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NEWS STREAM

North Korea Holding High-Level Talks With Foreign Leaders; Kim Jong- Un Meets With Russian P.M. Lavrov; Fury In Moscow Over Russian Journalists Faked Murder; Syrian President: U.S. And Russia Came Close To Direct Conflict; Forced From U.S.: El Salvadorans Face Deadly Welcome; World Headlines; Mike Pompeo and Kim Yong-chol Meeting; Roseanne's Controversial Tweets; Trump White House; Japanese Whaling. Aired 8-9a ET

Aired May 31, 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: North Korean diplomacy, Kim Jong-un meets Russia's Foreign Minister as Moscow makes clear its position ahead of a planned summit

between Washington and Pyongyang.

Defending a murder hoax, a Russian reporter says he had to fake his own death. But his fellow journalists, they want answers. And slaughter or

research? Japan reveals the numbers for its annual whale hunt, and it includes a shocking number of pregnant minke whales.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Just days away from a planned summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un in North Korea is heavily engaged in high level talks to

foreign leaders. Mr. Kim himself met with the Russian Foreign Minister in Pyongyang.

Sergey Lavrov is warning against sudden moves as the U.S. pushes for North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons. He also says sanctions must be

lifted in order for that to happen. Meanwhile, a top North Korean envoy is in New York.

Kim Yong-chol met with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. A U.S. official says that the two would be talking content for the planned June

12th summit. Now, International Diplomatic Editor Nic Robertson has a view from Seoul, and he joins me from know.

And as just mentioned, Nic, Sergey Lavrov, we know that he is the latest leader to reach out directly, and talk to Kim Jong-un, but what is Russia's

interest in all of this?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Well, Russia like China feels that it has a vested interest in whatever arrangement President

Trump comes with -- comes to with Kim Jong-un. That is, that it is in their national security interests, the type of deal that those two leaders

make.

They live in the region, and they therefore want to make sure that those security interests of theirs are met. What was interesting listening to

Sergey Lavrov today when he was speaking in Pyongyang after he met with Kim Jong-un, was that he said it's not our place to interfere.

But then he very much went ahead, and did that. He made it clear that he thought whatever the outcome of the Trump-Kim summit was that there would

be elements that would need to go to the U.N. Security Council, which is an odd position for Russia because it often avoid itself, avoids going through

the U.N. Security Council.

So what does it mean? It means that Russia here is trying to sort of internationalize the outcome of whatever these two leaders may reach. And

in the context of the speed of diplomacy that President Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo are putting in play at the moment to try to get the

talks in a position that they can be held at that summit on the 12th of June, he said that it would be better to slow it down.

That these are delicate issues, don't rush into this. So it's very clear that Russia sees its interests -- we've seen it as well with China. Russia

sees its interests best served as getting engaged right now while he was there.

He invited Kim Jong-un to come and meet President Putin in Moscow. So clearly Russia here is not going to sort of let Trump get into this summit

without trying to -- without trying to, you know, let Kim know what their positions are. Of course for Kim Jong-un, he's got a whole different line

of leaders that are queuing up to meet with him, strange times for him.

LU STOUT: Yes, they all want to have his ear. They all want to have their say. You know, so many interests at stake here, a number of meetings have

been going on, they're in Seoul, Singapore, of course, and New York.

Does this all mean that the June 12 Singapore meeting that that is still on track between Trump and Kim Jong-un, or do significant differences remain

between the U.S. and North Korea?

ROBERTSON: We're told that there are significant differences over the denuclearization issue. North Korea's position of a denuclearized Korean

Peninsula and the United States saying it wants verifiable, permanent denuclearization in North Korea. This is something that would be

inspected. This is something that North Korea could be held to. The details of that are all unclear.

So trying to sort of bring the two sides closer together to make that gap smaller, to make it worthwhile having a summit really seems to be the test

of that meeting in New York between Pompeo and Kim Yong-chol, because if there isn't success there, you would expect Mike Pompeo to go to his

President, President Trump.

[08:05:00] And say look, boss, you know, if we don't have this summit as you very much want to have, you're going to be in a difficult position,

because you're not going to get something that you can walk away from the table with success.

What the State Department is saying that North Korea needs to do something it hasn't done before, take an historic step essentially, now it's not

clear precisely what they mean by an historic step. But in a way that's sort of shaping expectations that should we get to a summit on the 12th of

June.

The State Department and President Trump can point to something that North Korea does, and say look we've told them to do something historic. That's

something historic, that's why it was worth coming. So it's shaping at the moment that clearly that meeting is potentially make or break.

LU STOUT: The Americans or the North Koreans to take this historic step. We'll be talking to Michelle Kosinski later in the hour from the U.S. State

Department, or the State Department reporter in New York to get more clarity on that. Nic Robertson in Seoul for us tonight, thank you so much,

and take care.

Now, the Russian journalist thought dead in Ukraine is very much alive, a very defensive of the elaborate ruse that made the world believed that he

was murdered.

Arkady Babchenko is hitting back at people who criticized his staged death, saying it was necessary to save himself from a real threat. But there is a

burst of outrage from Moscow as well as his fellow journalist in Russia is calling the whole thing strange, and anti-Russian propaganda.

And some of the press point out that the oration could discredit journalists. Frederik Pleitgen joins me from Moscow with more. And, Fred,

so his death was staged, why did Babchenko and Ukraine authorities think that this would be a good idea?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well it's interesting, because the Ukrainian authorities came out yesterday, and interview on CNN, and they

said the reason why they decided to do it this way was on the one hand, obviously they wanted to save Babchenko's life, because they claim that

they had a plot that they had uncovered.

But they also said if they would have just foiled the plot, and have not staged it in the way that they did, they would/may have been able to get

the would-be assassin, but they wouldn't be able to get the network that they believe is behind it.

They say that they have two people in custody. One of them appears to be the would-be assassin, the other maybe someone who have to do with the

plot, who may have ordered the plot or facilitated the plot.

There was obviously also talk, Kristie, of money having exchanged hands for it as well. So the Ukrainians clearly believe from an operational

standpoint that for them it was better to do it this way.

Clearly, Babchenko believe the same thing as well. You were alluding to the fact that he does have a lot of posts out this morning where he's

heavily criticizing his own critics, some of them some very angry posts that he's put out there.

Yesterday when he went in front of the press, they revealed that he was actually still alive. He was fairly apologetic about the whole thing,

apologizing also to his wife who apparently had not been in on the fact that all of this was staged. I want to listen in to a little bit of that

press conference, what he said yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARKADY BABCHENKO, RUSSIAN JOURNALIST (through a translator): Good afternoon. I'll speak in Russian, and I'm sorry. Firstly, I would like to

apologize for what you've all had to go through, because I buried friends and colleagues many times, and I know it's a sickening, vomiting feeling

when you have to bury your colleagues.

We're sorry that they've forced you to experience all of this. But in another way, it was impossible. Also, I would like to apologize to my wife

for the held she has been through in the last two days. Olechka, I'm sorry, but there were no other options. I would like very much to thank

the security services of Ukraine for saving my life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PLEITGEN: And of course, Kristie, after it was revealed that he was actually still alive there were real scenes of jubilation among his

colleagues, especially the Ukrainian television network that he works for.

But also of course here in Russia among other journalists as well, happy to see the fact that a colleague was actually still alive, but then for

instance, the committee to protect journalists, they came out later in the they, and said they said look, the Ukrainian security services, they do

need to explain why they believe that this was the only course of action that was possible.

Because they do believe that this was something that could potentially be very bad for press freedom, and also for attacks on the press, which of

course have been mounting, not just in the United States, but indeed worldwide. Kristie.

LU STOUT: Yes, it was the killing that wasn't answering so many questions. Fred Pleitgen reporting live from Moscow. Thank you. As Fred mentioned,

media watchdog groups, they are upset about the use of the journalists in such an operation.

Reporters at the borders called it a pathetic stunt and CPJ, the Community to Protect Journalists said this, quote, Ukrainian authorities must now

disclose what necessitated the extreme measure of staging news of the Russian journalist's murder.

Our CNN's Christiane Amanpour pressed the Ukraine's prosecutor-general about the suspects in custody, and whether there was really a need for such

an operation. She asked Ukraine's prosecutor-general about the suspects in custody.

[08:10:00] This is what they said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Was it worth it? The criticism that you're getting, the ridicule that the operation has come under around

the world, was it worth it? Did you get a high target? Are these top- ranked assassins? Who have you got in custody?

YURIY VITALIYOVYCH LUTSENKO, UKRAINIAN PROSECUTOR GENERAL: Yes. Yesterday, when we declared about this murder, we know that Arkady

Babchenko is alive, but we need for customer not know that there is an imitation. We expected and we received new couple of evidence to know

about possible new victims, and certainly about customer in Moscow. For us, it was very, very important.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Turning now to an alarming claim from the Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad, he tells Russia today that U.S. and Russian forces came

close to direct conflict in his country.

Let's get straight to CNN's Jomana Karadsheh, a tracking developments from neighboring Turkey. And, Jomana, good to see you. What more did Bashar

al-Assad say about this narrowly avoided clash between the U.S. and Russia?

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, just to give you some context, Kristie, in this sit down interview with the Russian broadcaster in Russia

today, in that part interview, the interviewer was asking President Assad saying basically right now if you look at Syria, you have several

superpowers, several power countries, several nuclear powers that are in Syria in one form or another.

Whether it's with their boots on the ground, or doing proxies, and he asked him, how close have the United States, and Russia come to a direct

confrontation in his country. This is what the Syrian President had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BASHAR AL-ASSAD, SYRIAN PRESIDENT: In reality, we were close to have direct conflict between the Russian forces and the American forces, and

fortunately, it has been avoided, not by the wisdom of the American leadership.

But by the wisdom of the Russian leadership, because it is not in the interest of anyone -- anyone in this world, and first of all the Syrians to

have this conflict, we need the Russian support, but we need at the same time to avoid the American foolishness in order to be able to stabilize our

country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KARADSHEH: And, Kristie, it's really not very specific information provided by the Syrian President with disclaim, and he said it is Russian

wisdom that stopped this from happening. Others might say it's a lack of appetite from both these countries.

For the United States and Russia to start something so dangerous it would mean that they even get dragged further into a quagmire that is the Syrian

conflict.

And after all you do have a deconfliction channels that have been used for the past three years in Russia between those two countries, their

militaries working together to avoid any sort of a confrontation that might happen, and that has largely been successful, Kristie.

LU STOUT: Jomana Karadsheh reporting for us live. Thank you, Jomana. Now, you are watching News Stream, and coming up, we have a CNN exclusive

for you. After decades in the United States, they were deported. We follow thee nightmare of many immigrants face when they return to El

Salvador.

Also ahead, it was meant to be peaceful demonstration to honor those killed in anti-government protests, but the march turned violent. And now more

people are reportedly dead. The latest from Nicaragua coming up.

[08:15:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Coming to you live from Hong Kong, welcome, back this is News Stream. Now it is a homecoming no one wants, and now it is a terrifying

reality for deportees kicked out of the United States to send back to El Salvador, not only to do, they fear that they might never see their

families again, but brutal gangs, including MS-13 lying and wait to recruit them as new members.

Now in an exclusive report on the gangs in El Salvador, our Senior International Correspondent Nick Paton Walsh met some of these young men

telling his their stories. He joins us now. And, Nic, it's a very dark reality for scores of these U.S. immigrants forced to return to El

Salvador. What are they facing there?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is a young men's son in their late 30's, father of two in fact, there are people who

have spent their lives in some degree in the majority of them, decades, in the United States, granted to some degree at some point as illegal

immigrants.

They are mostly the ones we met, sent back because their papers aren't in order, but their lives are back in the U.S. And they face in El Salvador,

about 10 percent of their economy of which has sort of been reliant on an essence, money sent from abroad, most from the Unites States by El

Salvador, next patriots, 20,000 roughly each year are being sent back. The number will grow, and they go back to a country where they really have to

start all over again as we saw.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WALSH: Someone is murdered here every two hours. One in ten people ensnared by gangs. Streets plagued by machete killings, rape, and police

abuses. Welcome to El Salvador, the cruelest of homelands, and the toughest of places to be forced back to.

These are the first moments of men deported from United States back to a land they can't really call home anymore. Blinking, sleepless, and now

homeless, there are some of the 200,000 Salvadorans deported from their long-term homes in the United States under President Trump's immigration

crackdown.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We cannot let people enter our country. We have no idea who they are, what they do, where they came

from. We don't know if they're murderers, if they're killers, if they're MS-13, we throwing them out by the hundreds.

WALSH: Many here have had a matter of hours' notice, no chance even to call ahead as they're forced back to a country, some have not seen for

years, maybe even decades. A welcome home here is about nametags, humiliating roll calls, lacing your shoes again, and realizing as a grown

man, you have to start from zero again, empty-handed.

Christian Lara (ph) lived in the U.S.A. for 20 years, and was deported coming out to his Florida construction job. He had only committed

immigration offenses. The best choice now is a $5 a day found job.

CHRISTIAN LARA (ph), SALVADORAN DEPORTEE (through a translator): I have to work a lot to earn $5. But how can I support my family with only $5?

WALSH: He doesn't know when or if he'll see his family again. I'm sorry, what are your daughters' names?

LARA: Jenny.

WALSH: Sorry?

LARA: Jennifer.

WALSH: Jennifer. How old?

LARA: Twelve. And another one of three years.

WALSH: Three years. Her name?

LARA: She's my little baby, Angela.

WALSH: I'm sorry my friend.

Oscar is more complicated. He's 20, went to America age 10, and served four months for assault, and bodily harm in Houston.

[08:20:00] Yet back here, he trembles.

Are you scared of the gangs here now?

OSCAR MORALES FLORES, SALVADORAN DEPORTEE: Yes.

WALSH: Are you scared you may end up involve, and caught up in that?

FLORES: When I was in the USA, I see the news, and seen some people killed every day. It's scaring me, man.

WALSH: He's already counting the money in his account to see if he has enough, the $8,000 smuggling fee back to the U.S. Christian meets his

mother after four years, and recently deported brother, Josue (ph). Only two weeks later, Josue (ph) messages me on his way to Guatemala to pay, to

be smuggled back to the United States.

Forty-eight hours pass since we meet Christian and Oscar, in which there are two beheadings, over 20 murders, and a policeman is killed.

It's no accident that this elite police come here in large number heavily arm. This is a gang-controlled area, and literally, streets away from

where Oscar is beginning his new life back in El Salvador. Oscar agrees to meet us again. He's had two nights in his new home, but it took just four

hours for the gang to approach him.

FLORES: MS-13, they take my shirt down. And I tell him, what you doing, man? I want to check if you've got tattoos on your body. OK, I don't have

any tattoos on my body, all right.

WALSH: Because he's looking to see if your body, or 18th, or another gang, right?

FLORES: Yes.

WALSH: And this is your what, your first few hours back at home, right? Were you thinking right?

FLORES: Man, I don't want to live here. I'll be leaving here, man.

WALSH: His dad didn't want to know him.

FLORES: He looked like I'm a shit, man. He looked like, are you coming onto my house, man.

WALSH: And this is what falling down here looks like. In the crammed prisons that are gang playgrounds where Oscar, his family, and the U.S.,

frankly, hope he doesn't end up, where gang culture bruise, and hardens, and tattoos, and no opportunities unavoidably lead. Petty theft in

California led to deportation for Edwin, and now, jail.

EDWIN, PRISONER: Here in this country, if you have tattoos, the gangs automatically think that you are a member of some gang, or you have been

part of a gang. So, here it's different. I mean, a little pick could take your life away. If you don't talk to them, you're their enemy. And if you

talk to them, then, they want you to be a part of them.

WALSH: Some deportees from the United States have committed crimes, others none, but being in the U.S. illegally. Or come back to a world where there

desperation and vulnerability, and the risk the gangs have on their new world deepens further still El Salvador's chaos.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALSH: The numbers are really staggering here, 200,000 Salvadorans to be sent back by September of next year under a decision by Donald Trump to end

temporary protected status given to so many after 2001 earthquake to remain at that time, indefinitely in the United States.

But the impact is profound, because El Salvador is dealing with an intense gang crisis where MS-13 has a hold some say in about one in 10 people in

society, but that 10 percent of the country's economy is coming from remittances abroad in the United States, money sent home to people's

families.

Instead, that money is now being diminished because people are being sent home to an economy that can't really accommodate them, that's breadwinners

no longer able to assist Salvadorans back home, and instead having to find a way to earn money in an economy that's already struggling.

So, a deep country in crisis there, significantly worsened by the fact that so many people who are assisting it to keep it float are now being sent

back to it. Kristie.

LU STOUT: Yes, being deported, only to risk, death, dire prospects in El Salvador, a grim fate indeed. Nick Paton Walsh reporting for us, thank

you.

In the bloodshed from El Salvador's gang violence, a crime wave focused on women is collecting more victims. Now, in tomorrow's report, Nick gets

rare access to a women's prison where the one-time targets of gangs can end up as murders.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WALSH: A jail is so rarely a place for sympathy, but women are so often dragged in to barbaric gang culture, and often find themselves on the

receiving end of a violent society.

[08:25:03] She remembers her initiation into the gang Barrio 18.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through a translator): I got kicked and hit. That was necessary to be a part of it.

WALSH: How long did that last for, I ask.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through a translator): Eighteen seconds. Yes, there are women that go through worse. Sometimes they are raped, beaten up,

we're used with it.

WALSH: She was young when she joined. There wasn't a choice.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through a translator): My father died, and my mother was an alcoholic, and left us. I looked after five brothers, and that is

how I ended up on the streets.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: And tune in Friday to watch the risk of Nick Payton Walsh's report only here on CNN. Turning now to Nicaragua, where a Mother's Day

march turned into violent clashes in the capital city. The demonstration was supposed to be a peaceful march honoring the victims of those killed in

anti-government protests in the past few weeks.

You can see teargas being hurled into the crowds, the exact death toll unclear. But a human rights group says 11 people were killed. And scores

injured during the clashes.

The proposed changes to the country's Social Security System triggered the protest last month. At least 83 people are reported dead b Amnesty

International since the unrest began. Government figures are much lower.

Now North Korea is meeting with high level of foreign leadership ahead of a planned summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un. Will their efforts

pay off in the final days before June 12? That's next.

Plus, U.S. President Donald Trump inserts himself into the controversial surrounding a racist tweet made by Roseanne Barr. Now the White House is

explaining. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said sanctions on North Korea must be lifted as the U.S. calls on Pyongyang to give up nuclear

weapons. Lavrov met Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang a short time ago.

Meanwhile, North Korean envoy Kim Yong-chol has been holding talks with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in New York. Russiam journalist Arkady

Babchenko is hitting back at people who have criticized his staged death.

He said the operation was mounted because of a real threat to his life. Reporters without borders said it was a pathetic stunt, and Moscow, they

believed it propaganda. Ukrainian authorities say they have two people in custody.

[08:30:00] The city of Karachi, Pakistan will finally see a tiny bit of relief in the next couple of days following a deadly heat wave that's

continuing to affect much of the region. Temperatures soared in the city to 46 degrees Celsius, that's 114 degrees Fahrenheit over the past 24

hours. Last week, over 65 people died there over the course of just three days.

Now with the planned June 12th summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un now only days away, North Korea has sent a top official to meet America's

chief diplomat, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Our senior diplomatic correspondent Michelle Kosinski joins us now with much more on the story. Thank you for joining us. We know that they had

dinner together last night. Pompeo and Kim Yong-chol will be meeting again shortly this morning, and they will have to continue to just go through a

process that would usually take months and somehow --

MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN SENIOR DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENT: Right.

LU STOUT: -- compress that into a matter of days. Can they do it successfully?

KOSINSKI: Compress is the right word. We don't know the answer to that. It is a lot kind of, you know, boiled down into just a few meetings, although

Mike Pompeo could stay longer in New York. The State Department has already said that is a possibility. So if they need more time, they can do it. And

the background meetings leading up to this meeting apparently were productive.

Not a lot of detail coming out, but they want to do a couple of things here. First of all, they want to see is there enough there there. Are we

close enough on the big issues for there even to be a President Trump-Kim Jong-un summit. How can we bridge the gaps and how each side views

denuclearization? The U.S. wants to convince North Korea in the series of meetings that it is going to be better off and safer without nuclear

weapons than with them.

And the State Department confirmed our reporting too from a few days ago from sources saying that the U.S. is looking for some big gesture from

North Korea at a Trump-Kim summit if that summit does indeed happen. So, now the State Department is saying they want to see something historic,

something that has never done before.

They want North Korea to show that they are willing to denuclearize but they want to see something that North Korea has not done yet. So that could

mean giving up part of its nuclear arsenal, making sure that it stops at the very least at this point its ballistic missile program. We don't know

what the exact ask is.

And of course the problem is North Korea hasn't given any indication that they are willing to do that, especially as a big first gesture. And now you

have the Russian foreign minister, Lavrov, meeting with Kim Jong-un and saying oh, this needs to be a phased denuclearization with sanctions relief

at each step.

That is the opposite of what the U.S. is looking for. So, it's not really clear if Lavrov is accurely relaying Kim Jong-un's stance and if he is, how

hardened that stance is.

LU STOUT: You know, it's interesting, the U.S. State Department is really baying this out. You know, they are saying we need to get something

historic from the North Koreans. North Korea, they have to do something that they've never done before.

As you just mentioned, we don't know what that is just yet. It could be giving up its nuclear arsenal. But what is the United States willing to

offer in return to get North Korea to do that big historic thing?

KOSINSKI: That's a great question because remember, we also don't know what North Korea is asking. And our sources are concerned because they say

even now when North Korea mentions denuclearization, they're using a lot of the same language and terms that they've been using for the last 15 years.

That makes them worry that North Korea's ask is going to be will the U.S. also has to give up its nuclear arsenal or at least, you know, make sure

there's no nuclear capability on the Korean Peninsula which would mean getting rid of things like U.S. bombers that could carry a nuclear warhead

and so forth. Those would be no-goes.

But we've already seen the U.S. agree to secure the assurances for North Korea to make sure that Kim Jong-un and the regime in whatever form down

the road will survive, that he's not going to be deposed or taken down and killed like Gaddafi was in Libya even though that's the model that some in

the Trump administration keep referring to.

And the U.S. is possibly willing to allow some kind of phased-in approach to denuclearization. We heard that from President Trump himself. We just

have to wait and see how much of this gets bridged and if a Trump-Kim summit is even possible at this point, Kristie.

LU STOUT: Yeah, wait and see a perfect language for a Trump-Kim summit.

KOSINSKI: That's right.

LU STOUT: Thank you so much, Michelle Kosinski. Appreciate your reporting, appreciate your analysis as well. Take care.

KOSINSKI: Thanks.

LU STOUT: Now, Roseanne Barr appears to be mounting a defense to all the criticism that she is receiving following her racist tweet. The actress saw

the hit series for her name canceled after she compared a former top Obama adviser to an ape.

[08:35:00] She apologized, later said that she was leaving Twitter, but she didn't, not even close. In addition to re-tweeting a stream of messages

from those who feel that she has been treated unfairly, Barr herself said this, quote, you guys make me feel like fighting back. I will examine all

of my options carefully and get back to you.

Donald Trump entered the phrase (ph) as well, and the president did not condemned Barr's racist remark. Instead, he tweeted this, "Bob Iger of ABC

called Valerie Jarrett to let her know that ABC does not tolerate comments like those made by Roseanne Barr. Gee, he never called President Donald J.

Trump to apologize for the horrible statements made and said about me on ABC. Maybe I just didn't get the call." Here is how the White House

explained that tweet.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The president is simply calling out the media bias. No one is defending what she said. The

president is the president of all Americans and he is focused on doing what is best for our country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: All right. And Roseanne Barr is not the only celebrity occupying Mr. Trump's time on Wednesday. Reality TV star Kim Kardashian West stopped

by. And the president tweeted this picture, noting that she was there actually to talk about a serious issue, about prison reform and sentencing.

And sure, up until now, none of us imagined her to be a policy expert on that particular topic, but she had a specific case in mind. This is Alice

Marie Johnson. She is a 64-year-old woman who is 20 years into a life sentence for nonviolent drug offenses.

Johnson argues that the mandatory sentencing laws that put her behind bars have since changed and it is unlikely that she would face such a harsh

punishment if convicted today. Kardashian West herself tweeted, it is our hope that the president will grant clemency to Ms. Johnson.

You're watching "News Stream." Still ahead right here on the program, a controversial program back in the spotlight. Why Japan's latest whale hunt

is drawing more outrage than usual.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Coming to you live from Hong Kong, welcome back, this is "News Stream."

Japan is facing the scorn of conservationists amid a new report on the country's annual whale hunt. The report highlights some startling figures

from the most recent expedition to the southern ocean around Antarctica.

Take a look at some of the figures. Three hundred and thirty-three minke whales were killed in total, 122 were pregnant, and 114 were not yet

adults. And the big question, is Japan's whale hunt legal? Well, it's pretty complicated. The International Convention for the Regulation of

Whaling says whale can be killed for purposes of scientific research.

Japan had to scrap its old program in 2014 after it was declared illegal due to being used for commercial reasons. But the government began a new

one the next where it will kill up to 333 Antarctic minke annually.

Japan says this program is scientific in nature. It is necessary to study the best ways to manage minke populations. But conservationists say, no, it

is a cover to haunt whales for commercial purposes. And the further wrinkle (ph) to the story here, the byproduct of scientific missions, meaning whale

meat can be legally sold.

Gary Stokes is the Asia director of Sea Shepherd Global.

[08:40:01] He joins me now here in Hong Kong. Gary, thank you for joining us here on the program. Just the day that that was read out, very

disturbing, but why do you believe that this is illegal, that this is a cover by Japan to hunt whales for commercial reasons?

GARY STOKES, ASIA DIRECTOR, SEA SHEPHERD GLOBAL: Japan has actually made it very, very obvious that they are attempting to resume commercial

whaling. They are going down and doing, you know, their scientific research, basically to prove that the population of minke whales is

sustainable enough to resort to commercial whaling. And we've seen their track record of sustainable fishing with bluefin tunas. So, it should send

alarm bells.

LU STOUT: Japan whalers and hunters, they say -- this is their argument, these minke whales are not endangered. And they need to do this in order to

manage the population. How do you respond to that?

STOKES: Well, it's nothing to do with managing population. It's putting food on the table in Japan food cuisine that is actually going out of

favor. They have tons and tons of this whale meat already frozen on ice. It's just -- it doesn't belong in the 21st century. The rest of the world

needs to wake up and start taking action.

LU STOUT: Now, Japan has been able to work around the rules, you know, finding these loopholes, scrap old whaling programs with nuance that meet

the regulations and it goes on with new whale hunts. So, what can the world do? What can be done to end this practice?

STOKES: Well, it all comes down to the trade dollars and that's what Japan is actually bargaining on. They know that people are afraid of going out of

favor with Japan with the trade deals, especially Australia, for example. Australia actually has $1 million federal court order against them and they

have not paid that yet. And they are just playing the trade game.

LU STOUT: And in addition to Japan, are there other countries out there that also hunt minke whales? If this goes on, even though minke whales are

not endangered at the moment, could it eventually pose a significant threat to the species?

STOKES: Yes. The other countries that whale -- I mean there are several whaling nations, the largest being Norway and also Iceland. Iceland is more

for fin whales. But, you know, will it threaten the species? Possibly it will as they continue to wipe them out. As we have seen, 122 pregnant out

of 333. I mean, those numbers are just -- they're just horrific.

But it's actually the role that whales play in the ecosystem in an Antarctica. And the fact that they do help spread the nutrients which keep

the phytoplankton and everything else alive which gives us oxygen to breathe. So I think they're kind of important, so does most the rest of the

world, so we need to see action taken.

LU STOUT: Absolutely. These minke whales, not just beautiful creatures, they're important for the planet. We'll have to leave it at that. Gary

Stokes of Sea Shepherd, thank you so much and take care.

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

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[08:45:00] (WORLD SPORT)

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