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World Headlines; Trump to Outline 'America First' Agenda in U.N. Address; Infant Attends U.N. General Assembly; Haunting Virtual Floods Submerge Cities Around the World; Meet the 106-Year-Old Doctor Who is Still Hard at Work. Aired 8-9a ET
Aired September 25, 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] ANNA COREN, CNN ANCHOR: Hello. I'm Anna Coren in Hong Kong. Welcome to "News Stream."
America first on the world stage, U.S. President Donald Trump due to address the U.N. General Assembly in a couple of hours. But controversies
at home threaten to over-shadow his speech.
Rohingya crisis, not genocide. Activists criticize a U.S. State Department report on the violence in Myanmar for what it does not say.
And abuse scandals, Pope Francis addresses failings of the church as a German report details for sexually assaulting nearly 4,000 children.
In a matter of hours, U.S. President Donald Trump will speak before the world and its leaders. He will be delivering his second speech as president
at the U.N. General Assembly. And while we can expect more of the America first policy that showcased last year's address, some things seem sure to
be different.
Just one example, North Korea. Donald Trump is now touting a possible second summit with Kim Jong-un just one year after threatening to totally
destroy the North. And Iran could take new focus with the U.S. out of the nuclear deal and at odds with several allies.
But back in Washington, several swirling controversies hang over the president's speech. At stake, the future of the Supreme Court and the
Russia investigation. Both issues will reach a pivotal point on Thursday. That's when Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein will meet with Mr. Trump
with his job in limbo.
His fate could have huge implications for Robert Mueller's investigation into Russia interference in the 2016 election and possible collusion with
the Trump campaign which Rosenstein oversees.
Also happening Thursday, Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and one of his accusers, Christine Blasey Ford will testify before lawmakers. He
denies allegations of sexual misconduct claim by Ford and a second accuser. And in an unprecedented TV interview, he says he is not going anywhere.
We'll have more on Kavanaugh and Rosenstein in just a moment, but first, let's focus on Donald Trump's speech at the United Nations. Joining me now,
senior U.N. correspondent Richard Roth in New York and in Hong Kong Will Ripley. Richard, let's start with you. Can you offer us some insight into
what we can expect from Donald Trump's second address to the U.N. General Assembly?
RICHARD ROTH, CNN SENIOR U.N. CORRESPONDENT: Anna, I'm standing here at the famous by U.N. standards, delegate's entrance where today presidents
and prime ministers by the dozens will enter shortly. President Trump will walk by here in about an hour and 45 minutes. President Rouhani also today,
the two leaders separated more than by just a few hours on the schedule.
Last night, the European Union foreign ministers gathered to meet with Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif and they certainly get along much
better than the United States does with Iran. In fact, they ar plotting the road ahead since the United States withdrew from the famed JCPOA nuclear
deal agreement. The E.U. foreign minister, Frederic Mogherini, telling reporters that according to the E.U., Iran is fully complying with the
nuclear deal.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FREDERICA MOGHERINI, FOREIGN MINISTER, EUROPEAN UNION: Iran has continued to fully and effectively implement its nuclear related commitments as
confirmed by 12 consecutive reports by the International Atomic Energy Agency and reiterated the need to continue to do so.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROTH: As delegates and leaders continue to pour in here to the big U.N. Day on the calendar, President Trump is already tweeting about Iran saying
in a tweet a short time ago, Despite requests, I have no plan to meet Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. Maybe some day in the future. I am sure
he is an absolutely lovely man, with an exclamation point."
I'm not sure we're going to hear that tone in Donald Trump's General Assembly address, his second speech since becoming president. Last year,
the bogey man was North Korea and rocket man, "on a suicide mission." I'm sure Iran will be in the cross hairs of President Trump and then a few
hours later, Rouhani will be able to respond.
There is no talk of a meeting at all. The Iranians say it's not happening despite hints by Ambassador Haley of the United States that if Iran
offered, the president would consider it. It seems like a lot of diplomatic posturing this time at the U.N. General Assembly, Anna.
[08:05:00] COREN: Richard Roth, as always, great to get to your insight. Many thanks for that. Well, let's now got to our Will Ripley here in Hong
Kong. Will, 12 months ago as Richard just said, Trump described Kim Jong-un as the rocket man and threatened to destroy North Korea. Now there is talk
of a second summit with the U.S. president saying he has an extraordinary relationship with Kim. Quite a turn around.
WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What a difference a year makes, Anna. I mean, to think about the fact that, you know, Donald Trump called North
Korea a depraved regime and, you know, accused him of starving millions of their own people, and now there is just a flattering message exchange from
Kim Jong-un to Donald Trump.
Kim saying that he has, you know, faith in President Trump. That Trump is the only person in the world who can solve this denuclearization problem.
And, of course, President Trump is enthusiastically it seems moving forward with plans for the second summit with Kim despite the fact that lower level
denuclearization talks have gone nowhere.
North Korea has offered a series of what could be perceived as confidence building measures without taking any tangible steps towards
denuclearization. Getting rid of a nuclear test site, dismantling one missile launch site, offering the possibility of taking apart the Yongbyon
nuclear reactor with international inspectors present, but only if the United States takes, you know, reciprocal steps which have yet to be laid
out.
Presumably those would be laid out between Trump and Kim whenever and wherever they meet. You know, so at this point, in dealing with President
Trump in the course of a year simply by not parading nuclear missiles at the most recent parade and flattering the president with praise that seems
to be enough to move forward for the North Koreans with this second summit. Now, what is going to come out of it, that of course is the open question,
Anna.
COREN: Well Will, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo who as we know is actually in charge of dealing with the North Koreans, he doesn't seem to
share the same enthusiasm as his boss. He said there remains work to be done. What specifically is he referring to?
RIPLEY: Well, we can start with North Korea giving a list of the nuclear weapons they possess and laying down a timeline for how they plan to
dismantle them, which the North Koreans haven't done. Secretary Pompeo has traveled to Pyongyang and he left the last time with disappointment.
He didn't get a meeting wit Kim Jong-un. There was zero progress on some of the, you know, concrete items of denuclearization that the United States
wants. In fact, the U.S. delegation led by Pompeo left and a short time later the North Koreans were blasting their demands as gangster like.
These are two countries that are extraordinarily far apart on the definition of denuclearization and the timeline. And President Trump seems
convinced at least for now that his personal rapport with Kim Jong-un will bridge all of that divide and will get the process moving forwards again.
Mike Pompeo had a bit more of a dose of reality when he actually sat down face-to-face with his North Korean counterparts who are very shrewd
negotiators, who have prepared their whole lives and careers for this moment of, you know, what could be the final negotiation with the United
States to either start things off in a new direction or, you know, the alternative.
COREN: Will Ripley, great to see you. Many thanks for that.
Well Trump's team may tout his address as a call for U.S. sovereignty, to many in the U.N., it could look like a defense of unilateralism. Well, CNN
global affairs analyst and executive editor of "The New Yorker" website, David Rohde, joins us now from New York. David, great to have you with us.
With all the domestic turmoil and chaos surrounding Donald Trump, how is he perceived on the international stage?
DAVID ROHDE, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: I think he is seen as an isolationist, as you mentioned. I mean, he's been much more critical of
NATO and European allies and he has been of Russia. He sort of backed authoritarians around the world and so there's this tenor of him sort of
walking away from the international order that frankly has benefited the United States and Europe since World War II.
So, there are changes, as you and Will talked about with the negotiations with North Korea. But this is very much like last year, a sort of bombastic
isolation as the American president on the world stage at the U.N.
COREN: Do you think they take him seriously?
ROHDE: I think they do. I mean, one thing, you know, President Trump should get credit for is that he has boldly followed his policies. He has
carried out many of his campaign promises that seems extreme to many other countries, but he's keeping his promise to his political base and that's
why they listen to him because he is acting.
He is changing the international order. And just the tensions with Iran, which I think he'll focus on in his speech today, I think have many
countries alarmed, particularly European nations.
COREN: Yes, I mean, you'd have to say that for the first time in the history of the U.S. (inaudible) talk consistently isolate on major issues
before the Security Council. I mean, how is Trump's America first foreign policy working for him, working for America?
ROHDE: That's the big question. And the main way that the America first approach has worked out has been sanctions. And the sanctions and trade
tensions with Europe and Canada and China.
[08:10:04] There is a kind of new trade deal with Mexico but, you know, these sanctions are costing American farmers and workers, you know, jobs in
some cases. That he hasn't hurt him again with his political base but he hasn't really delivered. Declaring that he was going to easily negotiate
new trade agreements, that he was going reverse, you know, these terrible and unfair trade deals that past administrations have made.
He hasn't been able to deliver on that. So the big political question is fatigue in the United States. Will people grow skeptical of Trump, you
know, and his claims and the bombast as time goes by. To be fair, that has not happened yet. He is very popular among Republicans. Democrats are
energized and, you know, we can't answer that question until the midterm elections here in the U.S. in November.
COREN: David, Donald Trump has questioned the U.N.'s relevance and he is certainly distancing America from U.N. bodies and initiatives. What does
this mean for the international community and America's role in it?
ROHDE: It's a small -- sorry, it's a far smaller American role internationally. Europe has stepped into that gap somewhat. So has China.
And I don't see that changing. I see the president serving out his term and I think people abroad should think that there will be a reduced American
role clearly through the end of his term whether Democrats, you know, gain control of, you know, one house of Congress or both houses of Congress,
that's not going to change.
So this is a long term change and it reflects the view of a large number of Americans, the Americans who elected Trump. They are suspicious of the U.N.
There is isolationism here. You see it in other countries, also, and that's reality and I don't think people abroad should expect this American
isolationism to change.
COREN: David Rohde, great to see your insight. Many thanks for joining us.
Well, Donald Trump is in New York. His attention is sure to be on the chaos in Washington. It all comes to a head on Thursday. The president will meet
face-to-face with his Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein whose job is hanging in the balance.
Well, that meeting happens as Brett Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford both testify on Capitol Hill about her sexual assault allegations against
the Supreme Court nominee. CNN's Abby Phillip joins us now. And Abby, Donald Trump, he certainly will be returning to turmoil back in Washington.
ABBY PHILLIP, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Donald Trump this morning is going to be addressing the United Nation and addressing the
world on foreign policy issues, but it's really the domestic issues that have drawn his attention according to his aides.
He's been really focused on the issue of his Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh who has been going through a series of scandals over the last
week. He called Kavanaugh yesterday to urge him to stay in it and to fight these allegations. But President Trump is standing by his nominee and is
also urging his own staff to be a little bit more aggressive in fighting some of these allegations.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We'll be meeting at the White House and we will be determining what's going on.
PHILLIP (voice-over): President Trump leaving Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein in limbo until Thursday. After a day of confusion over his fate
which could have major repercussions on Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation. Sources tell CNN that Rosenstein offered to resign
last Friday in a conversation with White House chief of staff John Kelly.
After the "New York Times" reported that Rosenstein suggested secretly recording Trump and invoking the 25th amendment to oust him from office
after the president fired FBI director James Comey. Rosenstein denies the report, but a senior official says he overestimated how angry the president
would be.
And another source tells CNN he expected to be fired on Monday. Instead, after two chaotic hours inside the White House and a phone call with Mr.
Trump, the White House delaying the decision on his future until the president and Rosenstein can meet in person on Thursday.
Sources tell CNN that President Trump and his allies are concerned that the "New York Times" story was leaked to provoke the president to take action
against Rosenstein even as members of both parties warned of the potential implications.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. ORRIN HATCH (R), UTAH: If he did something like that, it would cause a furor that I don't think we need right now.
REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D), CALIFORNIA: If the president fires Rod Rosenstein, it is exhibit B in the obstruction of justice case against and exhibit A
being the firing of James Comey.
(END VIDOE CLIP)
PHILLIP: A source says President Trump has been preoccupied with the allegations surrounding Judge Kavanaugh and pushing the White House to go
on offense.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: For people to come out of the woodwork from 36 years ago andn30 years ago, never mentioned it. All of a sudden it happens. In my opinion,
it's totally political.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHLIIP: Kavanaugh defending himself alongside his wife in an unprecedented interview with Fox News ahead of Thursday's hearing with Christine Blasey
Ford, who says the nominee sexually assaulted her in high school.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[08:15:10] BRETT KAVANAUGH, U.S. SUPREME COURT NOMINEE: I am not questioning and not have questioned that perhaps Dr. Ford at some point in
her life was sexually assaulted by someone in some place. But what I know is I've never sexually assaulted anyone.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIP: Judge Kavanaugh down playing reports that he was a heavy drinker and partier in his youth.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAVANAUGH: I went to an all boys Catholic high school, Jesuit high school. I was focused on academics and athletics, going to church every Sunday. I
did not have sexual intercourse or anything close to sexual intercourse in high school or for many years thereafter. And the girls from the schools I
went to and I were friends --
MARTHA MACCALLUM, FOX NEWS HOST: So you're saying that through all these years that are in question, you were a virgin?
KAVANAUGH: That's correct.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIP: Kavanaugh also deny a claim from a second woman, Deborah Ramirez, who accuses him of sexual misconduct in college.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAVANAUGH: The other people alleged to be there don't recall any such thing. If such a thing had happened, it would have been the talk of campus.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIP: Earlier in the day, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell signaling that Republicans are moving forward.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL, SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: I want to make it perfectly clear, Mr. President. Judge Kavanaugh will be voted on here on the Senate
floor.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIP (on camera): And President Trump and Republicans are watching very closely as to the reaction from a couple of key senators. Republican
moderates, Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski and Jeff Flake. Now, Kavanaugh's nomination is really on a razor's edge right now. It's not c0lear how these
new allegations are playing with those key senators.
But by Thursday, it will be important to know whether Republicans actually have the votes because President Trump has been pushing them pretty
aggressively to get Kavanaugh to a final vote so that he can be seated on the court by early October.
COREN: Abby Philip, joining us from a rainy New York. Many thanks for that update.
Well, in justice, cruelty and death, the U.S. State Department documents the atrocities endured by hundreds of thousands of Rohingya trying to
escape violence.
Plus, the pope is on his Baltic tour as an incriminating report from Germany's Catholic Church is making waves. It documents thousands of child
sex abuse cases at the hands of Roman Catholic priests. Those details, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COREN: Welcome back to "News Stream" live from Hong Kong. The U.S. State Department released a truly shocking report about the Rohingya. It paints
the brutality of atrocities committed against them by the Myanmar military in stark numbers.
[08:20:05] Out of those surveyed, the majority had witnessed a killing. Two-thirds of respondents saw an injury and half have witnessed sexual
violence. More than 700,000 Rohingya have crossed to neighboring Bangladesh in the last year.
For more, let's go to Matt Rivers, live for us in Yangon, Myanmar. Matt, considering the atrocities outlined in this report, how can the U.S. State
Department not use the word genocide and crimes against humanity as the United Nations has to describe what happened in Myanmar last year?
MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you know that's, Annan, what both, you know, advocacy groups like Amnesty International and even a Rohingya
activist that we spoke to just about an hour ago who is based in Europea is saying they want the U.S. to go further.
I mean, when you talk about, you know, what's laid out in this report from the U.S. side, it does kind of follow what we saw in that U.N. report that
first labeled this whole situation a genocide about a month ago.
So the U.S. fact finding mission finding things like the Burmese military responsible for locking people into houses, burning them alive, fencing off
entire villages before shooting into the crowd, sinking boats full of fleeing people, the list goes on. The atrocities alleged by the U.N. and
now specifically by the United States against the Burmese military and also armed civilians and local police in Rakhine State here in Myanmar.
But in terms of that label of genocide, the U.S. State Department did not go there. They didn't give a reason why. And what activists are saying is
that the U.S. missed a major opportunity there to really get behind, throw the U.S. weight behind that label.
Genocide is a very strong label. It's something that the U.S. doesn't use lightly. It's something the U.N. doesn't use lightly. And were the State
Department be willing to do that, perhaps that could then be followed up by promoting a subsequent U.N. investigation or either a referral to the
International Criminal Court.
But under the Trump administration, the ICC certainly not in favored status right now. The National Security Adviser John Bolton attacked the ICC
recently. So, we don't know exactly why on the record why the State Department didn't go there, Anna, but we know that people are disappointed
at least here in Myanmar that they didn't.
COREN: Yes, Matt, such a wasted opportunity. Now, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, has announced that the U.S. will be
providing $185 million in aid to Rakhine State. Now, this is a place controlled by the Myanmar government. Do we know where the money is going
and what it will be used for?
RIVERS: Well, what the U.S. is saying here is that this money is specifically going to go to help the Rohingya refugees. And so you could
imagine most of this money, the aid is going to go those refugee camps that have been setup by just on the other side of the border in Bangladesh.
So what the State Department is saying that they want to help the refugees by also helping the people in Bangladesh and the government there providing
the aid to these refugees including NGO's like the ICRC. And so what we know this money is going to go towards critical emergency services as they
put it, protection, shelter, food and water, sanitation, health care, psychological support.
All the things that you would expect of the hundreds of thousands of people that have been forced to flee Myanmar need right now as they continue to
live in these refugee camps just over the border in Bangladesh.
COREN: Matt Rivers, we certainly appreciate you reporting out of Yangon, Myanmar. Many thanks for that.
Pope Francis is wrapping up his tour of the Baltic States where they last stop in Estonia. In the next hour, he will be celebrating mass in Tallinn's
Freedom Square. Speaking to a group of young people, the pope admitted that the sex abuse crisis in the Catholic Church had eroded its credibility.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
POPE FANCIS, HEAD OF CATHOLIC CHURCH (through translation): When we adults refuse to acknowledge some evident reality, you tell us frankly, can't you
see this? Some of you who are a bit more forthright might even say to us, don't you see that nobody is listening to you anymore or believes what you
have to say?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COREN: Well, a damning report detailing decades of abuse by the Catholic Church in Germany has just been released. It says Roman Catholic priests
abused at least 3,700 children over the past 70 years. The report was commissioned by the German Bishop's Conference and was leaked to local
media earlier this month. Well, Atika Shubert joins us now live from Germany. Atika, I believe that you have actually seen this report. Tell us
about the horrors that these some 4,000 children had to endure.
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, that's actually very conservative number. Even the writers of the report say they
believe there were more case but this is simply what they found in evidence inside the church files. They also point out that there were more than
1,600 priests and other clergy implicated.
[08:25:06] Nearly more than 4 percent of the priests within the dioceses were somehow implicated in these instances of sexual abuse. So those are
staggering numbers. What's worse is that there is more detail about the victims that more than half were under the age of 13. Many of them were
young boys.
So, the numbers are horrific, but at the same time, I spoke to a survivor yesterday of abuse and he told me he was not surprised at these numbers at
all. In fact, he thought the numbers should be much, much higher. He said he believes there could be 10 times as many and he's basing that on other
investigations, independent investigations in other countries. And this is exactly what he is asking for.
He said that while it's a good start to see a report like this, it's not being done independently. And the church, he says, is not really able to do
this kind of independent investigation. It really needs an outside authority to come in and take -- have direct access to its records, talk to
victims, get their testimonials. So he's not happy with this report. Survivors say they still want to see something more concrete that holds the
church fully accountable, Anna.
COREN: And Atika, what has been the response within Germany to these staggering numbers, to the fact that this is going on for so many decades.
SHUBERT: Well, you know, the story really first broke in 2010. That was when it was really understood just how deep the problem was. What started
as, you know, revealing just a few isolated cases at the Canisius College in Berlin soon became hundreds of cases in other schools and in other
Catholic institutions.
So, it's taken a little while for the news to sink in, but when you still hear that number of thousands of victims, most of them children, it's still
shocking. The big question is what kind of recommendations will the Catholic Church take from this? And it's interesting in this study, one of
the recommendations is to reconsider the issue of celibacy for priests, and that's a very controversial issue within the Catholic Church.
It will be interesting to see what the bishops say about that. But the other recommendation was not just an independent investigation, but to
actually change canonical law to find some way to bring these perpetrators to justice because so far, there is no way for these abusers to be brought
forward and to have them actually pay for their crimes.
COREN: Atika Shubert, we appreciate your report. Many thanks. Still ahead, U.S. President Donald Trump is preparing to address the United Nations but
he's speech touting America first might not sit well with other world leaders. The latest from New York is coming up.
[08:30:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNA COREN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Welcome back. I'm Anna Coren in Hong Kong. You are watching "News Stream." These are your world
headlines.
A U.S. State Department report describes in exact details the atrocities perpetrated by the Myanmar military on plain Rohingya. Most of the survey
had witnessed a killing and hard to witness sexual violence, but the report does not describe the atrocity as genocide. Over 700,000 Rohingya have
crossed to neighboring Bangladesh in the past year.
The Dutch foreign minister is expected to push for the U.N. Security Council to broaden the list of individuals and countries sanctioned for
human trafficking and has credited reporting by CNN on the Libyan slave trade for shedding light on the issue. Six men are currently under
sanctions following the CNN report.
Just a short time from now, U.S. President Donald Trump will address the United Nations for the second time. He is expected to outline his
administration's "America First" approach to foreign policy and his intention to continue to distance the United States from several
international agreements and organizations.
CNN's Nic Robertson is live for us in New York. Nic, you have covered many U.N. general assemblies. What are you expecting to hear from Donald Trump?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Tough talk on Iran and that was foreshadowed by everything that we've heard from this
administration in recent months, but specifically yesterday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo saying that there will be well-deserved strong words for
Iran, that President Trump will be calling on all countries to join the United States thwarting Iran's actions.
So, you know, it sort of comes as -- as a surprise, if you will, or not a surprise but perhaps a wake-up call for this administration to see last
night the E.U.'s foreign policy chief meeting with the Iranian foreign minister to discuss how the European partners to the JCPOA, the Iran
nuclear deal that President Trump unilaterally pulled out, this multinational deal earlier this year.
The conversation with Mohammad Javad Zarif was about how to keep that going. They appeared at a press conference side by side. This is very much,
if you will, having heard what we've heard from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and knowing what President Trump is likely to say, very much an in
your face response to the White House to President Trump about where Europe stands on this key nuclear deal issue.
And what Mogherini said was that the Europeans would work with Iran to find a way to get around sanctions that the United States might place on them
for doing business in Iran post, you know, post fully pulling out of that deal. This is what she said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FEDERICA MOGHERINI, HIGH REPRESENTATIVE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND SECURITY POLICY: E.U. member states will set up a legal entity
to facilitate legitimate financial transactions with Iran and this will allow European companies to continue to trade with Iran in accordance with
European Union law and could be open to other partners in the world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTSON: President Trump's national security adviser says that what they want to see from Iran is a massive change in behavior. United States
accuses them of sponsoring terrorism globally, of meddling in countries beyond their boarders, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, all these countries.
But it does seem, you know -- excuse me -- that the tone of President Trump's speech here is going to have to be a very winning tone and it's not
given for that. If he wants to win some of his, you know, key allies over to this approach, it's not clear that that is going to happen here.
COREN: Nic Robertson, as always, good to see you. Many thanks. Meanwhile, also at the United Nations, a tiny visitor helped make history. New
Zealand's prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, brought her 3-month-old to the general assembly on Monday, becoming the first female leader to do so.
Well, the little baby was given a mock security pass that listed her as the first baby of New Zealand. Ardern is her country's youngest prime minister
and the first to take maternity leave while in office.
Coming up, a doctor in his hundreds explains why he continues to work and isn't slowing down any time soon. That's next here on "News Stream."
[08:35:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COREN: Global warming is the primary cause of rising sea levels. To raise awareness of this issue, a Dutch designer used immersive technology to
create virtual floods in some key (INAUDIBLE) around the world.
Well, CNN joins (INAUDIBLE) studio to discover how his designs inspire practical solutions for a clean future.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAAN ROOSEGAARDE, DUTCH DESIGNER: I was trained as a traditional artist, but I was raised by scientist. I have always been surrounded by science in
that way and technology. When I was painting or sculpturing, it always felt very static. So then the notion of technology came in, software,
microchips, LEDs.
And for me, it was a way to make my own world less brutal, less harsh, and more open and more interactive (ph). That's the beauty of technology. You
became way more immersed. It's more like a second layer.
We really take global challenges like pollution or rising sea level or CO2 and try to transform it into something more hopeful and more beautiful and
also more solution-driven, like bicycle parts which charge at daytime by the sun and glow at night or the small smoke-free towers which suck up
polluted air and create this clean air parks.
Large part of Netherlands is below sea level, so without the system of dikes, of the ponds, of the windmills, of the water management, we would
actually here -- we would drown. Technology creative thinking is already in the DNA of the landscape I grew up in.
That says a lot about our identity as a country, but it also says a lot about my identity as a maker. A water light is actually sort of layer of
light and humidity which shows how high the water level would be if we stop investing in new ideas, if we stop thinking about the future.
We basically have a high density LEDs and you have a lens that gives it the right angle and the sort of the flat surface and you have a computer, like
a P.C. with a code which creates the sinus movements. So that generates the movement of the light. And the idea is you make sure that the frequencies
sort of fall into each other so you get like one -- one big wave.
And then you have the humidity here, to make sure that when the lights hits the humidity, it becomes visible because light needs to hit something to
become visible. And we launch it in Amsterdam, in Paris, London, United Nations and New York. Sixty thousand people showed up in Amsterdam and they
were actually talking about water.
So some were a bit scared because they experienced floods in their previous years, but others were more mesmerized. A virtual reality and augmented
reality. But at the same time, it's real. You can touch it. You can feel it. You can experience it together. Technology jumping out of the computer
screen and creating these collective experience. That, I think, is the true power of tech.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COREN: Well, the power of tech has certainly advanced through the last century as witnessed by Dr. William Frankland at 106. He may be too old to
remain physically active, but his brilliant mind is determined to keep going.
[08:40:00] Today on "Live Longer," CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta introduces us to his fellow doctor, who is still contributing to his field.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: They call him the grandfather of allergies, a true pioneer in his field.
WILLIAM FRANKLAND, DOCTOR: My name is Dr. William Frankland, age 106.
GUPTA: At 106 years old, Dr. William Frankland isn't slowing down.
FRANKLAND: Well, I have a good memory. I'm still interested in the past. It's nice looking back at some of the enjoyable trips I've traveled around
the world.
GUPTA: His impressive career began as a medical student in the 1930s. During World War II, he was stationed in Singapore and held as a prisoner
of war for more than three years. He even worked under Alexander Fleming, the man who discovered penicillin. But it was when he became an allergist,
that the path for the rest of his life would take shape.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice over): It is possible to get allergic or sensitive from many substances. But the common cause of seasonal hay fever
is grass pollen.
GUPTA: In 1953 at St. Mary's Hospital in London, Dr. Frankland developed the pollen count, now used worldwide to help doctors and patients
understand allergy triggers. The longevity, not just of his life at 106 years old, but of the sharpness of his mind sets Dr. Frankland apart.
Last year, at the age of 105, he was still consulting with patients about their allergies and contributing to journal publications. He is now working
on his memoirs in London with Dr. Paul Watkins, covering a life that has spanned more than a century.
FRANKLAND: When you get old, there are certain things you can't do, but I certainly keep my brain going all the time.
GUPTA: A decline in our mental abilities and our memory is certainly an aspect of aging that most of us fear but it doesn't mean it has to be
inevitable. Keeping our minds active and engage late in life can actually help generate new brain cells and neural connections. It is known as
neuroplasticity.
FRANKLAND: If you need a sense of life, don't overeat, do a bit of exercise, you take these things in your stride. I think everything that
I've done, all through my life, I can say I'm very lucky that I'm still alive.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COREN: Quite incredible. Dr. Sanjay Gupta there with that report. Just a reminder, U.S. President Donald Trump will be addressing the U.N. general
assembly in just over an hour live from New York. CNN will be bringing that to you live, so don't go anywhere.
That is "News Stream." I'm Anna Coren. Thank you so much for your company. "World Sport" with Amanda Davies is coming up next.
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[08:45:00] (WORLD SPORT)
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