Return to Transcripts main page

NEWS STREAM

World Headlines; Alibaba's Online Sales Hit New Record on China's Singles Day; China Restores Ban on Rhino, Tiger Products; China Unveils J- 20 Stealth Fighter Jets; Black Eyes Peas Unveil Next-Generation Music Experience; Sidecar Perspectives of Hanoi's Old Quarter. Aired 8-9a ET

Aired November 12, 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 SHOW HOST: Hello. I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong and welcome to "News Stream."

Destructive and deadly, wildfires burn across northern and southern California, destroying 90 percent of homes in the worst hit areas.

A trip of division, President Trump returns from France after being called out on nationalism by the French leader.

And political pressure? A top Philippines news site and company chief face tax evasion charges.

And we begin in California where firefighters are working around the clock to battle deadly infernos raging at both ends of the state. The death toll

jumped over the weekend to 31. More than 200 people are still missing, most from Butte County in northern California where the most destructive blaze

in the history of the state is destroying communities and lives.

Dan Simon is in the town of Paradise, California. This is in the northern part of the state. It was virtually obliterated by the campfire. Dan joins

us now live. And Dan, the death toll has been rising. We know that scores of people remain missing. What's the latest on this brutal fire?

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well hi, Kristie. This is a city that is completely paralyzed. It's a city of 27,000 people. Who knows when people

will be allowed back in? And that's just to go through the rubble. It's going to be years before people are actually living here people are

actually living here again. This is one of the neighborhoods that has been entirely leveled.

This fire, quite frankly, happening at a level and scale that we have just never seen before in the state of California. We are talking about homes

and businesses and schools and churches and retirement centers, even, you know, when you talk to police officers and firefighters, people who have

really seen it all. They will tell you that they have just never seen anything like this.

In the meantime, Kristie, we're still hearing and seeing some of these crazy stories of people trying to evacuate. The main road that leads to and

from the town is called Skyway. In fact, they call it Skyway to Paradise. And on Thursday, it was just filled with bumper to bumper cars, people

frantically trying to leave town.

Now, we know that thousands of people are staying at hotels. Other people are staying with families and it's just going to be a tough situation for

the foreseeable future, Kristie.

LU STOUT: You know, it is just chilling to see the charred ruins behind you, what is left of the town of Paradise there in California. Dan Simon

reporting live. Thank you. Now let's bring in our meteorologist, Chad Myers. And Chad, the campfire is the most destructive wildfire in the state

of California. What made this blaze so brutal and so deadly?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It was the wind and it was the very dry air that was out there. Now, I know this is called a campfire. It was not

started by a campfire. It was started because the wind knocked down as we believe it right now PG&E, the power company, knocked down a power line and

it sparked to the ground making just one spark. That's all it took.

But the winds were somewhere in the neighborhood of 80 kilometers per hour. This is what the sky looked like almost 50 miles away. It was burning at a

time in less than a second a full football field burning in less than a second. People had no chance of getting away from this.

It was blowing so quickly. The campfire now somewhere in the ballpark of structures destroyed, 6,700. We know about 90 percent of those are actually

homes not just barns or outbuildings or barns or outbuildings or garages.

Down to the south, we still have a fire burning there although the campfire is still burning as well. It's the Woolsey fire. This is very close to

Malibu or near the L.A. basin really. And it is still burning out of control. Only about 20 percent contained. The problem today is that the

wind is going to pick up again, Kristie. This is going to pick up somewhere in the ballpark of 60 kilometers per hour.

When you take those sparks, when you get a fire and you take those sparks and you push them down even a half kilometer away from even a half a

kilometer away from where the firefighters are fighting the fire, then all of a sudden you have another line to catch up to. And at this point in time

on Friday and Saturday, they couldn't catch up to those winds.

And so even Temecula here, you see San Diego down here. We are going to see another day today of winds somewhere the 60 to 70 kilometer per hour range.

Let me take you to see if we still have this picture here. This is KTLA a little bit ago. They had some fire on there. This is a helicopter here

showing here. This is Malibu.

[08:05:00] This is the 101 highway and that is really seeing obviously nothing right now. They are not showing it to us at this point in time, but

there are winds out there and they will continue. The fires are still going. You think oh, you had all weekend to put them out. No. Many of these

embers, many of these sparks are still burning.

Look at the smoke coming off some of these fires. This is from space, seeing smoke all the way out into the Pacific Ocean. Here's another one.

This is the campfire all the way out into San Diego and into San Francisco. These are the areas now that are just choking with smoke, big populated

areas around L.A.

Certainly, the San Francisco Bay area smelling it and feeling it. You can feel it in the back of your throat, all of the smoke is so far down to the

ground. And right now we still see the smog here, numbers, 235. These are numbers like we would see in an industrial city not in San Francisco, which

usually has very clean air, Kristie.

LU STOUT: Yeah, these are dangerous, fast moving fires generating a lot of toxic air we see in the map behind you. Chad Myers, we thank you for your

reporting.

Firefighters, politicians and celebrities are all expressing anger over U.S. President Donald Trump's tweets about the California wildfires. Over

the weekend, Mr. Trump blamed the fires on poor forest management and threatened to cut federal aid. In one tweet he wrote this, "With proper

forest management, we can stop the devastation constantly going on in California. Get smart."

Now, the governor of California responded saying that climate change is a big part of the problem and he pointed out that forest management is only

one element in the equation.

U.S. President Trump says a lot was accomplished during his trip to Paris where leaders gathered over the weekend to mark 100 years since the end of

World War I, but just in the last hour he has tweeted that the U.S. is being treated unfairly on both military and trade and if the world wants

American protection, they need to pay up or protect themselves.

This comes after French President Emmanuel Macron denounced nationalism in a speech in Paris on Sunday as the U.S. president who has long touted

America first looked on stone faced. CNN's Melissa Bell joins us now from Paris.

We also have White House correspondent Abby Philip standing by in Washington. But let's go first to you, Melissa. Tell us more about how

Emmanuel Macron went after and slammed Donald Trump and his America first agenda.

MELISSA BELL, CNN PARIS CORRESPONDENT: Kristie, you're right. He really seemed to go so much further than ever he had before. And bear in mind, the

French president, although he's been in this strategy of trying to reach out to the American president and create some sort of bond or at least the

beginning of a dialogue with him. He's been doing this consistently from the start.

He has never hesitated to speak his mind. But until now really, Kristie, always on the question of foreign affairs, really presenting himself as a

direct opposite to all that Donald Trump represents on a world stage, a multilateralist rather than a unilateralist.

This speech at Arc de Triomphe just behind me yesterday really was a much more profound dig at Donald Trump since he focuses strongly on nationalism,

opposing it to patriotism and the reason he went further really is that he was speaking not only to Donald Trump this time, but to Europe as well.

We'll be heading into elections next spring for the European Union. That populist forces here in Europe are hoping to win big and Emmanuel Macron

has presented himself as the champion of the old liberal order in Europe and that speech was very much about talking of dangers that face Europe as

well.

LU STOUT: Melissa, about that bromance between Trump and Macron, can we say safely after this visit that is firmly in the past?

BELL: I think without a doubt. It was looking pretty rocky if you will remember back over the summer when United States confirmed, Donald Trump

confirmed that he would not be renewing the European exemption on trade tariffs. That did not go down well with Emmanuel Macron. There was a testy

telephone conversation between the two.

And ever since you sort of sense Emmanuel Macron as almost gentle containment strategy of Donald Trump, but I think there is much less hope

than there was even within the Elysee Palace that much progress can be made on so many of the issues that continue profoundly to divide Europe from the

United States, trade, Iran, and the list goes on.

LU STOUT: Melissa Bell reporting live from Paris. Thank you. Now let's go to CNN's Abby Phillip at the White House for reaction to Donald Trump's

trip to Paris. And Abby, President Macron as we heard from Melissa, just now, he firmly denounced nationalism as Donald Trump, the America first

president looked on. How is the White House viewing all this?

ABBY PHILLIP, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kristie, obviously this is a president who does not take criticism like this sitting down. He has fired

back already this morning on twitter and he's made this trip which was supposed to be about the transatlantic relationship between the United

States and Europe about World War I into yet another contentious fight over trade and the U.S. commitment to NATO.

[08:10:0 He was tweeting this morning directing his comments at European leaders saying that once again, they are taking advantage of the United

States and that the U.S. is being treated unfairly. I think that's a good sign of where the president's head is on this. I think this trip was

supposed to be a little bit different.

He wanted the kind of pomp and circumstance and the good feeling that he had when he was last in Paris for a military parade last year. And he

didn't get that. Instead, he got that repudiation from Emmanuel Macron and in response, President Trump is doubling down on his own view that Europe

needs to step up and do more.

Now, he has consistently mischaracterized this as Europe owing the United States money or the United States paying money to Europe for its protection

even though what it really is the amount the U.S. pays to build up its own military.

But I think that's a sign that President Trump is a little irritated by how this visit went and it clearly was not a good public relations moment for

him especially given that the White House has over the last day or so spent a the lot of time trying to explain, for example, why President Trump

seemed so isolated during this visit suggesting that it was because President Trump wanted to be tough on his European allies rather than the

other way around.

LU STOUT: And as a result of this visit, the gulf between the United States and Europe just getting wider and wider. Abby Phillip, reporting

live from the White House. Thank you.

In the Philippines, concerns that freedom of the press is under assault after a top news site and its CEO are charged with tax evasion. The site is

called Rappler. It has been sharply critical of the Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte and his administration specifically what Duterte is labeled

a war on drugs -- this 2-year-old crackdown that has left thousands of suspects dead.

Rappler also spotlighted what it says are disinformation campaigns spread on social media by supporters of the Duterte administration. Maria Ressa,

Rappler CEO and a former CNN bureau chief joins me now live from Paris. Marissa, thank you for joining us.

Many observers think that this action taken by the government of the Philippines is politically motivated but we want to hear straight from you.

Why do you believe that you and Rappler are being charged with tax evasion?

MARIA RESSA, RAPPLER CEO: You know, I've said this numerous times since January, these cases, they are numerous including tax evasion, including an

anti-dummy law, cyber libel. These are all because we are trying to fight impunity on two fronts. Impunity in the drug war, human rights activists

say as many as tens of thousands have been killed in that.

And the second front is on social media. Exponential lies on social media, the lies that have been embedded there, seeded there are actually the basis

of many of the cases that were filed against us by government a year and a half later. We've been fighting this for the last two and a half years. And

we continue to say we have to stand up and fight and demand accountability.

LU STOUT: If the government is trying to intimidate you, will it work? Will you be silenced?

RESSA: No. Kristie, you know this, standards and ethics. We are journalists, right? And there is no -- in many ways the governments attacks

against Rappler have made it very clear to us exactly who we are, what our identity is and the best part for our young reporters who are there on the

ground is how clear and necessary our mission is today.

Our democracy is in transition. And what we've done is we've drawn the line. These times have demanded we look at ourselves and we define the

values that we live by. The mission of journalism has never been needed as much as it is now and we'll continue doing these stories.

LU STOUT: Yes, and Maria, that was the response I was expecting. You have not shied away from critical reporting about Rodrigo Duterte, his policies,

his brutal war on drugs. But are you concerned about other media outlets in the Philippines that they could see what is happening to Rappler, what is

happening to you and they would censor themselves?

RESSA: Look, President Duterte since he took office has actually threatened media organizations. We're not the first group. Although, you

know, he's hit all of the major ones, the top newspaper. He attacked that soon after the drug war began when they had a headline photo that was so

headline photo that was so evocative that President Duterte attacked the newspaper.

Within a few weeks, the newspaper announced it was selling itself to a businessman friend of President Duterte. That sale hasn't gone through yet.

The second target of attack was ABS-CBN, the largest television network in the Philippines which I -- the news group that I once headed. President

Duterte just a week ago again repeated that he would not renew the franchise of ABS-CBN.

[08:15:03] I think the reality is all the journalists know that this is a critical moment. But the other thing that is at risk here is the business

of journalism. And if you look at the attacks that are being leveled against the news groups, it's on the business end. And this comes at a time

when our businesses globally has been challenged by the fact that the social -- the tech platforms are taking 90 percent of new digital ad spend.

So, we're facing, you know, a lot of challenges. There are many fronts that are open but I think this only shows you how important it is to do good

journalism right now and also to stand -- to stand up, to hold the line. I always say that. This is the time to hold the line.

LU STOUT: Yes, absolutely. And a final question for you Maria about Duterte and Donald Trump, you know, we know that Trump has called the press

the enemy of the American people. Do you think Donald Trump has emboldened your president?

RESSA: Well, absolutely. In many ways the two leaders are very similar. When President Trump called CNN and "The New York Times" fake news, a week

later President Duterte called Rappler fake news. And you know, of course, was ahead of President Trump in February this year. He banned our palace

reporter, Pia Ranada, from reporting from Malacanang. He also by the way, banned me and I haven't reported from Malacanang, so I can't go there.

But when President Trump a week ago banned -- took away the press credentials of CNN, it's the same playbook. I think what we're seeing is

this kind of seeding of lies on social media leads to authoritarian style leaders who use their power to push back against these -- our old gate

keeping powers and to intimidate using kind of bullying tactics. Again, it's a global problem we're seeing as early as November 2017.

Freedomhouse.org said that in 30 of 65 countries around the world keep armies on social media are rolling back democracy. So this makes the role

of the journalists even more important. Look, the last (inaudible) say is that the algorithms of the social platforms say that every one of us are

entitled to our own reality.

But what it forgets is that we all have to live in public sphere where democracy actually happens. So, to have that, we all need to agree on the

same facts. And I think that's why journalists are more important today than ever. We need to hold the line.

LU STOUT: Yes. Well said. Needing to hold the line, but especially because of the algorithms involved in social media. Maria Ressa, CEO of Rappler,

thank you so much for your journalism. Thank you for joining us. Maria, take care.

You're watching "News Stream." Still ahead right here on the program, keeping up the pressure. The U.K. and the U.S. lean on Saudi Arabia over

the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

And it has been a deadly weekend in Gaza. An Israeli officer and seven Palestinians are dead after an Israeli Special Forces operation went wrong.

We'll have the latest, next.

[08:20:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: All right. Coming to you live from Hong Kong. Welcome back, this is "News Stream. The U.S. and the U.K. are keeping up the pressure on Saudi

Arabia after the death of journalist Jamal Khasoggi. The British foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt, has been meeting the Saudi king and crown prince

and is expected to push for more justice and accountability from the kingdom.

Also in the agenda, a call for an end to the war in Yemen. The U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also discusses issues in a phone call with

the crown prince on Sunday. CNN's Sam Kiley joins me now live from Abu Dhabi. And Sam, the international pressure continues to build on Saudi

Arabia, but will this get us any closer to answers about the murder of Khashoggi?

SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I mean, that is the ultimate question, Kristie. But I think that ultimately there will be a

point at which the buck stops. The interesting thing is that as far as the international community is concerned and in particular those western

nations that really are the closest allies in the world to the Saudis.

That is the United Kingdom and the United States, both of whom have long standing security and economic interests and connections with the Saudis --

very deep indeed. Intelligence links -- they remain the two -- the sort of double-team really that is still trying to put pressure on the government

there to come clean with who ordered the alleged murder of the "Washington Post" columnist in that consulate, now 41 days ago in Istanbul.

Now we did have Erdogan, the president of Turkey saying yesterday that he had shared the evidence of the audio tape that was presumably obtained by

bugging from that consulate with among others the United States and the United Kingdom. Neither of those two countries have confirmed that they

have heard it. Although the Canadians now have confirmed that they did.

So, in that context, these could be rather awkward conversations in that what is being unsaid in that room in particular over the weekend. So Simon

McDonald, the head -- the civil servant who heads up the British Foreign Office, subordinate of course to the minister, was meeting with Mohammad bi

Salman, the crown prince.\\

Videotape of that meeting was convivial, but that was a meeting that I think is really about the nitty-gritty say, communicating perhaps some of

the more embarrassing revelations that are in the hands of the British sparing the minister his own blushes as he meets with MBS' father today

this morning, and he goes on to meet the crown prince later on today. So that's the first level of this meeting, but, of course, as you indicated at

the beginning that which is not the last, is it?

LU STOUT: Yes. And Sam, I also want to get your thoughts on that additional call for a cease-fire in Yemen from the U.S. Secretary of State.

Is that actually going to bring about a pause in the fighting?

KILEY: Well, it hasn't yet. The U.K. of course is also there pressing on the Saudis again to respect this call for a cease-fire. The U.S. and U.K.,

of course, being the two biggest arms suppliers to the operations of the Saudis in the Yemen.

And they also supply of course the United Arab Emirates who is also a major part of that conflict against the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels. So far, the

calls for a cease-fire have been met with a very substantial increase in the substantial increase in the tempo of operations focused around the port

city Hodeida which is the economic lifeline to the west and north of the country.

A country where the U.N. says 14 million people are threatened with starvation -- 400,000 of them children suffering from acute malnutrition,

moments away potentially from death if that port were to get shut down.

So there is extreme anxiety in the international community and the humanitarian community but militarily when there is a possibility of a

cease-fire, it's pretty normal, cynical but normal. The various belligerences in a conflict would try to seize as much ground because when

the front lines get frozen, that may be all that they hold.

LU STOUT: That's right. It could bring even more bloodier days to Yemen. Sam Kiley reporting live for us. Thank you.

Israel says it is bolstering its forces near the Gaza border after fresh violence on Sunday. An Israeli Army officer and a Hamas military commander

were among those killed.

[08:25:02] The casualties happened as Israeli Special Forces carried out an operation in Gaza. Six other Palestinians died. Hamas has accused Israel of

hypocrisy and failing to abide by agreements. Oren Lieberman has the details.

OREN LIEBERMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In a sudden spike in violence between Israeli forces and Gaza militants, and Israeli soldier and Hamas military

commander were killed Sunday evening during an Israeli Special Forces operation inside Gaza. They Israeli military said its officer had been shot

and killed during what it describes simply as operational activity in Gaza. Seven Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire in the exchange.

According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, among them, 37-year-old Nour Baraka, a leader of the Qasssam Brigades, military wing of Hamas.

Reports of the deaths were followed by sirens in Israel warning of incoming rocket fire on the Gaza periphery. Israel military said the Iron Dome

aerial defense system had intercepted at least two rockets.

So what happened here? According to a statement issued by the Qassam Brigade, Israel Special Forces entered southern Gaza in a civilian car and

assassinated Baraka, the Qassam Brigade's leader. When the Israeli's were discovered and engaged by Qassam militants, the statement said Israeli

warplanes carried out airstrikes to provide cover while the Special Forces escaped.

Israel provided no further information about the Special Forces activity, only saying that it had concluded. The sharp escalation comes just days

after Qatar (inaudible) close to Hamas sent $15 million into Gaza to relieve the humanitarian crisis and reduce tensions there.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who was criticized for allowing that transfer of money defended the initiative, saying it was the right

decision and that he was looking into every direction to restore calm to the Gaza periphery and to prevent a humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Netanyahu also said it was impossible to reach a long term arrangement with Hamas since they vowed to destroy Israel. Netanyahu who was in Paris has

ended the trip early because of the escalation. Meanwhile, Hamas and the Islamic jihad, the two main Palestinian factions in Gaza are on high alert.

Oren Lieberman, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: You're watching "News Stream." And still ahead right here on the program, the sales numbers keep getting bigger and bigger keep getting

bigger and bigger on Alibaba's Singles Day. We got the eye popping details, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: All right, I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. Welcome back. You're watching "News Stream." These are you world headlines.

The U.S. Weather service is warning that dangerous fire weather is expected to continue in California. Firefighters are battling deadly infernos in the

north and south of the state.

[08:30:02] High winds and dry weather are fanning the flames. At least 31 people are now confirmed dead, most of them in northern California. More

than 200 people are missing.

An official overseeing a crucial election recount in Florida tells CNN it will be impossible to finish by the deadline on Thursday. It is 8:30 a.m.

in Florida right now. They are still sorting ballots in an effort to get this recount done. More than eight million votes are being recounted by

machine in races including governor and U.S. Senate.

An Australian woman accused of spiking strawberries with needles did it for revenge. That's according to prosecutors. My Ut Trinh was arrested on

Sunday in connection with at least 100 cases of needles found inside the fruit which provoked nationwide panic.

CNN affiliate 9 News reports that Trinh was a supervisor at a berry farm and felt that she was being mistreated there. She is charged with seven

counts of contamination of goods and faces 10 years in prison if convicted.

Hundreds of Rohingya refugees are expected to be repatriated to Myanmar from Bangladesh over the next two weeks with the first 150 being

repatriated on Thursday. That's according to Myanmar government officials and it comes as the U.N. says conditions in Myanmar are still not conducive

for their return.

The online retail giant, the Alibaba Group, set a new sales record on China's biggest shopping day otherwise known as Singles Day. Alibaba says

it rang up about $30.8 billion in sales on Sunday, November the 11th. That is well above last year's record of $24 billion.

CNN's Matt Rivers joins me live from Beijing with more. Matt, how did the world's biggest shopping day get even bigger?

MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, simply put, Kristie, the Chinese consumer just continues to buy more and more stuff. I mean, there is really

no other way to put it.

This is a middle class that continues to exert its buying power and one of the ways they do it each and every year is this annual thing that has been

going on for 10 years now is the Singles Day where you get massive deals while shopping not only online with Alibaba but increasingly in brick-and-

mortal stores throughout the country as well. They're buying in there.

But we should talk about, you know, the sales are big. They are absolutely selling a ton of stuff, and there is no question about that. But I think we

should also hesitate to extrapolate too much about this.

You can look at these numbers, Kristie, and say oh, wow, biggest sales ever. Alibaba must be doing great. The Chinese economy must be doing good

because people are buying so much stuff. But one day does not make a big picture, and what you see -- look at Alibaba, for example, they just had to

revise their revenue guidance for this year, down five percent.

Their stock price is down 16 percent on the year. There are a lot of headwinds facing this company. There is a lot of headwinds facing the

Chinese economy overall. It just posted its slowest GDP quarterly growth rate since 2008, and there is that trade war thing that we've talked about

from time to time with the United States.

LU STOUT: Yeah.

RIVERS: So, yes, we don't want to take with takeaway. The sales were great. But on the other hand, you know, there is a lot going on with this

company and this economy that could have investors, you know, feeling a bit worse.

LU STOUT: Yeah, you just laid them out, the slowing economy in China, the trade war with the United States, not to mention number of e-commerce

rivals just nipping at the heels of Alibaba, a number of headwinds as it put challenges to the China growth story and the Alibaba growth story. Do

you feel that Singles Day could be peaking?

RIVERS: You know, I mean, it can't go up forever. We're talking about exponential growth rates year after year after year. I mean, it can only

get so big, right, Kristie? And this year, you know, the growth rate even though the number, the revenue figure was the record, the growth rate year

over year was actually down 13 percent this year from 40 percent in 2017 to 27 percent in 2018.

So things are starting to cool down. In some respects, you could expect that. It can't go up forever. But what you're seeing now is sort of a

thought here in China that maybe Alibaba is going to maybe make it Singles Week instead of Singles Day or kind of head off bad news at the past, kind

of like Apple does with iPhone sales from time to time.

You can see Alibaba doing something similar. So maybe it has at its peak. We'll see what happens next year. Maybe the economy improves a little bit.

Maybe the trade war backs backs off a little bit. Maybe the Chinese consumer gets more confident.

But for now, yes, you are hearing rumbling really for the first time and this is my fourth Singles Day now covering it in China and really for the

first time you're hearing some negative connotations surrounding Singles Day and not just wow, tons of money being spent.

LU STOUT: Yeah, the online retail blitz may not last forever. Matt Rivers reporting live from Beijing, his fourth Singles Day. Matt, thank you.

Now, after a global uproar, China is backtracking on a decision to allow tiger and rhino products to be used for so-called medicinal purposes.

[08:34:59] A band on the products will temporarily stay in place. A spokesman says illegal acts will be dealt with severely. Chinese medicine

experts say there is no evidence that either tiger bone or rhino horn offer medical benefits.

The Chinese Air Force saved the big guns for the end of its Zhuhai air show at the weekend. It unveil its new stealth fighters with full missile loads

to the world on Sunday. The twin engine J-20 entered service with the Air Force in February and is seen as China's answer to the U.S. military's F-

22s and F-35s. Now, the People Liberation Army's website says that the new jets will change the balance of air power in the Asia pacific.

You're watching News Stream. Still to come, the beginning of a high-tech chapter for The Black Eyed Peas? The lead singer tells fans to expect more

music from the group, but in V.R. rather than albums.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Welcome back. Now, not so long ago, launching a new album was as simple as recording collection of songs and then cutting a C.D. That's the

case anymore. Now, The Black Eyed Peas, they are back with a new record, but there is a lot more to it than just songs. Will.i.am picks up the story

in today's Smart Creativity.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILL.I.AM, AMERICAN RAPPER: This is the beginning of a new chapter for The Black Eyed Peas. We are not just doing music and video. We're doing music,

docu, short film, long-form, graphic novel, A.R., V.R. Things that we've never done. Things that the industry hasn't done.

I'm not a musician. I'm an ideas guy that uses technology to execute the idea. When we go on tour, our merchandise comes in this. Right now we're

aiming our creativity for the new technology.

We told a heightened story on the rise and the fall of what hip hop was meant to be, all in this book called "Masters of the Sun."

When we put A.R. on it, the book comes alive, so people can experience our graphic novel in three-dimensional space.

In "Masters of the Sun," we have a V.R. experience. An hour V.R. film. Scored with Black Eyed Peas and Hans Zimmer. Now, we're stepping out on our

tour, "Maters of the Sun."

The finale of the show was enhanced by augmented reality. It's time to open your Black Eyes Peas tour A.R. app. Keep it pointed at the stage throughout

the song.

Put your hands up! If you believe in love.

We're going to augment the layer between the person on state, us, layer between the person on stage, us, the audience, so that when they're

watching a show through the lens of the phone, they're seeing something that is not there.

[08:40:06] It's like Pokemon Go on steroids. There is new technology that allow people to connect, experience a reality that is not there. You do it

because you have to push the boundaries.

Thank you so much, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: OK, now, let's get ready to hit the streets of the capital of Vietnam. Now, CNN got a unique view of the city from the seat of a sidecar.

Here is a different perspective of Hanoi's famous 36 streets.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): This is Hanoi's old quarter, also known as the ancient quarter or the 36 streets. It was and still is the center of

commerce for the city.

Leading us through these winding streets, Steve Christianson, graphic designer and tour guide, who has been living in the city for over 20 years.

Steve isn't just any tour guide, though. To see his view of Hanoi, you ride along in a sidecar of one of his classic motorbikes, originally used for

the army and police.

STEVE CHRISTIANSON, TOUR GUIDE, SIDECAR TOURS VIETNAM: I think as a tourist, you know, riding along in the sidecar is quite fascinating because

you get a chance to see everything. You know, taking a bike and looking up at the buildings and seeing history go by.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice over): To say there is a little history in the streets of the old quarters would be an understatement.

CHRISTIANSON: The city was founded a thousand years ago, but even the old quarters have been around longer than that. It street is connected with a

product and each product is connected with a village. So this is kind of their retail end.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice over): To this day, you can still wander around many of those streets and find the same goods that were sold decades ago.

Some, of course, slightly updated for today's consumers.

CHRISTIANSON: Here we are. This is the street where you come throughout the year. There are different festivals and celebrations where you would

bring offerings to your ancestors, to your parents, to your grandparents. People would sell paper representations of what it is like in the after

life.

I find that the old quarter in Hanoi is the heart of the city. There are so many people. And they're in every day activity of their lives. You look

down one street, you see people eating. You can smell the food. You can hear the sounds of the commerce.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice over): Proving that the more the streets of Hanoi's old quarter change, the more they stay the same.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: And that is News Stream. I'm Kristie Lu Stout, but don't go anywhere, World Sport with Christina Macfarlane is next.

[08:45:00] (WORLD SPORT)

END