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NEWS STREAM

World Headlines; War In Syria; Film Star Mystery; Mangkhut's Destruction; Destination India. Aired 8-9a ET

Aired September 17, 2018 - 08:00   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:00:00] KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong and welcome to "News Stream."

Digging for survivors. Crews in the Philippines search for dozens of miners missing in the wake of typhoon Mangkhut.

The accuser speaks out. A claim against Brett Kavanaugh threatens to hinder his U.S. Supreme Court confirmation.

And a star (inaudible) missing. Why the disappearance of one of China's most famous actresses has some pointing the finger at the communist party.

The strongest storm the world has seen this year is carving a deadly path through southeast Asia. In the Philippines, dozens are feared buried in a

landslide after typhoon Mangkhut slammed the country. The official death toll stands at 54. The typhoon moved north over the weekend lashing Hong

Kong with winds of over 175 miles an hour and flooding the streets of the casino hub Macau.

On Sunday it mad landfall in mainland China, four deaths reported so far there. Now authorities say they have evacuated more than three million

people, more the devastation in China and Hongkong in just a moment. But first, let's get an update on the ongoing rescue operations in the

Philippines.

And we are joined on the line by national program officer of the international organization of migration Conrad Navidad. He is in the city

of Baguio not far from the epicenter of the landslide in Itogon. And Conrad, thank you for joining us. Talk about what is happening in Itogon.

We have this desperate rescue operation underway to find dozens of people buried under the mud there. Do you believe that some of the missing could

still be found alive?

CONRAD NAVIDAD, NATIONAL PROGRAM OFFICER, IOM (via telephone): Hello Kristie. So, we went to Itogon, Benguet this morning and we talked to the

officials on this thing but it's only a miracle if, you know, some of these missing persons have survived, but as of this afternoon they have declared

-- they have announced that there were -- there are 25 -- 35 deaths and 68 persons missing.

LU STOUT: Unfortunately, it feels as if the death toll is only going to rise. We need a miracle here in this rescue operation. (Inaudible), could

you tell us more about who was involved in this rescue effort and what are they doing, what kind of tools are they using to try find the missing?

NAVIDAD: So right now it's the government who is leading the search and rescue operations, assisted by some volunteer groups. And as you can see in

the videos, in the pictures, so they're doing it most of the time manually because of the difficulty of transporting the excavators and heavy

equipment into the bottom of the valley where the destruction happened.

Like where the bunk house are buried by landslides. So right now the search and rescue operation is ongoing and it's a very difficult process and it's

led by the government.

LU STOUT: Yes, a very difficult, delicate process is being led by the government right now. I'm trying to understand why these people found

themselves in this situation where they would be vulnerable to a landslide and being buried alive. Leading up to the super typhoon residents they were

urged to evacuate. Did many people just not listen to that advice and why?

NAVIDAD: Yes, the government did very well in providing early warning to the population and in this particular town we were told by one local

official that no less than the mayor himself and his DRR officials trained for that place and asked the people to evacuate.

But apparently they were met with some men in that place saying that they're going to evacuate, but they lied. During the typhoon they invited

some members of their family, around 40 to 50 people in that bunk house and that's when the disaster struck.

LU STOUT: Understood. Conrad Navidad of the IOM joining us live on the line from Baguio. Thank you so much for giving us an update on this urgent

happening right now. Rescue operation under way in the northern Philippines in the aftermath of that super typhoon. Thank you, sir, and take care.

[08:05:04] Now here in Hong Kong, meanwhile, we're facing a major cleanup from the storm. And earlier today, we went out to survey the damage.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT (voice-over): Nature's turn to defy gravity in high-rise Hong Kong. Four story waves licked the sides of skyscrapers as typhoon Mangkhut

struck here on Sunday. Fresh water cut off, but residence of this towers emerged on Monday unscathed after the most intense storm on earth this

year.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We imagined that if people are around certainly they are going to draw back to the city and they are not going to survive that.

LUS TOUT: Hong Kong's steel and concrete skyline largely stood up to typhoon Mangkhut. A very different reality outside the, big city. Here at

beach side villages like Shekou which bore the brunt of typhoon Mangkhut, buildings here turned to rubble, the first indication that Hong Kong's

cleanup will be long and arduous.

And that traditional seaside communities may have lost the most. Betty Tsang has lived at the beach at Shekou for 65 years, nowhere to go in the

storm, she watched as it destroyed the only home she has ever known. She says she cannot begin to consider the future.

BETTY TSANG, SHEKOU RESIDENT: (Inaudible)

LU STOUT: Many from Hong Kong's fishing communities emptied into typhoon shelters unsure of whether seaside shacks and cottages could survive. As

Mangkhut moved west of Hong Kong the weakening storm remains deadly. At least four killed in Guangdong Province on the Chinese mainland.

In Macau, as the streets empty of floodwaters, the lights of casino town are beginning to blink back on and an entire region begins to count its

losses.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(on-camera): Many across the region coming to terms with devastating loss. Now, let's get the very latest on the storm with Chad Myers. He joins us

from the World Weather Center. And Chad, let's talk about Mangkhut. Where is it now and what's left of the storm?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: There is not much left to be very, very honest and it's no southern China. Now, there are still some showers along

the coast, part of those outer arms of any type of typhoon, cyclone or hurricane, but really the intensity of the wind is over and for a while

hitting Luzon in Philippines was 270 kilometers per hour.

Hard to imagine the destruction there, and also the waves that were coming on shore there in Luzon as well. So tere it goes, it is moving away. I

guess this is just the remnants here, a couple of showers still around Hong Kong still, but that's it. The rest of the accumulation is going to be less

than 100 millimeters.

So likely no more additional flooding but there are areas that are still very wet. You get another 50 millimeters, it still could mud slide. Here's

that building you were showing here on your video with all of those windows absolutely missing. Many times what happens is that you pick up the stones

from the ground and you can blow those stones in the air and they act like missiles knocking those windows out.

Here is what's left of a bamboo scaffold, had no choice but to fall down there. Obviously a lot of water also in Hong Kong, China, as well. Now, the

storm was a big story for many people. This was a wide arm storm, almost 1,000 kilometers across at one point in time. Water (ph) 205 kilometers per

hour in downtown Hong Kong because of that wind tunnel effect, those tall buildings making the wind funnel in between them and the wind really picked

up there. We also picked up almost 300 millimeters of rainfall.

Now we take you back to where it really struck first. This is where we got the 270 kilometer per hour wind and the rain and the destruction and what

we're going to see over the next few days is what we're still going to see. Look at this storm as it's moved on by. The water coming out of the ocean,

the rain coming out of the clouds just making incredible amounts of devastation here.

I'm going to take you the area in case you're not familiar with it. We're going to go from Manila on up towards Luzon because what we're seeing here

is not so much of (inaudible) storm is because it did have some water in the streets because of an inverse surge, but we are talking about the area

here, the mountainous, (inaudible). This is the area -- notice the topography here.

And this is why it slid and this is why the landslides are maybe even continuing for a while. And this is where the miners are trapped and this

is what we're going to see, people trying to evacuate this area, watch for more mudslides coming down because this may not be done. There's so much

water on these mountains that this soil is a mud hole and this mud I going to want to slide back down because of gravity, Kristie.

LU STOUT: Yes, so much water there in the northern Philippines. It presents additional dangers, more dangers to come. Chad Myers,m reporting

for us live. Thank you so much.

In the United States tropical depression Florence continues to hammer the Carolinas, pushing swollen rivers and streams and the emotions of those

living near them to the breaking point. Three days after Florence slammed into North Carolina as a hurricane one official says the worst is yet to

come.

[08:10:05] Erica Hill traveled to the Carolinas where she got an up close look at the devastation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ERICA HILL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Rain measured in feeet. Rivers levels far above flood stage. Entire towns cut off. Florence pounding the

Carolinas, leaving destruction and uncertainty in its wake.

ROY COPPER, GOVERNOR OF NORTH CAROLINA: Floodwaters are still raging across parts of our state and the risk to life is rising with the angry

waters. This storm has never been more dangerous than it is right now.

HILL: Roads in and out of the city of Wilmington, home to nearly 120,000, impassable.

BILLSAFFO, MAYOR OF WILMINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA: For those residents that are trying to get back to Wilmington, I know there are a lot of them, we

ask you not to come at this time. Every single road coming back into the city of Wilmington, the county of New Hanover, is impassable.

HILL: In many areas, the all volunteer Cajun Navy stepping up to help along with teams from across the country, working with local officials and

crews to answer calls for help. Through Sunday more than 900 water rescues in North Carolina alone.

SCOTT BUSCHMAN, COAST GUARD: As of this morning we have nine helicopters in the air and dozens of shallow water boats out there assisting people.

HILL: After days of pounding rain, there is little relief in sight. Lumberton, North Carolina, bracing after water seeps through a patched up

gap in a temporary levee on Sunday afternoon. The Lumber River expected to crest today above 25 feet, inundating a city still recovering from

hurricane Matthew two years ago.

The floodwaters engulfing entire neighborhoods and forcing closures on major interstate highways. Officials advising travelers to avoid driving

through the state.

KARL SCHULTZ, COMMANDANT, COAST GUARD: We have not seen the worst of the flooding. People need to heed the warnings from their local emergency

management experts and stay in safe grounds.

HILL: In Fayetteville where residents in a one-mile radius of both the little and Cape Fear Rivers are under evacuation orders, the mayor was

clear. This is not the time to be complacent.

What's your biggest concern?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Biggest concern is what we see behind us, the pace in which this water moves is deadly.

HILL: South Carolina residents anxious to get home as well, facing long lines and questions about their future as rivers continue to swell. Rescues

throughout the weekend, ferrying people and pets to safety. Grateful resident moving to higher ground. Some unsure of when or if they will ever

return home.

(on camera): Those mandatory evacuations are crucial and in place because of what they learned, too, after hurricane Matthew here a couple years ago.

At that point the Cape Fear River crested at 53 feet, this time they are expecting 62 feet which means the damage could reach much further than it

did the last time around. We should also point out the president is expected in the region later this week. Kristie?

LU STOUT: Erica Hill reporting. Thank you.

You're watching "News Stream" and still ahead, some lawmakers are calling for a vote delay after an allegation of sexual assault is leveled against

President Trump's Supreme Court nominee. The accuser's lawyer speaks to CNN. Stay with us.

And Pope Francis expels a Chilean priest accused of sexual abuse. We are live in Rome with the details, next.

[08:15:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Welcome back. Now, a bombshell accusation could delay a confirmation vote on President Trump's Supreme Court pick. Democrats even

some Republicans say Thursday's judiciary committee vote on Brett Kavanaugh should be postponed after a woman came forward to accuse him of sexual

assault dating back to the 1980s.

A source says this is what Christine Blasey Ford wrote in a letter to Senator Dianne Feinstein, "Kavanaugh was on top of me while laughing with

(REDACTED] who periodically jumped onto Kavanaugh. They both laughed as Kavanaugh tried to disrobe me in their highly inebriated state, with

Kavanaugh's hand over my mouth I feared he may inadvertently kill me."

In a statement on Friday, Kavanaugh responded saying this, "I categorically and unequivocally deny this allegation. I did not do this back in high

school or at any time." In the last hour Ford's attorney told CNN's Alisyn Camerota that her client would be willing to testify in front of the Senate

Judiciary Coittee.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN HOST: Will your client, Christine Ford, be willing to testify in public to the judiciary committee?

DEBRA KATZ, ATTORNEY OF CHRISTINE BLASEY FORD: The answer is yes.

CAMEROTA: She is willing to do it. Has she been asked by any of the lawmakers to do that?

KATZ: That's interesting. The answer is no.

CAMEROTA: Would you be willing to release the results of that polygraph?

KATZ: I will, to the appropriate authorities who wish to see it, yes.

CAMEROTA: And who would those appropriate authorities be?

KATZ: Well, at this point it's the Senate Judiciary Committee that has a constitutional obligation to vet this nominee.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: All right. Let's get more on the story now as CNN's Abby Phillip joins me live from Washington. And Abby, just days ago Kavanaugh was seen

as a shoe in. How could these accusations derail his nomination and Trump's push to fundamentally change the makeup of the court?

ABBY PHILLIP, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORREPONDENT: Well, Kristie, these allegations have really emerged very quickly just in the last few days and

they are very serious in nature. Christine Blasey Ford is alleging that Brett Kavanaugh tried to rape her essentially in high school.

And the White House is very cognizant of how serious that is, especially in this era at a time when we're talking more and more about women accusers

and whether or not they should be believed about widespread sexual harassment in all levels of society and perhaps also in government.

And so in the last couple of days this has gone from an unnamed accuser to a named accuser to someone with a face and name and profession who is

providing some of the corroborating evidence that she says she has to back up her claim. She's saying that she told her therapist about this several

yes ago during a marital counseling session. She talks about talking to her husband about it at the time.

So we're getting more and more information which is making these allegations even more real causing a lot of senators to have questions

about whether or not this nomination can move forward or at least whether it can move forward as quickly as the White House had hoped that it could.

LU STOUT: And leading up to, Abby, this is the MeToo era after all. You know, what is the White House inoculating Kavanaugh with a pro women stance

long before these accusations came out?

PHILLIP: Yes, absolutely -- you are absolutely right. The Kavanaugh nomination from the very beginning you heard things about how more than

half of his clerks, for example, were women, how he always sought to promote women to advance them in the legal profession. They focus so much

on Kavanaugh's role as a father to his two daughters.

There was a lot of focus on his personal story and his efforts to make his world around his legal profession more equal for women, but it's not clear

whether or not they were doing that because they knew this was in his background or because there was a larger issue at hand about the future of

Roe versus Wade, the landmark Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion.

So, both issues are now coming into play where Kavanaugh is facing all of these questions about his past, about his stance toward women and the White

House in recent days have also come out with a letter from 65 women who went to women's schools, private schools in the area where Kavanaugh went

to high school attesting to his character.

[08:20:05] You know, it's not clear whether or not they are in a position to know what happened that night, but clearly the White House, Kavanaugh's

allies trying to do as much as they can to make it clear that this is, in their opinion, not in his character. Obviously his accuser disagrees about

what happened on that night 35 years ago, Kristie.

LU STOUT: Yes. And with this confirmation battle it is certainly heating up. Abby Phillip, reporting live from the White House. Thank you.

Pope Francis has expelled a Chilean priest accused of sexually abusing children. Cristian Precht Banados is among several clergy men who are under

investigation in Chile, but he has not been criminally charged. He has previously denied the accusations.

The defrocking comes as the church faces a public outcry over its handling of abuse scandals dating back decades. Our Vatican correspondent Delia

Gallagher is (inaudible). She joins us now, and Delia this is a very big move by the Catholic Church.

DELIA GALLAGHER, CNN VATICAN CORESPONDENT: Well, that's right, Kristie. You know, father Precht is a high profile figure in Chile. He was known as

something of a hero for the left for having defended human rights abuses under the Pinochet dictatorship. And he had already been sanctioned by the

Vatican for five years for sex abuse from 2012 until 2017.

And then a new investigation has now caused Pope Francis to definitively expel him from the priesthood. We don't know the exact nature of the

charges because this was a church process so it's completely confidential and as you say there has been no civil case lodged against him right now.

So the move on the part of Pope Francis to finally expel this priest is obviously a clear sign for the Chilean church of zero tolerance, albeit a

bit late because he had already been sanctioned previously, but the Chilean church, you know, Kristie, has really been traumatized for years over the

question of sex abuse.

You will remember just earlier this year in March the entire Bishop's Conference, 34 bishops in Chile offered their resignation to Pope Francis

as kind of a sign of trying to turn over a new leaf. Pope Francis has so far only accepted five of those resignations. So it's clearly an ongoing

investigation in Chile, both on the part of the Catholic Church and on the part of civil authorities to try and clean up what has been happening there

in the past decade, Kristie.

LU STOUT: Could you elaborate further into that, just how this move, the defrocking of a Cchilean priest, how that is put into context with the

overall global crisis that the Vatican is currently facing?

GALLAGHER: Well, it plays into it because this is part of what people would like to see. That is part of this crisis has been caused by the fact

that there doesn't seem to have been follow through from the point of allegations from survivors to a bishop in the country, from that bishop to

the Vatican. Follow through in terms of actually making either a priest who has committed sex abuse or a bishop who has covered up pay for those

crimes.

And so what we are seeing increasingly now just in the last few months we've seen the United States, Germany, the Netherlands, different countries

coming out with their reports and there will surely be more to follow, but these are reports of allegations and cases and there is a whole mixed bag

of what has happened within all of those cases.

So there's going to need to be huge investigations into every single case and what has been the follow through and what's been the final judgment. So

really that's what people are looking for now.

What is -- what are the consequences that both the priests are having to pay and the bishops who covered up. Pope Francis has called for an

international meeting of bishops at the Vatican in February to try once again to deal with this issue, Kristie.

LU STOUT: And the Vatican is taking action. Delia Gallagher, reporting live from Rome for us. Delia, thank you.

Now, two years after workers at the U.S. embassy in Cuba first complained of what would later be called sonic attacks, the president of Cuba says his

government had nothing to do with it and he says any claims to the contrary were an effort by the U.S. to defame his country. Our CNN's Patrick Altman

is in Havana and joins us now live. And Patrick, Cuba's president denying having any role in these sonic attacks. How is he backing up that denial?

PATRICK ALTMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. And Miguel Diaz Canel has been president of Cuba since April. This is his first sit-down formal

interview since becoming president, and you could sense his frustration. It's a frustration that the Cuban officials also share that they have to

sort of disprove a negative that they have to show that something didn't happen.

After they left the FBI investigator (ph), after they say they've carried out their own investigation, but this question came up at the end of this

hour long interview and Miguel Diaz Canel said that these strange incidents were, as you mentioned, more than 20 U.S. diplomats over a period of about

a year began complaining of these mysterious symptoms.

[08:25:03] That they would feel in their homes like a beam of energy had been focused at them, that the could hear strange sounds when this was

going on, that they had headaches, that there'd be hearing loss and other symptoms and that they could essentially walk in and out of this beam and

felt that some sort of mystery weapon was being used against them.

Well, Miguel Diaz Canel, when he was asked about this last night in their interview he said, one, that it' not true and that it is hurting the U.S.-

Cuba relationship.

(BEGIUN VIDEO CLIP)

MIGUEL DIAZ CANEL, PRESIDENT OF CUBA (through translator): They have started threatening again. They've started to impose. And in the middle of

all of this they have created this fallacy, this defamatory story of alleged acoustic incidents. We don't agree because we have not attacked

anyone. They started with one story, but Cuban and American scientists have debunked it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALTMAN: And interestingly enough, next week, Miguel Diaz Canel is expected to go to the U.N. General Assembly in New York, Kristie. This would not

only be his first trip as president of Cuba to the United States but his first trip ever. He was asked last night as well if he thought there might

be an opportunity to meet with Donald Trump or other high ranking U.S. officials and he knock that down fairly quickly.

He said that as the current relationship stands, as Donald Trump has put more sanctions on Cuba, that until the Trump administration is willing to

treat Cuba as equal, to let go of this story line that Cuba has been involved in attacks on its diplomats that he doesn't think there can be any

progress in the relationship.

LU STOTU: From sanctions to sonic attacks, it's going to be very difficult to shore up this relationship between U.S. and Cuba. Patrick Altman,

reporting live from Havana. Patrick, thank you.

You're watching "News Stream." And still ahead right here on the program, Mangkhut carving a trail of utter devastation. We will be speaking to the

head of the Philippine Red Cross there about the challenges the country is facing at this very moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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

U.S. senate Democrats and even some Republicans want to delay a planned vote on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. A woman has publicly accused

Kavanaugh of sexual assault dating back to the 1980s when he was in high school. He denies the accusation. A lawyer says she is willing to testify

before Congress.

There have been more than 1,000 water rescues in North Carolina as tropical depression Florence continues to drench the southeastern U.S. And with

floodwaters expected to rise, officials are advising residents to stay off the roads. At least 18 people have been killed as a result of the storm.

[08:30:06] And At least four people have been killed in Southern China as typhoon Mangkhut moved north over the weekend. Three million people have

been forced from their homes. The Philippines has been the hardest hit country so far with at least 54 people believed to have died.

Idlib Province is Syria's last major rebel stronghold and Russian and pro- government forces have been bombing and shelling there for weeks. Now, that has led to medical workers demanding protection.

In this march on Sunday, some 300 doctors and nurses called on the global community to safeguard hospitals and medical staff. Western countries

accuse Russia and Syria of targeting civilians in Idlib and other areas, but that is unlikely to stop a looming ground assault.

CNN's Jomana Karadsheh hast this story of one man doing all he can to protect his family.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There are so many ways to die in Idlib. But only the most primitive methods for survival. Hudhafa al-Shahhad

is preparing for a regime onslaught in Idlib. This makeshift shelter may be the difference between life or death for his family.

HUDHAFA AL-SHAHHAD, IDLIB RESIDENT (through translator): We have moved some supplies, food, and water in case of an emergency, God forbid. Because

Russia is striking with highly explosive bombs that houses cannot withstand. God willing, the cave will protect us from that.

KARADSHEH: The regime's offensive to recapture the last major rebel stronghold hasn't officially started yet, but bombs have already been

raining down on Southern Idlib. Al-Shahhad hopes the cave would shelter his family from the worst of the conventional weapons. But in Syria, even a

breath of fresh air is an uncertainty.

AL-SHAHHAD (through translator): We made the gas masks to protect our children, god forbid, if a chemical attack happens, to protect their eyes

and ears. It is the least we can do.

KARADSHEH: Upstairs in their living room, preparing for the worst is all they can do. Residents here fear the possibility of another chemical

attack. Following instructions he found online, al-Shahhad uses what he can find. Colorful paper cups, cotton, bandages, charcoal, and plastic bags to

create his family's survival kit, these improvised gas masks.

Al-Shahhad walks his children down into the darkness to inspect their underground hideaway. With nowhere left to run when the battle begins, this

could be their only sanctuary.

Jomana Karadsheh, CNN, Istanbul.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: All right. From red carpets to runways, movie screens to magazines, the actress and mogul, Fan Bingbing, is usually one of China's

most prominent figures. But over the past few months, she's making headlines for the exact opposite reason because no one seems to know where

she is.

The superstar who you may know from films like "Lost in Beijing" and "X- Men" movies hasn't been seen in public since June. Some are wondering if she could be in state custody. For more, Matt Rivers is live in Beijing.

Matt, you've been watching and monitoring this story for a while now. Bring us up to speed. What happened to Fan Bingbing?

MATT RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, that is the question that millions and millions and millions of people are asking here

in China because she's incredibly popular. You could argue she is the most famous person in this whole country, and everyone is asking the same

question, Kristie, where is she? We've got some clues, but there's certainly no definitive answer.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RIVERS (voice over): She's not a household name worldwide, but in China, you don't get more famous than actress Fan Bingbing. She's not A-list,

she's A-plus list, think Jennifer Lawrence or Meryl Streep, which is why the fact that she hasn't been seen in public since June is a big deal.

Back in May, Fan was accused of getting paid on so-called Yin-Yang contracts. Essentially, you sign a smaller contract and report that income

to the government. But you also sign a bigger contract and get paid the additional tax free.

One of Fan's alleged Yin-Yang contracts was leaked on social media in late May. She immediately denied the allegations, but the country's tax

authority urged investigators to look into the practice more broadly. One industry source told CNN that tax avoidance scheme is universal in China's

entertainment world.

As for Fan, she hasn't been heard from or seen since posting these photos of a children's hospital in Tibet back in June. CNN asked both China's tax

authorities and media regulators for comment on the case, but hasn't heard back.

China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the only department to take media questions every day. Asked about the actress, here is a spokesman. Does

that sound like a foreign affairs issue to you, he said sarcastically. In other words, no comment. CNN tried to reach Fan herself to no avail.

[08:35:00] Our only clue to her status comes from this. An article posted on September 6th on a state-run media website that said Fan has been

brought "under control" and is about to receive legal judgment. That article was quickly deleted, though, and state media has been virtually

silent about the actress since.

Certain social media posts about Fan on Chinese internet have also been censored by officials. So for now, the mysterious case of China's highest

paid actress continues. We know she's missing, we just don't know why.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

RIVERS: And Kristie, you know, if you needed any more clues as to the fact that the government is very sensitive about this, our signal here in China,

the CNN signal, has been cut throughout the day as it always is. But usually it's cut when we talk about human rights or Tibet, not about

actresses, but it gives you an idea.

And look, this isn't just about an actress. People get disappeared by the government all the time here in this country. It's a very murky legal

system. Usually it's political activists, human rights activists and not actresses, but it shows you that no one is above the lawn her in China.

When China's government wants you gone, you will be. And look, the government -- we can't prove that's where -- where Fan Bingbing is. We have

no confirmation of that. But, in China, despite her fame, Kristie, it's certainly possible that that's what happened to her.

LU STOUT: Yeah, what a mystery, and what a stunning story. Matt, thank you for your reporting. Please, keep us updated. Matt Rivers reporting live

from Beijing, thank you.

Now, let's turn back to one of our top stories, the aftermath of typhoon Mangkhut and the massive impact its having on the Philippines. We are going

to bring up Richard Gordon, chairman and CEO of the Philippine Red Cross.

Richard, welcome back to the program. We spoke to you earlier last week --

RICHARD GORDON, CHAIRMAN AND CEO, PHILIPPINE RED CROSS: Thank you, Kristie.

LU STOUT: -- about how you were getting ready for the super typhoon. Now, it's the aftermath. What is your number one priority right now?

GORDON: Number one priority is get the people quit from having a pity party and get back on their feet. We have to make sure that we get them

roofing for those whose roofs are partially taken out. We can provide roofs right away. We can provide livelihood support right away. Maybe get them

seedlings as well as fertilizer so they can plant right away.

In the meantime, they can have their housing. You can just imagine somebody who lost his house, lost his fields, where is he going to get money for the

school? Where is he going to get money for the food? So we want to get them back on their feet right away.

LU STOUT: Absolutely. And the need is so great across the Northern Philippines. What's your thinking about the overall response to the super

typhoon? The Philippines is used to responding to natural disasters, whether it was super typhoon Haiyan or Mangkhut. Do you feel that the

Philippines is getting better and stronger at disaster response?

GORDON: We are getting better and stronger, but the typhoons are getting stronger and better as well. So, you just have to keep up by many (ph)

changes upon us. They're stronger. Look at what is happening in typhoon Florence -- cyclone Florence in America, all these other disasters. And

now, here, super storm just a few years after Haiyan.

So, we just have to keep on ratcheting up, making sure preparations are in order, get people out of harm's way. Don't dilly dally. Make sure you know

where you're going so that people will be alive and safe.

LU STOUT: Richard Gordon of the Philippine Red Cross. Thank you so much for joining us. Wishing you and your teams the best of luck during this

sensitive time. We know the risk of landslides is very, very high right now in the Philippines in the aftermath of the super typhoon. Richard, take

care.

You're watching "News Stream." We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:40:05] LU STOUT: Welcome back. Now, all this week, CNN is exploring the growing trend of wellness tourism in India, but there is much more than

just meditation and yoga. In fact, some people are heading to the world's seventh largest country to learn all about eating their way to better

health one spoonful at a time. Here is "Destination India."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you ready? OK, hand me the soup.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's organized chaos for lunch service inside the kitchen of the Atmantan Resort in Pune. Vegetables are prepped and orders

start to come in from the guests of this luxury wellness retreat located about three and a half hours from Mumbai.

Here, even during the rainy monsoon season, the landscape may be calming, but it's the spa cuisine prepared by executive chef Ishika Kunar (ph) that

is healing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) that is all about you (ph), that we understand what this food is all about.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When guests first arrive at Atmantan, they meet with the wellness director, Dr. Manoj Kutteri.

MANOJ KUTTERI, WELLNESS DIRECTOR: When it comes to wellness, the gut health has been highly regarded across the globe. Everyone talks about, you

know, gut is considered as your second brain, so anything that happens in your gut can have an influence on your entire body.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Dr. Kutteri evaluates each guest to help determine their body type. According to the ancient art of Indian medicine known as

"Ayurveda," there are three. Vata, which is air and ether, Kapha which is earth and water, and Pitta which is fire and water.

At Atmantan, they believe eating to compliment your body type known as "Dosha" can have positive wellness effect. That's why meals at the resort

are individually designed for each guest.

KUTTERI: The food that you consume would be something that actually favor your own constitution and which actually just helps you reach a balance of

your human.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The goal is not to just improve diet while you are at the resort, but to also take the concept of spa cuisine home.

KUTTERI: What you do here is something that is educational for you. You will be able to go back to your home and cook the same food and without

having a regret that you're missing something because we give everything.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A sacrifice-freeway to wellness, one spoonful at a time.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Looks like a good recipe to me. That is "News Stream." I'm Kristie Lu Stout. But don't go anywhere. "World Sport" with Alex Thomas is

next.

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[08:45:00] (WORLD SPORT)

END