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ISIS Claims Responsibility For Attack On Aid Agency; U.S. And Turkish Presidents To Talk About Syria; Yazidi Boy Kidnapped By ISIS Returns Home; Police Arrest Man Accused Of Murdering Young Girls; Sources: Special Counsel Wants To Interview Trump; Pyeongchang Police Force Shows Off In Drills. Aired 8-9a ET
Aired January 24, 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: An attack on an international aid agency in Afghanistan. Two people killed and fears for others caught up in the incident.
Mr. Trump and Mr. Erdogan are today on the phone, who want to continue attacks in areas of Syria controlled by YPG fighters allied to the U.S.
Arrest in Pakistan over the rape and murder of girls, CNN speaks with some of the victims' relatives.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: ISIS has claimed responsibility for that deadly attack in eastern Afghanistan on the offices of the British-based aid agency Save the
Children. Our last report, security forces appear to be in a standoff with one of the attackers who was in the building.
Two people have been killed. At least 20 wounded. A suicide bomb was detonated in front of the group's office before attackers stormed the
building.
Now let's get the very latest on the attack and also the growing concern over security in the country. Nick Paton Walsh joins us now live from
London.
And, Nick, again ISIS has claimed responsibility. What does this attack reveal about its strength in Afghanistan compared to the Taliban and other
militant groups?
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we have known that Jalalabad, Nangarhar Province was a place where ISIS -- known as ISIS cage by U.S.
forces there, meaning ISIS (Inaudible) for the region of Afghanistan and Pakistan where they historically sort of see their roots here, that ISIS
had a strong presence in Nangarhar, which Jalalabad is the provincial capital.
Now the interesting element here, or I should say the troubling one, is the choice of a charity Save the Children who clearly felt that they were safe
enough to have a building there, to have some kind of HQ in Jalalabad itself.
Now obviously, that would have been because of support of of Afghan security forces, too, and perhaps also, maybe they didn't consider
themselves to be a target of the broader part of the insurgency, normally known as the Taliban.
But ISIS often competes with the Taliban to be more extreme, to choose softer targets to appear to be the more hard core. And clearly, what we
saw today was comparatively standard tactic of a suicide bomb being used to blow away into the building.
The siege then continues. The concern now of course is for the dozens of potentially of charity employees that are still stuck inside that building
or being rescued by Afghan security forces.
In Kabul, certainly they have a special elite that are particularly practiced in dealing with sieges like this. I'm sure there will be some of
the comparable level out in Jalalabad, too. But a very harrowing hours certainly for Save the Children now who just suspended operations across
the country because of this.
LU STOUT: Yes, harrowing hours indeed what happened earlier today. And how does this attack relate to the end of the so-called caliphate for ISIS
in Iraq and Syria as Afghanistan gets new focus now?
WALSH: It's one of them. Perhaps, yes. And there have been reports not commented on by U.S. authorities but substantiated by Afghan officials of
French nationals, for example, turning up and being spotted as being with ISIS in areas where ISIS are known to have a prevalence. ISIS come and go.
They ebb and they flow in Afghanistan. They have to perhaps originated from extremists in Pakistan but, too, they are becoming a brand if you
like, where younger fighters who feel the Taliban is perhaps they are superannuated member.
Taliban, the fighting way before the Americans even got there, the Americans have been fighting. Now they are at the 16 plus years, almost
impossible to remind yourself how important and lengthy this war has been.
ISIS have become a sort of a more attractive brand for a younger generation some particularly argue. But it's attacks like this that perhaps they
compete on the global stage to show how shocking they can perhaps be.
It comes hot on the heels of the attack on the intercontinental hotel in Kabul, which was claimed by the Taliban but Afghan officials say perhaps it
was carried out by some extreme branch, the Haqqani Network that are linked to Al Qaeda.
That attack itself had been warned of by U.S. authorities just days earlier who told people to avoid major hotels. Sadly amongst the Afghan victims
and Ukrainian, there appeared to be Americans who did not heed that warning in that hotel.
But I should point out we're into a dark stage in the Afghan war here because in the past, however bad it's got, however troubling it has been,
we have pretty much been able to have some degree of transparency.
But over the past months or so, that window has closed. For example, Afghan security forces no longer release an important gauge of how badly or
well they're doing, and that's their casualty figures. It took three or four days for the deaths of the Americans to emerge into intercontinental
hotel.
[08:05:00] And we are still obviously struggling to learn in these panic horrifying hours exactly what's happening around the Save the Children
building. Kristie.
LU STOUT: So, the security situation inside Afghanistan could be far worse than what's being reported. Nick Paton Walsh, reporting live for us from
CNN London. Thank you.
Now to northern Syria where fighting is escalating between Turkish and U.S.-backed Kurdish forces, the Turkish military says it has killed 260
Kurdish militia and ISIS fighters during its operation.
Turkey considers both groups to be terrorists. CNN cannot verify the death toll. Meanwhile, America's top diplomat, Rex Tillerson says there will be
no fighting between the U.S. and it's NATO ally, Turkey.
U.S. President Donald Trump is set to speak with Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the coming hours.
The White House says that the conversation will focus on de-escalation. But U.S. officials and Turkey do have legitimate security concerns. CNN's
Sam Kiley has the latest from the Turkish-Syria border.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SAM KILEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: From the American perspective, in conversations with the Turkish president, the pressure will be on the
humanitarian situation in the first instance and secondly on trying to get a commitment that the Turkish forces won't push into areas east of the
Euphrates where they have a much tighter link to the YPG, that is the Kurdish forces that have been integral to the fight against so-called
Islamic State.
Those forces over there have had material support from the United States, including Special Forces elements that are still there. So, Donald Trump
will not want to see those forces coming under pressure.
There might well be an understanding that the Turks do need to try to deal with the elements of Kurds here just across the border that do have weapons
and traditionally over the last few years have been launching a degree of secessionist attacks inside Turkish territory. Sam Kiley, CNN, on the
Turkey-Syria border.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: OK. Let's bring in CNN's Jomana Karadsheh for some analysis. She joins us live from Amman. And, Jomana, again, Turkey is targeting
Kurdish militia in Syria.
The U.S., we know they are arming and supporting the Kurds because they help in the fight against ISIS. So, when Erdogan and Trump speak on the
phone later today, how is that going to go down?
JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kristie, as you know, the Syrian battle space is a very complex one. You've got so many different
groups, different proxies that are backed by different countries.
So, yes, while the United States is backing and supporting some of the Kurdish militia there, especially when you talk about the YPG, they do
support them as part of the Syrian democratic forces.
But when it comes to these forces of the YPG that are here in the Afrin area, the U.S. is not believed to be directly linked to these forces.
Nonetheless as you mentioned earlier, this call today between President Trump and President Erdogan will focus -- we understand from U.S. officials
on de-escalation.
I think the bottom line here, and as you heard from, Sam, earlier, that it is going to be about answers and assurances. The United States will want
to understand and we have seen these high level talks taking place over the past few days between State Department officials, their Turkish
counterparts and also defense officials, trying to understand what is the aim of this Turkish operation.
Is it going to be limited in scope? Is it going to stop after Afrin or are we going to be seeing them moving east? And that is going to be a concern
for the United States. Because then you are going to be talking about areas that are controlled by the forces that they back and where you also
have a presence of U.S. forces.
And when it comes to Turkey, Kristie, of course, they're going to want assurances, too, because there's this belief that this operation was also
triggered.
While it may have been long planned, it may have been triggered also by statements that we have heard in the past week or so talking about 30,000
strong border force that the United States was preparing in that area.
As we heard President Erdogan describing that Kurdish dominated force as an army of terror on his country's border. So probably you are going to --
we're going to see President Erdogan trying to get assurances from President Trump and clarification on those statements.
End of the day, you have these two leaders, very unpredictable leaders. And they are said to have a good relationship. So we will have to wait and
see what comes out of that call.
LU STOUT: Jomana, you mentioned a key question in all this is what is Turkey's objective here? It launches offensive earlier this week. It's
calling it olive branch. But what is Turkey's end game in Syria?
KARADSHEH: Well, it depends, Kristie, on what we're talking about when it comes to, you know, their main aim right now.
[08:10:00] Of course, it's about what we have seen in recent years. It's trying to secure their borders, as they say, against the threat.
Their biggest concern of course is the -- you know, the future Kurdish state that they have been watching these Kurdish groups trying to carve out
when it comes to Northern Syria. And they see this as a big threat that they are trying to contain.
And we have seen that by some cross border operations and we have seen it with air strikes that have taken place, you know, so many times in the
past.
And when it comes to the overall situation in Syria, you know, throughout the conflict they had always called for the removal of President Assad.
They have backed certain rebel groups as part of the free Syrian army there. But most recently, it hasn't been that clear. You have seen a
change in position, in alliances.
While they still call for the removal of President Assad, you have seen Turkey moving closer to Iran and Russia, working together to try and reach
some sort of a resolution by creating these de-escalation zones that they have been working on.
We have heard also in recent days from senior Turkish officials saying that they also aim to return the 3.5 million Syrian refugees that they say they
are hosting inside Turkey back to a safe Syria.
LU STOUT: Jomana Karadsheh, reporting for us live from Amman. Thank you, Jomana. Now, the fight against ISIS consumed parts of neighboring Iraq as
well.
And while the group is greatly weakened the impact on the communities they terrorized is still being felt. Arwa Damon introduces us to a young boy
Yazidi boy, reunited with his family but struggling to deal with his past.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In another lifetime, this would have been a moment of pure and simple as it looks. Two brothers playing together,
looking out for each other. But Ayham barely remembers his real family.
This propaganda video shows how he spent most of his childhood, raised in the so-called caliphate by an American ISIS woman and her Jihadi Moroccan
husband. Were they nice to you?
AYHAM AZAD, KIDNAPPED BY ISIS: Yes.
DAMON: Did you love them?
AZAD: Yes.
DAMON: But they were also the ones holding him captive. Ayhem was kidnapped when he was just 4-years-old, separated from his real family,
sold and traded until he ended up in Raqqa.
AZAD: She's really good to me.
DAMON: Um Yousuf?
AZAD: Yes.
DAMON: Do you know her?
AZAD: Um Yousuf, her real name is Sam.
DAMON: His ISIS family took everything from him, his childhood, his identity as a Yazidi, but most of all, his innocence.
AZAD: They said you have to kill -- if you be back, you have to kill every Yazidi.
DAMON: Do you feel like you want to kill all the Yazidis?
AZAD: No, no, no.
DAMON: I have learned English quickly and became best friends with Sam's oldest son Yousuf. Who is this?
AZAD: It's Yousef (ph).
DAMON: Ayhem says Sam was forced to let the boys make the propaganda video.
AZAD: They pulled the gun on her head.
DAMON: Ayhem's story of Sam portrayed a woman conflicted caught between her indoctrination and her humanity.
AZAD: Don't forget your family.
DAMON: She regularly had Ayhem recite his real family's names so he would be able to find his way back home one day, and that day came a couple of
months ago as the caliphate crumbled, the ISIS family tried to make their escape, but they were caught.
AZAD: They said you have to go to your family. And she has to go to her family.
DAMON: Sam and her children are believed to be detained by Syrian Kurdish forces. Ayhem returned to a broken family. His uncle who was looking
after him takes him to see a counselor twice a week.
Ayhem's mother is still missing. She, too, was kidnapped by ISIS and no one has heard from her in years. His father remarried and move on. Ayhem
is rejecting his native language, Kurdish, and struggles to communicate with his family.
The counselor is trying to through the song that teaches colors and numbers help him accept his origins again. Ayhem knows he is with his real family,
but misses Sam and Yousef (ph), the only family he really knows. He is confused, but in his mind, he is certain of one thing.
AZAD: My name is Ayhem. I want to get out from here.
DAMON: Arwa Damon, CNN, Dohuk, Iraq.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[08:15:00] LU STOUT: Police in Pakistan, they say they have arrested a Man in the rapes and murders of young girls, including a 7-year-old Zainab
Ansari, earlier this month. She was the latest victim in Kasur where the killings have led to widespread anger. Details now from, Alexandra Field.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is Kasur. A place in eastern Pakistan where girls disappeared for two years and no one got answers.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Speaking Foreign Language)
FIELD: Zainab Ansari lived here. When we arrived, it's been only a few days since her body turned up on a pile of trash, mud caked on her face,
strangled.
Police say the killer raped the 7-year-old. She is last seen alive in this video. At home, there is a backpack, a pink jacket, the words on the
little girl's notebook to remember her by.
Her father told us he has no words to explain what happened to Zainab, his innocent little girl. Then he blames police for her death.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking Foreign Language)
FIELD: Zainab is the latest victim in the string of murders of little girls in Kasur since 2016. Her case grips the nation. Outrage here
reaches a tipping point and demonstrations against police and authorities turn deadly.
It is only after her death that officials publicly admit there is a serial killer on the loose. DNA linked between the cases confirm it. Another
victim, 8-year-old Celine (ph) was killed on her way to Koran class. What happened to your daughter after she walked out this door?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Speaking Foreign Language)
FIELD: That was last summer, the last time her mother saw her alive. She was raped, murdered and dumped. Do you believe the police were looking for
her killer all of his time?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through a translator): The police helped for two months. After that, there was nothing. They kept offering us money to
close the case. But we didn't listen. We didn't take the money. But they closed the case anyway.
FIELD: Officials deny her allegations. There is no consoling her mother.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through a translator): I'll set myself on fire for justice. I want justice.
FIELD: Angry takes hold in Kasur for weeks after Zainab's death, they live in fear. Parents don't want to let their girls go outside.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking Foreign Language)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Speaking Foreign Language)
FIELD: Public pressure mounts and authorities insist they're making every effort on every level to find the killer. Do you believe the same amount
of effort was me after each of these murders?
MALIK MUHAMMAD AHMAD KHAN, MEMBER, PROVINCIAL ASSEMBLY OF THE PUNJAB: No. To be honest it wasn't the case. After Zainab's case, a lot of more effort
has been done now.
FIELD: Nearly three weeks after Zainab disappears, police announce they have their killer in hand, Imran, a 24-year-old from Kasur. Authorities
say his DNA is a match. Officials promised there will be justice finally for all the families. To this father, that isn't enough.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking Foreign Language)
FIELD: (Inaudible), his 6 year-old daughter survived an attempted murder. Police say at the hands of the serial killer. Her brain injuries from the
attack are so severe she can't recognize her parents.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking Foreign Language)
FIELD: He says with no warning in Kasur of a serial killer on the loose, parents had no chance to protect their children. Alexandra Field, CNN,
Kasur, Pakistan.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: May that arrest lead to justice for all those grieving families. You are watching News Stream. Still ahead, the Russia investigation
continues to heat up. Sources now telling CNN that Robert Mueller, is ready to talk to Donald Trump. That story is next.
[08:20:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LU STOUT: Welcome back. We are learning stunning new details in the Russia investigation. After months of interviews, sources tell CNN that
Special Counsel Robert Mueller and his team now want to question Donald Trump. And early discussions are under way about the form that interview
might take. White House reporter Kaitlan Collins has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Special Counsel Robert Mueller expressing interest in questioning President Trump about his decision to
fire former FBI director James Comey and former national security adviser Michael Flynn, according to sources.
SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: We're going to be fully cooperative with the Special Counsel, but we're also not going to
comment on who may or may not, or could be interviewed at any point.
COLLINS: The Russia probe also closing in on the president's inner circle. A source close to Jeff Sessions tells CNN Mueller questioned the attorney
general for hours last Wednesday.
Sessions is the first cabinet secretary and the 16th current or former Trump administration official to be interviewed by the Special Counsel.
President Trump telling reporters he hasn't talked to Jeff Sessions about the conversation.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I didn't, but I'm not at all concerned.
COLLINS: But a source says topics likely included Russia meddling in the election and what Sessions knows about the president's decision to fire
Comey, a matter Mueller is investigating for obstruction of justice. Last year the president said this about his decision.
TRUMP: Regardless of recommendation, I was going to fire Comey. And, in fact, when I decided to just do it, I said to myself, I said, you know,
this Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made-up story.
COLLINS: CNN has learned that Mueller already interviewed Comey last year. The New York Times reports that the former FBI director was questioned
about memos he wrote about his interactions with the president.
Last June, Comey testified that Mr. Trump asked for his loyalty and told him he hoped he could let the investigation into Flynn go.
TRUMP: I didn't say that. I mean, I will tell you, I didn't say that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Would you be willing to speak under oath to give your version of...
TRUMP: One hundred percent.
COLLINS: Mr. Trump's alleged request for loyalty resurfacing amid a new Washington Post report that shortly after firing Comey, the president asked
Comey's replacement, then acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe, who he voted for in the 2016 election.
Mr. Trump reportedly also expressed his anger at McCabe over hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations his wife received from a political action
committee run by a close friend of Hillary Clinton.
Since then, the president has repeatedly gone after McCabe. And CNN has learned that Sessions encouraged the new FBI director, Christopher Wray, to
replace him, prompting Ray to threaten to quit if McCabe was removed or reassigned.
TRUMP: He did not. He did not even a little bit. And he's going to do a good job.
COLLINS: Mueller's Russia case steadily progressing, as CNN learns that former Trump campaign aide Rick Gates has quietly hired a prominent white
collar attorney, signaling that Gates may be negotiating with Mueller in the face of eight charges of money laundering and failing to register
foreign lobbying in other businesses.
Despite these developments, the White House continuing to insist that Mueller's probe is a witch-hunt, but that Trump hasn't fired Mueller due to
potential backlash in the press.
[08:25:00] SANDERS: I think we all know what everybody in this room would do if the president did that, and I don't think that's helpful to the
process.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: And that was Kaitlan Collins reporting. Now there's just about two weeks left until South Korea open his doors for the thousands of
tourists and athletes coming for the Winter Games.
And police in South Korea, they have the challenge of keeping all those people safe. Paula Hancocks checks out the launch of a new police force in
Pyeongchang.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The police in South Korea don't just protect, they entertain. This is the launch of a new police force in-
charge of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.
A demonstration of how they will keep tourists and athletes safe at the upcoming games, from a hostage situation to detecting explosive devices,
then detonating them to prevent casualties, and a fully armed response to an undefined terror attack.
With North Korea now competing in the Olympics there are fewer concerns of Pyongyang doing anything untoward. But extra police are now needed to
protect them.
Protection of North Korea's delegation will be completely separate, the police chief tells me, in order to guarantee their safety. We will operate
a field safety team and guards assigned exclusively to their lodges.
Some protests against North Korea's participation e expected. There will be 13,000 police protecting the games every single day, although, most will
not be armed. We're told there will be hundreds of fully armed SWAT Teams as well.
Add to that, there will be more than three dozen vehicle checkpoints around the area. And then of course, there are the military. These South Korean
marines training here with their U.S. counterparts will be part of the protection for the games.
They have been carrying out multiple drills in subzero row temperatures in the mountains of Pyeongchang, some of the time, with their shirts off.
They say, they are working closely with Interpol and have a list of 30,000 individuals who have been banned from entering the country. Paula
Hancocks, CNN, Pyeongchang, South Korea.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: Yes, that was pretty epic there. Now U.S. President Donald Trump is heading for Davos later today. And up next on the program, how
his America first message is likely to go down with political and business leaders gathered there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LU STOUT: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. You're watching "News Stream" and these are your world headlines.
Security forces in Eastern Afghanistan responded to an attack in the offices of the British Aid Agency saved the children. The militants stormed
the building, killing a police officer and a civilian. At least 20 people were wounded. ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Fighting in Northern Syria has escalated between Turkish troops and U.S.- backed Kurdish forces. The Turkish and U.S. president are to speak in the coming hours. The White House says the conversation will focus on
deescalation.
Pakistani police say that they have arrested a suspect in the serial killings of young girls. The 24-year-old man was taken into custody in the
eastern city of Kasur. Authorities say his DNA was found on the body of 7- year-old Zainab Ansari. She was abducted near her home earlier this month and killed. Her body found dumped in garbage.
Two of Donald Trump's top officials have landed in Davos for Economic World Forum. Mr. Trump will arrive on Thursday and give his big speech the
following day. The U.S. treasury and commerce secretaries answered reporters' questions a short time ago about financial markets as well as
trade with China. They say Mr. Trump's speech on Friday will be true to his America first rallying cry.
Let's go to our international diplomatic editor, Nic Robertson. He is in Davos for us. Nick, protesters, they have been marching against Trump as
well as the World Economic Forum. Are these protests going to intensify when he arrives?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: There's a possibility of it. What we saw earlier today was a small group of protesters managed to
get around one of the sort of police (INAUDIBLE).
There are multiple, multiple layers of security (INAUDIBLE) here. Security is very, very tight. So, we're not going to see protesters able in any
numbers to sort of storm their way inside the very secure Davos perimeter.
Just before you were talking to me, we were listening to the sound of a helicopter flying in here. I think it's clear that key and very important
leaders are probably going to arrive by helicopter rather than driving up the road.
So, the chances of protesters getting in front of President Trump are pretty slim. But that said, you know, the leaders that we are hearing from
yesterday, the Italian prime minister, the Norwegian prime minister, the Canadian prime minister, all had fairly blunt messages for President
Trump's America first message.
You know, by the time he comes, everyone else will have spoken. He will be book ending this with a speech that sounds at the very least, if we
understand from his -- you know, the advanced elements of the White House team that are here already, as if it's going to be a little bit out of
kilter with the sort of overall Davos World Economic Forum narrative.
LU STOUT: Trump is the talk of Davos this year. And also his actions. We were reporting on the Trump tariffs slapped on solar panels and washing
machines. It's been raising fears about protectionism and perhaps even a trade war with China. What has been the outlook there in Davos?
ROBERTSON: Well, the outlook for President Trump -- because President Trump's tax reductions in the United States is one that some of the
business leaders here have wanted. Even Christine Legarde, the IMF chief here, pointed out that that this was broadly helping the global economy.
It was creating an atmosphere of -- for investors in the United States, creating a positive atmosphere where they had some more certainty and
confidence about the situation in the United States.
So in that respect, there are elements of President Trump's economic policies that are being well liked or at least well applauded here.
But this issue of trade tariffs is something that since he became president, this has been a very strong narrative in the way that he has
said that he might deal with China, and now it does seem -- he seems to be taking further steps down that path, that really does set the alarm bells.
You know, China has so far responded by talking about this issue, dissatisfied with these tariffs that President Trump wants to apply. The
question is now on many people's minds, how will China respond? Will that then set off a tit for tat? So, it is a significant concern.
LU STOUT: Nic Robertson with the pulse in Davos. Thank you, Nic.
Now, Pope Francis has condemned fake news, saying, it is similar to the, quote, crafty serpent in the Bible. The pontiff made the comment as part of
the Catholic church's World Communications Day. In his message, he says fake news is a sign of intolerance and can only lead to arrogance and
hatred. He warns there's no such thing as harmless disinformation.
The U.K. is taking the fight against misinformation very seriously. It considers it a matter of national security. It set up a unit to tackle fake
news. The new National Security Communications Unit is to tackle
[08:35:00] lies planted by so-called state actors, especially on social media. Samuel Burke reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SAMUEL BURKE, CNN BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Part of the problem of having a U.S. who is so good at capturing the world's attention
is that there hasn't been nearly enough focus on Russian meddling via social media in other countries like here in the U.K.
Let's be clear. These aren't just allegations. Last year, a CNN investigation found that the very same network of Twitter accounts with
ties to the Russian government that meddled in the U.S. election also posted dozens of pro-Brexit messages on the day of the referendum in June
2016.
Now, CNN turned those findings over to the U.K. parliament, which has been trying to get information from Twitter and Facebook, but the M.P. leading
that investigation has grown increasingly frustrated with the social media companies, saying they are dragging their feet.
And the social networks do have a history of saying, well, there's nothing to see here, but little by little, it's been shown otherwise. Just take a
look at these numbers from Twitter. Originally, they say the number of Kremlin-linked account was 200 on their platform.
Then by October of last year, Twitter informed Congress the number was actually closer to 3,000 accounts. And just last week, another update
showed the latest Twitter analysis had that number ballooning to nearly 4,000 Kremlin-linked accounts.
So, while it might seem like welcome news that the U.K. government is setting up a unit to tackle fake news, another problem is that the U.K.
parliament as well as the U.K. electoral commission are already investigating fake news.
And so the social networks have dodged tough questions from parliament and conveniently said they were participating with the much weaker electoral
commission looking into truly fake news online.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: Samuel Burke there. Now, the literary world has lost an incredible voice. Fantasy novelist Ursula k. Le Guin died in her home in
Portland, Oregon on Monday. She was 88. Le Guin was best known for her Earthsea series which explores themes involving morality.
Her works were influential beyond the fantasy and sci-fi genre and also challenged social norms like gender identity. The U.S. Library of Congress
designated her a living legend in year 2000 for her vast contribution to America's cultural heritage. A living legend, indeed.
You're watching "News Stream." Still ahead, the "Ring of Fire" has been active in the last few days. Volcanic eruptions and earthquakes strike
countries around the Pacific Ocean.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LU STOUT: The "Ring of Fire" is living up to its reputation. It stretches 40,000 kilometers along the Pacific Ocean. In recent days, seismic activity
in places like Japan, Indonesia, Philippines and Alaska has rattled nerves and sparked evacuations. The "Ring of Fire" has more than 450 volcanoes and
80 percent of the world's earthquakes occur in this area.
Let's bring in CNN's meteorologist, Chad Myers. He joins us now from the World Weather Center. Chad, we have this rash of seismic activity, volcanic
activity along the "Ring of Fire" this week. What is happening here?
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST AND SCIENCE REPORTER: Likely not related. This is just the place where earthquakes, volcanoes happen.
[08:40:00] It's called the "Ring of Fire" for a reason. It's where the Pacific Ocean is contracting. The Atlantic Ocean is getting bigger. So
think of it that way. So, Europe and America, North America getting farther apart. And then here, North America and Asia getting close together.
And when you lose that land mass and you lose that -- it is called a subduction zone, you get earthquakes and you get volcanoes and all the
things that happen there. It goes all the way from South America through North America up through and down through Japan.
We knew about the Fukushima earthquake that was right on the "Ring of Fire" and we are still seeing more activity here from the Philippines to Papua
New Guinea. Papua New Guinea has a volcano going off right now. Mount Agung, we talked about this one.
This is in the Philippines, significant there. And a 6.0 earthquake here in Jakarta where people were out and about in the streets trying to get away
from things that may be falling from the sky.
So, let's now get to the map and I will show you where we are going from here. We have Jakarta, Mount Agung. Also back over here, Kadovar, this is
Papua New Guinea with a newly-erupting mountain, and also of course the one up here in the Philippines.
Something else going on is also in Japan where an earthquake has really gone off unexpectedly near a very popular ski resort. So, here is Jakarta
with the earthquake 6.0. Here is the Philippines. It was a gassing volcano for a while. All of a sudden, the top came off. And then we plumed this
thing thousands of kilometers into the sky. There goes the ash cloud.
A lot of flights have been diverted or canceled because you can't fly a jet plane through volcanic ash. When the jet goes through the ash, it melts the
ash in the jet engine itself, and then cools it as it goes back out and you (INAUDIBLE) the engine and the plane doesn't have any more power. That's
why you have to fly around these things.
The potential hazard is still now a four for this volcano. Expected to continue to go off. Something that happened yesterday, almost 24 hours ago,
maybe 27 hours ago, a 7.9 earthquake happened just off the coast of Alaska. Same "Ring of Fire." We also had the potential of a tsunami with this.
The reason why there wasn't a tsunami, it was like 20 centimeters, is because the straight slip nature of the earthquake, a big earthquake, but
it slipped on itself rather than popping up. So there wasn't that vertical motion to the water. There wasn't the vertical motion making all these even
aftershocks.
No real tsunami occurred there. Nothing like we saw in (INAUDIBLE) Fukushima. And then we get back toward Tokyo, 23 to 25 centimeters of snow
came down, a rare thing here. People said hey, let's get to the mountains, let's not go skiing. Well, there was snow on top of the mountain as well.
The problem is when they were there, the volcano decided to go off. All of a sudden, here we go. We do see the potential for damage here. We saw an
earthquake. We saw the shaking made an avalanche happen. One person was killed as the avalanche came down on the ski sort itself. People were
rescued. But still, it was a frightful day there in Northern Japan. Kristie?
LU STOUT: Absolutely. A rash of activity not related. It's all part of the "Ring of Fire" but each activity brings its own hazard. Thank you for
laying that out for us. Chad Myers reporting.
That is "News Stream." I'm Kristie Lu Stout, but don't go anywhere, "World Sport" with Amanda Davies is next.
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