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Trump Set For First Big Legislative Victory; Ten Bodies Found In Myanmar Mass Grave; Former Boston Archbishop Bernard Law Dies At 86; British Man Sentenced To 20 Years Over Acid Attack; South Korean Coast Guard Fires At Chinese Ships; Birth From 24-Year-Old Embryo[ World Headlines; Ramaphosa to Give First Address as ANC Leader; Innovative Cities. Aired 8-9a ET

Aired December 20, 2017 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong and welcome to News Stream.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Tax overhaul for Christmas. The Trump administration on the verge of a big legislative win but polling shows more than half the U.S.

doesn't want it.

Access denied, the U.N. human rights representative will not be allowed into Myanmar just as a mass grave was discovered in Rakhine State. And

baby born but conceived 24 years ago, it's all to do on with advance technology on embryo freezing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: U.S. President Donald Trump is likely hours away from celebrating his first major legislative victory. The Republican bill to

overhaul the U.S. tax code has passed the Senate, without a single Democrat voting for it.

There is just one more step to go before the bill hits the president's desk. It will go back to the House for a revote. It is expected to pass

along party lines there as well. Now the bill is unpopular with the American public.

In fact the CNN poll finds more than half oppose it. Only a third are in favor. But House Speaker Paul Ryan says he is confident the will grow in

popularity after people start to feel what he described as the benefits of tax cuts.

Joining me now, Suzanne Malveaux, from Capitol Hill. Suzanne, Trump, he calls this a Christmas gift for the American people, Democrats are calling

it a gift only for the rich. So who benefits from this tax bill?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, Kristie, that's a very good point because the White House, the president, the vice president calling it a

Christmas miracle for the middle class while if you talk to Democrats, and their calling this a scam on the American people.

So if take a look at what it actually provide, it does leans very tableau on good for big business, for corporations, a huge corporate tax that has

been cut from 35 percent to 21 percent -- wealthiest Americans really benefiting from the bulk of this legislation.

But then on the other hand, you do have for every individual income group, a minor tax cut if you will, less substantial and some credits, the child

tax credit that doubles as well as standard deduction.

So there are some things that it offers for middle class Americans. But those benefits are largely expire eight years outside of the legislation.

So Democrats are saying, if you take a look at this, if Republican promise that this is going to create economic growth, higher wages, more jobs, if

that does not come to a probation here, you're going to looking at things like cutting benefits, social security, Medicare.

Things that Republicans are already saying are a part of the agenda and on the table for next year. And so that is why it is highly unpopular and

people -- you know, this is a risk, this is a chance that perhaps this is going to work.

A lot of economists say this has not happened before, that this a model that -- trickle down model generally doesn't work. And this is something

that Republicans desperately wanted to do, tried to do and very likely will do because they need some sort of legislative victory to show their

constituents particularly for next year for mid-term elections. Kristie.

LU STOUT: Yes, and as they get this to big legislative win for the GOP and for President Trump as well, you just highlighted some of the reasons why,

55 percent of American oppose this tax cut bill. Again, it's a bill has yet to signed into law just yet. So what happens next?

MALVEAUX: So what happens next is that this is going to be taken up by the House again. The House had approved this before on Tuesday, and then it

went to the Senate. 1But because of Senate budget rules, there were three technical provisions that have to be removed from the legislation.

That means that it has to go back to the House for another vote, very likely that it will be approved again by pretty much a wide margin and once

that happens, it's expected that it will go to the White House today to be signed by the president on his deck.

The president tweeting early in the morning that he is going to have a 1:00 press conference in the afternoon, that is if fingers crossed, if this

legislation is passed.

And from there, that is a big sell, Kristie. This is when Republicans are going to have to go out and convince the American people that this is a

good thing, that they are going to potentially feel some benefits in the short term from this legislation or either pay for it in the mid-term

elections. And that's when Democrats believe is going to happen.

LU STOUT: Yes, and the White House is getting ready for a celebratory press conference, Donald Trump on the verge of a major win here.

[08:05:00] How did a pretty fractured GOP unify to reach this point? How did this all come together?

MALVEAUX: It was really fascinating because we had been reporting about this for weeks now. And there have been behind the scenes negotiations

that have been taking place outside of Capitol Hill, off campus.

Not a lot of people talking to the media about the particulars of the process, but you had people like Senator Susan Collins who was looking at

the repeal of the Obamacare individual mandate, very concerned about what is that going to mean for many -- millions of Americans who are not going

to have health insurance.

She's looking for subsidies in that way to help put her over the edge on the yes column. And that happened. You had other people who were talking

about the federal deficit and the importance of making sure that this was going to be paid for in the long term.

And that getting reassurances in that way as well and so, it really was a very intricate behind the scenes -- very secretive process in which

Republicans orchestrated and ultimately got enough of what they needed to say, look, as a unified body, we're going to get something done.

And the president very much looking at this as his very first big legislative accomplishment that he has already been bragging about on

Twitter.

LU STOUT: Yes, absolutely. And that we got your -- President Trump closing in on his much coveted tax cut victory. Suzanne Malveaux,

reporting live from Capitol Hill for us. Thank you, Suzanne.

Now to learn about the specifics of how the bill will affect business and individuals in the U.S., just go to cnnmoney.com. A mass grave containing

the remains of ten bodies has been discovered in Myanmar's Rakhine State.

It comes after two Reuters journalists were detained. They were reporting on the military crackdown targeting Rohingya Muslims in the same area they

have not been seen since.

Meanwhile, Myanmar's government has banned a U.N. investigator from setting foot in the country. Yanghee Lee was due to visit next month to assess

human rights and alleged abuses against Rohingya Muslims.

She says the government's lack of cooperation must mean something awful is happening there. Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims have left for

Bangladesh.

And according to human rights watch, more than 350 villages in Rakhine State have been partially or completely destroyed since August. Here's a

before picture. Here is the after, where you can see some of the buildings burned out.

Phil Robertson is the deputy Asia director for Human Rights Watch. He joins me now live from Bangkok, Thailand. Phil, thank you so much for

joining us. A lot of news lines coming out of Myanmar this day.

First, we really want to hear your reaction to the investigation into the mass grave found at Rakhine State and whether you believe that there is a

link between this mass grave and the disappearance of those two Reuters journalists in Myanmar.

PHIL ROBERTSON, DEPUTY ASIA DIRECTOR, HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH: Well, we are very concerned about the finding of this mass grave. We want to get access

to that area.

It's important that international moderator be allowed to get in there because the Burmese military has a long mystery of cover-up when it comes

to investigating crimes that they may have committed.

We saw in fact that the Burmese military last month denies that there have been any human rights abuses in their entire campaign over the last several

months in Northern Rakhine State.

So clearly, they're not a credible philosopher and then they are not a credible investigator. And we need to get in there but we don't have any

information about who might be in that grave.

You know, how they ended up there. What is quite clear is that there was burning of the Indian village that we are looking at and there was also the

arrest of these two Reuters correspondents under the Official Secrets Act.

But we have not been seen, and they have not been produced before a judge and we believe that they have been -- being held because they were

receiving document from police about the things that have been going on in over time, and that that is their beef. That was the things they are

working on. And I think that is why they have disappeared.

LU STOUT: So human rights watch has identified 40 villages that have been burned since October. Four of those villages burned after November the

23rd.

And that's a significant date because that's when the repatriation deal between Myanmar and Bangladesh was already signed. So what does it say

about Myanmar and its intentions?

P. ROBERTSON: Well, we think that this repatriation bill looks like a publicity stunt. You know, we understand why it was done. Myanmar is

trying to show to the international media that this is part of the solution, not the source of all the problems, but in fact, when you have

the military burning out villages, on the one hand at the same time that the diplomats are signing deals, it indicates that there is not a whole lot

of trust there.

Our view is that the -- it's far too early for anybody to be going back from those border -- camp and border where the Rohingya are.

And in fact I don't think the Rohingya will go back at this time. There is no protection guarantees for them. There is no involvement by the U.N.

refugee agencies to help protect them.

[08:10:00] Simply it's a deal between two governments that were for their own reasons wanting to get something on paper so that they could show that

they are doing something.

LU STOUT: Yes, there is this deficit of trust. I mean now we have the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Myanmar, top U.N. official Yanghee Lee. She has

been denied access to the country. Do you consider this proof that the government of Myanmar has something to hide?

P. ROBERTSON: Well, I think it certainly points in that direction. I think that her statement speaks for itself. But I think more worriedly, it

also show that this government seems to be tilting back to the battled past of the Burmese military government, which frequently denied access to U.N.

Special Rapporteur or U.S. agencies.

This is also the same government that has continually denied access to the fact-finding mission, which is a special group of expert that were

appointed by the U.N. human rights council earlier this year, who have repeatedly asked to get into Burma and have not been able.

So you know, it seems that the government of Burma and the military are sort of acting like ostriches, sticking their head in the sand, trying to

ignore the fact that there is an increasing body of evidence that we have and that others in the international committee are appointing to say that

crimes against communities have been committed there needs to be action taken.

LU STOUT: Right, so, what should that action be? I mean should be the international response here. What kind of pressure should governments

around the world apply on Myanmar to open up and to own up to the Rohingya crisis?

P. ROBERTSON: Well, we want various different governments, the United States and others, to impose targeted sanctions against those found

responsible. This is senior military officials, first of all, but then also, if there are civilian officials involved, they should also be

targeted.

That will be travel bans, that will be asset seekers, that will be preventing them from participating in the international economy through

banking restrictions.

We want a global environment that targets the Burma army, that makes them the international pariah, you know, that basic cause is a loss of respect

for them by the other militaries around the world and ultimately, we want those accountable for these atrocities to be taken to the International

Criminal Court in the Hague.

LU STOUT: Phil Robertson, human rights watch, thank you so much for joining use here on the program.

P. ROBERTSON: Thank you.

LU STOUT: Now the Vatican says Bernard Law, the disgraced former archbishop of Boston, has died in Rome, following a long illness. Law was

forced to resign in 2002, accused of protecting priests who were abusing children.

He never faced criminal sanctions and ended up being moved to Rome. Now Vatican correspondent Delia Gallagher joins me now live from Rome.

And, Delia, his career was eclipsed by the church scandal abuse -- that abuse scandal in Boston. Can you tell us more about Cardinal Law about his

leadership and his legacy?

DELIA GALLAGHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kristie, it's really hard to overstate the importance of Cardinal Law both before and during the sex

abuse crisis. As you say, there was a sort of before and after for Cardinal Law.

Because before 2002, he was a well respected huge star, we could say of the Catholic Church. He was known for his conservative views but also for

social justice views.

He spoke out on during the civil rights moving, he spoke out on behalf of immigrants and of the poor, which made the 2002 sex abuse scandal such a

fall from grace, because people had such high expectations of Cardinal Law.

And when it was revealed that he knew about priests who had committees sexual abuse against minors that he indeed moved them from parishes to

parishes and covered up for that abuse.

He became the symbol of the church's inability to sort of realize the gravity of the situation and take responsibility for it. And then, in

2004, when he was brought to the Vatican by John Paul II, because they didn't know what to do with him because he was still a cardinal.

He has resigned as archbishop of Boston. But he was still a cardinal and they put him in a church over here, hoping to keep him out of the limelight

but that was seen by many as an honorary role and allowing him to kind of continue as an advisor to the pope.

So certainly, his career was eclipsed by the whole sex abuse scandal and indeed, many saw him as really the lightning rod for their outrage against

the Catholic Church during that time. And just ago, we had a statement from the current archbishop of Boston, Cardinal Sean O'Malley who said this

about Cardinal Law.

He said he served at a time when the church failed seriously in its responsibilities and with tragic outcomes for the care of children in our

parish communities. At the same time, Cardinal O'Malley said that there were other dimensions to his legacy.

[08:15:00] Those dimensions that I spoke about before 2002 when the cardinal was known as a champion for civil rights and for immigrants.

Of course, the enduring legacy for Cardinal Law in the minds of many people is going to be his failure to act during the sex abuse crisis to protect

children and to help the leadership of the Catholic Church during that time of crisis. Kristie.

LU STOUT: Absolutely. Delia Gallagher, reporting live for us from Rome. Thank you, Delia. One South Korea so-called comfort women has passed away.

Song Shin-do died in Japan, Tuesday at the age of 95.

Comfort women as they were called, they were forced to become sex slaves for Japanese soldiers during World War II. Her death leaves 32 surviving

comfort women in South Korea. Still ahead right here on News Stream, debate and deadlines.

British Prime Minister Theresa May faces law maker over Brexit as the E.U. makes an important new announcement. And this is the man jailed for

spraying a packed London night club with asset -- an attack that is part of a terrifying new trend.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Coming to you live from Hong Kong, welcome back. This is News Stream. In the past hour, the British prime minister has faced law makers

in parliament. And once again, there was one issue, Brexit.

Theresa May is looking to clear the final hurdles facing her blue print for leaving the E.U., known as the E.U. withdrawal bill. She wants to get

through parliament without further changes, even though some MPs have been unhappy.

The E.U. has also just said it wants the Brexit transition period to end in 2020. A judge in Britain has handed down a stiff sentence for a horrific

attack.

Arthur Collins has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for spraying a packed nightclub with a corrosive liquid, injuring 22 people.

The case is the latest in a string of acid attacks across the U.K. Nic Robertson reports now on the rise of such attacks. And I must warn you,

many of the images in his report are disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MUSA MIAH, ACID ATTACK VICTIM: Now it was a part of you.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A year ago, Musa Miah's life changed forever. He was attacked with corrosive acid. Now, most days, he is

treating his burns, wears a compression mask.

MIAH: My eyelid was burned completely. So they have to use skin across from here for my eye lid and for my face, they had to get from my hip.

N. ROBERTSON: The attack happened when, Musa, tried to stop a flight and had a cocktail of acid thrown in his face.

MIAH: It's a feeling that you can't describe yourself is bad.

[08:20:00] The pain of it is really, really bad. If it throws at you're your face is just melting.

N. ROBERTSON: The attackers, mainly teenage boys and men are using chemicals in a range of crimes, robberies, gang violence, revenge, and even

just random attacks.

The chemicals are easy to find, cheap to buy. Corrosive substances like alkalize, ammonia or even bleach that are in many household cleaning

products, and sold corner shops.

London's metropolitan police warn acid attacks have increased by 74 percent. There is also been a notable increase nationwide. In England and

Whales, 400 reported incidents in just six months.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Keep your eyes on this.

N. ROBERTSON: In one evening in July, there were five attacks on food delivery drivers, targeted to steal their mopeds. Police charged a 16-

year-old boy in looking accomplices.

In another attack, this one random -- a 21-year-old woman was left with burns to her face and across her whole body after an assailant sprayed acid

through her car window.

DR. PETER DZIEWULSKI, PLASTIC SURGEON: We are seeing chemicals, corrosive substance thrown in the face. That's affecting important areas such is the

eyes, leading to blindness, some of the injuries to the skin of the face are very deep effecting parts of the face, such as the nose, the ears. We

have people that lose bits of their nose, lose their ears.

N. ROBERTSON: Plastic surgeon and burn specialist Peter Dziewulski has performed two skin grafts on Musa. He is seeing more patients with

chemical burns in 2017 than in past 15 years.

DZIEWULSKI: There has been a significant increase in the number of these cases that are being referred to us. But have been increasing in numbers

in general because we see the most severe cases and sort of the tip of the iceberg. So we do feel that there is a problem.

N. ROBERTSON: Public calls for government intervention are growing. Delivery drivers are of the most targeted groups want protection. The

British government is reviewing how to impose restrictions on buying corrosive substances.

They would admit that will be difficult. And it is considering stricter prison terms for offenders. Musa's two attackers receive sentences of six-

to-nine years respectively. But Musa says no punishment compares to his life sentence of disfigment.

MIAH: I used to get people staring at me. It's like they are looking at a monster or something. This is something really bad. It can change

someone's life, who don't feel the same.

N. ROBERTSON: Nic Robertson, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: That is a sickening crime. And now to a troubling development here in Asia, South Korea's coast guard says it has fired almost 250 rounds

of ammunition during a confrontation with Chinese fishing vessels. Paula Hancocks has more on what happened and crucially, what it means.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Beijing says it has serious concerns about a confrontation at sea on Tuesday. Now, the incident saw the South

Korean coast guard opening fire as it was chasing Chinese vessel which it claims were fishing illegally in its waters.

The coast guard said it found more than 40 boats, one of which is visible here and its exclusive economic zone in Gageodo Island off the southwest

coast of South Korea.

It claims the fishermen ignored initial warnings to leave the area, even charging at a patrol boat. Now the coast guard says that they fired more

than 200 rounds of ammunition across the boats of the ships before they left the area.

CNN asked the Chinese government for a response to the incident, a spokesperson at the foreign ministry said that they are seriously

concerned.

HUA CHUNYING, SPOKESWOMAN, CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTRY (through a translator): We hope the South Korean side will handle the relevant issue properly,

avoid talking excessive actions that could jeopardize lives during law enforcement, earnestly, ensure the safety and legitimate rights of Chinese

fishermen and strengthen communication with the Chinese side to jointly preserve fishery production order in relevant waters.

HANCOCKS: But this isn't the first time that the South Korean coast guard has used force to try and move away Chinese vessels, which it claims are

fishing illegally in its waters, and an official at the South Korean coast guard today as well said that they would continue to do so. Paula

Hancocks, CNN, Seoul.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: And turning out to the U.S., a healthy baby girl was born to a couple in Tennessee thanks to technology that allows human embryos to be to

be frozen for years or in this case, decades. As Amara Walker now reports, this birth set a record.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[08:25:00] AMARA WALKER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Emma Wren Gibson is a healthy baby, born November 25th of this year. She is less than a month old but

baby Emma has been frozen for over two decades, conceived around the same time as the mother who gave birth to her.

TINA GIBSON, MOTHER: Wow, you know, if this embryo had been born when it was supposed to have been. You know, it was like (Inaudible), I'm only 25.

WALKER: Ben and Tina Gibson are the proud parents of baby Emma, who was now the longest known frozen embryo to come to birth. When the Gibsons

decided pursue and veto fertilization to adopt an embryo, they had no idea that they would become a record-breaking case.

GIBSON: So when you go through like the profile to pick out an embryo, you know, it doesn't tell when they were frozen. It doesn't say that. And so

they gave us like 500 profiles. And we have no idea, you know, how to even narrow it down.

WALKER: Long before the Gibson story begins, Emma's embryo was donated by her anonymous genetic parents in 1992. She was preserved in a lab at the

National Embryo Donation Center until she could be paired with a couple hoping to concede.

Her embryo was thawed before being implanted into Tina Gibson's womb, which is when the couple learned, their future daughter had been frozen for

nearly a quarter of a century.

GIBSON: They were like well, Tina, this is a world record and I just looked at them. And I was like, what? And they are like, yes, it's been

frozen for 24 and a half years. And I was like, are you kidding?

WALKER: While the news came as a shock to the Gibsons, In Vitro Fertilization has slowly been perfected over the years, leading to endless

possibilities in the field.

DR. JEFFREY A. KEENAN, NATIONAL EMBRYO DONATION CENTER: We want to know how long human embryos can last. But we don't know if there is any

definite time limit. Back when I started 27 years ago, the success rates were about half of what they are now.

And we really do not need to be freezing nearly as many embryos, creating early as many embryos and then freezing a lot of extra embryos.

WALKER: As advancements continue. The Gibsons believe it was not only science but fate that brought Emma to them.

GIBSON: Twenty-four and a half years ago, god, you know, I already knew that she was going to be, you know, part of our family and you know, up

here, I'm thinking about -- you know, (Inaudible). You know, I'm just so thankful. We're just so grateful

WALKER: Amara Walker, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Oh, a beautiful baby and an incredible brave story. You are watching News Stream. Still ahead, a nation awaits, South Africa prepares

to hear from the new leader of its governing party. We are live in Johannesburg, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[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." These are your world headlines.

U.S. President Donald Trump is on the verge of the biggest legislative victory of his presidency so far. The Senate passed the final version of

the republican tax overhaul on strictly party lines early on Wednesday. It now moves back to the House which has to revote on it due to a technical

issue before President Trump can sign it into law.

A mass grave containing the remains of 10 bodies has been discovered at Myanmar's Rakhine State. Authorities began exhuming the area after an

anonymous tip. Human rights groups accused the military of the mass killing of Rohingya Muslims. Myanmar has banned a United Nations official from

investigating the crackdown.

Cardinal Bernard Law, the former archbishop of Boston, has died at 86. He was a powerful figure in the Roman Catholic Church but was forced to resign

in 2002 over charges that he covered up sexual abuse by priests in his archdiocese.

Cyril Ramaphosa is about to make his first speech as leader of African National Congress. He was elected at a conference of South Africa's

governing party and that is about to wind up.

David McKenzie is in Johannesburg for us. He joins us now. David, when he takes to the podium, what does all of South Africa expect to hear from

Cyril Ramaphosa?

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Certainly, Kristie, there are huge expectations on the shoulders of this man. Cyril Ramaphosa is an

icon of the South African anti-apartheid struggle but he faces possibly his toughest test yet.

(START VIDEO CLIP)

MCKENZIE (voice over): At a childhood home, the proud older sister waited for vote to be announced.

(on camera): Very nice to meet you.

(voice over): Hidden away in the bathroom, too nervous to even watch.

IVY RAMAPHOSA, SISTER OF CYRIL RAMAPHOSA: I was just praying.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We declare comrade Cyril Ramaphosa as the new president of the African National Congress.

RAMAPHOSA: Whoa!

(LAUGHTER)

RAMAPHOSA: Then I get out, I said, oh, who is that? Is it Zuma? They said, no, Cyril. They were shouting.

MCKENZIE (voice over): Ivy Ramaphosa says this was always the goal.

RAMAPHOSA: Maybe one of the good days, God will bless us like this.

MCKENZIE (voice over): It just took longer than expected. A union organizer during apartheid and a protege of Nelson Mandela, he was on the fast track

to becoming president. Ramaphosa became the ANC's chief negotiator with the outgoing racist regime, with the reputation as being tough but fair.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The regime is determined to block any advance to democracy.

MCKENZIE (voice over): But when it came time to step down, Mandela chose another successor. Ramaphosa left government for business, becoming one of

the richest men in South Africa.

Those business ties came into question in 2012 when police brutally killed scores of striking miners at a Catalan mine at Marikana. Ramaphosa was a

board member at the company that owned the mine.

CYRIL RAMAPHOSA, DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SOUTH AFRICA: The responsibility has to be collective and as a nation we should dip our heads and accept that we

did fail the people of Marikana particularly the families and the workers and those who died.

MCKENZIE (voice over): He was cleared of wrongdoing and by the time he re- entered politics as deputy president, many hope he could drive the country forward.

C. RAMAPHOSA: I think we are ready for a takeoff. You will see changes happening in South Africa soon.

MCKENZIE (voice over): Instead, under the leadership of Jacob Zuma, the country faltered, entering a recession. And through Zuma's multiple

corruption scandals, court challenges and street demonstrations. Like many in the ruling ANC, the vocal Ramaphosa stayed silent. He now faces

fractures in the ruling party already losing support with the public.

Here in (INAUDIBLE) Soweto, they are convinced that Ramaphosa is the man to bridge that divide.

When you see him again, what are you going to say to him?

I. RAMAPHOSA: I'm going to hug him. I'm going to hug him.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCKENZIE: Well, the tough choice that he has

[08:35:00] is ready to decide how far he goes in the speech (INAUDIBLE) not only appeal to the delegates behind me and the ANC but more broadly to

South Africans because he is most likely going to be the next national president, so they want to see, I think, whether he makes a clear break

from Jacob Zuma.

LU STOUT: Jacob Zuma, what's next for him?

MCKENZIE: That's a big question because Zuma faces multiple charges of corruption and whole slew of court cases that are building towards putting

him on the stand and possibly prosecuting him that could lead to significant jail time.

So the question is, will he try to use what capital he has as ANC president to try and push Zuma out of position? He can do that if he has enough

political backing. That would be the big question in the next few months, will the ANC allow the president of the party and the country to be

different people having two centers of power or will they try move on Zuma, a move that would be popular with much of the country?

LU STOUT: David, what about the fate of the ANC? Over the years, many South African voters have become disappointed, disillusioned by the party. Can

Cyril Ramaphosa change that?

MCKENZIE: I think immediately he will have a sort of broader backing than Jacob Zuma because despite him being the deputy president or the right-hand

man of the embattled president, he has managed to keep some daylight between himself, and he has criticized the levels of corruption that are

really hampering the party.

The ANC has lost significant votes in recent elections. So that will be his big test. I think he does have a broader appeal for those outside the tent

of the ANC. If he can appeal to those people, he might stand a good chance. But in terms of the economy of the fractions within his party, the

factions as well in his party, it is going to be very difficult.

LU STOUT: All right. David McKenzie reporting live for us from Johannesburg, thank you.

You're watching "News Stream." We'll be back right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: A sparkling night here in Hong Kong. Welcome back. This is "News Stream."

In the capital of Ghana, the dumping of sewage is a serious public health risk. But innovators at Accra's first modern treatment plant are cleaning

up the city and turning wastes into a resource. Matt Rivers reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATT RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Unfiltered, untreated, unsanitized. This is how raw sewage has been dealt with in

Accra, the capital of Ghana, for over a century. Human feces dumped straight on the beach at a place called Lavender Hill. The smell made that

name into a sad irony, a place where kids play and fishermen go out to catch food.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I attended a high school just close by, a few meters by Saint Mary's High School in the 80s, and I smelled this thing for seven

years.

[08:40:00] It's easy to say they are floating on top of the water.

RIVERS (voice over): In Accra, only one neighborhood is connected to a comprehensive sewage system. People using toilets in other areas rely on

septic tanks. And when tanks need to be emptied, there has been a chronic shortage of safe spaces to dispose of the wastes.

With untreated sewerage comes cholera, which struck some 600 people in Ghana in 2016. But that's all changing. In 2017, the country's first modern

fecal treatment plant became operational. With a clean and safe service finally available in 2010, law against dumping raw sewage is now being

enforced.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because people were dying from cholera and by the grace and then by the (INAUDIBLE) that we do, we don't have such issues

here in Ghana because people are not exposed to direct fecal matter.

RIVERS (voice over): Truck after truck, it's all about waste, but Ghana is not a place where any resource (INAUDIBLE). Innovators at Sewerage Ghana

(ph) see this as an energy source to be utilized. The vital (ph) gas captured from all of that decomposing sewage powers the entire plant.

Treated gray water is used to clean the plant and cools the machines. Extra water is pumped into a nearby water source, potentially benefiting the

local ecosystem.

AHMED ISSAHAKU (ph): (INAUDIBLE) process. We use it to get (INAUDIBLE). We also use the same sludge into compost. We also (INAUDIBLE) water to get

(INAUDIBLE) for our commodities.

RIVERS (voice over): That's right. Charcoal made of feces, used to keep kitchen fires burning. You may not want it in your kitchen but the creator

say that their charcoal burns better than wood and saves trees from being felled.

Sophia Kumatey is cooking for her family in the (INAUDIBLE) suburb of James Town.

SOPHIA KUMATEY, ACCRA RESIDENT (through translator): In recent times the charcoal you find in the market is hard and much more difficult to use in

making a fire. It either burns out quickly or produces sparks from the flames which burns your body, but the modern charcoal is more convenient

and easy to use.

RIVERS (voice over): This food looks good now, but we all know what it turns into once the body has processed it. A new ability to recycle that

waste and use it to cook more food on this fire will make it for a cleaner, safer, and more sustainable Accra.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:45:00] (WORLD SPORT)

END