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World Headlines; Italy Bridge Collapse; Hong Kong Free Speech; Detained Publisher. Aired 8-9a ET

Aired August 14, 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." We are following two breaking news stories

right now in London. One man is in custody after a car drove into pedestrians at Westminster. Now, police say it appears to be a deliberate

attack. Two people were taken to the hospital including a woman who is still being treated. We'll have report from Westminster in just a moment.

Now, back to London, more on the (inaudible) there where a man has been arrested after he drove into a crowd of pedestrians before crashing into

the barriers outside the Houses of Parliament. Let's bring it for you if we can. Aerial footage of the incident as it happened. Multiple people were

injured, none are believed to have life-threatening injuries. And moments ago police gave an update on the suspect.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NEIL BASU, ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER, METROPOLITAN POLICE: The man is in his late 20s and he's been arrested on suspicion of terrorism offenses and has

been taken to a south London police station where he remains in custody.

Given that this appears to be a deliberate act, the method and this being an iconic site, we are treating it as a terrorist incident. Our policy now

is to formally establish the identity of the suspect and establish his motivation if we can. He is not currently cooperating.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Erin McLaughlin is standing by live for us in London. She joins us now, and Erin, there have been terrorism fears this day in London. Why

are British police saying that this incident appears to be deliberate?

ERIN MCLAGUHLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, there's still a lot that authorities at this point do not know about what happened at 7:37 this

morning when a man driving a silver Ford Fiesta plowed into a barrier outside of Houses of Parliament. They've arrested him. They say they

believe he's in his late 20s but they still haven't formally identified him.

They also don't know his exact motive because he's not cooperating with authorities. But there are certain things about what happened here earlier

today that makes them believe that this was terrorism related. The fact that iconic sites were involved in this apparent attack. The fact that it

appeared to be deliberate, his driving. We've seen surveillance footage, CCTV footage of the incident in question.

He appeared to be doing this deliberately from that footage, and also the method. The fact that he used a car and that's indicative of other attacks

that have happened here in the United Kingdom in previous years. So all of that leading them to believe that this could be an act of terror, and

indeed the counterterrorism unit from London Metropolitan Police are at the helm of this investigation.

LU STOUT: There is still, as you point out, so much we still don't know about this incident that took place earlier today outside the Houses of

Parliament. The suspect, his background, what motivated him to do this, but police in that briefing they were able to give some information about the

people who were injured as a result of this crash. What's the latest on them?

MCLAUGHLIN: That's right. He injured at least three people in this incident. A man and a woman were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.

We understand from authorities that that man has since been discharged. The woman is still being treated although her injuries are not believed to be

life-threatening. There was another individual injured but minor injuries treated at-scene and not taken to hospital.

So you definitely do get a sense given what has happened just over a year ago, about a year -- 17 months ago near this area, the Westminster Bridge

attack in which a man plowed a van into the crowded bridge which is just adjacent to Parliament injuring over 50 people, killing 5 before then

charging (inaudible) stabbing to death a police officer at the entrance of Parliament.

The perpetrator in that case was shot and killed by authorities, but when you compare what happened here this morning to that incident, you

definitely do get a sense that things here could have been much worse. Worth noting that inside the Ford Fiesta, they found no weapons, no other

indication or intelligence that there is some other wider plot at play at this point, Kristie.

LU STOUT: Yes, and thankfully there were no fatalities today. No critical injuries as a result of that crash. It was a test though, a test for

British Emergency Services and how they could respond to something like this. When this happened earlier today, how quickly were British police and

medics able to mobilize and reach the scene?

[08:05:04] MCLAUGHLIN: Well, people have praised Emergency Services for the way in which they responded to this incident. Theresa May tweeting out

her thanks to emergency services as well. It was a rapid response and in many ways it was textbook response, what we would have come to expect to

see here in London and the United Kingdom in response to potential terrorism attacks.

Let me just step out of the way so you could see, this response continues. These iconic sites here in the heart of London that you see behind me are

still classified by authorities as a crime scene. Over there you see Westminster Abbey, which has been completely cordoned off and shut down for

the day to tourists. You can see a number of police vehicles.

We saw earlier bomb sniffing dogs out searching the area. Fire units responded, ambulances responded, and the place remains cordoned off. It was

an all-out response. Something that we know authorities here in the United Kingdom have trained for, prepared for, and continues to prepare for in the

event of a potential terror tack.

LU STOUT: Yes, and as you point out right behind you, Westminster has turned into a crime scene. What has been the wider reaction there in London

because London, as you know, and he mentioned moments ago has sadly experienced vehicular attacks before. How are people there reacting to this

incident that occurred today?

MCLAUGHLIN: You know, ordinary people are going about their normal lives. They are taking note of what happened earlier this morning, but from people

I've been talking to they don't seem to be particularly alarmed. This is normally an area that's extremely congested with tourists.

Tourism -- normally on a typical August afternoon, you'd see this place absolutely swarming with people taking their pictures in front of the Abby.

Taking their pictures in front of Big Ben, which is currently covered in scaffolding. All of those sites, though have been shut down.

It's unclear when they will reopen this area to the public as it is an active crime scene and that really extends even beyond this area.

Buckingham Palace, which is not far away from here, has canceled its Changing of the Guard ceremony this morning in response to what happened

here earlier today.

LU STOUT: Got it. Erin McLaughlin reporting live for us from Westminster. Many thanks indeed for that update and do take care.

Now, the president of Turkey is remaining defiant in the face of new U.S. sanctions, now declaring, "we will boycott American electronics" whether he

meant an official government boycott, that isn't clear. Mr. Erdogan is trying to blame the U.S. for his country's economic crisis. Its currency

has been in free fall. The lira plummeted 20 percent last week. It is now down some 40 percent against the dollar since the start of the year.

The lira's tailspin triggered worries in global stock markets and banks. European banks were hit particularly hard in the last few days. As for

European markets in general, they appear to be taking it in stride this week. Asian markets, they were down on Monday. Tuesday, they've ended

mixed.

Our CNN's Arwa Damon is in Istanbul. She joins us now. Arwa, Erdogan is now calling for this boycott on U.S. electronic products. Is that being

interpreted as a real thing, a real solution to this crisis?

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNTATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: No, it's not being interpreted as a real solution. In fact, it's a bit difficult to see

exactly how it needs to be interpreted. We don't know if he's urging Turks to on their own just boycott U.S. electronics or if they will actually be

an official government-instituted boycott on U.S. electronics because he not only called for that, Kristie.

He also said that whatever it was that Turkey was relying on the import of, such as companies like Apple, well, they could find alternatives or they

would, in fact, start producing them domestically and he said produce them better. But of course, all of this on a much larger scale is about this

back and forth between the U.S. and Turkey and Turkey and the president really trying to save the Turkish lira.

But this rhetoric is doing very little at this stage to boost investor confidence or really reduce the anxiety of the population. We've also heard

the Turkish president really trying to rally people behind this notion that this is a country that is currently the victim of an economic war being

waged on by the United States especially after America saying that last week it would be doubling tariffs on imports of Turkish steel and aluminum.

That's what sent the lira into its most recent tailspin. But some people are looking at this situation and they are looking at just how stubborn to

a certain degree President Trump and President Erdogan are with neither leader wanting to back down on any of these issues.

Of course perhaps on a symbolic level, all of this is centering around Turkey's refusal to release detained Pastor Andrew Brunson whom Turkey

accuses of having links to terrorism.

[08:10:08] But we could end up seeing a situation where these two men and because of their pride, we could see that end up really coming in the way

of genuine progress.

LU STOUT: Got it. So Erdogan is basically trying to stir up sentiment against the United States as this currency crisis goes on. How is that

being felt there? I mean, how worried are people in Turkey about the lira, about the economy, about their salaries losing value?

DAMON: Very, as you can imagine. I mean, people -- some have seen Turkey go through various different economic crises in the past but that doesn't

really make them fell any better, any more comforted by this current one. People at this stage are kind of watching and waiting and hoping to a

certain degree for the best because at the end of the day it is the lira going into this horrific tailspin and that means people savings being worth

significantly less.

That means people who perhaps were wanting to retire would potentially be unable to do so. That means students not being able to afford certain

things in their futures. I mean, it's not just then the effect that it has domestically on Turks but of course the ripple on effect that you were

mentioning there earlier as well. And at this stage we're not seeing the Turkish government implement the sort of measures that the market would

like to see, such as increasing the interest rates.

Instead we have more of this very fiery rhetoric on the one hand, but we also have heard the Turkish president and other authorities coming out

trying to calm the people down. Assuring them of things like, you know, look, we're not going to go and try to seize your foreign currencies in the

banks and forcibly convert them into Turkish lira, trying to calm the situation down. But until the population here sees the lira begin to gain

value they're not going to really be feeling very comforted.

LU STOUT: Got it. Arwa Damon reporting live for us on the lira crisis in Istanbul. Arwa, thank you.

Now in Syria's seven-year civil war, the final battle for the last major rebel-held enclave if Idlib could be imminent. Now, the fall of Idlib will

stage the stage for the country's reconstruction. One of Russia's top general speaks to CNN's Fred Pleitgen as he reports in this exclusive.

Russia and Syria plan to call the shots.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FRED PLEITGEN, CNN (voice-over): It could be the last major battle in Syria's civil war. Idlib, the final major enclave held by anti-Assad

rebels. Russia's air force had allegedly been bombing targets there in the past days.

In an exclusive interview with top Russian general, not tells CNN the fight for Idlib could start very soon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

IGOR KONASHENKOV, RUSSIAN MILITARY (through translation): When it comes to ISIS and Jabhat al-Nusra, it's useless to make arrangements with them

and it shows. There is constant shelling in the areas controlled by them. They take hostages and use civilians as shields so of course there is a

prospect to something decisive happening in there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PLEITGEN (voice-over): The comments came on a Russian organized visit to Syria. Moscow's message is clear. Syrian president Bashar Assasd's forces

have essentially prevailed in the civil war. The rebels are on the ropes, some of the millions of displaced are returning.

(on-camera): The local administration in this area of Syria says tens of thousands of people have come across this border crossing in the past few

weeks alone. They also say they want international financial help to aid those who are coming across but they want it on the Assad government's

terms.

(voice-over): Russia and the Assad government have called on the U.S. and European countries to help with reconstruction. Both have been accused of

severe crimes against civilians which they deny. The Russian general calling for the U.S. to cooperate with Moscow's forces.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KONASHENKOV (through translation): Of course, so many things depend on such great countries as the United States and Russia when it comes to a

resolution. When there are even some specks of mutual understanding, there are ways to find cooperation and opportunities to do real work and of

course not allow this breeding ground for terrorism to, god forbid, resurface again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PLEITGEN (voice-over): Russia's military clearly believes only it can prevent new conflicts, for instance, between Iran and Israel breaking out

in this region.

KONASHENKOV (through translation): From day one of our presence here, we have established contact with everyone who has had any part in this of any

degree -- direct lines with Israel, Turkey, Iran and the so-called U.S.-led coalition. Of course, these contacts are very useful because we are solving

issues in a much more effective way, and let's say dialogue is way better than any confrontation especially in such complex issues.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): As Syria's war seems to be reaching its twilight and new conflicts are already destabilizing this ravaged region, Russia

believes it holds the key to pacifying Syria, but only on its terms.

[08:15:10] Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Damascus.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: The White House situation room is one of the most secure rooms on the planet. That is, until a former reality star gets in. The White

House is responding pretty strongly to those recordings made in secret by a former aide to President Trump. That story is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Coming to you live from Hong Kong, welcome back. This is "News Stream."

Now, the U.S. president is on a twitter rant against one of his former senior aides, Omarosa Manigault-Newman. Just minutes ago, he tweeted this,

"When you give a crazed, crying lowlife a break, and give her a job at the White House, I guess it just didn't work out. Good work by General Kelly

for quickly firing that dog."

Now, this comes after Omarosa released another secret recording ahead of her mostly unverifiable tell-all book, but while the U.S. president is

reacting in a big way, approval polls don't seem to be. A new CNN poll conducted a few days ago by SSRS shows Mr. Trump's overall approval rating

of 42 percent is holding much the same as the spring, despite a rather eventful summer in the White House.

Another poll reveals most people believe Special Counsel Robert Mueller should end his Russian investigation before midterm elections in November.

Another busy week in Washington. Let's break it down with our CNN White House correspondent Abby Philip standing by live for us from the White

House.

She joins us now. And Abby, this very public feud between President Trump and Omarosa continues to escalate with that pretty ugly tweet that was

issued in the last hour. Where does this feud stand now?

ABBY PHILLIP, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Well, today this book is coming out and the White House and its allies on the outside

are stepping up their attacks on Omarosa calling her a not credible person to be doing this tell-all book. And the president, as you just mentioned

with that tweet, is the person leading the charge.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIP (voice-over): President Trump fighting back against claims by former senior White House aide Omarosa Manigault-Newman that he used the

"N" word while filming "The Apprentice." In a late-night tweet, the president insisting, "I don't have that word in my vocabulary and never

have." Omarosa providing no proof alleging she heard him use the racial slur on tapes, but only after her book had gone to press.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS MATTHEWS, MSNBC ANCHOR: How many time it's did you hear Mr. Trump, your former boss, how many times did you hear him use the n word?

OMAROSA MANIGAULT-NEWMAN, FORMER WHITE HOUSE AIDE: Multiple times. It sounded as if he used it every day.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIP (voice-over): Omarosa claiming during interviews that she had a conference call in 2016 with former Trump senior communications adviser

Jason Miller, former Trump organization employee Lynn Patton and former Trump campaign spokeswoman Katrina Pierson where Pierson said she knew he

used the word.

[08:20:15] Omarosa's allegations coming with widespread denials from people quoted in her book.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KATRINA PIERSON, FORMER TRUMP CAMPAIGN SPOKESPERSOBN: That is absolutely not true. I have no sources with that tape. She was the only one that

brought this tape up. People that I've checked with who she's mentioned have no idea what she's talking about.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIP (voice-over): While defending himself against Omarosa's attacks, President Trump apparently confirming White House staffers are asked to

sign non-disclosure agreements. Omarosa claims the Trump re-election campaign offered her a 15,000 a month job in exchange for signing an NDA

where she would to have to promise and agree to not demean or disparage the administration and Trump family members.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MANIGAULT-NEWMAN: I never signed that draconian NDA that they presented to me when I walked into the White House.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIP (voice-over): Omarosa coming under fire for secretly recording a conversation with Chief of Staff John Kelly in the White House situation

room and a phone call she had with President Trump after she was fired.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Omarosa what's going on? I just saw in the news that you're thinking about leaving. What happened?

MANIGAULT-NEWMAN: General Kelly -- 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: Nobody -- you know they run a big operation, but I didn't know it. I didn't know that. Goddamn it. I don't love you leaving at all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIP (voice-over): The recordings stoking White House fears that others may have taped conversations and concerns about what else Omarosa could

divulge in the coming days.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MANIGAULT-NEWMAN: I have a significant amount, in fact, a treasure-trove of multimedia backup for everything that's not only in unhinged but

everything that I assert about Donald Trump.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIP (voice-over): Omarosa even hinting that she's been in communication with the special counsel.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MANIGAULT-NEWMAN: Oh, I have plenty.

MATTHEWS: Anything Mueller would like to see? Mr. Robert Mueller?

MANIGAULT-NEWMAN: If he -- if his office calls again. Anything they want I'll share.

MATTHEWS: Would you be a good witness in this investigation?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIP: Well, this whole controversy certainly seems to be getting to President Trump. This morning he sent out that tweet that you read earlier

where he calls Omarosa a dog, but that happened just moments after she released yet another secretly recorded tape from her time in the campaign.

Clearly she is not going away without a fight.

LU STOUT: Yes. She's not going away. Her book is coming out today. There could be more revelations, more angry responses, more ugly tweets, and --

but there is a new poll out that could offer some numbers that would make President Trump rather happy, reflecting his popularity. What's your read

on that?

PHILLIP: That's right. Well this poll shows that the president is doing better than some of his predecessors, Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter, even a

little bit better than Ronald Reagan at this time in their presidencies. He's at 42 percent which is pretty stable for him. It's pretty much about

where he's been for most of his presidency in spite of all of the controversy swirling around him, whether it's Omarosa or the Russia

investigation.

It also seems based on this polling that voters want the Russia investigation to end. They believe that Robert Mueller should bring it to a

close before the midterm elections, a majority of about 66 percent of those polled. But also the poll shows 55 percent disapprove of President Trump's

handling of the investigation.

All in all, Kristie, this seems to be a bit of a mix bag for the president, but perhaps validation for his strategy of undermining the Mueller probe

and continuing to stand his ground. Clearly, this investigation isn't -- the bottom isn't coming out from under his poll numbers as a result of this

probe, Kristie.

LU STOUT: Yeah. Trump and his team will no doubt consider those polling numbers a win. Abby Phillip, we'll leave it at that. Thank you so much for

joining us. Take care.

Turning now to Iran where the country's supreme leader is taking a firm stance against Trump and his sanctions. Ayatollah Ali Khamenie has said

there will be no war nor will we negotiate with the United States, but that flies in the face of recent comments from the Iranian president, Hasan

Rouhani that he made last week saying that Iran was willing to hold talks with the U.S.

Now let's break all this down with CNN's Nick Paton Walsh. He joins us live from Tehran. And Nick, Iran's supreme leader is standing firm against U.S.

sanctions. Walk us through his comments.

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, bear in mind too, when Hasan Rouhani spoke a few weeks ago. He did -- what he said

we could talk to the U.S., "right now." He said you don't really talk to somebody who's got a knife in your back or your arms. And he put some

caveats in there as well.

But what we heard yesterday from the supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, effectively under the system here in Iran, Mr. Hasan Rouhanni's boss, is a

clarification of what he perceives the current political climate to be. And he was quite clear that there should be no war and no negotiation. He

pointed out the clear inconsistency in the White House's position while Donald Trump has said hey, let's talk at anytime, no caveats.

[08:25:06] Mike Pompeo, his Secretary of State has listed 12 things he'd like to see around doing, pretty much a dream wish list, frankly, of them

reducing their regional influence and renouncing many other elements of the military posture as well.

So he points out that inconsistency. He did refer of course, to what we're seeing on the streets here of Tehran as an element of economic weakness and

internal problems they're facing as well. But here is exactly what Ayatollah Khamenei had to say yesterday in his own words.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALI KHAMENEI, SUPREME LEADER OF IRAN (through translator): In summary, what I must tell the Iranian nation are two things. There will be no war

and we will never negotiate with the United States, but it will be no war, why? Because in a war there are two sides. We are on one side and they are

on the other side.

We will not start a war. We have never started any war. We are proud that the Islamic Republic has never started a conflict. We have been in wars but

the other side has always started the war. We will respond with great force if a war is waged against us, but we will never start a war.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALSH: This is all emblematic of Iran's political elite trying to come to terms with what the U.S. pulling out of the nuclear deal really means here.

It has put enormous pressure on the economy. Certainly, the fresh new sanctions coming back in, and also to within the distance between a more

moderate and a more hard-line elements of the government, Kristie.

LU STOUT: All right, Nick Paton Walsh reporting live for us from inside Iran in Tehran. Thank you.

Now, for a fifth straight day, Afghan security forces are battling Taliban militants in the city of Ghazni. The United Nation says some 270,000

civilians are now at-risk. Taliban forces stormed this strategically important city on Friday. A U.S. military official says a large number of

Taliban have been driven out but the World Health Organization describes a dire situation with people unable to safely bring the wounded to hospitals.

You're watching "News Stream."

Still ahead, we will go back to London for the very latest on that suspected terror attack at parliament.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. You're watching "News Stream" and these are your world headlines.

A suspect is in custody but British police say he is not cooperating after he drove his car into a crowd of pedestrians and later crashed into the

security barriers outside of parliament. Officials say the act was deliberate.

[08:30:01] They are investigating the incident as terrorism. Now, several people have been treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

Amid escalating tensions between the U.S. and Turkey, President Erdogan says, "We are going to boycott U.S. electronics." He said it during an

event marking the 17th anniversary of his ruling party, but it is unclear if this will be an official government boycott or just a call to the public

to stop buying American electronics.

Italian news agency ANSA is reporting that several people have died after a highway bridge collapsed in Genoa, Italy during a violent storm. Local

police have not yet provided any information about injuries or casualties, but the Italian transport minister says it appears to be a "immense

tragedy."

Let's go straight to Italy for more on the story. Barbie Nadeau joins us from Rome. Barbie, this is a developing story, but we're getting picture

and images of the scene of this disaster, absolutely horrific to look at. What more have you learned about this bridge collapse near Genoa?

BARBIE NADEAU, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, this happened shortly before noon here local time in Italy on a very busy stretch of highway that is used by

heavy trucks, used by people going in and out of this port town.

About 200 meters of this bridge fell 90 meters to the ground. It's just shocking that none of the parts of the bridge fell on top of any of the

buildings that were below that, but the images clearly show that it fell into sort of a ravine area over some railroad tracks.

We have seen lots of images from local media that is on the ground there showing cars smashed under the weight of the bridge that fell on top of

them or below them. We have heard some reports of astonishing live rescues pulled out of those cars but again nothing has been confirmed.

We don't have a confirmed number of deaths. We are hearing report that around seven to 10 vehicles and that would include cars, campers and heavy

trucks might have been involved in this particularly horrific accident, as you said, Kristie.

LU STOUT: Yeah. Barbie Nadeau closely monitoring the story for us live from Rome, Italy. Barbie, thank you. Let's get more now from Nic Robertson

who joins us on the line from Genoa. Nic, you managed to reach the scene of this disaster. Describe what you see around you.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR (via telephone): Kristie, we were probably a few minutes away from crossing the bridge when

this disaster happened. This is the main highway that runs along the Mediterranean coast here that goes from Genoa all the way to Nice in

France.

This is one of the busiest times of year. The traffic on the highway was exceptionally busy at the time. This is the peak this week of the holiday

time in France and Italy. There was a lot of traffic on the road. A very, very heavy thunder and lightning storm. The road was literally awash with

water.

And I noticed the external exit sign for the bridge was showing road repairs underway for that bridge that has been closed. A couple miles away,

one mile away, you can see these signs. Clearly something had gone wrong in the minute before we arrived.

The traffic started backing up. Police vehicles began to maneuver their way through the traffic. The highway is two lanes in one direction, two lanes

in the other direction. The bridge stood here for decades. This suspension bridge stood here for decades.

The police had closed it off. All the traffic that we were in was diverted and then that's when we began to see swarms of traffic police, of other

police, of ambulances, of rescue service, of firetrucks, and even rescue workers parking their vehicles in a hurry, donning their emergency gear,

and running towards the scene.

I'm perhaps now about half a mile from the collapsed bridge. It is a horrific scene even from a distance. The bridge, just gone. Huge piles of

concrete below. Again, at the moment, the traffic in this town is at absolute standstill.

The emergency service seems to have the place locked down as they try to maneuver to get close to scene to do the necessary work that they need to

do to help rescue people from this situation.

But for the first hour, hour and a half immediately after the incident, the air was absolutely full of the sound of sirens, of police vehicles trying

to navigate the traffic, ambulances and firetrucks, Kristie. Some pandemonium is beginning to settle down now.

LU STOUT: Nic, you described this as a horrific scene even from a distance. There was heavy traffic. It was during a peak traffic hour when

this collapse took place. There was stormy weather as well. Signs indicating that there were some sort of roadwork or construction underway.

Any more information about the soundness of the structure of the bridge itself and whether that was an additional factor leading to this tragedy?

ROBERTSON (via telephone): You know, when you stand there and look at the bridge today, the remains of it, it is clear this is a bridge that has

weathered some time.

[08:35:02] It is decades old. It spanned a valley, a wide waterway canal, many train tracks, as Barbie was explaining. This bridge has traveled (ph)

the valley, linking this highway all along the Mediterranean coast but it's been many decades. This bridge may have been one of the first of its kind.

When you look at the steel tension cables, they appear rusty towards the top. If you're looking from a little distance, the concrete in place is

discolored. There appears to be parts of the concrete that are missing. This is not a new bridge. This is clearly a structure that has stood the

test of weather and time for some time.

It is unclear, however, at this very, very early stage. The focus of course right now is the rescue efforts that are underway for all those who may

still be trapped. But to analyze the state of that bridge, this bridge was not new, to be clear. It is a suspension bridge made of concrete and steel,

and one section has abruptly dropped (ph) away during a massive thunder and lightning storm.

LU STOUT: Yes. From the photographs we've looking at of this bridge after the collapse, we could see quite clearly huge sections of rubble on the

ground underneath the middle of the bridge. Do rescue workers there believe that there could be survivors? Is there a rescue work underway that you're

able to see from your position?

ROBERTSON (via telephone): We have seen heavy lifting equipment brought in to place of the mountain rescue teams because of course the coastline is at

the foot of the mountain that cascade down to Mediterranean coast. I've seen mountain rescue teams coming in there.

At the moment, it is very hard to gauge and get close enough to know precisely how the recovery and rescue effort is going. But it's very clear

that heavy lifting equipment is being brought in. That said, I have yet -- I've seen a couple helicopters flying overhead but yet to see large cranes

to be brought in.

Heavy firetrucks with heavy lifting equipment on them, but no construction crane that one might imagine may become necessary as you try to maneuver

and move out of the way some of the heavy concrete. The concrete that I can see piled up is piled tens of feet in the air. You can see the twisted

rebar coming out of the top of the concrete as it crumpled on the ground there.

LU STOUT: You're describing a hellish scene, the aftermath of this terrible, terrifying bridge collapse. Emergency responders are there at the

scene. Authorities there are calling this an immense tragedy but falling short of providing any concrete death toll numbers.

Do you have any idea, any indication of human casualties, the number of fatalities as a result of this disaster?

ROBERTSON (via telephone): It's hard to say. What I can describe for you and our viewers is the amount of traffic on that highway. Two lanes going

in both directions. It is a national holiday week in Italy and coming up tomorrow is the national holiday in France, very close to the French

border. So a lot of holiday traffic. There were registration plates of vehicles from all across Europe lined up in the traffic with us.

So given the section of bridge that is missing and the amount of traffic that I witnessed on the highway in the minutes before around me, I would

not be surprised if the number of vehicles involved was in the tens, probably 50s or 40s in terms of the number of vehicles involved because of

the length of bridge and the amount of traffic that I witnessed on the road at that time, Kristie.

LU STOUT: And could you tell us, just remind us, what happened precisely when this disaster took place and where it took place? Did it take place in

a densely populated portion of Genoa in Italy?

ROBERTSON (via telephone): It is. If you can imagine the coastal highway, it makes along the coast in and out of tunnels through because the

mountainside slopes deeply down to the coastline. And there's sharp series of tunnels and very tight bends shortly before the highway swings off to

the right.

If you go straight (INAUDIBLE) right down into the port here, because it swings off to the right. That's when you hit the suspension bridge which

takes the highway across this relatively wide valley, a half kilometer valley, perhaps. This highway is hugely important for commerce. Perhaps

today fewer trucks than normal because it's a holiday period.

[08:40:01] It's hugely important. It is holiday tourist season, the tourists traveling along the Mediterranean. And of course, a day when many

people might have been taken their families out just for a day trip. There would have been a multitude of different people on the road, who for

different reasons were approaching, attempting to use that bridge, potentially on the bridge during the collapse.

It is for this town -- the town right now is at complete standstill. Police manning all the traffic intersections here. It is a huge, huge tragedy for

this town. Something of this magnitude will have been outside of the scope of what most people here would have expected.

A structure that has stood strong and firm and provided so much use for the community here and in this area for so many years. For it to suddenly

collapse will be something that very few people here would have ever expected to see.

LU STOUT: Absolutely. Terrifying tragedy. A terrible event. This bridge collapse in Genoa, Italy. Nic Robertson reporting live on the line not far

from where this disaster took place just a few hours ago in Genoa. Nic, thank you for your reporting.

Now, it was an event that was highly anticipated here in the region. A highly anticipated speech made by a pro-independence activist in Hong Kong.

It went ahead as planned today at the city's foreign correspondents' club.

It took place despite some pretty heavy government pressure and protest by pro-China groups. The activist in the spotlight, his name is Andy Chan,

founder of the Hong Kong National Party, which faces the possibility of being banned.

In his statement, the China Ministry of Foreign Affairs (INAUDIBLE) Chan talked about (ph) abuse of freedom of press and speech, and accused the FCC

of endorsing his views. Outside the iconic FCC building, pro-Beijing supporters rallied against Chan and the club itself as police looked on.

Meanwhile, Chan addressed the packed house (ph) in tens of thousands of a live Facebook feed saying his ideals are no different from his fellow

citizens.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDY CHAN, FOUNDER, HONG KONG NATIONAL PARTY: Due to the nature of how the Chinese propaganda messaging works, the National Party was instantly

demonized as some sort of extremist group due to the single word "independents." In reality, what the National Party is chasing after is no

different from what many Hong Kongers wish for, the dream of democracy here in Hong Kong.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Andy Chan, divisive figure speaking earlier here in Hong Kong.

Swedish foreign minister says China has allowed a Swedish doctor to examine the detained bookseller, Gui Minhai. It happened in a Chinese hospital on

Monday. Gui is a Chinese-born Swedish citizen who has been held by Chinese authorities off and on since 2015. He published books critical of China's

leaders and vanished into Chinese custody under murky circumstances in January for a second time.

And that is "News Stream." I'm Kristie Lu Stout. Don't go anywhere, though. "World Sport" with Amanda Davies is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:45:00] (WORLD SPORT)

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