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Aung San Suu Kyi's New Role; Major Chinese Communist Party Officials Implicated in Panama Papers; Inside Preparations for Assault on Mosul; Democratic Campaigns Get Chippy Ahead of New York Primary. Aired 8-9a ET

Aired April 7, 2016 - 08:00   ET

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


[08:00:21] KRISTIE LU STOUT, HOST: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. And welcome to News Stream.

Now, two major figures in China's Communist Party linked to offshore companies. The latest revelations with the release of the Panama Papers.

Bernie Sanders lashes out at Hillary Clinton. The gloves come off as U.S.

presidential hopefuls approach the crucial New York primary.

And going a day without your wallet. Now CNN's Will Ripley shows us how to pay for everything in China with your phone.

Now, two major figures in China are the latest touched by the Panama Papers scandal, and that refers to the millions of documents taken from a

Panama law firm that helped set up offshore accounts.

Now, two members of the Communist Party's most powerful committee have been linked to offshore companies. That means three of the committee's

seven members have family implicated, including the president.

Now, for more on the global fallout, especially in China, let's go to CNN Money Asia-Pacific editor Andrew Stevens. He's been following

developments here in Hong Kong.

And Andrew, the list of Chinese leaders implicated in this leak is growing.

ANDREW STEVENS, CNN MONEY CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely.

If you consider it, Kristie, it started with Xi Jinping, the supreme leader of China, and now two more of that ruling body, that standing

committee, have now been implicated through their families.

We talk about Zhang Gaoli and Liu Yunshan. Now, these two are both on the standing committee, which is the most powerful part of the decision

making body in China. Liu himself is actually the propaganda chief while Zhang is seen as an upwardly rising star within the party. Both of their

son and daughters-in-law have implicated having holding companies offshore through the British Virgin islands.

This is all according to the ICIJ, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists report, which has been slowly been sort of

becoming more and more public as the days go on.

It comes at an embarrassing time for the leadership. They are said to have been infuriated by these leaks and by the naming of the family members

of the such key people in China, particularly when there is a crackdown, an ongoing crackdown on graft and corruption where the Communist Party is

trying to show that it is part of the people rather than the elite, to have this sort of information come out so

damaging to them, Kristie.

LU STOUT: Now, are the Panama Papers an indicator of an even bigger trend, Andrew, the reliance of China's wealthy, so-called Red Elite, on

offshore investments?

STEVENS: Well, certainly we are seeing more and more names coming out.

I mean, to many China watchers there wouldn't be enormous surprise here, Kristie. There has always been pieces written about the elite in

China, the ruling class if you would like, who have vast fortunes over the years through family connections and through family sort of largess, if you

like.

So what we are seeing now is more and more these names coming out being linked to the sort of operations where you would cloak money or they

are available to be cloaked, if you like.

One thing I should point out, Kristie, at this stage, they are doing nothing wrong. There is nothing to suggest that any of the names that have

been mentioned so far have actually committed any illegal activity. They are doing what they are allowed to do, but it's left with this implication

or this feeling that they are cloaking vast amounts of money. The question is why?

LU STOUT: Yeah, and as we find out why in the meantime we know that the leak very embarrassing for the leadership in China. Andrew Stevens

reporting live from Hong Kong. Thank you, Andrew.

Now in Brussels, a hearing today involving the main surviving suspect in November's Paris terror attacks. His lawyer says it will be weeks

before Saleh Abdeslam is extradited to France.

and for more on that and other developments on the Brussels terror investigation, let's go straight to CNN's Alexandra Field. She joins me

live from the capital of Belgium.

And Alexandra, there are reports that one of the suspected Brussels bombers worked in the EU parliament building. How so?

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right, Kristie. A spokesperson for the EU parliament is saying that one of the airport bombers did in fact

in 2009 and 2010 worked for one month in each of those years in that building. He was the employee of a cleaning company that was contracted by

the parliament. Our understanding from the spokesperson is that that company had to provide proof

that this person did not have a criminal record at the time.

No indication from the spokesperson's office, though, as to which of the bombers this was.

But this is new information that's coming to light about the men who carried out these attacks. At the same time you have got investigators who

are now looking into not just what happened here, but how an attack could happened here, even given the heightened threat level and the awareness

level that this threat existed.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FIELD (voice-over): After Paris, "Charlie Hebdo," November 13th --

(SIREN)

FIELD: -- after Brussels, the metro, the airport, taking out the threat by jihadists who left Europe for Syria and came back planning to

attack could take 10 years, says Andre Jacob, the former head of counterterrorism for Belgium state security.

ANDRE JACOB, FORMER COUNTERTERRORISM DIRECTOR, BELGIUM STATE SECURITY (through translation): There were errors in the function of the

intelligence service here, but the nature and how serious the errors were will be determined by the parliamentary inquiry.

FIELD: The Belgian prime minister announced a new investigation into what went wrong and how to stop it from happening again.

MICHEL (through translation): We have to tell people that an attack is still possible. If we give more means to the intelligence, to the police

services, they can do a better job.

FIELD: Before retiring in 2010, he watched the rise of Islamic radicalism in Belgium, first in the '90s, surveilling a network with ties

to Osama bin Laden, then seeing the rise of recruitment of Belgian youth by Sharia for Belgium, a dismantled terror group that's leaders have been

convicted or jailed, finally, and exodus of fighters. Per capita, Belgium has sent more foreign fighters to Syria and Iraq than any other Western

European country, the number estimated to be around 500 since 2012. As many as 100 may have made their way back.

But resources to counter a mounting threat didn't keep pace, Jacob said.

(on camera): Were you understaffed?

JACOB (through translation): Yes, absolutely. For the past 10 years, different services in Belgium let down the intelligence and the budget for

it.

FIELD (voice-over): And there were shortfalls, he said, in Belgian law that complicated counterterrorism efforts.

JACOB (through translation): At the beginning, security in Belgium did not have the ability to carry out wiretapping. The only wiretapping

possible was done by the federal police, and only in cases of judicial inquiries.

FIELD: That has changed. Other obstacles remain: difficulties in coordination, communication, as well as police operations. Some raids can

only be carried out between 5:00 in the morning and 9:00 at night. Proposals to change that have been made since Belgian police started

hunting for Paris bombing suspect, Salah Abdeslam. He was found last month hiding out in the Molenbeek neighborhood of Brussels.

Even before the Brussels' bombing, authorities were searching for the brothers that carried them out. The Bakrouis were, we now know, in

Brussels.

(on camera): What do you say to people in Brussels who feel their government is fighting a losing battle against terrorists?

JACOB: (through translation): It's a difficult question. I don't know if the Belgian government is losing the battle. But I think the European

democracy is losing the battle. We have to work together.

FIELD (voice-over): U.S. officials believe that as many as 2,000 fighters who traveled to Syria and Iraq are back in Europe.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FIELD: And because of that big number and the ability of some of these fighters to move between borders, between countries without being

detected, the prime minister of Belgium says that in order to fight terrorism here at home, he needs greater international cooperation. It's

one of the reasons he says he has supported the idea of something like a European CIA, which would more easily, he says, facilitate information

sharing, Kristie.

LU STOUT: Yeah, and the Belgian government has been a bit on the defensive here. And we saw that interview with Christiane Amanpour with

the Belgian prime minister defending his approach to fighting terror, but what has changed? I mean, we know that the airport in Brussels it opened

on Sunday. What is the level of security like there and elsewhere in the city?

FIELD: You know, we were out there when the first passengers were able to board the first flights that left the airport after it was shut

down for 12 days and there was a very visible layer of security. Of course, you had armed police officers, you had the military

out there, you had dogs out there. This was important for securing the airport and also for the optics and the fact that it provides perhaps

hopefully an extra measure of comfort for the people. It's something that we also saw on the streets of Brussels in the immediate aftermath of the attacks.

But people in this city have been living since the Paris attacks with the threat of a possible

attack here.

Remember, it took authorities four months to find Paris suspects Salah Abdeslam who was

ultimately found to be hiding out in his neighborhood of Molenbeek in Brussels.

So, people here continue to be aware of the fact that this threat remains, because frankly authorities are still looking for two suspects

related to the Brussels bombings. There is that the third person who was in the airport who police are looking for and also a second

potential suspect from the metro bombing, Kristie.

[08:10:07] LU STOUT: Alexandra Field reporting live in Brussels, thank you.

And now to the front line against ISIS. Iraqi forces are leading a fresh offensive to retake the nation's second largest city. It has been

nearly two years since Mosul fell under ISIS control.

And in this exclusive report, Arwa Damon follows ground troops as they progress village by village winning small but significant victories. And a

warning, her report contains disturbing images.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Bursts of gunfire and artillery explosions: a constant reminder that the enemy, ISIS, is

relentlessly probing for vulnerabilities in the Iraqi army's defenses.

MAJ. GEN. NAJIM AL-JUBUTI, COMMANDER OF MILITARY OPERATIONS (through translator): ISIS, and especially now, we are on the perimeter of what is

their so-called caliphate. They are using waves of suicide bombers backed by fighters.

DAMON; Coalition airstrikes leveled this building ISIS militants had snuck into the night before we arrived. The hillside is strewn with the

bloated bodies of dead ISIS fighters. One of them looks particularly young, a teenager, the Iraqis say.

General Jubuti's men only recently recaptured this village and a handful of others, the first tentative steps in the battle for Mosul,

Iraq's second largest city that humiliatingly fell to ISIS after Iraqi security forces abandoned their positions around two years ago. These are

men retrained, under new command, forces that will repeatedly be put to the test. Will they hold this ground and fight or again flee?

Key, of course, to the equation is U.S. support.

JUBUTI (through translator): For us, we have enough ground forces. The most important thing is to see ongoing U.S. backing with the air

support, advisers and logistical support.

DAMON: But not boots on the ground.

JUBUTI (through translator): It's not an urgent thing for us right now, boots on the ground. We can liberate our lands.

DAMON: ISIS has had plenty of time to fortify defenses in Mosul and here still some 45 kilometers, or 30 miles away from the main battleground.

Deep in one of the hills, a labyrinth.

This is not just a tunnel complex, it's actually a tunnel and sleeping quarters complex that has been dug well underground.

Winding passages that veer off in multiple directions. This one leads to a small opening for oxygen circulation we are told.

And this is just the start of the impending bloody battle to try to liberate Mosul, one that will be a defining chapter in this nation's

history and beyond.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: And Arwa Damon joins us now live from Irbil, Iraq with more on this story.

And Arwa, in your report we saw that deep subterranean maze just carved out by ISIS. That's outside Mosul, So when Iraqi forces reach the

city, what are they going to be up against? What kind of defenses have ISIS forces set up for them?

DAMON: Well, that is exactly what they are not entirely sure about. There is a fairly significant berm fighting positions that ISIS fighters

have already set up. They are anticipating all sorts of underground tunnels and other types of passageways, but what we are also

hearing about that is perhaps more concerning is something that ISIS has used in the past is booby trapping homes, and

various other buildings, passageways that the Iraqi forces would be going through.

And already they are facing many challenges just in trying to hold on to these small villages, as you saw in that report, and then a few days

after they managed to hold and secure that village, and they tried to move on to another one, Kristie. And the operation initially started out fairly

well. Everyone thought that ISIS thought would be relatively speaking, easily pushed out. They were backed by coalition air strikes, but it

actually ended up in failure despite the fact that they had significant U.S. support because of some sort of battlefield confusion, as it was

described to us, that then resulted in the Iraqis partially withdrawing from this other village. ISIS then moving in.

And right now top Iraqi commanders are telling us that in Nineveh Province, this operation has come to something of a pause with the Iraqi

army holding defensive positions while they are waiting for reinforcements to arrive.

The other big challenge, of course, when it comes to Mosul, too, is the civilian population. Around 1.5 million people still remain in that

city, Kristie.

[08:15:15] LU STOUT: A number of challenges as Iraqi forces prepare to retake Mosul. Arwa Damon reporting live for us. Thank you, Arwa.

Now, preparing to confront ISIS in battle is only one concern, there's also the matter of helping refugees who fled the militants. And next, Arwa

introduces us to those who were used as human shields.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAMON: ISIS put five families into each home in the middle of the village, Abu Isra (ph) recalls.

Like many here, he does not want his identity revealed. He still has loved ones at the mercy of ISIS and has already witnessed and lost too

much.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: And we are taking you to the front line against ISIS in Iraq that premieres on Connect the world 11: p.m. in Hong Kong, midnight in

Tokyo, only on CNN.

Now, there has been a new victim in a string of killings in Bangladesh targeting secular writers. now police say Nazi Mudin Samad (ph) has been

murdered. The 26-year-old master's student was heading home after evening classes when attackers hacked him with machetes and then shot him.

No arrests have been made.

Bangladesh is a majority Muslim country with a sizeable Hindu minority. And there are growing concerns over hostility toward

intellectuals who challenge religious ideas.

In the last 16 months, six secular writers or publishers have been murdered in the capital of

Dakka.

You're watching News Stream. And still ahead on the program, we're going to give you the very latest on the race for the White House. In

fact, it's turn into a bitter battle between Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton.

And a special role for Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi. We'll tell you about her new position in the government a little bit later in the show.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:20:37] LU STOUT: Coming to you live from Hong Kong, you are back watching News Stream.

Now, Hillary Clinton's campaign calls it, quote, a new low in the contest for the U.S. Democratic presidential nomination. The Democratic

frontrunner's team is responded to remarks made by rival, Bernie Sanders.

He said on Wednesday, that Clinton is not, quote, "qualified to be president, accusing her of taking tens of millions of dollars from special

interest groups through a group that supports her."

Now the attack follows Sanders' win in the Wisconsin primary, though he still faces a steep climb.

Now, Clinton only needs to win 36 percent of the remaining delegates to get there.

Now, Sanders has to capture more than double that.

Now, let's bring in our senior political correspondent Brianna Keilar for more on this. And Brianna, tell us more about this bitter battle that

is brewing between Sanders and Clinton.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kristie.

Bernie Sanders said what he said about Hillary Clinton, that she isn't qualified to be president at a rally before about 10,000 people in

Philadelphia. I'll tell you, I was at this rally, this was like red meat to his supporters. They were eating it up.

Bernie Sanders clearly not responding kindly to the Clinton campaign's new strategy to go after him more aggressively.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS, 2016 DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't believe that she is qualified.

KEILAR (voice-over): Bernie Sanders lashing out at Hillary Clinton.

SANDERS: I don't think that you are qualified if you get $15 million from Wall Street through your super PAC. I don't think you are qualified if

you have voted for the disastrous war in Iraq.

KEILAR: The war of words between the two presidential Democratic candidates escalating. Sanders claiming...

SANDERS: She has been saying lately she thinks that I am, quote, unquote, "not qualified to be president."

KEILAR: But Clinton's campaign denies she ever said he wasn't qualified.

CLINTON: The presidents who are successful know what they want too, and they know how to do it.

KEILAR: Clinton is pointing to an interview Sanders did with the "New York Daily News," where he struggled to identify how his administration

would break up the big banks, elaborating in an interview with Chris Cuomo.

CLINTON: I was, I think, a little, you know, surprised that there didn't seem to be a lot of substance to what he was saying.

KEILAR: Clinton now taking this line of attack on the campaign trail, that Sanders is unprepared to be president, and even questioning whether

he's a Democrat.

CLINTON: He himself has said that he never was. He never ran as a Democrat until he started running for president.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: Now, the spokesman for the Clinton campaign tweeted shortly after Bernie Sanders said what he did, Kristie, "Bernie Sanders, take back

your words about Hillary Clinton." And it's interesting to note both of these campaigns at this point are fundraising off of this back and forth.

It's also important to note, this is the most contentious that we have seen the Democratic side of the presidential race, that real testiness is

something that has been reserved pretty much for the Republicans.

LU STOUT: Yeah, the gloves are off certainly in the Democratic race now.

And meanwhile, the battle for New York, Brianna. We know it's a home state for both the candidates. Who at this point has the upper hand there?

KEILAR: Right now the polls show Hillary Clinton with the lead. And it is her home state, but it's also where Bernie Sanders was born. This is

Hillary Clinton's adopted home state. This is where she became a senator after Bill Clinton left the White House and she was no longer first lady.

There are so many pledged delegates at stake: 247. So, this is a giant piece of the pie. For Bernie Sanders, it is so important that he win

New York if he is going to have a path to the White House. And for Hillary Clinton, is it a absolute must? No, but it would be terribly embarrassing

if she were to lose her adopted home state.

LU STOUT: All right, Brianna Keilar reporting live for us. Thank you, Brianna.

Now, on the Republican side, Donald Trump is the heavy favorite in New York. He hit on some familiar themes during a campaign speech on Wednesday

night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We are going to have a strong border. We are going to build the wall. It will be a real wall. A real wall.

Who is going to pay for the wall? Who? By the way, 100 percent.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: And the latest count shows Donald Trump would need to win 60 percent of the remaining delegates in order to get to the magic number,

1,237 and clinch the nomination. Ted Cruz would need to win 88 percent, John Kasich would need to win an

unwinnable 125 percent.

Now, business is booming at a small factory in central Mexico thanks to Donald Trump. It's turning out masks of the billionaire.

Rafael Romo went to check it out.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's a factory bustling with activity with workers pouring liquid plaster onto molds, painting, refining and

creating all kinds of different designs.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a very manual process.

ROMO: This mask factory in central Mexico has been busier than ever in the last few months. And it's all thanks to the unexpected popularity

of not a Mexican, but an American presidential candidate.

Take a look at the strands of artificial hair neatly placed and quaffed by this worker.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We weren't making this mask with actual hair, and some of our customers asked for it, and it has to be the hair. so, this is

the deluxe version.

ROMO: You've probably already guessed. It's Donald Trump's mask and this factory executive believes demand will only grow in the next few

months.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We think maybe because of the polls that he will be the candidate.

ROMO: The last shipment of the Donald Trump mask came out of this factory two weeks ago. It was 10,000 masks, 80 percent of them were sold

in the United States and the rest here in Mexico.

There's only one mask beating Donald Trump's in sales, that of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, the drug lord captured in January after a spectacular

tunnel escape from prison last summer.

The mask that comes with the prison outfit has been flying off the shelves.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah, totally sold out. We sold El Chapo masks in customs in all Mexican territory in all America U.S. territory and we sold

in Australia, for example.

ROMO: Wait, wait, wai, El Chapo masks being sold in Australia?

There is still a chance for Trump to compete with El Chapo, but only if he can win the Republican Party's presidential nomination.

The great irony, making a fortune off of two highly controversial men whose only thing in common is dominating the headlines.

Rafael Romo, CNN, Hutapec (ph), Mexico.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Now, Myanmar's longstanding democracy icon has a new official role. And we'll explore what powers it gives to Aung San Suu Kyi

and the newly elected government.

Now, leaving your house without a wallet can be a problem, but not if you have a smarphone in Beijing. Find out how are you can go only with

payment apps after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(HEADLINES)

[08:31:12] LU STOUT: Now, Aung San Suu Kyi has a new official role in the newly elected government of Myanmar. She is now the state counselor.

Now, the role was created to give her a senior position as she's been barred by the constitution from serving as president.

Now, her long time confident Htin Kyaw was sworn in as president last month, ending decades of military rule. Now, our senior international

correspondent Ivan Watson has reported extensively on Mynamar. He joins us now live on the set.

And Ivan, this role was created just for Aung San Suu Kyi, what kind of powers does it give to her?

IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: She is able to reach out to all the different levels of the government. And what is incredible

here is the constitution of Myanmar, which was written by the army, the military, which dominated the country with such an iron fist for so

many decades, bars her from being president. And she declared as her party swept to power in elections last November that she would be above the

president.

So, what they've effectively done is created a brand-new position that was opposed by the military. The military holds on to a quarter of the

seats in the parliament, and the military objected to this, actually refused to vote on passage of this state counselor law. It passed. And

now she's holding this position. And believe it or not, a brigadier general who is one of

these military lawmakers complained of Democratic bullying from the opposition party from this woman that was held under house arrest by the

military for so many years.

LU STOUT: Incredible turn of events, a very telling moment in the history of Myanmar. Ivan Watson there. Thank you.

Now, we are going to take you back to Brussels earlier. We told you that there was a hearing taking place today involving the main surviving

suspects in the Paris terror attacks. Federal prosecutors in Belgium are speaking. Let's listen in.

(BELGIAN FEDERAL PROSECUTOR PRESS CONFERENCE)

LU STOUT: OK. You were listening live to two Belgian federal prosecutors speaking there in Brussels. They are addressing the bombings

in Brussels that killed 32 people and wounded more than 300 people two weeks ago.

From the first federal prosecutor, we heard him make an appeal for information about the

attacks, insuring confidentiality. Any more information that we get from that press conference we will be sure to bring you here on the program.

You are watching News Stream. We will be right back after this short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Welcome back.

Now, in China heading out with no cash is no problem. Everything from venting machines to taxis let you pay through your smartphone. Will Ripley

ventures out in Beijing without his wallet to see how it works.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I just ordered Jinbing (ph), Beijing's favorite breakfast food. People queue up here every morning to

get their hands on this. But right now I don't have my wallet.

Luckily here in China with my smartphone, I don't need it.

Paying for my breakfast takes just a few seconds. So I scan the QR code. And it's processing the payment. All set.

From tiny street vendors to large chains, a huge amount of businesses in Beijing are accepting mobile payments.

The most popular, AliPay from Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba and messaging app WeChat.

So, you just pay your water bill with your phone?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. You're going to pay now.

RIPLEY: That easy?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah.

RIPLEY: CNN producer Shen Lu (ph) uses WeChat to pay utilities, even rent.

I use it to hail a taxi.

I am on my way to meet Gu Yu, co-founder of a new payment app, Mileslife.

GU YU, CO-FOUNDER, MILESLIFE: Hi.

RIPLEY: Hey, I'm Will.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nice to meet you.

RIPLEY: Nice to meet you.

He says many urban Chinese just don't bother with credit cards. They prefer to pay by phone, putting China's mobile commerce way ahead of other

major economies like the U.S. and Japan.

YU: China doesn't have really a really lucrative credit card system. So China just skipped credit card and goes to mobile payment.

RIPLEY: Something he calls a late developmental advantage. For me, it means no wallet, no problem.

YU: You can totally survive without cash.

RIPLEY: So, we can split the taxi fare using our phones?

YU: Yeah, yeah, it's called (inaudible) in Chinese.

RIPLEY: Ride sharing?

YU: Yeah.

RIPLEY: Convenience comes with a catch. The Chinese government monitors and censors social media apps, including mobile commerce.

Is there a concern about the government monitoring your economic activity?

YU: I think normal citizens it don't. I think human rights activist they have huge concern on this.

RIPLEY: Chinese citizens are used to the government knowing where they travel, who they call and now what they spend. It doesn't stop

hundreds of millions of Chinese from making mobile payments totaling hundreds of billions of dollars. And the service is expanding beyond big

cities. A growing market even in China's slowing economy.

So, saying I forgot my wallet isn't an excuse anymore?

YU: No, no.

RIPLEY: But what if your phone battery dies?

YU: No, that's really cute. That's not cute, that's a real problem now actually.

RIPLEY: Mobile apps even allow us to split the checks. A day without my wallet has never been easier.

Will Ripley, CNN, Beijing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[08:40:06] LU STOUT: Now, it's worth noting that WeChat does so much in China, it has virtually become an operating system itself. Users around

the world may use the iPhone's home screen to jump from app to app, but in China you don't need to use the Uber app to get a taxi. As you jsut saw

there, Will Ripley hailed a cab from inside WeChat.

Now, it is a model that others are trying to emulate. Facebook Messenger now allows you to send people money. Now Microsoft just unveiled

a host of AI bots for Skype. You can pull up news stories, or play music by talking to these bots in Skype Chat.

Now, for anyone still waiting for that acceptance letter to Hogwarts, well there is now an easier way to get to the famous whizarding school.

Universal Studios is officially opening the doors to its new Harry Potter World in Hollywood.

Now, Stephanie Elam got to explore the magical venue.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello. Welcome to Hogsmeade Village

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: After five years of planning and building,

Universal Studios Hollywood is debuting the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. It's as close as a muggle can get to the movie magic.

From the tilted chimneys of Hogsmeade to the hooting birds in the owlery, the attention to detail is stunning.

The Harry Potter attractions at Universal Parks in Orlando, Florida and Osaka, Japan have already boosted revenues for parent company Comcast.

ALLEN GILMORE, ART DIRECTOR: (inaudible) know that they are really in Harry Potter's world.

ELAM: Alan Gilmore (ph) who worked on the second, third and fourth Harry Potter movies is charged with taking the film designs and turning

them into places people can experience at Universal.

GILMORE: I think one of the biggest challenge was deciding what to include. Early on we approached the whole world like a film in its own

right. We created some models, storyboards, we designed it like a giant movie set.

ELAM: Complete with a towering Hogwarts Castle where Harry, Ron and Hermione attend wizarding school and where some of the movie's sorcery is

on display.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Potter, the boy who lived.

ELAM: This ride is called Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. It's kind of like a 3D movie

along with a roller coaster complete with the glasses. I am going to go check it out.

In the quaint town of Hogsmeade, visitors can become part of the magical world.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can buy the clothes that they wear. You can eat the food that they eat, you can drink the drinks, the hogshead ale, all

those amazing drinks -- pumpkin juice.

ELAM: Like the ever tasty butter beer.

Oh, my gosh, that's delicious. No wonder they keep drinking it.

You can even head to Alavander's (ph) to have a wand choose you.

This here is your wand.

And then work some of your own magic in the park.

GILMORE: With your wand you visit 11 locations in Hogsmeade and perform magic and become a wizard.

ELAM: An interactive way to ensure guests and their wallets keep coming back to Universal.

Stephanie Elam, CNN, Hollywood.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: And that is News Stream. I'm Kristie Lu Stout.

END