Return to Transcripts main page
NEWS STREAM
World Headlines; Winter Olympics 2018; India's "Pad Man" Becomes Bollywood Blockbuster; Tomorrow's Hero. Aired 8-9a ET
Aired February 08, 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: North Korean parade, Leader Kim Jong-un speaks of military might at a big show of the latest weapons in Pyongyang. More protesters take a
stand outside a North Korean dance performance on the eve of the Olympics. And we are live in Taiwan as recovery efforts continue to find those
trapped after a strong earthquake.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: We're just a day away from the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in South Korea. And on the eve of the event being promoted as an
opportunity for peaceful dialogue, North Korea is sending a tough message.
It held a military parade, marking the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Korean People's Army. And wearing a black fedora hat, Kim Jong-un
addressed the crowd.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KIM JONG-UN, NORTH KOREAN LEADER: Today's military parade will show off the status of the powerful DPRK, which has developed into a world-class
military power.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: A very different scene playing out. Meanwhile, in South Korea, we've learned that President Moon Jae-in will be meeting with someone very
close to Kin Jong-un.
And joining me now, CNN's Will Ripley live from Seoul. And, Will, the South Korean president will meet with the sister of Kim Jong-un for lunch.
How is that meeting going to go down?
WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's significant. I mean, first of all, Kim Yo-jong is the first member of the ruling Kim family every to step
foot on South Korean soil. They will have a lunch meeting. Kim Yo-jong is not a diplomat, but she does have the ear of her brother, the North Korean
leader.
She has risen, really had meteoric rise in terms of the North Korean leadership in recent years. And so even though Kim Yong-nam is the
ceremonial head of state, the leader of the delegation, many analyst do believe that it is infact Kim Yo-jong, who may be the most powerful person
for North Korea to come to this country.
But noticeably, absent, Kristie, is North Korea's top diplomat, Ri Yong-ho. Normally, if North Korea wanted to conduct diplomatic discussions, for
example, with the United States about easing nuclear tensions, they would send a diplomat who has led six party talks in the past, who is known as a
trusted negotiator by U.S. officials.
Somebody who they with before, instead you have fresh faces. You have a very high-level delegate in Kim Yo-jong. But what is unclear is what sort
of concrete diplomatic progress could be made.
And in fact, North Korean even said via their state media, that they do not look at the Olympics as an opportunity to sit down and have any discussions
with the United States. They say they have no intention of meeting with the United States.
Obviously, President Moon here in South Korea would love to see some sort of initial discussion between North Korea and the U.S., because his
ultimate goal here, is one, a peaceful Olympics, and two, to secure some sort of diplomatic breakthrough that can last beyond the Olympics.
After the joint military drills resume and tensions possibly escalate, given the fact that we saw a massive show of force in Pyongyang, in Kim Il-
sung Square today with more intercontinental ballistic missiles, Hwasong 14 and 15, showing together in a larger volume than we have ever seen before
previous parades.
You saw perhaps one or two, this time we saw at least seven according to the images of a North Korean state media. Although foreign press banned
from covering events, so we couldn't independently verify what was actually happening on the ground there.
But clearly, North Korea is sending a strong message on the eve of the games, that they're a nuclear force and they are not going to give up the
nuclear weapons despite the pomp and circumstance, and ceremony that we expect to see here in South Korea tomorrow for the opening ceremonies of
the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.
LU STOUT: North Korea delivering a strong message on the eve of the games. Meanwhile, what about the United States? We know that Vice President Mike
Pence is in South Korea. He had the bilateral meeting with the South Korean president earlier today. What came out of that meeting?
RIPLEY: Well, the tone of the two leaders really couldn't be more different. Again, President Moon talking about diplomacy, engaging with
the North Koreans, something that is -- has been a platform of his ever since he was elected into office here.
Even though he's taken some political hits from some members of South Korea who feel he's made too many concessions to the North Koreans in terms of
the games and participating in the Olympics.
But then you heard Vice President Pence talking about maximum pressure. He just announced in Tokyo yesterday a new round of what he calls the heaviest
sanctions ever against North Korea that will be implemented in the coming weeks.
So the United States really turning the screws here. Not to mention the fact that Vice President Pence is bringing his part of his official
delegation, Fred Warmbier -- the father of Otto Warmbier, the American college student who visited North Korea on a private sightseeing tour.
And was arrest, and accused of trying to take down a propaganda banner from a hotel room, ended up in a vegetative state and died six days after being
released from North Korean custody.
[08:05:03] The fact that vice president is bringing his father to the Olympics and his father will presumably be in very close proximity to this
North Korean delegation, including Kim Jong-un's sister. It could be very awkward, potentially quite tense if these two delegations actually did bump
into each other.
LU STOUT: Will Ripley, with a round-up of a very eventful day. Thank you very much indeed for your reporting. Now, Winter Olympic athletes, they're
used to training in cold weather. But the extreme cold of the Pyeongchang games could still pose a challenge.
Temperatures there have plunged as low as minus 20 degrees Celsius at night and they've rarely risen above freezing in the daytime. Ivan Watson
reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Bundled up and ready for fun. The host city of the upcoming Winter Olympics is getting ready to put on a show for
the entire world.
With sunny blue skies, the atmosphere in Pyeongchang is certainly festive but don't be fooled. This is set to be the coldest Winter Olympics in
decades.
This week, Korean authorities issued a countrywide cold weather alert, warning that plunging temperatures could kill livestock and crops and be
dangerous for people's health.
And in this cold country, host city Pyeongchang is exceptionally cold. Is it true that this is one of the coldest places in South Korea?
AHN KWANG-DOUK, KOREA METEOROLOGICAL ORGANIZATION: Yes, it's coldest place in South Korea.
WATSON: Ahn Kwang-douk leads a team of scientists from 29 countries and agencies tracking weather patterns during the Olympics. What is NASA doing
here at the Olympics?
MANUEL VEGA, NASA: We're part of the ice drop (ph) experiment. We brought several instruments, including dual frequency, dual polarized Doppler
radar.
WATSON: This team's findings help authorities issue warnings to the public.
VEGA: Safety here for the people attending the games and the event is a big concern and so I think that's one of the primary reasons for providing
all this coverage in the area, driving conditions, hypothermia, frostbite.
WATSON: Are you cold right now?
VEGA: Yes, I am.
(LAUGHTER)
WATSON: The big chill in Pyeongchang is forcing Olympians to take extra precautions. Team USA had been equipped with special battery powered coats
to help keep American athletes warm.
As for spectators, the Olympic Organizing Committee is distributing warm hats, blankets and cushions to ticket holders for the opening ceremony.
Some winter supplies can be purchased at just about any nearby convenience store.
These heat chargers should part of everybody's Winter Olympics survival kit. They sell for the equivalent of about a dollar a piece. They're
being distributed to speculators by the Olympic Committee. They can fit into your boots, into your gloves, beneath your clothes and shopkeepers
tell us they're selling like hotcakes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're almost sold out.
WATSON: Almost sold out?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
WATSON: At the end of the day, the Winter Olympics are about having fun in the cold, so dress appropriately, take precautions and make sure to have a
good time. Ivan Watson, CNN, Pyeongchang, South Korea.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: All right, Ivan. The cold didn't stop, Ivan, and the cold temperatures also apparently not stopping a group of protesters.
Ivan Watson joins us now live in Gangneung, South Korea. And, Ivan, I understand that there's this North Korean cultural performance happening
there today. So what is the scene inside and outside the performance hall?
WATSON: The concert just ended from North Korean Samjiyon orchestra. They performed in the Gangneung arts center over here, behind lots of police
security. And we talk to people going in. We're excited to see a North Korean performance.
As spectators come out, they are being greeted by a youth group here waving the unification flag here. Handing out the flags and singing a welcome
song. So these are people very much in support of unification.
If you go about 200 meters down the road here, there are anti-North Korean protesters who have a very different opinion. They view North Korea as
enemies. And they have been kind of showing up at eve place where the North Korean delegations show up and protesting against them.
We saw them in some cases getting into pushing matches with the police here when they tried to light fireworks and the police kind of charged in and
stopped them, so that's a little bit of the scene here, and mixed opinions outside this actually quite historic North Korean concert.
One of the spectators told us, Kristie, that he was almost moved to tears that he felt the North Koreans felt like family to him. After the concert,
he says he got to take photos with and shake hands with some of the -- some of the performers. Kristie.
[08:10:06] LU STOUT: Arousing performance there in so many levels. When the games kick off, we'll continue to monitor the protest activity
happening there. And also the Norovirus update. Is it finally getting under control? What is the status report?
WATSON: No, it's actually growing. The latest numbers coming from the Pyeongchang organizational committee is that there are now 42 new cases of
Norovirus among staff worker here at the Olympics.
It's grown to 128 confirmed cases. And it spread not only from the mountains of Pyeongchang, but down here to the coast, to Gangneung where
we're located right now. About 20 cases confirmed down here.
But keep in mind, there are a cast of tens of thousands involved in putting on these Olympics. So that is a minority. But it is a health risk.
The authorities, they say they're quarantining the cases that have come through. Norovirus, also known as winter vomiting bug is not something
anybody wants to get at these Olympics. Kristie.
LU STOUT: Absolutely not. Ivan Watson reporting live for us from Gangneung, South Korea. The games just one day away, thank you so much,
Ivan.
Meanwhile, it is last chance for some Russian athletes to get a chance to compete in Pyeongchang. The Court of Arbitration for Sport is expected to
decide on Friday if the International Olympic Committee must invite them to the games.
And in a ruling a few days ago, the court lifted a lifetime ban from several Russian athletes, but the IOC declined to include them. The IOC
ban was issued over allegations of state-sponsored doping.
And do join us for a special edition of News Stream on Friday as the 2018 Winter Olympic Games finally get under way. It's happening 8:30 p.m. Hong
Kong time, and 9:30 p.m. Seoul, 12:30 p.m. in London, right here on CNN.
Now a new state-run poll of Russian voter gives President Vladimir Putin a commanding lead over his challengers, who shows his support running at more
than 71 percent. Everyone else is in the single digits.
But getting enough votes in Siberia, may be as tough as the icy tundra there, let's get straight to CNN's Fred Pleitgen live from Siberia. Fred,
Vladimir Putin seems -- I'm not surprised here, may certain to win the upcoming election. So, why does he need to campaign in Siberia?
FRED PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well because it's quite a tough spot for him, Kristie. One of the things about Siberia is that this place really
has a history of opposition to Moscow opposition, to the government rule from there.
A lot of people of course who are in Siberia now were exiled from places like Moscow generations ago and that's something that certainly has carried
over here in this country. So it's quite difficult for Vladimir Putin -- not completely difficult, but certainly more difficult than in many other
places.
He was here campaigning today at a research institute. We also gauged however the feeling of many people here in Novosibirsk, and here's what
they had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PLEITGEN: Vladimir Putin looks to be cruising to another election victory, but even for Russia's powerful president, some places are tougher than
others.
As Putin was handing out medals to scientists in Novosibirsk, on the street of Siberia's largest town, we found some indifference and even dissent.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through a translator): Most of the people here think that the choice has already been made for them a long time ago, this woman
said. So many people just don't want to go and vote.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through a translator): I think Novosibirsk is an opposition town, she adds. There are a lot of young people who dive deep
inside the internet and follow Navalny.
PLEITGEN: Siberia has a history of opposition to the government in Moscow. In 2013, Novosibirsk voted against Vladimir Putin's candidate in a mayoral
election. And protesters organized by opposition figure Alexi Navalny often draw large crowd crowds in the city. The head of Navalny's movement
in Novosibirsk says he knows why.
ANDREY GLADCHENKO, NAVALNY CAMPAIGN (through a translator): Novosibirsk is a tough place for Putin, he says. It is a city of Siberian exiles who
always had their own opinion. Different from what the authorities think.
PLEITGEN: Aside from few billboards generally advertising the upcoming election where seems to be very little effort by any of the candidates to
motivate voters. Election campaigning here in Russia is very different than you expect in Europe or the United States.
We have very little TV advertising. Almost no mass campaign rallies. And even for the main candidate, Vladimir Putin, very few posters here around
town. But while Putin's popularity might not be as strong here in Southwestern Siberia, he still has plenty of supporters.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through a translator): I expect improvement in our lives, she says, because there is going to be stability, good salaries and
good benefits.
PLEITGEN: Stability, Vladimir Putin's main selling point in an election where the outcome is almost certain. But excitement seems to be lacking.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PLEITGEN: And, Kristie, you mentioned that poll earlier where Vladimir Putin stands at around 71 percent. That certainly does seem to be the case
in large part to the country.
[08:15:00] And he's also -- quite frankly, has a lot of support here in Siberia as well. The big question though is going to be turnout in the
election.
One of the things that we did notice among many people that we were talking today in Novosibirsk, is there seem to be sort of apathy towards the
election that is upcoming at the end of course at the end of March.
So that's going to be the big question in the election as it comes up. Now there was a research institute that came out with a poll that said that
they believe that the turnout is going to be somewhere over 70 percent.
Certainly speaking to people today, we're going to wait and see whether or not that is actually really going to be the case. Kristie.
LU STOUT: All right, CNN's Fred Pleitgen, send to Siberia on assignment. I appreciate the dispatch, take care. Now, hundreds of homeless, thousands
are without water, several people are still missing. We are going to have the latest on the aftermath of the earthquake in Taiwan, as well as the
ongoing rescue.
And it is a tense situation for U.S. forces in Syria as they come under fire from its NATO ally, Turkey, and fighters loyal to the Syrian
government. We have an exclusive report from the frontlines, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LU STOUT: Coming to you live from Hong Kong. Welcome back. This is News Stream. It has been two days since that 6.4 magnitude earthquake rocked
the city of Hualien, Taiwan.
Rescue crews are trying to find at least seven people they think could still be trapped inside this partially destroyed building. Alexandra Field
joins us now live from Hualien. And, Alex, the death toll has risen. Rescue teams still hard at work there. What's the latest from the scene?
ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They are not giving up out here. And this building is being held up still by this series of beams that you can
see actually stuck into the windows. It's an apartment building and it is also a hotel.
And for two days now, we've been watching the crews as they move through the building methodically. Initially, they were -- they had identified
dozens of people were missing from this building. They now say that they are still looking for seven people.
They believe that those seven people were in the hotel rooms, in the bottom floors of this building. Those are the rooms that were the most heavily
damaged. They were seemingly crushed from the force of this earthquake while the rest of the building toppled over.
What we saw earlier, were rescue teams that are in there, literally doing the work with their hands, going through the rubble, hoping for survivors.
And, Kristie, I want to show what you we're seeing out here. These are the teams. They come out here, they're fully suited up. They've got their
helmets on, they've got lights on their heads, they come in by the bus load.
And they've been rotating in order to keep the search mission going on for 24 hours a day ever since this 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck in the
middle of the night.
What we've learned from officials at this point is that they believe that there are seven people possibly still inside that building, six of them
adults, Kristie, and even a child among them.
Those are the reasons they're certainly not ready to give up. That's why you've got so many people who are prepared to keep their search going, even
so, even if we continue to experience aftershocks right out here. Kristie.
[08:20:07] LU STOUT: The rescue workers not giving up. They want to find these seven people understood to be inside that severely compromised
building behind you.
And just, the number of challenges that the rescue teams are up against -- up against time, the weather and as you mentioned, the effort of more
aftershocks.
FIELD: Yes, we've actually experienced dozens and dozens of aftershock almost from the moment we got here. You'll feel them nearly every few
minutes. You get alerts on your phone warning that they have happened.
Obviously, you have not just search-and-rescue teams out here but you got a heavy amount of medical personnel. They are certainly hoping that they are
going to find survivors that we'll be able to treat but they are also of course on standby to help out any rescue workers who might need their
assistance.
We see there are some more rescue workers headed towards the building right now. What they (Inaudible) to stabilize the building, that's why they have
got those beams in there. After that, they started moving through the upper floors, very methodically and very cognizant of aftershocks.
They had to clear each of these apartments. Overnight they pulled the body of one woman out of one of the apartment and then earlier today, they found
the body of another woman who had been crushed by a wardrobe.
But really some of the most dangerous work that they have to do is back behind that building that's where they're in just a mound of rubble, moving
with their hands. Actually, they've got to worry about the aftershocks.
They say that they have not been able to see any of the seven people who they believe are inside that building. They haven't heard from them
either, Kristie.
But that's why they've got tools out here and they also got the help of dogs trying who are out here trying identify where potential survivors
could be in that rubble, a very difficult circumstances. Kristie.
LU STOUT: Yes, absolutely. A major respect to all the rescue workers, you know, working at the scene behind you. Alexandra Field reporting live from
the quake there in Hualien, Taiwan. Thank you for you reporting.
Coalition forces say in Syria, about 500 troops loyal to the Syrian government attacked the headquarters of U.S.-backed fighters, they used
artillery, mortars and tanks.
The coalition says they retaliated with air and artillery strikes. Increasingly, U.S. forces and the Syrian rebel they support have come under
fire from Turkish troops and pro-government rebels. From the frontline, Nick Paton Walsh has this exclusive report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They've been trying to stay out of the dust and chaos here for years. But it hasn't worked. And now American
Special Forces give us the first access to their daily risky patrols in Syria.
They're here despite unprecedented threat from a supposed friend, Turkey, whose forces are just over the hill -- a NATO ally whose president has
demanded only hours earlier that the U.S. withdraw immediately.
These Syrian Kurdish fighters are the reason why. America fought with them to defeat ISIS across Northern Syria. But Turkey thinks they are
terrorists, linked to Turkish Kurds fighters. So here they are barrel to barrel.
This is a strange new world in Syria. In the end game of the fight against ISIS, NATO ally facing NATO ally here. American troops very much on the
front line after years, you might say, of trying to stay out of this messy civil war, a new chapter of which is now beginning.
This is the scramble for the land ISIS built and lost. In fact, in the last hour, the rebels from over there have fired on a nearby checkpoint.
As if they heard the Turkish demand the U.S. leave.
Bu still, the Americans send their highest-ranking officer yet. The message, we're not going anywhere. When you take fire from this direction
three or four times a week we're being told. And that's from forces supported by your NATO ally, Turkey?
LT. GENERAL PAUL FUNK, U.C. COMMANDER, ANTI-ISIS COALITION: Right.
WALSH: Which is by definition bizarre?
FUNK: Yes, it is, absolutely. You said that, that's exactly right. It is bizarre. I would say that the people that fought to take Raqqa back from
ISIS, no matter what nationality they were, no matter what their beliefs, we're heroes.
WALSH: Turkey says some of them are terrorists.
FUNK: Well, OK.
WALSH: But that's the complexity of where we are right now.
FUNK: It is. That's exactly right.
WALSH: What's your biggest worry about what's going on here?
FUNK: Miscalculation -- could be anybody's.
WALSH: And if these two sides end up in open conflict, what do you do about that?
FUNK: We de-escalate.
WALSH: But don't pretend this battle row for America goes anywhere good fast. Turkish and Kurds hate each other perhaps more than they did ISIS.
And they won't fight ISIS if they're fighting each other.
The coalition's goal, this commander says, was to finish ISIS in the area, but Turkey with their actions and statements is giving life to ISIS again.
And this is just the beginning. We drive past this huge convoy in support of Kurdish fighters in nearby Kurdish enclave to the west called Afrin,
that Turkey has invaded, despite American pleas, they don't.
[08:25:06] In a nearby town of Manbij, American Special Forces commander strolls around the market liberated from ISIS 18 months ago, where life is
just about becoming life again, where hotels are trying to open.
But where businesses hamstrung by the fear Turkey will make good on its threat to send its NATO-equipped army to invade here, too. They thought
they were getting over the war here, but it looms again.
Another possible ugly chapter, an ally against erstwhile ally is nothing new to brutalized Syria. Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, near Manbij, Syria.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: The International Criminal Court is looking into the Philippines president's controversial war on drugs. Rodrigo Duterte's spokesman says
officials are conducting an inquiry to see if an investigation is needed.
He says the president welcomes that, because he's, quote, sick and tired of being accused of crimes against humanity. Human rights watch estimates
some 12,000 people have been killed in his war on drugs. The Philippine government puts that number at less than 4,000. Now a year ago, CNN's Will
Ripley reported on Mr. Duterte's brutal war on drugs.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RIPLEY: Another night on the streets of Manila, another neighborhood echoes with the gut-wrenching sound of grief. Elaine Soriano's (ph) 16-
year-old son and his 15-year-old friend are lying dead in an ambulance.
She's begging the drivers to release their bodies. "Our boys are already dead," she says, "please have pity on us." Night after night, we see
violence and slaughter in the Philippines' poorest slums, the same neighborhoods long plagued by poverty and drug-fueled crime.
Neighborhoods President Rodrigo Duterte has promised to make safe again through his nationwide war on drugs, the president encouraging police and
citizens to shoot to kill when they feel threatened. Most Filipinos support the plan, despite the rising body count.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: The human toll of the drug war laid bare. Another president spokesman defends the drug war saying that it is a lawful use of force. He
predicts that the ICC probe won't go beyond a preliminary examination.
Now to Washington, where a top aide to President Donald Trump has stepped down following allegations of domestic abuse from both of his ex-wife's.
White House secretary Rob Porter denies accusations, but he resigned.
Several sources tell CNN the chief of staff and top aides have known for months about the domestic abuse claims, but no action was taken.
Kelly who initially put out a statement in support of Porter later backed away from that position, saying this, he was shocked by the allegations
against Rob Porter.
He said that there's no place for domestic violence in our society. And he goes on to say, he believes that every individual deserves the right to
defend their reputation.
You are watching News Stream and coming up, one man defies social taboos to raise awareness about menstrual health in India. And his inspire story is
on the big screen. We will speak to the entrepreneur known as Padman, after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN NEWS STREAM SHOW HOST: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. You're watching "News Stream" and these are your world headlines.
North Korea is touting its military might on the eve of the Olympics in South Korea. It held a military parade to mark the 70th anniversary of the
founding of the Korean people's army. Kim Jong-un addressed the crowd, saying North Korea has developed into a world-class military power and he
slammed what he called Washington's hostile policy.
Meanwhile, in South Korea, dozens of anti-North Korean protesters staged a small but noisy protest near the venue where a North Korean orchestra
played. More than 2200 police were deployed to secure this performance. Officers pushed into the crowd of protesters to extinguish fireworks. It
appeared at least one person was detained.
More than 30 Russian athletes will find out Friday if they're able to participate in the Pyeongchang games. They filed appeals, complaining the
International Olympic Committee is unfairly excluding them. The IOC banned the Russians from the games, saying that there state-sponsored doping.
Athletes who can prove they're clean can compete on invitation.
It is now unmistakably clear just how seriously Kim Jong-un is taking North Korea's mission to the Winter Games. He is sending a member of his own
family, and not some distant relative, but the person he trusts the most inside the regime. Brian Todd has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Outside of her brother, Kim Jong-un, Kim Yo-jong could be the most powerful person in North Korea. The
younger sister of the North Korean dictator, she shares his DNA and vision for the repressive regime. She's now heading across the South Korean border
as part of North Korea's delegation to the Winter Olympics.
BALBINA HWANG, PROFESSOR, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: Oh, it's absolutely significant on quite a number of levels. First, just the symbolism and the
symbolic of this. She has been relatively cloistered outside of North Korea. We don't know how much she has traveled. But she's about to emerge
on the world's largest television stage.
TODD (voice over): Kim Yo-jong will be the first member of the Kim dynasty ever to visit South Korea. No family member has crossed the border since
the Korean war. Her star has risen meteorically over the past four years.
She's been a top official of the Propaganda and Agitation Department, which U.S. officials say enforces censorship. And she was recently promoted to a
position in the politburo, the senior body in the Communist Party.
Kim Yong-nam, the ceremonial head of state, who will also be at the Olympics, wields considerable influence inside the regime, but analysts say
Kim Yo-jong is the real power just under her brother.
KEN GAUSE, NORTH KOREAN LEADERSHIP EXPERT, CNA: Kim Yo-jong's power exists because of proximity to the leader himself. She is the person that he
trusts more than anyone else in the regime.
TODD (voice over): Experts say one of Kim Yo-jong's top responsibilities now is counterintelligence, acting as her brother's eyes and ears, helping
him identify who might be plotting against him inside Pyongyang's dangerous halls of power.
Analysts say she'll be gathering intelligence when she's at the Olympics, and she could also serve as a high-level back channel for the North Korean
government.
GAUSE: If the United States and South Korea want to reach out and use the Olympics as an opportunity for informal discussions, those discussions can
go through an unfiltered direct channel back to Kim Jong-un, and she would provide that direct channel.
TODD (voice over): Meantime, with the world watching the Olympics, she will put a young, telegenic face on the regime. This is a calculated move
from Kim Jong-un, experts say, to answer Ivanka Trump's presence at the closing ceremonies.
HWANG: Kim Yo-jong is the perfect counterpart to this and it also is a signal that North Korea is not, you know, this crazy, weird former cold war
state but that it, too, has young women that are capable and are the future leadership.
TODD (voice over): Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: An entrepreneur has revolutionized menstrual health for rural women in India, a country where the topic is a cultural taboo. Now, this
man's inspiring story has been turned into a Bollywood blockbuster called "Pad Man."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT (voice over): Meet Arunachalam Muruganantham also known as "Pad Man."
[08:35:00] Once shunned for trying to break taboos about menstruation, he is now hailed as a visionary. His inspiring story now on the big screen.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice over): Bat Man. Spider Man. Pad Man.
LU STOUT (voice over): He's a welder turned social entrepreneur from southern India who discovered his wife, Shanthi, using a dirty rag instead
of a sanitary pad.
ARUNACHALAM MURUGANANTHAM, INVENTOR OF LOW-COST SANITARY PAD-MAKING MACHINE: I asked her, why are you using that unhygienic method? I didn't
even know the term "sanitary pads" in those days. She replied instantly by slapping on my cheek.
LU STOUT (voice over): She told him, it was either pads or milk for the family, a common problem in India where one study shows only 12 percent of
women use costly sanitary pads.
MURUGANANTHAM: Then I thought why not try to make affordable sanitary pad for my wife Shanthi.
LU STOUT (voice over): He embarked on a quest to come up with an affordable solution for women everywhere, but quickly realized he needed to
test his prototypes himself. Building an artificial uterus and filling it with animal blood, using it to test his pads while walking and cycling.
Because of entrenched taboos surrounding menstruation, his village ostracized him. His wife even left him.
MURUGANANTHAM: If they saw you are changing your direction. So you are thinking I am mad, I am pervert, I am psycho.
LU STOUT (voice over): But he did not give up, eventually developing a machine to produce the pads at a fraction of the cost.
MURUGANANTHAM: Previously you need a multi-million investment.
LU STOUT (voice over): And now "Pad Man" shares his story with audiences around the world, including this TED talk.
MURUGANANTHAM (voice over): Play video one.
LU STOUT (voice over): Showcasing his invention, hundreds of which are now being used in India, while hoping to push any stigma about menstruation
into the past by creating the hashtag pad man challenge, asking both women and men to take part.
TWINKLE KHANNA, PRODUCER, PAD MAN: He was the one who first posted a picture with a pad and he challenged people and it went on. Things like
this and if there are celebrities involved and the message spreads that there is no shame or there's no taboo.
LU STOUT (voice over): With the momentum of the film and his wife back by his side, he hopes his story will empower women and educate men not just in
India but around the world.
MURUGANANTHAM: The strongest creature created by God in the world. Not the lion, not the elephant, not the tiger. They are women.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: Man of incredible compassion and vision. You're watching "News Stream."
Coming up on the program, it all began with bananas. How one young man uses curiosity to build a special drone with the potential to save lives.
Tomorrow's hero is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LU STOUT: Coming to you live from Hong Kong, welcome back, this is "News Stream."
Now, CNN has a new special series. It is called "Tomorrow's Hero." It highlights young innovators and inventors around the world. Today, Dr.
Sanjay Gupta introduces us to a teenager whose dream is to build something that can improve the lives of a billion people, and he's using drones to
achieve just that.
[08:40:00] SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It's the stuff of nightmares, trapped in a burning house, emergency services not yet on
the scene. This kind of dangerous situation, just seconds can mean a difference between life and death. It's why Mahir Garimella (ph) is one of
tomorrow's heroes.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MAHIR GARIMELLA (ph), STUDENT: I'm Mahir Garimella (ph), I'm 18 years old, and I'm a student at Stanford University in California. I'm building
autonomous drones that can navigate and carry out critical missions in indoor spaces, and I hope one day these drones can help save lives.
I've always been curious about how things work and then sort of using my curiosity to actually build things to solve problems. When I was 14, I won
in Google science fair for building a (INAUDIBLE) drone that can help first responders carry out search and rescue.
It all started with bananas. Four years ago, my family went to India on vacation, and when we got back, we realized that we left some bananas on
the kitchen counter. And by that point, they are rotting so our house is filled with fruit flies.
I kept trying to swat them, getting really mad they get to escaping, but I also became curious how these tiny organisms, tiny brain, really bad
eyesight, how could they possibly escape so effectively?
So fruit flies can see in very much detail, so that means that they can process what they can see and respond to that really quickly. Fruit flies
actually are the fastest visual system on the planet. They can see ten times faster than humans can.
We are on the same time drones we're just starting to become popular. I also realized that they could have tremendous potential to save lives. But
the problem is they aren't really good at reacting to their environment. And so I wanted to see whether we could draw this instinct from the fruit
fly, being able to escape so effectively, to make drones respond effectively with their environment.
This is something called bio mimicry. So looking to biology, there are models on how to design the solutions to really complex engineering
problems. Birds actually see using the images from each eye separately. And so that is similar to how we want to do this with a single camera.
Fruit flies see in terms of edges. And so I designed an algorithm that could sort of use both of those to process a stream from a single camera
and make a map of a 3D environment that it could venues to avoid obstacle.
So what I am trying to build now is this intelligent drone platform that can be used for search and rescue, construction and industrial inspection,
inspecting power plants, all of these applications, to sort of carry out these really critical life-saving missions.
So the idea that you take this drone, plug in different sensors, based on whatever task you're trying to accomplish, and the drone will use the
sensors to carry out a certain mission. They can tell first responders the location of trapped victims after an earthquake.
They can detect rust in bridges or other infrastructures to prevent collapse. They can go to nuclear power plant and pinpoint spots of
radiation and tell you, you know, these tanks are going to leak and these tanks are leaking because of these reasons.
My dream is to build something that can improve the lives of a billion people. Success for me is these drones are, you know, really saving lives.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: A pleasure to meet one of tomorrow's heroes today. And that is "News Stream." I'm Kristie Lu Stout. Don't go anywhere, we got "World
Sport" with Alex Thomas, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:45:00] (WORLD SPORT)
END
