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NEWS STREAM

British Home Secretary Speaking To Parliament On The Latest Case Of Nerve Agent Poisoning; Russia Denies New Accusations On Nerve Agent Poisoning; Thai Navy SEALS Says It Is Too Dangerous To Rescue The Boys And The Coach; The Captain Of Ferry That Capsized Says He Took Drastic Action To Save Lives; Aggressive Lobbying Underway To Influence U.S. President Trump's Supreme Court Justice Nominee; A Protester Climbed The Base Of The Statue Of Liberty On The 4th Of July; President Nicolas Maduro Warns Against Possible U.S. Aggression; Eight Teams Remain In The World Cup In Russia; World Headlines; U.S.-North Korea Relations; May And Merkel Meet For Brexit Talks; Going Green. Aired 8-9a ET

Aired July 5, 2018 - 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)

IVAN WATSON, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Ivan Watson in Atlanta. Welcome to "News Stream." Within the last few minutes the British home secretary has been

speaking to parliament about the latest case of nerve agent poisoning in southern England. He says the United Kingdom is calling on Russia for

answers after a British couple was poison with Novichok.

That is the same nerve agent used on a former Russian spy and his daughter just months ago. Charlie Rowley and Dawn Sturgess were found unconscious on

June 30th and are currently in critical condition. Police say there is nothing to suggest that the couple were specifically targeted.

We are going to begin our breaking news coverage with CNN's Nina Dos Santos. She joins us from us outside the houses of parliament in London.

Nina, can you tell us more about what the home secretary has just said there in parliament behind you?

NINA DOS SANTOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I believe Ivan we can actually listen to some of it first hand. He just delivered the speech just moments

ago in the House of Commons behind me and he used it to try and stress to the public that there is no immediate risk to people's safety here.

But again, piecing together the pieces of this jigsaw puzzle is just at a very, very early stage and it may well include parts of the jigsaw puzzle

that is still unsolved linking back to the Skripal's case in March. Let's have a listen to what Sajid Javid, the Home Secretary, had to say just

moments ago after chairing an emergency Cobra meeting.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SAJID JAVID, BRITISH HOME SECRETARY: -- unwell at a property in Muggleton Road in Amesbury on Saturday. Both are British citizens. Paramedics

attended the scene and admitted the pair to the A&E department at Salisbury District Hospital. Here they were treated for exposure to an unknown

substance.

Further testing by expert scientists in chemical warfare at the Porton Down laboratory confirmed this to be the nerve agent of the type known as

Novichok. This has been identified as the same nerve agent that contaminated both Yulia and Sergei Skripal.

The pair are currently in critical condition and I'm sure the whole house will join me in wishing them a full and swift recovery.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE/FEMALE: Here, here.

JAVID: I would also like to express my sincere thanks to the emergency services ant the staff at Salisbury District Hospital for their tireless

professionalism and the dedicated way in which they are providing it. I understand of course that there will be some concerns about what this means

for public safety.

In particular, I recognize that some local Wiltshire residents will be feeling very anxious. Let me reassure you that public safety of is of

paramount importance. Public Health England's latest assessment is that based on the number of casualties affected, there is no significant risk to

the wider public.

Their advice is informed by scientists and the police as the facts evolve. Dame Sally Davies, the Chief Medical Officer, has confirmed that the risk

to the public remains low and has asked the public to follow the advice of Public Health England and the police. She has also advised that people who

have visited the areas that they have been -- the areas that have been recently cordoned off that they should wash their clothes and wipe down any

items that they may have been carrying at the time.

She has also urged people not to pick up any unknown or already dangerous objects such as needles or syringes. This is not new advice and it follows

on from what was said in March. We have a well established response to these types of incidents and clear processes to follow. All the sites that

have been decontaminated following the attempted murders of Sergei and Yulia Skripal are safe.

All sites which have been reopened have undergone vigorous testing. And any items that may have harbored any residual amounts of the agent were safely

removed for disposal. We have taken a very robust approach to decontamination and there is no evidence that either the man or the woman

in hospital visited any of the places that were visited by the Skripals.

[08:05:00] Our strong working assumption is that the couple came into contact with the nerve agent in a different location to the sites which

have been part of the original cleanup operation. The police have also set up two dedicated phone numbers for anyone with concerns relating to this

incident.

Salisbury District Hospital remains open as usual and it is advising people to attend routine operations unless they are contacted and they are told

otherwise. We are taking this incident incredibly seriously and working around the clock to discover precisely what has happened, where and why. Be

assured that we have world leading scientists, intelligence officers and police on this case.

Local residents can expect to see an increased police presence in and around Amesbury and Salisbury. All six sites that were visited by the pair

before they collapsed have been cordoned off and are being securely guarded as a precaution. An investigation has started to work out how these two

individuals came into contact with the nerve agent.

Around 100 detectives from the Counterterrorism Policing Network are working to support this investigation alongside colleagues from Wiltshire

Police. Obviously this incident will invoke memories of the reckless attempted murder or murder attempts of Sergei and Yulia Skripal earlier

this year.

And I know that many of you will question whether this incident is linked to that one. That is clearly the main line of inquiry. However, we must not

jump to conclusions and we must give the police the space and the time to carry out their investigations. The police's work will take time.

But we are ready to respond as and when new evidence comes to light and the situation becomes clearer. Following the events in Salisbury earlier this

year, we rapidly worked with international partners at the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to confirm our identification of the

nerve agent that was used. Through a process of extensive impartial testing and analysis our findings were confirmed correct beyond doubt.

The use of chemical weapons anywhere is barbaric and inhumane. The decision taken by the Russian government to deploy these in Salisbury on March the

4th was reckless and callous. There is no plausible alternative explanation to the events in March other than the Russian state was responsible. And --

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DOS SANTOS: Well, as you could hear the strong stuff from the U.K Home Secretary, Sajid Javid, again, just to reiterate that comment that he made

at the end of his speech in the House of Commons, it is now time that the Russian state comes forward and explain exactly what has gone on.

As investigators try and find out what has gone on as you heard there from the Home Secretary, there is about 100 counterterrorism police officers

that are assisting the Wiltshire Police Force with their investigations. This is largely because of the nature of the seriousness of this particular

incident, the metropolitan police, its counterterrorism division has the lead on this investigation.

We have heard the U.K. Security Minister. I have been speaking on British media, hypothesizing that the most likely line of investigation he said was

that this particular contamination may have resulted from the original batch of Novichok used to poison Sergei and Yulia Skripal back in March,

but that is something that the Mets Deputy Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu who has said at the moment they are not sure on and they have not ruled out

all lines of investigation at this early stage.

WATSON: Alright, Nina Dos Santos there at the Parliament. Thank you very much. I am going to cross over to Nic Robertson. He is in Amesbury. That's

where this couple fell ill. And Nic, the descriptions of their symptoms are frankly quite disturbing. Can you tell me more about that and more about

what we know about this couple?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Well, their symptoms were initially by medical services thought be indicative of a drugs

overdose which if I remember back to the incident with Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia back in March, were the first reported indications of

them when they fell ill, what it looked like they overdosed.

However, what witnesses to at least the man, the 45-year-old man, Charlie Rowley being taken away was that he was zombie-like state, that his pupils

were contracted, that his eyes had gone bloodshot and red, that he was drooling from the mouth, that he was unresponsive to questions asked of

him. He is and remains in critical condition along with the woman, the 44- year-old woman who was taken to hospital a few hours before he was rushed to Salisbury General Hospital.

[08:10:08] What we understand at the moment is that five areas remain cordoned off and that people here are having advice from the police, that

if they were in any these cordoned off areas from late Friday night to Saturday afternoon that they should wash their clothes, wash their mobile

phones, wash their glasses, wash their handbags, out of concerns and abundance of caution.

Police are saying there isn't a zero risk. There is a little risk, a small risk here. And of course for residents here, that's of the utmost concern.

People are concerned for the victims, but they're also concerned for their children, you know, who may be playing in some of the parks in Salisbury

and in the area around. There is a level of anger and disappointment --

WATSON: Let me interrupt for a moment. What is the reaction there? These are small sleepy communities that have now seen two cases of people made

deathly ill by a military-grade nerve agent according to the British government. How are people there reacting to this, frankly, mysterious and

deeply disturbing series of incidents?

ROBERTSON: Well, first off (ph), for some people here really, the previous incident never really ended because some areas of Salisbury remained

cordoned off. But people have been worried because they're now concerned that traces of the nerve agent could be lying around in other places.

This is the longest period of hot, really sunny weather this country has experienced in over 40 years now. Exactly the sort of time when you can

expect children to be playing out in parks until late in the evening. So for parents here -- we have talked to some of them -- they are very worried

about, you know, letting their kids go out and play because they're afraid about what they might find.

But there is also, as I was saying this, level of anger that the government in cleaning up after the Sergei Skripal and Yulia Skripal poisoning perhaps

hasn't been proficient enough and adequately, you know, taking care of all the crime scenes in that particular case. Although what we heard from the

Home Secretary today, he did point out to people that these -- the latest couple who have been poisoned weren't in any of those same areas that were

cleaned up after the poisoning in March.

So there are a lot more questions people here want answered. And of course the questions lingered on last time about, you know, what to do if you are

worried or concerned that your clothing or something might be contaminated in your possession. So the instructions continue. If you were in these

areas, wash your clothes, wash your possessions.

WATSON: Okay. Thank you, Nic Robertson there, live in Amesbury. And clearly the British home secretary was trying to reassure the public amid

the serious concerns of a potential deadly health risk. But he was also, Nic, and thank you -- he was reiterating and repeating the accusation that

not this case but the previous poisoning in March of the Russian double agent, Sergei Skripal and his daughter, was the work of Russia.

So let's now go to the Russian capital, CNN's Matthew Chance is live there. Matthew, I know that Russia has rejected those previous accusations. The

U.K. is not extending them to this case. What is Russia saying about this case?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well that they are denying first of all they have got any involvement in any of these

instances of Novichok poisoning. A Kremlin statement issued today a few hours ago reiterating that, saying that the Kremlin had nothing or Russia

had nothing to do with the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal back in March and has got nothing to do with this latest incident either.

The Kremlin statement goes on to emphasize that Russia has offered a joint investigation to be carried out with the British authorities, which the

British authorities have rejected partly they say, the British authorities that is, because a lot of the intelligence that they have gathered is

secret intelligence. It hasn't been made public and they don't fancy much sharing it with the Kremlin.

There has been other reaction as well from Russian diplomats who have taken on this extraordinary role as kind of internet trolls almost when it comes

to this incident, sort of posting messages on twitter and other social media. The embassy for instance in the Netherlands saying how dumb do they

think we are to use again the so-called Novichok situation in the middle of the FIFA World Cup?

Again the implication being that this is something the Russians say a lot that this Novichok scandal is all an attempt to make Russia look bad as it

is hosting the soccer world championships at the moment in Russia. Another embassy diplomats there in South Africa, the Russian embassy are saying --

pointing out that the British subjects were very close to the Porton Down military facility.

[08:15:09] Again, referring to another Russian official version of events, which as it may be that the Russian -- sorry -- the British authorities

themselves carried out this poisoning as a way of making Russia look bad. So these are the kinds of conspiracy theories that the Russians are

floating out there. But no matter how you cut it, the timing on this is absolutely terrible for the Russians.

Yes, we mentioned the FIFA World Cup, that's taking place. But also, this Novichok poisoning, this latest example comes ahead of the NATO summit in

July, 11th and 12th of July it's being held where Russia is already a divisive issue. And of course it looms over this forthcoming summit between

Trump and Putin where the president of the United States is going to be looking for a way of cooperating and building a better relationship with

Russia. This Novichok case is going to be a massive elephant in the room.

WATSON: Right. And all the while we are very much concerned about this couple who are fighting for their lives in critical condition in Salisbury

hospital after apparently being exposed to a military grade and rare nerve agent, Novichok. CNN's Matthew Chance is live from Moscow. Thank you very

much. And of course we will stay covered -- we'll continue coverage of this story as we learn more developments.

I want to cross now to another very important story and case, and that is in Thailand where a Thai Navy SEAL source says a medical report indicates

it's too dangerous today to try to free 12 boys and their football coach from deep inside a cave. Rescue workers have been drilling through rocks to

open a gap for water hoses and cables, but they have still yet to successfully install a telephone system.

They are also pumping out water as quick as they can. Weather, of course, continues to be the biggest concern in getting the boys out safely. Heavy

rains are expected to set in on Sunday. Now, our David McKenzie, he joins us now from Chiang Rai in Thailand. Good to see you there, David. Can you

fill us in more and update on the medical status of these kids who have spent so much time now trapped underground?

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's right. That report Ivan, that source told us is that it's too dangerous to move them because at

least three of those people down there, two of the boys and the coach are in too much medical distress to in fact embark on a difficult rescue

mission.

Now, what they are doing over here, if I can just walk a little bit closer, Ivan, is they are taking pure oxygen tanks off this truck. Now, that's

important because the oxygen levels in these various chambers where both rescue workers are now almost permanently encamped and also of course the

12 boys and the coach -- those oxygen levels will deplete with time.

So they are pumping in this pure oxygen through the cave system to keep everyone as healthy and happy as possible. But it is a dire situation, make

no mistake. The rain is due to come possibly later today, certainly in the next few days. And if it's in the earnest, the start of the monsoon here,

Ivan, in northern Thailand then the water levels could rise to a point that it becomes critical to get those boys out and the coach as quickly as

possible.

But for now, what they're trying to do is get as much water out of that cave system so perhaps, just perhaps they can get them out by wading or

possibly even crawling out without having to use scuba gear, Ivan.

WATSON: And just, you know, the professional divers who are making this trip back and forth, this isn't a 15-minute swim through a tunnel. It's far

more arduous than that. And these are people who do cave spelanking diving almost for a profession, right, David?

MCKENZIE: Well, that's right. They do it for a profession. And they spend many years and many, many hours practicing these kinds of things. This kind

of penetration diving with entering into an enclosed space is probably the most challenging diving you can do because not only is that space enclosed,

you have almost no visibility once that silt is picked up. And you have you know depend on the guide rope to pull yourself along.

At some point, if it's the many hours they suggest it is to get from the staging ground underground to those boys who are hunkered down, you know,

you'll have to switch your air tanks. I saw Australian divers going in with very sophisticated equipment earlier today. Nitrox equipment, which is

oxygen rich tanks that they go in, very specialized.

These kids, some of them can't swim, they will have to wear a full face masks. So this is kind of a last resort but it appears it might be the only

possible resort because they seem to be suggesting that they are working on a time line here that is finite, Ivan.

[08:20:05] WATSON: All right, David McKenzie with the update from Chiang Rai in Thailand. And please keep us posted if you learn anything further.

Thanks David.

Now to Indonesia where the captain of a ferry that capsized off the coast of Indonesia says he took drastic action to try and save lives. A

government spokesman says he deliberately crashed the ferry in shallow waters when he realized it was sinking. The disaster killed at least 34

people.

In this dramatic video, passengers were seen clinging to the side of the ship as it tilted sharply into the water on Tuesday. Bad weather made the

rescue effort more difficult. The ferry had a leak and started to take on water in rough seas.

With the presidential announcement just days away, new details are emerging in the search to fill an important seat on America's highest court. Stay

with CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WATSON: Welcome back to the program. An aggressive lobbying campaign is underway here in the U.S. as different groups try to influence U.S.

President Trump and his choice for the next Supreme Court justice. It has been just over a week since Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his

resignation.

Mr. Trump could decide on his nominee as early as today, but plans to announce his choice on Monday. White House correspondent Abby Phillip joins

us now from the White House. Good to see you, Abby.

ABBY PHILLIP, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Thank you.

WATSON: You know, the Republicans, they control the Senate. Shouldn't President Trump's choice for a new Supreme Court justice be a pretty easy

appointment?

PHILLIP: Well, one might think so. But the control over the Senate at the moment is so narrow that there is a risk that they might not even get all

Republican senators. Right now, there are 51 senators. One of them is Senator John McCain on who is at home in Arizona battling brain cancer.

Two others are moderate Republican women who have already said that they have concerns about a potential nominee and whether or not they might seek

to repeal Roe versus Wade, that Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion in America. But right now things are moving very quickly as you mentioned,

aggressive lobbying campaign going on because time is running out.

The president is still expected to make his decision either today or tomorrow. And we just learned in the last few minutes according to a source

that the president has completed his interviews for this nomination process. He has talked to at least seven potential candidates for this

post.

And right now, we are expecting that he is down to two or three people that he is choosing from. So, not a whole lot of time for a lot of conservatives

on the outside and on the inside to make their feelings known.

WATSON: And just a reminder to international viewers, Supreme Court justices, these are appointments for life effectively. So, it is of the

utmost importance here in the U.S. President Trump has expressed interest in appointing a woman to the Supreme Court, Abby. Is that still a

possibility?

[08:25:10] PHILLIP: That's right. That is still a possibility. We believe that among the finalist candidates is a woman. Perhaps at the top of the

list of the potential women the president could be choosing from is someone named Amy Coney Barrett who the president did interview on Monday, and as

you noted, this is a lifetime appointment. The president has been choosing from people who are very young, relatively young for a post like this who

could potentially sit on the court for 40 or 50 years.

And what conservatives are thinking right now is that two things, one, the president has an opportunity to appoint a conservative woman who would be

at the moment the only conservative woman on the court. And secondly, if they do in fact want this court to repeal roe versus wade, there are a lot

of conservatives who believe that it's important that a conservative majority include a woman if they were to make such a landmark decision.

So, a lot of considerations here, but Amy Coney Barrett is the name that we have been hearing the most about. A lot of conservatives like her. She is

viewed as very conservative even on this issue of abortion. But also there are some concerns that perhaps she doesn't have quite enough experience.

She does not have as many legal opinions to her name in her time as a judge. So that's one of the concerns that some people have been raising to

this White House about her.

WATSON: Okay. Well please keep us posted if an announcement is forthcoming. Abby Phillip, live from the White House. Thanks very much.

Now also in the U.S., a high climbing protester is in custody after scaling the statue of liberty on the 4th of July. Thousands of people had to be

turned away from the New York attraction after the woman climbed the base of lady liberty. She spent nearly three hours up there protesting the

separation of migrant families. Police finally got her down with hopes and harness. She could face an number of charges.

Now, Venezuela's president, Nicolas Maduro, is warning his country's armed forces not to lower their guard against possible U.S. aggression. His

remarks follow reports that last August President Donald Trump had consulted foreign policy advisers about the possibility of the U.S. leading

a military invasion, a military invasion into Venezuela.

A senior administration official says Trump was only, quote, thinking out loud. However, a day later, Mr. Trump did publicly say that he was not

taking a military option against Venezuela off the table. Curious.

The eight teams remaining in the World Cup are preparing for the quarter final matchups in Russia later this week. There was no action on the pitch

Wednesday. It was all at the airport. Throngs of screaming fans were on hand in Tokyo to welcome team Japan back from Russia. Samurai Blue made an

impressive showing in the tournament before being eliminated by Belgium 3-2 in the round of 16.

Okay, the clock is ticking on Brexit talks between the E.U. and London. And after the break, we'll bring you the latest from Berlin, that's where

Theresa May is trying to break the impasse.

[08:30:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, I'm Ivan Watson in Atlanta. You're watching "News Stream" and these are your world

headlines.

The British home secretary says the U.K. has had no cooperation from Russia after a British couple was poisoned with Novichok. That's the same nerve

agent used on a former Russian spy and his daughter just months ago. Sajid Javid says it's likely the couple came in contact with the chemical at a

different location from the first incident.

A Thai Navy Seal source says it's too dangerous right now to freed 12 boys and their football coach from deep inside the flooded cave. A doctor who

visited the boys says two players and the coach are too exhausted from malnutrition to try to move them right now.

Violent protests are gripping (ph) Nantes in Western France. Police shot a 22-year-old driver during a roadside check. In response, dozens of young

people ignited cars, threw petrol bombs at police, and set a mall on fire.

The U.S. secretary of state is making his third trip to North Korea. Mike Pompeo is on his way to Pyongyang at this hour to press for details on how

the country plans to get rid of its nuclear arsenal. His visit comes as U.S. intelligence officials cast doubt on Kim Jong-un's true intentions.

To help figure out those intentions, we're joined now by Will Ripley in Beijing. Good to see you, Will. You know, it's not that long ago that we

saw those historic images of President Trump and Kim Jong-un shaking hands in Singapore. The Trump administration says it wants complete, verifiable,

irreversible denuclearization. Those are the buzz words. Is North Korea committed to that?

WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the pledge that they signed in Singapore pledged to work towards the complete denuclearization.

There was nothing about verifiable or irreversible although Secretary of State Mike Pompeo did later kind of scoff when reporters asked him about

that, saying that complete encompasses all of those things. But does it? And what's happening on the ground in North Korea?

Well, we can only decipher what's happening based on the satellite imagery that has been seen over the last week that shows some weapons facilities

are being expanded, not reduced in scope. And that doesn't violate any signed agreement with the United States because North Korea never agreed to

disarm in the statement that was signed in Singapore.

Another thing that they did agree to to return the remains of U.S. service members, that hasn't happened yet. So Secretary Pompeo really is under a

lot of pressure on this now his third trip to North Korea, because he has to deliver the goods. He has to walk away with some specifics from the

North Koreans about what steps they're willing to take regarding denuclearization.

The Americans are going to ask for a full inventory of North Korea's nuclear arsenal. That includes the warheads, the facilities where they

enrich plutonium and uranium including these alleged secret facilities that some U.S. intelligence agencies have been talking about in leaked

information.

And that is a big ask, considering that North Korea is already a secretive country. This is one of their most secret programs and they are going to be

asked to be fully transparent with a country that has been their enemy for more than six decades.

Even though Secretary Pompeo and President Trump obviously seemed to have a good and growing -- increasingly positive rapport with the North Koreans,

it's still -- it's going to be really an uphill climb to try to get everything that the Americans are hoping to come away with this weekend.

WATSON: Will, on Mike Pompeo's second trip to Pyongyang, the journalists who were traveling with him, it was clear that the State Department wasn't

sure he would get a face-to-face meeting with Kim Jong-un. Are we getting a sense from diplomats whether he will have an audience with the North Korean

leader this time around?

RIPLEY: He is scheduled to meet with Kim Jong-un, so barring any significant circumstances, I would say it's safe to say that that will

happen, and it needs to happen because frankly there is nobody else in North Korea who can deliver the kind of things that Pompeo has been tasked

to request.

Kim Jong-un holds absolute power in that country. Yes, he is surrounded by a team of advisers. But as we just saw recently with a high-level military

shake-up and even reports that some military officials have been executed - - now keep in mind executions have been reported in the past and then people resurface in video months or years later.

[08:35:06] But what is clear is that Kim Jong-un only surrounds himself with people who are on board with what his plan is. North Korea is one of

the very few places on earth where you can be marching the country in one direction, building nuclear weapons, going full steam ahead, and then

leader snaps his fingers and you can change course and almost do a an abrupt u-turn which is what it seems like we saw North Korea do when they

made this shift towards diplomacy.

Now, the U.S. Intelligence Community is raising questions about that given the fact that you see these satellite images showing, you know,

enhancements to their missile production factory and also some of their -- their nuclear facility, the Yongbyon nuclear reactor, for example.

WATSON: All right, Will Ripley keeping an eye on North Korea for us from Beijing. Thanks a lot, Will.

Now, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has been in high-level talks with both British Prime Minister Theresa May on Brexit and with Hungarian Prime

Minister Viktor Orban about immigration. That talk in particular turned a bit contentious.

So, let's get the latest from CNN's Atika Shubert live in Berlin. Atika, fill us in on this. I guess you had Merkel and Orban, the German and

Hungarian leaders, pretty publicly expressing the fact that they don't agree with each other.

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, right from the outset. They said, listen, there are very significant differences that

we have specifically on the issue of migration. And really it was the clearest we have seen of the divisions within the E.U.

Clearly, Orban -- Vikton Orban, the Hungarian prime minister, saying, really the only way to stop illegal migration is to throw up Europe's

borders, to close the borders completely.

Merkel on the other hand saying, listen, we can't be fortress Europe. And he actually had quite a statement. She said, quote, the soul of Europe is

humanity and if Europe wants to play a role in the world, we cannot cut ourselves off from humanity. And she also said that Hungary should do its

part, that Hungary does not feel responsible for those asylum seekers that are already registered as refugees within Hungary.

What she is referring to there is the fact that if Germany doesn't accept asylum seekers at its borders, it will send them back to countries where

they are already registered such as Hungary. That is something that Prime Minister Orban will not accept. He said, it hurts not be accused -- excuse

me, it hurts to be accused of not showing solidarity.

So, some very clear differences between the two leaders. But they were civil with each other. They shook hands at the end and smiled. So I think

it was a clear basically setting out of their two priorities. They haven't solved the E.U. asylum seeker issues, how to deal with it, but they set out

their differences. And it will take some time before they reach any sort of agreement on this.

WATSON: Worth noting, Atika, that while Angela Merkel has these high ideals talking about humanity and humanistic values in Europe, she is also

under fire internally from her own interior ministry and her governing coalition on this very issue, and they disagree with her on this. So thanks

very much for that update from Berlin, Atika Shubert. Thank you.

Still ahead, conserving H2O in the UAE.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In order for people to start appreciate indigenous planting, it's going to be a slow process.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON: In our "Going Green" series, we will hear from a landscape designer about how she is hoping her work can help save water.

[08:40:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WATSON: A landscape designer in the UAE is working to help reduce water consumption. And she is doing it by dealing strictly with indigenous

plants. She tells us how it all works in this edition of "Going Green."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE, LANDSCAPE DESIGNER: What these native and indigenous plants will do is basically just use less water because they are desert

plants. These plants really do help to hold any (INAUDIBLE) there are in the soil together but they live happily in the heat.

My name is (INAUDIBLE). I am a landscape designer in UAE. I've been practicing landscape design for the last 15 years.

The environmental issue for me that I really want to help solve is water scarcity. We're a desert ultimately in the UAE, so our water is obviously a

priority. The government have got strategies in place, even to the point of dictating to landscape architecture practices what type of plants they

should be using and how efficient the plants should be in terms of water consumption.

So adaptive plants, the plants that come from outside the country, that usually consume more water. My strategy is basically to push in the private

sector the use of indigenous plants within the landscape design but in a beautiful way. With the use of indigenous plants, you at least save 50

percent of your water on a daily basis.

In order for people to start appreciating indigenous planting, it's going to be a slow process. We are trying to reeducate clients as to the beauty

of indigenous plants and that they can be used in a different way. It doesn't have to be a desert landscape. These plants can be used in a

typical garden setting.

One of the most exciting achievements in my career was of course being awarded a silver gold medal at top flower show. My garden of indigenous

plants. My inspiration again for that really came from the heart. And I really wanted to give a different perspective on Islam and Arab culture to

the rest of the world.

Ultimately, I'm Emirate and I'm proud to be Emirate. I am very proud of my country. And I'm very aware of the world issues that we have from an

environmental perspective. So for me it's really important to do my part. For me, it's heart-based.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WATSON: All right. That is "News Stream." I'm Ivan Watson, but don't go anywhere, "World Sport" with Christina Macfarlane is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:45:00] (WORLD SPORT)

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