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South Korea Corruption Scandal; North Korean Spies Tried to Steal Missile Plans; Hurricane Harvey Churns Toward Texas; Trump White House; Russia's arms dealers push for global dominance; Bringing the fantasy of Westeros to life; Woman wins $758.7 million in U.S. lottery; China's tents of parental love. Aired 8-9a ET

Aired August 25, 2017 - 08:00   ET

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


[08:00:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN NEWS STREAM SHOW HOST: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong and welcome to "News Stream."

Guilty of bribery and corruption. A South Korean court sentencing the heir of Samsung to five years in prison.

A tale of intrigue involving North Korean spies now locked up in Ukraine. We have an exclusive report looking at whether Pyongyang's missile program

has ties to eastern Europe.

And millions of fans worldwide awaiting for the season finale of "Game of Thrones" this weekend. And we look at the technology behind the on-screen

magic.

A court in South Korea has sentenced the head of Samsung Jay Y. Lee to five years in prison for corruption. He was found guilty of bribing former

President Park Geun-hye for government support in a corporate merger.

Now, Lee is the heir to the Samsung business empire. Samsung is one of the world's most valuable companies. The scandal has not only shocked the

nation, it brought down a president. Here is a look at why this verdict is just so important to the country.

Samsung is one of the world's most valuable companies and inseparable part of South Korean life. Most South Koreans use a Samsung phone to conduct

business, to text friends, to read news. Then when they go home, they can watch programs on Samsung T.V.

Some of them maybe sitting in a Samsung apartment building equipped with Samsung appliances, and their children could attend the Samsung-affiliated

Sungkyunkwan University. If they ever get sick, they can head to the Samsung Medical Center for treatment.

The business empire accounts for some 15 percent of South Korea's entire economy with Samsung electronics as the crown jewel. In South Korea, the

trial has been called the trial of the century.

Paula Hancocks has been following every step closely from Seoul. She joins us now live. Paula, today, the verdict came out. What is the reaction from

Samsung and also from the people of South Korea? Do they feel five years is enough?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Kristie, when it comes to Samsung, they are going to appeal the -- one of the defense teams actually

said that as he was walking out of court. They have given a statement saying that they believe the higher court will find Lee and also his other

colleagues completely innocent.

Now, when it comes to what people think, there was two opposing sides of the sea, those that supported Lee and the former president, Park Geun-hye,

who is also a part of this corruption scandal although she denies any wrongdoing. They were outside the court and were very disappointed when

they saw that Jay Y. Lee has five years sentence.

But on the other side, you have many people who are pleased. They see that this could be a signal of -- the end of this very close relationship

between big business and the government. In fact, you had a statement from the top, from the presidential house, the blue house, saying that I hope

this will be an opportunity to eradicate the longstanding cozy relation between politics and business, saying that has been an obstacle to further

advancing the society.

For the most part, people are fed up with what they see as a very corrupt business world with links that are far too close to the government.

Kristie?

LU STOUT: And more on Samsung, the conglomerate itself, you see just now what Samsung has done throughout Korean society, but the history of the

company, we know that it has been investigated before on corruption allegations, but has it ever reached this kind of level?

HANCOCKS: Well, Jay Y. Lee's father, Lee Kun-hee, was actually convicted twice of tax evasion, bribery. He received a presidential pardon twice. The

presidents at the time saying that he was too important to the advancement of the economy, so needed to be pardoned. He never actually spent a single

day in prison. He has never served a prison term.

Certainly, we are seeing something a little different here. The fact that Jay Y. Lee has already spent six months in detention while undergoing this

trial and the fact that he is now this Friday evening going to be starting a five-year prison term.

Now of course as I say, the defense team said they will appeal to a higher court. They can now go to the Supreme Court if they don't like the response

as well. But certainly, we are seeing a stronger sentence for Jay Y. Lee than we saw for his father, but different times.

[08:05:00] LU STOUT: Yes. What does this stronger verdict mean for other South Korean conglomerates or tables? Is there now greater fear that Jay Y.

Lee is being used as an example and other big execs in South Korea could fall next?

HANCOCKS: Other big executives are also being investigated. We know the head of (INAUDIBLE) has been indicted. Certainly, this corruption scandal

is very wide reaching within South Korea not just for the former administration of Park Geun-hye and some of her aides, but also for some of

these big businesses.

There is a hope among many South Koreans that this will actually change something. This will make it different to do business in South Korea.

Corruption will start to be eradicated. Certainly, when you have a president like Moon Jae-in, the liberal president who is now in power, he

came to power on anti-corruption ticket. He bowed to the clean up the government and to clean up big business. That is one reason why many people

actually voted for him.

Corruption was very high up in the list of priorities in the recent election. Certainly, there is hope amongst most South Koreans that this

could be a turning point. But of course for those who support the former president, Park Geun-hye, who's trial is still ongoing, and Samsung and big

business, they believe that this has been a political witch-hunt. They believe that these kind of trials should never have taken place in the

first place. Kristie?

LU STOUT: Paula Hancocks live in Seoul for us. Thank you. And now to a development on North Korea that begins in Eastern Europe that can have

serious implications around the world. CNN has an exclusive report on incredible sting operation in Ukraine, one that saw two North Korean spies

captured, accused of trying to steal missile technology for Pyongyang.

Nick Paton Walsh is in London with more on this CNN exclusive. Nick, this dates back to 2011. That was when Ukrainian security sources, they caught

these North Korean missile spies red-handed, on camera. You got hold of footage. What does it show?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It is remarkable to see quite in such close hands the lengths that North Korea has gone to

try and get its hands on secret missile designs.

As you point out, the one that seen photographing -- and these remarkable pictures are dummies, but it's one of a number of cases that Ukrainians say

they have intercepted North Korean espionage. In fact, in late 2016, Ukraine had barred all North Koreans from their country effectively. Here

is what we saw from the surveillance footage.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PATON WALSH (voice-over): Caught in a crime that could ultimately lead to nuclear war. In a gritty Ukrainian garage, North Korea spies are secretly

filming, photographing missile designs, part of their country's bid to hit the USA with a nuclear-tipped rocket.

North Korea recently made a huge leap forward in its intercontinental ballistic missiles leading to panic about where, most likely in the former

Soviet Union, they got these advances.

But this is where those spies' journey ended. In the first access to North Koreans convicted of missile technology espionage, Ukraine's security

services have revealed how a 2011 sting operation caught one of several North Korean attempts to steal their superior missile designs.

Here, X5, as the court documents refer to the man considered the main spy, is allowed to make cement railings. He spent months scouting out Ukrainian

missile experts, some of whom alerted the security services. He's reluctant to speak to me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNTRANSLATED).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNTRANSLATED).

PATON WALSH (voice-over): The security services began tailing the man shown in this surveillance video. Officials say the trail ended here, when fake

documents were offered to them, which the North Koreans photographed. They were then arrested. The men were given eight years. X5, who partially

admitted guilt, in a maximum security colony, where he shares a room with eight others.

His tiny space here, haunted by the uncertainty of what happens when on release late next year, he returns to North Korea, a hero or a traitor?

X32, his accomplice, said to be the technical expert, didn't admit guilt. He's happy to meet us, perhaps just so we can film his refusal to talk.

[08:10:00] Obviously, what weighs on their minds is what happens to them on their return possibly late next year to North Korea. Ukraine is keen to

show us the sting operation in a bid to deflect claims missiles from this factory (INAUDIBLE) are being used now in North Korea's latest launches.

The security service officer behind the sting told us North Koreans have been effectively barred from Ukraine since 2016 after multiple espionage

cases were detected and insists they never got Ukrainian secrets.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNTRANSLATED).

PATON WALSH (voice-over): It's impossible, impossible, I'm telling you, he says. There's not a single North Korean in Ukraine bar those in prison. We

deported those breaking the law and North Korea withdrew the rest.

The two prisoners have met North Korean diplomats from Moscow once, but otherwise they've never called or written home in five years. Isolation,

loneliness, and discipline at the sharp end of this deadly game.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PATON WALSH: Kristie, it is fascinating to see the lengths that North Korea went to, point out again, Ukraine is convinced that they caught all North

Koreans trying to obtain technology. In multiple occasions, an earlier one in 2011, where individuals were caught trying to get their hands on an

actual device to take it out of the country. Two deported then and a third deported for trying to assist in removing the device from the country.

That was prevented, they say. Also, five North Koreans in 2014, 2015 obtained for what the Ukrainians say was intelligence work. They were

kicked out as well. In 2016, Ukraine says it effected the change of visa treaty with North Korea making it impossible for North Koreans to continue

to come to Ukraine, pretty much banning them because of this continued effort of espionage. Kristie?

LU STOUT: Ukraine sort of denied that there's any link between them and the North Korean weapons program, saying any North Korean spies have been

arrested or kicked out or banned from the country. What are weapons experts saying? Do they believe there's no link between Ukraine and North Korea?

PATON WALSH: It is very hard to say and I should point out a recent report by the IISS which seems to suggest that maybe technology originating from

Ukraine could have resulted in some of the leaps forward in the past months North Korea made in their missile technology although that has subsequently

made it clear it doesn't believe the direct link necessarily between Ukrainian facilities.

This technology proliferates across the former Soviet Union specifically towards Russia and lots of this involves individuals potentially operating

in the black market, in the shadows. I should point out in this sting, the North Koreans approached retired professors of missile technology on a

whole range of issues, but also including of course intercontinental ballistic missile technology, something that is pretty clearly secret.

So many different ways information could have spread, but as you point again, Ukraine is utterly clear that it wasn't from them because they were

tough in that particular job, perhaps pointing the finger at their hostile neighbor (INAUDIBLE) still in the east, Russia, where a lot of this

technology has passed, which has a border with North Korea, too. Russia denies any role in that though. Kristie?

LU STOUT: Nick Paton Walsh reporting live for us from CNN, London. Thank you. As Nick mentioned, Ukraine denies it is the source of the weapons

expertise coming out of North Korea, but as recently as last week, that "New York Times" report suggested citing the IIS report that Nick was

mentioning there, that Pyongyang was spying rocket engines on the black market and it looks like they came from a factory in Ukraine. One of the

co-authors of that report told me why he believes that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID SANGER, NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT, NEW YORK TIMES: You may remember that Kim Jong-un visited and was photographed visiting one of the

preparation areas for these missiles. And there were photographs taken at the time of the missiles including from the end, basically from the bottom

of the missile, which was on its side at the time.

That enable the analysts to do some very careful work figuring out the diameter and structure of this missile. And they quickly came to the

conclusion that it was a derivative of an old Soviet design later used by Russian forces called the RD-250. And that got rid of a lot of other

options. And that missile isn't made in very many places.

One of them is an underused Ukrainian factory that of course was part of the Soviet Union in Soviet days and continue to produce for the Russians

until about three years ago when the Ukrainian revolution happened. And that's why there is particular suspicion because that factory is at the

edge of bankruptcy. It is also at the edge of that Russian insurgency in Eastern Ukraine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: David Sanger of "The New York Times" speaking to me earlier on August 15th, but soon after that, the foreign minister of Ukraine hit back

with facts of his own, saying this, quote, the production lines for building these types of rockets in Ukraine were decommissioned in 1992. The

expertise cannot be carried in the heads of rogue scientists.

[08:15:00] The instructions are included in complex manuals locked in top- security facilities guarded by our security forces. Not only would it be virtually impossible for criminals to access these manuals, but also any

effort could not go unnoticed by our government, unquote.

Turning now to Thailand. And former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has apparently fled the country. That is according to a source to her family.

The Supreme Court issued an arrest warrant for her a few hours ago today after she failed to show for her verdict in a two-year negligence trial.

The lawyers said she was ill. Yingluck is accused of mismanaging a rice- buying scheme that cost the country billions of dollars. She faces up to 10 years in prison. The new date for the verdict is September the 27th.

Just ahead, Donald Trump's feud with leaders of his own party. We'll tell you why the U.S. president is threatening a government shutdown and what

Republicans have to say about it. That's straight ahead.

Also, the coming storm. Hurricane Harvey is charging towards Texas and threatening to stay a while. We'll be tracking this dangerous storm next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Coming to you live from Hong Kong. Welcome back. This is "News Stream" The U.S. state of Texas is bracing for the arrival of a powerful

hurricane and many people along the gulf coast are just getting out of the way. Harvey is forecast to be category three hurricane when it makes

landfall by early Saturday.

That means, winds will reach at least 178 kilometers an hour. Forecasters predict up to 90 centimeters of rain could fall on some parts of Texas.

Allison Chinchar joins us with more now from the CNN Weather Center. Allison, this is a huge monstrous storm heading straight towards Texas.

What does it look like right now?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It is getting awfully close to the line. In fact, we are starting to see some of those outer bands with the

thunderstorms already start to rise to this like Corpus Christi, Brownsville, even Houston already starting to feel at least some form of

some showers and thunderstorms arrive.

Right now, winds around 110 miles per hour, just about 177 kilometers per hour. That means we are only one mile per hour off from being a category

three storm. So, very strong storm right now. The movement is northwest about 10 miles per hour so it is rather slow. That is actually a big

concern because the slower the storms move, the more rain they are allowed to dump over the same location.

Here is the look at the radar. A lot of thunder and lightning up around Galveston and into Houston as those storms begin to edge in closer. Now we

do have hurricane warnings, that's the red color you see here, and tropical storm warnings indicated by the blue color there. Because of the amount of

winds that we expect to get with this particular storm, but it's not just the wind, it's also the rain.

[08:20:00] And the real reason the rain potential is so high is because the system once it makes landfall isn't really expected to move much. Now we

expect landfall just shortly after midnight tonight, between midnight and seven a.m. local time in Texas. But for the next 48 hours after that, it is

going to stay in Texas. And because of that, it's not only going to dump a lot of rain, but we are also looking at a storm surge threat now.

As the storm begins to push in, it's going to take all that water inland with it. The yellow color you see here, we are looking about two to four

feet, give or take about just under about maybe one and a half to two meters. Five to eight feet here for this orange color here. That is going

to be about two to two and a half meters. But we are looking at the area in between that could be even higher than that. We talked about the potential

for heavy rain.

The slower the system moves, the more rain it can dump. And since this system is going to stay for at least several days, we are looking at

widespread amount. Take a look at this. Some areas, six to 10 inches of rain, but we are going to be looking at many areas that could be looking

higher than that, say 15, 20, even potentially higher inches on top of what they already have.

LU STOUT: Allison, this is slow-moving storm as you pointed out. It is a big, big rainmaker. It's causing concern in Texas. Is it also causing

concern in neighboring states and nearby cities, for example, New Orleans?

CHINCHAR: Yes. So, Louisiana is also going to be one of the target spots. They are not going as much rain as Texas, but even still, when you're

talking some of these regions that are going to get six to eight inches, that is still plenty of rain in a lot of those low-line areas.

That's going to be enough to flood streets, have water coming into homes and businesses, so yes. In perspective, it is not going to be as bad say as

Texas, but Louisiana is still going to have some incredibly heavy rain and we are starting to see some of those outer band edge close to the state of

Louisiana as we speak.

LU STOUT: Allison Chinchar reporting for us. Thank you, Allison. Take care.

CHINCHAR: Thanks.

LU STOUT: U.S. Republicans are growing more concerned by the day. President Trump's verbal attacks on members of his own party as well as the media are

not helping their agenda. CNN's Chris Cillizza points out that to date, Mr. Trump or one of his top aides, has publicly attacked more than 20 percent

of all Republican senators.

Let's bring in CNN's Jason Carroll for more on the story. He joins us live from the White House with more multiple showdowns looming in Washington.

Jason, we know President Trump is going after his party big time on Obamacare, on the wall, and now the debt ceiling. What's the latest?

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, here's what's happening. What the president is doing, Kristie, is he is relying at a bit of

political strategy here, if you will, basically calling out members of congress who as you know here in the United States are even less popular if

you're looking at the polls than this particular president.

And so what the president is doing is going after congress for not pushing through some of his key agenda points, all this as one leadership aide

points to the president says, all this president is doing is pointing fingers and not doing enough to get out there and support his own agenda.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CARROLL (voice-over): President Trump intensifying his attacks on the party he leads, taking to Tweeter once again to blast Senate Majority Leader

Mitch McConnell for failing to repeal Obamacare. The White House insisting there is no problem.

SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The relationships are fine. Certainly, there are going to be some policy differences. But there

are also a lot of shared goals and that's what we're focused on.

CARROLL (voice-over): The president also targeting House Speaker Paul Ryan, blaming both him and the McConnell for setting up a battle over the debt

ceiling, the president claiming he tried to attach a measure to raise the debt ceiling to the veterans bill but Ryan and McConnell did not do it.

PAUL RYAN, SPEAKER OF THE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES: I don't really think he is going after me. I'm really not that worried about this. We have

plenty of options ahead of us. We will pay our debts.

CARROLL (voice-over): The speaker referencing the president's threat to shut down the government if funding for his border wall is not included in

the house spending bill.

HUCKABEE SANDERS: He campaigned on the wall. He won on talking about building a wall. And he's going to make sure that that gets done.

CARROLL (voice-over): The White House responding for the first time to Senator Bob Corker's concerns about the president's temperament.

SEN. BOB CORKER (R), TENNESSEE: The president has not yet been able to demonstrate the stability nor some of the confidence that he needs to

demonstrate in order to be successful.

HUCKABEE SANDERS: I think that's a ridiculous and outrageous claim and doesn't dignify a response from this podium.

CARROLL (voice-over): The president's feud with his own party raising questions about his re-election, Senator Jeff Flake suggesting Trump is

provoking his own primary challenger in 2020.

SEN. JEFF FLAKE (R), ARIZONA (voice-over): The direction he's headed right now, just kind of drilling down on the base rather than trying to expand

the base, you know, I think he's inviting one.

CARROLL (voice-over): Meanwhile, new details about Chief of Staff John Kelly's crackdown in the west wing,

[08:25:00] political reporting Kelly and another aide will now sign off on every document that makes it to the president's desk. "The New York Times"

reveals that sources say the former Chief of Staff Reince Priebus made similar attempts that were not taken seriously but crossing a marine is a

different matter.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CARROLL: And Kristie, the president's chief of staff left a huge void, left his position as head of the Department of Homeland Security, that position

now being held by an interim person, but once again leaving a huge void there as the president faces his first natural disaster as hurricane Harvey

is set to hit the state of Texas and parts of Louisiana.

The president did speak to the governors of both Texas and Louisiana last night. He tweeted about Harvey last night, and he has tweeted on a number

of subjects this morning, but as of yet, as of 8:25 a.m. this morning, still no tweet about Harvey. Kristie?

LU STOUT: Yes, on its way in becoming a category three hurricane, Harvey will be a huge test for the U.S. president. Jason Carroll reporting live

from the White House. Thank you.

In Sweden, the strange and tragic case of Swedish journalist Kim Wall has taken another turn. Prosecutors now saying that they will charge Danish

inventor Peter Madsen with murder and indecent interference with a human corpse. That's after Wall's headless torso washed up in an island near

Copenhagen. She was last seen with Madsen on his home-made submarine. Investigators say her blood was found in the vessel as she had gone on

board to report a story earlier this month.

Russia hopes an increase in arms sales will help its economy. And just ahead, we will tell you how the Russian arms industry is pushing for global

dominance.

Also, going to any lengths to see their children off to university. Why these tents of love are springing up in China.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. You're watching "News Stream." These are your world headlines.

Samsung's chief and heir has been found guilty of bribing former South Korean President Park Geun-hye. A court sentenced Jay Y. Lee to five years

in prison. The verdict is the latest development in the scandal. Park was removed from office. His lawyers say they will appeal.

CNN has an exclusive report on the sting operation in Ukraine. Two North Korean spies captured. They were convicted of trying to steal missile

technology for Pyongyang. Ukraine denies it was a source for North Korea's long-range missiles.

Thailand Supreme Court has issued an arrest warrant

[08:30:00] for former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra after she didn't show up in court to hear the verdict in her negligence trial.

Now a source close to her family says she has fled the country. She is accused of mismanaging a controversial rice subsidy program which cost the

country billions of dollars.

The U.S. Navy has covered the remains of the second sailor following the collision of the USS John S. McCain. He's identified as 26-year-old Dustin

Louis Doyon.

Eight sailors are still unaccounted for after that accident and divers are still searching flooded compartments ship of the ship.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: After years of decline and demise, Russia's arms dealers are making a push for global dominance. New factories and new products have

helped Russia boost its sale of munitions. Fred Pleitgen can take us inside Russia's largest arms Expo.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FRED PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Russian combat helicopters on the attack in a large-scale maneuver. This video provided by Russia's Defense

Ministry is also designed to market the choppers.

Perhaps not as technologically advance as American or European gun ships but also less expensive and more resilient, the head of Russia's State

Helicopter Company tells me.

ANDREY BOGINSKY, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, JOINT STOCK COMPANY RUSSIAN HELICOPTERS (through translator): Our equipment is famous for being easy

to use and to maintain, he says. Because our helicopters can be used without hanger storage, they operate under severe conditions and

temperatures, and also in sandstorms.

PLEITGEN: Well, the company says it wants to expand its civilian helicopter business. They also want to grow in the military sector, and

say their products are catching up fast technologically.

We've got a tour of the newest version of the Mi-28 attack helicopter called the Night Hunter. It took the Russian helicopter industry a long

time to get back on its feet after the fall of the Soviet Union.

But now they say they're back and they want to compete for international contracts and it's not just choppers Russia's selling, we went to one of

the largest arms exposed currently happening outside Moscow where defense companies are actively marketing everything from tanks to ballistic

missiles.

Aside from lower prices, their sales pitch includes pure export restrictions than Western companies. Pounding success on the battlefield

in Syria where Russian forces have help Syrian government troops make major gains where the U.S. accuses Russia causing thousands of civilian

casualties and where Moscow denies.

Another big sales booster experts say is the machismo of Russian President Vladimir.

RUSLAN PUKHOV, DIRECTOR, CENTRE FOR ANALYSIS OF STRATEGIES AND TECHNOLOGIES: (Inaudible) weapon -- I think (Inaudible) tanks are the best

in the world you know, not the best is not cleaver, its T-90 because Russia's very practical because driving horse and then (Inaudible) is not

riding the horse because Putin s hunting them down (Inaudible) is not.

PLEITGEN: With Russia under international sanctions, Moscow hopes the arms industry will give its economy a much-needed boot and its defense companies

are aggressively trying to expand their markets. Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Moscow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: U.S. officials tells CNN the FBI has arrested a Chinese national who was accused of being involved in one the worst tax on the U.S.

government.

Now were told he was arrested Wednesday at the end of the U.S. to attend a conference. He is facing charges related to malware called Sakura that

authorities say it was used in the 2014 attack.

Now hackers stole the personal information of more than 21 million people stored with the office of Personnel Management or PM. Now the FBI blamed

the breach on Chinese government hackers, the data was from security clearance applications.

It's creating serious concerns about people being targeted by foreign intelligence agents. You're watching News Stream. And coming up, as the

season finale for Game of Thrones looms, we'll take a look at how HBO brings selects some of the main characters, not the actors but the dragons.

[08:35:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Welcome back. Now Game of Thrones is a world wide success with loyal fans religiously following every part of the HBO series.

The show brought to life the fantasy world of Westeros along with its dire wolves, white walkers, most importantly, the dragons. Clare Sebastian

shows us the tech behind the magic.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In the fantasy world of Game of Thrones, fire breathing dragons is the ultimate weapon of war. Behind the

scenes, it took an army to create them in the world they inhabit.

THILO KUTHER, CEO, PIXOMONDO: We had a meeting with HBO and they were talking about how the -- how important the dragons will be for the coming

seasons, and how much the character put personality will be a major part of the -- of the story.

SEBASTIAN: Pixomondo joined Game of Thrones in season two. One of 27 visual effects companies the show his hired to date. Their job is to

create dragons to coming of age.

KUTHER: If this animal is getting bigger then the balance, the muscle structure, the way it actually lifts up in the air is changing this is

becoming more complicated than it has something tiny with it's a hop of few feet. And this was an incredibly challenging thing to develop.

SEBASTIAN: To do, he says the artist had to take something familiar.

KUTHER: They went to a supermarket and they said that the chicken tool and how the muscle structure should be. You know when that dragon comes in and

they like shoot -- and the ice starts to like breakup.

SEBASTIAN: It works like this, which is made, Game of Thrones, master class for the next generation.

KUTHER: I'm going to work on characters, suggesting dragons, when their little babies trying to tiny bits of flyer to what they are now as just

huge beast, resonates well with everyone I think.

SEBASTIAN: For this final year, visual art students, it was part of the inspiration hfor that thesis film. You learn something from watching Game

of Thrones?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I think so. Definitely, that not everything has to be CG, so like the wolves, they were real wolf, the deadly green

screened in. That wasn't CG and to me, that was really eye opening in a way.

LUKE DITOMMASO, PROFESSOR SCHOOL OF VISUAL ARTS, NEW YORK: I think the original intent was to write a story that was so grand, that it was

completely unbound by the constraints of regular production and visual effects has made a show like Game of Thrones possible.

Visual effects is not the driving of force of the show. I think it is the drama that has built around people's relationships is not trying to be a

fantasy story. This could be true, this could be a real thing, and I think that is what makes the magic of it.

SEBASTIAN: A magic that has taken TV drama in an epic scale. Clare Sebastian, CNN Money, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: And finally, I want to meet Mavis, now she is from Massachusetts. She works at the Mercy Medical Center or at least she used

to. She can be the luckiest woman on earth. Why?

It could give you probably about 758 million reasons why. Maybe she just won the largest single lottery jackpot ever in the U.S. more than a three-

quarter of a billion dollars and here's what she had to say about her winning moment.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MAVIS WANCZYK, POWERBALL LUCKY WINNER: I just happen to find out, I was at leaving work at night and I live with this guy (Inaudible), fireman and we

just have been locked out, and he said, I brought you (Inaudible) in his birthday.

So I went out, yes I know, it's never going to be me. It's just pipe dream I've always had, and he's viewing these numbers then pull mine out. I have

that -- I have that, you know, when he see that ticket, he goes, you just won. Don't be joking, come on please. He just signed that ticket now.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Well, Mavis now -- for parent around the world, senior child of University is yes a momentous occasion and in China, it can feel all the

more significant because of the decades on one child policy.

And so some unusual sites have been springing up in around colleges across the country. Take a look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Welcome to Tent City, Chinese college style.

[08:40:00] It all started here but is now a nationwide phenomenon. For the sixth year Tianjin University in Northern China has set-up hundreds of

tents in the gym, giving parents of freshmen students a place to relax, rest and reflect.

MAO FUHONG, PARENT, (through translator): I'm proud and happy my son is a strong and good boy but this is the first time he's travel so far from

home.

LU STOUT: For many parents, traveling from afar on a budget, these tents offer much more than just free housing for a few days in the city.

JIANG QINGJU, PARENT, (through translator): We were just going to let his father sent him here but then I thought, I never went to college. I want

to experience the chemist, too.

LU STOUT: Most students are the only children thinks China strict family planning policy. Many went through brutal exam preparations to become the

first in the family to attend college.

FUHONG, (through translator): He still has a long way to go. He needs a masters degree at least. I'll support him if you can study abroad.

LU STOUT: But academic excellence doesn't always translate to a mastery of other skills.

SI YANLIN, PARENT, (through translator): I've always taken care of him, doing his laundry all along, now he has to start leaving independently and

do his own laundry. Parents have to let their children go one day.

LU STOUT: But at least for a few more days, the parents can have shelter from the shock of letting their children grow up.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: I adore these doting parents. Just to put this onto perspective, the number of universities in China is booming. The research

group ICES says that they are now more than two and a half thousand in the country as an increase of 1000 since the start of the last decade. And

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

END