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NEWS STREAM
U.N. Security Council To Vote On Eastern Ghouta Ceasefire; Parkland Teachers To Return To School; Trump Promises Action On Gun Control; Report: Second Russian Athlete Tests Positive; Ivanka Trump To Lead U.S. Delegation At Closing Ceremony; Backlash To Title Of Trump Jr.'s Remarks In India; World Headlines; Haiti Suspends Oxfam Operations Over Misconduct Scandal; Package Sent to Royals Investigated as Hate Crime; The Land of the Ladas. Aired 8-9a ET
Aired February 23, 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: The U.S. is set to board on a truce in Syria's Eastern Ghouta as airstrikes continue to pummel the rebel-held enclave. There is disbelief
and outrage in Florida as officials reveal an armed guard on campus did not try to stop the Florida shooting. And they look like relics of a bygone
era. But in Cuba, they are still very much lost.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: And we begin in Syria where there are ominous signs, a ground offensive on rebel-held enclave of Eastern Ghouta maybe nearing. Syrian
helicopters drop leaflets on the Damascus suburb on Thursday, urging the residents to get out.
A photograph of the leaflets is published on the Syrian military social media accounts, and it comes amid a sixth day of relentless bombardment on
the opposite stronghold, one of the last remaining inside Syria.
Activists say more than 400 people have been killed on conflicts since Sunday. In the coming hours, the U.N. Security Council will vote on a
cease-fire proposal. Russia, the Syrian regime's main ally blocked a resolution yesterday but put forward some last-minute amendments.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VASSILY NEBENZIA, RUSSIAN AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N. (through a translator): Russia will continue to do everything possible to achieve peace in Syria
and to restore stability in the Middle Eastern region.
We call upon our partners to engage in the same, in the spirit of constructive cooperation in engagement with the U.N. rather continuing to
create smokescreens and scaling up support for Jihadist in severing the region into many, many parts.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: So what happens now? What are the prospects of a cease-fire in Eastern Ghouta? CNN's Arwa Damon is following developments and she joins
us now live from Istanbul.
And, Arwa, instead of trying to predict what the U.N. is going to do next, let's talk about the reality on the ground in Syria, you have 400,000
people trapped in Eastern Ghouta. We know that the Syrian army has dropped leaflets telling people to get out, but where can they go?
ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I mean, that is one of the many problems that they do face. They can, if they were able to somehow get safe
passage, move into regime-held areas, something that a lot of people on the ground will tell you they are afraid to do because they're afraid of the
regime repercussions.
That being said, Kristie, is worth noting that a number of people inside that, CNN has been speaking to some of them. They actually haven't even
seen these leaflets. One has to recognize the horrific reality that they find themselves in.
Many people spend most of their time underground, in basement or in these tunnel complexes that have been carved out to try to somehow keep
themselves safe from what they describe is being a hailstorm of relentless bombing.
We have seen image after image, video after video of children being pulled out from underneath the rubble, people being crushed to their deaths. One
resident had said that she was to certain the way perhaps afraid of spending too much time in the basement because she didn't want to have that
particular room end up being her grave.
And you hear this echoed time and time again. And the other thing worth noting, Kristie, is that this is hardly the first time that we have
reported the same cycle when it comes to Syria. We have seen this before.
We saw this happening in eastern Aleppo. We saw all of the cries for mercy, cries for help from the ground, cries and pleads for somehow for the
bombing to stop.
And of course, it didn't. And now once again, you have those residents that are left inside Eastern Ghouta hoping that somehow, perhaps, this time
around world leaders will listen and will bring about an end to their suffering that many cannot even begin to put into words.
LU STOUT: And, meanwhile, the death toll is climbing as Eastern Ghouta continues to bleed from this nonstop bombardment. Arwa Damon reporting for
us live, thank you.
The Washington Post has been reporting that Russian oligarch believed to be in control of mercenaries in Syria was in touch with Russian and Syrian
official before an attack on U.S. and allied forces.
It happened in Northern Syria about two weeks ago. Friends and family of the Russian military contractors say the mercenaries were among the many
killed in retaliatory U.S. airstrike.
[08:05:00] Senior international correspondent, Fred Pleitgen, joins me now live from Moscow with more in the story. And, Fred, interesting report
here. Did a Russian oligarch get a green light from Moscow for this attack on U.S. allied forces in Syria?
FRED PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You're absolutely right, Kristie. That's according to the Washington Post, who say that all
this comes from U.S. intelligence intercept apparently of conversations that this oligarch was having.
His name is Yevgeny Prigozhin. And according to this Washington Post report, he apparently had a lot of contact with folks inside the Assad
government. And then also a lot of contacts and, in fact, more than usual with people inside the presidential administration here in Moscow.
So people who are close to Vladimir Putin and essentially, according to this Washington Post report, he said that he had gotten the go ahead for
what he called a very large a fast attack.
And this was all in the run-up to February 7th, which is of course the day that this very large attack did take place. And we worried, we are now
getting reports that apparently, a lot of Russian mercenaries participated in that attack.
And a lot of them were killed in it. So, so far we've not gotten anything from the Russian government on this. No comment from them, and also from
Prigozhin's own company, which is Concord Management, they've not commented either.
So we're going to wait and see whether or not they come out with something. But so far, the Russian government has been very reluctant to speak about
this incident and what exactly happened there, Kristie.
LU STOUT: And if this Washington Post report is indeed true, this Russian oligarch has been very busy, because it wasn't he at the center of the
indictment that was issued last week by Robert Mueller, one of 13 Russians named?
PLEITGEN: Yes. I think busy is probably exactly the right word. And it certainly seems to be a lot of different things that he's been doing. One
hand you're absolutely right. He was the main man in that indictment by Robert Mueller which came down last Friday.
But he was also someone who had a lot of interest in that part in Syria. If we look at the place at those mercenaries allegedly attacked, that's
east of the Euphrates River and it has a lot of oil fields.
And there is an oil company, a Russian oil company that would have stood to gain a lot, had that oil field been taken by those Russian mercenaries.
And the man in-charge of that oil company is also Yevgeny Prigozhin. So there is certainly was an economic incentive but again, we're waiting to
see whether or not there's going to be any sort of comment from the Russian government or from Prigozhin's company as well. Kristie.
LU STOUT: All right, Fred Pleitgen, reporting live from Moscow, thank you. Teachers and staff of Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida are going
back to their school, a sight with three of their colleagues and 14 students were gunned down.
Attendance is not mandatory, but it is a chance for teachers to make contact with support services and to prepare students for their return.
Now meanwhile, students rally for change, more disappointments were emerging in how authorities handled things even during the killing. Rosa
Flores reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SCOTT ISRAEL, BROWARD COUNTY SHERIFF: What I saw was deputy arrive, and he never went in.
ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The only armed police officer stationed in Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School resigned, amid revelations that he
waited outside as the massacre unfolded.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What should he have done?
ISRAEL: To went in, addressed the killer, kill the killer.
FLORES: Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel telling reporters that surveillance video shows that Deputy Scott Peterson taking a position
outside the building for four minutes as gunshots rang out but failed in his duty to stop the attacker.
ISRAEL: Devastated, sick to my stomach. There are no words, I mean these families lost their children.
FLORES: Peterson retiring Thursday after being suspended without pay.
SCOTT PETERSON, ARMED DEPUTY AT STONEMAN DOUGLAS HIGH SCHOOL: I'm Scott Peterson. I've been a police officer for 30 years.
FLORES: Peterson seen here speaking at a school board meeting in Broward County in 2015. Record show he was recently nominated twice for deputy of
the year. Two other deputies now on restricted duty, they are being investigated from how they handled tips warning about the killer.
Authorities announcing that they have received 23 calls involving the killer and his family starting in 2008 when the killer was just 9-years-
old.
The most serious warnings began two years ago when an anonymous caller alerted police that the killer threatened to shoot up the school on
Instagram and posted pictures of himself with a gun.
Seven months later, a peer counselor reported that the killer possibly ingested gasoline, wanted to buy a gun and attempted to commit suicide by
cutting himself.
Days later, an investigator for Florida's Department of Children and Families determined that he was low risk. The family that initially took
the killer in after his mother's death called police to report a fight.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is 911 emergency, how can I help you?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, there was a fight in my house with a kid and my son.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Punching him and that's when he left the house, but I need somebody here because I'm afraid he comes back and he has a lot of
weapons.
[08:10:03] UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What kind of weapons, ma'am?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Let me ask my son. What kind of weapon did he get -- that's he's going to get?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A Remington.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A Remington. It's not the first time he's pointed a gun at somebody's head.
FLORES: The family also revealing this disturbing detail.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He also dug in the backyard because he knew he was not allowed to bring it here and we found what he did, inside of the box.
He was going to bury the gun there.
FLORES: The next day, a tipster for Massachusetts called the sheriff's office to report that the killer was collecting guns and knives, telling
them, he will himself one day and believes he could be a school shooter in the making.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: That was CNN's Rosa Flores reporting. On the national level, U.S. President Donald Trump is to outline his school safety plan before
America's highest profile conservative gathering.
He has hinted that raising the minimum age for certain gun purchases as well as arming teachers, but some of his ideas of getting a pushback from
the National Rifle Association. Joining me now, Abby Philip, from Washington.
Now, Abby, this idea from Donald Trump for teachers, a gun and a bonus, could you please explain his thinking about arming and rewarding teachers
to fight gun violence.
ABBY PHILIP, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think some of this comes from the president's belief that it's simply not fast enough when first responders
try to get to a school after a school shooting has happened.
That he thinks the best deterrent and also response to a potential shooting is to have the weapons right in the school in the hands of what Second
Amendment advocates and what the NRA has called a good guy with a gun.
Now we know that in this case of Florida, we just learned yesterday that the officer who was in the school did not encounter or stop the shooter.
But nevertheless, the president still feels very strongly about this.
He says that he wants former military people, people who are talented, who have a particular interest or skill with weapons toe able to be armed
within the school and to potentially get bonuses.
He thinks that that will be a cheaper, less costly option than having hundreds of security guards in thousands of schools across America.
LU STOUT: Yes, Abby, we know that the U.S. president is set to address CPAC. This is the Conservative Political Action Committee. How will the
ongoing gun debate surface there?
PHILIP: Well, this is perhaps the most conservative crowd that you could assemble in Washington. And they are going to be, in some ways, expecting
some red meat from this president. He's had a history of doing that in front of the CPAC crowd.
And just yesterday, the head of the NRA, Wayne LaPierre gave a very forceful speech in front of CPAC, calling opponents -- proponents of gun
control, opponents of rights for Americans. So the president is going into the lines out here.
But he has the opportunity to lay out his case for some of the proposals that even the NRA is opposed to. For example, raising the minimum age that
you need to be in order to purchase a rifle like the one that was used in the Florida shooting.
It's not clear how far the president is going to go. He has repeatedly talked about the idea of arming teachers. He has talked less so about some
the more controversial ideas that are opposed by the NRA.
This could be his opportunity to really lay it out and make the case before his own base. So this is something that needs to be done, even if that
organization opposes it.
LU STOUT: Abby Philip live from the White House for us. Thank you. Now the Australian prime minister is thousands of kilometers away from home.
He is due for that meeting with the U.S. President George Bush.
But he may not be able to escape the scandal that pouring down under. Malcolm Turnbull's deputy Barnaby Joyce is quitting his pose following
allegations of sexual harassment.
Joyce has been under pressure ever since he announced that he was expecting a baby with a former staff member. Seven network's Tim Lester has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TIM LESTER, SEVEN NETWORK'S POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: For almost a decade and a half Barnaby Joyce has been the hero of Australian-Bush politics, a
politician who was able to curry favor in rural towns like Armadale the one behind me and push up the vote of the rural based National Party of
Australia, one of the key conservative parties in their politics.
He was a major vote winner until just two and a half weeks ago when news broke of an affair with his media minder and the breakdown of his marriage.
The first that centered around there has finally brought him today to quit as deputy prime minister and to head to the back bench to make way for a
new leader of the National Party and presumably a new front runner in Bush politics in this country.
Barnaby Joyce's decision to stand down will likely be seen by the Australian government as a plus. It has simply not been able to get any
other story into the newspapers in the last two and a half weeks.
[08:15:00] And into the media including the visit of Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to the White House. He's in the U.S. as I speak.
So, Barnaby Joyce has given the government some clear air, but also a major vote winner for the government in Australia has had to go to the back bench
of the Australian parliament.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: Tim Lester reporting there. And a stand-off between the U.S. and North Korea at the Pyeongchang opening ceremony and now, a softer
approach by the U.S. as North Korea sends in a political heavy weight.
And Donald Trump Jr. is also overseas. He is in India where a last-minute change has been made amid a backlash over potential conflicts of interest.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LU STOUT: Coming to you live from Hong Kong on a Friday night. Welcome back. You're watching News Stream. Now Ivanka Trump is in South Korea,
ahead of the Pyeongchang closing ceremony. She had dinner with the South Korea President Moon Jae-in just a short while ago.
Ivanka Trump is leading the U.S. delegation. During the opening ceremony, the U.S. vice president was, some say, overshadowed by the sister of Kim
Jong-un.
This time, North Korea is sending its vice chairman of the Party's Central Committee, Kim Yong Chol. Of course, the Olympics is about more than just
sideline diplomacy.
So let's get an update on all of the latest sporting highlights from Pyeongchang with Amanda Davies. And, Amanda, unfortunately some bad news
here -- another Russian athlete testing positive for a banned substance, tell us more.
AMANDA DAVIES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, absolutely, Kristie. This is the evening of day 14. An evening where the Olympic athletes of Russia were
hoping that they are being able to be celebrating their first Olympic gold medal of the games but instead, both celebrations have been over shadowed
by news of a second failed drug test within their team.
It's been reported by the Russian bobsleigh federation that one of their female athletes, Nadezhda Sergeeva, a 30-year-old bobsleigh competitor has
failed a test for a heart drug.
It's understood that she failed the test last Sunday, February 18th, prior to competing in the two-man bob at the start of this week, a competition
where she finished 12.
As we stand, we haven't heard anymore from the International Olympic Committee or in fact, the Court of Arbitration for Sport, their anti-doping
division which for this games, as you may remember, has been set-up here in Pyeongchang to deal with the cases. But we know that she is an athlete who
competed for Russia in Sochi 2014.
[08:20:00] As you mentioned, she's the second Russian athlete to fail a drug test here at the games. To put that into context, she is the second
of just four athletes across the entirety of the games.
And certainly not the news that the Olympic athletes of Russia who were hoping for in this current climate where the Russian team, of course, is
banned from being here because of the consequences of that state-sponsored doping which was uncovered (Inaudible) report.
This is meant to be the new face of Russian sport. Hundred and sixty-eight athletes that had been cleared to compete as neutral athletes, pushing
forward the new clean face to the world of Russian sport.
LU STOUT: Absolutely, this is not the kind of attention that they want. And with this Russian bobsledder testing positive, what does this mean for
the O.A.R., the Olympic Athletes from Russia and their chance to march under their flag in the closing ceremony on Sunday?
DAVIES: That is a very big question. A very good question. And you suspect the IOC Spokesman Mark Adams will have his phone and his email on
overdrive this evening with people asking just those questions because course, with the allowing of the Olympic athletes of Russia to compete here
under the neutral flag.
One of the clauses that was inserted into that deal was that there was the possibility that come the closing ceremony, the O.A.R. with their neutral
uniforms might be able to march with Russian uniforms under the Russian flag if they behave in the right way over the course of games.
The decision is going to be made this weekend by the IOC executive board. The phrase that has been used throughout the last few weeks is that they
want the OAR team to have shown the letter of the law and the spirit of the games. But you questioned whether that can be the case with two Russian
failed the doping test in 2 1/2 weeks.
LU STOUT: Amanda Davies, on Pyeongchang for us. Thank you, Amanda. Let's get back to the news that we are following. Out of South Korea, of course,
Ivanka Trump's visit. Will Ripley joins us now live from Seoul.
And so, Will, Ivanka has arrived for some soft diplomacy. But you have also learned that Donald Trump is set to deliver some tough new sanctions.
So what's the latest on both fronts here?
WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we know that Ivanka Trump just wrapped her dinner at South Korea's Blue House about ten minutes from where
I am here in Seoul. She did make a brief stop by the U.S. ambassador's residence before meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in.
A bit ironic that she visited the U.S. Ambassador's residence for more than a year into the Trump presidency. There is still no U.S. ambassador to
South Korea. At the Blue House, Ivanka Trump spoke at length about President Trump's and President Moon's cooperation when it comes to North
Korea.
And in fact, she stated that this trip is to reaffirm the partnership and the strength of the alliance between the U.S. and South Korea and in turn,
President Moon handed out a large helping of credit to President Trump for helping to create this situation that led to the inter-Korean talks that
were revived in January and the easing of tensions on the Korean Peninsula at least for now.
But you did mention, Kristie, those new sanctions that are due to be announced. President Trump expected to make that announcement when he
speaks at the Conservative Political Action Committee.
The sanctions, details being told to CNN, essentially pertaining to vessels and shipping, according to somebody who is familiar with the matter, so the
Treasury Department going to impose those, President Trump going to announce them when he gives that speech in a matter of hours, Kristie.
LU STOUT: Will Ripley live in Seoul for us. Thank you, Will. And Ivanka isn't the only member of the Trump family in the world stage right now.
And Donald Trump Jr. is preparing to take part in a business conference in India today.
But a last-minute change has been made -- an attempt to distance the president's son from any political activity. CNN's John Defterios is live
with New Delhi more in the story. And, John, you actually managed to make contact with Donald Trump Jr. today before his fireside chat. What does he
expected to say?
JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, in fact, Kristie, we talked to him just over two hours ago. There have been great expectations. In fact,
all week long since he's been in India about a foreign policy speech talking about Indo-Pacific relations and U.S.-India relations going
forward, because the relations between Donald Trump and Narendra Modi here, the prime minister.
That, if you will, has been downgraded or at least shifted in to focus to a fireside chat, something much more casual with Donald Trump Jr. talking to
a media partner at the event behind me. That is going to take place at the charge of the economic time.
So let's go to the video that we had. That is Donald Trump Jr. staying at the same hotel that we are here and where our bureau for CNN is in Delhi.
I first approached him, asking if could stop for a quick interview. He politely declined the interview with CNN.
[08:25:00] Then we walked to the elevator, and I said, look, one of our developers suggest you got a 15 percent bump in sales after spending four
full days on the ground in India.
And he said, John, let's just put it this way, we've had a very good week. But, Kristie, it's not without controversy, we can put it this way. Some
took issue with the over the top approach by the Trump organization and his local developers with full-page ads suggesting Trump has arrived to India,
have you.
Have you steeped-up into that upper-class league or not? And after his fire sight chat tonight and the speech by Prime Minister Modi, he's going
to hold his third event in the week. Two private investors who bought properties, and the ticket price get this, it's nearly $40,000.
An the real question is, what does that buy in the future? Some believe here in India, you buy into that upper-class lifestyle but perhaps some
influence in the future if you need a favor from White House. And this is where the blurry lines are in India and have been all week long during the
visit of Donald Trump Jr.
LU STOUT: Interesting. So you got Don Jr. to tell you that business wise, he's had a very good week but how has Donald Trump Jr. responded to
allegations that his family is profiting from the father's presidency?
DEFTERIOS: You know, in fact, he did an interview with a local channel, Kristie. And he said candidly and I thought it was very interesting
towards the end of the interview, that he finds it very difficult to take a step back.
He's not one that likes to stand in the sidelines and he listed his priorities as family, business and politics. And I think the issue for
observers like ourselves on the ground and even some in India here are political strategists for saying, we can't find the light in between those
three, family, business and politics.
But when he had a chance to dispel those words, he suggested, look, I'm actually frustrated we can't do a lot more, frustrated by the fact that his
father put forward a voluntary agreement to take a step back from the business in 2016.
This is their biggest market internationally. He came here to sell and sell hard, and he doesn't see any problems with it, although those that
track ethics and division between the White House and business would not agree with that position by Donald Trump Jr.
LU STOUT: John Defterios live for us from New Delhi. Thank you, John. You are watching News Stream. Still to come, London police say that
they're investigating a hate crime directed at the royal couple Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. We have the details, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:31:20] LU STOUT: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. You are watching News Stream and these are your world headlines. Syrian activist say the
government has launched more strikes on Eastern Ghouta.
The shelling has devastated the rebel-held area. More than 400 people have been killed since Monday. In the coming hours, U.N. Security Council is to
vote on a ceasefire proposal.
New details emerging from the Florida school shooting. The sheriff has expressed shock that a deputy on school grounds never went inside the
building when the shots rang out. We've also learned a caller alerted police that the killer had threatened on Instagram to shoot up the school.
Donald Trump Jr. is preparing to speak Friday at a business leaders conference in New Delhi. His remarks were originally titled "Reshaping
Indo-Pacific Ties: The New Era of Cooperation." Now, they have been revised to a "Fireside Chat with Donald Trump Jr." Trump Jr. has been facing
intense criticism over potential conflicts of interests.
Australia's deputy prime minister says he will resign over allegations of sexual harassment which he denies. Barnaby Joyce has been under pressure
since he admitted an affair with a former staffer who is pregnant with his child. Joyce also says that he will step down as leader of the National
Party but remain a member of parliament.
Haiti has suspended Oxfam from operating in the the country over the sexual misconduct scandal. The charity has been under fire for the way it handled
reports of sexual exploitation by its aide workers who were in Haiti for relief efforts. The suspension will last a few months.
CNN's Erin McLaughlin has been following the story very closely for us. She joins us live from London. Erin, how did Haitian government make this
announcement? How is Oxfam responding?
ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Haitian authorities are absolutely furious at the way Oxfam has handled this scandal, now
announcing the suspension that will last, according to Oxfam, for a period of two months while Haiti investigates what exactly was happening in its
country in 2011 when all of this took place.
Oxfam saying that it is going to cooperate fully with investigators, that this will have a significant impact on its operation on the ground there
which it says helped some 750,000 people with their longer term development needs with an annual budget of some $16 million to give you a sense of the
scale of Oxfam's operation there in Haiti.
Oxfam also releasing a statement, let me read you part of it, Kristie, saying, Oxfam has apologized to the Haitian government and people for
abuses by former staff that occurred in 2011. Oxfam is committed to putting in place a number of wide sweeping initiates to improve its global
safeguarding policies and practices, including the establishment of an independent commission and putting more staff and resources into its
safeguarding teams.
But Haitian authorities say that they are not only outraged that the scandal took place back in 2011. According to Oxfam's own internal
investigation, some seven employees were found to have hired prostitutes. That investigation unable to rule out the possibility that those
prostitutes, some of them, could have been minors.
Haitian authorities not only upset at that, but also the way Oxfam handled it, that they did not alert properly Haitian authorities given that
prostitution is illegal in Haiti. They also did not properly alert the British authorities, leading many Haitian authorities to wonder what else
is going on in their country, no doubt will be subject of that investigation.
Meanwhile British authorities also saying they are outraged. We heard from Penny Mordaunt, the international development secretary here in the UK. She
is speaking out, saying that Oxfamn in this case misled and quite possibly, she said in her words, deliberately. And it's clear, in her opinion, that
the charity put its own reputation ahead of its responsibility. Now, Oxfam is paying the price, but also, you know, the 750,000 people who are
receiving aid from Oxfam in Haiti. Kristie?
LU STOUT: Oxfam has launched its own internal investigation. The British parliament is also looking into the scandal. Any concrete answers yet as to
why? I mean, the abuse allegations here are so disturbing. Why is it that this charity allowed the abuse to take place and failed to report it?
MCLAUGHLIN: Well, I mean, that's the question. As you mentioned there, Kristie, that is the subject of investigation now in Haiti as well as the
United Kingdom. Oxfam also launching its own internal investigation as to how this could have taken place.
What we do know is that following Oxfam's own internal investigation back in 2011 when this happened, they actually brought in a chief of
safeguarding. They brought her in and employed her to try
[08:35:00] and implement safeguarding practices, whistle blowing hot lines to stop this kind of behavior from happening again. And according to that
same person that they brought in, now has since left Oxfam, they failed to listen to her recommendations. Many people now here in the UK asking why,
why they didn't listen to their own chief of safeguarding that they brought in in the wake of the scandal to clean things up.
LU STOUT: Erin McLaughlin reporting liver from London, thank you. Meanwhile, police in London say that they are investigating a hate crime
after a package was sent to the royal couple, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Phil Black joins us now live from Scotland Yard. Phil, exactly what
is the nature of this probable racist hate crime?
PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So, Kristie, it's all about a package that was delivered to St. James' Palace, one of the royal residences here in
London on February the 12th. There was a suspicious substance inside and a message, a note of some kind as well.
The substance was tested and found to be harmless. The letter or the note, whatever its contents were, the police are saying at this stage, whatever
they were however, is what has led police to determine that this is potentially a hate crime.
So it points to an ugly racist motivation behind this. It is British media that are saying that the substance involved a white powder of some kind. We
know that white powder hoaxes have become very common against public figures, organizations, politicians and so forth.
And it is again British media that is saying the package itself was addressed specifically to Prince Harry and his fiancee Meghan Markle. Now
ultimately, this was, as I say, an ugly racist, but ultimately harmless hoax of some kind. But we do know that from the very outset of Prince
Harry's relationship with Meghan Markle, there has been at least a minority racist reaction to it.
Prince Harry himself commented on that back in November, not long after the relationship was made public in a statement when he talked about some of
the news coverage having racial undertones and the outright racism that was being written on the comments sections of web pages and social media and so
forth.
So, this has been there from the outset. It is without a doubt a minority ugly view and opinion. But even still, the police here seem to be taking it
very seriously. They say it is being investigated by counter-terrorism police, which again points to an ideological motivation of some kind. And
at the moment, the investigation is ongoing. No one has been arrested just yet, Kristie.
LU STOUT: Phil Black reporting live from Scotland Yard, thank you.
You're watching "News Stream." And coming up, Cuban car enthusiasts are getting a brand new shipment of Ladas, a lot of them. A closer look at the
island's love affair with the Russian-made cars, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TODD: Coming to you live from Hong Kong, welcome back. This is News Stream." Now, for car aficionados, Cuba is a place where you could see
automobile history driving in the streets every day, including Soviet-era Russian cars. And even when they had the chance to get their hands on newer
models, Cuban vintage
[08:40:00] car owners are incredible attached to their old, boxy Ladas. Patrick Oppmann goes for a drive in one of them.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Cuba is famous for its vintage American cars. Classic Chevys and Chryslers that tourists love to
pose in front of. This island is also home to one of the world's largest collections of old Russian cars.
Ladas, Volgas, and Moskviches, aging Soviet-era work horses that drive like tractors and have all the style of a tin can but are still kept running in
a country in short supply of transportation.
And there are Cuban who actually prefer the Russian cars and made up for friendly races to show off the superiority of Soviet engineering.
These are the cars that the current generation were born with, said the head of a local club for Russian car aficionados. These are the cars they
learned how to repair and how to drive.
Many of the Russian cars are decades older that their drivers.
(on camera): These cars are reminder when Cuba was aligned with the Soviet Union and socialism was supposed to be the bright future for this island.
Many of the cars were given as rewards for the most faithful supporters of the revolution who have since passed them on to their children and
grandchildren.
(voice over): For as long as they can keep running.
It's like they are part of the family, Ernesto says, like your grandfather still there alive, but you're not sure for how much longer.
After the fall of the Soviet Union, Cubans assumed no more Russian cars were coming their way. But in January, the Cuban government imported 320
new Ladas to serve as taxis. The first Russian cars brought to the island in 12 years. And a flashy version of the Lada that Cubans weren't familiar
with. Not everyone is impressed.
They look like cars with technology that are light and fast, he says. But they won't last as long as these cars do.
And if nothing else, Cuba's original Russian cars have shown they can withstand the test of time.
Patrick Oppmann, CNN, Havana.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: They've got charm, those Ladas. And finally, we are getting ready for CNN's day-long event to raise awareness of modern day slavery. It
is called "My Freedom Day." It is coming up on March 14th.
And we are looking for your views on what freedom means to you. So post a photo or video using hash tag my freedom day. We also have celebrities who
joined in. Here is South African actor John Kani.
(START VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN KANI, SOUTH AFRICAN ACTOR: In 1994, I was 51 years, when I voted for the first time in my life, when the noble right (ph) admits Mandela was the
first democratically elected president. For the first time, I understood what it means to be free.
I could look myself in the mirror and be proud of what I see. Freedom means the greatest responsibility for peaceful coexistence among the peoples of
the world and puts on my shoulders the responsibility to make sure that I will not rest until every living human being is free.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: Such a beautiful answer. And that is "News Stream." I'm Kristie Lu Stout, but don't go anywhere, "World Sport" with Amanda Davies is next.
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[08:45:00] (WORLD SPORT)
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