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NEWS STREAM

Former South Korean President Sentenced To 24 Years; Jacob Zuma To Appeal Corruption Charges; Judge Orders Ex-Brazillian President Lula Da Silva Arrested; World Headlines; Park Sentencing; U.S. Economy; Trump Administration Sanctions Russian Oligarch; Bollywood Superstar To Remain In Jail; Philippines Shuts Down 'Cesspool' Holiday Island; Isao Takahata Dies. Aired 8-9a ET

Aired April 06, 2018 - 08:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


[08:00:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBYN CURNOW, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Robyn Curnow in New York. Thank you so much for joining me, and welcome to News Stream.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CURNOW: Guilty on multiple counts, former South Korean President Park Geun-hye received a lengthy prison sentence. But the switch is bigger,

Washington escalate the trade threats with China by $100 billion. And pushing for bail, Bollywood Star Salman Khan spends at least another night

in jail.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CURNOW: And what a fall from grace. The dramatic downfall of South Korea's first female President has ended in a 24 year prison sentence. But

Park Geun-hye was not in court earlier today to face the music of actually hearing her guilty verdict.

The court convicted her of abuse of power, bribery, and coercion in addition to the stiff prison sentence, the judge also imposed a

multibillion -- multimillion dollar fine.

CNN's Paula Hancocks joins us now in Seoul. The fine, millions or billions, I suppose it doesn't matter. It's this extraordinary length of

time in jail. What's the reaction? What a fall from grace as I have said.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Robyn. Yes, a disgraced president. They were tears though outside that court case -- that court

room. There were a number of protesters who were pro-Park Geun-hye.

They still maintain her innocence. So a few hundred did -- were particularly vocal, and it showed a disapproval of the judge's decision.

Now prosecutors had asked the 30 years for the former president.

They -- the judges agreed to 24 years. But this isn't the end of it. This is really just the beginning of her potential lengthy appeals process. It

can go to the High Court if Park decides to appeal, which I think most people assume she will.

And then it could also go to the Supreme Court as well. But it certainly does bring to a close this year long trial, which the country has been

watching with much interest. It has repolarized this country, this massive corruption scandal.

CURNOW: And, Paula, just remind me, what exactly has she been found guilty? I mean, abuse of power, bribery, and coercion related to what?

HANCOCKS: The basic problem was -- for most people, is she had a confidant called Choi Soon-sil, who was non-elected. She was a woman that very few

in the public knew about, and she has undue influence over the President.

Now Choi Soon-sil is currently serving a 20 year prison sentence for bribery and coercion, and there was a very unhealthy connection, should we

say, between government and big business.

The former President aids accused of the extorting money from some of these big businesses like Samsung for example, and using them for their own uses.

Now we know also that the heir (ph) to power to Samsung, he was found guilty, and he had a five-year prison sentence. But just in February, that

was actually reduced and commuted. He's free at this point.

But certainly, this is a very wide-ranging and far-reaching case, and people here in South Korea, the majority of them really wanted to see

justice done because they felt that it was long enough that their country had this corruption -- this taint of corruption between government and

business.

CURNOW: Paula Hancocks in Seoul, thanks so much. And now to South Africa, and another political scandal, the state says it is ready to prosecute

former President Jacob Zuma on corruption charges over $1 billion arms deal.

He made a court appearance today, a little bit earlier. Zuma faces corruption, money laundering, and fraud charges. The 75-year-olds resigned

just a few weeks ago. There he is in court thanking his supporters.

He certainly was all smiles as he left that hearing. David McKenzie there, watching all of this for us. Hi, David, what can you tell us? What came

out in court today?

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Robyn. Yes, he was all smiles, but charges are very serious. He could spend many years in jail if he is

convicted. But this was just another step in this vehicle drama that has been unfolding for many now, Robyn.

He had thousands of supporters, many of them wearing the ruling ANC color, even though they were asked not to. And what a U-Turn, Robyn, you know,

just a few weeks ago, we were talking about Jacob Zuma as the president of this country, who were then forced to resign by his party.

[08:05:07] Pretty quickly after that, the charges against him were reinstated for corruption, racketeering, and money laundering. And then

here he was, in court, as an ordinary citizen.

He looked quite lonely in a way, by himself there in the dark with his small group of support behind him, and then obviously the thousands on the

street behind me.

But those thousands, Robyn, don't necessary represent a viewpoint of average of South Africans. This is the stronghold of Jacob Zuma. We spoke

to some in Johannesburg, and they have a very different view. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He has gotten a lot -- gotten away with a lot, and it's quite ridiculous to say the least.

MCKENZIE: So he should have his time in court?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. And we should see our justice system at work.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I think he should go to court and in the know it and (Inaudible), everything he said then.

MCKENZIE: Do you think that he is guilty of any crimes?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I think he is guilty.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCKENZIE: Well, Robyn, this was a procedural matter. He was summoned to hear the charges. They have delayed the court proceedings to the beginning

of June.

And his defense, Robyn, says that they will try and overturn or review the actual prosecution charges against him. Ironically saying that just

because politics that they are charging him when many said it what politics that meant to drop the charges all those years ago, Robyn.

CURNOW: Yes. I mean, I remember reporting on this arms deal. It was a long time ago. I think even before I started working at CNN. So this is

stock all the way through his presidency as well. Why is it at this stage now? Why is the resurrection, and is there any change that someone like

Mr. Zuma could go to jail?

MCKENZIE: Yes, they were the times, but even if the wheels of justice knew that their regular (Inaudible) South Africa, Robyn, it could be years

before he is actually put in a cell if he is found guilty. Now just to get to the trial, it is going to be a whole lot of machinations before that

point.

One advocate I spoke to had called this the Stalingrad approach by his defense team. They are very experience advocates. They viewed every

possible legal maneuver to keep him out of court's trial.

And now Zuma himself says he wanted in court, but when we saw him coming, we -- I asked him, you know, are you afraid of being convicted, he just

kind of chuckled and laugh with his fanning of security around him. He then went on to the stage and spoke to us thousands, and called the charges

against him political.

So, this issue of Zuma and his political -- his future, and his freedom, but it is really about also the politics of this country, and will he

destabilize the ruling ANC by throwing in this political charge in what is quite a sensitive time politically in South Africa. Robyn.

CURNOW: Yes, elections are coming up. Thanks so much, David McKenzie there (Inaudible). I appreciate it. Now, you might see a scene is

emerging here in Brazil where an ex-president is also in legal hot water.

Former President Lula da Silva has been given only hours to turn himself in or face arrest. He governed Brazil from 2003 to 2011. He was considered a

front runner in election this October, but an arrest warrant was issued after Supreme Court ruled Lula must begin his 12-year sentence for

corruption.

He was convicted last year as part of a wider investigation into state-run oil company Petrobras. He was accused of benefiting from beachfront

property renovation by the construction company OAS.

The charges involved over $1 million in bribes received through the property in return, prosecutors say he helped to build their acquire

contracts from Petrobras. Lula da Silva claims the case was politically motivated.

He hoped to remain free while he continues to appeal the conviction. And now to mounting fears of a possible trade war, the words are certainly

hotting up. China says it doesn't want to fight, but it's ready for one if the U.S. insists some tangoing over trade.

That of course after U.S. President Donald Trump up the ante, threateningly late Thursday to possibly slap tariffs on another $100 billion worth of

Chinese exports.

Beijing warns once again, it won't hesitate to fight back. Andrew Stevens joins me now from Hong Kong. Hi. This is certainly been quite a week.

But let's just start with China's reaction here.

ANDREW STEVENS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, absolutely. The tangoing is certainly intensifying, Robyn. It's interesting. So Donald Trump says

that he wants to see tariffs on another $100 billion worth of Chinese exports coming to the U.S. potentially. China can't respond in kind. It

can respond, but not in time because it doesn't have the same amount of U.S. exports coming into China.

[08:10:04] The total amount of U.S. exports going to China is about 130 billion if we add the one -- the 50 billion, which China has already

promised with another 100 billion, this sure is not enough to go around.

But there are plenty of other nations that China can take. It could go after companies which are trading in China, companies like Apple, companies

like Starbucks, it could hit tourist -- and Chinese tourists from going into the U.S.

So it has plenty of measures. And as you say, Robyn, the Chinese are certainly not backing down from this latest push by Trump. Listen to what

the Foreign Minister had to say today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GAO FENG, SPOKESMAN, CHINESE MINISTRY OF COMMERCE (through a translator): If the United States bends on its acts of unilateralism and trade

protectionism in total disregard of the opposition from China and the international community, China will see it through to the end at any cost.

China is bound to resolutely retaliate by taking new comprehensive countermeasures to defend the interests of the country and people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEVENS: So that is where we are, Robyn. At the moment, this is still talk, the only concrete action has been the tariffs on $3 billion of tit-

for-tat from the U.S. and the Chinese side, but certainly the numbers are ratcheting up with dizzying speed.

CURNOW: Yes, it feels like a game of chicken, doesn't it? Tariff chicken, I don't know. I mean, what a week. We spoke -- we've been speaking about

it yesterday, and every day the ante has been up, and the back and forth is going on. This should take us through quite a crazy week.

STEVENS: Yes. If this is Donald Trump pressing the art the deal, there doesn't simply a lot of art in this, does it? Because it's more like sort

of, you know, who's got the biggest stake and...

(CROSSTALK)

CURNOW: Well, take cover.

STEVENS: The sledgehammer (ph), yes -- increasingly big sledgehammer (ph) there. So let's just take a look at what's been happening this week. It

began when the previous week when the U.S. put tariffs on $3 billion worth of China exports.

On Monday, China responded in kind with $3 billion on -- tariffs on $3 billion worth. The following day, the U.S. came back with tariffs on $50

billion worth.

China responded virtually immediately, just about nine hours later, saying it will come back and do the same thing, and now we have $100 billion.

As it just gets going higher and higher, what's interesting to note -- what's important to note here, as I have said before, it is still talk at

this stage.

And there is also a push back coming from the U.S. side as well, Robyn, because at $100 billion of tariffs on Chinese exports, that is going to hit

a broad wave of consumer goods.

So consumers are effectively going to be paying more in the U.S. for Chinese stuff coming in, and then it's going to hurt the consumers.

They are not going to like that. And Donald Trump has to deal with that. So there is a political angle to this, can Donald Trump bear the political

pain? Indeed, China don't have worry about elections, Donald Trump does.

CURNOW: That is an excellent point. Andrew Stevens in Hong Kong. Happy Friday. Let's see what happens on Monday. So coming up here at CNN,

Israeli defense forces say they're ready to fire live rounds at the border with Gaze if they have to, as Palestinians are calling for a Friday of

fire. We will take you to the border next.

Also, more fallout between Russia and the U.K. over that nerve agent attack in Salisbury. We will bring you the latest as the daughter of the Russian

spy -- ex-spy get up and talking.

[08:15:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CURNOW: It is going to be another bloody weekend. Those were the grim words coming from Israel's former counterterrorism chief. We're hearing

Israeli defense forces are shooting wild rounds of Palestinians along the Gaza border fence.

Officials have repeatedly said, those who do not abide by their rules of engagement will be shot. Well, let's get straight to Ian Lee with more.

Ian, were you are -- what is happening right now?

IAN LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Robyn, right now we are on the Israeli side of this Gaza-Israel border. And we have been monitoring the situation behind

us. This is one of five different locations camps really along the border where Palestinians have been gathering, and protesting.

And today we were expecting to have violence. We just didn't know how severe the violence was going to be, was it going to be like last week, or

was it going to be different.

And let me just step aside so you can see kind of what we've been watching all day. Here you have black smoke, and this is from burning tires for the

Friday of fire.

The Palestinians say they are using the fire from the tires, as well as mirrors to obscure the site of Israeli snipers who were -- who killed about

20 people last week, which was the deadliest week since the 2014 war.

This whole border though, you see this best black smoke billowing up from these different protests camps, at times you see them mixing with teargas,

as well as water cannons to try to put these fires out.

But this week hasn't been as deadly or as bloody really as last week. We're hearing from the Palestinian Ministry of Health about 40 people have

been injured, five of them seriously injured, but still getting quite a number of people out here.

Thousands of people gathered on this boarder, but from what we hearing, it just does have the intensity, not the numbers that came out last week,

Robyn.

CURNOW: And this is not -- this is just the beginning in many ways. These protests are scheduled to go on until May 15th, I think.

LEE: Yes, that's right. And we're going to be watching this closely. You know, last week it was just so intense. There's -- it was so bloody. You

know, you had over 1500 people injured. You compare that to today where so far it's been around 40.

We still got a lot of daylight left, so that number could rise -- expected to rise. But you do have about five weeks left of this. This protest,

it's called the March of Return, where Palestinians say that their goal is to cross over that borders.

So they have five weeks where they say they're going to try to do that. The Israelis for their part though say that this border is a red line.

They will use whatever means necessary to stop people from crossing over. They say that anyone who gets closest taking their own lives in their

hands.

You know, one thing, too, also they're saying is, with this black smoke, with these fires, they're concerned about these tires being rolled to the

border fence and damaging that fence, which could have an opening for people getting through. So you got five weeks of this, a lot could happen,

Robyn.

CURNOW: Yes, certainly. Ian Lee there on the board. Thanks so much for that report. Now Russia and the U.K. are still trading blows over the

nerve agent attack in Salisbury. At a U.N. Security Council meeting, Moscow's Ambassador to the U.N. accused the U.K. of playing with fire.

Meanwhile, Yulia Skripal is talking for the first time since she and her father Sergei were poisoned over a month ago. Let's go straight to Moscow.

Matthew Chance has been watching all of these. Hi there, Matthew.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Robyn. This is another example of Russia absolutely refusing to back down in United Kingdom, also not backing

down on its central allegations that Russia is behind that Skripal poisoning.

Moscow has faced diplomatic isolation of course over this allegation seeing more than 140 of these diplomats expelled from various countries around the

world that has been stepping up its rhetoric, and its angry responses.

All of this coming as you mentioned as one of the victims in that poisoning in Salisbury, Yulia Skripal, the daughter of Sergei Skripal speaks out for

the first time. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHANCE (voice-over): The first statements from Yulia Skripal, now awake after surviving the nerve agent attack meant to kill her and her father,

Sergei, in Salisbury, England, last month.

[08:20:04] "I woke up over a week ago, now I'm glad to say my strength is growing daily," she wrote.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Speaking foreign language).

CHANCE (voice-over): Yulia's cousin claims she recorded this unauthenticated phone call with Skripal on Wednesday, and handed over the

audio to Russian state television.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Speaking foreign language).

CHANCE (voice-over): The call has not been confirmed by CNN, but in it, an update on Yulia's father.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Speaking foreign language).

CHANCE (voice-over): The former Russian spy remains in critical condition as an emboldened Kremlin called a U.N. Security Council meeting rejecting

all blame.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through a translator): Ladies and gentlemen, I don't even know what to say about this. It's some sort of theater of the absurd.

CHANCE (voice-over): Russia's anger has been fueled by the British government's allegation that the weapons grade nerve agent used in the

attack was made in Russia. (Inaudible) has tweeted the same conclusion, but quickly deleted it.

Scientists who examined the nerve agent say they never identified the source. Soon, Russia's Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman took to Facebook, the

U.K. now has its own test tube of shame, she says, liars. Britain stands by its assessment, but British officials say that the allegations were

fabricated, designed to discredit Russia.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through a translator): The so-called Skripal case became a pretext, an imaginary or staged one for a groundless mass

expulsion of Russian diplomats not only from the U.S. and Britain, but also from a number of other states.

CHANCE (voice-over): Foreign Minister spoke as 60 expelled American diplomats departed Moscow, part of a tit-for-tat response by Russia.

As relations between the Kremlin and the West worsen, the Trump administration is also threatening to sanction Russian oligarchs coming to

the U.S. over their involvement in the American presidential election.

As for the Skripals, Russia's ambassador to the U.K. was all smiles today at news of Yulia's survival, even offering an invitation home.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Really happy and I wish you that one day Yulia will come back to Moscow, where she has job.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHANCE: Well, it's not clear how keen Yulia Skripal will be to resume her old life in Moscow. British officials say they've offered her accounts of

the visit by Russian diplomats, but so far, she has not agreed to that.

And so we'll wait and see what happens. In terms of the general relationship between Russia and the West, we're expecting a further

deterioration in the next few minutes in fact.

Because we understand that shortly, the United States that will announce sanctions on individuals from Russia, and other instances as well over it's

-- over the alleged meddling of the -- in the Russian -- sorry, in the U.S. presidential election in 2016, and so we could be seeing a further

spiraling downward of relations between Russia and the West shortly.

CURNOW: Yes, certainly. And we'll talk about that. My show the International Desk, I think is on in about an hour and a half, so we will

chat about that, and add some more details. Matthew, thanks so much on coming from Moscow, appreciate it.

Now, the White House is facing a series of controversies, the U.S. President finally breaking his silence on the Stormy Daniels case, and the

Chief of the Environmental Protection Agency is under fire, but the President stands by him, and saying he is doing a good job.

Now the flurry of damning stories may finally be reaching their breaking points. Abby Phillip is in Washington. Breaking points maybe or maybe

not?

ABBY PHILLIP, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Maybe or maybe not, Robyn. It's very unclear how long this is going to be able to go on. The headline

surrounding Scott Pruitt at the EPA continued day after day, but for now, President Trump is still standing by him. But aids within the White House

are growing increasingly frustrated, and pushing for Pruitt to be out the door.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think that Scott is doing a fantastic job. I think he is a fantastic person.

PHILLIP: President Trump defending scandal-ridden EPA Chief Scott Pruitt, telling reporters that despite a growing list of controversies, he thinks

Pruitt will be fine.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you still have confidence in Scott Pruitt?

TRUMP: I do.

PHILLIP: CNN learned Thursday that multiple senior officials were sidelined or demoted at the agency after raising concerns about Pruitt's

pricey travel, office spending, and management of the agency, allegations an EPA spokesman disputes.

Separately, multiple sources tell CNN that, after Pruitt took over at the EPA, he asked his 24/7 detail chief to use the lights and sirens to avoid

traffic.

[08:25:01] After telling Pruitt no, that agent was reassigned, also under scrutiny, a massive pay hike totaling more than $80,000 for two of Pruitt's

closest aides. The Washington Post reporting that Pruitt endorsed the raises last month, despite having said that he was not aware of the raises

until this week.

ED HENRY, FOX NEWS NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Did you go around the President and the White House to give pay raises to two staffers?

SCOTT PRUITT, ADMINISTRATOR, ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY: I did not. My staff did. And I found out about that yesterday, and I changed it.

PHILLIP: Pruitt also coming under fire for renting a D.C. condo for just $50 a night from a lobbyist who donated money to his past political

campaign. President Trump was asked if he was bothered about these reports.

TRUMP: I have to look at it close. You know, I hear different versions of it. But I'll make that determination.

PHILLIP: Sources close to the President tell CNN that as recently as this week, the President floated the idea of replacing Attorney General Jeff

Sessions with Pruitt.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you thinking about switching him out for attorney general?

TRUMP: No. No. No, Scott is doing a great job where he is.

PHILLIP: This as President Trump breaks his silence on his alleged affair with Stormy Daniels, and the payment to keep her quiet days before the

election.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President, did you know about the $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels?

TRUMP: No. No. What else?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Then why did Michael Cohen make those if there was no truth to her allegations?

TRUMP: Well, you have to ask Michael Cohen. Michael's my attorney, and you'll have to ask Michael Cohen.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you know where he got the money to make that payment?

TRUMP: No, I don't. No.

PHILLIP: Daniels's attorney telling CNN Trump's comments help his case.

MICHAEL AVENATTI, ATTORNEY FOR STORMY DANIELS: You can't have an agreement if one party claims they knew nothing about the -- one of the principle

terms of the agreement. So the President has just shot himself in the foot, thrown his attorney, basically, Michael Cohen, under the bus in the

process.

PHILLIP: The President escaping these controversies at a speech in West Virginia. Mr. Trump literally tossed out his prepared remarks about tax

reform.

TRUMP: That would have been a little boring.

PHILLIP: Choosing instead to resurrect some of the unproven immigration rhetoric he used on the campaign trail.

TRUMP: Everybody said, oh, he was so tough. And I used the word rape. And yes, they came out where this journey coming up, women are raped at

levels that nobody has ever seen before.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TRUMP: Well, in addition to all of this, the President is addressing the issue of tariffs against China. This morning he has tweeted about the

subject.

And also in an interview this morning, he double down on his comments, defending his decisions out to lobbied tariffs on China saying that he has

no choice, and also saying that he expect that even if there is some pain, it will be worth it in the end for the United States, Robyn.

CURNOW: OK. Live there from the White House, thanks so much Abby. So, coming up here at CNN, disgraced South Korean President -- former President

Park Geun-hye is now facing decades in prison.

We'll take a closer look at the verdict, also the significance on that very heavy jail sentence, also coming up, this one, Bollywood superstar in jail

for poaching. We'll find out this weekend if he can be released on bail early.

[08:30:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CURNOW: Welcome back. I'm Robyn Curnow in New York. You're watching "News Stream" and these are your wold headlines at this hour. South Korea's

former president Park Geun-hye has been sentenced to 24 years in prison for abuse of power, bribery, and coercion. Park also fined $17 million. Park

was not in court today but she is expected to appeal.

Former South African president Jacob Zuma has appeared in court as well on corruption charges. The 75-year-old faced 17 counts including money

laundering and fraud. The State said it is ready to prosecute Zuma who is due to be back in court in June.

And China is warning the U.S. it is not afraid of a trade war even though that's not what it wants. That statement came in response to U.S. President

Donald Trump's latest threat to consider additional tariffs on Chinese imports worth up to $100 billion.

Israeli troops are shooting live rounds and using riot dispersal means on Palestinians along the Gaza border fence. Palestinians are holding what

they are calling a Friday of fire as part of six weeks of protest. The burning tires obscured the view of Israel forces. Israeli officials have

been warning the protesters who violate their rules of engagement will be shot.

Let's get back to our top story, the sentencing of former South Korean president Park Geun-hye. Robert Kelly is the associate professor in

political science at Pusan National University. He joins us now from Busan. Good to speak to you, sir. I was speaking to our correspondent a little bit

earlier in the show. I mean this is an astounding fall from grace.

ROBERT KELLY, PROFESSOR IN POLITICAL SCIENCE, PUSAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY: Yes, really is. I mean her father was president as well although he is also

a dictator. But the Park family had dispensed something of a dynasty in South Korea that has been sort of -- one of the reasons she got elected was

sort of nostalgia for her father to begin with.

And so this brings that down. It really does kind of draw a line in the sand, you know, and sort of ends the period of South Korea's rapid

modernization and brings really South Korea to point of being a mature democracy, right, to impeach the president without any violence or chaos or

anything. Constitution get moving along. So you know it is a consolidated democracy now.

CURNOW: I think it is important because there were mass protests. I mean we covered it extensively. This was a lot, the response to people power.

KELLY: You know, that's right. It was really impressive actually. I've been living in South Korea for 10 years. This is probably the most --

probably the best thing I've seen here, because you have all these people on the street. They didn't do anything. They didn't torch cars. There is no

violence. There is no terrorism. They don't have to call the army. Even picked up their trash all over.

(INAUDIBLE) United States, right? And they did. And eventually it was like you said, it was people power and she left and they didn't have to send the

police in to get her. I mean, the entire thing went to the whole impeachment cycle. And it went out basically peacefully. That's really not

-- that's quite rare action of democracy. It's a modern democracy.

CURNOW: You're right. I mean these are some of the images. And it was very powerful as you say. So, is there still an appetite to see her punished

severely? This appears to be part of severe sentence. Do people want this to be followed through?

KELLY: Yes, I don't think so. I think -- I mean if she serves the whole 24 years, she will be 90 when she exits jail. I mean she might die in prison.

I don't think so. My guess is she will serve something like five to 10, and then she will serve (INAUDIBLE) memoirs in effort to sort of resuscitate

herself but I know (INAUDIBLE).

The Park era is over. My sense is that most people think she probably gets what she deserves, serves five or maybe 10 years or something like that.

And she will be forgotten. I actually think this is fading relatively quickly. If you look at the news coming out of South Korea now, it's all

about North Korea and Donald Trump, things like that. I mean this is -- this is moving into the past.

CURNOW: Yes, but she can appeal though. So that might -- you know, linger. Make it linger.

KELLY: Yes, it could drive along. She does have sort of like a diehard continued (ph) on people in the streets and we've seen a lot of those guys

on television (INAUDIBLE) stuff that this was like a North Korean conspiracy and things like that.

There are people who just like refuse to accept the due process around this, but, you know, once the appeal is done, my sense is again this will

sort of fade away. But she will probably win the appeal too. I just can't imagine 24 years. That just seems too (INAUDIBLE).

CURNOW: OK. And broadly though, what does this mean about corruption particularly South Korea and its elite? Is there going to be an impact, a

domino effect, and has this (INAUDIBLE) a lot of other people?

KELLY: Yes. I think this is the big medium-term question out of this, right? The short-term story is that South Korea is now sort of this

constitutional democracy. It properly consolidated an impeachment (INAUDIBLE) great. The next question is (INAUDIBLE) government so this

doesn't happen again.

Every single South Korean president since democracy has actually been indicted or in one way or another wind up in jail or (INAUDIBLE) prosecuted

after they left office.

[08:35:05] It is long overdue for (INAUDIBLE) attack. This in my opinion will require a major separation between the largest corporates here, the

conglomerates here and the State.

This is just something where I am not sure if there is an appetite in South Korean public to do this. The left has taken the presidency which has been

harder on the corporates but did not really move on that much again because things have been taken over by North Korea and Donald Trump.

At some point, you need to see a greater division between the largest conglomerates in Korean State. You cannot avoid this in the future.

CURNOW: You talked about the current administration. Have they said anything? Is there any response to this?

KELLY: Not that I have seen yet. I have been watching the Korean news all day. I haven't really seen but probably in part because they don't really

want to see very much. I mean Park is really obviously down and out.

I think (INAUDIBLE) gloating. To a certain extent President Moon was elected sort of in the ashes of Park's presidency. So I would be really

surprised if there is some kind of statement other than the constitution served properly and we're moving on and something like that. I will be

amazed if there is gloating over this.

CURNOW: OK. Thanks so much. Robert Kelly there. Appreciate it.

KELLY: Thank you for having me.

CURNOW: Now, the U.S. jobs report for March has just been released. The U.S. economy added 103,000 jobs last month. That fell short of the 185,000

jobs economists had expected. The unemployment rate held steady at 4.1 percent. We will of course have much more on all of this on "CNN Money"

that is about in 20 minutes time.

Now the Bollywood superstar Salman Khan is appealing to get out of jail. This weekend, the actor convicted of poaching finds out if he will get his

wish. Details in just a minute.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CURNOW: This just in to CNN. The U.S. Treasury announcing sanctions against several Russian oligarchs tied to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Now it designated seven oligarchs and 12 companies they own or control as well as 17 senior Russian government officials, a state-owned Russian

weapons trading company and its subsidiary, a Russian bank.

The Treasury secretary slammed the Russian government for occupying Crimea, instigating violence in Eastern Ukraine, and supplying the Assad regime

with material and weaponry, and carry out malicious cyber activities. He said Russian elites who profit from these activities will no longer be

insulated from consequences. By the way, one of those oligarchs sanctioned is the husband of Mr. Putin's daughter.

And to India now. Bollywood superstar Salman Khan will have to stay in jail at least another night for poaching. This weekend, the actor finds out if

he can be released on bail while he awaits the court to rule on his appeal. Liz Neisloss in New Delhi has the full story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LIZ NEISLOSS, JOURNALIST: Another night in jail for one of India's most famous actors, Salman Khan. It may seems depriving in a country that is so

star-struck. But a prison official said, this celebrity is not getting VIP treatment. Sleeping on the floor and eating the same basic food as other

prisoners.

Khan has been sentenced to serve five years in prison after being convicted of illegal poaching in a decade-old case. He has long maintained his

innocence. His lawyers hope he will be released on bail and following that can begin an appeal.

[08:40:00] In a country where there are plenty of superstars, Khan is seen as one of the top. His love life has commented fashion, his physique, all

are father for fans and critics alike. He also has huge business. Analysts are estimating with three movies in the pipeline, any prison time could

cost millions of dollars and losses.

This particular case has ran on for nearly 20 years. A long time even for India where cases often take many years. But Khan like many super rich has

an army of lawyers who are able to challenge the case at every step. The superstar was also tried in a 2002 hit-and-run case in Mumbai. This went on

for 15 years until he was acquitted.

Fans gather outside the courthouse holding posters of the superstar. They think the sentence is too harsh. But others say the sentence sends a strong

message, that no one even a Bollywood superstar is above the law.

Liz Neisloss, CNN, New Delhi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CURNOW: Thanks to Liz for that update. To the Philippines now where the once dreamy Boracay island is dealing with a pollution nightmare. Some say

the white sandy beach (INAUDIBLE). Locals are draining waste water and sewage into the sea. It certainly bad news for thousands of tourists and

honeymooners who already booked their flights.

It really is not pleasant starting April 26th. The island has been shut down for six months to clean up. Certainly people are going to have find an

alternative island. The government hopes to have it up and running sooner but there is a lot of work to do.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JONAS LEONES, UNDERSECRETARY, INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS AND FOREIGN-ASSISTED PROGRAMS OF DENR (through translator): Our efforts there will not only

include the upgrading of (INAUDIBLE) and then the restoration of drainage systems, but we are also looking at illegal structures located at forest

lands and wetlands. And we are looking also at improvement of the transport system.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CURNOW: (INAUDIBLE) police and soldiers will man checkpoints to peers to turn the tourists back. That certainly is not going to make for good

holidays now.

Now I finally want to talk about the legacy of Studio Ghibli co-founder Isao Takahata. The Japanese director died Thursday at the age of 82. His

first ever film at the studio, "Grave of the Fireflies" won international acclaimed. It depicted two children struggling to survive in the final

months of World War II.

He continued to win accolades through his work at the studio wit his most recent film, "The Tale of the Princess Kaguya," landing an Oscar nomination

for best animated feature. Fans paid tribute on social media. The director of the film Coco also marked Takahata's influence on western films.

Thanks so much for watching "News Stream." I'm Robyn Curnow. don't go anywhere. "World Sport" with the wonderful Alex Thomas is next. Enjoy.

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[08:45:00] (WORLD SPORT)

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