Return to Transcripts main page

NEWS STREAM

China Blamed By Trump On Cooler Relations With North Korea; Google Denies Trump's Attacks; Cuomo And Nixon Heated Debate In New York; Memorials In Honor Of The Late Senator John Mccain; Russia And Syrian Foreign Minister Meet; Lebanon's Day Of The Disappeared; World Headlines; Talks Stalled; NAFTA Negotiations; Who's Gonna Pay?; Feeling The Heat; Icy Debate. Aired 8-9a ET

Aired August 30, 2018 - 08:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


[08:00:00] KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN ANCHOR: -- with Beijing for stalled talks with North Korea.

The Democratic race for New York mayor, a new face in politics from the small screen challenges a woman incumbent and at times it got ugly.

And remembering John McCain at the infamous Hanoi Hilton. We hear from a man who rescued him and another who held him prisoner.

China is hitting back at tweets posted by U.S. President Donald Trump, which appear to blame the Chinese for cooling diplomatic relations between

the U.S. and North Korea. In the series of tweets the president said that the trade dispute between China and the U.S. was causing Beijing to put

pressure on North Korea.

And China has issued a sharp response. A short time ago, the country's foreign ministry said that Mr. Trump's tweets "distort facts and his logic

is beyond comprehension." The Chinese also advised the U.S. to take a look at itself rather than blame others.

So, how is this going down in the region? In a moment we'll be speaking to Paula Hancocks in Seoul, but first, Matt Rivers joins me now from Beijing.

And Matt, what's the reaction from Beijing?

MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's a predictable reaction in a way, Kristie. You read the best parts of the statement there basically,

saying that this was the foreign ministry spokeswoman calling the president's logic beyond comprehension. Basically you're seeing China do

here is the same thing they do every time the president accuses China of negatively influencing North Korea.

And that is to say, look, we do not combine or link issues of trade and national security. It's their standard response. And it's worth noting here

that even though this is just the latest example, the president's central argument here is that China has economic leverage over North Korea and it

chooses to use that in a way that is detrimental to the United States.

That's an argument that the president has been using for basically his entire presidency at this point. Now, he's explicitly linking it to the

ongoing trade negotiations and it's also a pretty convenient excuse or reason, depending on your viewpoint, for the lack of progress in the North

Korea negotiations between the United States and North Korea over the nuclear program.

So, China coming out and saying categorically denying it, it's not a surprise there at all. It's what we've heard from them before and they're

going to continue to say that. but one thing though that I think is interesting to note here, Kristie, that there is a lot of people here in

China that would really push back on the president's claims here.

Basically saying, if China had that kind of leverage over North Korea -- and that's a big if to actually force the Kim Jong-un regime to do whatever

China wants, why would china want to scuttle these negotiations moving forward? They don't want to go back to the heated rhetoric that we saw in

2017 during the summer, the missile test, the nuclear test and the like.

So China might not want North Korea to agree to every U.S. demand but most people here will tell you that China does not want to see these

negotiations go off the rails and go back to the likes of 2017.

LU STOUT: And, Matt, does Trump have good reason to be suspicious about the relationship between China and North Korea because we know Xi Jinping

and Kim Jong-un, they have met multiple times this past year?

RIVERS: Yes, he absolutely has a reason to be suspicious because there is evidence over the years that China has really been the sole state that is

primarily financially supported the North Korean regime. I mean, they are the largest trading partner for North Korea and North Korea could not exist

economically without China's aid.

And really up until recently, China regularly flouted U.N. sanctions even though they would deny that, but they regularly flouted sanctions against

North Korea. And so really, the whole rest of the world was in agreement that China could do more and should do more to rein in North Korea.

But what you have seen over the past year or so is China sort of changed its tune. You know, we go up to those border towns along the border between

China and North Korea and economic activity has slowed down. China really reached a tipping point with North Korea to say look, we really need you to

stop doing what you're doing and we are going to enforce sanctions more than we ever have before.

You could argue that they are looking for a reason to lift those sanctions. They do not want to see the North Korean regime collapse, and maybe they do

want the North Koreans to make it tough on the Americans in these negotiations.

But to say that the Chinese are simply just trying to scuttle the negotiations because they don't like the trade stance that the United

States has in these negotiations, I think that's where most experts would draw the line and say it's just a step too far.

LU STOUT: All right, got it. Matt Rivers, live in Beijing for us. Thank you.

And now let's go straight to Paula Hancocks standing by in Seoul. And Paula, Donald Trump, he may be casting blame on China for the stalled

progress in these talks but also in his tweet storm.

[08:05:02] You know, he talked about how he believes his relationship with Kim Jong-un is a good one and that he believes that no more money needs to

be spent on those joint U.S.-South Korean drills. What is Seoul making of all that?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it was quite a remarkable thing to say, Kristie, when you consider that just one day earlier Mr. Trump's

secretary of defense, James Mattis, has said that there was no decision, there were no discussions to suspend more of these military drills.

So, he had effectively said that there have been some suspended obviously after that Singapore summit between the leaders of North Korea and the

United States, but there weren't any plans to suspend anymore.

And then just one day later, you have his boss, the U.S. president, saying that there's no reason to spend money on these drills. Now clearly that's

going to be something that will please Pyongyang. They will be very happy to hear that.

Although in the tweet he did also mention that if he felt he did need to restart these military exercises, then they could be much bigger than they

have been before. But it's definitely mixed messages that are being sent about these military exercises. We've heard briefings from officials here

in Seoul who say that they haven't had consultations with the United States.

Over the past couple of days, every ministry has been asked about this. They say simply that this hasn't been discussed at this point. So, what the

secretary of defense, what the U.S. president is stating about these drills has not been run past Seoul yet.

LU STOUT: Interesting. And we know that Moon Jae-in, the South Korean president, is getting ready for the big upcoming additional meeting with

Kim Jong-un. Is that meeting going to be done in close consultation and coordination with the United States?

HANCOCKS: Well, perfectly (ph), what officials here in South Korea always say is that everything is done in close consultation with the United

States. Certainly what the officials here in Seoul believe at this point is that this meeting now, this summit in Pyongyang next month between Moon

Jae-in and Kim Jong-un has become even more important.

That there is a lot more responsibility now on Moon Jae-in to try and act as mediator once again as he's done in the past to try and smooth over the

differences between the U.S. and North Korea. I mean, the South Korean president has been widely credited with having brought the U.S. and North

Korea closer together and having really convinced the U.S. President Donald Trump to give this a try.

So really Mr. Moon is not going to go to Pyongyang with an extra burden, with not just to improve and continue to improve inter-Korean relations,

but to try and bring the U.S. and North Korea closer together once again. Kristie?

LU STOUT: Paula Hancocks, reporting live from Seoul, thank you.

Google is hitting back after the U.S. president once again accused the tech giant of political bias. On Wednesday, Donald Trump claimed the search

engine promoted former President Barack Obama's state of the union address but not his own in January.

Now, in a statement to CNN, Google says it highlighted the live stream of Mr. Trump's state of the union on its home page this year, but that they

have historically not promoted the first speech to congress by new presidents since it is technically not a state of the union address. These

includes the years 2009 as well as 2017.

And another White House insider is on his way out of the Trump administration. President Trump announced on twitter that White House

counsel Don McGahn will be leaving in the fall after the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. Now, McGahn has been

cooperating with the Mueller investigation and was widely expected to leave, but a source says the president's tweets still came as a surprise.

Now to New York, where Democrats has squared off for the first time in the race for governor. Things got heated when the current governor, Andrew

Cuomo, and rival Cynthia Nixon went head to head on Wednesday night sparring over their visions for the state.

(BEGIN VIDEOC CLIP)

ANDREW CUOMO, GOVERNOR OF NEW YORK: -- lives in the world of fiction. I live in the world of fact. Let's just do a few facts, OK? The subway system

is owned by New York City. The subway system --

CYNTHIA NIXON, GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE, NEW YORK: The subway has been controlled by the state since 1965.

CUOMO: Excuse me. Can you stop interrupting? Can you stop interrupting?

NIXON: Can you stop lying?

CUOMO: Yes, as soon as you do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: All right, let's bring in CNN's Jason Carroll in New York. Jason, thank you for joining us. This was a hotly anticipated debate and it

delivered. What were the defining moments?

JASON CARROLL, CNN U.S. NATIONA: CORRESPONDENT: Wow, you caught one of them there, Kristie. There were so many defining moments because really

these two candidates really took the gloves off last night. I was there for that debate. I watched it as both of them really went after each other on a

number of issues.

Another moment was when Cynthia Nixon, former "Sex and the City" actress, went after the current governor Andrew Cuomo for a comment that he made.

I'm sure you remember it when he said earlier this month that America was never that great.

[08:10:03] She really went after Cuomo for how he responded to Donald Trump's criticism of him making that comment. She basically said that he

basically buckled under Trump's criticism. She said basically that Cuomo stood up to Trump the way Trump stands up to Putin. And that was something

that got a lot of people in the audience sort of riled up.

Another point that she made was also earlier than that, where she also accused Cuomo of "lying" about his record. So that was another moment.

Another moment was when Cuomo himself was asked about his potential run for the office of the president, and he said he would not run for office if he

was re-elected as governor of the state of New York. So, a lot of key moments there last night.

LU STOUT: You know, just last month, and I want to get sort of like the pulse, the political pulse in New York right now, because the race for

governor is between an incumbent and between a new face - well, a new face in politics, a progressive. We know that last month a progressive won in

New York. Alexandria Casio-Cortez, she made international headlines. Do you feel that Democrats in the state, they are hungry for change?

CARROLL: Well, I think there are some Democrats especially those to the left who are hungry for change. The Ocasio-Cortez upset there in the 14th

Congressional District in the Bronx and Queens came out of nowhere for a lot of folks. I mean, a lot of folks, Kristie, did not see that coming.

And so what they have to focus on is those people who are way over to the left who are energized.

Ocasio-Cortez calling herself a Democratic socialist. You've got Cynthia Nixon there who really is a promoter of progressive values, such as Ocasio-

Cortez. You know, it's really going to be up to voters, but what Democrats do not want to see, at least those establishment Democrats, is another

Ocasio-Cortez coming out of nowhere. Is Cynthia Nixon and Ocasio-Cortez -- I think the polls show that she has really got a lot of ground to make up.

LU STOUT: Very interesting political dynamic there in the state. Jason Carroll, reporting for us live from New York. Jason, thank you so much.

Take care.

CARROLL: You got. Thank you.

LU STOUT: Now, there will be more emotional farewells taking place in the state of Arizona today for the political giant and American war hero, John

McCain. On Wednesday, admirers stood in line for hours in blistering heat to pay their last respects to the man who dedicated his life to his

country. Nick Watt has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK WATT, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As the political world struggles to find words fit to honor him, the family of John McCain

struggling with the loss of above all else, a husband and father as memorials for the late senator begin.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: See our tears for our brother, our father, our husband, our fellow citizen, our senator.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATT (voice-over): The tireless senator from Arizona lying in state at Arizona's state capitol on what would have been his 82nd birthday. McCain

meticulously planned his own funeral services designed to send a message of bipartisanship even after his death. In an attempt to put petty

partisanship aside, McCain asked his two former presidential rivals to eulogize him at his funeral.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: John said that night, President Obama is now my president. So he healed the nation at a time he was hurt.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATT (voice-over): Barack Obama and George W. Bush will speak at McCain's memorial service at Washington National Cathedral Saturday. Glaringly

absent is President Trump. McCain did not want the president at his funeral. Trump criticized his service and his capture in Vietnam during the

election and McCain famously voted down Trump's attempts to repeal Obamacare. It took the president more than a day to respond to repeated

calls to appropriately pay tribute to McCain.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why won't you call John McCain a hero, sir?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATT (voice-over): And perhaps a final jab at the president, McCain asked a Russian dissident and Putin critic to be one of his pallbearers. Even in

death, the senator from Arizona appealing to the better angels of our nature.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DOUG DUCEY, GOVERNOR OF ARIZONA: John is probably the only politician who could get us to set aside politics and come together as a state and a

nation, as we have.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATT (on-camera): After another funeral service here in Phoenix Thursday morning, the late senator's body will be flown to Washington where it will

lie in state at the capitol, then there will be a memorial service at the National Cathedral and on Sunday, Senator John McCain will be buried at the

cemetery of the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. Nick Watt, CNN, Phoenix, Arizona.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: They are also remembering John McCain in Vietnam.

[08:15:00] The war hero spent more than five harrowing years as a prisoner of war in the infamous Hanoi Hilton. And this week at the U.S. embassy

mourners have signed a book of condolences for the man once considered the enemy. Ivan Watson has more from Hanoi.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On a rainy morning in the Vietnamese capital, it's hard to imagine anything

disturbing the serenity of the Truc Bach Lake. But this is where lieutenant commander John McCain splashed down terribly wounded after a surface-to-air

missile hit his plane during a bombing run in 1967. The Vietnamese erected a monument to celebrate his capture.

(on-camera): Look how people responded to Senator McCain's passing. They took this trophy celebrating the day he was shot down and turned it into a

makeshift shrine with flowers honoring a former enemy who became this country's friend.

The day (inaudible) first saw McCain he says he wanted to kill him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): I wanted to stab him with a knife but people nearby shouted, "stop!" I thought this was an invader who was

trying to destroy our city.

WATSON (voice-over): Fifty-one years after he helped capture McCain, (inaudible) laments the death of a former U.S. pilot.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): I'm sad because I never got to meet him again, (inaudible) tells me. McCain came back to Vietnam and did

good things here.

WATSON (voice-over): After his capture, McCain was brought here to Hoa LoPprison better known by the nickname Hanoi Hilton. It's a museum now, but

during the war McCain spent much of his harrowing five and a half year experience as a prisoner within this building's walls and during torture,

which he describes in his memoirs.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One guard would hold me while the others pounded away. Most blows were directed at my shoulders, chest and stomach. Occasionally

when I had fallen to the floor, they kick me in the hip. They cracked several of my ribs and broke a couple of teeth.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

WATSON (voice-over): Tran Trong Duyet, the former warden of the prison first met McCain in 1967.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRAN TRONG DUYET, FORMER HOA LO PRISON WARDEN (through translation): He was a tough and strong man. He was loyal to his ideology.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON (voice-over): He denies that U.S. prisoners were tortured here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DUYET (through translation): McCain told a lie in his book.

DANIEL KRITENBRINK, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO VIETNAM: I think it's absolutely clear and indisputable the torture that many of our veterans suffered.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON (voice-over): The U.S. ambassador to Vietnam opened the embassy to the public allowing well-wishers to sign a book of condolences.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KRITENBRINK: A great patriot, a great warrior who fought and suffered here for years then becomes a senator, a statesman and I argue a peacemaker. He

was one of the leaders in the United States again who brought our countries back together.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON (voice-over): In the decades after his release, McCain visited Vietnam more than 20 times.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: Oh, I put the Vietnam War behind me a long time ago. I harbor no anger nor rancor. I am a better man for my

experience, and I'm grateful for having the opportunity of serving.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON (voice-over): In another Hanoi lake lies the wreckage of a downed U.S. B-52 bomber. It's a testament to the extraordinary legacy of John

McCain, that the Vietnamese now admire and mourn, a man who was once sent to bomb their cities. Ivan Watson, CNN, Hanoi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Remarkable tributes for a remarkable man. You're watching "News Stream."

And still to come, there are troubling new signs that an attack on Syria's last rebel-held enclave could be eminent and it comes as the Russian

foreign minister meets with a Syrian counterpart in Moscow. We take you there live.

Plus, we are also going to take you to Lebanon where some 30 years after the end of a civil war, thousands are still missing. As loved ones seek

answers on the annual day of the disappeared.

[08:20:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: All right, coming to you live from Hong Kong, welcome back. This is "News Stream." welcome ban.

And turning now to Syria where there are fears of an all-out military assault that could happen soon on the last rebel-held stronghold of Idlib.

And right now, the Russian foreign minister is meeting with his Syrian counterpart in Moscow.

On Wednesday, Sergey Lavrov said that Idlib must be eliminated. U.S. defense officials, they warned that the Syrian regime has moved armed

helicopters closer to the enclave and the U.S official envoy says that there is a potential for a perfect storm in Idlib that could escalate

beyond the borders of Syria.

CNN's senior international correspondent, Fredrik Pleitgen joins me now live from Moscow with more. And Fred, lets first talk about these talks

happening today. Could this meeting between Russia and Syria actually hasten this long-feared attack on Idlib?

FRED PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. That's not clear. I think they are very important talks that taking place between

Walis Muallem, the foreign minister of Syria and Sergey Lavrov, the foreign minister of Russia. But it comes amid, as you've noted Kristie, a real

escalation in the rhetoric that we've been seeing, but also on the movement of equipment and of troops into that area.

Now, officially what these two men are going to be talking about is what the Russians and the Syrians call the battle against terrorism, which is,

for instance, like the fight that could take place in Idlib very soon. (Inaudible) brought the Russians especially a lot of international

criticism, some of which they completely reject.

But on the other hand, they also said we want to talk about reconstruction as well. So what role this meeting is going to play is unclear, but it

really comes at a time that you do see a big amount of military activity.

On the one hand, you have the Syrian government forces amassing at positions outside of Idlib. That is something that has been happening in

the past as well, but we are now hearing that perhaps there are these armed helicopters that might be deployed as well.

And then the Russians earlier today came out and all of a sudden announced that they were going to hold large-scale military drills in the

Mediterranean ocean. Of course, that being right in the vicinity of the Syrian coast. Now, we have known for the past couple of weeks, the past

couple days, that the Russians have been moving warships to that area.

Today they have announced there's going to be about 25 warships taking part in those military exercises and that also strategic bombers will be part of

that as well. So, in any case, the Russians, while they say that these are things that have been planned a long time ago, have a lot more equipment

down there in Syria than they would at any other time.

And also the Syrian army also amassing its forces as well. So, it certainly seems as though there could be something on the horizon very soon. As

you've noted, the officials are also ratcheting up the rhetoric.

LU STOUT: Yes, the ignals are there from the rhetoric too, as you detailed them, laid out, the military assets both Russian and Syrian moving closer

to Syria, closer to Idlib. And what could happen next? We know that Idliob is a densely populated area. What would a major offensive do to the city

and the people of Idlib?

PLEITGEN: Well, I mean a lot of that depends on how things pan out. The one of the things that we have to keep in mind, Kristie, in these

situations, that there are a lot of international actors that do have a big say in what happens there. And they have fire power there as well.

The Turks for instance have troops in that area. They have observation posts in Idlb. We know the Russians and Turks have been in contact. In

fact, one of the things that we also learned today is that there was a talk between the Russian defense minister and the Turkish defense minister.

Unclear what the two decided, but of course, Idlib and Syria would have been a topic then. And then of course there is the United States as well.

And there you have a lot of back and forth of rhetoric between Russians and the Americans. The Americans saying they fear that the Syrian government

may be planning chemical attacks.

The Russians denying that and saying they believe that the rebels are planning false flag attacks in order to give the Americans a reason to

strike.

[08:25:01] So you can see, Idlb is -- could be a very big offensive but it could also mean a big confrontation between the U.S. and Russia as well,

Kristie.

LU STOUT: You know, Idlib has been called the worst final showdown but it could escalate into something else entirely new and scary. Fred Pleitgen,

reporting live for us from Moscow. Thank you.

Today marks the International Day of the Disappeared, which was created to draw attention to those who are missing around the world due to conflict,

violence, natural disasters or migration. And sadly in Lebanon, there are many to remember -- 17,000 people remain missing from the civil war that

ended in 1990 after 15 years of fighting. As Ben Wedeman reports, the country's leaders have been slow to respond to desperate pleas for help

from family members.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Lebanon's civil war ended in 1990. It wasn't the end, however, for thousands of families whose loved

ones disappeared without a trace. Wadad Halwani's husband Adnan went missing on the 24th of September of 1982. Today, she heads the committee of

the families of kidnapped and the disappeared in Lebanon.

On a busy Beirut street, she hands out leaflets to remind people that as many as 17,000 Lebanese and Palestinians are still unaccounted for.

WADAD HALWAN, CIVIL ACTIVIST (through translation): The country's leaders, she says, want everyone to forget the past. They told us, forget everything

and put it all behind you, she says.

WEDEMAN (voice-over): Ibrahim Al-Bustani's brother, Ali, then 14, was last seen on the 5th of May 1975.

IBRAHIM AL-BUSTANI, BROTHER OF MISSING (through translation): Since then, he says, we've been asking and searching and searching and searching for

him.

WEDEMAN (voice-over): But those searching are getting old. Others have passed away. Photographer Dalia Khamissy is documenting the families of the

missing.

DALIA KHAMISSY, PHOTOGRAPHER: As if time stopped for them because obviously they cannot move forward. Women cannot get married again. They

cannot inherit and the kids grow up listening or watching their mothers suffering and, you know, I mean, as if life stopped for them.

WEDEMAN (voice-over): A draft law on the missing is headed to parliament while the International Committee of the Red Cross is collecting medical

records, accounts and photographs of thousands of the lost.

YARA KHAWAJA, INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE OF THE RED CROSS: But we also have what scientifically it is called the biological reference samples, but in

simple words, it's swap of saliva from the family of the --

WEDEMAN: So it's the DNA?

KHAWAJA: You extract the DNA out of it.

WEDEMAN: Researchers believe there may be more than 100 mass graves in Lebanon. None have been exhumed. Mariam Saidi lost her son, Maher, then 15

years old, in June 1982. She keeps him alive through her art. It pains her that those behind the civil war today carry on as if nothing ever happened.

We see the warlords at rallies, she says, and people dancing around and applauding and thanking them. They lead groups and parties and so on and so

on, but they're not fooling me. The pictures of the missing are fading, but not their memory. Ben Wedeman, CNN, Beirut.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Now, as Germany braces for another day of anti-migrant protests, police say a Syrian man was badly beaten in the northern city of Wismar.

Now, they are investigating the incident as a hate crime. Meanwhile, one local right wing extremist group has called for another mass rally today in

the eastern city of Chemnitz. Violence between extremist groups and counterdemonstrators first broke out there on Sunday over the stabbing of a

German man.

Now it was, at least in front of the cameras, all smiles at that Singapore summit back in June. But since then, little progress has been made and

Trump is blaming China for cooler relations between the U.S. and North Korea. So what went wrong? More on that, next.

[08:30:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN NEWS STREAM SHOW HOST: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. You're watching "News Stream" and these are your world headlines.

Tens of thousands of people have been forced out of their homes after a dam burst in central Myanmar early on Wednesday morning. Emergency officials

there say at least one person is dead and six are thought to be missing.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has been meeting with his Syrian counterpart in Moscow as U.S. defense officials say Syrian regime forces

are moving closer to rebel-held positions in Italy in what could be preparation for an all-out assault. The U.N. special envoy warns the

government offensive on Idlib amounts to the perfect storm that could lead to the most horrific tragedy.

IKEA is facing backlash in China over how it describes Taiwan. The Swedish furniture retailer is the latest in a string of global brands that have

stoked Beijing's political sensibilities. Now in this case, IKEA's packaging labels appear to suggest that Taiwan is a separate country. The

Chinese government considers Taiwan part of its territory and bristles at any suggestion to the contrary.

China is hitting back at tweets posted by President Trump blaming the Chinese for cooling diplomatic relations between the U.S. and North Korea.

In a series of tweets out on Wednesday, Mr. Trump claimed China is pressuring North Korea because of trade disputes between Beijing and the

United States. The Chinese say the president's logic is "beyond comprehension" and "distorts facts."

Whoever is to blame, U.S.-North Korean relations, they seem to be a long way off from the historic summit back in June, when President Trump and

North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un seemed to get along rather well. So, what went wrong? Will Ripley explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The June 12th Singapore summit was the political equivalent of a whirlwind summer romance. Now,

with autumn around the corner, reality is setting in.

The first ever meeting of a sitting U.S. president and a North Korean leader resulted in a vaguely worded agreement, Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un

pleding to work together to build a lasting and stable peace regime, work towards complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula with the U.S.

promising North Korea security guarantees.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We're starting that process very quickly. Very, very quickly.

RIPLEY: President Trump quickly agreed to suspend large-scale joint military drills with South Korea. The president was taking a victory lap

before the ink was even dry. There is no longer a nuclear threat from North Korea, he tweeted the very next day. Within weeks, U.S. intelligence

claimed North Korea had no plans to denuclearize anytime soon.

Tensions were already building before U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo traveled to Pyongyang in early July. Things got even worse when the North

Koreans rejected U.S. demands for immediate denuclearization, blasting them as gangster-like. The return of 55 sets of possible Korean War remains

helped ease tensions temporarily.

The North Koreans felt after destroying a nuclear test site and freezing missile launches for months, it was time for the U.S. to build trust by

formally ending the Korean War, something President Trump spoke about in Singapore.

[08:35:05] TRUMP: Now we can all have hope that it will soon end, and it will. It will soon end.

RIPLEY: Apparently, not soon enough for Pyongyang. The North Koreans want a peace treaty at the beginning of the denuclearization process to

guarantee the security of their leader Kim Jong-un. Some of Trump's advisers argue a peace treaty should come at the end, after North Korea has

given up its nukes.

Sources tell CNN a letter from North Korea's ex-spy chief last week warned the denuclearization is again at stake and may fall apart. Washington Post

saying that letter prompted President Trump to abruptly cancel Pompeo's planned trip to Pyongyang this week.

President Trump tweeting, China is providing North Korea with considerable aid, including money, fuel, fertilizer and various other commodities. Trump

saying he has no plan to restart large-scale U.S.-South Korea war games for now, ominously adding, if he does, they will be far bigger than ever

before.

Will Ripley, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: As the U.S. and Canada are raising to reach a rework (ph) deal on North American Free Trade Agreement by Friday, both sides, striking a

positive tone. Now, Canada rejoined NAFTA talks after months on the sidelines, but although the Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau, said

he is optimistic a deal can be reached, he said there are no guarantees.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUSTIN TRUDEAU, PRIME MINISTER OF CANADA: We recognize that there is a possibility of getting there by Friday, but it is only a possibility

because it will hinge on whether or not there is ultimately a good deal for Canada, a good deal for Canadians. I've said from the very beginning, no

NAFTA deal is better than a bad NAFTA deal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: All right. As Canada and U.S. attempt to hash out this trade deal, Trump is touting his latest trade agreement with Mexico as a

breakthrough, but as Jeanne Moos tells us, there's still a sore spot in that relationship, something that's been driving Mexican officials up the

wall.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Mirror, mirror on the border wall, what's the most famous Trump question of them all?

TRUMP: Who's going to pay for the wall?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE/UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE:: Mexico!

TRUMP: Who's going to pay for the wall?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE/UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mexico!

TRUMP: I don't hear you.

MOOS: We haven't heard him talking about Mexico paying for ages. And then on Tuesday --

TRUMP: Yeah, the wall will be paid for very easily by Mexico.

MOOS: The return of a golden oldie, one of Trump's greatest hits during the campaign.

TRUMP: We will build the wall. A great, great wall.

A very powerful wall.

As beautiful as a wall can be.

MOOS: And Mexico --

TRUMP: They'll be happy to pay for the wall.

MOOS: Maybe not that happy.

VICENTE FOX, FORMER PRESIDENT OF MEXICO: Mexico will not pay for the (bleep) wall! I'm not going to pay for that (bleep) wall!

MOOS: President Trump is trying to get Congress to cough up $25 billion, but so far only $1.6 billion has come through. Mr. Trump calls Mexico's

President Enrique, and they're acting buddy, buddy now that a preliminary trade agreement has been reached with Mexico's president sending an

affectionate hug.

TRUMP: A hug from you would be very nice.

MOOS: But when President Trump said anew that Mexico will pay for the wall, the foreign minister tweeted, we will never pay for a wall.

How about play with the wall? That's what the Republican candidate for governor of Florida showed his kid doing in a campaign ad.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ron loves playing with the kids.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Build the wall.

MOOS: Forget building it. She may end up paying for it as future American taxpayers pick up the tab instead of Mexico. There are jokes about Mexico

agreeing to pay for Trump's impeachment. It all seems so much easier when candidate Trump appeared on "SNL" --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Donald.

TRUMP: Enrique.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I brought you the check for the wall.

TRUMP: Oh.

MOOS: The president may get the hug, but not the check.

Jeanne Moos, CNN.

TRUMP: A hug from you would be very nice.

MOOS: New York.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I insist.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: You're watching "News Stream." We'll be back right after the break.

(LAUGHTER)

[08:40:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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

A very famous American cookie is launching some spicy new flavors. Spicy Oreo tweeted a look at its new offerings which taste like wasabi and hot

chicken wings, and will soon be available in China. But if you really want to taste and you don't feel like going all the way to China, you can find

them on eBay, where at least they're going to be available for you, at last check, about $24 a box. Wow.

Now, this is an issue that divides our office on a daily basis. I'm talking about the thermostat. Ahead of a debate between candidates for New York

governor, it became a point of contention.

Andrew Cuomo is known for liking frigid temperatures but in an e-mail obtained by The New York Times, Cynthia Nixon's campaign requested the

debate hall be 76 degrees Fahrenheit or 24.4 degrees Celsius, noting that temperatures and work environments are "notoriously sexist."

The Cuomo campaign said it had made no request about the temperature and Twitter, of course, lit up with responses to the reports. Politico's Dan

Goldberg, he argued this, "Wait, icy temps are sexist but 76 degrees isn't? Why can't we say that men and women by and large dress differently and have

different preferences? Not everything is sexist."

Science appears to support Nixon's argument. One 2015 study reported that most office buildings are set at temperatures based on a formula from the

1960s, relying on the metabolic rates of men.

And that is "News Stream." I'm Kristie Lu Stout, but don't go anywhere, "World Sport's" with Alex Thomas is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:45:00] (WORLD SPORT)

END