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World Headlines; War In Afghanistan; Australia's Refugee Crisis; Flooding In Kerala; WhatsApp To Tackle Fake News; El Salvador Cuts Diplomatic Ties With Taiwan; Melania's Crusade; "Crazy Rich Asians." Aired 8-9a ET
Aired August 21, 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."
Thwarted hacking efforts. Microsoft reveals attempts by a Russian-linked group to target the U.S. Senate and conservative research institutes.
Donald Trump's bold claim. What the U.S. president is saying about the direction of the Russia probe.
And currency crisis. Venezuela is trying to get by with a new currency amid ramped (ph) hyperinflation.
The Kremlin is denying any knowledge of the attempted hacking of the U.S. Senate and conservative think tanks. This comes after Microsoft claimed it
thwarted such attempts, which the company says were carried out by a group called Fancy Bear with links to Russian military intelligence. Microsoft
executed the court order to take control of six websites created by Fancy Bear.
The hackers designed the sites to look like the ones used by congressional staff and think tanks like the Hudson Institute. The sites had domain names
like senate.group. Microsoft has no evidence that the hackers were successful but these domains, they could be used to send fake e-mails
tricking people to handing over personal information like their passwords or to launch cyber attacks.
It is exactly what happened in the 2016 Democratic National Committee hack. Joining me now from near Moscow is CNN's Fred Pleitgen. And Fred, according
to Microsoft, Russian hackers, they are at it again, but the Kremlin is denying it. How so?
FRED PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, they certainly are, Kristie. It's one of the interesting things that basically
(inaudible) 2016 since the first time that we've seen this group, Fancy Bear, sort of appear on the scene, if you will. The Russians have
consistently been denying first of all, if they have any sort of knowledge of what exactly Fancy Bear is.
And then also, of course, that it would have any sort of links to Russia's military intelligence service, the GRU. Now, just a couple of minutes ago,
a conference call wrapped up with a spokesman of the Kremlin, Dmitry Peskov, where he once again basically denied any sort of knowledge of what
was going on and were saying that Microsoft and thus also the U.S. government as well, was providing very little information to the Russians
so they don't really know what is going on.
I want to just read to you really quick part of the statement that Dmitry Peskov made while on that call. He said and I quote,"Our reaction has
already become traditional. We don't know which hackers they are talking about. We don't know what is meant about the impact on elections." So
obviously they are saying that they don't understand what this could have to do with the mid-term elections.
Of course, there has been a lot of fear, a lot of warnings in the U.S. intelligence community about possible meddling in the U.S. mid-term
elections. Again, the Russians saying, that they could have absolutely nothing to do with that and then none of that was going on. The Russians
consistently have been saying that they want more information from the United States.
They say they don't believe that they're getting it and they simply say that they're not going to be able to comment on what exactly is going on
with this Fancy Bear network because they say that they have absolutely nothing to do with it and in fact that they don't even know of its
existence, Kristie.
LU STOUT: Fred Pleitgen, reporting live for us. Many thanks indeed for that.
Now let's take a closer look at this hacking group behind this so-called Fancy Bear. It is the same one that was behind the 2016 hack of the
Democratic National Committee. A cyber security firm say that attack was directed by the Russian military intelligence unit, the GRU. The hack
(inaudible) the release of thousands of e-mails among Democratic officials.
Crowd Strike, a group that conducted a review of that hack also concluded that Fancy Bear was behind malware used to facilitate reconnaissance
against Ukrainian troops. And later, the IAAF, it's the world governing body for athletics says their network was accessed by the attackers
possibly exposing personal details of athletes.
Joining me now for more on this latest hack attack, let's bring up Steve Ranger, the U.K. editor-in-chief at TechRepublic. Again, this was a
thwarted attack here, but let's talk about the targets because this is interesting.
Microsoft says that these Russian hackers, they were targeting the U.S. Senate, but they were also targeting conservative U.S. think tanks. Is that
new? Is that a sign that they're kind of broadening the type of sites that they're going after?
STEVE RANGER, U.K. EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, TECHREPUBLIC: Yes. There does seem to be some suggestion they are broadening the types of targets they're going
after. In some respects, without wanting to downplay it, this is in some respect, business as usual. This is what intelligence agencies do. They try
and poke and prod and see what they can get access to. Pretty much every intelligence agency does something in like that.
What is perhaps interesting is that Microsoft has pushed back on this and that has, you know, explicitly mentioned who it thinks has done this and I
think that reflects an awareness now that's made few years ago we didn't really think that these kind of hacking attacks were particularly important
or particularly worth worrying about.
[08:05:02] I think now there's a realization that if you steal someone's e- mail, if you hack into their systems, you can actually do quite a lot of damage.
LU STOUT: Yeah, Microsoft raised the alarm on this. Microsoft can push back, but what about governments? You know, this latest attempted Russian
attack, it comes just a few months after and we talked about this here on the program. The U.K. and U.S. issued that joint warning on the Russian
cyber threat. So how prepared are these governments to counter the threat posed by Russian hackers?
RANGER: I think it's an evolving situation. Governments are really used to dealing with the old-fashioned kinds of intelligence (ph). When they are
dealing with cyber stuff, they really don't know what to do. So, what we've seen over the last few years is various governments trying to create some
kind of cyber deterrence whether that through sanctions, through kind of like the sort of legal attempts or just by being really loud and shouting
when they see something like this happening.
The reality is it's very hard to stop these attacks because they can be launched from anywhere in the world by anyone pretty much. So yes,
governments are really struggling to work and how to deal with this kind of cyber deterrence issue.
LU STOUT: Yeah, and (inaudible) to Russian hackers, cyber deterrents are not working. So, what can be done? How can governments like the U.S. stop
Russian hackers?
RANGER: It's really, really hard. I mean, one of the things you have to do is make sure your security is really up to date. So, this attack in itself
wasn't particularly sophisticated. These is about tricking people into handing over their passwords and their I.D. so that someone can then go
into their systems and do whatever.
Making sure that your really basic security is in place will stop an awful lot of these attacks. The really sophisticated ones, you have less of a
chance to stop, but this (inaudible) of low-level stuff, that have every opportunity that any government or organization should be able to stop this
stuff.
LU STOUT: Steve Ranger at TechRepublic joining us live from London. As always, thank you so much. Take care. We'll talk again soon.
Now to Washington where the U.S. president is shedding light on his increasingly hostile attitude towards the Russia probe. In a new interview,
Mr. Trump says that he has chosen to stay out of the special counsel's probe, but that could change if he wanted it to. Abby Phillip joins us now
from the White House. And Abby, you know, that was just one of many headlines from President Trump's interview with Reuters. What can you tell
us?
ABBY PHILLIP, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right. It seems that there is a sense of growing anxiety on the president's part about this
Russia probe. It's blowing out in the tweets that he's been sending over the weekend, but also in this interview with Reuters, President Trump says
that he's now concerned that he could be walking into a perjury trap if he were to sit down with Robert Mueller. This is after spending weeks and
months saying he would be willing to talk.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIP (voice-over): President Trump insisting he could intervene in the special counsel investigation if he chose to telling Reuters, "I can go in
and I could do whatever. I could run it if I want. But I decided to stay out." But on twitter and at public events, the president continues to try
to denigrate the probe going so far as to call the lawyers working for Robert Mueller thugs who are enjoying ruining people's lives.
Mr. Trump also casting doubt on a potential sit-down interview with Mueller after spending months telling reporters he wants to speak with
investigators.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Would you be willing to speak under oath to give your version of this?
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: One hundred percent.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you going to talk to Mueller?
TRUMP: I'm looking forward to it, actually.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIP (voice-over): The president now echoing the concerns of his attorney, Rudy Giuliani, that an interview could be a quote, "perjury trap"
saying, "it's my word against Comey and he's best friends with Mueller, so Mueller might say, well, I believe Comey, and even if I'm telling the
truth, that makes me a liar. That's no good."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GIULIANI: How do we know what the truth is? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And you're talking about whether or not the president
asked James Comey to go easy on Michael Flynn.
GIULIANI: Yes, because --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And James Comey says he did and the president says he didn't.
GIULIANI: That's right. And they will possibly charge him with perjury should he give that answer. That's why I'm saying, in situations like this,
the prosecutors, truth is relative.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIP (voice-over): The debate over an interview coming as sources tell CNN that the president was unsettled that he did not know that the
conversations between the White House counsel Don McGahn and Mueller lasted 30 hours over several months. Or that his legal team did not conduct a full
debriefing with McGahn after the fact. Giuliani now claiming the president's lawyers did know the details after sources say the president
thought the revelation made him look weak.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GIULIANI: At the time, John Dowd got a complete version of what McGahn said.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIP (voice-over): Giuliani also downplaying the significance of McGahn's testimony.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GIULIANI: I knew not to worry about it because if the president had said anything criminal to the counsel of the White House, McGahn wouldn't be
there no. McGahn, as a matter of legal ethics and possibly even law, would have to quit.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIP: Well, there are number of issues swirling around the president today including this morning, the president sent out several tweets
battling his critics like threatening to potentially pull their security clearances as he did with the former intelligence official, John Brennan
last week.
[08:10:11] But he also plans on going to West Virginia later this afternoon for a campaign event and a roundtable with supporters, Kristie.
LU STOUT: And Abby, back to that Reuters interview, President Trump also addressed North Korea. What did he say?
PHILLIP: Well, the president has been talking about the potential for a second sit-down with Kim Jong-un. Now, there are a lot of questions out
there about whether or not there is progress really being made with North Korea, whether they are willing to do and take the steps towards
denuclearization, but President Trump in that Reuters interview said he deserves credit for making a lot of progress on this issue.
He says, "I stopped nuclear testing. I stopped missile testing. Japan is thrilled. What's going to happen? Who knows. We're going to see." He
remains optimistic here but of course, Kristie, folks are looking at the situation, looking for concrete steps on North Korea's part. They did
return what are believed to be remains of U.S. soldiers, but so far have resisted all other concrete steps towards a verifiable denuclearization on
the Korean Peninsula, Kristie.
LU STOUT: Abby Phillip, reporting live from the White House. Thank you.
More emotional reunions have been taking place between families separated by the Korean War before a final farewell on Wednesday. And here, relatives
reunite after finding themselves on opposite sides of the border between the two Koreas.
The meetings were arranged at the summit between the North and South Korean leaders earlier this year. The U.N. Secretary-General says he would like to
see these reunions become regular events.
You're watching "News Stream." Still to come, Venezuela gets a new currency that is pegged to the country's cryptocurrency. The president calls the
solution magic. Critics, they worry it's a sham.
Plus, dozens of Catholic bishops, priests and lay people are under investigation in wide ranging sexual abuse scandals in Chile. Many believe
they may never pay for their alleged crimes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LU STOUT: Coming to you live in Hong Kong, welcome back. This is "News Stream."
Venezuela is rolling out a new currency with five fewer zeros to try to curb runaway hyperinflation. The sovereign bolivar is an attempt to bolster
the country's crumbling economy. It is pegged to Venezuela's cryptocurrency, the Petro, which experts call a sham.
This comes as Venezuelans continue to flee to nearby countries including Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Brazil. In the last few days, Ecuador and Peru
have tightened their border rules in response to the influx. In a moment, we'll be talking to "CNN Money" emerging markets editor John Defterios in
London.
[08:15:03] But first let's go straight to Stefano Pozzebon who is standing by in Caracas. And Stefano, how are the people there in Venezuela reacting
to and attempting to use this new currency?
STEFANO POZZEBON, JOURNALIST: Well, Kristie, the people in Venezuela are reacting with uncertainty and confusion. There are still many, many black
spots, many, many doubts around how this new currency will work. Effectively this currency is nothing else than chopping off five zero from
the previous currency, the bolivar fuerte.
But there are also other economic measures like a new minimum wage, new taxes that are still yet to be understood what the impact is this new
measures will have on Venezuela's economy. And today could be, Kristie, a very good day to understand how they get the street, how the people of
Venezuela are reacting --
(TECHNICAL DIFFICULTY)
LU STOUT: OK, unfortunately we just lost that connection with Stefano there in Caracas, but I want to take a point that he raised just then and
bring it to John Defterios standing by in London. And John, as you heard from Stefano reporting from Caracas, he was saying that people there are
reacting with skepticism to this new currency. Are they right to be doubtful? Will this new currency help stop Venezuela's extreme inflation?
JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN EMERGIN MARKETS EDITOR: Well, Kristie, it's not the zeros that are on the paper but the policy that sits behind it and I don't
want to be too bold here, but this is a classic business school case of how not to manage an economy. It was a hole dug by the predecessor of Nicolas
Maduro, and that would be Hugo Chavez.
But Hugo Chavez had the benefit of a better than $100 oil and he spent it prolifically on the Venezuelans. Maduro didn't have that. He has a recovery
now around $70 a barrel. But the pain over the last three years is prevalent today and I think it's best countered by a few products using the
old bolivar, how ridiculous the previous currency was and why they're making a move now to knock off those zeroes off the new currency.
Taka a look at this, nearly 2.5 kilos of chicken listed at better than 14 million old bolivars, for $2.22. A single roll of toilet paper, 2.6 million
or 40 cents. And then you have a kilo of rice, 2.5 million bolivars or below 40 cents, at 38 cents. This goes back, Kristie, very quickly, to an
oil-based economy, but it's atrocious what's happened in terms of the production.
You go back 10 years, this is one of the top oil producers in the world at 3.2 million barrels a day. At the end of 2017, they're at about 2 million
barrels a day and last month at 1.7 million barrels a day. It's extraordinary the destruction of the state oil company and it's quite
interesting he tries to call this cryptocurrency, the Petro, named after the vast wealth of 300 billion barrels they have but nobody trust the
cryptocurrency or the economic policy that he's put forward.
LU STOUT: Yes, very little faith in this policy. Very little faith in this new currency. From John Defterios and London, let's take it back to Stefano
standing by in Caracas. And as the government there rolls out this new currency, not a lot of faith behind it, just the mass exodus of
Venezuelans, that continues to go on. Where are they going to?
POZZEBON: Yes. Exactly, Kristie. For months or almost a year, in fact, hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans have left this country. The main route
goes towards Colombia on the western Venezuelan border and then down from Colombia, it's a diaspora that trickles down across the Andes Mountain
range and all over South America.
We have Venezuelan communities going to Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Argentina, and the other route is for Brazil. And even for the past years, the rest of
the region and the rest of Latin America has been fairly welcoming with Venezuelan migrants. We're seeing that some of the countries like Ecuador
and Brazil are starting to feel the burden of these massive influxes.
We're talking here about tens of thousands of Venezuelans who leave this country every day to cross the border towards Colombia and then from there
to the other Latin American countries. So this is showing, Kristie, how the Venezuelan collapse, the social and economic collapse here in Caracas and
the rest of Venezuela is spreading all over the rest of Latin America.
LU STOUT: Yes, and that is how an economic crisis is turning into a refugee crisis in South America. Stefano Pozzebon, reporting live from
Caracas. John Defterios, live in London for us. A big thank you to you both.
Now, victims groups, they are welcoming the pope's letter on the latest sex abuse scandal plaguing the Catholic Church, but many are saying words are
just not enough.
[08:20:00] Under immense pressure to comment, Pope Francis wrote a letter reacting to the Pennsylvania report. The report details decades of sexual
abuse allegations against priests and cover-ups by bishops involving more than 1,000 child victims.
In his letter, the pope said that the church had abandoned its young members and he called for accountability for the perpetrators. Victims are
asking for the pope to do much, much more.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHAUN DOUGHERTY, CHURCH ABUSE SURVIVOR: You're making huge mistakes. I mean, this is, you know -- you have insulted the victims again for sure.
However, you were breaking your parishioners' hearts. Your parishioners are struggling right now. They are trying to comprehend how this has happened
in each of their parishes, in each of their churches.
And they are -- they are hanging by a thread now just like the victims are, and are with all of their might hoping that their religious leader in the
pope will quit these games and just finally, finally, finally do, do the right thing here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: Now, Pope Francis will meet privately with victims of sexual abuse during his visit to Ireland this weekend and a spokesman said it is
very possible the pope will address the topic during one of his speeches there. As the Vatican tries to get a grip on this international crisis,
Chile is taking action of its own bringing the first priest in its investigation to trial. Here's Patrick Oppmann.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Once a high-ranking official in the Catholic Church in Chile, former priest Oscar Munoz Toledo
now faces charges for the alleged sexual abuse of seven minors. He is the first priest arrested in a scandal that is believed to involve more than
200 alleged victims and threatens to further blacken the church's name in Chile.
Munoz's lawyer disputes the charges against his client. Chilean prosecutors have been conducting raids on church buildings following an internal
Vatican report that said for decades church officials in Chile have known about cases of sexual abuse and lead a massive cover-up, even destroying
records.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EMILIANO ARIAS, CHILEAN PROVINCIAL PROSECUTOR (through translator): We found evidence of the destruction of documents and that, aside from being
circumstantial evidence of a cover-up itself, that's also a crime. That could be a crime of concealment or destruction of information.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
OPPMANN (voice-over): In January while visiting Chile, the Pope Francis defended a Chilean bishop accused of concealing their views, saying he's
been quote, "slandered." But after Vatican investigators said church officials in Chile had help to cover up tens of cases of sexual abuse by
the clergy, the pope apologized and met with some of the victims.
All 34 of Chile's bishops were summoned to Rome where they offered the pope their resignations, the first mass resignation in history of the church.
The pope ultimately accepted the resignations of five bishops including that of the bishop he defended. But prosecutors say the church is still
failing to cooperate with their investigations. Accuser Juan Carlos Cruz met with the pope but said the church's actions are falling short.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JUAN CARLOS CRUZ, ACCUSER (through translation): Here these Chilean bishops convinced us what was happening were sins or failings. No, they are
crimes and felonies and they should pay with jail time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
OPPMANN (voice-over): The Chilean prosecutors say there are 158 bishops, priests and lay people under investigation. It's still not clear how many,
if any, will pay for their alleged crimes. Patrick Oppmann, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: Asia Argento, one of the leading voices of the #MeToo Movement has found herself on the other side of the conversation. The "New York
Times" reports that the filmmaker reached a settlement with the young actor who accused her of sexual assault. The request for damages was made just a
month after she publicly accused Harvey Weinstein of rape. CNN's Jean Casarez joins me from New York with more on the story. And Jean, how did
Asia Argento find herself on this position now, the other side of the media conversation?
JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think everyone is just trying to process it and the Los Angeles County sheriff's department is now saying
that they are looking into this incident allegedly happening at a California hotel. But it was "New York Times" that got an encrypted e-mail
from an anonymous source along about the alleged sexual assault in 2013.
They then went to three sources that were aware of this case and they said the documentation was authentic. And the facts that the "New York Times" is
reporting at this point based on this documentation, is that in 2013, Argento allegedly, I will say, sexually assaulted a young man, a young
actor, 17 years old -- he had just turned 17 -- in a hotel room in Marina Del Rey, California. Now, the Los Angeles County sheriffs department says
it is aware of the incident.
[08:25:00] They also say quote "to date, the Los Angeles County sheriff's department has not located any police report alleging criminal activity
within our jurisdiction in relation to this incident." After becoming aware of the allegations the L.A.S.D. (ph) Special Victims Bureau is attempting
to reach out to the reported victim and/or his representatives in an effort to appropriately document any potential criminal allegations.
And the issue here is that this was a 17-year-old young actor. CNN is naming him because the documentation has gone public -- Jimmy Bennett is
his name. He had just turned 17. Actually, she was 37 at the time and he had been her son back in 2004 in a movie. So they did know each other. But
in California, a minor cannot consent.
And the way it got to where we are today is that Bennett through the documentation, said that when he watched her at the forefront of the #MeToo
movement alleging that Harvey Weinstein had raped her in 1997, but he very strongly denies, that it brought back everything of what happened in that
hotel room and it was too much to bear.
His attorney sent a notice of intent to sue to her. She then entered into a negotiated settlement -- $380,000 according to the "New York Times," is
what was settled on and a payment date and time was all set in April documentation.
LU STOUT: Jean Casarez on the story for us. Thank you.
Now, hopes of an eid cease-fire are fading in Afghanistan as mortars target Kabul. We'll bring you the latest in a live report. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LU STOUT: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. You're watching "News Stream" and these are your world headlines.
The Kremlin is denying any knowledge of the attempted hacking of the U.S. Senate and conservative think tanks. This comes after Microsoft claims it
thwarted such attempts, which the company says were carried out by a group called Fancy Bear with links to Russia military intelligence.
Venezuela is rolling out a new currency with five fewer zeroes to try to curb runaway hyperinflation. The sovereign bolivar is an attempt to bolster
the country's crumbling economy. It is pegged to Venezuela's cryptocurrency, the Petro, which experts call a sham.
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has narrowly survived a leadership challenge. He's been facing an uprising from conservative
factions in his own party (inaudible) with his green policy agenda to fight climate change. Mr. Turnbull won the vote 45-38.
[08:30:02] It has been about one year since hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims began fleeing Myanmar, claiming torture and ethnic
cleansing by government forces.
And today, the nation's de facto leader denied those accusations, saying it was terrorism that led to the humanitarian crisis seen in Rakhine State and
that the threats could have grave consequences for the region. A human rights watch report says it is still not safe for Rohingya in Myanmar
despite the U.N. deal for them to return.
The Taliban are denying responsibility for a mortar attack in Kabul during an Eid speech by the Afghan president. Earlier this week, Ashraf Ghani
offered the insurgent group a month-long ceasefire during the Muslim holiday but so far, the Taliban, they have not publicly responded.
CNN's Sam Kiley, he has been following developments from Abu Dhabi. He joins us now. Sam, Kabul is again under attack. Could you tell us more
about the area that was targeted and do we know who fired the mortars?
SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, so far, there has been a claim of responsibility but we have yet to verify authentically
coming from allegedly a group identifying itself as part of the so-called Islamic state. As I say, that is hither to unconfirmed.
What is confirmed, the Taliban denied responsibility for this attack, which was on the green zone, the area dominated by governments, by embassies, a
walled-off enclave within the city of Kabul. A significant attack because, of course, it actually occurred during Mr. Ghani's Eid address.
He actually broke off during his address without flinching and said it would take more than that to destabilize Afghanistan and put them off the
celebration of Eid, Kristie. But at the same time, this does represent, I think, yet another example of how various insurgent groups are pushing the
government not entirely on to the back foot, but taking control of the initiative.
The initiative always lies with insurgent groups really in these sorts of wars, but 17 years alongside the help that they are getting from the United
States and other NATO allies, Britain sending more troops, a few more hundred troops, to help in the effort to fight back the Taliban and the so-
called Islamic state.
Clearly this is going to be very, very troubling for the central government, less than a year away from a more presidential elections
scheduled for sometime next year.
LU STOUT: Yeah, very troubling to have this security situation before then, and we are also watching the situation in Kunduz. The Taliban
confirmed that they had captured three buses that were packed with passengers. What is happening there in what is effectively a hostage crisis
in Afghanistan?
KILEY: Well, this is another strange example of the Taliban trying to operate almost as a government in parallel. That has been very much part of
their modus operandi right across the country is to fight a war but also trying to establish their perspective or their version of law even within
government-held territories.
So this is three buses that were captured a few days, 160 people on board. They separated out, they say, a security force personnel from ordinary
civilians.
They claimed to be releasing some of the civilians, many dozens of those civilians, but holding back the security force personnel which a Taliban
spokesman told the news agency may in the future be used for prisoner exchanges with their own people later on.
This is a sort of thing where unlike the so-called Islamic state who take an ultra violent attack with these sorts of operations and in all
probability would have killed everybody on these buses, the Taliban trying to give a semblance of some kind of structure and an approach to law and
order, if you like, that separates them not only from the so-called Islamic state fighters who are trying to get a foothold in the Afghan conflict but
also from the government where chaos reigns in a lot of the areas allegedly under government control.
LU STOUT: Chaos reigns in Afghanistan during Eid. Sam Kiley reporting live for us, thank you.
Now, I want to bring you an update about the 12-year-old boy marooned in a refugee detention center on the tiny island of Nauru. That is where
Australia has been sending asylum seekers who arrived by boat.
The Refugee Action Coalition has confirmed to CNN that the boy has left the island by air ambulance with his sister, his mother, and his stepfather.
The boy was ill after refusing to eat for at least two weeks, but he reportedly would not travel to the mainland for treatment without his
family, something that the Australian government was not allowing. He is one of 119 children living in forced detention on Nauru.
[08:35:03] India's Kerala state is facing a nightmare scenario after the worst flooding there in nearly a century. The death toll is nearing 400.
That number is expected to rise. And heroes are now emerging from this natural disaster, especially the firemen who are the -- the fishermen,
rather, who they themselves are pitching in to rescue the stranded. Michael Holmes reports on their stories.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: In the southern Indian state of Kerala, the focus is shifting from rescue to relief. Hundreds of
thousands of people have been moved to relief camps across the state over the past week as the state saw its worst flooding in nearly a century.
Many of them were rescued by fishermen. According to the Kerala state government, some 2,800 fishermen across the state voluntarily rushed to
help victims when the floods hit last week. CNN spoke with one of them, Aaron Michael (ph), who says he was able to rescue about 1,500 people
despite some man-made obstacles.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Some people wanted to remain in their homes and just wanted food and water. They were reluctant to leave
their homes. Some people were actually mocking me. I had to beg them to evacuate.
HOLMES: But Michael (ph) says he was insulted by some victims he was trying to help because they were suspicious of him. The volunteers have
been widely praised, however, on social media and the state government is now offering the fishermen about $40 each for each day of their efforts,
plus any boat repair costs. But Michael (ph) says, he doesn't want it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): My boat and engine are severely damaged, but I don't want anything from the government. I went there
voluntarily to save people. I didn't do it expecting benefits from the government.
HOLMES: Michael (ph) says he decided to go out and save people because what happened to the victims could happen to anyone, including himself.
Michael Holmes, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: You're watching "News Stream." And coming up, First Lady Melania Trump goes on a crusade against online bullying (INAUDIBLE) like Twitter,
which happens to be her husband's favorite sounding board. Get all the details, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LU STOUT: Welcome back. Now, India's I.T. minister says the WhatsApp CEO, Chris Daniels, has offered a number of countermeasures to tackle fake news
in the country. These measures include hiring a grievance officer in India, opening up a corporate entity there, and developing technology to locate
the source of fake news messages.
Daniels met India's I.T. minister on Tuesday after rumor spread on the app were linked to a number of mob lynchings in the country.
El Salvador has severed diplomatic relations with Taiwan in order to establish ties with China. The loss of the central American country reduces
the number of Taipei's formal allies to just 17. Burkina Faso, the Dominican Republic, they cut ties with Taiwan in May. And here is what
Taiwan's president, Tsai Ing-wen, had to say after the announcement.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TSAI ING-WEN, PRESIDENT OF TAIWAN (through translator): Today's China is not only a menace to cross-strait relations. What China is doing right now
all over the world, no matter if it is interfering in the inner affairs of countries or destroying the order of international markets, it has already
cost a high degree of global instability.
We need to remind the international community that this is not only related to Taiwan. We will not tolerate this serious situation anymore.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[08:40:00] LU STOUT: The foreign minister of China met with his Salvadorian counterpart in Beijing earlier to sign a joint communique,
establishing formal diplomatic relations.
And finally, oh, the irony. While Donald Trump was attacking his enemies on Twitter, his wife, Melania, was addressing a summit on cyberbullying.
Here's Jeanne Moos.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Do what she says, not what he does. Melania Trump was once again speaking --
MELANIA TRUMP, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: On cyberbullying prevention.
MOOS: You know, like calling someone "that dog."
TRUMP: And also be destructive.
MOOS: Or tweeting angry Democrat thugs.
TRUMP: And harmful when used incorrectly.
MOOS: Tweeted one critic, "It appears she's never met her husband." Tweeted another, "Irony thy name is Melania," misspelling her name the way
the president once misspelled it. Someone posted an image of a broken irony meter off the scale. Another commenter used the words of the church lady.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, isn't that special.
MOOS: Supporters protested. No, at real Donald Trump does not cyberbully. He cyber counter punches. Some thought the first lady was sending --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A veiled message to her husband, right?
TRUMP: Let's face it. Most children are more aware of the benefits and pitfalls of social media than some adults.
MOOS: This adult? It has all gotten so surreal that it's hard to tell what's real and what's parody. Very proud of First Lady Melania Trump
giving a speech on cyberbullying. Anyone who uses social media to bully someone or insult someone is a low I.Q. loser who really should just
disappear.
Turns out that was a parody Donald Trump, but dozens found it so authentic they lashed out. "You literally can't make a tweet about not cyberbullying
without cyberbullying." Someone else took a page from Rudy Giuliani.
RUDY GIULIANI, ATTORNEY TO PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Truth isn't truth.
MOOS: Hence, bullying isn't bullying. Melania has acknowledged that people are skeptical of her discussing this topic.
TRUMP: But it will not stop me from doing what I know is right.
MOOS: Could there be marital fallout because the first lady dares to use the anti-bully pulpit --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My husband will be so mad he will not speak to me! Ah!
(LAUGHTER)
MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(LAUGHTER)
LU STOUT: And finally, finally -- "Crazy Rich Asians" may be crazy successful at U.S. box offices but Singapore, it might be a different
story. Now, romantic comedy opens today in the island state where it has been criticized for its lack of ethnic diversity and not featuring
Singaporean accents and slang.
"Crazy Rich Asians" is the first Hollywood film in 25 years to feature an all-East Asian cast.
And that is "News Stream." I'm Kristie Lu Stout. Don't go anywhere. "World Sport" with Christina Macfarlane is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:45:00] (WORLD SPORT)
END
