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NEWS STREAM

Analysts To Investors: Brace Yourselves; Threat Of Inflation And Interest Rate Hikes Grip Markets; North Korean Pop Star To Perform In South Korea; Opening Ceremony Set For Friday; U.S. House Committee Votes To Release Democrats Memo; Businessman Deported To Jordan After 38 Years in U.S. Aired at 8-9a ET

Aired February 06, 2018 - 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 ANCHOR: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong and welcome to News Stream.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: International stock market slide, reacting to a record drop in the Dow. We have the global view as U.S. braces for the opening bell on

Wall Street.

Cultural delegation, a North Korean ferry docks in the South ahead of their big Olympic performance. And trouble in paradise, there is a state of

emergency in the Maldives, we have a live report for all the latest.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Investors around the world are bracing for another wild ride after what's being called a Wall Street bloodbath, a record-breaking sell-

off. Shares in Asia in Tuesday, suffered their biggest decline in years and European markets started the day with big losses and gained some

ground, and they're now swinging down again.

Now here's what happened in the U.S. on Monday. The Dow Industrials ended down almost 1,200 points. Its biggest-ever fall by that measure. And it's

the lowest level on Monday, it was nearly 1600 in the red.

And in the day down, almost five percent, but far below the record when the market fell more than 22 percent back in October of 1987. But it was and

still is a volatile day for investors.

CNN's Isa Soares is standing by in London. She has got the latest on the ripple effect we have just been having. Stock markets around the world are

falling. Isa, is this just a short-term correction? What's going on here?

ISA SOARES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well a lot of nervousness, that's for sure. A lot of uneasiness either, a lot of volatility as you showed the markets

in Asia which have dropped a far as -- as much as six percent. But also here in Europe, when they opened down three percent or so with the FTSE,

now it's regaining some of those losses.

But, you know, when I spoke to some of the city traders in the early hours of the morning today, when I asked them exactly that question, is this a

correction, Kristie, or is it something slightly more menacing?

A lot of them -- one of them seemed to be actually, we think it's just a little spasm of sort. It's not so much a bull market. It's also but a bad

market. It's not a crash. But it is really stocks ripe for picking.

This is how European markets are looking right now. You see them on your screen, so easing up somewhat from the low as we saw earlier.

Two percent in the FTSE 100, Xetra DAX, two and a bit percent -- a quarter percent, and same with Paris, 2 1/2, (Inaudible), down almost two percent,

worth bearing in mind that the Spanish stocks are also lower, as the Italian MIB.

So all practically lower in all, Kristie, European stocks are having their worst day since the Brexit vote in 2016. So that is just how to put it in

perspective, and many of the stocks that we're looking at have actually entered correction -- entered correction territory.

Basically meaning they're down 10 percent since their highest point. In particular, the Xetra DAX down 10 percent since January 23rd, I can tell

Spain and Sweden down 11 percent and 13 percent respectively.

So markets and traders, trying some of them licking their wounds, trying to hide, running for their doors, it doesn't matter which metaphor you want,

many of them trying to stake stock and trying to evaluate what exactly is happening in the U.S., Kristie.

LU STOUT: So as investors started to take stock, trying to figure out what's happening, are they thinking that this is just a momentary spasm or

something else? How worried should global investors be?

SOARES: Well, they really are hoping that this is not a bloodbath, and this is just momentarily, will last a couple of days. And the U.S. will

out of this. Of course, this is led by the United States.

But one city investor said to me, look, the Goldilocks moment has now been over. In other words, for so long, they were depending on that strong

growth, strong earnings, the low inflation and lots of money -- cheap money being flown in by the Central Bank. That is now gone.

You know, the good times are finished, and now it's important to actually make sense of it. The questions they have, and I've wrote -- I have

written down some of them, has it gone too far, how far does it go?

I'm talking about correction of 10 percent. It could go as low as 20 percent in terms of a correction. Is the era of cheap money over? And

that is the concern not just for the U.S., but also, right around the world with Central Banks, perhaps being more aggressive in trying to remove

stimulus.

And critically, we have got a new fed chair, Jerome Powell. How will he react? Will he be more hawkish? So these are all questions that investors

right around the world want answers to. And that's why they all have bleary eyes, looking at the Dow futures and they have been wildly swinging

this morning.

[08:05:04] So it's really hard to make sense to what is going on. But many are optimistic that this is just a short blip and nothing more menacing, in

fact, for the global economy. Kristie.

LU STOUT: All right, list of questions from global investors, including how far is it going to go. Isa Soares reporting live for us, thank you.

Now, CNN's Maggie Lake joins us from the center of it all, from the New York stock exchange. Maggie, how far is it going to go? Will the market

turmoil go on today?

MAGGIE LAKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Kristie. That's a question we're all wondering, and I'm going to tell you right now, there isn't one person in

the world who has the answer to that. We're going to get a sense of this throughout the day today.

And we're not even going to get that at the open. We're going to have to watch the entire session. I think that you can say for sure, there's a

feeling that we are in a new period of volatility.

Even if we bounce today, doesn't mean we won't sell off tomorrow. That idea that you could just hit cruise control and watch these equity markets

rally every single day without pulling back is over.

This is new period. Does it mean that we're going to see a lot more terrible selling? That's not clear at all. The economic fundamentals

remain strong. Corporate balance sheets are in really good condition.

And interest rates are historically low. Those things we know for sure. Did the market overshoot on the upside? Yes. Everyone was expecting a

correction. We just don't know what size that correction is going to be and how much emotions starts to take over.

What we saw yesterday with technology trading at its worst, you know, computer algorithms that just triggered a new sell every time. Now that

everyone had a chance to step back, and maybe tweak those programs, we may see something different today.

But we are going to see a lot more choppiness and it feels like it's going to be a lot bumpier for the next couple of weeks until we figure out where

fair value is. Kristie. And no one knows that right now.

LU STOUT: It's going to be choppy in the days and weeks ahead. As you pointed out, the economic fundamental are strong. The U.S Vice President

Mike Pence, he downplayed the plunge saying that this is natural. This is just all ebb and flow. Could he be right? It's been rocking for so long,

is this a correction?

LAKE: Yes, he can be right. The interesting thing here is that there's a reason that administrations and presidents don't like to tout the stock

market when it's going up. Because, then, they also own it when it's going down.

But yes, we have seen these before. It doesn't mean that it's going to continue to go down every day. There was a feeling as it was going up,

that maybe it was going up too far, too fast, without any consolidation happening.

We've had months and months of no reiteration. The kind of normal profit- taking, sort of, you know, taking another look, looking at your portfolio, re-bouncing, and then going up. It just shot straight up month after

month.

So there was a feeling that this was due. I just don't think anybody expected it to happen in the course of two days, that's what's unnerved to

people, is the speed of it. I'm sure we're not going to hear much else from the Trump administration.

They're probably going to want to sit back and be a little bit quiet for a change about the stock market. But there is -- this isn't really based on

what we're seeing in Washington. Although there are a lot of reasons to worry about political risk, we don't get the sense that that is what is

driving this particular sell-off.

It just feels like the market got too far ahead of itself and wasn't justified any more and when it turned, and we know it would, it did a lot

more violently. We had people expected, rather than if we're looking at Washington, rather than the White House, we're going to look at the Federal

Reserve.

That's what -- going to be what's key going forward, is what happens to interest rates. That worry, that the economy is overheating, and ways it

might rise quicker than expected seemed to be the catalyst that got everyone concerned.

We have a new fed chair, unlikely that they're going to come in on a couple of days of selling of the stock market. We're going to watch to see the

commentary coming out from all of the fed governors very closely to see what they say about interest rates. Kristie.

LU STOUT: Got it, all eyes in the fed and the action taken by its new chair. Maggie Lake live from New York. Thank you so much, Maggie. And,

Maggie, will have the opening bell, as Wall Street tries to recover from its record-setting point loss -- that, much more from CNN Money in just

under an hour from now.

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence -- again, he has dismissed that drop in the markets, he said it's nothing to worry about, saying it is the ebb and flow

of the stock markets. But that is not the most immediate thing on his agenda right now.

In fact, he just landed in Japan for a brief visit. Then he's on his way to lead the U.S. team at the Pyeongchang opening ceremony. Earlier, he

spoke with reporters at an air base in Alaska, including CNN's Elise Labott. She asked him, if he would be open to talking with the North

Korean delegation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE PENCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Let me say, President Trump said he always believes in talking. But I haven't requested any

meeting. But we'll see what happens.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: We'll see what happens. Already on the ground in South Korea, the lead singer of Kim Jong-un's favorite girl band. Now Hyon Song-wol is

leading a North Korean art troops, set to give a rare performance later this week.

[08:10:00] North Korean musicians are highly trained but they are also carefully controlled. Will Ripley reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: When North Korean popstar, Hyon Song-wol made her big entrance in South Korea, the media captured her every move.

Hyon rose to fame as leader of the Moranbong Band, a group that has been called North Korea's Spice Girls.

Their music and mini skirts, Avant-garde by Pyongyang standards, a fusion of pop and propaganda. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un reportedly hand-

picked the girl group himself around five years ago.

In 2015, the Moranbong Band made headlines, abruptly canceling a performance in Beijing as nuclear tensions escalate. Hyon is believed to

be a married mom in her late 30s or early 40s, and one of the most influential women in North Korea -- a high-ranking member of the ruling

Workers Party, a colonel in the Korean People's army.

She was even a delegate at inter-Korean talks in January, and is set to lead a group of North Korean musicians performing at the National Theater

of Korea in Seoul.

KIM CHEOL-WOONG, NORTH KOREAN PIANIST (through a translator): As a female musician, she's at highest level, says pianist Kim Cheol-woong.

RIPLEY: Kim knows what it's like to be a lead musician in an Asian music like everyday is tightly controlled. He attended the best music school in

North Korea. Later, given the rare opportunity to study music abroad. Before you left North Korea, have you ever heard jazz or pop, or any other

kinds of music?

CHEOL-WOONG (through a translator): If you're caught performing those types of music, he says, you will end up in jail.

RIPLEY: Kim says he was caught playing a forbidden western love song. In North Korea, love songs are about the leaders. Songs of praise are for the

party. It was actually that made you want to defect?

CHEOL-WOONG (through a translator): After studying abroad, I realized the stiffness of North Korean music, he says. I wanted to play music and

express myself freely.

RIPLEY: But, Kim, says he still listens to North Korean music. And still misses his home town. Do you hope to go back to Pyongyang and perform

someday? I wished, he says.

CHEOL-WOONG (through a translator): I live everyday, believing that day will come.

RIPLEY: He knows music, like sports, has the power to bring people together, even when their worlds could not be farther apart. Will Ripley,

CNN, Seoul.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Let's take a closer look at the flurry of action in Pyeongchang as we get closer to Friday's opening ceremony. Ivan Watson joins us now.

Ivan, the North Korean art troop, has arrived by ferry. Could you tell us more about the latest arrivals?

IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That right. They arrive at this port -- Mokpo Port. They came on this large ferry. They were greeted by a group

of anti-North Korean protesters. We've seen them in action in other places around South Korea in recent weeks.

Some of them holding portraits of the North Korean Kim Jong-un, with a, black X, across his face. And they were kept back by riot police. Now

that's carrying the 140-member orchestra and presumably the leader that you just heard about in, Will's, report.

That pop star, Hyon Song-wol. We just learned from the Korean -- South Korean unification ministry, that nobody has disembarked from the ship.

They're going to remain on board overnight. They're going to be sleeping there and eating there, except when they come on shore to perform.

There's going to be another large group of North Koreans, Kristie, arriving tomorrow by land. This is going to include more than 200 cheerleaders.

It will include a taekwondo demonstration team, a sports minister as well. And then we also have North Korean athletes of course, on the ground,

training right now, and getting ready in these last days to compete in the up coming Winter Olympics. Kristie.

LU STOUT: Yes, they are gearing up for the games and North Korea is also revving up the anti-Trump rhetoric. What is KCNA calling him now?

WATSON: Yes. They have used some more choice words to refer to the American president, calling him old lunatic Trump. And here is a choice,

quote, he cannot deodorize the nasty smell for him dirty body woven with fraud and sexual abuse.

So this was really personal going after the American commander-in-chief over his State of the Union Address, and aside from the insults, rejecting

his criticism of North Korea's dismal human rights record.

[08:15:05] Responding by saying that the system in North Korea is dignified and just, even though we just heard from North Korean pianist who said he

got in trouble for the kind of music he was playing in that country. Kristie.

LU STOUT: And again, while all this is happening, quite a variety of story lands here. We're just three days out from the opening ceremony and now

there's news of an outbreak of Norovirus? How bad is it?

WATSON: It's -- you know, what can I say, unlike other run-ups to Olympics that I've covered where we're focusing on dormitories that aren't finished,

on stadiums where they're still doing the finishing touches. We are not hearing about that.

But we have heard of one unexpected hiccup and that is this Norovirus, which has the ominous nickname, the winter vomiting bug which evidently,

hit about 41 security guards with acute and sudden onset of diarrhea -- diarrhea and nausea.

And that has prompted organizers to remove 1,200 personnel and guards and try to replace them in short order with 900 others. They are trying to

sterilize and clean buses and accommodations and sporting facilities.

And say that this was basically spread by a faulty water recycling unit and a cook who appears to have been contaminated, a bit of a setback there.

You know, another interesting side in other Winter Olympics, Sochi, Vancouver, the problem has been the temperature, Kristie, being a bit warm.

Here, it's always far below freezing. But there is still not a lot of snow and there's an annual snow festival here, even that is having to rely on

man-made snow, which fortunately is not going to melt because it's so cold here. Kristie.

LU STOUT: Keep warm, Ivan. Keep warm in covering all the storylines for us. Now we have Norovirus, coming from North Korea threats, the games

until it begin. Ivan Watson, there live from Pyeongchang. Thank you, Ivan.

And while the Pyeongchang games will have we see interesting and historic moments in relation between the North and the South. The unified flag has

made an appearance in several games before more. Paula Hancocks examines whether the show of unity will be different this time around.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Training the champions of the future. You may well be looking at a future Olympics speed skater for South Korea.

This little boy is certainly being taught by the best -- former Olympic speed skater Bo-ra Lee.

Lee competed in three Winter Games. In Turin 2006, she also led the joint North-South Korean delegation at the opening ceremony, flying the unified

flag alongside North Korean figure skater Han Jong-in.

BO-RA LEE, SOUTH KOREAN FEMALE SPEED SKATER SPEED SKATER (through a translator): As we were entering together, she says, and holding that

flag, the traditional Korean folk song Arirang was playing. My heart was full. It was very touching."

HANCOCKS: Sydney's Summer Olympics in the year 2000, a joint delegation at the opening ceremony, Athens 2004, North and South Korean athletes again

walk side by side.

And last year, the North Korean women's ice hockey team was cheered on by hundreds of South Korean pro-unification supporters, again flying the

unified flag.

Sporting unity among enemy states is nothing new, the same with cultural exchanges. A North Korean orchestra will hold a concert here in Gangnam

Arts Center on February 8th.

There is a long history of cultural events managing to bridge gaps that politics never could but of course the question is, can it go beyond the

artists, beyond the athletes? Is there enough momentum for real change on the Korean Peninsula?

These South Koreans think not. Protests in North Korea even being part of the games, believing Seoul is being duped, giving something for nothing.

As for Lee, she regrets her moment of unity led to little movement politically but hopes that, 12 years on, having a joint women's ice hockey

team compete at the Olympics could set the two Koreas on a different path. Paula Hancocks, CNN, Gangnam, South Korea.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: You are watching News Stream. Still ahead, the Democrats' rebuttal against the Republican Nunes memo now sits on the president's

desk. But there's concern that Mr. Trump may play political games with their response. Plus...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AMER OTHMAN ADI, DEPORTED FROM UNITED STATES: Even if anybody wants to stop that dream, I won't let them. I'm going to keep the fight going.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: And American dream shattered. After 40 years of living and working at the United States, a successful businessman is deported back to

Jordan.

[08:20:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Coming to you live from Hong Kong. Welcome back. This is News Stream. Now the count down is on. U.S. President Donald Trump has five

days to decide whether to release the Democrat response to the Republican memo that discredits the FBI.

It comes as new report says the Mr. Trump's legal team, do not want him to speak to Special Counsel Robert Mueller because it could get him in

trouble. CNN's Abby Phillip explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ABBY PHILLIP, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Lawyers for President Trump are urging him not to agree to an interview with Special Counsel Robert Mueller,

partially out of concern that the president, who has a history of making false statements and contradicting himself, may incriminate himself with

investigators, according to the New York Times. But Mr. Trump has insisted that he's eager to speak with Mueller.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There's been no collusion whatsoever. There's no obstruction whatsoever. And I'm looking forward to

it. I have to say, subject to my lawyers and all of that, but I would love to do it.

PHILLIP: CNN reported last week that Mr. Trump's attorneys are arguing that Mueller's team has not met the high threshold they believe is

necessary to interview a president in person.

The Russia probe hanging over the administration as the president decides whether or not to publicly release the Democratic memo unanimously approved

by the House Intelligence Committee last night.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you support the release of the Democrats' memo, President Trump?

PHILLIP: The Democratic rebuttal challenges the accuracy of the declassified GOP memo, crafted by Committee Chairman Devin Nunes that

accuses the FBI of surveillance abuses.

REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D), RANKING MEMBER, INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: We want to make sure that the White House does not redact our memo for political

purposes, and obviously, that's a deep concern.

PHILLIP: The president attacking ranking member Democrat Adam Schiff ahead of Monday's vote, calling him one of the biggest liars and leakers in

Washington but praising Nunes as a great American hero.

And during a speech in Ohio, Mr. Trump gloating about Nunes's memo, which he falsely claims vindicates him in the Russia investigation.

TRUMP: Oh, did we catch them in the act? They are very embarrassed. They never thought they were going to get caught. We caught them. They're like

the great sleuth.

PHILLIP: Democrat Mike Quigley continuing to press Nunes about whether his staff coordinated with the White House in drafting the GOP memo.

REP. MIKE QUIGLEY (D), ILLINOIS: I was the only member he wouldn't answer questions for. So besides having my feelings hurt, he didn't answer the

question.

PHILLIP: Nunes refusing to answer questions from CNN...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you vote to release the Democratic memo?

REP. DEVIN NUNES (R-CA), CHAIRMAN, INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: We don't talk about what we do in committee.

PHILLIP: ... before again appearing on FOX News to tout his memo.

NUNES: Political dirt was used by the FBI, and they knew it was political dirt to open a counterintelligence investigation into the other campaign.

That's what people -- I just can't believe that people on the other side are not furious about this.

[08:25:00] PHILLIP: President Trump also raising eyebrows with this rebuke of Democrats for not applauding during his State of the Union speech.

TRUMP: They were like death and un-American -- un-American. Somebody said treasonous. I mean, yes, I guess, why not? Can we call that treason? Why

not? I mean, they certainly didn't seem to love our country very much.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: And that was our White House correspondent Abby Phillip reporting. The U.S. says it is gravely alarmed by reports of a chlorine

gas attack in rebel-held Idlib province in Northwest Syria.

The volunteer rescue group, the White Helmets says nine people were injured. CNN, they were told that chlorine gas was released from Syrian

helicpters, attacks are increasing.

Some are remaining rebel-held areas in the country and eastern Ghouta, activist say air strikes killed at least 29 people on Monday. The Damascus

suburb is supposed to be a de-escalation zone under a peace agreement struck by Russia, Turkey and Iran.

President Trump's tough talk on immigration is having real consequences, Jordanian Amer Adi came to the U.S. four decades ago, hoping for a new life

and a shot at the American dream.

But the businessman and father of four was deported last week, despite being seen by many as a pillar of the community in his adopted home in

Ohio. Jomana Karadsheh has his story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The family of reunion no one here wanted. It's been years since Amer Othman Adi last saw his mother, in her

arms now, a broken man who is deported back to Jordan, the country he left nearly four decades ago to pursue his American dream.

ADI: What happened is unjust, not right. And everybody back there knows that. What Trump administration is doing is something that is

inexplicable. You cannot even explain it.

KARADSHEH: The successful businessman and father of four is credited with creating jobs and revitalizing downtown Youngstown, Ohio.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He is an American in every sense of the work.

KARADSHEH: Ohio Congressman Tim Ryan describes Adi as a pillar of their community.

TIM RYAN, (D) UNITED STATES REPRESENTATIVE: If you would see the breath of -- breath of support that this gentleman gets from, you know, whether it's

his Italian-Irish Catholic congressman or an African-American Pentecostal woman who is supporting him, or the working class people I saw his shop the

day they thought he was going to get deported. This person has brought this community together in Youngstown, Ohio.

KARADSHEH: But his visa expired in the early 1990s. Adi did have a valid work permit though and pay taxes he says. His attempts to gain permanent

residency were complicated by immigration officials who said his first marriage to an American was a sham. It's a claim Adi and his first wife

denied.

Still in statement to CNN immigration officials say, quote, over the last decade. Mr. Othman's immigration case has undergone exhaustive judicial

review at multiple levels of the nation's courts. In each review, the courts have uniformly held that Mr. Othman does not have a legal basis to

remain in the U.S.

Through proposed legislation specific to Adi, Congressman Ryan was able to secure consecutive states of a 2009 deportation order, but with the Trump

presidency came a crackdown on illegal immigration tens of thousands have been rounded up by Immigration and Customs agents. According to Human

Rights Watch many like Adi are deeply rooted in their communities with no criminal conviction.

RYAN: To watch these families get ripped apart is the most heartbreaking thing any American citizen could ever see and it doesn't mean you're not

because you're for these families.

It doesn't mean you're not for secure border, it doesn't mean you're not for making sure drugs don't get in the country. It doesn't mean you're not

for throwing people out of the country who are felons and violent criminals. I'm for all of those things but I'm for a humane pathway for

good people.

KARADSHEH: ICE says it is only enforcing immigration policy and that no one is exempt. Adi is still in shock that he's no longer welcome in the

America he believed in.

ADI: The American dream I started 40 years ago, for me, I build this whole thing from scratch from nothing. Even -- even if anybody will stop that

dream I won't let them. I'm going to keep the fight going.

KARADSHEH: For now, Adi doesn't know when or if he'll ever see the place he calls home again.

ADI: I missed my wife and the kids, and the -- and to see Youngstown. I missed everybody.

KARADSHEH: Jomana Karadsheh, CNN, Amman.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: You're watching News Stream. Still to come in the program, we will be live to the Maldives for the latest on the state of emergency in

coup by the country's president.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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

U.S. market futures are falling to further losses of the evening bell in about an hour from now. Investors are being warned to brace for more

volatility after record-breaking point loss on Monday. European markets open into red. They have regained some ground but are still in the

negative, and there were steep falls here in Asia. Hong Kong fell just over five percent. The Nikkei dropped a little bit less.

North Korean art troupe, a 140-strong orchestra led by the pop star Hyun Song Wol arrived to South Korea by ferry a few hours ago. North Korean

leader Kim Jong-un's sister (INAUDIBLE). The team is to perform near Pyeongchang on Thursday.

Hong Kong's highest court has thrown out the prison sentences handed to Joshua Wong, Nathan Law, and Alex Chow. They were the key pro-democracy

figures in the 2014 protest calling for reform to Hong Kong's electoral system. In a tweet earlier, Joshua Wong said that he did not see the court

action is a victory. The leaders have been facing up to eight months in prison.

The Chinese government has confirmed it detained Swedish citizen and Hong Kong-based bookseller Gui Minhai. His daughter says Chinese police grabbed

him from a train last month. She says it is the second time in just over two years that Chinese agents seized him. Minhai wrote and published

numerous titles critical of the communist leadership. He first disappeared in 2015 from his holiday home in Thailand.

The former president of the Maldives has post the tweet calling on India to send an envoy to the islands to secure the release of judges and political

detainees. That is in response to current President Abdulla Yameen's refusal to comply with the Supreme Court order demanding the release of

political prisoners. Facing a backlash, Mr. Yameen has declared a state of emergency in the country.

Let's get the latest on the ground now. Junayd Mohamed is a local journalist with the Maldives Independent. He joins us now from the capital

Male. Thank you so much for joining us here in the program. There is political turmoil there in your country. A state of emergency has been

declared. On the street, what kind of protest, what kind of reaction have you seen to this crisis?

JUNAYD MOHAMED, REPORTER, MALDIVES INDEPENDENT: Last night at around 8:00 p.m. after the state of emergency was declared,

[08:35:00] hundreds of people gathered outside (INAUDIBLE) the Supreme Court and protested the state of emergency. (INAUDIBLE) security forces

(INAUDIBLE) young men protect the Supreme Court and defend the constitution.

After a while, the protesters were charged by police with batons but once the police left, the protesters were back on the stand and protesting

again.

Tonight, we are expecting the same. Just a few minutes ago, the main opposition, Maldivian Democratic Party, its national executive committee

passed a resolution saying that that kind of state of emergencies are unlawful. The party has said they will continue this. The former president,

Mohamed Nasheed, calling on all Maldivians to get out on the streets and protest until they are arrested.

LU STOUT: The opposition is calling for more protest. I want to bring up a statement from the office of the president of Maldives on Twitter. This was

released. The statements says this, quote, the state of emergency was enforced in order to protect the peace and welfare of all citizens and the

country, and using the hashtag Maldives first.

The president says this is a purge. It is about protecting the peace. What is your response to that?

MOHAMED: That's what the president has said (INAUDIBLE) to be Supreme Court ruling on Thursday which ordered immediate release of nine -- what

the Supreme Court described as political prisoners. These include former President Mohamed Nasheed, former Vice-President Ahmed Adheen and other

politicians as well.

The Supreme Court ruling also stated 12 lawmakers who have lost their seats previously in the controversial ruling of the Supreme Court itself. Now,

this ruling is very significant because it gives the opposition the majority of the problem and President Yameen (INAUDIBLE) controls the

parliament as well.

Now, these two developments have led the president that the constitutional system of the country was in jeopardy and that was a threat to national

security. This warranted the state of emergency that is happening right now. I have talked to --

LU STOUT: Yes, (INAUDIBLE) between, as you point out, the opposition as well as the current president of the Maldives. Junayd Mohamed, we'll leave

it at that, but thank you so much for joining us in the program. I hope to take in with you a little bit later as this crisis plays on your country.

Thank you for joining us.

Now, the speaker, meanwhile, of South Africa's National Assembly says that state of the nation address by President Jacob Zuma, that has been

postponed. Mr. Zuma is once again facing pressure to resign over allegations of corruption. Top leaders of his party are to meet up

Wednesday to consider his political future.

This is "News Stream." Coming up, this could SpaceX' most ambitious rocket launch yet. We're going to have more at how it is outfitting the world's

most powerful rocket.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: All right, coming to you live from Hong Kong,

[08:40:00] welcome back. You're watching "News Stream."

Now, it is almost lunchtime for SpaceX's massive new rocket, the Falcon Heavy. It is designed to be the most powerful rocket in use. It's going to

be bringing along a special payload. But the big question is, is it going to succeed? Rachel Crane has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RACHEL CRANE, CNN SPACE AND SCIENCE CORRESPONDENT: SpaceX is about to make the ground seriously rumble. Their new rocket, the Falcon Heavy, is about

to launch for the first time and this thing is big.

It is lifting off from the historic Kennedy Center Launch Pad 39A, which is where Apollo 1l launched humans to the moon, and once again, the pad will

be the site of space flight history. Once Falcon Heavy has lift off, SpaceX says it will be the most powerful operational rocket in the world by a

factor of two.

The rocket is powered by 27 engines and SpaceX says that when all engines are at full throttle, the rocket has five million pounds of thrust, which

is the equivalent of 18 747s. The going cost for a launch, according to the company, $90 million.

But that's just a fraction of what a launch would cost with the SLS, the heavy lift rocket that the government has been working on for years. Now,

the Falcon Heavy is basically three of the company's Falcon Nine Rockets, which they have been launching since 2010, strapped together.

Originally, the company had thought that putting together three of these tried and true rockets would be relatively easy rocket science, but it

turns out it was much more complicated that Elon Musk and his team had anticipated, and the launch has been delayed for several years.

And even though the rocket is expected to finally take flight, Musk himself acknowledges that this first test launch has a high likelihood of failure.

So, when you're launching a rocket that everybody has been waiting years for, it has a good shot of just blowing up.

Well, if you're Musk, master of PR, you go big and you launch your own car. Yet, the rocket's payload will be Musk's own cherry red Tesla Roadster and

it will be playing David Bowie's "Space Oddity" on repeat. The intended destination: Mars orbit, that is if it doesn't blow up on ascent.

And while sending a Tesla to space might be a silly PR stunt, the launch is anything but. The rocket was designed from the start to ferry people to the

moon and to Mars. A successful launch would put SpaceX a giant lip forward towards getting to deep space. Oh, and did I mention that SpaceX is hoping

to land all three first stage boosters? Yes, that's also happening.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: "Space Oddity," a very special touch there. Now, finally, the Berlin wall, it is now been gone for longer that it stood. For 28 years,

the wall divided the city, it tore families apart, and many were killed trying to cross it.

(START VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT (voice over): And when it finally fell in 1989, east and west were reunified. Now, the wall represented a cold war divide between

communism and democracy in the times since it stood. The German political, economic, and social fabric has been transformed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: And that is "News Stream." I'm Kristie Lu Stout, but don't go anywhere, "World Sport" with Alex Thomas is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:45:00] (WORLD SPORT)

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