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High Level Trump Advisers Met with Russia During U.S. Presidential Campaign; Bringing Muay Thai to the Olympics; Meditating with the Dalai Lama; Woman Arrested in Connection to Death of Kim Jong-nam; North Korea Remains Defiant with Missile Test. 8:00-9:00a ET

Aired February 15, 2017 - 08:00:00   ET

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


[08:00:12] KRISTIE LU STOUT, HOST: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. And welcome to News Stream.

Now, new revelations about Russian links to Trump advisers. Now, CNN has learned that high level advisers were in regular contact with Russian

officials during the campaign.

A woman has been arrested in Malaysia in connection with the death of Kim Jong-nam the half

brother of North Korea's leader. Now a claim it was murder.

And meditating with a master. Dr. Sanjay Gupta sits down for a lesson with the Dalai Lama.

It's the fourth week of the Trump presidency and it is plagued by controversy. With more questions being raised about past contacts between

Russia and Trump advisers.

Now current and former U.S. intelligence, law enforcement and administration officials tell

CNN that high level Trump advisers were in constant communication with Russian officials throughout the U.S. presidential campaign. And just one

day ago, Trump's national security adviser, Michael Flynn, stepped down amid allegations of inappropriate dealings with Moscow, causing a crisis

for the administration.

Joe Johns reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEAN SPICER, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The evolving and eroding level of trust as a result of this situation is what led the president to ask for

General Flynn's resignation.

JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Some key Republicans now joining Democrats, demanding investigations into Michael Flynn and the administration's ties

to Russia.

REP. ELIJAH CUMMINGS, (D) MARYLAND: We have no idea why Flynn was doing all of this and why he was trying desperately to help Russia. He's not going to

get off that easy. We need some answers to a whole lot of questions.

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL, (R-KY), MINORITY LEADER: The intelligence committee is already looking at Russian involvement in our election. It is highly

likely they want to take a look at this.

JOHNS: As the White House reveals that the president knew for weeks about Flynn's calls with Russia. On January 26th, the Justice Department first

warning the White House counsel that intercepted calls show that Flynn misled them, lying about discussing sanctions with the Russian ambassador,

making him vulnerable to blackmail. That same day the White House says the president was briefed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The president from day one, from minute one, was unbelievably decisive in asking for and demanding that his White House

counsel and their team review the situation.

JOHNS: But the president waited 18 days to demand Flynn's resignation and kept Vice President Pence in the dark the entire time the West Wing was

investigating Flynn's account. Flynn's call to the Russian ambassador happened on the same day President Obama announced new sanctions against

Russia for their cyber-attacks attempting to influence the U.S. election. Weeks later vice president-elect Pence went on national TV defending Flynn

and denying that he discussed sanctions with the Russian ambassador.

MIKE PENCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The conversations that took place at that time were not in any way related to new U.S. sanctions

against Russia.

JOHNS: The vice president only finding out that Flynn misled him last week after an explosive "Washington Post" report uncovered the truth, two weeks

after President Trump first learned of it.

Before resigning, Flynn spoke to the conservative website "The Daily Caller," insisting he crossed no lines in his dealings with Russia and

raising questions about who may have leaked details of his calls. President Trump's only public comments on the firestorm this week, a tweet, "The real

story here is why there are so many illegal leaks coming out of Washington. Will these leaks be happening as I deal on North Korea, et cetera?"

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU S OUT: And that was CNN's Joe Johns reporting there. Just a short time ago, President Trump was tweeting again calling the latest reports fake

news and lashing out at the media.

Now, never the less there are growing calls from Republicans and Democrats for Flynn's ties to Russia to be investigated.

Now, the former head of the CIA's Russia operations says Flynn's fall from grace is just the tip

of the iceberg and he says the Kremlin is likely unhappy with his departure. Here's part of what Steve Hall told CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVE HALL, FRM. CIA HEAD OF RUSSIA OPERATIONS: Well there's certainly I don't think any doubt that Flynn was positively disposed towards Russia,

was pro-Russia. And so I think the Kremlin was hoping that they had someone inside at the senior most levels of the American government in the

White House who they could have a good relationship with, who they could perhaps even have a special relationship with. And for that reason now

that he's going to be gone, they are going to have to deal with somebody else.

And I think they are looking very much forward to dealing with somebody who is a known quantity and a known element the them.

It's necessary to have an investigation. Can it be bipartisan? That will be interesting to see, although there does seem to be people on both sides

of the aisle that agree it needs looking into. We did hear the Republicans, and indeed the administration itself today, do its best effort

to, as they like to say, let's get beyond this, let's focus on things that are important. And I think you even heard Sean Spicer allude to things

like, you know, the real problem leaks in the White House.

My concern is this not be simply part of a three day news cycle and that in four years we all look back and say that who was that national security

adviser guy, I can't remember his name? This is serious stuff that really needs to be investigated in an in depth way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[08:05:50] LU STOUT: Steve Hall there.

Now, Russia is largely dismissing those reports saying that they are not based on facts, only

anonymous sources. Let's head to Moscow now. CNN's senior international correspondent Matthew Chance is standing by. And Matthew, a lot to get to.

But, first, the reports of constant communication between senior Russia officials and Trump aides during the Trump campaign. What more is the

Kremlin saying about this?

CHANCE: Well, I mean, they are denying it, of course, categorically again as they often do with issues like this. Basically, Dmitry Peskov, who is

the spokesperson for the Kremlin, he was on a conference call to reporters earlier today and he said that let's not believe these reports, referring

to the report that Trump representatives have been in contact with senior intelligence officers from Russia.

It's so hard, he said, to distinguish real news from fake news. And that's very similar to the

tweet that Donald Trump tweeted out, in which he said fake news media is going crazy with these

conspiracy theories.

And so, you know, once again you got the Kremlin and the president of the United States in lock step over this issue, blaming the media, blaming the

intelligence services for these kinds of leaks that are undoubtedly doing a great deal of damage to Donald Trump's efforts, or undermining his

administration, first of all, but also doing a great deal of damage to his efforts to try and build a better

relationship with Russia, which is what he said he wanted to do during his election campaign.

LU STOUT: Matthew, there was a Trump tweet storm this morning U.S. time. The most recent one fired off about 24 minutes ago about Ukraine. And he

writes this, quote, "Crimea was taken by Russia during the Obama administration, was Obama too soft on Russia?" Unquote.

Now trying to figure out Donald Trump's intentions aside with sending that tweet, what is the latest word from the Kremlin about Ukraine?

CHANCE: Well, I mean it's interesting because this tweet from Donald Trump, which came in

just a few minutes ago is - and he says Crimea was taken by Russia during the Obama administration. Was Obama too soft on Russia? You know, it's

the latest in a number of statements that we've heard coming from the Trump administration about how important it is for them for Crimea which was

annexed by Russia in 2014 to be returned to Ukraine.

I mean, it started off earlier this month with Nikki Haley, the new UN ambassador of the United States to the United Nations, saying that

sanctions on Russia would not be lifted until Crimea had been returned Ukraine. Then Sean Spicer, the spokesperson for the White House for Trump,

said yesterday that he wanted to see - that the White House wanted to see Crimea returned to Ukraine from Russia and of course now this tweet from

Donald Trump. It's not something, I think, that is realistic when it comes to what the Russians are going to do, or really the foreign ministry has

issued a statement saying they have no intention of handing over what they regard an integral part of Russia to Ukraine.

But I think - and this is important - I think it does mark an important change of tone that we're seeing coming from the Trump administration.

These kind of statements, we've not heard in any real way before, and I think it's perhaps a response to the political pressure being put on Donald

Trump and his administration in Washington about being too soft on Russia himself. Perhaps that tone is changing, perhaps his policies would even

change when it comes to his relationship with Russia.

LU STOUT: Absolutely. A tougher tone from President Trump in that tweet and the timing is very significant. Matthew Chance reporting live for us

from Moscow. Thank you.

Now, in Malaysia a woman has been arrested in connection with the death of the half brother of

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Now, police say that she holds a Vietnam travel document.

Kim Jong-nam was about to fly out of Malaysia when he fell ill at the airport. He died on his way to hospital.

South Korea said says he was murdered with poison.

For more, Saima Mohsin is in Kuala Lumpur. She joins us now. And Saima, I understand that an arrest has been made. What's the latest on the

investigation?

SAIMA MOHSIN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, this seems to be a very key and crucial part of the investigation. Malaysian police, Kristie,

acting very swiftly to make this arrest.

This afternoon, they released a statement saying that a 28-year-old woman, carrying, as you say, a Vietnamese travel document was arrested actually at

Kuala Lumpur international airport.

Now, speculation, of course, remains was she trying to get out of the country at the time? They haven't made that clear. They said this was

directly in connection with the murder of Kim Jong-nam. And they say that they found this woman through CCTV footage.

Now, two Asian women, according to South Korean intelligence officials, were identified via that CCTV footage. Now, we're not clear on which one.

But I spoke to an airport official today who said there are thousands of cameras, visible and hidden, throughout the airport and that would be

crucial to this investigation - Kristie.

LU STOUT: Yeah, there will be more information provided for sure. And Saima, swhat more have you learned about Kim Jong-nam and what he was doing

after he fell out of favor in North Korea?

MOHSIN: Yeah. He spent a lot of his time since falling out of favor with his father in exile, in effect, traveling from country to country. Kuala

Lumpur, apparently a favored spot for him, but Macao, which is where we we believe he was about to try and board a plane to head to from Kuala Lumpur

International Airport, was where his family was now that's according to South Korean official intelligence again.

Now, they spoke to a National Security Council meeting in Seoul early Wednesday morning

local time. They say that they don't believe he was in Kuala Lumpur trying to seek asylum or anything of the sort. He was simply traveling on as he

was known to. He's known as a playboy, a gambler which is why Macao is a favored spot for him. He fell out of favor, as you say, with Kim Jong-il

when he was caught using another forged document.

Now, officials here have told CNN that they believe he was traveling on a passport when he

was killed here at Kuala Lumpur International Airport under the name of Kim Chol (ph). Previously, he's used forge documents, too, in 2001 when he was

trying to go to Tokyo Disneyland and that is when he had a falling out with his father. He was the heir apparent, Kristie, to be the new leader of

North Korea given that he is the first born of a favored mistress of Kim Jong-il, his father, the late leader of North Korea.

And when he fell out of favor, Kim Jong-un stepped in and took over. But Kim Jong-nam has spoken quite a few times about how he doesn't believe Kim

Jong-un would be a successful leader. He doesn't accept or support the notion of succession and dynastic politics in North Korea. And he was a

proponent, Kristie, crucially, of reform. He was a favored back up leader by China, which says today in a statement that they are keeping a close eye

on what's going on here.

And by the way, Kristie, just to let you know I'm right now outside the mortuary where just a short while ago some cars swept out their diplomatic

number plates with North Korea flags on them. A number of what's believed to be North Korean embassy officials. There is a North Korean we're unable

to verify that. We did see them leaving today, and we believe that an autopsy continues to be carried out - Kristie.

LU STOUT: Well, some very, very compelling details there from our Saima Mohsin and KL about the investigation, and about Kim Jong-nam. Thank you,

Saima.

Now, the White House is preparing to welcome one of America's closest allies. But what can we expect from the U.S. president's meeting with

Israel's prime minister.

One official is hinting at a major shift in policy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:16:15] LU STOUT: Come to you live from Hong Kong, welcome back. You're watching News Stream.

And it is likely to be a frantic day at the White House. Now, apart from dealing with the Russia controversy, U.S. President Donald Trump is

preparing to welcome a key ally. He is due to meet with the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in just a few hours from now. And they could

discuss a major shift in policy.

A White House official says Mr. Trump won't insist on a two state solution.

Now, CNN's Oren Liebermann is following the meeting from Jerusalem. He joins us now. And Oren, it is widely expected this encounter will be a

friendly one. What will this meeting do for ties and what will it do for realities in the region?

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDNET: Well, we expect the statement at the beginning of this meeting and what's important here for both leaders, for Trump and for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is the

optics of this statement. The two showing how well they are getting along and how strong the relations are not only between the two leaders, but also

between the two countries. That's important for both of them, especially after the rapid deterioration of the relationship between former President

Barack Obama and Netanyahu in its final days.

But as you noted, a senior White House official said Trump won't, quote, insist on a two-state solution. That's a major break from some five

decades of U.S. foreign policy, which has said that a two-state solution, an Israeli state and a Palestinian state, is really the only way forward to

make sure these two groups can live in peace together.

So, but the White House official did say they are open to any other agreeable solution that

makes, that works for both sides, that works for both Israelis and Palestinians.

What is clear here is that the White House has not formulated its Middle East policy or how it will handle the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The

Trump administration is still taking input here not only from the Israelis and soon Prime Minister Netanyahu, but also from Arab diplomats to figure

out how to handle the Middle East.

It'll be very interesting to see what comes out of this, what statements they make and what they say they talked about. But it's also likely that

there won't be any big dramatic statements here. The statement from senior White House officials gives both leaders some wiggle room here.

LU STOUT: Yeah, not dramatic statement., but it will be heavy on symbolism, this upcoming meeting. And no doubt Palestinian leaders will be

watching it very closely.

So, what are they saying and what are their expectations?

LIEBERMANN: Absolutely, especially after that White House official said the White House won't insist on a two-state solution. They say, and this

is coming from PLO executive member Hanan Ashwari, look, if you're not going to push for a two-state solution, then give us details about what you

do want. Do you want a one state solution where everybody, Israelis and Palestinians, have equal rights or are you pushing for a one state

apartheid where Israelis and Palestinians have different rights?

They are essentially calling out the Trump administration saying if you have some better idea what is it? If you don't have a better idea, get

back to what the international consensus is here. It is a two state solution that is the only way forward for these two groups.

Palestinians will be watching this very closely, especially for any statements. They, too, are interested in finding out exactly what the

White House's Middle East policy will turn out to be as it's still being put together.

LU STOUT: Oren Liebermann reporting live from Jerusalem. Thank you, Oren. Now there is also the issue of Iran. Donald Trump campaigned furiously

against the Obama nuclear deal. Mr. Netanyahu has long maintained that the Islamic Republic is the biggest threat to Israel. So, let's bring in

Frederick Pleitgen who joins us in Tehran.

And Fred, just how concerned is Tehran about this meeting between Trump and Netanyahu?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, they certainly are very concerned. And it's something that you've been able to see,

Kristie, over the past couple of days in statements coming out of Tehran from various officials. There's, for instance, the head of Iran's Atomic

Energy Agency which, of course, was one of the agencies, it was a big part of negotiating that nuclear agreement. And he came out and said, look, the

nuclear agreement is a great deal for Iran.

And one of the ways that Iranian see that is because Donald Trump is so against that deal. You also had this country's foreign minister, Javad

Zarif, he came out and he said, look, Iran is certainly going to abide by the terms of the nuclear agreement, but it also expects all the other

signatories, of course including the United States, to do exactly the same. He said that was that was a pre-requisite for all of this working.

So, the Iranians right now really viewing with a great deal of concern what's going on in Washington, some of the negative comments that were made

by President Trump himself saying that he believed that the nuclear agreement was a bad deal, that he wanted to negotiate it.

And then, of course, you have Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who said that he wants to get rid of the deal. He said that's one of the

things that he felt was an important point for him.

It was interesting, because I spoke to a top level Iranian official just a couple of days ago. And he sort of lamented what he believes is Israel's

influence in the new administration. He thinks that they have a lot of influence with Donald Trump with some of his advisers as well.

And of course that is something that is cause of a great deal of concern. And, you know, on the nuclear agreement itself, Kristie, there's a lot of

Iranians who criticized the nuclear agreement because they feel they haven't gotten the amount of economic benefit out of it that they thought

that they would get. Some of the sanctions relief hasn't happened fast enough. Of course, there were also additional sanctions levied on Iran

during the final days of the Obama administration. So, there is a lot of criticism also here in this country as well, but at he same time most

people don't want to see the nuclear agreement go away, because of course it has, indeed, brought some economic benefit, for instance, and especially

in the oil and gas sector where Iran has just massively increased its output over the timeframe that this nuclear agreement has been in place,

Kristie.

LU STOUT: Yeah, but it's very interesting that, you know, that there is criticism of this deal inside Iran.

Now, Fred, it would be, and this is the reality here, very difficult to derail this agreement. But

what would tearing it up, what would that do to the business and political dynamic inside Iran?

PLEITGEN: Well, certainly if the agreement would go away, it certainly would change everything. It certainly would change the political dynamic.

It would make it very difficult for the current president of this country, for Hassan Rouhani, who is a moderate,

to get re-elected, because of course one of the big achievements that he has had over his first term was getting this nuclear

agreement in place. And he has also received some criticism from hard- liners, from religious conservatives, saying Iran didn't get enough out of this nuclear agreement, criticizing the nuclear agreement, saying Iran had

given up too much of its potential in the nuclear sector.

So, certainly that would be a big, big issue for Hassan Rouhani. And again, Kristie, we also have presidential elections coming up here in this

country on May 17 where Hassan Rouhani wants to get re-elected, that would certainly make it very difficult.

Now, the Iranians continue to stress - they say, look, ending this nuclear agreement unilaterally is something that simply the U.S. can't do, because

of course there are other signatories to this nuclear agreement. It is the U.S. - the P5+1 nations, the permanent members of the security council,

which of course includes America, and then Germany is also part it as well. And then Iran. So they say unilateral canceling of this agreement simply

won't happen. Also, because of the fact that many of these other countries that are signatories to this agreement are now doing a lot of business with

Iran and the oil and gas sector. You have massive Chinese investment. You have some Russian investment here in this country as well.

And then some European countries also getting back into the game, for instance with AirBus, the big European plane maker, also some French

automakers, who have begun producing cars again here as well. Very difficult to make that unravel. So, certainly the Iranians are saying,

look, you can't cancel this agreement. It is not just an agreement between the U.S. and Iran, but it is an agreement

between the U.S., Iran and several other countries, Kristie.

LU STOUT: All right, CNN's Fred Pleitgen, live in Tehran for us. Thank you, Fred.

Now, the Trump White House is also dealing with another diplomatic headache: North Korea's advancing military technology.

Now, over the weekend, Pyongyang fired a ballistic missile that flew farther than in previous tests. It used solid fuel that allows it to be

launched more quickly,.

Now, let's take you inside North Korea. CNN's Will Ripley is in Pyongyang right now. He joins us live. And, Will, that launch was condemned by the

U.S., by South Korea, Japan, even China. So how is Pyongyang responding to the international outrage?

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It doesn't matter to them, Kristie. I had a meeting last night with a government official who said the condemnation,

threats of further sanctions will not stop the North Koreans from continuing to grow their missile program and the nuclear program as well

because in his words it is the society's key to survival here. They feel that their government, their whole system, is under the imminent threat of

invasion specifically by the United States, and so what their leadership tells the people here is that they need to sacrifice. They need to go

without things like consistent electricity, a fully adequate food supply in many cases, especially when you get outside of Pyongyang. They have to

tighten their belts for the greater good, for the good of protecting this country.

And they also are saying that even though there's a lot of speculation that this - this latest missile launch was timed to coincide with Japanese Prime

Minister Shinzo Abe's trip to the United States and his bilateral meeting with President Trump, they say that wasn't the case. They actually say

that this missile was timed to celebrate a big national holiday coming up tomorrow in Pyongyang and throughout North Korea.

The 75th birth anniversary of a man they call here the dear leader, Kim Jong-il, the father of the current leader Kim Jong-un. That doesn't mean

that people on the ground are not aware of President Trump. And I spoke to some of them about him today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We have no illusion about President Trump. We don't care who is in power, but we will try to take

the course of self-development.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I don't think we expect big things from the new Trump administration. We know that every single

administration previously worked consistently against the DPRK.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RIPLEY: So the official line may be that President Trump had nothing to do with this

launch, but, of course, we know that North Korea does time these major events to send a message to the world and specifically to the United

States. This missile program, like their nuclear program, really is the only bargaining chip that they have in a heavily sanctioned country to try

to get the international community to talk to them, to negotiate with them, to try to become more of

a part of the international community, but it's very split among experts about whether that would actually be an effective method

because a lot of people feel that they would be rewarded for tests like this if all of a sudden if the U.S. and others were to be willing to come

to the table.

LU STOUT: Will Ripley reporting live for us from inside North Korea and Pyongyang. Thank you, Will.

You'rewatching News Stream. And coming up right here on the program, Russian aggression and mixed messages from the U.S. loom large over a NATO

meeting. We'll go to Brussels to hear what allies want to know from America's defense secretary.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(HEADLINES)

[08:30:51] LU STOUT: Now, at this hour, the U.S. defense secretary is meeting with his counterparts in NATO. It is his first trip there since

President Donald Trump took office.

And Mattis kicked off those talks by reassuring allies. Erin McLaughlin joins me now live from Brussels. And Erin, what did Secretary Mattis say

about the U.S. commitment to NATO.

ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kristie, given some of the things that President Trump has said in the past, perhaps most

notably calling the NATO alliance obsolete rhetoric which the administration has since walked back, allies as you say are looking

to Secretary Mattis for reassurance and reassurance is exactly what they got right out of the gate. Take a listen to what Secretary Mattis had to

say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES MATTIS, U.S. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: The alliance remains a fundamental bedrock for the United States and for all the transatlantic

community bonded as we are together. As President Tump, he has strong support for NATO.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCLAUGHLIN: Secretary Mattis also going as far as to refer to NATO as his second home, a reference to his past time as NATO allied supreme commander

for transformation, and that's something really that's going to be discussed today as well, that word transformation. President Trump, after

all, has been calling for increased military defense spending among the allies, increased burden sharing. He also has said that he wants the

alliance to focus more on counter terrorism efforts, all of those things expected to be discussed between allies today - Kristie.

LU STOUT: All right. CNN's Erin McLaughlin reporting live for us from Brussels outside where that summit is taking place. Thank you, Erin.

You're watching News Stream. Keep it here, because still to come what it's like to have the Dalai Lama as your meditation coach. Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta

gets to find out. And we will hear from him next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Welcome back.

Now, for many, it's easy to get swept up in work and the stresses of life. Exercise and healthy eating are obvious ways to stay fit, but the Dalai

Lama thinks that compassion plays a key role in improving overall health. And he believes that comes through something called analytical meditation.

Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta got a rare chance to learn how to meditate with the Dalai Lama and he joins us now to talk about that incredible experience.

Sanjay, thank you joining us. You received this very special invitation to meditate with the

Dalai Lama in privately. This is rarely filmed on camera. What was that experience like?

[08:35:07] DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I was nervous, I'll tell to you, to start off with which is probably not how you

want to go into a session where you're going to be meditating. But you know the honest truth is I wasn't sure if I was going to be able meditate

properly or if there was some absolute protocol with this sort of thing. And people generally know that meditating is a good thing, can be a helpful

thing. But exactly what is it is harder.

I had this interesting exchange with him, Kristie, about that exact point. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GUPTA: People who try to be mindful, who try to meditate, but say they have difficulty doing it.

DALAI LAMA: Yes, no question. Difficulties.

GUPTA: What would you tell them?

LAMA: Me too.

GUPTA: You too.

LAMA: Not easy.

You should remember now, a 1 year old person, you see, the last 50, 60 years daily basis effort, effort. Then is some experience come.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GUPTA: Perhaps a little bit reassuring, Kristie, to know that the Dalai Lama himself took work for him to be able to meditate properly.

But as you mentioned, he does use this notion of analytical meditation, sort of not thinking about nothing, which is very hard to do, but thinking

about something, and often something very discrete, a problem that you may be trying to solve, something you've just read, and really focusing on that

particular thing. It's what he does. As you've heard, he's been doing that for 60 years.

LU STOUT: You know, I've taken a course in zen meditation and it is hard, it's so hard to empty the mind. But if we do it, what can meditation and

mindfulness do for our physical health?

GUPTA: Well, you know, physically we know a lot more. We used to think of this as primarily anecdotal. We didn't have science as much behind it.

But now there is, to be able to show that not only can it reliably lower things like your heart rate and your blood pressure, but also, for example,

your cortisol levels, your stress horomones, which drive your blood pressure up. So, we know that it can have a benefit on that.

But also, with regard to emotional health, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder, in particular, have been studied. Those have some of the

strongest science behind it, people are also looking at depression.

But I think there's plenty of evidence, both physically and emotionally, that there can be benefits for your health if you do it consistently and if

you do it properly, which isn't that hard again as the Dalai Lama talked about.

LU STOUT: Encouraging words.

Now, the Dalai Lama is 81 years old. He is still very active, you know, very coherent. He travels all over the world. Is meditation the secret or

how does he do it?

GUPTA: Yeah, I think he would put meditation near the top of the list. But he has a very interesting schedule as well. I mean, he does get sleep.

And what he does is he'll go to bed around 6:00 in the evening, late afternoon and wake up around 2:30, 3:00 in the morning. That's his

standard routine. So, he's getting eight-and-a-half, nine hours of sleep every night.

At that time when he wakes up in the morning, that's when he begins his meditation. He'll meditate for a few hours at that point and then have his

sort of morning routine, get ready for the day, meditate a little bit more and then actually start, as you see here, we are walking down this public

street in South India where he was going an event. But that's pretty typical for him.

He's primarily a vegetarian, although, Kristie, I found it interesting that he will eat meat. You know, not many Buddhists who eat meat, but he will

eat meat.

His rationale being that if he goes to a place and it's offered to him he's not one to turn it down. He wants to respect the hospitality that is being

shown to him.

But, as you point out, this is what he's been gdoing for 81 years, living the life, as he calls it, of a simple Buddhist monk.

LU STOUT: Incredible, life lessons from the Dalai Lama. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, thank you so much for sharing what you've learned with us. Take care.

And you can what what else Sanjay learned from meditating with the Dalai Lama himself. It's a special edition of vital signs. You don't want to

miss it. It's happening Sunday 8:30 p.m. here in Hong Kong, 9:30 p.m. in Tokyo only on CNN.

Now an ancient form of combat could one day make its debut on the Olympic stage. The International Olympic Committee recently gave provisional

recognition to Muay Thai. And today with the help of top fighters and social media, Thailand's popular sport is entering a new chapter.

Saima Mohsin has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SAIMA MOHSIN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's an ancient sport both brutal and beautiful in its traditions. Muay Thai is known as

the art of eight limbs. Fighters use their entire bodies to win the ring.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (subtitles): I have been fighting for over 20 years. My signature move, which is well known around the world is, "mali Deed Ka

Lok."

MOHSIN: Fans of the sport consider San Chai (Ph), a living legend, claiming close to 300 career wins, including titles in six different weight

classes.

For the last year, San Chai (ph) has been teaching at this gym in central Bangkok. People travel from around the world for a private session. It

costs $225 for an hour with the master.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What I want to do is try to give the people the same feeling I have about the tradition, the culture of Thai people. It's not

just a sport, it's the real life of some people.

MOHSIN: Half Thai and half Italian, Stefania Pachelli (ph) spearheads new product designs, sells distribution and fight promotion for Yokkao. The

brand is younger and smaller than competitors (inaudible) and Twins, but it punches above its weight on social media.

Pachelli (ph) hopes they will do more than just sell gear, she wants to make Muay Thai global.

It's next big challenge will be conquering the lucrative U.S. market where it's trying to secure more distributors.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have a lot of good partners around the world. Every time we sign an agreement with a gym or distributor, we tell them

that important thing is that you try to develop the Muay Thai in your country.

MOHSIN: Yokkao may be small, but in the world of Muay Thai that means it shouldn't be under estimated. Just ask San Chai (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm small, but I can win. Every technique is really good. I'm small so I can kick a big guy, like this. I win KO. I'm really

happy, you know. Muay Thai, I think I want to train because I am small and I can win to big guy.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: And that is News Stream. I'm Kristie Lu Stout. But don't go anywhere. World Sport with Riannon Jones is next.

END