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North Korea Tensions; Maria's Aftermath; Mexico Earthquake; Rohingya Crisis; World Headlines; Pyongyang Hints At Hydrogen Bomb Test Over Pacific; London Says It Won't Renew Uber's License; London Embracing 21st Century Timber; Considering The Real Threat To Nuclear Weapons. Aired 8-9a ET

Aired September 22, 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." War of words. Donald Trump calls North

Korea's Kim Jong-un a madman who will be tested like never before. The North Korea's leader promised to make the U.S. pay dearly for warning his

country could be destroyed.

The death toll in Hurricane Maria's wake is rising in Puerto Rico, and we are live in San Juan.

And a ruling. Uber loses its operating license in the British capital, but the fight isn't over yet.

U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un ere hurling insults at each other in an unprecedented war of words. Mr. Trump

just lashed out a couple of hours ago on Twitter, calling Kim a madman who doesn't mind starving or killing his people.

He tweets, "Kim will be tested like never before." That after Kim made a rare direct statement on state TV blasting President Trump for his U.N.

speech and threats. Here's what he said.

"We will surely and definitely tame the mentally deranged U.S. dotard with fire." Pyongyang's top diplomat gave a sense of what that could mean

shortly after Kim's televised statement. Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho told reporters in New York that North Korea could test a hydrogen bomb over the

pacific. Earlier this week in a speech at the U.N., Mr. Trump called Kim "Rocket Man" and threatened to destroy North Korea if provoked.

I spoke earlier with Paula Hancocks in Seoul. I started by asking her whether the north's hydrogen test threat is credible.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This would be a serious escalation if this were to happen. Experts we've spoken to have said that technically it

is very difficult to do that. There are many perils in trying to achieve that kind of detonation, whether North Korea has the ability is a question

mark, but of course the very fact they are it talking about it is a concern.

Nothing is -- there's nothing off-the-cuff about this remark from the foreign minister. There is nothing off-the-cuff about North Korea. It is

highly choreographed. It would be have been a phrase that had been pre- approved from Pyongyang so it is concerning people. Kristie?

LU STOUT: And those concerning comments from Ri Yong-ho came just hours after statement by Kim Jong-un, responding apparently to that U.N. speech

given by President Trump earlier in the week. Paula, what struck you about that statement issued under Kim's name?

HANCOCKS: Well, the interesting part of this, Kristie, is the fact that it was in the first person, the fact that it was Kim Jong-un supposedly giving

this statement, a very direct message from the North Korean leader to the U.S. president that we haven't seen before as far as I can remember and

talking to experts here. That is something new.

We have that photo of course from state media showing Kim Jong-un looking directly into the camera. So, it's a very direct message from leader to

leader. Now, it has the usual dismissive phrases calling the U.S. president mentally deranged, saying the highest level of hard line countermeasures in

history, even giving the U.S. president some advice at one point.

Now, one part I did want to read to you was a quote from Kim Jong-un saying, "after taking office, Trump has rendered the world restless through

threats and blackmail against all countries in the world. He's unfit to hold the prerogative of supreme command of a country, and he is surely a

rogue and gangster fond of playing with fire rather than a politician."

A very interesting quote from the North Korean leader because certainly critics of North Korea have said similar things against Kim Jong-un in the

past and now Kim Jong-un is saying it against Donald Trump. Kristie?

LU STOUT: What's the latest thinking there in South Korea about the Kim- Trump situation? Is this another rhetorical game of chicken or has this standoff seriously escalated?

HANCOCKS: It's not known. There is certainly more concern here in South Korea for many years now. I've been covering the back and forth of rhetoric

here, and people just dismiss it here in South Korea. There is more concern than there has been in the past quite frankly because you have rhetoric

coming from both sides now.

[08:05:00] The U.S. president who is in office at this time is very different to the previous U.S. presidents, so the sort of rhetoric we're

hearing does concern some in South Korea. Of course, you have the fact that there is such immense progress being made by North Korea when it comes to

the ICBM, when it comes to the sixth nuclear test, and of course when it comes to firing missiles directly over Japan.

So, there is some concern still obviously putting context that for many decades, South Korea has lived under this concern under for North Korea,

under this pressure, but things are changing slowly.

LU STOUT: Paula Hancocks there. Let's get more analysis into the latest nuclear threat. Duyeon Kim is a visiting senior fellow with the Korean

Peninsula Future Forum. She joins us now live from Seoul. Duyeon, welcome back to "News Stream." The North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho says

that North Korea may test an H-bomb over the Pacific Ocean. Can they do it?

DUYEON KIM, VISITING SENIOR FELLOW, KOREAN PENINSULA FUTURE FORUM: Well, as Paula mentioned previously, right now, technologically, we do not believe

they can do it at all any time soon. But the important thing to remember are two things. One, we -- I actually have not heard based on the

soundbites that I've seen, I've note not heard the before and after soundbites.

Basically, the north typically gives conditions or preconditions under which they will carry out a provocation or an act to a test or an activity.

And so we have not heard that. I'm not sure if that was there, but it was only edited out.

The second point is that yes, they do not have the capability yet to do this, but they are foreshadowing what their intentions and their goals are

for the future. And by saying this now, at this point, without the capability, they're also giving themselves cover and justification for

doing it when they feel a time is needed and necessary to carry out a hydrogen bomb test over the pacific.

So those are the two things that came to my mind, and we should not overreact to this statement, but we also should not underreact because

China in 1966, they actually tested a nuclear weapon mounted on a ballistic missile. They fired it across their own country to the west. They tested it

this way. So there is a historical precedence. The biggest difference is North Korea does not own any land or islands in the pacific.

So, this is not their territory and yet they're threatening to carry out or he's threatening at some point to carry this out. But again, the north

follows through with their statements, with their threats, with their pronouncements, but it's always been a matter of circumstance and time. So

we'll have to see under what circumstances they will actually do this.

LU STOUT: And then there is the escalating war of words that we have between Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump. But do you fear that it's becoming

more than that? That Kim and Trump are actually thinking about and are mentally prepared for actual conflict?

KIM: Well, the danger here with the war of words, the war of nerves really is the potential for misinterpretation, miscalculation that might make

either side stumble into -- or both sides stumble into some sort of conflict and war. That's the biggest danger. What's interesting right now

is because Kim Jong-un has come out himself, he's directly responded to Trump, we've never seen any Kim leader do this ever in the history of North

Korea.

He's basically saying it's interesting that we're seeing both leaders of both countries speaking to each other, but over the press. That's a very

interesting picture that we're seeing. So, in my mind, I do not think that a scenario where in which we can actually see them talk directly in person

may not be unimaginable.

However, of course, there are many different factors that go into determining whether this type of direct person to person meeting is

possible or not. But this is an interesting picture and situation we're observing right now.

LU STOUT: Absolutely. Duyeon Kim joining us live from Seoul. Thank you so much for your insight. We'll talk again soon.

Turning now to the Caribbean and the relentless track of Hurricane Maria. The now category three storm is lashing the Turks a Caicos islands with

strong winds and heavy rain. It has already drenched a number of islands along its destructive path. Puerto Rico streets, they've have been turned

into rivers. The governor of Puerto Rico says 13 people died including several who drowned.

CNN has teams of reporters and journalists across the region bringing you the latest on the storm. Let's go straight to Leyla Santiago. She is

standing by in San Juan. Leyla, what is the latest on the flooding and the devastation there in Puerto Rico?

[08:10:00] LEYLA SANTIAGO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is what people are waking up to at this hour. Trees down, flooded roads, you said it

correctly. These roads and many situations are more rivers. You know, it's mounting frustration for a lot of the people here who are saying they can't

reach their loved ones. There is no power. Many do not have water, and yet this rain is expected to continue today, Kristie.

LU STOUT: Puerto Rico is battling catastrophic flooding. How extensive is it? Is it all across the island?

SANTIAGO: There are actually parts of this island that cannot be reached right now because of flooding, because of blocked roads, and then there's

the communication issue again. Phone calls cannot be made to check in. So, when the governor says we have at least 13 deaths, even he admits that is

very preliminary because they have not been able to do a complete assessment. So, I can tell you that FEMA, the federal government is

bringing in relief aid into the airport today.

The government also saying they are even shipping relief that is very much needed here today. But, you know, when you talk about this island, this is

an island that is $70 billion in debt, so they are already taking advantage of some of the relief aid from FEMA, but how much it will actually cost and

what will actually be able to do is unknown at this point because they still haven't even been able assess the damage properly.

LU STOUT: I'm sorry, even before the hurricane, Puerto Rico is dealing with its own economic trouble. Now it has monstrous task ahead to rebuild. Leyla

Santiago reporting live for us from San Juan. Thank you so much and take care.

Now, in Mexico City, a new day has brought new challenges for thousands of emergency workers. We will have a live update on the frantic search for

those missing after Tuesday's earthquake.

Also a desperate journey to save themselves and to save their children. We will hear how Rohingya refugees are risking their lives as they flee their

homes in Myanmar.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Coming to you live from Hong Kong. Welcome back. This is "News Stream." Now, in Mexico, a powerful display of unity and strength.

Emergency workers are putting their own lives on the line for a fourth day since that magnitude 7.1 earthquake rocked central Mexico. In the capital,

rescuers, many of them volunteers, have been writing their own names, family contact information, even their blood type

[08:15:00] on their arms in case something happens to them. They even battling rain, the dark of the night struggling against time, heaving and

dragging away twisted metal and concrete. They are looking for signs of life inside at least 10 collapsed buildings.

CNN's Rosa Flores is in Mexico City. She joins us now. Rosa, the last time we talked, there was hope. That rescuers could reach a young girl, a

survivor trapped in the rubble that sadly did not turn out to be the case. Tell us what happened.

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, that young girl turned into a huge symbol, Kristie, not only here in Mexico City but around the world as

you mentioned. Well, late yesterday, the Mexican navy came out and talked to reporters and said that they don't in essence, they don't know that that

young girl existed.

They apologized, saying that there was a lot of very fast information, that the information was moving very quickly, and that they believed that what

started from one, perhaps one rescue worker that was disseminated through multiple networks, and there was this story about this young girl that

apparently no longer exists.

But, you know, in talking about this girl that doesn't exist, it kind of overshadows the overall effort here because we do know that even though

that young girl, the 12-year-old girl, doesn't exit, we do know that children did die in that school. We know that employees from that school

also perished under the rubble. So, you know, even though that overshadows some of efforts a bit, the efforts here continue.

It's more than 60 hours after this earthquake and rescue workers like you mentioned, some from Japan, others from the United States and of course

many here from Mexico, risking their own lives to try to save the lives of others.

LU STOUT: Yes, it's such a noble effort. It is day four after the quake. Rescue crews including those brave volunteers are still working hard. Are

they still holding out hope that they will find more survivors in the rubble?

SANTIAGO: You know, there is hope. I talked to the families, and I should let you know, I'm in (INAUDIBLE) neighborhood in Mexico City, and the

building that you see behind me that collapsed, the family members of the loved ones -- their loved ones who were trapped inside, were told by rescue

workers they believe that some people are trapped in what they're calling capsules.

So, when this building collapsed, they believe that there are certain nooks where these individuals are at this hour. They don't know how many have

survived or exactly how many are alive, but they do believe that there are people who are alive in that building because they used heat sensors and

those heat sensors came back positive. And so, at the moment, their search efforts have been paused only because it rained overnight.

That added weight to the collapsed building that's already very fragile. So they had to take all of their rescue workers out of the building and allow

the building to settle. So the latest we've heard here is that they're still waiting for that building to settle before the rescue workers can go

back before it's safe, Kristie, for them to go back in and resume the search efforts.

LU STOUT: Yes, it's 60 hours after the quake. The rescue effort continues on. Rosa Flores reporting live from Mexico City. Thank you, take care.

Turning now to Myanmar, its response to the Rohingya crisis has drawn strong criticism at the United Nations. In her speech to the assembly, the

prime minister of Bangladesh said her country is sheltering hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees. For many, their journey across the border

is perilous. Alexandra Fields spoke to some of those who took the risk in order to save themselves and their young children.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): She was their baby, a 3-year-old's lifeless body bundled up in her grandfather's

arms. (INAUDIBLE) got sick on the way to Bangladesh. She says, while we were hiding in the hills and forests, she drank water from canals, ponds,

rivers, and (INAUDIBLE) there. The family ran from violence in Myanmar to try to save their lives.

They were killing us, he says, shooting us, beating us, slaughtering us. They caught us one by one, then the slaughtering. Rohingya Muslims say the

military in Myanmar has launched a violent campaign against them. Myanmar's military continues to say they're only targeting terrorists. (INAUDIBLE)

was pregnant when she had to run.

They killed my mother, she says. My father. Wherever I saw roads, I went through that path. I was hiding in the hills

[08:20:00] for eight days. On the second day, I gave birth to a baby girl. She was in the jungle, the bugs biting her newborn baby. After giving

birth, she says, women need fire, a warm environment, hot water, medicine, and money. We didn't get anything. My baby and I became sick.

Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims are now living on the other side of the border in Bangladesh where conditions are still desperate. There is

little clean water. Disease can spread quickly. It's hardest on the sickest, the oldest, the youngest.

KATE WHITE, MEDICAL COORDINATOR, MSF: We're looking at less than one liter of water per person per day, which is not even enough to satisfy your basic

drinking need.

FIELD (voice-over): The Rohingya population is young overall. The birth rate is high. UNICEF says 60 percent of those fleeing Myanmar are children,

babies too. Eight organizations are offering as much help as they can deliver.

WHITE: Our health facility is currently overcrowded in terms of the pediatric and neonatal unit. And that is a combination of respiratoru

infection and then you combine that with women unable to breastfeed because they don't have enough nutrition themselves not able to get clean water to

give any kind of supplemental feeding.

FIELD (voice-over): (INAUDIBLE) family brought her to a clinic near the camp. It was too late. By the time they got there, she was gone. They'll

bur her body near the temporary camp they're calling home. Alexandra Field, CNN, Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Even after fleeing the violence, it is still a challenge to survive. Our correspondent, Alexandra Field, has been speaking to dozens of

Rohingya in the camps in Cox's Bazar over the past week. Earlier, I asked her about what she saw on the ground there and the scale of this

humanitarian disaster.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FIELD: What we do know right now today is that they continue to face dangers in Myanmar. You did hear Aung San Suu Kyi, the de facto leader from

Myanmar, say earlier this week that military clearance operations had ended back on September fifth.

But we've heard just in the last day from the prime minister of Bangladesh in her address to the United Nations, was that she believes that the

military is still laying landmines in order to stop these refugees from crossing back over the border and going home. So, perils, they don't stop.

LU STOUT: And the danger is still very much there. You spoke to quite a number of the refugees in Bangladesh about just the unspeakable loss, the

suffering that they have been forced to endure. Was there one encounter or interview that really disturbed you, that really just sort of grabbed your

soul?

FIELD: Yes, the ones that you just -- that you know that you won't forget about. Look, this is a disaster that is happening on so many levels. There

is the horror and the trauma of what's going on inside Myanmar. We know the stories from the people that we are talking to.

We also know that these people are crossing the border in a very dangerous way and then arrived in Bangladesh where they simply don't have the

resources that they need to survive. Perhaps one of the most poignant interviews I did was about a young girl, she was 13 years old, she was in

the hospital a few hours away from the border, that's where some of the most seriously injured are taken.

She had been shot. She told me that her mother had been shot three times. They were escaping after their house had been fire bombed. And what really

struck me in speaking to this young woman was not only was she able to talk about the horrors and the terror that her family endured, but she was able

to use this as a moment to communicate to me what she believes the political situation of the Rohingya is and are.

She talked about this idea of returning home one day, but she wanted to return home and be fully recognized in Myanmar. She wants to be recognized

as a citizen in that country with full rights. Don't forget, the plight of these people, this Muslim minority group in Myanmar has to do with the fact

that they are not treated as citizens. They're treated as illegal immigrants.

LU STOUT: That's just her dream, just merely to be recognized. You know, you've been covering this for quite sometime now. CNN has been covering the

Rohingya crisis for years now. It feels like this is the year that finally it has entered sort of the international mainstream. There has been

international condemnation, no sanctions applied. How optimistic are you that there will be enough help for the refugees in Bangladesh and that

somehow there will be a solution for this crisis?

FIELD: Right. You don't become the world's most oppressed people as we often say. The Rohingya is often called the world's most persecuted people

without clear record, clear documentation of abuses. It isn't just one exodus, it isn't just one military campaign against the people that earns

you a really terrible title like that. So there was another wave of Rohingya who were part of an exodus as you covered just about a year ago,

last October.

This of course is an enormous wave of people. We are talking about more than 400,000 people in just a three-week period. So, yes, as you point out,

that does grab the world's attention. And there has certainly been a focus on getting aid and humanitarian help to the people who are in these

[08:25:00] refugee camps and living along the sides of the roads. When it comes to the political situation and how you stop this, how you stop the

persecution of these people inside Myanmar, that is a much more complex issue. A lot of these Rohingya had hoped to hear Aung San Suu Kyi speak

much more powerfully this week in defense of their rights as humans in Myanmar. Instead, they got sort of a blanket defense of human rights from

her.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: That was CNN's Alexandra Field speaking to me earlier. This is just in the CNN. London's metropolitan police say an 18-year-old Ahmed

Hassan has been charged with attempted murder and maliciously causing an explosion. This is in connection with last week's London underground

bombing. He is due to appear in court soon.

Thirty people were injured when a bomb packed with shrapnel blew up inside a train car as it pulled into Parsons Green station.

This is "News Stream." When we come back, sanctions on North Korea expand while Pyongyang issues a new warning. What is the latest from the U.S.?

Plus, if you are planning a trip to London Zoo (ph) and you may not be able to rely on Uber to pick you up at the airport, what decision by London

transport authority could mean for the ride (ph) insurance service.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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

Jong-un made a rare direct statement blasting Donald Trump as mentally deranged after the U.S. president threatened to destroy North Korea if

provoked.

North Korea's foreign minister warns that Pyongyang could test a hydrogen bomb over the pacific. Mr. Trump responded on Twitter saying Kim will be

tested like never before.

Hurricane Maria is raging through the Caribbean for yet another day. Right now, it is lashing the Turks and Caicos islands as a category three storm.

In Puerto Rico, flooding remains a major problem. Authorities say eight people drowned in the city west of San Juan. In all, the governor says 13

deaths have been linked to the hurricane.

Just two days until Germany decides which party is to leave the country. The most contested issue have been immigration and climate change.

Chancellor Angela Merkel is a heavy favorite to maintain her position against Martin Schulz for a fourth time in office.

More now on our top story. The escalating rhetoric between the U.S. and North Korean leaders and Pyongyang's threat of a hydrogen bomb test over

the Pacific Ocean. Joe Johns is covering President Trump in Bedminster, New Jersey. Joe joins us now live. Joe, thank you for joining us. Donald Trump

in his speech

[08:30:00] Earlier this week at the U.N. clearly provoked North Korea. We have this H-bomb threat by Pyongyang and a new tweet from President Trump.

JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Kristie, and perhaps we'll start from that. That came earlier this morning from the president he is

here in New Jersey preparing to go to Alabama for a rally this evening.

The president's tweet another insult directed at the leader of North Korea on Twitter. It reached Kim Jong-un North Korea who's obviously a madman,

the writes, who doesn't starving or killing his people will be tested like never before.

This follows a very provocative statement from Kim Jong-un, highly personal in nature responding to the president's executive order imposing more

sanctions on North Korea just yesterday. That statement reads he's unfit to hold the prerogative of supreme command of a country.

And he is surely a rogue and a gangster, fond of playing with fire rather than a politician. I will the man holding the prerogative of the supreme

command of the U.S., pay dearly for his speech calling for totally destroying the DPRK, whatever Trump have might have expected.

He goes on -- he will face results beyond his expectation. I'll surely and definitely tame the mentally deranged U.S. guttered with fire, so some very

harsh words coming from both the president and from Kim Jong-un. Kristie.

LU STOUT: Yes. Very harsh insults there and meanwhile, President Trump's approval ratings are on the rise. Can you tell us why? And as result,

could we see an even more emboldened President Trump?

JOHNS: Well, certainly just a bit of a tick up in the approval ratings from the last time CNN did the survey, the president now 40 percent, just

up from below 40 percent last time. It become on the heels of a performance in the issue of the hurricanes here in the southern United

States over the last couple of weeks.

That has had suggested the president has got an approval for, so this -- if anything is a blueprint for the president indicating performance and

results are going to help his approval, so the White House can look at the but the question of course is whether the president is paying attention at

all to the approval ratings.

LU STOUT: Yes. I have a feeling that he probably is. Joe Johns, reporting live for us from Bedminster, New Jersey, thank you so much, take

care.

I'm turning new to London where Uber is facing huge setback. The city's transfer authority says it will not renew the company's operating license

but Uber has promised to appeal. Let's get more now from Erin McLaughlin. She joins us live from London. Erin, walk us through the decision and how

Uber is responding.

ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kristie. Well, I was just speaking to the mayor of London who is telling me that this is the result

of the meticulous review by Transport for London the regulatory body that overlooks London's transport network.

They said there are basically TFL pointing to in this review four main reason for this decision of Uber's approach to reporting serious criminal

offenses.

Its approach to how medical certificates are obtained for its drivers. Its approach to how enhanced background checks are done for its Uber drivers

and then also using software that could to block regulatory bodies from full access to the app.

Now those are the four main reasons TFL giving for this decision to revoke Uber's license. Uber hitting on every single one of those points, pretty

much disputing this decision saying that it was political in nature releasing a statement.

Let me read you a part of it saying, Transport for London and the mayor have caved into a small number of people who want to restrict consumer

choice. If this decision stands, it would -- it will put more than 40,000 licensed drivers out of work and deprive Londoners of a convenient and

affordable form of transport.

Now I was just speaking for the London mayor and I put those allegations to him that this is a political decision that it also puts 40,000 people out

of work, inconveniences some 3.5 million Uber users. Take a listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SADIQ KHAN, LONDON MAYOR: If you're an Uber driver and you're an Uber user, you're right to be angry at Uber to fight it to play by the rules.

The question you should be asking is why is Uber not playing by the rules.

Uber have said they're going to appeal this decision. Uber employees, a army of lawyers, and public relations teams and they have already set out

their plans to appeal this decision.

In the meantime, I have spoken to Transport for London commissioner and he's reassured me that the additional compliance of this as we've employed

will be looking at how Uber operates. So that product has been able to make sure.

[08:35:00] But in the meantime, the operator's license is insecure.

MCLAUGHLIN: Now some of the -- we would be looking at this and wondering openly if this was a political decision given that the taxicab drivers,

London black-cab drivers have been campaigning quite rigorously to shut Uber down that saying union supports you. What do you have to say to that?

KHAN: This decision wasn't taken by me. It's because our judicial decision taken by a team with Transport for London. I've been looking

really (Inaudible) away from those decision makers is wise and proper for me to do so.

I can't call it on previous taken by chief over the previous mayor. I was informed of this decision at 10:45 this morning and I have stayed out it

but I fully support to those decision making.

I think they're right to block reassurance of an operator of London that is fix and appropriating their rights, stuff of evidence and to not allow

themselves to be interfered by anybody else, the mayor or anybody else, so I fully support them.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCLAUGHLIN: Well according this decision, Uber's license to operate here in the capital expires on September 30th. Although Uber says it plans on

challenging this decision immediately in court. Kristie.

LU STOUT: All right, Erin McLaughlin reporting live from London. thank you. Now London is embracing a material that most cities have left behind

and up next, we're going to tell you what architects are using to cut back on the carbon footprint after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Welcome back. Now architects in London say a centuries old building material could replace steel and concrete, and cut way down on the

impact of the environment. Matt Rivers reports the concrete jungle could one day be a thing of the past.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In central London, it's easy to feel disconnected from the natural world, ledge between towering concrete and

buzzing traffic, life can be a little claustrophobic. Building big changed the way we live and ultimately our entire planet.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So if production of cement is named as one of the primary polluters in the world. We need to be looking at material that we

can grow, materials that aren't scraped from the surface of the planet.

RIVERS: For thousands of years, timber has been used in construction and now Waugh Thistleton Architects are among those embracing wood is a 21st-

century design material.

It takes a lot of water and a lot of energy to make cement and steel, engineered woods such as cross-laminated timber or CLT are lighter and can

be prefabricated exactly to the architect's specification, cutting down time and waste.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Over the last 10 years, cross-laminated timber is becoming increasingly sophisticated. The plans to spray out without

adhesive and when that put in to big hydraulic press.

And then put the other side of the press comes the -- comes the panel and it really it a pretty similar panel that goes to make CLT walls, floors,

the other way to shaft, everything is made from these really simple panels.

[08:40:00] RIVERS: The result is timber that can replace steel and concrete without the same environmental cost. Here in east London, the

architects put CLT to the test by designing what the building's engineer say is now the world's largest CLT building.

It's 17,000 square feet with 10 stories of office and residential space. It's flatten brick but still weighs a fit of what it would if its internal

structure was concrete.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is why architects need to be doing globally is building high density of housing and we have done that at volume in timber

in London.

RIVERS: The hit climate target, the United Kingdom must cut in half the carbon emissions associated with the creation and use of buildings by 2025.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I thought to measure for start and then control the amount of carbon that goes into our both environment and then we have a

major problem. We need to have a little (Inaudible), we can't get to 2050 and have just concrete urban jungle around us. People don't want that.

RIVERS: Waugh Thistleton has now constructed 12 building from engineered timber, and that's just the beginning.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't see why we can't live in a city made from timber. We need a city that is full of good high quality buildings, place

for people to live and work, and maintain the buildings, make the best buildings.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: This week, at the U.N. General Assembly, discussions on nuclear arms control featured heavily on the agenda. But for some, those talks

have not offered much consolation, as Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un exchange heated threats, a nuclear proliferation expert is warning to never for one

second take nuclear weapon lightly.

Melissa Hanham, a Senior Research Associate at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies says that the way we casually talk about such

weapons is making her nervous.

And he left a Twitter, so she writes this, quote, conventional explosions can cause this much damage. It is not just about kilotons and she goes on

to say, nuclear weapons effects go far beyond immediate human suffering.

These weapons can kill more people a few seconds than any other weapon we've conceived of. Nuclear weapons can poison land, air, and water.

Nuclear weapons can disrupt food production, permanently damage the environment and species. Never for one second should we take nuclear

weapons lightly.

Some much-needed perspective there in a time of dangerous rhetoric and that is New Stream. I'm Kristie Lu Stout but don't go anywhere, World Sport

with Amanda Davies is next.

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