Return to Transcripts main page

NEWS STREAM

Satellite Images Show Destruction of Marawi; International Community Struggles With Response to North Korean Missile Test; President Trumps Leaves for Poland. Aired 8-9a ET

Aired July 05, 2017 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:32] ANNA COREN, HOST: Hello. I'm Anna Coren in Hong Kong. Welcome to News Stream.

The international community struggles on how best to handle North Korea a day after Pyongyang tests an intercontinental ballistic missile.

President Trump heads to Poland, his first stop in Europe before meeting world leaders at the G20 summit.

And new satellite images reveal the devastation in Marawi as the battle against ISIS in the Philippines takes its toll on the southern city.

Well, let's first go live to Joint Base Andrews where U.S. President Donald Trump is leaving for Europe aboard Air Force One. It is the second

international trip of Mr. Trump's presidency. His first stop is the Polish capital of Warsaw. And then he's off to Hamburg, Germany to attend the G20

summit.

Well, it's a high stakes trip for the president. Major global issues like North Korea and Syria are on the table. And everyone will be watching for

the moment when he and Russian President Vladimir Putin have their first face-to-face encounter.

Well, CNN is covering all of President Trump's trip. And we'll bring it to you live.

Well, let's start with one of those issues: how to handle North Korea. Hours ahead of an emergency UN Security Council meeting, Russia and China

are warning a military option is unacceptable.

On Tuesday, North Korea tested what Kim Jong-un calls a gift for American Independence Day, an intercontinental ballistic missile.

North Korea claims it was nuclear capable.

Well, in response, the U.S. and South Korea held their own ballistic missile drill to showcase, as the South Korean defense ministry put it,

precision targeting of the enemies leadership in case of an emergency.

Well, there's no indication at this point of a military plan from the U.S. and South Korea, but Russia and China have called for calm on both sides.

Well, Ivan Watson is in Moscow covering the story, but first let's go to our Andrew Stevens here in Hong Kong. Andrew, as we know, the U.S. has

confirmed this was, in fact, an ICBM. It certainly is a gamechanger, isn't it?

ANDREW STEVENS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It is a gamechanger, because now North Korea can reach the mainland of the United States. This

has never happened before. That mainland is Alaska. The missile would not reach below, or into the 48 states.

But certainly if,and we're still waiting for final confirmation on the statistics around this ICBM, but there is a growing consensus that yes it

can reach the United States, Anna. The question is how far advanced now is North Korea in adding a nuclear payload to its ICBMs.

We heard from Kim Jong-un, the North Korean leader himself indirectly today, a report carried in the local news agency, KCNA, in Pyongyang,

talked about President Kim being at the launch site. As you say, he described it as a gift to the American people on their independence day,

and he also said that he urged the scientists of North Korea to keep delivering the gifts, both large and small, in his words, to America.

So, this is a program that is very, very much alive and dynamic. Expect more tests. Could also expect more nuclear tests as well.

So, the North Koreans, they're going ahead -- continuing to perfect the technology so they can deliver a payload to not only just America, but

perhaps to the 48 states as well. This is why it has concentrated minds internationally.

COREN: Andrew, before we continue with this line of discussion, I just want to remind our viewers that we obviously looking at pictures of joint

base Andrews in Maryland just outside of D.C. And there we can see President Donald Trump coming down the steps of the helicopter, as is his

wife Melania. And they'll be making their way across to Air Force One where they'll be boarding the plane for their second trip to Europe.

He will be first heading to Warsaw, the capital of Poland where he'll be meeting the president there before moving to Hamburg, Germany for the G20

summit where, of course, that highly anticipated meeting between him and Russian President Vladimir Putin. All eyes will be on that meeting, which

many are hoping he will talk about alleged Russian interference in the U.S. elections last year. But as we have heard from the White House it is

unlikely that he will raise that in that formal bilat that will be taking place.

He, of course, will also be meeting with President Xi, who has been in Moscow meeting with Vladimir Putin. But as you can see there, Donald Trump

and his wife Melania boarding those steps to Air Force One where they're about to take off on their trip to Europe.

First stop, Warsaw, Poland, then on to Hamburg, Germany.

Well, Andrew, as we can continue now our conversation on North Korea as we discussed Kim Jong-un had said that the missile launch was a package, a

gift to the United States on its independence day and that there would be more on the way.

As we have discussed, this is a regime hell bent on developing its nuclear weapons program despite international condemnation and sanctions.

[08:06:24] STEVENS: Absolutely. And Kim Jong-un has made it very clear that they are continuing there.

Now, it's interesting, because looking at the options that are available to the international community, which is going to be led by the U.S. and by

China, really the two big players obviously South Korea and Japan are enormously important partners in this. But it will be driven by China and

the U.S.

We don't know what the U.S. is -- even whether Donald Trump has a plan. So far, all we've heard are tweets, which suggest that he says that China

needs to take a much bigger role by imposing much more economic action, economic sanctions on North Korea.

As we discussed, China can indeed do that. 90 percent of international trade from North Korea actually goes straight to China. So, it certainly

has the wherewithal to make North Korea's economy hurt.

China says it doesn't want to do that. It says it doesn't want regime change. And its concerns is that if it does squeeze the taps like that,

that there could be regime change. There could be chaos, which could lead to more American troops on the Korean peninsula. So, that's the last thing

it wants.

Now, what the Russians and the Chinese have been suggesting, particularly the Chinese, is time for talks, Anna. But there are certain steps that

have to be taken first, and one of those would be stopping the joint drills between the U.S. and South Korea on the Korean peninsula, which so enrages

the North Koreans. And also that the North Koreans must freeze their program. Kim Jong-un has given no indication that he wants to talk at this

stage. He is on a roll, in many ways. So, whether he is prepared to even come to the table at the moment, we just don't know.

COREN: Well, I want to pick up the conversation now with Ivan Watson in Moscow. And Ivan, as we've said, President Putin and President Xi, have

called for calm and diplomacy. They have proposed, as Andrew said, for North Korea to stop its weapons program, and in response the U.S. and South

Korea will stop those military exercises. Of course, hours later, the U.S. conducted those joint military exercises described as an ironclad show of

resolve. Clearly, no one is listening.

IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. And what's fascinating here -- because the missile launch took place in North Korea

basically as the Russian and Chinese presidents were meeting here in Moscow yesterday. And the two governments put out a joint statement, it drew

short of condemning the North Korean missile launch, which violates United Nations Security Council resolutions that both Russia and China have signed

on to. It expressed serious concern about that.

But both governments have called for deescalation of the situation. And both governments have taken some time to also make some jabs against the

U.S. saying that they oppose the presence of essentially U.S. forces in South Korea that they do not want the U.S. to use this latest provocation

as a pretext for deploying any additional troops to the close American ally South Korea.

And the Russian foreign minister, since that joint statement came out from the Russian and Chinese government, Sergey Lavrov, the Russian foreign

minister, has gone one step further saying that any kind of economic suffocation, blockade, essentially, of North Korea would be considered

unacceptable, also considered unacceptable any attempt to try to pass a United Nations Security Council Resolution which would call for any

military move against North Korea.

Moscow and Beijing clearly making clear that they do not want to see regime change in Pyongyang. And while they're concerned about North Korea's

nuclear weapons tests and missiles tests, they also seem to be very concerned that the U.S. could further expand its military presence on the

Korean peninsula and the region as a response to these types of provocations -- Anna.

[08:10:22] COREN: Ivan Watson and Andrew Stevens, great to see you both. Many thanks for that.

Well, Donald Trump, as we know, is on his way to Europe where he attends the G20 summit and holds crucial talks with world leaders. At the top of

the list, of course, North Korea. Well, CNN's Barbara Starr is at the Pentagon and joins us now.

Barbara, President Trump said back in January that North Korea creating an ICBM won't happen. Well, as we know yesterday, Kim Jong-un proved him

wrong. This launch certainly caught everyone by surprise, especially the president.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: By surprise, maybe. But, you know, it's very interesting, there's the public statements, the Pentagon,

the president, just as you say, have said for months, years, even, that North Korea would not be allowed to have an intercontinental ballistic

missile that could attack the United States, that they wouldn't be allowed to have a nuclear warhead. And that video we saw, that were continuing to

see out of Pyongyang, of the launch of their intercontinental ballistic missile proves the warning by U.S. intelligence that they were continuing

to test and develop such a weapon really did prove to be true.

The timing may not have been anticipated with precision, but U.S. intelligence had warned for months this is the direction they were headed

in. So, you know, the question now is what does the U.S. actually do about it. President Trump doesn't have any options that any other president

didn't have. Military options not very good. No one is looking for war on the Korean peninsula.

So, we saw the U.S. video yesterday, didn't we? You know, the missiles, the U.S. and South Korean missiles being fired, missiles with about 200

mile range that could fire in combat if it came to that into targets in North Korea against their air defenses, their radars, their communications

nodes.

So, you have messaging going back and forth, but right now as President Trump takes off for the G20 as he faces his meeting with Vladimir Putin, as

Chinese President Xi appears not to be following, you know, what Trump hoped he would follow, it's hard to see where it goes from here. More

diplomacy, more talk at the UN, maybe more sanctions, but fundamentally the questions is what could somebody do about all of this, what could any

country do that would change Kim Jong-un's mind. It's not very clear, Anna.

COREN: Yeah, I want to ask you a little bit more about that, because U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has called for global action. But what

are the options in reining in North Korea?

STARR: Well, you know, the far end of the scale would be military action, but that really is totally not what anyone is looking for, because North

Korea, of course, has thousands of artillery tubes pointed at South Korea, the disaster that would befall Seoul, South Korea and the region really in

the words of some officials unimaginable.

So, nobody is looking for military action.

The president had pinned a lot of hopes on China. It looks like with this latest statement by the Chinese and Russian presidents, the Chinese are not

quite as willing to bend, if you will, to what the U.S. may want them to do, but I think you're going to see a lot of continued pressure on China to

try and restrict its own economic relationship with South Korea to pressure the north so it would not have the funds available to continue this

program. It's just really hard to see where it goes from here. COREN: Barbara Starr joining us from Washington, D.C. Great to see you. Thank you.

Let's go live now to Poland, President Trump's first stop before he heads to the G20 in Germany. Senior international correspondent Ben Wedeman is

reporting for us from the capital Warsaw. And Ben, the U.S. has more powerful allies in Europe so why is Donald Trump visiting Poland before the

G20?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly Poland has been a country traditionally very friendly to American presidents.

President Trump will be the eighth U.S. president to visit Poland. The first, of course, was Richard Nixon in May 1972 when he received, despite

the fact that at the time that Communist regime here told people not to come and greet him, he received a heroes welcome from Polish people, and

therefore this is a country where when American presidents some, they are greeted quite warmly.

Now, it's also important to keep in mind that regarding this government in Poland, which came to power in 2015, it's a rightist, populist government,

which has many of the same positions as President Trump. They are skeptical on climate change. They are not enthusiastic greeters of

migrants coming to Europe. They are looking very much in the same direction as him.

And important to keep in mind, also, that Poland is only one five NATO countries that spends at least 2 percent of its GDP on defense, which was

an important issue being pushed by President Trump when he went to the G7 meeting in Sicily in May.

So, for all of those reasons, this is probably going to be something of a morale booster for the American president coming to Poland where he will

be, as I said, receive a warm welcome leading up to, of course, the G20 meeting, which might be -- Germany, we don't expect it to be quite as

welcoming as Poland -- Anna.

COREN: Yeah, Ben, I want to ask you about that, because Angela Merkel has certainly inferred that she's expecting tough talks with Donald Trump at

the G20.

Tell me on his first visit to Europe back in May, he unnerved and I guess really alienated many European allies. Is there a chance that at this G20,

considering the difficult conversations that will be had, that Europe -- some of those European leaders could perhaps forge their own path at odds

with the U.S.?

WEDEMAN: Well, I think the statements we heard from Angela Merkel and some other European leaders is that they are beginning to consider the

possibility that at least under a Trump administration, Europe is going to have to sort of be thinking of its own solutions, and rather than looking

across the Atlantic to the United States for leadership, they will have to provide that sort of leadership.

Now, one of the things that alarmed European leaders the most during that G7 meeting was Trump's lack of any verbal support for Article 5 of the NATO

charter, which says that an attack on one member will be an attack on all.

Now, later when he met the Romanian president at the White House he did express support for Charter 5, but that was really a red light for many

European leaders that perhaps for the first time since the beginning of the Cold War there's a leader in the White House who is not convinced about the

necessity and importance of NATO, of Transatlantic ties.

So, yes, they will start, if they haven't already, to think of a Europe more independent of the United States the first time since World War II --

Anna.

COREN: Ben Wedeman joining us from Warsaw, Poland, many thanks for that.

Still ahead, a Vatican hospital offers to take in a desperately ill child, but a European court has already ruled a London hospital can discontinue

life support.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:20:33] COREN: A hospital owned by the Vatican has offered to take in a terminally ill child, keeping him on life support until his parents decide

how to proceed.

But doctors in London say 11-month-old Charlie Gard can't be moved.

The case has already been through the courts and drawn the attention of the pope and the U.S. president.

Diana Magnay joins us now from London. And Diana, this is such an emotionally charged story that many people are trying to make sense of, but

I think what most are struggling with is how Charlie's future is decided by doctors and the courts and not his own parents.

DIANA MAGNAY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That is exactly the problem, and that is the case in UK law, that when there is a difference of

opinion over how a child should be cared for between the parents and doctors, that it has to go to court, and then fundamentally the court

decides what they think is in the child's best interests rather than the doctors and that is based on all the evidence that they have before them.

This has been all the way through the British court system. It has been to appeal and it has been ruled on by the Supreme Court. And all of those

judicial bodies have said it is in Charlie's best interests not to have this treatment in the United States, because it will be futile. It will

not be able to reverse his brain damage, and it is in his best interests that the life support be withdrawn because his quality of life at the

moment is so limited.

Clearly at this stage where the family has no legal recourse they have now offers from President Trump to help, from the pope. We've just heard that

the Italian foreign minister has, in fact, spoken to Boris Johnson, the British foreign minister asking him again that the Vatican hospital's offer

is there to transfer the child there to be kept on life support.

Boris Johnson said, no, the courts have made their decision. We're grateful for the offer, but we're bound by these legal findings.

And it's an impossible situation and your heart goes out to the parents. But I suppose Great Ormond Street, where this child is, is trying to do

what is in the best interests of the child, and here the law is that the interests of the child come before the interests of the parent -- Anna.

COREN: Yeah, hearts certainly go out to the parents, that is for sure. Diana Magnay joining us from London. Thank you.

Well, China says it will allow U.S. and German doctors to treat dissidents and Nobel Peace Laureate Liu Xiaobo. Liu was granted medical parole and

released from prison after he was diagnosed with liver cancer. But Beijing has refused to let him travel abroad for treatment.

But plight has caused a global outcry with his supporters alleging he wasn't given adequate medical care.

The activist was convicted back in 2009 after he co-wrote a petition calling for political reform in China.

Well, while in prison he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. You may remember during the ceremony in Oslo, the prize was placed on an empty

chair to signify his absence.

Well, Liu has been in and out of prison ever since the Tiananmen Square crackdown in 1989. One of his former students tells us how Liu has worked

for peace.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: During the '89 protest Liu Xiaobo was one of the people who stayed in the square until the very last minute and was

negotiating with the army to allow the remaining students to leave the square and go back to their dorms, which did happen. So, he also had a

very positive role at the time as the, you know, as a professor who was trying to protect his students and managed to protect some of the people

who were in the square.

So, he's never advocated violence. He's never advocated anything, but dialogue and being able to solve conflicts through peaceful means.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COREN: Well, that was a former student of Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo who is now on medical parole.

New satellite images are showing us the devastation in the ISIS held Philippines city of Marawi. Government forces have been fighting for weeks

now to expel the militants.

Well, here you can see a large crater in the ground, which appears to be the result of an airstrike. Buildings in parts of the city are completely

flattened. Analysts say the extent of the damage is striking with about half of the city's neighborhoods affected by bombing.

Well, my colleague, Kristie Lu Stout, spoke to the Philippine Finance Minister about the battle in Marawi. And she asked whether the country's

economy can remain stable despite the fighting.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[08:25:12] CARLOS DOMINGUEZ, PHILIPPINES FINANCE MINISTER: We've had this incident in Marawi ,but let me assure all our potential investors, and our

current investors, that our economic program is on track, that all the main facilities of the government are very secure and that we are winning this

fight.

If you've noticed, the fighting has been -- has been limited to the Marawi area and has not spread out of that. I think that's a very big achievement

of our military as well as our president.

The other factor we have to look at is that the Islamic -- the political Islamic organizations that we are in negotiations with have not joined the

fight. In fact, they are supporting the national government against these terrorists.

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORESPONDENT: President Duterte has declared martial law in Marawi. That must come at an economic cost, that

must hurt tourism or the basic costs of goods and services there?

DOMINGUEZ: Basically in Marawi, yes, it's very unfortunate that the terrorists have decided to create this disturbance in that particular area

and that the people are really suffering. I mean, they have to leave their homes.

However, our department of social welfare, our health department, are at hand in supporting the refugees. We don't expect this conflict to last

much longer. Ad we believe that reconstruction and eventual -- peace will return to that area shortly.

LU STOUT: And President Duterte has also suggested that there could be martial law in place across the country. As the finance minister of the

Philippines, have you considered, or factored in that possibility?

DOMINGUEZ: Well, definitely. I mean, if the disturbances are able to seek out of Marawi, then I think it is definitely possible. But so far, I mean,

it's been limited. It's been contained in the Marawi area. And let me just say all the congressmen and all the senators from Mindanao have

supported the declaration of martial law there.

By the way, a martial law in the Philippines is very limited in time. We can only have martial law for a period of 60 days, after which the

president will have to go to congress and certainly it's not been 60 days. And we see the end coming pretty soon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COREN: That was Philippine Finance Minister Carlos Dominguez speaking to our Kristie Lu Stout.

Some 60 soldiers have been killed since the conflict began.

Coming up, Qatar responds to a list of demands from its Gulf neighbors. The latest developments from Doha. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(HEADLINES)

[08:31:55] COREN: Qatar has responded to a list of demands from four Arab nations. It's not known if it has accepted any of the 13 demands set out

by the Saudi-led bloc. Bahrain, Egypt, and the UAE and Saudi cut diplomatic ties and traveled to Qatar last month saying it's supported terrorism.

Well, our Jomana Karadsheh is live in Doha getting reaction there. Jomana, what's the latest?

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Anna, we do know from the Saudi-led alliance that they have received that letter through

Kuwait, the mediator, that has Qatar's response in it to that list of sweeping demands.

We don't know exactly what is in the letter. Officials here have been tight-lipped. But they have been hinting, giving us bits of information

saying that the response was within the context of international law, and something that preserves the sovereignty of this country.

And, again, repeating what we have heard about that list of demands and how Qataris feel about it. Take a listen to what the foreign minister had to

say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MOHAMMED BIN ABDULRAHMAN AL THANI, QATARI FOREIGN MINISTER: Any set of (inaudible) is all (inaudible) should be a realistic and actionable. And

what we have seen that the list is unrealistic and we -- it can't be actioned. And it's not talking about terrorism, mainly it's talking about

shutting the freedom of speech, infringing the sovereignty of the country, interfering in its affairs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KARADSHEH: And the foreign minister reiterated what we have heard from the Qataris all along since the start of this crisis that has now been going on

for a month, saying that the only way to resolve a dispute like this is through dialogue that they are ready to come to the negotiating table.

And of course now all eyes are on Cairo. That is where the foreign ministers of the Saudi-led bloc have just started their meeting in the past

half hour or so. We'll wait to see what comes out of that, and what they decide to do if they do announce that today what the next moves, what their

next steps are when it comes to this crisis with Qatar, Anna.

COREN: Jomana, how is this affecting Qataris day-to-day?

KARADSHEH: Well, at this point, Anna, not so much. I mean, initially, right, when this crisis started about a month ago, there was a bit of a

panic because this is a country that only has one last border, that border with Saudi Arabia that was shut on June 5 when this crisis began. And this

is the border they were using to bring in most of their food items, for example.

But after that, Qatar is a country that really has been a -- has had a survivalist foreign policy, so it's kept good ties with a lot of countries,

tried to keep more friends than enemies, and it did depend on those friends like Iran and Turkey, for example, that stepped in at the beginning of the

crisis and started shipping food stuff to Qatar.

Of course, there are some things that you would notice that are an impact of this situation and what they call here is this illegal blockade. But

overall things seem to be you know business as usual, life is continuing as normal. But, as you hear from a lot of experts in this region. They say

that if this goes on for a long time -- and there are a lot of indications that we might be seeing more economic sanctions, these sorts of measures

that could be long-term now if this dispute is not resolved. And they feel that it could start hurting Qatar if it goes on for a very long time.

But hearing from the Qatari government, they say they know there are consequences for their position. And they say they're ready for whatever

those consequences may be, Anna.

[08:35:53] COREN: Jomana Karadsheh joining us from Doha, Qatar. Thank you very much.

Well, the Iraqi prime minister is congratulating his troops on a great victory, even though the battle to retake Mosul from ISIS isn't over yet.

New video shows Iraqi troops in the maze of the old city. They have now pushed remaining ISIS fighters into a small area next to the Tigris River.

But they must be mindful of civilians who remain trapped there right alongside the militants.

And in Syria, the drive to push ISIS out of Raqqa is escalating. U.S.- backed rebel forces have managed to breach a strategic wall surrounding the old city.

Nick Paton Walsh is tracking the fight from Irbil, Iraq.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The breaching of the Rafiqa Wall in the outskirts of Raqqa's old city, it encompasses the

old city of Raqqa. And the fact that the coalition say that they were able to push through it and blow some holes to that wall that allow the fighters

there, backing Syrian Kurds and Arabs to push past the wall and all the booby traps that ISIS put in place.

They've moved those Syrian Kurdish and Arab fighters backed by the U.S. through the outskirts of Raqqa quite quickly. It hit the old city, I think,

faster than some thought they would, and then now, about three kilometers away from the city center. That's where they'll find the densest, most

difficult urban fighting with buildings but one key advantage for them over those who had to fight for Mosul, the fight which began eight months ago,

they're dealing with an awful lot less civilians in Raqqa than there were in Iraqi city of Mosul.

Fifty-thousand potentially in Raqqa or as many as a 150,000, either way, it's a lot less than the (inaudible), the incredibly lengthy campaign in

Mosul to drag on. That's one plus on their side also to the coalition say that their dealing to about 25,000 possibly ISIS fighters inside that city.

They've dug in, they took booby traps in place with their facing substantial fire power and quite a lot in fact with the outside. And now,

they're in fact quite substantially in circles as well. This could get bogged down when it reaches the city's sensor and its dense buildings and

streets, or it could, as it appears to be the case now, continue to move quickly. And when Raqqa does fall, we will see really the last major

population nation center that they control in Syria or Iraq no longer in their hands. And ostensibly, the end of the caliphates as we used to call

it.

Still, a lot of progress, a lot of variants potentially ahead, less civilians to be used as human shield but still a potential for a lot of

civilian life here.

Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Mosul.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COREN: Still to come on News Stream, a harrowing rescue in China where heavy rain is wrecking havoc. We'll have more on the deadly flooding,

straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:40:17] COREN: Well, travel won't be as much of a hassle for airline passengers in Dubai and Istanbul from now on. Passengers flying to the

U.S. from those two cities will no longer have to check in their laptops. Emirates and Turkish Airlines say the restriction on large electronic

devices has been lifted. It has also been lifted for Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways.

Well, severe and deadly flooding has hit parts of central and southern China. The state-run news agency Xinhua reports at least 47 people have

been killed in the regions of Hunan and Guangxi. Well, another 22 are missing.

Heavy rain over the past few weeks has wrecked havoc on the region. More than a million people have been forced from their homes.

Alison Chinchar is live at the CNN weather center covering this story for us. And Alison, certainly some dramatic pictures there of people

struggling to stay alive.

ALISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: That's right. Now the only good bit of information is that most of these regions are actually finally starting

to get at least a temporary break from the rain. That has allowed for some of that water to finally recede and hopefully allow folks get back, collect

their belongings, maybe go and check out their homes and businesses.

Here's another look at again much of the south and eastern region of China. This Hunan Province was really the region that was hit the hardest,

especially when you're taking a look at the rainfall totals that we had from Friday into Saturday.

Take a look at this. (inaudible) picking up over 300 millimeters of rain in just that two day time period. Now, if you go back nine days, the total

of nine days, they had over 500 millimeters of rain total. Again, impressive when you note that the monthly average is only 200 millimeters

of rain. So, they picked that up in two days alone, not only tripling that just in a couple of more days being factored in.

However, the good news that we talked about is we're finally starting to notice that front begin to shift a little bit farther north, taking the

incredibly heavy rain with it, allowing the Hunan Province and some of the other southern provinces to get at least a little bit of a break. That

doesn't necessarily mean they're rain free. You can see we do still have some of the conduction still firing up in that region, but for the most

part the majority of the heavy rain is now shifting off to the north where we do expect at least some widespread totals of around 100 millimeters of

rain. But again, it's off to the further north.

This is what we expect this time of year, gradually that front begins to edge its way off to the north. By July 10, again, just a little bit off to

the north of Shanghai, and that will likely continue to push north in the coming weeks.

COREN: Alison, thank you for that update.

Well, that is News Stream. I'm Anna Coren. Thanks for your company. Don't go anywhere, though. World Sport with Christina Macfarlane is coming

up next.

END