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NEWS STREAM
North Korean Threatens To Cancel Trump-Kim Summit; Malaysia's Anwar Released From Prison; U.N. Aide Struggle To Treat Wounded In Gaza; A Rare Look Inside Yemen's Devastating War; The Royal Wedding; Can China Cure What Ails Hollywood? Fatal Attraction. Aired 8-9a ET
Aired May 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: Talks under threat, North Korea says it may cancel a meeting between Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump over nuclear disarmament demands. A
full pardon, former Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is released from prison, and the human toll, an exclusive look at the
humanitarian suffering in Yemen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: After weeks of diplomatic overtures, a dramatic shift in tone from North Korea. Pyongyang is threatening to cancel the summit schedule
for next month with the U.S. if Washington continues to demand unilateral nuclear disarmament.
The announcement came up after North Korea called off high-level talks with Seoul scheduled for today to protest U.S.-South Korean military drills
underway.
But according to South Korea's Foreign Ministry, the U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says Washington will continue to prepare for the summit.
Now, CNN Senior International Correspondent Ivan Watson has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: North Korea threatening to cancel next month's high-profile summit between President
Trump and Kim Jong-un, stressing in a statement, quote, if they try to push us into the corner, and force only unilateral nuclear abandonment, we will
no longer be interested in that kind of talks.
And we will have to reconsider whether we will accept the upcoming North Korea-U.S. summit. The rhetoric echoing earlier threats from President
Trump.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If I think that it's a meeting that is not going to be fruitful, we're not going to go.
WATSON: North Korea's Vice Foreign Minister asserting that they will never follow the path of Libya and Iraq, criticizing President Trump's national
security adviser, John Bolton, by name, seemingly referencing these remarks.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is it a requirement that Kim Jong-un agree to give away those weapons before you give any kind of concession?
JOHN BOLTON, U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR: I think that's right. I think we're looking at the Libya model of 2003, and 2004.
WATSON: North Korea's warning coming after they first cast doubt on the summit when they suspended separate high-level talks with South Korea
scheduled for today.
The North Koreans citing their anger over joint U.S.-South Korean military drills. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert defending the joint
military exercises as the news broke.
HEATHER NAUERT, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESWOMAN: There are exercises that are legal, that are planned well, well in advance.
WATSON: Aides tell CNN that the announcement caught the White House off- guard. Press Secretary Sarah Sanders releasing a brief statement, noting, we are aware of the South Korean media report.
The United States will look at what North Korea has said independently, and continue to coordinate closely with our allies. President Trump ignoring
questions about the summit after visiting the First Lady in the hospital.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Will you meet with Kim Jong-un, sir? Will you still meet with him? Will you go to Singapore?
WATSON: The sudden step backward coming after North Korea released three detained Americans last week, and after months of what appeared to be
warming relations on the Korean Peninsula and with the United States.
TRUMP: Kim Jong-un was -- he really has been very open. And I think very honorable from everything we're seeing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WATSON: Kristie, it's interesting how North Korea alerted the South Koreans that it was canceling the high-level talks that were scheduled for
Wednesday.
It did not use -- we've learned from the Blue House here in Seoul, North Korea did not use the new hotline that was established just last month
between Pyongyang and the South Korean President's office. Instead, it sent a written dispatch that was sent shortly after midnight on Wednesday.
The South Korean government is trying to downplay this recent potential U- turn from the North Koreans, calling them growing pains in what is a very complicated process going toward what the South Korean government hopes
will be a much more positive results for the region. Kristie.
LU STOUT: Ivan Watson there. Now, Malaysia's newly free longtime opposition leader, he is handling a new dawn for his country. Anwar
Ibrahim gave his first press conference after being released from prison. And he pledges complete support to his former rival, Prime Minister
Mahathir Mohamad. Alexandra Field has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: From Malaysia's history books, Anwar Ibrahim, the jailed former opposition leader is a freeman because of royal
pardon from the king.
[08:05:06] He is released part of a major political plot that could make him the country's next prime minister. All thanks to a maneuver from a
former political for who is also the country's newly elected Prime Minister, Mahathir Mohamad.
That's the same man who sacked Anwar in the '90s in charges of corruption and sodomy that ultimately sent him to prison. In 2015, he was back behind
bars convicted of sodomy again.
ANWAR IBRAHIM, FORMER MALAYSIAN OPPOSITION LEADER: I have forgiven him. And he has proven his mettle. He made his sacrifices, and was maligned in
the media. I tell you, it is like deja vu. But he has struggled and worked indefatigably hard. Together, he has now supported the reform
agenda. He facilitated even my release.
FIELD: Anwar and his supporters maintain the charges were politically motivated. But his sentence was only cut short when the stunning election
up set sealed his twisted fate. At the age of 92, Mahathir Mohamad wins the office of Prime Minister, making him the world's oldest leader.
But he is not new to the job. He served for 22 years befor stepping down in 2003, and only returned from retirement to take on his old party, the
ones led Malaysia since its independency in 1957.
And unseat Najib Razak, a prime minister plague by allegations of corruption. Anwar watched history happen while serving his sentence, but
he had already played a part in it.
Mahathir's victory propelled in part by a pledge not just to pardon Anwar, but to step aside so he could lead in two years. The two men worked
together before, Anwar as his deputy prime minister before he was thrown in prison. He later emerged as the opposition leader before he was charged
and sentenced again during Najib's tenure.
IBRAHIM: We appeal because there was a miscarriage of that deal. We appeal because there travesty of justice. We appeal because there was
clear conspiracy to all condemning and assassinate my political character.
FIELD: Anwar's case captured national attention for decades. The allegations at last put to rest for the man that who could soon be his
country's future. Alexandra Field, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: And here is closer look at Anwar's turbulent political career. As mentioned, he fell from grace in September of 1998, fired, and charged
with corruption, and sodomy. Anwar appealed, claiming that the charges were false and politically motivated.
He was released from prison in September of 2004, but those charges haunt him for years. In 2008, he again faced allegations of sodomy, and was
stuck in battling the legal system until 201, but he failed to clear his name. And in 2015, the court sentenced him to five years in jail.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: Joining me now, Anwar Ibrahim's wife and Malaysia's deputy prime minister, Wan Azizah Wan Ismail. Dr. Wan Azizah, welcome to CNN. This is
a momentous day for your country. It is also an eventful day for you and your family. Your husband, Anwar Ibrahim is now a free man. How are you
feeling right now?
WAN AZIZAH WAN ISMAIL, ANWAR IBRAHIM'S WIFE: I can't believe it, and also a bit apprehensive, because -- well, I'm so happy -- much happier than
yesterday that he is finally free. And not only that, he has been fully pardoned by the king. And it's something that he said from the prison to
the palace so that's what's we are felling now.
LU STOUT: Now, there is pretty interesting history between your husband and the new Prime Minister Malaysia, Mahathir. You know, we know that
there were once closed political allies, and 20 years ago. Mahathir jailed Anwar. Have you and your husband not only forgiven Mahathir, but do you
trust him to make things right now?
WAN ISMAIL: We go on to a history, yes. And in a meeting with his Mahathir and Anwar -- Anwar said we've became great friend, we have been
great enemies, and now we are together building our country again. I think that's important. There is no curse, or changes, or aiming of revenge.
What we want is that we want to look forward towards the future we built together.
LU STOUT: You are serving now as Malaysia Deputy Prime Minister. And you said your priority is Reformasi. It's your agenda for reform. But the
world that so much needs to be changed in Malaysia, human rights, rule of law, democratic reform, et cetera. So where do you begin?
WAN ISMAIL: Yes, that's the manifesto.
[08:10:01] And this is why we will at least talk because it does take time, and now because the cause the other day (ph), the difficulties in daily
life, this is what we have to prioritize. This is what we see in 100 days that we take over office, that we will arrange and do this, and keep our
promises.
LU STOUT: I want to ask you about the brain drain, you know, the worsening situation in Malaysia over the years has led to mass migration abroad. Are
you confident that the Malaysian diaspora -- you know, they have seen the result of his election, but they're going to see a new Malaysia unfold, and
perhaps return home.
WAN ISMAIL: I think so. I think that, you know, you get here, we can share the freedom in the end, especially the media. And you can feel that
there is a (Inaudible). And this is something that a moment that we shared before. And it is like historical.
We have never changed the government in 61 years. And the most important thing, I think, we have to took in the conduct. It was a smooth start. It
was something that I appreciate, and I value what Malaysian state was change with government, peacefully, and hopefully we will have a better
outlook for anyone.
LU STOUT: Dr. Wan Azizah, Malaysia's first female Deputy Prime Minister, thank you so much for joining us here on CNN.
WAN ISMAIL: Thank you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: You are watching News Stream. And up next, Kuwait wants to protect the Palestinians. Israel defends its crackdown on Palestinian
protests. And another embassy opens up in Jerusalem.
We are live in the Middle East right after the break. Plus, the impact of Yemen Civil War. The CNN exclusive, we will take a rare look at the
devastating effects of the conflicts it's had on the nation's most vulnerable.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LU STOUT: Coming to you live from Hong Kong, welcome back. This is News Stream. The international condemnation is growing after Israel's deadly
crackdown on Palestinian protesters in Gaza, some world leaders are now calling for answers.
And the Kuwaiti government says it will present a draft resolution at the U.N. in the coming hours to protect Palestinians. Funerals were held in
Gaza on Tuesday, one day after 60 Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces.
Border protests broke out partially over the U.S. embassy moved to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv. Guatemala is following Washington fleet, and is
now the second country to move its embassy there.
The Guatemalan President spoke at the dedication a short time ago. Now earlier, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator spoke to CNN about struggling to
treat the wounded in Gaza.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[08:15:01] JAMIE MCGOLDRICK, U.N. HUMANITARIAN COORDINATOR: It's a very fragile, precarious environment. The health system has always been
difficult. It's gotten worse over the years, as the inability of bringing the right material, salaries not getting paid. It makes it very, very
difficult.
And you put on top of, you know, this catastrophe. You put on this very acute crisis. And it would overwhelm any capital of the world. The
numbers that come in through the doors yesterday, and you put that on top of a very fragile health system.
It's no surprise they are really struggling to do this. We need more funds. We need more resources. We need more equipment to come in,
essential equipment. We need money to make this happen for fuel and to keep these systems going.
Otherwise, we're going to face many, many people who have been injured, and wounded, and unable to survive. And secondly, they will probably lose
limbs, and be incapacitated for the rest of their lives.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: Now, let's bring in CNN's Ian Lee who is live for us in Gaza. And, Ian, Israel is facing the wrath of the international community over
the deaths of 60 protesters, thousands of people injured on Monday. Why did its defense forces, why do they shoot live ammo at these people?
IAN LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Kristie, the Israelis say that it was used to defend their border, but they have come under heavy criticism, as
you said, from the international community, the United Nations, as well as France and the U.K. have questions Israel's tactics, and what they called
disproportionate use of live ammunition.
You have 61 people who were killed on Monday in those classes, many of those from live rounds, and this is something we've been noticing for the
past six weeks. The death toll now stands over 100 people who have died in these classes.
And then you have the people who are injured, and then we -- as we just heard the situation here is fairly dire for those people who need medical
attention, for people who are shot in the legs we're hearing what they're going with triage.
They patch up that wounds, if it's life-threatening, or if they need immediate surgery, they will attend to it, but if it's not, then they patch
up the wound, and those people have to wait weeks as they deal with these massive casualties.
We're also hearing that eight trucks were sent to Gaza with medical supplies. Four of them from the Palestinian authority, two of them from
the United Nations, and the two were from the Israeli military, but those two were sent back.
Hamas saying that they don't want the trucks from Israel, that they want the siege on Gaza to be lifted, and the siege has been taking place for
over 10 years now.
But there's a real frustration here among the people, among them when it comes to medical care, and just the situation in general, and when you look
at it though over the past seven weeks with these protests, one achievement that they have had is they have been able to raise the awareness about the
situation in Gaza in the international community.
And they've also been able to isolate Israel and the United States when it comes to their position, that's where you're getting, Kristie, the
international condemnation from.
LU STOUT: Deep frustration in Gaza as medics there struggle to treat the wounded dealing with a number of serious injuries, including gunshot
wounds. Ian Lee reporting live for us from Gaza City. Thank you, Ian. Now, Yemen is also a major flash point for countries fighting for influence
in the Middle East.
Now the current war between rebel and government troops is dragged on for years, but both sides back by different foreign states. And CNN got rare
access inside the city of Taiz, one of the key battlegrounds in Yemen's devastating war.
Nick Paton Walsh joins me with an exclusive look what's happening there. And, Nick, this is a war we rarely see, but you have managed to secure
images, video from inside Yemen. What do they reveal?
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, photographer Gabriel Chaim captured on thrown and on the ground some extraordinary picture of Taiz,
really last city to be caught up in the extraordinary violence that is often raging on scene in Yemen's war.
That is partially because it's become a proxy war between government forces backed by Saudi Arabia who in turn are equipped, and refueled in the air,
and given intelligence by the United States versus an Iranian backed group of militia in the north of the country called the Houthis.
But really, the civilians caught in the middle of these ties itself reduced to heavily parked marked city. The one among populous ones in a country
where 10,000 people have died, 40,000 been injured, and where you are about to see some pretty harrowing images of children suffering intense
malnutrition.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WALSH: As the conflict grows with Iran, far from the nuclear negotiating tables, the missiles are over Syria and Israel, here a proxy war takes a
darker, brutal, yet unseen turn.
[08:20:06] This is the Yemini city of Taiz, where an already ugly war metastasized, and is grinding the ruins of life into dust. These rare
drone images show how barely a war is left unscathed.
Some of these were broken by Saudi Arabian air power guided and equipped by the U.S., bombarding the Houthi forces that Iran is backing. Houthi
mortars broke parts of the city, too.
And it is a chaotic free prone fight down on the frontline between two militia over once on the same side, and the Iranian back Houthis. At
street level were the snipers, the mess, the mines left behind falls to the hardest hit.
Our guide around the city is Myouk (ph), he wants to hide his face as aid workers are targets here. He came from Washington D.C. as a sick mother
needed help, and the war broke out, and he started this charity.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They are the same in the states that says, when life throws you a lemon, you make lemonade, and I started it namely to take care
of the injured. OK. The Houthis are right there, by the way.
And now that is the line, and that's where they send mortar shells into ties from those hills where there, I will say, it is so beautiful, and yet
the situation is too far from beautiful.
The worst thing here, children being injured in an hospital's a week ago, there was a mortar shell that attack -- that came from the Houthis over to
that neighborhood.
And I just so happen to be in the hospital, and a little girl came in, with her heart out, it was very, very difficult to see she was about 8-years-
old, and you can see her heart pumping. It is inhumane, I mean, who sent mortar shells, and rockets into -- this is the most crowded city in Yemen.
WALSH: Humanity is lacking, but also perseveres here in the spirals of dust, and torn plastic sheeting that are home for tens of thousands of
displaced. Ready yourself for the unimaginable toll that hunger and disease could take on them for a girl (ph) reduced almost to twigs of
bones. Malikah (ph), weighs 2 kilograms and her mother Mariam (ph) says, this is a apparently an improvement.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through a translator): When we came here as displace, she was normal, and she could eat, then she started to have diarrhea and
vomiting, she got very skinny. I feel like crying sometimes, she is getting better now. She is eating.
WALSH: They are the family survivors from Merka (ph) where her husband, brother, and son were killed in an air strike she says leaving them with
his six children to feed.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through a translator): They were hit by a jet in the market. Twenty-five people were killed. The airstrikes hit very close to
our home.
WALSH: Those children who are able to fend off disease, have other trauma to digest. Salah (ph), playing in the weed grass with his little friend
Freema (ph). His story of how the mine exploded his patchy (inaudible).
We used to play with rocks, he says. She would be on the grass, and came back, and sat down, they were playing, and a bomb exploded. I get scared
now. Anyone get scared of the missiles, and when we hear the word war, we get scared -- scared of bullets, landmines, and missiles.
He says, he would like to go home, but there's still bullets, and shelling there, and in Yemen, where the Saudis have enough American support in
resolve against Iran to fight on. Nobody is going home until many more lives lost, and broken first.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WALSH: Now the U.N. call this the world's worst humanitarian crisis. And in fact, they say that broadly, every 10 minutes, a child under the age of
five dies from preventable causes. Now, just remember that statistic, extraordinary. If you watched that report twice in a period of time in
chart at the age of the five would have died.
But the U.S.' involvement here is often kept in the shadows to some degree, the public's pronouncements we know of, obviously show that they're
assisting with elements for the Saudi Air Force behind much of the damage done Yemen's towns, but also equipping and providing intelligence for them,
and even refilling them in mid air.
[08:25:03] And in fact, the commander of U.S. forces in the region General Joseph Votel in recent testimony admitted that once a plane is being
refueled, the U.S. have no idea what target it goes on to go on, and what more what its destination in fact is.
And when civilian casualties are in curd, well, they get verifiable or reasonable reports there of, they aren't able to say whether or not U.S.
supplied ammunitions or intelligence, it was perhaps somehow, U.S. supplied ammunitions only was somehow involved in instant like that. But this war
continues on unabated, 22 million people in need of humanitarian assistance in the U.N. Kristie.
LU STOUT: Yes, haunting images of the human suffering inside Yemen, and the suffering will go on. Nick Paton Walsh, we thank your for your
reporting. You are watching News Stream. We'll be right back after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LU STOUT: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. You are watching News Stream, and these are your world headlines.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: North Korea is warning the U.S. it may canceled plan talks between Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump if Washington insist on pushing into a
corner on denuclearization, but according to South Korea, the U.S. Secretary of State says Washington will continue to prepare for the summit
schedule in Singapore for next month.
Malaysia's opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim is now a free man after the king granted him a royal pardon. Anwar says it's time for him to move on from
his long-standing rivalry Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, and help ensure a democratic transition in the country.
Four people used samurai swords attack a police station in Western Indonesia killing at least one officer. Investigators say that the
attackers are members of an ISIS affiliated group, and then all of them were killed in the subsequent battle with police. Their driver manages to
escape, but has since been captured.
Facebook says it has work to do with removing hate speech. The company's community standards enforcement report shows that in the first three months
of the year, its technology only caught 38 percent of the 2.5 million pieces of hate speech. But the company's algorithms did flag into nudity
or sexual content about 96 percent of the time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: Now a quote for you, quote, I hate the idea of missing one of the greatest moments in history, those words, from Thomas Markle.
According to the entertainment website TMZ, Meghan Markle's father tells TMZ that he won't be able to walk his daughter down the aisle at Saturday's
royal wedding because of heart surgery.
This follows a couple of U-turns on whether he'd be there. We do know the bridal party will include Prince George and Princess Charlotte among six
bridesmaids, and four page boys.
Now it has been a troubling week for the world's, arguably, most famous couple. The media group news only getting more intense. And I want to
bring in now Harvey Young, a dean of Boston University, and CNN contributor on the royal wedding as well, and he joins us now. Sir, thank you so much
for joining us here in the program.
First, I want to go back to your thoughts on Meghan Markle because in 2003, you were her professor at Northwestern University for a class on
contemporary African-American theater. What are your memories of her during that time?
HARVEY YOUNG, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: I taught Meghan back in 2003. She was a student in my very small eight-person seminar. We sat in a circle and we
talk about contemporary black theater. I just remember Meghan being a person who would walk in full of life.
She was a senior who was clearly sort of juggling lots of exciting things, sorority life. She was double majoring in theater, also international
relations. And, you know, we had great deep conversations and I came to sort of respect her insight, her intelligence, her presence.
LU STOUT: Meghan Markle, she is a biracial actress. She discussed greater issues about, you know, race and identity with you, and how?
YOUNG: Yea, absolutely. So, the class itself was about experiences -- a race with -- as reflected within theaters. So every week across 10 weeks
reread (ph), play after play, article after article, talking about race in United States. And those conversations both of (ph) one another.
And as extension of those conversations, what we did was we -- we talk about our own personal experiences. So both within class and outside of
class in office hours, Meghan will talk about what it meant to be biracial, what it meant to be a person who could -- on the one hand now to get
certain rooms, have access to plenty different spaces and communities.
But at the same time to often be misread, to have some part of herself be critiqued and subject to the aired biases and prejudices of others. I
remember talking with her and realizing the toll (ph) that I was taking.
LU STOUT: She discussed issues like race and identity with you. What about politics and activism? You know, we know that she is also an activist. Did
that side of her come through inside or outside the classroom during her days at Northwestern?
YOUNG: Yeah, absolutely. Meghan was a double major. She was a major in theater and also international relations. And the international relations
part of her major meant that she was engaged in the study of international politics, being aware of the impact of humanitarian crises.
She was a person who had her sense of -- had a pulse, had her sense of the pulse of the world, rather. And it was those two things, how the arts can
actually reflect society, how society can actually be expressed through the arts, which became passions for her.
And that's a commitment that you can to this present day, right? Whether it's standard (ph) for the United Nations or her use of this current
platform, royal (ph) family, to talk about social issues. It was a true (ph) line that I saw back when was 21 at Northwestern.
LU STOUT: Yeah, absolutely, love hearing this background, this complete picture that we are getting of Meghan Markle. First, the world knows of her
as this woman who is in love, set to marry a partner who also shares her passion for activism. What do you think Meghan is going to be able to
accomplish next after the royal wedding?
YOUNG: Well, I mean Megan when she was 21, I remember sitting across from her and she was outspoken and impassioned about the need for women's
rights, women's equality, pay equity. She was a person who wants to talk about the experiences of race and biraciality (ph) and mixedness (ph). And
those are conversations she maintains as the platforms have gotten bigger and bigger, the spotlight gets brighter and brighter.
And with this current position within the royal family, I can see her using that platform, using that super bright spotlight to cast in her attention,
you know, full on on the need for women's rights, on pay equality, on having conversations that are open and honest about race within the United
States, within the world at large.
So, I see her today -- I see a glimpse of her in the past and her today that makes any sense. So, I'm not surprised that, you know, she is going to
be as outspoken as she was when she was 21 sitting across from me in that class.
LU STOUT: Yeah. Harvey Young, thank you so much for joining us here in the program and giving us this introduction to what Meghan Markle is like and
what she was like to teach as your former student at Northwestern. Thank you so much and take care.
YOUNG: My pleasure. Thank you very much.
LU STOUT: Take care. We cordially invite all of you to be part of our special coverage of Harry-Meghan's big day from the I dos to yes, the
dress. We will have it all covered, happening Saturday right here on CNN.
Now, a cute little critter in Australia has a bit of a problem with self control. We are going to be hearing from animal expert Jeff Corwin.
Researches are so worried about this marsupial's sex habits.
[08:35:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LU STOUT: All right, broadcasting live from Hong Kong, welcome back. This is "News Stream." "Avengers: Infinity War" continues to rake in cash.
Chinese audiences are (INAUDIBLE) hundreds of millions of dollars to see the new superhero movie. So, can China cure what ails Hollywood? Matt
Rivers has the answer.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATT RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): A $200 million opening weekend for "Avengers: Infinity War" in China, thanks in part to
people like these.
A fan-led event last Friday with 300 or so Marvel die- hards packed a Beijing theater to watch the film on its opening day.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I like Thor the best because he is sincere and straightforward and good looking.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who the hell are you guys?
RIVERS (voice over): In just three days, the movie had already bested the entire China runs of other Marvel movies like "Black Panther" and "Captain
America: Civil War" and the film could make a run at the highest grossing foreign film ever in China. For parent company, Disney, it is a massive
success, the result of years of cultivating the second largest movie market in the world.
Their impact is expanding in China, so more Chinese viewers will come to watch Hollywood movies. It is something Hollywood has counted on for years
now. In 2017, the North American box office was widely reported to be down 2.3 percent. China was up 22.3 percent, according to Chinese regulators.
The market here has saved movies like "World of Warcraft" and the "Tomb Raider" reboot, both of which bombed (ph) in U.S. but did well enough in
China that analysts say sequels for both could happen.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I think Hollywood movies have high standards. They are doing well in China and I think that's because they are
so high quality.
RIVERS (on camera): China is not a cure-all though for Hollywood's profit woes. For example, in 2017, China only allowed 34 foreign films to be shown
here and this year probably won't be much different. Plus, there is increasing competition from films made right here in China.
(voice over): The top foreign film in 2017, the "Fate of the Furious," made 2.6 billion yuan here. "Wolf Warrior 2," a Chinese made action film,
made more than double that amount. But despite those long term concerns, big studios will keep looking to China, its theaters packed with heroes who
may not save the world but could give a boost to Hollywood's bottom line.
Matt Rivers, CNN, Beijing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: Now, this little guy, this Australian marsupial is in a lot of big trouble for having too much sex. Now, the animals have apparently
marathon mating sessions up to 14 hours in fact but holding that strenuous activities actually killing off the males. The males produce so much
testosterone literally drop dead. And Australia has officially put them on the endangered list to try and save them.
Jeff Corwin is a wildlife expert and host of ABC's "Ocean Treks with Jeff Corwin." He has filmed this endangered creatures before. He joins us now
from (INAUDIBLE). Jeff, thank you for joining us. What a strange story that is true. I mean, this tiny marsupial found only in certain part of
Australia is now endangered because it has too much sex. What is going on here?
(LAUGHTER)
JEFF CORWIN, WILDLIFE EXPERT: They are incredible creatures.
[08:40:00] The name of this unique marsupial is called an antechinus. And they are very, very ancient. They have been on this planet for millions of
years. They are actually distant relatives of the Tasmanian devil. Now, they are very, very tiny, about the size of a mouse. There are about 13
species in Australia, Tasmania, and Papua New Guinea.
But the males of these species are driven. They are the ultimate light that shines twice as bright, shines half (ph) as long especially when you are
having sex all day. And that's the problem with this animal.
The testosterone surges through their body and their survival strategy is to reproduce, deliver their genes to the female during reproduction, and
compete with any other males that are trying to get it on the act.
And that's literally what kills them. They literally become a marsupial zombie in their pursuit. Males only live for about a year and females can
live for up to three years but on average, both of them, male and female, die after their first litter are born.
LU STOUT: Oh, my goodness. So this marathon mating sessions, they take a toll on both the males and the females. The antechinus, this creature is
facing additional threats, you know, climate change, predators, habitat loss, you know, and then there is its own voracious sexual appetite that is
killing itself up.
What can be done to save this animal and take it off the endangered list? What should be done?
CORWIN: Well, that is a great question. So, the big challenge is really not the antechinus. The antechinus is doing what it has been done for
millions of millions of years. This strategy to be very, very active sexually and very competitive with males coming in to take the female away,
this is nothing new to this specie.
This is a strategy. It is about investing immediately into the moment for future payoff with your offspring even though ironically this specie never
survived to see the offspring, at least the males.
But that is not what is killing the antechinus. It is not too much sex. What is killing this specie is habitat loss, climate change, and perhaps
the biggest impact are invasive predator species like dogs, cats, and rats. They are outcompeting this specie to extinction. And this specie as it
shows us, it just wants to have a good time.
LU STOUT: Yeah, it does want to have a good time. And the antechinus specie was only recently discovered, you know, just a few years ago. Are
you often surprised by how much we still don't know about the animals on our planet?
CORWIN: That is such a great observation. We've known about antechinuses for quite a few years. But we discovered new species. Again, about a dozen
species living in our planet and Australasia. But this specie has been discovered well within our lifetime and to me that's the great tragedy we
face with conservation today.
There are species out there that will become extinct long before we understand their place in the planet. Other species have disappeared before
we even know who they are and we can give them a scientific name. We see this around the world. We know in rainforest, we lose species of life.
Every 20 minutes, somewhere in the tropics, life is incredibly valuable. It is miraculous in the way it survives. The antechinus illustrates that but
unfortunately it is being pressured to the verge of extinction. We may lose the specie before we ever know what its great natural value is.
LU STOUT: Yeah, and how tragic would that be. Jeff Corwin, we will leave it at that, but thank you so much for sharing your passion for animals with
us including the antechinus, a very passionate animal indeed. Jeff, take care. Thank you.
And that is "News Stream." I'm Kristie Lu Stout. Don't go anywhere. We got "World Sport" with Christina Macfarlane, next.
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[08:45:00] (WORLD SPORT)
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