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Fiji Wins First Ever Olympic Medal; Authorities Say No Connection to International Terrorism in Thailand Attacks; Mother, Two Children Killed in Chemical Attack in Syria; Donald Trump's Latest Controversy; Tensions Rise in Ukraine. Aired 8:00a-9:00a ET

Aired August 12, 2016 - 08:00:00   ET

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


[08:00:25] KRISTIE LU STOUT, HOST: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong and welcome to News Stream.

Now, Thailand rocked by deadly explosions, 11 blasts tearing through the country all within a day.

Also, we're learning more about the victims of a suspected chemical attack in Aleppo, Syria. A live report is straight ahead.

And how's this for first ever Olympic medal? Fiji's rugby team win gold and it was barely even a contest.

Eleven blasts across five provinces in Thailand, all in less than 24 hours. At least four people were killed after bombs exploded at several

popular tourist sites. Dozens are wounded, including foreigners.

At this stage, there's still no word on who is responsible but authorities say there is no evidence of ties to international terrorism.

Now, let's take you straight to Thailand. Our senior international correspondent Ivan Watson is

there and he joins us now.

And Ivan, there's been a wave of explosions there. You're on the ground, what more have you learned about these attacks?

IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: What's stunning here is just

how many of these blasts happened in at least four different locations, all basically tourist destinations, either for internal tourism or

international visitors to Thailand, going off within the span of about 24 hours.

Now, the town that was perhaps hit hardest is the resort of Guahin (ph), that's where at least one woman, a Thai woman, was killed by one of

two blasts on Thursday night, which were then followed up by twin blasts less than a kilometer away on Friday morning, happening within very short

time of each other.

And then a series of other explosions that hit the very well-known tourist destination of Phuket, actually one of them hitting near a dolphin

park there. And also Suratani (ph), and a town called Trang (ph)

So, the Thai authorities taking this very seriously saying that they're stepping up security. You have the tourism minister Husin Wahin

(ph), visiting some of the foreign tourists, many Europeans, who were wounded in the evening series of blasts that took place in a bar district

there.

As far as possible motives, Kristie, well, the Thai authorities are insisting that this has no connection whatsoever to international

terrorism, any kind of jihadi-inspired attacks. And certainly if you look at the casualties, this isn't the kind of mass casualty attack that we've

seen in the car bombings, the suicide bombings, that have plagued other cities around the world over the course of the last decade really, really,

al Qaeda inspired or ISIS inspired attacks.

There has been politically motivated violence in Thailand in past years and decades, the so-called red shirts and yellow shirts, that has

been largely around the capital Bangkok. It hasn't really fit this pattern.

There is a kind of ethnic Muslim-based insurgency in the south of the country but that also doesn't really -- hasn't spilled over into the areas

that were hit in lower Thailand over the course of the past 24 hours.

The police chief, the chief of the national police, has suggested that this could be related to a controversial constitutional referendum that was

held just five days ago suggesting suggesting that perhaps the areas that were hit were all areas that voted in favor of this controversial

referendum seen to be supporting the military regime that's been in power since a military coup two years ago.

But all up in the air as to who could have been behind this. There have been no claims of responsibility, Kristie.

LU STOUT: Yeah, all up in the air because it's so very early on in the investigation. And meanwhile, Ivan what is the security presence like

in Thailand, in the wake of these attacks?

WATSON: Well, we're hearing anecdotal accounts of security being tightened, metal detectors being put in place in front of foreign tourists

hotels. I just flew in through Bangkok airport. It kind of looked like business as usual. My flight was packed with many foreign travelers coming

to Bangkok, so it doesn't seem to have immediately caused people to cancel their flights to this place.

But we are hearing anecdotally of some people saying, hey, I've loved coming to these cities in

Thailand, and now this is starting to give me second thoughts.

It is important to note that foreign tourism, according to official statistics, makes up some 16 percent of the gross domestic product of

Thailand. So this is a key earner for the Thai economy.

As far as, again, who could have been behind this, it's remarkable to have seen, though we don't have evidence just yet of any coordination here,

you do have a series of bombings taking place in at least four different places within 24 hours. So it's no coincidence there. And that suggests

to levels of coordination that are actually quite impressive as to who could have been

behind this.

Clearly, somebody appears to be trying to send somebody else a message in Thailand's very complicated, and sometimes overheated political scene.

[08:06:11] LU STOUT: CNN's Ivan Watson reporting live from Thailand. Thank you, Ivan.

Now, earlier I spoke to Shane Brett. He's a tourist who has been to Hua Hin (ph) many times. He says that -- he witnessed the attack last

night and he was terrified after he heard the first blast.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHANE BRETT, THAILAND BOMBING EYEWITNESS: So after the first bang, a lot of people were running over in the direction of -- in the direction

outside of the bar district, and I mean I don't speak Thai, I'm a tourist here, so I don't really know what was going on. But my friend who does

speak a little Thai had heard something a little bit about a bomb.

And then, it was my friend -- no, it was my friend's friend, a college student here, told me that it had been a bomb explosion at a nearby bar

about 150 meters from the bar that I was at.

LU STOUT; Since these explosions took place there in Hua Hin (ph), have you seen any significant ramping up of security?

BRETT: So, after the explosion this morning and once we came back from -- well where we were going to go to, we just walked back from the cab

area, the security guards had almost doubled -- I mean, I'd say almost tripled since when we first came here last week.

The security guards had told us, cautioned us actually, to not leave the area unless you have an urgent matter. And I mean it's just -- and

then I tried to have a walk down to the main restaurant area for lunch, but it was just too many police officers, the roads are cut off,and it was just

very unsettling. And I think a lot of the tourists here with me are kind of frightened and a little bit startled by the whole event going on.

LU STOUT: Yeah, a very unsettling experience to say the least. And you visited Hua Hin (ph) many times before. But after what you

experienced there this time, do you think you'll come back in the future?

BRETT: So I yeah, visited here. This is my 6th time in Hua Hin (ph). I love it here, beautiful scenery, a lot of foreigners here that just want

a nice, quiet vacation. But after this visit, and I feel -- I've heard about other bombings in other areas of Thailand, it's very unsettling and I

might be looking in other places in southeast Asia to vacation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: And that was Shane Brett speaking to me earlier from Hua Hin (ph). Now these explosions became almost one year since the Erawan

Shrine bomb that killed 20 people in downtown Bangkok. Authorities say these two attacks not related.

Now just months before that, also in the Thai capital, two bombs went off near the popular

Siam Paragon Mall, but attacks like these have not deterred tourists from going to Thailand. The country, in fact, says that last year it received a

record number of foreign visitors, up 20 percent from a year ago.

Now a Chinese swimmer has failed a drug test at the Rio games, that's according to Xinhua,

China's state-run news agency. It says that Chen Xinyi tested positive for a banned substance that acts as a diuretic, citing the China swimming

association.

The 18-year-old placed fourth in the women's 100 meter butterfly and is scheduled to come next

and compete next in the 50 meter freestyle.

Now, the South Pacific Island nation of Fiji is celebrating its first- ever Olympic medal and it's gold. Fiji crushed Great Britain in the rugby sevens final 43-7. Now, they were among the favorites

going in to the competition. And this is the first time rugby sevens has been included in the Olympics.

Now, 19-year-old American gymnast, meanwhile, Simone Biles holds the gymnastics all-around title after a dazzling performance on Thursday. And

this is her second gold medal at the games.

CNN's Amanda Davies has more now from Rio. And Amanda, wow, another incredible day of Olympic action from the grace and power of Simone Biles

to the Baltimore bullet himself. Give us the highlights.

AMANDA DAVIES, CNN WORLD SPORT: Yeah, Simone Biles, in terms of pressure, focus, attention, it doesn't really get much bigger. She's only

4'8" but is making huge, huge inroads in terms of dominating the headlines here at the Olympics.

My favorite quote from her, Kristie, afterwards was, I'm not the next Usain Bolt, I'm not the next Michael Phelps, I am the first Simone Biles.

And it was such a sensational performance. Yes, she's 19 years of age. Yes, she's here in her first Olympics. Yes, she was unbeaten at the

all-around gymnastics competition since she won the worlds championships in 2013. But to be able to pull it off with the eyes

of the world watching, with such pressure, and the way in which she did it by winning with over two points to spare, which in a sport where you're

measured in tenths and hundredths, it really is quite an achievement, quite spectacular.

She becomes the fourth American to win the gold in this -- or the fourth straight American

female gymnast to win this competition. And it's just the beginning, really, two golds down, potentially

three more to go with the individual disciplines coming up.

But in terms of Michael Phelps, somebody very much at the other end of his career, isn't he, he pulled off victory in the 200 meters individual

medley -- gold number four for him at this Olympic Games, 22nd Olympic Gold medal in total. 31 years of age here as we were -- well, we said good-bye

to him in London four years ago, but he somehow seems to have come back, is better than ever, and is more powerful than ever. It was only 30 minutes

after winning that fourth gold of this games he got back in the pool for the 100 meters butterfly, qualified for the heats. He qualified for the

final later today.

He did admit it was a little bit tougher than perhaps he was expecting. But he said he dug deep, and is back raring to go for gold

medal number five later today.

[08:12:21] LU STOUT: Yeah, these are just extraordinary athletes. And Amanda, if we're looking for a really great party, we got to go to Fiji

because they just won their very first gold medal. How did it go down?

DAVIES: The scenes coming out of the national stadium in Fiji of celebration are absolutely

fantastic. You suspect that the party is going to carry on for a good few days, if not weeks. And there's a whole lot of firsts, really. They're

not just celebrating a gold medal at the men's sevens at the Olympics. It's the first men's sevens gold medal here at the Olympics.

Fiji's first-ever Olympic medal in a sport which in Fiji is like a religion. If you talk about football as a religion here in Brazil, then

Fiji is definitely rugby sevens. To give you some context as to how much these players are superstars, the prime minister actually

announced the squad for the Olympic games.

They were very much the favorites. They've dominated rugby sevens for the last couple of years, the world number one. But they certainly taught

team GB a lesson. They scored seven tries along the way, 43-7.

And you suspect that it will be some hero's reception when the team get back to Fiji.

LU STOUT: Amanda Davies reporting live from Rio. Thank you.

Now let's take a look at the overall medal count. The U.S. is out front with 16 gold medals, followed by China with 11. Japan has 7 golds,

while Australia, South Korea and Hungary have five each.

Now in Syria, rebel fighters are locked in a fight with government troops in Aleppo. And after the break, we have new details about the

claims of a chemical attack on civilians.

And as tensions with Russia rise dramatically, Ukraine orders troops to go on full alert. Keep it here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:16:24] LU STOUT: All right, coming to you live from Hong Kong, you're back watching News Stream.

Now, troops in Ukraine are on alert after tensions with Russia suddenly escalated.

Now, Moscow has accused Kiev of launching a militant attack in Crimea, but Ukraine denies the claim calling it insane.

Phil Black has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Could these scattered items trigger yet another large scale military conflict in Ukraine?

Russia's secret service, the FSB, released this video which it says shows explosives and weapons that were intended to be used against targets in

Crimea, the large peninsula Russia annexed from Ukraine two years ago.

The FSB says this man was one of the Ukrainian saboteurs, it stopped an operation that also resulted in the deaths of two Russian personnel.

Russian President Vladimir Putin says these events cannot be allowed to pass, but he accuses Ukraine's government of embracing terror instead of

peace.

Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko described the accusations as insane and a pretext for imminent Russian military action. He's ordered

Ukrainian forces today a highest state of alert.

Once again in Ukraine, tensions have suddenly escalated. And there's a sense anything could happen.

SARAH LAKI, RESEARCH FELLOW: it does present this idea of either something is staring in ukraine again, some form of potential offensive, or

this is russia just using this as a pretext, basically blame Ukraine for not being very cooperative.

BLACK: Meanwhile in Ukraine's east, this is what a cease-fire looks like. These Ukrainian government soldiers. There is daily fighting in

this part of the country where Russian-backed militants have carved out their own territory.

International observers say June and July saw a big spike in violence and the United Nations

points to a dramatic increase in civilian casualties mostly from heavy weapons.

This was all supposed to stop after the signing of the Minsk agreement in February of last year, but since then, all parties have continuously

accused each other of breaking that peace deal.

The U.S. view, Russia's violations are more frequent and more serious.

America's ambassador to Ukraine, Jeffrey Paillette, tweeted Russia has a record of frequently levying false accusations at Ukraine to deflect

attention from its own illegal actions. He says new Russian weapons systems have made the situation more volatile. Russia denies fueling the

war. Analysts say that's key to Russia's policy.

LAKI: Russia can always distance itself from actually being involved in the conflict. So the separatists in the east are not in Russia's

narrative, they're not Russians, they're not supported by the Russian state. What's happening in Crimea was the Ukrainian's fault in their eyes.

BLACK: Ukraine often resembles a stalemate, but it's not a frozen conflict, regularly boiling over and reminding the world there is an active

European war with the potential to escalate much further.

Phil Black, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Now, yesterday we told you about the suspected chemical attack in Aleppo, Syria. And now we've learned that the victims were two

children and their mother.

Doctors tell us they died from having inhaled chlorine gas. Now, reports say that a helicopter

dropped a barrel bomb carrying the choking agents. Dozens of people were injured.

Let's bring in Arwa Damon now. And she has reported extensively from Syria and joins us from Istanbul. And Arwa, we've learned more about the

victims killed in that brutal gas attack.

[08:20:04] ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. And that is

according to the Syrian American Medical Society that is citing the Aleppo health directorate.

They are also basing this on numerous reports from doctors who are on the ground who say that the symptoms displayed by the various different

victims who came in were similar to those that would be felt if someone had been exposed to this type of a chlorine gas.

So, you have once again this scenario where a chemical agent was used, where the United Nations and various other entities are coming out, they're

condemning this particular attack that, according to these reports, has claimed the lives of two children and their mother, truly heartbreaking.

And yet very little is actually being done. Because, Kristie, as you and our viewers will remember, this is not the first time that chlorine has

been used. This is not the first time, in fact, that a chemical substance has been used by both sides at the end of the day. They have both been

trading allegations back and forth. But there's a lot more evidence that would indicate that it is much more the Syrian regime that is prone to

using these types of agents, which may not necessarily be all that deadly.

But you can just imagine the fear of being exposed to the gas, of not knowing what it is doing to you, how it is going to be affecting you or

your children.

Now we have been hearing from the Russians that they're attempting this so-called three-hour cease-fire per day to try to allow for

humanitarian assistance in, but that's hardly holding, hardly having an impact as this population in rebel-held Aleppo continues to struggle now

not only against the bombs and the bullets, but also ongoing attacks by it would seem chlorine gas potentially other chemical agents.

LU STOUT: Yeah, bombs, bullets, shelling, chemical gas attacks, starvation that's what prompted the last remaining doctors in Aleppo to

write that letter, that desperate plea, to President Obama.

But Arwa, what can the U.S. do to intervene and save the people of Aleppo?

DAMON: Well, it's not about what the U.S. can do, it's about what is the U.S. willing to do? There's an increasing number of voices out there

saying that the U.S. can and should try to implement what some other countries like Turkey, in fact, have been calling for for quite some time

now, a no-fly zone over certain portions of the country that would then allow for the creation of safe zones.

The U.S. has been very reluctant to get even more militarily involved, there's also potentially implementing this kind of a measure may mean

having to take out some of the Syrian regime's, defenses that could be located within civilian neighborhoods.

There are also other potential pressure points that could, in the past, have been put on some

of the key players like Russia, although frankly right now the U.S. doesn't really have much of a card to play in this game when it comes to pressuring

the Russians to then pressure the regime to even come to a serious negotiating table.

But at the end of the day -- and this is something that the Syrians themselves have expressed over and over again, they do believe that if the

U.S. truly wanted to, it could make those decisions. Yes, they would be tough decisions, but they could make decisions. They could take actions.

They could create the kind of pressure needed to at least alleviate some of the suffering.

LU STUOT: Arwa Damon reporting, thank you.

And now to the presidential race in the United States. Democrat Hillary Clinton has attacked Donald Trump's economic

proposal. Saying he plans to cut taxes for wealthy people like himself. Trump is getting more pushback over his comments that Clinton and President

Obama are the founders of ISIS. Athena Jons reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I call president Obama and Hillary Clinton the founders of ISIS. They're the founders.

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Donald Trump refusing to back down from his latest controversy.

TRUMP: Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, these are the founders of ISIS.

JONES: Despite growing concern within the Republican Party about the effect his rhetoric could have on vulnerable Congressional races.

TRUMP: All I'll have to do is to stop funding the Republican Party. I'm the one raising the money for them. In fact, right now I'm in Orlando,

I'm going to a fundraiser for the Republican Party. So if they want to do that, they could save me a lot of time.

JONES: Sources tell CNN that RNC Chairman Reince Priebus denied he was considering shifting funds from Trump's presidential bid to down ballot

races, but did speak to Trump about his tone. This after Trump spent an entire day repeating a false claim that President Obama literally is the

founder of ISIS.

[08:25:11] TRUMP: I meant he is the founder of ISIS. Barack Obama is the founder.

I think he's the founder of ISIS, I do. He's the most valuable player. I give him the most valuable player award.

JONES: Back in February during a CNN town hall, Trump placed the blame for the rise of ISIS squarely on the Iraq War.

TRUMP: The war in Iraq started the whole destabilization of the Middle East. It started is. It started Libya. It started Syria. In all fairness,

Bush made the decision.

JONES: The Republican candidate also making waves this morning for saying he would allow American terror suspects to be tried at the military

tribunal in Guantanamo Bay.

TRUMP: Well, I know that they want to try them in our regular court system, and I don't like that at all. I would say that they could be tried

there. That'll be fine. JONES: As for his rival, Trump continuing to raise questions about the nature of the State Department's relationship with the

Clinton Foundation.

TRUMP: Aren't e-mails a wonderful thing?

(APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: Right, what a great invention. Go home -- I'm not going to it, because if I mention it, they'll play it down. So I'm not going to mention

it.

JONES: Meanwhile, Clinton hitting Trump's economic plan, accusing the billionaire of using his campaign to benefit the rich.

CLINTON: He called for a new tax loophole. Let's call it the Trump loophole.

JONES: With less than three months until Election Day, Trump already entertaining the possibility of losing in November.

TRUMP: At the end, it is either go to work or I'm going to, you know, I'm going to have a very, very nice, long vacation.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: And that was CNN's Athena Jones reporting there.

And Trump must be watching, tweeting this just a short time ago, quote, "ratings challenged CNN reports seriously that I call President

Obama and Clinton, the founders of ISIS and MVP. They don't get sarcasm.

All right.

You're watching News Stream. Still to come on the program, we've got questions over who is responsible for the deadly bomb attacks in Thailand.

I'll be talking to an intelligence expert.

And the city of Cannes, France banning the Burkini, it's a type of Islamic swimwear, banning it from beaches. Why the new law has human rights

activists fuming.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:31:03] LU STOUT: Now, let's bring you up to date on the bombings in Thailand. They began on Thursday. The first one hit Trung Province,

one man was killed. And then hours later two bombs exploded in the resort of Hua Hin. One struck a bar, the other outside a spa nearby. And police

say that the bombs were placed in planters. A food vendor, a Thai national, was killed. And all 21 people were wounded in the wake of that

explosion.

Now on Friday morning, eight attacks across five provinces killing two more people comes

that went off again in Hua Hin as well as in Suratani (ph), Trang and Fung Na (ph).

And two hit the island resort of Phuket. One at the popular Phatong (ph) beach, the other on Bangla (ph) street nearby. One person was

wounded.

Now, i want to bring an intelligence expert Paul Quaglia. He is a former CIA official. He joins me now live from Bangkok. And Paul, thank

you so much for joining us here.

The Thai police are not calling this a terror attack. What's your thoughts on that?

PAUL QUAGLIA, RETIRED CIA OFFICIAL: Well, I think what they're trying to avoid is having ISIS implicated in some sort of hysterical reaction to

these bombings. And in that I agree with them. There's no evidence that this has international terrorist connections, Kristie. But when you have

13 attacks, 19 people hurt and four people killed it's pretty clear that it's terrorism, particularly since it occurred over a long holiday weekend

when many Thais were leaving Bangkok to go to these resort areas.

LU STOUT: So, Thai police say this is not act of international terrorists, but they're saying it's the result of local sabotage. What

does that mean?

QUAGLIA: It's hard to say what that means. I think what they're trying to say is that this looks like an internal issue. Whoever launched

these attacks had some sort of grievance or ax to grind with the government. There are two different groups currently who have those

reasons, one would be the pro-Thaksin, so-called red shirt movement in North Thailand who were a bit upset over the results of Sunday's

constitution referendum which was approved and endorsed indirectly the military government's rule.

The second group of suspects are the south Thailand insurgents who are active not that far away

from where these attacks took place and have been so for the past twelve years in southern provinces.

However, the south Thailand insurgents also do not have a history or inclination to leave their small area in extreme south and start attacking

tourist sites in other areas of the country. So we have two prime groups of suspects. It's a little early in the investigation to see which way the

finger is pointing. So I think the police are trying to be circumspect and tamp down too much speculation on who might be behind this.

LU STOUT: That's right. As you point out, it's still very early on in the investigation.

Now, the investigation in last year's Bangkok bombing at the Erawan shrine that is still inconclusive. We're still waiting for answers on that

attack. So, how much confidence do you have that there will be answers soon for the latest wave of bombings in

Thailand?

QUAGLIA: I think because this does not have an international connection, we might see some positive news fairly quickly. Before I

joined you, I just saw the police arrested two suspects. They haven't released any information about them, so we may see some results.

Now I must say in comparison to last year's attack at the Erdogan shrine when we saw a lot

of confusion and official statements and conflicting reports, this year the government seems to be handling it a bit better, at least just awhile ago

held a press conference very professional in English and Thai and sort of listed what had happened how many were injured, where things occurred, and

didn't speculate on theories of who may be behind it.

LU STOUT: All right, Paul Quaglia joining us live from Bangkok many thanks indeed for your

insight there. Take care.

QUAGLIA: Most welcome, Kristie.

LU STOUT: Now, the mayor of Cannes in the south of France has banned burkinis from the beaches. Now, the swimwear, it covers the entire body

and the ban has outraged both French Muslims as well as human rights activists.

Now, CNN's Michael Holmes is in Paris. He joins us now with the details. Michael, Islamic dress we know has long been a controversial

topic there. But how did this latest issue come about?

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, this latest controversy, Kristie, is over a municipal law, a city hall law, if you like, in Cannes.

Now it came into effect July 28. And is meant to run until the end of the month.

Now essentially it speaks of beach wear, and I'm going to quote here, that ostentatiously displays religious affiliation at a time when France

and places of worship are the target of terrorist attacks and is liable to create risks of disrupting public order. That's the wording of it.

The wording does also mention obviously apart from the security angle it talks of safety issues as well. Clothing that could make swimming,

perhaps, unsafe.

But get this, the mayor of Cannes making a delicate issue even more so, by saying in recent hours to local media he said this I'm banning a

symbol of Islamic extremism, seems like an extraordinary comment. We checked with his office. He's not Walking it back. He is talking about

the burkini, which is basically Islamic swimwear.

Now why it's making news now is because a local Muslim association have called the committee against Islamaphobia is challenging in court to

have that law revoked for reason of discrimination. That complaint was lodged a few hours ago.

The thing is when the court rules on it we don't know. Monday is a public holiday. So it might not be till next week, Kristie.

LU STOUT: Michael, this isn't the first time controversy over Islamic dress has come up in France, has it?

HOLMES: No. It's been an issue here for some time. There's been laws in fact outlawing Islamic clothing that covers the face since 2011,

that was during the Sarkozy administration. And it has been controversial for years here.

You can go back to head scarves in schools being banned since 2004, that was a ban basically on any religious distinction -- Muslim, Christian,

or other religion when it came to schools. But the thing is, this comes at a time, as we know, of nervousness, even fear, over terror in France. The

Nice attacks were a matter of a few miles from the beaches impacted by this law.

But, you know, of course Muslim groups say such laws, such rules just add to divisions in French society, between Muslims and non-Muslims, and in

fact, feed the ISIS narrative of it's them and us, Kristie.

LU STOUT: All right, Michael Holmes reporting live from Paris. Thank you.

You're watching News Stream. And still to come on the program, South Korea's drive to get

so-called smart phone zombies off their phones. We'll tell you why the capital of Seoul is taking an unusual step.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT; Now, South Korea is one of the most wired places on the planet with more than 80 percent of people there owning a smartphone. But

in the capital of Seoul, people are being urged to use their smartphones less.

David Molko shows us why.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID MOLKO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Zombies, on a bullet train. It's this year's summer blockbuster, terrifying audiences at the South Korean

box office.

But here on the streets of the capital there's concern about another type of menace, someone who is oblivious to everything except their phone.

Let's face it. We've all probably done that at some point.

Here, though, they've given it a name: smartphone zombie.

[08:40:13] UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I almost got hit by a car while using my phone crossing the road. Well, I didn't think it

was such a big deal, so I keep texting while walking.

MOLKO: Distracted walking may seem like a joke but this crash caught on a Korean dash

cam profs otherwise. It's not clear how seriously he was injured.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Smartphone related traffic accidents have tripled since 2010 so we decided to do something to prevent

more of them from happening.

MOLKO: Be careful of smartphones while walking, it reads. In other words, look up.

The city is trying to mount in crowded spots but it's a work in progress. After all, how can you spot a sign if you're too busy staring at

your screen?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Perhaps the signs should be bigger so they're more noticeable. I didn't notice that sign there,maybe

because it is up high.

MOLKO: Seoul isn't the first city to try to tackle the problem. In China, a theme park created

sidewalk lanes for texters and nontexters. In Germany, blinking lights warn wandering walkers they're about to hit the tracks.

And in Japan one mobile network created this: a simulation of what could happen if hundreds of people in a smartphone inspired trance tried to

make it across Tokyo's Shibuya's crossing.

Only 36 percent did.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Of course when I see the signs, I think I shouldn't be doing it, but when I concentrate on the phone

I forget about the signs.

MOLKO: That makes perfect sense, Yun Sub-cho, a psychologist who specializes in digital addictions.

Distracted walkers are getting their own version of a high with every tap, swipe, and notification.

translator: Research shows that about 15 percent of smartphone users in Korea are addicted. It's not like alcohol or gambling. When you stop

drinking, you can stop the addiction. But but you can tell people not to use their smartphones.

So in today's hyperconnected world, experts say you have to ask yourself, just one thing: are you willing to delay instant gratification,

are you happy becoming just another zombie?

David Molko, CNN, Seoul.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU SOTUT: Now before we go, take a look at this wedding video out of China. It might warm your heart and get it racing at the same time.

This couple decided to get married on a hammock hanging from a glass bridge. Word is reports the groom has a fear of heights and apparently

took a long time letting go of the railing before the ceremony.

Now the bridge is in a Chinese national park is suspended some 180 meters over the ground.

Wow. The things you do for love.

And that is News Stream. I'm Kristie Lu Stout.

END