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Senate Intelligence Committee Set to Hold Public Hearings; Europeans in Britain Wonder About Future After Brexit; Samsung Hopes S8 a Hit. 8:00a- 9:00a ET

Aired March 30, 2017 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:24] KRISTIE LU STOUT, HOST: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong and welcome to News Stream.

A senate committee gets ready to hold public hearings on the Trump campaign's alleged ties to Russia and whether Moscow meddled in the

presidential election.

Now, one day after the UK officially triggers Brexit, Europeans living in Britain wonder how their lives will change.

And a dramatic role reversal: why China is urging President Trump to change his stance on the environment.

And we begin in Washington where the Senate intelligence committee is set to kick off its

first public hearing on Russia. The focus is on those questions that the White House can't seem to shake off, allegations that the Trump campaign

may have had close ties to Moscow. The committee will also look at broader claims that Russia meddled in the U.S. election and others around the

world. Here's more from Sara Murray.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEN. MARK WARNER (D-VA), SENATE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: We together with the members of our committee are going to get to the bottom of this.

SARA MURRAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Senate intelligence committee holding its first public hearing on Russia today as political infighting

jeopardizes the House probe.

SEN. RICHARD BURR (R-NC), SENATE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: This investigation scope will go wherever the intelligence leads it.

MURRAY: The leaders of the Senate panel saying the plan to interview 20 witnesses about Russia's attempts to influence the U.S. election and

potential ties between Moscow and Donald Trump's presidential campaign. Among the possible witnesses, former national security adviser Michael

Flynn and the president's son-in-law Jared Kushner. CNN learning that Kushner is expected to testify that his meetings with a Russian banker and

the Russian ambassador were an effort to engage the Russians and establishment a point person for the administration. Senate intelligence

chairman Richard Burr refusing to rule out the possibility of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russians.

BURR: We would be crazy to try to draw conclusions from where we are in the investigation.

MURRAY: The bipartisan showed unity in the Senate a stark contrast to the chaos on the other side of the Capitol Hill. House Intel Chair Devin Nunes

continuing to fend off charges of collusion with the White House and refusing to answer questions about the probe.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's been the holdup about the specific information that you saw on White House grounds?

REP. DEVIN NUNES (R), CALIFORNIA: It's just trying to get the agencies in order for them to get the information to us in a timely manner.

MURRAY: The White House also deflecting.

SEAN SPICER, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: There seems to be this fascination with the process. It's how did he get here? What door did he

enter? As opposed to what is the substance of what we're finding.

MURRAY: The ranking Democrat on the House committee expected to meet with Nunes today.

REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D), CALIFORNIA: I just don't know how to conduct a credible investigation in you have let alone one person but the chairman of

the committee who is saying I've seen evidence but I won't share it with anyone else.

MURRAY: This after Schiff refused to sign on to a closed door hearing with FBI Director James Comey unless Nunes also agrees to reschedule the public

hearing he canceled this week. Comey defending the FBI's impartiality at an event last night.

JAMES COMEY, FBI DIRECTOR: We're not on anybody's side ever. We're not considering whose ox will be gored by this action or that action, whose

fortunes will be helped by this or that. We just don't care and we can't care.

MURRAY: All this as President Trump's daughter Ivanka officially enters the fray, joining the White House as an unpaid advisor amid public ethics

concerns.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Sara Murray reporting there.

We'll get to her in a moment, but first let's the view from Russia. Paula Newton joins us live from Moscow. And Paula, now that we have the second

probe into Russian interference in the U.S., how is the Kremlin reacting to that?

PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we just had some fresh reaction actually from Vladimir Putin who was in northern Russia. He

is at an Arctic summit, along with the leaders of Finland and Iceland, and he was asked directly will any evidence ever be found to prove that Russia

interfered in U.S. elections. And in quite his own provocative way, Vladimir Putin came back and said, look, I'll quote Reagan here and say

read my lips, no.

He went on to say that this was indeed provocations and lies, that there is no evidence and that these kinds of accusations come up, he said, in tandem

with the U.S. political cycles. And that all of these issues are used as scapegoats.

He went on to say that, look, we believe the United States is a great power. We will continue to cooperate with them and that we know that the

American people don't have anything against us, but that these kinds of accusations are used for American political gain.

As I said, Kristie, he was incredibly categorical, again not a departure from what the Kremlin stand has been, but he was very clear.

[08:05:26] LU STOUT: Yeah, a very clear message. Read my lips, no, from Vladimir Putin there. In today's session the U.S. Senate is set to examine,

among other issues about Russian meddling, interference, how technology was used to interfere in the U.S. election process. What is known about

Russia's cyber techniques and propaganda capabilities?

NEWTON: You know, it's interesting, Putin brought this up as well saying that, look, we went to the United States years ago and said let's have some

kind of a cyber treaty because we understand this is a problem.

And Putin said they didn't want to. He kind of speculated as to why he didn't want to, assuming they were involved in this themselves.

What is interesting here is that we, in terms of it being uncovered in the last few months, is that there have been Russian links to cyber hacking as

well. And the Senate committee today will begin to hear from a lot of those experts.

But Putin's reaction again to all of this, Kristie, was very interesting, saying, look, it wasn't us. We understand that this is a problem. We

understand that we all can be targeted by this. We went to the United States. We wanted a deal. They said no.

What will be interesting during the hearing today is if we learn anything different about those

techniques and how they were used and if they could actually be linked ever to any kind of state action on the part of Russia.

LU STOUT: Yeah. And we'd have to get new reaction from the Kremlin, perhaps Mr. Putin himself.

Paula Newton, live from Moscow. Thank you.

Now we want to bring in Sara Murray and focus on that last line in her piece that aired earlier that President Donald Trump's eldest daughter,

Ivanka, is making her White House job official. Sara Murray joins us now live from the White House.

And Sara, exactly what will be Ivanka Trump's role there?

NEWTON: Well, her official title is assistant to the president. But what we have seen is that she has her father's ear on a number of issues. She's

been in a couple of meetings with world leaders. She was involved in the process when he was filling some of these cabinet positions. And since

he's taken to the White House, there are a couple of policies in particular that she's been interested in pushing, one of those is paid family leave.

And so we would expect her to continue to try to lobby for that within the West Wing.

LU STOUT: And as Ivanka Trump moves into the White House with this official role, there's a lot of concern about conflict of interest. So how

is that being addressed?

NEWTON: That's right. And by taking on this title officially becoming an employee of the federal government, she now has to abide by the same

conflict of interest requirements that other federal employees have to abide by. One of the steps she took initially when her father was

moving into the White House was to take a leave of absence from her clothing brand. She also divested from some of her assets.

But she did kind of begin to make these moves, even when her title wasn't official, that made

some people sort of believe that it was really only a matter of time until she joined the West Wing in a more official capacity. And I think that's

what we're seeing this week.

LU STOUT: And in the history of American first daughters, is taking on this type of role in the White House unprecedented?

NEWTON: It's not entirely unprecedented. There have been some first daughters who have been close advisers to their parents. But it certainly

is in terms of actually becoming an employee of the federal government, getting an office in the West Wing, being so intimately involved in day-to-

day operations.

And I think we have seen this both with Ivanka Trump and with her husband, Jared Kushner, is they really can weigh in on whatever it is they want when

they have an opinion, much to the frustration of some other folks who work in the West Wing.

LU STOUT: All right, Sara Murray reporting live for us from Washington. Thank you.

Now, the U.S. Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, is in Turkey where he met in the past few hours with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. And high on the

agenda, the fight against ISIS in Washington's tough sell for how it should be waged.

Now, U.S. support for Kurdish militia fighters, we know that has angered Turkey.

Let's go straight to CNN Muhammad Lila in Istanbul. He joins us now. Muhammad, is this the main reason behind Tillerson's visit there, the

battle against ISIS?

MUHAMMAD LILA, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Krisite, it's certainly the main reason, but I should say it's not the only reason.

This visit comes at a crucial time in the fight against ISIS in Syria. There are already operations

under way to isolate ISIS in their de facto capital in Syria of the city of Raqqa.

U.S.-backed Kurdish forces on the ground recently retook an air base near Raqqa that is expected to be a launching ground for attacks into the city.

And of course any time there are Turkish ground troops on the groundworking with American forces that raises alarm

bells here in Turkey, simply because Turkish officials say those Kurdish groups on the ground in Syria are actually terrorist groups and they're

responsible for committing some of the acts of violence that we've seen here inside

Turkey in recent months.

So, Turkey is not happy with the American plan to take down ISIS in Syria. And a big part of Rex Tillerson's gameplan scoming into this is to get

Turkish buy-in, to get the Turkish officials, including the president himself, Erdogan, to understand that the Kurdish troops are necessary as

far as the U.S. plan goes for dislodging ISIS out of Syria.

LU STOUT: And the issue of civil liberties, we know that President Erdogan has presided over a sweeping political purge in his country. Is that an

issue that's on the radar? Is that something that Rex Tillerson would bring up while in Turkey?

[08:10:46] LILA: Well, it's not clear based on the reports that we've seen whether that will

actually come up. We know that it's not just the human rights issues that can be a strain on the relationship between the United States and Turkey,

there's also the issue that Turkey has demanded the extradition of a man named Fetullah Gulen. He's a cleric. They blame him

for being behind the failed coup attempt last year. Under the Obama administration, there was a refusal to hand him over. Under the Trump

administration, it's unclear if there's a willingness to do so.

So, it's not just the human rights cases, it's not just, you know, the Fetullah Gulen extradition, it's also ISIS, it's a number of things right

now that are straining this relationship.

And that's why a lot of people are saying that the secretary of state, this visit that he's making to Turkey, is probably going to be his most

difficult visit simply because he needs to get buy-in and support from Turkey right now for the immediate future as far as the operations to

unlodge ISIS in Syria.

And that's the main priority. I think, U.S. officials have said that those other things can wait a

little bit, but right now the priority has to be defeating ISIS in Syria.

LU STOUT: Yeah, a lot of question marks hanging over the strategy to defeat ISIS as you mentioned. And also, Donald Trump and his

administration's intent with the exiled cleric Gulen in Pennsylvania and the United States.

Muhammad Lila reporting live for us. Thank you.

Now, we have this from Washington where the White House is defending President Trump's

remark about U.S. forces fighting in Iraq, quote, like never before.

Now, Press Secretary Sean Spicer said the president was referring to progress in the battle against ISIS, but as our Barbara Starr now reports,

his comment comes during an investigation of a deadly air strike in western Mosul.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're doing very well in Iraq.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Rare comments on the war in Iraq from President Trump. He may have meant them as morale booster in chief,

but the timing seemed peculiar.

TRUMP: Our soldiers are fighting and fighting like never before.

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: In this particular case, he was ignoring the fact that the really hard fighting occurred with the invasion

of Iraq in 2003 and 2004, 2007.

STARR: The comments also come just afterward of a formal investigation into U.S.-led air strike in Mosul after more than 100 civilian deaths. The Trump

administration dropped 700 precision-guided bombs on Mosul just last week, according to the Pentagon. The top commander General Joseph Votel

acknowledges keeping civilians out of the line of fire while attacking ISIS is growing harder.

GEN. JOSEPH VOTEL, U.S. CENTCOM COMMANDER: As we move into these urban environments, it is going to become more and more difficult.

STARR: As the Trump White House increases bombing and troop levels against ISIS in several countries, still no sign of a Trump military strategy.

LEIGHTON: I think there is the vague idea that you have to throw some troops at the problem, whether the problem is in Iraq, in Syria, or Yemen

or some other place.

STARR: More U.S. troops are headed overseas.

VOTEL: I think that is what you continue to see with all of these -- deployments right here. We are not -- one of our key principles here with

our focus forward is to help our partners fight, but not fight for them.

STARR: In Afghanistan, commanders want hundreds of additional troops. In Iraq, another 250 are on the way. In Syria, up to 900 are on the ground at

any one time. In Yemen, the U.S. is increasing military support and stepping up air strikes against ISIS.

Trump is also facing calls for more troops to counter Russia from his top general in Europe.

GEN. CURTIS SCAPARROTTI, NATO, SUPREME ALLIED COMMANDER EUROPE: A resurgent Russia has turned from partner to antagonist.

STARR: General Scaparrotti wants a brigade permanently in Europe, more than 3,000 additional troops. Trump has continued to defend Russia.

TRUMP: If we have a good relationship with Russia, believe me, that's a good thing.

STARR: A fundamental disconnect from his defense team. Defense Secretary James Mattis says he is not ready for military cooperation with Moscow.

JAMES MATTIS, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: Russia is going to have to prove itself first.

STARR: Barbara Starr, CNN -- the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[08:15:03] LU STOUT: Now, the U.S. president's revised travel ban is going to be shelved longer than expected. A federal judge has granted a request

by the state of Hawaii to halt the plan indefinitely. The same judge blocked Mr. Trump's executive order two weeks ago and that was only

temporary.

That means a 90-day ban targeting foreign nationals from six majority Muslim countries along with the 120-day ban on all refugees remains

suspended.

The U.S. Justice Department can choose to appeal to a higher court.

Now, still ahead, getting down to business on Brexit. We are live in London as the UK sets

out its sovereignty plan to unpack the EU law books. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Coming to you live from Hong Kong, welcome back. You're watching News Stream. One day after the historic triggering of Article 50,

the Brexit separation is getting real. In the last hour, the British government introduced what is known as the great repeal bill.

It outlines a way to turn EU laws into British law before that final divorce day.

Now, Brexit secretary David Davis says the bill will assure businesses in the UK that the rules won't change overnight.

And as that sovereignty plan is being considered, there is still just so much uncertainty for millions of people caught across borders. And borders

that not so long ago didn't seem to matter quite so much.

Our Diana Magnay spoke to some of those people

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DIANA MAGNAY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: In the shadow of St. Paul's as the to and fro with Brussels on Brexit begins in earnest,

European bankers, part of the fabric of Britain's financial services industry, now facing personally the kind of uncertainty they deal with

daily on the markets.

Do you feel that your lives to a certain extent are on hold for the next two years because of Brexit?

CLAUDIO ORIGONI, BANKER: The answer is yes. I was planning to probably think of buying a house, just put on hold. I mean, it's too risky right

now to commit to something so big. And maybe in six months from now we'll have to move or in one year. And again, we work in a bank so

basically our job depends on what's going to happen.

MAGNAY: There are 3 million EU citizens in the UK, many of them drawn to the capital, and 1.2 million Brits in Europe, hard for them not to feel

whatever the politicians say, like they're bargaining chips in what promises to be painful political negotiations.

Away from the square miles, bright lights and big salaries, London's high streets have a

subtle flavor of the communities that live there like here in Stockwell's Little Portugal, a Portugese community with deep roots, unsure what will

happen next.

It's Acarana's (ph) where you go for a bit of home from home in London, run by Maria Candida and her family.

[08:20:01] MARIA CANDIDA, SHOP OWNER: I'm here 23 years, you know. I got my shop and I bought my house, and sometimes I ask myself what happen when

the Brexit is done, when the London (inaudible).

MAGNAY: This Lithuanian couple here for 15 years, Britain as much a part of their identity

now as their country of birth, and with a pretty sober view on how negotiations will go.

DARIUS GATELIS, DECORATOR: 15 years was like we've been working here and building our lives here, so it's formed us as a persons as we are. We kind

of -- we're in a way British, but now we feel kind of, you know, alienated somehow.

I don't think it's possible to make everyone happy in this situation. It will be impossible to achieve that.

THERESA MAY, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: We seek to guarantee the rights of EU citizens who are already living in Britain, and the rights of British

nationals in other member states as early as we can. That is set out very clearly in the letter as an early priority.

MAGNAY: An early priority in a sea of priorities as the clock ticks down on Brexit.

Diana Magnay, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: All right, many issues are on the agenda as the UK now finds a way out of the EU. Let's discuss where it all begins with CNN political

contributor Robin Oakley. He joins us live from London. Robin, thank you so much for joining us.

And today all eyes are on the sovereignty plan set out in the great repeal bill. Could you please first explain what's happening here?

ROBIN OAKLEY, CNN POLITICAL CONTRIBUTOR: Well, the great repeal bill is actually nothing of the kind, it's not really repealing anything, it's

actually the great incorporation bill. It's taking many, many thousands, some would say 20, 40, 60,000 bits of European Union legislation, treaties,

directives, all those sort of things, and putting them into British law from the second that

Britain leaves, exits from the European Union in March 2019. The bill will then become an act

at that moment. All those bits of EU legislation will become law in Britain.

But by putting them into British law, what they're doing is enabling ministers to -- and parliament to look at the law, say we like this bit, we

don't like that bit. Oh, this bit refers to an EU authority which no longer is going to have any control in Britain, so they're going to have to

tidy up the whole lot of these laws.

But there's such a massive legislation here that it's going to crowd out the whole of the rest of the government's legislation program. It's going

to be about nothing but Brexit for the next two years, really, it seems in parliament.

And ministers are trying to shortcut some of this by saying well, we'll invoke something that's called the Henry VIII clauses, back from the time

of the much divorced monarch in the 16th Century who issued a proclamation so that things that he commanded became in just the same way that

parliamentary acts did.

And this procedure we've been assured will only be used for technical matters, but it will

speed up the process just a little bit, Kristie.

LU STOUT: But despite that, is there still concern that I mean, given just the mammoth tidying up task ahead turning thousands of EU laws and treaties

and directives into British law, that there may not enough scrutiny applied here?

OAKLEY: Well, that is the worry of some parliamentarians that it's going to be a battle between the time scale of getting all this stuff done and

the proper scrutiny of new laws. And we have had assurances from David Davis, the minister in charge of exiting from the EU today, he said that no

rights or privileges granted by EU laws will be taken out of the legislation.

He's also promised that as these powers from Europe are taken on, some of them will be given to the devolved assemblies in Edinburgh and Cardiff and

so on so that they will have a reasonable benefit from the exiting from the European Union.

But of course, there's also the question of other laws that will have to be brought in. For example, on immigration. Because Theresa May won't

subscribe to the free movement of people, which is why Britain can't be members of the single market, it's going to have to be a new law on

immigration. And of course so many of the people who voted for Brexit in Britain voted for it because they thought immigration numbers were going to

come down.

Now ministers are talking a different language because they realized so many EU citizens and

citizens from elsewhere are needed to run the construction industry, the catering industry,even Britain's much-prized health service, that they

can't make that guarantee to cut the numbers and that indeed we may even see immigration rise after Brexit, Kristie.

LU STOUT: There's also concern about that security line from Theresa May. The prime minister has been accused of using security as a bargaining chip

as Brexit talks begin. Is she making a direct threat? What's happening here?

[08:25:09] OAKLEY: I think that's the one controversial note that was struck in her letter and her speech to parliament yesterday. I don't think

it was actually intended as a direct threat. It would be a pretty immoral thing, as some people are saying, to say, look, if we don't get the deal we

want on trade, we're going to walk away from cooperation on security and counterterrorism and so on.

I think what Theresa May was trying to do was say, look, even after we've exited from the European Union, we're still going to be so much part of

Europe, still much involved in the economy, but above all else in defense and security and counterterrorism and so on.

Look, we're very important to all that. And if you give us a bad deal and we have to undermine so many EU orgazations, then there is a threat to

security in that way.

Downing Street is saying it wasn't a threat that we would walk away from security if we

didn't get what we wanted on trade, but of course feelings are so fraught here between Britain and the 27 countries who want to see that Britain

doesn't gain all that much from walking away, that everything is going to be open to misinterpretation. Nobody is going to be given the benefit of

any doubt.

And on an issue like this if you say something that could be interpreted as a threat, it's

going to be taken as a threat. It's going to be taken as a threat, Kristie.

LU STOUT: And the talks really haven't started in earnest just ye in all this. Robin Oakley, we appreciate your analysis as always. Thank you.

Take care.

Now, Samsung is unveiling the latest version in its Galaxy phone series, the S8 and S8 Plus. The tech giant is hoping for better results than its

last major phone the Galaxy Note 7, which kept catching fire, forcing Samsung to cancel production and order a recall, costing the company

billions of dollars.

Samuel Burke has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SAM BURKE, CNN DIGITAL CORRSPONDENT: Samsung has to get this roll out perfect. They're in absolutely no margin for error. Samsung has incredible

brand loyalty from Android users but a company can only get things wrong once. They cannot screw it up twice.

We don't know how much the S8 or S8 Plus will cost. We do know all of the specks, the smaller model will be 5.8 inches, the larger model 6.2 inches.

There's a much smaller frame around the phone so the screen will feel as if it fills the home fun. No more home button, that will be part of the

screen, so the fingerprint scanner moves to the back. There's iris scanner so you can use eyeballs to access the phone. Front facing camera and rear

facing and virtual assistant known Bizbee (ph) to compete with Siri and Alexa. Samsung has gone to great lengths to detail how they'll have more

safety checks on this phone. One would hope many more than the Note 7. They all say, you never really know until they're in the hands of the consumers.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Samuel Burke there.

Now, the leader of one of the world's biggest polluters is now touting the virtues of environmental protection. Up next, will China replace the U.S.

as the global leader against climate change?

And the Russian government vows to crack down on future anti-corruption protests. Fred Pleitgen sits down with demonstrators to hear why they are

not backing down.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(HEADLINES)

[08:32:11] LU STOUT: For decades, the environment has been a second thought for China. Growth was the priority as the country focused on

turning itself into an economic powerhouse.

But now, times are changing. As Will Ripley reports, China appears eager to take the lead in the global fight against climate change, while the U.S.

is taking a step back.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Two dramatically different photo ops just hours apart. Chinese President Xi Jinping planting trees in

Beijing, talking about protecting nature. President Trump signing an executive order in Washington, dismantling President Obama's climate change

policies.

The leaders of the world's two biggest polluters switching sides: China ready to take the lead on

going green.

"I'm a bit shocked," says this Beijing resident. "But that's okay. Our national leaders are paying much more attention than before."

"I don't feel like President Xi has done very much," he says. "We're not seeing the results."

It's true, there are still many smoggy days in Chinese cities like Beijing, but as the U.S. seems to be reversing course on climate change, China is

changing its approach. Even the hard line state newspaper, Global Times, is calling out Trump and urging Americans to stop

his climate policies.

For years, the Chinese government misled the public on pollution and suppressed environmental activists.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some of the factories are not in compliance...

RIPLEY: Now they're working together, creating this app showing realtime pollution data, pressuring violators to clean up their act.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now finally there's a real political will to try to control the pollution.

RIPLEY: Times have definitely changed, as the U.S. rolls back environmental regulations, China is investing hundreds of billions of

dollars in clean energy, like this wind turbine factory, and a Chinese tech firm buying into U.S. electric car maker Tesla.

Many Chinese are fed up with toxic smog, a deadly byproduct of decades of economic growth, believed to kill more than 2 million people in China each

year.

"Other countries have experienced pollution," says this man, "so we have examples of how to deal with it."

The world's biggest polluter hopes to put bad air in the past as the second biggest now faces

an uncertain environmental future.

Will Ripley, CNN, Beijing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: As the Trump administration hits the brakes on climate policy, some Americans are fearing for the worst.

John Sutter visits one town in Alaska that is slowly being washed away because of melting ice. You can check out his full report at

CNN.com/newsstream.

Now, Russia's interior ministry is warning against any more anti-corruption protests, but that is unlikely to deter activists. Now thousands of people

took part in unauthorized rallies across the country last weekend. And as Fred Pleitgen reports, some of those detained by police are protesting

their innocence.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(SHOUTING)

[08:35:15] FRED PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): They were some of the largest demonstrations Russia has seen in years.

(SHOUTING)

PLEITGEN: Thousands coming out across the country, hundreds detained in Moscow alone.

OLGA LOZINA, ARRESTED PROTESTER: I was traumatized mentally.

PLEITGEN: One of them, Olga LOZINA. This picture of her arrest going viral on the web.

LOZINA: It was like nightmare. I couldn't believe my eyes. The police officer mentioned me and he grabbed me by the hands. But two men helped me

and pulled me back to the crowd. I wasn't hurt but I was traumatized.

(SHOUTING)

(SCREAMING)

PLEITGEN: This video shows her arrest. Olga tells CNN she was at the scene with her mother and sister, both taken into custody by Russian police.

Olga says she supported the organizer of the protest who was arrested himself.

LOZINA: I support him and I am totally on his side because corruption, we all know that Russia is corrupted.

(SHOUTING)

PLEITGEN: Russia's government has criticized the anti-corruption demonstrations held this past weekend. Even claiming some of the protesters

were offered money if they got arrested, something the organizers deny.

SERGEY PROVA (ph), PROTESTER: Nothing will change.

PLEITGEN: Sergey Prova (ph) was also detained by authorities, he says, for singing Russia's national anthem at the protest.

PROVA (ph) (through translation): We started singing the national anthem, and sang two verses, and just as we got to the free country part, we were

taken by police and thrown in the bus.

(SINGING)

PLEITGEN: Video of his arrest also surfaced on social media. He said he wanted to go to the demonstration to protest widespread corruption and

inequality in Russia.

PROVA (ph): People are tired of having nothing to eat and no place to live. They're tired of living below the poverty line while the people they pay to

rule wisely are swimming in gold.

(SHOUTING)

PLEITGEN: Many others had the same message for Russia's government but it's not clear whether those in power were listening.

(SHOUTING)

PLEITGEN: This week, authorities have warned they would take an even harder line against unauthorized protests in the future.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Moscow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Now, still to come right here on News Stream, Cyclone Debbie caused chaos in Australia and left one victim stranded high and dry. Stay

with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU SOTUT: Welcome back.

Now, for the past several weeks we have asked CNN's anchors and correspondents to tell us about someone they have interviewed who has left

a lasting impression.

Now, Matt Zeller makes it his mission to help translators who have risked everything in global

hot spots like Afghanistan and Iraq. Michael Holmes reflects on why Matt Zeller is his hero.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[08:40:02] MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Pretty much since 9/11 I've spent a lot of time in Afghanistan and Iraq, months and months and months.

And one thing that struck me working with particularly the U.S. military, but also on our own team, is the role of locals particularly in the role of

translator. They literally put their lives on the line to work for us or to work for the U.S. military or the other militaries that are there.

These people are not just dealing in words, they are dealing in people's lives.

Their job is vital and the risks they take are massive, them and their families.

I met a guy called Matt Zeller a couple of years ago who has started up a group called No One

Left Behind. Its sole focus and purpose is to get these people out of Afghanistan and Iraq.

This is very personal for you. When you were a captain in Afghanistan, your life literally

saved by Janice, your translator. He picked up a weapon and killed two Taliban who were coming up behind you you didn't know about, right?

MATT ZELLER. CEO, NO ONE LEFT BEHIND: It wsas my 14th day in country. I would not be sitting here talking to you if my translator had not saved my

life.

HOLMES: Matt had to fight to get Janice out.

He did eventually, but it just sparked a passion in him for those left behind.

I think if there's anything to learn from Matt Zeller it's persistence and passion, because

it matters. And his persistence in the face of political lack of will, the work that he is doing is quite literally saving people's lives, and that's

heroic.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Oh, I love that. What an incredible man.

Now, Queensland in Australia has been dealing with the aftermath of flooding. It was caused by cyclone Debbie, but the cleanup it already

turned up this surprise. Let's bring it up for you. It's a 1.5 meter long bull shark that washed up on a remote road. The dead animal was found in

an area cut off from a nearby river by flooding, but locals say it was probably

stranded as the waters receded.

Emergency workers, they tweeted the picture of the shark with a warning about wading into waters after a flood.

And that is News Stream. I'm Kristie Lu Stout, but don't go anywhere, World Sport Amanda Davies is next.

END