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NEWS STREAM

Trump To Iranian President: Never Threaten The U.S.; Report: Trump Fuming Over Pace Of North Korea Negotiations; Trump: Justice Department And FBI Misled Courts Over Warrant; Taiwan's PM: Without U.S. Island Vulnerable To Beijing; Chinese Company Sells 250,000 Faulty Vaccines. Aired at 8-9a ET

Aired July 23, 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)

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

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Targeting Iran, Donald Trump goes after Hassan Rouhani in an all caps tweet after a threat from the Iranian president. Back scene scandal,

parents in China bent their frustration over what could be faulty rabies vaccines given to their children. And waves of trash, activists in the

Dominican Republic are trying to clean up their paradise from plastic pollution.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: And we begin with barely veiled threats of war between the United States and Iran. In a late night tweet, President Donald Trump

responded to tough talk from Iran's leader with an explosive warning of his own.

He tweeted this, quote, to Iranian President Rouhani, never, ever threaten the United States again, or you will suffer consequences the likes of which

few throughout history have suffered before. We are no longer a country that will stand for your demented words of violence, and death. Be

cautious, exclamation point, unquote. Mr. Trump appears, and been responding to comments from President Rouhani. He said, quote, war with

Iran is the mother of all wars. Rouhani also said this...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HASSAN ROUHANI, IRANIAN PRESIDENT (through a translator): Mr. Trump, don't play with the lion's tail. This would only lead to regret. You will

forever regret it. You are not in a position to incite the Iranian nation against Iran's security, and interests. The Iranian nation knows its

interests, and sacrifices to protect them. You are mistaken.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: So tough talk from Rouhani, as well as Donald Trump. CNN's Nick Paton Walsh is following it all from London, and he joins us now. And,

Nick, how alarmed should we be about Trump's all caps tweet, and the sudden -- unexpected rise in rhetoric between the U.S. and Iran?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I don't think we should be particularly alarmed immediately by the idea of a shooting war

between the United States and Iran. So, put that aside unless we see some terribly unforeseen escalation. But we should, I think, must be alarmed by

the scattergun approach of U.S. foreign policy.

And just a few days ago people were wondering whether or not Montenegro, according to Donald Trump, might potentially start World War III. Well,

clearly there was a need it seems for some change in foreign policy focus. His critics would suggest that's potentially because he wanted to distract

from the Helsinki summit, and the Russia investigation domestically.

But really here we are -- have seen the U.S. President responds in outsizely (ph) aggressive bash into comments made by Hassan Rouhani. The

sentence he said was expect the mother of all peaceful, or the mother of all wars. Yes, that could sound aggressive, but it comes in a backdrop of

being put in a much tighter corner by recent U.S. actions.

Now, wind a little bit, remember that the U.S. pulled out of the nuclear agreement that was designed to trying to limit Iran's nuclear program.

It's now pushing European allies to come on board with ramping up sanctions back against Iran, that's damaging the economy.

And also, too, the U.S. is increasingly forceful in its rhetoric about Iran. It has put together kind of a 12-point wish list of what it likes to

see Iran do. And Secretary of State for the U.S. Mike Pompeo in a speech in California yesterday laid out a lengthy set of charges against Iran, and

clearly, in fact, it runs a $95 billion is his opinion, slush fund designs, resist the hard-line (Inaudible), and also revolutionary guards. And here

is what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE POMPEO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: The bitter irony of the economic situation in Iran is that the regime uses this same time to align its own

pockets while its people cry out for jobs, and reform, and for opportunity.

The Iran economy is going great, but only if you're politically connected member of the elite. The level of corruption wealth among Iranian leader

shows that Iran is run by something that resembles the mafia more than a government.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALSH: Now, that was a misquote previous American diplomats, Donald Trump does seem incapable of talking softly, but wants everyone to know the size

of his stick. But there are two real potential ways in which this could have an impact in the region.

This is not a place where blocked capital letter tweets necessarily go out to deaf ears. It's extraordinary volatile already. The U.S. have troops

in northern Syria, close to Iranian militia, which found themselves teetering towards areas of control.

A key U.S. ally, Israel repeatedly carried out strikes against the Syrian regime to further its own interest, and to Israel's north is Iranian-backed

Lebanese Hezbollah. So, there are a lot of place that this could go wrong. And this kind of gasoline rhetoric on to that slow burning fire in the

Middle East right now only worsens the problem. And then on top of that, too, as well, what happens inside Iran.

[08:05:01] Because Hassan Rouhani forgot about what Pompeo said is not exactly the most hard-lined person you could hope for, and probably the

most moderate the U.S. is going to get in the next 10 years or so.

And the increased rhetoric against him is pushing him closer, many say, towards the more hard-lined positions inside Tehran. So, to some degree,

stability loses out the potential, (Inaudible) side loses.

And is this sort of broad notion inside the U.S. that there's some liberal Iranian alternative government in a box that they can just pop out, and

take the place of Hassan Rouhani seems a little fetched right now. And the broader question is more widely in terms of Donald Trump how he deals with

foreign policy, where do we go three days from now? What's his next decision to sort of move the focus of his radar. And I think that's the

more broadly troubling thing, Kristie.

LU STOUT: Absolutely. We can't dismiss this tough talk. This rhetoric has serious ramifications. Nick Paton Walsh reporting for us live from

London. Thank you.

Now, Iran isn't the only frustration for President Donald Trump right now. The Washington Post reports that he is privately fuming over the pace of

progress, or lack thereof in negotiations with North Korea.

Now, a source familiar with North Korea's stance tells CNN that Pyongyang wants to see a bold move from Washington before denuclearization talks can

move forward. Will Ripley joins me now. And, Will, what more is a source saying about what North Korea wants to see next from the U.S.?

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Two words, Kristie, a peace treaty -- a peace treaty to formally end the Armistice Agreement that has essentially

kept North Korea at war with its neighbors to the south, with the United States and its U.N. allies since the end of the Korean War in 1953.

Technically the war has never ended. And North Korea feels that until the war ends, until a peace treaty is signed, the safety, and security of their

leader Kim Jong-un, and his government cannot be guaranteed by the United States.

So they are frustrated that they feel the United States hasn't pushed forward more quickly on getting this peace treaty, this formal end of the

Korean War. Also frankly, they would like to see some relief from economic sanctions.

Perhaps not a full lifting of sanctions, but they take umbrage with the fact that the United States wants full denuclearization unilaterally before

the sanctions could be lifted, before diplomatic relations could be normalized.

They point to the fact that they haven't tested any missiles, or nuclear devices since November. They claim that they blew up their nuclear test

site at Punggye-ri earlier this year, although some international experts dispute whether North Korea's nuclear capabilities were significantly

impacted.

And in the coming days, North Korea is expected to perhaps hand over what they claim, the remains of dozen of American service members killed during

the Korean War. So, from the North Korean point of view, they've done enough. Now, they think it's time for the U.S. to do something, Kristie.

LU STOUT: North Korea wants to see a bold move. It wants a peace treaty. And meanwhile, there's word that President Donald Trump is frustrated over

the pace of talks. Is there a sense that this process, however big, is faltering?

RIPLEY: Well, people who watch the Korean Peninsula very closely never expected this to be a quick process, even though some members of the Trump

administration said that there could be complete denuclearization in a matter of months.

From the North Korean perspective, this needs to be a slow step by step process. And the fact that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo went to

Pyongyang with a list of demands, the North Koreans were clearly not prepared to give in at all.

The fact that Secretary Pompeo, according to numerous sources, thought he was going to be meeting with North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un, that meeting

did not happen. It was widely interpreted by a snub by the North Korean leader.

That is a sign that there are some tensions at this point with the United States, and frankly, tensions right now with South Korea as well over a

very high profile defection case from 2016, 12 restaurant waitresses working for a North Korean state own restaurant defected from China along

with their manager.

North Korea has always claimed that they were tricked into leaving. South Korea claimed they all left on their own free will. News reports including

a CNN interview now seem to give some validation to North Korea's claim that these women might have been tricked into leaving, didn't know where

they were going.

All of those other factors are not throwing a wrench in the U.S. relations, but also wrench in North Korean relations with the south. And so where

this goes from here is really anyone's guess.

But I will tell you, Kristie, speaking with my source, the North Koreans are quite emboldened right now by the fact that things are going very well

with their traditional allies of China and Russia, even if things with South Korea and the United States are not going so well right now.

LU STOUT: Got it. Appreciate your reporting. Will Ripley, as always, thank you. Now, President Trump is doing an about face again when it comes

to the Russia investigation. He is now back to claiming Russian interference is all a hoax, and falsely claiming the Obama administration

did not warn the Trump campaign about it.

Of course, CNN has been reporting that Obama officials did, in fact, warn the Trump campaign back in August of 2016. Now, let's go straight to Abby

Phillip, and she joins me from right outside the White House.

And, Abby, we have President Trump now saying that Russian election meddling is a big hoax. So after that week of drama, and of backtracking,

is this just yet another reversal from President Trump?

ABBY PHILLIP, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kristie, it certainly seems that President Trump and this White House are having a hard time

getting their stories straight about what exactly he believes when it comes to Russian interference.

[08:10:07] In this case, yesterday, the issue of FISA warrant has prompted the President to once again blame his predecessor for failing to do enough

to stop Russian interference, but then goes and calls it a hoax.

He said, so President Obama knew about Russia before the election? Why didn't he do something about it? Why didn't he tell our campaign? Because

it is all big hoax. That's why. And he thought crooked Hillary was going to win.

Now, this morning we asked Sarah Sanders, the White House Press Secretary, about this tweet, and whether the President was once again going back, and

doubting the intelligence community's assessment.

She claimed that he was referring to Russian meddling, but as you can see from that tweet, it's clear President Trump seemed to be talking about

election interference that he claimed the Obama administration didn't do enough to stop.

LU STOUT: And, Abby, you mentioned that FISA warrant that involves Carter Page, Trump's former campaign aide, he has denied FBI claims that he was a

former adviser to Russia. What has Page been telling CNN?

PHILLIP: Well, Page is claiming that he was simply targeted for all the wrong reasons. Listen to what he said yesterday on State of the Union with

Jake Tapper.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CARTER PAGE, FORMER TRUMP CAMPAIGN ADVISER: This is so ridiculous, it's just beyond words, you know. It's -- you're talking about misleading the

courts. It's just so misleading going through those 400 plus page documents. You know, where do you even begin? It's literally a complete

joke. And it only continues. It's just really sad.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIP: But there is so much in that documentation that shows why the FBI believed Carter Page was someone who they needed to watch in part

because he had been the target of an intelligence operation to recruit Americans.

Page also claimed that he had contacts with Russian officials, and also there was the issue of the dossier, that's something that the President has

taken issue with, but the FBI said that they had reason to believe that the person who compiled that information was a reliable source in previous

intelligence cases.

So, there is a lot of information here, but clearly both sides are taking this document, and taking whatever conclusions they want to take out of it.

At the same time it seems very clear that the document as lengthy as it is has really not resolved anything about this situation.

President Trump this morning spending most of his morning tweeting that it's all a hoax, and that the document was an illegal attempt by the FBI to

target his campaign. Kristie.

LU STOUT: Abby Phillip live at the White House, thank you, and take care. Now, two people are dead, and at least 12 are wounded after a shooting

Sunday night in Canada. It happened in the Greektown neighborhood of central Toronto.

And police say that the shooter dressed in black opened fire near a restaurant. He was found dead from a gunshot wound. No other information

is known about the suspect. And authorities are asking the public for help. Here is what one witness had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sir, what did you hear tonight?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Several gunshots, lots of gunshots. That's about all I heard. And then I saw...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How many shots would you say? How many...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would say I heard at least 20 shots in intervals, you know, clippings spent, reloading, clippings spent, reloading, clippings

spent, that's what I heard. And then I saw the carnage as I ran down the street here to kind of follow the gunfire, I guess. Pretty crazy.

I saw at least four people shot here by the fountain. As you said, someone came out of the restaurant here, so I missed that. Another person in

Demetrius I assumed was shot, because there was a lot of action going there, towels trying to be grabbed.

Trying to help people out, I guess, is what they were doing. That's all I saw. And then obviously the police arrived, and now I'm standing here

watching this. Not cool. Not cool at all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Police in Canada say that they're investigating every possible motive, including terrorism. Taiwan's Foreign Minister is speaking out on

China's recent live fire drills in the Taiwan strait.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSEPH WU, TAIWAN MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS: What the Chinese government is doing to Taiwan is to create hatred among the Chinese -- among the

regular Taiwanese people towards the Chinese government.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Why Joseph Wu believes without Washington's support, Taiwan would be vulnerable to Beijing. His exclusive interview with CNN straight

ahead. Plus, anger among parents in China over reports of faulty vaccines. We're telling you what's being done to address their concerns.

[08:15:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Coming to you live from Hong Kong, welcome back. This is News Stream. Taiwan's Foreign Minister is warning that without the support of

Washington, the island would be vulnerable to an armed takeover by Beijing.

In an exclusive interview with CNN, Joseph Wu said China's live fore drills in Taiwan Strait over the past few days are part of a campaign to, quote,

intimidate people in Taiwan. CNN's Matt Rivers is in Taipei. He joins me now live. And, Matt, what more did Taiwan's Foreign Minister tell you

about China's pressure campaign, and relations with the U.S.?

MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We had a very wide-ranging conversation, Kristie. In terms of those live fire drills on the one hand, this is

something that Taiwan has dealt with for a while now.

But on the other, it is something that is being viewed with increased alarm here in Taiwan, not only because state media in the mainland is now

explicitly saying these drills are being conducted with an aim at Taipei.

But also because it follows a pattern officials here say of increased aggressive behavior from China towards Taiwan over the past couple years.

Let's play you some of my exclusive interview with the Foreign Minister of Taiwan earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WU: They say they want to win the hearts and minds of the Taiwanese people. However, what they are doing, military intimidation, or diplomatic

isolation tactics against Taiwan.

What the Chinese government is doing to Taiwan is to create hatred among the Chinese -- among the regular Taiwanese people toward the Chinese

government.

And I think this is pushing Taiwan further and further away, and this is the opposite effect of what the Chinese government say, what they want to

work on Taiwan.

RIVERS: Is there any concern amongst the leadership here in Taiwan that President Trump is not a reliable partner, and could change his mind, and

could decide that he doesn't want to support Taiwan militarily, economically, and so forth?

WU: Some people in Taiwan do worry about that aspect of the Trump administration, the decision-making style. However, what we believe, and

what they told us they believe in, is that Taiwan is not tradable, and democracy is not tradable.

We both believe in the values that we share, that we treasure. And we feel very strongly that the Trump administration as a whole is deeply committed

to Taiwan, either in Taiwan security, or its relations with Taiwan.

RIVERS: If the United States continues to increase its support militarily for Taiwan, as you foresee, does that not increase the potential risk of

confrontation militarily with China?

WU: No, the opposite is true. What we are concerned about is that the United States does not support Taiwan anymore, and if that security ties in

between Taiwan and the United States is getting stronger, strengthening with the ties, then that will become a barrier for the Chinese to think

about the future military scenarios against Taiwan.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[08:20:06] RIVERS: And, Kristie, you know, that U.S.-Taiwan relationship was a theme throughout our conversation, and that makes sense given that if

you believe, as many people here do, that Beijing's increased aggressive stance towards Taiwan is not going to change any time soon.

Well, the only real way that Taipei can counter that is with U.S. support, with those kinds of arm sales that we've seen over the past decades, with

continued support. That is the policy that Taipei is going to continue to pursue without question moving forward because it doesn't appear that

Beijing is going to alter course any time soon.

LU STOUT: And that's why it seems that the foreign minister is telling you he is confident in Donald Trump, and he is confident in Trump's commitment

to Taiwan, but how is this going to play out? You know, what's going to happen next? Is Taiwan going to go all the way and push for independence?

Or will it maintain the status quo. And, Matt, what does that really mean at the end of the day?

RIVERS: Yes, it's a good question because traditionally, historically the DPP the party in power here right now, of course led by President Tsai Ing-

wen has -- at least had a party platform that pushed for independence.

But what is actually happening on the ground right here, what the policies are that are being put in place by Tsai Ing-wen's government are not

actually pursuing independence.

He hasn't gone down that road because there is very fine line that Taiwan has to walk for a number of different reasons, not the least of which to be

the fact that these economies between Taiwan and China are incredibly intertwined.

And so, the policies here -- what the government here now says they feel is best is to continue that status quo, which essentially is -- it acts -- it

acts as two different countries. Even though there is the one China policy in place, these are two very distinct entities, one is a democracy, one is

a communist dictatorship.

They operate as separate countries, even though there is all kinds of policies that make the legal charge a bit complicated, but at least for the

foreseeable future what we are going to see under the leadership of Tsai Ing-wen, the current President of Taiwan, is this pursuit of the status

quo. So, don't expect Taiwan to pursue, you know, complete, firm independence from China any time soon.

LU STOUT: Matt Rivers live in Taipei for us. We thank you for bringing us the highlights of your exclusive interview with your Foreign Minister of

Taiwan. Matt Rivers there, take care.

Outcry, and outrage in China after a large company sold more than 250,000 defective vaccines. Changchun Changsheng Biotech and its faulty injections

have many parents across China fearing for their children.

The Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has called for an immediate crackdown on the country's vaccine industry saying this, quote, we must resolute these like

with heavy blows all law-breaking criminal behavior severely punish the criminals according to the law, and hold accountable those who were

negligent in supervision.

Emily Chan is a Director of the Center for Global Health at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and she joins us now. And, Emily, thank you so

much for joining us here on the program. This vaccine scandal has generated massive concern, and outcry in China. What are the potential

injuries, or side effects of this faulty vaccine?

EMILY CHAN, DIRECTOR, CUHK, CENTER FOR GLOBAL HEALTH: Well, this is a very interesting question. Until we have a full report from the government

about the actual content in the current vaccine, we would not know, but one thing we know for sure is that if the vaccine has problems, it will not

confer the right protection for kids who were immunized for the protection of the whooping cough, which is pertussis.

LU STOUT: So, they need to the kids who received this faulty vaccine, and to give them the right vaccines. So, let's walk through what needs to

happen next because this is going to be very challenging, very difficult for Chinese authorities to track down all the children who received these

faulty vaccines, and to vaccinate them yet again.

CHAN: Right. I think there are two issues to public health strategy in terms of vaccination. Of course we need a system, and we need a policy to

be in place. And obviously, regularly immunization by now, China did receive good vaccination rate of 99 percent.

But we know china has a very big population. Ninety-nine percent means one percent which is not supported by the immunization. But the important

aspect, however, is the fact that how do we track those with the problematic vaccine. And that itself with good records keepings is still

possible.

I guess the biggest challenge right now in public health -- in terms of public health concern is the public concern, or the public confidence in

vaccination. And that is definitely a poor, a horrible opportunity miss. If people, because of this horrible commercial practice, affect the hard

work which the government, the society has been building for their confidence in vaccination.

LU STOUT: You are saying the biggest issue here is public confidence, public trust.

CHAN: Yes.

LU STOUT: You know, we know that the production of this faulty vaccine that has stopped.

[08:25:00] The company has apologized. Li Keqiang, the Premier of China, he has called for an investigation, but is that going to be enough to sure

up public trust in Chinese-made vaccines?

CHAN: I guess it's the first step at least to show public, or government support of going forward to track, and to regulate this situation. But

there are other dimensions to it because even with the system, and the good vaccine in place, the public would at least have to be willing to bring

their kids for their vaccination.

And the other important aspect is the regulation. Because, I mean, of course this is so unfortunate not the government want it to happen, not

parents want it to happen, but it's actually the commercial practice, whether we can stop this from happening in the future is actually the key

aspect.

LU STOUT: Emily Chan of the Chinese University in Hong Kong. Thank you so much for joining us. The Philippine President is warning his drug war is

far from over. Rodrigo Duterte opened his Annual State of the Nation Address to Congress on that very topic.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RODRIGO DUTERTE, PHILIPPINE PRESIDENT: The illegal drug war will not be sidelined. Instead, it will be as relentless, and chilling, if you will,

as on the day it began.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Mr. Duterte has long dismissed criticism from international human rights groups. A human rights watch estimated his drug war killed

12,000 people, mostly the urban poor since President Duterte was elected two years ago.

You're watching News Stream. And up next, rescuing the rescuers. Israel evacuates members of the White Helmets from Syria, but Damascus has a very

different view of the operation. We'll go to Istanbul for more on the mission.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. You're watching News Stream. And these are your world headlines.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

The U.S. President issued a late night tweet warning Iran to never threaten the United States again, or suffer consequences the likes of which few

throughout history have ever suffered before. And Mr. Trump's threat came after Iran's President said peace with Iran is the mother of peace, and war

with Iran is the mother of wars.

In the U.K., police have made new arrests after an acid attack on a toddler over the weekend. The 3-year-old suffered serious burns to his arms and

face on Saturday. A 39-year-old man was arrested following the attack, and on Monday police said three more men had been arrested in London.

A former senior security adviser to French President Emmanuel Macron is under formal investigation along with four others. Alexandre Benalla was

caught on video beating protesters during May Day demonstrations, but he has since been dismissed. A source says a police search took place this

weekend at his home in a Paris suburb.

The Syrian regime calls the Israeli-led rescue of members of the White Helmets a criminal operation. The volunteers are among 422 civilians

transferred to Jordan, although the group tells CNN around 300 of their people still need to be rescued. The Syrian regime has routinely called the

White Helmets terrorists and has accused them of carrying out attacks.

Let's bring in CNN's Jomana Karadsheh in Istanbul. She joins us now live. Jomana, Syria has condemned this operation to evacuate hundreds of

civilians, including White Helmets and their families. Tell us more about the reaction from Syria.

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, as you mentioned there, Kristie, for years the Syrian government and their Russian allies have described

these rescuers, the White Helmets, a group of about 3,000 volunteers who work across rebel-held areas, they've labeled them terrorists. They've

accused them of staging chemical attacks, staging rescues, working with extremist groups.

So it is no surprise to hear this kind of reaction that we are hearing from the Syrian government. A short time ago an official with the Syrian

government telling the state news agency they are first again accusing the White Helmets of being a terrorist group and accusing them of

collaborating, working with Israel that is considered an enemy state.

And he said "smuggling out" hundreds of the terrorists White Helmets along with the leaders of the armed terrorist groups in collaboration with the

United States, the U.K., Jordan, Germany, and Canada reveals the kind of support these countries have given to terror groups during their assault on

Syrians.

And it is this kind of rhetoric, Kristie, that has so many people worried, including members of the White Helmets about the fate of about 300 others.

That's according to one White Helmet volunteer who spoke to CNN today, who say they are still trapped there and they are asking and appealing to the

world that they're not left behind.

LU STOUT: The Syrian regime calls the White Helmets terrorists. We know the White Helmets as a volunteer organization that has been dedicated for

years to rescuing Syrian civilians from war zones in this country. How is it that that White Helmets find themselves now in a situation where they

need to be rescued themselves?

KARADSHEH: Well, if you look at the situation, we're talking about south western Syria, that is where that regime offensive began on June the 19th.

And during this operation backed again by the Russians, the regime has made significant gains and they did seem like they were on the verge now of

reclaiming all of southwestern Syria, Daraa Province, Quneitra Province, except for very few pockets that are not under regime control.

And we've heard concerns from the international community, western countries including countries that have funded and supported the White

Helmets. And last week, CNN learned that there was a plan being worked between the United States and other European countries and other countries

to evacuate members of the White Helmets from southwestern Syria. And that is what we saw taking place, Kristie, over the weekend.

LU STOUT: Jomana Karadsheh reporting live for us, thank you very much indeed for that.

Now, floods, landslides, and record-temperatures have hit Asia. We're going to bring you a live update on the dangerous weather here.

[08:35:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Coming to you live from Hong Kong, welcome back. You're watching "News Stream." At least 21 people have been killed in Vietnam after a

tropical depression caused flash flooding and landslides. Entire villages were buried and the storm presents winds of up to 52 kilometers an hour.

Local government groups continue to search for the missing, that's according to a state news agency there.

Now for more, let's head straight to Chad Myers. He joins us at the World Weather Center. Chad, here in Asia, as you know and as we are feeling it,

the summer monsoon season is in full swing. That is bringing heavy rain and some very deadly conditions to Vietnam. What have you seen?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST AND SCIENCE REPORTER: No question. And this is an important notice to people that you don't need a super typhoon to

make significant damage when you get a tropical cyclone in the water.

We have five now in the water here in the the western Pacific, and it really was only about a 50 to 60 kilometer per hour storm when it

approached just to the south here of Hanoi, where the island (INAUDIBLE) if there is an eye, just kind of a low center. That's where Vietnam took the

brunt. But what happened is that the storm stopped.

Let me show you the track. The track went right over here (ph) and then right into and south of Hanoi. And then it stopped and it changed

directions and it came back the other way. And now it's really kind of heading up into China, not a big storm, but a big rainmaker because it

paused, because it stopped in one spot and the rain continued.

In fact, some spots over 250 millimeters of rainfall in 48 hours. Very, very heavy rainfall, deadly mudslides, deadly landslides, and the mudflow

still coming down some of these areas because the rain has been heavy for so many days in a row, Kristie.

LU STOUT: Chad, meanwhile, there's been this deadly heat wave in Japan. What kind of temperatures are being recorded there?

MYERS: Well, that's another thing. I mean, we have the rain on one side of the storm, still an additional rain coming into China, but just a little

bit farther to the west. We are talking about into Japan, 41.1 degrees yesterday. Now, I know if you're in Saudi Arabia or watching from North

Africa, you're thinking that's not hot, but it is because there is a lot of humidity here.

This isn't a dessert. This is the hottest temperature anywhere in Japan has ever seen at any time with a thermometer. Now, obviously a thousand years

ago. We don't know the temperatures. But still, right here, this is the hottest temperature ever recorded in Japan. It's all because heat and

humidity have worked their way right on to the island. This is the humidity that's going to make it even feel worse tomorrow.

Somewhere from I would say Kyushu and all the way back down to any of the prefectures just to the south of there, we're going to have in Kochi (ph)

here, heat index tomorrow is 44. Already 40 people have lost their lives in Japan because of either a lack of air-conditioning or heatstroke or just

not taking the right precautions. So it is time out there. This gets over on Friday, but this heat wave is the real deal.

LU STOUT: Dangerous conditions in Japan and across the region. Chad Myers, tracking it all for us. Thank you so much, Chad.

MYERS: You're welcome.

LU STOUT: Now, plastic bags, bottles, yeah, they make our lives easier, but what happens when our trash comes back to haunt us? Let's look at Santa

Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic. Huge waves of plastic have washed up on the beaches there. It's bad for tourism. It is deadly for

wildlife. Amara Walker has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR: Lining the Dominican Republic's once golden beaches, waves of trash. The blue water of the Caribbean almost completely

obscured, covered in a dense blanket of plastic waste along the shores of the country's capitol, a tide of pollution washing up daily.

CYRILL GUTSCH, FOUNDER, PARLEY FOR THE OCEANS: What you're seeing in Dominican Republic on this beach close to Santo Domingo is unfortunately

the new normal. This happens everywhere in the world especially in places that we call paradise.

WALKER: Cyrill Gutsch is the founder of Parley for the Oceans, a team of environmental activists organizing a cleanup of the seemingly endless

expanse of water bottles, to-go boxes, bags and other plastic garbage.

[08:40:04] Parley is collaborating with hundreds of authorities and locals in the effort.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I love the beach and it hurts to see the Santa Domingo beaches in the state. So these cleaning activities

that we're doing should be permanent and I think create an example.

WALKER: After several days of work, officials estimate they have already collected at least 60 tons of plastic. But each day seems to bring a new

wave of trash.

A popular tourist destination, thousands flock to the Dominican Republic every year to enjoy its famous white sand beaches and sparkling blue

oceans.

The mounds of garbage collecting on the shores of Santo Domingo not only threaten the country's appeal to visitors but also its abounding marine

life.

LUIS CARVAJAL, ENVIRONMENTALIST (through translator): The huge quantity of toxic components in plastic and metal are making species sick and it

threatens those which are not resistant to the pollution, threatening biodiversity and threatening the health of all species including humans.

WALKER: The problem is not unique to the Dominican Republic. Environmentalists say an overflow of plastics is leaving a permanent mark

on the world's oceans. At least eight million tons of plastic go into our oceans every year, according to a 2015 study in the journal science, which

is equivalent to dumping one bar garbage truck into the sea every minute.

FIONA NICHOLLS, AUTHOR, GREENPEACE UK: Plastic production is set to double in the next 10 years and quadruple by 2050. But what is great about this is

that actually plastic doesn't make itself. We make it. And we can reduce the amount that we're making.

WALKER: If not, the United Nations warns there could soon be a day when there's more plastic in our oceans than fish.

Amara Walker, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Now, let's not trash our beaches when they have so much beauty to showcase. Now, before we go, I want to show you this, an incredible

video from a beach in Russia. And people there, they got a glimpse of a rare waterspout. This whirling column of air, water, and mist.

It all came together and came down off the coast of a Black Sea resort town. Now while waterspouts in the area aren't common, fishermen say that

they did spot another one just a few days before. Incredible sight to behold there.

That is it for "News Stream." I'm Kristie Lu Stout. Don't go anywhere. We got "World Sport" with Patrick Snell up next.

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[08:45:00] (WORLD SPORT)

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