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World Headlines; Trump White House; Global Domination; Fruity Fiasco; Sajid Javid Appointed British Secretary Home Secretary; How Stricter Policies Affected One Immigrant Life; Group Of Central Americans Hope For Asylum At U.S. Border; Twenty-Nine Killed In Kabul Bombings Including Eight Journalists; South Korea To Dismantle Propaganda Speakers; Pompeo Wraps Up Middle East Tour With Stop In Jordan; U.S.-Jordanian Troops Join Forces For Eager Lion. Aired 8-9a ET
Aired April 30, 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)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong, and welcome to News Stream.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: Devastation in Afghanistan, a double bombing in Kabul reaches new levels of depravity. Managing the fallout, Theresa May appoints a new
home secretary after Amber Rudd resigns over an immigration scandal. And stuck at the Mexican border, migrants searching for refuge in the U.S. wait
for its chance to enter.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: Now on both sides of the Atlantic, immigration taking center stage at the moment. In the U.K., a group of people welcomed legally,
decades ago, more recently made to feel as if their status was at risk.
The fallout has now caused a cabinet member, her post, and in the U.S., and insurgency for dozens of people who has spent a month checking to the U.S.-
Mexico border in search of a better life. This is both the U.S. and U.K. face heated controversy over attempts to restrict immigration to their
countries.
Let's begin in Britain, where communities and local government secretary Sajid Javid has been appointed home secretary in the past few hours. He
replaces Amber Rudd, who stepped down after seeing that she inadvertently misled MPs over targets for removing illegal immigrants.
Her resignation is part of an ongoing controversy over the treatment of Caribbean migrants at the U.K. government invited into the country after
World War II. Javid says in fairness to the Windrush generation is his top priority.
Erin McLaughlin joins me now live in Downing Street in London with more the story. Erin, a new home secretary to replace Amber Rudd has just been
named. Who is he, and how does he changed the political dynamic in Theresa May's cabinet?
ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: As you just said there, Kristie, Sajid Javid made his first statement as the newly appointed British Home
Secretary in that statement saying that his top priority in this role will be treating the Windrush generation with, quote, fairness and decency.
It is worth noting, his background, he is the son of a Pakistani bus driver who moved to the United Kingdom in the 1960s. He told The Daily Telegraph
over the weekend. This is a scandal that's personal for him that really hit home. So his appointment is being seen by some as Theresa May's
attempt to really draw a line underneath this scandal.
But it raises new question about the balance of power within Theresa May's own cabinet. Prior to his appointment, the cabinet was evenly balanced
between pro-E.U. administers, and Brexiteers with Theresa May having the sort of deciding vote if you will. His appointment changes that.
He voted remain, but the fact of the matter is seen as a Brexiteer, a self- described Eurosceptic who has been tweeting, and advocating for the United Kingdom to leave the E.U.'s customs union.
So, this appointment raises new questions about the direction of Brexit going forward, and it really comes at a critical time as Theresa May's
cabinet, as Theresa May is deciding the nature of U.K.'s future relationship with the E.U. Kristie.
LU STOUT: Yes, Erin, this new appointment will affect the future of Brexit negotiations. Let's focus further into the Windrush scandal. Tell us more
about the controversy that led to the downfall of Amber Rudd.
MCLAUGHLIN: Well, you know what's interesting, Amber Rudd did not resign directly as a result of the Windrush scandal. She resigned regarding her
response to a question that was asked of her as that scandal was unfolding with regards to illegal -- the deportation of illegal migrants.
And whether or not she personally set targets for the deportation of illegal migrants, which is separate to the Windrush scandal, because
Windrushers are legal British citizens, but what has been unfolding in terms of home office policy in recent years as they have been going to
these British citizens, and demanding proof of their right to remain here in the U.K.
[08:05:00] And in some cases, cutting their benefits. I spoke to one Windrusher, called Barbara Isaacs (ph). She was telling me she actually
ended up homeless as a result of the home office, and questioning her legal status remain in the U.K. Take a listen to her story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARBARA ISAACS, WINDRUSH IMMIGRANT: We're not wanted here. That's the way they make me feel. I'm not wanted. I'm not valued. I'm not nobody. I
have no identity. As far as they're concerned, I'm an alien.
MCLAUGHLIN: Barbara Isaacs says in 2008, her life forever changed. A mother of six struggling with mental health issues, and living on benefits,
she applied to the British government to renew her welfare, something she received for decades. Only to suddenly be told there was no record she
existed.
ISAACS: How can you throw away a whole generation of people that you invited to come here?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Today is the arrival of more than 400 happy Jamaicans.
MCLAUGHLIN: Barbara is part of what is known as the Windrush generation, a wave of migrants from the Caribbean encouraged to come rebuild the U.K.
after World War II. They were told they could stay for the rest of their lives. Many lived in the U.K. without paperwork.
Decades later, the government would begin to demand documentation to prove their right to stay. Documentation many say, they don't have. To make
matters worse, the British government acknowledges it destroyed thousands of landing cards. As a result, some were threatened with deportation, and
deprived of badly needed benefits.
AMBER RUDD, FORMER BRITISH HOME SECRETARY: I bitterly, deeply regret that I didn't see it as more than individual cases that had gone wrong that
needed addressing. I didn't see it as a systemic issue until very recently.
MCLAUGHLIN: Barbara is one of the lucky ones. She kept her old passport which shows she arrived when she was six. Even so, she had to prove she
had the right to remain in the United Kingdom.
ISAACS: They wanted 42 years' worth of information. They didn't even save their paperwork for 42 years.
MCLAUGHLIN: It took Isaacs three years to come up with the money and the paperwork necessary to apply. In the meantime, she says she lost all
government support.
ISAACS: How can you have lived somewhere all of your life, and 50 years later you're sleeping on the streets, begging people for certain things?
MCLAUGHLIN: You were homeless?
ISAACS: Yes, totally. I was homeless, destitute. It's so degrading. So degrading.
MCLAUGHLIN: Isaacs was granted residency in 2011, the same year she applied. Something the home office appoints to in a statement responding
to CNN's request for comment adding that it's looking into her case, quote, as a matter of urgency.
Even though she once again receives government support, for Isaacs and so many others from the Windrush generation, the damage is deep, and
permanent.
ISAACS: I've cried me a river. And I've almost drowned in it. A part of me has died, completely dead.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MCLAUGHLIN: Now, there is a question of potential readdress for the Windrush, and to grant something that Javid is likely to be looking at in
his new post, but Barbara Isaacs half-jokingly telling me that she wants is a shiny, brand-new British passport out of all of this, as well as a
holiday from Theresa May. Kristie.
LU STOUT: Erin McLaughlin, appreciate your reporting. Erin, reporting life from 10 Downing Street there. Well, right now, dozens of migrants
fleeing violence and poverty in Central America are seeking asylum at the U.S. border.
That, despite warnings from U.S. customs, and border protection at the port of entry has reached capacity. President Donald Trump says that he told us
Homeland Security Secretary not to let them into the country.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Are you watching that mess that is going on right now with the caravan coming up? Are you watching
this? And our laws are so weak, they're so pathetic.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: Leyla Santiago is in Tijuana, Mexico, and she joins is now live. Leyla, you have been following this caravan for quite some time after this
grueling month-long journey, it has reached U.S. border. What has been happening there at the crossing?
LEYLA SANTIAGO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well I'll show you right behind me, what we're seeing t this very moment, Kristie, and that is the families,
many women, and children right now sleeping on the floor, on blankets with tarps over them as they try to stay warm.
It is very cold right now, and then much that many of them expected that. They arrive yesterday. This is part of the group. There is in much
smaller group closer inside, about 20 to 30 of them.
They have reached the door where U.S. immigration officials are standing, and they were basically told to wait. At this time, border patrol is
saying that they are at capacity, and so, they cannot process any asylum claims.
[08:10:03] Even though Homeland Security and the Attorney General talked about beefing up resources here to make sure that these cases are
adjudicated.
Extra immigration officials, extra U.S. attorneys, but at this time, they wait, Kristie, and they even spent more than a month on trains, on buses,
sleeping on the ground on shelters for this very moment. And so I was there.
We should have been here all night with them, as they made the decision. But they said no, we are not going back to shelters. We are going to sit
here until we are able to see an asylum officer, and seek asylum in the United States of America.
Many of them excited, but tired, and also nervous, especially the women, very nervous about possibly being separated from their children since they
have heard stories about that in the past.
I did check in with immigration officials, and even though they are not being allowed to go pass the area where they are right now into the U.S.,
they do say that they do not separate woman and children.
Unless the child is in danger or the adult is not a legal guardian. So what's that at stake for them, well we have been following one mother, who
is from Honduras. She says she cannot go back to her country. If she is not allowed into the United States of America, she doesn't know what she
will do.
But she can't go back because gangs in Honduras have threatened to kill her 6-year-old, and that is why she said she has no choice. She is going to a
port of entry in the United States to seek asylum the legal way, and what U.S. federal law permits. Kristie.
LU STOUT: These asylum seekers, many of them fleeing violence, fleeing threats of violence, fleeing poverty as well. Leyla Santiago, we thank you
for your reporting, and for bringing attention to the plight of these migrant travelers. Now, dozend of people are dead, after two suicide
bombings in Afghanistan's capital city.
You can see people are running from one of the deadly blast in Kabul this morning. At least 29 were killed, including eight journalists. And police
say one the attackers was disguised as a camera man. ISIS is claiming responsibility for the attack.
Our journalist Ali Latifi he joins me now the life from Kabul. And, Ali, a horrific double bombing today that killed dozens of people including a
number of journalist, people you knew, and worked with. How did this all unfold, and how were journalists targeted?
ALI LATIFI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (via phone): So, basically, the area that they've selected at these so-called the (Inaudible), it's near where an
intelligence officer, but the thing that people have to remember is that this is the road that everyone traveled along when they are going to one
part of the city to the other.
And that road was actually blocked to normal traffic. So if you don't have a government I.D., you can't get on that road, and if can't do it in a
vehicle, you have to walk.
So this adds to the death toll, and in terms of let's say issue, the journalists -- the issue is that, after the first bombing, another bomber
went with a camera in hand, with a large camera saying that he is a journalist, and he is there to document it.
And what's important about this, is that (Inaudible) and a lot of times I have traveled, and getting past at least check point has been done at these
kind of scenes (ph), because they see where is your camera.
You know, the camera have become sort of the ultimate proof that you are a journalist. And the fact that this second bomber once aimed after the
first attack, more even journalists will be there to asses the situation, carrying the camera, that leaves a lot of people can believe that it were
actually journalist that are targeted, it increase a lot of problems from journalists going forward, because again, a lot of people (Inaudible).
Now, that adds another layer of suspicion of future events.
LU STOUT: Yes, this is a terrible human toll as result, journalist deliberately targeted here. Ali Latifi joining me live from Kabul, many
thanks indeed for that update.
Now among the journalists killed in the Kabul bombings, two photographers, Shah Marai with the AFP news agency earlier, we spoke with one of his
colleagues about the tragic loss.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GILES HEWITT, ASIA-PACIFIC EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, ASIA PACIFIC: How will he be remembered? To the agency, or as a really wonderful, cultured, and
charismatic man, friend, and colleague, professionally, I just think you will be remembered for body of works that stretched over 15 years, and
documented not just some of the horrors, and trauma.
And obviously violence that wrecked his homeland, and his home city of Kabul for so long, but also for the lives of Afghani that he tried to
portrayed leaving lies of integrity, and some semblance of normality amongst all of the horror that went around it.
[08:15:00] These sort of incidences, especially to all people who report images, so for our video journalist, or photographers, they put themselves
in immense personal risk.
I think this is the first time, however, that we are aware of a suicide bomber who was actually tried to pass himself as reporter, in order to get
close to journalists, in order to (Inaudible), that is a very, very worrying development.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: And that was AFP reporter Giles, who was remembering Shah Marai, a photographer killed in this morning's bombings in Kabul, and highlighting
the dangers for journalists in Afghanistan.
More gestures of goodwill on the Korean Peninsula, but now, all eyes are watching to see if this momentum of peace can last until it's time for
President Trump to meet the leader Kim Jong-un.
And North Korea isn't the only diplomatic challenge at the White House. The new U.S. secretary of state is wrapping up his Middle East trip. What
he is saying about complex in the region, when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LU STOUT: Coming to you live from Hong Kong, welcome back, this is News Stream. Now one of the first noticeable changes from the landmark
Panmunjom Declaration, maybe the sound of silence along the Korean DMZ, South Korea says it is taking down it's K-pop blaring propaganda speakers
along the border on Tuesday.
And while there is optimism after North Korea leader Kim Jong-un reportedly promise to shutdown his nuclear test site. The U.S.' national security
advisor is urging caution.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN BOLTON, U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR: The North Koreans have already agreed to this. They agreed to it in 1992 with South Korea, and
they have pledge similar things since then. Now, it's also the case that they have lied about it, and broken their commitments.
Just one reason, there is nobody in the Trump administration, starry eyed about what that what may happen here, but by demonstrating, they have made
a strategic decision to give up nuclear weapons, it would be possible to move quickly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: John Bolton there. Now meanwhile, the Koreas are looking ahead to that upcoming summit between U.S. President Trump and Mister Kim. Paula
Hancocks has the latest, and she joins us now live from Seoul.
And, Paula, South Korea, the officials there, they say Kim Jong-un has pledged to give up his nukes under certain conditions. But John Bolton
says, you got to have caution here. Pyongyang has done this before, these promises before. So, Paula, is it going to be different this time around?
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's a good question, Kristie. It's the one that no one has the answer to at this point, and you probably won't
for several years when we look back at this time was this the turning point when North Korean did decide to give up this nuclear program.
What we have heard, we've had more details from the Blue House about what exactly was promised on Friday by Kim Jong-un. They said that he has
promised to shut down the nuclear test site at Punggye-ri.
This is in the northeast of the country, where all six nuclear tests took place, and he has going to do that in May. Now May starts tomorrow, starts
on Tuesday, so potentially we could see this happen fairly quickly.
He also said that he refuted a report from Chinese geologists, who said that that site was obsolete anyway because it partly collapsed. He said
that simply not true. There are two tunnels that no one knew about, and they were in very good condition.
But he said that he would put all this on hold, and shut it down in front of experts and journalists, or he would be inviting them to show
transparency.
[08:20:05] And also an interesting point, he did say that he is not the kind of person to launch a nuclear missile at South Korea or at the United
States. So we are really seeing a very different Kim Jong-un here.
Because last year, that is exactly what North Korea was threatening, that they could destroy the United States with a nuclear missile. Kristie.
LU STOUT: Paula Hancocks, live in Seoul for us, thank you. And while it seems, Mr. Kim is promising to address the concerns over denuclearization.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he spoke to Mr. Kim, and laid out the goalpost that the U.S. has for North Korea.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE POMPEO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We use the word irreversible with great intention. We are going to require those steps that demonstrate that
denuclearization is going to be achieved. We're not going to make promises.
We're not going to take words. We're going to look for actions and deeds. And until such time, the President has made it incredibly clear, we will
keep the pressure campaign in place until we achieve that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: The Panmunjom Declaration said the Koreans agree on complete denuclearization, but it is not really clear what that entails. And it
reads this, quote, South and North Korea confirmed the common goal of realizing through complete denuclearization, a nuclear free Korean
Peninsula.
And that both besides think the measures that North Korea had initiated are very meaningful, and crucial, but as Mike Pompeo said there, the U.S. has a
very exact vision of what complete denuclearization means, and needs to be verifiable, which North Korea appears to touch on, by inviting experts, and
journalists to its nuclear test site, but also, irreversible.
Now experts think the U.S. could push for more invasive measures to do just that, like having international monitors inside North Korea. The country
has promised denuclearization before, but the North's program had gone through an aggressive push in the last couple of years.
And Mike Pompeo, he has wrapped up his Middle East tour with a stop in Jordan, where he met with King Abdullah. Earlier, he sat down with the
country's Foreign Minister.
He told them the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was the main cause of instability in the region. Pompeo is urging Palestinian leaders to return
to the negotiating table.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
POMPEO: With respect to the two-state solution, the parties will ultimately make the decision about what right resolution is. We are
certainly open to a two-party solution as a likely outcome.
We urge the Palestinians to return to that political dialogue about the activities in Gaza over the past days and weeks. We do believe the
Israelis have the right to defend themselves.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: Ben Wedeman joins me now live from Amman, Jordan. And, Ban, just says after he was sworn in, Mike Pompeo, he has been sweeping to the
Middle East on this tour, and along the way weighing in on Jerusalem, on Syria, and of course Iran. How are his comments being received there?
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, until he actually got to Jordan, he really didn't refer much to anything other than to Iran, and we know that
Jordanian officials were very unhappy with the direction of U.S. policy, especially regarding the Israel Palestine conflict.
They are unhappy with the fact that President Trump has decided to move the American Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, Jordan's King Abdullah spoke
to him before he took that decision, and asked him not to take that move because they were worried that it would cause more instability.
And as we heard, the Jordanians told Secretary Pompeo, that it is the Israel-Palestine conflict, that is the main cause of instability in the
region.
The Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, when he met with Pompeo, didn't even mention of the word Iran. For Jordan, they have much more
immediate concerns.
LU STOUT: Yes, and let's talk about those immediate concerns, and what brings these two players together, how significant our relations between
the U.S. and Jordan. And what is on the agenda? What is the purpose of this meeting today?
WEDEMAN: Well, what's on the minds of the Jordanians at the moment is the situation in Syria. Keep in mind, Kristie, that there are more than 1
million Syrian refugees in Jordan. There is strain on the economy. They are a cause of concern.
So the Jordanians have traditionally cooperated closely with the Americans in the area of security, and as we saw recently, they are involved every
year in annual military exercises.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WEDEMAN: The roar of heavy machine gun fire, crackle of small arms, boom of tanks, all fired not in anger.
[08:25:05] But in preparation for what might come. This is Eager Lion 2018, Jordanian-American war games in the dessert. U.S. and Jordanian
forces have been holding joint exercises like these for years.
And during those years, this scenario was fairly generic with the passage of time. However, this scenario they are working on seems to look evermore
like Syria. The troops are simulating an assault on an imaginary refugee camp that is falling under the control of extremists.
LT. GEN. MICHAEL GARRETT, U.S. ARMY CENTRAL COMMAND: Syria is, you know, on their border, and Syria, and the refugees are coming towards Jordan is
the concern.
WEDEMAN: This actual refugee camp Rukban, sits on the Syrian side of the border with Jordan. In recent years, ISIS has targeted Jordanian forces
from Rukban, and officials here worry ISIS cells have multiplied there.
BRIGADIER GENERAL MOHAMMED AL-THALJI, DIRECTOR OF TRAINING, JORDANIAN ARMY: We have (Inaudible). We have to be prepared for all scenarios, whether it
is Rukban camp, wherther it is another camp, where it is a sudden, you know, influx of the Syrian, you know, refugees again from Yarmouk (ph),
from Damascus, or from any other part of Syria and to Jordan.
WEDEMAN: More than 1 million Syrians have fled to Jordan in the past seven years putting strains on an already weak economy. Yet another source of
instability warns analyst Amer Al Sabaileh.
AMER AL SABAILEH, ANALYST: I think Jordan might suffer from having that economy condition, which might turn to social process, and at this stage,
there is a new strategy for group to seize antisocial process, and trying to radicalize it.
WEDEMAN: And so they're also practicing for unrest, sparked by the hypostatical intensification of U.S. strikes in Syria. These aren't real
protesters by the way, but rather, Jordanian military personnel, drafted to play the part.
Complete with a simulated evacuation of U.S. embassy staff where then flown to ships at sea. And no exercise with Syria in mind would be complete
without simulated chemical attack.
Training also focuses on the possible use of biological nuclear weapons. Everything has to do with Syria, and Iraq, and the whole region, so it is -
- it is the culmination of all of those things -- a culmination of an array of possibilities, none of the will last remote.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WEDEMAN: So the Iranian threat to the United States, Israel, and Saudi Arabia have been stressing on recently, doesn't have a lot of weight here
in Jordan. They just have to look right on the other side of their border with Syria, and see what they are worried about. Kristie.
LU STOUT: Ben Wedeman live in Amman, thank you. You are watching News Stream, and still ahead, President Donald Trump is set to host his Nigerian
counterpart at White House today, but could his past comments about African nations create some tension. That story and more, next.
[08:30:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN NEWS STREAM SHOW HOST: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. You're watching "News Stream" and these are your world headlines.
Returning to one of our top stories. Efforts to being peace to the Korean Peninsula. We are looking forward to a possible meeting between U.S.
President Donald Trump and North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un.
And moments ago, he fired up Tweeter to tweet this, quote, numerous countries are being considered for the meeting, all caps, but would Peace
House or Freedom House, on the border of North and South Korea, be a more representative, important, and lasting site than a third party country?
Just asking.
Our Paula Hancocks has the latest. She joins me now live from Seoul, of course. Paula, Donald Trump there on Twitter, thrown it out there, the idea
of a Trump-Kim meeting taking place at the Peace House, the same site as the inter-Korean talks on Friday. Do you think that's something that South
Korean officials as well as North Korean officials would agree to?
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I think so, Kristie. For North Korea, it makes it simple. It is tried and tested. It is secure. As
you say, it is where Kim Jong-un met Moon Jae-in on Friday. And it was well received by most accounts.
So, I think from the South Korean point of view as well, they would be extremely happy because they would be involved in some way. It is
(INAUDIBLE) country than South Korea is on the outside looking in -- in many ways. So, I think it is a potential. It is one that has always been
floated as a possible location.
Just recently though, we did have two U.S. officials familiar with the negotiations, telling us that it could actually be Singapore. There was
also Mongolia that was being touted.
Of course, the issue that we have been told is that Kim Jong-un potentially would not want to travel too far away from home, all given his aging fleet
of airplanes may not be able to travel too far away from home unless he was to fly to Beijing and then take a Chinese plane on from there.
So, it's certainly conceivable when you see just how well received last Friday was. It was impeccably planned. It was a made for TV moment.
Potentially that is the sort of thing that the U.S. president is looking for. Kristie?
LU STOUT: Yeah, wants a repeat performance of that. Paula Hancocks reporting live from Seoul, thank you.
Now, in just a few short hours, Mr. Trump will welcome Nigerian president, Muhammadu Buhari, to Washington. Mr. Buhari will be the first African
leader to visit the White House since President Trump made those derogatory comments about African nations several months ago.
We are covering the story from multiple angles with our White House correspondent Kaitlan Collins joining us from Washington, our Farai Sevenzo
live from Nairobi, Kenya. Hello to you both. Kaitlan, we will start with you. Is this meeting about trying to repair the relationship between the
Trump White House and Africa? What's the agenda here?
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, there's certainly some damage control to be done because not only is he the first official
from an African country to visit the White House since the president made those remarks during a meeting. He is the first African official to visit
at all. This is the first official state visit.
Of course, the president did meet with some African leaders back during the United Nations general assembly in New York but he has not welcomed any of
them to the White House in the 15 months that he has been in office. So, not only will those comments come up, but also as you recall, there was
reporting of the president saying, why don't you Nigerians go back to their huts.
So several comments from the president that are going to be brought up today. If they're not brought up during the meeting between the two
leaders, they will more than likely be brought up during that joint press conference between the two leaders when they are both taking questions from
reporters.
Of course, the tension over here between the African leader and this White House, this administration, are clear as the day. Of course, there is a lot
of work to be done there as well because as you recall, the secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, paid a visit to several countries in Africa just a
few days before he was fired.
[08:35:00] So, the Nigerians have met with Rex Tillerson, but now he has been replaced by Mike Pompeo, someone who is out of the country. He is in
Jordan at the time. So the question there, which officials are they going to be meeting with from the State Department to establish that relationship
there because they are going to be starting over since Rex Tillerson has been gone.
LU STOUT: Kaitlan Collins live live for us at the White House, thank you.
Now, let's go straight to Farai Sevenzo standing by in Nairobi. Farai, the optics of this meeting, due to take place in a couple of hours from now at
the White House. How does it look for an African head of state to visit Donald Trump just months after the U.S. president made that crude outburst?
FARAI SEVENZO, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You're absolutely right, Kristie. As Kaitlan, my colleague, just told you there, those comments were
stinging to Africans as I reported at the time. But let's take a look a little further on of what happened since those comments were made. Mr.
Trump distanced himself from those comments. He said he didn't make them.
And then when Rex Tillerson arrived in Ethiopia, the seat of the African union, he brought a letter with him which emphasized that Mr. Trump's
comments that the relationship between Africa and the United States is still very important. Of course, we do know what will happen between close
doors as Mr. Buhari lands now at the White House.
But those comments are so very stinging and of course Africans are aware that the Trump administration much less than any other administration has
not really engaged with Africa. Remember, Mr. Yamamoto is only still an acting assistant secretary of state for African affairs.
The DRC hasn't got an ambassador despite the great turmoil going on there with Mr. Kabila holding on to power. And in fact, the Congolese are relying
much more on the diplomacy of the Catholic church rather than American diplomats. Now, with Mr. Buhari, why is he there? Why is he taking all this
trip?
Let's not forget that just 10 months from now, Mr. Buhari will be going for his second term as Nigerian president when elections are called in February
2019. Nigerians on the ground in Lagos (INAUDIBLE) are seeing this as him saying, look, I am still the president. I am still presidential. I am still
here on the world stage.
And there are many questions of course being asked about what has he done since his election in 2015. Has he given peace and security to the
northeast where thousands of girls continue to be abducted and harassed? Hundreds were kidnapped in February. And of course, all those other deals
behind the scenes of Nigeria buying a Super Tucano aircraft from America that costs $600 million.
And Nigerians are asking, where is this money going? This plane costs $40 million for Nigeria, the $10 million to Afghanistan. So it's a massive kind
of show of intent by Mr. Buhari to be at the White House at this time just 10 months before he runs for another election, Kristie.
LU STOUT: As you mentioned, the Nigerian president is seeking re-election. The people in Nigeria are looking to see how he performs alongside Donald
Trump to see what he's going to deliver. Are Nigerians also looking for signs of his health, to see if their president may still be having health
issues?
SEVENZO: Excellent point, Kristie. Remember, for the last -- in this last 2017, for over three months, he was stuck in a London Hospital seeing his
physicians and doctors about an unspecified kidney complaint or some people say liver complaint. We still don't know what was the extent of his
illness, but this is a massive country, nearly 200 million people that he has to run.
He has a big, huge fight on his hands to defeat Boko Haram and nine years Islamic insurgency in the northeast which he hasn't really done much about
because even though some girls have been returned, we know that the Nigerian Air Force accidentally bombed a refugee camp in Iran killing
hundreds of people.
So there are all kinds of these kind of unfriendly prior mistakes and of course that a lot of young girls in northeast constantly being kidnapped by
this perennial problem that is Boko Haram. So Nigerians want to know how is he going to deal with that. And of course, corruption, the perennial
problem of any Nigerian government.
He will be trying to ask Donald Trump to release funds that former dictators like (INAUDIBLE) has taken over and stashed away from the United
States. He wants these funds for his country. But other people (INAUDIBLE) say, is he just really starting his election campaign going right now?
LU STOUT: Farai Sevenzo live from Nairobi, thank you. You're watching "News Stream" and still ahead, the fruit that has left a bad taste in the
mouths of some people in Australia. The tale of the powerful durian.
[08:40:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LU STOUT: Welcome back. Now, Marvel's latest "Avengers" movie assembled its biggest cast as well as the biggest cinema crowds.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In time, you will know what it's like to lose. To feel so desperately that you're right, that to fail all the same.
LU STOUT (voice over): The definitely did not fail the box office. Marvel Studios's "Avengers: Infinity War" made an estimated $630 million worldwide
on its opening weekend, effectively crushing the previous record held by "The Fate of the Furious." And what's more, it is not even out in China
yet.
Infinity War's journey started in 2008 with "Iron Man," of course the first movie in the Marvel cinematic universe. And since then, more beloved
characters appeared. And now, this epic brings together the story line on more than 20 heroes.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: Now, I want to point your attention to the image behind me. If you know what this fruit is, you will see this picture in one of two ways.
They are picture of tropical delight or a vision of culinary hell (ph) itself.
And if you fall into the latter camp, you are going to appreciate our next story involving nothing less than the infamous durian, a fruit known at the
best of times for its unique and powerful aroma.
So powerful in fact that in Australia, 500 students and staff had to be evacuated from the university library because they thought there was a gas
leak. Instead, it was a rotting durian stashed in the cupboard. The university has since apologized for the false alarm. Truly a fruity fiasco.
And that is "News Stream." I'm Kristie Lu Stout. don't go anywhere. World Sport with Amanda Davis is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:45:00] (WORLD SPORT)
END
