There's a lot of knowledge in the community. So, when people spot what would otherwise be mild symptoms,

symptoms that they might ignore, they are now going to their GP, and that could be some of the reason why we're now seeing cases that previously

would have been ignored actually being reported.

We did get a chance today, Kristie, to go out and speak to the national environmental agency. We spoke to Derek Ho who runs the unit, and he is

very much at baseline controlling that outreach the government is behind communities that are affected right now. This is what

he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[08:20:08] DEREK HO, SINGAPORE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL AGENCY: In the past, we've always been banking on officers' inspections of the various premises.

We have officers out there checking on a regular basis various high risk areas. So we're not just waiting for cases to happen. We're actually

doing preemptive approach.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TANK: So some reassuring words there.

But I just want to point out where we are right now. We're at a very busy and quite significant intersection here in Singapore. And it's rush hour.

And it's just after dusk when most of the mosquitoes, the biting mosquitoes, that particular type of mosquito, the Aedes aegypti come out

and bite. They love to bite at dawn and also dusk.

This is a big intersection between Scotts Road and Orchard Road behind me. It's a big metaphor for Singapore where all of life comes together -- the

residential life, the corporate life, the retail life is very, very important here, as well.

But a lot of people are out. They're not staying at home. They want to go on as normal. And this is very much the line that the government is

pushing. Life goes on.

We've had pregnant MPs who have been going out into their local communities and reassuring

pregnant women because that's the set of people that is most concerned about Zika right now. You know, if you're not pregnant or you're not

hoping to have a family, perhaps it wouldn't be of such a great concern and that's one of the reasons why the government is offering, a, subsidized

screening for local Singaporeans, but pregnant women in particular free screening.

And now the hope is that many women who are concerned will sign up.

What I can tell you before we go back to the studio is that this latest strain, this big jump in numbers that we've seen, this is a Southeast

Asian strain and this changes the game somewhat. Now, they're asking more questions about what this means and whether we're going to see the same

impact as we saw in Brazil, and the African strain that we see in other parts of the world.

But now a lot of questions are being asked of the disease control experts about the ramifications of this new discovery, Kristie.

LU STOUT: That's right.

If and when we start to see microcephaly cases there in Singapore and across the region, that's when concern will spike, as well.

Manisha Tank reporting for us thank you.

Now, here are some of the common symptoms of Zika. They can include red eyes, headache, rash, and fever, all similar to dengue. But in most cases,

there are no symptoms at all. And what makes Zika scary is, as you just heard, it's linked to microcephaly. Babies born with abnormally small

heads. It can cause just severe developmental issues, even deaths.

Now, there is still no vaccine to stop Zika, but you can protect yourself by using insect repellent and wearing long-sleeved shirts and pants.

Now Beijing is clamping down after several pro-democracy activists, including Umbrella

Movement student leader Nathan Law were elected to the city's legislative council. China's top body for Hong Kong affairs gave this warning through

the media saying, quote, we firmly oppose the Hong Kong independence in any form, inside and outside the legislative council. And we strongly support

the HKSAR government to mete out penalties according to the law.

Now, pro-democracy activists have advocated self-determination for Hong Kong's future. The Umbrella Movement, it famously shot down parts of the

city for months as protesters demanded universal suffrage. This happeend in 2014. Nathan Law told us earlier last night on News Stream, in fact,

that he won't stop his fight for democracy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NATHAN LAW, HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL-ELECT: For the following four years, not only talking about policies in the Legco (ph), but also I will

continue my civil disobedience and organizational work outside the council in order to push forward more

resistance power, and then try to fight against autocracy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: And you can check out the rest of my interview with Nathan Law, CNN.com/NewsStream.

You can also find some opinion pieces on the city's relationship with China on our website as well.

A new just out CNN/ORC poll shows Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton virtually neck and neck. Now Trump now leads by two points among those

most likely to vote in the November presidential election. That is within the margin of error.

But, there's a different result among the pool of registered voters. There, Clinton is ahead by three points also within the margin of error.

And with the latest on the race, Phil Mattingly joins me now live from CNN New York. And Phil, Trump and Clinton now on even ground. How much of

this poll has to do with Trump's recent trip to Mexico and his immigration policy?

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it absolutely has something to do with it. Clearly, the poll was out in the field getting these results

shortly after Trump's big speech and that visit to Mexico.

I think what we're seeing right now, Kristie, is two things in this poll. First and foremost, Hillary Clinton had a convention bounce. That's now

gone. But also you've seen Trump over the course of the last three or four weeks try and get a message down, a consistent message going forward.

You've seen Republicans start to come home. And Kristie that means as we go into the last 63 days of this electoral sprint, the candidates are even.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[08:25:22] HILLARY CLINTON, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Welcome to our big plane.

MATTINGLY: Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump, inviting the press to travel with them for the first time on their campaign planes.

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think it's nice everyone's on board.

MATTINGLY: Both planes just a few hundred feet apart on the same tarmac in Cleveland. Inside Trump's Boeing 757, the billionaire, modeling his stance

on immigration again.

TRUMP: We're going to make that decision into the future. Okay? Good question, I'm glad you asked. That decision will be made.

MATTINGLY: The GOP nominee now saying he'll decide later on whether undocumented immigrants could apply for legal status under his

administration.

TRUMP: I'm not ruling out anything. To become a citizen, you're going to have to go out and come back in.

MATTINGLY: A question ruled out less than a week ago.

TRUMP: For those here illegally today who are seeking legal status, they will have one route and one route only.

MATTINGLY: Trump spending Labor Day looking and acting more like a traditional politician, glad-handing at Ohio's largest county fair and

courting voters at a diner with his running mate. Hillary Clinton barnstorming Ohio with her top supporters and deploying her former rival to

New Hampshire. The former Secretary of State battling a coughing fit at a rally.

CLINTON: Every time I think about Trump, I get allergic.

MATTINGLY: And answering questions from reporters about her health after months of criticism for avoiding the press.

CLINTON: I'm not concerned about the conspiracy theories. There are so many of them I've lost track of them.

MATTINGLY: Slamming Trump for cozying up to Vladimir Putin.

CLINTON: I think it's quite intriguing that this activity has happened around the time Trump became the nominee.

MATTINGLY: As investigations continue into whether Russia hacked the Democratic National Committee.

CLINTON: He, very early on, allied himself with Putin's policies.

MATTINGLY: While Trump is dismissing allegations of impropriety about a donation three years ago.

TRUMP: I never spoke to her about it.

MATTINGLY: In 2013, Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi was considering opening a fraud investigation against Trump University. Around the same

time, the IRS says the Trump Foundation improperly donated $25,000 to a group supporting her re-election. Trump insisting he never discussed the

investigation with Bondi.

TRUMP: I never spoke to her. First of all, she's beyond reproach. She's a fine person. Never spoke to her about it at all.

MATTINGLY: Bondi ultimately deciding not to proceed with the investigation.

CLINTON: There are so many things that are questionable about that, and the IRS certainly thought so and said it was illegal.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MATTINGLY: And, Kristie, obviously Ohio is a battleground state where they were yesterday. Today they're going to keep the pressure on those

battleground states. Hillary Clinton in Florida, Donald Trump in Virginia. It's what we're going to see day after day after day in the weeks and

months ahead. There are a certain segment of states that are going to decide this election and you can bet that Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump

will be there -- Kristie.

LU STOUT: Yeah. And we're inching closer to general election. Phil Mattingly reporting for us live. Thank you.

Now still to come right here on News Stream, he has never been afraid of courting controversy. We're going to have a closer look at Rodrigo

Duterte, the president of The Philippines.

And a 22-year-old of Indian descent is crowned Miss Japan. We'll hear from her later this

hour and find out why she hopes her win will help break down racial barriers.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(HEADLINES)

[08:32:34] LU STOUT: The Philippine president is no stranger to controversy. His sometimes crude language and his harsh crackdown on the

drug trade have brought him worldwide notoriety.

But as Paula Hancocks reports, it's also made him popular at home. Now a warning, some of the images in this report are disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Nicknamed the Punisher, Rodrigo Duterte is a Harley riding, former city mayor who speaks

his mind.

The president of The Philippines appears to have a questionable grasp on international diplomacy.

DUTERTE: I am a president of a sovereign state.

(through translator): Son of a bitch, I will swear at you at that forum.

HANCOCKS: Referring to U.S. President Barack Obama in profane terms, leading to the

White House canceling their bilateral meeting in Laos Monday.

One day later, a statement of regret that this may have come across as a personal attack, followed by a claim the obscenity was directed at the

journalist who asked the question, not Mr. Obama.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I have seen some of those colorful statements in the past, and so clearly he's a colorful guy.

HANCOCKS: Add to that Duterte's homophobic insults to the U.S. ambassador to The

Philippines less than a month ago, it's fair to say the historically close relationship between the U.S. and its former colony may have taken a hit.

But it's his domestic policies that have many more worried. He cruised to victory back in

May vowing to get tough on crime and corruption. Few realized how tough.

An intense crackdown on drug pushers and users giving police a license to kill.

DUTERTE: The system is violent, thereby placing your life in jeopardy, shoot and shoot him dead.

HANCOCKS: Over less than 10 weeks that Duterte has been in power, police have killed more

than 1,000 people allegedly in self-defense. Many others registered as deaths under investigation, a term that may include vigilante or extra

judicial killings.

Human rights groups are horrified. The president has branded the senator leading an inquiry into this increasingly bloody war on drugs an immoral

woman.

Duterte came to power on an anti-establishment ticket, tapping in to strong disillusionment with those in power. His welcome in Laos Monday night

shows he still has strong support. In fact, back in July his approval rating was 91 percent, according to Pulse Asia Research, a figure most

other leaders can only dream of.

Paula Hancocks, CNN, Seoul.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[08:35:16] LU STOUT: Now, President Duterte's media office certainly thinks he is popular. In fact, it released a statement on Tuesday saying

that the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was, quote, star struck when they held a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of ASEAN in Laos.

Now according to the office, Abe admitted that he was excited to meet Duterte, saying the

president is quite famous in Japan.

Now, there is just one day to go before the start of the Paralympic Games. And the torch

is due to arrive in Rio in about half an hour from now. It will make its way through the city ahead of tomorrow's opening ceremony, and it's already

traveled to cities across Brazil.

Shasta Darlington, of course, is in Rio. She joins us now live. And Shasta, as the torch makes its way to Rio, unfortunately, I think we just

lost our connection there to Shasta.

Shasta, can you hear me?

SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I can hear you, Kristie, yes. Sorry about that. We're having some technical problems.

But we're standing here in front of the museum of tomorrow. The torch will be arriving within the next half an hour, the Paralympic flame and it's

been slow going at first, I have to say. There wasn't a whole lot of enthusiasm over the Olympics or the Paralympics here in Brazil for the

months and weeks leading up to it.

But as far as Brazilians are concerned the Olympic games went off really pretty well and the

enthusiasm over the Paralympics began to grow.

When the Olympics were still going on, just to give you an only 200,000 tickets had been sold for the Paralympics. Well, now 1.5 million have

been. That's 60 percent of the total. In terms of percentage that's more than was sold in Beijing.

So people here really beginning to catch that Olympic spirit. There isn't that big tradition

here. But they know that this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to see not only the Olympic games, but the Paralympic games. There's been a lot

of advertising on the TV in schools, the kids are now back in school, so there's been a lot of talk about it. And that momentum

building.

So tomorrow, the opening ceremony will be held in the Maracana Stadium. 4,300 athletes are expected to participate from 161 countries. Of course

that would be minus Russia because the entire Russian Paralympic team was banned due to the state sponsored doping

scandal.

But, again just a really exciting moment, the first time ever that the Olympics and Paralympics are being held in South America. And because

those Olympic games went off very well by -- as far as Brazilians are concerned, they're finally getting excited. And it's been

fun to watch the people here now also taking selfies in front of the Paralympic monument that's been put up on Copacabana Beach. And all of it

about to kick off, the torch arriving today and the opening ceremony tomorrow, Kristie.

LU STOUT: OK, great to hear a sense of excitement is building about the Paralympic games. Shasta Darlington reporting for us live from Rio. Thank

you.

Now, you're watching News Stream. And still to come, breaking down barriers. We're going to hear from the new Miss Japan and why she feels

her victory sends a special message about just being yourself.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:40:04] LU STOUT: Welcome back.

Now, a 22-year-old of Iindian descent is the new face of Miss Japan. Now, 22-year-old Priyanka Yoshikawa will be representing the country at the Miss

World beauty pageant. Aand her remarkable victory comes just one year after Arianna Miyamoto faced an ugly backlash after being the first

biracial woman to win Miss Universe Japan.

Now, Yoshikawa's victory also received some criticism on social media. And I spoke to her earlier.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRIYANKA YOSHIKAWA, MISS JAPAN 2016: You know, yes, I mean like I do -- my dad is Indian, yes, I cannot change that. But, I was born in Japan, and my

mom's Japanese. I was raised as a Japanese, so I can't change that either, you know. I'm Japanese. So I'll just keep being me, that is Japanese.

That's the only thing I can do.

LU STOUT: You were born in Tokyo to an Indian father and a Japanese mother.

YOSHIKAWA: Yes.

LU STOUT: Growing up, what did they teach you about identity and who you are?

YOSHIKAWA: They always told me to be myself, to be strong, live the life I want, live in freedom, live with love.

LU STOUT: And growing up in Japan, did you ever have to -- did you ever feel that you had to prove that you were Japanese?

YOSHIKAWA: I'm Japanese. And my passport's Japanese. there's nothing else that I can

do to prove that, you know. That's the only thing.

LU STOUT: do you feel that Arianna Miyamoto's victory helped pave the way to your victory and greater acceptance for non-traditional standards of

beauty in Japan?

YOSHIKAWA: I would say she -- she's great. She has made a -- like a change, of course. But -- I think she's very, you know, her personality,

her ideas, what she wants to do, and how she shows it, is just pure beauty. So, that did inspire me, yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Lovely young woman. And that was Priyanka Yoshikawa, winner of this year's Miss World Japan, speaking to me earlier about her victory,

identity, and breaking down barriers.

Now finally, a cosmic celebration for a rock superstar. Queen frontman Freddy Mercury

would have been 70 years old on Monday and what better way to honor the late singer than to

name an asteroid after him.

In fact, astroid 17473 was discovered in 1991, that's the year Mercury died. And the group giving Mercury the honor said it's for his, quote,

distinctive sound, and large vocal range. The singer who sang I'm a shooting star leaping through the sky, he's now an asteroid, too.

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

END