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The Netherlands Votes in Parliamentary Elections; Suicide Bomber at Palace of Justice in Damacus; U.S. Secretary of State Invites Single Journalist on Asia Trip. Aired 8-9a ET

Aired March 15, 2017 - 08:00   ET

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


[08:00:19] KRISTIE LU STOUT, HOST: And this just in: Syrian television reports that

there has been a suicide bombing at the palace of justice, the main courthouse in Damascus. It reports dozens of people have been killed and a

number are wounded.

The attack comes as Syria marks six years since the start of its brutal civil war. Now, CNN's Jomana Karadsheh has been following developments in

Syria. She joins us now live from Istanbul.

And Jomana, what more have you learned about the aftermath and the target of this blast?

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're getting this information, Kristie, coming from Syrian state media who, as you

mention, say that the target of this attack was the Palace of Justice, that is the main courthouse in Damascus. And according to state

media, quoting local police, now they are saying at least 25 people were killed in this suicide bombing,

And several other people have been injured.

And in a phone call with Syrian state TV, the prosecutor general said that the suicide bomber

tried to enter the courthouse and police attempted to stop him, but he managed to force himself into this courthouse at a very busy time. It was

crowded with people before he detonated his explosives.

And as we mentioned at least 25 people killed so far, Kristie.

LU STOUT: 25 people killed so far in today's blast. And this follows those twin bombings that took place earlier this week at the weekend in

Damascus. That was claimed by a group of Syrian Islamist rebels who could be responsible for today's attack?

KARADSHEH: We still don't have a claim of responsibility yet for today's attacks. Jihadist, extremist groups like ISIS, like the group formerly

known as Jabhat al-Nusra, the al-Qaeada affiliate, now known as (inaudible) al-Sham, they have claimed attacks in the past, including the one you

mentioned that devastating double suicide bombing we saw taking place over the weekend in Damascus that was targeting a Shia shrine there. At least

70 people were killed in that attack, the majority of them were Shia pilgrims from neighboring Iraq.

So we'll have to wait and see who claims responsibility for this attack if they do so and, of course, lots of questions, Kristie, are going to be

asked about how a suicide bomber managed to get to this part of Damascus.

We're talking about central Damascus. This is a very business area, the Hammadiyah (ph) area in the heart of Damascus where security is usually

pretty high. There are lots of checkpoints around the city. So we'll have to wait and see what officials there have to say, and if we do hear of a

claim of responsibility.

And Jomana, of course, today's attack just adds to the overall chaos in Syria, a country that's been engulfed in a brutal civil war for six years

now as well as that battle against ISIS.

KARADHSEH: Absolutely. I mean, you have so much going on in the country we're talking about, the war entering its seventh year. You're talking

about a staggering death toll on all sides of this conflict.

And, you know, you've got that looming battle for Raqqa trying to push ISIS out of its de facto capital in Syria. Preparations are under way by so

many different parties to try and recapture that. And there will always remain that concern, Kristie, when you see these jihadist extremist groups

being pushed from areas that they are holding, whether that is in Iraq or whether it's in Syria that you can see an increase in this sort of

insurgent type of attacks resorting to the attacks -- the tactics they would have carried out in the past before the territorial gains we saw in

2014.

So, we'll have to wait and see what happens next. But, of course, now the human toll remains. If you look at this one attack, at least 25 people

killed and fears that in this one attack recall casualty figures could go up.

LU STOUT: Jomana Karadsheh reporting live for us in this breaking news story, at least 25 people killed on back of a suicide attack in Damascus

today and the fears the death toll could rise.

Now, turning now to London where the clock is ticking on the British prime minister's plans to trigger Article 50 and get Brexit negotiations under

way.

Now, let's bring up some live pictures for you from inside the House of Commons. theresa May is expected to face questions from MPs over her plans

to start those divorce talks. And the we're going to be monitoring this discussion. And we will bring you any new developments right other on CNN.

Now, the wave of populism that partly fueled Brexit is now facing a test in The Netherlands. People across the country are voting in an important

parliamentary election. Now much of the debate has been centered on right- wing politics with the conservative Prime Minister Mark Rutte seeking a third term.

He's going up against Geert Wilders of the far right Freedom Party. Wilders has campaigned on a platform of anti-immigration, anti-European

Union sentiment.

And now voters are deciding whether that brand of populism will guide their country's future.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEERT WILDERS, LEADER, FREEDOM PARTY (through translator): The Netherlands is not for everyone. The Netherlands is for the Dutch. Do you hear me

well? People who have chosen 10 percent for our country. Your party, they make sure that people feel like foreigners in their own country, second

class citizens. That's why they don't vote for your party anymore. The people do not want this.

MARK RUTTE, DUTCH PRIME MINISTER (through translator): In 2015, The Netherlands

faced a very big problem, a big migrant flow into The Netherlands of Syrian refugees. At the end of last year I succeeded to reach agreements. We've

reached one with The Balkans and The Balkans are now closed. We've reached an agreement with Greece and now Greece is closed. We also reached an

agreement with Turkey resulting in the number of Syrian refugees decreasing by more than 95 percent.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: And CNN's Atika Shubert joins us now. From the town of Valandom (ph) not far from Amsterdam. And Atika, it's Dutch election day. It's

happening now. What will be the path forward for The Netherlands?

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we've been talking to voters and going from polling station to polling station. We're hear at

this one here at City Hall. Actually, you just missed the lunch break rush of people to vote. But I think a lot of people were undecided even as late

as last night. We've been talking to a variety of people. A lot of supporters for

incumbent Prime Minister Mark Rutte, but and also for Geert Wilders.

This is a town of about 23,000 people and previously a significant chunk voted for Wilders, but this time around it might be different.

There are 28 parties contesting the election. So it's a much more fragmented political landscape

this time around, and a lot of people also voting for some of the smaller parties. A lot of older voters voting for the 50-plus party, for example.

Some people taking a chance with the Libertarian candidate.

So I think what we're likely to see is a much more spread out kind of a voting base here, but what that will me, then, is that without a doubt a

coalition government will have to be formed and that could take weeks no matter who wins the vote. And frankly it's very, very unlikely that one

party will win a majority of the votes. The last time that happened was in 1891.

LU STOUT: Now, you know, with so many undecided voters walking into the polls, to what degree is the intensifying diplomatic spat between The

Netherlands and Turkey weighing on this race?

SHUBERT: I think it did have an impact. In fact, some of the voters I spoke to immediately after that incident, especially in Rotterdam, said

that it was a game-changer for them, that it actually helped them to make more of a decision toward incumbent Prime Minister Mark Rutte, because he

acted like the leader he wanted - they wanted him to be.

But, equally, it could mean we see more votes going towards Geert Wilders, because he has campaigned on this very tough anti-immigration platform

targeting Muslim communities in particular.

So it's not clear where the votes may have gone after that incident, but I think no doubt it has played into the minds of voters.

LU STOUT: So, what are the chances that Geert Wilders could actually enter government?

SHUBERT: I think the chances are very slim. I mean, he's not going to win more than - an outright majority of the votes. No party is. But he could

possibly form a coalition. But it's very unlikely because many of the other parties have flat out refused to work with him.

Prime Minister Rutte, for example, has said he will not form a coalition government with him as

have a number of other parties. So it's more likely that he will end up being a very strong opposition

voice, but not actually in government. And that might be a detraction for even some of his supporters who are now thinking, well, if I vote for him,

is he actually going to have a say in government.

So these are the questions voters are asking themselves as they go to the polling booths.

LU STOUT: So, the possibility of Geert Wilders actually entering government not that likely, but yet he will emerge as a strong voice of

opposition. Meanwhile, the mainstream parties, how have they been fighting back in this rising -- I don't want to call it a surge, but this rising trend of populist politics?

SHUBERT: Well, you know, as three decades ago there used to be three top parties, but they have fallen almost 90 percent in the last 30 years. And

it's clear that a lot of voters are drifting from the mainstream to the fringes.

Now, the Labour Party has fallen significantly, but the party for Prime Minister Rutte still remains one of the top two positions. And he has

staked his campaign on saying, listen, you've got to stay the course, you know, we remember Brexit, we remember the U.S. election, we don't want to

see a repeat of that. You know, vote for me, and I will continue on this path.

But the question is do voters want to continue on that path? We've seen from Brexit and the U.S. election, they didn't. It was very much a protest

vote. Whether or not The Netherlands will be the same, we don't know. We'll find out roughly around 9:00 p.m. That's when the first preliminary

results start coming in.

LU STOUT: Atika Shubert reporting live for us. Thank you, Atika.

The diplomatic firestorm between Turkey and The Netherlands could be the trigger for the latest large-scale attack on prominent Twitter accounts.

It has been reported that dozens of accounts, including Forbes, Amnesty International and the European Parliament suddenly posted spam messages

with disturbing hashtags like #nazihollanda. Some profile pictures were changed to a picture of the Turkish flag.

Twitter says it is aware of the issue and has blocked the third party app linked to the attacks.

Now, America's top diplomat is off is off to his first official trip to Asia. And up next, a look at what to expect as the growing threat of North

Korea raises tensions.

Also ahead, we get a look at a Donald Trump tax return. But why has it surfaced now?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Coming to you live from Hong Kong. Welcome back. You're watching News Stream.

Now, the top diplomat of the United States is now in Tokyo. It is Rex Tillerson's first official trip to Asia with stops in Beijing as well as

Seoul. Now, one priority is to push for a global solution to the threat from North Korea.

China has framed this as a regional issue for years, but as Pyongyang gets better at building ballistic missiles, concern about security is on the

rise.

And one notable omission from Tillerson's entourage: the press. He is breaking tradition by not inviting reporters from major news outlets to

cover his trip to Asia, instead Tillerson will be accompanied by a loan journalist from the conservative site Independent Journal Review.

Some journalists say that they are being snubbed for a reason.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVEN BUTLER, COMMITTEE TO PROTECT JOURNALISTS: It's a complete lack of transparency. I mean, I have been a reporter in Asia and watched this

process take place. I have been an editor in Washington and managing some of this. It's - I won't say it's unprecedented, but I can't think of

another instance when the secretary of state has not brought journalists who are actually experts in this field and understand what it is they are

looking at.

It also opens up the dialogue for local press who are sometimes intimidated or feel less free to ask the kind of questions that U.S. journalists are

likely to ask.

Why can't the secretary of state make himself available to respond to critical questions about he's doing, particularly on this issue, which is

really - if you're going to Tokyo, Seoul and Beijing and you're talking about North Korea and the development of North Korean nuclear program and

the development of the North Korean missile threat, this is something that's absolutely critical for the American public and for people around

the world to understand and to evaluate, because it is potentially a life and death situation.

Meanwhile, the Chinese premiuer has been talking with reporters. It came after the closing of the National People's Congress.

The only time all year that Li Keqiang takes questions from the press.

Matt Rivers has this wrap up from Beijing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is an annual press conference in name only in the sense that all of the questions that are asked of the

premier are pre-arranged and his answers are very much scripted even if the premier looks relatively spontaneous in responding to these questions.

But the fact remains the Premier Li Keqiang did answer a lot of questions over the course of

two hours and he did talk a lot about the United States. And when it comes to the United States and China, his theme in this press conference was

basically can't we all just be friends. That is the line that we hear frankly from Beijing about every U.S. administration, whether it was the

Bush administration, the Clinton administration, the Obama administration. It's no different with the Trump administration.

Premier Li says that China and the United States have more to gain when they are working together given how interdependent their economies are. He

thinks that China benefits from working with the U.S. and he actually believes that the U.S. economy benefits, is not hurt, by working with

China.

But that's not to say that there are not a lot of issues that still face the two countries, especially ahead of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's

visit here to Beijing. He's going to land on Saturday, And you can imagine at the top of that list when Secretary Tillerson comes here, meets

with his Chinese counterparts will be the ongoing crisis on the Korean peninsula about North Korea. We did hear from Premier Li on North Korea

issues. Here's a little of what he had to say.

LI KEQIANG, CHINESE PREMIER (through translator): Recently, the situation on the Korean peninsula and even in broader Northern Asia has become quite

tense, tensions mainly to conflict, which would only bring harm to all the parties involved. We hope all the parties concerned will work together to

de-escalate the issue and to bring issues back to dialogue.

RIVERS: And what he means by dialogue there is that it's the Chinese point of view that all

sides should return to the negotiating table to solve that crisis. There certainly are differences there

between the United States and China, but for now all things considered the relationship is actually pretty good. The Trump administration really so

far at least has chosen not to take on China in a lot of the ways that candidate Trump had promised.

So right now things appear to be okay. The tone of this press conference very friendly and we will see what the tone of the upcoming meeting that is

tentatively scheduled between President Xi and President Trump for next month in Florida, we will see what the tone of that meeting will be. Will

this kind of detente period continue, or will the Trump administration begin to take a harder line against China.

Premier Li certainly, though, friendly today here in Beijing.

Matt Rivers, CNN, Beijing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU SOTUT: Now, U.S. President Donald Trump has resisted calls to release his tax returns, but now one has surfaced. And as Suzanne Malveaux

reports, some are suspicious about why this information is coming out now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The American public finally getting a glimpse at President Trump's federal tax returns.

Investigative journalist David Cay Johnston obtaining the first two pages of Mr. Trump's 2005 taxes.

The document shows he paid $38 million in taxes on more than $150 million in income, giving him an effective tax rate of roughly 25 percent. The

White House confirming the figures in a statement on Tuesday night.

The move comes as the White House is battling negative headlines on the GOP health care bill and the president's wiretapping claims, prompting Johnston

to speculate whether the president himself or one of his staffers sent him the document anonymously.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Do you think it's possible that he could have sent them to you?

JOHNSTON: Oh, absolutely. I think it's entirely possible. As we remember, Donald has a long history of leaking information about himself.

MALVEAUX: Democrats largely dismissing the tax disclosure.

BRIAN FALLON, FORMER PRESS SECRETARY, HILLARY CLINTON: I don't think we learned anything at all interesting tonight. This report tonight, I think,

would be a mistake for Democrats to get distracted by.

MALVEAUX: President Trump's son suggesting the release was actually a positive development for his father. "Breaking news: 12 years ago Donald

Trump made a lot of money and paid a lot in taxes. #scandal."

This after President Trump insisted for months that he could not release his tax returns because they are still under audit by the IRS.

[08:20:04] DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, I'm not releasing the tax returns, because as you know, they're under audit.

Almost every lawyer says you don't release your returns until the audit is complete. When the audit is complete, I'll do it.

I don't know. Depends on the audit. Depends on the audit. Not a big deal.

MALVEAUX: The DNC suggesting that the president may have other reasons for keeping his taxes to himself.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: And that was CNN's Suzanne Malveaux reporting there.

Now, the U.S. president has responded to his taxes being released on Twitter. Trump said this on Twitter, "does anyone really believe that a

reporter who nobody ever heard of went to his mailbox and found my tax returns?"

And he ends the tweet with the familiar phrase FAKE NEWS in caps.

Now, for the record, the journalist who broke the story, David K. Johnston, is a Pulitzer Prize winner and has called Donald Trump a racist.

Meanwhile, President Trump is trying to find Republican support to fulfill a major campaign promise: repealing and replacing Obamacare.

Now the White House is also defending the president's unfounded claim that he was wiretapped by former President Barack Obama. Jim Acosta has the

latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: President, if the CBO score, Mr. Trump...

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: It's a rare moment when President Trump passes upon a chance to speak his mind but that's what he

did when asked about the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office analysis of the republican proposal to replace Obamacare.

SPICER: This is the American Health Care act, the president is proud of it.

ACOSTA: The White House is back on the CBO score of the House COP health care plan that found 14 million more Americans would be uninsured by next

year. Twenty four million by the year 2026. As one top GOP source put it, the headlines are terrible.

SPICER: CBO coverage estimates are consistently wrong.

ACOSTA: But the White House did conceded scores of Americans perhaps millions will be without health care insurance if they're no longer

mandated to buy it under Obamacare.

ACOSTA: Would you concede that there will be some coverage losses, perhaps in the millions, that there will be millions of people who will not have

health insurance as a result of what you're doing.

SPICER: Well, again, sure. Except you have to look at the current situation.

ACOSTA: Press Secretary Sean Spicer try to explain how the republican plans satisfies the president's promise to cover every American.

The president is OK with...

(CROSSTALK)

SPICER: No, he's not.

ACOSTA: ... there will be millions of people who are going to have to.

SPICER: No, no. Right now they're not getting that. And by giving them more choices at a lower cost more Americans can either buy health care for their

family or themselves, or in a lot of cases for their business without paying the penalty. The system now is not working.

ACOSTA: And even though the White House is rejecting the CBO's predictions on coverage it seems they do like other parts like a reduced deficit and a

reduction in premiums.

SPICER: The CBO is saying just with what we're doing on first term alone 10 percent decline in the individual market. That's the significant reduction.

That's what we're talking about, bringing cost down and increases choices. That's a big deal right now.

ACOSTA: That cherry picking of data is low-hanging fruit for democrats.

ELIJAH CUMMINGS, (D) UNITED STATES REPRESENTATIVE: he always hocus pocus language that they talked about, well, you're not going to be able, we're

worried about cost, but then they don't seem like that much worried about coverage. And so, what I'm saying to them is that American people need

coverage.

ACOSTA: The White is predicting the president will vindicated after making the claim that President Obama wiretapped him but the White House is not

committing whether the president will make some kind of statement when the administration presents what it considers to be evidence to the Congress.

Jim Acosta, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: And we can find out within hours whether the FBI is investigating links between the Trump campaign and Moscow. A U.S. senator

says the FBI director has promised to tell if an investigation is under way.

Many Russians think the controversy is ridiculous. Fred Pleitgen has a view from Moscow.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: As the row over Russia's alleged interference into the U.S. election deepens and questions

about President Trump's contacts with the Kremlin continue.

JOHN MCCAIN, (R) UNITED STATES SENATOR: I think there is a lot more shoes to drop from this.

PLEITGEN: A lot of Russians are mocking the allegations, and the discussion about them. Like Vladimir Putin's spokesman in a CNN interview.

DMITRY PESKOV, KREMLIN SPOKESMAN: All this hysteria in public opinion, hysteria in official Washington, hysteria in American media. This is doing

lots of harm to the future of our relationship.

PLEITGEN: As spring temperatures rise in Moscow, the new ice age between U.S. and Russia is on people's minds.

"I think this is stupid and it's just a provocation," this man says. "How can you say all this," he adds, "USA admits that Russia changed their

history? I'm just so shocked. How can you say those things?"

And this woman adds, "this is ridiculous and stupid, I think we have nothing do with it, I'm sure of it."

Whether it's questions about contacts between Trump hotel servers and a Russian bank or questions about which Trump associates met with Moscow's

ambassador during the campaign, Russia's mostly state run media is lashing out at western coverage of the events especially at CNN's.

This is the top pro-Kremlin pundit, Dmitry Kiselyov and one of his many unfounded accusations.

"The CIA feeds the Russian hacker stories to the media," he says, "and then let's say CNN blows them out of proportion."

Some here in Russia even say the current mood in America reminds them of their country's dark Soviet past. Like Carnegie historian Dmitri Trenin.

[08:25:45] ]DMITRI TRENIN, DIRECTOR, CARNEGIE MOSCOW CENTER: People in the Soviet Union was seen by the Soviet government as too easy to be

contaminated, to be manipulated. Each and every time they came into contact with foreigners, particularly western foreigners. I see some of the same

things now on display in the United States. That's astounding.

PLEITGEN: But Russians also realize the current conflict is hurting their chances of improving relations with the west. While some folks here may

ridicule the questions being asked in America about President Trump's ties to Russia, most people here simply want to see the issue go away.

They feel their country is being demonized and that the issue also hampers any sort of efforts to try and repair allegations. Every new allegation,

every new revelation, makes those ties more complicated and more toxic. And any effort at bringing them back on track, more challenging.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Moscow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Coming up more on the vote in The Netherlands and a look ahead at elections this year in France and Germany. Could Europe see a huge

shift in the political landscape? Perspective from our Nic Robertson is straight ahead.

Plus, a TV blooper goes viral. The father behind that video talks about what's become one of the year's biggest internet sensations.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(HEADLINES)

[08:30:39] LU STOUT: Now voting in the Dutch election is well under way right now and

along with The Netherlands, France and Germany are also heading to the polls this year and anti-European populism could do well.

Now, in France, Marine Le Pen, leader of the far right National Front party has a chance to be one of two candidates to make the second round.

And in Germany, far right parties also threatened to disrupt the status quo.

Now, those elections could signal major power shifts across Europe.

Let's discuss what's at stake now with CNN's Nic Robertson in London. And, Nic, the entire world is watching what's happening today in The

Netherlands. The Dutch vote is underway. If this is the first test of the far right in Europe, how well will they do?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I think the message is going to come from these elections whoever wins, whoever gets the most vote

is the erosion for the main support for traditional mainstream partisans. That's something that is of concern in Germany and it is of concern in

France. It's unclear precisely how well they will do? Wilders who is the sort of largest of the populist nationalist if you will. Not the most

extreme nationalist of all of those out there, but his party is the largest one expected to get the most support, potentially it could get the most

votes, potentially it may come in second or third and likely or very unlikely to form a government because the other parties have said they

won't work with him to form a government so the impact on outside of Holland, if you will, would be less significant, but it is part of this

bigger trend and would for Marine Le Pen if Geert Wilders emerges very successfully in The Netherlands from Marine Le Pen in France.

This is certainly something that will try to use to give a boost in her campaign to become French president.

LU STOUT: Yeah, this could be an election result that would make waves across Europe. But I want to zero in on the trend inside The Netherlands.

We know the country is one of Europe's most liberal nations. And it also happens to be home of one of its most anti-Islam politicians: Geert

Wilders.

Why? How did this come to be?

ROBERTSON: Well, partly because, you know, if you listen to people talking, you know, not the politicians aren't doing what they want them to

do, that they aren't benefiting them. That they feel that the country is changing too much.

One of the issues that Geert Wilders certainly draws a lot of support on his people feel threatened by immigrants, that they feel immigrants are

behind crime, behind violent crime in the country, and he puts particular emphasis on Muslims. People feel their identity and culture, and

therefore, the nature of the country is being changed because of immigrants.

And indeed Mark Rutte, the prime minister, defined, you know, how he sees successful immigrants as people who accept the social traditions of the

country, and the country's values. A shift to the right in of, you know, of his own political - the way he'd describe his own politics, if you will.

So, there's no doubt that the far right nationalists have driven the political discussion, if you will, towards the right for certainly for some

of the mainstream parties,

But, you know, as far as Geert Wilders goes, he is seen as somebody who is willing to, as people often, often say about him, that he is willing to, in

their opinion, speak the truth and speak up about these issues. And the sense is that the mainstream parties haven't done enough, that they have

bought into the European Union that isn't delivering economically, that it is opening the borders to people coming into the country that -- that for

some Dutch people feel that they want more control over it. And certainly that's an echo of what essentially led to the

Brexit vote here in Britain last summer.

LU STOUT: I also wanted to ask you about the diplomatic crisis involving Turkey and The

Netherlands and Europe, populist politics playing a big role in that. What impact is that going to have on Erdogan, his standing at home, and on

Turkey's relations with Europe?

[08:35:07] ROBERTSON: Well, the way that Erdogan is playing at the moment to his home audience he seems very tough overseas. To the Europeans that

he seems to be sort of digging in and making a lot more about the incident over the weekend that most European

leaders would feelthat he was responsible for -- for the way that the crisis grew over the weekend.

The foreign minister threatened the Dutch with untold implications if they didn't give him access to the crowds that he wanted to speak to in

Rotterdam when they refused his entry, then refused to allow his plane to land, then another Turkish minister drove from Germany without the

permission of the Dutch to try to attend the same rally in Rotterdam. So for European politicians, Erdogan's politics on this, if you will, are seen

to be -- seem to be incendiary and unnecessary.

Following on from the crisis at the weekend has brought into the issue that the Dutch were the

ones who allowed the Srebrenica massacre in 1995 in Bosnia-Herzegovina to take place, unfair criticism, the Dutch have said, certainly shot down in

other parts of Europe as being an important narrative and Erdogan does feel he has positions of leverage here.

Turkey signed a deal with the European Union to help stop the refugees and migrants coming through Turkey through the Balkan route into Europe, that

really last year became very effective and cut off that route, but it was all those migrants and refugees coming in to Europe that fueled the

nationalist populists in particularly in northern Europe and also Turkey works on counterterrorism issues to try to stop members of ISIS getting

into Europe and again that's another issue that resonates with the nationalist populists in Europe, the fear that among migrants will be ISIS

bombers.

So Turkey, in a way, has the ability and has had the ability to tone down the populist message by cutting off the sources of issues that are at the

route of how the populists gain more popularity at the moment.

But the way that they're playing it for the Europeans at least, seems very, very counterproductive.

LU STOUT: Populist politics flaring up across Europe and in Turkey as well. You write about that in depth.

Now, on CNN digital, our viewers can find your piece there. Nic Robertson reporting live for us. Thank you, Nic.

Now, on Tuesday CNN carried out the My Freedom Day initiative to raise awareness about modern day slavery. And we asked the question, what does

freedom mean to you? Your answers poured in from near and far. More than 100 schools across the globe took part, including right here in Hong Kong.

And here are some of the highlights.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We believe that our generation should work towards raising awareness.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Freedom Day has had an impact on my life in the way that it's

raised awareness that people in situations that are conducive to it can't express themselves the way I can.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's our generation's responsibility to really step up to the cause and promote equality, promote freedom in order to bring its

victims justice.

CROWD: My freedom day.

CROWD: My freedom day.

(SINGING)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: And My Freedom Day would not have been possible without the help and interest of students everywhere. We have dedicated a special section

of our website to those who made the past 24 hours possible.

And you can find it at CNN.com/myfreedomday.

Now, the family that set the internet on fire with a hilarious blooper appears on television once again. We'll hear from, yes, the hapless father

who explains exactly what happened in that video that's gone viral.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:40:52] LU STOUT: Welcome back. Now, you've probably seen it by now: the hilarious video of two young children crashing their dad's live TV

interview before being pulled away and out of the room by mom.

Now, for days we just couldn't stop talking about it. And so much so that the family decided to give a proper news conference to answer all those

questions once and for all.

Alexandra Field has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's so good. Watch it again, a live Bbc television interview interrupted, the video now viral, and the scene

stealers are again taking center stage, this time to explain.

ROBERT KELLY, PROFESSOR: Yes, the woman in the video is my wife, Kim Chong-ah (ph), not my nanny. No, my wife Chong-ah, did not use too much

force in removing the children from the room. Yes, I was wearing pants.

FIELD: Marian Kelly is first on the scene. She handles her second big appearance like had a champ. Her dad, Robert Kelly admits, he wasn't so

sure he'd bounce back.

KELLY: And I had assumed that this would end any television appearances, that people would see this and assume that, you know, it was just wildly

unprofessional and no one would ever call me again, that I would never speak on television again.

FIELD: But this might be the Puson University (ph) professor's most memorable work.

He was in his home office offering a television anchor his insight into South Korean politics when he gave the world a look at life for a lot of

working parents.

KELLY: There I am in my suit delivering my talking points or whatever and then suddenly reality bursts in. I think that's my sense of why this is so

resonant

FIELD: The video has been watched around the globe. It's exploding on social media sites.

Kelly says it was a simple mistake unstaged. He forgot to lock the office door.

His wife tried to help, but life had already happened and people really seemed to like it.

KELLY: And this is my family.

FIELD: Alexandra Field, CNN, Seoul, South Korea.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: I had to watch that clip 12 times before I got it out of my system

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

END