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North Korea Tests Ballistic Missile; Security Experts Scamble to Stop Spread of Ransomeware; China Pushes One Belt, One Road Initiative. Aired 8-9a ET

Aired May 15, 2017 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:10] KRISTIE LU STOUT, HOST: I'm Krsitie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. And welcome to News Stream.

Now businesses and governments brace for more fallout from the world's biggest cyber attack. Look how wannacry was able to spread so quickly.

North Korea insists it will carry out missile tests whenever it wants as it risks a rupture with ally China over the timing of its latest missile test.

And that test comes just as Beijing hosts a major summit on a new trade initiative, a giant global infrastructure project with China at the center.

Now, cyber security experts and governments around the world are scrambling to stop the world's largest cyber attack. Now meanwhile, poll says the

effort to contain the wannacry ransomware seems to be working. Now, at least 150 countries were hit. This is what your screen looks like when

your computer is infected.

Now, wannacry managed to shut down several networks in government organizations and private companies, even in hospitals.

Let's show you how ransomware like wannacry works. Now, when ransomware infects your

computer, it locks up your files by encrypting them. So, it basically holds them ransom by refusing to

unlock them unless you pay a fine. Now, ransomware has been around a long time, but wannacry is different.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROB WAINWRIGHT, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, EUROPOL: We're aware the rising threat for ransomware, perhaps become the number one cyber threat around the world right now, but we've

never seen anything on this scale. And our concern is the way in which this - for the first time we've seen something that combines the ransomware

with a worm functionality. So the infection of one computer triggers rather remotely an infection of entire networks.

So, this is I think a very strong wake-up call.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: It's what you heard just then. Wannacry's ability to spread itself is why it is so problematic. Unlike most malware, it doesn't need

you to click on an infected email, it spreads using vulnerability in outdated versions of Windows. Microsoft fixed it with

updates, but millions of people still use the older versions or haven't updated their systems, leaving them open to attack.

And that helped wannacry spread quickly.

Now, the Russian cyber firm Kaspersky says 74 counries were hit on the very first day.

But some experts warn that hackers are already releasing new versions of wannacry.

Our business and technology correspondent Samuel Burke is following all of this. He joins us now live. And Samuel, we know that this morning on

Monday more people fired up their computers, has more damage been done?

SAMUEL BURKE, CNN MONEY: More damage has been done, but we're actually seeing the most amount of damage or new damage coming from your part of the

world, coming from Asia.

Remember this hit Friday night when you guys in Asia were already asleep starting to enjoy your weekend. People returned to work this morning in

China, and according to Avast, that cyber security company has seen a big uptick in China, though here in Europe we're seeing it starting to see

it slow down.

But there are still emergency meetings being held here in the UK because hospitals have been

infected. There are still seven hospitals that aren't fully functional as a result of this virus. And ist's incredible to think, Kristie - youu and

I have been covering technology so long, but rarely do you see when technology is actually affecting human lives. That's what makes this one

different. This virus literally caused outpatient appointments to be canceled so people not able to see the doctor, not able to

do -- get their appointments because of something that's happened in the cyber world now happening in the real world.

LU STOUT: Yeah, when hospitals are affected, human lives are potentially at stake here.

And just back up here a bit, Samuel, how was this vulnerability discovered and what is Microsoft saying about it?

BURKE: Well, this is really surprising that Microsoft is really coming out and saying that the NSA and the United States is at fault here. You know

better than I do that usually these type of turf wars between governments and tech companies really happen behind the scenes. Rarely ever does a

company come out and say who is at fault here, that they believe it's the NSA.

What this all revolves around is the fact that many experts believe that some code was stolen from the NSA. And they had been using that code to go

into Windows, hopefully to keep us safe. But when the tools that are used by the NSA or the CIA or other governments get into the hands of the bad

guys, things can happen like we're seeing right now.

But let me just read you this blog post from Microsoft. What's so surprising to me is how direct they are about saying this. Again, the

pleseantries have gone out the window. And Microsoft says flat out this was a tool that was stolen from the NSA or leaked from the NSA to somebody,

mabye it could be an ex-employee, we don't know.

And they go on to say, repeatedly exploits in the hands of governments have leaked into the public domain and caused widespread damage. An equivalent

scenario with convention weapons would be the U.S. military having some of its Tomahawk missiles stolen. That's the analogy that Microsoft is making

today.

But to fix this all you have to do is update Windows. Kristie, I know sometimes people get

annoyed by that little message in the lower right-hand corner and you say, well, I'm about to go on air, I'll update my computer tomorrow. If you

haven't updated Windows March you are vulnerable and you need to update your system immediately and that's all you have to do.

[08:05:48] LU STOUT: Yeah, individuals need to do that, and also companies as well. Samuel Burke reporting live for us, thank you so much.

Let's get more insight now into this attack. Mikko Hypponen is the chief researcher for F-Secure. He joins us now from Helsinki via Skype. Miko,

thank you for joining us here.

As you know, a number of high-profile companies and organizations were hit in this attack. Now, these are groups that should have significant IT

resources and IT departments. So, why is it that they became so vulnerable?

MIKKO HYPPONEN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR F-SECURE: The common think about the victims is that they are particularly very large organization with tens of

thousands or hundreds of thousands of work stations. Now, that's a typical environment where it's

hard to catch when you have so many different systems in such a large geographical area, it's hard to issue the updates in time.

The update in question was released in mid-March, now it's mid-May. So, it might take two months for big companies to issue the updates.

LU STOUT: Now, it's end of the working day Monday here in Asia, but still mid-day in Europe. Do you think this ransomware attack will get worse as

this day progresses, or has most of the damage been done?

HYPPONEN: Most of the damage has been done, because the original version of wannacry is no longer spreading further. What we are seeing happening

right now is it's now been three days since a big part of the victims got infected friday and the payment people are supposed to pay is $300 for the

first three days and then out goes up.

And we are now seeing an optic in the amount of victims who are actually paying the ransom. The number right now is 196 victims have paid up the

ransom to these criminals and it's unclear if it actually works. We haven't heard or confirmed from anybody they gotten their files back after

paying the ransom.

LU STOUT: wow, so you're reporting an uptick in the payments of ransom as a result of this ransomware attack. Is that the reason why this attack

took place, it's just for the money? And also who do you think carried it out?

HYPPONEN: Ransom trojans have been a major headache for the last five years. We are actually right now tracking over 110 different ransom trojan

gangs. This is just one of them.

With wannacry, we actually have no information where these are coming from, who is behind it. Most of the other gangs we had been able to track down

are coming from Russia or Ukraine, but also from Japan, from The Netherlands and so on.

LU STOUT: So these are criminal organizations, you call them gangs, who are behind these type of ransomware attacks. Do they have specialist

computer skills, or do you not necessarily need high-level cyber skills to carry out an attack like this.

HYPPONEN: They need enough skills to understand how to encrypt your files with strong enough encryption that you can't decrypt them by yourself and

they have to understand crypto currencies, because the real mega-trend which made all of this possible is the fact that now for the first time the

criminals can collect the money without getting caught. We can't easily follow the money as it's moved from real world currencies into BitCoin.

LU STOUT: That's right, and very significant point that you added there. They are asking for BitCoin, because it's very hard to track down.

A final question for you, you know, it's been a while, Mikko, since we talked about a major sweeping global PC virus scare, because you know hat

these days the dominant computing platform is mobile. So are our smart phones next? Are smartphones also vulnerable to ransomware attacks as

well?

HYPPONEN: You're absolutely right, Kristie. I believe the last time we spoke about an outbreak of this scale was during (inaudible) in 2008, so

almost a decade ago. And these old school massive outbreaks have really gone away. One of the reasons why we don't see them anymore is that when

they tried to make money with malware attacks, which is what most the attacks today are, it's not good for your business if you become front page

news. And I believe with wannacry, the original owners didn't think it would spread this far. It probably became too good, or too good spreading

vector even for themselves because now the owners of wannacry are the targets of a global manhunt.

[08:10:03] LU STOUT: All right, Mikko Hypponen, thank you so much for lending your insight once again to us right here on News Stream. Take

care.

Now, turning now to North Korea and the country's ambassador to China says it will continue its missile test any time and anywhere Kim Jong-un wants.

Pyongyang tested a missile on Sunday that it says could carry a nuclear warhead, but that launch could strain relations between the north and

China. Will Ripley has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un testing the patience of two world powers, his strongest ally China

and he who he sees as his number one enemy the United States. New enemies show North Korea's supreme leader all smiles

supervising the test of what Pyongyang calls a new kind of nuclear capable ballistic missile.

North Korea says it can hit the Mainland U.S. and its Pacific operation, a claim most analysts say is exaggerated but still highly troubling.

Sunday's missile test represents a level of performance never been seen from a North Korean missile says think tank 38 North.

North Korean state media says Sunday's missile reached an altitude of more than 2100 kilometers or 1300 miles, higher and further than other recent

launches. Traveling from a launch site near Chinese border to the waters of Vladovostok, Russia, home to Russian

Pacific fleet.

The launch, coming at a highly embarrassing time for China, North Korea's chief ally and economic partner. Chinese President Xi Jinping hosting a

major global trade forum, which includes a North Korean delegation.

ROBERT KELLY, PUSAN NATIONAL UNIVERISTY: If China were to cut off the North Koreans they'd have a sort of a crisis of things like food, and

energy, external resources, all that the North Korean needs for the lifestyle that they enjoy. So, China has a lot of leverage here. North

Korea doesn't actually want to become a colony of China.

RIPLEY: China under mounting pressure to do something it has resisted for more than a decade, put crippling economic pressure on North Korea, a

regime it has supported as a strategic buffer between U.S. allied South Korea.

It's interesting a lot of the canned food items you see here come from China.

During my twelfth visit to Pyongyang last month, I saw plenty of evidence of Chinese trade, pumping billions into the North Korean economy, even as

North Korean officials say domestic production is increasing and insisting China will have zero influence over their nuclear or missile development.

"Whatever new sanctions we're likely to face, whatever trade restrictions, we're not afraid," said Sok Chol Wol, a North Korean official given rare

authorization to speak with CNN last month.

The latest launch coming as the Trump administration deals with massive after massive fallout from the firing of FBI Director James Comey. North

Korea's leader choosing a time of political turmoil in the U.S. to advance his weapons program one step further, but holding off , at least for now,

on a sixth nuclear test, a test that could force the U.S. and China to take stronger action against a regime racing to become a nuclear power.

Will Ripley, CNN, Tokyo.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: All right, let's get more now from CNN's Alexandra Field. She joins us now live from the South Korean capital Seoul. And Alex, this is

the big question now. I mean, could the missiles actually carry a large nuclear warhead as North Korean state media is claiming?

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: OK. This is a very significant test, Kristie, by all measures, by all accounts, most particularly by Pyongyang

which is celebrating this is a victory, but you do have to really pull apart some of these claims. And if we step back here we know that North

Korea has claimed in the past that they are able to shrink down nuclear weapons in order to put them on missiles.

That is a claim that can't be independently verified by analysts outside the country, so there's various schools of thoughts on how far they have

come in terms of their nuclear weapons program.

But at the same time while they work on the development of their nuclear weapons, they are also working on the missiles that would be intended to

deliver those weapons to the targets. So, what you have seen happen over the weekend is an advancement in the missile program by all accounts.

That's what analysts are really focused on, the fact that this ballistic missile appeared to have reached a higher altitude and to have traveled

farther than recent previous ballistic missile launches has been significant to analysts who are observing the rapid development of the

missile program in North Korea.

And some in the U.S. have concluded that North Korea's missiles would be capable of striking the U.S. base in Guam right in the Pacific. So this

launch becomes particularly significant because analysts say that it could represent another step forward in North Korea's stated goal, its major goal

of working to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile.

Kim Jong-un wants that intercontinental ballistic to be able to reach the mainland U.S. and to be able to carry with it a nuclear-tipped warhead.

But that means that they have got to have ald parts working together, a missile that can guided to travel that distance. The nuclear ability to

attach that small nuclear weapon to it. And then you have got questions about reentering, whether or not that

would be possible. This test does highlight some of that with some analysts saying that this could point to advances in North Korea's reentry

abilities for their missile program, Kristie.

LU STOUT: With this test, it's plain clear to see that North Korea is determined to advance this missile technology. And at the time of the

test, we know that the chinese president was opening the Belt and Road forum, this international summit to launch his centerpiece globalization

policy. And it begs the question, is Pyongyang even concerned at all about angering its key ally Beijing?

FIELD: Look, North Korea has made perfectly clear that they are going to work as quickly as possible to develop their missile program and their

nuclear program. Was this intended to be a direct affront to Beijing? That's hard to tell. There are a lot of different factors that would be considered by Kim Jong-un when deciding on the timing

of a ballistic missile launch.

What's undeniable is the fact that this does come at an embarrassing time for Beijing, the fact that President Xi Jinping was kicking off this summit

with world leaders there, with the North Korean delegation there, with Russian President Vladimir Putin there. But we have to point out that

while China remains the biggest ally to North Korea, its biggest trade partner, there have been mounting tensions between the two in recent weeks,

in recent months as the tension kicks up here on the peninsula.

And that's because you have seen the U.S. leaning heavily on China, applying a lot of pressure to Chinese President Xi Jinping to use its

leverage over North Korea to try and rein in North Korea, to further isolate North Korea, to fully impose sanctions in order to and force some

kind of cooperation from Kim Jong-un, so you've seen an increasingly critical tone from North Korean state news toward Beijing and by the same

measure you've also seen a more critical tone in some of the state news out of China toward Pyongyang, Kristie.

LU STOUT: All right, Alexandra Field reporting live for us from Seoul. Thank you. And we will get more on China's big Belt and Road forum.

That's happening after the break.

We'll take a closer look at President Xi Jinping's big project to reshape world trade. Keep it here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Welcome back. You're watching News Stream. Now, China is wrapping up major event, its one belt, one road summit. But it is just the

beginning the impinge for mega trade project. Dozens of world leaders and high-level officials showed up in Beijing to hear China's pitch. And among

names, Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte.

Now, the summit took place as North Korea test-fired a missile.

Now, let's bring in David McKenzie who is in Beijing. He joins us now live. And David, again, just when President Xi opened the summit, North

Korea goes ahead and conducts another missile test. How has that weighed on the forum and the leaders attending it?

[08:20:16] DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly China, Kristie, is trying to really turn attention away from the

missile test in North Korea. They did put out a statement from the foreign ministry over the weekend saying they oppose anything like this which goes

against UN resolutions.

But really they tried to steer the focus away from that and towards this massive trade and infrastructure plan that has been going on for a few

years, but it was really the unveiling of it by Chinese President Xi Jinping. And they called this plan, the plan for the century.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's very nice, actually.

MCKENZIE: Lamb with cumin.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's good. It's hot.

MCKENZIE: Pomegranate juice and (inaudible). The taste in Xian's (ph) popular Muslim quarter tell a story.

Xian (ph) was always the link between east and west.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's right. That's right.

MCKENZIE: Its city wall draw tourists to the crossroads of ancient Silk Road trade. In modern China Xian (ph) has been neglected. But officials

hope that a new free trade zone here will change that.

"We are building a gateway to the west," he says. "I'm sure this China- Europe freight train service will cement our trade with Europe."

These goods will be placed on the train and shipped as far afield as Hamburg in Germany by

rail. The new Silk Road is an extraordinary ambitious move by China to expand its global trade.

Targeting 68 countries across the globe with at least $500 billion in Chinese investment, the Belt and Road Initiative is a mega infrastructure

and trade project. Conspicuously not on the list, the United States.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The United States hasn't joined the initiative.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is that because it's too far away.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Actually, any country anywhere.

MCKENZIE: In a relentless PR push like these bedtime stories on China Daily, China is trying to highlight its benevolent aims, but some see the

Communist Party trying to create a new world order.

Much of the plan is still only on paper. From Xian (ph) the train to Europe is still not as fast as air cargo, not as cheap as sea freight. For

now, their ecommerce hub operates on a very modest scale.

"We want to expand both exports and imports," he says.

And if history is anything to go by, the world's future to have a decidedly Chinese flavor.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCKENZIE: And what's fascinating to see leaders like Vladimir Putin and Erdogan of Turkey here in China, Kristie, because they really in their

speeches at the summit repeatedly kind of hinted - obviously it's partly where they were for this meeting, hinted that the center of global trade is

shifting eastward towards China and also gave some pretty subtle and at times not so

subtle digs at the United States saying, really, if the world wants to move forward with

globalization, China is the one to push it forward, not the U.S., Kristie.

LU STOUT: Yeah, sort of a counterpoint to Trump's protectionism there. David McKenzie reporting live from Beijing. Thank you.

Now One Belt, One Road requires tens of billions of dollars of investment. And some analysts warn that China could create a mountain of debt if

countries fail to pay back state-backed loans. Economist Ghenggang Xu explained the risks to me.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHENGGANG XU, CHEUNG KONG GRADUATE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS: In the more than 30 years of Chinese economic reform, we have been overcoming a very important

problem within China, and that is called the so-called soft budget constraint problem. The so-called soft budget constraint problem means

that the state-owned of the firms one day make losses when they become insolvent they don't go bankrupt, instead the government is going to have

them.

But because the government is going to have them, then the top managers of the state-owned firms are not doing to care that much about risks of

bankruptcy. But once you start to export, it means that the scale can be enlarged very quickly and we even don't know what is the limitation to the

scale. So you push that to the world. So that is my major worry from pure economics point of view.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[08:25:02] LU STOUT: Now, despite the potential risks, Beijing is determined to sell the project and not only to world leaders, as you saw in

David McKenzie's report, children are apparently a target as well. These bedtime stories released on video by state control

China Daily show a father explaining One Belt, One Road to his daughter.

Now, President Xi Jinping's name is featured prominently in the series.

So, what is China trying to achieve with these videos. For that, I spoke with Jeremy Goldkorn. He's editor of the news website SupChina.com.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEREMY GOLDKORN, EDITOR SUPCHINA.COM: Shortly after Xi Jinping became president, he made a speech in which he encouraged propaganda organizations

and state media to get to know new media and to speak in the language of new media. And since then we've seen a number

of different propaganda initiatives, both in the domestic audience and an international audience that have tried to use a different way of talking

than previous Communist Party propaganda.

So it's trying to talk about One Belt, One Road in a new fresh language that supposedly young

people will understand. Obviously, this particular video is completely cringe worthy. And you know, the one thing about One Belt, One Road as a

bedtime story, it is likely to put you to sleep. So, maybe it works.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Across the desert to trade with other people.

LU STOUT: Yeah, it is super awkward to watch. But as you point out, this is sort of a propaganda tack China has taken before even before pushing

this initiative. And to talk about this initiative, Jeremy, what does this mean? What does One Belt, One Road actually mean?

GOLDKORN: Well, you know, I think the Chinese government has done themselves an immense disservice by changing the name. When it was first

(inaudible) by Xi JHinping I think it was back in 2013 they called it the New Silk Road, which is still the name that some media use.

The other confusing thing about it is that the road part of it actually refers to what they are calling a Maritime Silk Road. In other words, the

road isn't on land, the road is on the ocean. And the belt is basically what used to be the old Silk Road, which is the land routes between China

and Europe. So, it's a very unfortunate name.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: And that was Jeremy Goldkorn, editor of SubChina.com. And there are more examples of China's propaganda drive. This reality show, it's

running on a local TV network features, again, a father and his daughter. And it shows them traveling around in Nepal where Chinese citizens

are working on infrastructure projects.

Now, Donald Trump is facing fierce criticism over his decision to fire the director of the FBI. And up next, hear what the former national security

director is now saying about the U.S. president.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(HEADLINES)

[08:31:12] LU STOUT: Donald Trump says he hopes to pick a new FBI director by friday. It's been less than a week since he fired James Comey. Now

some leading Senate Democrats say that they will refuse to confirm a replacement until a special prosecutor is named to head the Russian probe.

So, White House efforts to move past the controversy clearly not silencing critics. Now, there are stunning new comments from the former Director of

National Intelligence James Clapper. Joe Johns has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The fallout over President Trump's firing of FBI Director James Comey isn't going away.

JAMES CLAPPER, FRM. DIRECTOR NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE: I think, in many ways, our institutions are under assault, both externally -- and that's -- that's

the big news here, is Russian interference in our election system. And I think, as well, our institutions are under assault internally.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: Internally from the president?

CLAPPER: Exactly.

JOHNS: The nation's former intelligence chief, James Clapper, suggesting President Trump is undermining America's democratic system.

CLAPPER: The Founding Fathers, in their genius, created a system of three co-equal branches of government and -- and a built-in system of checks and

balances. And I feel as though that's -- that's under assault and is eroding.

JOHNS: Clapper also rejecting the president's repeated use of his Senate testimony to dismiss the Russia investigation.

CLAPPER: Well, the bottom line is I don't know if there was collusion, political collusion. And I don't know of any evidence to it, so I can't --

I can't refute it, and I can't confirm it.

JOHNS: United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley coming to the president's defense, while White House aides avoided the Sunday shows.

NIKKI HALEY, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N.: The president is the CEO of the country. He can hire or fire whoever he wants.

JOHNS: Lawmakers from both parties condemning the president's action and demanding an explanation of the president's threatening tweet, suggesting

that recordings may exist of his conversations with Comey. The White House denies the tweet was a threat.

GRAHAM: It was inappropriate. I would advise the president not to tweet or comment about the investigation.

SEN. MIKE LEE (R-UT), JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: If, in fact, there are such recordings, I think those recordings will be subpoenaed.

SEN. MARK WARNER (D-VA), INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: We want to make sure those tapes are preserved, because we're going to want to take a look at them in

Congress. JOHNS: The top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee asserting that Comey should have the opportunity to address the president's

allegations in public.

WARNER: I think Jim Comey deserves his chance to lay out to the American public his side of the facts, because how he was treated was pretty awful

by this president.

JOHNS: Some Democrats are now saying they will refuse to confirm a new FBI director until a special prosecutor is appointed.

TRUMP: I thought that this would be a very popular thing that I did when I terminated Comey, because all of the Democrats couldn't stand him. But

because I terminated him, they said, "Ah, we get some political points. We'll go against Trump."

JOHNS: President Trump insisting that an independent investigation is not necessary.

TRUMP: There is no collusion. We have nothing to do with Russia and everything else.

JOHNS: The backlash coming as the president scrambles to replace Comey.

TRUMP: I think the process is going to go quickly.

JOHNS: A decision could come this week, after eight candidates were interviewed by Attorney General Jeff Sessions and his deputy over the

weekend. Lawmakers from both parties urging the president to look beyond Washington when selecting a new director.

SCHIFF: I would strongly urge the administration to pick someone who's completely apolitical.

GRAHAM: The president has a chance to clean up the mess that he mostly created.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: And that was Joe Johns reporting. At any moment, meanwhile, we are expecting to hear who will be the new prime minister of France. Let's

bring up live pictures coming to us from Paris where the announcement is expected.

Now, all this comes one day after Emmanuel Macron was sworn in as France's youngest ever president. The decision has been closely guarded, but could

prove to be crucial, especially as Mr. Macron's party heads into parliamentary elections next month.

So, CNN's Jim Bittermann is standing by for us. He joins us live from Paris. And Jim, on his first day officially as French president, Emmanuel

Macron will soon name his prime minister.

JIM BITTERMANN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Kristie. The fact is, though, he has had in mind someone, he hasn't announced it to

anybody, but he said last week, actually, at an interview that he had in mind a clear idea who his candidate would be for prime

minister.

And that is going to be crucial because that prime minister has got to show a certain amount of

neutrality, I would say balance, with the political situation in France, because what's happening next here is the legislative elections which are

coming up on the 11th of June.

And if President Macron wants to win those elections he has got to maintain some balance in his cabinet and attract people from both the right and the

left.

As it turns out, one of the people that's being talked about this morning is Edouard Philippe who is the mayor of (inaudible), 46-years-old, a

profile which very much matches that of the presiden. He worked in both the private and public sectors. He used to be a Socialist, now he's on the

right. So he basically is viewed by both sides as somewhat a positive force. So he might be a good choice, but

we haven't had the confirmation yet. And like you say any moment we're expecting the Alexis Coler (ph) to come out, the new secretary-general of

the Elysees, to come out on the steps there of the Elysees Palace and announce who the new prime minister is - Kristie.

LU STOUT: All right. So, will it be Edouard Philippe soon find out. Jim Bittermann reporting live from Paris. Thank you, Jim.

You're watching News Stream. And coming up, they are among the most vulnerable people in Hong Kong. But these refugee families still decide to

risk their own safety and shelter Edward Snowden in 2013. Now they say they are being punished. We've got the details next.

(COMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Welcome back.

Now, while the U.S. whistleblower Edward Snowden was hiding out here in Hong Kong - this is back in 2013 - he found shelter at the homes of three

refugee families. But now those families are struggling to find safe haven for themselves. Their lawyer says that Hong Kong has rejected their asylum

claims and could soon deport them.

Ivan Watson reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Rejected by Hong Kong and facing imminent detention or deportation, these families sheltered NSA

whistleblower Edward Snowden when he was on the run from the U.S. government in 2013. They took Snowden into their

cramped apartment and let him sleep in their beds, even though they did not know they were helping a

wanted man.

VANESSA RODEL, ASYLUM SEEKER: I see the newspaper. It was him. I say, oh, my god, the most wanted man in the world is in myhouse.

WATSON: All Venessa Rodel knew was that he needed her help. But now, after living in legal limbo in Hong Kong for years, their applications for

legal status have suddenly been rejected.

RODEL: I don't want this to happen to me and my daughter. It's very hard for me. I'm very worried. I'm very scared.

WATSON: Hong Kong's decision comes eight months after the refugee story was highlighted by the Olicer Stone film Snowden.

In an exclusive video message sent to CNN, Edward Snowden appealed for the world to help these families.

[08:40:18] EDWARD SNOWDEN, NSA WHISTLEBLOWER: They could arrested and a ton of the children could be separated from their parents and the families

could be returned to the very places where they face torture or worse.

WATSON: This Sri Lankan father of two children born in Hong Kong and now stateless also hosted Edward Snowden.

SUPUN KELLAPATHA, ASYLUM SEEKER: Deportation means they not let us go alone. They hand over to an immigration department in Sri Lanka maybe some

authority. So, they don't offer that, maybe we disappear.

WATSON: The Sri Lankan foreign ministry told CNN it cannot comment on individual cases, but said we have an open policy. Sri Lankans are free to

come back.

The family's lawyer claims the cases were deliberately expedited.

ROBERT TIBBO, LAWYER: The Hong Kong government has intentionally targeted or

singled out these three families for screening, immediate screening.

WATSON: In a statement to CNN on this case, the Hong Kong government said there are no substantial grounds for believing that the claimants, if

returned to their country of origin, will be subject to real or substantial risk of danger.

The government also denied allegations it targeted individuals.

Campaigners have been raising money for the families who are now applying for asylum in

Canada. Despite their uncertain future, the families all say they would do the same again.

RODEL: If he asked me again he wants to my house, I will say yes again.

WATSON: Families with almost nothing to begin with feel they are being punished for extending kindness to strangers.

Ivan Watson, CNN, Hong Kong.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: And one wonders about the fate of those families.

Now as reported, we are waiting to hear who will become the next prime minister of France. That announcement will happen at any moment. We'll

have more on the hours ahead right here on CNN.

But that is News Stream. I'm Kristie Lu Stout. And World Sport with Christina Macfarlane is next.

END