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NEWS STREAM

China Slaps Retaliatory Tariffs On $3 Billion Of U.S. Exports; Kim Jong-un Applauds Historic K-Pop Concert; Source: British Believe Kremlin Likely Approved Attack; Migrant Caravan Heads Towards U.S.-Mexico Border; Four Civilians Killed In Kashmir Clashes; World Headlines; Bill Gates On Nigerian Leadership; Malala Yousafzai Leaves Pakistan; Tiangong-1 Crashes; Sweet Mustache; Beloved Dog Rehired. Aired 8-9a ET

Aired April 02, 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)

ANDREW STEVENS, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Andrew Stevens in Hong Kong, and welcome to News Stream.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVENS: Fears of a trade war, China hits the U.S. with new tariffs on dozens of products. Pyongyang performance, a South Korean popstars put on

a concert to Kim Jong-un as the U.S. and South Korea hold a different kind of show. And going down in flames, China's space lab plummets to earth in

a ball of fire.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEVENS: World's two biggest economies appear to be going toe to toe, and is making the world nervous about a possible trade war. China just hit

back at the U.S. for the Trump administration's steel and aluminum tariffs with sanctions of its own.

Well, Beijing's tariffs hit about $3 billion worth of U.S. imports targeting a wide range of products, 128 of them in fact, from pork to steel

pipes.

But this economic back-and-forth is expected to escalate, and as President Donald Trump has already said that he plans for more tariffs against China.

Well, Ivan Watson now joins us live from Beijing. Let's just talk about these first sanctions which China is now applying, Ivan. In the general

scheme of things, when you look at trade between these two economies, just how big are these tariffs?

IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's a drop in the bucket, Andrew. We're talking about tariffs on $3 billion worth of U.S. exports to China,

and that is out of a total bilateral trade in 2016 at about close to 200 -- $650 billion.

So, again, this is a relatively small amount, but it is clearly a response from China. It said very much so, a response to the Trump administration's

decision to slap tariffs on aluminum and steel imports.

China arguing that this is against WTO rules, arguing also that this seriously damage Chinese interests. So what has China done in response, it

singled out $3 billion worth of U.S. exports to China, and lump them into two groups, so about 128 goods here group one includes fruits, nuts, wine,

and steel pipes of 15 percent tariff on them.

Group two get a 25 percent tariff, and they include pork, and recycled aluminum. So again, this is just a fraction of the total bilateral trade,

but if you are working for example, in -- if you're a hog farmer in the U.S., this could be potentially a very big deal.

And in fact, Andrew, the natural -- National Pork Producers Council, they put out a statement just last month warning about possible tariffs

indicating that pork exports to China are on $1.1 billion industry.

China is the U.S.' third-largest market for pork exports, so people working with that -- within that sector have definitely been caught off guard by

this, and it could hit them rather hard. Andrew.

STEVENS: Yes, absolutely. Someone real pain there for at least some members of the economic community and the U.S. agricultural community.

But, Ivan, the big on here, of course, is soybean. We have talked about this a lot.

Soybean is seen as politically sensitive for Donald Trump. It's a very, very big export -- U.S. export to China, yet the Chinese haven't gone near

soybeans, why not?

WATSON: Perhaps they're keeping their powder dry, so to speak. And you know, you mention that it is politically sensitive -- I'm going to go back

to the pork example, big hog farming states in the U.S. are Iowa and North Carolina. Those are states with significant populations that voted for

President Trump.

So this could be interpreted a number of ways, and perhaps this is a warning from China. And we do know that the Trump administration that it

intends to slap more sanctions on China in response to alleged theft of intellectual property.

And that those numbers could be much higher than what were talking about thus far, and specifically targeting Chinese goods -- goods around $50

billion to $60 billion worth of Chinese goods, and perhaps more in the tech sector.

[08:05:10] We could interpret China's response today is being, hey, we're responding to steel and aluminum tariffs, which we're not specifically

targeting China.

In fact, China only supplies about two percent of U.S. steel imports. If the U.S. deliberately goes after China, the response might be reciprocal,

might be much higher, and could be felt in an area such as, for example, soybean, which will be felt very much in some red states that traditionally

support President Trump. Andrew.

STEVENS: Yes, absolutely. Potential here to escalate rapidly in a trade spat. Ivan Watson in Beijing, thanks very much. As the U.S. and China

face-off on trade, the Korean Peninsula is saying surprising goodwill through this historic round of applause.

The leader of North Korea clapping for the South Korean troops performing in Pyongyang. This warm version of Kim Jong-un comes as the U.S. and South

Korea launched their joint annual military drills just across the border.

But it appears that the concert was a major step in the Korean Peninsula's diplomatic thaw. Well, many of South Korea's famed artists performed,

including K-pop girl band Red Velvet.

It is the first time South Korean performers have played in North Korea for more than a decade. The audience's enthusiastic response surprised

observers in Seoul, and the performers themselves.

In the past, North Korea has punished its citizens who are caught listening to South Korean music. Well, let's get the latest now from the Korean

Peninsula.

Paula Hancocks joins us live from Seoul. Certainly, this is -- this is miles apart from the Kim Jong-un we have known in recent years, and though

seen, Paula, that he is really scoring some pretty big points on the public relations front so far.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Actually, Andrew, a number of experts and North Korean observers would argue that Kim Jong-un is playing this

very well from the P.R. point of view, from what happened during the Olympics with the North Korean delegation to then having this summit agreed

with the South Korean President Moon Jae-in, and then the U.S. President Donald Trump agreeing to meet with them.

So it's really quite remarkable how quickly things have escalated. But you make one interesting point at the end there. The fact that Kim Jong-un,

the North Korean Leader is sitting, applauding, and waving at a K-pop hateful concert.

This is South Korean pop culture and his regime, not just in the past, but still punishes his own people if they are caught watching any of this kind

of material, any media from South Korea, any South Korean dramas, a lot of USB smuggling going on into the country.

And then yet you see here that Kim Jong-un is actually meeting with those K-pop stars. So a remarkable turn of event, and certainly, KCNA state run

media saying that he was deeply moved by what had happened.

And it's really showing a momentum when it comes to not just the sporting and political, but also the cultural interaction between these two Koreas.

Andrew.

STEVENS: And it's even more surprising, given that he is watching this K- pop band performance. And the South Koreans and the Americans launch their military drills, which in the past had prompted sort of violent, virtually,

reaction from North Korea.

So these military drills been carried out, how have the South Koreans and the Americans tone this down if, at all, to please Kim to keep this new

sort of thaw on track.

HANCOCKS: You are right. Any other year (ph) (Inaudible) here talking to you about the fact that tensions have become much higher on the Peninsula,

because every year, Pyongyang was angered by this joint U.S.-South Korea military drills.

They are vocally angered. We also see a number of missile launches, potentially retaliation, they say for those military drills, which they

have in past, seen as a dress rehearsals invasion.

But they did start on Sunday, they same day that Kim Jong-un was applauding K-pop start in Pyongyang. They will go for a month, rather than two

months. So certainly that is far less than usual.

It was discreet and low-key start to these military drills. And usually, by this time every year, I know exactly which of these events we will be

able to go, and film, and broadcast around the world, and also for (Inaudible) to be able to see the South Korean and U.S. military capability

that honor media events. At this point, there isn't as far as we know so far going to be any access to these drills.

[08:10:00] So potentially that is the way that they are trying to keep this low-key, discreet, if you are not going to have these images that North

Korea sees as provocative on screens across the world. Andrew.

STEVENS: All heading to an inter-Korean summit on April 27th, and then of course that meeting -- planned meeting with the Donald Trump in May. Paula

Hancocks in Seoul, thanks very much.

Now the Kremlin is strenuously denying accusations that it approved a nerve attack on former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter. The country's

Foreign Minister suggesting Monday that Britain had a motive.

Sergey Lavrov says the U.K. may have been trying to distance, and distract the nation from Brexit negotiations. Meanwhile, we are getting new

insights into why the U.K. believe Russia's government was involved in the attack in England last month.

A source close to the investigation has told CNN that British authorities believe the daring placement of the nerve agent on Skripal's front door

shows a sophistication that likely had approval from the Kremlin.

Well, let's get straight to Moscow now. CNN's Matthew Chance is following developments there. Matthew, that is a fairly extraordinary comeback from

Moscow.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is. But you know what, over the past couple weeks since this crisis unfolded, there have been a whole host

of extraordinary comeback as you call them, kinds of narratives issued by the Kremlin and other Russian officials to try and explain what else could

have happened if it weren't Russia that did this, what else could be to blame?

I think the British officials I spoke to counted 17 last week in terms of the number of different narratives that Russian officials had put out, and

had been promoted on state media, and this is just the latest one being voiced by Sergey Lavrov.

The Russian Foreign Minister saying that rather look to Russia to point the finger of blame for this nerve agent poisoning of the Skripals on streets

of Salisbury, look to American intelligence, he could have benefited them, and it may even have been British intelligence in order to distract from

the problems of Brexit.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SERGEY LAVROV, RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER (through a translator): There are other explanations in addition to those mentioned by our Western

colleagues, stating that it is only Russian trace that can be taken as the only possible version. Some experts stated that could have been very

beneficial for American intelligence services.

It could have been beneficial for the British government who ended up in a very difficult situation because it had failed to deliver on the terms

promised by the British electorate for Brexit. There is a whole number of reasons, and one shouldn't brush them away.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHANCE: All right, well, as far as the British authorities are concerned, there are two options as to the cause of this Novichok poisoning on the

streets of Salisbury.

The first was that, this was a Russian state operation, the Russian -- British government is saying this is highly likely that they believe the

Russian state is behind this, an alternative explanation, which has been floated by the British, is that perhaps the Russian state lost control of

some of their nerve agent, and it fell into criminal hands.

But they haven't received any clarification on the issue from the Russians. And so you know, I haven't heard anything from yet, but I expect they will

dismiss this latest Russian allegation out of hand.

STEVENS: All right, Matthew, thank you very much. Matthew Chance in Moscow. Well as all of that diplomatic tit-for-tat is happening in the

wake of the Skripal case, Russian state media is reporting that the military successfully tested and upgraded air defense missile.

That comes just days after the country released footage of the test firing of the new intercontinental missile, nicknamed Satan Two. Turning now to

Mexico where a caravan of more than 1,000 migrants from Central America is making its way towards the U.S. border.

Violence, poverty, and political unrest in their home countries are what prompted many of then to make this journey. Activists say the migrants

plan to turn themselves in and some may request asylum once they've reached the U.S. border.

Well, the migrant march caught the attention of U.S. President. He tweeted about it in a tirade that also declared, quote, no more DACA deal.

Well, let's go to CNN White House Reporter Kaitlan Collins now. She joins us from Washington. Easter Sunday, Donald Trump absolutely, sort of,

enraged on Twitter about this caravan, about the DACA deal, about threatening to pull the NAFTA deal off the table. Kaitlan, just put it all

together for us. What's he -- what brought this on right now?

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well -- and he is not even done yet. He started tweeting yesterday after a few days of relative silence,

and now he is back at it this morning, tweeting several times in a row now.

Essentially the same method of yesterday declaring that there is no DACA deal and threatening to pull out of NAFTA if Mexico he says doesn't do more

to bolster security on their northern border because he said, their laws are more effective than those here in the United States.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[08:15:06] COLLINS: President Trump pending the Easter holiday weekend venting about immigration. In a series of combative tweets, the President

saying he wanted to make a deal for DREAMers, coming the undocumented immigrants are pouring into the U.S. because they want in on the act.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: A lot of people are coming in because they want to take advantage of DACA, and we are going to have to

really see.

COLLINS: The President seemingly confused about the parameters of the DREAMER program. It protects undocumented immigrants from deportation if

they were brought to the U.S. as children, but it only applies to those who lived in the U.S. since 2007, meaning that no one crossing the border now

would be eligible.

TRUMP: They had a great chance, the Democrats blew it.

COLLINS: President Trump also blaming Democrats for failing to broker a deal to protect DREAMers, despite the fact that it was Mr. Trump's decision

to end the Obama era program in the first place. Mr. Trump's tough talking in stark contrasted these earlier promises.

TRUMP: A very, very tough subject. We're going to deal with DACA with heart. It should be a bipartisan bill. It should be a bill of love. Truly,

it should be a bill of love, and we can do that.

COLLINS: The President's outburst prompting criticism from members of both parties, including Ohio Governor John Kasich who tweeted, a true leader

preserves and offers hope, doesn't take hope from innocent children who call America home.

The President also lashing out at Mexico, threatening to pull out of NAFTA if Mexico doesn't curtail the flow of documented immigrants.

TRUMP: Mexico has got to help us at the border. They flow right through Mexico. They send them into the United States. It can't happen that way

anymore.

COLLINS: MR. Trump using that argument against just the need for his border wall. Sources tell CNN that the president's tweets storm came after

he had conversations with a number of allies associated with Fox News over the weekend who told him that his base believes he is softening on

immigration.

Multiple people pointing to hardliner Ann Coulter's recent media tour calling Trump, a disappointment. All of this as the Trump administration

continues to insist that ousted Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin resigned, rather than being fired. Shulkin denying this claim, saying he

never submitted a resignation letter.

DAVID SHULKIN, FORMER SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS: I would not resign because I am committed to making sure this job was seen through to the very

end.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: So you were fired?

SHULKIN: I did not resign.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Now David Shulkin has been on quite a media tour since he resigned or was fired, depending on who you ask. And just this morning,

there was another attempt to clear out what exactly happened in the ousting of him at the Veterans Affairs. And this is what he had to say today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: You received a phone call from Chief of Staff John Kelly, who fired you.

SHULKIN: General Kelly gave me a heads-up that the President would most likely be tweeting out a message in the very near future, and I appreciated

having that heads-up from General Kelly.

CAMEROTA: So the tweet fired you?

SHULKIN: Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: So if that wasn't enough White House news for you, the White House also just announced that President Trump is going to be meeting with

the Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe at Mar-a-Lago, in his club in Palm Beach, Florida in April 17th and 18th -- 18th to be exact, ahead of that

planned meeting with the North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un.

STEVENS: I was going to say it's pretty busy start of the week, but every week is a busy start with Donald Trump in the chair these days. Kaitlan,

thanks very much for joining us. Kaitlan Collins from the White House.

Now, the Arab League plans a hold an emergency meeting after 18 Palestinians were killed at the Gaza border. More on how Israel is

responding to mounting criticism just ahead. Plus, Bill Gates travels to Nigeria to give some of its leader tough talk.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL GATES, FOUNDER, MICROSOFT CORPORATION: Current quality and quantity of investment in this young generation, the health and education just isn't

good enough.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[08:20:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

STEVENS: Welcome back to News Stream. To Kashmir now, where four civilians have died, following intense fighting between the Indian Army and

militants, twelve rebels and three soldiers were killed in the largest military operation in the year -- in the region this year.

It led to bloody antigovernment protest with residence loyal to the militants clashing with troops. Violence in the region has left almost

50,000 people dead since 1989.

Turning now to Gaza where Palestinians are mourning the 18 people who died in Friday's clashed along the border with Israel. Israel says it fight

defensively to protect its citizens.

Well, confrontations have touched of a war of words between Turkey's President and Israel's Prime Minister. President Erdogan had this to say

about the Israeli leader.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN, TURKISH PRESIDENT (through a translator): Benjamin Netanyahu, we don't have the shame of invading. You are an invader. You

are occupying those lands as an invader. At the same time, you are a terrorist.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEVENS: Mr. Netanyahu fired back on Twitter writing, he who occupies northern Cyprus, encroaches on Kurdish territory, and massacres civilians

in Afrin cannot preach to us on values and morals.

Well, Israel's Defense Minister is flatly rejecting calls meanwhile for an inquiry into Friday's violence. Israel's Ambassador to the United Nations

has also launched a strongly worded complaint with the U.N. Security Council for holding an emergency session on Gaza on the first night of

Passover.

Well, tensions along the border are so high. CNN's Ian Lee is in Jerusalem with more on the situation. And just tell us what is going on at the

moments, Ian.

IAN LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Andrew, things have died down along the border. It is not as intense as we saw definitely over the weekend, and we

have seen it really dwindle as the weeks progressed.

But we're watching next Friday very carefully, expecting to see another spike in violence. Now Israel has come out and said that they will

continue to monitor the border.

They have called it a war zone. They said that any attempts to breach the border or breach Israel's sovereignty will be dealt with any means they see

fit and appropriate.

They also warned Hamas and other militant groups that they will also strike inside Gaza, not just along the border if the -- if these groups continue

what Israel says is keeping these tensions, keeping the situation violent.

Now, according to the organizers of March of Return, and that is what it is called, is going to take place over the course of the next six weeks. So

we could likely see many more violent days to come.

They say the goal is to pressure Israel, and also to return people who lost their land in the 1948 war, which is now in Israel.

And so you really do have this dangerous situation there, Andrew, on the border, where Palestinians when we were in Gaza, and when we spoke to them

they say they are going across the border. And Israel saying, we're not going to let you.

STEVENS: Absolutely. Obviously, Israel is flat-out refusing any sort of inquiries to what happened. Is there any pressure within Israel for an

inquiry, or for some sort of explanation -- more of an explanation from the government?

LEE: You know we did see some protests from people inside Israel in support of the Gazans, but those were relatively small. The Defense

Minister Avigdor Lieberman flat-out said that he rejects any attempt to have an inquiry into the violence that took place on Friday, and that is

likely not going to happen.

[08:25:04] You know, the government here has praised the troops, the Israeli soldiers for their work on Friday, and so we won't likely see

anything like that.

But, you know, the international community is trying to put pressure on Israel, the E.U. has called for an independent probe to look into what

happened. The Arab League is having an emergency meeting tomorrow to discuss the situation.

Jordan and Egypt, two of Israel's regional friends have condemned the violence. So you are looking at the situation where, you know, we will see

what happens as these progresses. Right now Israel says they are not -- there is not to be an investigation.

They are standing and the United States blocked a statement at the U.N. Security Council that was going to address the violence in Gaza. But, you

know, six more weeks of this, there is a lot that could happen.

STEVENS: Ian, thank you very much. Ian Lee joining us live from Jerusalem. New the details are now emerging about a fatal Tesla crash last

week. The company announcing that the Model X vehicle had been in also pilot mode during the accident.

Tesla also says the driver's hands were not on the steering wheel just before that crash. An investigation now hopes to figure out whether this

semiautonomous driving technology had any impact on the fatal accident. Tesla maintains that the technology makes its cars safer.

And in another fatal automobile crash in California last week, police now believe the driver may have intentionally driven off the cliff. The SUV

software indicates the vehicle stopped before speeding up directly towards the cliff.

Two adult women and their three children were killed in the crash. Three other children are missing. According to officials in Washington State,

police have been trying to get in touch with the family after the children were identified as potential victims of abuse.

Among the missing is a 15-year-old Devonte, who drew headlines a few years ago when he appeared in this touching photo at a protest. Now China's

first attempted a space station has ended in flames. Stay tuned to the lab's spectacular crash into the South Pacific.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

STEVENS: I am Andrew Stevens in Hong Kong, you are watching News Stream, and these are your world headlines. China is retaliating against the Trump

administration's steel and aluminum with aggressive sanctions of its own.

It enrolled at about $3 billion worth of U.S. imports, hitting 128 products, ranging from pork to steel pipes.

[08:30:00] Tariffs go to effect today. The economic tit-for-tat measures are driving tariffs. The world's two biggest economies might start a trade

war. Major Asian markets closing down today. A lot of big reaction. That move by China had been widely flagged. Still, negative sentiment remains in

the Asian markets.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un applauded South Korean K-Pop concert in Pyongyang, the first South performance in more than a decade. State media

reported that Mr. Kim even thanked the musicians afterwards. A surprising mood as North Koreans have in the past being punished for listening to

South Korean music.

Russia's foreign minister is now suggesting that Britain had a motive to poison the former spy, Sergei Skripal, and his daughter. Sergey Lavrov says

the U.K. may have been trying to distract the nation from Brexit negotiations. In just the last few minutes, Russia has sent out a series of

tweets, questioning whether France may have been involved in the poisoning. British officials have directly blamed Russia for last month's nerve agent

attack in Salisbury.

Nigeria is in the early stages of its election season. Its current administration has been criticized for the way it deals with corruption,

terrorism, and a sluggish economy. One of the world's richest men, Bill Gates, has been trying to help through funding projects, but he also spoke

exclusively to our David McKenzie about his criticism of the Nigerian leadership.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): This is where Bill Gates is quietly spending more than $1.6 billion of his fortune.

His money helping to eradicate scourge of polio in Nigeria. But grinding poverty remains. And for many, an absence of political leadership.

BILL GATES, BILLIONAIRE PHILANTHROPIST: As a partner of Nigeria --

MCKENZIE (voice over): So the once silent partner is speaking out.

GATES: I am saying that the current plan is inadequate.

MCKENZIE (voice over): Directed squarely at politicians, the public rebuke is a rare departure for Gates and his foundation. But it comes at a

critical time. Africa's biggest economy is heading into the 2019 election was the continent's largest youth population. Nearly eight million of them

are unemployed.

(on camera): Why are you thinking that it is good to give hard facts to Nigerian leaders right now?

GATES: Well, Nigeria has all these young people. And the current quality and quantity of investment in this young generation, the health and

education just isn't good enough. And so I was very direct.

MCKENZIE (voice over): Out on the streets, they say, the government is often absent, or present in the form of an official asking for a bribe.

Nigeria is rated one of the most corrupt countries.

So, you know, what do you think of the message that Bill Gates is bringing here?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bill Gates is saying the truth.

MCKENZIE (voice over): Moses Atendu (ph) works in a bank near the market. He says vendors like this woman selling IFFO don't have steady electricity

and they can't access loans.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All these people are trying to survive.

MCKENZIE (voice over): And are they being helped?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. Strong will to survive every day.

MCKENZIE (voice over): The government says it has welcomed Gates's message and is working to do better for the people. A population that by 2050 will

be bigger than in the United States.

(on camera): Do you see the potential for Nigeria when you visit people in this country and go out on to the streets?

GATES: I really do think of all the countries I've seen, it really hangs in the balance. If they can get health and education right, they will be an

engine of growth not just for themselves, which will be those 400 million people, but for all of Africa.

MCKENZIE (voice over): Moses says Nigerians don't need to be given much to succeed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are -- yes.

MCKENZIE (voice over): If they could just be provided with the basics. He says the talent of Nigerians will shine through.

David McKenzie, CNN, Lagos.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STEVENS: Malala Yousafzai bid an emotional farewell to her native Pakistan after surprise four-day trip. The Nobel Peace Prize winner flew back to

Britain from the capital Islamabad and it was the first time that she had been home since the Taliban gunmen shot her in the head more than five

years ago. Malala said it was a dream to return to Pakistan without fear or violence.

China's first ever space lab has crashed back to Earth in flames. Coming up next, we will take a look at the Tiangong-1 station spectacular fall into

the South Pacific.

[08:35:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

STEVENS: China's space lab has been a fiery end in the South Pacific. The Tiangong-1 was the country's first ever prototype space station. It is not

fully out of orbit after losing contact about two years ago and finally burned up in the atmosphere at speed of around 17,000 miles an hour.

Ivan Watson has been tracking the doomed lab from Beijing. He joins us now. Ivan, this is what they call an uncontrolled descent. Beijing didn't have -

- really know where it is going to land. But was it sort of low luck than anything else that it landed in the sea as opposed to some populated area?

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: No, because most of the Earth is covered by water. So, you know, statistically you have a

better chance of it landing somewhere in an ocean. But certainly because it was uncontrolled descent, there were a lot of aerospace watchers including

kind of official bodies like the European Space Agency.

They were trying to get a sense of when exactly this space lab could hit the atmosphere and disintegrates, though mostly experts were predicting

that there was very little chance that it could hurt any human being wherever it did land. It did end up happening at about a quarter after

eight in the morning Beijing time, landing in the South Pacific.

And it was pretty fascinating to watch, according to the statistics coming out of the Chinese Space Agency, the deterioration of the satellite orbits,

the space lab's orbit, just day after day, how it would go down about five, six kilometers in orbits in altitude each day.

And then of course it is finished, which probably happened during daylight hours in the South Pacific in an unpopulated area. Nobody would have

perhaps seen a possible scattering of fireballs in the sky as this burned up upon entering atmosphere and scattered debris over that area. Andrew?

STEVENS: China has got a pretty ambitious space program. What is the next step for China?

WATSON: Well, I mean, this was the Tiangong-1. It was the Heavenly Palace fell out of the heavens, but there is another Tiangong-2 that was launched

in 2016. Some of the controversy around the first one is that China lost touch with the Tiangong-1 in 2016, but then, Andrew, they waited about 14

months to inform the rest of the world via the United Nations that this had happened and it did not exactly say how they had lost contact with that.

That said, China does have very ambitious plans. They are planning on trying to get a manned space station in operation by 2022, 2023. They also

say that they are going to try to get a man on the moon. A Rover on Mars. So, yes, there has been a setback year. This has been embarrassing, but

they do have very ambitious plans.

And it is worth also noting, Andrew, that this is not the first time that a space lab has descended out of control. It happened famously in 1979 with

NASA's Skylab. It came down uncontrolled descent. There was a lot of fear at the time and some of that space station actually landed in your native

Australia, in Western Australia. And NASA was subsequently fined $400 for littering.

(LAUGHTER)

STEVENS: Brilliance. I do remember that.

[08:39:58] There was genuine concern to whereabouts of the (INAUDIBLE) Skylab. (INAUDIBLE) 400 bucks. What is that worth in today's currency, I

wonder. Ivan, thank you so much.

(LAUGHTER)

STEVENS: Now, new controversy in the White House bets. This time, nothing is at stake. It's all about the guy's new facial hair. Jeanne Moos has

more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The man President Trump wants as his national security adviser must be pretty secure to step

on the world stage knowing the first thing people will meet is his mustache.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice over): This is John Bolton, by the way. Mustaches don't always tell you everything you need to know about a person, but this

one does.

(LAUGHTER)

MOOS (voice over): He must be resigned to being portrayed heading to the White House for his first briefing as Yosemite Sam. He is not just depicted

a loose cannon, but one with a mustache. Already the president's hair has been affixed to Bolton's upper lip.

TREVOR NOAH, HOST, COMEDY CENTRAL: If Bolton looks familiar to you, it may be because he's been on the Captain Crunch box for over 40 years.

(LAUGHTER)

MOOS (voice over): If you believe the reporting in "Fire and Fury," one of President Trump's issues with Bolton initially --

MAGGIE HABERMAN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Was his mustache. I mean that was the singular focus of derision.

MOOS (voice over): Steve Bannon is quoted as saying Bolton's mustache is a problem. Trump doesn't think he looks the part. But more than a year later,

the president got over it and comedians can't get enough of it.

STEPHEN COLBERT, HOST, CBS: And Ambassador Bolton --

MOOS (voice over): When Dana Carvey joined Stephen Colbert, the gave his mustache a name.

COLBERT: I'm sorry, who's General Snowball?

DANA CARVEY, COMEDIAN: That's the name of my mustache.

(LAUGHTER)

MOOS (voice over): Carvey kept making weird noises and his mustache kept growing.

CARVEY: Easy, fella. No, boy, Stephen friend, Stephen small little feminine man.

(LAUGHTER)

MOOS (voice over): Carvey called his mustache a little engorged.

(LAUGHTER)

MOOS (voice over): But don't expect Bolton to capitulate. Back in 2016, he tweeted, I appreciate the grooming advice from the totally unbiased

maintream media, but I will not be shaving my mustache. Of course, that was before he was portrayed breastfeeding a puppy. That's enough to make your

facial hair stand on end.

CARVEY: Come on, nuzzle up sugar buns, here we go.

MOOS (voice over): Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STEVENS: Now, a beloved pet in Japan will continue capturing hearts of travelers for at least another year. Wasao, a famous Akita known for his

ugly but cute looks has been reappointed tourism stationmaster in the country's northeast. It's a post he has held since 2011.

Wasao's duties include welcoming (INAUDIBLE) all passengers as they begin and end their journeys. This year, the job will be a family affair. His

wife will serve as the deputy stationmaster while their daughter has been signed on as a trainee.

That is it for "News Stream." Thanks so much for joining us. I'm Andrew Stevens. Don't go anywhere, "World Sport" with Alex Thomas is just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:45:00] (WORLD SPORT)

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