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U.K.: Russia, And Syria Block Inspectors From Visiting Douma; Macron Says He Convinced Trump To Stay In Syria; Ceasefire Broken In Southern Syria; Comey Slams Trump Presidency In Televised Interview; Trump's Personal Attorney Expected In Court Later Monday; Conflict in Syria; World Headlines; India Rape Case; Massive Bushfire in Australia; Weibo U-Turn On Gay-Themed Content Ban. Aired 8-9a ET
Aired April 16, 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: Access denied, Britain says chemical weapon inspectors are being blocked from the site of a suspected chemic attack in Syria. Out rage in
India, brutal rape cases bring gender and religious divisions out into the open. And morally unfit, former FBI Director James Comey rips into Donald
Trump in a very public way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: And we begin with new developments surrounding the war in Syria. The last couple of hours, the U.K. is accusing Russia and Syria of blocking
a chemical weapons fact-finding team from access to Douma in Syria.
That's where the Assad regime was accused of launching a gas attack earlier this month. Russia intern says it a delay was due to western air strikes
on Syria over the weekend.
The British Prime Minister is expected to address that issue in parliament in a couple of hours. She is also facing a backlash outside of parliament.
A major protest is planned in London later today.
The French parliament is due to debate the matter as well. This after President Macron said he convinced Donald Trump to stay in Syria.
Meanwhile, the U.S. could announce new sanctions against Russia as early as today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NIKKI HALEY, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N.: They will go directly to any sort of companies that are dealing with equipment related to Assad, and
chemical weapons use. And so I think everyone is going to feel it at this point. I think everyone knows that we sent a strong message, and our hope
is that they listen to it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: We are covering all sides of this story. We have correspondents in Syria itself as well as Moscow, Jordan, Gaziantep, Paris, and London.
U.K. officials say even though chemical weapons investigators have arrived in Damascus, Russian and Syrian officials are blocking their access to
Douma.
Now CNN's Nick Paton Walsh has more on that for us. He joins us now live inside Syria. And, Nick, what's the latest you're hearing from the OPCW?
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's important to point out exactly how this delay around OPCW inspectors getting to Douma seems to come
around. And we have a tweet from the U.K. mission to the OPCW, which refers to have their right at the OPWS inspector on Saturday.
It says Russia and Syria not yet allowed access to Douma. And such an access is essential, Russia and Syria must cooperate. They are keen to put
Russia's ahead of the Syrian regime.
Now the differing explanations seem to account from one on this side -- of the U.K. side suggesting that there's something deliberately done by the
regime. But the Russians explain that's being down to the U.N.'s own security team, determining that the air was not yet safe for the OPCW to go
into.
Now we have not heard from the OPCW to clarify where they are on this. But they may have an issue and no comment, when it comes to being caught
between two sides of this.
But interestingly enough, it appears that international journalists have been taken to the sites of those alleged attacks last week, and during the
last 24 hours or so. So, confliction there I am sure.
And, of course, great suspicion as to exactly what has happened in the last week on those chemical sides in order to potentially impede or spoil the
work of inspectors.
Remember, this is important because we are still yet to get real clarity as to what the substance was that was used last weekend. Aide workers smelled
chlorine, but those viewing the footage of the victims during the video there showing muscle spasms that suggest in their eyes the idea of nerve
agent being used.
We have simply heard that from the U.S., U.K., and France that they believe it to be a chemical weapon. As U.S. officials have gone further, I think,
Sarin like substance maybe involved. The OPCW can provide the determination on that.
And that would of course marked the new red line you might say as to when military intervention will possibly come into play. Nikki Haley, the U.S.
envoy to the U.N. in a colorful phrase, the U.S. is locked and loaded to respond again in the event that this happens.
But a very busy day, varying reaction to what's being happening, and clearly Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is again doing his best to suggest
like taken this very much in the stride. Indeed, the strikes against Syrian regime were extraordinarily targeted to three facilities.
The U.S. says that's hit the heart of their chemical weapons program. We'll never really know I think until we see whether or not the regime uses
chemical weapons again, as to whether or not there was damage to their program, or the message to not use these weapons again was in fact
delivered.
But in a broader strategic sense, Moscow and Tehran surely can't be happy with their current state, Damascus, for fast what they had to go through
the last 10 days, a fast, I should say is probably too small a word for a chemical weapons event which killed over 40 people.
[08:05:07] But we are of course looking now at how Russian and Iranian assistance to the Syrian regime caused so many of the military goals to be
realized around Damascus without much international community attention at all.
Chemical weapons brought that, and brought concerted air strikes from three separate allies. And has now focused attention on Donald Trump, and many
are asking, what is your Syria policy? Well, he said he wants to get out as fast as he can, but they appear to be doing more and more day by day.
Kristie.
LU STOUT: Various reactions from various stake holders as we await clarity from the OPCW. Nick Paton Walsh reporting live for us from inside Syria.
Nick, thank you.
Now beyond Syria, our correspondents are monitoring the global players in this conflict. Nic Robertson is in Moscow. Atika Shubert is at the Elysee
Palace in Paris.
But first, let's go to Erin McLaughlin who is in Westminster. And she joins us now. And, Erin, how is Prime Minister Theresa May presenting her
case about why these strikes are in the interest of the U.K.?
ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, she expected to argue to parliament that this was in Britain's national interest, that according to
excerpts released by Downing Street of that statement expected to be delivered in a couple of hours time, she's expected to argue that it was
necessary to prevent further humanitarian crisis.
Also to stop the normalization of the use of chemical weapons, drawing a correlation between what happened in Syria, and what happened in Salisbury.
She is also expected to point to the broad international support, most recently coming from the E.U. today in the form of a statement in favor of
the action taken over the weekend, and her cabinet so far vocally supporting her. Take a listen to what British Foreign Secretary Boris
Johnson had to say earlier today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY: It was the world saying that we've had enough of the use of chemical weapons. The erosion of that taboo
that has been placed for 100 years has gone too far under Bashar al-Assad, and it was time that we said no, and it was totally therefore the right
thing to do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCLAUGHLIN: Now, once the Prime Minister has made her statement to parliament, that is expected to be followed by a debate. We expect to hear
from members of the opposition who are absolutely furious at her decision not to recall parliament, to consider a vote prior to those air strikes
happening.
We've heard from Jeremy Corbyn question the legality of the air strikes. He is also pushing his own legislation that would make it a legal
requirement for a government to consult parliament prior to any military action.
So we expect a heated debate later today. It is unclear at this point whether or not they'll be some sort of vote at the end of that debate,
something that's likely to make Theresa May, and her government nervous considering that she is operating with a minority government, and at no
time in recent history has the parliament ever voted in favor of air strikes, or any sort of military action against Assad.
LU STOUT: She has a minority government, public opinion is divided, very challenging time for Prime Minister May. Erin McLaughlin reporting live
from London, thank you.
Now let's go to Atika Shubert who is standing by in Paris. And, Atika, President Emmanuel Macron says he convinced Donald Trump to stay in Syria.
The White House says not quite, the U.S. mission hasn't changed. So what's going on here?
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. This came out in a live interview that President Macron did last night. And he didn't just say that.
He also said that when President Trump was in the midst of the his Twitter tirade a week ago, where he warned Russia to get ready for Syrian strikes,
President Macron said that he convinced President Trump to keep the strikes limited to chemical weapon sites.
Now, what happened in that conversation, who influenced what decision, frankly, we won't know. It's between those two leaders. But what we do
know is that both presidents have become increasingly close, making regular calls.
And of course, President Macron will be visiting the white House next week. So, we do expect, however, that we might get some more clarity today.
There will be a press briefing here at the Elysee Palace with President Macron, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Canada, of course, didn't participate in the strikes, but they did get advance warning of this military action, and Prime Minister Trudeau himself
personally voiced support for the strikes. So we're hoping to get more word on what they say, and we'll come back to you when we have that.
LU STOUT: Atika Shubert reporting live for us in Elysee Palace in Paris, thank you. Now let's bring up Nic Robertson, who is standing by for us in
Moscow. And, Nic, we know that Washington plans to impose new sanctions on Moscow today. What impact would they have on Russia?
[08:10:00] NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's not clear because these sanctions are designed to impede Russia's support of President Bashar al-
Assad by targeting companies that do business, supporting, you know, with Assad, supporting his military infrastructure there.
This could be helicopters, helicopters, and helicopter parts. It could be a little more broad, and target banks that are also involved in those
transactions.
That may have a knock on effect. Certainly these sanctions will be designed to have a tough impact, and Russia is still reeling from sanctions
that the United States imposed just over a week ago, knocked several percentage points off the value of the Russian ruble compared to the dollar
and the Euro.
It hasn't -- the ruble hasn't bounced back from that. It targeted -- those sanctions targeted seven oligarchs believed to be close to the regime, and
targeted 14 different companies, and 17 different government officials.
One of those oligarchs targeted in this, Oleg Deripaska, has large financial interests in aluminum, global companies involved in the sale of
his products. He sought several billions of dollars knocked off the value of his companies as a result.
There's no doubt that the sanctions could have a -- could have a significant impact. The ones that have really been placed have, what
further damage could they do, it's not clear.
But we also know that the Russian government today is debating what countersanctions it might put on United States in light of those sanctions
just over a week ago.
And those include on aircraft parts, on rocket parts, on cooperation in the nuclear industry, and cooperation in the aerospace industry, looking at
agriculture, and looking at alcohol, looking at pharmaceutical products.
But there are areas where, you know, Russia won't want to -- won't want to ramp up its own sanctions because it won't want to damage its own business.
Yet, they could be, serious effects, for example, they could target titanium.
Boeing uses a large number of titanium parts sourced from Russia. So they could impact there. Russia also sells enriched uranium to the United
States energy suppliers, the power grid in the United States.
So that could also have, you know, an impact on the U.S. So, as sanctions are considered on both side, both sides have to consider the mark on effect
on themselves.
But there's no doubt that Russia is very aware that sanctions coming from the United States could have troubling economic consequences, although
until now, Russian government says they can support those businesses and people that are being affected.
LU STOUT: Nic Robertson live in Moscow on how Russia could strike back. Nic, thank you. Now Syrians still living under rebel control, they are
nervously looking to the future after Saturday's missile strikes.
The Assad regime appears to have turned its attention to the birthplace, to the popular revolt in the south, where the sounds of explosions have
returned to the rebel-held city of Daraa. Jomana Karadsheh has this is exclusive report from the city near Syria's border with Jordan.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: After months of relative calm on the southern front, this. Air strikes and shelling reported in Daraa province,
despite a U.S.-Russia (ph) brokered cease fire last summer.
And with the regime backed by its allies on the ground and in sky, capturing more territory from the opposition, some feel it's a matter of
time before an offensive to reclaim the south, the birthplace of the Syrian revolution.
There seems to be a strange sense of normalcy on the streets of the city. But almost everyone interviewed fears what might be coming. "We expect an
attack on Daraa any minute. We're worried about women and children from Russian air strikes", this woman says.
"We're afraid of the attack on us because the Russian strikes will spare no human, nor stone, and they'll use all weapons on us", this Daraa resident
says.
Before the truce like other parts of Syria, Daraa was hard hit, leaving much of the city, and the province divided between the regime, and the
opposition.
Civilians like car mechanic Rifaat al-Nasser were displaced by the fighting. He says recent strikes were near his home, leaving him no
choice, but to flee once again. Now, he's a squatter in a town close to the Jordanian border, but al-Nasser says nowhere is safe.
RIFAAT AL-NASSER, INFORMALLY DISPLACED SYRIAN (through a translator): I am worried for myself, for my children. I am afraid that what happened in
Ghouta could happen here. This regime can do anything. They don't care. They use chemicals, throw us bombs, and phosphorus (ph).
KARADSHEH: The Syrian government has repeatedly denied the use of chemical weapons.
[08:15:00] Rebel commanders from the Free Syrian Army once receiving what they described as insufficient support from the U.S. and other allies, now
say the international community has left them to face Russia, and Iran alone.
NASEEM ABU A'ARA, FREE SYRIAN ARMY COMMANDER (through a translator): We have prepared ourselves for what is coming. The days ahead will have many
surprises, so we must be ready to overcome this phase.
We have taken several measures, military, social, inspecting front lines, and meeting with the people to reassure them that everything is good, and
we are ready to face the worst-case scenario.
KARADSHEH: Any attempts to change the status quo here bringing Iranian forces closer to a border shared with Jordan and Israel could mean the
start of yet another complicated chapter in this seemingly endless war. Jomana Karadsheh, CNN, Aman.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: Declared morally unfit to be President. Former FBI Director James Comey says President Donald Trump does not belong in the White House.
And more bad news for Mr. Trump as U.S. President's personal attorney heads to court.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LU STOUT: Zooming into Hong Kong, coming to you live from the territory, welcome back. You're watching News Stream. Now, in his first televised
interview since being fired, James Comey didn't mince words from describing Donald Trump, and his presidency.
The former FBI Director's blistering assessment included calling Mr. Trump morally unfit for the office. Kaitlan Collins has more on what has become
a feud of epic proportions.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAMES COMEY, FORMER FBI DIRECTOR: I don't think he's medically unfit to be president. I think he's morally unfit to be president.
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fired FBI Director James Comey unleashing a scathing criticism of President Trump's character, blasting
him as unfit for office, and a stain on those around him.
COMEY: The person who sees moral equivalence in Charlottesville, who talks about and treats women like they're pieces of meat, who lies constantly
about matters big and small, and insist the American people believe it, that person is not fit to be President of the United States on moral
grounds.
COLLINS: In his first televised interview since the President fired him last May, Comey reveals he thinks the President might be vulnerable to
Russian blackmail.
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, ABC NEWS: Do you think the Russians have something on Donald Trump?
COMEY: It always struck me, and still strikes me as unlikely. And I would have been able to say with high confidence about any other president I
dealt with, but I can't. It's possible.
COLLINS: Comey reflecting on the February meeting when he says President Trump asked him to drop the investigation into his former National Security
Adviser, Michael Flynn.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Should you have said, Mr. President, I can't discuss this. You're doing something improper.
[08:20:00] COMEY: Maybe. Although if he didn't know he was doing something improper, why did he kick out the attorney general, and the vice
president of the United States, and the leaders of the intelligence community? And why am I alone if he doesn't know the nature of the
request?
COLLINS: Trump denies he made the request. But Comey believes it bears weight in Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Was President Trump obstructing justice?
MUELLER: Possibly. There's certainly some evidence of obstruction of justice.
STEPHANOPOULOS: What would it mean if President Trump tries to fire Robert Mueller?
MUELLER: It would, I hope, set off alarm bells that this is his most serious attack yet on the rule of law.
COLLINS: But when asked whether Mr. Trump should be impeached...
COMEY: I hope not. Because I think impeaching and removing Donald Trump from office would let the American people off the hook. People in this
country need to stand up, and go to the voting booth, and vote their values. And so impeachment, in a way, would short-circuit that.
COLLINS: Comey comparing the President's behavior to that of a mob boss, saying he repeatedly demanded loyalty, most notably at a one-on-one dinner.
COMEY: He said, I expect loyalty. I need loyalty. And I just stared at him. And had this little narrative with myself, inside, saying, don't you
move. don't you dare move. Don't even blink.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Why not say, no?
COMEY: I think because I was caught totally by surprise.
COLLINS: Trump denies he ever said that. Comey says President Trump dominated the conversation, talking about himself the whole time.
COMEY: A constant series of assertions about the inauguration crowd. His inauguration crowd was bigger than Barack Obama's first inauguration.
That's just not true. That's not a perspective. That's not a view. That's just a lie.
STEPHANOPOULOS: So when you're listening, are you thinking, President Trump is a liar?
COMEY: Yes. Yes.
COLLINS: Comey recalling his infamous handshake from Trump in the White House shortly after the inauguration. He says even his family knew how
uncomfortable he was.
COMEY: They know that's my oh, no face.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Well, that's not exactly what Patrice said, is it?
COMEY: Well, I don't want to say it on television. She said, that's Jim's, oh (Bleep) face?
COLLINS: Comey revealing how it felt when he discovered he'd been fired.
COMEY: I don't remember being angry. I thought it was crazy to fire me. I'm leading the investigation of Russian influence into particularly
whether anyone in the Trump orbit had coordinated and conspired with the Russians. That makes no sense at all.
COLLINS: Comey also reflecting on his controversial decision to inform Congress that he was reopening the Hillary Clinton e-mail investigation
just days before the election.
STEPHANOPOULOS: What do you feel like to be James Comey in the last 10 days of that campaign after you sent the letter?
COMEY: It sucked. I walked around vaguely sick to my stomach, feeling beaten down, thought like I was totally alone, that everybody hated me, and
that there wasn't a way out, because it really was the right thing to do.
COLLINS: But the fired FBI director adamantly defending his handling of the Clinton probe.
STEPHANOPOULOS: If you knew that letter would elect Donald Trump, you'd still send it?
COMEY: I would. Down that path lies the death of the FBI as an independent force in American life. If I ever start considering whose
political fortunes will be affected by a decision, we're done.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Now, Kristie, the President hasn't responded for these latest comments from James Comey. But the White House and the Republican National
Committee have already been working overtime to undermine James Comey's credibility ahead of this interview airing, and ahead of his actual book
release, which isn't supposed to happen until tomorrow.
But the President does have a chance to respond to these comments today when he departs the White House. He's going to South Florida for an event
on tax cuts, but it's hard to see how he doesn't respond to what James Comey, the former FBI director who he fired nearly a year ago just said
about him. Kristie.
LU STOUT: Kaitlan Collins there. Now, it is a case of one headache after the next for the U.S. President because just hours from now, his personal
attorney Michael Cohen is expected to be in court following that raid on his office, home, and hotel.
Now also expected there Stormy Daniels, the adult-film actress who says that she had an affair with the President, and was then paid to keep quiet
about it. Kara Scannell has the details from New York.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Donald Trump's personal attorney Michael Cohen is set to appear in court later today to argue before the judge that
his materials that were seized when the FBI raided his home, hotel room, and office last week should not be reviewed by U.S. investigators.
Cohen's attorneys have argued that prosecutors should not be able to see this information because it's protected by attorney-client privilege, and
they want the opportunity to review it first.
Now, last night President Donald Trump's lawyers weighed in with a letter to the court saying that they think that the President should review the
material to be able to identify anything that he thinks should be protected by his relationship with Michael Cohen.
Now, this isn't the only surprise that we're going to see at the courtroom today with Michael Cohen's appearance, but we're also expecting to see
Stormy Daniels, the adult-film star who alleged to have an affair with President Donald Trump a decade ago.
[08:25:02] Now, Michael Cohen has admitted to paying Stormy Daniels, and the search warrant that the FBI executed last week is specifically looking
for information relating to any efforts to suppress information around the campaign.
Now, Ms. Daniel's appearance is likely more of a spectacle than a legal argument, but it does add to the heightened attention around this hearing
that's expected this afternoon. Michael Cohen was Trump's attorney for 10 years.
It raises the stakes of what exactly is in these documents, and recording, and records that the government seized, and that really upstanding puts
pressure on the White House now because of this close relationship that Trump has had with Michael Cohen for over a decade. Kara Scannell, CNN,
New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: North Korea and China appear to be enjoying warmer, and more frequent relations. North Korean state media report that Kim Jong-un met
with a senior Chinese diplomat, and greeted Chinese art troupe visiting Pyongyang over the weekend.
Kim met with Chinese President Xi during that surprise visit at China just last month. Thousands of people are taking to the streets in India over a
string of brutal rapes, and murders. Just ahead, how the crimes have exposed political, and religious divisions, and what the government plans
to do about it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LU STOUT: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. You're watching News Stream, and these are world headlines.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: Former FBI Director James Comey has stepped up his scathing criticism of U.S. President Donald Trump. In his first T.V. interview
since being fired, Comey describes Mr. Trump as morally unfit for the presidency.
The U.K. accuses Russia and Syria of blocking the organization from the prohibition of chemical weapons from access to Douma in Syria. That is
where the Assad regime was accused of launching a gas attack earlier this month.
The attack was sided by the U.S., U.K., and France as the basis for air strikes, and regime targets in Syria on Saturday. Russia in turn says
those strikes caused the delay for the OPCW.
The U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley says new U.S. sanctions against Russia could come as early as later today. She is
pushing back against critics who say Saturday's strikes in Syria did not go far enough, and she insists the new sanctions will cause Russia more pain.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: There is another deeply troubling sight to the conflict in Syria, it is a story share by the millions of Syrians torn from their
homes, torn from their families, and have been living as refugees.
Arwa Damon is in Gaziantep in Turkey with more of the human impact of the recent action in Syria.
[08:30:00] She joins us now. Arwa, a question now about the refugee crisis and what could happen next. You have al-Assad brushing off this allied
strike. He could very well pound harder on rebel-held areas in Syria. Could this all spark another refugee exodus?
ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, that actually is the concern, Kristie, among those that have been internally displaced
within their own country and they are living right now in rebel-held areas, that the regime is then going to really set its sights on areas like Idlib
Province or the Aleppo countryside that are the largest swaths of land that are currently under rebel and opposition control.
Over the weekend, we were at a refugee camp that was set up and is being funded by Turkey. This was a camp that was specifically set up, one of two,
to receive those who have been evacuated from Douma shortly after that alleged chemical strike took place.
The stories they tell us, it just really makes your skin crawl. We spoke to one family. The mother, Omnur (ph), was saying that they had spent about
four months living underground due to the ongoing bombardment, that things like feeling the skin -- the sun on their skin had become a luxury.
When the chemical strike took place, she said that she lost all control over her body and then she said that she tried to grab both of her
daughters, two 7-year-old twins, and dragged them upstairs but she had to claw her way up the stairs. When she got to the top, she described how they
were beginning to feel the impact of airstrikes and other artillery.
The adults really struggle to put the extent of their trauma and their fear into words and it's something that is perhaps best described in the actions
of the children. One of her twin daughters as they were packing up to be evacuated put her little blond doll inside a small cardboard box and was
speaking to the doll, telling it, look, you might have trouble breathing in here, but at least you'll be safe from the bombing.
A lot of the people we were talking to inside this camp were wondering if the U.S., U.K. and France had any sort of plan in place to prevent not just
chemical strikes from taking place but other strikes. Any plan in place to try to protect them in these various areas because they do feel very
vulnerable and they do feel as if there really is no one, nothing that can keep them safe.
LU STOUT: These families are victims of this conflict that is such a complicated battlefield involving so many players. Arwa Damon, reporting
live for us from (INAUDIBLE). We thank you for your reporting and take care.
A string of brutal rape cases in India have shocked the public. They have grabbed headlines and exposed the divisions that continue to haunt modern
day India. Now cases re-emerged of an 8-year-old girl who is said to have been gang-raped and murdered. Now last week, lawyers and activists, they
tried to forcibly block investigators from filing chargers against the men in this case.
Then a second arrest was made in the alleged rape of a teenager by a ruling party politician in the state of Uttar Pradesh. These are the scenes, angry
scenes from Sunday, people advocating for women's rights. They're speaking out against corruption, making it known that silence is no longer an
option.
The case of the 8-year-old girl that happened in India-controlled Kashmir in January, she belonged to the Bakrwal, a Muslim nomadic community. Police
say the girl was grazing horses in the meadow when she was taken. They say she was held captive in a Hindu temple, drugged, raped, and beaten.
Police found her lifeless body in a nearby forest. Eight men, all Hindu, have been arrested. Some protesters backed by Hindu nationalist group have
gathered and supported the accused, alleging religious discrimination. These protests are reminiscent of what happened in 2012 when a college
student was raped and murdered.
Joining me now to just unpack this very complicated story here is our New Delhi bureau chief Nikhil Kumar. Nikhil, this horrific crime involving this
8-year-old girl sparked protests across India. And this is about sexual violence as well as party politics?
NIKHIL KUMAR, CNN NEW DELHI BUREAU CHIEF: That's right, Kristie. This is, as you say, you know, this absolutely horrific case happened in the state
of Jammu and Kashmir has sparked -- has of course sparked once again concern about India's problem when it comes to violence against women.
You mentioned the rape case in 2012, which took place here in Delhi. That awful atrocity which put out thousands of people on the streets generated
national attention, international headlines, and laws were tightened in the aftermath of that. And promises were made by the authorities that they will
do more to stop cases like this ever occurring again.
And so one of the questions that a lot of protesters who have been out there have been asking as well, how is this happening again in today's
India? The party politics angle, you mentioned the 8-year-old girl who was brutally raped and murdered in Jammu and Kashmir, she belonged to a Muslim
nomadic community.
[08:35:01] Those accused the Hindus. And what shocked the country is that a group of right-wing Hindu nationalists has stood up over there to -- on
the side of the accused, alleging bias on the side of the investigators.
And then in Uttar Pradesh, the ruling party -- there's a ruling party lawmaker accused of raping this 16-year-old girl. It took place last year.
He was only arrested last week after public outrage grew and the government came under pressure.
And so the two issues, the concern about sexual violence and the concern about the influence of Hindu nationalists and how India's secular fabric is
changing and what impact that is having, those two have come together over the last few days and weeks. Kristie?
LU STOUT: Yes, there is outrage across the country because of the brutality of these cases. And also question about the sheer numbers. On
average, more than 100 rape cases are reported every day in India. I mean, it seems sexual violence and rape is such a serious, widespread problem
there. Why?
KUMAR: Well, you know, again that's a question that is being asked on the airwaves and the newspapers in the protests when people go out to -- as
people have been going out, as you said, yesterday and in the days prior to that.
And everyone has been asking, well, how is it that more than five years after horrific Delhi case, this is still happening? Now, back then, as I
mentioned earlier, laws were tighten. And there are some people this time who have been saying that well, they need to be tightened even further.
The answer to that from many of the protesters is that this is really -- what's needed is greater enforcement. You know, we need to implement these
laws better to make sure that this does not happen. Both of these cases that we're talking about right now, the one in Jammu and Kishmer was in
January, the other one as I mentioned is from last year.
And so people are saying, well, how is it taking so long to prosecute, to bring justice? And how is it that this keeps happening again and again no
matter how tight the laws are made? Kristie?
LU STOUT: Nikhil Kumar, we thank you for your reporting.
Now, police are looking into whether arson caused a massive bushfire near the suburbs of Sydney, Australia. The blaze has burned nearly 3,000
hectares. The firefighters are starting to get the fire under control by lighting backfires.
Fire investigators say it is miraculous that no one has been hurt. No buildings have been burned. People are being asked to remain vigilant as
unseasonably warm fall weather and strong winds could fan these flames.
Now, China's LGBT community, they are celebrating a rare victory. One of the country's biggest social media firms has made a major u-turn. We'll
tell you more, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LU STOUT: Coming to you live from Hong Kong, welcome back. This is "News Stream." Now, China's LGBT community is celebrating a shocking u-turn by
one of the country's biggest social media firms, Weibo.
Now, if the first announcement was surprising, the followup was even more so. Matt Rivers has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATT RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, this was a big reversal for one of China's largest social media companies and a rare
victory for China's LGBT community and its supporters.
[08:40:00] Sina Weibo, which is often referred to here as China's version of Twitter and has around 400 million active users, had vowed just last
Friday to remove all, quote, gay-themed cartoons and videos from the micro blogging service.
They also pledged to remove pornographic and violent material to comply with Chinese laws and regulations. But activists and ordinary people alike
were furious and they went online to express outrage over the fact that those three topics were combined into the same category.
One leading activist that we spoke to said that it made no sense linking homosexuality in China with illegal topics. To be clear, homosexuality is
not illegal in China, but LGBT people face oftentimes discrimination both officially and socially.
A huge amount of people though expressed their anger online about this issue, often by using the hashtag "I am guy" with posts featuring the
rainbow flag, gay couples posting pictures of themselves, and posts of people standing with their gay family members.
It's hard to tell exactly how many posts were made using that hashtag but the creator of the hashtag who actually started it around seven years ago
said that posts containing that hashtag were seen hundreds of millions of times in a matter of just 48 hours.
Now in announcing their reversal, Sina Weibo said that they would stop their censorship of this topic and thank users for their discussions and
suggestions. Their crackdown came though came amidst a flurry of government-led online censorship recently which has seen, for example,
leading (ph) feminist voices, hip-hop music and even quote, vulgar jokes, be scrubbed from the Chinese internet under President Xi Jinping.
Online censorship has done nothing but gotten more and more strict. And major western social media sites, think Facebook, think Google, are still
blocked here, which is what makes this reversal such a rare coup for this small but increasingly vocal LGBT community.
Now as for the official government response, there was a commentary by the People's Daily, a newspaper here run by the government that was released on
Sunday, that reaffirmed the importance of nondiscrimination but also highlighted the necessity to ban all pornographic and violent content
regardless of sexuality.
So, quote, homosexuals are also ordinary citizens. The commentary read, while they advocate for their rights, they must also bear the social
responsibilities.
Matt Rivers, CNN, Beijing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: And that is "News Stream." I'm Kristie Lu Stout. Don't go anywhere. "World Sport" with Alex Thomas is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:45:00] (WORLD SPORT)
END
