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World Headlines; Xinjiang Tension; Mission To The Sun; Wet Wedding. Aired 8-9a ET
Aired August 13, 2018 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:00:00] KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong and welcome to "News Stream."
A third meeting, North and South Korea down to a September summit, this time in North Korean territory.
Currency tail spin. Turkey's lira takes another dive as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan lashes out at the U.S.
And a journey to the sun. How NASA plans to explore the star's atmosphere by getting up close and personal.
The leaders of North and South Korea are planning to meet face-to-face next month. This will be the third time that they've met this year (inaudible)
to forging a closer relationship. Now, the two countries made the announcement a short time ago after a round of high-level talks at the DMZ.
Now, Will Ripley joins me now for more on the story. And Will, given the -- and you've been reporting on this -- apparent impasse between North Korea
and the United States, what kind of progress can be made when Kim Jong-un and Moon Jae-in meet again next month?
WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well this year, President Moon has proven to be an intermediary between the United States and North Korea and he has
really been key to moving this diplomatic process along. So now this news announced today, that this expected summit in Pyongyang will happen
sometime in September.
What it could mean is that President Moon will sit down face-to-face with the North Korean leader with whom he reportedly has a good rapport, and try
to figure out exactly what needs to happen from the North Korean perspective for things to move back on track with the United States.
Now in the past, for example after the first inter-Korean summit in April, President Moon then flew immediately to Washington and he briefed President
Trump, told him what to expect as Trump was preparing for his own historic summit in Singapore with Kim Jong-un.
And there has been some rumbling from sources familiar with the North Korean side of the denuclearization talks, that a second Trump-Kim summit
could be possible at some point later this year. A lot of people have been looking at the month of September because of the fact that the United
Nations general assembly is due to kick off on September 18th.
Also North Korea has its major foundation day holiday on September 9th. So, could the Moon-Kim summit happen in Pyongyang sometime between the 9th and
the 18th and would that lay the ground work for further talks with President Trump after that. Those are the things that we need to watch very
closely, Kristie.
LU STOUT: There have been a lot of high level meetings this year with more to come potentially. I want to ask you about Moon Jae-in because if the
summit in Pyongyang takes place as confirmed next month, this will be the third time Moon Jae-in and Kim Jong-un have met. And it's only the fifth
time in inter-Korean meeting has taken place in history. So, what is it about Moon Jae-in and why engaging with North Korea is so important to him?
RIPLEY: Well, this is also significant because it will be the first time that a South Korean president has visited Pyongyang in more than a decade,
since 2007. And we know that Moon Jae-in ran on the platform of a progressive relationship with North Korea. He has wanted for a long time,
for much of his political career to make peace with North Korea, but he knows that engaging the United States in the process is important.
There are also reports that President Moon does agree with the North Koreans, that a key step in this denuclearization process is to formally
end the Korean War, to sign a peace treaty, to guarantee the safety and security of the government led by Kim Jong-un. And president Moon
reportedly believes that that is necessary before some of the other big steps towards denuclearization should be taken.
Now, that is contrary to the view within the Trump administration that North Korea should give up a large share of its nuclear weapons first and
then step towards a peace treaty, the relief of sanctions and other things should take place. So, we could perhaps learn if there are some differences
-- certainly never stated publicly, but differences privately in what the South Koreans feel needs to happen and what the United States feels needs
to happen.
Well, what we do know is that the South Koreans have called for both North Korean and the U.S. to try to work harder to work with each other to get
this process back on track.
LU STOUT: Got it. Another significant summit, the next one taking place in Pyongyang. Will Ripley reporting for us live. Thank you.
Now, CNN has obtained cellphone footage showing the final moments of a group of schoolboys in Yemen before many of them were killed in an air
strike by the U.S. backed Saudi-led coalition. It was filmed by one of the students, Osama Zeid Al Homran. It shows the classmates jostling, yelling
during roll call on the bus, playing chase with friends. And the trip, it was a reward for the school's graduating summer class.
[08:05:03] Their teacher told CNN the boys had been sleepless with excitement for days. Less than an hour after the video was shot, Osama and
many of the children seen in this video were dead. Some of the scenes in Nima Elbagir's report there are graphic, they are distressing but they
reflect the reality of this horrible tragedy in Yemen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPEP)
NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: They're taking a roll call. They probably need not bother. This a day we're told the
students have excitedly been awaiting for weeks. The little boy filming, Osama, swings the cell phone around to capture all his friends. They're due
to graduate today after two months of religious summer school.
First stop is a shrine to the Houthi martyrs. It may not seem like a fun day out, but in a city ravaged by war, this cemetery is one of the few
remaining green spaces. The children scatter in a game of chase. Less than an hour later, most of the children you see in this video were dead.
Osama's phone is found in the wreckage of the bus and with it the children's last moments. CNN obtained the footage from local Houthi
officials. This attack on the school bus carrying children by the U.S.- backed Saudi-led coalition in Yemen has drawn condemnation.
The coalition maintains the attack hit a legitimate target, trainers and recruiters of child soldiers. Still, the coalition is investigating and
says it is fighting to reinstate Yemen's legitimate president after his overthrow by the Iranian-backed Houthi militias.
Three years on, though, and the devastation in Yemen continues. The surviving children struggle to piece together what happened.
(VIDEO PLAYING)
ELBAGIR: The scope of the tragedy still too difficult to absorb. Hassan Hassan (ph) is a medic, the first at the scene.
(VIDEO PLAYING)
ELBAGIR: Many of the bodies found after the attack, are so mutilated that the process of identifying them has been drawn out and torturous. While the
men busy themselves digging little graves waiting to be filled one by one. You can hear the joy in Osama's voice. Ali, Mohammed, he calls out chasing
behind them. Wait. Let's take a picture. And the camera goes dead.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: And that is how a day of celebration turned into a tragedy. Now, there has been a response from the U.S.-backed Saudi coalition. It's called
the airstrikes "a legitimate military operation" and then the U.S. Defense secretary has come out in support of an investigation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMES MATTIS, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: I have dispatched a three-star general into Riyadh to look into what happened here and if there is
anything we can do to preclude this in the future even while we support State Department's call for an investigation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: Now, we have been following this horrific attack since it happened. Our senior international correspondent, Nima Elbagir, is live for
us in London and she joins us now. And Nima, with the U.S. Defense secretary now weighing in. He's calling for an investigation and supporting
talks, some sort of negotiation, does that offer any hope, any glimmer of hope to the people of Yemen?
ELBAGIR: It does offer some hope that perhaps there will be accountability, that perhaps the findings of the investigation could have
some measure of independence because up until this point when there have been civilian casualties and there have been investigations into how these
civilian casualties have come about -- and Kristie, there have been substantial number of civilian casualties resulting from the coalition
airstrikes.
[08:10:00] What the coalition has done is that it has referred them to an internal investigating mechanism, which obviously is concerning with
regards to the independence of the findings, with regards to the transparency of the findings, but also with regards to the implementation.
Neither through our reporting nor through the reporting of human rights organizations have we've been able to find any instances in which the
findings -- even if that internal mechanism have been implemented.
So for example, reparations were called for in one of the last really big civilian casualty tragedies when the coalition mistakenly hit a funeral
home killing around 140 people. We understand that none of those reparations have yet been paid.
So, perhaps there might be a little bit more accountability. But will it change the reality on the ground given that these are weapons that were
bought from the U.S. and from the U.K.? How honest a broker can the U.S. be when they're making money off this war in Yemen?
LU STOUT: One can only hope and pray for more accountability and let alone hope and pray that those hellish scenes won't be repeated again. Nima
Elbagir reporting live for us. As always, thank you.
Now, a fierce battle between the Taliban and Afghan Security Forces has killed more than 150 people in the strategic city of Ghazni. A local
parliament member tells CNN the Taliban have gained control of police headquarters and some government offices since fighting began on Friday.
Afghanistan's interior ministry says Ghazi police have launched an operation to clear the militants from the city. The Taliban targeted Ghazi
in hopes of setting up a base with easy access to the capital city of Kabul as well as roads to other provinces.
Turkey's government says it is taking, "all necessary measures" including launching an action plan on the economy as the Turkish lira extended its
slide amid a trade battle with the U.S. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is predicting the currency will return to what he calls rational levels has
vowed to find another way to do business if the political clash continues.
CNN is covering all angles of this developing story. We've got John Defterios standing by in London, but let's begin with Arwa Damon. She is
live for us from Istanbul. And Arwa, as Turkey suffers, will Erdogan take much of a political hit here?
ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, we're really going to have to see how he ends up navigating his country's way out of
this crisis at this stage. When you talk to his support base, they still do stand firmly behind him. And if you look at his rhetoric, it has really
been very nationalistic, trying to rally the population behind his calls.
For example, for people to convert their dollars, their Euros, their gold, their foreign currencies into Turkish lira and not allow basically this
country's economy to be brought down by the spat that's ongoing with the U.S. administration.
But, that being said, there's also the reality that a bulk of Turkey's current economic crisis is because of its own perhaps faltering policies
when it comes to actually building up the foundation of the economy. When you talk to people who perhaps oppose the government, they view this as
twofold to a certain degree.
They do view this as being a by-product of poor economic policies and decisions that have been made by the current president, Recep Tayyip
Erdogan. But at the same time, there is also a certain level of perhaps appreciation for the fact that they do view the U.S. as bullying Turkey and
really trying to bring the country down to its knees at a time when it is viewed as being incredibly vulnerable. But as you can imagine when you
speak to people out in the streets, the prevailing sense is really one of anxiety and uncertainty.
LU STOUT: Got it. From Arwa in Istanbul, let's go to John Defterios standing by in London. And John, break it down for us because there is a
lot of scapegoating here, a lot of blaming. Exactly, how did Turkey get into this mess?
JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: Well, I would agree with Arwa, Kristie, that the U.S. action on Friday was bellicose in kicking
Turkey when it was down by putting those sanctions on both aluminum and steel by 20 to 50 percent -- that's aggressive. But this president blamed
once again the interest rate lobby accusing financial centers like here in London for trying to put a run on the Turkish lira.
But I would suggest that Turkey has a list of what I'd like to call pre- existing conditions, just like a patient that goes in for care. This doesn't relate directly to the United States but three items in particular
that existed for a long while. Number one, that the economists are looking for and the policymakers, the current account deficit set a record $57
billion. It's been rising all along.
The falling currency, the lira, will make it even higher. As a result of the falling currency, the cost of goods in Turkey -- and this puts pressure
on the rank and file supporting President Erdogan -- have shot up. Inflation is almost at 16 percent, extremely high.
[08:15:00] And the third very crucial item considering the broader European Union, is the Turkish corporate debt. It's at nearly $250 billion and
rising again because the currency is going down, the debt is priced in euros and dollars. It will continue to rise and is worried about spilling
over into other markets.
The Spanish banks, Italian banks and the French banks are the most vulnerable, but President Erdogan even today in a speech in Ankara remained
defiant saying we will stick to market principles here. No sign of raising interests rates. No capital (ph) controls. No season (ph) of the deposits,
nothing extreme. But most would suggest that he has to raise interest rates to protect the currency and we don't see it right now.
LU STOUT: Got it. So Turkey's economic woes may be of its own making but the clash with the United States, the Trump's tariffs making things far,
far worse. John Defterios live in London, Arwa Damon live in Istanbul. A big thank you to you both.
You're watching "News Stream." And still to come right here on the program, President Trump's attorney leaves them guessing again this time over a key
conversation between his client and fired FBI director James Comey.
Also ahead, a glimpse into an airline employee's chilling last moments before the stolen plane he was flying crashed outside Seattle, Washington.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LU STOUT: It's the beginning of a new week here in Hong Kong. Welcome back. This is "News Stream."
U.S. President Donald Trump's attorney, Rudy Giuliani, now tells CNN that the president never discussed former National Security adviser Michael
Flynn with then FBI director James Comey. Those words seem to contradict Giuliani's statements from July when he suggested that the president had
asked Comey to give Flynn a break during an Oval Office meeting. Here is CNN Boris Sanchez with more.
BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Rudy Giuliani is again changing his story, now saying President Trump will deny ever
telling FBI director James Comey to ease up on former National Security adviser Michael Flynn.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUDY GIULIANI, PRESIDENT TRUMP'S ATTORNEY: The president says he never told Comey that he should go easy on Flynn. If he goes in and testifies to
that under oath instead of just this being a dispute, they can say it's perjury if they elect to believe Comey instead of Trump.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: But just a month ago, Giuliani said the exact opposite.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GIULIANI: He didn't direct him to do that. What he said to him was can you give him a break.
GEORGE STEPHANOPOLOUS, ABC NEW HOST: Comey says he took it as direction.
GIULIANI: Well, that's OK.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Comey has always insisted Trump asked him to take it easy on Flynn and says he has the contemporaneous notes to prove it. Flynn has
since pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI and is cooperating with the special counsel's investigation. Giuliani later backtracking, claiming he
was repeating Comey's words, not the president's.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GIULIANI: The conversation never took place. But if it did take place and here is the conversation that's alleged, it is not illegal to have said
that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[08:20:07] SANCHEZ: All of this comes as former White House Omarosa Manigault-Newman releases a recording that she secretly made inside the
White House situation room back in December when Chief of Staff John Kelly fired her.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
JOHN KELLY, WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: If we make this a friendly departure, we can all be, you know, you can look at your time here in the
White House as a year of service to the nation and then you can go on without any type of difficulty in the future relative to your reputation.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Omarosa, who is promoting her controversial tell-all book about her year in the White House, says the recording was the only way to defend
herself.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OMAROSA MANIGAULT-NEWMAN, FORMER WHITE HOUSE AIDE: The chief of staff of the United States under the direction of the president of the United States
threatening me on damage to my reputation and things getting ugly for me. That's down right criminal.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: The White House is slamming the recording as a national security breach. The president not mincing words about his former aide.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you feel betrayed by Omarosa, sir?
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Low life. She's a low life.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Omarosa was the last African-American to work in a high-level position in the White House. When pressed to name another, White House
counselor Kellyanne Conway could not.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JONATHAN KARL, ABC NEWS HOST: What does that say to not have a single adviser in the West Wing who is African-American?
KELLYANNE CONWAY, COUNSELOR TO PRESIDENT TRUMP: I didn't say that there wasn't, but hold on --
KARL: Who is?
CONWAY: There are plenty of people -- if you're going by that and not by the actions of the president, which you probably should, then you should
look at the fact that we have a number of different minorities.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Now, there are other aspects of this recording that are troubling, aside from the fact that it took place in what is supposed to be
a secure setting, namely why Chief of staff John Kelly felt it was necessary to take Omarosa in the situation room to dismiss her and
specifically in that recording, what he was referring to when he talked about very serious integrity infractions that Omarosa may have committed,
Kristie.
LU STOUT: Boris Sanchez reporting there. And it seems Omarosa is just getting started. The former Trump aide released another tape this morning
on NBC's "Today Show" and this time she says it's a conversation she had with the president right after she was fired.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Omarosa, what's going on? I just saw on the news that you're thinking about leaving. What happened?
MANIGAULT-NEWMAN: General Kelly came to me and said that you guys wanted me to leave.
TRUMP: No, nobody even told me about it.
MANIGAULT-NEWMAN: Wow.
TRUMP: You know, they run a big operation, but I didn't know it. I didn't know that. Goddamn it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: Now, Omarosa said yesterday that she thought the president knew she was fired, a claim that she addressed a short time ago on NBC.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE, NBC NEWS TODAY SHOW HOST: Is he lying in that tape?
MANIGAULT-NEWMAN: I'm not certain, but what's most concerning, one, why was I locked in the situation for almost two hours? Why was I not allowed
to leave? I'll get to the second part, and lastly when I asked to leave and asked for counsel and I asked for my husband, why was I denied at least
four times?
When I spoke to him and he said he had no idea, that should be alarming to any American that the president of the United States does not know what's
happening when an assistant to the president who has known him for 15 years --
GUTHRIE: OK, but just to be -- you brought the tape.
MANIGAULT-NEWMAN: Absolutely.
GUTHRIE: Is he lying because yesterday you told Chuck on "Meet the Press," you think he did know you were fired. This tape --
MANIGAULT-NEWMAN: Yes because there was --
GUTHRIE: Right. This tape shows him saying I didn't know you were fired. Is he lying?
MANIGAULT-NEWMAN: Yes, because there were subsequent calls after that.
GUTHRIE: OK.
MANIGAULT-NEWMAN: There is a complete organization between the two of them. He probably instructed General Kelly to do it so that he keeps his
hands clean when he spoke to me. I'm wondering, is he sincere? The other question is, is General Kelly running this country or is the president
running this country because he said he didn't know and they run a big operation. Who is the they?
GUTHRIE: That's an honesty issue. Do you think the president lies often?
MANIGAULT-NEWMAN: Wait, wait, wait. Wait Savannah. Who is the they in the tape? You can't ask the question and then ask another question without my
answer. You asked me, do you think he knows? The answer is --
GUTHRIE: And you said you're not sure.
MANIGAULT-NEWMAN: I'm not certain --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: And we'll be waiting for the White House's response to that. Now, in Washington at the weekend, a hyped up white nationalist rally
fizzled out on Sunday. Organizers have expected hundreds of people to show up for the event. Only two dozen appeared and they were drowned out by huge
crowds of anti-hate groups who shouted, "Shame! Shame! and Nazi's go home."
The protests came one year after that deadly rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. And on Sunday, a group of anti-racist demonstrators gathered
there to honor Heather Hayer who was killed when a suspected neo-Nazi sympathizer drove into a crowd. Some voiced anger towards police for their
slow response to last year's violence. Four people were arrested in various incidents around the country.
Now, the FBI says it has located human remains in the wreckage of the airline that crashed on Friday after an employee stole it from an airport
near Seattle. Investigators also recovered the flight data recorder and parts of the cockpit voice recorder.
[08:25:09] Authorities say Richard Russell who worked for Horizon Air was at the controls when the plane crashed. Let's go live now to CNN's Dan
Simon who is standing by in Seattle. And Dan, what more have you learned about Richard Russell, the man who stole and crashed this empty passenger
plane?
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, hi, Kristie. Colleagues who worked with him say they did not detect any mental illness. They say he was a good
friend. He was a hard worker and had a great sense of humor. In the meantime, investigators are still trying to figure out how the 29-year-old
stole a passenger plane at one of the nation's busiest airports and then flew it around for more than an hour before tragically crashing it into a
small island.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh my god! Oh my god! Is he okay?
SIMON (voice-over): It's just after 7:30 Friday night at Sea-Tac Airport when Horizon Air ground worker Richard Russell steals the passenger Q400
turbo prop and takes it for a deadly joyride.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right now he's just flying it around and he just needs some help controlling his aircraft.
RICHARD RUSSELL, HORIZON AIR EMPLOYEE: No, I mean, I don't need that much help. I've played some video games before.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SIMON (voice-over): A calm air traffic controller tries to persuade Russell to attempt a landing, advising that a military air base is in his
vicinity.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is the runway just off your right side in about a mile. Do you see that? That's the McCord field.
RUSSELL: Oh, man, those guys will rough me up if I tried landing there. I think I might mess something up there, too. I wouldn't want to do that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SIMON (voice-over): But it becomes increasingly clear --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUSSELL: This is probably like jail time for life, huh? I mean I would hope it is for guy like me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SIMON (voice-over): That Russell has no intention of making it out alive.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUSSELL: I think I'll try to do a barrel roll and if that goes good, I'll just go nose down and call it a night.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Guys, he's coming this way. Do we leave? What do we do?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SIMON (voice-over): Russell who officials believe had no experience flying a plane makes treacherous loops as armed F-15 scramble to prevent massive
casualties on the ground.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right, Rich, this is Captain Bill. Congratulations, you did that. Now let's try to land that airplane safely and not hurt
anybody on the ground.
RUSSELL: All right. Damn it, I don't know, man. I don't know.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SIMON (voice-over): Moments before crashing into a small forested island, the 29-year-old says his goodbyes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUSSELL: I got a lot of people that care about me. And it's going to disappoint them to hear that I did this. I would like to apologize to each
and every one of them. Just a broken guy. Got a few screws loose, I guess. Never really knew it until now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SIMON: Well, we know that dozens of investigators have been at the crash site sifting through the debris. We know they did recover the flight data
recorder as well as components of the cockpit voice recorder. Of course they'll be shipped to Washington, D.C. for analysis. Kristie?
LU STOUT: Got you. It's a bizarre and sad story and also raises some pretty serious questions about airline security. Dan Simon reporting live
from Seattle for us. Thank you.
The United Nations says that there is evidence China is holding one million Uighurs at re-education camps. Find out how China responded to the U.N.
today.
Plus a correspondent's perspective on what life is like for China's Uighurs. That ahead on "News Stream."
[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.
A summit between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Lorean Leader Kim Jong-un is set to take place next month in Pyongyang. Officials from
both sides worked out the details in talks at the DMZ on Monday. It will be the third time the two leaders have met this year.
Turkey's government says it is taking "all necessary measures" including launching an action plan on the economy as the Turkish lira extended its
slide amid a trade battle with the U.S. For his part, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is predicting the lira will soon return to what he calls
"rational levels."
Indonesian officials say at least 436 people are now known to have been killed by the earthquake that hit the tourist island of Lombok more than a
week ago. Fifty-six bodies have been recovered since Saturday. Authorities say the number of fatalities is still expected to rise.
In Taiwan, at least nine people are dead after a fire broke out in a Taipei hospital. Fifteen others are injured, 11 critically. In video from the
scene showed ambulances lining up to take victims to other medical centers. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
China has denied using detention centers in Xinjiang to reeducate people from the minority Uighur Muslim population. Members of a Chinese delegation
spoke to the U.N. committee on the elimination of racial discrimination within the past few hours.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): Xinjiang is an autonomous region. Always respects and guarantees the human rights of people of all ethnic groups and
protects the freedom rights of citizens of all ethnic groups according to the law and on equal footing.
There are no such thing as re-educational centers. It must be pointed out that Xinjiang is a victim of terrorism.
In an effort to secure the life and property of all ethnic groups in the region, Xinjiang as an autonomous region, has undertaken a special
campaigns to crack down on violent terrorist activities according to law and put on trial and imprisoned a number of criminals involved in severe
offenses.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: Those were comments from the Chinese delegation at the U.N. in Geneva earlier today. Xinjiang is a vast region in Western China. And on
Friday, the U.N. said that it received incredible reports of some one million Uighurs being held in internment camps there.
Newspaper in China, The Global Times, responded, defending a strong security presences necessary to prevent China's Syria from happening.
Now, who are the Uighurs? They are Turkic-speaking, mainly Muslim ethnic group thought to number about 10 million in Xinjiang. Uighurs separatists
have been calling on China to recognize their independence for a long time, but Beijing blames them for several recent terror attacks in China.
Now, there are very heavy reporting restrictions from China's Xinjiang Province. Washington Post correspondent Emily Ruahala has written about new
evidence of China forcing Muslims into internment camps. She joins us now live from Beijing. Emily, thank you so much for joining us here on the
program.
China, as you heard, they've denied it. They flat out denied the mass detention of Uighurs in Xinjiang. You went to Kazakhstan to talk to a
growing number of witnesses there. What did they share with you?
EMILY RUAHALA, CORRESPONDENT, WASHINGTON POST: That's exactly right, Kristie. The reporting conditions on the ground in Xinjiang are such that
we decided it was basically too dangerous to interview people on the ground.
So we went to Kazakhstan where we interviewed three people, ethnic Kazakhs who were born in China but now live in Kazakhstan, who said they escaped
re-education camps in Xinjiang as well as a number of people who said they had a family member, a mother, a father, a brother currently in detention.
[08:35:08] LU STOUT: And you managed to speak to almost about two dozen people who either escaped the camps or believe that they have relatives
detained there. Can you tell us a little bit more about what they told you and when they spoke with you? Were they afraid? Were they afraid of
retribution by China?
RUAHALA: Sure. I spoke to them in late July. I was in Kazakhstan to attend the trial of an ethnic Kazakh-Chinese national who actually testified,
first of its kind testimony, that she was forced to work in an internment camp in China then fled to Kazakhstan.
Now, her trial has really sort of brought this issue out into the open in Kazakhstan. Generally, people are terrified to talk about these issues. The
Chinese government will threaten their families, threaten them directly. But this trial and having this sworn testimony for the first time has
really brought this into the open.
I spoke to a number of people. They were nervous to speak but they finally thought, you know, I stayed silent on this for months and it's time to
speak out.
LU STOUT: Right. I want to get your thoughts on the op-ed that came out over the weekend from The Global Times in China. It says "Through the
strong leadership of the Communist Party, Xinjiang has avoided becoming China's Syria." Is that the view of the mainland Chinese officials or is
that just a more extreme hard line view that's out there in China?
RUAHALA: I think that's fairly mainstream. What we know is that China really considers this a terrorist threat. There have been some credible
reports of weaker militants fighting in Syria. There have been attacks in China. But this is really a small number when you look at the numbers that
are currently in reeducation.
I think what we're seeing today in Geneva is an attempt by China to re- frame this from a debate about mass incarceration, mass internment, massive human rights violation to debate about public safety and about terrorism.
And I think they're going to have a lot of push back from the U.N. panel and from others as well.
LU STOUT: Yeah, especially after that denial that the Chinese delegation gave earlier today. And tell us finally, what's at stake here? You know, if
the world fails to meaningfully address what's happening to China's Uighurs in Xinjiang, what will happen to them?
RUAHALA: We don't know, but the signs are not good. The U.N., as you said, estimates that there could be as many of a million people currently in
extralegal detention. The people I interviewed said that they had been basically locked up without trial. Several people alleged torture and
forcibly reeducated.
I think this is really one of the major human rights issues and so far the response from the international community has been -- has been rather
quiet.
LU STOUT: Emily Ruahala of The Washington Post, we thank you for your reporting. We thank you for joining us here on the program. Take care.
You're watching "News Stream." Still to come right here on the program, a bold mission to explore the sun. Scientists at NASA finally begin a journey
to go where nobody else has gone before. Keep it here. You're watching "News Stream."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Five, four, three, two, one, zero.
[08:40:02] Liftoff of the mighty Delta IV Heavy rocket with NASA's Parker Solar Probe, a daring mission to shed light on the mysteries of our closest
star, the sun.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: I love that commentary. Spacecraft launches into space, flying on the legacy of a living legend. The Parker Solar Probe is the first
spacecraft that NASA has named after someone who is still alive. Astrophysicist Eugene Parker has a (ph) research, predicting the existence
of solar wind in 1958, revolutionizing our understanding of space and the sun.
And Monday's (ph) first visit to a star, of course that is underway after being delayed on Saturday. The probe successfully launched from Florida
early on Sunday morning. Lynda Kinkade has the story of this journey into space.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LYNDA KINKADE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The journey by a robotic probe about the size of a small car is literally one of the hottest in science.
GERONINO VILLANUEVA, NASA PLANETARY SCIENTIST: We're going to be very, very close. We're going to be actually touching the particles of the sun.
KINKADE: It's a seven-year mission with the price tag of a billion and a half dollars. It will bring NASA about six million kilometers from the
sun's surface. The craft is designed to withstand searing temperatures which could reach more than 1,300 degrees Celsius.
VILLANUEVA: Not only we had to go flying very fast entering the sun atmosphere but we also had to go reaching with millions of degrees
temperatures. So, we have special heat shield that is going to be around five inches thick. That thing is made of a special material.
KINKADE: The probe will eventually swoop into the solar corona, the outermost part of the sun's atmosphere known for its magnetic charges and
solar winds. There energized particles are whipped into space which interfere with certain technology systems back on earth.
VILLANUEVA: The sun also emits a lot of particles that affect our communication systems. So when we get a massive storm happening in the sun,
they may kill satellite or power grid here on our own planet.
KINKADE: It's the first time NASA has named a mission after a living person. Astrophysicist Eugene Newman Parker, who pioneered the study of
solar winds.
Lynda Kinkade, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: And finally on our program, a Filipino wedding that not even monsoon rains could stop. Yes, you're looking at the bride wading down the
aisle pretty much ignoring that brown, murky floodwater towards her husband to be. She says she has no regrets. She said, "It is truly memorable, I am
so happy." Congratulations to the fortunate couple there.
That is it for "News Stream." I'm Kristie Lu Stout. Don't go anywhere. We got "World Sport" with Christina Macfarlane coming up next.
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[08:45:00] (WORLD SPORT)
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